Maryland International Raceway (MIR) is looking for a motivated individual to join their team as Track Manager. In this role, the successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing racing operations, directing events, handling track preparation, managing staff, coordinating event checklists, and organizing track rentals.

In this five-part series, CompetitionPlus.com will explore ten races that were really great at one time, and some were famous, while others were obscure. The bottom line is they were fun and epitomized the spirit of drag racing. 

We will undoubtedly miss a few, but save your judgment until the series ends. Special thanks to Bret Kepner, Dave Wallace, Steve Earwood, and others who helped ensure this series came to fruition with their knowledge of the sport and willingness to contribute. 

Drag racing is a sport where collaboration can mean the difference between winning and losing. With multiple Prop Stock championships to their credit, there’s no doubt Elite Motorsports knows how to win. 

Today, Elite revealed it has partnered with leading contract machining company Schwartz Machine. 

Since 1951, Schwartz Machine has been recognized as one of the leading contract machining companies in the Detroit area. They are known for their ability to take programs from prototype to production.

Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett announced at the Performance Racing Industry trade show that she would be taking the 2024 season off to focus on starting a family with her husband Tony Stewart, who will eventually take over the driving duties of her dragster. 

That break apparently doesn’t start until just before the NHRA Gatornationals in March.  

The 2024 drag racing season is shaping up to be plenty busy for Vincent Nobile and he’s excited about the opportunities in front of him.

Nobile confirmed to CompetitionPlus.com he will be competing in his own dragster in the Super Comp ranks again in the upcoming season and he also will be driving a Camaro in the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock category that will have a six-race schedule.

“I have full intentions of racing Super Comp and my father (John) is putting together a Mountain Motor Pro Stock car to race in that new class for NHRA with the intentions of me driving,” Nobile said. “We’re building a brand-new Jerry Haas Camaro. I have driven Mountain Motor Pro Stock cars three times. I raced at Charlotte (N.C.), Bristol, (Tenn.), and back in 2013, I ran a race in ADRL for the O’Brien Brothers in Richmond (Va.). We have our fingers crossed that my new Camaro will be ready for Charlotte (April 26-28). If by chance we don’t make it to the first race, I’m sure we will be at the next five.”

The last time Antron Brown raced at Bradenton Motorsports Park, it worked out well for him. But this time, unlike those others, his car won’t have doors, and he’s going to be racing for a whole lot more money. 

The Matco Tools-sponsored Brown will be one of a dozen Top Fuel drivers vying for $250,000 in prize money at the inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout, Feb. 8-10, 2024, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. 

When asked what he wanted to change from 2023 to 2024 veteran NHRA Pro Stock driver Matt Hartford didn’t hesitate with an answer.

“Turn that 3 into a 1,” Hartford said.

That 3 is – third – where Hartford finished in the 2023 Pro Stock season standings. He was 131 points behind world champion Erica Enders.

Although Hartford came up short of reaching the top of the Pro Stock mountain, he had plenty to be happy about during his career-best season.

Samuel Peterson can be considered a rising star in track preparation and maintenance. And, accordingly, the third-generation drag racer is set to take on an expanded role at US 131 Motorsports Park. The 22-year-old, ng alongside his father, US 131 General Manager Jason Peterson, Samuel will be responsible for various tasks, including expanding the track's testing program to optimize track usage on non-competitive event days.

Samuel has grown up at the drag strip, and along the way his experience as a have given him valuable insights into ensuring the track's quality for all participants. 

 “The big thing is he’s been around the dragstrip all his life, one way or another,” Jason Peterson said. “Truthfully, he knows how everything works but, more important, having been a racer himself, he is very conscientious about making sure things are the best they can be for everyone.” 

Gavin Carter, a rising talent in the drag racing industry, has been named Virginia Motorsports Park drag strip manager where he will be working closely with VMP Vice President Tyler Crossnoe. In addition to his new role at Virginia Motorsports Park, Carter will also continue his position in race operations at the Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series.

Carter, 27, expressed excitement about his new role and highlighted his longstanding working relationship with Crossnoe. 

The World Drag Racing Alliance (WDRA) will introduce a new class for motorcycle and sled competitors as part of the Summit Sportsman Drag Racing Series (SSDRS) program in 2024. This expansion allows WDRA member tracks to crown a motorcycle or sled track champion, who will then represent them at the WDRA Summit World Championship presented by Suncoast Performance at Montgomery International Dragway on October 24-26, 2024.