The dream ride continued on Saturday for rookie sensation Tanner Gray as the 19-year-old driver of the Gray Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro took the top spot at the 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals to earn his second career No. 1.

Gray bested teammate and fellow surprise-season nominee Drew Skillman on Saturday with a chart-topping 6.565-second pass at 210.24 mph, his second No. 1 of the season and first since early June.

Robert Hight powered to the Funny Car No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Tanner Gray (Pro Stock) are also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 16th of 24 events on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

To say it has been a dream season for Steve Torrence thus far in 2017 would be an understatement.

Six wins, eight finals and two No. 1 qualifiers have helped the 34-year-old driver of the Capco Contractors dragster amass a comfortable lead in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series standings entering this weekend’s 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals. And on Friday, Torrence continued to show why this tiny, independent team from Texas is a force to be reckoned with.

Robert Hight is one confident guy.

And why shouldn’t he be?

Montana’s Derek Menholt earned the Aeromotive Wild Card Shootout win at the inaugural Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by One Cure and J&A Service at Bandimere Speedway Friday night. Menholt was awarded a $10,000 check and one of the final spots in the invitation-only World Series of Pro Mod Main Event, which has a $100,000 winner-take-all payout and will be contested on Saturday.
 
Menholt’s day began with two shakedown runs as he and the other Wild Card Shootout participants prepared for eliminations. He received a bye run in the first round of eliminations, then pedaled his Steve Petty-tuned ’68 Camaro to drive around Tommy Johanns’ supercharged ’53 Corvette in the semifinals. In the final round, Menholt charged toward the finish line and reached the stripe ahead of Daniel McKune in his supercharged ’68 Firebird.

Friday qualifying was led by Steve Torrence in the Top Fuel category at the 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) were also provisional qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 16th of 24 events on the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Steve Matusek prides himself on being relaxed and calm no matter the situation.

He proved that even a crash just over a month ago and a rush job to get the car repaired couldn’t make him flinch, and the Pro Mod veteran hopes a similar reaction will be apparent during this weekend’s high-stakes Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod race at Bandimere Speedway.

The Western Swing has been fun for Jim Dunn Racing as they are closing in on a spot to compete in this year’s NHRA Countdown to the Championship.  

This week at Pacific Raceways in the Seattle market, driver Jim Campbell will try to repeat his recent semifinal round at Denver with a goal to advance and win the finals.

On July 30, LE Tonglet was crowned the Pro Stock Motorcycle champion at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma (Calif.) Nationals over Matt Smith.

The only problem with that is the photo finish FOX Sports aired live appears to show Smith crossing the finish line first.

“I’m not mad at NHRA or anybody like that,” said Smith in an exclusive interview with CompetitionPlus.com Wednesday. “I just want to understand and have a clear picture of this.”

Even fictional boxer Rocky Balboa, a character made famous by Sylvester Stallone, would have been envious of Scott Palmer. 

Palmer, the likable Top Fuel driver who is a throwback of days gone by in fuel racing, stands on the cusp of something many hoped for but didn't believe possible. 

If the regular season ended today, Palmer and his Cat Spot Litter-sponsored dragster would be in the Countdown to the Championship with a mathematical chance to win a world championship.