Mother Nature didn’t want to cooperate with a snowstorm.

However, in the end the 5th annual DragstersForSale Practice Tree Race Jan. 19 in Evansville, Ind., was a success according to event organizer Don O’Neal.

Effective January 1, 2019, local businessmen Donald ‘JR’ Sandlian, David Dockens and Jason Caldwell have acquired the business and property known as Kansas International Dragway (KID) and are preparing for the 2019 race season. The new owners are excited to elevate the sport of drag racing in Wichita, and have numerous improvements planned before the opening date of March 23, 2019.

The offseason in drag racing can sometimes seem forever.

Sitting at home during the winter months waiting to get back to the track is not a cure for boredom.

Enter Don O’Neal.

Shane Westerfield, 2017 NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car champion, is the new driver of Rick Jackson's new Camaro alcohol Funny Car. Westerfield parked his own team at the end of last season.

“I haven’t been this excited and this nervous in a while to go race,” Westerfield said.

Westerfield and Jackson plan to put in some test laps following the PRO Winter Warm-up at Wild Horse Motorsports Park ahead of the NHRA season-opener in Pomona, Ca.

The NHRA Summit Jr. Drag Racing League, the wildly popular series for young NHRA racers two premier events, the Western and Eastern Conference Finals, will return to familiar surroundings for the 2019 season. The Western Conference Finals will take place at Osage Tulsa Raceway Park in Tulsa, Okla. and the Eastern Conference Finals will be held at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee.

Oklahoma’s Osage Tulsa Raceway Park will host the event for the fourth consecutive season on June 27-28, while the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Eastern Conference Finals will return to Eastern Tennessee’s famed Thunder Valley, July 18-20. 

“These young racers have so much talent. They truly are the future stars of NHRA drag racing,” said Eric Lotz, director of field marketing, NHRA. “The NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League is where these young drivers of NHRA learn skills that will prepare them for the future. Both facilities continue to grow these events and make the racers and their families feel welcome during the weekend.”

Thanks to our coverage partners at DragStory.com and Mark Walter, we present to you the live video feed from the 4th annual New Year's Nationals hosted by Palm Beach International Raceway.

Jeremy Wagler, owner of Wagler Motorsports Products, recently purchased the No Box Nationals, a well-known bracket racing event that was first constructed by Triple O Promotions back in 2007. With over more than 200 entries each year, Wagler Competition Products is looking forward to bringing the race back in 2019 and continuing the tradition that’s over a decade strong.

Krista Baldwin has acquired the Nitro University A/Fuel dragster team for the 2019 season. Baldwin has been the driver for the team since 2016. She plans to make five races for her ownership debut. Former owner, Anthony Dicero, has accepted a fulltime position at Justin Ashley Racing.

“Every year since I was a little girl, my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas and, of course, it was always, jokingly, my own racecar,” says the 25-year-old racer. “And now my wish finally came true.”

Baldwin attended the Nitro University to receive her Top Alcohol Dragster crossover license in 2015. She made her national event debut at the 2016 Winternationals with team owner Anthony Dicero. Ever since then she has raced and crewed for Dicero with multiple drivers at the wheel.

NGK Spark Plugs USA, Inc., announced during the PRI Show that it has extended its relationship with NHRA Top Sportsman drag racer Don O’Neal. 

O’Neal has used NGK racing spark plugs in his 1999 Monte Carlo 632 Big Block Chevy engine with three-stage nitrous for the past five years and now O’Neal will look to use NTK engine sensors in a new race car. NTK is a member of the NGK Spark Plugs family of brands.

Being a standout NHRA driver who never won a world championship is a label Steve Williams wanted to shed.

And, he did exactly that this past season.

Williams, K&N’s Chief Engineering Officer, was crowned the 2018 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp World Champion.