The competition in NHRA’s Pro Stock category is as tight as ever.

The qualifying ladder at the Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis was proof.

Cruz Pedregon's annual Breast Cancer Awareness-themed Snap-on Tools Funny Car seems to be a trigger for Nathan Hamm, and not in a negative way. 

Hamm, who works the bottom end duties for the two-time NHRA champion, is reminded about his ties to Breast Cancer when he sees Pedregon's pink-themed race machine. 

Hamm's mother, Lynn, suffered from Stage 4 breast cancer while pregnant with him. She beat the diagnosis, only to have the cancer return and take her life two years ago. 

Four-time defending Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence made his best run of the season on Friday at World Wide Technology Raceway, taking the provisional No. 1 qualifier to open the race weekend at the 11th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals. 

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Kyle Koretsky (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. 

Antron Brown, 46, and Justin Ashley, 27, are considered quasi-teammates, sharing a hospitality trailer and technical data. This dynamic didn't happen overnight. Actually, the foundation was poured when the latter was only 14 years old. 

The year was 2009 when Ashley's father, Mike, purchased the assets of David Powers Motorsports Top Fuel team, where Brown had just been named the driver. Ashley made one significant change once the sale was complete; replacing veteran crew chief Lee Beard with the duo of Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald.

Ashley wasn't trying to build a team; he envisioned a family. 

She might be gone from this world, but Antron Brown is still leery about stepping out of line, fearful Grandma Lossie might somehow "slap him upside his head."

When Brown turned off the track following the final round at zMax Dragway after winning the NHRA Carolina Nationals, he could envision her standing there. Grandma Lossie, who earned the nickname when she got lost in New York City when she was younger, passed away earlier this year.

"I can just remember her little face, and her little hands, and her arms," Brown said, fighting back emotion. "And she used to shake [her hands] like this, with both fists together. And she used to say, 'Y'all go get 'em boy. Y'all get 'em. Y'all get 'em."

There was a time when it appeared all but one racer in the NHRA FuelTech Pro Modified series was racing for second place in the championship battle. Thorne won three of the season’s first four events and held a 108-point lead over second-place Rickie Smith. 

With a few key losses in the next four, Thorne’s lead has dwindled down to just 46 points with Smith breathing down his back. Last weekend at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals, Thorne lost in the first round and Smith in the second. Third place in the points, Steve “Fast” Jackson, used the opportunity to make hay while the sun was out. 

Vonnie Mills has an interesting scenario going on. The more she concentrates on racing and winning, the more history she makes. 

The professional hair stylist from Kennedysville, Md., won her first NHRA national event in 1987 when she took home the Super Gas title. Mills added to her legacy two weeks ago when she drove her Jerry Bickel Camaro to the Top Sportsman title at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals. 

"We've been waiting for this day," Mills said. "We knew it was coming. We've got really close before. We've won Divisionals, and we won PDRA and IHRA. Winning the NHRA National is, it's just such a good feeling.

It's an even better one knowing she has a car capable of winning often. 

In anticipation of persistent rain from Hurricane Ian, Maryland International Raceway (MIR) has canceled this weekend’s Superchargers Showdown, which was to include the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) $30,000-to-win 30th anniversary season finale. While the Superchargers Showdown will not be rescheduled, NEOPMA has moved its 30-30-30 race to the 2023 Door Wars race, April 28-30 at MIR. 
 
“We were really looking forward to an exciting weekend, but the weather just wasn’t going to make it possible to complete this event as planned,” said John Mazzorana, founder and president, NEOPMA. “We had 38 teams planning on racing with us, so it was going to be a huge race. We appreciate Royce Miller and the MIR team making the call as early as possible to save everyone the trip. We hope everyone stays safe through the storm, and we look forward to seeing our racers, fans and supporters back at MIR in the spring.”

AJ Berge of HEMI Tuner Performance drove his Whipple Supercharger, Security Dodge Power Brokers-sponsored 2021 Challenger Drag Pak to another final round finish in the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars class during the 21st annual NMCA World Street Finals at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP). The 47-year-old Bayshore, New York resident came up just short in the final round against eventual 2022 NMCA World Champion Chuck Watson Jr. in his 2019 Cobra Jet Mustang. 

During qualifying, Berge piloted his Drag Pak to stout 7.734-second run at over a 180 mph to secure the number two spot among the 14 competitors in the Factory Super Cars class.