Rickie Smith said he has raced for 48 years, and what transpired today in advance of the D-Wagon NHRA Pro Modified Shootout is the most unprofessional act of a professional race series he's ever witnessed. It's also the reason why he opted out of the shootout with $10,000 in prize money. 

With the pairings already set for the inaugural running of the race-within-a-race, a last-minute change in the format revised the first round pairings from a traditional qualified program to one of a chip draw.

Smith said there was a meeting presenting the format change to the racers was done, and he wasn't there to vote on it because of a prior commitment. And it wouldn't have mattered, he added, because he would have been outvoted. In his eyes, imagine the uproar had the NHRA changed the format of the old Big Bud Shootout on the day of the event.

Legendary car builder and industry icon Chip Foose will help give the 2022 SEMA Show a new look as the official artist of this year's trade show. Foose created original pieces of art that will be woven into signage throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center and in marketing materials for the Show to help reflect each segment of the industry in a special and authentic way.
 
“This opportunity is allowing me to be creative in a different fashion. Usually my drawings have been a tool to build the final art, which are the cars that we create at Foose design, but these drawings are the final art to be used at the SEMA show,” said Foose. “I'm excited to entertain and connect with SEMA Show attendees in a new way."

Top Fuel star Brittany Force has had a dominating season in the NHRA in 2022, and she shows no signs of slowing down.

Force clocked a 3.685-second elapsed time at 333.49 mph to snare the provisional No. 1 spot at the Lucas Oil Nationals Friday in Brainerd, Minn.

Robert Hight’s torrid NHRA season in 2022 continued Friday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

Hight, out of the John Force Racing stable, clocked a 3.865-second elapsed time at 330.31 mph to capture the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot Friday night.

There’s going to be a shootout in Brainerd, Minn., and it’s not going to be for the weak of horsepower or the thin-skinned.

The D-Wagon NHRA Pro Mod Shootout kicks off today for those 12 drivers competing in the NHRA Pro Modified division, and the winner can walk away with $10,000 in prize money for taking home the title in the race-within-a-race.

This event marks the first time since the NHRA declared the Pro Modifieds an official series on the tour that the sport's quickest and fastest doorslammer division has had a shootout style event on the big stage of drag racing.

John DeFlorian has built his share of odd vehicles, but of them all, it's the one phone call his boss Jerry Haas handed over to him with a project that went to the top of the list.

On the other end of the phone was a student from Principia College, a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois.

The student wanted an aluminum frame built for a specific car, and his explanation wasn't connecting with Haas, who has built championship race cars for decades.

Greg Anderson doesn’t publicize the fact he was out of drag racing in the mid-1980s and didn’t plan on coming back. In fact, his return was brought about by the coaxing of Kurt Johnson. The invitation from Johnson enabled him to close a painful chapter in his life and begin a new story as a crewman turned crew chief turned Pro Stock icon.

Anderson befriended low budget Pro Stock racer John Hagen in 1979 and raced with him until the influential figure in his career lost his life during an unfortunate accident during the 1983 NHRA Northstar Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Anderson cherishes those memories and if asked, will tell, but the pain prevents him from offering the subject. Instead, he’ll tell you that he’ll try to remember. The facts are, he remembers them well, unfortunately with the fond memories comes the horrific scene he witnessed that August afternoon in 1983.

Back in April, Kyle Koretsky had no idea how much his racer mindset would change once his family secured the purchase of Maple Grove Raceway. 

The first lesson he learned was how much more challenging being the one who puts on drag races is than being the one who participates in them. 

"We're getting there, slowly but shortly," Koretsky said. "Working out some of the kinks, trying to get new equipment. Like everything else, you can't buy anything. Trying to buy new tractors, and it's just tough."