Will Smith plans to take a leap of faith in pursuing his longtime dream of piloting a Top Fuel Dragster. Next month that dream comes one step closer as Smith will license behind the wheel of Larry Dixon’s dragster. 

Smith made the difficult decision this season to step away from the Top Alcohol program he had piloted for four years. This training ground was the natural step before getting licensed in Top Fuel. 

“I knew I wanted to give this Top Fuel opportunity my all,” explained Smith. “Getting my license is a big thing to check off my list on this journey. At this point, I’m more than ready and can’t wait for the Northern Nationals to get here.”

Admittedly, outside of his desire to race Top Fuel, past NHRA U.S. Nationals champion Terry McMillen has had an interest in owning a dragstrip. 

A few years ago when he was in the very public process of purchasing Osceola Dragway in Osceola, IN, a lawsuit against the county for rezoning the property put the sale on hold. The owners were eager to sell, and with the uncertainty of the pandemic and how long the lawsuit would last, McMillen gave them the option to sell to a different buyer who didn’t need the land rezoned to purchase. That buyer ultimately turned the land into farmland.

Over the next few years, McMillen did his due diligence, shopping for another opportunity: hoping to find one that made sense for his family's future, but there was always something that made him rule each track out.

NHRA officials announced the dates for the first four races for the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule today, as the upcoming season will open March 9-12 with the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Fans can also look forward to all four professional categories (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle) in attendance at Gainesville to start the season.
 
The legendary track served as the opener for the 2021 campaign and is set to open the 2023 season as well, as all the top NHRA stars will look to open their year with a victory at the historic Gatornationals. The year will also open with the Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout specialty race in Gainesville, pitting eight star Top Fuel drivers against each other in a thrilling one-day shootout within the Gatornationals race weekend.

Throughout the upcoming NHRA Western Swing Doug Kalitta’s Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster will feature major associate branding from Revchem Composites as the third-year sponsor increases their visibility.

The three-race stretch from Denver to Sonoma to Seattle will highlight Revchem’s alliance and contributions to Kalitta Motorsports. The relationship continually grows as Revchem utilizes Kalitta Motorsports' VIP hospitality and B2B program to increase brand awareness. The company was an integral part of the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car redesign and continues to make contributions to the team throughout the season. As an industry leading composite materials distributor and technical resource Revchem is involved with many industries, from surfing to aerospace and everything in between.
 

Top Fuel drivers Scott Palmer and Greg Carrillo are headed for a grudge match. Palmer and Carrillo will match race as part of Discovery Channel’s “No Prep Kings,” reality TV show.

Palmer and Carrillo will match race at the 1/8-mile Tulsa (Okla.) Raceway Park track, Aug. 12-13. When the TV show will air has yet-to-be announced. According to Palmer, he and Carrillo will race against each other in their Top Fuel dragsters on Aug. 12 and the driver with the quickest elapsed time will get lane choice when the two meet again Aug. 13 for a winner-take-all side-by-side race for a prize in excess of $20,000.

Racers in a range of Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) pro, sportsman, and Jr. Dragster categories will be fighting for the final spots to race at the upcoming Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars race when the series returns to Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) this weekend, July 14-16. The Drag 965 Summer Shootout presented by Classic Graphix is the final race for drivers to earn ProStars points toward a spot in the eight-car ProStars shootouts during VMP’s Night of Fire later this month.   

If you've ever wondered just how cool smaller drag racing venues with high horsepower machines are, this latest video from Sean Melton's Urban Hillbilly brand captures all the excitement of fast doorslammer racing. Check out his Pro Street and Pro Mod class coverage, plus Scott Palmer in his NHRA Top Fuel Dragster. From the Ozark Raceway Park 'Summer Shootout'.

It is not very often that a temper tantrum leads to your big break in life.

But that may just be the case for NHRA Funny Car competitor Bobby Bode.

After being previously announced as a contestant on this season of The Bachelorette, NHRA Top Fuel driver Jordan Vandergriff will be part of the season debut on Monday as the reality show kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.  

Part of Bachelor Nation, The Bachelorette is a reality television show where a group of men (in this season, that includes 32) compete to capture the heart of the Bachelorette. At the start of the season, there are one-on-one dates, group dates, and roses handed out weekly to weed out the love interests based on their connection with the Bachelorette. As the season goes on and deeper bonds are made, there’s more of the same, except the stakes are a bit higher. The season usually ends in a proposal and engagement, aside from the few that have ended in heartbreak.  

Royce Lee Freeman was there.

That's about all the elder statesman of Pro Stock can say about his effort in the inaugural factory hot rod event back in 1970 at the NHRA Winternationals. Though Freeman didn't rate a mention as an alternate in the event edition of National DRAGSTER, his feelings weren't hurt.