When the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing rolls into to Houston for the SpringNationals April 22-24, it will be an emotional time for Pro Stock star Erica Enders.

Houston is Enders’ hometown track – the site of her first NHRA national event win in Super Gas in 2004 – but this will be her last race in Houston as the track is closing 

After 35 years, the Houston Raceway Park in Baytown will drop the curtain down for good after its 2022 season.

Houston Raceway Park hosted its first national event in 1988. Since then, the track has been the site of many special moments. 

After 25 years of nitrous racing, Jerry Albert of Jerry Albert Racing kicks off the 2022 Racing season with a twist. The husband and wife (Traci Albert) team out of Avon, Ohio will be debuting their new 2015 Camaro in the PDRA Elite Top Sportsman category. The Wally Stroupe built, Pro Charged powered, Brad Anderson Hemi, owned by Rick Bowling will be wheeled by veteran Jerry Albert and their quest for success will be starting at the PDRA season opener this weekend at Galot Motorsports Park. 

“I’ve been a nitrous racer for over 25 years and switching to the Pro Charger will be a new challenge for me to master, no doubt”, said the multiple-time NHRA Division Champion. “Galot will be the first time out in the car with this combination as well as my first time in the seat of the 2015 Camaro.  The test sessions prior to qualifying will be the first hits made and qualifying in the stout Elite Top Sportsman field will be an accomplishment in itself.  Having the right pieces in line and working with companies that I believe in, like ComSync and Marc Smith/MSR Suspension, we can easily achieve our goals. With Kings of Vapor, R.A.B. Trucking and Route 76 Truck Repair on board, I'm looking forward to seeing what this car can do."

Travis Shumake, son of the late NHRA Funny Car driver Tripp Shumake, will make his NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster debut this weekend at Las Vegas behind the wheel of a Randy Meyer Racing Top Alcohol Dragster. Shumake will be racing in the NHRA Division 7 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, April 8-10.

“My goal is still to be in a Funny Car but there is so much I can learn from Randy in the A/Fuel car while gaining much needed seat time and race-day experience” said Shumake. “I had an incident here in Vegas last fall in the Funny Car and mentors Chad Head and Justin Ashley pointed me in the direction of Randy."

Davis Motorsports and team owner Dustin Davis will host a special charity dinner event on Thursday, July 21 at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club. The dinner will celebrate the life and legacy of the late Eric Medlen with proceeds from ticket sales, donations and silent auction going to the Sonoma chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities to honor the spirit of the late Eric Medlen.

“I have been a member at Santa Rosa for some time and it is a beautiful location to honor the memory of Eric Medlen,” said Davis. “I spoke with John Medlen about hosting an event to celebrate Eric and he was in full support, so I knew we were doing the right thing. Supporting a great organization like Speedway Children’s Charities is something we all know Eric would be excited about. We want to have an event that gives people the chance to honor Eric, tell some stories and remember what a great driver and person we lost but will never forget.”

Toronto-area resident John Waldie, retired but not retiring, is a devoted ambassador for the Pro Modified class and longtime supporter of drag racers and stock car teams north of the border and 2016 inductee and still-active policy-shaper of the Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame.

His phone rang Feb. 15, and on the line was his close friend Jim Luikens, another who cast a wide net of friendships in the automobile and racing industry. They had known each other for years and collaborated most recently for Luikens’ Pro Modified reports for National Dragster magazine and DragRaceCentral.com.

Gordon “Tripp” Tatum III fulfilled a lifelong dream when he picked up his first-ever NHRA Top Fuel win with his incredible, record-setting performance at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Florida on March 13, 2022.

Although Tatum began competing in the prestigious category in 2021, he started racing in the late 1980s when he attended Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School as a teenager alongside his father, Gordon Tatum II, who was a Top Fuel driver in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

“When I was a kid, I had a photo on my wall of Gordon’s beautiful front-engine Top Fuel Dragster,” Hawley remembered of his youth. Hawley was pleasantly surprised when Gordon called to enroll himself and his son, Tripp, at his drag racing school. “I got to know both of them well when they competed in our race series at several national events. I feel so fortunate to have worked with many of today’s pro drivers early in their careers.”

PPG (NYSE: PPG) today announced its renewed sponsorship of the Tasca Racing team for the 2022 NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION® (NHRA®) season. 

Bob Tasca III, Tasca Racing team president and driver, will compete in 22 events across the U.S. in this year’s NHRA Nitro Funny Car division. The team’s FORD® SHELBY® MUSTANG® Nitro Funny Car will display PPG’s colorful livery in the races at the New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, and the Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania.  

“We are excited to be sponsoring Tasca Racing for another season,” said Bill Shaw, PPG director, strategic sales, Automotive Refinish. “Our long-time partnership brings two industries together, creating a strong collaboration between our companies. We look forward to continuing our support and sponsorship of Tasca Racing.”

Race Winning Brands, Inc. (“RWB”), a portfolio company of MiddleGround Capital, announced the acquisition of PAC Racing Springs (“PAC”), a leading manufacturer of high-performance valve springs serving the automotive and powersports performance and racing aftermarket. PAC represents the ninth add-on acquisition for Race Winning Brands.

PAC is headquartered and operates out of an industry-leading facility in Southfield, Michigan, just outside the industry-famous “Motor City,” Detroit. With roots in engineering and manufacturing dating back over a century, PAC Racing Springs has combined their manufacturing expertise with involved, high-performance racing experience to focus on developing and producing best-in-class valve springs and valvetrain components.

Engineering, manufacturing, and testing in-house in the USA using precision equipment and techniques makes PAC a veteran in the performance valve spring market, aligning well with the rest of Race Winning Brand’s high-performance portfolio. PAC’s product line further enhances RWB’s ability to serve various racing markets, from circle track to drag racing.

Dan Parker once described himself by saying, “I’m not a blind man trying to race, I’m a racer who went blind.”

Now, he’s a blind racer who’s earned a place in the Guinness World Records. Last Thursday, Parker became the fastest blind racer of all time. His two-run average of 211 mph at Spaceport America on March 31, 2022, came 10 years to the day from when he lost his sight in a Pro Mod crash. It broke the mark of 200.9 mph set in 2014 by England’s Mike Newman, who was born blind.

Parker’s record-setting blast down the runway outside Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, came two years after he fell short due to performance issues and high winds.