Third-generation drag racer Drew Austin carried on the family tradition of winning big as he claimed his first career California Hot Rod Reunion Funny Car title, beating Jerry Espeseth in the final round at Famoso Raceway, located outside of Bakersfield, Ca. 

Joining Austin were Dan Horan Jr. (Top Fuel), Ed Marx (Pro Modified), and Randy Bradford (Fuel Altered).

The drag racing community has lost one of its up and comers.

On Sunday morning, Dylan Cromwell, who works on the Jim Head Racing team, was killed in a highway accident near Plainfield, Ind..

Local news reports said the accident happened at 9:30 AM, EST, on I-70 in a stretch of highway located in Hendricks County. The rig was on its way to Las Vegas for this weekend's NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. 

Dan Horan remained atop the Nostalgia Top Fuel category qualifying at the NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, Ca. Bobby Cottrell also held down his top spot in the Funny Car division as well. Other professional top qualifiers included Nick Van Horn (Fuel Altered) and Jeremy Hanger (Pro Modified).

Thanks to our coverage partners at DragRacer.TV and Warren Evans, we present to you the live video feed from the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, Ca. 

Bobby Cottrell and Dan Horan ended first-day nitro qualifying at the California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, Ca.

There was a log-jam of '69 Camaros at the top of the Nostalgia Funny Car qualifying list. 

The quickest of them was driven by Cottrell, behind the wheel of the Bardahl-sponsored Camaro, thundered to a 5.609 elapsed time at 254.76 miles per hour. His run came in the first session. 

InterPhase Entertainment, LLC has signed NHRA Top Fuel driver and 2020 Rookie of the Year Justin Ashley to help grow his brand and bring awareness to his program.  InterPhase Entertainment will represent Ashley in all sponsorship development and procurement areas as well as networking opportunities in television, film, and digital avenues.  InterPhase Entertainment will work to align Ashley with corporations, marketing firms and causes that align with his diverse interests both on and off the track.
 
“We are excited to have Justin Ashley with us as we broaden our business portfolio,” said Ryan Johnston, President and CEO of InterPhase Entertainment. “Justin is a highly marketable young driver who is a standout, and as far as I’m concerned, the future of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.  Justin not only won in Texas a few weeks ago, but he just broke the track record in Bristol with a blistering 334.48 mph run in 3.69 seconds.  We are looking forward to diversifying and building his brand around the world.”

Josh Hart’s plan for the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series was to run a limited schedule with modest goals.

That didn’t happen.

The Top Fuel rookie sent shock through the class with two wins in Gainesville, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C.’s fall race and four additional semifinal finishes while only competing in 11 of the 18 races this season.

“It has been crazy,” Hart said. “I be lying if I said no (to be surprised about winning races). We didn’t really design to own a Top Fuel team. That was kind of a strange situation by itself. Going from there to here, it has been a whirlwind. I think the craziest thing for me personally has probably been just seeing all the people I looked up to for so long. It is a very cool camaraderie. That has been the craziest thing for me to experience.”

First-year Pro Stock driver Dallas Glenn has been nominated for the 2021 Rookie of the Year award. The Mooresville, North Carolina-resident has had an extraordinary debut season with four final round appearances, two national event wins in Charlotte and Topeka, a No. 1 qualifier in Houston, and 23 round wins so far.

 “To be nominated and in the chase for the Rookie of the Year is a huge honor, especially when looking at the long list of racers that have won it in the past,” Glenn said. “There’s two races left this season and I feel like I’m in two different battles that are really close. I’m still mathematically in the championship battle, which will go down to the wire, and this Rookie of the Year battle feels even closer than that.”

For the past five seasons the NMCA has successfully run the Coan Racing Stock/Super Stock Combo category in its robust championship line-up. New for 2022 will be independent Stock Eliminator and Super Stock Eliminator categories, both competing for prestigious NMCA championships at all six national events. 

“The competition is fierce in Stock/Super Stock and we’ve seen huge growth in the category since we began hosting it five seasons ago. Those car counts give us the opportunity to run each eliminator independently,” said Gene Bergstrom, NMCA Director of Racing Operations and longtime drag racing competition guru.