​​If anyone knows the value of every single point in a championship run, it’s Robert Hight. In 2009, Hight made the most improbable championship run, going from No. 10 in points to the top of the list by the end of the season. He did so by making every point count. 

Friday, at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals in Maple Grove, Pa., Hight picked up three bonus points as he claimed the provisional No. 1 Funny car qualifying position, running 3.883 seconds at 330.39 miles per hour. 

Kenny’s boy is making his Dad pretty proud these days. And even better, the hometown folk didn’t have to hear Kenny Koretsky brag about how well his son is doing while on the NHRA Camping World Drag racing Series tour.

Kyle Koretsky showed them all at his hometown track, Maple Grove Raceway, in Reading, Pa., by nailing down the provisional Pro Stock No. 1 qualifying position with 6.547 elapsed time at 209.98 miles per hour. 

Getting off to a good start in qualifying has not been iconic Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angelle Sampey’s strong suit in 2021. 

Alongside Ryan Oehler during Friday’s lone session at the Mopar Expresslane NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa., the past NHRA champion hit her mark with a 6.761 elapsed time at 198.85 miles per hour. 

It’s been said drag racing is a right time, right place sport. For two-time Funny car champion Cruz Pedregon, getting on the good side of the ladder was the key headed into the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals, the first race of the seven-event NHRA playoff series. 

Getting on the right side of the ladder required a significant accomplishment, going to No. 1 in stellar conditions, beating out the likes of equally determined Funny Car teams. It also required Pedregon to pull off a feat that has eluded him for six years. Pedregon had to nail down the No. 1 qualifying position. 

Pedregon set himself in the catbird seat on the strength of a 3.875-second run at 326.00 miles per hour during Saturday’s final session at Maple Grove Raceway. The biggest perk of qualifying No. 1 is Pedregon will get a first-round bye run. 

Tommy Johnson Jr. and Matt Hagan have a whole new dimension to their professional relationship. Last year, the two Don Schumacher Racing drivers battled each other to the final day of the season at Las Vegas, and Hagan claimed his third series crown while denying Johnson his first. Now, as Hagan continues to recover from a nasty bout with COVID, Johnson is his ally. He is substituting for Hagan behind the wheel of the Mopar Dodge SRT Hellcat for the second straight race. 

“Last year, Matt and I battled it out for the championship, and now here I am trying to help him win it,” Johnson said. “And it would be cool to be a part of another championship for him.” 

Hagan told The Capital Sports Report’s Anthony Caruso that he possibly could remain sidelined for next week’s Countdown Race No. 2, at zMAX Dragway at Charlotte. Hagan said he expects to be back in the cockpit at St. Louis, at the Sept. 24-26 Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway at Madison, Ill. 

This video is for those who say Indy is just another race on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

Leave it to video Picasso Les Mayhew to deliver 16 minutes of pure awesomeness from major league drag racing's most prestigious drag race. He's captured everything from the absurd to the most incredible moments from not only the viewpoint of a seasoned media member but also from a drag racing fan.

So, show them this video the next time you hear a "Negative Nelly" proclaiming Indy isn't what it used to be. It's as good as it ever was.

In the 1990 motion picture Days of Thunder, fictional stock car racers Cole Trickle and crew chief Harry Hogge had a conversation regarding interpretations in racing.

The conversation went something like this.

Harry Hogge: Cole, you're wandering all over the track!

Cole Trickle: Well, this son of a bitch just slammed into me!

Harry Hogge: No, no, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you, he didn't slam into you, he RUBBED you. And rubbin', son, is racin'.

Steve Johnson is a true veteran of NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks, competing in 456 races in the class with seven national event wins.

However, there was a time not long ago when Johnson was searching for answers to go quicker, and it seemed like retirement might be a possibility.