Blake Alexander entered the NHRA Winternationals ranked 11th in the Funny Car standings, just two points behind No. 10 Terry Haddock with three races (Topeka, Brainerd, Indianapolis) before the fields are set for the Countdown to the Championship. FOX’s Amanda Busick asked him Friday night as he awaited qualifying results, “What's your pressure right now?” 

For a second he looked taken back by the question but quickly said, “None. None at all. We're just out here – every single time I pull up there, I do the same thing. It’s simple, very, very simple. We’re obviously trying to collect as many points as possible but we’ve been trying to do that all year.” 

It may not be the sweep of the Western Swing that she had hoped for, but it is still something.

Brittany Force placed her Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster in the top spot at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona on Saturday, giving her three No. 1 qualifiers in a row and a clean sweep of the pole positions at the three races making up the NHRA’s Western Swing.

Leah Pruett can still vividly recall the first time she stepped foot inside Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

The sights. The sounds. The smells.

Noone was more surprised by Blake Alexander’s chart-topping lap Friday night at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona than Alexander himself.

After watching many of his competitors abandon their runs, and suffering an issue of his own on his pass, Alexander admits that Friday’s success took him by surprise.

Justin Ashley held an important role on Monday afternoon as his team rolled out of Sonoma Raceway headed south to Pomona, Ca, for the next and final stop on NHRA's Western Swing. The Rookie of the Year Top Fuel driver had one job in the team's rig pulling the hauler - don't play any sucky music. 

Ashley made sure Careless Whisper by Wham didn't play, nor was there any Rick Astley. 

"We did some Tupac, some Biggie, and then we mixed in some country on the way too," Ashley said with a sense of pride. 

 Let the record reflect that Clay Millican has zero interest in living vicariously through others. 

Back in June when an inner ear infection left him on the sidelines as a spectator and watching Austin Prock drive his Parts Plus Top Fuel dragster, Millican wasn't enthused with the situation but confident it was the right move to step aside. 

"It was one of the craziest weekends for me to see that going on," Millican said. "And at the same time, it was probably the hardest decision in racing that I've ever made. When I stood on the gas that Friday night, everything was just kind of disoriented, and I'm like, this is not smart. I've driven these cars with broken bones. I've driven them with stitches. I've even driven with an IV bag inside my fire suit before from dehydration. But these cars are so fast and so crazy that if you're not at a hundred percent, you don't need to do it."

Four races into the Verge Motorsports 4.70 Quick Outlaws series, and there has yet to be a repeat finalist.  The trend continued in the latest event held at Silver Dollar Dragway in Reynolds, GA.   

With the heat index above 100 degrees, you would think that it would slow the cars down; instead, exactly half of the field ran in the 4.60 range during the first round of qualifying. When it was over, Brian Thomas secured the GPS Race Cars #1 qualifier position, and the points lead with his semi-final finish. His 4.701 led the field of 26 cars.