The 2020 season was Ryan Oehler’s best-to-date in his NHRA career.

Oehler, campaigning an Erik Buell Racing motorcycle, finished seventh in the 2020 points standings, highlighted by winning Indy 1 and a runner-up performance in Houston.

Oehler has an EBR body he purchased from Hector Arana Sr. that he runs on his motorcycle.

Meet the new boss. He's the same as the old boss.

At least, this is how four-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith sees it. He couldn't care less if his fellow racers speak out about what he deems as unfair enforcement of procedures. Smith believes someone has to stand up for something, or they will fall for anything. He believes his peers are falling for the same old trick again.

Smith said he will not bite his tongue as he alleges NHRA has slipped in yet another engine platform approval favoring one team in particular, which has him further questioning their ability to be objective in policing the rules.

The best racers in the PDRA’s professional and sportsman classes will get the chance to square off in a brand-new event, the Summit Racing Equipment ProStars, series officials have announced. The specialty race will take place during Virginia Motorsports Park’s Night of Fire on July 31.
 
The top 8 racers in ProStars points will qualify to compete in the event, which requires no entry fee and will pay out over $55,000 in prize money, with a winner-take-all format in all classes. ProStars points will be determined using the final three races of the 2020 season and the first five events of 2021. Racers must attend a minimum of five PDRA national events to be eligible.

With 44 years of weekends turning wrenches in drag racing, William Cavallo believes he has an eye for talent – in this case, Virginia motorcycle rider Dystany Spurlock.
    
Cavallo is pushing all his chips into the center of the table, betting that Spurlock will have no trouble making the leap from 4.60 Index racing to the alcohol-fueled, turbo-charged world of Pro Xtreme bikes that may top the 200 mile an hour barrier in the eighth-mile this season.
     
“I have known about Dystany for several years,” said Cavallo, who spent 30 years on the crew of fellow New Yorker and three-time Mountain Motor Pro Stock world champion John Montecalvo.  “But last year I got a chance to work with her close up and I was impressed.  She has such discipline as a rider and the demeanor of a champion.”
     

One of Australia’s leading drag racing administrators, Peter Beaumont, has spoken for the first time since his departure as General Manager at Sydney Dragway.

In an exclusive interview with Competition Plus Australia, Beaumont said, “I love the sport of drag racing and have very much enjoyed my time at Sydney Dragway. The last 12 months have been incredibly challenging. To finally see the long-awaited renovations to the racetrack and venue come to fruition, particularly in the light of the Covid-19 Pandemic, is a fantastic achievement for all involved.

“I intend to stay involved in the sport. There are drag racing related opportunities I’m looking to explore in America. I've been over there on several occasions, visited a lot of different tracks to see how they go about their racing and attended the U.S. Nationals twice. I’m optimistic about the future.”

In the wee hours of tomorrow morning, drag racers will remember the 25th anniversary of the passing of Orange County International Raceway in Southern California. CompetitionPlus.com, in tribute of this race track legend, has resurrected a story penned by then Hot Rod magazine reporter Dave Wallace and reproduced at CompetitionPlus.com in 2003. - Editor

Drag racing was a far different motorsport back in 1967, when construction concluded on the original quarter-mile "Supertrack": a ground up drag strip project funded by a hard-to-believe budget of over $1,000,000. In 1967, drag racing was still struggling to shuck its notorious public image as weekend recreation for ducktailed juvenile delinquents wearing the inevitable black leather jackets and greasy dungarees. Our image crisis wasn't helped much by the typical quarter-mile, eighth-mile, or fifth-mile dragstrip of that era. A volunteer crew using plywood sheets and two-by-fours, period usually erected timing towers in a single weekend, then brush painted white. "Guardrails" often consisted of stacked hay bales, old tires, chain-link fences or nothing. Paved turn roads and pit areas, permanent restrooms and bleachers, and uniformed strip employees were still considered luxuries, if they were considered at all.
 

Lucas Oil announced that they are coming on board as primary sponsor for Kyle Koretsky’s sophomore season in Pro Stock. Lucas Oil is slated to be the primary sponsor for his Chevrolet Camaro entry for the full 18-race season in the Camping World NHRA Drag Racing Series in 2021.
 
“In our racing program, we’ve always used Lucas Oil products and it is no different for our equipment and trucks with KPK Development,” Koretsky said about his KB Racing-powered beast. “I’m really excited about representing Lucas Oil this season on track and our business-to-business relationship off track.”

DiPinto International Logistics has become the primary sponsor of Jim Dunn Racing’s NHRA Funny Car.  The team lead by Hall of Fame owner, Jim Dunn, will begin their season at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida on March 12-14, 2021.

Based in Monroe Township, New Jersey, DiPinto International Logistics has grown its business at the Elizabeth Seaport through the truck fleet and air transportation services.  Significant regions include the greater New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia markets daily.  New expansion of a third business location has brought DiPinto’s total warehouse space to more than 450,000 square feet.  It’s direct involvement with the NHRA Funny Car team provides a great representation of their business elements related to timing and speed for shipments.

As the beginning of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series draws closer, Kalitta Motorsports, the multi-time, world-championship drag racing organization, led by racing legend Connie Kalitta, announced today the extension of its marketing partnership with SealMaster®.  SealMaster has been a major player in the NHRA at a variety of levels, and Kalitta Motorsports has enjoyed a direct, longstanding partnership with the Sandusky, Ohio, based company since 2014.
 
“We are excited to be extending our relationship with SealMaster,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports general manager. “Over the years we have worked together to host franchisees and entertain their guests. Our goal has always been to use NHRA and our teams as assets to help SealMaster continue to grow business across the country. They have been great supporters of the sport and everyone at Kalitta Motorsports is proud to have them on our team.”