The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) announced the industry’s Best New Products Award winners, with the products featured this week in the inaugural SEMA360 online trade event. The winners, which are selected from more than 2,200 products in the SEMA360 New Products Showcase at www.sema360.com, Nov. 2-6, 2020, represent the most innovative and cutting-edge automotive aftermarket products that will be consumable in 2021.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) announced the Top 40 builders in the SEMA Battle of the Builders® competition. Battle of the Builders is a competition to honor and recognize builders at SEMA360, the trade-only online eMarketplace.

Bo Butner pressed his thumb and index finger together.

That signified what the 2017 Pro Stock champion – who raced last weekend in a Camaro decked out in the style of the Presidential airplane and dubbed “Bo Force One” – plans to do next year.

“Zero,” he said. “Zero plans. I have nothing planned whatsoever. Did this long enough to where I just want no schedule and I want to go where I want, when I want.

“I might be in the Pro Stock car every now and again. I might be in a Pro Mod car. Definitely bracket races. But right now, I have zero plans other than go home and enjoy life for a while,” Butner said

Chip Lofton and Mark Beaver have tried to gauge Butner’s interest in competing in their Pro Stock car for maybe as many as eight races. But Butner said, “I haven't told them no, but again, I have to really see if that fits in my schedule of doing nothing, if that makes sense.”

Before he ever fired up his Capco Contractors Dragster at the starting line for the first round of Sunday’s Dodge Nationals, Steve Torrence made NHRA Top Fuel history at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In the fourth pairing of eliminations for the Dodge Finals, newly named NHRA Rookie of the Year Justin Ashley set low elapsed time of the meet to defeat Doug Kalitta, Torrence’s closest pursuer. Torrence became just the third NHRA Top Fuel racer to earn three straight championships. Joe Amato (1990-92) and Tony Schumacher (2004-09) did it before him.

Antron Brown, who hadn’t won since the August 2018 race at Seattle (which also ended a sizeable winless streak), turned out to be one of the few Top Fuel racers who could tame newly crowned champion Steve Torrence.

In Sunday’s Top Fuel final of the NHRA Dodge Finals, Brown used a better reaction time (0.042 seconds to 0.128) and a 3.759-second pass at 315.34 mph to bring Torrence back down from the stratosphere in winning again. Torrence countered with 3.740, 322.19 on the 1,000-foot course at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

You win some, you lose some.
And sometimes, others win some for you by losing

To be the man, you have to beat the man.

That old adage, made famous in the 1980s by professional wrestler Ric Flair during his 16-time run as world champion, was on full display Sunday at the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season finale as the man, Matt Hagan, had to beat the men at his Don Schumacher Racing stable to take his turn atop the Funny Car championship podium.

It’s a smaller-budgeted Pro Stock Motorcycle operation from King, N.C., that is frugal with the funding it gets from an assortment of sponsors.

But the husband-wife team of Matt and Angie Smith put their dollars and their determination in the right place Sunday at the NHRA Dodge Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And they headed home with all the available hardware.

All four points leaders in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series finished the job on Sunday, as Steve Torrence, Matt Hagan, Erica Enders and Matt Smith claimed world championships during the 20th annual Dodge NHRA Finals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Torrence picked up his third straight championship in Top Fuel, Hagan claimed his third career world title in Funny Car, Pro Stock’s Enders won her fourth title and Smith earned his fourth championship in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

With a clutch run in the second round on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Stevie “Fast” Jackson claimed his second straight world championship in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service.

Jackson faced off with Brandon Snider in a thrilling, winner-take-all quarterfinal matchup and he pulled out a dramatic victory with a pass of 5.776-seconds at 248.66 mph in his supercharged Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro. The run edged out Snider’s 5.787 at 246.71 by less than two feet, handing the championship to Jackson for the second consecutive year in exciting fashion.  

Jackson went on to finish his season in impressive style, beating teammate and No. 1 qualifier Khalid alBalooshi in the final round with a run of 5.789 at 247.47 to win for the second time this year and 11th time in his career. Jackson dominated a year ago to claim his first world title, clinching the championship before he even reached Las Vegas. It was a much more challenging year in 2020, as six different drivers claimed wins, but it was just as satisfying for the fan favorite.