On the eve of Sweet 16 Version 3.0 at South Georgia Motorsports Park, promoter Donald "Duck" Long is feeling cautious, yet confident, despite the country remaining within the grip of a dangerous viral pandemic.

"Of course we don't want to be the cause of someone spreading something around or anything like that. But I also agree with some of what the government is doing and I don't want to shut down the whole world over this deal," he says. "We have to keep going and I think we can get this done safely for everyone. But I do think we need to be a little bit careful, you know? Then we can get this deal sorted out and get back to racing like normal."

Like most, members and fans of the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association were just thankful for the ability to get some racing completed during 2020. It was a four-race effort this season for the Good Vibrations Motorsports OFAA Championship series, presented by Lone Star Forklift. This marked the 24th consecutive season for the group, which has stood the test of time and remains the main attraction for fans across Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The start was delayed until May, but once the pipes were lit it was business as usual.

At the May 23rd season opener hosted by held at Xtreme Raceway Park in Ferris, Texas, Jody Austin and team “BushWhacker” got the winning started by defeating Donny McSwain’s “Wild One” with a 3.82 to a 4.00.  Going rounds was a trend we’d see more of from Austin and company as the season progressed. The next stop on tour brought the series back to Mo-Kan Dragway in Asbury, Missouri for the first time in five years and again it was Austin in the final round, this time facing veteran and multi-time series Champion Jimmy Jones. Jones’ “Texas Tremor” was forced to shut off with a leak on the starting line and Austin took the solo to victory earning more precious points before heading to a summer break in the schedule.

When you're the granddaughter of the longest-tenured Top Fuel drag racer in the sport and the daughter of a former Top Fuel, there are certain expectations.

There was never a doubt the natural progression for A/Fuel racer Krista Baldwin would land her in the family tradition. The question was when it was going to be.

Monday, at World Wide Technologies Raceway outside of St. Louis, Baldwin completed her Top Fuel licensing runs behind the wheel of grandfather Chris Karamesine's dragster.

Krista Baldwin, Top Fuel driver, has a nice ring to it. At least, this is how she sees it.

Terry McMillen knew the moment the pandemic suspended drag racing it would have far-reaching effects. On Wednesday, McMillen revealed something he hoped wouldn't happen. 

Amalie Oil has suspended his sponsorship program, effectively putting his Top Fuel team on hold for the balance of 2020 after next weekend's NHRA FallNationals in Dallas, Texas. He has no confirmation the program will return for 2021 at this time. 

"This virus has put everybody in difficult times and the economic pressures and trying to still make bottom line, do something positive is really taken its toll on many, many companies," McMillen said. "I don't even think we've seen the end of this. It's just companies are struggling to survive. And even though they are a big business and sell a lot of products, when you start going down in percentages, it's difficult. You got to look at what you got to do. I get it. It's just business."

In a world where McMillen admits he's tried to control his destiny, he realizes there's not much he can do in this instance. 

The final round of the Mopar Express Lane Nationals produced the match-up every NHRA Top Fuel fan wanted to see Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway in suburban St. Louis.

And in the stinging cold, Doug Kalitta heated up the chase for the championship.

Tommy Johnson Jr. knew his dreams of winning his first nitro Funny Car NHRA Mello Yello Series world championship were fading – fast.

He needed a win in a bad way to keep his championship hopes alive.

Camping World, the nation’s largest retailer of recreational vehicles (RVs), RV accessories, and RV-related services, has partnered with the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning body to become the sponsor of NHRA’s premier professional series, which will be known as the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.
 
“I look at NHRA and I see a growing and loyal fan base,” said Marcus Lemonis, chairman and CEO of Camping World. “NHRA recognizes the product it has in the sport of drag racing and its responsibility to serve its fans. We at Camping World look forward to this new relationship.”

For a handful of drag racers, the recently completed NHRA Midwest Nationals was a costly affair. Not only were some left to pick up the pieces of crashed race cars, and others had their classes postponed to a later date.

Significant accidents transpired in three of the four NHRA professional categories.

Leah Pruett’s first-round accident started a chain-reaction of sorts, headlining multiple incidents on race day.