Fellow drag racing fans,
 
As most of you know, this weekend was the original date for the 33rd annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil, the single largest sporting event in the Greater Houston Area. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic altered all our plans quite dramatically so I wanted to take a moment to catch everyone up with what's been happening since the start of this worldwide crisis.
 
Very early on, heeding the advice of local, state and national government officials, we postponed our race and immediately began working with NHRA executives to secure a new spot in the revised 2020 schedule. Although it's been an unprecedented moment in history, we can all clearly see the health benefits of avoiding any large gatherings to help limit people's exposure to COVID-19.

Top Fuel front-runner Leah Pruett leads a busy life, running from sponsor appearances to marketing promotions to maintaining a top spot in the 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. This daily regimen was life for Pruett, until the global Coronavirus Pandemic hit, bringing her schedule to a grinding halt.

The high energy Pruett isn't sitting idle and instead has found a cause to get behind in her newfound open schedule.

Pruett, who now lives in Lake Havasu, Az., couldn't help but notice how food pantries are in dire need of donations with increased demand during the mandatory stay-at-home orders ordered by government officials

Novelist Thomas Wolfe claimed, “You Can’t Go Home Again.”

Funny Car dominator John Force said you can.

Moreover, the 16-time champion said, “For the first time, people, you’ve got a right to go home.”

The motorsports world lost an icon on March 26, 2020. Mark J. Adelizzi, founder of Flatout Gaskets and all around racing exponent, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.

In 1999, Adelizzi took a leap of faith, striking out on his own to form Flatout Group. The company started small with graphics, but soon became an industry leader. Flatout Gaskets are the choice for countless champions across the highest performing classes in drag racing. Adelizzi worked closely with top engine builders and manufacturers to provide solutions and innovation. Even before his brilliance was noticed through his own brainchild, Adelizzi was a fixture in the industry, working at Felpro for 20 years.

The first time Hank Steinbrenner called Darrell Gwynn, the former Top Fuel team owner thought it was one of his friends pulling a prank on him.

Steinbrenner was calling Gwynn because the iconic major league baseball team New York Yankees was interested in using the Top Fuel team as part of a multi-year marketing program.

Steinbrenner had one of his buddies call, and they said that Hank Steinbrenner wants to talk to you guys," Gwynn recalled. "I actually didn't believe it."

Matt Smith can only hope he doesn't come up against his wife Angie in the finals of another fan-vote, the Virtual reality Hot Rod Association event.

By a slim margin of six votes, Smith not only captured his first win in the four-race series but also thrust himself into the championship scenario with one event left to go.

Regardless, another win against Angie might put him to sleeping on the couch for a while. A punishment he'll accept if it equates to a championship.

"Yeah, I guess so," Smith said with a chuckle.

Even Dan Horan Jr. understood the odds were clearly not in his favor. There he sat in his Nostalgia Fuel Funny Car car, upside down just moments after he ran into the sandtrap at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, when the parachutes failed to deploy on his front-running entry.

Horan figured pending a miracle his chances of racing in the Bakersfield March Meet were slim to none.

"You got to give props where props are due," Horan admitted. "I thought if the car went back together, we'd have a pretty darn good shot at getting it into the number one position. Pomona was a little light, and we just analyzed all the data and went after it and took a swing at it. And thank the Lord Jesus, we're made it here."

The worldwide Pandemic has made a mess of a lot of things, and for drag racing, it has created a situation the likes of which has never been seen.

Virtually every entity from sanctioning bodies to track owners to race teams and everyone else in the community has been affected by weeks of isolation.

Don Schumacher has always faced a monumental challenge coordinating his multitude of race teams, sponsors and employees. Schumacher, in his time as a team owner, has faced an energy crisis, recessions and the loss of sponsors. However, nothing could have prepared him for the unthinkable challenge which hit drag racing front and center on March 12, 2020.

The NHRA, at the urging of Florida government officials, postponed the Gatornationals until June, a date which cannot assuredly set in stone.

CompetititonPlus.com's Bobby Bennett caught up with Schumacher for a chat about the state of affairs in the straight line spot. There's a lot of uncertainty right now, as Schumacher confirmed.

It's race day at Raceway Park in Englishtown. Qualifing is complete, now it's time to begin the process of eliminating down for a winner at the ARP Summernationals, Race 3 of 4 in the Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association. 

It's all fun in fantasy land to get away from the troubles of what is happening in the real world. 

For those new to this fantasy world, this is how it works. The race with the most votes advances to the next round. We had two days of voting to seed the eight-car fields. 

First round ends tonight at 7 PM EST. 

Wade Rich admits there was nothing personal; he just needed a change in scenery.

A change is the reason Rich, a noted track prep specialist, says he left Orlando Speed World and returned to his original home of Bradenton Motorsports Park outside of Tampa, Fla.

"I'm coming back to the house that built me.," Rich said.

Rich said he now has a more manageable workload, aimed at making him better at what he does best, ensuring a drag strip runs better.