When Jeg Coughlin Jr. clinched his fourth Pro Stock championship with a victory in the fall of 2008 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his most memorable reward was a thrilling flight with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron.
 
"That was maybe the wildest thing I've ever done," said Coughlin, who took the flight just two days after locking up the Pro Stock title. "Certainly, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something most people can only dream of, but I must admit it was more than a little intimidating.

If the word from Jessica Hatcher, the NHRA’s senior director of public relations and communications, is any indication, independent professional racers shouldn’t get their hopes up that two-day events are under consideration for 2021 and beyond.

Six races on the revised 2020 schedule have been condensed to two days for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes.  Racers will be idle Friday but have two qualifying sessions Saturday and eliminations Sunday at Houston, Bristol, Norwalk, Seattle, Topeka, and Reading.

The NHRA made the decision based on “a number of economic and logistical factors that have come into play as we rework the schedule.” But it never hinted that this might be a trial run for a trimmed-down schedule that could make racing at least a little more cost-effective.

Past NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon's voting base came alive on Wednesday, the first day of qualifying for the Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association propelling the Kalitta Motorsports driver past season leaders Terry McMillen, Clay Millican, and Brittany Force for the provisional top spot. Qualifying ends this evening at 7 PM, EST.

Langdon holds a 14-percent share of the votes, while second place Brittany Force stands 12-percent and Clay Millican trails her by one vote. Justin Ashley is fourth with 10-percent.

Terry McMillen, the winner of one event and top qualifier in all, is sixth with 9-percent. Steve Torrence sits on the bubble at 4-percent.

Back in the days of push starts and dry hops, Top Fuel drivers didn't battle for one of 16 qualifying spots at the U.S. Nationals – it was one of 32 spots. And it was just as hard to get in as it is now.

Great drivers routinely missed the cut. Tom McEwen, James Warren, Larry Dixon Sr., Frank Bradley, Gary Ormsby, and even future Indy winners Steve Carbone, Connie Kalitta, Dick LaHaie, and Terry Capp all failed to qualify at least once. As late as 1973, there were 41 alternates in Top Fuel – not 41 drivers for 32 spots. Seventy-three drivers attempted to qualify, more than three times as many are trying to get modern Indy fields.
 
There were no qualifying sessions. NHRA ran a set number of cars in each class in a never-ending rotation, and drivers got as many qualifying attempts a day as they could get back in line to make.

Few have ever had, or will have, the long-term, positive impact on drag racing that Carol “Bunny” Burkett did in her half-century in the sport.

Born on May 29, 1945, in Franklin, W.Va., the longtime resident of northern Virginia died in her sleep at home. Her family announced her passing on her Facebook page Saturday evening, and added that it “plans to have a celebration of life later this year when it is safe for all to attend.” It added, “... remember, Bunny NEVER followed the beaten path … she made her own.”

Nearly 1,000 people had left comments on that Facebook post within 20 hours, and scores of fans left their own posts on her page. Fans and fellow racers called her “icon” and “legend.” One devotee called her “the greatest woman to influence my life.” Others posted that news of Burkett’s death “shook me like a ton of bricks” and was “devastating.” Her website, bunnyburkett.com, was crashed by a multitude of visitors Sunday.

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated the job market. Some businesses are able to operate during this national emergency, if they are considered essential, while others are completely shut down. 

Burnyzz’s Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida is not operating during this pandemic. Brittanie and Josh Hart, the owners of the business, have seen the damage that this virus has caused on the economy, as they have had friends laid off or reduced hours at their respective jobs. 

They did not want that to happen to their teammates at their businesses. Instead of having to lay people off or reduce their hours at Burnyzz’s Speed Shop or Joshua Hart Fearless Racing, the Bob Vandergriff Racing Top Fuel licensed pilot has done the unthinkable with his wife to take a financial hit themselves.

Tommy and Judy Franklin had purchased Virginia Motorsports Park in October 2017. Barely three months later, they volunteered to help the NHRA when racetrack operators at Englishtown, N.J., announced without warning they were halting drag racing at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, an East Coast staple on the Mello Yello Series tour.

The Franklins and their team scrambled to make the Dinwiddie, Va., facility worthy of national-event status. That meant spending a staggering amount of money and engaging in an extraordinary race against the clock.

“What impressed me most,” Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett said, “is how soon the management and staff went to work to prepare for this event when they picked it up.”

At least two drag strips have publicly thrown in the towel for the 2020 season.

Motor Mile Dragway, the multi-purpose facility owned by the Hagan Family, and Saskatchewan International Dragway both announced on Friday there will be no 2020 season for them due to local regulations related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Motor Mile Dragway is located in Radford, Va., where the state is on a stay at home mandate through June 10, 2020.