It’s understandable that Steve Johnson was a tad giddy to reach the Pro Stock Motorcycle finals at Reading, Pa., a few weeks ago. It’s been awhile since his bike has had the kind of muscle needed to go deep into eliminations.

“When I got back to the pit area with (crewman Ervin ‘Jock’ Allen) after first round, we’re like, ‘What do we do now?’ And then when they called us to the lanes for the second round, I was like, ‘Jock, I think I know where to go, do you?’ We were both kidding about it. We were laughing, we were proud and we were happy, all at the same time,” Johnson said.

At a time when even the NHRA decision-makers reportedly have been debating a return to quarter-mile racing, the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) will break with its 27-year 1,320-foot tradition and shorten its course on the dragstrip to eighth-mile starting in 2020.

NEOPMA President John Mazzorana announced the move in advance of the organization’s event this weekend at Maryland International Raceway at Budds Creek, Md.

The NHRA's tech department has made adjustments to the nitrous combination within Pro Modified, adding 75 pounds.

This is a second adjustment to the parity since NHRA brought the supercharger overdrive down from 16.5-percent to 14.55, and the turbochargers from 36 to 33 pounds of boost back in July.

After 46 years of dedicated service to NHRA and the sport of drag racing, Dallas Gardner, NHRA’s board chairman, recently announced his retirement and will hand over the reins to current NHRA chief executive officer Peter Clifford effective immediately. Gardner will continue to work with the NHRA as a consultant.

Cory McClenathan admits he can still hold his own with the younger drivers on the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series, but on this particular morning, he felt every ache and pain a 56-year old should. Usually, he wouldn't roll out of bed so gingerly but this time he's still in the recovery process of a crash encountered while mixing it up with a younger opponent. 

"I was touching bumpers with him, and he rotated a lot earlier than I would have, and it was either go into his door or rotate with him," McClenathan explained. 

Five-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. will lead a stable of Team JEGS drivers in bringing pink-colored racecars to drag strips across the country this October to raise awareness for breast cancer. For the Coughlin family, the pink cars symbolize much more than a month of mindfulness. Rather, it reinforces a never-ending commitment they made to eradicate the disease forever.

VP Racing Fuels, Inc., the World Leader of Race Fuels has announced it has signed a new distribution agreement with California Fuels & Lubricants, of Garden Grove, California, servicing the Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
 
“California Fuels & Lubricants is a first-class, professional organization, known throughout Southern California for the best service in the region,” said Bruce Hendel, VP’s Vice President, North American Sales - Race Fuel and Consumer Products. “We’ve been looking for a distributor organization that embraces our full line of VP Racing products.  CFL will carry not only our popular championship proven race fuels but our fast-growing line of racing and performance lubricants as well as our additives and small engine fuels”.

Veteran nitro Funny Car driver Jeff Arend confirmed to Competition Plus he will drive the nitro Funny Car owned by the Russo family at the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals Oct. 17-20 at Texas Motorplex in Ennis near Dallas.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Arend said. “We bought some later model cylinder heads for it at the end of last year had them checked out and then bought all new parts for them. Our original plan was to go to Las Vegas (Oct. 31-Nov. 3) and Pomona (Nov. 14-17) to end the year and then we decided to also go to Dallas. That way we can kind of test a bit with these new heads and make a partial run or two. It certainly helped that Jim Harmon from California Pest Management came on board and helped us out a bit financially as a major associate sponsor.”

Ten years after last competing as a team in NHRA Top Fuel competition, racing partners Doug Foley and Tim Lewis announced today their upcoming return to the NHRA’s quickest and fastest class. 
 
Foley Lewis Racing will make its 2019 debut at the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals, Oct. 11-13 at zMAX Dragway. The car will be driven by Todd Paton, and Foley will renew his Top Fuel license on Monday after the race. 

Cam Clark won the battle, but Brian Shrader won the war in the final 2019 event for Big Dog doorslammer competition at Piedmont Dragway, just outside of Greensboro, NC.

Clark qualified second in the field behind Travis Harvey and beat Tommy Payne, Tommy Hurley, and Justin Wall.