NHRA’s Youth And Education Services (YES) Program has made several updates in 2019, attracting four new presenting sponsors to come on board. Ford, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), Universal Technical Institute (UTI) and the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) will not only connect with participants of the YES Program which hosts over 30,000 students annually, these organizations are also committed to taking an active role in developing and presenting career-focused curriculum that demonstrates how S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education is applied in real-world careers in the automotive arena.

Ford joined the YES Program to connect with high school students nationwide and emphasize the importance of a solid education to fuel exciting careers in the automotive industry including drag racing.

The news broke this morning that Maple Grove Raceway was for sale.

Track management issued a statement today confirming business will go on as usual while the facility remains on the market.

If the NHRA needs an ambassador in corporate circles, it has a staunch ally in Snap-on Tools Chairman and CEO Nick Pinchuk.

He looks forward to gathering with the company’s 600 guests at Route 66 Raceway so much that when the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule for the next season is published, he marks the date on his calendar. In the past, he has arranged his travels to Asia around this race weekend, and this time he was fresh from a trip to London. And he made an impassioned speech for the sport during Funny Car qualifying Saturday.

From a flapping hood on his beater car Thursday to flipping flapjacks for the fans Saturday, with a lightning scare that emptied the grandstands followed by a deluge that further delayed racing, Route 66 Nationals week has been an adventure for Lincolnshire, Ill., independent Top Fuel driver T.J. Zizzo.

He was preparing for work Thursday and thinking about the weekend ahead as he drove down the road, when his vision suddenly was blocked by something black and mysterious – “across my windshield, out of nowhere,” he recalled.

If there's one thing FIA European doorslammer sensation Jimmy Alund can never be accused of, it's being lazy.

Last season, Alund drove his way to both an FIA Pro Stock and Pro Modified championship race win. The only thing which could be harder than winning twin race titles is to win two championships, a goal he has set at the onset of the tour.

Reigning champ Kelly Bettes will need to come from 14 points behind series leader Wayne Newby to win the 2018-19 400 Thunder Top Fuel Championship, at Willowbank Raceway, June 6-9.

The final event on the Australian calendar also encompasses the 52nd Gulf Western Oil Winternationals and with 496 entries across 20 categories is the biggest drag event outside North America.

After Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence defeated Mike Salinas in the final round of the NHRA Route 66 Nationals at Joliet, Ill., he served notice – not to the rest of the class but rather to the media.

“Brian Lohnes, you’re talkin’ trash and trying to stir the pot. But it ain’t nothin’, man. That guy right there, I’ve got a lot of respect for him and his family. They come out here and race like us, as a family,” Torrence said at the top end of the Route 66 Raceway dragstrip Sunday.

Sometimes, it is just your day.

When Tommy Johnson Jr. loaded up in his brand new 2019 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with a couple of buddies and made the drive from his home in Indiana up I-65 to Route 66 Raceway, he had a feeling it was going to be his weekend.

The Harley-Davidson contingent and Hector Arana Jr. could have hogged all the Pro Stock Motorcycle victories this season, as well as they’ve been performing. But it was only a matter of time before reigning champion Matt Smith made his statement.

And Sunday was the day.

The NHRA Pro Stock class has turned into a bit of a war zone as of late.

As the list of drivers in either the KB Racing or Elite Motorsports camps continues to grow each year, the competition between two of the most successful teams in the Pro Stock class only increases. So when a driver like Deric Kramer has the kind of weekend he did Sunday in Joliet just outside of Chicago, it makes a win all that much more impressive.