Part-time Top Fuel racer T.J. Zizzo sits atop of the field after qualifying on Friday at the 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also No. 1 provisional qualifiers in their respective categories at the third of 24 events on the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

 
If their NHRA national event debuts were going to come at one of the biggest races of the season, Jasmine and Jianna Salinas wanted to make sure they did it together. That will happen at this weekend’s 50th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, and both Salinas sisters can’t wait to take in what will surely be a memorable experience.
 
Jianna will make her Pro Stock Motorcycle debut, while Jasmine makes her first national event appearance in Top Alcohol Dragster, a week after running in the Baby Gators. But debuting together on the national stage was always part of their plan and now that it is here, the Scrappers Racing teammates and sisters are filled with excitement to tackle the weekend in tandem. 
 ith excitement to tackle the weekend in tandem. 

A busy off-season and a particularly frenzied final week is about to be all worth it for Steve Matusek and the Elite Motorsports Pro Mod team.
 
The veteran will debut his new turbocharged Mustang at this weekend’s 50th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, but it is not the typical new car debut. Matusek and the impressive brain trust around him, a group that includes tuner Shane Tecklenburg, Justin Elkes and Modern Racing and the Elite Motorsports team, have gone radically different in bringing this new car to life. 
 
From wiring to electronics to technology, everything about Matusek’s 25th anniversary Aeromotive Mustang is outside-the-box and he is excited to bring it to life in Gainesville.

Cosmetically, it's not the prettiest car in the world. But mechanically, it's a beautiful creation.

Strange Engineering will pay NHRA Contingency during the 2019 season.

Strange's Jeff Stange says his company rewards its loyal racers.

St. Patrick’s Day is Sunday. But for Johnna Dunn and her family, it’s Thanksgiving time.

The clutch specialist for her grandfather Jim Dunn’s Funny Car said she wants to thank everyone for their prayers, wishes, and messages of support following her starting-line injury during the Magic Dry NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. She’s recovering from a nose broken in two places and accompanying bruising caused by a random projectile. But she’ll be back in action, working on the family-operated Funny Car at this weekend’s Amalie Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla.

“I was going a little stir-crazy. I wanted to go back to work, get back to the shop and school. But the messages and prayers I got, they really helped a lot. It meant a lot to me. It was really nice of everybody,” Johnna Dunn said.

Racers understand the term "off-season" is truly a misnomer, for there isn't much time "off" at all. If anything, the time between the last race of one season and the start of the next one is busier than the race schedule.

So when you ask a racer what they did in the "off-season," they'll often look at you funny and ask, not at all sarcastically, "What off-season?"

But it was a little different for Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Hector Arana Jr. Quite a bit different, in fact.

The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Series season is getting an early start for T.J. Zizzo.

The veteran Top Fuel pilot, who has been making his season debuts deep in the season in recent years, will roll out his dragster for the 50th running of the Gatornationals March 14-17 in Gainesville, Fla.

“There are multiple reasons why we are coming out at Gainesville,” Zizzo said. “No. 1 is Rust-Oleum wanted us to go out early this year. We have usually waited until spring time, summer time and they are debuting a new product, that’s not even out in stores yet, so they wanted us to go out early just to show it off a little bit. This race also is supposed to be a big race. The last time we raced there was 2014. The last time we raced there our crew chief (Mike Kern, who works for the government) was meeting with the President of the United States, which was Barack Obama at the time. This will be a little different at least I don’t have to go there worried that I’m going to screw something up which is a good thing.

The sensory overload of nitro-fueled excitement and the brightness of dragsters’ header flames will illuminate zMAX Dragway when the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals roars to life with an all-new Night of Fire on Friday, April 26. For the first time, the NHRA’s original four-lane drag strip – known as the Bellagio of drag strips – will light the tree and the night sky with qualifying beginning at 4:30 p.m. and concluding under the stars.

AMALIE Motor Oil has announced that the company will extend its sponsorship of Terry McMillen and the AMALIE Motor Oil XTERMIGATOR Top Fuel team through 2023. The extension encompasses a 23 year relationship.

“This has been an amazing relationship and we’ve always been proud to be part of the AMALIE Family,” said Terry McMillen. “We love representing the Barkett family and the employees and all of the AMALIE customers and partners. We’re looking forward to the next four years and beyond.”