This has been a week of shock for veteran NHRA Pro Stock driver Vincent Nobile.

On the afternoon of Nov. 14, Nobile was informed by his Pro Stock team owner Nick Mitsos that he was parking his team immediately. Mitsos, the boss of Mountain View Tire, sponsored Nobile’s Camaro.

“In Vegas (at the NHRA national event Oct. 26-28), me, my dad (John) and a few of the other guys on the team were under the assumption per Nick (Mitsos) we were going to do 15 races next year,” said Vincent, who turned 27 years old on Nov. 6. “I was under the assumption we were going to be doing a part-time schedule. Honestly, I didn’t find out until (Wednesday afternoon) what Nick was going to do. It was a little bit of a surprise. I knew Nick mentioned doing a part-time schedule, but he never said he was going to park the team or anything like that.”

The only thing Jerry Bickel loves almost as much as a beautiful doorslammers he builds is helping his local foster-based rescue mission - Pals.

" I am very involved and want this to make them some funds to save more animals," said Bickel, whose wife Jennifer runs Hawk Point, Mo.-based Pals.

Bickel admits he has 11 cats and 2 dogs, eleven of which came from Pals.

Katarina Moller, 24, of Sarasota, Fla., passed away as a result of an accident during an exhibition run in a jet dragster at Sebring International Raceway Thursday night.

Mike McIntire Jr. is ready to take his drag racing career to the next level.

McIntire Jr., a longtime Nostalgia nitro Funny Car racer, recently purchased a chassis and Funny Car body from Kalitta Motorsports. The chassis and body were being used by Paul Lee.

“We are piecing together an operation right now and the plan is to run nitro Funny Car,” McIntire said. “We’ve been accumulating parts and the plan is to try to make Norwalk (Ohio) the first event we go to. Hopefully for next year, we are going to try and run about five events and then see how that goes and try and build off that. Maybe get some marketing partners and do more the following year (in 2020).”

Mountain View Tire & Auto Service team owner Nick Mitsos has announced that the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., based team will not field an entry in the NHRA Pro Stock class in 2019, and will instead race in the School of Automotive Machinists and Technology Factory Stock Showdown. The team recently debuted a 2018 Chevrolet COPO Camaro piloted by longtime NHRA sportsman racer and Mountain View crew member Ryan Priddy. The team will also continue their support of Paul Mitsos in the Top Sportsman division.

With a brilliant come-from-behind drive, Jonas Aleshire scored his second Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) win of the year Nov. 2, while simultaneously wrapping up the MWPMS championship at the series' 2018 World Finals in Ennis, TX.

"We just did what we had to do and kept going rounds and ended up with the championship win and ultimately won the race while doing so, which was a real big bonus," Aleshire said. "It's a really big deal for us, especially after finishing second last year. I really can't thank everyone on our team enough for making this a reality."

It has been a career that would make even the most stoic of individuals feel like giving up.

Bouncing from one ride to another, watching as often-times less talented individuals advanced up the ladder while you sat helpless from the sidelines, you wouldn’t have faulted J.R. Todd for giving up on his dreams of driving in the big leagues and settling into a regular 9-to-5, watching others do what he felt he was always destined to do.

What were you doing at the age of 19?

Finishing up your first year of college? Searching for that first big job? Or, just maybe, you didn’t quite know where life was going to take you.

It was billed as one of the best battles of the weekend.

Robert Hight vs. J.R. Todd for the Funny Car championship.