Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force learned a valuable lesson early in her career. 

Drag racing can be chock full of the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. 

"I think we figured that out pretty quickly," Force said. "My rookie season we didn’t win. We were looking for our first win, and it took until 2016 for my first win.  So it took us years until we finally brought home our first win. We had a great season, and then last season we went ahead and won the championship and came back this year and had one of the toughest years I’ve probably ever had. 

Top Fuel fan-favorite Clay Millican has a past. 

Long before he became a working man's champion from the small hamlet of Drummonds, Tennessee, located outside of Memphis, he was a sportsman drag racer when he wasn't busy working a forklift at the Kroger warehouse. 

"I love my sportsman racing and still very much to this day I keep up with what is going on," Millican said. "I’m an avid listener to the Luke and Jed podcast. I don’t miss an episode of it. I may not listen to it the day it comes out, but I’ll listen to it. Do my dangdest to keep up with kind of what’s happening with the points. 

Steve Torrence has been relentless in his bid to secure the 2018 NHRA Top Fuel championship, going as far as winning every single round of competition in the Countdown to the Championship thus far.

Torrence's approach isn't rocket science; it's a matter of good old keeping his eye on the prize.

"We are not really worried about what anyone else is doing," Torrence said. "We know we need to qualify and then go round after round. We have to gain those rounds. It's crunch time. It will go down to the last three events. We need to be consistent, maintain and execute. It's gonna fall how it's gonna fall, the good Lord knows the plan. Who knows where it's going to be."

At the start of 2018, 2017 rookie phenom Jonnie Lindberg was involved in a scary crash with John Force at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

Lindberg was an innocent bystander in the crash and, while he was able to climb out under his own power, his car was destroyed. Yet it only took the team a couple of races to get back up to speed.

“We built that new car, and in Gainesville, we didn’t qualify because we had some issues with the new car, you know. We didn’t have time to test it,” explains Lindberg. “But after that, it was nothing wrong with the car really.

Integrating the Mountain Motor Pro Stockers into NHRA's Pro Stock division looked good on paper. Unfortunately, that paper wasn't a bank statement.

Citing the expense of bringing the two different styles of Pro Stock together means it won't happen, according to Ned Walliser, NHRA's Vice President of Competition..

"Mountain Motor will not be integrated into the current Pro Stock category, but there is an opportunity for potential exhibitions down the road," Walliser said. "That could be as early as 2019."

Matt Smith is adamant; he's not about to quit Pro Stock Motorcycle for a bid to race Pro Stock car. At least he's not right now.

"We’re not done with Pro Stock Bike at all," Smith said. "We plan to run for a championship again next year. We’re in the battle for the championship this year on the bike, and hopefully we can pull it off. Our goal is to run four to seven races next year in a Pro Stock car with Elite Motorsports and Mark Stockseth. Mark has been my partner since 2007 in the motorcycle, and he just wants me to run a car or something next year. So we’re going to field a Pro Stock car every now and then when I don’t run the bike."

One has to wonder how the son of a Pro Stock and Pro Modified legend ends up on a motorcycle when he comes from such a doorslammer centric pedigree.

A year ago, Steve Torrence had the opportunity win his first career coveted NHRA Top Fuel world championship, but he let it slip from his grasp.

Torrence has been on a mission to take care of unfinished business and that mission is going full steam ahead.

Redemption.

It has been a long three weeks for Funny Car veteran Ron Capps as the 2016 world champion saw his championship aspirations seemingly go up in smoke with back-to-back first round exits, mostly of his own making.

The 2018 season has not only been a turning point for NHRA Top Fuel driver Mike Salinas, but also for two of his four daughters who are working their way up towards the NHRA pro divisions.

For Jianna, Pro Stock Motorcycle is the goal, whereas 26-year-old Jasmine aims to soon follow her father’s footsteps into Top Fuel.

“What [Jasmine]’s going to do is work with Arthur Gallant next year [in A/Fuel],” explained Mike, who comes into Charlotte eighth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings. “After that we already have a car in Brownsburg that we’re building for her. We’ll have a brand new Top Fuel car for her. In 2019 and 2020 she’ll come out with a brand new Top Fuel team.”

What a Countdown it has been for the riders of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

Entering this weekend’s showdown in Charlotte, there have been three different races, three different winners and three different points leaders. But on Sunday, Matt Smith brought a little stability back to the class.