Before last weekend's event in Dallas, the last time Funny Car driver Todd Simpson was on the track in NHRA competition, his qualifying attempt was anything but funny. It was in July, during the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver. He was the first that weekend to make the field, but his parachutes failed to deploy, and he wound up in the sand trap and stopped inches away from the safety net. The front end of the car’s body was damaged beyond immediate repair, so he withdrew from the race and returned home to Ponder, Texas, near Dallas and Fort Worth.

It was becoming an impressive sight to see in 2017, as fans tuned it race after race to see how much faster Matt Hagan and his fellow Funny Car competitors could go as they reset the records at NHRA events.

However, due to the new track prep rules in 2018, those records are currently a thing of the past, and Matt Hagan is concerned that that could harm NHRA’s race crowds in the near future.

“A bull rider doesn’t get on a bull and say, ‘Man I hope he doesn’t buck hard,’” noted Hagan on Friday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals.

Rick Hord raced to the No. 1 qualifying position on Saturday at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service portion of the NHRA Carolina Nationals presented by WIX Filters. This weekend’s Pro Mod event, presented by Mr. Race Oil, is the 11th of 12 races during the 2018 season.

Hord’s 5.681 at 258.67 mph in his turbocharged ’16 Corvette is the second-quickest pass in the history of the class, giving him his second career No. 1 qualifier. Hord, who is also seeking his first E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series victory, will open eliminations against Bob Rahaim in what ended up as the quickest qualifying field in class history.

Tommy Johnson Jr. powered to the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car on Saturday at the 11th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals presented by WIX Filters at zMAX Dragway.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also secured No. 1 qualifier positions in their respective categories at the fourth of six playoff events during the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.

Greg Anderson has come up just one spot short of being champion in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock division for the last three years running.

Already sitting in fifth position and 143 points back of championship leader Tanner Gray with three rounds remaining, things aren’t looking good for Anderson’s title chances rolling into zMAX Dragway this weekend.

However, Anderson is giving it one more run before he shifts his focus to 2019.

Making the switch from Top Fuel to Funny Car is no easy task, and Shawn Langdon should be commended on having made it to the Countdown in his first season in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car division.

However, one thing that has eluded the 36-year-old Indiana native in his rookie season has been a win and, with just Charlotte, Las Vegas and Pomona left on the schedule, Langdon knows he is running out of time to achieve a ‘very, very important’ task.

Pro Stock Motorcycle has been a hotbed of competition for the 2018 series championship. Following last weekend's victory for L.E. Tonglet, the point lead changed for the third time in three races.

“We just have to stay calm and take it one round at a time,” Tonglet said. “The key is to go rounds, and when we show up to a race, I just want to get the semifinals. Whatever happens after that is just bonus kind of. If you keep going to the semis, you’re going to have a good shot come Pomona. We just have to stay calm and focused, and not make any mistakes.”

Don’t look now, but here comes Ron Capps.

After watching his championship aspirations seemingly go up in smoke over the last two races with two straight first round exits, Capps has suddenly found a speed that he wasn’t sure this team had.

It’s all about the little points.

In a battle as close as the one currently underway between Top Fuel rivals Steve Torrence and Clay Millican, every point matters and that is why Friday was such a big day for the current points leader.

The IHRA sanctioned their first and last drag race in Charlotte during the 1974. While this video, originally broadcast on Speedvision, which is now Speed TV, showed good footage from the event, the horrific deaths of three people on Saturday of the event was not mentioned. The event was the first eighth-mile sanctioned national event on record and was contested on the pit road at what is now Lowe's Motor Speedway.