Point standings (top 10) following the 37th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 17th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series -

Sunday's final Sportsman results from the 37th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The race is the 17th of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

What a moment.

For part-time racer Billy Torrence, father of championship contender and 21-time national event winner Steve Torrence, trips to the racetrack are a great opportunity to spend a little quality time with his family while also flexing a little muscle for the Capco Contractors Top Fuel team.

On Saturday night, Erica Enders earned her first No. 1 start in the Pro Stock category since 2015.

That’s right.

Strutmasters.com will increase its sponsorship of NHRA Top Fuel team Stringer Performance with driver Clay Millican in 2019 to become co-primary sponsor. Strutmasters.com will replace Great Clips, which is ending its sponsorship after the 2018 season, and will share co-primary positioning with longtime partner, Parts Plus. 

Strutmasters.com, which first partnered with Stringer Performance in 2017, has increased its marketing platform with the team over the last couple of years, growing the program from an associate sponsor status to having co-primary positioning for five events this season.

Robert Hight raced to his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season and the 59th of his career at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
 
Billy Torrence (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 17th of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

What a difference a year makes.

One year ago Robert Hight was setting records and lighting the world on fire with the quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history - an amazing 3.793 at 338.00 mph, a record that still stands today - on his way to a top qualifying position and an eventual semifinal finish. On Friday, Hight once again found himself atop the ladder, albeit a tad slower than last year.

It is safe to say that 2018 hasn’t been a typical Antron Brown year.

The three-time Top Fuel world champion has only one win and hasn’t topped qualifying once this season and currently sits sixth in the championship standings - his lowest position at this point in the year since 2013.

Antron Brown is the preliminary No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway and is shaping into a contender for his fourth Top Fuel world championship.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also preliminary No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 17th of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

NHRA has announced that effective October 1, Jeff Conley will become NHRA director of technical services, moving on from his current position as NHRA’s North Central (Division 3) director. At that time, Atlanta Dragway general manager William Tharpe will take over the role of Division 3 director.

Conley joined NHRA in 2007 as a member of the certification team. In 2013 he became operations and track manager at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Before joining NHRA, Conley held a number of positions in racing including event coordinator and national tech director for NMCA and NMRA.