Mountain Motor Pro Stock racer Alan Drinkwater might get spoiled after this one.

The rookie driver in the PDRA’s Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock division by AED Competition, clinching the 2023 world championship. Throughout the eight-race PDRA season, Drinkwater delivered a championship effort by winning twice in three final-round appearances.

Drinkwater, who drove the Kaase-powered IronListing.com ’13 Mustang, acknowledged the high level of competition in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock category this year. 

Carloads of fans waited up to an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic Nov. 4 just to get into Shadyside Dragway, where the Southeast Gassers Association (SEGA) staged its last of 10 events this year and settled championships in four eighth-mile classes.

“Thanks to all of you, this is the biggest attendance in SEGA’s history,” series founder and organizer Quain Stott told the sold-out crowd shortly before eliminations began. “We can’t thank you enough for coming out here, for your patience, and for the support you’ve given us. We really appreciate it and promise to make things better. Thank you all, thank you.”

Do you ever wonder why the Camaro is virtually everywhere in drag racing and dominates Pro Stock in entries? It's not rocket science; the Chevrolet has been the Bowtie brand's all-time largest-selling sports car. There have been 5.5 million Camaros sold since 1967, even after taking off eight years of production.

Chevy fans can thank Ford Motor Company and their Mustang for the Camaro. The Camaro became a response, although not immediately. General Motors wasn't worried about the Mustang and initially felt their Corvair was an adequate response and a superior car. They were greatly mistaken.

Ford Mustang sales topped 100,000, and while GM redesigned their Corvair, they quickly learned it wasn't even in the ballpark. The Corvair sold only 73,000 units. The combination of declining Corvair sales and a book by Ralph Nader, Unsafe At Any Speed, pushed the Camaro into production at warp speed.

There are many ways to win a championship. Let the record reflect: Sunday's title triumph was not how Matt Hagan wanted to secure his fourth career Funny Car crown -- but he'll gladly take it.

In a quarterfinal round at the NHRA In-N-Out Finals, all three championship contenders fell by the wayside. First, there was Bob Tasca III, who dropped a match against Cruz Pedregon, then Hagan lost to Blake Alexander in the next pair. Robert Hight was poised to reel in the championship against the driver who would eventually capture the NHRA In-N-Out Finals Wally, Chad Green.

Erica Enders not only is the winningest woman driver in NHRA history, but on Sunday, she further cemented herself as one of the best drivers ever in the Pro Stock Class.

Enders clinched her sixth Pro Stock world championship when she beat  Elite Motorsports teammate Fernando Cuadra Sr. in the first round of the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, California.

“No, it hasn’t,” said Enders when asked if her sixth world championship had sunk in. “I mean, I had obviously dreamt it and hoped it my entire life, even before drag racing and then, of course, my entire career. The season obviously started really poorly, and it took till Chicago to figure our problem out. And then the next race was Bristol  and we put our JHG Melling Performance car in the winner's circle there. So that's kind of where our season turned and still was a dog fight obviously. Only won four on the season on the heels of obviously a career-best season last year.

After a successful debut NHRA season, Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Chase Van Sant has been named the 2023 NHRA Rookie of the Year in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

The four other NHRA pros eligible for the award were Top Fuel driver Dan Mercier, as well as Pro Stock competitors David Cuadra, Eric Latino and Jerry Tucker. The NHRA Rookie of the Year award honors a first-year standout competitor within the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series ranks.

"The 2023 season was a great rookie year for us,” Van Sant said. “We went to four semifinals this season and I’m really proud of the work we did. I think we’re just getting started. I’d like to thank my family for getting me into racing and the whole White Alligator Racing team for giving me the opportunity.”

At long last.

After 26 seasons, 587 races, 52 race wins, and six national runner-up finishes, Doug Kalitta has ascended to the pinnacle of NHRA Top Fuel racing as a world champion.

Returning to the racetrack where he made his Top Fuel debut in February 1998, Kalitta’s journey reached its zenith at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

Gaige Herrera was as nervous as he'd ever been. 

The virtually unknown motorcycle rider was at Vance & Hines for a job interview to fill the open rider spot on the team. After getting a tour of the facility, he was summoned to the office of Terry Vance, team owner and an iconic two-wheel drag racer. 

In the realm of storybook endings, the events that unfolded in the Funny Car category on Sunday in historic Pomona, California, surpassed even the most imaginative tales.

A narrative emerged where a crew chief son triumphed over his nitro-piloting father and another family collected a dream-like father-and-son double-up. The afternoon was rife with upsets, with not a single championship contender advancing past the initial two rounds.

As the day concluded, it was Chad Green who emerged as the last competitor standing, clinching his maiden victory in the Funny Car category in his 50th start at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.