It takes a lot to surprise Steve Torrence nowadays.

With a career that includes nearly 20 wins and just as many number one qualifiers and chart-topping laps, Torrence has essentially been there, done that when it comes to driving a Top Fuel dragster.

The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continued Friday as Steve Torrence drove to the Top Fuel preliminary No. 1 qualifier at the 21st annual JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.

Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also preliminary No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the ninth of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Summit Racing Equipment has increased their presence at this weekend's 2018 NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago. 

Tim Freeman, a former national event winner in the Pro Stock Truck category and current Assistant Crew Chief for KB Racing, opened Friday's qualifying behind the wheel of a third Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Freeman joins Team Summit's Greg Anderson and Jason Line, as well as KB Racing powered Bo Butner and Deric Kramer.

“Flyin’ Ryan” Oehler remembers very well his first competitive pass at Joliet’s Route 66 Raceway—the Chicago area’s fabulous stadium of speed.

“My first time up there was with a buddy,” said Oehler, who lives in nearby Bloomington, Illinois. “I was 16 and had a Camaro SS. I did a big burnout all the way up to the starting line. The starter comes up and taps on my window. I roll it down, and he looks at me and says ‘Son, you are NOT John Force. If you do this again, you’re outta here!’”

Now as a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) racer, Oehler may not line-up directly against Force’s Camaro Funny Car, but he does race as a professional on the same big stage—one that’s broadcast nationally on Fox. And the stage for this weekend’s stop on the Mello Yello circuit is that very same Route 66 for the Jegs Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

CatSpot Organic Cat Litter, the all-natural coconut cat litter brand, has reached an agreement with NHRA as the title-rights sponsor for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event taking place at Pacific Raceways in Seattle. The CatSpot NHRA Northwest Nationals will take place on Aug. 3-5 and will feature competition in three professional categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock.

The entitlement builds upon a growing relationship between CatSpot Organic Cat Litter and NHRA that began several years ago through team sponsorships. The brand quickly recognized a direct correlation in sales growth as many new customers purchased the organic and biodegradable litter for the first time after seeing the product featured at NHRA events. This growth escalated as CatSpot Organic Cat Litter began displaying as part of NHRA’s midway experience and title sponsorship is the next step in this progression.

A year ago, Erica Enders was drawing names out of a hat and making bets with her team on who would win the inaugural DRAG ILLUSTRATED World Series of Pro Mod.

This year, she’s betting on herself.

The two-time Pro Stock world champion has officially thrown her name into the hat as a participant in 2018, as Enders will compete Aug. 10-11 in the World Series of Pro Mod at Bandimere Speedway.

Enthralled with the high-stakes, winner-take-all Pro Mod action of the inaugural race in 2017, Enders, who made her NHRA Pro Mod debut earlier this year, literally jumped at the opportunity when handed the invitation by Drag Illustrated Founder and Editorial Director Wes Buck.

Directing a motorcycle from Point A to Point B on a straight line isn’t that difficult unless, of course, you’re Larry “Spiderman” McBride and the bike in question is a 1200 horsepower, two-wheel nightmare of a Suzuki capable of accelerating from zero to almost 260 miles per hour in little more than 5.6 seconds.
 
That’d be zero-to-260 in the length of a typical city block, stoplight to stoplight.

Reigning Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force will be racing the Advance Auto Parts Monster Energy dragster in the month of June. The eight-time event winner has partnered with Advance Auto Parts for the JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago, the NHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Va., the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. and the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

“We are excited to have Brittany Force joining Courtney (Force) in representing the Advance Auto Parts brand throughout the month of June,” said Yogi Jashnani, senior vice president, marketing, insights and analytics for Advance Auto Parts. “Brittany and Courtney will be instrumental in launching our new advertising campaign – one that builds upon our Mission: Passion for Customers…Passion for Yes!”