Chances are pretty good you'll be hearing Deric Kramer's name a lot this season. He's already garnered the first No. 1 qualifier of his Pro Stock career and has raced to the first two semifinals of his career, and a fourth-place spot in the Pro Stock points standings through three races.

The 32-year-old from Sterling, Colo., a city about 120 miles northwest of Denver, started getting engines from the powerhouse KB Racing team this season, propelling his drive to prominence.

So exactly who is Deric Kramer? CompetitionPlus.com decided to find out. Here are four things to know about Kramer:

Wagler Motorsports Park, located in Lyons, Ind., has joined Division 3, the NHRA North Central Division, as a NHRA member track.

Track owner Jeremy Wagler is also the owner of Wagler Competition Products, an industry leader in cylinder heads for diesel trucks. He will oversee track operations with the assistance of Total Venue Concepts.

Outlaw 10.5 will return to the PDRA schedule in 2018 thanks to backer Atomizer Racing Injectors. The class will be contested at four events this season: the East Coast Spring Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park, April 5-7, the Firecracker Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, June 28-30, the Super Strip Nationals at National Trail Raceway, July 19-21 and the World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park, October 18-20.

Atomizer Racing Injectors Outlaw 10.5 will run for a PDRA World Championship and has the opportunity to grow into a full schedule in the future.

Pro slammer veteran John Zappia has snapped a four round losing streak against arch rival Paul Mouhayet to take the honors in round six of the 400 Thunder championship at Adelaide international Raceway. In Pro Stock, Tyrone Tremayne claimed victory over sibling Aaron who was attempting to score his seventh consecutive win.
 
For the second time this season ANDRA, the governing body for Sportsman racing, and 400 Thunder, the body responsible for the Pro Series, joined forces for a round of the 400T championship and the Grand Final of the ANDRA Summit Equipment Sportsman Series. 

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Tim Kincaid of Thorn Hill, TN, outlasted 15 challengers Mar. 24, to win the second-chance race for Radial vs. the World non-qualifiers at Donald "Duck" Long's Sweet 16 event at South Georgia Motorsports Park (SGMP). In a battle of blown '63 Corvettes, Kincaid beat Rodney Whatley in the final round.

"This is really exciting for us. We knew it would be tough to break into the Sweet 16, but didn't think it would be as hard as it turned out, so to get this win really means a lot," Kincaid said.

One would have thought they were racing for the $101,000-to-win prize, but the reality was the match betwen Mark Micke and Stevie "Fast" Jackson was only the ninth and final qualifying session at the inaugural Duck X Productions Sweet 16 at South Georgia Motorsports Park located outside of Valdosta, Ga. 

Micke made the quickest run in the history of the Radial vs. The World division, a 3.623 elapsed time at 214.79 miles per hour.  Jackson wounded his engine and coasted through, ending the day as third quickest with a 3.666. 

"That was the run of our lifetime," Micke said, of his final qualifying match with Stevie "Fast" Jackson. "Stevie Fast, the weather and a track like that it doesn't get any better than that. We put everything we had in that. We were not going to lose that run, period."

Steve Plueger was a drag racing icon who’s passing not only left a big hole in the fabric of the sport itself but also in the hearts of those who knew him most intimately including 16-time NHRA Funny Car Champion John Force.

“My brother Louis, Uncle Beaves (Gene Beaver) and (Steve) Plueger gave me my start,” Force said. “I always dreamed that one day I would drive the Plueger-and-Gyger car like my cousin Dave Condit (who won the 1974 NHRA World Finals at Ontario, Calif., in the Plueger-and-Gyger Mustang).”

Chad Green doesn't make excuses; it is what it is.

Green, a semi-finalist at the NHRA Gatornationals, had just knocked off Stevie "Fast" Jackson, was looking to knock off Mike Janis when his chances took a sharp turn for the worst.