Last year, veteran NHRA Pro Stock motorcycle racer Jimmy Underdahl stepped away from the class to spend time with his family and work.

Underdahl competed in just two events in 2017 at Brainerd, Minn., and the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Underdahl is set to return as a full-time racer in 2018 competing for the Underdahl-Stoffer Pro Stock Motorcycle team with backing from Suzuki Extended Protection.

Queensland rookie Kelly Bettes etched her way into the history books when she became the first Australian woman in 25 years to score a win in Oz Top Fuel after defeating Rapisarda Autosport International ace Damien Harris in the final of the Santo’s Summer Thunder meeting at Sydney Dragway. 
 
Sydneysider Phil Read, on the comeback trail, outpaced RAI star Wayne Newby for third place and Californian Ashley Sanford wrapped up her 2018 tour down-under for RAI with a superb down to the wire win over last round winner Peter Xiberras to finish fifth.

​Iconic Blue max crewman "Waterbed" Fred Miller didn't have to ponder his words to describe D. Gantt, his longtime co-worker on one of the most storied teams in drag racing. 

Iconic Blue max crewman "Waterbed" Fred Miller didn't have to ponder his words to describe D. Gantt, his longtime co-worker on one of the most storied teams in drag racing. 

Miller described Gantt for what he was - the quintessential crewman. In other words, there was little Gantt wasn't capable of doing or a problem too challenging to figure out.

Gantt, 72, passed away on Friday afternoon in Cincinnati after a lengthy battle with cancer. 

By trade, Tommy Delago is a world champion NHRA nitro Funny Car crew chief.

By nature, he’s a very competitive person.

Although he thoroughly enjoys being a tuner, he does enjoy getting behind wheel and race himself – when time permits.

With that in mind, Delago will drive his 1967 Nova in the Boninfante Racing NA 10.5 class at the 16th Annual National Muscle Car Association Muscle Car Mayhem, March 8-11 at Bradenton (Fla.) Motorsports Park in Fla.

Both Jeff Diehl and defending event champion Del Worsham breezed through their quarter-final matches to create a battle which should go down to the wire next week.

In a rematch of the inaugural event, Diehl, the #2 seed will try to avenge a loss to Worsham. Diehl is representing the late Jungle Jim Liberman, while Worsham rode his way to the title with Raymond Beadle's Blue Max.

To get to the semis, Diehl took the measure of the No. 7 ranked Jonnie Lindberg, in the Roland Leong Hawaiian-tribute. For his part, Worsham took out third-generation drag racer Austin Prock in the Detroit Tiger entry.

Jessica Hatcher has served barely five months as the NHRA’s senior director of public relations and communications. So she thought the news that Old Bridge Township Raceway Park was discontinuing drag racing was some sort of office prank. After all, the historic Englishtown, N.J., event in June – on center stage in the New York City mega-market – was on the schedule for the 49th time.

“I looked at the calendar to see if it was April Fool’s Day. That was my first instinct. I thought, ‘That isn’t right. You’re just pulling my leg,’” Hatcher said.

But the news was no joke. And it left the NHRA scrambling to react, just as it left longtime employees and loyal racers from New York and  all throughout New Jersey stunned, saddened, and asking, “What’s next?”

Cast your votes in the quarter-finals of the Strange #THROWBACK SHOWDOWN, a virtual reality race. We are down to the quarterfinals. 

Voting ends for these races on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 8 PM, EST.

Top Fuel Rookie Kelly Bettes showed the way to the experienced veterans of the class on night one of the Santo’s Summer Thunder at Sydney Dragway.

The first run of the evening for Bettes saw the young Queenslander take the quickest pass of the night with a 3.87 elapsed time in sweltering conditions. 

Winner of the last event, Peter Xiberras, recorded a 3.98, with the reigning National Champion Wayne Newby in third with a 4.02.

The team at Jerry Bickel Race Cars continue to get up to speed following a devastating fire in March 2017.

Robert Cox's neat looking Camaro is the second replacement car to be delivered. This entry will be powered by an engine from Elite Performance with a Quick Drive Liberty Transmission. The next stop will be to Steve Summer's shop for wiring. 

Reigning NHRA Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force, two-time and reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion Robert Hight and 16-time Funny Car world champion John Force were featured guests at Chevrolet’s Detroit Dealers Auto Show Kick-Off Breakfast. The trio recapped the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season, one that started off with uncertainty and ended with triumph, and drew parallels between their struggles and success with that of the many Chevy dealerships being recognized at the breakfast.
 
The Chevy leadership team presented the three champions with Crossed Flag Awards highlighting each individual’s championship qualities. Hight, also the President of John Force Racing, was highlighted for being a champion and a leader. Brittany Force, the first woman to win a Top Fuel world championship in 35 years, was also recognized as a champion and a role model. John Force, who now has 20 world championships as a team owner, was given recognition as a father, icon and team owner. All three were acknowledged as partners and friends of the Chevy brand.