EVENT SCHEDULE

With less than 24 hours left in qualifying for the Strange Engineering Funny Car Throwback Showdown, Jeff Diehl appears well on his way to securing his second No. 1 seed. 

Diehl, although substantially increasing his vote total, fell to a 23-percent share of the voting over Austin Prock, who also fell from a 15-percent share down to 13.

Diehl is representing the late Jungle Jim Liberman, while Prock is showcasing the Detroit Tiger scheme made famous by his grandfather and former Funny Car great Tom Prock. 

Brittany Force, the first female Top Fuel world champion in 35 years, has been elected to the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) All-America Team and earned the Jerry Titus Memorial Award.

Force, who earned votes for her stellar 2017 performance that included four race wins in six final round appearances and two No. 1 qualifying positions on the way to her first world championship, is joined on the All-America Team by Josef Newgarden (Indy Car), Ricky and Jordan Taylor (IMSA), Donny Schatz (Sprint Car), Martin Truex Jr. (NASCAR), Kyle Kaiser (Indy Lights) and Christopher Bell (NASCAR Truck Series).

Force and Truex tied for the most votes to earn them both the Jerry Titus Memorial Award, the AARWBA’s “Driver of the Year” award that remembers the auto racer and journalist.

A man who was known for his triumphs behind the wheel of the Ford will always be remembered by the readers of CompetitionPlus.com for his one-year fling with Mopar.

The one great thing about the Throwback Showdown II presented by Strange is all racers compete with virtually the same budget. After all, it is a virtual reality drag race. 

This is why Jeff Diehl, the runner-up from the original event in 2015 event, has excelled beyond what he could on the real-life drag strip. This is no sleight on the popular Diehl, who has found the right combination with the Jungle Jim scheme. 

Californian Ashley Sanford has added the Santo Summer meeting at Sydney Dragway on January 20 to her 2018 Oz campaign with Rapisarda Autosport International.

Sanford’s first appearance downunder will be at Willowbank Raceway, Queensland on January 6.

 “It’s a long way to travel to Australia to race only at Willowbank,” said Sanford. “So when Santo decided to run a third car in Sydney I jumped at the chance. I raced in Sydney last year and had a great time.”

“In terms of competing in Top Fuel, I am still in the rookie stage of my career and the more laps I can get under my belt the better. Summer in Australia and driving a Top Fuel car - I’m living the dream. Life doesn’t get much better.” 

The inaugural Funny Car Throwback Showdown was a rousing success two years ago. The virtual reality drag race was so much fun; we've decided to do it again over the course of the next few weeks.

We've tweaked the format, added a few names and entries to the program to make the event greater than ever. 

The Funny Car Throwback Showdown II, presented by Strange Engineering, will kick off on December 27, 2017, with qualifying to seed the 16-car field.

The PDRA confirmed a multi-year deal with Liberty’s Gears as the title sponsor of Extreme Pro Stock (XPS). This announcement comes with obvious changes in the class that has been solely contested with Lenco transmissions. 

Starting with the 2018 season, Liberty transmissions will also be allowed in XPS. Cars running a Liberty must weigh 2435. Cars running a Lenco must weigh 2400. 

“I’m excited to begin this relationship with PDRA. The PDRA has a lot to offer,” stated Craig Liberty. “I believe this will truly help the class, which is beginning to see a resurgence. The class is intriguing, always fun to watch. It’s a class of innovation and, by adding another trans to the mix, I believe we’ll see that innovation explode in coming years. 

​From the time second-generation drag racer Chad Head climbed behind the wheel of a nitro-burning fuel Funny Car, he fell in love with the exhilaration of stomping the throttle and holding on for 1,000-feet of pure mayhem. It was all good, from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat. 

Head has settled into a different role which doesn't always required suiting up in a firesuit, and he's okay with the transition. He's just excited to be part of what he considers the greatest sport in the world. 

"I miss the driving; driving is a huge challenge, and we all like challenges," Head admitted.  "I do miss driving; there’s no question about it. I’m very fortunate to be able to have had that opportunity, so I have no ill feelings not being able to drive, but the challenge of driving was, it was very hard. I liked the challenge; I like the competition, it was fun. But I’m just happy to be able to race with a great group of people here with Kalitta Motorsports, working for Jim O [Oberhofer] and Connie and everybody here. I enjoy working with all the crew chiefs, working with all the drivers. It’s a good place to be." 

Todd Tutterow, the driving force behind the multi-car Team Galot Pro Modified operation, said team owner Earl Wells' decision to park the entire operation came somewhat as a surprise.

Tutterow confirmed the team was notified of the decision on Thursday. The decision to cease the team operations isn't expected to affect Galot's PDRA endeavors or the drag strip located outside of Durham, NC.

"They just told me they were going to scale back," Tutterow said."We originally had a three-year deal, and then we extended to the fIfth year. We added cars, and eventually did the PDRA and NHRA stuff. Then spending money on the race track, I guess they decided it was time to cut back.

Eight championships across four organizations over the past seven seasons adds up to one incredibly dominant run in Mountain Motor Pro Stock for Cary Goforth.

That kind of success doesn’t come easy. It took long hours, regularly testing in 100-plus degree temperatures at Tulsa Raceway Park, plenty of work and some fortuitous bounces.

It also took Goforth being so locked in he wasn’t exactly a treat to be around during race weekends. He has treated racing as his business with an approach that requires a specific mindset, one that doesn’t allow for fun and games on the racetrack.