Shawn Reed, fresh from his fifth Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series championship in 13 seasons, qualified 15th and will give No. 2 starter Clay Millican a run for his money in Round 1 of Sunday’s eliminations.

And the Seattle-area native said he plans to return next season for 10 races.

“We got funded for 10 more races next year, with Hughes Oilfield Transportation, my longtime sponsors in the boat. They’ve been helping me in the car. And we just announced that Global came on for 10 races next year, as well. So you know that, their help along with my sponsorship from Barbara Hughes, hopefully we’ll be having a car in the mid- to low-[3].70s next year and be able to compete more than we have this year at the 10 events that we go to.”

During Tuesday’s live Facebook show, “Live with Lee,” PDRA announced rule changes to Andy McCoy Race Cars Pro Boost and Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle. The rule changes follow an impressive fourth season for the organization and serve as an effort to continue improving the series.

Drag 965 Pro Extreme Motorcycle rules are widened to allow for more bike participation, namely by opening the field to turbo applications. “We recognize that times are changing, and we need to change with them,” explained PDRA’s Bob Harris. “In recent years turbos have become a strong contender in a variety of categories, including Pro Mod bikes. By allowing them into the field, we are staying current and strengthening the program.”

Fresh off its inaugural, five-event season, the Tulsa-based Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) announced an expanded seven-race schedule for next year, with a tentative eighth event still in the works. Additionally, a sister organization, the Mid-West Outlaw Radial Series (MWORS), was created to race alongside the MWPMS, with a standalone Drag Radial event scheduled for March in Tulsa.

“What we’ve done is work together with the race tracks and promoters to create a points series for the Drag Radial guys. Instead of them just going from race to race, hoping to win or maybe finish runner-up, we wanted to give them the incentive to compete for a season championship,” Mid-West Pro Mod Series organizer Keith Haney explained.

​
While her famous father fell to his knees on the starting line Sunday at Auto Club Speedway during the NHRA Finals, dumbstruck and sobbing in some mix of pride and overwhelming personal sentiment, Brittany Force looked like the pillar of poise.
 
She spoke decisively about how she held up throughout her 2017 NHRA Top Fuel journey and how her historical championship played out. She sounded fearless, exactly what one would expect from somebody who drives a noisy, smoke-churning, nitromethane-gulping, 10,000-horsepower race car called the Monster Energy Dragster.

Jon Asher, the seasoned Senior Editor for CompetitionPlus.com, will bring you his five decades worth of insight to the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona, Ca.. Follow along daily with the seasoned journalist as he brings you this weekend's race from a different angle - HIS!

In Del Worsham’s life, he has Mello Yello and just plain mellow.

He said dad Chuck isn’t ornery and impatient. But then again, the racer with both a Top Fuel and Funny Car championship said this season of leaving the high-budget, high-pressure world of drag racing and going back to the father-son arrangement has given him a new perspective, too.

He said Chuck Worsham is “much mellower, much mellower than he was in the early days. But I found out yesterday that there still is a little glimmer of hope that he still has a little snap in him.”

Richie Crampton builds race cars at Morgan Lucas Racing and maintains several others, including those of Steve Torrence and Scott Palmer and says he’s “just pretty lucky” to be doing what he loves for a living.

But it’s no secret he’d like to return to his role next year as driver of the SealMaster Dragster at Kalitta Motorsports. Crampton stepped in at Indianapolis in September when Troy Coughlin Jr. opted to return to the sportsman ranks.

And the consensus is that he has done a commendable job in his pinch-hitter function.

The NHRA Pro Stock field will lose a second Mopar Pro Stocker in 2018. In addition to the departure of Allen Johnson, Deric Kramer confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com at the NHRA Auto Club Finals he will run horsepower supplied by KB Racing at 15 races next season. 

Kramer confirmed he will race a Camaro with the new horsepower.  

"I think we’ll be in a Chevy next year. I know they’ve had a lot of interest in working on Dodges just to try it and see what they can do, maybe a project of theirs or just exploratory research," Kramer said. "I’m not sure. But that’s something they definitely want to look into. But initially, I’ll definitely be in a Camaro." 

Bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth of the World Series with two outs. Lining up for a game-winning field goal with two seconds left in the Super Bowl. Hitting that perfect putt on the 18th green at the Masters.

It is a scenario that sports fans - and competitors - dream about having the opportunity to witness. To say they were there to see the improbable.

​​​Cruz Pedregon said that as his self-described “challenging year” winds to a perhaps-merciful close, he has heard some fanciful rumors, especially after he hinted he would make an announcement Friday. He maybe only half-jokingly said, “A lot of people were wondering what the announcement was about. Was I going to join the circus? Or am I going to join the World of Outlaw sprint car racing? That’ll come down the road, but for now I still have a lot of good years in me.”

Snap-on Tools must think so, too, for the two-time champion revealed his primary sponsor has extended its partnership with him for the next three years, through 2020.