There's a lot to be said about a drag racer who can win without using electronic devices. Robbie Philbeck he was the best of the best in the WDRA's Sportsman division, a category regarded for its status as a true non-electronic class.  

In drag racing lingo, it is a footbrake division where drivers concentrate on the bottom bulb. Sportsman drivers are not allowed to use various starting line enhancers and electronic devices, including transbrakes, two-steps, nitrous, electric shifters, and delay boxes.

Philbeck secured a $10,000 champions purse at the WDRA Championship Finals in Darlington, SC, by securing the Sportsman world championship. He was tough to beat, consistently achieving an impressive .007 average reaction time. In the semifinals, he narrowly missed out on victory with a .015 red light behind his opponent.

 
For the last several years, veteran Top Fuel owner/driver T.J. Zizzo has competed on a limited NHRA schedule on his own terms.

Well, Zizzo is stepping outside his comfort zone and is competing at the NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas Friday through Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The last time Zizzo competed in Vegas was in 2017.

The rumor is now reality, as Mission Foods and NHRA confirmed the leading brand for tortillas and wraps as the new series sponsor for 2024 and beyond. Additionally, Mission Foods confirmed the popular #2FAST2TASTY Challenge will return as well, increasing drivers’ chances to earn more money in additional to the championship monies. 

The announcement comes as NHRA enters its 73rd season as the premier sanctioning body in all of drag racing. 

Despite rumors suggesting Camping World, the World’s Largest Recreational Vehicle Dealer, is leaving the NHRA tour when their title sponsorship is complete, the NHRA confirmed today they have signed a multiyear extension to keep them as a premier partner for the upcoming 2024 race season and beyond.

Kalitta Motorsports has focused on a vision far exceeding winning a championship for two seasons. And in this objective, round-wins mean the world to some who are less fortunate. 

The multicar nitro team partnered with Feeding America, the largest charity working to end hunger and food insecurity in the United States. Every time a Kalitta Motorsports driver turns on a race day win light, Kalitta Motorsports donates $1,000 to Feeding America, and both DHL and Kalitta Air match the donation. After five of the six races, the three teams turned on 21 win lights.

Now that’s an exclamation mark on the season!

Second-generation drag racer Jason Harris made sure he didn’t become complacent in his Pro Boost championship season as he ended his third PDRA series title on a victorious note at the Brian Olson Memorial World Finals hosted by Virginia Motorsports Park outside of Richmond, Va.

Joining Harris atop the PDRA food chain were Jay Cox (Pro Nitrous) and John Montecalvo (Pro Stock).

Scotty Cannon was the benchmark standard for Pro Modified's first decade. In nine seasons of racing the IHRA's volatile doorslammer division, he won six world championships, finished in the top ten every season, and won 28 of 45 final rounds. A full decade [2008] after the Lyman, South Carolina driver pursued an NHRA fuel Funny Car career, Cannon remained the winningest driver with nine more victories than second-place Shannon Jenkins. He had reached 14 more finals than Jenkins, clearly his fiercest challenger.  

Cannon heard the whispered jeers of how he'd cheated his way to success. His opponents protested him dozens of times, only to lose their money and watch as Cannon was declared in compliance with the rulebook every time. 

"I was trying hard," Cannon said. "I was working harder than anybody. Carl Moyer even said that more than once when he did his interviews: 'The reason I won, I was winning so much,' he said. 

If you're going to make a championship statement, make it with a bang. That's exactly what championship contender Tommy Franklin did on Saturday as the PDRA's season draws down from a thrilling 2023.

Franklin's near-record 3.614-second, 206.42 MPH pass Saturday night at the PDRA Pro Line Racing Brian Olson Memorial World Finals presented by ProCharger put him on top of the Pro Nitrous field, where he is expected to settle a battle with Jim Halsey on Sunday.

Also landing atop their respective professional categories were Todd Moyer (Pro Boost) and Steven Boone (Pro Stock).

Drag Racing has a new sponsor coming in, and they are doing it in a city known for making a splash. 

Future Energy Solutions [FES], a company focused on enabling business owners to generate energy savings, will make its first foray into the world of extreme sports marketing and do so on the side of the Kalitta Motorsports race team, with past world champion Shawn Langdon at the upcoming Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

Future Energy Solutions is making its first trip to Las Vegas as a passenger on the Top Fuel dragster driven by 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes Oct. 27-29, 2023, at the Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.