During the offseason and throughout the 2017 year, this topic would never go away.

The constant conversation in NHRA’s nitro Funny Car ranks has been what was going to be done about laid-back headers.

Back in February, NHRA’s Technical Department decided to leave the minimum header angle on Funny Cars at 32 degrees for the remainder of the 2017 season.

When LE Tonglet became a teammate to reigning NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Jerry Savoie he immediately had lofty expectations for 2017.

And, he hasn’t been disappointed.

Tonglet, who is riding a Vance & Hines-powered Suzuki, arrived at the Mile-High Nationals, first in points, thanks to four wins – Charlotte, N.C., Atlanta, Norwalk and Chicago. He left Denver with a little over a three round point lead over Eddie Krawiec depsite losing in the second round. 

Ashley Sanford confirmed to CompetitionPlus.com that she will be making her Top Fuel debut at the U.S. Nationals Aug. 30 through Sept. 4 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.

"It's unreal," said Sanford in an exclusive interview Thursday. "Getting my license (May 1) was great, but now I will get to compete against NHRA's elite drivers. I want to show people I'm not just someone who wants to race, I want to try and go rounds and try and kick some butt."

The fourth installment of Street Car Super Nationals: Anarchy Under the Arch returns to Gateway Motorsports Park Aug. 3-5 for another round of record-breaking drag racing. The brainchild of Premier Street Car Association President Mel Roth, this event has seen world doorslammer records shattered over its short history and Roth said he doesn’t see that changing.
 
“When you combine fearless drag racers with one of the best-prepped race tracks in the country, the ultimate winners are the fans,” he said. “Chris Blair and his staff have given us an amazing racing surface for every event we’ve run here, providing an incredible experience under the lights in one of the best drag racing communities we race at.”

At Englishtown, N.J., June 8-11, two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion (2007, 2013) experienced a season-low when he didn’t qualify.

Since that disappointment Smith’s Victory Gunner motorcycle has been making progress.

Smith has finished runner-up in the two of the last three NHRA events. He lost in Sunday's Denver final opposite of Eddie Krawiec. 

This year's seventh annual JEGS Summer Door Car Shootout was the biggest to date with co-promoters Scott Bailey and Luke Bogacki reporting a total donation of $3,000 raised during the Dial for Dollars portion of the event earmarked for the JEGS Foundation: Racing for Cancer Research. Dial for Dollars has now raised more than $13,000 for the foundation in its five years of existence.
 
"Congratulations to this year's winners and on behalf of my brothers and the 350-plus associates at JEGS, we thank everyone involved for this generous contribution," said JEGS Vice President John Coughlin, one of four Coughlin brothers that own the aftermarket parts company. "Together with our racing friends, we continue to make huge strides in cancer research. The JEGS Foundation has been fueled by racers since its inception and fundraisers like this make a big difference."

NHRA officials announced that drivers from Team Boddie Racing, from the San Francisco area, will participate in a special 16-car exhibition race on Saturday, July 29 as part of the 30th annual Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
 
The field will be comprised of eight big tire cars and eight small tire cars. The racers will get one time trial Friday and eliminations will begin Saturday. Before the first round of competition the racers will do a special call-out to assert their dominance before the start of racing.

Hector Arana Sr., the 2009 NHRA world champion, missed the last NHRA event in Chicago (July 6-9), but was back with his team at the Mile-High Nationals.

Arana Sr. is recovery left shoulder surgery he had in June. Arana Sr. injured the shoulder while fixing a flat on his team’s hauler as the team was headed back from Englishtown, N.J., after the race June 11.

“I still have five weeks left (in a sling) and then I had to rehab,” Arana Sr. said. “It’s really frustrating because you always want to do something and I can’t just walk away. That’s why I skipped Chicago. I wanted to stay home and not do anything so I can heal faster and get back out here.”

t’s no secret, numbers are down in the Pro Stock. At almost every race, there hasn’t been a full field of 16 racers. There are 14 Pro Stock cars at the Mile-High Nationals.

There have been a lot of people with different opinions on how to improve the health of the class. One rumor circulating is NHRA is asking about including mountain motor Pro Stock cars at some point in the future, possibly weighing 2,700 pounds. The Pro Stock cars now weigh 2,350 pounds.

Greg Anderson, a four-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion (2003-2005, 2010) addressed the rumor as did season points leader Bo Butner and most recent national event winner Drew Skillman.