What doesn't kill us only serves to make us stronger. 

Wednesday evening, during the opening qualifying session of the Lights Out 8 drag radial event, Mark Woodruff in full view of his competition in the Radial vs. The World division flexed his muscles en route to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position. 

Woodruff, just two weeks after crashing his Corvette in the finals of the U.S. Street Nationals, pushed his repaired entry to a 3.835 elapsed time at 212.36 miles per hour. 

Matt Smith has ridden the sponsorship rollercoaster time and time again over the years.

Just when it appeared the Pro Stock Motorcycle rider’s 2017 season was going off the rails – before it even started – the two-time world champion was saved.

Smith, the 2007 and 2013 NHRA PSM world champion, confirmed he will be competing in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class in 2017 with backing from Polaris.

Jesse Kershaw will be NHRA’s North Central Division Director (Division 3). The North Central Division includes tracks in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and is home to four NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events.

“I’m excited to work with NHRA and continue the vision of Wally Parks,” said Kershaw. “Division 3 has a great amount of history and tradition.  I am eager to continue the great history and racing this division is known for, and to grow the sport of drag racing in the region even more.  I look forward to meeting and working with everyone– our member tracks, competitors, sponsors and fans.”

Donald "Duck" Long marches to the beat of his own drum; a way in life he prefers. 

The Duck is brash. 

The Duck is flamboyant and is about as politically incorrect as they come. 

The Duck is also very successful. 

Almost a decade ago, Long became a pied piper of sort leading an obscure group of drag racers into the mainstream of drag racing conversation just by the very nature of how his races are conducted. The cars he has made famous began as a hybrid of a high-performance street vehicle with the beastly engines often found in Pro Modified-style vehicles. 

Look up the definition of driven, and if there isn't a photo of Don Schumacher, then there should be. 

As a racer, Schumacher was fairly successful, but as a team owner, the son of successful Chicago-area business owners clearly established his legend as a team owner and after a double-up victory at the recently completed NHRA Winternationals, he scored team victory No. 295 as a team owner. 

Schumacher is also vocal about drag racing and carefully monitors its path. Sometimes he rolls with the flow, but sometimes his passion inspires him to speak out against the grain. 

Saturday afternoon, at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Ca., CompetitionPlus.com Publisher/Editor Bobby Bennett caught up with the Hall of Fame drag racing personality for an interview. 

Fresh off a final-round appearance at one famed race track, Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car driver Courtney Force will lead the field at yet another.

Force, who raced to a runner-up finish at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona last weekend, will serve as the Honorary Pace Car Driver for the Advance Auto Parts Clash on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Leah Pritchett, in the piping-hot Papa John’s Pizza Dragster, served up delicious defiance Sunday at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif.

In earning her second career victory, Pritchett, 28, who grew up in nearby Redlands and began her drag- racing journey at this racetrack at age eight in a Jr. Dragster, proved that perseverance pays off.

Sometimes, you just have to keep moving forward.

After a turbulent and extremely emotional offseason for two-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan following the unexpected passing of his brother back in January, the only medicine that could possibly ease the soul and make the world right again is the one that comes from stomping the gas of a nitro-powered Funny Car.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

And if Sunday was any indication of the year ahead, the racers of NHRA’s Pro Stock class could once again be in for a long season.

Point standings (top 10) following the 57th annual Circle K NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the first of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series -