by Tracy Renck Mon, 2017-01-09 21:04
Making it as a single-car NHRA Pro Stock team competing on a limited schedule is a tough road.
Yet, it is one Matt Hartford has traveled with some success the past four years, and he’s coming back for more in 2017.
“We’re going to be at Pomona with Total Seal and Nitro Fish (Kenny Koretsky) being the major supporters on the car and Warren Johnson power,” said Hartford, who drives a Camaro.
Mon, 2017-01-09 18:00
The world’s largest convenience store chain is gearing up for a high speed promotion in 2017. 7-Eleven will partner with Jim Dunn Racing and associate sponsor Oberto Beef Jerky for the 2017 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Championship Drag Racing Season. The primary colors of 7-Eleven green and orange will be showcased at more than half of the 24 NHRA national events. Featured races will be in markets where 7-Eleven stores are accessible to race fans on their way to and from the race track each day.
Jim Dunn Racing has been a leader in the sport of NHRA drag racing for more than 50 years and has represented top North American and global brand leaders like 7-Eleven and its 60,000 stores operated by the company, its franchisees and licensees around the world. In 2016, Jim Dunn’s 1972 Barracuda was voted #11 all-time most popular NHRA Funny Car by racing fans. The accomplishment is another added to the Hall of Fame team owner, crew chief, and former driver’s long list of accomplishments in the sport.
Mon, 2017-01-09 08:00
In the high-speed world of NHRA Championship Drag Racing, things can happen in the blink of an eye. Wins and losses are decided by milliseconds but when things go wrong on the track, NHRA racers know that they also can rely on the lightning-quick response of the NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA.
Through the 2017 season, the NHRA will pay tribute to the legion of first responders, the heroes who are among the first people to arrive and assist at a scene of an emergency.
Mon, 2017-01-09 08:00
NMRA and NMCA have announced the 2nd Annual Sealed Stock All-Star Showdown, a special race between select Coyote Stock and Chevrolet Performance Stock competitors at the Commerce, Georgia event at Atlanta Dragway, the weekend of April 6-9, 2017. Billed as the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, it’s one of only two races where fans can witness the spectacle of both NMRA and NMCA racing the same weekend.
The Sealed Stock All-Star Showdown teams will be selected according to the following: Top three in points combined from the 2016 season and 2017 first event; and one wildcard racer whose name will be drawn during a driver’s meeting before the first qualifying round. Racers will compete for major bragging rights, $1,000 cash, a Manufacturer’s Cup, and a trip to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle.
by Bobby Bennett Sat, 2017-01-07 12:28
PDRA Top Sportsman champion Dan Ferguson had already resigned to the fact, his good fortunes of the last three seasons were going to end with a second championship. Team owner Dale Pittman made the decision to sell his Corvette, leaving Ferguson to fend for himself in 2017.
Ferguson didn't fret, but with a small measure of disappointment began working on his own Firebird with the expressed intent of racing one event, which would determine whether he'd run the full season.
Ironically, he experienced a bit of deja vu dating back to 2014, when a successful debut turned into a full season which yielded his first career championship.
Fri, 2017-01-06 23:41
John Force Racing is strengthening its racing operations in preparation for multiple championship runs for the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Sixteen-time Funny Car champion John Force will reunite with crew chief Jimmy Prock, who won the 2013 title with Force, and co-crew chief Chris Cunningham will also join the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS. Prock worked at JFR for 14 years before serving as crew chief for Jack Beckman the last 2 seasons.
Mike Neff returns as crew chief on Robert Hight’s Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, with Jon Schaffer and Jason McCulloch joining that team as co-crew chiefs. The move strengthens one of the most dominant Funny Car driver/tuner combinations and positions the 2009 Funny Car champion as a driver to watch in 2017.
Leadership on Courtney Force’s Advance Auto Parts Funny Car and Brittany Force’s Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster remains intact.
by Tracy Renck; Photos by Jeff Burghardt Fri, 2017-01-06 10:08
NHRA Pro Stock driver Aaron Strong has dealt with the highs and lows drag racing has had to offer in the past three months.
On Sept. 3, 2016, he experienced euphoria.
Strong won his first NHRA Pro Stock Wally when he beat Vincent Nobile during Q3 – at the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis - in what was the finals of the rain-postponed Northwest Nationals Aug. 7 in Seattle.
Then in the first of December, Strong experienced the devastating blow of losing his primary sponsor – A&J Furniture Manufacturing.
Fri, 2017-01-06 08:00
The Manufacturers Series consisting of Super Chevy Show, Fun Ford, and Mega Mopar series events will expand its geographic footprint in 2017 by hosting events at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix, and Thunder Valley Raceway Park serving the Oklahoma City market. At total of 29 event dates are already secured for the season that begins in April. Many of the tracks hosting events have been a part of the series since it was established at the start of the 2010 season. The eighth consecutive season for the Manufacturers Series will focus on popular car shows, drag racing, swap meet, and car corral activities for participants and fans alike.
An average of 1,000 participants per show compete at Manufacturers Series events for awards and prizes. To many participants the prestige of winning their class in a car show or bracket race is the most rewarding. For others it is about having the best restored show car or racing exhibition vehicle that gets aired on the Menards Chevy Series TV show.
by Bobby Bennett Thu, 2017-01-05 22:50
There was a time in drag racing when naming your race car was as crucial as putting fuel in the tank. As drag racing advanced, and sponsorships became paramount, the practice became a thing of the past.
The Professional Drag Racers Association [PDRA] believes a 200-point reward is enough to bring back the tradition.
Starting this season, any racer in their Pro Extreme, Pro Nitrous and Pro Boost divisions who clearly develops a persona for their car will be eligible to collect a hefty points bonus.
Thu, 2017-01-05 08:00
The NHRA has announced that Raymond Martin will be inducted into NHRA’s South Central Division 4 Hall of Fame.
NHRA’s Division 4 is the historic South Central Division home of “The Good Guys.” Division 4 features tracks from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. The Division 4 Hall of Fame honors individuals, drivers and officials who laid the groundwork for NHRA Drag Racing in the region. Raymond Martin will join the likes of Eddie Hill, Raymond Beadle, Kenny Bernstein, Bill Meyer and many more in the South Central Division Hall of Fame.
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