Tanner Gray sat in father Shane’s Pro Stock Camaro, his gaze at the dashboard as intense as if he were laboring to solve a calculus equation or land an airplane in distress.

He was warming up the car in his Texas Motorplex pit at the AAA Texas FallNationals near Dallas, becoming more and more familiar with the race car he plans to be driving fulltime next season.

National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) racer Allen Johnson and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) today announced an extended sponsorship agreement to continue their partnership into the 2017 season.
 
“We are thankful for our continued partnership with Marathon Petroleum, both on and off the track,” said Allen Johnson, racer and CEO of Johnson & Johnson Racing. “We learned much in 2016 as we improved our performance and adjusted to a new electronic fuel injection system. We’re excited to hit the track again in 2017, determined to bring home another championship.”

The Quarter Mile Foundation announces “Hustling a Husler”- A Roast and Toast of Bob Vandergriff, Sr., presented by Hedman Husler Hedders and the Quarter Mile Foundation; and sponsored by the Marriott Indianapolis Downtown on Thursday evening, December 8, 2016.

The event will take place following the close of the first day of the Performance Racing Industry Show, in the ballroom of the Marriott Indianapolis Downtown. The event promises to draw many celebrities from the motorsports and performance aftermarket communities.  The “roasters” will be a “Mystery Panel” of “Industry Legends” with long-time connections to NHRA drag racing and the automotive aftermarket – manufacturers, warehouse distributors and manufacturer’s reps.

SealMaster, the one-stop source for pavement maintenance products and equipment, and Kalitta Motorsports are pleased to announce a contract extension for the 2017 season. SealMaster will continue as the primary sponsor on J.R. Todd’s Top Fuel dragster for the entire 2017 24-race NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season schedule. SealMaster will also be an associate backer on the Top Fuel dragsters driven by Doug Kalitta and Troy Coughlin, Jr. and the Toyota Camry Funny Cars of Alexis DeJoria and Del Worsham. 

“It is always exciting to announce a sponsorship renewal, especially with SealMaster. They are truly some of the greatest people to work with,” said Todd. “It has been an awesome season representing all of the incredible SealMaster franchisees and I am thrilled to be able to do the same for the entire 2017 season as well. I have been welcomed into the SealMaster family and they always come out in huge groups to support us on track as well. We did a lot of good this season, but I am ready to see what 2017 will offer in this SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel dragster.”

Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels returns to The Million Dollar Race this year as a $25,000 contingency sponsor of The Triple.

Racers are preparing for the 21st annual Million Dollar Race scheduled Oct. 20-23, hosted by Montgomery Motorsports Park. The event offers the largest payday in drag racing history, with an additional $50,000 in racer appreciation giveaways.

GALOT Motorsports once again continues to broaden the organization’s horizons. With an implicit focus on strengthening the industry, GALOT Motorsports recently purchased Mike Valerio Motorsports (MVM) Products.

MVM was started in 2012 by Mike Valerio and quickly became an industry leader in wheelie bar production and design. Valerio utilized years of R&D and an extensive background in Pro Stock chassis fabrication to develop his unique wheelie bars. Since startup, Valerio has developed one of the most rigid wheelie bars on the market for both dual and single wheel sets. MVM’s proficiency is proven by the large number of Pro Mod teams that have chosen MVM bars.

Just because Robert Hight in an NHRA world champion nitro Funny Car driver it doesn’t mean he can't root for other teams.

Especially the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jim Oberhofer has seen just about everything in drag racing, and little surprises him.

But the Vice-President of Operations Kalitta Motorsports was pleasantly surprised when he engaged in conversation with Troy Coughlin Jr., the newest Top Fuel driver in the Ypsilanti, Mich.-headquartered organization.

“The thing that I’ve gotten out of talking to T.J. is his professionalism, his desire, his passion for drag racing,” Oberhofer said. “He was telling me a couple weeks ago that when he was a kid he used to, instead of reading books, he’d read the NHRA media guides. He knew more stuff about what we’ve done with Doug Kalitta’s car than I did as far as racing or Scott Kalitta. So he really strikes me as someone who appreciates the history of the sport of NHRA drag racing.”

Our secret squirrel spy over at Jerry Bickel's Doorslammer Factory has sent us a few spy shots of a new Pro Extreme Camaro headed to Qatar and to be tuned by Frank Manzo.

While the 2016 Summit Racing Equipment Shakedown at the Summit presented by Mickey Thompson Performance Tires and Wheels was one of the most exhilarating offerings in the event's long and lofty history, even more action and massive payouts are promised for the 2017 event.

It will be Sept. 14-17 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.