Winning is, and always will be, a big deal for decorated crew chief Lee Beard.

Sunday's victory via driver Larry Dixon at the City of Ipswich Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway, the final stop on the inaugural Thunder 400 tour, ranks high amongst Beard's many accomplishments. He is now the tuner of record for back to back wins at the largest drag race held outside of North America. 

"When you’re in the twilight of your career, everything is very important because you never know if it’s going to be your last one," said Beard, whose victory with Dixon marked the 13th different driver in his career he's won with. 

About a year and a half ago, the National Hot Rod Association saw a monumental spike in drag-racing interest, astronomical TV ratings, and a younger, more energetic group of racers and fans alike across multiple media platforms.

And the sanctioning-body executives were angry.

Ron Capps has accomplished a lot in his storied career. He has won a lot of races, he has been fastest of the weekend several times, and he has even set a record or two in his time behind the wheel.

But through a career that spans more than two decades, Capps doesn’t recall ever having a car this competitive and this much fun to drive. And that has him pretty excited about just what the season ahead holds for the NAPA Auto Parts team.

Steve Torrence said Sunday at Englishtown, N.J., he wanted to take advantage of the fact Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta and No. 2 Antron Brown had dropped out in the quarterfinals of the NHRA Summernationals.

But the day’s decidedly hotter temperatures and breezy conditions left him uncertain what Old Bridge Township Raceway Park’s 1,000-foot course would throw at him and his Capco Contractors/Rio Ammunition Dragster. After all, he had advanced a couple of rounds despite tire-smoking and throttle-feathering. “Crazy day – two rounds on pedaling,” he said after his victories over JR Todd and Brittany Force.

Before the Pro Alcohol finalists at the City of Ipswitch Winternationals fired their cars, there was a feeling something spectacular would transpire. Dramatic would be a weak description of the final round between newly christened 19-time series champion Gary Phillips and robust challenger John Cannuli.

Phillips was the king of speed and Cannuli the master of elapsed time. The final round was to be another battle in a rivalry which appears to be ratcheting in intensity with each meeting.

Cannuli put .024 on Phillips out of the gate and appeared to be on a strong run with the front wheels in the air. As Cannuli's car traveled, it also drifted out of his lane and across the centerline where it impacted Phillips.

Don’t think, even for a moment, that Greg Anderson isn’t fully aware of the amazing run he and teammate Jason Line are on right now.

Amid an undefeated streak in 2016, with a perfect 10 wins in 10 races this season, it would be easy to see how the KB Racing duo could easily take for granted this amazing start and not fully appreciate the magnitude of their dominance, especially in the moment.

It has been a long time coming for Angelle Sampey.

While that may seem like an odd statement to attach to a driver with three career championships, 42 national event victories and a slew of firsts in her storied career, but on Sunday, that statement couldn’t have rang any more true.

Angelle Sampey raced to her first Pro Stock Motorcycle victory since 2007 on Sunday at the NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also were winners of the 10th NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event of the season.

Former minor league baseball player Jay Cox earned his second consecutive event win in Pro Nitrous at this weekend’s 3rd annual Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) Summer Drags at US 131 Motorsports Park. The three other professional class winners, Frankie Taylor, John Strickland, and Meshal Alsaber, were victorious for the first time on the PDRA tour. 

Sunday's final results from the 47th NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The race is the tenth of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series: