The Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series recently concluded a double-event at World Wide Technology Raceway, bringing some excitement and shaking up the Championship points. After a storm disrupted the July event, the MWDRS returned on August 18-19 to sunny skies and cooler temperatures for the "Back to School Bash," which featured two full days of intense racing.

"We knew early on that a significant storm was coming," Series Founder Keith Haney explained the challenges posed by the storm. "We told the racers after the first round, listen for updates, and when it gets close, pack up quick. Sure enough, we had high winds and torrential rain, with even the track suffering some damage."

Despite the interruption, the July event resumed with Mark Micke dominating the Stroud Safety Pro Mod category. 

Maddi Gordon, the daughter of reigning Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion Doug Gordon, is following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. The California native recently became the first third-generation Top Alcohol Funny Car driver in NHRA history when she obtained her license this week in Brainerd, Minn. Having risen through the ranks in the NHRA Jr. Dragster League and piloting a Super Comp dragster, Maddi is living her dream.

“It’s totally surreal,” exclaimed the enthusiastic 19-year-old just a few days after making the passes necessary to get her license. “I’ve dreamed about this my whole life. And I never really thought it would actually come true.”

For reigning Funny Car champion Ron Capps, Hot Wheels cars are as cool at 58 years old as when he was a six-year-old boy growing up in Southern California.

As a result, Capps will be paying homage to the iconic diecast manufacturer Hot Wheels and former team owner Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme. The timing couldn’t come at a better time as this year’s event marks the 50th anniversary of Prudhomme’s victory at the 1973 U.S. Nationals and the 10th anniversary of the ‘Snake & Mongoose’ film. His NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra will showcase a throwback of the iconic Hot Wheels x NHRA Funny Car. 

“This is a dream come true both as a kid growing up and now as an NHRA driver,” said Capps, who swept the 2022 U.S. Nationals by qualifying No. 1, winning the All-Star Callout race, and winning the event. “It’s exciting to bring together the old-school Hot Wheels fans like myself with the next generation and offer up a tribute car with Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme. It’s also a tribute to what Hot Wheels did for the sport with ‘The Snake’ and ‘The Mongoose.’ It’s going to be incredibly emotional to be on the starting line at Indianapolis Raceway Park with ‘The Snake’ standing behind the car.

Last year, Will Smith debuted in Top Fuel at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, and the experience was unforgettable for the Top Alcohol Dragster graduate. Smith will return this year with the same Larry Dixon-led team and this time with sponsorship from Mac Rak, a leading North American premier pallet rack repair company.

Smith has gained confidence as he heads into his second U.S. Nationals. From the get-go, Smith has shown advancement and consistency behind the wheel of the Top Fuel machine. Now, equipped with additional experience and countless runs in Dixon's dragster, as well as guidance from crew chief Tony Shortall, Smith eagerly awaits the biggest stop on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour.

When one seeks to make positive change, there are elements to the process, including walking a political tightrope at times. 

Pro Stock team owner Richard Freeman joined the Professional Racers Organization [PRO] board earlier this season, intending to help change some aspects of drag racing for the better. Change, as he sees it, can come without one being a politician. 

"I wouldn't be a very good politician," Freeman said adamantly. "I can tell you because I say what I believe, and when I want to say it, and how I want to say it, and people don't like it, that's no problem."

World champions Tony Schumacher, John Force, Steve Torrence, Matt Hagan, Antron Brown, and a host of others are set to showcase their skills in the highly-anticipated Scag Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout, taking place from February 8th to 10th, 2024, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. This exclusive invitation-only event, featuring more than two dozen elite Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers vying for victory, brings to the game a $250,000 prize for the winners in each class; the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Alan Johnson, President of the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO), expressed his excitement about the event.

Evidently, she isn’t finished yet.

Pro Stock Motorcycle icon Angelle Sampey recently obtained her Top Alcohol Dragster license as part of Antron Brown’s new AB Motorsports Accelerate Program. Sampey, a three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion, has become the first drag racer to join the program, which aims to support racers in advancing their NHRA careers. She plans to participate in three A/Fuel dragster events this season to prepare for a full season campaign in 2024, aiming to move up to the Top Fuel category as an AB Motorsports teammate to Brown.

Burson Auto Parts, one of the leading players in the supply of parts, tools and equipment for the Australian automotive industry, has called time on their sponsorship of the Australian Top Fuel Championship.

The company has been naming rights sponsor for the ATF series since the launch of the championship in 2022.

“The past two years of Burson Auto Parts playing a major part in the Australian Top Fuel Championship has been both exciting and rewarding,” said Fiona Gotas, Group Marketing and Communications Manager for Bapcor Trade, owner of Burson Auto Parts.

When two-time NHRA Pro Modified champion Stevie "Fast" Jackson hit the throttle on the burnout a few weeks ago at a test session in Darlington, SC, he went to nearly the eighth mile to let the Artivinco-sponsored Camaro know who was boss. It was Jackson's way of informing the doorslammer world his neck surgery over the winter was a mere bump in the road.

The next step in being back for Jackson will transpire at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, as he announced on Tuesday's Shake and Bake Show.

"I have full intent to enter competition again at U.S. Nationals," Jackson confirmed. "I will be fielding a spare, the second Artivinco racing car owned by Sidnei Frigo. It's his spare car that we're putting together, and he has asked me to compete in it at Indy. 

The Professional Racing Owners Organization (PRO) unveiled its lineup of Pro Stock drivers for the upcoming Scag Power Equipment 2024 PRO Superstar Shootout. This inaugural event will take place from February 8-10, 2024, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. These select racers will compete for a prize of $125,000.

The roster showcases an assembly of world champions, seasoned veterans, and up-and-coming talents making waves in this class. 

Alan Johnson, the President of PRO, emphasized the caliber of the event.