There was Bob Glidden, who went a calendar year without a loss behind the wheel of his 1978 Ford Fairmont.

Then there was Steve Torrence, who made a clean sweep of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

Today, as Bristol Dragway launches the NHRA’s fourth stop for the Pro Stock Motorcycles, one racer who got his start racing outlaw bikes with nitrous oxide and no wheelie bars will be looking to continue his bid for perfection at the picturesque drag strip carved out from inside a valley in the mountains of Tennessee. 

AHDRA/AMA All-American motorcycle drag racing is set to deliver a fantastic show to motorcycle enthusiasts from today until June 11, 2023, in the upgraded Kuhnle Motorsports Park in Thompson, Ohio. It promises to be a thrilling event with the Advanced Sleeve All-Harley Nitro Buckeye Nationals showcasing AHDRA's Top Fuel heroes, gasoline studs, and pro and sportsman bikes that will race down the Kuhnle quarter mile.

Crank up the speakers, invite your friends over, and check out this high-intensity video on your television from the creative genius of Les Mayhew.

The Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund has taken the complex Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series category to the next level. A class that was waning in participation and interest is now on an incredible upswing thanks to this outside-of-the-box program. This show is both educational and entertaining as the racers describe their different approaches to getting the promised land.

This show will deliver an incredible presentation from the NHRA Division 4 event at Houston Raceway Park, the last NHRA event there ever.

Between giving rain-soaked New England Dragway and its remarkably steadfast fans every effort to present the New England Nationals at Epping, N.H., and keeping its Camping World Drag Racing Series on schedule, NHRA officials performed a delicate balancing act Monday.

The result is a rare doubleheader in one three-day event, starting this Friday at Tennessee’s Bristol Dragway.

The notion of combining Epping eliminations with Bristol qualifying Friday and Saturday, then running the Thunder Valley Nationals eliminations Sunday as scheduled at first sounded like interstate insanity, like mass confusion that would make four-wide racing look simple. Add to all that the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge races that award prized Countdown points and as much as $10,000 to the winners, and it seems crew chiefs, racers, and fans would find the action-packed agenda downright dizzying.

As the adage goes, "There's always one person who doesn't get the memo." Clearly, T.J. Zizzo didn't get the memo mandating a part-time nitro operation isn't supposed to be competitive. 

The Rust-Oleum-sponsored Zizzo coined the "super part-timer" phrase for the racers like him who compete part-time and know how to go rounds, and at his hometown event, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals reached the semi-finals.

"It's quite amazing that we could take almost 20 months off and still come out swinging with all new equipment," Zizzoi said. "[That's a] testament to our team members. It's a testament to everyone that has surrounded this race car for a decade and a half. Some of them have been with us for almost 30 years or more. And it's a testament of how hard we work away from the racetrack. I love when we're at an event, and fans come up and say, 'Oh my God, you guys come out here and do so well, I want to work for you." 

Tony Schumacher always figured if someone deemed him a legend in drag racing, it would come long after his years as a racer were finished. He figured wrong. 

The esteemed panel of selectors for the Legends of The Valley for Bristol Dragway selected the winningest Top Fuel driver at the picturesque drag strip carved out of a valley in eastern Tennessee as their 2023 honoree. He will officially be inducted onto the signboard high above the track’s spectator side on Sunday morning, June 11, 2023. 

Schumacher joins his father, Don Schumacher, who was inducted in 2014. he is the 20th inductee into the prestigious group of drivers. 

Andy Jensen's triumphant return to the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) winner's circle after 16 years was the highlight of Saturday night's Strange Engineering Outlaw Street Car Shootout at Maryland's Cecil County Dragway. Jensen's victory came in the Nitrous/Turbo class, beating Fredy Scriba in the final round.

Jensen's 3.673-second pass at 204.23 mph in his single-turbo, small-block-powered ’68 Camaro got the better of Scriba's 4.223 at 129.07. Jensen credited his victory to the hard work of his crew and his dedication to building and racing his own unconventional, custom-made machines.

Competition Plus’ Water-Cooler Topics From The NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, NH.

It looks like Mother Nature had other plans for the 10th annual NHRA New England Nationals, as inclement weather has led to the postponement of the remaining eliminations. Good news for racing fans though, as the balance of the event will now take place as part of this weekend's NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at the Bristol Dragway. NHRA President Glen Cromwell expressed appreciation for the passionate fanbase in the New England area, despite the weather challenges.

With continuing precipitation in the forecast, Sunday's activities at the 10th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway have been postponed until Monday.