After three rounds of Pro Modified qualifying for the World Series of Pro Mod at Bradenton Motorsports Park (BMP), Canada’s Spencer Hyde with his screw-blown ’69 Camaro was solidly in the 32-car field at 22nd of 61 entries. 

However, once the fourth-and-final session got going, Hyde’s 3.68 gradually got pushed out of contention.

With a last-chance effort, Hyde knocked 5-thousandths off his qualifying time to post a 3.682 that bumped Brandon Snider’s 3.683 from the field and gave Hyde the 32nd-and-final position for eliminations and a shot at the $100,000 winner’s purse.

Persistent rain and cool temperatures won big on Sunday at the 65th Bakersfield March Meet at Famoso Dragway. As a result, the Group 1 and 2 categories will return to complete their divisions on Monday morning. The Top Fuel dragsters will run their eliminations at the California Hot Rod Reunion in October. 

Overnight rains wreaked havoc on the event schedule, throwing the race schedule two hours behind. Several of the sportsman categories got in a round of competition, and three of four pairs in the Funny Car division were completed before the rain began to fall again. There was a break in the precipitation where the race could continue. 

 
Despite a series of passes well into the 3.60-second zone Saturday night, no one topped Johnny Camp’s 3.626 at 205.91 MPH effort at the top of the qualifying order for the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by J&A Service at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Just .056 seconds separate Camp and the No. 32 qualifier, Spencer Hyde, with his 3.682 at 204.51. Sixty-one cars attempted to qualify for the 32-car field, and 44 of them dipped into the 3.60-second range. 
 
No. 1 qualifiers in the other WSOPM classes are Richard Freeman in the $hameless Racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational presented by Seminole Paving, Nichole Elff in the Xtreme Front-Wheel Drive Challenge, AJ Berge in the D H Davies Racing Factory Stock Classic, and Pete Maduri in Top Dragster. 

One might think it's always a piece of cake watching Bobby Cottrell go to work every time he fires up the Bucky Austin AA/Fuel Coupe. 

One might be wrong; at least, that's how it played out during his first three days at the 65th Bakersfield March Meet.

The five-time NHRA Heritage Series champion, who has won the March Meet four times in a row, started the weekend with a fire while testing on Thursday. On Friday, the team couldn't get in their usual dominant groove, and Saturday's first session didn't offer much improvement as he hovered in the fourth and fifth positions. 

NHRA and Rooftec, owned by veteran NHRA sportsman and Pro Stock competitor Rodger Brogdon, have partnered for a unique bonus program set to take place at the prestigious Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The Rooftec NHRA Competition Eliminator Cash Clash will be a specialty race at the Big Go where the top 16 drivers from the Rooftec Comp Eliminator Bonus Fund face off for a total purse of $50,000. The winner of the specialty event will earn $30,000 and the Rooftec NHRA Competition Eliminator Cash Clash will also be featured in a special 30-minute broadcast airing after the U.S. Nationals.

PDRA Pro Boost standout Johnny Camp rocketed to the No. 1 spot in Pro Mod Friday night at the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by J&A Service at Bradenton Motorsports Park. With his 3.626-second blast at 205.91 MPH in the “Hells Bells” ’69 Camaro, Camp leads a Pro Mod qualifying order that includes 60 other drivers fighting for 32 spots on race day Sunday. 
 
The first day of qualifying at the World Series of Pro Mod also included one session in the $hameless Racing Mountain Motor Pro Stock Invitational presented by Seminole Paving, the XFWD Challenge, the D H Davies Racing Factory Stock Classic, and Top Dragster. The provisional low qualifiers in those classes are Richard Freeman (MMPSI), Rafa Famania (XFWD), Lenny Lottig (FSC), and Pete Maduri (TD). 

If NHRA Heritage Series Funny Car racer Tim Boychuck didn't know it when he started qualifying at the 65th Good Vibrations March Meet, he did when he completed his second qualifying run.

Boychuck finished the day with a 5.692 elapsed time at 248.61 miles per hour performance to grab the provisional No. 1 qualifying position in the AA/Funny Car division. Cory Lee was second with 5.699. Friday's performance was just part of a big-picture performance. 

Joining Boychuck atop the professional categories were Pete Wittenberg (Top Fuel) and Dylan Winefsky (Fuel Altered).

“If you told me a year ago that I'd be standing here winning this race, I would’ve told you that was crazy.”

That was longtime Pro Stock veteran Jason Collins not long after beating Brylon Holder in the Pro 275 final for Lights Out 14, Mar. 27, at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

With a 3.75-seconds pass at 200.68 mph, Collins qualified Scott Tidwell’s ’69 Camaro 4th in the 32-car P275 field. Manny Buginga took the top spot at 3.71 and 203.06 mph, with defending race champion Mo Hall 2nd at 3.73 and 201.46, and Marcus Birt 3rd just three-thousandths back with another 3.73 at 200.23 mph.

Dreams rarely come to fruition overnight – and for some people, they never pan out.

Australian Shayne Stewart had almost reached the latter point as he pursued his goal of racing a Top Fuel dragster in the United States.

Then, a stroke of out-and-out luck changed his future. The dream that inspired him to uproot his family and immigrate to America is – at last – coming true.

Seven years ago, Stewart decided to move his family from Melbourne, a city of five million on Australia's southern coast, to Southern California. He had limited racing experience Down Under, having crewed on a Top Fuel dragster and the "Dark Horse" nitro Funny Car. He then built and drove a supercharged alcohol altered "only a few times" before constructing a front-engine dragster for Top Fuel competition.