Family-owned and operated Sports Memorabilia Breaker and Retailer Rippin Gypsy will be joining Cruz Pedregon Racing as an associate sponsor starting at the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

“I am beyond excited to be able to partner Ripping Gypsy with Cruz Pedregon Racing,” said Mindy Colton, owner of Rippin Gypsy. “The opportunity of being able to bring two of my favorite things in the world, my life-long love of cars and our veteran and family-owned business together is a thought that I'm still trying to fully wrap my head around. I cannot wait to see our logo riding along with Cruz down the track at Indianapolis.”

As the 2nd half of the SFG Promotions season races into action with the JEGS Labor Day Bracket Bash September 4-6, SFG is announcing changes to its management team. The realignment will allow SFG to continue to grow and be better prepared to reach long term objectives. The biggest organizational shift comes at the Race Director position. As noted in an earlier press release, AJ Ashe chose to leave the SFG team earlier this month to spend more time competing on the big money bracket racing circuit. Effective today, SFG Promotions is announcing that Brad Miles, long-time team member, will assume the Race Director role. The Race Director has responsibility over everything happening on-track at an SFG event.
 
Miles, previously in the Race Operations Manager role, has ample experience working with the Race Director to ensure the well run and fair events that our customers depend on. Since joining the SFG team in 2018, Miles has been instrumental in rolling out new technology and operational procedures focused on creating a fair race environment. As SFG continues to deploy more technology at events, racers were already spending time reviewing runs in the tower with Brad. “The choice to move Brad into the Race Director role was an easy one. Brad is one of the most knowledgeable team members we have when it comes to how we run a race and positioning him in this new role will give our racers continued confidence in our events,” said Kyle Riley - CEO of SFG.

Celebrating its 35th year of showcasing the fastest sport in the world, Texas Motorplex is moving forward with the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in October. The NHRA AAA Texas FallNationals will be contested October 14-18 at the world-class facility south of Dallas. Tickets for all sections are on sale and will be sold to 50% capacity. Each ticket order will receive a special commemorative 35th-anniversary coin while supplies last.  As one of the last races of the season title hopes are on the line and fans will be thrilled with exciting racing action.
 
“We are making plans for a great event that is safe and exciting for all our fans and racers. This will be one of the biggest NHRA events of the season when you consider the number of days and classes contested. We are especially excited to produce ‘Friday Night Live’ with all sorts of ground pounding fast race cars you wouldn’t normally see at an NHRA national event,” said Andy Carter Texas Motorplex General Manager. “You will not get a better playoff atmosphere than the AAA Texas Fall Nationals in October. All the professional class championships will be on the line and when you consider we are one of the last four races, you will be able to cut the championship tension with a knife.”

Richie Stevens Jr. will be competing in NHRA’s Mello Yello Series Pro Stock class at the U.S. Nationals Sept. 4-6 in Indianapolis.

Stevens confirmed to CompetitionPlus.com he will be driving the 2017 Camaro for Beaver Motorsports, owned by Mark Beaver. John Gaydosh Jr. drove the Beaver Motorsports Camaro at the Indy 1 race 11-12 and failed to qualify.

“Mark asked if I would be available to drive and I told I have a lot going on, but I told him to give me a heads up so I could be available,” Stevens said. “He called me (Aug. 17) and asked me if I could drive (at the U.S. Nationals) and I said, sure. He said he was looking to make a change and asked if I would come drive the car.

A source inside the NHRA has confirmed with CompetitionPlus.com that NHRA plans to have as many as eight more events following the Denso NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park outside of Indianapolis. This same source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said NHRA could hold at least one more event at the facility which has already staged three races since the global pandemic shut down the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Rumors have suggested the sanctioning body was going to close down following the U.S. Nationals, NHRA VP of Communications Jeffrey Young said the statement was absolutely false.  Young would not comment on the number of national event races the sanctioning body plans to contest for the balance of 2020.

The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals, the leaders in the street-legal drag racing market, have announced the new home of the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing is World Wide Technology Raceway (Madison, IL). The largest street-legal drag race event of the year happens May 13-16, 2021.
“The Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing will be the third stop for each series on the 2021 schedules,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director at ProMedia Events and Publishing. “This is the big one for us and the World Wide Technology Raceway facility and its staff are highly capable of handling this unique event. Thank you, Chris Blair and Curtis Francois for helping us bring this event to its new home.”

For the past 12 years, number-crunching and calculating occupied NHRA drag racers from about June and continued through season’s end in mid-November.

This year, because of the fluctuating schedule, the Countdown to the Championship – the six-race so-called playoff system that brought points and a half at some races and exclusion in a sport that was screaming for inclusion – has erased the need for that obsession.

Since 2007, pro racers have seen their points reset following the U.S. Nationals. Leaders in each class got to enjoy a 20-point advantage over their closest rivals, and the remainder of the 10 title-eligible drivers were ranked and separated by 10 points to start the runoffs.

Joey Haas will realize a dream at the U.S. Nationals Sept. 4-6 in Indianapolis.

The longtime alcohol Funny Car and Nostalgia driver will make his Top Fuel debut at Lucas Oil Raceway driving a dragster owned by Terry Totten and sponsored by Strumasters.com.

“I’m over the top with excitement,” said Haas, 29. “Any race would be huge, but this is that much bigger because it is Indy. We are going to try and keep them honest.”

His crew will be made up of Mark Howard, Scott Fritz, Pete Dove, Joe Haas, Joey’s father, and Joe Pryor. 

One of the most highly-anticipated traditions each year at Don Schumacher Racing is the annual Open House to benefit Riley Children’s Foundation. Since 2006, drag racing’s winningest organization has opened up its doors on Friday of the NHRA U.S. Nationals week to provide thousands of fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the racing powerhouse’s 145,000-square-foot Brownsburg, Ind. headquarters. Due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Open House has been canceled, but DSR remains committed to raising funds for its hometown children’s hospital, and is launching a series of virtual fundraisers surrounding the upcoming Labor Day weekend NHRA event.

Kicking off today is a teamwide Cameo campaign, in which DSR’s roster of eight Mello Yello series drivers are available via the Cameo app or Cameo.com for special shout-outs. DSR drivers are available to send congratulatory messages, birthday wishes, words of encouragement, or to simply just say ‘hello’ to an adoring fan via a Cameo video. Cameo messages can be purchased for fifty dollars ($50 for Web and Android; $54.99 for IOS users), with 75 percent of the proceeds going towards Riley Children’s Foundation (Cameo retains the remaining 25%). The Cameo campaign begins today, August 20, and will run through Thursday, September 3, at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Now takes place prior to AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, with double events in one weekend.

World Wide Technology Raceway officials announced a major participant-event change for its 2020 drag racing schedule. The track’s popular NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series regional event, originally scheduled for October, will move to the weekend of September 26-27 following the addition of a Lucas Oil Series divisional event on September 24-25.

“The many changes taking place with venues throughout the country presented this unique opportunity,” said Chris Blair, World Wide Technology Raceway’s Executive Vice President and General Manager. “One of the biggest expenses faced by the sportsman racer is the cost of getting to and from the track. This schedule adjustment will provide racers with the opportunity to make one haul to the St. Louis area, compete in two Lucas Oil Series events and remain on-site for the following weekend’s AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals.”