Trying to solve Bandimere Speedway for the first time in his standout career, defending Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan started strong on Friday, rolling to the provisional No. 1 spot at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the eighth race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

In a thrilling side-by-side race with Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, Hagan powered to the top with a run of 3.966-seconds at 319.22 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye. It puts the veteran in position to qualify No. 1 for the second time this season and 42nd time overall. Hagan is still looking for his first victory of the year following his championship season and getting it at his sponsor’s race in Denver would be rewarding considering his struggles at the fan-favorite facility over the years.

Steve Johnson appeared headed toward his second straight No. 1 qualifying position in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class as action kicked off Friday at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil at Denver’s Bandimere Speedway. 

Johnson recorded the third-quickest elapsed time in the history of the Morrison, Colo., facility – 7.130 seconds on the quarter-mile course – to claim the provisional No. 1 berth. 

Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) standouts Jim Halsey and JR Carr maintained their perfect No. 1 qualifying records at the all-eighth-mile series’ fifth race on tour, the Summer Shootout presented by Ty-Drive at Virginia Motorsports Park. For the fifth consecutive race, Halsey ended up No. 1 in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous and Carr led the field in Liberty’s Gears Extreme Pro Stock presented by AED Competition. 

History will be made at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals this weekend at Bandimere Speedway when the competitors in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown hit the track for the first time. For Chevrolet COPO Camaro and Dodge Mopar Challenger Drag Pak teams this will be their maiden runs on the mountainside at the historic track located 25 minutes west of Denver. The challenges of racing at altitude combined with the competitive nature of the class have point leader Aaron Stanfield of Bossier City, Louisiana, eager to get behind the wheel of his Chevrolet COPO Camaro.

“It will definitely be different,” said Stanfield, who won the season opening Gatornationals in Florida. “I don’t think any of the showdown cars have gone up there and done much racing on the mountain. It is going to be a learning experience for everybody. I think we are well prepared. We are excited to get out there, go racing and see who can be king of the mountain.”

Trace Adkins had it right when he sang “timing is everything.” 

That sentiment explains how drag racing is going to resume on Long Island, New York, in August. The town board of Riverhead recently approved the use of Calverton Executive Airpark for four drag racing events, over eight days, on the shorter of the facility’s runways. The grand opening is set for Aug. 21.

The racing, which will be sanctioned by NHRA and contested on an eighth-mile distance, will be the culmination of a 17-year effort to bring drag racing back to Long Island. There hasn’t been legal, sanctioned racing on the island since Westhampton Drag Strip closed after the 2003 season and was replaced by a senior living complex.

The four leading Oz Top Fuel teams, Jim Read Racing, PremiAir Racing, Rapisarda Autosport International, and Lamattina Top Fuel Racing, have joined forces to establish their own Australian Top Fuel Championship series.

The six-round series will run from January to June 2022 across four states and territories, with a minimum of six cars per round.

The decision by the team owners to go it alone means Top Fuel will no longer be part of the 400 Thunder Pro Series, the peak body for the category since 2015.  

Through hard work and determination, Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Ryan Oehler has made himself into a championship contender in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

With that mindset, Oehler was at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., July 8, making test laps on his Buell in preparation for the Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil on July 16-18.

“It went pretty decent,” Oehler said of test session. “I made four runs. I was just trying to get some data. I’ve only made 10 runs in my whole life at Bandimere Speedway. In 2018 and 2019, I went out in the first round both times just because it was so new to me. What I’m seeing is I’m really having to start turning the steam up. The (back) tire is so important. I think it might be one of the most important pieces after you have a finely-tuned program.

JEGS Speedweek marches on at National Trail Raceway, with action-packed racing from the NHRA Sportsman Drag Racing. JEGS Speedweek hosts a doubleheader weekend with the JEGS SPORTSnationals specialty event followed by a Division 3 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, giving the country's best Sportsman racers twice as many chances to win and earn points.

Wednesday saw a track-operated open test-n-tune and shootouts for Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street as well as a Stock/Super Stock Combo Gamblers. The schedule will shift to the annual JEGS SPORTSnationals on Thursday and Friday, closing with the North Central Division Lucas Oil event Saturday and Sunday.

Drag racing has lost another legend.