To Our Racing Community - For almost fifty years Racers For Christ has been dedicated to serving the spiritual and emotional support needs of the world of motorsports. Since 1982, NHRA has allowed us to provide chaplains for all of its national and divisional events.  We have taken this responsibility seriously, with grace and humility. When we are able to safely return to racing, our desire is to continue growing the ministry and serving the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of everyone at those events.  

After much prayer and careful consideration in our continuing efforts to keep pace with the changes in the motorsports experience as well as the industry and economy, the RFC Executive Committee and the RFC Board of Directors have made the decision to change our NHRA national event ministry leadership structure for efficiency. We will begin to utilize the existing team of Region Directors to represent RFC at events instead of one person traveling for the entirety of the season.  These Region Directors have been part of the national event ministry for many years; they are strong in their faith and they are very capable leaders.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has rescinded permission for spectators to attend Wooostock 2020, scheduled to begin Thursday, May 14, and continue through Saturday, at Darlington Dragway.

event promoter Keith Berry revealed the no-spectator reversal in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon.

For Nelson Hoyos, the quarantine life has been anything but sitting around watching episodes of The Tiger King. H

oyos, General Manager for South Georgia Motorsports Park, has been busy getting all of those projects done at the track he's wanted to do for a long time but a virtually non-stop schedule never afforded the opportunity.

"We've been just doing general maintenance and keeping the place 'ready to open," Hoyos said. "[track owner] Ozzy [Moya] and ourselves, we've been talking about what do we do to improve the facility?" Hoyos explained. "We've been talking about doing some grinding work and some things to make the track better than what it is. He actually pulled the trigger on that and surprised us, made a deal with the Southeast Grinders and Stephan over there and they came in on a Friday, and we started grinding the track. We ground a little over 1,400 feet on both sides."

It’s pretty simple to sum up Joe Amato: He’s a man who’s done everything he set out to do, whether by necessity or by choice.

He began working in his father’s Pennsylvania speed shop starting at age 11. At 16, he dropped out of school to take over the business, and eventually turned it into an auto parts empire. At one point, five championships and 52 victories made him the winningest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history. And now, in retirement, he’s an experienced traveler who in 2021 anticipates completing visits to all seven of the continents on Earth.

In 1998, Amato sold the business that he, his brother and two partners built and retired from everything but racing and traveling.

Rodney Viehland stared down an extreme situation.

Sometimes extreme situations require an intense response.

Viehland, the owner of Coles County Dragway, was told by local health officials and government officials he could not open his drag strip located in the southern part of Illinois.

According to NASCAR-oriented website www.kickinthetires.net, the future of Chicagoland Speedway and likely Route 66 Raceway is intact and will not go away.

“Yes, the track would remain,” Michael Schwarz, Joliet’s Director of the city’s Planning Commission told www.kickinthetires.net, via email. “The proposed sale only involves accessory parking on the east side of the property."

When Morgan Lucas left the driver’s seat of his Top Fuel dragster, he did so with intentions of settling into an increased role in the family’s Lucas Oil business. He has now been promoted to President of Lucas Oil Products.

Morgan will now report directly to his father, CEO Forrest Lucas.

“Today, I am honored and humbled to assume the role of President of Lucas Oil Products,” Morgan said. “This incredible opportunity is one that I do not take lightly and thanks to our amazing executive management team and all of our hard-working employees, I know our future is bright. I have watched my father and mother work tirelessly and make countless sacrifices to take Lucas Oil from its modest beginnings to grow it into the thriving enterprise that it is today.

“The mission they have instilled has always been to exemplify hard work and integrity through the creation of high quality, problem-solving products with an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. Continuing their successful approach and being open-minded to new opportunities amidst the ever-changing marketplace, I am confident we will continue to grow as a company for many years to come.”

Keith Berry's annual Wooostock race, an event featuring Drag Radial cars at Darlington Dragway, scored a major victory on Sunday, May 10, before the first car turned a tire under power.

Wooostock 2020, scheduled to begin Thursday, May 14, and continue through Saturday, has been given a reprieve by Darlington County health officials enabling the popular event to host spectators.

The event was originally scheduled for April 16-18, but was postponed due to local health regulations. 

Plans have been unveiled that could mean an eventual end to a facility that has hosted NHRA national events for almost two decades.

Last week, it was learned that the planning commission for the city Joliet, Illinois, is to hear from a group that plans to turn much of the existing Chicagoland Speedway into a subdivision. The 1.5-mile track, which opened in 2001, is one of 13 facilities owned by NASCAR, which last fall completed an acquisition of a sister company, International Speedway Corporation.

A dozen of those tracks are designed to host NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series events and more. The lone exception is Route 66 Raceway, which has been a staple on the NHRA schedule since 1998. The dragstrip is located across West Schweitzer Road from Chicagoland Speedway’s main entrance.

Soon there will be a new player in the live streaming game.

Ted Jones, a former sanctioning body executive who transitioned into television production, confirmed his Bristol, Tenn.-based Masters Entertainment Group, Inc. have added a live streaming division.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Jones said. “We’re having fun putting the trailer together because it’s going to be more like a TV truck, in that we’ll be able to do things they don’t now do in streaming. We’ll still use the PA announcer as the main announcer, but we’ll do things like RF transmitting top-end interviews and paid interviews and stuff like that live.