With NHRA races on hold due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, Pro Stock and Top Sportsman racer Aaron Stanfield has been trying to stay busy.

He became a standout in CompetitionPlus.com’s Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association, winning the final race of the season April 21.

Major league drag racing is scheduled to return the first week of June in Gainesville, Fla.

Our question for you, the race fan, do you believe drag racing will resume then. Help us to gauge the drag racing community's opinion. 

Rich Schaefer has a plan of how he expects to handle post-Pandemic era drag racing. The most significant issue he faces is when will he get the chance to implement it.

Schaefer, who is NHRA Division 2 Director, is one of two members of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series scheduled to hit the track in three weeks. He will oversee the LODRS event at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga.

As of today, the event is still on but remains a very fluid situation.

Still Schaefer must prepare as if the show will go on.

It won’t hurt your ears and doesn’t use a drop of fuel, but it’s projected to crush the quarter-mile in the low-8-second range at more than 170 mph. For the first time ever, Ford Performance introduces a one-off Mustang Cobra Jet factory drag racer with all-electric propulsion.

The battery-powered Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 prototype is purpose-built and projected to deliver over 1,400 horsepower and over 1,100 ft.-lbs. of instant torque to demonstrate the capabilities of an electric powertrain in one of the most demanding race environments.

“Ford has always used motorsport to demonstrate innovation,” said Dave Pericak, Global Director, Ford Icons. “Electric powertrains give us a completely new kind of performance and the all-electric Cobra Jet 1400 is one example of pushing new technology to the absolute limit. We’re excited to showcase what’s possible in an exciting year when we also have the all-electric Mustang Mach-E joining the Mustang family.”

Bill Bader is ready to return to work.

The second-generation drag strip owner, who operates Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, confirmed Wednesday evening on Facebook Live that he will issue his schedule next week. He plans to operate the facility located outside of Cleveland regardless if stay at home orders for the state are lifted or not.

"We find ourselves in a position that is an uncomfortable one, and I must get open," Bader said. "I guess the message that I wanted to share tonight is that we are opening. Summit Motorsports Park is not going to wait for permission. Summit Motorsports Park is not going to wait for Dr Fauci and wait for Amy Acton (Director of health for the Ohio Department of Health) and wait for Mike DeWine (Ohio Governor) because none of them even know I exist. And none of them really care.

It’s not how you start but how you finish which counts.

For Terry McMillen, he ended the season in the same fashion in which he started - with a victory.

McMillen, who drives the Amalie Oil/All-Star Performance Top Fuel dragster, made it two victories in one as he beat Shawn Langdon in the final round of the Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association Final Showdown, a fan-vote event. His second-round win over No. 1 qualifier Justin Ashley clinched the inaugural Top Fuel crown.

“It’s just the real world and how we all have to fight and perseverance pays off,” said McMillen. “I think I certainly couldn’t have done it without my team. A couple times, I had my crew chief call in a couple changes that we needed to make to get the car set up to go down that track. Ultimately, it’s just amazing.

More than a thousand homes are planned for a piece of newly purchased property along C-470 near Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo.

Homes will start going into the undeveloped parcel across from the speedway in fall of 2021.

The Bandimere family executive team, which runs the speedway, is aware of the development, but not concerned about the track’s future.

The majority of businesses in the specialty automotive industry continues to operate during the Coronavirus pandemic. Even with “shelter in place” rules in effect in many states, more than two-thirds of industry businesses have not closed any of their facilities during this time.

The findings are from a survey of SEMA member companies conducted April 1-7. SEMA has been working to identify areas to support the aftermarket industry during the pandemic as it moves towards recovery. 

“The results of this survey show the resiliency of the specialty automotive industry and how it continues to push forward, working to move past the COVID-19 disruption,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “We are using this feedback to further develop resources to help member businesses through this time of economic interruption.”

The PDRA Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Modern Racing, originally scheduled for May 7-9, is being postponed, series officials announced today. The Virginia Motorsports Park event is now the second PDRA race to be postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
“Things are starting to look more and more positive as the days and weeks go by, but we won’t be able to hold the Mid-Atlantic Showdown as scheduled,” said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. “Virginia’s non-essential business opening date has been extended to May 8, right in the middle of our race date. We’re as ready to race as anybody, but we must respect the guidelines set in place by the state officials.”
 
Crossnoe, who is also the vice president at Virginia Motorsports Park, is working with the PDRA’s track partners to develop a new schedule for the first half of the season. This includes the Mid-Atlantic Showdown, as well as what was supposed to be the season-opening race in early April, the East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech at GALOT Motorsports Park.