The first time Hank Steinbrenner called Darrell Gwynn, the former Top Fuel team owner thought it was one of his friends pulling a prank on him.

Steinbrenner was calling Gwynn because the iconic major league baseball team New York Yankees was interested in using the Top Fuel team as part of a multi-year marketing program.

Steinbrenner had one of his buddies call, and they said that Hank Steinbrenner wants to talk to you guys," Gwynn recalled. "I actually didn't believe it."

Matt Smith can only hope he doesn't come up against his wife Angie in the finals of another fan-vote, the Virtual reality Hot Rod Association event.

By a slim margin of six votes, Smith not only captured his first win in the four-race series but also thrust himself into the championship scenario with one event left to go.

Regardless, another win against Angie might put him to sleeping on the couch for a while. A punishment he'll accept if it equates to a championship.

"Yeah, I guess so," Smith said with a chuckle.

Even Dan Horan Jr. understood the odds were clearly not in his favor. There he sat in his Nostalgia Fuel Funny Car car, upside down just moments after he ran into the sandtrap at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, when the parachutes failed to deploy on his front-running entry.

Horan figured pending a miracle his chances of racing in the Bakersfield March Meet were slim to none.

"You got to give props where props are due," Horan admitted. "I thought if the car went back together, we'd have a pretty darn good shot at getting it into the number one position. Pomona was a little light, and we just analyzed all the data and went after it and took a swing at it. And thank the Lord Jesus, we're made it here."

The worldwide Pandemic has made a mess of a lot of things, and for drag racing, it has created a situation the likes of which has never been seen.

Virtually every entity from sanctioning bodies to track owners to race teams and everyone else in the community has been affected by weeks of isolation.

Don Schumacher has always faced a monumental challenge coordinating his multitude of race teams, sponsors and employees. Schumacher, in his time as a team owner, has faced an energy crisis, recessions and the loss of sponsors. However, nothing could have prepared him for the unthinkable challenge which hit drag racing front and center on March 12, 2020.

The NHRA, at the urging of Florida government officials, postponed the Gatornationals until June, a date which cannot assuredly set in stone.

CompetititonPlus.com's Bobby Bennett caught up with Schumacher for a chat about the state of affairs in the straight line spot. There's a lot of uncertainty right now, as Schumacher confirmed.

It's race day at Raceway Park in Englishtown. Qualifing is complete, now it's time to begin the process of eliminating down for a winner at the ARP Summernationals, Race 3 of 4 in the Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association. 

It's all fun in fantasy land to get away from the troubles of what is happening in the real world. 

For those new to this fantasy world, this is how it works. The race with the most votes advances to the next round. We had two days of voting to seed the eight-car fields. 

First round ends tonight at 7 PM EST. 

Wade Rich admits there was nothing personal; he just needed a change in scenery.

A change is the reason Rich, a noted track prep specialist, says he left Orlando Speed World and returned to his original home of Bradenton Motorsports Park outside of Tampa, Fla.

"I'm coming back to the house that built me.," Rich said.

Rich said he now has a more manageable workload, aimed at making him better at what he does best, ensuring a drag strip runs better.

When Jeg Coughlin Jr. clinched his fourth Pro Stock championship with a victory in the fall of 2008 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his most memorable reward was a thrilling flight with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron.
 
"That was maybe the wildest thing I've ever done," said Coughlin, who took the flight just two days after locking up the Pro Stock title. "Certainly, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something most people can only dream of, but I must admit it was more than a little intimidating.

If the word from Jessica Hatcher, the NHRA’s senior director of public relations and communications, is any indication, independent professional racers shouldn’t get their hopes up that two-day events are under consideration for 2021 and beyond.

Six races on the revised 2020 schedule have been condensed to two days for the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes.  Racers will be idle Friday but have two qualifying sessions Saturday and eliminations Sunday at Houston, Bristol, Norwalk, Seattle, Topeka, and Reading.

The NHRA made the decision based on “a number of economic and logistical factors that have come into play as we rework the schedule.” But it never hinted that this might be a trial run for a trimmed-down schedule that could make racing at least a little more cost-effective.

Past NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon's voting base came alive on Wednesday, the first day of qualifying for the Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association propelling the Kalitta Motorsports driver past season leaders Terry McMillen, Clay Millican, and Brittany Force for the provisional top spot. Qualifying ends this evening at 7 PM, EST.

Langdon holds a 14-percent share of the votes, while second place Brittany Force stands 12-percent and Clay Millican trails her by one vote. Justin Ashley is fourth with 10-percent.

Terry McMillen, the winner of one event and top qualifier in all, is sixth with 9-percent. Steve Torrence sits on the bubble at 4-percent.