The S&W Performance Group confirmed Terri (Weney) Gdowik will helm the family owned 61 year old performance racing industry powerhouse, as its new President. Terri’s appointment from Executive Vice President to President comes after her brother, Michael Weney, completed his successful 4 year term as S&W’s President. Their new EVP will be named at a later date.

“Terri has been a key part of the business for over 38 years. I’m confident in Terri’s leadership and experience, to lead us through this new decade and beyond,” stated S&W company founder, Walt Weney.

In a surprise move, nitrous Pro Mod star Keith Haney revealed plans to open his 2020 racing season Mar. 5-8, with the 18th annual NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem event at South Florida's historic Bradenton Motorsports Park.

"We've never raced at Bradenton before, but I've always heard such great things about the track and the fans there and I've always wanted to see it for myself," Haney said. "And what better way to do that than go support the NMCA and get better prepared for our own Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) season opener later next month in Dallas?"

Haney, who owns and promotes MWPMS, also wants to demonstrate how easy and seamless it is for Mid-West Series and NMCA racers to compete with either organization. 

The friendly barbs and endless trash talk has gone on for months.
 
Now, Bo Butner and Dave Kramer are going to settle things on the track – with $25,000 on the line – at the Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals presented by CTech Manufacturing.
 
The event takes place March 6-8 at Orlando Speed World Dragway, and Butner and Kramer’s best two-out-of-three duel will take place on Saturday in Factory Stock Showdown. The winner gets $25,000 – though Butner predicts that purse could go up by the time Saturday night arrives – and some major bragging rights.
 
“Like I told him when he started talking, he’s got the easy part done. He’s talked about it,” said Butner, who campaigns a Cobra Jet Ford Mustang. “His stuff is fast, but I think we’ve got something to surprise him with.”

Veteran nitro Funny Car Jeff Diehl keeps living his drag racing dream.

The “Surfer” as he’s known made his debut in 2006 and now in 2020, he’s still hard at work trying to achieve more success.

Diehl made his 2020 season debut at the Arizona Nationals last weekend. He qualified No. 16 and then upset No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan under bizarre circumstances. 

Hagan hit he last timing block at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix. By clipping the cone Hagan was disqualified giving Diehl the win even though he didn’t record an elapsed time.

The SEMA Battle of the Builders® Young Guns Regional Competition makes its 2020 debut at the Heat Wave Spring Break Jam, March 7-8, in South Padre Island, Texas.

Now in its fourth year, the SEMA Young Guns competition is open to anyone ages 27 or younger (as of Nov. 6, 2020) who builds their vehicle primarily on their own. Interested builders are encouraged to register immediately for the opportunity to compete amongst their peers at the Spring Break Jam event.

Paul Richards Racing Nitro Funny Car driver Dave Richards will make his 2020 season debut next month at the Gatornationals and is geared up to debut a new patriotic theme on his Ford Mustang.
 
“The Mahoney family with Prestige Site Works are one of the essential components behind our racing program,” Richards said. “We chose this scheme for our [Ford] Mustang because they are devoted to giving back to veterans and we hope veterans will have a car to cheer for now when they see us at the track.”

 
The Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals presented by CTech Manufacturing has added another marquee partner, as race officials announced today that Strutmasters, an industry leader in suspension parts and air to non-air suspension conversion kits, has been named a major sponsor of the race.
 
The highly-anticipated inaugural event, which takes place March 6-8 at Orlando Speed World Dragway, features a purse of more than $300,000, awarding the winners in Pro Stock and Pro Mod $75,000 and $50,000, respectively. For Strutmasters founder and owner Chip Lofton, it’s another way to be involved in a sport – and now an event – he loves.

As Lyle Barnett lay in the hospital, recovering from burns sustained in an accident at the Lights Out VI event, he had no idea five years later he'd have an important date with destiny at South Georgia Motorsports Park, the multi-purpose facility located outside of Valdosta, Ga.

Two years earlier, an energetic and beautiful one-year-old toddler named Blake Neumann, was also in a burn center over 1,000 miles away being treated for burns sustained in a hot grease spill.

On February 14, 2020, their lives intersected in person for the first time. Credit Netflix with being the conduit to join two people with horrific experiences in life for a positive purpose.

Steve Torrence returned to competition after sitting out the season-opener in Pomona, Ca., and the result was more of the same as last year. The CAPCO-sponsored driver scored his first win of the season beating point leader Doug Kalitta.

Tommy Johnson Jr. returned to seal a Funny Car victory at the place where his nitro career began in 1989. Johnson beat teammate and point leader Jack Beckman in the final round.

Erica Enders continued the line of Elite Performance domination as she returned to the winner's circle beating Bo Butner in the final round. Elite Performance has now won the last four races of the season.

All of this, and all the sportsman competition, is in this episode of the CompetitionPlusTV race recap presented by http://www.strutmasters.com.

Race Winning Brands, Inc., a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC is proud to announce the acquisition of Manley Performance Products, a top-tier manufacturer of high-performance pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, and valvetrain components.

“We are excited to join the Race Winning Brands team and partner with a group that leads the racing industry in technology, manufacturing, and innovation,” said Manley Performance President, Trip Manley. “Our mission remains the same; to manufacture the finest quality internal engine components at competitive prices and offer unparalleled customer service.”

“Our goal at RWB is to lead racers to victory, and we do that by aligning with companies that are the best at what they do,” said Race Winning Brands President, Bob Bruegging. “Manley is a natural fit within our organization and this partnership is a tremendous opportunity to further grow our performance product lines.”