It will likely generate the most publicity of any Top Alcohol divisional winner, but that’s what one gets when Tony Stewart wins.

After qualifying No. 2 at the Maple Grove Raceway NHRA Eastern divisional event, Stewart went on to beat Mike Hepp, Dan Page, and teammate Matt Cummings in the final round. Stewart’s third victory of the season propelled him into the national Top Alcohol Dragster points lead. He also leads the North Central Region points standings. 

“The weekend was a polar opposite compared to what happened last race in Columbus (Ohio). The whole team made a conscious decision to try and be on the other side of it. Even though we made it to the Finals, we felt like we were a little too aggressive in Columbus, and it bit us. We came into Reading with a plan to make sure we made a solid lap in the first round of qualifying, and we could press from there. We kept it in a good, safe zone. 

Darlington Dragway is set to return to the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) in 2024, according to an announcement made on Saturday. The renowned quarter-mile drag strip, which Harold Brasington and Woodrow Hall initially constructed under the guidance of IHRA founder Larry Carrier, has a rich history as a prominent fixture on the IHRA schedule since its establishment in 1976.

Throughout the years, Darlington Dragway has played host to numerous IHRA national events, IHRA Sportsman Spectaculars, and the IHRA Division 9 (Raiders) Summit Team Finals. Recognizing its significance, the track was chosen for the IHRA Hall of Fame class in 2022. 

Tommy Franklin, a two-time Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous world champion, secured his second victory of the 2023 season at the Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing. Franklin’s triumph came during the U.S. 131 Motorsports Park’s Northern Nationals thrill show on Saturday night, as he strategically utilized a holeshot advantage to defeat Jim Halsey, a four-time and reigning world champion, in the final round.

Jay Cox, a seasoned competitor in the Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous category, once again claimed the top spot during Friday’s qualifying session at the Northern Nationals presented by Talbert Manufacturing at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. 

Funny Car owner-driver Chris King made his professional debut at Bandimere Speedway in 2021. And as he returned in his second appearance of this season and his second at Denver, he’s gung-ho to rush into a daunting situation – just like he does in his primary job as a Chicago firefighter.
 
“I raced the G.O.A.T.s [Greatest of All-Time] of drag racing, but you know what? I wouldn't want it any other way,” he said. “How many people get to drive these things in the whole world? Not very many. And I'm one of 'em. I just gave myself goosebumps even thinking about that.” Perhaps more striking is the resistance he had to ignore in order to have the opportunity.

Don't be surprised if the field in NHRA's Pro Stock Motorcycle division suddenly encourages sophomore rider Gaige Herrera to pursue his bucket list items outside of riding the Mission Foods-sponsored Vance & Hines Suzuki.

And it's easy to understand why. Herrera's won six of eight races, while the rest have two. He's qualified No. 1 in seven of eight races. Herrera now leads the closest competition in the championship points by 359 points.

So what other drag racing category intrigues him?

The Professional Racers Organization [PRO] has long sought a showcase event to promote their sensory entertainment overload. Recently, in a Zoom press conference, they announced their inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout, for February 8-10, 2024, at Bradenton Motorsports Park. The event is designed to be a high-stakes, big-money race featuring the stars of Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock. 

The PRO Superstar Shootout will represent a total purse of $1.3 million, with $250,000 going to the Top Fuel and Funny Car winners and $125,000 going to the Pro Stock winner. The event will be live-streamed on FloRacing. 

“Drag racing is obviously a super exciting sport,” said PRO President Alan Johnson. “This event is going to give us the opportunity to showcase that in different ways with live-streaming, and we are going to change up the format a bit. Having elite professional racers compete in this should be an outstanding event. We are really looking forward to it.

It’s almost a month before the NHRA traditionally releases its schedule for the following season, but a news release promoting the NHRA Gatornationals has tipped its hand about where it will begin.

NHRA officials confirmed on August 1, 2023, that the 2024 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will again open with the NHRA Gatornationals, the 55th annual running of the event in Gainesville, Fla. 

The event will feature all four Camping World Drag Racing Series categories, including the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout specialty race.

Throughout the Southeastern United States, many eighth-mile tracks, especially those in the Carolinas, booked in the IHRA’s mountain motor Pro Stockers and Alcohol Funny Cars for match races. When the local races began to run quicker and put on a better show than the aforementioned entities, some of the promoters, namely the ones around Charlotte (NC) and Orangeburg (SC) began to offer these teams guaranteed money to withdraw from the bracket race competition and race against a similarly prepared entry.

Let the record reflect that Ed Hoover won the first of the Quick Eight shootouts at Shuffletown Dragway in Charlotte, NC.

The intuitive nature of these promoters led them to believe they had stumbled upon something and that if two put on a great show, then eight would be simply awesome. Instead of paying the individual appearance fees, these track operators, offered up decent purses for Quick Eight action.

Once is usually a coincidence. Could the second time be a part of a trend?

For the second time in as many events, the PDRA will partner with Nitro for its drag racing presentation. In Virginia Motorsports Park, Larry Dixon Jr. won the Virginia Motorsports Park Summit ProStars event, stopping blue-collar Top Fuel icon Scott Palmer.

Dixon will again participate in a nitro show which includes Spencer Massey, Krista Baldwin, and Gary Pritchett driving the Lagana Brothers dragster.