Chad Green, a veteran Pro Mod racer and NHRA nitro Funny Car driver, is expanding his family’s drag racing tree.

On Dec. 27-28 at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in Gainesville, Fla., Green’s daughter, Lexi, 25, received her Super Gas license.

Lexi joins her father and her brother, Hunter, 28, in the drag racing driver scene. Hunter competed in five races last season in Randy Meyer’s Top Alcohol Dragster. Hunter also has a Top Fuel license.

When Dale Pulde sold his racing operation some years back, he never officially retired from racing nitro. That’s because the seasoned world championship-winning drag racer with one of the more iconic names in the straight line wasn’t done. 

Pulde has confirmed he will return to drag race in 2023 as a driver on a two-car team fielded by Bucky Austin. When Austin first approached him, the multi-time IHRA Funny Car champion admitted he had to think about it.

“Bucky and I always got along,” Pulde said. “I always had a good relationship with Bucky. In the last few years, I would go to the races with him. One day, he asked, ‘Why don’t you do a second car with me? 

DMP Awnings will sponsor the four-race Nitro Chaos Championship series in 2023. The recently announced schedule for this run whatcha' brung, anything goes (as long as it's on nitro!) series includes stops at Ohio's Edgewater Sports Park, Iowa's Eddyville Raceway Park, Missouri's Mo-Kan Dragway and Oklahoma's Thunder Valley Raceway Park. After two years of exhibition events, the DMP Awnings Nitro Chaos Championship Series will elevate from exhibition to stand-alone status.

Three-time Pro Modified champion Mike Janis received unwelcomed news two years ago. His doctor, during an angiogram, a diagnostic test that uses x-rays to take pictures of the patient’s blood vessels, revealed a blockage. Two stints were inserted into the artery, and while the procedure put Janis on solid health ground, his doctor said he couldn’t drive a race car.

Today, in a statement released to the drag racing media, Janis confirmed he was returning to driving and will make the March 3-5, 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Modified his first event back. He’s among over 40 drivers competing for the $100,000 winner-take-all prize at the outlaw eighth-mile event.

“It’s going to be a big event for me,” said Janis. “Not only is it going to be my first time back, but we’re also going to have a brand-new car and a whole different combination. But it’s not like we haven’t been involved all this time. I’m excited. I drove around 30 test passes last year, so I’ve been still sharp at it. It’s going to be fun.”

Much has been spoken in recent months about Clint Neff, as very well should have been the case. Neff and fellow idea man Harry Clack debuted a one-of-a-kind A/ED in Comp Eliminator this year and displayed monumental performance utilizing the most unexpected combination. For Neff, though, remarkable has been the norm his entire life, and the personal side of his journey is worthy of note. 

Neff's father, Ron, ran Modified from the early 1960s to the mid-70s before shifting his focus to Comp Eliminator. According to NHRA statistician Bob Frey, Papa Neff was "one of the best drag racers to have never won a national event," with five national event finals contested and thirteen finals reached at the divisional level. Ron drove a split bumper Camaro followed by a tidy assortment of Econo Dragsters,  was the 1990 Division 5 champion in Comp, and finished in the top 10 in the national standings four times. It makes sense that his son would catch the bug.

After three years away from drag racing, world championship crew chief Tommy DeLago got back into the NHRA mix on Jan. 4, 2022, joining Davis Motorsports/Justin Ashley Racing and working with fellow world championship crew chief Mike Green.

DeLago, working with Green, just missed having a Top Fuel world title season for Ashley as he finished fourth in the season points standings and had three wins and three runner-up finishes.

Although Ashley didn’t reach the Top Fuel summit, DeLago was thrilled to be part of the Top Fuel team.

 
RAI plans to return to Willowbank Raceway, Queensland for the first time since January 4, 2020, for Round Three of the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship, January 7-8.  

At their last appearance, the team swept the podium. Wayne Newby took the win over Damien Harris in the A-Final with Californian import Ashley Sanford claiming victory over Phil Read in the B-Final. 

“We are looking forward to returning to Willowbank,” said team owner Santo Rapisarda. “Over the years the venue has been a happy hunting ground for the team. 

Mason McGaha has proven he’s a solid NHRA Pro Stock driver in his brief career so far.

In 44 races, McGaha has 30 round wins and one runner-up finish at the 2021 Charlotte (N.C.) Four Wide race in the spring.

On Dec. 27-28, McGaha attended Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in Gainesville, Fla.

Those who know Stevie “Fast” Jackson understand he’s not the type to sit idle, even when he’s in a cast up to his chin. Today, Jackson is running at break-neck speed; no pun intended, while healing recovers from neck surgery to repair injuries sustained as far back as 2008.

“I wake up in the morning, and the first question I ask myself every day when I get up is, how can I better my race team today?” Jackson said. “What can I do? How can I spend my time making it easier for my team to win? We’ve been working on a new deal that’s been coming to fruition for a while now.”

Jackson has finalized a deal that will make him part of Sidnei Frigo and Artivinco Racing in 2023, although he could be sidelined for up to six months while recuperating.