The quickest and fastest cars and the biggest stars in outlaw racing’s big-tire and small-tire classes will come together at Bradenton Motorsports Park this weekend, Dec. 1-4, for the 51st annual Snowbird Outlaw Nationals presented by Motion Raceworks. With a $51,000-to-win Pro Mod show headlining the event, the race also includes Pro 275, X275, Outlaw 632, and the Jet Jam Night of Fire featuring Jet Trucks and the Larsen Motorsports Jet Dragsters.

There’s no question Hector Arana Jr. made the most of his limited 2022 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule.

Competing in only seven of the season’s 15 races, Arana Jr. had two wins in Dallas and Las Vegas and finished 11th in the points standings on his Buell.

“It's super gratifying and that's why we go to the races,” Arana Jr. said about winning two of his seven starts. “We don't go... We're going there for a reason and that's to win. Obviously, it's a passion of mine and my father's (Hector Arana Sr.) and we love doing this. But we're going there because we know we have a shot to win. And we have a bike, we have a team that is capable of winning, which is why we go.”

With more than 70 wins to his resume, three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown knows the importance of starting race day with the proper fuel in his belly and the right nutrition to power to the winner’s circle. The fan-favorite racer has partnered with Sturdiwheat, the Red Wing, Minn.-based maker of all-natural dry baking mixes, and its Bottomless Breakfast program, 

“The Bottomless Breakfast pancake promotion is perfect for NHRA Drag Racing and is an awesome Christmas gift for any racer or regular traveler,” Brown said. “NHRA is a family sport and so many racers, families, and fans stay at the track in their motorhomes and campers, and what better way to start your morning than with the best pancakes on the market, Sturdiwheat.”

Talk about slick, check out the newest hot rod to roll out of Jerry Bickel Race Cars. This machine belongs to Randy Weatherford and will hit the track next season in PDTA's Pro Boost division. 

 
The McLennan name has been synonymous with drag racing for over half a century.

It’s not going away anytime soon. 

Jim McLennan’s Champion Speed Shop front-engine dragsters were among the best on the West Coast during the sport’s formative years. His impact was such that he was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Kenny Bernstein, Dale Pulde, Don Schumacher, Frank Bradley and Dave Uyehara.

McLennan died in early 2007, but the name, and the affinity for the sport, live on. That’s due to the efforts of Bob McLennan, one of his sons and now the owner and crew chief of another version of the Champion Speed Shop dragster.

Drag racing in the 1970s was a much simpler life. And when it came to sportsman drag racing, the options were limited on the national event scene. Take for instance, in the NHRA there was only one heads-up eliminator.

Every other class, from Stock to Competition Eliminator had regulations from classifying its competition based on a pounds per cubic inch basis to factory horsepower ratings.

The sportsman eliminators in the 1970s, long before there were drag racing schools and racers buying rides, an aspiring professional racer would work their way up the ranks. In this compilation of televised NHRA drag racing, you'll see some of the legends before they made their mark on the big stage.

The 2022 season didn’t end the way nitro Funny Car star Matt Hagan wanted.

Instead of celebrating his fourth NHRA world championship – to go with the ones he captured in 2011, 2014, and 2020 – he had to settle for a third-place finish in the points 95 points back of champ Ron Capps.

“From a personal standpoint, I think we did well, but we were expected to do well. You know what I mean?” Hagan said. “Nothing really changed for us as far as from DSR (Don Schumacher Racing) to TSR (Tony Stewart Racing) other than a brand-new owner.

Steve Earwood’s office was cluttered, but not to the extent it had been for decades.

He’d spent the first week of November clearing out and packing up in preparation of relinquishing the ownership reins. He’d been behind the massive desk for 30 years and eight months, transforming Rockingham Dragway from a track that opened only twice a year to one that was in operation almost year-round with motorsports events and testing, concerts, and more. 

By now, the multiple piles of race flyers, magazines, photos, diecast cars, and a couple of Bibles had been reduced to something far more manageable. The time had come to vacate the premises and hand the keys to new owners Al Gennarelli and Dan VanHorn. And beyond an impending trip to the West Coast, the 74-year-old Earwood hadn’t a clue what was on his horizon.

As a tradition established years ago, CompetitionPlus.com has asked members of the racing community to provide our readers with what they are most thankful for during this holiday season. This year's featured person is Josh Hart, driver of the R&L Carriers Top Fuel dragster. Hart recently completed his first full season in NHRA Top Fuel.. - Editor

Racers at the 2023 Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod will be racing for more than just the $100,000 winner-take-all prize thanks to event sponsors like Red Line Synthetic Oil. The lubricants brand signed on to create the Red Line Oil Race Day Performance Bonus Program, putting up $5,000 for five different awards that reward performance and showmanship at the Bradenton Motorsports Park event on March 3-5, 2023. 
 
Red Line Oil Brand Director Mark Beatty has been involved with Drag Illustrated events since the inaugural World Series of Pro Mod at Bandimere Speedway in 2017. After the success of the three WSOPMs and two World Doorslammer Nationals, Beatty knew he had to get involved with the 2023 WSOPM.