Angelle Sampey and Karen Stoffer met at a motorcycle racing school in 1995, and a year later, they made their NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle debut at Bandimere Speedway near Denver.

More than a quarter-century later, they’re still fast friends; Sampey, as a three-time NHRA series champion, and Stoffer, the owner of the quickest quarter-mile time ever in their class. 

The fact that both women are still competing in the same class all these many years later brings smiles to their faces. 

“I remember when I first started, George (Bryce) asked me how long did I think I would race,” Sampey said. “I said probably five years. I was hoping to get five years in. That five years went by in what felt like five months. Crazy.

Bobby Hilton did many things in his storied Top Fuel career but participating in a boycott was never one of them. 

Hilton, more commonly known as the driver of the Jim & Allison Lee dragster in the 70s and 80s, fields a Nostalgia Top Fuel car driven by his son Tyler. He's a two-time IHRA Top Fuel national event winner, including a prestigious win at the $20,000-to-win 1980 IHRA Spring Nationals event. He was also an NHRA Div. 2 Top Fuel champion. 

When the All American Fuel Dragsters [AA/FD] announced their intentions to boycott the upcoming Holley Hot Rod Heritage Series event in Bowling Green, Ky., Hilton was never on board with the plan. The AA/FD group plan to race the same weekend elsewhere. 

The journey hasn’t been easy for Michalek Brothers Racing.

When Corey Michalek and his brother, Kyle, bought a dragster in 2015 they had a plan – as team owners – and the plan came to together on May 1.

With Corey driving, Michalek Brothers Racing won the Top Alcohol Dragster title at the 2022 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, N.C. It was MBR’s first Wally as team owners.

It’s a rivalry that would make Foghorn Leghorn and The Dog look like amateur hour. Only in this case, there’s the reality that five-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith and arch-rival Steve Johnson enjoy not liking each other.  

Their tempest in a teapot came to a boil last weekend at the NHRA SpringNationals in Houston when Matt Smith pulled off a legal maneuver in switching bikes before his final-round duel against Johnson. Johnson beat Smith, and almost immediately, the barking and quacking commenced. 

Much of drag racing’s appeal stems from the fact that it is constantly evolving.  It is a “what have you done for me lately?” sport.  Those who adjust and adapt, survive and thrive.  Those who don’t?  Well, they go the way of the front-engine dragster, the bleach burnout and the flag start.
            
For 53 years, the last 31 under the ownership of Steve Earwood, Rockingham Dragway has remained part of the conversation by quickly identifying and embracing new trends. 

It takes only three minutes of chatting with Junior Dragster racer C.J. Jenkins to realize the future of the sport will be just fine. 

Jenkins, 14, from Jamesville, NC, on the eastern side of the state, is a talented driver with roughly 30 race wins to his credit. However, it's not his driving talents that will catch your eye.

The way this teenage drag racer conducts himself will leave a lasting impression. He's a member of his school golf team and works in the family's business because he understands "it's what pays the bills."

​The spring edition of Osage Casino & Hotel Tulsa Raceway Park’s popular Throwdown in T-Town got even bigger when eliminations were postponed at the recent Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS) presented by J&A Service Memphis Nationals two weeks ago. Now, it’s race week again and racers are traveling to Tulsa to put on a show for the Throwdown fans. 
 
“This has become a nationally recognized, can’t-miss event,” said Keith Haney, owner of the MWDRS and co-owner of Tulsa Raceway Park. “Fans have come to expect a thrilling, diverse show at the Throwdown, and they absolutely pack the place. Racers come from all over the country because they want to put on a great show in front of a huge crowd. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. And now with two races in one, it’s going to be an even bigger show.”

Between the two of them, they have 20 NHRA championships. What they don't have is an idea of is how they want their legacies to play out when they hang up the firesuit. 

John Force has 155 career wins, putting him atop not only the all-time wins list of Funny Car racing but also all of professional drag racing. Steve Torrence's 51 Top Fuel career wins, while impressive, pales in comparison to Force's resume. He's just one win shy of tying Joe Amato and Antron Brown for the third-winningest driver in the class. 

"I don't go there, I don't think about it, I don't think about," Force said, shaking his head. "I've had people try to say, 'You can go after Petty. Steal it. 200." 

 
Reigning Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) champion Mike Decker Jr. scored a season-opening win Sunday afternoon at Maryland International Raceway’s 14th annual Atomizer Racing Injectors Door Wars presented by ATI Performance Products. He defeated his son and tuner, Mike “Hollywood” Decker III, in the father-son duo’s first final round together. 
 
“We've lined up against each other before [in Outlaw 10.5], but we've never beaten the whole field before we got there,” Decker Jr. said. “It's very exciting and it just doesn't happen.”
 
The younger Decker was making his NEOPMA debut as the driver of the team’s second car, the screw-blown Decker’s Salvage “Spare Change” ’20 Camaro. He qualified third with a 3.637-second pass at 209.04, while Decker Jr. struggled in qualifying and started eliminations from the No. 13 spot with his 3.958 at 143.70.