That optimistic outlook is part of what Quain Stott is relying on to get him over the stress, loss and illness he’s endured over much of the last three years. 

In April of ’21, the former Pro Modified champion and Southeast Gassers Association owner lost his partner of 36 years, Cynthia Phillips. In September, a case of COVID pneumonia nearly killed the 61-year-old Stott – and at the time, he would have considered death a blessing, given how lonely he was for Phillips. 

“I’m glad the last three years are over,” Stott said Wednesday from his Stott Speed Shop office in Columbus, N.C.

Pro Stock rookie Camrie Caruso will begin her NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series professional career with crew chief Jim Yates calling the shots. Caruso will start the historic Winternationals and Arizona Nationals with California-based Powerbuilt Tools as her primary sponsor. 

“I am excited to get my rookie year of Pro Stock started and I really appreciate Powerbuilt Tools coming on board for my first two races as a primary sponsor,” said Caruso. "Powerbuilt Tools will then be an associate sponsor for the rest of the season.”  

It's race day at Sanair International Raceway. Qualifying is complete, now it's time to begin the process of eliminating down for a winner of the Le GrandNational, Race 7 of 9 in the Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association. 

It's all fun in fantasy land to get away from the troubles of what is happening in the real world. 

For those new to this fantasy world, this is how it works. The race with the most votes advances to the next round. We had a day of voting to seed the eight-car fields. 

First-round ends tonight at 6 PM EST. 

During the last four seasons of NHRA competition there’s been no driver more dominating than Top Fuel's Steve Torrence.

The Kilgore, Texas, native won four consecutive world championships on the strength of 34 victories in 78 races.

Those are mind-boggling numbers for sure, but some that Torrence’s crew member Dom Lagana keeps in perspective.

Second year driver Buddy Hull, who finished No. 14 in points in Top Fuel during his rookie season last year, will be back in action during the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series driving a Tim Wilkerson-tuned Top Fuel dragster. Hull purchased the Top Fuel operation that Wilkerson, a two-time Funny Car winner in 2021, ran at a handful of national events with Keith Murt driving. 

The race car will race under the Buddy Hull Racing banner with primary sponsorship from Hull’s business Vertex Roofing and General Contractors as well as associate sponsor support from DFW RV Center, Lucky’s Diesel Shop and 1st Class Graphics.

​Reuter-Stokes has renewed its associate sponsorship of Cruz Pedregon Racing for the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Reuter-Stokes, which designs and manufactures gamma and neutron detectors for nuclear Instrumentation in the power industry, is in its second year of sponsoring the drag racing team.

"Reuter-Stokes is very excited to continue its partnership with CPR in 2022. The highlight of our 2021 sponsorship season was hosting our customer appreciation event at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. We are so glad we got to see Cruz’s first win in three years,” said Reuter-Stokes Marketing Manager Angela Brown. “The at-track experience, from hospitality to the racing action, was second to none for us and our valued customers. We look forward to another exciting racing season.”

After hosting the largest Funny Car event in over 50 years in March of 2021 at the Texas Motorplex, the excitement and anticipation for the beginning of the 2022 Funny Car Chaos season has been building for almost a year. The season opener, Funny Car Chaos Classic, will happen March 24-26 at the famed track south of Dallas and early indications are this event will be even bigger. The season will conclude with the Funny Car Chaos Championship Finals at Texas Motorplex, October 7-8, to begin the 2nd annual Stampede of Speed. Over $45,000 will be awarded at this event and the 2022 Series Champions for both Funny Car Chaos and the Outlaw Fuel Altered Association will be crowned. 

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) welcomes the installation of a new water well and weather and hydrologic equipment used for measuring salt growth conditions as part of its broader Restore Bonneville program. Federal and state funds were released last year to install the monitoring equipment and help increase the volume of salt pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats this year to a total of up to 500,000 tons.

As part of the Restore Bonneville program, SEMA and the racing community joined forces with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Utah Geological Survey (UGS), and Intrepid Potash Inc. in the collaborative restoration effort. Originally in the 1960s, the racing venue was over 13 miles in length, but the course is now eight miles or less. According to a study by the BLM, the Salt Flats have also shrunk in size from 96,000 acres to about 30,000 acres.

Located in northwestern Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats are composed of densely packed salt remnants of an ancient lakebed formed over thousands of years. They serve as a unique stage set for movies, commercials, marathons, and rocket club launches, and possess rare physical qualities that make it the perfect venue for land speed racing, such as providing a cool surface that doesn’t overheat tires. Since 1914, hundreds of land speed records have been set and broken in a variety of automotive and motorcycle classes. Speed Week, the marquee event at Bonneville, began in 1949, with scores of racers and thousands of spectators descending on Bonneville in the quest for records.

Toyota NHRA drivers will compete under the Toyota Gazoo Racing North America (TGRNA) banner beginning with the 2022 racing season. TGRNA will serve as the North American arm for Toyota’s global motorsports division, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR).

“The opportunity to introduce TGR North America to the NHRA community in 2022 and continue the support in Formula DRIFT and GT4 competition is a big moment for everyone involved in Toyota’s overall motorsports program,” said Paul Doleshal, Group Manager, Motorsports and Assets for Toyota Motor North America. “The ability to showcase the GR family of vehicles on the race track and ultimately be a part of applying racing performance to production vehicles is something that we all strive for through motorsports. Showcasing the capability of our race enthusiast engineers to our new and existing fan base of enthusiasts is the overarching goal of the program.”

The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season will see another familiar face in the Top Fuel ranks as fan favorite and 2018 US Nationals Top Fuel winner Terry McMillen today announced he will compete on a limited schedule, competing in six to eight national events in 2022, so he can continue to support his son Cameron’s junior dragster career. McMillen will race under the Dan Mercier Racing banner.

“We met Dan in 2017 when he purchased a Top Fuel dragster from us and we have stayed friends,” said McMillen, who has two career Top Fuel wins and finished in the Top Ten in 2020. “He runs a family operation just like us, so it is a perfect partnership. After spending last year with Cameron at the track I knew the only way I would come back right now was if I could race around Cameron’s schedule.”

Dan Mercier Racing purchased the Terry McMillen Racing operation so the veteran driver will be returning to the same livery that he earned his first No. 1 qualifier at the Dodge Nationals in 2020 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.