Performance Racing Industry (PRI) is strengthening its commitment to the motorsports industry and cementing its presence in the racing capital of the world by purchasing a 42,500-square-foot building in Speedway, Ind., just outside of Indianapolis. Located within walking distance of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the building will serve as PRI Membership Headquarters and offer a broad range of programs and services to assist the motorsports community.

“Indianapolis is the epicenter of motorsports in America and the world, and we are excited to work alongside our Indianapolis neighbors and racing industry icons, and be at the forefront of the racing community,” said PRI President Dr. Jamie Meyer. “PRI Membership is a groundbreaking program that unites the industry and creates a collective voice for the motorsports community to address any challenges and needs."

This season will be drastically different for Don Schumacher, the winningest team owner in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Just five seasons ago, Schumacher entered the 2017 season with eight teams. When the season kicks off next month in Pomona, Schumacher will roll through the gates with just one professional team, the one driven by his son Tony Schumacher.

Schumacher addresses the downsizing in this exclusive interview with CompetitionPlus.com editor Bobby Bennett. He also reflects on his successful run as a mega-team owner and his time in the sport as a drag racer. 

Schumacher also looks ahead to the landscape of his team and if he plans to reexpand or remain as he is now in this first interview ahead of the 2022 season. 

When it came to drag racing heroes, there was only one for Lee Callaway.

The sun rose and set around this Funny Car driver, at least as the youthful eyes of Callaway saw it.

As far as he was concerned, for Callaway, NHRA Division 4 racer Johnny White was as good as it got back in the day.

NHRA officials announced DENSO as the title rights sponsor of the 2022 DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 22-24.

The DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals, the second stop of the annual NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Western Swing, is a highlight for racers and fans alike. Seeded in the heart of wine country, Sonoma Raceway is one of the most scenic facilities on the NHRA circuit.

Veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. competed in four races in the 2021 NHRA season after his team lost its primary sponsor.

At his four events, Gainesville, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., Indianapolis and Dallas, Arana Jr. had success highlighted by his runner-up finish in Dallas.

Arana Jr. doesn’t have any definite racing plans in place for 2022, as it is a work in progress finding financial backing.

 
Immediately following Helio Castroneves’ historic fourth Indianapolis 500 victory last May, Jimmie Johnson said that the wildly popular, energetic Brazilian is the person who will push the sport forward.
 
Personality-wise, Castroneves undoubtedly checks all the boxes. It’s debatable whether the NTT IndyCar Series should bank on a driver who’s zooming in on his 47th birthday – especially with so many talented young shoes. The series has Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay at age 21, Pato O’Ward at 22, Santino Ferrucci at 23, reigning champion Alex Palou and R.C. Enerson at 24, and Oliver Askew and Pietro Fittipaldi at 25. Older but still-young are 29-year-old Scott McLaughlin, 30-year-olds Alexander Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist, and 31-year-olds Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson.

When noted drag racing historian Bret Kepner served as a Sr. Editor for the legendary drag racing magazine Super Stock & Drag Illustrated, he had no idea an assignment would one day spawn into one of the more revered drag racing programs.

"Steve Collison had this grandiose plan for this mega Indy coverage like nobody had ever done before in Super Stock & Drag Illustrated," Kepner explained. I think he later came up with a name like the I Team or something stupid, but he had a lot of people working on a lot of different things."

When it came time to doling out assignments, Kepner knew what he wanted to cover, and it wasn't an eliminator.

The Young Executives Network (YEN), a SEMA group dedicated to cultivating talent in the automotive aftermarket, is now the Future Leaders Network (FLN). The new name more accurately reflects the network’s 1,142 membership, which includes employees ranging from entry-level staff to managers, and trade workers, executives, and business owners.  

"The network supports talent and individuals who are aspiring to further their careers in the automotive aftermarket. The Future Leaders Network will continue to offer programs and resources that will help members advance their careers,” said FLN Chair Nick Caloroso.

Caloroso explains that the former Young Executives Network name did not accurately reflect the group’s membership. “More than half of our members do not fall into the executives category, and although we will retain the age requirement, the word 'young' is relative and implies inexperience. Regardless of the individual’s role, each member is aspiring to become a more effective and productive leader in the industry.”

As T.J. Zizzo figured, if someone has to win, "it might as well be me."

Zizzo, the popular Rust-o-Leum Top Fuel dragster driver, ran roughshod over the Top Fuel field in the 2020 - 2021 Virtual Hot Rod Association field last season, much like Krista Baldwin has done this season. When Baldwin was upset in the first round of the McLeod VRHRA Summernationals, the defending champion pounced on the opportunity by beating Doug Kalitta in an overtime race. 

Zizzo scored one more vote in a back-and-forth contest with the Mac Tools-sponsored Kalitta during the four-minute overtime period when both drivers could earn votes.