CompetitionPlus.com, the leading independent drag racing news source for over two decades, has teamed up with apparel giant Modern Outlaw to deliver their branded merchandise to the NHRA Camping World Series. Additionally, the partnership will bring the racer t-shirts sold from their trailer to CompetitionPlusApparel.com.

The working alliance will enable the parties access to areas their product lines have missed.

"I have known Mike Buckner and his team at Modern Outlaw and like the way they operate," said Bobby Bennett, publisher/editor, and founder of the CompetitionPlus.com brand in 1999. We decided some of our best advertising was through our fans and wanted to create a very impact-driven presentation, and with our Competition Plus Apparel brand, we have been able to do this.

Fresh off of a historic Pro Stock victory at the final NHRA national event at Atlanta Dragway, Greg Anderson is fired up. The four-time NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series champion now owns 96 trophies and is just one win short of tying Warren Johnson on the all-time win list in Pro Stock. Anderson will have even more incentive to close the deal as he debuts a very special wrap on his KB Racing-powered Chevrolet Camaro at the upcoming NGK NTK Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, May 14-16, 2021.
 
The HendrickCars.com graphics on Anderson's Chevrolet will pay homage to Ricky Hendrick, and the blue and white design is similar to what the gone-too-soon driver campaigned in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (formerly the Craftsman Truck Series) and the XFinity Series (formerly Busch Series). Ricky Hendrick, the son of Rick and Linda Hendrick, lost his life in a plane crash on October 24, 2004, alongside seven friends and family members.

Samson Exhaust and hardcore specialty vehicle builder Spevco have already partnered together for three years sponsoring two-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel Harley (TFH) champion Tii Thape. Now they’re jumping in to help the class, sponsoring the ground-pounding, flame-throwing nitro Harleys at NHRA’s Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.

Tharpe isn’t just a rider, he’s also the Spevco president. He and Samson president Mike Baverstock both agree that putting their companies’ money into NHRA TFH isn’t some charity deal just to support the class—it’s good business.

“Mike is really, really good about keeping metrics,” said Tharpe. “And he knows that when we race on Sunday, he sells on Monday. If we win on Sunday, he sells more on Monday.”

Alex Laughlin came to Atlanta Dragway focused on winning the final NHRA Pro Modified event to be held at the track located outside of Atlanta, Ga. He didn't qualify at the top, nor did he get a round win, but there was plenty for the versatile drag racer to remain upbeat. 

On May 1, the final day of qualifying for the Southern Nats, Mattel released its second Hot Wheels replica of one of Laughlin's race day rides.

"It should be hitting stores soon," he said. "But for it to be a car that has meant so much to me, you know, the Corvette that won Lights Out and whatnot, it's awesome just to see it made.

Three-time champ Phil Read returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2012 when he downed Peter Xiberras in the final of the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder meeting at Sydney Dragway.

Local racer Sam Fenech produced the feel-good story of the weekend when he won Pro Slammer, and an emotional Nino Cavallo took the honors in Pro Stock. Veteran Steve Read dominated Pro Alcohol, and hot favorite Jeremy Callaghan reigned supreme in Pro Mod.

The return of Pro racing for the first time since January 2020 ran into a significant roadblock when day one set aside for shakedown runs, and qualifying was cancelled due to persistent showers. Consequently, race day became a cutthroat affair, a massive challenge for all competitors and, in particular, those teams that had not tested ahead of the meeting.

Top Fuel racer Shawn Langdon isn't ready to proclaim himself as a D.I.Y. home improvement kind of guy, but he is certainly stepping outside of his comfort zone in this post-Pandemic world.

"I've learned to be better in the last year or so with spending a little bit more time at home," Langdon said. "Just doing stuff around the house and yard work and stuff that I normally don't do because I'm on the road so much.

At first, the home projects were engaging. At third or fourth, not so much.

One look at the DNA of Josh Hart's Top Fuel operation and his debut victory at the NHRA Gatornationals back in March shouldn't come as a surprise.

The team was built to win on a budget; a Moneyball type of approach in the volatile world of nitro-fueled drag racing. And for Hart, this approach might not be the truest sense of the term, but it sure is working.

Yeah, I had a very smart person. Some people have probably heard of him, Don Garlits," Hart said. "He said, 'You can pay every weekend to blow all your stuff up, or you can dig real deep and find a really good crew chief who won't blow all your stuff up."

If John Force was asked once about the final NHRA national event at Atlanta Dragway, he was asked a million times.

"I was at the last drag race at Lions [Drag Strip], and life moves on, and it'll move on from here," Force, the 16-time champion, said. "But when they talk about how bad I feel, I don't like it. I don't want to see it closed, but I also have 35 years of memories of fans, people, wins. Ashley won her first race here, and to me, it's not dead. We're just moving on, but the memories move on with us. That's how I feel about it."

Force admits he wasn't as sentimental early in his career when tracks closed down, although he understood the magnitude of the situations at the time.

After a hiatus of 468 days, the 400 Thunder series returns to Sydney Dragway with the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Thunder meeting on May 7-8. 

Since January 2020, there has been no Pro level racing in Australia due to Coronavirus and numerous State government-imposed border closures and travel restrictions.

Top Fuel has attracted only three entries - three-time champ Phil Read, Carrot king Phil Lamattina, and Sydney team owner-driver Peter Xiberras.  

 Warren "The Professor" Johnson knows Atlanta Dragway like it's the back of his hand.

Johnson raced the Commerce, Ga.-based track for decades, winning the last IHRA national event and clinching his first career series championship.

The year was 1979, and Johnson was a hired gun for Georgia-based businessman Jerome Bradford.

What gets lost in the history of the storied facility is its formative years as an IHRA sanctioned track which hosted two national events a year from 1976 until 1979, when the track closed and switched to NHRA.