Roger Penske and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) President J. Douglas Boles will kick off the 2021 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show as featured speakers at the Grand Opening Breakfast. Taking place just before the PRI Show officially opens on December 9, 2021, the Breakfast is an iconic staple of the trade show and signifies the start to the three biggest days in the motorsports industry.

Both the Breakfast and Trade Show take place in Indianapolis, Indiana—the Racing Capital of the World, where thousands of race parts manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and resellers, along with race teams and racers from every segment of motorsports will gather in person for the first time since 2019. With a focus on new products and technology that advance all aspects of motorsports, the PRI Show is the racing industry’s leading business-to-business event.

As featured speakers at the Grand Opening Breakfast, Penske and Boles will underscore the importance of innovation and technology in racing. Roger Penske is the founder and chairman of Penske Corporation, which includes Penske Entertainment Corp, owner of both the IMS and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Earlier this year, IMS opened to 135,000 fans at the Indy 500, which at the time marked a milestone as the world’s highest-attended sporting event since the start of the pandemic.

Las Vegas native Taylor Vetter has been wheeling dragsters since she was active in NHRA's Jr. Drag Racing League at just eight years old. Vetter has experienced success most recently in the quick and competitive Top Dragster class, but at the upcoming Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 26-year-old will step up her game in a big way.
 
Vetter will make her debut in Top Alcohol Dragster driving the Plan B Motorsports supercharged, methanol-burning entry tuned by Nick Januik, who will continue his charge for race wins and championships in the team's fearsome Top Alcohol Funny Car.
 
The transition for Vetter into the quickest car in the Plan B Motorsports camp will also move her into position as the only female currently competing with a blown (supercharged) engine combination in NHRA's 5-second, 285 mph alcohol category. Christine Chambless-Foster previously held the honor, but she recently announced a move to the Top Alcohol Funny Car category.

In addition to the primary colors of team sponsor, KGC Construction, the red and silver Nitro Funny Car entry from Jim Dunn Racing will also carry a U.S. flag on the hood during the NHRA Las Vegas race to recognize 13 fallen military personnel that were killed during an August explosion near the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.  The team and sponsor, both want to share their respects to all men and women of U.S. military service that risk their lives for our freedom.

On the strength of a final-round appearance, Joey Oksas clinched his first Pro Mod world championship in the Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service on Saturday.

Oksas was one of several champions crowned at the final race of the 2021 Mid-West Drag Racing Series season, the MWDRS Xtreme Texas World Finals at Xtreme Raceway Park in Ferris, Texas. Joining him in winning world titles were Sean Bellemeur (Top Alcohol Funny Car), Anita Strasburg (Top Dragster), Kelvin Brown (Top Sportsman), Jonathan McClain (Pro Jr. Dragster) and Tyler Wells (Sportsman Jr. Dragster).

During the upcoming Las Vegas NHRA Nationals Shawn Langdon will be racing a new look CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster for the next to last Countdown to the championship race.  Throughout the back half of the season CMR Construction and Roofing has been an active new addition to the Kalitta Motorsports sponsor roster. They have been associate sponsors on all three race cars since the Sonoma Nationals and in September they expanded to become the presenting sponsor of the Fall Sponsor Summit during the Carolina Nationals. In October Kalitta Motorsports joined the effort to promote the Ragin Country Crawl charity concert, a charity concert sponsored by CMR on November 7, featuring music from Lee Brice, Randy Houser, Colt Ford and Dee Jay Silver. CMR will be featured as the primary sponsor with Langdon wearing a CMR firesuit and the team sporting CMR starting line uniform shirts.

Cornwell Quality Tools announced they have extended their partnership as the Official Tool of John Force Racing for an additional three years. The new contract begins in 2022 and will run through the 2024 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season.

The Cornwell Quality Tools name/logo will continue to be seen on the wings of both the John Force and Robert Hight Funny Cars, as well as on the canopy of the Top Fuel Dragster driven by Brittany Force. The Cornwell brand will continue to be visible throughout the Force race pit at all NHRA races, with the teams utilizing Cornwell toolboxes and tools when working on the cars, as well as branding on car haulers, signage, hospitality canopies, and more.

QuarterMileClassifieds.com, the newest kid on the block in self-serve, online classified advertising, is in the early stages ahead of its September unveiling. At the moment, QMC.com is offering free classified advertising on its Facebook page.

Here's a few of their listings.

Third-generation drag racer Drew Austin carried on the family tradition of winning big as he claimed his first career California Hot Rod Reunion Funny Car title, beating Jerry Espeseth in the final round at Famoso Raceway, located outside of Bakersfield, Ca. 

Joining Austin were Dan Horan Jr. (Top Fuel), Ed Marx (Pro Modified), and Randy Bradford (Fuel Altered).

The drag racing community has lost one of its up and comers.

On Sunday morning, Dylan Cromwell, who works on the Jim Head Racing team, was killed in a highway accident near Plainfield, Ind..

Local news reports said the accident happened at 9:30 AM, EST, on I-70 in a stretch of highway located in Hendricks County. The rig was on its way to Las Vegas for this weekend's NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas.