If the NHRA manages to beat Mother Nature this weekend, it will do so without a significant portion of its sportsman contingent. 

Due to significant rainfall at the track and the current forecast of additional weather systems leading up to race weekend, a majority of the sportsman racer pit areas of Houston Raceway Park will not be fit for use during the upcoming Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil.

In addition to the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series (Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock), the following categories will compete at the event in Houston May 21-23: Top Fuel Harley, Factory Stock Showdown, Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp, Top Dragster, and Top Sportsman.

According to an article published online at autoweek.com, May 18, NHRA is selling its corporate offices in Glendora, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles.

The building and property have an assessed value of just more than $4.6 million. The property is listed for sale through Colliers International real estate corporation.

Reinventing the wheel is not easy; just ask Bob Brockmeyer.

For Brockmeyer, reinventing the wheel might have been an easier proposition. The founder of drag racing’s most prominent timing system was tasked with redesigning the iconic Christmas Tree, not for the racer but for race fans.

“The driver’s side of the tree is the same as it’s always been,” Brockmeyer said. “The backside is the same, except they can see a little better. The sides are built for the spectators because with the blues tree, as they call it that we developed here for the Charlotte four-wide race years ago, the blues face the driver in the back, but people on the sides.”

Back in the early 1990s, when Greg Anderson was a Pro Stock crewman for drag racing legend Warren Johnson, there was a lot of animosity from the Pro Stock ranks toward the new kids on the professional block, Pro Modified. 

For the record, Anderson wasn't among those who looked down on the darlings of the drag racing scene.  

Friday, for the first time in zMax Dragway history, the Pro Modified pits were parallel with Anderson and the Pro Stock class.  

GameMill Entertainment and NHRA have announced a new licensing partnership to create original video games inspired by the intense action and classic hot rod designs of one of the world’s top motorsports. The first project, currently untitled, is in development for a range of video game systems and will be published by GameMill.
 
“NHRA gaming is back,” said Andy Koehler, SVP Business Development & Licensing, GameMill Entertainment. “From Pro Stock to Top Fuel classes and the fan-favorite, wheel standing Super Stock class. Get ready for heart-pounding action as you rocket over 330 miles per hour in the fastest 3 and a half seconds of your life.”

NASCAR superstar Kyle Busch was on hand at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals promoting Toyota's involvement in drag racing as well as his new Rowdy-brand energy drink.

For a day, Busch was a drag racing spectator -- and fan.  

Busch, whose driving style and personality have proven explosive in the past, pondered the question of whether he'd be a nitro racer or a Pro Stock guy given the chance.  

Krista Baldwin's enthusiasm is contagious.

The third-generation Top Fuel driver made her second start in three races since making the jump from A/Fuel Dragster. For her, the conversation starter at the ropes wasn't the beautiful, new-look black and gold dragster her crew had just rolled out of the hauler as much as it was her new kicks.

"I had to look swag, so we had to go out and get some custom bands, cheetah print," Baldwin said, enthusiasm prevalent. "I have to set myself apart from these other people. These people have been doing it for years. I'm fresh out here. You got to have some coolness. SoCal coolness here."

Technical alliance partners Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and the Mobil 1 brand will raise their profile with multi-time world championship drag racing team Kalitta Motorsports during the NHRA SpringNationals, May 21-23 with primary sponsorship on Doug Kalitta’s Top Fuel dragster. Since 2019 when the relationship was announced ExxonMobil, TRD and Kalitta Motorsports have worked together to develop next-generation Mobil 1 synthetic lubricants to improve engine and gearbox performance.
 
“Our relationship with Mobil 1 and TRD has been incredibly beneficial on and off the track,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports General Manager. “The engineering support has been instrumental in improved performance for our three race cars and we have been able to give Mobil 1 feedback on their oil under the most stressful environment possible. We put a tremendous amount of stress on our motors and there is no way we could be as successful as we have been without the support and input from Mobil 1 and TRD.”

Even men have a right to change their minds, and Steve Torrence definitely has changed his about four-wide racing.

In the beginning, if he had had his way, the three-time Top Fuel champion would have decreed a ban on the gimmicky notion of four 11,000-horsepower dragsters churning up chaos at one time.