In the roller-coaster, uncertain 2020 NHRA season, veteran nitro Funny Car driver/owner Bob Tasca III has a solid campaign, finishing fifth in the points standings.

“We have my whole team coming back,” Tasca said. “I have kept everyone together, which obviously in these times is not easy. I have great sponsors and great support from Ford and all my key sponsors are returning for (2021). I’m very blessed and our whole team is blessed to have the funding that we have.” 

However, the fifth-place finish didn’t leave Tasca III satisfied – at all.

Justin Ashley Racing is taking advantage of new category opportunities through a marketing partnership with New York City-based RISE Brewing Co, the creators and distributors of RISE Nitro Cold Brew Coffee. Justin Ashley, the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year, will display RISE on his Strutmasters.com/Auto Shocker Top Fuel dragster during the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, as well as on uniforms, the team’s race trailer and pit area signage.
 
“Adding RISE to our group of marketing partners is impactful on and off the racetrack,” said Justin Ashley, winner of the 2020 Summernationals. “They brew their coffee with nitrogen and we run on nitromethane so our Nitros might be different but our goals are the same when it comes to providing the best for our customers and fans. I am looking forward to continuing our discussions regarding the inclusion of marketing initiatives involving the NHRA community.”

When Larry Dixon Jr. was once asked if he'd be interested in being featured on CompetitionPlusTV's Legends: The Series, he scoffed at the idea of being considered a drag racing legend. Apparently, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America shared the same opinion as those who wanted to feature him in a documentary..

This time, Dixon, the three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion who owns 62 national event victories, didn't respond the same way. The letter, which arrived in Dixon's mailbox on Dec. 21, left him speechless.

"Very humbling, and I'm very flattered," Dixon admitted.

Does the induction officially confirm he's a legend?

For the third-straight season, Summit Racing Equipment returns in 2021 as title rights holder to the Summit Mid-West Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service (MWDRS).

Veteran nitro Funny Car owner/driver Bob Bode confirmed to CompetitionPlus.com he plans to have his son, Bobby, 18, compete in a 10-race schedule in 2021 in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.

“The last couple of months we’ve been putting parts together, short blocks and heads,” Bob said. “We’re planning to start the season in Gainesville (Fla.).”

The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville March 12-14 is the season-opening national event.

Bobby Bode, driving his father’s Funny Car he bought from Tim Wilkerson, completed his license in St. Louis Oct. 5.

A win is a win, and for Funny Car racer Paul Lee, he'll take it.

Lee won the TruHarvest Funny Car division at the recently-completed Virtual Reality Hot Rod Association Thunder at the Dome event, the fourth of nine fan-vote events this season. He's yet to win a nitro race in real-life since making the jump in the early 2000s from alcohol funny cars.

Joining Lee in the winner's circle at the fantasy-themed CompetitionPlus.com Thunderdome was T.J. Zizzo (McLeod Top Fuel), Alex Laughlin (Quartermax Pro Stock), Matt Smith (Denso Pro Stock), and Rickie Smith (Jerry Bickel Race Cars Pro Modified).

It's race day at the CompetitionPlus.com Thunderdome located in Spartanburg, SC. Qualifying is complete, now it's time to begin the process of eliminating down for a winner of the Truharvest Thunder at the Dome, Race 4 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. 

Veteran Funny Car owner Dale Creasy Sr., has passed away, on Dec. 29, at the age of 81.

Creasy, who died Dec. 29 at age 81, fielded a long line of Illinois-based Tyrant Funny Cars stretching back to the early 1970s, and his legacy continues today with son Dale Jr., who is still competing in the class.

Creasy’s cars, predominately Fords, were wheeled in the 1970s through the 1990s by drivers such as Al Marshall, Dick Bourgeois, Larry LaDue, and, most famously by Gary Bolger, and were staples of the Midwest match racing scene and the Coca-Cola Cavalcade of Stars circuit. (Bolger, who had his own car, the Gold Digger, was first recruited to drive for

Not that anyone wants to look back on 2020, but our media partners over at WFORadio.com conducted one of the first interviews with CompetitionPlus.com founder and publisher Bobby Bennett not long after his release from the hospital. 

It was a challenging time for our sport, as drag racing had been shut down in the midst of pandemic. In many ways, Bennett became the first face the sport could relate to who had endured the deadly effects of the Coronavirus and lived to talk about it. Not all cases were severe, but for Bennett the experience was anything but mild.