The pathway from Rookie of the Year to seasoned veteran is clearly defined. 

And for Pro Stock driver Camrie Caruso, she did her best to walk that trail with as much swagger as a sophomore driver could do. Two significant wins in her second season proved she's well on making her name known for seasons to come. 

Not only did Caruso win her first national event victory in March at the NHRA Arizona Nationals, she followed the feat with an even more prestigious victory at the NHRA's All-Star Callout event at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals a couple of months later. She earned a spot in the Countdown to the Championship, finishing ninth in the regular season points standings.

NHRA VP of Operations Graham Light described the summer of 1978 as a lot of fun.

Former Funny Car driver Gordie Bonin felt it was a balanced mix between fun and the absurd.

The two drag racing figures teamed up as drivers in the 1979 B movie Fast Company.

Fast Company featured lots of Funny Car footage in its storyline about an aging Top Fuel driver and a sponsor-driven team owner who walked outside of traditional ethical lines. There were plenty of fires and a number of explosions, some skin from the female actors and a great measure of ludicrousness from producers not familiar to the sport.

Nathan Sitko will debut in the NHRA Heritage and Legends Nitro Funny Car series next season as the driver of the Canadian-based Pacemaker Racing AA/FC team. He replaces previous driver and co-owner Ryan Hodgson behind the wheel of the iconic Bubble Up entry. 

“We are pleased to announce Nathan Sitko as our new driver of the Bubble Up Nitro Funny Car,” Pacemaker Racing owner Ron Hodgson said. “Nathan has proven he can drive with the best out there; he has the right attitude and mindset to help propel us forward to more race wins. We believe we have chosen one of the top drivers of Legends Nitro Funny Cars; time will tell.

When you start as the king of the hill, there’s usually only one way to go. 

Josh Hart admittedly didn’t have the kind of season he hoped for after winning the Pep Boys Callout race in Gainesville, Fla. And while 12 first-round losses could have been enough for the Ocala, Fla.-based Top Fuel driver to send up a distress signal, he considers the 2023 season one of continual character building. 

By all accounts, Justin Ashley’s 2023 tour was a championship season. Unfortunately, the final championship points standings didn’t agree. 

The second-generation drag racer, who won the NHRA’s Rookie of the Year accolades in 2020, won six races in eight final rounds, more than any other driver in Top Fuel, including Doug Kalitta, the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion. He won 40 rounds of competition and qualified No. 1 three times. 

What more could a driver have done?

In an article by Susan Wade and published at Autoweek.com, Leah Pruett confirmed Tony Stewart was not the first choice for her replacement. It wasn’t that Stewart wasn’t capable because he was a licensed Top Fuel driver. The initial replacement was Lyle Barnett. 

On more than one occasion, Stewart had made it clear that driving a Top Fuel dragster full-time wasn’t his plan. He was content being a team owner and racing part-time with his Top Alcohol Dragster. 

Change is never easy for some. But for Mike Thielen he's making a significant change after 25 years of following a proven path.

Thielen is going nitrous racing, and he's straightening the curve as much as it can be straightened in teaming up with iconic drag racer Rickie Smith.

"It's not necessarily going from a blower car to a nitrous car; it's just the last couple years I just kind of felt like I was in a rut," Thielen admitted. "I was on the Mike Janis team and a good group of guys, and I just felt we needed to make a change."

Mike Stavrinos has many accomplishments in heads-up racing, but one dream has eluded him until now. 

Stavrinos is on the verge of fulfilling his long-standing aspiration of becoming a professional NHRA Pro Mod racer in the 2024 season. Teaming up with Mike Janis Racing, Stavrinos will compete as part of their two-car Pro Mod team, with his debut scheduled to take place at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, which marks the first of ten events in the series' campaign.

Shawn Reed, a veteran Top Fuel and drag boat racer, has announced his return to full-time NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) competition in 2024. Reed will act as the owner/driver for his newly formed team, Shawn Reed Racing (SRR), and will drive the Reed Truck & Excavating Top Fuel dragster. The announcement was made during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show in Indianapolis.

Having previously competed in NHRA races in early 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic, Reed has assembled an experienced team for his return. Notably, he has hired Rob Wendland as the lead crew chief and put together a team including assistant crew chief Ryan Elliott. This crew has previously worked for Cruz Pedregon Racing and achieved success with Tommy Johnson, Jr.'s Funny Car team at Don Schumacher Racing.