Jay Cox secured his third No. 1 qualifier award of the season in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous at the PDRA Red Line Oil Carolina Nationals at Darlington Dragway with a record-tying performance. Cox matched Jim Halsey's national class E.T. record by clocking a time of 3.613 seconds at 208.72 mph on Friday night.

Also setting the pace in the respective headlining divisions were Melanie Salemi (Pro Boost) and John DeFlorian (Pro Stock).

Justin Ashley is well known for his lightning-quick reflexes, which have landed him in the winner's circle many times. Understanding the importance of supplementing his first No. 1 seed in the NHRA's Countdown to the Championship, he reacted in familiar fashion, racing his way to the No. 1 spot in Top Fuel provisional qualifying at the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals.

Bob Tasca III, Erica Enders, and Gaige Herrera also showcased their skills and claimed the provisional No. 1 spots in their respective categories at Maple Grove Raceway, located outside of Reading, PA.

Ashley drove his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster to an elapsed time of 3.687 seconds at 335.57 mph. If the run holds, it will mark Ashley's third No. 1 qualifier of the season and fifth in his career. Although pleased with his accomplishments, Ashley remains focused on the ultimate goal, the championship.

I wouldn't have given us 24 days to make it, much less 24 years. But here we are at an age where social media is the norm, still killing it in a website world. 

CompetitionPlus.com has become a way of life for our dedicated team. Our way of life has been in traveling the globe to bring you the latest drag racing news daily, sometimes hourly, and bringing news you can trust.nd what you demand in a media outlet.

The idea looked good on paper and, as it turned out, even better on a computer screen.

The Drag Race Bracket Bonanza, the first dynamic bracket competition for drag racing fans, plans to parlay its success at the NHRA U.S. Nationals into the next chapter of its presentation at the Reading Nationals from Maple Grove Raceway. 

Drag racing fans can fill out the complete competition brackets for Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle when qualifying concludes on Saturday evening. Brackets can be filled out until the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters fire up for the first round of eliminations at 10:30 a.m. ET.

If you are going to go, you might as well go big.

For European Top Fuel racer Ida Zetterström, the delivery couldn’t get much bigger than she pulled off at Santa Pod Raceway. In capturing the final FIA Top Fuel race of the year, she also secured the series championship. The win was Zetterström’s fourth of the season and enabled her to close out the season with a 120-point lead over Susanne Callin. 

This hasn’t been the season Kyle Koretsky was hoping for in 2023,

Koretsky, after fourth and fifth-place finishes in the points in 2021 and 2022, arrived in Indy ninth in the points standings with one runner-up and one semifinal finish. His semi-final run at the NHRA U.S. Nationals allowed him to climb into eighth as the regular season concluded. 

For decades, U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, located outside of Grand Rapids, MI, has delivered drag racing excitement. And over the weekend, it continued the trend with the latest Midwest Drag Racing Series event. 

Race officials confirmed over 10,000 race fans witnessed Keith Haney (Pro Modified), Tony Sandman  (Pro Mod Slammers), and Phil Esz (Funny Car) topped the headlining divisions. 

Haney’s reeled off a 3.690-second elapsed time to beat a red-lighting Ed Thornton. His victory not only secured his place in the winner’s circle but also allowed him to regain the lead in the Stroud Safety Pro Mod class.

Siblings Matt Harris and Christine Harris-Samuel have been experiencing quite a season in the exceptionally competitive Competition Eliminator category. Matt just picked up his second division win this year at the final NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Division 5 event of the season, contested last weekend in Earlville, Iowa. The brother/sister duo each picked up wins earlier this season at the Divison 5 doubleheader at Bandimere Speedway in Denver over Father’s Day weekend, which is fitting because it’s their father who tunes their race cars, and it was their father who inspired them to get involved in drag racing in the first place.

“None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for our dad,” said Christine. “All three of my wins have been over Father’s Day weekend at Bandimere, and it’s been so special to get to give back to him for all he’s done for us.”

Some Pro Stock fans long for the way Pro Stock was 20 years ago. Matt Hartford isn't one of them. 

Sure, 48 entries were vying for 16 spots for race day in a field separated by .055 from pole position to bump. But Hartford, who won the NHRA U.S. Nationals over the Labor Day weekend, believes the Pro Stock of today is more refined, accessible, and competitive than ever. 

In those so-called glory days of factory hot rod racing, the divide between the haves and have-nots was very defined.

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