Compiled by SEMA Editors
NHRA News
 | |
SUNOCO TO BECOME OFFICIAL SPONSOR: Sunoco will become an official sponsor of the NHRA in 2015. The 10-year agreement calls for Sunoco to become the official racing fuel of the NHRA and will be the exclusive on-site gasoline and nitromethane supplier at all NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series national events. Sunoco gasoline will be the spec racing gasoline in the Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories at national events and Competition eliminator categories at both national and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series events.
“The fuel supplier is one of the most integral partnerships that a racing sanctioning body can have,” said Tom Compton, NHRA president. “We’ve had great partners in the past; however, Sunoco not only will provide our racers quality products, but also our companies will be great marketing partners to increase awareness of NHRA Drag Racing and the Sunoco brand.”
For more on the story visit www.NHRA.com.
 | |
ROTTLER PARTNERS WITH TEAM WILKERSON: Rottler Manufacturing has joined Team Wilkerson Racing and Tim Wilkerson as a technology partner for the 2014 season. In addition, Rottler will be the featured focus on a special-edition Shelby Mustang body during the 2014 O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Pacific Raceways.
"They make fantastic machines that we need in-house, if we're going to remain contenders on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour," Wilkerson said. "Our machine shop is a busy place, and we're able to do our own work instead of having to ship our parts off to be serviced or rebuilt. It's a really important asset for us, but the thing that impressed me the most was getting to know the Rottler story, which dates all the way back to 1923 when Clarence Rottler founded the company to make portable boring bars. It has remained in the Rottler family since that day."
For more on this story visit www.NHRA.com.
MELLO YELLO SERIES RETURNS TO ATLANTA DRAGWAY: The 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is in full force, and the sport’s major stars will descend upon Atlanta for the 34th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 16–18, at Atlanta Dragway. The best in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will try their hand at a victory in the Peach State. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Johnny Gray (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of the event that will once again be televised on ESPN2. For more on the story visit www.NHRA.com.
He Said, She Said
 | |
"I have no immediate plans to compete. I recently renewed my license in my sister Courtney's Traxxas Funny Car; however, I have a 1-year-old and a 2-year-old so I'm up to my neck in diapers at this time in my life. I do video production for our company and am able to better balance work and kids this way and I really enjoy it."
—Ashley Force-Hood on her current career plans and a possible return to the driver's seat. Force-Hood took part in a web chat with the automotive blog, Jalopnik.com. The chat arose from an article featuring the driver and her love of cats and the webpage having a little fun at her expense. Force-Hood talked about her family, her future and her love of cats.
Inside the Numbers
 | |
7.258: Number of seconds “Big Daddy” Don Garlits covered the quarter-mile at 184.01 mph in the Swamp Rat 37 and set the new quarter-mile record for an electric vehicle. At 82, the drag-racing icon was able to eclipse the old record of 7.95 and 156.00 mph. Unlike the nitro-burning engines that powered so many of Garlits’ earlier Swamp Rats, Swamp Rat 37 gets its juice from a 1500-amp array of lithium polymer batteries built by High Tech Systems LLC. The batteries reportedly are capable of developing the equivalent of 2,000 hp, which should be more than enough to push Garlits and the car to his intended goal of more than 200 mph—the same speed barrier that Garlits first broke in a front-engine Top Fueler in 1964. For more on this story visit, www.NHRA.com.
Did You Know
ALEXIS DEJORIA FEATURED ON NICKMOM THIS THURSDAY: Alexis DeJoria, who has two wins this season, will be featured on "Take Me To Your Mother" on NickMom this Thursday at 10 p.m. (EDT). The segment, filmed at the season opening event at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, features Alexis and racers in the Junior Dragster category. To find NickMom in your area visit www.NickMom.com.
View the complete 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.