Ashley, Hight and Caruso Earn Wins at Final NHRA Arizona Nationals
Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley closed out the final NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Motorsports Park with a victory in a front of a sellout crowd, powering to a win over Shawn Langdon in the championship round on Sunday. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Camrie Caruso (Pro Stock) also won the second of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Ashley put together a run of 3.705 seconds at 329.34 mph in his 11,000hp Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by National Debt Relief, driving past Langdon’s 3.732 at 329.58.
In Funny Car, Hight, who finished 2022 with eight victories, picked up his 62nd career victory in his 11,000hp Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Camaro after going 3.930 at 328.62 to beat defending world champ Ron Capps. It gives Hight the points lead and his second straight Phoenix victory.
Caruso picked up her first career victory with a run of 6.592 at 210.31 in her Powerbuilt Tools Camaro to slip past Bo Butner’s 6.593, becoming just the second female to win in Pro Stock in NHRA history.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action March 30–April 2 with the Lucas Oil Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, California.
Porsche Motorsports Launches Deluxe Female Driver Development Program
Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) and Deluxe Corp. have announced the creation of the Porsche Deluxe Female Driver Development Program, an initiative designed to provide a further opportunities to female race car drivers participating in the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America.
Officials named Sabré Cook as the first recipient of the new scholarship. The two-time Carrera Cup North America championship-winning operation will field the veteran open-wheel and GT racer in the No. 37 Deluxe Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car.
In addition to its title partnership, Deluxe joins with PMNA to further promote the participation of female race car drivers across all levels of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America. In addition, PMNA will assist Cook with event entry fees and one-on-one mentoring with Porsche Motorsport legend Patrick Long. For more information, see the PMNA announcement here.
Formula 1 Secures Austrian Grand Prix Through 2027
Formula 1 officials have announced a new four-year agreement to race in Austria until 2027. The Austrian Grand Prix returned to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 2014, and since then, the Red Bull Ring has welcomed millions of fans, with 303,000 supporters in attendance at last year’s sold-out event. The last race under the current agreement, set to take place June 30–July 2, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Austrian Grand Prix’s return to the Formula 1 calendar and feature an F1 Sprint for the second consecutive year. For more information, visit formula1.com.
Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame Inducts 13
The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF), based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has inducted 12 individuals and one organization to its class of 2022. Eleven individuals and one race team will be inducted in the Competitors/Motorsport Builders/Team Members/Significant Contributors category, with a veteran Canadian journalist honored in the Media category.
The new members in the various categories are:
- AIM Autosport
- Uli Bieri
- Chris Bye
- Gary Elliott
- Terry Epp
- Robert Giannou
- Carl Harr
- Dave Lloyd
- Derek Lynch
- Bob MacDonald
- Dick Midgley
- Scott Spencer
Media:
- Bruce Biegler
For more information, visit cmhf.ca.
Yokohama Tire Returns as Sponsor of the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America
For the third consecutive season, Yokohama Tire is partnering with Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) and United States Auto Club (USAC) as the official tire partner and presenting sponsor for the USAC-sanctioned Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and USA West by Yokohama. Yokohama’s ADVAN A005 racing slicks and ADVAN A006 wets are the spec tires for the one-make series, which kicks off its season at Sebring on March 24. For 2023 the series has grown to five classes: 992 GT3 Cup Pro/AM, 992 GT3 Cup Am, 991 GT3 Cup, Cayman GT4 Clubsport Pro/Am and Cayman GT4 Clubsport Am. For more details on the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama, visit www.porschesprint.com.
For more racing news, visit Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) website.