NEWS NUGGETS
RECORDS FALL AT THIRD STOP OF COUNTDOWN IN READING: Jason Line raced
to his second win of the Countdown to the Championship in his fourth
consecutive final-round appearance Sunday at the Auto-Plus NHRA
Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania. But the win,
his sixth of the season, may not have been the biggest boost of the
weekend to his already impressive points lead in Pro Stock. It was the
6.477-second run during eliminations that did that. The national
recording-setting pass, the quickest in NHRA Pro Stock history,
shattered the previous record set and gave the driver of the Summit
Racing Pontiac GXP a 20-point bonus at the end of the day. When all was
said and done, Line left Maple Grove Raceway with a 181-point lead over
second-place driver Greg Anderson heading into the final three races of
the season.
Lewis Picks Up Sixth Runoffs Gold Medal in Dominating GT-1 Performance
Michael Lewis of Poway, California, had his way with the GT-1 field on a wet and rainy Sunday afternoon at Road America on his way to a sixth gold medal at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Simon Gregg of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, was second and Jim Bradley of Gaston, Indiana, finished third.
Michael Lewis of Poway, California, had his way with the GT-1 field on a wet and rainy Sunday afternoon at Road America on his way to a sixth gold medal at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Simon Gregg of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, was second and Jim Bradley of Gaston, Indiana, finished third.
NEWS NUGGETS
MASSEY MOVES INTO POINTS LEAD WHILE NEFF, LINE AND KRAWIEC KEEP TOP SPOTS AFTER DALLAS: Top Fuel pilot Spencer Massey had a near-perfect weekend as he returned to his home state of Texas for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex. With a second consecutive runner-up finish for the season and the points lead after he knocked off teammate Antron Brown in the semifinal round, Massey and his Prestone/FRAM dragster left Texas Motorplex in the exact spot he wanted to be in—the lead.
MASSEY MOVES INTO POINTS LEAD WHILE NEFF, LINE AND KRAWIEC KEEP TOP SPOTS AFTER DALLAS: Top Fuel pilot Spencer Massey had a near-perfect weekend as he returned to his home state of Texas for the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex. With a second consecutive runner-up finish for the season and the points lead after he knocked off teammate Antron Brown in the semifinal round, Massey and his Prestone/FRAM dragster left Texas Motorplex in the exact spot he wanted to be in—the lead.
PRO/RACE Performance Products Celebrates 25 Years
Founded by ’60s three-time Australian national champion Graham Withers driving his self-designed and built 392-cu.-in. blown Chrysler Hemi front-engine dragster, PRO/RACE Performance Products celebrates 25 years.
Founded by ’60s three-time Australian national champion Graham Withers driving his self-designed and built 392-cu.-in. blown Chrysler Hemi front-engine dragster, PRO/RACE Performance Products celebrates 25 years.
NEWS NUGGETS
zMAX WINNERS READY TO KEEP MOMENTUM ROLLING, EVERYONE ELSE LOOKING TO START THEIR OWN MOMENTUM AS THEY HEAD TO THE LONESTAR STATE: Starting off the Countdown to the Championship with a victory is great, but if you want to end the Countdown with the NHRA Full Throttle championship trophy, you have to keep winning and that’s what Matt Hagan, (Funny Car) Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) plan to do. Conditions were ripe for the picking at zMAX Dragway where record-setting runs were the norm, but the conditions won't be the same when the teams roll into Dallas where the forecast is hot and humid. The game plan will have to be shifted from record-setting numbers to just going A to B and getting those round wins. As Hagan proved last weekend, big moves in the point standings are a real possibility at each of the Countdown races as he jumped from sixth to second.
zMAX WINNERS READY TO KEEP MOMENTUM ROLLING, EVERYONE ELSE LOOKING TO START THEIR OWN MOMENTUM AS THEY HEAD TO THE LONESTAR STATE: Starting off the Countdown to the Championship with a victory is great, but if you want to end the Countdown with the NHRA Full Throttle championship trophy, you have to keep winning and that’s what Matt Hagan, (Funny Car) Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) plan to do. Conditions were ripe for the picking at zMAX Dragway where record-setting runs were the norm, but the conditions won't be the same when the teams roll into Dallas where the forecast is hot and humid. The game plan will have to be shifted from record-setting numbers to just going A to B and getting those round wins. As Hagan proved last weekend, big moves in the point standings are a real possibility at each of the Countdown races as he jumped from sixth to second.
NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals Rocks the Motor City at Milan Dragway
The NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals rolled into the Motor City August 26–28 showcasing the best in musclecar performance. The 5th Annual JE Pistons NMCA Muscle Car Nationals at Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan, saw huge fan attendance as well as strong racer and show car participation. Detroit-area fans got their moneys worth with great racing, an incredible display of cars in the show and a 300+ mph jet car exhibition.
The NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals rolled into the Motor City August 26–28 showcasing the best in musclecar performance. The 5th Annual JE Pistons NMCA Muscle Car Nationals at Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan, saw huge fan attendance as well as strong racer and show car participation. Detroit-area fans got their moneys worth with great racing, an incredible display of cars in the show and a 300+ mph jet car exhibition.
NEWS NUGGETS
DRIVERS REVVED UP FOR zMAX AND START OF COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: It’s been a full week since the final drivers clinched their spots in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. A full week since the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series last raced. Now, after a brief break from racing action, the drivers and crew members will return to the dragstrip for the start of a three-races-in-three-weeks stretch, beginning this week at zMAX Dragway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. And for those drivers competing in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the time couldn’t come quick enough.
DRIVERS REVVED UP FOR zMAX AND START OF COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: It’s been a full week since the final drivers clinched their spots in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. A full week since the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series last raced. Now, after a brief break from racing action, the drivers and crew members will return to the dragstrip for the start of a three-races-in-three-weeks stretch, beginning this week at zMAX Dragway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals. And for those drivers competing in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, the time couldn’t come quick enough.
NEWS NUGGETS
BIG WINNERS AT NHRA DRAG RACING’S BIG GO: Antron Brown, Mike Neff, Greg Anderson and Hector Arana Jr. were winners in their respective categories at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals—the final race of the regular season before the start of the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship—the six-race playoffs to determine the world champions. Brown became the first driver to win the historic event in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle when he powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.813-second run at 321.73 mph. The final-round performance was enough to get past Del Worsham and secure his fifth win of the season and 30th of his career.
BIG WINNERS AT NHRA DRAG RACING’S BIG GO: Antron Brown, Mike Neff, Greg Anderson and Hector Arana Jr. were winners in their respective categories at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals—the final race of the regular season before the start of the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship—the six-race playoffs to determine the world champions. Brown became the first driver to win the historic event in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle when he powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.813-second run at 321.73 mph. The final-round performance was enough to get past Del Worsham and secure his fifth win of the season and 30th of his career.
NEWS NUGGETS
MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS IS LAST CHANCE FOR DRIVERS HOPING TO MAKE THE FULL THROTTLE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: Funny Car driver Bob Tasca knows what type of Labor Day weekend he’ll be having. While many people may spend their last long weekend of summer relaxing by the pool, the New England native will spend his days counting points and crossing fingers as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to historic Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. It’s the final race of the regular season and the place where drivers will have one more shot at locking in a spot in the top 10 point standings before the start of the Countdown to the Championship—NHRA’s six-race playoffs to determine the world champions. Tasca sits in the 10th and last spot in the Funny Car points but has yet to secure his spot in the Countdown. With 11th-place driver Johnny Gray just 62 points behind, or just a little more than three round-wins, Tasca knows just how important his approach to Indy will be.
MAC TOOLS U.S. NATIONALS IS LAST CHANCE FOR DRIVERS HOPING TO MAKE THE FULL THROTTLE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: Funny Car driver Bob Tasca knows what type of Labor Day weekend he’ll be having. While many people may spend their last long weekend of summer relaxing by the pool, the New England native will spend his days counting points and crossing fingers as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to historic Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. It’s the final race of the regular season and the place where drivers will have one more shot at locking in a spot in the top 10 point standings before the start of the Countdown to the Championship—NHRA’s six-race playoffs to determine the world champions. Tasca sits in the 10th and last spot in the Funny Car points but has yet to secure his spot in the Countdown. With 11th-place driver Johnny Gray just 62 points behind, or just a little more than three round-wins, Tasca knows just how important his approach to Indy will be.
Roush Yates Performance Products Helps Racers “Go Green”
Roush Yates Performance Products has joined NASCAR's efforts to become more environmentally aware by opening a performance products store that portrays a spirit of recycling and environmental sustainability. Roush Yates collects hundreds of used parts each week from many top-tier race teams. The parts are cleaned, inspected, sorted and shelved in the company's new 40,000-sq.-ft. parts store in Mooresville, North Carolina, for resale to the public and grassroots racers.
Roush Yates Performance Products has joined NASCAR's efforts to become more environmentally aware by opening a performance products store that portrays a spirit of recycling and environmental sustainability. Roush Yates collects hundreds of used parts each week from many top-tier race teams. The parts are cleaned, inspected, sorted and shelved in the company's new 40,000-sq.-ft. parts store in Mooresville, North Carolina, for resale to the public and grassroots racers.