After last season’s disastrous move to Dodge Darts, Elite Motorsports returned to Chevrolet this season hoping for better results. Unhappy with the recent performance of Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s JEGS.com/Elite Performance Chevrolet Camaro, team owner Richard Freeman ordered a massive overhaul of the Rick Jones-built racecar the team thinks will yield immediate results, beginning with this weekend's 36th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

“My racecar has undergone a 100-percent makeover since the last race in Seattle," Coughlin said. "It was absolutely dissected from front to back and top to bottom, with the guys literally checking every single inch of this car. They found some things that were wearing in a suspect way that they repaired, and some other components here and there that needed attention. They ended up feeling very confident this thing will be back to the way it was at the start of the year."

"The boys pretty much worked around the clock for seven straight days getting this car sorted out," Coughlin said. "Then they took it testing and one of our crew chiefs, Lump (Brian Self), as well as my teammate, Erica Enders made some passes to shake it out. They tell me it's completely ready to roll."  (Ron Lewis photo)  [08/16/17]

William Sweat of Fort Mill, S.C., drove his “green machine,” an Infiniti Q50 Hybrid equipped with the electric motor-assisted 3.5-liter V-6, into the winners’ circle in the Street Car Shootout portion of the Aug. 12th Maximum Acceleration Motorsports Street Legal Drags at Rockingham Dragway.

En route, Sweat covered the quarter mile in a best of 13.258 seconds at 107.87 mph, the best-known performance for the breed. The previous mark, according to Drag Times magazine, which apparently tracks such things, was 13.301 seconds.

Jeremy Ritter of Robbins, NC, again reached the final round, his third in the series, but in the end, he simply couldn’t handle the hybrid. Semifinalists were Ron Williams of Eagle Springs and Ronnie “Da Rock” Locklear of Rowland.

The MXA Street Legal program continues this Saturday, Aug. 19, with the Street Car Shootout plus unlimited time runs for cars, trucks, ATVs and motorcycles starting at 6 p.m. First round of the Shootout will begin at 8.  [08/16/17]

Pro Stock driver Bo Butner has enjoyed a breakout year with three wins and the points lead heading into this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, MN.

“We’ve been very blessed,” Butner said. “It’s really the same routine and the same team that we had last year, I just didn’t drive as good last year. I’m not shocked by how the car is running. We still do this to have fun and I’m lucky enough to be with a team where it is their living. That’s a good spot and the perfect storm for me.”

The team plans to hold off challenges from Drew Skillman, Tanner Gray, and Erica Enders going into the U.S. nationals, which set the stage for the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

“We just have to stick to the same routine of trying to get to the semis, and if we get lucky enough get to the finals,” said Butner, who has three No. 1 qualifiers and seven final round appearances in 2017. “We have to continue to stay on our game. We’ve had some pretty good momentum and we’re going to have some new stuff for the next two races. Anything you can find anywhere, it’s going to help. We just have to continue to go rounds.”  (Stephen Justice photo)  [08/16/17]