Jennifer Caputo-Armstrong will be driving the Liquid Glow Racing Magnum owned and tuned by Richard Kratz, editor of sister publication Mopar Max, April 27-29 at the Muscle Cars at the Strip.

In 2016 the team won the New HEMI Challenge class and the prior year were runner up in the same class.

"We come here with no expectation other than what we also have," said Kratz, "To do our very best and come what may on the track, we're going to have a lot of fun. There are concerts Friday and Saturday night; I've never been before, always so focused on racing we skipped some of the fun. Not this year, we're plunging deep, thanks to Jen, she insisted we experience the whole package that is MATSLV.”

The event will also feature Pro Mods, the Small Tire Group presented by Mickey Thompson Tires, a full field of 32 Nostalgia Super Stock, and the Hellcat and Demon race classes.

Muscle cars will be on display in downtown Las Vegas and on Friday night the band Yellow Brick Road will play at a free concert while on Saturday night the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Orchestra will entertain.   [04/25/18]

Fans at this week’s Four-Wide Nationals near Charlotte, NC, can take in a unique display of vintage power with 1960s gasser cars, which are scheduled to make four-wide exhibition runs on Friday and Saturday after qualifying rounds. The engines in these throwback machines mimic those of a Top Alcohol dragster, but the cars have a short wheel base like that of a Funny Car.

In addition, zMAX Dragway will pay tribute to late Hall of Fame NHRA Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden by displaying two of his famed Ford Fairmont machines together for the first time – his 1979 undefeated powerhouse, which remains the only undefeated car in all of NHRA drag racing, and his 1980 championship car. Glidden won 85 events and 10 season championships over his 25-year Pro Stock career.

Both exhibits will be just behind the John Force grandstands by the staging lanes.  [04/25/18]

James Warden is looking to extend his lead in the K&N 890 Series point chase as the association returns to Auto Club Dragway April 28-29 for the third and fourth races of the season.

Warden and his wife, Lori, are coming off an unforgettable week at the K&N Filters Spring Fling Million at Las Vegas, where the two met in the final round of the Dragster Shootout, with Lori taking the win and receiving a brand new American Race Cars dragster.

James was the runner-up to Chad Landon in the first 890 race of the season, while Greg Hicks won the second race with Grant Durie the runner-up.  (Bob Johnson photo)   [04/25/18]

The PDRA believes strongly in the entertainment value it offers. This year the organization debuted a unique competition within each race for Pro Stock and Top Sportsman. During the last round of qualifying run on Friday night, Pro Stock and Top Sportsman show off their long, smoky burnouts through a burnout competition.

Race Hard Apparel is sponsoring the Pro Stock Burnout Competition. Classic Graphix has stepped up to sponsor the Top Sportsman Burnout Competition. The winner of each class receives $300 and a trophy. At the season opener at GALOT Motorsports Park Jeff Dobbins won the Pro Stock Burnout Competition.

The PA announcers judge the winners, but the fans help determine the winners by their reaction to each burnout. If fans are happy to see long burnouts return, they can show appreciation by cheering on their favorites at each event.

All racers who make the last qualifying pass on Friday evening are automatically entered into the competition. Winners are announced at the conclusion of that round. (Gary Rowe/RaceWorks.com photo)   [04/25/18]

Almost 31 years of marriage for Ricky and Michelle Furr of Galax, VA, has been full of life’s typical - and not so typical - ups and downs. With Michelle in the driver’s seat of various hot rods and Ricky crewing her to a respectable amount of NHRA, IHRA and other event wins, they’ve seen a fair amount of “for better” in their marriage.

Last year, however, there was quite a bit of “for worse”. After partnering with Marvin Benoit and Papa Motorsports and debuting the first C7 Corvette Roadster at the tail end of the 2016 season, 2017 followed with one bad break after another. New car blues hit, and, even when those weren’t plaguing the Furrs, they were often headed home early.

By the end of 2017, things began to turn around and Ricky and Michelle prepared for 2018 with high hopes. Then, one week before their season was to begin at the NHRA Divisional at Gainesville Raceway, their world came crashing down.

“Ricky was at work when he hurt his arm,” Michelle recalled. “He was trying to get a water cut-off unstuck with a channel lock. His tendon came loose from the outside of his shoulder and slid down and around, bunched up around his bicep. We went to the ER to see if there was anything they could do because his hand started going numb and his arm was swelling to about two or three times its normal size.”

In the emergency room, Ricky had a severe adverse reaction to the morphine he had been given for pain. Luckily, the doctors were able to get him breathing again and assured him his tendon injury wouldn’t get worse. They headed for Gainesville, but the jack on their RV wouldn’t retract. The heat wouldn’t work. They made it to Georgia only to have the jake brake break and the RV refuse to move over 50 mph.

Finally, they rolled into Gainesville Raceway at 8:30 before time trials began at 9. They managed to get parked, unloaded and teched and were ready to get their brand-new engine and Super Gas combination to the track.

Michelle drove the Super Gas car to a 9.900 first pass. While things were temporarily looking up in Super Gas, the throttle stop line came off the dragster and Michelle ended up missing both time runs in Super Comp. The Super Gas Corvette Roadster continued to be consistent and Michelle worked her way through the first four rounds of competition. But there was yet one more thing to go wrong.

“We lost all the teeth off the flywheel. The car would heat so fast I had to cut the car off through the light. They would push me back to the pit. They were having to try to turn the motor by hand. In the final, John Sikish was trying to turn the motor, but he couldn't do it and Brad Plourd got it turned enough that it fired. The guy that I ran is an awesome guy. He sat there waited on me. I took some deep breaths and I had the tree in final. I was .003 on the tree, dead on with a 2. He was .010, dead on with an 8.

“When I pulled off top end, the whole week just hit me. I sat in that car and bawled like a baby.”

After the incredible start to the season, Ricky unfortunately had a second trip to the ER, then later underwent surgery to repair his arm. Michelle also had to have surgery on her chin. They rolled into GALOT Motorsports Park last weekend for an NHRA Division 2 event and were met with still more adversity. Someone drove a motorhome over the front end of their dragster. And yet they maintained focus and followed up with another final round in Super Comp. That makes Michelle three for three in final rounds this season.

Whew.   [04/25/18]