Steve Parsons went to his second Outlaw Pro Gas final round this season on July 15, this time driving his ’63 Corvette roadster to the winner’s circle with a win over Mark Fenton Jr. and taking the series points lead. Parsons went to the final of the first race of the year but lost to Ken Mostowich.

Parsons won the semifinal round recording an 8.927, 164.03 (8.90 index) to defeat Paul Wiechmann, losing with a too quick 8.894.  Fenton got a bye run into the final. The final of the Ginz Choppers-sponsored race was quite bizarre, as Parsons left the line first with a .011 light, but his throttle stop failed to release and he coasted through the lights with a 13.13 time.  Fenton wasn’t aware of the Parsons’ woes, and he drove his ’27 roadster .004 too quick and settled for the runner-up spot.

With two of the four events competed, Parsons holds the points lead with 152 points followed by Fenton at 114, Wiechmann with 104, and Mostowich with 97. The third race of the year will be August 18 at the Fontana, CA, track.  (Mindy Crandall photo)  [07/18/18]

The Good Vibrations Funny Car Nationals was held at Keystone Raceway in Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 14. Team Brutus car owner John Troxel, driver Chris Schneider, and crewmembers Randy Hentges and Justin Craig made the 1,000-mile trip from Missouri to debut their car at this prestigious Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit event.

Twenty-six Alcohol F/C's were on hand to put on a show for the large crowd at Keystone. While the Brutus crew were not happy with their on track performance for the Mustang, they were happy to participate in this growing event. They worked out a few new car bugs and have big expectations for the Hemi-powered flopper at its next outing. The car was a photo favorite on Saturday and it was very cool to have Lew Arrington Jr. on hand for the race debut of the car paying homage to his father. [07/18/18]

The Professional Drag Racers Association will race in the Buckeye State for the first time this weekend at the inaugural PDRA Super Strip Nationals, July 19-21, at National Trail Raceway.

Driving the Amsoil ’16 Camaro in Extreme Pro Stock, John DeFlorian raced to two No. 1 qualifying positions and his first-ever PDRA win in the first four races of the season.

The St. Louis racer is about one round away from the Extreme Pro Stock points lead, currently held by Virginia winner and 2016 world champion John Pluchino. Standing between the two is season-opener winner Elijah Morton, just eight points behind Pluchino. DeFlorian believes the Super Strip Nationals will be a pivotal point in the overall season points championship chase.

“We're going into the fifth race of the season and you have five cars that are stacked up together in points,” DeFlorian said. “Anyone who stubs their toe can go from No. 1 in points to No. 3 or 4 in points real fast. It's going to ramp up the pressure on everybody. We're all looking at that championship. This race is really going to set the tone because we're going to have a five-week break after this race, then a dash for the last three races.

In addition to Extreme Pro Stock, the PDRA Super Strip Nationals will feature Pro Nitrous and Pro Boost. Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Pro Outlaw 632 round out the professional categories. Sportsman racers from around the country will face off in Top Sportsman, Top Dragster and Bracket Bash, while the future stars of the sport will race for a “660 Man” trophy in Pro Jr. Dragster and Top Jr. Dragster. Outlaw 10.5 racers will also join the mix for their third of four races on the 2018 PDRA Tour.  [07/18/18]

At the PDRA Firecracker Nationals, the tires locked up on “Junkyard Dog” causing the Willys to cross the opposing lane and crash into the guard wall. No injuries to driver Junior Ward, and the car is back ready for action. (Jeff Burk file photo)

Darren Mayer Performance Engineering will sponsor the appearance of the Supercharged AA/Gassers of America at this weekend’s Super Strip Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Four of the group will be making runs: Al Niespodzinski Jr. in “Caged Heat,” Dan Szewczyk driving “Calamity Jane,” Tom Fritz in his 1940 Willys pickup and Junior Ward driving Jim Oddy’s “Junkyard Dog.”

Next event for the gasser group will be Aug. 4 at Lancaster, NY.  [07/18/18]

SFG Promotions has put on quite a few professional bracket races recently where the winner’s purse alone for a three-day race approached a quarter million dollars. Now that same promotion group has announced a race next year with a guaranteed $500,000 to the winner.

The most money an NHRA Top Fuel or Funny Car driver has been paid for a win is just a little over $100,000. The Agent is sure there is a moral to this story -- he just can’t figure out what it is.   [07/18/18]

Tony Schumacher was asked about the differences between racing a car at sea level and the mile-high Denver. He explained that it is a challenge for the driver and the car with conditions unlike anywhere else the NHRA races.

“When you’re at sea level, like Gainesville, there’s more air. You walk outside and you can just flat breathe. You don’t get tired as easily. It’s the same thing with the car,” Schumacher said. “In Denver, you’re starving the engine for fuel, and you can’t add as much fuel. What it takes to go fast is, the more nitromethane you can stuff into the motor, the faster you can go. The more air you have, the more nitro you can put to it. The blowers we have, which are basically like an air compressor sitting on top of the engine, they can only work so hard. They can only spin so fast. We’re not spinning them slower because we’re in a place like Gainesville, we’re trying to make more power and go faster.

“What happens in Denver is, you get up high in the mountains and your car’s having a hard time breathing. You’re having hard time breathing and so is your car, so your car’s just going to run slower. All the cars are equal as far as that goes. We’re all starving for air, and the air’s the same in both the right lane and the left lane. It takes a good crew chief and a good driver to figure it out. The right combination for the right moments.”

The DSR stable historically has been able to get the right combination with teammate Antron Brown being the defending Top Fuel Denver event winner and Leah Pritchett being the 2017 top qualifier, setting the Bandimere Speedway ET record at 3.733 seconds and finishing runner-up.   [07/18/18]