Last year LE Tonglet won the Pro Bike Battle over Eddie Krawiec.  (Stephen Justice photo)

Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels is continuing its official sponsorship of the NHRA Pro Bike Battle at northern California’s Sonoma Raceway. The Pro Bike Battle will be part of the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals set for July 27-29.

Contested as a special race-within-a-race, riders earn points throughout the season based on finishing positions at Pro Stock Motorcycle national events. The eight riders accumulating the highest number of qualifying points earn a berth in the 2018 NHRA Pro Bike Battle.

The top eight riders currently are: Eddie Krawiec, Andrew Hines, Hector Arana Jr., Jerry Savoie, Scotty Pollacheck, LE Tonglet, Matt Smith and Angie Smith. The Pro Stock Motorcycles compete this week at Denver.   [07/20/18]

U.S. racer Frankie Taylor will make his final runs with Team Bray Racing this weekend, July 21-22, at the Desert Nationals at Alice Springs Inland Dragway.

After a disappointing showing at last weekend’s Nitro Up North event at Darwin where he got only two round wins, Taylor is hoping to leave Australia with a win.

“I am not all that happy with my showing in Darwin, so I will be throwing everything at it in Alice Springs to make sure I leave the Aussie fans with something to remember me by this weekend,” Taylor said.

Teammate Ben Bray also won two rounds at Darwin, while team principal and driver Victor Bray won three.  (Jeff Burk file photo) [07/20/18]

Bristol: Stories of Oval and Drag Racing in Thunder Valley

by David McGee

Author and Bristol historian David McGee examines more than 50 of the greatest races and legendary moments from Bristol Motor Speedway and Bristol Dragway. Stories about Dale Earnhardt, Don Garlits, Rusty Wallace, Rickie Smith, and others are told with more than 180 action-packed photos. Available in paperback (Item #CT600P) from CarTech Books or as print-on-demand.   [07/20/18]

Recently, Dodge selected Nexen Tire for the debut and launch of the new 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320, designed to deliver pavement-pounding fun on the dragstrip. The tire, called the Nexen N’FERA SUR4G Drag Spec was designed together with Dodge and their high-performance team of engineers at SRT to create a street legal drag tire that can perform on tracks with either minimal track preparation or full track preparation. The Nexen N’FERA SUR4G Drag Spec will come in only one size (275/40R20 102W) and it will be a street-legal drag radial tire. The tread pattern is a non-directional pattern that allows unrestricted tire rotation to extend the life of the tire at the drag strip. The proprietary tread compound is exclusive to Dodge and the Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320. The tire has been tested around the country on multiple tracks to ensure maximum performance regardless of surface.  [07/20/18]