On Saturday Leah Pritchett proved that her Mopar Dodge 1320 Top Fuel dragster with the “Angry Bee” logo packs plenty of sting, improving on her class-best Friday run and setting the track speed record of 327.19 mph at Bandimere Speedway near Denver. Pritchett dominated during qualifying, securing her second consecutive No. 1 at the venue, second consecutive of the season and tenth of her career. Pritchett also holds the track ET record, set last year.

On Sunday Pritchett got her second victory of the year, getting past Terry Totten, Scott Palmer, and Clay Millican to set up the final-round match against Doug Kalitta. Kalitta was off the line first, but Pritchett’s 3.831/316.45 got to the finish before Kalitta’s 3.852/319.82.  (FCA photo)    [07/23/18]

NMRA officials have announced the addition of Modified Street to the championship line-up in 2019.

Coming off last year NMRA had a lot of feedback and requests for Limited Street that would've put it into a different type of class. Rather than ignore those interested, the NMRA team began drafting a new class. They used Coyote Modified as the base and identified some areas for change and to open it up to other engine platforms.

Essentially think of it as a step or two beyond Limited Street in terms of performance and components. The weights are reduced from the Limited Street  rules and Modified Street will allow mini-tubs, coil-overs, and even ladder bars.

NMRA tech officials will post a preliminary set of rules later this week and the power adders will be a specific part number for competitors to follow, much like Limited Street.  (NMRA photo)   [07/23/18]

Teammates Matt Hagan and Leah Pritchett wrapped up their two-round grudge match races in Dodge Challenger SRT Demon vehicles at Bandimere, with Hagan evening the scales at 1-1. Pritchett left early earning a red-light foul, and Hagan motored down track to take the win. The series kicked off at Denver in 2017, with Pritchett claiming both wins over Hagan.  [07/23/18]

An overnight exodus of racers concerned about a potential washout of the final day of Rockingham Dragway’s Summer Sizzler Bracket Shootout compelled track owner Steve Earwood to cut his losses and cancel Sunday’s program.

“It was a danged-if-you-do and danged-if-you-don’t situation,” Earwood said. “Weather is always an issue. I try not to make decisions based on the forecast but when the racers react to it, there’s not much you can do. In the end, I met with my core racers, those I was trying to accommodate when I put this event together, and made the best decision I could.”

Before the weather issue arose, Rowland’s Buddy Dial (above) and Lexington’s Shannon Justice picked off the biggest shares of the purse as the Top Eliminator winners on Saturday and Friday, respectively. Dial used a .014 package to beat Tim Phipps in the Saturday final for the win. Justice won the main event on Friday over Lumberton’s Tim Thomas and then applied an exclamation point by beating TG Paschal in the Gamblers Race.

Richard Charnock won the Saturday gambler’s race driving the Dukes Auto Salvage Chevy over the dragster of Dial.

The Footbrake titles went to veteran Steve Alford of Raleigh and Lauren Edwards of Mayesville on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Both benefitted from final round foul starts by their opponents.

Next major bracket race at The Rock will be the Aug. 24-26 Carolina Powerfest featuring the “blue light special.”  In the interim, the track will play host the next three Saturdays to the Mass Acceleration Motorsports Street Drags featuring unlimited time trial runs and the MXA Street Car Shootout.    [07/23/18]

With a victory at Alice Spring’s Desert Nationals over the weekend, Team Bray Racing’s Frankie Taylor has ensured his current Down Under tour has ended just as it started: with triumph.

In November of 2017 when he joined TBR to undertake his first race event in Australia, the Texan – formerly the world’s quickest and fastest blown Doorslammer driver over the quarter mile – took on and defeated now-champion Paul Mouhayet in Sydney.

Fast-forward to Taylor’s first visit to the Northern Territory, and ‘the Madman’ has taken victory in his Gulf Western Oil Top Dog Indestructible Corvette over Team Bray Racing teammate Ben Bray by 15 thousandths of a second.

“What a brilliant weekend and what a great way to bring my current Down Under tour with Team Bray Racing to a close,” Taylor said. “The track conditions were a little tricky for us on day one for our first run. While Victor was able to make some good passes with an early shut-off both Ben and I got well out of shape as we pushed the limits in our runs with slippery conditions in the mid to top-end of the track.

“In round two all three of us – Victor, Ben and myself – took out wins which was just fantastic and set-up an all-TBR finale which went all the way down to the wire – what could be better than that?”

Team Bray Racing will now return to its Brisbane base in Queensland before turning its attention to the Brisbane Jamboree. Ben will race his Gulf Western Oil-supported Toyota Solara at the Willowbank Raceway event August 24-25.   [07/23/18]

Carson Emmett (age 11) won his second NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Eastern Conference Finals presented by Huddleston Performance title when the 2018 edition of the annual event at Bristol Dragway wrapped up Friday night. Emmett was joined in the winner’s circle by first-time winners Shelby Todd (6-9), Grant Cook (10), Cody Owens (12), Mason Bean (13), Lane Kahley (14), Jake Heaton (15), and Isaac McDaniel (16-17).

In the team competition, Numidia Dragway Team 1 came out on top, tallying 33 points. Silver Dollar Raceway Team 1 finished second with 29 points, followed by Bristol Dragway Team 1 with 28 and Maple Grove Raceway Team 1 and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Team 1 tied at 27 apiece.

Huntsville Dragway collected its fourth straight Team Spirit award, and Virginia Motorsports Park earned the trophy for Best Appearing Track for its Wallywood themed shirts and decorations.

6-9 Year Olds: Shelby Todd, Cataula, Ga., 12.096, 52.64 def. Forrest Radford, Radford, Va., 14.292, 43.35

10 Year Olds: Grant Cook, Franklin, Ky., ,,, def. Hayden Wallace, Hawksville, Pa., ,,,,,

11 Year Olds: Carson Emmett, Cedar Bluff, Ala., 8.991, 72.00 def. Bruce Thaxton, Butler, Ga., 9.017, 67.11

12 Year Olds: Cody Owens, Orange Park, Fla., 9.046, 68.88 def. Bobby Bennabaker, Morgantown, Pa., 8.965, 72.45

13 Year Olds: Mason Bean, Dickerson, Md., 7.944, 81.35 def. Layla Dillman, Greenwood, Ind., 7.978, 81.25

14 Year Olds: Lane Kahley, Millmont, Pa., 8.030, 80.29 def. Vance Houston, Newland, N.C., 7.996, 80.95

15 Year Olds: Jake Heaton, Mt.Vernon, Ohio, 7.996, 80.19 def. Liberti Ferster, Sunbury, Pa., 8.025, 79.83

16-17 Year Olds: Issac McDaniel, Piedmont, S.C., 8.073, 80.77 def. Dalton Hayes, N. Chesterfield, Va., 8.104, 77.66    [07/23/18]

Despite multiple attempts to dry the racing surface, Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) officials decided to cancel the remainder of the PDRA Super Strip Nationals at National Trail Raceway. The decision was announced Saturday afternoon after rain showers prevented the completion of the first of three planned qualifying sessions. A threatening Sunday forecast and a substantial amount of racing left to complete gave PDRA officials no choice but to cancel the event.

The PDRA will take a month off before returning to action at the PDRA Drag Wars, Sept. 6-8, at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, NC. [07/23/18]

“Big Daddy” Don Garlits is working on “Swamp Rat 38”, an electric dragster designed to go over 200 mph on batteries. The chassis is from S&W Racecars.   [07/23/18]

Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge organizers promise the event will be even bigger when it opens on Aug. 11. The event held at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Mich., will feature more thrill ride experiences in the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models, additional celebrity showdown races, and its largest purse ever at $40,000.

Roadkill Nights features two drag racing classes: Big Tire and Small Tire. The $40,000 purse will include $10,000 awarded to the celebrity showdown race winner’s charity of choice. Both drag racing classes will have the same payout structure with $15,000 as the total purse per class: Winner - $5,000; runner-up - $1,500; semifinalists - $750; quarterfinalists - $500; fastest Dodge-powered vehicle - $5,000.

The drag racing will include a celebrity showdown with Motor Trend’s Roadkill co-hosts David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan. Chris Jacobs of Velocity’s Barrett-Jackson Live will emcee the activities, while Brian Lohnes of Motor Trend’s Put Up or Shut Up will emcee the drag races. Additional industry celebrity attendees include Richard Rawlings of Discovery’s Fast n’ Loud Steve Magnante of Velocity’s Barrett-Jackson Live, Cristy Lee of Barrett-Jackson Live and All Girls Garage, and Bill Goldberg and Matt D’Andria from the automotive podcast CarCast with Adam Carolla.

There also will be more celebrities participating in showdown races and the addition of freestyle motocross exhibitions. Leah Pritchett in her Dodge/Mopar Top Fuel Dragster and Matt Hagan in his Dodge Charger Funny Car will once again light ‘em up on Woodard Avenue.   [07/23/18]