Mark Pawuk returns to the NHRA national scene at Bristol driving this Drag Pak Challenger in the Factory Stock category. DSR Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett and former Pro Stock champ Allen Johnson will also be driving Challengers in the Factory Stock Showdown. (Chris Haverly photo)  [06/15/18]

RIP, El Chignon.  (Chris Haverly photo)

This week, you'll see Cruz Pedregon’s Snap-on Toyota in the Frankenstein body after El Chignon sustained significant damage in an explosion last weekend in Virginia that left only a side window intact.

Crew Chief Aaron Brooks said, "We had a lot of work to do for this young team to get ready for Bristol. We're still getting it done to be ready for qualifying Friday, and it's meant some long days and nights for these hard-working team members."

“I'm so proud of my crew for really pulling together to get a round win the day after the body blew off last weekend," said Pedregon. "It just proves the team has the tenacity to get everything together in time to go out this weekend and build on our already positive season."  [06/15/18]

Randy Seward made Gateway Motorsports Park one of 38 stops on his 10,500-mile cross-country drag strip tour. Seward stopped at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, IL, on Wednesday, June 13, for Wide Open Wednesday presented by AAA Insurance to offer a friendly challenge to local racers.  (John Bisci photo)

American engineer Randy Seward recently returned from a job in Japan and decided it was time to embark on a new undertaking. Seward, now living in Florida, has launched a 10,500-mile tour of America’s drag strips. And not as a spectator. Seward is hitting 38 drag strips with a Ford Mustang capable of 8-second runs in the quarter mile.

To add to the jaw-drop effect of this high-speed slog, Seward does not use a trailer or car hauler. He drives the car he also races. The trek, which Seward has dubbed “The Pony Express,” launched May 18 and is expected to terminate on July 25.    [06/15/18]

Jim Young at last fall’s California Hot Rod Reunion. (Tim Marshall photo)

The three-day NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion got under way Thursday, June 14, at Kentucky’s Beech Bend Raceway Park. Quarter mile nostalgia drag racing action was on tap.

Nostalgia Top Fuel -- 1. James Young, FED, 5.798, 254.90; 2. Tim Cullinan, NTF, 5.968, 204.51; 3. Adam Sorokin, Sterling, 6.182, 222.36; 4. Jason Greenwood, Stirling, 6.228, 225.11; 5. Brendan Murry, Rooman, 6.381, 180.91; 6. David Miller, Neil & Parks, 6.417, 166.11; 7. Julius Hughes, Horton, 6.553, 189.63; 8. Paul Schultz, Stirling, 8.060, 116.21. Not Qualified: 9. Tyler Hilton, 10.401, 80.13; 10. Mendy Fry, broke.

Nostalgia Funny Car -- 1. Shawn Bowen, Camaro, 5.874, 241.80; 2. John Smith, 6.790, 143.03; 3. Eric Stevens, Camaro, 6.843, 141.25; 4. Dan Horan Jr., Camaro, broke.  [06/15/18]

After a successful weekend hosting the NHRA national tour last week, Tommy Franklin’s Virginia Motorsports Park will host the two-wheel competitors of the Xtreme Dragbike Association on June 22-24.

Classes at the MTC Engineering Summer Nationals include Pro Street, Real Street, Grudge, 4.60, 5.60, Crazy 8’s, Top Sportsman, Pro ET, and Street ET. Over 700 professional, sportsman and grudge racers will be competing for a $58,000 cash purse.    [06/15/18]

A new technology under development in the U.K. makes use of drones and 3-D printing to quickly repair potholes.

The process involves a pair of drones, one that searches for cracks and potholes overnight and another dispatched by the first drone to patch the roadway with 3-D printed asphalt. The Telegraph reported Monday that some fixes could take less than a minute, a major difference in the time it takes to have crews come out to patch asphalt.   [06/15/18]