Paul Gialcone drives this striking pretty-in-pink ’55 Chevy in Super Gas.  (Bob Johnson photo)

The NHRA Pacific Division will hold its first of three National Open events this weekend at Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, Calif., March 24-25.

The Fontana event will include Top Comp, Stock/Super Stock Combo, Super Gas, Super Comp, Super Street, and ET bracket racing.  Qualifying begins at 8 AM on Saturday, with eliminations set for Sunday.  A test and tune session is scheduled for Friday, March 23, from 11 AM to 5 pm.

The remaining two National Opens will be May 5-6 at Sacramento Raceway, and June 9-10 at Top Gun Raceway, Fallon, Nev.  [03/22/18]

Defending Modified Bike champion Bryan Finn could make history this weekend (March 23-24) if he can clinch a third consecutive Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series national title.

The South Australian currently sits on maximum points ahead of this weekend’s final round of the 2017/2018 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series, to be held at Adelaide International Raceway.

If he can clinch it, he will be the first ever bike racer to win three Modified Bike titles in a row.

“It is great how the championship is sitting heading to the final round – we have five people going into this weekend with a chance of winning the title,” said Finn.

“I have had a terrible run this year, I am lucky to be where I am in the points – my first four events ended with red lights in the first round. I have only turned it around to get points in the second half of the season, so I feel lucky to be in the position that I am now heading to the Grand Final.”  (Outlaw Images photo)  [03/22/18]

The Outlaw 10.5 cars will return to the PDRA schedule in 2018 thanks to backer Atomizer Racing Injectors.

The class will be contested at four events this season: the East Coast Spring Nationals at GALOT Motorsports Park, April 5-7; the Firecracker Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, June 28-30; the Super Strip Nationals at National Trail Raceway, July 19-21 and the World Finals at Virginia Motorsports Park, October 18-20.

Atomizer founder Jack French will be racing this season with his 2017 Dodge Challenger RT is versatile, competing not only in Outlaw 10.5, but also in radial and even the Street Outlaw No Prep Kings. It’s equipped with a 528-ci DiSomma Racing Engines twin turbo Hemi.

“I think small tire racing is very exciting,” said French. “You’re basically taking a Pro Mod drivetrain and putting it in a car that was originally built for the street, would have had a VIN number at one time and a small tire. The tire, the tune and the track are the limiting factors of the class. There’s always a lot of power and it’s fun to watch the teams get it to the pavement. It’s exciting for the fans and the racers themselves.”

Atomizer Racing Injectors Outlaw 10.5 will run for a PDRA World Championship and has the opportunity to grow into a full schedule in the future.  (Gary Rowe/RaceWork.com photo)  [03/22/18]

The NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals, presented by MAHLE Motorsport, will be held at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, GA, the weekend of April 5-8. Putting the “All-Star” in the All-Star Nationals will be three special showdowns for class racers giving bonus cash prizes and bragging rights.

In addition to the Sealed Stock and Open Comp Showdowns from last year, a third Showdown has been added with the Street Outlaw category. This year ProMedia Events and Publishing’s general manager Rollie Miller decided to have some fun and create a "blocker" spot on each team, which is selected by last year's champion.

The Open Comp Showdown brings together 16 entries (two teams of 8) from the NMRA and NMCA. The first half of the 8-car team consists of the top four point-earners from the previous year. Positions 5-7 are determined using the wildcard process, drawing from the racers at the event. The final 8th position will be a blocker chosen by the 2017 class champion.

The Street Outlaw and Sealed Stock Showdowns will pull in four racers from each series to create an 8-car eliminator which will be contested on Friday and Saturday—April 6-7, 2018. The top two point-earners from 2017 form the base of the All-Star team with the third racer being a wildcard drawn at the event. The fourth and final team member will be a blocker chosen by the 2017 champion, creating the 4-car team. All class rules are enforced as the racers represent their category on their respective team.  [03/22/18]

Familiar names to many Midwest racers have accepted management positions at the Onawa Racing and Events Complex (OREC) in Onawa, Iowa. Ron and Darla Conner, who have many years’ experience in drag racing operations, will begin their new management positions effective immediately.

“We are elated to have Ron and Darla as managers,” said OREC Vice President, Phil Schroder. “They bring a lot experience and will operate the race track and events center on a daily basis.”

The Conners have an extensive resume of drag racing event production and operations including many years with NHRA Division 5 along with the Safety Safari and credentialing. Specific race facility operations include at the now defunct Lawrence Dragway (Lawrence, KS) and most recently with Heartland Park (Topeka, KS).

OREC is a one-eighth mile IHRA Drag Racing Facility that includes an Event Center in Onawa, IA, and is tentatively scheduled to open this May. Future plans include transitioning to quarter-mile drag racing as soon as funds can be raised to offset those additional construction expenses. [03/22/18]

Jennifer Caputo-Armstrong will be at the Magnuson Superchargers Red List Series X at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, CA, this Saturday, March 24. Jennifer will be taking the 9.7-second Liquid Glow Racing Magnuson supercharged 426ci Arrington Performance-powered 2007 Dodge Magnum down the famous track in this unique and exciting racing event/car show. The car is owned and tuned by Richard Kratz, editor of sister publication MoparMax.com.

The event hosts everyone vs everyone drag racing where all racers fight for the #1 spot on the infamous Red List and the cash grand prize or Truck Clubs battle to find out who will be King of Trucks.  [03/22/18]

A month ago, when Keith Haney visited South Georgia Motorsports Park for Lights Out 9, he made it all the way to the final round, where he ran a career-best elapsed time and speed, but still finished runner-up in Radial vs. the World (RvW) to Steve Jackson. This weekend (March 22-24), he and his Keith Haney Racing (KHR) team will be back at SGMP, where Haney plans to finish one position better in Donald “Duck” Long’s inaugural Sweet 16 event.

“All those other guys—and especially Stevie—they better watch themselves because KHR and ‘Enigma’ (the name for Haney’s 2016 RvW Camaro) are coming and the difference for us this time will be winning,” Haney stated as he prepared to make the long haul from his home near Tulsa.

“My co-crew chiefs, Brandon Switzer and Brandon Pesz, they’re the absolute best and they’re gonna’ have that car ready for me to hurt some feelings again in Georgia,” Haney promised.  [03/22/18]