For the first time ever, “The Farmtruck,” a 1970 C-10 Chevy Long Bed Truck will take to the track at an NHRA national event with its driver by the same name behind the wheel. Prior to hitting the showrooms of SEMA, Motor Trend’s Mike Finnegan will face the “Street Outlaws” duo of Farmtruck and AZN on the track at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a one-of-a-kind grudge match.

Finnegan will be at the wheel of “Blasphemi,” his Hemi-powered 1955 Chevy gasser. He won a match race at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals against Hoonigan’s Jon Chase.

A tip of the Agent’s fedora to NHRA for offering something a bit different and maybe bringing in some new fans.   [10/11/19]

Advance Auto Parts, a major sponsor of John Force Racing, is bringing the team’s popularity to TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Success® Initiative, which seeks to educate young men and women, as well as their parents and influencer's, about the opportunities existing in transportation technician careers.

Advance Auto Parts, TechForce Foundation and John Force Racing will host local students enrolled in transportation technical programs for a day at the races. These students will be treated to special hospitality events at the John Force Racing pit with the opportunity to meet the team’s drivers.

Developed by leading educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) TechForce Foundation, the FutureTech Success® initiative is an industry-wide effort driving tomorrow’s workforce of technicians by inspiring, supporting and connecting middle and high-school students and their influencer's with the resources necessary to support their technical education and career development. Since joining in 2016 Advance Auto Parts has pledged $200,000 in support of the campaign. [10/11/19]

We told you earlier in the year that the Indiana Gaming Commission was going to allow legalized sports wagering starting last month. As the Agent suspected, the move proved popular and the commission has released the numbers. Indiana sportsbooks accepted $35.2 million in wagers in September. [10/11/19]

The Drone Racing League, the global, professional drone racing circuit, launched the DRL RacerAI, their first-ever autonomous racing drone. Designed to defeat a human pilot, the AI-operated drone will compete for the first time this afternoon in DRL's Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing (AIRR) Circuit, which kicked off its four autonomous drone racing events in Orlando, FL, on Oct. 8.

AIRR races will feature nine identical DRL RacerAI drones operated only by Artificial Intelligence – specifically, AI developed by the nine teams from Lockheed Martin’s AlphaPilot Challenge. AlphaPilot teams’ AI will pilot their DRL RacerAI through gates on a course for the fastest time – all without any GPS, data relay or human intervention. The fastest team’s drone will then go head-to-head against the fastest 2019 DRL Allianz World Champion pilot.

The remaining events are:

Nov. 2: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.

Nov. 15: Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD

Dec. 6: Austin American-Statesman, Austin, TX   [10/11/19]