The winners of the 2019 season Finals returned to Pomona and won the 2020 season opening Winternationals.

Doug Kalitta, Jack Beckman and Jeg Coughlin Jr. were the historic trio. See the race results at here.  (Ron Lewis photo)  [02/11/20]

Notable by his absence at Pomona, 2019 Top Fuel champion Steve Torrance will return to NHRA racing at Phoenix.

Team owner “Mama Kay” Torrence says the reason for her son not attending the season opener was that NHRA did not respond in a timely manner to the team’s protest of the fine and punishment for Steve’s pushing Cameron Ferre at last year’s Finals. The team disputed the amount of the fine ($25,000) and requirement to attend anger management classes with an appeal filed with NHRA on Nov. 29.

“By the time everything was settled, it was too late to get our equipment and crew members to Pomona in time to race,” Mrs. Torrence explained.  [02/11/20]

Top Fuel Harley racer national #2, Doug Vancil, has lost vital sponsorship funding and his Vance & Hines race team will not be in competition for 2020, DRO Motorcycle Editor Tom McCarthy reports. His future participation in Top fuel motorcycle drag racing is in question at this time.

See the rest of McCarthy’s Motorcycle Memos here.  [02/11/20]

The IHRA has released the 2020 IHRA Sportsman Spectacular presented by Hagerty and Moser Engineering schedule which will feature an 18-race schedule over nine double-race weekends.

Top (Box), Mod (No Box / Footbrake) and Junior Dragsters will have the opportunity to compete for the IHRA Ironman at each event as well as oversized championship checks.  Class runners-up will receive the limited-edition Sportsman Spectacular silver medals in addition to their winnings.

2020 IHRA Sportsman Spectacular

February 22: State Capitol Raceway, Baton Rouge, LA

March 22: Holly Springs Motorsports, Holly Springs, MS

May 2: Amarillo Dragway, Amarillo, TX

May 15-17: Dragway 42, West Salem, OH

June 6: Mo-Kan Dragway, Asbury, MO

July 10-12: Darlington Dragway, Hartsville, SC

June 26-28: US 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, MI

August 21-23: Maryland International Raceway, Mechanicsville, MD

TBD: Farmington Dragway, Mocksville, NC   [02/11/20]

There were a lot more Pro Stock cars at this year’s Winternationals meaning that some teams did not make the field. One of those was Alan Prusiensky, returning to racing after an accident at last year’s fall Charlotte event.

With backing from Top Coat and a new Dodge Dart provided by ecarmover.com, Prusiensky was in the 17 spot out of 20 entrants. His best run was Q3 with a 6.684 at 206.57 mph.

“I had a tough two days driving and we had some mechanical issues fighting us. You know a little bit of the new car blues,” Prusiensky explained. “The rev-limiter wasn’t turned on in Q1 because we didn’t know it was there since this is a new car for us this weekend. Those types of things put your back against the wall a little and we had to swing for the fences in Q4. I really felt like we could get in and I got too aggressive on the other side and blew the tires off.”  (Pam Conrad photo)   [02/11/20]

Vortech sponsored the Top Dragster 2019 national champion, Danny Nelson.  (Pat Donahue photo)

Vortech Superchargers will sponsor the NHRA Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes through 2022. The company also sponsors a wide range of drivers in various classes, including Top Dragster.  [02/11/20]

Many fans are unfamiliar with the new sponsors of Alexis DeJoria’s return to NHRA racing, so we did a little checking.

ABK Beer is an award-winning, hand-crafted Bavarian beer brand that has been brewing lager and ales for over 700 years (since 1308) in Kaufbeuren – Bavaria, Germany. It is owned and distributed by ROK Drinks, which is part of ROK Stars – the consumer products company co-founded by John Paul DeJoria (Alexis’s father) and Jonathan Kendrick (a British entrepreneur). ROK Drinks has a multi-national portfolio of outstanding and award-winning drinks.

Part of the ROK Group of Companies, ROKiT Phones was founded by Mr. DeJoria and Mr. Kendrick.  (Ron Lewis photo)    [02/11/20]

The National Hot Rod Association along with Pro Stock Motorcycle legend Terry Vance and the Vance Family Foundation have announced the official start of NHRA Launch Motorsports Careers, NHRA’s motorsports career portal.

NHRA Launch Motorsports Careers will allow individuals and companies within the motorsports industry to connect for career opportunities. Individuals who are looking for jobs may search for openings within the portal while companies with available jobs may post openings.   [02/11/20]