There was a sell-out crowd on hand to see the Sunday race in Las Vegas. The crowd was chanting “Terry! Terry! Terry!” when the Mello Yello truck was driving the four class winners down the track to the starting line victory stage.  (Richard Kratz photo) [10/30/17]

Troy Coughlin was 26 points ahead of Mike Castellana coming into the final event in the J&A Services Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. A quarterfinal victory over Castellana sewed up the championship for the JEGS Corvette driver.

Coughlin went on to the final round where “Stevie Fast” Jackson got the Las Vegas win.

See the action at here. (Tim Marshall photo)  [10/30/17]

E3 Spark Plugs has been named the series sponsor for NHRA Pro Mod racing. The E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service will feature 12 races during the coming season and will feature a second visit to Texas during the year as well as a change to the qualifying procedures.

The series will race at the Texas Motorplex, Oct. 4-7 during the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals in their 3,000 horsepower cars that include ’67 Mustangs, ’68 Firebirds and ’69 Camaros, as well as a variety of late model American muscle cars.

New for the coming season, the category will get four qualifying sessions and the first round of eliminations in their 16-car field taking place on Sunday. The teams will get two qualifying sessions on Friday and two on Saturday prior to race day.

2018 E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service Schedule

March 15-18: Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, FL

April 20-22: NHRA SpringNationals, Houston

April 27-29: NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte, NC

May 18-20: Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals, Topeka, KS

June 7-10: NHRA Summernationals, Englishtown, NJ

June 15-17: NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN

June 21-24: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, OH

Aug. 29-Sept. 3: Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis

Sept. 21-23: AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis

Oct. 4-7: AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals, Dallas

Oct. 12-14: NHRA Carolina Nationals, Charlotte, NC

Oct. 26-29: NHRA Toyota Nationals, Las Vegas   [10/30/17]

In the Top Alcohol Funny Car finals, Ulf Leanders and former Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon launched close together and then Dixon’s car in the left lane made a hard right, took out the Christmas tree wiring and the 60-foot lights, hit the right lane wall, angled backed towards the starting line and bounced off, with the engine still running and the car starting to roll back towards the waterbox.

Dixon got it shut down and stopped. Apparently, there was a fuel leak directly in front of the right side tire, so the car had 100% traction on the left and 0% on the right.

Poor Leanders, the Agent doesn’t think anyone saw him cross the finish line except his own crew. At first they were cheering, then stunned, then had to scatter as Dixon’s car headed toward them at the starting line.  (Dave Stoltz photos)  [10/30/17]

In the most controversial pairing of the meet, in the second round of eliminations, John Force lined up against teammate Robert Hight. Force had a horrendous .193 RT and then his Camaro got out of the groove and headed for the left quard wall. Force hazed the tires and got off the throttle. Hight headed straight down the track for the win and more points toward the championship. Hight now leads Ron Capps by 15 points going into the Finals at Pomona.  (Ron Lewis photo) [10/30/17]

After five months off his Buell due to shoulder surgery, Hector Arana Sr. joined his son Hector Jr. in competition at Las Vegas. Arana Sr. was very pleased to make the field in his last qualifying pass, shocking many in the relatively quick field of 16.

"It's been awhile since I raced so when I first got here, my first hit I was so happy but on the other hand, I was really nervous and thinking, 'What's it going to do? Am I going to be able to handle it?'," Arana Sr. said. "I dropped that clutch and I'll tell you what, the bike left and I didn't feel nothing and I thought this is nothing but then we had engine issues in third gear.

"I couldn't make the second qualifying run so we talked about it overnight and decided to stick another motor there just to play around. I'm here just to have fun, which I am now, having fun. To come out now and run a 6.97 and qualify in the top half, I am stoked. I am so pleased to be part of this again with my son by my side."

Remarkably, Arana Sr.'s final pass of 6.973 at 193.40 mph not only got him in the field, but it moved his Lucas Oil EBR all the way to the No. 7 position.

However, showing that he still is a bit rusty on the ‘tree, Arana Sr. turned on the red light in his first-round match with Mike Berry.  (Ron Lewis photo)  [10/30/17]

Two-time NHRA Lucas Oil Series national champion Justin Lamb secured the 2017 NHRA Super Stock national championship while racing at the NHRA Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas Friday morning. He’s also a serious contender for the Stock national championship.

“We set out this year with several goals, and one of them was to win a championship in Super Stock,” Lamb said. “We brought out a new Stocker and we weren’t sure how that would go, but we thought we had a good chance in Super Stock. It’s very rewarding and it’s nice that it’s done now. Both times I won championships in the past, it went down to the wire and there was a ton of pressure. It’s cool that we get to enjoy this one, especially herein Vegas at our home race.”  (John DiBartolomeo photo)  [10/30/17]

The Agent is told that Top Alcohol Dragster driver Ashley Sanford will go to Australia to drive a AA/FD for Santo Rapisarda Racing. No other info, so the Agent is standing by.  (Tim Marshall photo)  [10/30/17]

TEN: A Discovery Communications Company announced that Johnny Hunkins has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the HOT ROD brand. Hunkins takes the reins of the 69-year-old iconic brand after serving most recently as Editor of MOPAR MUSCLE.

Hunkins brings with him 26 years of industry experience in technical writing, feature photography, brand management, social media, and video from a wide range of automotive media brands including MOPAR MUSCLE, MUSCLE MUSTANGS & FAST FORDS, POPULAR HOT RODDING, and GM HIGH-TECH PERFORMANCE. Hunkins will report to HOT ROD General Manager, Jonathan Mill, and HOT ROD Network Director, Douglas Glad.

The Discovery Channel recently bought TEN (The Enthusiast Network), which was previously Source Interlink Media, which was previously Primedia, which was previously Petersen Publishing Co.   [10/30/17]