The Final Half of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge 2017 Dual Championship took place this past week at the PRI Show in Indianapolis, IN. It included 18 teams that came from coast to coast to battle to become one of the Top 4 teams to move on and compete in the Elite eight playoffs for the 2017 National Championship at the PRI Show Dec. 8th and 9th.

 

A total of forty-five teams competed at the SEMA and PRI shows just to get into the Elite Eight competition. The top four SEMA show seeds against the top four PRI show seeds.

 

The top four teams that competed at the PRI Show were Team K&N, from Burton Center for Arts & Tech in Salem, VA, who came in fourth place with an average of 20:59. Team Derale from Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, GA, came in third place with an average of 20:25. Team QA1, from Forsyth Central High School from Cumming, GA, came in second place with an average of 18:29. And in first place came Team Meziere from Burton Center for Arts & Tech in Salem, VA, with the best average of 17:51.

 

The top four teams from the SEMA Show were Team Howards Cams, from Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, MI, with an average time of 19:07. Team Fragola Performance Systems, Fremd High School in Palatine, IL, came in second place with an average time of 20:56. Team Aeromotive, Eastern Oklahoma Technology Center out of Choctaw, OK. took third place with an average time of 21:52. Team Fel-Pro, Tulsa Technology Center from Broken Arrow, OK. came in fourth place with an average time of 23:08.

 

The times are based on three important parts. First it is the average of the three times the teams competed. Second, are the penalty minutes added for mistakes made during dis-assembly and re-assembly and the third part is a 50-question written test on parts and tools identification along with general engine and rules knowledge.

 

Only three seconds separated the first and second place teams, and just 17 seconds between first and third place! But in the end Team Fel-Pro, Tulsa Technology Center from Broken Arrow, OK. came out on top with the average time of 17:06.

 

Each student earned scholarship opportunities ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 from Ohio Technical College, School of Automotive Machinists & Technology, and Universal Technical Institute.

 

Congratulations to all the teams.  [12/13/17]

FOX Sports and the National Hot Rod Association have released the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series television schedule.

 

Dave Rieff, Tony Pedregon and Bruno Massel return to the booth for the FOX NHRA broadcast team, with reporting from Lewis Bloom, Amanda Busick, Jamie Howe and John Kernan.

 

In 2018, NHRA Today, the drag racing news and entertainment show, moves to a one-hour slot leading into select Sunday FOX NHRA race programming. NHRA in 30, a half-hour recap of the Mello Yello Sunday Finals show, also returns in 2018.

 

The NHRA Sportsman Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (16 races) and the growing E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service (12 races), both return to Thursday nights on FS2.

 

2018 FOX NHRA Television Broadcast Schedule

(All times ET and subject to change)

 

Feb. 11: Lucas Oil Winternationals, Pomona, CA (5 PM, Live on FS1)

Feb. 25: NHRA Arizona Nationals, Phoenix (6:30 PM, FS1)

March 18: Amalie Motor Oile NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, Fla. (7 PM, FS1)

April 8: DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, Las Vegas (6 PM, FS1)

April 22: NHRA SpringNationals, Houston (2 PM, Live on FS1)

April 29: NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte (6 PM, FS1)

May 6: NHRA Southern Nationals, Atlanta (6 PM, FS1)

May 20: Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals, Topeka (2 PM, Live on FS1)

June 3: Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Chicago (5:30 PM, FS1)

June 10: NHRA Summernationals, Englishtown, NJ (6 PM, FS1)

June 17: NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, TN (7:30 PM, FS1)

June 24: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, OH (6:30 PM, FS1)

July 8: NHRA New England Nationals, Epping, NH (1 PM, Live on FS1)

July 22: Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, Denver (3 PM, Live on FOX)

July 29: Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Sonoma, CA (4 PM Live on FOX)

Aug. 5: NHRA Northwest Nationals, Seattle (4 PM, Live on FOX)

Aug. 19: Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd, MN (2 PM, Live on FS1)

Sept. 3: Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis (11 AM, Live on FS1)

Sept. 3: Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis (1 PM, Live on FOX)

 

NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship

 

Sept. 16: Dodge NHRA Nationals, Reading, PA (7:30 PM, FS1)

Sept. 23: AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis (8:30 PM, FS1)

Oct. 7: AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, Dallas (12 PM, Live on FS2)

Oct. 14: NHRA Carolina Nationals, Charlotte (2 PM, Live on FS1)

Oct. 28: NHRA Toyota Nationals, Las Vegas (7:30 PM, Live on FS1)

Nov. 11: Auto Club NHRA Nationals, Pomona (4 PM, Live on FS1)

 

NHRA races also will appear in Canada and the Caribbean through FOX Sports Racing, as well as be available through FOX Sports GO, an app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content.   [12/13/17]

CatSpot Litter has announced a multi-year primary sponsorship extension with Scott Palmer Racing, taking the SPR CatSpot Top Fuel Dragster full-time on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour again in 2018, and beyond.

 

CatSpot also will be on the side of the Lagana family’s “Nitro Ninja” Top Fuel Dragster driven by Dom Lagana for 6-10 events in the 2018 season. (Charlie Anderson photo)   [12/13/17]

Isky Racing Cams recently released its new line of heavy-duty HPX hydraulic roller lifters. The two levels of Isky Racing Cams HPX series of hydraulic roller lifters – Silver and Gold – are designed to combat the weaknesses found in OEM and OEM-style hydraulic lifters. The Silver version is a needle-bearing version of the lifter, while the Gold is an upgrade to the EZ-Roll solid bushing with no needles. The major difference between the two is that the life expectancy of the solid bushing is four times that of the needle bearings. Thanks to the specialized internal valving in the HPX lifters, they are designed to substantially exceed traditional hydraulic roller lifter limits. [12/13/17]