The NHRA may have a weekend off, but the racers of the PDRA will be competing this Friday and Saturday, June 29-30, at the Firecracker Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Jason Harris, the 2014 Pro Nitrous champion, is leading the points heading into the race. He was runner-up at the season opener and won the most recent PDRA race in Martin, MI, where his “Party Time’ ’69 Camaro (far lane) qualified No. 1 and defeated Jim Halsey in the final.  (Roger Richards photo)

Harris will also take on Moroso Pro Boost points leader Chuck Ulsch and his Roots-blown ’68 Camaro in Friday night’s “Bottles vs. Blowers” grudge race during the third qualifying session. The Harris vs. Ulsch race is the second “Bottles vs. Blowers” grudge race of the 2018 PDRA season. Pro Boost driver Tommy D’Aprile defeated Pro Nitrous competitor Randy Weatherford in the Summer Drags edition.

Lizzy Musi and car owner Frank Brandao recently took delivery of a brand new Jerry Bickel-built Dodge Dart. The car, “King Kong 7,” will make its debut this weekend at VMP. Just in case there are any new car blues, “King Kong 6” will remain race ready, although it has been sold to an owner in the Middle East. At Virginia No. 6 will sport the RSG decal of its new owner and will be transferred to the Middle East before racing begins there this winter. (Musi Racing photo)

VMP, owned by racer Tommy Franklin, has a new all-concrete racing surface on which the PDRA drivers will have two days of testing prior to eliminations.

In addition to Pro Nitrous and Pro Boost, the PDRA Firecracker Nationals will feature Extreme Pro Stock, Pro Extreme Motorcycle and Pro Outlaw 632. Top Sportsman, Top Dragster and the Edelbrock Bracket Bash will also be in competition, along with the stars of the sport in Pro Jr. Dragster and Top Jr. Dragster. Outlaw 10.5 drivers will also compete at their second of four stops on the PDRA tour.   [06/26/18]

Fischle brothers Matt and Brian went to the final round of the June 23rd K&N 890 Series race at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, CA, with Matt Fischle (near lane) defeating older brother Brian 8.931 at 174.35 (.022 RT) to a losing 8.932/161.13 (.029 RT). In the semifinals, Brian defeated Glenn Kern, and Matt advanced when Steve Hamilton deep staged.

Sunday’s semifinals paired David Wolf against Kern, with Wolf advancing, and points leader Greg Hicks defeated Ryan Diasdado. In the final, Hicks (far lane) had a .005 better light than Wolf and won his second race of the season with an 8.903 at 165.64 mph to a losing 8.895/165.25.

The K&N 890 Series concludes with the seventh and final race of the season scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8, at Auto Club Dragway. (Mindy Crandall/MJC Photos)   [06/26/18]

The last race between the “Mongoose” and the “Snake.

Donnie Couch and Darr Hawthorne offer up the June Nitro Reports including a special tribute to the late Tom “Mongoose” McEwen with “the Hawaiian” Roland Leong. Bowling Green Top Fuel champ Mendy Fry, JFR driver Austin Prock, Bobby Cottrell and Drew Austin from the NHRA Heritage Series and a CIFCA report from James Maher.

That’s tonight, June 26, Under the Lights at NitroReports.com and Live on Facebook Live.  (Tom West photo)    [06/26/18]

Leicester, New York’s Empire Dragway has made the decision to run eighth mile only for the balance of the 2018 season.

The track lists the following reasons on their website: “a) speed difference between dedicated 1/8 mile cars and 1/4 traffic through the shutdown/EMT access area b) return road traffic has already presented issues with cars going long during test and tune. Tube chassis, dragsters etc. getting off early can't see on-coming traffic; the new turnoff may add further confusion if cars continue to go full length c) we actually can attract too many cars. The quality of the product degrades when there are more than a certain number to get through the lanes. d) Eighth mile with the new turnoff will allow a lot more passes per night. Our Friday tuners need more passes per dollar than they are getting.”   [06/26/18]

Larry Dixon at last year’s World Series of Drag Racing.  (Scott Bessee photo)

Former world champions Larry Dixon and Del Worsham will lead the lineup for this year’s World Series of Drag Racing to be held Aug. 24-26 at Cordova International Raceway in Cordova, IL.

Also scheduled for the 65th annual event are the Top Fueler of Dom Lagana and the Funny Cars of Jack Wyatt and Dale Creasy.

Four popular Nostalgia Funny Cars will be on hand with entries from John Lawson, Joe Haas, the “Crop Duster,” and “Iowa Punisher”. Other Nostalgia entries include: 16 Nostalgia Gassers, eight Nostalgia Pro Stocks, the Chicagoland Super Stocks, Malloy and Lutz will have two front engine dragsters, and a pair of legendary Fuel Altered machines — Ron Hope’s “Rat Trap” and Dave Hough’s “Nanook”.

Jet power will be highlighted by entries from the Larsen Family with two jet dragsters, Scott Holdridge’s “50 Caliber” jet dragster, Danny Sullivan in his “Chicago Rush” jet car, and Danny Crownhart in the “Jet Bandit”.

Rounding out the lineup for the O’Reilly Auto Parts World Series of Drag Racing will be two Fuel Altereds, 10 Pro Mods, the Chevy Rebellion wheel-stander, and the Kamper Korner R.V. bracket series.   [06/26/18]

Holley/MSD has released the HyperSpark Ignition from Sniper EFI, which has been developed with one goal in mind: to make it easy to add ignition-timing control to virtually any Sniper EFI application. Available for multiple Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler engines, it's a complete system, including a high output CD ignition box, billet distributor, and coil. Engineered for a simple plug-and-play installation with Sniper EFI, the ignition box produces 535 volts of primary voltage all the way up to 12,000 RPM and is sealed and powder-coated for a long life in even the harshest environments. The coil sends 45,000 volts to the plug, ensuring complete fuel combustion, and comes complete with an integrated mounting bracket for a fast, easy installation. The HyperSpark distributor housing is made of billet aluminum and includes a Hall Effect crank-signal sensor for a noise-free signal to your Sniper EFI ECU. A patented clear installation cap makes phasing the distributor virtually foolproof, and a pre-terminated ignition coil connector eliminates the chance of any loose connections.  [06/26/18]