Paul Mouhayet, the world’s quickest driver on a 10.5 tire, will contest the upcoming Honeywell Garrett Brisbane Jamboree presented by Link ECU and Tuners Edge in his 2017/2018 400 Thunder Pro Slammer Championship winning ’68 Ford Mustang.

The Sydney racer, who is also Australia’s quickest and fastest man in a door car, will contest the Moits Racing ‘Slammer in the IHRA Pro Mod category at the August 25-26 event at Willowbank Raceway.

“I am a big fan of the Jamboree concept and of the Pro Mod category in particular and I wanted to support it. Last year I wasn’t in a position to enter, unfortunately, but this year I could so I was sure to sign up,” Mouhayet said.

“I do have pretty high expectations for how the car will perform at the event – we do have a new engine combination in it though so while we will be racing we will also be feeling that out a bit,” he added. “The car has run a 5.65 second pass at Willowbank Raceway so to go that fast again would be great.”  (Jon Van Daal photo)  [08/16/18]

Greg Anderson is leading the Pro Stock points, but can he maintain that position through the next two events?  (Stephen Justice photo)

Racing this week at Brainerd, MN, has Greg Anderson and Jason Line happy to be coming home. Line, a native of Wright, MN, and Anderson from Duluth head into the penultimate event before the Countdown to the Championship begins.

"A win in Brainerd is really important right now, and not having to sweat it out at Indy would be a very good thing,” Anderson said. “Yes, I have the points lead – but it's points and a half at Indy, and that means that you're not safe no matter what kind of lead you have.”

Line is in the precarious 9th spot in points, hoping not to drop out of the top ten that will be in championship contention.

‘I've been saying it all season long, but I can't wait to get my 50th win. To do it at Brainerd International Raceway, the place where I got my first win, would be super cool, especially because this is the 50th anniversary year for Summit Racing,” Line said. “I'm definitely hungry for it, and all the pieces are there. I just have to execute."   [08/16/18]

Leah Pritchett (near lane) and Matt Hagan face off in 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demons in a special match race at the Dodge Mile-High Nationals. They also will be racing at Brainerd. (FCA US photo)

At the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, MN, this week Motor Trend’s hit series, “Roadkill,” will be on location to film an upcoming episode featuring on-track exhibition races with NHRA drag racers Matt Hagan and Leah Pritchett.

The “Roadkill” crew will be at Brainerd International Raceway throughout the event to capture the full NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing experience. Several of the cars featured in previous episodes of the popular show will be on display for fans to see up close and personal.

On Saturday, “Roadkill” hosts David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan will sign autographs for fans at the Mello Yello display before hitting the track to face off against Hagan and Pritchett. The famed “Draguar” may make a special appearance as well.     [08/16/18]

Force added some stars for the 4th of July and a tribute to the late Tom McEwen on the wing at Epping.  (Ron Lewis photo)

If John Force is to win his 150th NHRA event before the end of his 42nd pro season, his best opportunity may come this weekend when he drives the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS in pursuit of the Funny Car championship at the 37th annual Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

At no other venue has the Hall of Fame owner/driver been more successful than at BIR where he has won 11 times in 32 career appearances, where he never has failed to make the starting field, and where he has won 78.3 percent of the elimination rounds in which he has been involved (76 of 97).

Coming off a final round triumph over teammate Robert Hight in last week’s independently produced Night Under Fire at Norwalk, OH, the 69-year-old’s confidence is steadily growing as he battles to secure one of the 10 Funny Car starting spots in the upcoming Countdown to the Championship.

After spending the first eight races outside the Top 10, Force has rallied to give himself at least a chance to compete for another championship. He took the PEAK Chevy to a runner-up finish two months ago at Richmond, VA, before securing a victory in the NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Denver that extended to 31 the number of seasons in which he has won at least one NHRA tour event.

“We can’t worry about everybody else,” he said. “We just have to not make mistakes. Everybody’s got to do his job. If that happens, we’ve got a chance. Mistakes have hurt us. No more mistakes.”   [08/16/18]

Tommy DeLago has been named the new crew chief for Cruz Pedregon’s Funny Car and Glen Huszar will be assistant crew chief. Delago replaces Aaron Brooks, who was released by Pedregon.

“Tommy has one of the most impressive resumes in the sport and we believe he can help take our Snap-on Funny Car to the Countdown to the Championship playoffs,” Pedregon said. “His championship-winning experience will be a tremendous asset to our program.”

Huszar has experience working with DeLago, who has a notable career as the crew chief of the 2011 Funny Car world champion driven by Matt Hagan. He also was the first crew chief to guide a nitro-fueled Funny Car to a pass under four seconds (3.995, Charlotte 2, 2011). Most recently, he was with Kalitta Motorsports where he tuned Alexis DeJoria to all of her five career wins, including the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in 2014.

DeLago was formerly co-crew chief on the Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car driven by Shawn Langdon. Nicky Boninfante will remain as the sole crew chief of Langdon’s car.   [08/16/18]