Mountain View team owner Nick Mitsos has decided to park their Pro Stock car, putting Vincent Nobile out of a ride for 2019. They plan on running a Camaro they built for the Factory Stock Shootout classes driven this season by Ryan Priddy. Another one bites the dust. (Chris Haverly photo)

To follow NHRA Pro Stock in 2019, you may want to buy a program. When your 2017 World champion, Bo Butner, and your 2018 World Champion, Tanner Gray, move on to other adventures you have to be concerned. Also leaving the class, as of this writing (the list gets longer daily) Drew Skillman and John Gaydosh are gone for sure, with others maybe cutting back or looking for sponsorship. The latest word says Shane Tucker has been trying to buy the Gray operation, but that may not happen because they can’t agree on a price.

See the News & Analysis by our Pro Stock specialist Chris Haverly for more details. There may be some good news.    [11/15/18]

At last year’s Man Cup Finals, McBride wowed the fans with a 5.61 ET.  (Tom McCarthy photo)

Larry “Spiderman” McBride has won the Man Cup championship 18 times, but going into this weekend’s event at South Georgia Motorsports Park, McBride finds himself 27 points, nearly two rounds, behind leader Dave Vantine.

It’s the third consecutive season McBride has come into the last race of the year trailing in the points.

“We are getting used to this,” said a calm and collected McBride. “We know what we have to do. Getting worried is not going to help anything. We have prepared to the best of our ability. We have made improvements. We just need to go out and perform now.”

Having not raced since July, McBride showed up to SGMP earlier than usual, on Tuesday, to get in some extra testing. DRO Motorcycle Editor Tom McCarthy will be there to see the outcome.  [11/15/18]

Iconic American brands HOT ROD magazine and In-N-Out Burger will come together for a joint anniversary party, celebrating 70 years since both Southern California businesses opened within 25 miles of each other.

The Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, CA, will be the place on Saturday, Nov. 17, for participants to drag race at the historic track. A special exhibit of historic HOT ROD cover and feature cars will be on display and Chris Jacobs of Overhaulin’ will host a stage show featuring Roland Leong, Ed “Isky” Iskenderian, Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead of Wheeler Dealers, and former HOT ROD Editor-in-Chief and current Roadkill host, David Freiburger.

Attendees can also experience the Nostalgia Drag Racing Show (reportedly two dragsters, two Funny Cars and two altered), In-N-Out cookout trucks, autograph sessions, live music, and much more.   [11/15/18]

The Southwest Heritage Racing Association presented by Red Line Shirt Club finished the 2018 season after delays with a rainout and scheduling conflicts forced a move to a different venue. North Star Dragway in Denton, TX, which held the first-ever SHRA event, was the scene of the season ender.

Tara Graves (shown) was the NE1 champion, joining her father, Kevin Wendland, who took the NE2 championship. See all the results at here.  (Russell Brown photo) [11/15/18]

Bob Vandergriff Racing is teaming up with NFL Hall of Fame great and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown. Brown's company, 81 Logistics Group, will be primary sponsor of the Top Fuel Dragster driven by Jordan Vandergriff for five races and will serve as an associate sponsor for the remaining 2019 season.

"As we continue to build our it's great to have 81 Logistics Group join BVR on Jordan's dragster," said team owner, Bob Vandergriff. "Tim Brown and I share the same mindset and I look forward to working with Tim and everyone at 81 Logistics Group next season."

81 Logistics Group is a national fleet fuel supply and logistics business based in Texas. Brown, a graduate from the University of Notre Dame, has continued his success beyond the gridiron and leads an impressive team of client-focused professionals.   [11/15/18]

Jonas Aleshire scored his second Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) win of the year Nov. 2, while simultaneously wrapping up the MWPMS championship at the series' 2018 World Finals in Ennis, TX.

Before being pressed into service for the 2016 racing season, Aleshire's bright blue Z06 Corvette spent nearly a decade in a customer's showroom after being built by Chris Duncan Race Cars (CDRC) in 2006 at Chandlerville, IL. The car carries a 526 c.i. Brad Anderson Hemi prepared by Adam Flamholc at HRE (Hameetman Racing Engines) in Cape Coral, FL, and a CDRC-built Lenco CS2 transmission outfitted with a Neal Chance torque converter.

Heading into the MWPMS World Finals (postponed to the Texas Motorplex after being rained out a few weeks earlier in Tulsa, OK), Aleshire trailed Jim Sackuvich and Ron Muenks atop the Pro Mod points list, with fourth-place Aaron Wells also mathematically in contention for the series title. However, when Sackuvich's 2017 Camaro lost ignition at the end of its burnout and the '68 Camaro of Muenks fell to Rickie Smith in round one of racing, the door swung wide open for Aleshire and his screw-blown '06 Corvette to step through.

After qualifying 10th on the Motorplex eighth mile, crew chief Duncan tuned Aleshire to a stout 3.68 at 207.30 to beat Eddie Rogers and set low E.T. for the round before turning up the wick to 3.66 and eliminating Wells from the championship scenario in round two. Meanwhile, despite being unable to contest the opening session against Brandon Lewis, Sackuvich remained in the championship hunt thanks to the Mid-West Series' unique second-chance "Slammers" race that continues to pay out a reduced percentage of championship points.

It meant Aleshire's semi-final match against Randy Merick -- who would go on to win the $50,000 Elite 16 final the next day -- would determine the series champion based on three possible outcomes. A win over Merick would secure the title for Aleshire regardless of what Sackuvich managed on the Slammers ladder; a loss to Merick and a loss by Sackuvich still would favor Aleshire; or a loss to Merick and a win by Sackuvich would narrowly tip the championship to Sackuvich.

It was all over, then, after Aleshire posted a 3.64 to Merick's 3.66 to cement his first MWPMS championship with one round left in the season-ending event. Official MWPMS results placed Sackuvich as runner-up, Meunks third, and Wells fourth with Todd Martin rounding out the top five in Pro Mod points.

The final pairing was decided on the starting line as Aleshire left with an impressive .029 reaction time before posting a career-best 3.62 elapsed time at 208.84 mph to punctuate his championship in winning fashion. Hamstra was late on the tree before the blown Hemi in his '69 Camaro dropped a valve just past halfway through the run, effectively ending his weekend.  (Photo courtesy MWPMS/Damon Steinke/E3xtreme)   [11/15/18]

The S&W Performance Group’s new 60-inch race car push bar kit will allow teams to safely navigate their car through crowded pit lanes. It’s made of 1” x .065” wall mild steel tubing with welded tube ends. All mounting hardware is included: (1) quick pin, (2) ½-inch rod ends. (2) bolts with nuts, (2) half moons, (1) weld on U-bracket for the push vehicle, and (1) weld on U-bracket for the race car. All components are shipped bare, ready for the owners preferred finish.   [11/15/18]