At the New Years Thunder at Australia’s Willowbank Raceway, Michelle “Shelly” Davies made the quickest ever pass in a Pro Slammer by a female driver in Australia. Her 5.95-second time in the final round set the standard.

The Davies team is now in the Top 10 in points and are set on making Michelle the first woman in Pro Slammer over 400 kph (248+ mph). That may happen this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 18-19, at Santo’s Summer Thunder at Sydney Dragway.  (Grant Stephens/Cackling Pipes photo)   [01/15/19]

Russell Grulke was the Outlaw class winner of last year’s first round at Ironbark. (Rogue Snapper Photography)

This season Summit Racing Equipment will once again sponsor the Summit Racing Queensland Championship (www.facebook.com/andra.QLD.Champs/), a three-round regional drag racing series.

The events will be April 20-21 at Ironbark Raceway, August 31 at Benaraby Raceway, and Oct. 4-5 at Palmyra Dragway. The winning competitors will be announced as the ANDRA Queensland Champion for their class with the awarding of an ANDRA Copper Christmas Tree trophy.  [01/15/19]

The January Nitro Reports blows the snow off the dragstrip with a New Years rundown for 2019. On tonight’s show is Heritage Series and UNFC funny car champion Bobby Cottrell, top fuelers Adam Sorokin and Bobby McLennan, James Day, Geoff Monise, Cameron Ferre and April’s Dragfest at Famoso Raceway with Randy Winkle and Roger Stevens.

Watch at NitroReports.com or on the Nitro Reports Facebook page LIVE and always available in the archives.   [01/15/19]

So much for purple being the leading color at HRP. Houston Raceway Park, located in the Houston suburb of Baytown, is "Making the Switch" to Pennzoil® through a new multi-year relationship that changes the name of the 30-year-old facility to “Houston Raceway Park powered by Pennzoil”.

"Today’s announcement with Pennzoil marks another exciting chapter in the history of Houston Raceway Park," HRP Vice President Seth Angel said. "The commitment Pennzoil has made to the sport of NHRA drag racing, specifically through its association with Don Schumacher Racing, is a testament to its faith in the future of our sport. We couldn’t be more thrilled to 'Make the Switch' to Pennzoil as we head into the 2019 race season."

The agreement with Pennzoil includes naming rights, designation as the Official Lubricant of Houston Raceway Park powered by Pennzoil, logo placement on numerous buildings throughout the facility -- including the left-lane scoreboard and the VIP Tower Suites -- as well as all of the high-traffic areas within the pits.

The track will host the NHRA SpringNationals on April 12-14.   [01/15/19]