John DeFlorian was one of the Mountain Motor Pro Stock drivers to take part in last year’s U.S. Nationals. He made the quickest run of 6.351 seconds at 221.50 mph. (Ron Lewis photo)

The Mountain Motor Pro Stock exhibition class will make its 2019 debut at the 32nd annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil, April 12-14 at Houston Raceway Park. It will be interesting to see what kind of numbers the 800+ c.i. carbureted engines run.

This is the first of four races this year where the powerful Mountain Motor Pro Stock cars take to the track. The other events will be April 26-28 at Charlotte, NC; June 14-15 at Bristol, TN; and July 5-7 at Epping, NH.

The other classes on the bill at Houston are Top Fuel and Funny Car, along with Top Fuel Harley, Pro Mod, and the Factory Stock Showdown.  [04/09/19]

Jason Arbery has once again clinched the prestigious John Storm Memorial Trophy courtesy of his spectacular performance during the 18/19 Australian Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

This is the second year in a row that the South Australian racer has taken out the highly respected award which was commissioned in memory of Mr John Storm (the first National Director of ANDRA) and is an annual national award made to the competitor in Group Two, Three or Four who scores the highest total overall points from all rounds of the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series, including the final event. It was awarded for the first time in 1975 - one year before Arbery was born.

The 2019/2020 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series will begin at Alice Springs Inland Dragway on August 3-4, before continuing to the Hidden Valley Drag Strip the following week (August 9-10) ahead of round three at Mildura’s Sunset Strip (September 21-22). Further calendar details will be announced in the near future and will be listed on the ANDRA website.  (Outlaw Images)   [04/09/19]

“JJ Da Boss” (Jonathan Day) star of the Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws (Memphis) had planned on having one of his Memphis Street Racer JJ’s Arm Drop events at the Snake River drag strip in Gooding, Idaho, on May 16-18.

However, these plans were unexpectedly scuttled recently when the Federal Aviation Administration decided to put the end to the event, due to some claims of property destruction reported to the FAA by unnamed sources. The drag strip sits on the local airport in Gooding, Idaho, which is under control of the FAA.

Not only did this cause the event to be cancelled, the FAA also saw fit to permanently close the facility as a track.

The track issued a statement via social media which stated in part: “We felt confident in the short-term lease secured with the city of Gooding as they planned changes to the airport. Apparently, the FAA only became aware of the land usage as a drag strip once the anonymous complaint was filed. It is the FAA’s policy to be involved in these types of operations and insisted on implementing a process for risk management planning and inspections that seemed common enough, the problem being the notice coming at the start of the season and their lengthy process eliminates the possibility of racing this season. To add to this news, as the airport plans to make improvements and expansions, the city of Gooding will be unable to continue the lease. At this time, we know there will not be races held at the current location.”

Races have been taking place at the airport facility for nearly a decade, with no incursion or heartburn from the FAA until now.

A group of local racers began to seek out other venues and were able to secure the Sage Raceway in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to hold the event on the same weekend. Additional information will be disseminated upon availability at https://www.facebook.com/Sageraceway/. [04/09/19]

Terry Chandler with DSR team owner Don Schumacher. Ms. Chandler was the sister of former driver Johnny Gray. She started the “giving car” tradition in 2013.  (Auto Imagery photo)

At this weekend’s MOPAR Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil in Baytown, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Doug Chandler has chosen to recognize The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center with a special tribute livery on one of his late wife’s giving cars, the Jack Beckman-piloted Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

Throughout her battle with glioblastoma, Terry received treatment at MD Anderson, the world-renowned cancer treatment and research facility based in Houston. By campaigning an MD Anderson car, Doug wishes to thank the team and medical staff for their care of his wife and raise awareness for glioblastoma.

“Finding out my wife had been diagnosed with cancer, and that it was the most lethal form of brain cancer and was incurable was devastating,” Chandler said. “I asked Terry’s team of doctors why there was no cure and they said cures are developed through research, and of course, research takes money. Essentially, funding is what finds a cure.

“By running this car, it’s my goal to raise awareness for glioblastoma and other lesser known forms of brain cancer, which will hopefully lead to more funding for medical research. With this race taking place in MD Anderson’s backyard, this was the perfect place to run this car.” [04/09/19]

Compatible with both 6-71 and 8-71 Roots-style superchargers and available in your choice of black or silver, the new NOS Supercharger Injector Plate Nitrous systems  provide 175 additional horsepower and can add up to extra 250 horsepower with the proper jetting. They come with or without a 10-pound nitrous bottle and include everything you need in one comprehensive kit: a low-profile (1/2-inch) aluminum plate, hardline, nozzles, jets, studs, gaskets, a fuel block, and detailed, easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions. NOS Supercharger Injector Plate Nitrous Systems inject nitrous into the engine at -127 degrees Fahrenheit, and as it mixes with the incoming air it lowers intake temperatures by as much as 75 degrees. This denser intake charge boosts both power and torque by up to 40 percent across the entire power band, and because the nitrous can be injected at lower rpm – before the engine reaches full boost – it eliminates lag time and delivers instantaneous power.    [04/09/19]