Elijah Morton at Houston. (Ron Lewis photo)

Elijah Morton has announced that Alex Laughlin will drive his second Mustang this weekend in the Mountain Motor Pro Stock exhibition at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. J.R. Carr will also field a second car to insure a 16-car field.

Also, former Pro Stock racer Vincent Nobile will be driving Rocky Watford’s Camaro. Nobile has a bit of experience in the big engine Pro Stocks, having previously participated in a PDRA event. [04/26/19]

Fresh from his first career nitro Funny Car win, Allan Middendorf heads to this weekend’s Funny Car Chaos at Mo-Kan Dragway in Asbury, MO, with new confidence. In only his 40th run down a track, he got the win at last month’s Funny Car Chaos in Denton, TX.

“I find that I’m now more at ease and comfortable in the seat of the Funny Car,” Middendorf said. “I have the best crew working on the car and helping me, and I know we have what it takes to win again.”

Allan Middendorf Racing will be the sponsor of the “Second Round Shootout” happening on Saturday, which awards bonuses for Low Elapsed Time, Quickest Reaction Time and Best Burnout for the teams that do not make the 16-car field. (John Bisci photo) [04/26/19]

Mike Salinas got his first career Top Fuel victory earlier this month at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. He hopes to hit the jackpot again at the Four-Wide event in Charlotte, NC.

“We have a good game plan and we’ll know where we are within the first two qualifying rounds,” Salinas said. “We’re always trying different and new things. Alan (Johnson) and Brian (Husen), and the great brain trust on this team, they’re always contemplating about what we can do. We’re all like-minded people with the same common goal and it’s pretty amazing to be part of.”

His two daughters will also be in competition, Jianna in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Jasmine in Top Alcohol Dragster.  (Ron Lewis photo)  [04/26/19]

One year ago, Steve Jackson crashed in the Pro Mod final at zMax Raceway, something he certainly does not want to happen again this year.

Jackson has debuted a new supercharged Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro this year, made the quickest run in the history of the class (5.643) in Gainesville, and won the most recent event in Houston. He heads into the third of 12 NHRA Pro Mod events with a slim three-point lead over Todd Tutterow.

“My goal is to win 20 rounds (in 2019),” Jackson said. “I think 18 will win a title. If you go two rounds per race, you’re definitely winning a title. That’s our goal and that leaves you room to drop the ball at one or two races. I feel like everyone, including us, is very likely to DNQ one of these races. There will be very few teams to qualify at all 12 races, including us. We DNQ’d twice last year and if you get behind the eight-ball you’re done. (But) I absolutely have a roadmap.”  (Ron Lewis photo)  [04/26/19]

Johnny Pluchino will make his NHRA debut in June driving his father’s Pro Stocker.  (Roger Richards photo)

Johnny Pluchino will make his NHRA debut later this summer thanks to support from Strutmasters.com. Pluchino will compete in the last two of the four NHRA events where the MMPS cars will run exhibitions this season, the Thunder Valley Nationals June 14-16 in Bristol, TN, and the New England Nationals, July 5-7 in Epping, NH.

The New York driver is the 2018 PDRA Pro Outlaw 632 champion and will drive the Mustang usually driven by his father, John, in PDRA Extreme Pro Stock. Pluchino plans to begin testing in the team's 2013 Ford Mustang Pro Stocker at the PDRA's next two races in Virginia and Maryland.

Running with the NHRA means competing on the quarter mile, something new as Pluchino has only raced on the eighth mile with the PDRA.

"To be completely honest, in a Pro Stock car everything happens in the first half of the run with the gear changes and everything," Pluchino said. "The rest of it is holding on, getting the 'chutes out and getting it stopped. I'm not saying that's not a challenge, because of course it is. Things can go wrong, especially at 225 mph. I'm very aware of that. But I'm definitely excited for this new learning curve."   [04/26/19]

A massive gambling bill passed another major hurdle in the Indiana General Assembly. The bill will allow any of the state's casinos, racinos or satellite locations to apply to offer wagering on all but amateur or high school sports in addition to video games. Sports wagering in casinos and on mobile devices for people age 21 and older would be legal, and gambling could take place from anywhere in the state on mobile devices.

A different bill passed the Indiana Senate in February, but the Indiana House voted to allow sports betting only at casino sites. On Wednesday, Apr. 24, the revised House Bill 1015 gained the approval of both the House and Senate - with mobile wagering included. After Gov. Eric Holcomb receives the bill, he will have seven days to make the final decision. Legalized sports betting could start as early as Sept. 1. (Just a reminder that the U.S. Nationals finals run on Sept. 2.)

Eight states - Nevada, New Mexico, Mississippi, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island - currently offer full-scale legalized sports gambling. Several additional states have passed bills.   [04/26/19]

Replace your stock HEI distributor or upgrade a points distributor with JEGS HEI Street Spark Distributors. This distributor’s performance module offers a longer dwell circuit and full-coil saturation. Cap and rotor have brass terminals for maximum voltage output. Adjustable vacuum advance; high voltage coil for a hotter spark; coated weights for corrosion resistance; welded weight pins for durability. Standard-type iron or steel distributor gear for hydraulic or solid flat tappet cams.   [04/26/19]