After a tornado touched down Tuesday, Aug. 6, at Summit Motorsports Park and surrounding areas in Norwalk, Ohio, minimal damage occurred, no one on-site was injured, and the word has gone out to assure fans that repairs would be made in time for the 42nd Annual Kelly Night Under Fire, this Saturday, Aug. 10.

“Clean-up is underway,” said Bill Bader Jr., president of Summit Motorsports Park. “We’ll be ready to go and showtime is at 7 p.m.”   [08/07/19]

Paul Lee returns to the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd with Lucas Oil as a major partner. The Nitro Funny Car will have a special scheme to showcase the Lucas Oil Slick Mist Car Care line.

“I’m excited to return working with and representing the Lucas Oil family this year with the NHRA Funny Car team as well as our McLeod Racing business,” says Lee, owner of McLeod Racing. McLeod is now a distributor of Lucas Oil products and will provide their products in conjunction with sales of transmissions and other driveline components.

Lee returned to racing part-time this season. With a third qualifying position and a second-round appearance in Norwalk, the Jim Oberhofer-led team is looking to build on their accomplishments thus far in 2019. [08/07/19]

Brodie Zappia, nephew of Australian drag racing legend John Zappia, has broken through to claim his first ever ANDRA Christmas Tree trophy last weekend, claiming the Summit Racing Equipment Junior Dragster win over Sarah Donnelly at the Desert Nationals.

The August 3-4 event – the 13-year-old’s sixth Desert Nationals’ adventure – marked the opening of the 2019/2020 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

“I have always had the ANDRA Christmas Tree at the top of my list of things I wanted to achieve, and to get it now, at the start of my A/JD career, means quite a bit,” the young Zappia said. “I have been trying for a while and have been in three national points round finals prior to this meeting, but this time I’ve been victorious.”  [08/07/19]

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson sits just four wins shy of tying “The Professor” Warren Johnson for the second winningest pro driver in NHRA history. The two will come together during the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on August 31 and September 1 for a one-time-only match race, appropriately titled, “Back To School.”

Johnson and Anderson will reveal a special logo to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Pro Stock category in NHRA prior to their first run on Saturday.

Johnson’s impressive 97 career victories in an NHRA pro category (second only to John Force’s 150 wins) make him the winningest Pro Stock driver of all time but with 93 wins and no signs of slowing down, Anderson is hot on the heels of the Professor.

“I definitely went to the Professor’s school, no question about it,” said Anderson. “But being his student for so many years means I learned all the good things to do, as well as what NOT to do. I’ll be ready for him in Indy.”  [08/07/19]

ProTorque's U9 torque converter is perfect for 1,000-2,00 HP applications including street cars, Ultra Street, NHRA Factory Stock, NMRA Renegade, and more. Building on the same cutting-edge technology found in ProTorque’s Revolution series converters, the U9 is the next step in the evolution of performance torque converters. The U9 offers a tremendous level of flash stall while still locking up to only lose a few percent out the back. Additionally, a newly designed, all-aluminum machined back cover is built to be exceptionally strong yet surprisingly light.  [08/07/19]