Inside the world of drag racing.

HD Partners Acquisition Corporation and the National Hot Rod Association, the world’s preeminent drag racing organization, announced Wednesday the signing of a definitive agreement under which HD Partners will acquire all of NHRA’s professional racing assets, including the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing series, together with a broad set of rights to commercialize the NHRA brand. Upon consummation of the transaction, the acquired assets will be held in a wholly owned subsidiary of HD Partners named NHRA Pro Racing. The NHRA, which will remain a non-profit 501(c)(6) corporation, will retain all its non-professional racing, safety and educational activities and continue to be the sanctioning body for all NHRA racing activities, including the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Labels: National Hot Rod Association, NHRA, NHRA Sold

Jack Muldowney dies; ex-husband helped launch Shirley's career

Jack Muldowney, who not only shared his last name with one of drag racing's greatest legends, three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champ Shirley Muldowney, but more importantly helped launch her career, passed away May 24 of cancer. He was 70.

Shirley married Muldowney, an amateur hot rodder, at age 17, and it was his love of fast cars that ultimately gave Shirley her start on the quarter-mile, first in a variety of street cars and then an injected gas dragster. The duo racked up more than 200 wins in their early days.

Muldowney, a longtime member of Schenectady N.Y.'s Road Kings Car Club, hand-built that first dragster in which Shirley earned her dragster license in 1965 and the couple match raced in the East and Midwest. That injected car was followed by a pair of blown gas dragsters, the second being a twin-engine monster with which she competed at the 1969 and 1970 U.S. Nationals and at Division 1 events.

Labels: Heart Like a Wheel, Jack Muldowney, Jack Muldowney dies, NHRA Nitro Funny Cars, Shirley Muldowney

Nostalgia Drag Racing at it's finest. American Nostalgia Racing Association is holding its 2007 Summer Nationals at the famous Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield, Ca June 23rd. Gates open Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m. so bring your family and friends to see the best nostalgia drag racing in Southern California and Show & Shine Car Show.

See everything from early Gassers to Front Engine Dragsters, Altereds, Funny Cars and more.
BE THERE!

Labels: Front Engine Dragster, Fuel Altereds, NHRA Nitro Funny Cars, Nostalgia Drag Racing

Nat'l Hot Rod Reunion legends to attend

The Legends Are Coming: Ivo, Garlits Set for Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion

It's "TV Tommy" Ivo and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits at National Trail Raceway June 15-17

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- (May 9, 2007) -- In the golden years of drag racing two of the most notable names were "TV Tommy" Ivo and "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. Those two legends in the sport will join together at the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by SoffSeal -- and they're bringing their cars to the three-day fanfest, June 15-17 at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.
"Garlits and Ivo match raced hundreds of times in the 1960s and '70s," said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Parks Museum, "often racing at one track, then towing 500 miles overnight to get to the next. "We're very pleased that they've chosen to come and bring their cars to the event so that their fans old and new can see them 'up close and personal.'"

Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion Expected to Bring Millions of Dollars to Local Economy

Columbus-area business will benefit from influx of hot rodders, racers

Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion: June 15-17, National Trail Raceway, Columbus, Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- (April 25, 2007) -- When the 5th Annual Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion, presented by SoffSeal, comes to Columbus (June 15-17 at National Trail Raceway), the local economy can expect a major boost.

"In the past four years the Reunion was held in Bowling Green, Ky., where we brought more than $12 million to the local economy," said Tony Thacker, executive director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, which produces and benefits from the event. "Columbus allows us more room to expand, so we're expecting even more impact on local businesses."

Castrol Highlights:

John Force's record of consecutive events for which he had qualified a Castrol GTX Funny Car ended at 395. That streak began with the start of the 1988 season. Castrol GTX driver Ashley Force moved from 15th to 12th place in POWERade point standings as Team Castrol made an emotional return to competition following the death of former Castrol SYNTEC driver Eric Medlen. The entire team skipped the previous NHRA national event in Houston. "

Force declares test session a success; JFR cars will compete in Las Vegas

After finally generating tire shake on the last of three test runs Wednesday in his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 14-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force declared his race team ready to compete in this weekend's eighth annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Force made runs of 200, 300, and 400 feet primarily to check roll-cage clearances of newly installed padding and determine the drivability of the Mustang after changes made by chassis builder Murf McKinney.

The cockpits of the three John Force Racing Funny Cars and both of the team's Super Comp dragsters were reconfigured to address the team's safety concerns raised by the death of JFR driver Eric Medlen in a testing accident last month at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway. The team did not participate in the most recent event in the NHRA POWERade Series.

“The first run, I had a little blurred vision, so we went back and made some adjustments to the padding in the cockpit area,” Force said. ”On the second run, one of the very first times in my career, my vision wasn't blurred when I left the line. That was really impressive to me.