There are so many important and even, perhaps, life-changing things going on in the world right now, so why are we wasting our time talking about a sport? Why aren’t we spending our time focusing on dealing with these important issues? Because the more big-ticket issues there are, the more …

Last week this commentary space was occupied with some thoughts about social media and the effect of negative comments in particular, especially on people who are new to the sport. The point of the commentary was to talk about social media, not about what NHRA does right or wrong, however, …

It can be easy to get down on NHRA if you read a lot of social media comments, where the perpetually disgruntled fans do nothing but talk about everything they dislike, or all the bad experiences they’ve had, or how it’s not like the old days, or how all the …

Name a large, well-known, non-automotive industry corporate sponsor that’s involved in NHRA drag racing on a high level. Papa John’s. Everyone has heard of the pizza chain. OK, there’s one. Name another. Monster Energy. OK, an energy drink so that one works. Energy drinks are not quite as big a …

Time has a way of flying by when you are having a good time. Sometimes it flies by even faster when you are bumping up against a deadline with work left to do. This week marks the start of the annual Western Swing in NHRA. It’s also an indication that …

I’m going to throw my staffmates under the bus today, but it’s necessary to prove my points. I apologize in advance, and I’ll even throw myself under there too just to show there’s no hard feelings. There are one or two other staff members here at Frontstretch who understand how …

Sad news came from the world of NHRA on Tuesday, as word was given that Terry Chandler, sister of retired driver Johnny Gray and benefactor of the Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car teams of Tommy Johnson, Jr. and Jack Beckman, passed away from brain cancer. Drag racing really is a …

Racing costs money. Lots of money.  The more races one runs, the more money it costs to cover personnel, transportation, disposable assets like fuel, tires, and other high-wear parts, and overall wear and tear on the vehicle. In pretty much no form of high level racing does the potential income …

Last Sunday was Father’s Day, which carries significant meaning in a sport as heavily family oriented as drag racing. Clay Millican was a six-time champion in IHRA’s Top Fuel division, winning 51 national events in his time there. In NHRA, however, he was still waiting on his first win to come. That …

The NHRA announced the 2018 schedule last week, and other than a few dates jostling around at the beginning of the summer stretch, it’s pretty much unchanged from what it has been. The Route 66 Nationals from Chicago move to an earlier date the first weekend of June, while the …