On a weekend the NHRA decided to honor female competitors, it’s extremely fitting that female drivers swept the Nitro categories, with Leah Pritchett taking the Top Fuel win and Courtney Force tops in Funny Car. It served to drive home a point the NHRA was trying to make about not …
Read More »Nitro Shots: March Madness With Don Schumacher Racing
It’s almost like a fever that spreads out of control every year. It’s March Madness. Pools are taking place in offices all over the country. Whether you are a college basketball fan with knowledge of most of the teams or you never follow the sport and make your picks by …
Read More »Nitro Shots: Leah Pritchett Chasing History
By Pete McCole PRITCHETT CHASING HISTORY Leah Pritchett is on pace to do something no one in the history of the Top Fuel division has been able to accomplish: win three straight races to start off a season. After besting Doug Kalitta at the season-opener in Pomona and Brittany Force …
Read More »Nitro Shots: Crunch Time Approaches
Chicago got its origins as a hub between the East and the West back in the 1800s, and for the NHRA, at least, it’s still serving the same purpose. It’s the site of this weekend’s K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals, the final stop before the famed Western Swing. That …
Read More »Nitro Shots: Rough Day at the Office
Our NASCAR friends have likely written much this week about the rough day in the office drivers in the Sprint Cup Series had at Talladega, but it turns out that some of the drivers in the NHRA Mello Yello and J&A Services Pro Mod Series had their share of misfortune …
Read More »Nitro Shots: We Just Can’t Help Ourselves
Last weekend we were treated to the spectacle that is four-wide drag racing. It happens once a year at zMAX Dragway, Bruton Smith’s Bellagio of drag strips, and the only four-lane strip out there. Smith is kind of a “Go Big or Go Home” guy. One journalist was attending just …
Read More »Nitro Shots: Motorsports Evangelism?
“There are other worlds than these.” If you are a book nerd, like me, you might recognize this as a line from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. In this case, I’d like to alter that to say “there are other races than these,” so that I can use it …
Read More »Nitro Shots: Good Fortune From Bad?
A few weeks ago, Don Schumacher Racing parted ways with driver Spencer Massey. Massey had run in the top 10 in Top Fuel points all season, but his departure meant that his team would not be able to reap the reward and contend for a title in the Countdown for …
Read More »Beyond the Cockpit with Leah Pritchett
To this point in my career I have only covered and written about NASCAR. So when I had the opportunity to cover the 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, I jumped at the chance to experience a new genre of racing. Naturally I did my homework but still had a number …
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