Antron Brown raced to the qualifying lead Thursday in Top Fuel at the Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Auto Parts Winternationals presented by Valvoline as NHRA opened its 60th anniversary season at the birthplace of hot rodding, historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Johnny Gray and Erica Enders also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at [...]

Three months after getting hit “square in the chin” by NHRA Funny Car icon John Force, Matt Hagan will begin the 2011 season with renewed accountability – and an unexpected endorsement.
NHRA’s 60th anniversary season will roll into the staging lanes at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., this afternoon for the first round of professional [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Mike Neff’s return to the cockpit of an NHRA Funny Car in 2011 promises to keep his mind working 24/7.
Neff – who helped tune team-owner John Force to his record 15th Funny Car world championship last season – has replaced mother-to-be Ashley Force Hood as driver of the Castrol GTX [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Fort Worth, Texas – Sidelined by the “rude awakening” that stalled his career in 2010, Spencer Massey plans to reintroduce himself to the NHRA Top Fuel ranks with a debut statement for Don Schumacher Racing.
“We’re excited to get the first race underway and go for that Wally,” said Massey, anticipating [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Ashley Force Hood altered the NHRA Funny Car landscape last week with the revelation that impending motherhood will sideline her for at least the 2011 drag racing season.
Instead of trying to overhaul father/team-owner John Force as reigning world champion – or battling the expanded four-car lineup at Don Schumacher Racing – [...]

By Jim Pedley | Managing Editor
RacinToday.com
John Force Racing announced Tuesday that his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, and her husband are expecting a child and she will not drive a Funny Car for the JFR NHRA team this coming season.
Headed back to the cockpit for the team will be Mike Neff, a former driver for JFR [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
When Kurt Busch goes “double-dipping”  this season, he won’t be concerned with NASCAR’s new single-series point rules.
Busch is going NHRA drag racing in a “Factory Hot Rod.”
NASCAR’s 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion, Busch announced Monday he plans to make his NHRA Full Throttle Series debut during the 41st annual Tire [...]

By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
NHRA officials will ramp-up their crackdown on oildowns during the 2011 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season, including implementation of “strict penalties” for all classes competing at national events.
In an effort to improve the quality of show for fans, and its cable television partner, the sanctioning body has outlined a [...]

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Most folks don’t get into the sports reporting business for the money. They do it for chances to write about people like Roosevelt Johnson.
Johnson, one of the South’s pioneering drag racers, died this week at the age of 80. I interviewed him several times over the years, visited in his [...]

2011, eh?
The thought here is that it could be a big, important year in auto racing. A good big, important year or a bad big, important year.
As it should be, the determination of whether it will be good or bad will be made by the most important racing organization in America – racing’s fan base.
Most [...]