MUST WATCH VIDEO - CHECK OUT THE DRAG STRIP RUMBLE


After a popular initial run on Facebook, the first fist-sized episodes of the web television series "Dragstrip Rumble" have dropped on the AA/Fuel Dragsters’ YouTube page and are available for immediate binge-consumption.

Covering front-engine Top Fuel action from the 59th Annual March Meet, “Dragstrip Rumble’s” debut episodes feature on-air observations and commentary from veteran nitro-drag racer Whit Bazemore and life-long hanger-on Cole Coonce.

“The front-engine Top Fuel class is way cooler than what I expected,” Bazemore explained, in reference to his reporting on Nostalgia Top Fuel for the first time. “The cars themselves seem challenging to drive — looser, and less automated than the NHRA Fuel classes. So that is cool. And the drivers are all unique and have more personality than the normal pros of today. There is no corporate involvement, so everyone can just be themselves like all of motorsports used to be. No super clean-cut autotrons in this class — just hardcore drag racers who only want to win. It’s refreshing.”

Luckily for this production, this March Meet was both wild and unpredictable, as star drivers such as Tony Bartone, Jim Murphy, Adam Sorokin and Mendy Fry all met bizarre and unexpected fates. The cast and crew endeavored to be as whimsical as the action and the personalities they were covering, while avoiding any hype and contrivance.

“I greatly enjoyed doing the show,’ Bazemore concluded. “I am so fortunate to know the sport from many different perspectives, and I think that experience enables us to relate to the mechanics, owners, drivers — just about everyone. We wanted to make an entertaining piece, and ‘Dragstrip Rumble’ tells the story of the race in a highly entertaining way.”

Potential future “Dragstrip Rumble” productions include front-engine fueler action from Bowling Green, Boise, Tulsa and the series’ season-closer in Bakersfield.