In 2010 the NHRA shuffled the order of the long standing Western Swing of races on the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series moving the Denver NHRA event to the end of the swing. The three race sprint will now start in Seattle move to Sonoma, Calif. and then culminate in Denver at the end of July. For someone used to going straight down the racetrack at speeds in excess of 300 mph in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang the change is welcome to Ashley Force Hood considering it will mean an almost straight shot south in her El Monte RV.  

“My husband and I are very excited about getting the chance to again take an El Monte RV on the Western Swing. We rented one last year for the first time and had a wonderful time,” said Force Hood.

In the final results from Lebanon Valley Dragway it was Todd Veney and Darren Nicholson taking the wins and the trophies for the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the 4th of July Celebration.

Indiana racer Veney, also qualified in the No. 4 spot then ran low elapsed time in each of the three rounds of eliminations including a 5.754 second run at 251.34 mph in his semi final round against reigning National champion Frank Manzo, Morganville, N.J. Outside of the driver's cockpit, Veney is a talented writer and contributor to Attitude's CompetitionPlus.com.

Halfway through the 2010 racing season, John Force stands as the most significant driver in all of American motorsports.

Think about that, drag racing fans.

And be PROUD.

This is the star-spangled reality as of July 4.

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY BY MICHAEL KNIGHT

Gradually, Trevor Eman’s American Drag Racing League learning curve is getting less steep.

The 23-year-old Eman is in his first full year competing in the ADRL’s Extreme Pro Stock class, and he showing a lot of progress.

Eman qualified eighth at the ADRL Hardee’s Independence Drags IV at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., this past weekend. He proceeded to win his first-round match-up with Elijah Morton. Eman used a holeshot to beat Morton, clocking a 4.206-second pass, compared to Morton’s 4.191. Where Eman beat Morton was at the light, with a .034 reaction time, while Morton was two hundredths slower at .058.

This past weekend’s ADRL Independence Drags in Topeka, Kan., had a rather intense fireworks show but for the rain-delayed event the action was not in the sky but on the track instead.

Jeff Helmkamp was one of the many thousands of race fans who flocked to Heartland Park- Topeka to take in the Independence Day weekend’s schedule of doorslammer racing. Of those thousands, it was Helmkamp who stood out among the crowd.

Helmkamp is an avid photographer and while many race fans would give their right arm to shoot from the starting line, he prefers the grandstands as his studio of choice.

Stratford, Ontario-based Top Dragster wins delayed event at TMP’s Cayuga Dragway
 
“You know it’s been a while since I won a race.”
 
But Scott Wildgust won in fine fashion on the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park, winning the postponed Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts finals.
 
With the final rounds postponed at the Grand Bend Motorplex last week, the last races of round two in the six-race series were held at Cayuga. When the racing was postponed at Grand Bend, the Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, and overall event champion had yet to be decided.

Peter Gallen’s second run against Phil Burkart was the charm Saturday night at Maple Grove Raceway.
 
Racing in the Poverty Stricken, a 1974 Vega, Gallen made the most of another chance against Burkart’s ’74 Mustang to win the Nostalgia Funny Car class in the Geezers Reunion at The Grove Reunion presented by Yuengling.
 
As the name of the event suggests, the evening was full of “back in the day” cars and drivers as The Grove celebrated the pioneers of drag racing. The two-day event featured everything from a car show to a cacklefest. There was plenty of action on the track, too, including the NAPA Auto Parts Cavalcade of Funny Cars feature show.

Darrin Grubb worked his way through a 40-car field to win the third round in the 2010 Quick 32 Sportsman Series presented by NAPA Auto Parts at the Cayuga Dragway of Toronto Motorsports Park Saturday.
 
Driving the Grubb Racing 2004 Chevy Cavalier Top Sportsman car out of Pine River, Ontario, Grubb won the championship round over Top Dragster driver Sam Christian of Kenmore, New York.
 
With a .007-second reaction time, Grubb ran a 7.260, 185.51 winning pass over Christian, who posted a 7.254, 180.21 clocking after his .054-second reaction time.

Darrell Gwynn was in the middle of one of the biggest sporting events in the history of Reading and Berks County.
 
On a September evening in 1990 over 12,000 fans jammed into FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Reading Phillies, to watch racers from the NHRA and NASCAR take part in a charity softball game.
 
Gwynn, who was an up-and-coming Top Fuel driver in the NHRA, was tragically injured during an exhibition race in England months before. He ended up paralyzed and confined to a wheel chair.

We’ve uncovered another one of the popular 1970 drag racing documentaries, this one titled Wheels of Fire.

This documentary, according to the youtube.com channel was written and directed by Douglas Kent Hall. Wheels of Fire focuses on the lives of five major drag racers of the era: Don Garlits, Don Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, Richard Tharp and Billy Meyer.

This hour long movie was produced by Texas race promoter Buddy Boren.