Quain Stott will attest drag racers are creatures of habit.

On Friday, during the ADRL Dragstock VII event in Rockingham, NC, the Pro Modified champion now racing in the Pro Extreme division learned how hard those old habits are to break.

Stott had a run in with Rockingham Dragway’s right retaining wall and wrecked his LeeBoy-sponsored 1963 Corvette, taking him out of competition for the remainder of the event.

“It was just driver error,” Stott admitted. “I got on the brakes too hard. Still trying to learn how to drive this converter car. For 35 years, I’ve been driving a clutch car. I went through the finish line and the only thing I can figure is out of habit I pushed in what I thought was the clutch and it was the brake. Then it locked up the brakes and put it into the wall.”

Barbara Nesbitt's horrifying experience at zMax Dragway during the recent NMCA/NMRA event has inspired a change in safety procedures at the drag strip.

Nesbitt, who who suffered extensive injuries to her right arm when the drive shaft on her car broke and came through the floorboard. Because no one could tell serious injury had occurred, safety crews were not dispatched immediately.

Christian Byrd, General Manager for zMax Dragway, said even though his crew followed the proper protocol for a stalled race car, which was all Nesbitt’s car appeared to be, zMax has changed its protocol.

What does a past NHRA Pro Stock Bike champion who is currently fifth in the Pro Stock Bike point standings on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing tour do with an off-weekend.

He races – for the thrill of racing.

“Nothing,” said Smith, laughing, when asked if he was learning anything which would apply to his Pro Stock Bike. “Everything is different. We run a different clutch – our chassis is ten inches longer. This is a just-for-fun bike.”

Tommy Mauney came home in Rockingham, NC.

Home for Mauney, who resides in Shelby, NC, is behind the wheel of a nitrous-injected doorslammer.

Mauney was competing in the Pro Nitrous category for the first time; after many years as a Pro Extreme driver. He was driving Andy Merrell’s nitrous-injected Camaro.

“I never really left … I was just doing what others wanted me to do,” said Mauney, who won the 1995 IHRA Pro Modified title with a nitrous car. “None of the equipment belongs to me anymore; you just find a place to race and run like they want you to.”

Britain Andy Carter was the big star Saturday at Santa Pod Raceway as qualifying for the FIA Finals drew to a close in grand style.

Racing before a partial home crowd, Carter drew the loudest cheers of the weekend when he roared to a 4.572 at 320.19 mph -- the quickest and fastest Top Fuel run in European history. The pass backed up his Friday mark of 4.613 seconds at 298.82 mph to give his Lucas Oil-sponsored group the official FIA elapsed time record, worth 20 bonus points.

It has been two years since then-rookie Spencer Massey’s dominating championship season of 2008.

Since then Massey has been on a wild ride that has seen him bounce between sanctioning bodies and hop in and out of multiple cars, but on Sunday night Massey finally returned home. After a two year gap between Nitro Jam wins, Massey finally returned to victory lane to cap a wild weekend that saw multiple records fall and some of the largest crowds in New England Dragway history during the conclusion of the North American Nitro Jam Sunday in New Hampshire.

“It has been a while since I have been in the winners circle holding that Ironman and it is definitely a pleasure to be back,” Massey said. “What an incredible weekend for Mitch King Motorsports and what a big race to be a part of. The stands were absolutely packed and the fans were nuts. It was exciting.”

In addition to Massey’s return, Prostalgia Nitro Funny Car ace Rick Krafft, behind the wheel of the infamous “Chicago Fire” Corvette, broke out of a slump with a pair of wins over two of the biggest names in the sport to pull the weekend sweep and Bill Evans capped his record-setting weekend with a win in Pro Fuel.

Keith Szabo continued his domination of the Aerospace Components Limited Street category during the NHRA Unleashed presented by Lucas Oil event held at National Trail Raceway.  Szabo defeated Eric Dillard in the finals to claim his third consecutive category win.  Szabo has wins at all three NHRA Unleashed presented by Lucas Oil events.

Szabo, a resident of Gainesville, GA., posted a pass of 4.721 seconds at 169.87 mph with a .031 reaction time to the losing run of 4.612 seconds at 170.61 mph with a reaction time of .147.

The Aerospace Components 12.00 Index also featured a racer that is familiar with the winners circle as Jerry Stamps took home the NHRA Wally trophy for the second consecutive race.  The Indianapolis resident defeated Karl Lambert in the finals with a winning run of 12.021 seconds at 110.13 mph to a losing run of 12.042 seconds at 111.84 mph by Lambert.

Melanie Troxel exited Sunday's FIA Finals at Santa Pod Raceway in the semifinal round of Pro Mod when a oil line fitting prevented her from making a run against German Bruno Bader.

Troxel soundly beat Robert Joosten and Andy Robinson in the first two elimination rounds and was the prohibitive favorite against Bader, but her R2B2 Racing Camaro was trailing oil during her prerace burnout procedure and she was forced to shut off and give Bader the bye run.

"Unfortunately things like that happen in drag racing," Troxel said. "Even with the best maintenance program you can't help parts from failing at times. It's a bummer for the guys and for all the fans. We came over to win the race and show everyone some great passes and we just didn't reach our ultimate goal this time through.

Rickie Smith has a long, highlight-filled history at Rockingham Dragway, beginning in 1980 with making the first-ever, seven-second, mountain-motored Pro Stock pass.

When Attitude’s Competition Plus asked the current ADRL Pro Nitrous points leader about how he’s changed over the years, Smith answered, “I don’t know; I don’t know. You get older and sometimes you get frustrated maybe a heap quicker. Back then we were young, stupid, probably pretty cocky, just one of them deals, but reality comes into play and you get older and you realize what’s going on out here and how hard it really is to win.”

As a three-time winner with the ADRL in 2010, including back-to-back victories on consecutive nights in July at Houston, Smith is certainly qualified to speak. He’s qualified third for this weekend’s Dragstock VII at “The Rock.”