Almost 50 years after the IHRA revealed their mountain motor Pro Stock concept as an answer to the NHRA’s controversial pounds-per-cubic inch approach to factory hot rod racing, the NHRA has announced the large displacement Pro Stocks will be back on tour in 2024, thanks to major sponsorship from Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage. 

The new sponsorship is built on a multi-year partnership, starting in 2024, and will feature six events each season, where the eight-car field will compete for the highly coveted Wally. In addition to the event purse, racers will now have the opportunity to contend for a world title, with a season champion being crowned.

Richard Freeman, the owner of Elite Motorsports, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. 

Mike Decker Jr., the two-time reigning champion of the Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA), continued his winning streak by claiming victory in the highly competitive $25,000-to-win Churchview Farm Pro Mod class at the annual Yellowbullet Nationals. This marked his third consecutive win in the prestigious event held at Cecil County Dragway on Sunday night.

Decker Jr., hailing from Maryland, secured the victory by defeating none other than his son, Mike “Hollywood” Decker III, in the final round of the NEOPMA’s seventh race out of eight on the 2023 schedule.

Decker Jr. is overwhelmed with his accomplishments.

It was just another day in the office for Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Sean Bellemeur, or at least it seemed that way on Monday during the final day of Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Bellemeur, driving the Bartone Brothers Top Alcohol Funny Car, picked up his third career Indy victory and his 33rd national event title by stopping Doug Gordon in the final round. 

“Doug Gordon is in the other lane; everyone knows how fast he is,” Bellemeur said. “You have to be A+, A+, hey, it’s the final at Indy. You lay it all on the line, period, end of story, on fire, upside down, windows out of it, it’s Indy.

There was a time when past NHRA Pro Stock champion Bo Butner would have mounted a golf cart to race if it meant winning the NHRA U.S. Nationals once. That was how desperate the decorated veteran was to win drag racing's most prestigious event. Then he won it.

Monday, he won it again. There's a saying which suggests after you win one, the second and third flow easily. 

"Absolutely not," said Butner, who survived seven rounds to win his second title. "I went, and I was driving just as good when I brought this car out last week in Bowling Green and got busted first round. So, dude, it's so tough. And these Super classes, all these classes are tough, but the competition's awesome, and what they put in to come here and do that, it's an amazing sport."

Gil Kirk knows he has a place in drag racing history even if he never wins another. 

Kirk, the driving force behind the Rod Shop brand, had six wins as an owner/sponsor going into Monday's Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. 

Though the brand has been dormant for a while, on Monday, Kirk and his driver, Greg Stanfield, provided an object lesson that the Rod Shop team is still about winning and doing so on the grand stage of drag racing. 

After four of five qualifying attempts at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, defending race winner Antron Brown sat on the outside of the qualified field looking in.

Brown’s weekend-best pass was only good enough for 17th on the 16-car ladder, leaving him with one final attempt to make the field and defend his U.S. Nationals victory.

As fate would have it, his hail mary lap in his fifth and final attempt was just enough to sneak into the field in the 15th spot, a heart-stopping moment he would use as a rallying cry to steer his Matco Tools dragster to a stunning victory Monday in the 69th running of the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Now, that's how you honor a legend.

On the 50th anniversary of Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s maiden victory at the U.S. Nationals, Ron Capps paid the perfect tribute to the all-time great with a win of his own Monday at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals in a throwback livery honoring his former boss.

Capps, who now drives for his own team, raced for Prudhomme’s Snake Racing team from 1997-2004, winning 13 races together in Funny Car. To honor their achievements, Capps worked with longtime sponsor NAPA to set aside their traditional predominantly blue design for a bright yellow Hot Wheels scheme that Capps used as motivation to collect back-to-back wins at the biggest drag race in the land at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

On Sunday, Matt Hartford believed he had the quickest Pro Stock car on the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park property.
 
Monday, he proved it.
 
Hartford clocked a 6.624-second elapsed time at 206.57 mph in the final round to defeat Fernando Cuadra Jr., who slowed to 7.099 seconds at 178.87 mph.

 
The talk all weekend in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class was about Gaige Herrera – and for good reason. He was the No. 1 qualifier. He won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge season title on Saturday.
 
Lost in all the Herrera hype was six-time and reigning world champ Matt Smith.
 
Well, he stepped in the spotlight on Monday, winning the U.S. Nationals for the third time in his career.