Bob geldof

Listen to this article Brownsburg, Ind. – Courtney Force won the lucrative Funny Car portion of the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout and Matt Hagan secured the No. 1 qualifier Sunday at the 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 18th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals is the final race of the regular season. Funny Car Force sprinted to a $100,000 payday in her Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS by posting a 4.018-second pass at 266.04 mph to defeat teammate Robert Hight’s 4.596 at 180.09 at the controls of his Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SS during the final round of the specialty event. This is Force’s first final round appearance at the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout and her fifth time in the … [Read more...] about C. Force wins Funny Car portion of NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout

Listen to this article TOP FUEL Schumacher claimed his 82nd career win when he powered his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.806-second pass at 317.64 mph to beat Steve Torrence’s 3.803 at 325.06 in his Capco Contractors / Torrence Racing dragster during the final round on Monday. The most successful driver in NHRA Top Fuel history also became the most successful driver in Lucas Oil Raceway history with his 10th career victory there. Schumacher outran Tripp Tatum, DSR teammate and reigning champ Antron Brown and Sonoma event winner J.R. Todd in the earlier rounds before facing Torrence. “I didn’t see [Torrence] for one second but I heard him,” said Schumacher. “It was a great final round; the fans got a close race. It’s been such a great career and it’s been so much fun. I’ve had great teams, one after another, and it’s a blessing to be a part of this and have a chance. I love my job and I love drag racing cars.” Schumacher, who also won the Top Fuel portion of the lucrative NHRA … [Read more...] about Schumacher, Hagan, McGaha and Hines clinch US Nationals

Listen to this article Concord, N.C. – Doug Kalitta secured the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier Saturday at the ninth annual NHRA Carolina Nationals, the first race of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, at zMAX Dragway just outside of Charlotte, N.C. Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also secured No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 19th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Top Fuel Kalitta piloted his Mac Tools dragster to a 3.721-second pass at 325.77 mph on Friday night that held up through Saturday’s two rounds for his fourth No. 1 qualifying position of the season, 47th of his career and first at zMAX Dragway. His first opponent in Sunday’s eliminations will be Ike Maier. “Anytime you can start from pole position is great in my book,” Kalitta said. “We’ve won from there before. Some people wonder if it’s a jinx but my team, we’re good with … [Read more...] about Kalitta, Johnson Jr., Anderson and Sampey secure No. 1 qualifiers Saturday at Carolina Nationals

Listen to this article TOP FUEL Brown claimed his 59th career victory, and fifth of the season, with a 3.763-second pass at 319.29 mph in his dragster to defeat Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools machine, 3.811 at 320.28. It is Brown’s second consecutive win at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, the opening event of the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship. “I’m dreaming right now, someone needs to come and pinch me,” Brown said. “This is the way you want to start the Countdown off. Qualifying didn’t go the way we wanted it. We just kept digging. That was the key. The track was the hottest that we have had all year long. We knew it was going to be tricky. We navigated down it and we did what we had to do.” Before picking up the victory over Kalitta, Brown faced down Clay Millican, Brittany Force, and Pat Dakin, and thus remains on top of the points with Kalitta in second. FUNNY CAR Force, a 16-time world champion, powered his PEAK Antifreeze Chevy Camaro Funny Car to … [Read more...] about Antron Brown, John Force start Countdown in winning style

Listen to this article It’s not hard to remember times when NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series fields were over-subscribed with racers vying to make the fields of 16 that race in Sunday eliminations. Go or go home was the mantra. The financial demands of big-time drag racing have taken their toll on fields in the past few years and some drivers and teams have, due to financial hardship, departed the sport, no longer able to function at the highest standards. That wasn’t the case for three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon. True, he lost his ride with Bob Vandergriff Racing (BVR) at the end of the 2015 season when Leah Pritchett brought sponsorship to the team, but at the time Dixon had been dealing with an even bigger battle than one with a 10,000-horsepower-plus dragster. He was recovering from throat cancer; Dixon needed to beat that devil to the winner’s beam. After whipping throat cancer with radiation and chemotherapy over the 2014 off-season (he called it … [Read more...] about Return of the modest superstar, Larry Dixon