I love going to the Hot Rod Reunion. Famoso Raceway is smelly, dusty, and in the middle of nowhere, but for three days every fall there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. And judging by the increased crowds every year, I’m not the only one! In 2010 we celebrated the 19th Hot Rod Reunion, and also marked the 50th anniversary of the famed Winged Express AA/Fuel Altered, which made passes up the quarter in celebration.
In those 19 years, the event has evolved from a small affair recalling the glory days of drag racing to a huge showing of all manner of restored and retro race machinery. At this event we also witnessed 16 Top Fuelers, and almost 40 Funny Cars vying for places in the 16-car field  … Pictures & MoreÂ
The professional drag racing season is three weeks away, and the sport has lost traction even before the start of today’s first major testing session in Palm Beach, Fla.
The first blow came two weeks ago when vastly popular Funny Car driver Ashley Force Hood announced she would not race this year because she’s expecting a baby in August.
The 28-year-old driver finished third in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series points the past two years and should be commended for putting motherhood ahead of racing … More
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Ashley Force Hood altered the NHRA Funny Car landscape last week with the revelation that impending motherhood will sideline her for at least the 2011 drag racing season.
Instead of trying to overhaul father/team-owner John Force as reigning world champion – or battling the expanded four-car lineup at Don Schumacher Racing – Force Hood and husband Dan will be preparing for the birth of their first child.
“We felt that if God wanted it to happen, it would happen,†said Force Hood, who broke the news to the crew of her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and the media during separate news conferences. “Dan and I know there is always a risk at the beginning of a pregnancy, so we waited as long as possible to say anything to make sure everything was all right and there were no problems.â€Â   … More
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No other ground vehicle can out-accelerate a top-fuel dragster. The fastest class in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag-racing series, these cars can rocket to 300 mph in less than 4 seconds. That seemingly physics-defying performance is why Jim Oberhofer, the VP of operations at Kalitta Motorsports, calls top-fuelers violence on wheels. Add expensive too. One run down the strip consumes fuel, bearings, valve springs and other parts to the tune of $5800. Stand nearby when a “rail” car lights off and you can feel the ground shake. It’s unnerving. These machines are so fast—topping 330 mph—that the quarter-mile track (1320 feet) was shortened to 1000 feet after Scott Kalitta was killed in 2008 when  … Details & Video
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