In a blast from the past that will almost certainly wake up the echoes, ’85 and ’87 Daytona 500 winner Bill Elliott was fastest Saturday in two Sprint Cup practice sessions at Daytona International Speedway.
Elliott, 53, ran 187.645 mph in the morning session and 187.950 in the afternoon session on Saturday. The ’88 Cup champion and one of the sport’s most popular drivers is running a limited schedule this year for Ford-based Wood Brothers Racing…. More info
Going from zero to 60 mph in one second will make people stop and stare, but Rod Saboury need not drive his 2,400-horsepower, twin-turbo-charged Corvette that fast to grab attention.
Sometimes, the Millers resident and National Hot Rod Association driver cruises along Carroll County’s streets or pulls up into a McDonald’s drive-through, and then heads turn – fixated on the Corvette’s dragster-engine sound, fire-red exterior and hot-rod designs…Â More info
Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock are just three of the more than 200 classes of vehicles featured in NHRA competition. Those classes are grouped into 12 categories, or eliminators, each strictly governed by NHRA rule makers. Class eligibility is based on various requirements and specifications, including type of vehicle, engine size, vehicle weight, allowable modifications, and aerodynamics.
The four Professional categories are Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. They, along with Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car and the three “Super” classes – Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street – feature a single class of vehicle in heads-up competition. The remaining categories – Comp, Super Stock, and Stock – are made up of a variety of classes and use a handicap starting system to equalize competition… More info
 record field of 28 Sprint Cup cars will start Saturday’s NASCAR Budweiser Shootout, with a new format for the nonpoints race that favors car manufacturers over pole winners.
The made-for-TV race that began 31 years ago is the unofficial opener for the Sprint Cup series at Daytona International Speedway. In the past, the race honored the previous year’s pole winners and former winners of the Shootout.
NASCAR changed the format after Coors replaced Budweiser as sponsor of the Cup pole award before last season. Budweiser wanted to continue sponsoring the Shootout, and the tie-in to pole winners no longer was a good fit…Â More info