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The standings don't reflect how strong the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driven by Matt Hagan and tuned by Dickie Venables has performed over the last six Mello Yello ��ѻ�Ƭ events. Hagan earned his…

Brittany Force earned the 19th No. 1 qualifier of her career to open the 2020 Mello Yello ��ѻ�Ƭ Drag Racing Series season. That became a calling card of her 2019 campaign, the first with crew chief David Grubnic turning the knobs on the Monster…

One of the wildest days in Mello Yello ��ѻ�Ƭ Drag Racing Series history ended with relatively expected champions. That didn’t take away from any of the drama, but it did confirm a lot of what we’ve learned over the last nine months: Namely, what…

Remember Matt Hagan? He won at the second race of the season, in Phoenix, something of a tradition for the driver of the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. He won again in Epping, reminding the Funny Car category he and crew chief Dickie…

John Adams once wrote, “we cannot insure success, but we can deserve it.”  Jack Beckman once told me that and $3 gets you a small coffee at Starbucks. …

David Grubnic joined John Force Racing to win his first championship. He left Clay Millican to tune Brittany Force, a former world champion in Top Fuel, to a second title. That was the goal. It remains the goal.  Grubnic and the Advance Auto…

Enzo Ferrari once said racing is 50 percent car and 50 percent driver. He built cars for famously long races, so the ratio may be adjusted for Mello Yello ��ѻ�Ƭ Drag Racing – right until horsepower isn’t enough to win the drag race. Suddenly, it’s…

Jason Line took over the ��ѻ�Ƭ Power Rankings lead for the first time in 2019 following his 50th Pro Stock victory at the Mopar Express Lane ��ѻ�Ƭ Nationals presented by Pennzoil. His win, the second of the season for the former world champion,…

Charles Barkley never won an NBA title. He played from 1985 to 2000, reached the playoffs 13 times, earned one MVP and made 11 All-NBA teams.  Michael Jordan won six NBA titles. He played from 1985 to 2003, reached the playoffs 13 times,…

Ron Capps appeared in his second-straight final and, this time, there was no kiss of death from John Force. The NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat ended up in the winner’s circle for the third time in 2019 thanks in no small part to a little…

Erica Enders last won in April of 2018 and the driver of the Melling Chevy Camaro owns just two wins since the start of the 2016 season. That does not diminish her driving ability. She, by all measures, is one of the four best drivers in the Pro…

Billy Torrence trails 10th place racer Austin Prock by 31 points with three races go to before the ��ѻ�Ƭ Countdown to the Championship begins. Torrence did not set out to make the six-race playoffs and will only race twice, at the Lucas Oil ��ѻ�Ƭ…

Tommy Johnson Jr. and Greg Anderson will argue over who left Bandimere Speedway happiest until Friday afternoon when they get back into their cars and strap their helmets on. Johnson, who already won earlier this season, is now the proud owner of a…

Scott Palmer reached his second Top Fuel final at the ��ѻ�Ƭ New England Nationals. He came up short against Steve Torrence for the second time in his career, but it remained an incredible points day for the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent Top Fuel team.…

Deric Kramer earned his first win of 2019 at the Route 66 ��ѻ�Ƭ Nationals by defeating Erica Enders. His American Ethanol Pro Stock Chevy Camaro is better now than it was when he hoisted the Wally in Chicago. He has improved his ��ѻ�Ƭ Power Ranking…

You can’t measure competitive drive. It also isn’t very much fun to try. So, I’ll share three of my favorite Bob Tasca III stories to try to paint a picture of how much the ��ѻ�Ƭ Thunder Valley Nationals Wally means to him.   The first time I…

Billy Torrence won the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent ��ѻ�Ƭ Arizona Nationals. It was a great story. That win, his second career win and second…

Erica Enders is one of the reasons I wanted to create something like ��ѻ�Ƭ Power Rankings. She has two wins since I started working at the National Hot Rod Association, far from the nine-win peak that carried her to a second-straight Pro Stock title…

Pro Stock returned to the ��ѻ�Ƭ Mello Yello Drag Racing circuit and no team looked better than K.B. Racing. Jason Line put his Summit Chevrolet on the pole, Bo Butner won the race and Greg Anderson took runner up. That dominance may not last, but…

Doug Kalitta lost in the first round at the Arby’s ��ѻ�Ƭ Southern Nationals. His 4.208-second pass hurt his overall success rate and, more importantly to the Mac Tools team, ended his weekend three rounds early. But his ��ѻ�Ƭ Power Ranking went up and…

Two of the three ��ѻ�Ƭ Power Rankings leaders won at the NGK Spark Plugs ��ѻ�Ƭ Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte and the other runnered up. So, no, the leaders did not change as we get ready for a quick turnaround before the Arby’s ��ѻ�Ƭ Southern…

��ѻ�Ƭ Power Rankings debuted alongside the Lucas Oil ��ѻ�Ƭ Winternationals in Pomona as a way to measure race teams via a host of drag racing statistics. To help bring fans up to speed, ��ѻ�Ƭ on FOX broadcasters Tony Pedregon and Brian Lohnes joined…

The more things change, the more they stay the same … sort of. The most interesting thing about the ��ѻ�Ƭ season depends on who you ask. Robert Hight and Jimmy Prock’s dominance ranks among the biggest talking points, as does Steve Torrence’s drought…

Two of the first six races of the season are four-wide affairs and one of them is at elevation. We just wrapped up the Denso Spark Plugs ��ѻ�Ƭ Four-Wide Nationals, which is held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The elevation? Nearly 2,000…

The 2019 season passed the 1/8th mark at the 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals and brought some things into tighter focus. Steve Torrence went without a Wally for the third consecutive race but continues to lead the Top Fuel Power Rankings…

There’s a new Power Rankings leader in Funny Car after the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent ��ѻ�Ƭ Arizona Nationals [breathe]. Steve Torrence and Erica Enders retained their spots atop the Top Fuel and Pro Stock categories despite first and semifinal…

I know – they didn’t win the Lucas Oil ��ѻ�Ƭ Winternationals. We already have a stat for winning a race. It’s called wins. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a quick look at the first Power Rankings update of the season. You can see the…