Gave Their Lives for Racing This video's a compilation arranged by Ryan over at Jalopy Journal. This is vintage racing video, and Ryan warns that in some cases, the drivers lost their lives. [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/20247765[/vimeo] Here's the original story called, "Killed Myself When I was Young" Check out more videos from days gone by here: Jalopy Journal Motion Pictures Thanks to my old buddy Swanee for the...

2011 Winternationals "Hole Shot" win for Hight TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 1st of 22 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 51st annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Pomona, Calif. Feb. 24-27, 2011 * * * * Final round results from Sunday’s 51st annual Kragen O’Reilly Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, first race in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series: FUNNY CAR – Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang, 4.056, 312.71 mph, def. Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., DieHard Dodge Charger, 4.023, 310.20 mph. TOP FUEL – Morgan Lucas, Brownsburg, Ind., GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster3.835, 316.38 mph def. Shawn Langdon, Brownsburg, Ind., Lucas Oil dragster, 4.047, 313.73 mph PRO STOCK – Jason Line, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.529, 211.89 mph def. Greg Stanfield, Bossier city, La., Safety Sentry Inc. Pontiac GXP, 6.595, 210.70 mph * * * * HIGHT WINS WINTERNATIONALS FOR THIRD TIME POMONA --- Robert Hight had to endure a long cold winter. Beginning with his last round win in Brainerd at the Lucas Oil Nationals in August the 41-year old former crewman’s season ground to a...

NHRA Drag Racing's John Force Racing Team News WITH FAMILY AT THE FOREFRONT, ASHLEY TAKES HIATUS FROM RACING YORBA LINDA, CA (January 25, 2011) – Two-time reigning Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Champion Ashley Force Hood, a top three finisher in the NHRA Full Throttle driver standings each of the last two seasons, announced Tuesday that she and husband Dan are expecting their first child. Moments after informing members of her Castrol GTX team of the news via satellite hook-up with John Force Racing East in Brownsburg, Ind., Force Hood told those assembled for a press conference at JFR corporate headquarters that she will take a temporary hiatus and will not compete this year for the Full Throttle Championship. The 28-year-old graduate of Cal State-Fullerton instead will focus on motherhood and her new responsibilities as president of John Force Entertainment, a JFR subsidiary that has been charged with responsibility for building the JFR brand on a variety of new and existing platforms. The NHRA national record holder for Funny Car speed (316.38 miles per hour), Force Hood admitted that she is excited about both her pregnancy and about finally being...

Gymkhana Racing in California Invitational only! This means that only professional race car drivers of various disciplines were invited for a no holds barred gymkhana match at Mr. Block's home field, Toyota Speedway in Irwindale CA. The tire smoke has finally settled after the first ever competition style Gymkhana Grid event on December 4th 2010. The word around the digital informational highway is that the internationally hyped up event had definitely lived up to its expectations and best of all, it looks as though everyone, especially the drivers had waaay too much fun out there! Professional driver, Xgames champion, Top Gear USA host and renaissance man Tanner Foust was killing it out there with his Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta. Congratulations to Foust, as he managed to score 1st place podium in the AWD class, above Ken Block at his own event! The final battle was a heated one... it was a test of pure skill and gracefulness to pilot their race cars around the track without any mistakes. The drifters seemed to rule the event, as Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire Nissan 240SX grabbed the RWD 1st place...

Shelby Cobra DragonSnake, CSX2093 All photos used with permission from Mecum Auctions Out of six pictures in this story, it was tough to pick one to lead with. In the end, I chose this one to feature one of the baddest drag race cars ever, the Shelby Cobra DragonSnake. Note the knockoff slicks in the back, the slight nose-in-the-air stance and finally that open header pipe looking right into my soul. I need to hear this serpent run! This photo was a close second! DESCRIPTION provided by Mecum Auctions CSX 2093 was the 93rd Cobra built and is one of only eight cars modified with the Shelby-developed Dragonsnake package designed to maximize drag racing performance. Depending on options, the package could swell the bottom line to a whopping $8,990, a huge sum in 1960s-era dollars. Owned by Jim Costilow and piloted by drag racer Bruce Larson, later of USA-1 Funny Car fame, the Dragonsnake dominated the NHRA’s A/SP, AA/SP, B/SP and C/SP classes in 1964. It set all new records in the 1965 season and won the NHRA Springnationals, Winternationals and U.S. Indy Nationals that year. The Cobra was...

AE86 Track Day in Cali Held by an organization called Drift Association, a time trial event dedicated just for the Toyota Corolla AE86 was held at the Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs International Raceway. The Toyota Corolla GT-S versions from 1984~1987 were stamped with a chassis code of AE86, and in Japan they are labeled as Trueno and Levin with different variations of front fascias. These cars have attained a sort of cult-like following mainly because of a popular Japanese Anime series "Initial-D" which features the underpowered (and underestimated) Corolla whipping the arse of some high horsepowered cars. The light weight and FR (front engine, rear wheel drive) layout of the AE86 is also a key factor of the car's appeal since the AE86's FR layout is favored by just about every sportscar driver. One of the biggest figures popularizing the AE86 is a Japanese professional race car driver named Keiichi Tsuchiya. AKA: "Drift King" Drift King's vehicle of choice that he swears are the best engineered cars include Sprinter Trueno and the Honda NSX. There are videos and stories that document his undefeated N2 race version Trueno, which...

Gymkhana Racing - The Next Big Thing? Gymkhana may sound like a name of some small third world country, but its actually a type of auto racing that's beginning to take solid shape in the United States. With the popularity and influence gained from Autocross, Drifting, and Rally racing, Gymkhana's attempting to be the next big motorsport trend for the coming years. Currently, there is one man in the United States that holds the key to the sport's popularity votes, and it seems as though he's on the right track. Ever heard of the Rally driver Ken Block? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC6eHZ1qeys[/youtube] Ken Block has all the tools he needs to make Gymkhana a success and perhaps even re-write the entire definition of the sport.  So far, with huge corporate backing from DC Shoes/Monster/Ford, Ken Block's Gymkhana videos have made the list as some of the most viewed, viral video in the entire world simply because car stunts are awesome to watch. The automobile acrobatics, cinematography, creative editing, the sounds, all in HD goodness!! I suggest going to Full screen mode, crank up the sound, and enjoy the intensity of what a...

Time Attack Racing Wrap-up November 14th 2010- Another intense Redline Time Attack season comes to an end at the Autoclub Speedway in Fontana California.  The NASCAR Sprint Cup course has a killer top speed oval bank exit at 160mph and beyond, followed by high speed apex, chicane, and treacherous maneuvers. This season, numerous records have been broken as well as the dreams of podium finishes for many of the teams that were competing. With many of the modern Japanese imports such as R35 GTR, Mitsubishi Evo X, and even Hyundai Genesis competing in this series, every year is a step up in terms of excitement and technological advancements in the automobile tuning world. Hats off to driver Jeff Westphal of GST Motorsports piloting the Impreza for the new track record of 1:35.548 and placing 1st in the Super Modified AWD class. There were only a handful of Super Modified AWD vehicles left standing in the finals, nevertheless, the COBB Tuning R35 GTR driven by Brian Lock (1:37.548) has placed second and made an astounding presence in the US time attack industry today. Third place for this class was Trent...

Auto Meter STACK for Bonneville Salt Flats Racing From the analog data of "Old School" and to accuracy, speed and ease of digital data logging. That's the simple goal here. From there, the Volk Brothers Racing 1929 Model A roadster is looking to use the data at the race track to modify or update the engine setup to ultimately go fast and break a record. Then, the reality of salt flats racing steps in... Photo courtesy of SCTA website Backing up a step, Auto Meter Gauges, Volk Brothers Racing and MyRideisMe.com teamed up for Speed Week 2010 and World of Speed for some high speed runs down the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Our salt infested friends, the Volk family, run a Ford roadster with a fuel injected big block Chevy engine. They compete in the B/GR (373ci-449ci engine/Racing Gas, Roadster) class at Bonneville during Bonneville Speed Week and the Utah Salt Flats Racing Associations World of Speed. "...all while trying to keep a 200 mph rolling brick on a straight line for 5 miles." The Volk family salt flat racing pedigree includes (what seems like) 200 mph club membership for...

SEMA Car Show - Our Favorite Engines I gotta be me! How could I resist the power packed old school nastiness of this blown small block Chevy riding in an authentic nostalgia dragster? Why would I want to? I talked to Dennis Overholser from Painless Performance wiring about his new ride. It's almost ready to run the full Comp Cams roller equipped Dart block at a "Drag strip near you!"  Dennis can't terrorize an existing Nostalgia Drag Racing class because of the electronic fuel injection he used but he'll still be able to tear up the quarter mile! Did I sense a little hesitation to drop the hammer Dennis? Prove me wrong! Dennis already has the Truckster featured here from 2009 SEMA Coverage, so check it out! Something like the custom fuel injected LS motor, I'm a sucker for stand up fuel injection. This bad 66 Chevelle also runs Hilborn fuel injection, but this time it's the original mechanical setup that put Hilborn on the map and made many weekend tuners wear a thinner head of hair. I don't know much more about this 427 Chevy big block beast,...

NHRA Drag Racing Crew Competition How can you not like Ashley Force Hood? I just found out that Ashley Force Hood and her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang funny car crew have been nominated as one of the four finalists for the 2010 Full Throttle Hard Working Crew Award. You can vote from now until the end of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season (Nov. 15). Ashley's crew was nominated for their fantastic effort the weekend of the 56th annual Mac Tools US Nationals where they won their second consecutive US Nationals Funny Car title. Please vote for Ashley and also help us spread the word. Here's a video of Ashley Force and her crew having a little fun... [youtube width="575" height="425"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQaQrk4IsVA [/youtube] Here is the link to video all the nominees and to vote for Ashley Force Hood's Castrol GTX Mustang crew for the 2010 Full Throttle Hard Working Crew Award http://www.nhra.com/hardworkingcrew/ FOLLOW JOHN FORCE RACING AT...

SEMA is over and that means its time for racing! I'm out at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, NV and there are fifty amazing vehicles competing! The competition began before this morning though - it started yesterday evening as SEMA convention saw its close. At that time all available vehicles met up and left the convention center to head down the strip. I was lucky enough to grab shotgun in a 2009 Mercedes C63 AMG. If you think Mercedes are no big deal in the race world, think again. This car tore up the road!! I've never had so much fun in Vegas! More details on the road rally portion of the race later... but this picture is just one of the many adventures we got that Mercedes into last night. Out here on the road course and motocross are all sorts of cars! From classic style hot rods, to muscle cars, to modern stuff - it's all here! I've got to get back to the racing... so much excitement and they haven't even began the 0-60-0 brake challenge! You think that Mercedes has a chance of...