Competition Plus Magazine

Mike Salinas has always had a plan, and this weekend in Ohio, part of it will finally play out at the opening event of the IHRA Triple Crown Series at Darana Raceway, the facility formerly known as National Trail Raceway. For the first time in their careers, Salinas and daughter Jasmine Salinas will compete against each other in Top Fuel. The long-awaited father-daughter matchup comes as Mike returns to competition after stepping out of the driver’s seat at the beginning of 2024.

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For decades, the formula for building a fast vintage Mopar race car has been largely unchanged. Start with a traditional big- or small-block Mopar, perhaps a second-generation Hemi, add a carburetor or two, and keep refining and wringing it out for ever-more performance. It’s a recipe that has worked for generations and one that racers have followed religiously in everything from Super Stock to bracket racing competition.

The Southeast Gassers Association brought its unique brand of vintage drag racing back to Brainerd Motorsports Park as competitors battled both each other and sweltering North Georgia temperatures during the Rumble in Ringgold, presented by Harbin’s Mechanical Services. The third stop of the 2026 SEGA championship season tested racers under some of the hottest conditions of the year.

It isn’t NHRA-specific. As puzzling and alarming as it is, the business world is full of missed opportunities. Maybe it’s simply taking a company’s assets for granted, not realizing what its unique selling proposition is. Maybe it’s leadership being on cruise control and not feeling a need to shift marketing paradigms – not challenging itself to “think outside the box.” Maybe it’s a fear of disrupting the budget – although a surprising number of promotional approaches are cost-free.

The Southeast Gassers Association brought its unique brand of vintage drag racing back to Brainerd Motorsports Park as competitors battled both each other and sweltering North Georgia temperatures during the Rumble in Ringgold, presented by Harbin’s Mechanical Services. The third stop of the 2026 SEGA championship season tested racers under some of the hottest conditions of the year.

As NHRA’s 75th anniversary season moves toward its regular-season conclusion, the sanctioning body is leaning heavily into its history. NHRA officials announced the third wave of commemorative tickets for the final four regular-season events of the 2026 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, spotlighting some of the sport’s most recognizable names while giving fans another collectible tied to the organization’s milestone year.

The NDRC 2026 Nitro Up North meeting for Top Fuel and Doorslammer at Hidden Valley Dragway, Darwin, scheduled for August 14–15, has been canceled. According to series organizer Andy Lopes, “the rising costs experienced by Top Fuel and Doorslammer due to the fuel crisis in the first part of 2026 mean they’re no longer able to be a part of the program.

Leah Pruett couldn’t help herself; she had two years on the sidelines to become immersed in the lingo. Pruett, who took two years away from Top Fuel competition to start a family with husband Tony Stewart, had just secured her first national event victory since stepping out of the cockpit. The language she used in the post-race press conference might as well have been Swahili to many of the media members sitting in front of her. “… throughout the week coming into the final.

Having a two-car NHRA Top Fuel operation is business for Rick Ware. His latest move into drag-and-drive competition appears to be fueled by the same instincts that pushed him into NASCAR, NHRA and nearly every other form of motorsports he’s touched. Ware revealed during a Facebook Live teleconference that he has purchased Jeff Lutz’s famed Mad Max Camaro and signed the drag-and-drive veteran to a multi-year agreement to campaign the car in major events across the country.