ON OUR RADAR
to Virginia Motorsports Park this summer for their annual Night of Fire . Also , if you haven ’ t seen the capabilities of the new Musco Lighting at VMP , you seriously need to – it ’ s like a night club at a dragstrip .
7 . TONY STEWART ’ S FORAY INTO DRAG RACING The formation of Tony Stewart Racing was a huge storyline in late 2021 , and they hadn ’ t even made it to the track yet , so it ’ s highly likely to be the talk of town as the NHRA season gets underway come mid-February . TSR , at least initially , will field two nitro teams – a Top Fuel program with Leah Pruett ( Stewart ) behind the wheel and a Funny Car operation with threetime champion Matt Hagan in the seat . We ’ ve seen Tony Stewart at the dragstrip quite regularly , but seeing him on the starting line as a team owner will surely be an altogether different deal . There ’ s considerable belief we will eventually see Tony competing in Top Fuel , but we ’ re told it ’ ll be late 2022 or early 2023 before that happens . Regardless , his presence in our sport is a significant victory for all involved , and we ’ re genuinely excited to have him out here .
8 . RADIAL RACING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Donald “ Duck ” Long essentially put radial tire racing on the map with his Lights Out , No Mercy and Sweet 16 events at Ozzy Moya ’ s South Georgia Motorsports Park and Orlando Speed World Dragway , and he ’ s looking to add to his resume in 2022 with the FuelTech Radial Outlaws Racing Series . Long , with a group of sponsors including FuelTech , Pro Line Racing , Energy , Callies , Scott Tidwell Racing , and M & M Transmissions , as well as multiple tracks , plan to institute a point system in 2022 to determine who is the best in the divisions of Pro 275 , X275 , Limited Drag Radial , and Ultimate Street . There are seven points-earning events on the slate for 2022 at both South Georgia and Orlando , but also Bradenton Motorsports Park and Alabama International Raceway .
9 . NORWALK ’ S NIGHT UNDER FIRE Billed as “ The Greatest Show in Drag Racing ” ( a real registered trademark ), the pride of the Bader family is comprised of a jaw-dropping fireworks show , top-tier Funny Car and Top Fuel match racing , jet cars , wheelstanders and more . Summit Motorsports Park is without question one of the tightest-run ships in all of drag racing , and while we are always awaiting whatever Bill Bader Jr . and company might come up with next , it ’ s really more the consistency they bring to the table that routinely blows our minds .
10 . WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN NHRA PRO STOCK We ’ ve been saying it for a few years now , but we ’ ll say it again , right now : Some of the most exciting stuff happening in drag racing today is happening in NHRA Pro Stock . We ’ ve had championship battles that come down to the wire year after year , staging duels , fresh faces , wiry veterans , legends retire , rookies debut , team orders , trash talk and everything in between . Hell , this year we ’ re even doubling-down on the females with PDRA Pro Outlaw 632 veteran Camrie Caruso joining Erica Enders as a full-timer on the Camping World NHRA tour . As the world inches back towards normal ( we think ), we really hope nothing changes as far as factory hot rods are concerned . DI
6 7
9
8
10
24 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 174