Racing

Kyle Busch—whose 104 career wins across all three of its top series make him one of NASCAR’s top drivers in terms of diversity—is now hoping to head to the winner’s circle in a different kind of race: the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Busch—one of four racing stand-outs pitted against each other in the vehicle-modification build competition—is diving into a ’12 Toyota Camry SE and remaking it into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry, named after Busch’s nickname on the racing circuit, “Rowdy.”

The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California, will host a Speed Freaks Panel Discussion about what it’s like to plan and drive some of the world’s fastest vehicles, Saturday, February 18, from 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. Open to all with paid museum admission, the panel discussion will be held before the annual Sidewinders Award Banquet.

NEWS NUGGETS

DO-OR-DIE TIME FOR MANY COUNTDOWN DRIVERS AT BIG O TIRES NHRA NATIONALS: Top Fuel pilot Del Worsham knows that it is do-or-die time. After leading the points for nearly the entire regular season and entering the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship with a 30-point lead, Worsham could only watch his points lead diminish as drivers below him in the standings raced their way to consecutive final-round appearances. A runner-up finish in Reading, Pennsylvania, gave the Al-Anabi Racing driver a confidence boost he needed, and now, as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series makes its penultimate stop of the season at the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Worsham, currently fourth, knows that this may be his last chance to make a push toward his first world championship.

Brad Keselowski, Cooper Standard-sponsored NASCAR driver, will greet visitors at the company’s StanPro/TechAFX SEMA booth (#24623), Wednesday, November 2, from 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

NEWS NUGGETS 

MASSEY GRABS SECOND CONSECUTIVE WIN FOR THE SEASON; NEFF ALSO GETS SECOND SEASON WIN AT ENGLISHTOWN: Spencer Massey powered his Fram/Prestone dragster to his second consecutive win for the season Sunday at the 42nd annual NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park—the eighth of 22 races on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule. Massey, who faced Top Fuel points leader Del Worsham in the final round, cut an impressive .065 reaction time to beat Worsham on a holeshot and post a 3.821-second run at 319.07 mph.

Fastlane’s 2010 Turbo Camaro Records Fastest 5th-Gen Camaro Time at the Texas Mile
Colby Tipton’s ’10 Camaro with Fastlane’s ZL1 Turbo Kit and modified cam proved to be the fastest fifth-generation Camaro at the Texas Mile competition this past Memorial Day weekend. With a 169.1 mph run in a 30 mph headwind, the Fastlane-tuned Camaro was faster than most of the Z06 Corvettes and was running within a couple mph of the ZR1s.

NEWS NUGGETS 

WORLD CHAMP DIXON HOPES ENGLISHTOWN RECORD WILL HELP SECURE FIRST WIN OF 2011, BROWN HOPES MID-SEASON SUCCESS WILL BRING FIRST WIN AT ‘HOMETOWN’ TRACK: It’s been a long first half of the regular season for defending Top Fuel world champion Larry Dixon. After racing to 12 wins in 12 final-round appearances in 2010, en route to his third world championship, the driver of the Al-Anabi Racing dragster has yet to visit Winner’s Circle in 2011, losing two final-round appearances to teammate and current points leader Del Worsham. But for a driver educated in the rich history of NHRA Drag Racing, Dixon has one strong advantage heading into the 42nd annual NHRA SuperNationals at historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. He is tied for the most wins in the Top Fuel category at Englishtown. Dixon and NHRA Legend Joe Amato are tied for the most wins at the famed track, with six a piece. Dixon will be competing for his first win of the season and a shot to take the points lead from his teammate Worsham with only nine races left before the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

NEWS NUGGETS 

MASSEY GETS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON; HIGHT WINS THIRD OF THE YEAR, GRAY GRABS SECOND WIN OF CAREER AT TOPEKA: A week after collecting his first No. 1 qualifier of the season in Atlanta, Top Fuel pilot Spencer Massey raced to his first win of the season in his first final round of the season Sunday at the NHRA Summer Nationals in Heartland Park Topeka. Massey drove his Prestone/FRAM dragster past runner-up Bob Vandergriff to secure his third career win. For Vandergriff, it was his 13th runner-up finish without a win, the most in NHRA history.