Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Shane Tucker |
Rob Tucker Racing Joins Forces With Engine Builder Nick Ferri for 2019
The race for the 2019 Mello Yello NHRA Pro Stock world championship is expected to be wide open, and Rob Tucker Racing, anchored by driver Shane Tucker, has opted to take advantage by joining forces with veteran engine supplier and consultant Nick Ferri. The Statesville, North Carolina-based Rob Tucker Racing team will for the first time run all the NHRA national events at which Pro Stock is contested next year with an eye toward qualifying for the Countdown to the Championship. Nick Ferri Racing will supply engines and consult with Tucker and his team on the set-up. In the past, Ferri worked with Jegs, Cagnazzi Racing, Mike Edwards Motorsports and most recently Elite Performance for a combined five world championships in Pro Stock. In addition to supplying Rob Tucker Racing with power, Ferri also plans to provide engines to other teams competing in Pro Stock during the 2019 season. Rob Tucker Racing will begin testing for the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season in January. The team will be ready to make a run at their first NHRA Mello Yello championship at the 58th annual Lucas Oil Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, February 7–10.
 (Right to left, back to front): Alex Laughlin, Steve Matusek, Richard Freeman, Justin Elks and two crew members of Elite Motorsports. Front Row: Erica Enders. |
Pro Mod Standout Steve Matusek Joins Forces With Elite Motorsports Pro Mod Team
Pro Mod driver Steve Matusek has announced that he will drive a twin-turbo Ford Mustang for Elite Motorsports in 2019, joining Elite’s Pro Mod operation that will also feature Erica Enders and Alex Laughlin for the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service season. The addition of Matusek is the latest move for Elite Motorsports as it continues to take a bigger leap into the NHRA Pro Mod ranks. Matusek made his NHRA Pro Mod debut in 2011, grabbing his first career win in the class in 2017 in Houston. He has four top-10 finishes in the loaded Pro Mod class. Matusek and Elite Motorsports team owner Richard Freeman both share success in business, which was a major contributing factor in Matusek’s decision.
 Veteran off-road racer Brad Lovell will compete in both SCORE and Best in the Desert in a new Spec Trophy Truck adorned in AMSOIL livery. |
AMSOIL Racing Takes to the Open Desert
AMSOIL INC. is expanding its off-road racing program in 2019 to include open-desert racing. Veteran off-road racer Brad Lovell will compete in both SCORE and Best in the Desert in a new Spec Trophy Truck adorned in AMSOIL livery. Lovell joined Team AMSOIL in 2005 as a championship-winning rockcrawler and has gone on to win championships in King of the Hammers and short-course, off-road racing. Lovell and his team will kick off its desert-racing season March 4, 2019, with the Mint 400 in Las Vegas.
Preliminary 2019 AMSOIL/Lovell Racing Schedule:
- King of the Hammers, February 1–9
- BITD Mint 400, March 4–10
- SCORE San Felipe 250, April 3–7
- BITD Silver State 300, May 2–5
- Ultra 4 San Felipe, May 17–18
- SCORE Baja 500, May 29–June 2
- BITD Vegas 2 Reno, August 16
- BITD Laughlin Desert Classic, October 10–13
- Ultra 4 National Finals, October 18
LIQUI MOLY, Stevens-Miller Racing Announce 2019 Partnership
LIQUI MOLY USA has announced sponsorship of Stevens-Miller Racing (SMR) for the 2019 TA2 season. The agreement is for LIQUI MOLY branding of one team car and one of the SMR team transporters. SMR will use LIQUI MOLY lubricants and additives exclusively in their TA2 cars in The Trans Am Presented by Pirelli 2019 season.
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