Compiled by SEMA Editors
 Richie Crampton defeated Clay Millican with his pass of 3.769 seconds at 329.89 mph in his DHL/Kalitta Air dragster. |
Crampton, Hight, Butner and Hines Victorious at 50th Annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals
Top Fuel pilot Richie Crampton secured back-to-back event victories last Sunday at the 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Robert Hight (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the third of 24 events on the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
 Bo Butner picked up his second win of the season with a final-round defeat of Alex Laughlin at he 50th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. |
Crampton locked in his first victory since this event last year on a holeshot win against Clay Millican with his pass of 3.769 seconds at 329.89 mph in his DHL/Kalitta Air dragster. He had not won a round this season, prior to securing his ninth career win.
Hight claimed the Funny Car title with his run of 3.867 at 331.61 in his Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to defeat Tim Wilkerson in the finals. After earning his third No. 1 qualifier of the season on Saturday, Hight secured his second Wally of the season and 47th of his career.
In Pro Stock, 2017 world champion Butner powered his Jim Butner’s Auto Chevrolet Camaro to victory with a run of 6.505 at 212.29 over Alex Laughlin. Hines raced to his first win in the category since 2017 with a run of 6.752 at 199.17 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance and Hines Harley-Davidson street rod.
The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues with the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 5–7 in Las Vegas.
Perris Auto Speedway Signs 20-Year Contract Extension
 Perris Speedway |
President Don Kazarian of Oval Entertainment announced that he has signed a 20-year lease extension for the Perris Auto Speedway to remain open on the SoCal Fair and Event Center. The speedway has been run under the banner of Oval Entertainment and the Kazarian family since 1996.
When it opened in 1996, the Riverside County clay oval filled a void left in the greater Los Angeles area when Ascot closed in 1990. Since then, it has become one of the most popular dirt tracks in the world, and has been the home track to the USAC/CRA and SCRA Sprint Car Series’ as well as the PASSCAR Stock Car Series.
 The Garage Shop’s ’39 Ford truck, called Project 39, will race at the Arkansas 1-Mile Challenge, April 26–28. |
Arkansas 1-Mile Challenge to Host Land Speed Racing Vehicle From the Garage Shop
The East Coast Timing Association (ECTA), the principal sanctioning organization for Land Speed Racing (LSR) in the Eastern United States, has announced that The Garage Shop, the vintage race car restoration and track support experts, will race at the Arkansas 1-Mile Challenge, April 26–28.
The Garage Shop’s ’39 Ford truck, called Project 39, is the only vehicle to break 200 mph on a street-legal gas engine, and is the current AA Gas Real Street record holder. It ran 200.4 mph in 2014 and has yet to be beat. This is an 80-year-old all-steel truck with a 358 Ford small-block that was developed and built by Aaron Brown, owner of The Garage Shop, and his crew, and sponsored by Performance Plus Motor Oil.
Brown, who is a former NASCAR engine developer, is also going to race an ’18 Ford Fusion stock car from Roush Fenway Racing. It has a Roush Yates motor and should be capable of hitting 220+ mph.
 Dai Yoshihara will attempt the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the 900hp ENEOS Racing/Evasive Motorsports Toyota 86. |
ENEOS Teams With Dai Yoshihara and Evasive Motorsports for 2019 Pikes Peak Attempt
ENEOS will make its first-ever attempt at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30 by supporting 2011 Formula DRIFT champion Dai Yoshihara, who will swap his 1,000hp Turn 14 Distribution/Falken Tire/ENEOS Subaru BRZ drift racer for a 900hp Toyota 86 specially prepared for the 12.42-mile Race To The Clouds by Evasive Motorsports.
The Toyota Supra-sourced 2JZ engine is stroked to 3.4L and fitted with a Garrett GTX4292R turbocharger and mated to a Samsonas sequential transmission for rapid shifting on Pikes Peak’s 156 turns.
The ENEOS Racing/Evasive Motorsports Toyota 86 will be displayed in its new Pikes Peak livery at the opening round of Formula DRIFT: The Streets of Long Beach, April 5–6, where Yoshihara will take a break from his Pikes Peak preparations to begin his pursuit of the 2019 Formula DRIFT championship in his Turn 14 Distribution/Falken Tire/ENEOS Subaru BRZ.
 FD Studios will create more than 100 hours of original content featuring specific shows with air dates on Facebook Watch, focusing on the action and drivers of the Formula DRIFT Championship. |
Formula DRIFT Announces Partnership With Facebook
Formula DRIFT will deliver live and on-demand content produced by FD Studios on Facebook Watch. Live and on-demand shows will kick off from April 1, in conjunction with the first competition round of Formula DRIFT: The Streets of Long Beach, April 5–6. The newly-formed FD Studios will create more than 100 hours of original content featuring specific shows with air dates on Facebook Watch, focusing on the action and drivers of the Formula DRIFT Championship.
In addition, Formula DRIFT will continue to deliver drifting livestream to fans on Facebook by utilizing Facebook Live. With this new partnership, Formula DRIFT will livestream from every round on Facebook Watch and www.formulad.com.
The Formula DRIFT Championship is also shown on CBS Sports Network. FD Studios will also create exclusive content, which will be available on Facebook Watch.
For more racing news, visit the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) website.