Compiled by SEMA Editors
S. Torrence, Hight and Hartford Earn Wins at Rain-Delayed MOPAR Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil
Three-time defending Top Fuel world champ Steve Torrence finally conquered Houston Raceway Park, racing to the victory on Monday at the 34th annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) also won in their respective categories at the fifth race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Eliminations were postponed to Monday due to inclement weather on Sunday.
Torrence pedaled to a 4.001-second pass at 260.06 mph in his 11,000hp Capco Contractors dragster to beat veteran Doug Kalitta in the final round, earning this third win this season and extending his points lead.
In their 70th career meeting in eliminations and ninth time in the final round, it was Hight who got the best of Ron Capps in a matchup of Funny Car heavyweights, with Hight going a 3.916 at 327.19 in his 11,000hp AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS.
In the Pro Stock final, Hartford picked up his first victory of the year in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro with a run of 7.660 at 145.11. Final-round opponent Deric Kramer had even more trouble, shaking the tires almost immediately to help hand the victory to Hartford.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action June 11-13, with the TascaParts.com NHRA New England Nationals presented by Bandero Premium Tequila at New England Dragway.
Mooresville, North Carolina, Provides $100k in Support of Motorsports
Iredell County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will launch a technical assistance program called ReVamp to help local motorsports teams and component manufacturers diversify to serve new markets. The program was made possible through partnership and funding from the Town of Mooresville and Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) at North Carolina State University. The ReVamp program will support companies with matching funds up to $10,000 per company for technical support assistance. The Town of Mooresville has provided $100,000 to Iredell EDC to support the ReVamp program, which was launched in response to the changes resulting from the impact of both NASCAR’s Next Gen car and the impact of COVID-19 on the racing industry.
The initiative is modeled on a program previously deployed by IES to help Department of Defense contractors diversify. Two local companies—Roush Yates Engines and MSI Defense— participated.
ReVamp is one of three programs developed by Iredell EDC to respond to the changes happening in the motorsports industry, including ReGen, a series of “lunch and learns” webinars to provide local manufacturers basic tools for diversification and to invite them to the “deeper dive” of ReVamp. Stream 2021, hosted earlier this year, brought together Charlotte region manufacturers to facilitate supplier and procurement opportunities for companies. For more information, visit iredelledc.com/revamp. To register for the webinar, click here.
For more racing news, visit Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) website.