When the DHL Toyota Camry of J.R. Todd crossed the finish line at the 30th Annual Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals, new entries were posted in the NHRA Record Book. Todd's last Wally came at Sonoma Raceway one year ago in Top Fuel but the annotations for this year's victory in Funny Car include: * 1st Win in NHRA Funny Car Division * 1st Graduate of NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League to Win in Funny Car * 1st African American to Win in Funny Car * 1st Win of the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series J.R. Todd also become the 16th driver of all time to win in both NHRA Nitro Categories (Top Fuel & Funny Car). The popular victory also earned Todd the final transfer spot into the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootout this Labor Day Weekend. With a 4.049 ET at 323.27 mph pass, Todd defeated Tim...

Like Rusty Wallace and Dale Jarrett before him, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. runs his final Monster Energy Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, he is headed to the broadcast booth. According to an online report in SportsBusiness Daily, NBC has signed the popular NASCAR driver to a multiple year deal starting in January 2018. Broadcast rights for NASCAR Monster Energy Cup and Xfinity races airing on TV and radio are among the most expensive of any sporting event. NBC grabbed a piece of the pie back at the turn of the millennium. Along with FOX Sports, NBC has been airing half of the NASCAR season each year. Prior to his father's death at Daytona in 2001, NASCAR's most popular driver for the last 14 consecutive seasons was referred to as "Little E". Today, the future hall of...

So, what happens when the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series visits Denver for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals? Antron Brown makes the finals at Bandimere Speedway. Actually, Brown making it to the finals in Top Fuel is a common occurrence but this time he drove the MATCO Tools sponsored dragster to the 64th victory of his career. After losing in his last three final round appearances, Brown toppled Leah Pritchett with a better elapsed time of 3.792 to Pritchett's 3.816. Both Antron and Leah trail Pritchett's teammate at Don Schumacher Racing for the series points lead. The final round defeat was only Pritchett's second of the 2017 season in her Papa John's Pizza ride. Her teammate Steve Torrence now leads the Top Fuel class by 54 points over Brown and 70 points over Pritchett....

Ignition components are normally very reliable. But, with any electronic part, things can fail. To understand the range of induction coil failures, it is crucial to understand how various auto coils function as well as how overheating fits into the equation. When voltage from your automobile's battery passes through the ignition coil to the plugs, it ignites the fuel mixture in every cylinder. Regardless of the type of ignition system, all coils are exposed to a lot of heat with the repetitive surge of power passing through them. A failed automotive coil can cause problems such as an engine misfiring or stalling of the engine when you try to pull off. With time, the spike of voltage and the repetitive heat produced by the generation of spark can wear out the insulation between the...

No, we're not talking about the famous 1989 fantasy film Field of Dreams. You might remember when Ray (Kevin Costner) heard a mysterious voice one night saying, "If you build it, he will come". The Oscar-nominated movie was a controversial screenplay based on an Iowa corn farmer who was driven by the ghost of a dead baseball player to build a field where he could once again play ball. The movie was loved for its heartfelt story, but criticized as entrepreneurial nonsense. However, a quarter of a century later it is often cited by those who dream of one day having something bigger than what was originally dreamed to be possible. Following today's press release by RACER X ONLINE, entrepreneur and track builder Wayne Scarborough Jr., known to most people in the motocross world as Junior,...

Major automakers have reported a slump in sales for the fourth consecutive month after a record-setting year in 2016. Optimism is mixed as many analysts are expecting, or at least hoping for a stronger finish to the year. Some manufacturers are blaming the drop in numbers on a massive shift in consumer preference from traditional passenger-car sedans to larger pickup trucks, crossovers and SUVs. Industry experts had been expecting a downward turn after hitting a record seventeen and a half million new vehicles sold last year. In part, the slumping auto market is believed to have been affected by a gradual rise in interest rates for both new and used vehicles. After nearly a decade of low rates, interest rates are above 5% for the first time in seven years. This has caused an inventory...

Ponte Vedra, FL (July 17, 2017)…Today, E3 announces a product line expansion with the introduction of DiamondFIRE distributors, spark plug wires, coils, 02 sensors as well as a complete line of racing products. The DiamondFIRE line of ignition products firmly entrenches E3’s commitment to the automotive high performance and racing industry.   E3’s new line of DiamondFIRE Racing Distributors are engineered to withstand the harsh motorsports environment found in all forms of racing. Offering part numbers for the most common Chevy, Ford, and HEI applications, all E3 DiamondFIRE Racing Distributors feature a smaller cap and bowl, and are designed to fit compact spaces. They come with a CNC machined 6061-T6 aluminum housing that has O-ring grooves; a necessity when...

At the 20th annual Fallen Patriots NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by K&N Filters, it was another good day for the point leaders. With Mother Nature providing a hot, humid day outside the Windy City, Funny Car points leader Ron Capps was on form for Sunday's final round. Having only qualified ninth on Saturday, the driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T got on a win streak by defeating Jonnie Lindberg, Jim Campbell and Matt Hagan before lining up against Tommy Johnson Jr. in his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T in the penultimate race of the 2017 event. Tommy Johnson Jr. went into Sunday's event with a 2-1 edge over Capps in prior final round appearances. Capps won the race off the line with a .059 reaction time and a 4.026 ET at 319.67 mph compared to Tommy Johnson Jr....

No one knows better that Dale Earnhardt Jr. that Daytona International Speedway can "giveth" but can also "taketh" away. The Earnhardt legacy at NASCAR's first super speedway began in 1961 when Ralph Earnhardt (Dale Jr.'s grandfather) was a relief driver for Cotton Owens and finished fifth in the Daytona 500. That paved the way for Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s record setting 34 wins at the Speedway. Dale Jr. was looking for his eighteenth win at Daytona on Saturday night at the Coke Zero 400 before Kevin Harvick blew a tire putting both himself and the #88 car into the wall. Being dubbed as "Dale-Tona" by the fans, Earnhardt Jr. was set to claim another victory at the track on Saturday having put his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the pole. With teammates Chase Elliott and Kasey Kahne in...

Today's cars and trucks have a computer that records the sensors' output and stores the failures as well as displays the vehicle service light. For less than twenty dollars, you can purchase a code reader that plugs into a sixteen-pin slot found below the driver's side dash. The reader will exhibit one or more codes that can be used to identify where failures have occurred. In most cases, a faulty automotive coil will reveal multiple faults but you don't have to worry about cross-reference every code. Using a multimeter, you or a mechanic can analyze the readings for both sets of windings. Ignition coils are normally somewhat bullet proof, but similar to any mechanical or electronic automotive part, it can break. To understand the range of coil breakage, it is crucial to understand...