NHRA Rumors...What will actually happen in 2019?

While we at E3xtreme aren’t really in the business of getting into the rumor side of the industry, we have received more than enough interesting tidbits from our industry insiders and thought it would be interesting to put some of these out there and see if any actually come to fruition soon. I emphasize that these are all unconfirmed rumors that we have been contacted about without confirmation from the associated team at this time.

Blake Alexander making the move to Funny Car and joining Tim Wilkerson.

Tim has been a single car team for a long time, and still has been able to compete at the highest level. It was announced recently that Blake left Vandergriff Racing, but it was unclear where he would take his talents to. In the last few days we have heard that maybe it was going to be JFR and maybe it would be to Wilkerson. We received a message again this morning that it appears Blake will be a second car in the Wilkerson camp and Tim will take care of the tuning for both rides.

Courtney Force not racing in 2019

This is a rumor that has been floating around since before PRI. We requested comment on this and have not received any feedback from JFR on this. There are certainly plenty of rumors surrounding the JFR camp. This being the biggest one over there. Courtney would not be the first woman in the Force camp to take time away. Being married to Graham Rahal, and both being young, the rumor mill is that Courtney is going to take the year off in an attempt to start a family. If that’s true, we certainly commend her on the decision.

Austin Prock becomes a JFR Pilot

Another rumor out of the JFR camp is that JFR tuner Jimmy Prock’s son Austin will be in fact running a JFR F/C or T/F ride in 2019. It is no secret that he has been testing before in one of the F/C, so it will be interesting to see if the JFR camp has another young gun out there driving for them in 2019.

Tony Schumacher secures 2019 season sponsor

One of the winningest drivers in the history of the sport was left to find himself a sponsor for the 2019 season. We haven’t been told who the sponsor will be, though we are expecting that announcement this week or next at the latest, it appears that Tony will continue his drive towards another championship in 2019. When the sponsor announcement happens, we will make sure to let you know.

Mike Salinas becomes two car team

Mike isn’t a household name to everyone but should be. The rumor is that he will be adding a second car to the team for the 2019 season. His Scrapper backed top Fuel ride was certainly a heavy contender last season, and if a second ride is added that can share data, the Top Fuel world better watch out.

Some Toyota Drivers make a switch

There are grumblings floating around Brownsburg that some Toyota drivers will be making a switch to a different manufacture in 2019. While we aren’t completely sure who at this point, or what manufacture they will move to, our sources have said that there are some making a switch this offseason.

Top name drivers still searching for Marketing Partners

There have been continued whispers that some of the most marketable and capable drivers in the pro ranks are still in the process of trying to secure sponsorship dollars for the 2019 season. Since they are still working on this aspect of it, we will not name any drivers specifically, just know the are top tier racers.