Lately I've been seen a lot of opinions regarding Kyle Larson and Max Verstappen.
Apparently Kyle stated that with the exception of open wheel racing, he is a better all around driver than Max Verstappen is. This has created a little bit of a fire storm in the motorsports community, with people taking sides if you will.
There seem to be a lot of things in our everyday life, especially when it comes to entertainment, that we just need to let go of and find something fresh and new. The drag racing community is no different in that aspect.
The last 10 days in the drag racing community has been a true mental test for a lot of us. Whether it be John Force’s crash at VMP, the passing of photography legend Roger Richards, or the untimely passing of superstar Lizzy Musi.
Entire too much in life, we hear Icon, Legend, GOAT, etc. when describing people and their importance to an industry, sport, business, etc. When we speak of John Force though, there is no way that we can overstate how huge his legacy and importance to the motorsports industry is.
Over the last month or so I’ve seen a lot of internet chatter and banter back and forth about records, and it got me to start asking myself a simple question…WHO CARES?
I got to thinking lately about a lot of things regarding the motorsports industry and it made me start to wonder if we are losing the battle.
Not sure that I ever thought I would be saying this, especially in a public forum, but what the hell have I been missing when it comes to no prep racing?
In the last article I wrote I discussed what is wrong with motorsports, primarily drag racing, from the ownership and promoter side of things. While there is certainly some eye opening issues on that side, the other side of things is just as bad, if not even worse.
Well folks it has happened again, yet another iconic track has closed its doors and from what we have heard, it has been sold for purposes other than motorsports. Last night it was all over social media that Atco Dragway, an iconic drag strip on the east coast has closed its doors for good, effective immediately.
Years and years ago drag racing a Pro Mod was about as far away from being “mainstream” drag racing as you could get. What happens when the class that was founded by a bunch of wild child non-conformists goes mainstream though?
For well over twenty years the NMRA (National Mustang Racer Association) has been the go-to place for everything Ford drag racing. The question needs to be asked at this point, how did such a prominent series go from King of the Hill to damn near irrelevant within those two decades?
There are certain things that keep me up at night and I ponder upon. First and foremost, on my mind is where we are at within the motorsports industry, and where we are going for years to come.
For years now I have heard that the radial scene has one foot in the coffin if you will when it comes to it’s popularity and the want for people to build radial cars…guess what, it’s all bullshit along with smoke and mirrors.
Drag racing has and always will be a form of entertainment for the fans, but what happens when supply chain issues start causing chaos within the industry? It appears that we are on the verge of finding out.
After a tumultuous last couple of seasons on the NHRA front, whether from a pandemic, sponsor changes, etc. we received some interesting phone calls this week regarding Pro Mod and the Gatornationals.
We are all a couple of days removed from one of the biggest drag racing events of the year and it’s time to reflect on something that we saw and why it matters.
I am only a few days away from heading to South Georgia Motorsports Park for Lights Out XIII and was thinking to myself about all the radial racing I have seen over the years. So here’s a chance to look back.
I would love to say that this is just a recent trend that I am seeing, but that certainly isn’t the case. It has started to make me wonder how many racers actually care about their own safety.
So, I woke up this fine Monday with something on my mind, that being our world of custom cars and whether or not we are the last of a dying breed.
Well, 2022 is upon us and I think it’s time to look forward and think about what we may see this up coming season.
As a drag racing photographer you capture so many moments in time. Then you sit down, edit them, share them, and really never look back.
Never one to shy away from stirring the pot, I think it’s the perfect time of the year to look at who some of the most influential people in drag racing are.
In what seems to be a bad habit on NHRA’s part, over the weekend another terrible decision on their part in dealing with a crowd entertaining burndown in Pro Stock.
Well I thought it might be time to look at what I personally think are the top ten dragstrips in the United States today.
Well, another day has come and yet another “reschedule” from the fine people running the NPK series. Another day where they get to hold on to hard-working people’s money while continuing to play the three-card monte with their fans.
I know that there are going to be some that feel left out of this conversation, and that happens anytime we discuss something like this. So put your feels back in your pocket and relax.
For years and years, we in the drag racing industry have seen what favoritism looks like, what rules look like when you allow the manufacturers to have any say in them, and what it really means to play in their sandbox. So when do the rule makers finally say enough is enough?
Well, that’s that folks. The latest season of “Fastest in America” wrapped up last night, and to say that it appeared “sketchy” would be an understatement.
Though it was certainly a difficult year within drag racing, I thought I would go through the tens of thousands of photos I took during the 2020 season and bring them to you.
As a media professional I have the privilege of traveling the country for most of the year and seeing amazing racetracks. Interacting with drivers and fans is one of the best parts of my job. The best part though is being able to capture the moments that happen at an event. With that in mind, I have decided to put together my own personal top ten list of tracks that I love to photograph.
There comes a time in every industry where someone does the unthinkable. That person turns the tables and makes everyone else stand up and take notice of what could become absolute greatness. I think that time has come with David Reese and the El Diablo II car.
As I sit here today and look for the words to properly articulate what I want to say, though I find myself at a crossroads regarding the topic I am going to discuss. It is something deeply personal to me, and to numerous others within the industry.
Lately, I have had some time and gathered some perspective on what my 2019 season on the road was like and felt the need to share with those that might be interested. I discussed this briefly yesterday in a personal social media post but felt the need to expand on my thoughts today.
Some predictions of what I think you will see in 2020. It is certainly going to be an exciting year.
To say that it has been a long time coming might be an understatement, but at the same time, it seems like only yesterday I was standing with Ellen at Stevie’s pit in Gainesville listening to Phil tell him that he had to print out his tech card.
It’s time we look at the future of the motorsports industry, specifically drag racing. Are we doing a good enough job at keeping the younger generation involved in the sport?
Essentially we are just two weeks away from the largest radial race of the fall season. This year is a little different though. This year we celebrate ten years of No Mercy.
So, the last few days have been pretty interesting to say the least in the world of drag racing. Some things were said that I don’t think people fully understand based on the feedback I received.
Just when I thought that NHRA couldn’t screw up that bad right off the bat, it’s exactly what they did. As you read here on E3xtreme yesterday, NHRA has taken over the Pro Mod class and already dropped the ball, and kicked it across the street.
In what is now old news, most of you know that the NHRA has taken over control of the Pro Mod class and RPM (Real Pro Mod) has disbanded. What does that mean for the future of the class though?
As a newcomer to the drag racing industry, many races and tracks are still on my bucket list. This weekend I had the honor of covering the 10th Anniversary of the YellowBullet.com Nationals at Cecil County Dragway
Well folks, it is about that time of year. We are rolling into the back half of the 2019 drag racing season. There are plenty of highlights and low lights to look back upon, along with looking for to what the rest of the season brings.
Well it is about that time of the season when everything gets tossed into turmoil. It is the time of year when promoters, class advisers, and everyone with a keyboard, telephone, or any other form of communication starts going batshit crazy about rules.
Is it time to rethink the way that events are done within drag racing? I personally believe that it is time we have an honest chat about race scheduling and how we as a whole are going to continue to grow the sport.
Might I have been wrong? That is something that I have lately been pondering when it comes to my thoughts on the movement that is Street Outlaws, along with the No Prep scene.
Being well aware of the fact that we are only two races into the 2019 NHRA Pro Mod season, making a statement that the rest of the class has been put on notice is a bold statement. Fact of the matter is that is exactly what is happening.
There comes a time in your career that you look at things differently than you had before. This last Saturday was one of those days. When I found myself at my local track for the first time in 4 1/2 years of living here.
A week away from one of the most exciting moments of the year, and that’s when the 50th Anniversary Gator Nationals kick off.
It’s about that time of year folks. This weekend in Ennis, Texas the 2019 Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Pro Mod Series kicks off. We are here in Ennis to cover all the action.
There are some people within out industry that love to see others fail, and for years now Jim Dyas has been the brunt of those people.
In 1996 I bought my first Mustang, it was a silver 1990 25th anniversary 5.0. Little did I know at the time where that single $7500 purchase would take me. Fast forward 23 years and this is where I am at.
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…
It’s not too often that a racer takes his/her car and build something absolutely amazing, yet completely relatable to the masses. Something that makes them stick out from the sea of Mustangs and Camaros at the drag strip, but that is exactly what Jimmy Dolan and the YetTi have accomplished.
Some sad news today outside of the drag racing world, and that was the passing of “Mean” Gene Okerland. He was an announcer icon for all of us that grew up enjoying wrestling in the 80’s and 90’s.
While we skipped out on yesterday so that we could go do normal things and enjoy a day off, we are back at it today with the E3xtreme list of the top moments in 2018. So for your viewing pleasure, here is the third installment of the Top Moments.
Welcome to the next installment of E3xtreme’s list from the most memorable moments of 2018.
For the next few days or so we at E3xtreme are going to discuss some of the top moments in drag racing that occurred during the 2018 season.
There are a lot of times within our industry that change is inevitable. Whether that change be things like going from quarter mile racing to eighth mile racing, getting your news from a magazine to getting it from the internet, and more. The one constant through time has been still imagery though, but has their time and relevance started to fade into obscurity?