SWITCH: Mobile | ePaper | Subscribe

Homes Rentals Jobs Autos Contests

NHRA

Funny-car driver Hight applying 'Moneyball' principles to drag strip

Last updated Friday, May 18, 2012 - 2:40pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Failing to win an NHRA funny-car championship last year had John Force Racing's drivers searching for answers in unusual places.

NHRA, Sports, Auto Racing Read more Comments

Brett Harris (left) and his father, Jack, pose for a portrait this week with their dragster at their shop, Jack Harris Painting & Autobody, in Kaysville. In 1997, the two began building and racing National Hot Rod Association Heritage Series dragsters, with the engine in front of the driver instead of behind. The two, known as team Nitro-Thunder, have won four national championships and hold the All American Fuel Dragsters world record, completing a quarter-mile in 5.56 seconds and reaching 265 mph. (MATTHEW ARDEN HATFIELD/Standard-Examiner)

NITRO-THUNDER: Kaysville father, son enjoy rush of drag racing

April Hale Standard-Examiner

Last updated Saturday, January 21, 2012 - 8:45am

KAYSVILLE -- Rocketing down a quarter-mile straightaway at speeds of over 250 mph is an activity Jack Harris, 68, and his son Brett, 45, do for fun.

"It's a rush; a lot of Gs," Jack said. "Boy, it sets you back and it's all you can do to keep your head from going back and hitting (the safety bars.)"

Racing, Auto shop, Automobiles, Family, NHRA, Speeding, Utah, Auto Racing, Featured Read more Comments

Monumental highs and heartbreaking lows in auto racing during 2011

Dave Kallmann Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Last updated Tuesday, December 27, 2011 - 11:31pm

MILWAUKEE -- When, we ask, is the right time to wrap up a year that won't end? Because that pretty much sums up 2011 in motorsports.

Starting with a head-shaker of a Daytona 500, it included more monumental highs and heartbreaking lows than in any other in years. Maybe decades. With a sour economy continuing to play havoc with such a sponsor-driven industry, continuous deal-making and deal-scrambling have all but wiped out the off-season.

In most years, a 20-year-old winning his sport's biggest event could carry a season. That's almost an afterthought in a year that had a little of everything from A to Z, or at least from Bayne to Wheldon.

Mindful of holiday overindulgence, we'll try to break the year down into digestible bites:

NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, Sports, Auto Racing Read more Comments