Free Republic

Justin Ashley could claim he was sick. Maybe find a doctor’s note. Perhaps there is a way to work the system and put another driver in his Top Fuel dragster Monday at the NHRA Great Lakes Nationals. Ashley isn’t interested. Rain postponed Sunday’s eliminations at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park until Monday, putting race day in conflict with Ashley’s observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest and most solemn day of the year in Judaism. Ashley will sit out. “And any other way of trying to get around that rule, I’m sure there are other ways, whether that’s pretending to be sick...

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 18, 2026) — Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) announced today that eight-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion and 88-time NHRA national event winner Tony Schumacher has signed a multi-year agreement to drive for the organization beginning with the 2027 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Schumacher will assume the driving duties of the TSR Top Fuel Dragster following the departure of Leah Pruett, who is stepping away from full-time competition to focus on growing her family with husband and team owner Tony Stewart. “I made the decision to step out of the seat to put some more...

Angelle Sampey had waited long enough to know the moment would never feel routine, not even with three world championships on her résumé. When she finally made her first pass in a Top Fuel dragster after the Las Vegas race, she carried a wish she couldn’t fulfill: her father had asked to see her drive one before he died, and he missed it by a week. “It was supposed to happen a few months ago,” Sampey said. “We had actually had a test session planned for Monday after Ohio. I think it was Ohio, I think. And that got rained...