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ust days after being named the newest member of Bristol Dragway’s ‘Legends of Thunder Valley,’ Ron Capps raced to a third consecutive semifinal finish Sunday afternoon at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Capps, crew chief Dean ‘Guido’ Antonelli, and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team set low elapsed time of the event twice on race day before coming up short to Daniel Wilkerson in the semifinals. The late-round finish helped Capps maintain his points lead as the first half of the 20-race NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season winds down. In the week leading up to the Thunder Valley Nationals, Capps was announced as the 24th inductee into the facility’s prestigious ‘Legends of Thunder Valley’ hall of fame. With eight Bristol victories, he’s the winningest professional series driver at the track. Capps became only the third active driver to earn a spot in the track’s hall of fame. The honor was made official during a special presentation at Sunday morning’s pre-race ceremony. “This place is magical for me and it’s been that way since I rolled in here for the first time driving for Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme,” said Capps, who came into the weekend as the defending event champion. “I got to win here with every team owner I drove for, including myself. The memories are great because every win, I can say we never had it easy and backed into a win or had an easy day – quite the opposite, in fact. When I pulled into the track on Friday, it was surreal to just stand there and look up at the grandstands. I could not believe my name was up there with those legends.” The first day of qualifying on the brand-new racing surface presented challenges for Capps and his fellow Funny Car competitors. He smoked the tires in both Friday qualifying sessions to end the day in the No. 10 spot. The third qualifying session on Saturday was also the first round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, which Capps raced his way into when he reached the semifinals at the last race in Epping. Capps left the line ahead of Jack Beckman and launched hard, but he drove into tire smoke again. Finally, everything lined up for Capps in the final qualifying session when he recorded a 4.131-second pass at 304.53 mph to take the No. 7 position going into eliminations. It was also the third-quickest pass of the session, a feat that came with one championship bonus point. The NAPA Auto Care Funny Car looked like a totally new race car on Sunday, as Capps threw down the quickest pass of the event, a 3.989 E.T. at 324.44 mph, to drive around Chad Green in the opening round of eliminations. He lowered that weekend best to a 3.980 E.T. at 327.43 mph in the second round to get past Funny Car rookie Jordan Vandergriff and his 4.040 E.T. In the semifinals, a dropped cylinder slowed Capps’ momentum. He posted a 4.058 E.T. at 299.40 mph behind Daniel Wilkerson’s 4.023 E.T. With the semifinal finish, Capps locked into his 22nd career Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. “Kudos to everyone involved with the facility and what they did at this track,” Capps said. “It’s one of the coolest places to race at and the fans are incredible here. It’s a bummer Friday was not the greatest qualifying for the fans, but they came out every day. We all knew it just took more rubber to get down the track. We saw some great races on race day. Guido threw down low E.T. for Funny Car twice on Sunday. It would’ve been great if we could’ve won, but I’m still happy with the semifinal finish. Guido was trying to run another 3.98 before it dropped the cylinder. Overall, it was a really good points weekend. We made it into another Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and we’ve leaving here with the points lead.” Capps and the NAPA Auto Care Funny Car team will now move on to another fan-favorite stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Series tour, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 26-28, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The post Newly Crowned ‘Legend of Thunder Valley’ Ron Capps Charges to Semifinals at Bristol first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

Matt Hagan and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge // SRT Hellcat Funny Car team raced to their second win of the season, 57th of his career Sunday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The four-time world champion secured the victory at his home track with a 4.125-second pass at 310.91 mph to defeat second generation racer Daniel Wilkerson who ran 6.317 pass at 128.89 mph. Hagan’s win comes two days after teammate Leah Pruett picked up her first win of the season from the postponed NHRA New England Nationals. Both also entered race day as the No. 1 qualifiers. “I always call myself an old plow horse. Hook me up to the plow and I’ll just go out there and get the job done,” Hagan said. “I’m not pretty like Leah or famous like Tony, but at the end of the day, the field’s plowed. “For Leah (Pruett) to finish off the New England win here on Friday and for us to come back and to just beat the rain dealing with the weather in and out, it was a special weekend for TSR. The Safety Safari did a great job putting a good race track underneath us. “Bristol is a special place for me. I’ve got a lot of home tracks—between Bristol, Charlotte, Rockingham, and Richmond—but this one has always felt like home. We are blessed to be here. The last time I won here was Father’s Day weekend, and I was crying like a kid—freaking sobbing like a kid. That one was emotional, and this one means a lot, too. En route to his 100th final round, Hagan took down Jon Capps, had a bye run and sent two-time and reigning world champion Austin Prock packing. “This weekend was challenging. My guys did a great job, because I don’t know that we ran on eight cylinders any run. It was a driving job out there as far as keeping it in the groove. Daniel Wilkerson was driving his butt off, though. He’s a good kid from an amazing family. His dad, Tim, is just salt-of-the-earth. I was rooting for the kid, but I had to tell myself, ‘Don’t root for him too hard, his day is coming.’ “That’s the atmosphere out here in NHRA. We have good, salt-of-the-earth people, and it feels like family. I think that’s why I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Anywhere else, I probably would have packed it up and tried to make more money than what Tony’s paying me, but I just love doing it. “The biggest thing I can put in perspective is that people aren’t replaceable. I’ve had some of my guys for 15 years. When you have a good group that digs deep and works hard for you, it’s something you can’t buy. You can have all the money in the world and buy all the parts, but it still has to come together, and the people make that happen. That’s why we have over 55 wins now and four championships. I’d love to get our fifth before we step away from the sport. It was a lot of fun here at Bristol, and we’re really glad to get a win for JHG. We gotta keep guys like Jason in our sport.” The Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series continues June 26-28 with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The event marks the halfway point of the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season. The post Matt Hagan Takes JHG to Winner’s Circle at Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

For the third race in a row Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown points leader Jonathan Allegrucci raced his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet into the Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals’ winner’s circle. Allegrucci raced a tough contingent of drivers throughout the day, culminating in a wild final round against No. 1 qualifier Raymond Nash. With the win Allegrucci has now joined 2018 world champion Leah Pruett as the only drivers to win three Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series races in row. “I didn’t think two in a row was possible, and I honestly, I didn’t come into this race thinking we could get three in a row,” said Allegrucci, from the Flexjet winner’s circle. “I knew how hard this track is. This track is the reason I wanted to start drag racing. I would come to the circle track when I was younger. I drove across the back of the drag strip for parking, and I thought it’d be cool to go drag racing. That was before we even had a car. This track means something to me just for that memory.” Over the offseason Bristol Dragway resurfaced their racetrack creating one of the smoothest racing surfaces on the NHRA tour. With the new surface came the unknown of new track conditions and a green racing surface. For Allegrucci’s team the challenge was something they knew every team would be facing. “I know how hard it is to make these cars work on this track,” said Allegrucci. “We struggled with it. We have a big car, a heavy car and a little tire. Everyone said it was a one lane race track all day, and that right lane was no good. We knew what we had to do to make it go down. We still didn’t know if it would work, but it did. I just couldn’t be prouder of these guys in this team. We worked so hard.” In the final Allegrucci was first off of the starting line with a .024 to .043 second reaction time advantage. Nash’s Dodge Challenger carried the front end as he charged down track. When his racecar settled down in the left lane it immediately made a move to the centerline. Nash was unable to stay in his lane and was disqualified for crossing the centerline as Allegrucci raced smoothly to victory seeing the win light as he cross the finish line. “The first thing came to mind when I saw the win light was my wife,” said an emotional Allegrucci. “She doesn’t have to let me be here, but she does. She knows what it means to me and to our family. When that win light came on that’s all I thought about. That’s what makes it special.” This was his fourth career final round and the win ensured the Flexjet bounty will roll over for the second consecutive race. At the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, the bounty will increase to $3,000 to the driver that beats Allegrucci. “If the bounty is at eight grand at the end of the year, I’m not going to complain,” said Allegrucci.Nash had a single in the semifinals and made a nice smooth and quick run. His run was quick enough to give him lane choice over Allegrucci in the final round. Allegrucci took a win in the semifinals over rookie Matthew Hartman in a classic Ford versus Chevrolet race. Hartman’s Chevrolet COPO Camaro spun the tires right off the starting line and Allegrucci in his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet cruised to his third consecutive final round. All the teams had to wait out a rain delay in the middle of the day. For the Flexjet drivers the delay was a test of their patience and mental fortitude. “We knew with the weather that today was going to go to whoever’s team was mentally prepared.” Said Allegrucci. “We were in and out of the trailer. We hung in there and it just came together one step at a time. You have to put everything else aside and just take on the task at hand.” In the quarterfinals Nash’s victory over Scott Libersher and his Chevrolet COPO Camaro was a two for one round win. His winning time of 7.839 seconds at 176.33 mph took the win when Libersher jumped the activation of the Christmas Tree resulting in a false start disqualification. The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will be back in action at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 25-28, 2026. The post Jonathan Allegrucci Scores Third Consecutive Win of Season at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

Jason Collins continues to be the hottest driver in NHRA Pro Mod. Collins survived a wild week at Bristol and brought home the win.View the full article

Here’s the Rocky Mountain Race Week 2026 Day Four video and boy is it a fun one. We’re talking on the road, on the track and more! Day Three AND Four are both at Pueblo Motorsports Park and I can tell you that the action is hot, the drive was epic fun, and there are a lot of folks who have some catching up to do. The route was awesome, and once we got into the mountains the temps were in the mid 70’s instead of the mid 90’s and that meant everyone was having fun and in a good mood. The drive was just under 120 miles, but with elevations reaching nearly 10,000 feet. To say it was beautiful is an understatement. Check it all out below and use the link to watch LIVE right here on BANGshift.com. It’s go time for Rocky Mountain Race Week 2026 and we’ve been live each race day afternoon and into the night so you can follow all the great racing action. But while we’re streaming, the crew at High Speed Media are catching the behind the scenes stories, the thrashing, the joy and the tears to share with all of us. They also catch killer on road action, amazing fixes, and fun stops, so we love their highlight videos. We started LIVE at SRCA Dragstrip in Great Bend Kansas on Saturday, then headed to Kearney Nebraska Sunday, and today we are going to enjoy an amazing but tough drive to Pueblo Motorsports Park, where we will race Tuesday and Wednesday, with a Rocky Mountain cruise in between, and then Thursday is a true test to see who’s junk will make it all the way back to Great Bend for the big money and bragging rights! It’s time for Rocky Mountain Race Week folks, and that means 5 days of drag and drive action going on LIVE right here at BANGshift.com. We’ll be bringing you the action from all 5 days of racing, PLUS on road streaming action as well throughout the week. Racing starts each day around 3pm Central and will go until the last car makes a pass around 10 pm each night. If you aren’t subscribed already, please do that now, and ring the bell so you’ll be notified when we go live from various checkpoints and trailer burnout spots on the route! And if you want to know what those routes are, just visit the / rockymountainraceweek page to see them all! CLICK HERE TO WATCH ALL THE ACTION LIVE AND FREE! The post Mountain Drive and Shenanigans! Rocky Mountain Race Week 2026 | Race Day Four Means Mountains, Burnouts, And Pueblo Motorsports Park Racing Action appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

Four-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown raced to his first career victory at Bristol Dragway Sunday, earning his first win of the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season to collect a 75th anniversary diamond Wally at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Qualifying opened with a challenging run when Brown’s dragster overpowered the racetrack and went into tire smoke, resulting in a 4.732-second pass at 166.79 mph. The team quickly rebounded in the second qualifying session, posting a strong 3.801-second run at 329.50 mph to move into the No. 2 position. A dropped cylinder slowed Brown to a 4.047-second pass at 264.55 mph in the third qualifying session, but the AB Motorsports team closed qualifying on a high note. In the heat of the day, Brown recorded one of the quickest runs of the final session, a 3.949-second pass at 311.92 mph, securing the No. 2 qualifying position heading into eliminations. On race day, Brown and the Eagle Experience Matco Tools Top Fuel team battled changing track conditions due to the forecast. The NHRA Top 75 driver opened race day against Will Smith and advanced with a 3.805-second pass at 328.78 mph, defeating Smith’s 3.871-second effort at 324.67 mph. In the quarterfinals, Brown squared off against Shawn Reed and delivered an even quicker run, clocking a 3.799 at 336.67 mph while Reed slowed to a 4.549 at 206.26 mph. The semifinal matchup featured a showdown with reigningworld champion Doug Kalitta. Brown used a strong reaction time to seize the advantage early and never looked back. Kalitta encountered tire smoke near half-track and coasted to a 5.164-second pass at 139.37 mph, while Brown continued to improve, posting a 3.798 at 330.88 mph to advance to the final round. Facing Shawn Langdon in an all-star final round matchup, Brown delivered his quickest run of eliminations for a winning performance. The two Top Fuel contenders raced side-by-side down the Bristol Dragway surface before Brown edged ahead at the finish line with a winning 3.788-second pass at 331.61 mph. Langdon crossed the stripe in 3.801 seconds at 334.07 mph. “It was pretty awesome how the whole weekend started off. We’ve been struggling at the beginning of the year, but we just kept our heads down, kept on grinding,” Brown said. “We started off great with qualifying in the top five like we wanted to, and then our runs kept getting better and better. I got more laps in, and I got better on the tree as the day went on, too. That said, it feels good to be in that ballpark and go out there competing on this high level at this stage right now.” Brown checked several items off his list Sunday, capturing his first career Bristol victory, earning the coveted Diamond Wally, and collecting the 82nd win of his NHRA career. “I’ve been wanting one of these diamond Wallys ever since they brought them out, so winning one was huge,” he added. “The thing about it is, that when you see these special things that come out and then to be mentioned as an NHRA Top 75 driver, is a dream come true, and to get this for 75 years and be a part of it and say you got one, they can never take it away.” Next up for Brown and the AB Motorsports team is the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, June 25-28. The event carries special significance for the team, as crew chief Brian Corradi hails from Ohio. Brown will also spend time visiting longtime partners Matco Tools and Summit Racing Equipment at their respective headquarters during the race week. The post Antron Brown Conquers Bristol With Stellar Weekend Performance at Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

Here’s our second gallery of lost photos, and we’ve got plenty more where that came from! (Photos by Neal Sabo) When BANGshifter Neal Sabo said he was going to head down to Buckeye Skips 2025 Drag and Drive, to snap pictures and check out the cool stuff going on, we were like “Hell yeah!” He hit all three days, at Darana Dragway at Dragway 42, Quaker Dragway, and Kuhnle Motorsports Park and got all kinds of cool photos. He hit the checkpoints and the tracks and said it was an epic trip. The weather was pretty good, if not a bit cold at Kuhnle, but the racing was hot for sure. And then Neal got home, went through the photos, and sent me files on our dropbox. And that’s where yours truly dropped the ball. For some reason all these great photos never got posted and when we talked to Buckeye Skip himself about coming to cover the 2026 event, he asked what every happened to our 2025 coverage. Luckily Neal has no fear of throwing me under the bus when I deserve it, and I don’t have trouble taking responsibility, so we’re making up for it now! If you want to check out the photos, here is our first gallery from Day 1 and we’ll have more coming over the next several days as we’ll have a few galleries for each day of the event. Check them out, and get ready because Buckeye Skips 2026 drag and drive will be here before you know it. The post More Lost Buckeye Skips Drag and Drive Photos! Check Out The On Track Action and Checkpoint Photos Right Here! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

A sustainability review for the sidecar class was launched by the IOM TT organizers and invites people to send written submissions. The review will be completed by the end of July.View the full article

Jonathan Allegrucci continues to dominate in Factory Stock Showdown. Allegrucci picked up his third straight victory at Thunder Valley.View the full article

We’ve shared War in the Woods coverage for years, but over the past couple of years the racing at Brown County has gotten more and more famous and sketchier than ever. With some of the quickest and fastest small tire cars on the planet attending, it’s no wonder the limits of this race track are being tested each and every event. 2026 was no different, with our friends from 1320Video on site to capture all the action. We shared the livestream, but if you want just the best highlights and action then this is the video for you. Check it out. Video Description: We’re back at War in the Woods XIV, one of the wildest no-prep races in the country. Every year, some of the fastest small tire cars in the game make the trip to Brown County Dragway, a narrow 1/8-mile track that’s earned a reputation as one of the sketchiest surfaces in no-prep racing. If you’ve watched our previous War in the Woods coverage, you already know what to expect: big power, close races, late nights, and plenty of moments that keep both racers and spectators on edge. Racing stretches deep into the night and often doesn’t wrap up until the sun starts coming up the next morning. The post The Fastest Cars In The Country versus The SKETCHIEST Drag Strip Means It Must Be War in the Woods at Brown County! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

In the mini truckin’ world, air suspension is king. While static drops and hydraulics certainly suspend a huge portion of the custom trucks you see at shows, the preferred adjustable suspension has been air ride for several decades. We won’t get into which is better, hydros or air, because we’re going to let Marcel and Jason discuss the history of air ride first. I currently own two vehicles on air ride, and have owned several others over the years, and I love it. If you want to make your vehicle’s ride height adjustable on the fly, it is hard to beat air ride. But how did it all get started? And when did hot rodders start accepting it? Video Description: Auto Revolution’s Influence & Impact traces the automotive history of custom car and truck builders. We dive into the history of air suspension, from early OEM attempts like Citreon and Cadillac to helper bags, load leveling and NASCAR races. It wouldn’t be until the early 1990s when mini truckers ditched air shocks and cranked torsion bars for air springs and got as low as they could that the industry began to take off. The post The History of Air Suspension Part 1 – From NASCAR to Mini Trucks, Plus Are They Air Springs or Air Bags – Influence and Impact appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

It’s time for more from Mecum, but this time instead of showing their video feed or highlights from the auction, we’re sharing video from our friend Chad Ehrlich at Nobody Else’s Auto and Nobody’s Show on YouTube. Chad was on site with friends, including Jim Wick, to walk around and see what’s up in the collector car world. If you aren’t familiar, Chad’s wrecking yard in Great Bend Kansas is one of the finest classic car and truck junkyards in the world. We were there just last week for Rocky Mountain Race Week and I can tell you that everyone who showed up for the first time was blown away. But back to the action from Mecum. Video Description: If you like old cars, trucks, and automobilia, be sure to check out all of my other videos! Please subscribe so you can keep up with the new videos as I post them! If you have questions about vehicles or parts, the only way to get a hold of me is to call me, 8 AM-8 PM CST, no texts, no e-mails, no messenger, no smoke signals, calls only. 620-786-4428 If I don’t answer, I’m probably on the phone with someone else and if you don’t leave me a message, I just assume you’re another telemarketer trying to sell me an extended warranty! LOL! I am located in Great Bend, KS and I am not open to the public, so if you show up without calling and making an appointment, don’t expect me to be available. Shipping is available. If you comment, message, text, e-mail, etc., don’t expect me to find it and don’t expect an answer. Thanks for watching, Chad 620-786-4428 The post Mecum Tulsa 2026 Coverage! Tons of cool cars and Chad Ehrlich spent a little time with good friend Jim Wicks! Check Out The Cool Rides! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals was an action packed affair. We've got a full recap of all the race day highlights right here. View the full article

Here’s a livestream replay from the Southeast Gassers Association’s third race of 2026 at Brainerd Motorsports Park. If you like traditional nose high gassers that still row the gears, still have names on the side, and still have backup girls, then this is the racing for you. Their whole mantra is to race like it’s 1967 and if you haven’t seen their races yet, you are going to want to grab a snack and a drink and click play. This is some awesome racing action. Video Description: Race three of the 2026 season from Brainerd Motorsports Park – The Rumble In Ringgold presented by Harbin’s Mechanical Services. Track is located in Ringgold, GA. Your place for gear smashing, straight axle, heads up, Championship Gasser Racing! We throwback to 1967 at every SEGA event! WATCH LIVE at www.southeastgassers.tv The post Southeast Gassers Invade Brainerd Motorsports Park For The Harbin’s Mechanical Rumble In Ringgold! Race 3 of the 2026 Season. appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

Sneaky, sneaky SpecOps just got a whole lot more sneaky.View the full article

While Mike Finnegan has gotten famous over the past few years for his turbocharged Jet Boats, the truth is that Mike’s history in jet boat racing revolves around nitrous combos. His first really bad ass boat, built nearly entirely by himself in his little shop space in SoCal, featured a Pro Stock style Chevrolet with a nice toot of nitrous for good measure. This thing was fast. Way faster than most people will want to go on the water, that’s for sure. So when Mike decided that the 711 cubic inch Hemi Chevy needed to go into his newest race boat, Sidechick, it wasn’t long before the nitrous system parts came out. This thing is stupid powerful on it’s own, but when you add several hundred horsepower worth of nitrous, things get spicy in a hurry. Video Description: Episode 406 of Finnegan’s Garage: Let’s play with nitrous and swap engines before we’re through. Also, Jimmy Dale is in the house and we teach him to go fast in a jet boat. Welcome to my channel. This is a fun place to learn about modifying, repairing and upgrading your hot rod car, truck and even boat! I’ll teach you how to weld, how to build high performance engines, how to fabricate your own parts while you learn from watching me wrench on my own project vehicles. I’ll even take you on the adventure as I leave my workshop on epic road trips and racing events as we test out the mods done to all of my projects. Along the way we’ll meet new and interesting people and share in the joy of their automotive creations! Thanks for watching! The post She’s Fast! Finnegan Put Nitrous On His 711ci Hemi Powered Jet Boat! What Could Possibly Go Wrong? appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

KTM has revealed what's new for its 2027 enduro lineup, just don't expect too much next year.View the full article

The whole story is strange from top to bottom.View the full article

The Teryx KRX TR ditches desert-racer excess and shrinks down for the tight wooded trails most owners actually ride.View the full article

My weekend in upstate New York made me realize that ATV racing is alive and well, and absolutely wild.View the full article

The Brat Café by KS Motorcycles stands among the most compelling creations to emerge from Royal Enfield’s Busted Knuckles Build-Off, a global custom motorcycle contest that unites acclaimed builders, dealerships, and design specialists from around the world. Designed to showcase the adaptability of Royal Enfield platforms while highlighting the innovation and craftsmanship driving modern custom motorcycle culture, the competition provides a stage for some of the industry’s most creative minds. Built around the Royal Enfield Shotgun 650, the Brat Café […] The post The Brat Café by KS Motorcycles: A French Custom Motorcycle Masterpiece appeared first on Return of the Cafe Racers. View the full article

The request was simple enough: I needed a distributor ignition pickup for a small-block, Duraspark-era Ford. For you counter folks, that would be a Dorman F107. Should be a non-event: just go to the store, either buy the part or place the order and buy the part when it shows up. It shouldn’t warrant writing a story about at all, right? You must be new here. Welcome. Enjoy your stay and be sure to look around a bit. After working with the green-and-white guys and getting nowhere fast, I placed an order with my local black-and-orange types. F107, due up from a hub about an hour away, ready for pickup first thing in the morning. I elected to pay upon receipt, thanked them, hung up the phone, closed up the car and called it a day. I’m patient enough to wait until the next morning. Sure enough, at 10:00 a.m., I got a text telling me that my part had arrived and it was ready to come home with me. I hopped into the daily, made the 20-mile drive into town, and walked up to the counter clerk, eager to get the one item I was sure was keeping a happy little 302 from starting. The clerk, who looked like he was fresh from an elective surgery and hadn’t completely come out of the anesthesia yet, got the box and handed it to me. And this is where the process completely goes off the rails. The box is the right size. The box has the correct part number (F107) on it. The box is held shut with Scotch tape. (Oh, no…) The box weighs in at about eight or nine pounds. I cut the Scotch tape with one of the sharper keys on my ring and lo and behold, what was in the box wasn’t my Ford ignition pickup, but what looked like a fuel pump for a marine application, complete with lug terminals and …what the hell, is that algae?! Yeah… that ain’t right. After a few minutes of watching the loopy clerk try to figure out where the correct part was in his store (surprise, it was the box he had just handed me), I took control. I had to make a trip north that morning to a city just outside of my normal area and I wondered if one of those stores might have what I really needed. Five minutes of Google-Fu answered my question: A five-minute deviation from my travel plans would put the part in my hand. I called that store, reserved a real F107 pickup module, and left. But wait…there’s more! That afternoon, after taking in a two-hour drive through the countryside, the wife and I exited the mess that is currently the interstate system in Louisville, Kentucky. For those who don’t know, Interstate 65 is shut down from the southern city limits to the border with Indiana while they completely replace the bridges in the area. Just a fun fact… We exited into a pleasant area of town that had a graded road bed. You know, just before the city puts down that fresh blacktop that is oh-so-nice to drive on. She was rattled awake from the roughness of the road and wanted nothing more than to hurry this errand up so we could meet with a co-worker of hers for some dinner. I walked into the hub store expecting it to be a shining example of what any auto parts store should be: clean, stocked, and filled with just about anything need for a 1955-or-newer vehicle at the ready. What I wasn’t expecting was the conversations I heard as I walked in: “Teddy bear-looking young male worker”: “Dude, what’s up with you? “Tattooed young male worker”: “What? I’m having a good day!” Teddy Bear: “Naw, you look like you’re tweaking.” The more things change, the more they stay the same. I’m pretty sure I had this same conversation twelve years ago when I was behind the counter. Angry customer: “Hey! Quit jackin’ off back there and find my fkn’ part already! Ahh, home. Like I never left. This is the correct part. See the difference? Apparently one parts store hub couldn’t. Teddy Bear proceeded to help me out. We joked about the angry customer, I told him that I had a few months behind the counter myself, and while he was tracking down my prize said something that just about made me snort: “Man, I’ve only been working here six months and I could write a book about the shit that goes on here.” I worked at the store six months. I wrote a few things. Look where I got… Epilogue Two days later, I’m back at home. I have the elusive F107 item, I have the distributor out of the engine and on my stand, ready to get to work. I cracked the main housing as soon as I started. I had placed the housing in a vice with soft jaws to start prying off the reluctor wheel. All for nothing. The post Unknown Parts Counter Guy: Aw, What’s In The Box?! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

Jed Beaton produced another commanding MX1 performance at Appin to extend his 2026 ProMX Championship lead, while Alex Larwood edged the MX2 overall, Jackson Fuller broke through in MX3 and Ryder Madafiglio topped MX65 Futures. The post ProMX Appin: Beaton, Larwood, Fuller and Madafiglio take honours appeared first on MCNews. View the full article

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit will again host the opening round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in February 2027, with two days of pre-season testing also scheduled before the race weekend. The post Phillip Island confirmed for 2027 WorldSBK season opener appeared first on MCNews. View the full article

On a wild day at Bristol Dragway, Jason Collins picked up his second win in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports on Sunday, defeating Mike Stavrinos in the final round to close out the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. This weekend’s event was the sixth of 11 races, closing out the regular season, and it was powered by Cardinal Insurance. Collins finished out the regular season in fashion, even if it wasn’t necessarily conventional. Stavrinos went red by .005 in the championship round, handing the victory to Collins, who got loose and nearly crossed the centerline. But, in the end, Collins enjoyed his second win in the past three races as he’s advanced to the final round three straight times in the loaded category. In the second round, Collins got loose during the burnout and struck the center guard wall on the starting line during a wild turn of events. But he recovered, got the car staged and knocked off Travis Harvey with a run of 5.786 at 247.79. A round later, Collins knocked off Stan Shelton with a run of 5.798 at 247.52 to reach the final round and make it into the playoffs. “I wasn’t supposed to win today, but my car was really good,” Collins said. “I didn’t mean to tear it up and that was a little close in the final. This one is all because of my crew. I had some luck and my crew did a great job. I’m just out here chasing a dream and it was unbelievable. Now, we’re in the playoffs and who knows what can happen.” Stavrinos, who qualified No. 1, reached the finals for second time this season and seventh time in his career with victories Alex Laughlin, reigning world champion J.R. Gray and Rickie Smith. The Road to the Championship playoffs for the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports begins June 25-28 as part of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Derek Menholt opens the five-race playoffs in first place, with Stavrinos in second. Justin Bond, Collins and Stan Shelton round out the top five. The post Jason Collins Gets JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Series Win at Bristol at Race Powered by Cardinal Insurance first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article