Nitro Shots: A Necessary Distraction

There are so many important and even, perhaps, life-changing things going on in the world right now, so why are we wasting our time talking about a sport? Why aren’t we spending our time focusing on dealing with these important issues?

Because the more big-ticket issues there are, the more important drag racing becomes.

That seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? What does it matter, in the grand scheme of it, who makes it into the Countdown? What does it matter who has the best odds of winning a championship?

It matters a lot because we need things like drag racing and these simple but seemingly meaningless debates. We need this safety valve, this place of retreat where we can discuss and perhaps even still argue the questions above. After all, no matter how “heated” the argument gets about who will win a championship, it’s nothing at all like a hot-headed political argument.

There’s also something of the world we all want at an NHRA event. Everyone is there—young and old, male and female, all colors, but none of those things matter. We are all there for the same things. We are there for the cars and the racing, and for the most part, we don’t care about the rest. We have common ground and we completely forget about the ways we differ there.

People aren’t yelling terrible things at each other about opposing political or religious views. They are sitting side by side and watching their favorite drivers. They are walking around together in the pits. When we engage in the world of current events and news, it seems sometimes that the world is a hopeless place and we’ll never find a way to agree.

Yet we can all peacefully coexist in the world of drag racing so I say that makes it very important and the furthest thing from a waste of time.

What’s News?

Here’s some good positivity for you: Doug Chandler, husband of the late Terry Chandler, will keep his wife’s giving cars on the track for the next several years. Chandler has extended support for the Make-A-Wish and Infinite Hero cars through 2020.

“Terry loved her teams and I saw how much she looked forward to going to the races and help the children of Make-A-Wish and our soldier heroes who gave more than anyone could have asked and were helped by Infinite Hero when they came home,” said Doug, who was married to Terry for 49 years.

“Terry lives on in so many people’s hearts and mine. I don’t want to see her dream end.”

Hey Y’All, Watch This:

A triple feature this week! First up, meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Your new points leader in Top Fuel is the defending champion, Antron Brown.

Next up, going back a couple of weeks, Pro Stock Motorcycle also has an all-star event, the Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle, and it was contested during the Western Swing at Sonoma. LE Tonglet came away with the win.

And finally, this is some serious air time! It’s also a pretty hefty repair bill because that landing was a little rough.

NHRA on TV:

Program	Date/Time	Channel
AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS
Qualifying	Friday, November 10, 6:30 PM ET	FS1 (Live)
Qualifying	Saturday, November 11, 6:00 PM ET	FS1 (Live)
Eliminations	Sunday, November 12, 4:00 PM ET	FS1 (Live)