National Sand Drag News

BY: TOM BRAY

The last two months have been quite a ride for NSDN. You know when “The Editor” misses his column for a month that it’s been hectic. I started out in mid May in Lake Elsinore, CA. The NSDA series once again put on a great show in Southern California. From there, it was a seven hour drive to Cleves, Ohio for the Pro Truck Nationals season opener. This series has definitely established itself as one of the most exciting shows in sand drag racing today. Finishing up the three week in a row race coverage extravaganza was the yearly trip to Atoka, OK for the Heartland Nationals. The AMP crew once again put on a superb event. The common denominator in all three events was that the racers put on a great show. I know, at this point, it probably sounds cliché and I honestly have a hard time coming up with new words to describe it, but the on track competition continues to be amazing. The trend seems to be that the competition level continues to rise each season.

Heading into June, NSDN enjoyed a weekend off before heading to Bonne Terre, MO for the 2nd Annual Battle at Big River. I can’t say enough about what a great job the Merseal’s do operating Big River Sand Drags. I encourage anyone who is even considering making the trip to the August PTN at Big River, to do so. You will not regret it. Next thing I knew I was on the road back to Cleves, OH for PTN Race 2. We braved the blistering temperatures and intense sun to cover another great PTN series event. One of my favorite aspects of these events is the new Pro Outlaw FE class. This is basically a heads-up, run what ya brung-type class for Front Engine entries. A strong field has showed up at both races in 2010, and the fast, unpredictable action is certainly a crowd pleaser. It would be great to see this class catch on across the country, as an exciting new heads-up class (more on this possibility later in this column).

So, now here I sit, during an off weekend on the second weekend of July. 4th of July Weekend, NSDN was at our home track, West Michigan Sand Dragway in Mears, MI for their annual holiday weekend event. The MI racers came up to support WMSD, and put on a great show. A competitive Quick 16 Shootout & Friday night 3.5 Index class headlined the event. The Q16 special event saw the bump spot in the mid-3.7 range as many of the racers turned their cars up to attempt to qualify for this prestigious showdown. There was a ton of great action throughout the night, but unfortunately “The Editor” didn’t get to take much video as I hit the track for the first time in 2010. Fortunately, luck was on my side, and I was able to reach the final round in both the Sportsman 1 & Sportsman 2 classes, picking up the Sportsman 2 victory. It felt good to hit the track again, and kind of renewed the competitive fire after not being on the track since last September.

So, anyways, to recap the travels of NSDN over the last eight weeks; six races, five states, lots of hotel rooms, a 12-egg Omelet (yes, 12 EGGS at an Iron Skillet restaurant along the highway, heading from Cleves), and a countless number of miles (road & air). Now, we head into a calmer part of the season. NSDN will next be back at WMSD for the U.S. Sand Nationals/PTN Race 3, July 23-24. This has all the makings of another epic Sand Nationals, as this historic race turns another chapter, intensified by the great PTN point’s battles heading down the stretch of the season.

On the west coast front, I received an interesting PR from the AZ Top Fuel Group & Swag Racing announcing a great event at Dome Valley Raceway slated for January 2011. Be sure to check out the details of this event on our front page. The thing that caught my eye was the addition of the Pro Outlaw FE class at this race. It’s great to see other areas of the country looking at successful programs and introducing these into their own race programs. I’m sure the west coast will benefit from this new heads-up class. NSDN will definitely be on-site with race coverage from this Season Opening race in 2011.

As always, NSDN continues to offer a great platform for advertisers to reach the sand drag racing market. In 2010, we have been on-site at seven races in five states, with several more NSDN Daily Race Coverage events left to go in the season. NSDN has several advertising packages that could be very beneficial to your business, including some half-season specials to try out the waters for the remainder of the 2010 race season. If interested, contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Thanks to all of the readers that have supported NSDN. I really appreciate the e-mails and words of encouragement at the race tracks. The page view numbers just keep on increasing, as they have every year since NSDN came online. Thank you, everyone! Stick with us for all of the latest news…

Tom Bray (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Editor's Notes | July '10