DragRacing


SEMA 2009: 1951 Henry J gasser is a 7-second blast from the past

Here's another black beauty that caught our attention in the halls of SEMA 2009. It's a 1951 Kaiser Henry J owned and raced by Chris Beanes of California. Running in A/Gas, this gloss-free gasser can storm the quarter in the mid-7s at better than 174 MPH. We read somewhere that it's powered by a Chevy 400 that's backed by a four-speed transmission, but other than that we don't have a lot more details. What we do have are a few pics in the gallery below that hopefully capture the magic of this nostalgic dragster. ... Read more →

VIDEO: 700-HP Saab 99 Quattro Turbo is like missing Koenigsegg ancestor Jonathon Ramsey

Sweden has just over nine million people – that's an entire country whose population is just a little bigger than New York City – and we'd believe it if someone told us they ...

Racecar fabricator and NuFormz owner Shaun Carlson dead at 35 Merritt Johnson

In the late hours of October 4th 2009, the world lost an innovator in sport compact racing, Shaun Carlson. The NuFormz owner and fabricator extraordinaire had a genetic heart condition – ...

VIDEO: Chapter 3 of Mustang Unleashed: student vs. teacher payback Sam Abuelsamid

Back in June when we took part in the annual Ford Racing Invitational at Milan Dragway, we had the pleasure of meeting young Derek Murrell. You may recall that Derek is the 18 year-old who had ...

VIDEO: 2010 Taurus SHO breaks into the 13s Chris Shunk

The 2010 Taurus SHO packs 365 horsepower courtesy of its twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine, but something about the sheer size of Ford's full-size sedan tells us that it doesn't quite belong on the ...

Chutes Away! Ford replaces GM as Official Sponsor of NHRA 3 months ago on Autoblog

As the only American automaker not recently put through a government-sponsored bankruptcy, it comes as little surprise that Ford has taken over the spot long held by General Motors as the Official Sponsor of the NHRA. The first sign of dissension in the ranks came earlier this year as GM's ...

eBay Find of the Day: The 'Nunrunner' V10-powered eight-door Dodge Dart Limowagon [w/VIDEO] 4 months ago on Autoblog

And now for something completely different. We can't recall ever seeing another vehicle quite like this 1962 Dodge Dart, which was converted into a limo wagon that was supposedly intended for the Vatican and later sold to a Catholic Church in Kentucky – and that's probably for the best. ...

Second winner in Mustang Unleashed contest drag races teacher on Pinks [w/VIDEO] 4 months ago on Autoblog

For the second installment of Ford's "The '10 Unleashed" contest, the Mustang is going to the drag strip. Last time, Ford gave a blind man the opportunity to drive, and this time around, a kid fresh out of high school is going up against one of his teachers in the quarter-mile. Derek Murrell ...

REPORT: S197 Ford Mustang could have had independent rear suspension for $100 per car 4 months ago on Autoblog

It seems that any discussion about a modern Ford Mustang inevitably turns into a debate about its solid rear axle. While Ford has done an incredible job of optimizing the pony car's suspension, many still find it unacceptable that such an antiquated technology is used on a modern day performance ...

First Drive: Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, watch out for second! 4 months ago on Autoblog

Saturday afternoon we went for what may have been the shortest and quickest first drive in the history of Autoblog. When we go on a typical first drive with a manufacturer, we get to drive a vehicle around for at least a few hours in a variety of environments. Not so this past Saturday, when we ...

Ford Racing announces plans for 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet 4 months ago on Autoblog

At last year's SEMA show, Ford unveiled the latest Mustang to join the Ford Racing stable, the FR500CJ Cobra Jet. The purpose-built drag racer came standard with go-fast parts from the Ford Racing catalog, including a 400 horsepower version of the 5.4-liter supercharged V8 (de-tuned to meet ...

Beat the Heat: Florida police battling street racing by... racing?! 6 months ago on Autoblog

Police officers around the country routinely put their lives on the line in an effort to keep our streets safe. Officers in South Florida have come up with a way to make city streets a safer place and have a bit of fun at the same time; by drag racing at the track. A bad street racing problem that ...

22-year-old sheik spending $10M a year to become the Yankees of drag racing? 6 months ago on Autoblog

There are a number of parallels with an all-American tale of racing fan turned team owner: Man loves drag racing since boyhood, comes from a region crazy for the sport, started off in racing's little league, and races to win even in the big leagues. Yet the differences are enough to inform us that ...

VIDEO: Garage 419 pits GT-R against rented Hertz Corvette... with nitrous 10 months ago on Autoblog

The Garage 419 team is anything but conventional, so when they say they're going to race a Nissan GT-R against a $500 competitor, you know it's going to be entertaining. Host Matt Farah had the easy task of rolling to the strip in the Godzilla of street racers, with 478 horsepower, all-wheel ...

More pics of the new Mustang FR500CJ Cobra Jet 1 year ago on Autoblog

We first told you about Ford's new Mustang Cobra Jet factory drag car in June of 2007 and last week Ford posted a video on YouTube of a test session with the new car showing its stuff at Milan DragWay. Now we've received some fresh high-res pics of the Cobra Jet in our inbox from Ford. Last we ...

Safety concerns cause NHRA to limit races to 1,000 feet 1 year ago on Autoblog

The NHRA has acted very quickly in an effort to improve the safety of its Top Fuel and Funny Car races. Due to the tragic death recently of '94 and '95 Top Fuel champion Scott Kalitta, the drag strip for these two fastest classes will be shortened from the traditional 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet. Race ...

Ford Racing Invitational '08: The aftermath 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery from the Ford Racing Invitational I went into the Ford Racing Racing Invitational drag race this weekend with only a cursory knowledge of drag racing. Sure I was aware of all the usual suspects like Garlits, Prudhomme, Force and other famous names over the years. ...

Ford to launch Mustang Cobra Jet factory drag racer this summer 1 year ago on Autoblog

1968 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet Ford has a long history of creating factory-built racers based on its regular production cars. Over the past four decades, most of those have have been derived from the Mustang. Since the mid-90s, that has included several runs of Cobra Rs, and today, a couple of ...

Ford Racing Invitational: We finally hit the track! 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click my Mustang for a high res gallery As the skies finally cleared this morning, us hacks finally managed to get in a single practice run here at Milan Dragway for the Ford Racing Invitational. Ford invited some media out to race race some Mustangs as part of the NMRA Ford Nationals weekend. In ...

Get in, sit down and shut up! Chrysler confirms drag package for Challenger 1 year ago on Autoblog

Dodge Challenger Super Stock shown from 2006 SEMA Show Fans of going as fast as possible in a straight line, which includes some of us at Autoblog, have reason to rejoice. Chrysler has officially announced that the drag package for its upcoming Challenger, initially shown at SEMA in late 2006, will ...

VIDEOS: Jet-powered Dodge Caravan earns its Sports badge 1 year ago on Autoblog

Chris Krug has what we think might be the most bad-ass late-90's Dodge Caravan in the world. Like us, he apparently thought the 150-hp V6 just wasn't enough and added some supplemental power via a 1,000-hp helicopter jet engine. But he left the original piston powerplant in place to retain its ...

Polish police give street racing the go-ahead in certain sections of town 1 year ago on Autoblog

It's a well hidden secret here in the States, but in Eastern Europe, Poland is a street racing Mecca. Concrete contests of speed are so prevalent in the land of the prior Pope and origin of the pirogi, that police in Lodz are conceding certain streets to rebellious racers. The goal is to ...

Rumormill: Dodge Challenger SS Drag package weeks away 1 year ago on Autoblog

Dodge Challenger Super Stock shown from 2006 SEMA Show Just like in the '60s, some people will take their new 2008 Dodge Challengers to the drags. Chrysler is reportedly ready to make this very easy for new Challenger owners. Allpar is reporting that within a few weeks, there will issue forth from ...

NHRA 2007 season ends in Pomona 2 years ago on Autoblog

The 2007 NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series ended this weekend at Pomona Raceway in California. It was a fitting end to a dramatic season marked with the passing of John Force Racing driver Eric Medlin and NHRA founder Wally Parks. There was also the spectacular crash in Texas between John Force and ...

NHRA legend John Force injured in crash 2 years ago on Autoblog

The good news: he's alive. The bad news: he's a little busted up. John Force's dragster (yeah, that John Force, the one with the Driving Force tv show about him and his hawt drag racing daughters) went out of control at the O'Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals in Texas on Sunday. In the process of heading ...

VIDEO: Drag racer crashes at over 300 MPH 2 years ago on Autoblog

Most people attending drag races expect to see cars accelerate to breakneck speeds in a matter of mere seconds. However, as sick as it sounds, there's always the excitement one gets from seeing a car crash out of control at these same speeds. This is a rare occurrence, but every now and again, it ...

Out-of-control dragster kills six in Tennessee 2 years ago on Autoblog

A tragic accident at a charity drag race Saturday night in Selmer, Tenn. has claimed the lives of at least six people, including a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old, and injured as many as 18 others. An Associated Press report on CNN has witnesses saying the car was participating in an exhibition ...

For the serious DIY guy: Silverline Powertool Drag Racing 2 years ago on Autoblog

click either image to view more examples of Powertool Drag Racers There must come a day in every home owner's life when the fence is mended, the deck is built, the drywall's up and there's just no chore left on the list that requires a power tool. While some may fear that day, there are a group of ...

Let it snow: Ice Drag Races supplant luge as coolest winter sport 2 years ago on Autoblog

Ice racing has been around for a long time, but ice drag racing is fairly new. Well, new to us at least. The video accompanying the source article is incredible with a detailed overview of the sport and equipment. These things have 5,000 to 6,000 screws in each tire! There are also "Rubber" classes ...

VIDEO: How to move two tons down the quarter-mile in less than ten seconds 2 years ago on Autoblog

When the owners of two-ton monsters get together at the annual Southern Super Heavyweight Shootout each November, Sir Issac Newton's laws get put to the test. As evidence, we submit the above video from the 2006 gathering, which pitted Mike Smith's 1995 Impala SS up against Paul Roswell's 1994 ...

VIDEO: BikiniRacer 2006 highlights 2 years ago on Autoblog

One of our favorite models from this year's show circuit was Anna Comingore at the VIP Auto Fashion Show. Anna's nickname is Bikini Racer. We know what the "Bikini" stands for. Anna has won her fair share of modeling trophies, and deservedly so. So what does the "Racer" part refer to? You can be ...

SEMA: Fords builds a GT500 for street, strip and scary track driving 3 years ago on Autoblog

click on image to enlarge The Mustang is currently Ford's hottest hand, and at this year's SEMA show the Blue Oval is laying its cards on the table. Front and center in the place of honor within Ford's display are three GT500s, each tuned and tweaked for various activities: a drag racer, hybrid ...

VIDEO: The 10-second MINI 3 years ago on Autoblog

Way back in October of last year, you might recall seeing a post about Fireball Tim's flame surfaced (the paint, not the design) MINI dragster. At the time, the FTR MINI came out to the Los Angeles County Raceway and blew threw the 1,320 in 11.26 seconds with a trap speed of 121.1 MPH. He and his ...

Drag Tag - virtual drag racing with your own car 3 years ago on Autoblog

Drag Tag is an indoor facility in Australia where you can virtually drag race your own car using a patented dyno, hold-down, steering and visualization simulator. Design, developed and operated in Australia, Drag Tag uses its own specially-designed hold-down system to keep your car strapped on the ...

VIDEO: Drag racing tires in slow-mo 3 years ago on Autoblog

We always assumed that every component of a top-fuel dragster or funny car undergoes an unthinkable amount of stress on each run, but this high-quality, slow-motion video shows exactly how a drag racing tire reacts to the extreme amount of abuse it takes each time down the track. As substantial as ...

Ultima GTR goes for quarter-mile record and gets it 3 years ago on Autoblog

Not long ago the Ultima GTR broke its own record (again) as the fastest car to achieve 0-100mph-0 for the third year in a row. On that same day it also set new records for 0-60 (2.6 seconds), 0-100 (5.3 seconds) and braking from 100 (3.6 seconds). Mere weeks later it has smashed yet another ...

Next Page →






Autoblog Podcast #151: With Car and Driver's Eddie Alterman

Eddie Alterman wades in with Sam, Chris, Dan, and Jonny to talk about SEMA and other recent events.

 
 

Featured Galleries

  • SEMA 2009: HPP Daytona Challenger
  • LA Design Challenge 2009 Competitors
  • SEMA 2009: 1962 Chevrolet Corvette C1-RS
  • SEMA 2009: Bigfoot
  • SEMA 2009: Black Bison Toyota Alphard
  • Ford's Inflatable Seat Belts
  • 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder
  • Shelby Turbocharged Mustang
  • Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition
  • SEMA 2009: Ringbrothers 1964 Ford Fairlane
  • SEMA 2009: Lexus F-Sport
  • SEMA 2009: Hennessey HPE700 Camaro
AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Resources

10 Most Searched Cars on AOL Autos

Autoblog Video

Autoblog Green

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum