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Michael Dunlop is set to become only the seventh rider to reach 100 Isle of Man TT starts in 2026, adding another milestone to a career that already includes 33 TT victories and the all-time wins record. The post Michael Dunlop and the road to 100 Isle of Man TT starts appeared first on MCNews. View the full article

BMW Motorrad has created a 115-unit M 1000 RR Limited Edition Isle of Man TT, based on the M Competition and finished in British Racing Green with Mountain Course graphics. The post BMW M 1000 RR Isle of Man TT Edition – only 115 to be built appeared first on MCNews. View the full article

The post Vote for your favourite Royal Enfield Shotgun 650 custom appeared first on MCNews. View the full article

At long last, Triumph brought gorgeous Thruxton styling to a 400cc bike. Small displacement fans, rejoice! But is it or the Tracker 400 your huckleberry? Find out!View the full article

Project 508 is in full swing and we are super excited about what is going on with this machine. We’ve got another couple videos to share below and will be bringing you more in the coming weeks as well. This drag and drive Camaro project sure has go some seriously sick fabrication going on and I can’t wait to see it all in person during Street Week 2026. In this installment we’ve got video showing the new rearend is going together, plus a one off custom racing steering wheel build, and finally a bit more of the floor work to finish her up. I love new drag and drive builds, and because I’m going to Sweden this year for Street Week I am really excited that this new drag and drive build is being built at Auto Cut in Stockholm by Martin Lundqvist Racing Fabrication. This is going to be something special. Because they are in Sweden, they aren’t talking much in these videos and what they are say you probably won’t understand. We would crank up the Closed Captioning for the subtitles, but that wasn’t an option. We know this was a drag car in it’s former life, and it’s going to be ultra cool when it’s done. While they aren’t scrapping the entire car to start new, they are replacing a whole hell of a lot of this car. We can’t wait to see it coming together, because they are doing some really cool stuff with the Auto Cut cnc machines and water jets. This is some special stuff. Check it out. CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED THE OTHER VIDEOS The post Building The Rearend and Custom Race Steering Wheel For The Martin Lundqvist Racing Street Week Sweden Drag and Drive 1969 Camaro Project! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

Due to persistent rain and mist, as well as more inclement weather in the forecast, Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series officials have cancelled the PDRA Mid-Atlantic Showdown presented by Classic Graphix, May 21-23, at Virginia Motorsports Park. The event will not be rescheduled. The Mid-Atlantic Showdown was the third of seven races on the 2026 PDRA schedule. “Due to constant heavy mist this morning and rain returning to the hourly forecast for Friday, continuing worsening conditions for Saturday and Sunday, the Mid-Atlantic Showdown is officially cancelled,” said Tyler Crossnoe, series director, PDRA. “We are sorry for the decision and we hate that we could not complete the event this weekend.” All race entries, crew passes, racer motorhome, and pit parking passes will be rolled over to the next event that each participant attends this season. All spectator tickets purchased online will be refunded to the card they were purchased on. The 2026 Red Line Oil PDRA Drag Racing Series season will continue in one month at the Hoosier Racing Tire North vs. South Shootout presented by Callies Performance, June 25-27, at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Maryland This story was originally published on May 22, 2026. The post PDRA Mid-Atlantic Showdown Cancelled Due to Weather first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

The custom motorcycle scene is a fickle beast. One month, we’re drowning in Bluetooth brakes and half-baked café racers; the next, the stars align, and our inbox is a goldmine of engineering marvels. May 2025 was undoubtedly the latter. From Tokyo’s quiet backstreets to the industrial heart of Portu... View the full article

There is soooo much going on at the 9th Annual Ronnie Buff Memorial race at Shadyside this weekend! No matter what kind of racing you are into, there is going to be something here for you to enjoy. We’re really excited about the Lil’ Gangstas and Baby Gangstas classes. Tom and Poland have done a great job bringing those classes to the masses and getting excitement rolling around them. Check out all the racing action, all weekend long, right here! Video Description: Spoold Media Live at the 9th Annual Strange Engineering Ronnie Buff Memorial!!! Friday features testing and grudge racing from 3pm-9pm est!!! Classes testing include King of the South, Knight of the South, Lil Gangstas, Street Racer 6.30 and more!!!! The post FREE Drag Racing Livestream: 9th Annual Strange Engineering Ronnie Buff Memorial Friday appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

It’s time for more LIVE big money bracket racing. This weekend’s Coal Rush 20s start now and promise tight racing and big payouts. With other races being cancelled this weekend due to rain, we expect there will be some folks making the trek to Ellis 57 Dragstrip for the bracket racing, burnouts, and the wheelstand competition! Check it all out below. Video Description: WASTING FUEL PROMOTIONS PRESENTS: COAL RUSH 20s Get ready for an action-packed night of high-speed competition at the legendary Ellis 57 Dragstrip! Wasting Fuel Promotions brings you Coal Rush 20s — a thrilling bracket race where racers from all around will battle it out for cash, bragging rights, and the ultimate victory under the lights. Expect intense side-by-side racing, close finishes, and nonstop excitement as competitors dial in and compete at a high level. Whether you’re a dedicated racer, hardcore drag racing fan, or just looking for an exciting night at the track, Coal Rush 20s is the event you don’t want to miss. Live at Ellis 57 Dragstrip • Bracket Racing • Burnouts • Wheelie Contest • Hosted by Wasting Fuel Promotions Bring your crew, fill the stands, and experience the speed, competition, and atmosphere of one of the hottest racing events around. Don’t miss the excitement of Coal Rush 20s! #CoalRush20s #WastingFuelPromotions #Ellis57Dragstrip #BracketRacing #dragracing The post Wasting Fuel Productions Coal Rush $20ks Big Money Bracket Racing Weekend LIVE! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

One of the biggest drag racing events in Europe is on this weekend and you can watch it right here, live! The event is the kickoff for the 2026 FIA Championship drag racing season and it is also known as The Main Event. Held each year at England’s Santa Pod raceway, it is the official start to pro level drag racing in the “European theater” if you will. You’ll see all the machines that you expect like pro mods, top fuel dragsters, funny cars, etc but you’ll also see all of the other cool stuff they typically bring in to entertain the masses. Watch the entire weekend and you’ll love the show they put on. The post FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: Watch The Main Event At Santa Pod LIVE HERE! Top Fuel, FIA Championship Drags, And More! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

On a Saturday afternoon in April 2026 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Justin Ashley sat in the cockpit of his 12,000-horsepower SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster and did the same thing three rounds in a row. He left with an .025 light. Round one. Round two. Round three. He cut a good light in the final, too – .036 – but it just wasn’t enough to hold off a hard-charging Tony Stewart and his 3.683-second blast. Most fans walked out of Pomona talking about motorsports Hall of Famer Tony Stewart further cementing his legacy with another NHRA Top Fuel win. Drag Illustrated walked out asking a different question. Has anyone in the modern history of NHRA Top Fuel ever been as much of a killer on the starting line as Justin Ashley? The numbers say no. The competition in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series nitro categories has never been higher than it is right now. Virtually every car on the sheet is capable of throwing down a number that will stand as low ET of the meet. The performance gap is the smallest it has been in a generation. Which means that, for the first time in a long time, the starting line has become the single biggest place a Top Fuel race can swing. A driver who can flat-out beat the field on the tree is more dangerous than ever before. And nobody has been more dangerous than Justin Ashley. Drag Illustrated pulled every Top Fuel elimination run from the past fourteen months – twenty-five NHRA national events, including the full 2025 season plus the first six races of 2026. That’s a total of six hundred and eighty-six reaction times across the entire field. In 2025, Justin Ashley posted the best reaction time in 87.8 percent of the elimination rounds he raced. Forty-three of forty-nine, across an entire season, across nineteen events, against every former world champion in the class. He beat his opponent off the starting line eighty-eight rounds out of every hundred. His 2025 season RT average was .0424. The field average was .0802. He reacted nearly four full hundredths quicker than the average driver across an entire season, and in a class decided by thousandths, four hundredths is a chasm. Eleven of the fifteen best individual reaction times of all of 2025 belonged to Ashley. Through six races of 2026, he has somehow improved on that, dropping his RT average to .0364. The 2026 leaderboard has Ashley first by a country mile, with teammate Will Smith second at .0442 and Antron Brown third at .0560. The gap between Ashley and the next best leaver in the class is wider than the gap between second and sixth. Here is the strange dynamic Justin Ashley has created. Every driver who walks to the starting line against him knows what is coming, and they bring their absolute best light of the weekend as a result. There are no off rounds against Justin Ashley. There are no free passes. The pressure cuts both ways. Ashley walks to that same starting line every single round preparing to face the maximum effort his opponent has in them. Whoever he is racing on any given Sunday is, more likely than not, about to cut the best light they have cut all weekend, because they have to. It is a unique situation in our sport, and Ashley has created it entirely on his own. Tony Stewart was asked at one point how he prepares to race Justin Ashley, and said this: “Competitors know when they race him that they’ve got to bring their A game. It’s a curse for Justin as well because he’s so good that you know that you have to rise to the occasion. The hard part is doing that. But when you do it, the even harder part after that is figuring out how do you do it all the time, like he does.” Stewart won the conversation’s referenced final – the 2025 Route 66 race at Chicago. Ashley reacted .042. Stewart reacted .048. Stewart’s car was quicker. Ashley out-reacted him and lost anyway. That, in a single sentence, is the entire story. On The Wes Buck Show this week, Clay Millican was asked what was driving the new attention to reaction times in nitro. “People haven’t gotten that much better,” Millican said. “But crew chiefs are now starting to pay attention to car reaction time. Me and the eight-time champ Tony Schumacher, we are slacking, because we suck on the tree right now. But Justin Ashley is definitely a special individual. He is just rock solid all the time.” When the conversation turned to the state of Top Fuel as a category in 2026, Millican said the line that explains the entire context for what we are watching. “We figured out the horsepower. We know how fast these things can go. Now, it’s a driver’s race.” It is a driver’s race, and one driver is winning it 88 percent of the time. Justin Ashley has run 121 NHRA Top Fuel national events. He has won 19. He has been a runner-up in 14 more. His career round record stands at 188-102, a sixty-five percent rate of round wins across six seasons. That is an elite career number by any measure. But it sits next to that 88 percent figure from 2025. The gap between Ashley winning the driver portion of a round and Ashley winning the round itself is exactly the reason he does not yet have a Top Fuel world championship. Top Fuel is a twelve-thousand-horsepower team game. The driver controls one variable inside a much larger system – the tune-up, the clutch, the chassis, the crew chiefs’ Saturday-night decisions, the air, the track prep. Ashley has won the driver portion of this sport more reliably than anyone we have ever measured. The other variables have not always come along for the ride. But sometimes, they do. On September 1, 2025, Justin Ashley won the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis – the most prestigious event in drag racing – with reaction times of .036, .035, .034, and .027 across four rounds. In the final against Tony Stewart, with both cars running essentially identical eighth-mile passes, Ashley reacted .027 and Stewart .053. The biggest race of the year, decided on a twenty-six-thousandths holeshot. What makes the 2026 numbers stranger still is that they have happened during a reset. Ashley entered this season with an entirely new program around him, new crew chiefs, a team largely rebuilt from the ground up. After the season’s first two races at Gainesville and Phoenix, he was sitting outside the Top Fuel top ten in points for the first time in his career. What he did next was rip off the three .025 lights at Pomona, climb back to seventh, and hold a top-ten spot – he’s currently eighth after Route 66 – entirely on the strength of his own starting line execution while the team tuned the car around him. So is this the most dominant starting line stretch in modern Top Fuel history? Honestly, the historical comparison work hasn’t been done. There’s no published all-time reaction-time leaderboard for this sport – but Drag Illustrated is working to change that. But the early verdict is this: there is almost certainly no driver in modern NHRA Top Fuel who has posted Ashley’s combination of consistency and peak over a comparable window. Eighty-eight percent best-in-round across an entire season. Eleven of the season’s top fifteen lights. A year-over-year improvement on what was already an all-time great career average. The Wally count will inevitably catch up, and when it does, the man showing up to claim it will be the same one who has been the absolute monster at every drag strip he has rolled into for two full seasons running. Whether or not that ends in a championship in 2026, there is something more important happening in the meantime. We are watching a driver, in real time, do something to a single fundamental skill that nobody else in this sport can do. The rest of us are very, very lucky to be paying attention. Reaction-time data via dragracecentral.com / CompuLink. Sample: 686 Top Fuel elimination runs across 25 NHRA national events, March 2025 through May 2026. The post UNCONSCIOUS: Justin Ashley is in a League of His Own first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

The Chaos Series has been going hot and heavy so far this season, and with lots more racing left there are a lot of teams out there battling it out for points. And the competition is getting tougher, so that means race teams need to be out testing to make sure they have the right tuneups to make it through the end of the season. Will this weekend be the break some teams need? Time will tell, but our friend NC Promoder was on hand to share the testing action going on yesterday and the video is below. Check it out. The post Testing Video: Chaos SuperNationals Testing at Summit Motorsports Park. Funny Cars, Fuel Altereds, and More! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

To celebrate NHRA’s thrilling debut at Maryland International Raceway for next weekend’s inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS, Visit St. Mary’s MD, the St. Mary’s County Department of Economic Development and NHRA have partnered together for a driver meet and greet featuring a huge lineup of NHRA stars. The free, can’t-miss event will take place on Thursday, May 28 from 5-7 p.m. at The Barns at New Market (29133 Thompson Corner Rd., Mechanicsville, Md.). Driver autographs are slated from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and includes a host of NHRA standouts, including four of the points leaders in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Fans can meet and get autographs from Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon, Funny Car’s J.R. Todd, who is tied for the points lead, Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn and Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Richard Gadson, as well as NHRA standouts Tony Stewart, Leah Pruett, Southern Maryland native Kelly Clontz, Matt Hagan, Maddi Gordon, Jordan Vandergriff, Justin Ashley, Austin Prock, Justin Ashley, Daniel Wilkerson, Angie Smith, Matt Smith, Josh Hart, Will Smith, Clayton Howey, Lex Joon, Troy Coughlin Jr., Dave Richards and more. Along with a chance for fans to meet their favorite drivers and get autographs, the festive atmosphere and kickoff to the inaugural NHRA weekend will also include junior dragsters, live music, food and drink vendors, a classic car show and more. For fans traveling to St. Mary’s County for the race, they can visit www.visitstmarysmd.com for planning resources, including lodging options, area attractions, and local retail and restaurant options. Following Thursday’s meet and greet, things heat up on the track with two rounds of qualifying on Friday, the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge bonus race on Saturday – as well as two more rounds of qualifying – and eliminations on Sunday, plus a host of NHRA 75th anniversary events, including: An appearance from NHRA legend and three-time Top Fuel world champion Shirley Muldowney and a tribute to Muldowney’s trailblazing history in the sport. On Sunday, a free, limited-edition NHRA pennant will be given to the first 4,000 fans in attendance. The 2026 NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS features action in all four pro classes and the race will be broadcast on FOX, with elimination coverage beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 31. With an NHRA 75th anniversary Diamond Wally on the line and a chance to win the first-ever race at Maryland International Raceway, the event marks one of the early-season highlights during NHRA’s milestone year. Past Top Fuel world champion Langdon has been on a tear, winning back-to-back races against a loaded field that includes reigning world champ Doug Kalitta, Hart, Stewart, Pruett, Gordon, Clay Millican, Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher. The Funny Car class continues to be ultra-competitive, with Todd and Ron Capps leading the way. Other standouts include Hagan, Vandergriff, Chad Green, Jack Beckman, Alexis DeJoria and Prock. Reigning Pro Stock champ Glenn is the points leader, but it’s a tight field with Greg Anderson, Matt Hartford, Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield close behind. Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Richard Gadson leads the way in the two-wheeled category, followed closely by M. Smith, Herrera, A. Smith and John Hall. NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 1:30 and 4 p.m. ET on Friday, May 29 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, May 30 at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 31. Television coverage includes qualifying on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on Friday and 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, with eliminations action on Sunday at 3 p.m on FOX. To purchase tickets to the 2026 NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by JEGS, fans can visit NHRA.com/tickets. Children 12 and under are free in general admission areas with the purchase of an adult ticket. For more info about NHRA, visit NHRA.com. The post Visit St. Mary’s MD and NHRA Set for Fan Fest Ahead of Maryland International Raceway Debut first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

Established in 2004, Sporthorse Saddlery is located at 56849 Grand River Avenue in New Hudson, Michigan, and owned and operated by Anna Rebori-Theisen, whose husband, David Theisen, competes in Small Tire Pro Stock. The well-known equestrian tack shop serves riders across multiple disciplines with a strong focus on the dressage and hunter/jumper disciplines. It features carefully chosen saddles, tack, riding apparel, horse care products, stable essentials for amateur and competitive riders and more. “I decided to be a series sponsor because I love Small Tire Pro Stock and want to see this series succeed,” said Rebori-Theisen. “It also seems like horsepower attracts horsewomen.” Sporthorse Saddlery joins Small Tire Pro Stock as the series heads into the Nostalgia Drag Racing League Route 66 Rockabilly Reunion, May 22-23, 2026 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. The reputable business will be included in series coverage, including the race wrap shared with multiple media outlets. “Anna Rebori-Theisen is a longtime supporter of naturally aspirated racing, and we are thrilled to welcome her very successful business as a sponsor for Small Tire Pro Stock,” said Dwight Ausmus, a Small Tire Pro Stock steering committee member and racer. “This is an opportunity for our series to introduce even more people to Anna and Sporthorse Saddlery, and we look forward to that.” For more information, call 248-486-5616 or visit, www.sporthorsesaddlery.com or Facebook.com/SporthorseSaddlery. The post Small Tire Pro Stock Welcomes Sporthorse Saddlery as Sponsor first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

The Isle of Man TT event organizers just released the dates for the 2027 TT and the provisional dates for the 2028 TT, so it's time to get booking.View the full article

The dealership remains the one place everyone can agree sucks the most. So while I get Moto Morini's pivot to AI salespeople at a base level, what's wrong with just making the dealership suck less?View the full article

There is a lot riding on the shoulders of 31-year-old Jordan Vandergriff, but the weight of being tapped by John Force himself as the driver of the Cornwell Quality Tools Funny Car is more than welcome. To have been invited to drive for a legendary team would be mind-blowingly cool for anyone, but to settle into a Funny Car for the first time – let alone the one still sizzling after back-to-back championships – only adds to the surreality for Vandergriff. That being said, he’s certainly up to the task. Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #199, the Interview Issue, in March/April 2026. When the world learned that Austin Prock, his crew chief and father Jimmy Prock, and assistant crew chief and brother Thomas Prock had left John Force Racing as a trio and moved to the Tasca Racing camp, the open seat was coveted by many. Vandergriff was on the short list and named early, though. He had earned the respect, the consideration, and, ultimately, he earned position. The Southern California native grew up playing stick-and-ball sports, but racing was bubbling in his blood and taking over his heart. His grandfather, Bob Vandergriff Sr., took over at the helm of Hedman Hedders in 1979 – one of the hot rod industry’s original manufacturers – and his uncle, Bob Jr., had made a name of his own in Top Fuel. When Bob Jr. established a driver development program, young Vandergriff was the first graduate. He made his Top Alcohol Dragster debut in 2018 at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in an A/Fueler owned by Anthony Dicero of the Nitro University, and the next season, he was a Top Fuel driver battling Prock for Rookie of the Year. In his first season as a nitro driver, Vandergriff reached the semifinals in his debut and highlighted the year with his first final-round appearance in Dallas. The Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 2019 honoree competed in 11 events that first year and had a promising future ahead of him, but the entire world’s plans were altered by the COVID-19 uproar. He was willing to pivot, however, and while keeping his eyes and options open, Vandergriff stepped into a new role in front of the camera as an NHRA on FOX reporter for two seasons. Last year, being in the right place at the right time proved pivotal, and he was back in the seat for two races to fill in for injured Top Fuel driver Shawn Reed. Vandergriff qualified No. 3 and picked up a round win in Brainerd, and he was No. 2 on the qualifying sheet at the U.S. Nationals. The experience allowed Vandergriff to issue an effective reminder of exactly where he belonged: in the seat of a race car. Joining the historic John Force Racing team came with a new opportunity for the steady-handed young man: learning to drive an always demanding, oft-unpredictable, nitro Funny Car under the scrutiny of, well, everyone. You had solid footing in a Top Fuel dragster, but how different was it to get behind the wheel of a Funny Car? It was truly eye-opening. It’s definitely not anything like the dragster, but with the shorter wheel base, it’s a lot more fun to drive. Yeah, it’s a challenge – but a challenge is always more fun. I’m getting used to it, but it’s very different. You have to steer it differently, and it’s going to want what it wants. The Funny Car really moves quickly, so you have to be ahead of the car as well. We’ve had a lot of runs in testing, but I’ve still had limited experience as a Funny Car driver. Coming into the season, I’m ready to go. When you realized you were going to be driving for John Force Racing, what was your reaction? I couldn’t believe it. I was absolutely speechless. I never could have imagined driving for John Force, and the fact that it’s actually happening, it’s just surreal. I feel very fortunate that John believes in me, and I look forward to making him proud. That’s my goal this year: to drive this car well and make him proud. Do you feel like you earned this spot? Yeah, I feel like I did earn it. I lost my seat many years ago, but everything I’ve done since then has been working toward getting back in the seat. I’ve put the work in, put in the time, and I’ve been very patient. I’m ready for this moment. It’s my time. What’s going to be your greatest challenge? Getting used to this Funny Car because it could surprise you at any moment. I’m trying to stay in the mindset of, “Get comfortable, but don’t get too comfortable.” You never know when it’s going to want to do something you’re not ready for. Really, my main goal and the biggest challenge is just to drive this car well. I know I have a great team behind me that’s going to put together a great race car, and if I can do my part, it’s going to be fast. What are your expectations from now through the end of this first season for you in a Funny Car? If I’m being honest, our expectations are high. This car has won the last two championships, and after testing, it’s already running very well again. Our expectation is to keep it going and make it three in a row for Cornwell Quality Tools. Are you having fun? I’m having so much fun. I’ve been dreaming of driving again, and I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had out here at the racetrack. I’m just soaking it all in and enjoying every second of it. The post DI Interview: Jordan Vandergriff first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

During the TT period in 2025, 32 road traffic collisions resulted in slight to serious injuries. This year, the Isle of Man is deploying a combination of visible and covert police units to keep the roads in check. View the full article

When it comes to historic dragstrips located in my native North Carolina, Wilkesboro Motorsports Park has compiled more history than most people can remember. I first stepped foot on the property 35 years ago when the track was known as North Wilkesboro Dragway, and it had just undergone a massive renovation. Editor’s Note: This column originally appeared in DI #199, the Interview Issue, in March/April 2026. Prior to my first memory of the place in 1991, you could actually go back another 35-plus years to 1955, where the story of this vintage track first begins. I usually get nervous when publishing “historical facts” that took place decades before I ever even made my grand entrance to earth, but for this column I wasn’t worried since I commissioned the help of Gena Ellis Rudisill, who is my go-to for all things Wilkesboro…mainly because her family built the place! Gena’s records are meticulous, and she confirms that the track indeed opened in 1955 as a quarter-mile strip of dirt that didn’t even have a return road, requiring drivers to turn around after a run and drive back up the track. This system was in place until 1960, when the track was paved and a return road was added. Roughly a decade later, Gena’s uncle Bill took sole ownership, renaming it North Wilkesboro Dragway. The track changed hands a few times over the ensuing decades before local construction company owners Greg and Dean Wilkie bought the track and ushered in a new era of modernization with massive updates. This is when yours truly entered the picture, as I was a 19-year-old drag racing reporter for my local newspaper, and I was over the moon with excitement when IHRA announced that the Carolina Nitrous Nationals would be held at Wilkesboro in 1991! To this day, that single event is one of the most memorable races I’ve ever attended. Pro Modified was in its second year as a professional category, and pretty much all of the earliest stars were competing that weekend, including Scotty Cannon, who went on to win the event. Over the years I’ve witnessed many other cool things at Wilkesboro, including Funny Car match races and Pro Mod Quick-8 events, along with many appearances by the Classic Gear Jammers, who still hold meets there to this present day. In the early 2000s, I even witnessed a Top Fuel match race featuring then-owner Danny Dunn, who made some passes alongside teenager Josh Starcher during his short stint in Top Fuel. A decade ago came another event I will never forget: The inaugural Don Carlton Memorial Nostalgia Pro Stock Race. Dubbed the “Woodstock of Pro Stocks,” this historic event in 2016 brought out many vintage Pro Stockers, along with retired drivers and fans of all ages, for the purpose of honoring the memory of North Carolina native Don Carlton, whose life and career were tragically cut short in 1977 after a testing crash in Milan, Michigan. With more than 70 years of operation, the significance of this dragstrip simply can’t be overstated. That’s why when news broke on social media last month that Wilkesboro was not opening for 2026, it sent shockwaves of disbelief, tears, and dare I say outrage. After the news spread like wildfire for several days, I eventually let out a sigh of relief when, you guessed it, Gena Ellis Rudisill, who’s also the social media/PR person for the track, showed up on Facebook with a newsflash of her own: “The rumors are not true!” she lamented. As it turns out the track was, in fact, not closing and was days away from releasing a 2026 schedule when the closure rumor first grew legs. Crisis averted! It was a stark reminder (yes, we apparently all still need one from time to time) that you can’t believe everything you read online. As advertised, Wilkesboro released a jam-packed schedule of events for 2026 a few days later. With eagerness, I’m making it a point to visit Wilkesboro this year, and I’m mighty thankful we all still can, especially after the initial jarring report! There’s lots more to report from Wilkesboro, including new management, renewed vision for the upcoming season, and even a return to IHRA sanction, so stay tuned! The post On The Road: Wilkesboro Motorsports Park first appeared on Drag Illustrated. View the full article

Zero Motorcycles partnered with Sirris Suspension to build out new aftermarket upgrades for the brand's new all-electric XE and XB dirt bikes. And they add a ton of functional capability.View the full article

REV’IT!’s new Spina back protector focuses on temperature stability, ventilation, and real-world rider comfort.View the full article

Goodguys Nashville has always been a good show, but this year was really something special because of the brand new venue! And with the Hot Rod of the Year finalists being announced there you know that all the heavy hitters were going to be on site. Nashvegas is a special place, and we sure do love the show. This year we weren’t there, but our friend John Jackson from Not Stock photo was and he’s got great video touring the show and showing of the Hot Rod of the Year finalists and winners! Check it out below and let us know what you think. Video Description: The Dawn of a New Era: Goodguys Takes Over Downtown Nashville Following a wild Thursday out on the backroads for the Tanks, Inc. Reliability Run, the inaugural Goodguys Legends of Hot Rodding event moved into its brand-new home: the historic Fairgrounds Nashville. For the first time ever, Goodguys brought this exclusive, pre-1965 masterpiece of a show right into the heart of Music City, and the atmosphere was nothing short of electric. In this deep-dive coverage, we are taking you past the gates and directly onto the show floor. We go inside the spectacular indoor car show, walk the outdoor ranks to check out several incredible custom cars making their worldwide debut, and soak in the live soundtrack provided by Nashville’s finest local artists on the soundstage. The Quest for the Crown: The heart of this weekend was the prestigious 2026 Tanks, Inc. Hot Rod of the Year competition. We went behind the scenes with exclusive photoshoots and close-up look-arounds of the Top Five finalists, capturing the immense craftsmanship, traditional styling, and grit required to compete at this level. Watch the drama unfold as the judges make the final call, crowning the ultimate winner: Todd Samson’s breathtaking, supercharged Ardun-powered 1932 Ford Roadster, masterfully built by Dave Gray and the team at Gray’s Garage. From rumbling flatheads and immaculate chrome to the heavy rhythm of Nashville rock n’ roll, the first-ever Legends of Hot Rodding show proved that the roots of car culture are alive, well, and louder than ever. If you love traditional hot rods, custom builds, and pure American horsepower, make sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button, drop a comment with your favorite build from the show, and give this video a thumbs up! The post Goodguys Nashville 2026 Video: Check Out The 2026 Hot Rod of the Year Finalists and Winners, Plus Tour The Show! appeared first on BangShift.com. View the full article

The upcoming Norton Atlas adventure bike gives us a glimpse on how TVS plans to turn Norton into a mainstream global player once again.View the full article

The electric dirt bike industry is blowing up, but this new ride from startup Radian has something others don’t. Fast-swappable batteries.View the full article

A heavily modified 1993 BMW K1100LT is now listed for sale on Bring a Trailer, showcasing a dramatic transformation of BMW’s classic “Flying Brick” sport-touring motorcycle into a modern custom scrambler-style machine. Acquired by the seller in July 2025, the bike was subsequently reworked with extensive cosmetic and mechanical modifications aimed at giving the long-distance touring platform a more stripped-down and aggressive personality. The build includes a welded rear frame hoop, a custom scrambler seat, clip-on handlebars, a digital multifunction […] The post FOR SALE: 1993 BMW K1100LT appeared first on Return of the Cafe Racers. View the full article