MESA, Ariz. The NHRA offseason has produced about as many news items as the regular season usually does. Some of it centers on the merry-go-round of team additions and subtractions, and some of it raises more questions.

One of the latest personnel moves is Funny Car racer Alexis DeJoria joining Joe Maynards JCM team as a teammate to eight-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher and presumably 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström, whenever the popular Swede finds enough funding to return to the dragstrip.

The switch, which few saw coming, ends DeJorias four-year stint with team owner Del Worsham.

But she said, I want to share my appreciation for Del Worsham and all he has done for me and my career. He has been with me since day one. I licensed in his Funny Car way back in 2011. He was my first crew chief at Kalitta Motorsports. Del and I have really been in the trenches as teammates. Hes my mentor, my closest confidante, and really, my brother. We had several candid conversations over these last few months about the future of the team. He expressed wanting to take some time to reevaluate the direction of his career, and I wholeheartedly support that.

She said, Its been many years since I was part of a multi-car operation, and Im excited for that opportunity. From my very first conversation with Joe about us potentially teaming up, I knew this was going to be a good fit. His enthusiasm for the sport is incredible, and the impact he has made on this industry in just a few years time is undeniable. I have unfinished business on the track, and I have no doubt our Bandero team will be dialed in and ready to perform when we get to Gainesville for the Gatornationals season opener in two months.

Its clear to me that Alexis is a racer through and through, Maynard said of the six-time Funny Car winner. Were both here for the love of the sport, and thats important to me. Shes hungry for race wins and a championship, and wed love nothing more than to give her the tools and support to go out there and become NHRAs first female Funny Car world champion.

Also in the Funny Car class, Blake Alexander has left Jim Head Racing to team with Chad Green, and Jack Beckman is back in the PEAK Chavy Camaro he drove to a second-place finish in the standings as a substitute for the injured John Force earning points for himself this time.

That means, of course, that Force will not be back in the seat in 2025. And Austin Procks multiyear deal with Cornwell Tools signals that Robert Hight, the three-time champion who took medical leave last year, will not return to John Force Racing on the track, either.

But dont be surprised if Hight is slightly more visible in 2025 as he resumes his position as president of the organization.

Multiclass winner Greg Stanfield will join son Aaron Stanfield at Elite Motorsports, returning to the Pro Stock category, as the company expands even further.

In Top Fuel, Josh Hart has added seasoned crew chief Jason McCulloch to his team. That indicates something is shifting in the Torrence/Capco Racing camp. McCulloch was Billy Torrences tuner. And rumors abound that Billy Torrence and/or his four-time champion son Steve Torrence wont be back this season. No official word has come from the Kilgore, Texas, team yet.

Mike Salinas says hes ready to come back to the Top Fuel class following heart bypass surgery. But he has so many ambitions, so what will he try? He has talked about racing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class and driving a Pro Modified. The NHRA doesnt permit a racer to compete in two pro classes at the same event, so Salinas would have to jettison something. Stay tuned.

And what will happen with Tony Stewart and wife Leah Pruett after this coming Top Fuel season? With newborn son Dominic James arriving on the final day of the 2024 season, Pruett has said shes sitting out the 2025 campaign.

And Stewart said he is just filling in until Pruett comes back to the cockpit. He also said he has no pre-determined plan for the course of his career, so who knows how the spirit will move him?

Another question that comes to mind is How much money did gambling on NHRA drag races fetch in 2024? No one seems to have any dollar figures on the handle. Shouldnt that be transparent?

And to the NHRAs credit, it has tried to inject some excitement into its schedule but are its new initiatives the kind of gimmicks the sport needs? In what appears to be a keeping-up-with-the-Penskes-and-NASCAR move, following The Clash in stock cars and The Thermal in the IndyCar Series, the premier drag-racing sanctioning body has come up with the Peach State Showdown of Speed and a four-wide race at Charlotte during the Countdown.

Neither seems to be timed right. The Peach State exhibition, at Valdosta, Ga., will come toward the end of the Countdown, which makes no sense and makes for some curious logistics (bringing action east when the series is heading west to wrap up its championship chase). Drivers, for the most part, dislike four-wide racing.

They publicly say they admire and respect the Bruton Smith familys passion for the sport, but theyre glad to be back in tradition two-wide format afterward. They already have two four-wide events early in the season (at Las Vegas and at the first of two visits to Charlotte). The NHRA already has the gimmick of points and a half payout at Indianapolis just before the Countdown starts and again at the finale at Pomona, Calif., why throw another monkey wrench in the works? Fans have overwhelmingly expressed displeasure with the idea. The NHRA needs to listen to them.

And finally, Toyota is giving drag racing one more year, so what OEM will step up to fill that void starting in 2026?

The season will open with questions, and the answers should start coming by the schedule-opening Gatornationals in March at Gainesville, Fla.