Editors Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.

15 Years Ago 2010

News: Racers using Impact Racing safety equipment may need to make significant changes within the next month.

The SFI Foundation, Inc., which certifies safety equipment for auto racing and other applications, has issued a Notice of Decertification and an order of Cease and Desist, which terminates all contracts of participation to Impact Racing.

The order goes into effect April 27 and pertains to all products manufactured and/or distributed by Impact Racing in relation to SF! Specification Programs 3.2A (racing frresuits), 3.3 (driver accessories), 16.1 (driver restraint assemblies) and 16.5 (stock-car driver restraint assemblies).

According to a statement by the SF! Foundation on its Website, SF! has evidence that over a period of years Impact Racing has engaged it} production and use of counterfeit SFI conformance labels and patches and affixed them to Impact products that bad not been properly certified by SFI.

According to the statement, Impact Racing never advised its customers that its products contained phony SF! labels and patches.

As well, SFI has directed Impact to immediately notify all affected customers to remove the counterfeit labeling and to offer the affected customers a full refund of the purchase price. SFI is requesting that all counterfeit conformance labels removed from Impact products be sent to SFI.

SFI will terminate all contracts of participation with Impact Racing after 90 days from March 24. As a result, Impact will not be able to participate in any SFI Programs after 90 days. No helmets are among the products involved.

Winners: John Force continued his resurgence and made history Monday by racing to victory at the rain-delayed inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

It was the second triumph of the season for the 60-year-old Funny Car icon, who increased his series point lead to 89 over his rivals.

Force, a 14-time world champion who suffered career-threatening injuries in a spectacular crash in September 2007 in Ennis, Texas, and endured one of the worst competitive seasons of his storied career in 2000, has returned to his familiar position as a championship challenger this season.

In the four-wide final, Force powered his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.036-second run at 316.23 miles per hour to finish ahead of his daughter, Ashley Force Hood, longtime rival Ron Capps and second-year driver Matt Hagan. It was Forces 128th career victory and first at zMAX Dragway.

Runner-up Force Hood set a national speed record at 316.38 mph in her Castrol GTX Mustang. As well, her fathers speed was the second best on record since NHRA began racing to 1,000 feet in 2008.

This is a little taste of history, Force said. This was special, like beating the dragsters at Bristol (2000 Winston Showdown). Thanks to (zMAX Dragway owners) Bruton and Marcus Smith. They took the money and spent it to make this happen. The hardest part was racing Ron Capps. He is always tough and (Matt) Hagan, now that he has (co-crew chief) John Medlen there, will put the fear into you. My own daughter also leaves nothing on the table. Im proud of Ashley. Shes learned the game. This track is so good that we took wing off of it. I dont usually run big speed, but it did this weekend.

Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners.

30 Years Ago 1995

News: The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group Monday announced cancellation of the remainder of the 1995 Mickey Thompson Stadium Off-Road Racing Series.

President Danny Thompson cited a dwindling competitor base, lack of sponsorship and environmental hardships which have had a direct effect on the series financial situation.

Our events have endured a major earthquake in 94, record rainstorms in 93 and 95, and the L.A. riots in 92-all of which took their toll on the series, stated Thompson.

Thompson also acknowledges the level of competition at the shows has decreased due in large part to the departure of the Grand National Sport Trucks, the series marquee class.

We must step back and re-evaluate every aspect of the series, said Thompson, son of the late series founder Mickey Thompson. There is a major deficit in entries and sponsorship sales. We need to revamp the system and inject some excitement back into the program.

MTEG will continue to produce its U.S. Supercross events and pursue its Spec Truck program. No timetable has been set for the return of stadium off-road racing.

Winners: Robby Gordon, considered the next great American driver, used a heavy accelerator foot, a cool head, and a little bit of luck to score his first career Indy car victory by taking the checkered flag in Sundays Slick 50 200 at Phoenix Intl Raceway.

Gordon took the lead when race leader Emerson Fittipaldi had to pit for fuel on the !95th lap. That allowed Gordon to assume the lead after he passed Michael Andretti.

Five laps later, Gordon took his first career victory by finishing 0.788 seconds ahead of Michael Andretti. Fittipaldi was able to get back on the lead lap and finished third followed by Canadians Paul Tracy and Jacques Villeneuve.

Gordon proved that he can learn from a mistake. That experience has paid off in his first career victory in the PPG Indy Car World Series.

Gordon used a fuel strategy that helped him stay on the race track while Fittipaldi, the leader of the race with six laps remaining, was forced to make a fuel stop. Almost simultaneously, Gordon passed Andretti, which gave him the lead. Six laps later, Gordon drove to his first IndyCar victory.

He and his Valvoline/Cummins-backed Derrick Walker Racing Team accomplished all that without benefit of radios, which conked out at the start of the 200-miler.

In last years race, Gordon was in first place when he gambled on fuel strategy and lost He ran out of fuel while leading, 46 laps from the finish.

Fittipaldi went on to win.

Ironically, it was Fittipaldi who was knocked back to second because of the ill-timed pit stop.

Last year, we were in the same situation, Gordon said. Emmo (Fittipaldl), AI (Unser, Jr.) and I were on the lead lap. We gambled to catch a caution and ran out of fuel. This year, we leaned the fuel way back to save If for the last lap. We were running our fuel at 92 percent, and fell way back behind the leader, but it was enough to stay on the track when Emmo had to pit.

60 Years Ago 1965

News: Junior Johnson, 34-year-old veteran stock car racing driver, announced last week he may quit racing after the 1965 season.

The Ronda, N. C., driver, a veteran of 15 years of racing, told of his tentative decision as rain drizzled down on qualifying runs at the Atlanta International Raceway here. Johnson qualified his 1965 Ford for ninth starting in the race which was rained out Sunday and postponed one week.

Ive been in auto racing so long that Ive about lost interest in the driving part of it, Johnson said. Id like to quit and this may be my last year.

Johnson said he is getting too old to take the chances he used to take. l dont feel that I can go as hard today as I could a year ago, or a year before that, he said. I dont want to get completely out of racing.

Racings been my life. I just want to be around race cars, Maybe be a pit chief for another car, I just want to get out of the racing end of it, he opined. I hope to be in a position to do what I want to do by the end of the year, he concluded.

Johnson, who is a chicken former and raises prize bulls when he isnt racing, began his track career in 1950 and has won major races including the Daytona 500. Last month he was featured as The Last American Hero, in an Esquire magazine article.

Winners: Ernie Derr, five-time IMCA late model stock car champion, took the lead on the 96th lap at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds speedway and won the 200-lap IMCA Pelican 200 stock car classic driving a 1965 Dodge, powered by the controversial Heml engine.

Lenny Funk, a Kansas wheat farmer, finished second, three laps behind Derr. He drove a 64 Ford. Ramo Stott, driving a 1965 Plymouth, set the 8,655 fans buzzing when he got the annual race to a flying start. He seized the lead from Funk on the 13th circuit and set a blistering pace on the half-mile dirt ovaL He set new IMCA world records at the 25 and 50-lap marks, but didnt stay around long as Funk and Derr kept the pressure on.

On Stotts 96th lap, he took to the infield with a burned out rear end. His pit crew went to work, and had him back in action 33 laps later. Five laps later he lost a right-front wheel and finally placed 14th. 

When Stott faltered, Derr and Don White, driving a 65 Ford, set the pace.

Funk, who had survived a brush with the wall which tore his right-rear tire, moved back into third after a quick pit stop. That dropped him out of the top five.

At 125 laps, Derrs Dodge was three laps ahead of Whites Ford, with Funk two laps behind White. On the 145th lap, Whites 1965 Ford lost a left-front tire, and he was forced to pit, moving Funk into second. Ron Hutcherson, Blaine Morrow and Bill Gibson trailed Funk in that order.

Derr took starter Bernie Carlsons checkered flag better than three laps ahead of second-place Funk and earned $600 for his effort.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. Colton Hertas No. 26 Honda at Andretti Global has been penalized by IndyCar for a violation discovered in post-race technical inspection after The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix on March 23.

The No. 26 entry has been fined $25,000 and will forfeit 10 championship entrant points and all prize money associated with the race at The Thermal Club.

IndyCar issued the penalty at 12 p.m ET on Wednesday.

Andretti Global was in violation of:

Rule 14.1.4. Approved Suppliers must submit bulletins to INDYCAR for approval prior to releasing bulletins to Entries. Once Submitted bulletins are approved by INDYCAR, Members are subject to enforcement by INDYCAR.

During post-race technical inspection Sunday, IndyCar discovered the team incorrectly attached the anti-intrusion plates on the aft leg of the front lower wishbones by using only one plate per side of the chassis instead of the two per side (a total of four), which were mandated in a Dallara bulletin released Feb. 14, 2025.

The safety-inspired anti-intrusion plates were introduced to the IndyCar chassis following the 2015 practice incident involving driver James Hinchcliffe at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

According to the rulebook, the violation is considered a Non-Race Procedure Penalty (9.2.3.), which includes the issuance of a monetary fine (9.2.3.2.) and the forfeiture of points and awards (9.2.3.5.).

Members may contest the imposition of the penalties detailed in the review and appeal procedures of the NTT IndyCar Series rulebook.

CONCORD, N.C. Tim McCreadie is back where it all started for him in dirt late model racing.

The Watertown, N.Y. driver came into the year looking for something new, and as it turns out, whats old is new again. For the first time in a decade, the 2006 World of Outlaws Late Models champion is a full-time member of The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet.

Its exciting, its always nice to shake things up, McCreadie said. Sometimes youve got to look at doing different things and see if you can jumpstart some success. I just looked around at what Ive been doing and thought this seemed interesting. Kind of had our minds made up well before we decided to do it that we were looking to do something different, and here we are.

However, McCreadies schedule is far from the only thing thats changed in the past 12 months. Following the sudden departure of Hudson ONeal from Rocket1 Racing last spring, McCreadie vacated his longtime seat at Paylor Motorsports to run the remainder of the 2024 season with the Mark Richards-led operation.

But with Brandon Sheppard reuniting with Rocket1 after two seasons away, McCreadie went searching for a new home in the Late Model pits. That search led him to Boom Briggs.

Weve known each other a while, McCreadie said. Hes raced; Ive raced for many years. It just kind of worked out. He was looking at maybe scaling back a little and they still wanted to do some racing. It just worked out that I was available, and we decided to give it a try.

McCreadie acknowledged that Briggs experience behind the wheel is one of the main perks of having him as a car owner. The Pennsylvanian spent seven seasons on the road as a full-time World of Outlaws driver, achieving a career-best of second three times. Briggs still plans on strapping on a helmet on a part-time basis in 2025, ensuring he stays up to date on the nuances of a modern-day Late Model and can prepare the best machine possible for McCreadie.

Hes unique, he can still do it and drive, McCreadie said. When I worked with Vic Coffey, it was the same way. Vic could drive and could have all kinds of good feedback, and thats kind of what it is. Hes not afraid to do the work, so its exciting.

Of course, theres one change for 2025 thats visible as soon as cars roll onto the track each night for Hot Laps. McCreadie has brought back the No. 9 as a tribute to his father, Big Block Modified legend Barefoot Bob McCreadie.

Its been cool, McCreadie said. It warms your heart that people remember what my dad did and remember how fast he was, just all about it. I grew up watching this car my whole life, so it was kind of neat that we were able to do it. Weve just got to start putting it up further where it belongs instead of where were at.

The start of the 2025 campaign has been far from what McCreadie and Briggs were hoping for, but theres reason for optimism. McCreadie spent the vast majority of Saturdays Feature at Swainsboro Raceway in the top 10 before coming home in seventh his best run since DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals in January. The next stop on the schedule is Atomic Speedway next weekend, where hes won twice in 2006 and 2019.

With the Briggs Transport team showing signs of life going into the meat of the World of Outlaws season, McCreadie believes he is getting closer to the ultimate goal of doing what his dad did so many times put the No. 9 in Victory Lane.

Ive been all over, many different places and the goal is always to be up front and to do as good as you can, McCreadie said. Sometimes it doesnt seem to work out when you want it to, and then the goal is to work harder to get on top of that. So, the goals never changed. We didnt come over to the World of Outlaws to not try to fight for championships. We put ourselves in a hole, but its up to us to dig out.

McCreadie and the rest of the World of Outlaws Late Models will head to Atomic Speedway for the Fireball 50 on Friday and Saturday, April 4-5.

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. The team of Beard Motorsports, partner Fortify Building Solutions and driver Anthony Alfredo will make their collective return to the race track when the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway oval on April 27 for the Jack Links 500.

It will mark the 31st appearance for the team, which made its Cup Series debut in 2017 under the leadership of the late Mark Beard Sr., and continues under the ownership of Linda Beard, with her children Amie Beard-Deja and Mark Beard Jr. overseeing daily operations.

Beard Motorsports kicked off its ninth season of participation in select Cup Series events last month at Daytona (Fla.) Intl Speedway, where Alfredo and the No. 62 Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet fell just short of the teams seventh Daytona 500 appearance as the second-highest finisher among the open teams in the second Duel at the Daytona qualifying race.

We share a heightened commitment with the Beard family to community, perseverance and, well, speed, said Heather Hollis, vice president of marketing at Cornerstone Building Brands. Showcasing Hypersteel cold-formed buildings on the No. 62 Fortify Building Solutions Chevrolet helps us share an exciting story about how customers can get a new customized metal building faster and easier.

Our partnership with Anthony Alfredo underscores our dedication to speed and endurance.

Alfredo returns to the cockpit for his 42nd career Cup Series outing and fifth tour of duty for Beard Motorsports. In this race a year ago, the native of Ridgefield, Connecticut who turns 26 on March 31, qualified 24th and rallied for a sixth-place finish, leading four laps along the way. It was the teams best finish in 13 Cup Series starts at Talladega, eclipsing Brendan Gaughans eighth-place finish in the Beard Motorsports Chevrolet in the April 2019 GEICO 500.

Well head to Talladega feeling like there is some unfinished business to take care of in more ways than one, said Beard-Deja, executive vice president of Beard Motorsports. Despite the incredible preparation that is the hallmark of this team, beginning with our crew chief Darren Shaw, things just didnt go our way at Daytona this time, and thats the way it goes in this highly competitive arena, particularly for a small, single-car, open team. Its certainly disappointing, but it only strengthens our resolve as we prepare for Talladega. Anthony and the team did a remarkable job there last spring, and well look to improve on that this time around.

Beard-Deja added, We welcome Anthony back for his fifth race with the team, and we are thrilled to have Fortify Building Solutions and Cornerstone Building Brands back with us for the third time after making their debut on the No. 62 Chevrolet at Talladega last fall. We are pulling out all the stops to deliver a top result.

Alfredos sixth-place finish at Talladega in the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet last spring was not only the teams best at the track, it was his career best in 41 Cup Series starts. He returned with the team to Talladega last October for a 24th-place finish in his fourth career Cup Series start at the track.

His first two, in the April and October 2021 races for Front Row Motorsports, resulted in finishes of 12th and 10th, respectively. Alfredo has seven Talladega starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where hes driving fulltime this season for Youngs Motorsports. Best of those was his third-place finish last April, the day before his sixth-place Cup Series finish in the Beard Motorsports Chevrolet. Alfredos lone NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Talladega resulted in a 15th-place finish in the October 2019 race for David Gilliland Racing.

I echo Amies sentiments when I say we definitely have some unfinished business next month at Talladega, Alfredo said. We went to Daytona feeling very confident after making the 500 on qualifying speed last year. We executed flawlessly during our Duel, had an awesome, green-flag pit stop, but we were outnumbered with the lack of drafting opportunities with other Chevrolets.

I feel thankful to be back at Talladega with the Beard family and Fortify Building Solutions. Im excited to push for a result even better than our sixth-place finish last year, showcasing the Hypersteel product and our shared commitment to being hyper fast.

CHANDLER, Ariz. Top Fuel standout Jasmine Salinas raced to her second consecutive semifinal finish at the NHRA Arizona Nationals last weekend at Firebird Motorsports Park.

Salinas is off to a stout start in her sophomore season of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competition behind the wheel of her Valley Services Scrappers Racing machine.

Salinas experienced a few hiccups in qualifying on Friday, meaning the team would be entering the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge, which takes place during qualifying on Saturday, without a clean pass under their belts.

In a rematch of the semifinals at the NHRA Gatornationals, Salinas faced former Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon in the first round of the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. She was on a solid run but lost a few cylinders before reaching the finish line. While her pass of 3.843 seconds at 314.09 mph was her best pass of the weekend up to that point, it wasnt enough for Langdons 3.806 at 326.32.

The Scrappers Racing team found their groove in the fourth and final qualifying opportunity on Saturday when Salinas rocketed her 12,000-horsepower dragster to the No. 10 position on the ladder with a 3.808 at 309.84.

In eliminations, Salinas faced Top Fuel veteran Clay Millican in the first matchup on Sunday morning. The two left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times, but Salinas outpaced Millican laying down a remarkable lap of 3.779 at 328.70, her best pass of the weekend, to get the round win.

The quarterfinals put Salinas against four-time and reigning world champion Antron Brown, a formidable opponent to say the least. While Brown got the starting line advantage, Salinas chased him down to take the win and advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive time.

Her race day came to an end in the semifinals against Doug Kalitta.

We had another strong showing this weekend in Phoenix and it feels awesome to go back-to-back with another semifinal appearance, said Jasmine. Im excited to also get another shot at Doug Kalitta as we rematch in Pomona during my second Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge! Our team is really coming together and these round wins really help us mentally. I know we still have a marathon ahead of us this season but Im working on myself as a driver.

As car and driver continue to come together, things are going to get real fun.

Currently sitting fourth in points, Salinas will enter this weeks Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in California from a place of strength, already having gone more rounds in the first two events of the season than she did all of 2024. Finishing in the semifinals at the NHRA Arizona Nationals once again qualifies her for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge.

Im hopeful that going rounds will get the attention of new potential sponsor partners so we can continue to gain momentum out here, Salinas said. Its partners like Pleasanton Ready Mix, Adams Pool Solutions, and Valley Services whove helped us get this far.

And were actively seeking more partners at all levels to join us so that we can stay competitive in 2025 and beyond.