This week, six-time NHRA Mello Yello Series Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson experienced two firsts. On the one hand, he made his Nitro Notes debut, which went great. On the other, he raced his protégé, four-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson during a special match race at the US Nationals Saturday. That did not go as well, so we'll focus on his appearance on my show.

It's best to start from the beginning when it comes to this story of resurgence into the sport of drag racing fueled by the help of his fellow racers for Division 6 racer Nicholas Shepherd.

Although the Sunday death of Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen at age 81 reverberated throughout the sport of drag racing, it hit few harder than it did John Force, the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion. Force spoke at length with his PR representatives Elon Werner and Dave Densmore to collect his thoughts and feelings about McEwen. This is what he wanted us to share with the NHRA community.

The first day of work in 2015 for many might have been the beginning of the end for employees of Alan Johnson Racing. It was announced Monday that the Qatar Racing Club would no longer fund the two-car NHRA Mello Yello Series Top Fuel team or any racing in North America for that matter.

The 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Series Funny Car field gave drag racing fans the old bait and switch. For most of the season, the odds-on favorite was 2011 class champion Matt Hagan. The Don Schumacher Racing driver was hot, earning five top qualifier awards and five victories, including the season-ending event at Pomona.

Over the course of Mello Yello's first year of title sponsorship of NHRA's Pro classes, drag racing fans saw dominance, resurgence, and what we are led to believe were the final runs of some fan favorites. 

I made my first trip to Sonoma Raceway last weekend for the NHRA Mello Yello Series event there. Let me get this out of the way early—easily one of the most beautiful facilities I've ever been to. There aren't many race tracks in America that can rival a Bruton Smith track and when you add in the amazing weather of NAPA wine country, you have a writer struggling to find a reason to leave.

Wednesday night in Los Angeles, ESPN, the self-proclaimed World Wide Leader in Sports, hosted its annual ESPY Awards. The event, the sporting world's equivalent to the Academy Awards, recognizes the best of the best in the world of sports and remembers some of the truly awe-inspiring moments of the year in athletic competition.