As reported on the home page, the 65th annual Good Vibrations March Meet was completed yesterday at Famoso Dragstrip. After two days of on-and-off-and-on rain and cool temperatures, the weather cooperated long enough on Monday to complete eliminations in all classes except Nostalgia Top Fuel. The AA/Fuel Dragster group made the collective decision to postpone eliminations until the Friday of the California Hot Rod Reunion in late October. After a weekend that saw them go from what was supposed to be a guaranteed 16-car field, to an 8-car show, then an 8-car field and a 4-car "consolation" eliminator, the front engine fuel racers decided to go home and reflect on what happened before coming back to Bakersfield eight months from now.

With eliminations completed in Nostalgia Funny Car, and not wanting to wait for NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series points standings to be posted, we've got the Top Ten in the 2023 standings below.

Interestingly, this morning one of the headlines on the NHRA website was the announcement of the Legends Nitro Funny Car series running in conjunction with the Hot Rod Heritage Series this year. Read the full story here. Besides running at the six heritage series races, the Legends will compete in 8-car shows at three NHRA Camping World Series national events. First up is the upcoming Lucas Oil Winternationals, then the Thunder Valley Nationals, and at the 9-race series final event of the year, the Nevada Nationals, where the group debuted last fall.

Checking out the Legends Nitro Funny Cars website indicates that 11 race teams are part of the group, with an invitation for others to join. Seven of the 11 cars listed on the website qualified at Famoso, one, Bill Windham (one of the series founders) failed to make the 16-car field, and three others didn't attend. It will be interesting to see if more racers join the Legends, how many will be attending each event, and just how they progress through the season. One factor in their favour will be coverage on the NHRA broadcasts on Fox Sports.

In Northern Thunder news, we are working on captioning and detailing the photos we've already posted from the March Meet and will have that project finished later this week. Looking ahead, we've applied for media credentials at one of the premier events on the Heritage Series circuit, the 52nd annual Nightfire Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Boise (actually Nampa), Idaho. It's in early August where the weather is expected to be hot... and hotter, but it's been on my personal bucket list for quite a few years, and hopefully will come to fruition in 2023.