Watching Matt Hartford in action again in Pro Stock, I'm struck by how many former NHRA sport compact racers are still racing with us two years after their series was discontinued. NHRA held sport compact races from 2001 through 2007, and even allowed the top two classes – Pro RWD and Pro FWD – to compete at the U.S. Nationals from 2005 through 2007.

Hartford, who won the NHRA Modified-class sport compact championship in 2002 and was second in Pro RWD in 2005 is joined in competition at this year's Big Go by Justin Humphreys,  Brad Personett, and Grant Downing.

Everyone knows Pro Stock star Humphreys, who also is a former Modified champ with a turbocharged Lexus. Brad Personett, who won the Pro RWD championship in the series' final three years and won more than a dozen events (won here in 2005 and 2006 with the turbocharged Titan Motorsports Toyota), is competing in the Get Screened America Pro Mod exhibition series (still with turbo power!).

Grant Downing, who won the Pro class championship in 2002 and racked up two event wins with a Toyota truck as part of the powerful Venom team, is compeing here as a privateer in Funny Car and is a successful chassis builder.

Matt Scranton, who went undefeated in winning the 2002 Pro V-8 class with his Toyota Celica, recently campaigned in Pro Stock and was a semifinalist in Gainesville in his debut but since has parked his team.

Bruno Massel, who covered the series as a color commentator, is on a hot streak this season with his turbocharged Cobalt in Comp, notching several big wins this year.

Lisa Kubo, a star in both the Hot Rod and Pro FWD classes (teamed, in the latter, with former NHRA Funny Car star Jim Epler, who was team manager) has been a constant site in the nitro pits and has fuel Funny Car aspirations, while former All Motor racer Scott Kelley has run in Comp in the past and will run in Super Stock next year with a Scion xB in the SS/EX class.

A couple of former sport compact stars, world champs Ed and Ron Bergenholtz and Gary Gardella are now car owners in the Formula Drift world (for Justin Pawluk and Ryan Tuerck, respectively), where Steph Papadakis and Shawn Hillier also lend their mechanical talents.