Everyone in sight of Cory Reed’s accident in Pro Stock Motorcycle held their breathe Sunday afternoon, as one of the scariest moments of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season unfolded after he and his teammate crossed paths. As the pair crossed the finish line in the quarterfinal round of the DeWalt Tool NHRA Carolina Nationals, Reed’s bike began to pull toward Joey Gladstone in the right-hand lane. Once the bikes touched at high speed, Reed was promptly launched airborne and tumbled wildly with his Reed Motorsports Suzuki Hayabusa at the zMax Dragway in Concord, NC. Gladstone, who himself had been hospitalized earlier this season with multiple injuries, hurried to Reed’s side. Conscious and alert, Reed insisted his friend stay at the track and finish...

During the regular season for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, racers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle earn points to secure a position within the Countdown to the Championship. The most direct way into the Countdown is to earn enough points during the regular season to secure a spot within the top 10 in points at the conclusion of the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis before the Countdown to the Championship begins. In the nitro classes for Top Fuel and Funny Car, teams that compete in all 16 NHRA Camping World Championship events starting at the Gatornationals and concluding at the Big Go must have a minimum of two qualifying sessions at each event (with some NHRA exceptions) to earn a spot in the runoffs. The Top Fuel and Funny Car competitors...

After battling it out at NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events during the regular season, racers in the Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes earn valuable points that go toward earning a position for the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. To qualify for the Championship run in Pro Stock (four-wheel vehicles), racers must compete at all twelve events starting at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals and concluding with the Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis with a minimum of two qualifying sessions at each NHRA event. To qualify for the Championship run in Pro Stock Motorcycle (two-wheel vehicles), riders must compete at all eleven scheduled events starting at Gainesville and concluding at Indianapolis with The Big Go. Drivers and riders who secure a...

The National Hot Rod Association hosted the first NHRA Nationals in the mid-50s, but the legacy of U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis did not start until 1961. That is when NHRA founder Wally Parks brokered a deal with the existing track owners to give the event a permanent home. Traditionally raced on Labor Day, the final rounds were moved to Sunday in 2020 to comply with local and state restrictions for COVID-19. Sixteen years ago, the U.S. Nationals (known as The Big Go) earned the distinction of being the longest-running Labor Day motorsports event in history. In 1979, the NHRA purchased the track and a decade ago Lucas Oil purchased naming rights. Over the weekend, joyful race fans filled the stands at Lucas Oil Raceway to witness one of the most prestigious drag racing events in the...

Racing traditions run deep in Indianapolis. For fans of the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod drag racing series, Labor Day weekends are historically spent at Lucas Oil Raceway outside Indianapolis. Commonly known as The Big Go, the NHRA-sanctioned events at the U.S. Nationals are considered to be the most prestigious weekend for drag racing in the world. In part, due to the event’s NHRA record as the longest-running Labor Day motorsports event in the United States. The Big Go got its permanent home at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1961 after a deal was made between NHRA founder and Board Chairman Wallace Gordon Parks and the existing track owners. As one of the most influential people in establishing the National Hot Rod Association amateur and professional divisions, Parks is the...

The Big Go and Lucas Oil Raceway are well known on the National Hot Rod Association’s calendar of tour events as producing the biggest the field and some of the most exciting racing year after year. As the final race in which drivers could qualify for the Countdown to the Championship, the 68th annual Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals is always a special event for drivers, teams, sponsors, and race fans. Although the pro nitro and pro stock classes receive a lot of media attentions, The Big Go features a variety of the Cars of Drag Racing, including the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod division. With vehicles ranging from ’63 Corvettes to late-model Dodge Vipers, few classes offer as much doorslammer diversity and engine choices with competitors using superchargers, turbochargers, or...

On Friday, things were looking up for Tommy Johnson Jr, the semi-retired Funny Car driver, who had finished second in the 2020 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series but was released by Don Schumacher Racing at the end of season. The former driver of the Make-A-Wish funny car that carried The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center sponsorship was sitting at home about 15 minutes from Lucas Oil Raceway when he got a call from his former team. As the DSR team was preparing to take to the staging lanes for Friday qualifying at the Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals, it was announced that defending Funny Car World Champion Matt Hagan had tested positive for COVID-19 and would not be competing at The Big Go. Having won the U.S. Nationals in 2016, Hagan’s quest to maintain his...

The best of the best in the National Hot Rod Association’s nitro classes arrived at the twelfth stop of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series in Brainerd, MN, with one thing in mind; claim as many points as possible before the Countdown to the Championship begins. The 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway is the penultimate race of the regular season, and a solid performance is crucial for drivers and teams trying to win a world championship. In addition, it was the first Brainerd appearance for the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service and the 800+ cubic inch Mountain Motor Pro Stock class. Best of all, after the Brainerd event was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, racing fans were...

After missing the 2020 season due to COVID-19 restrictions, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returned to Brainerd International Raceway over the weekend. However, the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals looked different than it did in 2019, when Minnesota native Jason Line won a Pro Stock Wally. This season, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle are part of the National Hot Rod Association’s rotational classes with an alternating schedule designed to expose racing fans around the country to new events. Both of the Pro Stock classes were cut to seventeen events from twenty-four races to relieve some of the time commitments and financial burden on racing teams in those classes. In 2021, the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series as well as the Mountain Motor Pro Stock divisions were...

History was made Sunday, when the Godfather of Funny Car shared the podium with his daughter at the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, KS. Although John and Brittany Force had shared Number One qualifying positions at past events, Topeka was the first time in history a father and child posted wins the same NHRA Nationals event. To no one’s surprise, John Force knows all about breaking records and, as one of the most dominant drag racers in the world, he reached his 260th final round at the House of Speed. “We doubled up, we doubled up,” shouted an exuberant John Force as he watched live on a runoff area monitor as Brittany claimmed victory in Top Fuel. It was daughter Brittany’s first Wally of the 2021 season. As the...