Carr and Gonzalez Win at Brainerd NHRA Nationals
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...
Tour de Force Doubles Up at NHRA Menards Nationals
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...
Why NHRA Nationals Raced in the Summer Heat
Drag racing fans have flocked to Pomona, California, since the gates opened at Auto Club Raceway in 1961. Moreover, the NHRA-operated facility has a rich history for drag racers that dates back to 1952. That’s when a young police officer, Sergeant Bud Coons, convinced his Chief and members of the city government that using the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds to give young people a place to race would ultimately save lives. Statistics proved Officer Coons was correct and drag racing in the Redlands had a home. Pomona Raceway was nicknamed “The Fairplex”, and by 1984, the fan-centric track was hosting the opening round of the NHRA National Championship Series known as the Winternationals. In addition, Auto Club Raceway also hosted the last NHRA national of the season....
Pruett and Capps Sweep Nitro Classes at Winternationals
Drag racing fans flocked to Auto Club Raceway in Pomona CA for the 61st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com. The legendary event is traditionally held in February at the historic track, but Auto Club Raceway was still being used as a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site when the NHRA Camping World Series was scheduled to launch. Both the NHRA and track management continued to work closely with state of California health officials to ensure the event would run as part of this season and before the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Although the State of Washington loosened its coronavirus restrictions earlier this year, conducting a large event with race fans in the stands was still up in the air. When organizers decided to cancel the Flav-R-Pack...
Stanfield and Smith Winners at Lucas Oil Winternationals
Drag racing at Pomona began in the 1950s after the local police department worked with city officials to build a drag strip next to the Los Angeles Fair Grounds. The goal was to get young drivers off the streets by providing a safer place for them to race their hot rods. The ingenuous program proved successful and a decade later Auto Club Raceway became a Southern California hotspot. Nestled in the shadow of Mount Baldy and the San Gabriel Mountains, the track was nicknamed “The Fairplex” and has been hosting national events for the National Hot Rod Association for four decades. Last year Pomona hosted the opening round of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series but the final race of the 2020 season was moved to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway due to coronavirus...
Capps & Force Fastest; Hight & Torrence Victorious
In qualifying rounds, Brittany Force and Ron Capps were the number one qualifier in their respective Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions at the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series in Sonoma, CA. Nitro classes were entering the ninth race of season and the second of the famed NHRA three-race Western Swing. Driving the 11,000-horsepower Flav-R-Pac dragster for John Force Racing, Brittany posted an impressive run with a 3.694 ET at 329.42 mph on Friday. She also qualified atop the field at the last event the Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Raceway. Force has been fast all season with four top qualifiers and posted a 3.716 ET at 330.31 mph, which was the fastest run recorded in qualifying at the Sonoma Nationals. Capps’s run of 3.897-seconds at 328.78 mph was his third number...
Stanfield and Stoffer Win Pro Stock Classes at Sonoma
Greg Anderson remained dominant in Pro Stock qualifying, as the veteran driver continues to set a torrid pace in qualifying. Anderson earned his seventh number one qualifier in eight races over the weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Driving the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro, Anderson claimed the top spot in Pro Stock qualifying for the 113th time in his career with a 6.513 ET at 210.44 mph. On Sunday, he will try again to earn his 97th career win, which will tie Warren Johnson for the most in NHRA Pro Stock history. Kyle Koretsky was the second fastest qualifier followed by four-time Pro Stock NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series world champion Erica Enders. Enders joined the Elite Motorsports team in 2014 and has become a class sensation driving the Melling Chevrolet...
Torrence, Hagan and Smith Win at Bandimere
As the NHRA’s Western Swing kicked off at Bandimere Speedway outside Denver, a near-capacity crowd welcomed drivers and teams to this year’s Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals presented by Pennzoil. The annual kick-off for the three-race event for the National Hot Rod Association was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. To no one’s surprise, eager fans not only filled the stands for Sunday’s finals at Thunder on the Mountain, but they were also hooting and hollering both Friday and Saturday night under the lights as race teams staged their cars for qualifying rounds. After missing the nitro classes last year, it didn’t surprise anyone that the local drag race fans stayed late into the evening to watch jet dragsters close the show. Top Fuel...
Quickest Force in Top Fuel History at Mile High
Brittany Force broke the track record at Bandimere Speedway outside Denver, CO over the weekend after the 35-year old posted the quickest ET in Top Fuel history at the legendary track. Force nailed a run with a 3.717-second pass at 326.00 mph to score her third Number One qualifier of the year and her 23rd overall at the Dodge/SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Thunder on the Mountain. Force had just set Low ET at the previous NHRA event with a 3.696-second elapsed time at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, OH. It was the second final round of the 2021 season and 25th of Force’s career at Summit Motorsports Park. Second Woman to Win Top Fuel World Title Born in Yorba Linda, California, Brittany is the daughter of Funny Car legend John Force and the sister of retired...
Gonzalez Wins E3 Pro Mod at Mile High Nationals
The E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service made its first-ever appearance at Thunder on the Mountain outside Denver in the fifth event of its 2021 NHRA season. Year after year, Bandimere Speedway hosts one of the National Hot Rod Association's most thrilling races of that season. With driver’s having to squeeze every ounce of power out of the motors at an elevation that is more than a mile high, the altitude affects everything in a very unique way. Generally speaking, an engine loses three percent (3%) of its rated power for every 1,000 feet of altitude gained, which has crews scrambling to find the right engine tuning and aerodynamics to deliver the most horsepower to the track with over a 15% deficit. Everyone expected the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod...