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Keeping NHRA Fans Up to Date

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John Force talks Houston memories and his Funny Car future

John Force joines NHRA's Brian Lohnes via Skype to discuss the upcoming NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park, an event that he's won six times in his career.
18 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
John Force
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Mid-America Dragway again hosts NHRA Youth and Education Services event

For the second straight year, Division 5 NHRA member track Mid-America Dragway in Kansas hosted an NHRA Youth and Education Services (YES) event for local students.
16 Apr 2022
YES program
For the second straight year, Division 5 NHRA member track Mid-America Dragway in Kansas hosted an NHRA Youth and Education Services (YES) event for local students. Last year, the track, located six miles west of Arkansas City, made history by being…
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How Erica Enders leveraged tenacity to become a Pro Stock champion

She wasn't always good, and she readily admits it. Today, however, Erica Enders is one of the best drivers in Pro Stock, in part thanks to her father's "never quit" direction.
15 Apr 2022
Kelly Wade
Feature
Erica Enders
She wasn't always good, and she readily admits it. Today, however, Erica Enders is one of the best drivers in one of the most competitive and difficult classes to master: NHRA Pro Stock. Her tremendous success was a slow-moving story, but Enders…
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Garlits makes Top Dragster license runs ahead of electric dragster barrier attempt

Drag racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, who in January celebrated his 90th birthday, completed Top Dragster licensing runs at Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School at Rockingham Dragway in preparation for a return to the cockpit of his electric-powered dragster.
15 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Don Garlits
Drag racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, who in January celebrated his 90th birthday, completed Top Dragster licensing runs at Roy Hill’s Drag Racing School at Rockingham Dragway. Garlits made a best pass of 6.393 seconds at a speed of 182…
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30 years ago: The 1992 NHRA season was a year full of historic firsts

The 1992 season as a whole was filled with big news, history-making moments, and craziness, so we thought we'd take a 30-year hop back in time to remember that amazing season.
15 Apr 2022
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
1992 NHRA season
For the last week or so, we’ve been saluting the history of Houston Raceway Park on NHRA.com, having created a list of 10 memorable moments from the past 33 years, some of which read like mini Dragster Insider columns. On Tuesday, I wrote about…
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Podcast: Yates and West: Pro Stock, nitro veterans talk shop and teaching

14 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
NHRA Insider podcast
Insider podcast
  Jim Yates and Johnny West join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The two highly decorated veteran racers have turned their considerable experience into the kind of working knowledge teams desperately need…
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The Sports Report: Sitting Priddy

After years as a successful crew chief, Ryan Priddy is finally getting his shot at the big time in Comp eliminator, and so far, he’s making the most of it.
14 Apr 2022
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
Ryan Priddy
To suggest that Ryan Priddy’s Comp victory at the recent NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas was a long time coming would be a big understatement. Priddy is best known for his role as a longtime crewmember for the SoCal-based Mountain View team,…
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Four-Wide Nationals coverage, Sportsman racing features pack new National Dragster

The new issue of NHRA National Dragster magazine, spotlighting coverage from the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals and packed with other features on NHRA Sportsman racers, is available online and in the mail to NHRA Members around the world.
14 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
National Dragster
Read the digital issue The new issue of NHRA National Dragster magazine, spotlighting coverage…
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Points scoring changes announced for NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series

NHRA has made some adjustments to how drivers in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series can earn points towards a world championship.
14 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series
Drivers competing in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will earn championship points at each of the 10 NHRA national events at which they compete. The points will be accumulated throughout the year, and an annual champion will be crowned in the…
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Houston Memories: John Force collects 100th career Funny Car victory (2002)

From his first win in the summer of 1987 in Montreal, it only took John Force 15 years to amass 100 victories, and the milestone win came at Houston Raceway Park in 2002 after he defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final.
14 Apr 2022
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
Great moments in Houston history
 John Force
When John Force started running Funny Cars in the early 1970s, there were a lot of people — including probably himself — who thought he’d be lucky to get one national event win. They were right, as it took him 10 years of national event competition…
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Is Mason McGaha on the verge of his first Pro Stock win? He certainly thinks so

Now in his third year of Pro Stock competition, Mason McGaha has become arguably one of the class' best starting line drivers. Here, he talks with NHRA's Brian Lohnes about what it takes to be successful in the factory Hot Rod class.
14 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Mason McGaha
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Houston Memories: Doubling down in Houston town (1997-2000)

From 1997 through 2000, Houston Raceway Park became one of the few tracks to hold two national events per season, hosting both a spring and a fall event. John Force was the only one to win both events in the same year, winning in Funny Car at the 1999 events.
13 Apr 2022
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
Great moments in Houston history
John Force
From 1997 through 2000, Houston Raceway Park became one of the few tracks to hold two national events per season, hosting both a spring and a fall event. John Force was the only one to win both events in the same year, winning in Funny Car at the…
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Former champ LE Tonglet returns to Pro Stock Motorcycle class

After a three-year hiatus, LE Tonglet will return to the Pro Stock Motorcycle class at the upcoming NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park.
13 Apr 2022
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
News
LE Tonglet
After a three-year hiatus, LE Tonglet will return to the Pro Stock Motorcycle class at the upcoming NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Tonglet, the 2010 world champ and NHRA Rookie of the Year, will be riding his family-owned Suzuki, a…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Top Sportsman winner Ed Olpin

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
Ed Olpin won for the second time this season when he defeated Mike Ferderer in the final of Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers. Olpin, the current championship leader in the class, won with a 7.094 on his 7.07 dial after Ferderer…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Super Gas winner Damon Bustamante

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
  Damon Bustamante corralled his first career national event win, driving his ’57 Corvette roadster to victory over Edwin Olpin. Bustamante controlled the race from the onset with a near-perfect .001 reaction time then eased to a 10.074…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Super Comp winner Allison McKoane

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
Allison McKoane was a deadly .005 on the Tree in the final round with the Clawson Motorsports dragster then eked out the win by .007-second ahead of defending event champ Michael Miller for her first national event triumph. Miller, a five-time…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Stock winner Ryan McClanahan

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
A few weeks after winning the Super Stock title in Pomona, Ryan McClanahan connected again in Las Vegas with a win in Stock. McClanahan survived a tough double-breakout final against Doug Lambeck, who was also in the Comp eliminator final.…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Super Stock winner Justin Lamb

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
Justin Lamb won for the ninth time at his home track in Las Vegas when he drove past Tony Hewes’ vintage ’69 Mustang in the Super Stock final. Lamb’s Silver State Plumbing Cobalt has won 13 straight rounds since it came out of “retirement.”…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Comp winner Ryan Priddy

13 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Ryan Priddy scored his first career national event win and added another trophy to the mantle of his car’s owners, the Mitsos family, when he roared from behind to defeat Doug Lambeck in the final round. Priddy, a two-time Top Sportsman runner-up…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Top Alcohol Funny Car winner Doug Gordon

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
2020 world champ Doug Gordon put the back-to-back defending event champion Beta Motorcycles Camaro back into the winner’s circle for the third straight year with his 18th career win, finishing ahead of 2017 world champ Shane Westerfield and…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Top Alcohol Dragster winner Joey Severance

13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
After a three-season absence from the winner’s circle, four-time NHRA world champ Joey Severance collected milestone win No. 25 at the same event that he won his first way back in 2007. Severance was a clutch .017 on the Tree and raced to a 5.…
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NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Sportsman video highlights

Past NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series world champions Joey Severance in Top Alcohol Dragster and Doug Gordon in Top Alcohol Funny Car led the list of winners at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
13 Apr 2022
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Sportsman video highlights
Past NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series world champions Joey Severance in Top Alcohol Dragster and Doug Gordon in Top Alcohol Funny Car led the list of winners at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After a three…
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 4/13: It’s 413 day—Celebrating the Max Wedge and the engine that won the ’62 Winternationals

The 413-cid Dodge and Plymouth raised-block (RB) engines were used in everything from 2bbl dump trucks to the dual-quad Maximum Performance Wedge "Max Wedge" race cars.
13 Apr 2022
David Kennedy
Feature
Max Wedge and the engine that won the ’62 Winternationals
The first public testing of the 413 Max Wedge was a match race at Detroit Dragway between the Ramchargers Dodge Dart sedan and the 409-cid Chevy of 1962 NHRA Winternationals champ, Don Nicholson. The best-out-of-five race did not end in Dodge's…
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Houston memories: An NHRA female first and and some really fast fuelers (1992)

More history was made at Houston Raceway Park at the 1992 Slick 50 NHRA Nationals, where, for the first time in NHRA history, women qualified in all three Pro classes and the then-fastest speed in NHRA history was recorded by Mike Dunn as were the national e.t. records in Top Fuel and Funny Car.
12 Apr 2022
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
Great moments in Houston history
Mike Dunn
More history was made at Houston Raceway Park at the 1992 Slick 50 NHRA Nationals, where, for the first time in NHRA history, women qualified in all three Pro classes and the then-fastest speed in NHRA history was recorded by Mike Dunn. Kim…
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Chassis builder Mike Mullaney determined to make his mark in Pro Stock Motorcycle

Veteran crewmember Mike Mullaney has launched his own business, Mullaney Cycle Works, and his ambitious project list includes a lighter and more efficient chassis for Ryan Oehler.
12 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Mike Mullaney
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The secret to Funny Car champ Ron Capps' Las Vegas success

Reigning Camping World NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps had wa little help from an unlikely source during his most recent win at the NHRA Four Wide Nationals in Las Vegas.
12 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Ron Capps
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Nitro Time Machine: Pedregon vs. Pedregon at 1997 Houston race

At the 1997 Springnationals at Houston Raceway Park, brothers Cruz and Tony Pedregon hooked up to provide a memorable Funny Car final.
12 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Nitro Time Machine
Nitro Time Machine
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Houston memories: The Great Freeze (1989)

The upcoming NHRA SpringNationals is scheduled to be the final NHRA national event at Houston Raceway Park. As a salute, we're taking a look at some top moments in track history. Today: Remembering the 1989 event, which was postponed by sub-freezing temperatures.
11 Apr 2022
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
Great moments in Houston history
Houston memories: The Great Freeze
For the first time in NHRA history, an NHRA national event was postponed due to cold weather after a northern cold front swept across the Baytown area late Saturday of the 1989 event, when Sunday dawned at just 32 degrees and a bracing wind lowered…
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Longtime NHRA announcer and Sportsman racer Bob Unkefer passes away

Longtime NHRA Division 4 announcer and Sportsman racer Bob Unkefer passed away on April 11. He was 68.
11 Apr 2022
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Bob Unkefer
Longtime NHRA Division 4 announcer and Sportsman racer Bob Unkefer passed away on April 11. He was 68. Unkefer, who grew up in Liberty, Mo., began attending events at Kansas City International Raceway, where he first began racing and announcing.…
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Funny Car fan favorite Tim Wilkerson doesn't mind having a full plate

Funny Car veteran Tim Wilkerson isn't afraid of a little hard work. In fact, hard work is what the man is made of.
11 Apr 2022
Kelly Wade
Feature
Tim Wilkerson
Funny Car fan favorite Tim Wilkerson isn't afraid of a little hard work. In fact, hard work is what the man is made of. He's not just the driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang nitro Funny Car; he's also the team owner and tuner. But one…
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