NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Alex Laughlin, who became Pro Stock’s latest first-time winner last week when he drove his Gas Monkey Camaro to a final round win over Bo Butner in St. Louis, will take on a new challenge when he gets behind the wheel of a 275-mph Top Alcohol Dragster. During Monday testing at Maple Grove Raceway, Laughlin is scheduled to drive Anthony Dicero’s Nitro University A/Fuel dragster. If he can successfully cross-grade his NHRA competition license, Laughlin plans to race Dicero’s car in two weeks at his home event, the AAA Texas NHRA Fallnationals at Texas Motorplex. He will continue to race his Pro Stock car at both events.

Assuming all goes well with his venture into the A/Fuel class, Laughlin also plans a second upgrade to his license later this year when he’s slated to get behind the wheel of Morgan Lucas’ Top Fuel dragster following the Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas in early November.

“I had a discussion with Steve Libby, who manages our merchandise trailer and he talked to Don Corsette [Operations Manager at Lucas Oil Products] and we discussed the possibility of me getting a Top Fuel license and if everything goes well, maybe running the Lucas car a few times next year,” said Laughlin. “Now, that plan is becoming a reality. We decided to do this A/Fuel deal with Anthony Dicero first because it’s so expensive to run a Top Fuel car. Dave [Connolly] is a great driver and it took him close to 20 runs to get his Top Fuel license. I know it's not going to be easy. Along those lines, we thought it would be best to go ahead and drive the A/Fuel car. I know it’s not nearly as intense as Top Fuel but the fundamentals are the same. I’ve got all my safety equipment and everything else lined up to drive the car next Monday. We just need the weather to cooperate.”

Laughlin previously raced a six-second Top Dragster before moving to Pro Stock last season so he doesn’t anticipate having any difficulty adjusting to Dicero’s low 5-second injected nitro dragster. While he’s excited at the prospect of driving both an injected nitro car and a 330-mph Top Fuel dragster, Laughlin was quick to point out that he has no current plans to abandon the Pro Stock class, especially in light of his recent success.

“I love Pro Stock and I still believe this is where my future is,” said Laughlin. “Right now, I’d say there is a 90-percent chance that I’ll still be in Pro Stock next season. That being said, I’m very interested in racing Top Fuel at some point. There are a lot of things that haven’t been decided but next year; it may be a deal where I race Pro Stock at some events and Top Fuel at others. The only downside to that is I couldn’t chase points in either class because they are both so competitive that you really can’t miss races and expect to make the top ten.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m happy with either car,” Laughlin said. “I love racing and I love NHRA and I’ll race whatever I can. In a perfect world though, I’d be able to race Top Fuel and Pro Stock at the same event but that would require a rule change. Maybe that’s something that should be discussed. I know it would be a great marketing strategy for us and for NHRA.”