NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After two years running Top Fuel, Blake Alexander will return to his roots in the Funny Car class when he makes his first qualifying run Friday at the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Arizona Nationals.

After a successful 2018 in which he scored two national event Top Fuel wins –- the first of his career –- Alexander left the Bob Vandergriff Racing operation and purchased the complete, three-second-ready Mustang Funny Car operation from Brian Stewart over the winter and hired Tim Wilkerson’s son, Daniel, to will tune the Pronto Auto Service Center Ford this season.

Alexander’s last Funny Car run in NHRA competition was in Englishtown in 2016, but he expects to be able to pick up right where he left off.

“I’ll probably go to 800 feet on the first run just to make sure everything is right, and go from there,” he said while mixing the first batch of his fuel for his pass. “I’m not anticipating any problems with the driving, but we all know that Top Fuelers and Funny Cars are a lot different to drive, and I can tell you that Funny Cars are harder.”

Alexander has been watching a lot of videos of Funny Car runs to reacquaint himself with the nature of the beast and where the fine line lays between aborting a run and staying after it.

“You really have to have your eyes wide open to everything that’s happening,” he said. “The Funny Cars shake a lot more than the dragsters and the body is vibrating so it’s a different experience inside the car. “

With the nicest equipment he’s ever had, Alexander is optimistic about the team’s performance. Working in the car this weekend is a mix of talent, including some former members of Stewart’s team and even a few guys from former team owner Bob Vandergriff’s Top Fuel squad.

“I’m ready,” he declared. “It’s been a long winter.”