NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Funny Car driver Jason Rupert and his volunteer crew have remained busy building and maintaining his racing program since his last appearance at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in April. Boosting his efforts is ICE Recovery + Wellness coming on board as primary sponsor for the upcoming Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway July 28-30.

To commemorate the partnership, Rupert will sport a new look on his Ford Mustang body with a wrap courtesy of Ultimate Design. ICE Recovery + Wellness in San Diego’s Carmel Valley is the premier provider of today's most sought-after recovery modalities, including cryotherapy, infrared sauna, Normatec compression, IV nutrition, and EMSculpt NEO for fat loss and muscle building.

“Proper recovery and nutrition are essential whether it’s for athletic training, general wellness, or preparing a driver’s body that is asked to repeatedly withstand the G-forces from the fastest-accelerating vehicles on the planet,” said Brad Chapman, owner of ICE Recovery + Wellness. “We can’t wait to see the 11,000-horsepower ICE Funny Car on the track in Sonoma.”

Rupert qualified in both appearances this season and achieved a goal of getting into the three-second zone with a 3.998-second blast during qualifying at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals. The three-time NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Nostalgia Funny Car champion strives to build on the results of the early season with quicker times and round-wins.

“Ever since Pomona and Las Vegas, we couldn’t wait for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series to come west again so we can build on what we have going,” said Rupert. “It’s been a lot of work since last time between getting another body ready so we have a spare, servicing parts from the last two races, and getting new Boninfante parts for our clutch program. 

“Thankfully, ICE Recovery + Wellness stepped up for us to compete at one of the best venues in motorsports. The air and track conditions at Sonoma give racers a great chance to run hard, particularly on the Friday night session. I’m really grateful to Brad and Regina Chapman and their family for their support.”

Rupert, who made his Professional debut at this event in 2021, will be assisted by legendary tuner Rahn Tobler. 

“We are really fortunate that Rahn decided to retire nearby in Huntington Beach [Calif.] and that he’s willing to give us guidance,” said Rupert. “Racing at this level is a big learning curve. He is really good at communicating to everybody what needs to be done. We want to take full advantage of the opportunity to keep getting better.”

In addition to ICE Recovery + Wellness, Rupert's sponsors include Alliance Companies, Lucas Oil, J.S. Easterday Construction, Music for Young Minds Foundation, MAC Speed Shop, Shell Roofing Solutions, CP-Carrillo, TMS Titanium, Bryant Racing, GRP Connecting Rods, Boninfante Friction, Manley, Atlas Testing, and Littlefield Blowers.

“We have a long relationship with the Rupert family,” Chapman added. “We’ve watched Jason go from dreaming about racing to working hard through the ranks and ultimately competing at the top level of the sport. ICE is glad to be here for this part of his journey.”