NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After just a few days off-track, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to Bristol Dragway for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. The event will have a unique format in that it will host both the seventh and eighth races on the tour – as well as the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge – providing the opportunity for three wins in one race for the nitro-fueled crowd.

Due to inclement weather, the first round of eliminations from the NHRA New England Nationals in Top Fuel and Funny Car will now take place during the second qualifying round in Bristol at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday. The second round of eliminations will run during the third qualifying session at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Bristol, and the semifinals will run between qualifying sessions on Saturday. The final rounds of the NHRA New England Nationals in Top Fuel and Funny Car are slated to run during the final qualifying session at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Bristol Dragway. 

The Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge will run concurrent with the New England Nationals semifinals and finals on Saturday in Bristol, meaning that one driver in each nitro category will have the opportunity to win twice at Bristol Dragway before Sunday even dawns. The Bristol #2Fast2Tasty fields in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle were set in Chicago, and those will be contested during qualifying on Saturday as well. 

Eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher, driver of the SCAG Power Equipment dragster, has six previous wins at Bristol Dragway – the most of any driver in the Top Fuel category. Schumacher is looking for epic results on the racetrack to complement the honor of being inducted into the Bristol Dragway Legends of Thunder Valley, the track's official hall of fame, during the event. It will be a tall order after a string of disappointingly early losses, but after pre-Epping testing, the team is ready to right the ship. 

Justin Ashley and his Phillips Connect dragster won this event last season, and although his year so far has included two wins, it has also included three first-round losses. Points leader Steve Torrence arrives at Bristol Dragway still looking for his first win of the season in his CAPCO dragster; he has one win in Bristol, earned in 2013. Three-time Bristol winner Doug Kalitta enters the event with a capable Mac Tools rail as he hunts for his 50th career win. 

In Funny Car, reigning world champion Ron Capps has the most wins at Bristol, tying Schumacher with six. He is also the defending event champion and a driver who is ready to get back to the winner's circle – he's been a finalist three times so far this season but has yet to nab a Wally in his NAPA Toyota, though he did claim the Mission #2Fast2Tasty win in Chicago. 

Capps holds the Bristol Dragway track record for elapsed time at 3.884, set there in 2016, and Matt Hagan, the incoming points leader, has the track record for speed with a 330.31 mph pass recorded in 2021. After back-to-back first-round losses in Charlotte and Chicago, Hagan is eager for a get-well weekend for his Dodge TSR Nitro team. He won here in 2015.

Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle were not to be contested at the New England Nationals last weekend, so these drivers are eager to get back to work. 

HendrickCars.com Chevy campaigner Greg Anderson, a five-time champion and the most winning driver in the class (101) earned the very first Pro Stock win of his career here in 2001, and he won the Bristol Dragway trophy again in 2004. Reigning world champion Erica Enders also has two wins, earned in 2014 and 2015, and will be aiming – alongside JHG teammate Bo Butner – to put a Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Chevrolet in. the winner's circle for the first time this year. The only other currently competing Pro Stock driver to have won Bristol is Aaron Stanfield, who claimed victory in 2022. Alex Laughlin won in 2017, but he currently drives Jim Dunn's Funny Car. 

At present, the Pro Stock class is led by Dallas Glenn and his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, and he has claimed three of the six event trophies up for grabs so far in 2023. Glenn was also the No. 1 qualifier in Chicago. Other drivers to have reached the winner's circle in the first six races are Elite Motorsports-powered Troy Coughlin Jr. (Gainesville) and KB Titan Racing's Camrie Caruso (Phoenix) and Deric Kramer (Charlotte). The KB Titan Racing team has had a productive start to the season, but Elite Motorsports has been taking well-advantage of the off-time since Chicago to test their equipment as they chase a turnaround.  

The two-wheeled gang has only raced in Bristol twice – Angelle Sampey won in 2021, and Jerry Savoie defeated her in the final round last year to take the trophy. While Gaige Herrera has been putting forth a perfectly dominant season in his debut with the Vance & Hines team, he'll have a challenge that he has not yet faced before with the unique characteristics of the racing surface in Bristol. Seasoned veteran Chip Ellis, whom he raced in the Chicago final, is hungry to get back to his winning ways – he has seven wins on his scorecard. 

2022 EVENT WINNERS

Justin Ashley, Top Fuel; Ron Capps, Funny Car; Aaron Stanfield, Pro Stock; Jerry Savoie, Pro Stock Motorcycle

MOST VICTORIES

Tony Schumacher, 6, TF; Ron Capps, 6, FC; Mike Edwards, 2, Pro Stock; Angelle Sampey and Jerry Savoie, 1 each, Pro Stock Motorcycle

TRACK RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.667 seconds by Steve Torrence, Oct. '21; 334.48 mph by Justin Ashley, Oct. '21

Funny Car - 3.884 seconds by Ron Capps, June '16; 330.31 mph by Matt hagan, Oct. '21

NATIONAL RECORDS

Top Fuel - 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. '19, Reading, Pa.; 338.94 mph by Brittany Force, Nov. ‘22, Pomona, Calif. 

Funny Car - 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. '17, Brainerd; 339.87 mph by Robert Hight, July ’17, Sonoma, Calif. 

EVENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, June 9 

NHRA Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing Series qualifying at 9:30 a.m. 

Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown qualifying at 2:45 and 6:10 p.m.

FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series qualifying at 3:05 and 6:30 p.m.

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. 

SATURDAY, June 10

NHRA Lucas Oil Series Drag Racing Series eliminations at 9:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 

Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown qualifying at 12:00, 3:25, and 6:45 p.m.

FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series qualifying at 12:20 and 3:45 p.m. 

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying at 1:00 and 4:30 p.m. 

SUNDAY, June 11 

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations begin at noon 

TELEVISION SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, June 9, FS1 will televise one hour of Bristol qualifying coverage at 7:00 p.m. ET and one and a half hours of Epping eliminations beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET

SATURDAY, June 10, FS1 will televise one and a half hours of the remaining Epping elimination rounds at 10:30 p.m. ET

SUNDAY, June 11, FS1 will televise one and a half hours of Bristol qualifying at 12:30 p.m. ET 

SUNDAY, June 11, FS1 will televise three hours of Bristol finals coverage at 7:00 p.m. ET

Or watch all day on NHRA.tv