By all accounts, the NHRA New England Nationals was a home run with perfect weather, two days of sold-out crowds, and three very popular Professional champions, but in the end, what did we learn? As it turns out, we learned a lot, including these five key items.

THERE IS NO CHAMPIONSHIP HANGOVER FOR DOUG KALITTA

We’ve seen it often. A racer wins his or her first championship, and then it takes a while the following season to find the same level of success. It’s often called a championship hangover, but it clearly hasn’t affected Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools team as they’ve pretty much picked up where they left off in 2023. In the first seven races of the season, Kalitta has two wins, and he’s just 26 points out of first place in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel standings. Kalitta’s driving has been solid, and his Alan Johnson-tuned dragster is among the class’ performance leaders. If he’s not the favorite to win a second title this season, he’s darned close.

Kalitta doesn’t have much left on his to-do list, but Epping was a big one because it’s the last current track on the NHRA tour that he hadn’t won. Now, he’s got that secured with an impressive final-round win over his old rival Tony Schumacher.

JOHN FORCE’S FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH TOUR ROLLS ON

When John Force speaks, he often notes that the end of his incredible career is getting closer, and in Epping, he even confirmed what many had long suspected; that Austin Prock will be his eventual replacement. Now, as for when that will take place, no one knows for sure, not even Force.

Well, actions do speak louder than words, and this season, the 75-year-old version of John Force looks a lot like the 40-something-year-old Force that dominated in the 1990s. Force already has two wins this season, and in Epping, he won both the race and the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. In the latter event, Force rolled his Peak Camaro in deep and defeated Blake Alexander on a holeshot.

On Sunday, Force took it to his teammate, Prock, who had been the low qualifier and looked unstoppable until the final round. Force might not agree, but anyone who’s paying attention has to realize that a 17th championship (and a possible tie with Frank Manzo) is very much on the table this season.

EPPING FANS LOVE A WARM SUMMER DAY AND A GOOD DRAG RACE

On the heels of last year’s New England Nationals, where rains forced the race to be completed in Bristol, this year was a welcome relief for everyone involved as three days of perfect weather contributed to record attendance for the now 13-year-old event. Friday’s crowd was strong, and on Saturday and Sunday, NHRA and New England Dragway officials were able to announce a sellout, and the fans who ventured to Epping got their money’s worth with great side-by-side racing and three memorable Pro winners.

THE BATTLE FOR PRO STOCK SUPREMECY IS WIDE OPEN

Anyone who tells you they know who is going to win the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Pro Stock championship is most likely lying because, at this point, there are at least a half-dozen drivers who have a legit shot at the title.

The usual suspects are six-time champ Erica Enders and four-time champ Greg Anderson, but it would be foolish to rule out five-time champ Jeg Coughlin or to disregard the possibility of a new winner, such as Dallas Glenn, Troy Coughlin Jr., Aaron Stanfield, Matt Hartford, or even a surprise winner from further down the field.

STREET CARS ARE A GREAT ADDITION TO NHRA EVENTS

For the second straight race, NHRA hosted a Street Car Shootout featuring some of the most popular drag and drive cars from Hot Rod’s Drag Week and similar drag and drive events. In Epping, the field consisted of eight cars that campaign in the popular 8.60 classes, and to suggest that the Epping fans enjoyed the show would be an understatement.

The field featured tremendous variety from Rick Steinke’s popular “Honk if Parts Fall Off” four-door Chevelle to Tony Niemczyk’s four-cylinder Mitsubishi to Jeff Oppenheim’s El Camino, and there was something for everyone. In the end, Mark Sussino drove his Pontiac to a final-round win over Niemczyk and got to celebrate with the rest of the event champions. The NHRA Street Legal program is growing by leaps and bounds as more and more drivers are taking it to the track, and it’s hard to argue that these popular drag and drive exhibitions aren’t helping to steer the ship.