NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

It’s the season of mindfulness and thankfulness, so I want in on the moment, too. Despite a turkey tryptophan hangover, I was able to pull myself to ol’ Lappy after dinner and carve out these succulent heapings of thankfulness.

I’m thankful for … being witness to yet another season – my 43rd at NHRA – and all of the joys and heartaches that it brings. I always say that watching a season is like reading a book. You get to know the characters and see them navigate their world, but you never know the ending until the final pages. This one was definitely a page-turner, from start to finish.

I’m thankful for … safe travels. We all travel a lot of miles, by plane, by tractor-trailer, by motorhome, in the duallie, in the rental car, and so on. While there were some unfortunate and sad occurrences of teams having over-the-road incidents that damaged their race operations, for all of the miles covered, those were few and far between, and our hearts go out to those affected.

I’m thankful for … still being able to be surprised. Funny Car was the perfect example this year. Who would have thought that Austin Prock could win a championship in his first season? That the performance numbers that have stagnated for seven years would be challenged and, in the case of Prock’s stunning 341-mph charge at the NHRA Finals, bettered?

I’m thankful for … last-day drama. Last year, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett came down to a winner-take-all Top Fuel final for the championship. This year, it was Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn doing the same in Pro Stock and Val Torres Sr. needing to win the Super Gas final to win its season championship. So good …

I’m thankful for … being able to see the Army Monza run again. Well, it wasn’t really Don Prudhomme’s vaunted mid-1970s Chevy, but Ron Capps’ Toyota replica gave me goosebumps in Indy.

I’m thankful for … Clay Millican winning Indy. Even though the vast amount of his winning was done in IHRA, I’ve always known he was one of Top Fuel’s greatest drivers, and his Indy win certainly should add to that.

I’m thankful for … getting the chance to watch Larry “Spiderman” McBride weave his magic over four races in the new Pingel NHRA Top Fuel Motorcycle class, and the chance to meet and interview him. He’s gold.

I’m thankful for … being able to witness the birth of a new generation of female Top Fuel racers in rising stars like Jasmine Salinas, Ida Zetterström, and Julie Nataas, following in the tire tracks of Shirley Muldowney.

I’m thankful for … seeing second-generation racers doing their thing. Whether it was Daniel Wilkerson in Funny Car with dad Tim tuning or Travis Shumake following in the footsteps of his late, great father Tripp, watching Cody Lane and Ryan Warter duking it out for the Comp world championship, or Maddi Gordon doing an amazing job filling the cockpit of her three-time world champ father Doug and finishing second behind the unstoppable Sean Bellemeur, it’s so cool to see the generational stories.

I’m thankful for … the driver replacement policy. The new rules allowed Jack Beckman to try to win a 17th championship for John Force and for Jasmine Salinas to take over for her stricken father, Mike. In a similar vein but not rules-driven, seeing Tony Stewart step into the cockpit for Leah Pruett and Auston Prock jump into the saddle for Robert Hight was inspirational.

I’m thankful for … John Force. I gotta admit, things looked pretty bleak there in the days following his Virginia accident, but never count him out. Ever. He was back at the track in Vegas looking good and being the GOAT.

I’m thankful for … Chase Van Sant and Richard Gadson, who made what could have been a real runaway show between Gaige Herrera and Matt Smith more interesting. I wish we could have given a co-rookie of the year to Gadson, as both he and Stewart earned it on different levels.

I’m thankful for … rebirths. It was a blast watching Buddy Hull cross over from Top Fuel to Funny Car and to see Cory Reed do the same thing from Pro Stock Motorcycle to Pro Stock car.

I’m thankful for … successes for the independent Funny Car guys. People like Jeff Diehl, Terry Haddock, Jason Rupert, and Steven Densham do more than fill out the fields. They’re often a threat to pull off an upset, and now that they’re all three-second-capable, it’s fun to watch those numbers come up on the scoreboards.

I’m thankful for … Shawn Cowie’s resilience. Anyone who knows his story – from multiple second-place finishes to a highway motorcycle accident that almost killed him – should be happy that he finally claimed the Top Alcohol Dragster championship.

I’m thankful for … the camaraderie within our sport, that help-thy-neighbor mentality that’s been a part of this sport almost since its inception. It’s a real family out there.

I’m thankful for … the many good friends I have out there in the pits, in the media center, in our National Dragster staff, and everywhere within this mighty organization. Together, we are unstoppable.

And, finally, I’m thankful for … the loyal following of this column, for your humanity and love of the sport and the people within it, past and present.

Phil Burgess can be reached at pburgess@nhra.com

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