NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

READ THE ISSUE

The May issue of NHRA National Dragster, featuring coverage of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and Charlotte and the Top Fuel histrionics of Tony Stewart and Shawn Langdon, is now online in digital format and in the mail in its traditional print format to NHRA Members around the world.

Stewart’s Top Fuel win, the first of the motorsports Hall of Famer’s career, highlighted an outstanding event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway filled with high-powered four-wide drama. Stewart shares his emotions and thoughts about his first win with the Dragster staff in a wide-ranging interview, while ND Editor Phil Burgess weighs in on Stewart’s road to glory in his Launch Pad column.

Langdon’s victory a fortnight later at zMAX Dragway came at the 1,000th Top Fuel event in NHRA history, a fact that was salted throughout the weekend and capped by the presentation of a special trophy to Langdon by Don Garlits, who won NHRA’s first Top Fuel race in 1963.

The Charlotte event was also highlighted by Brittany Force’s history-making 341-mph Top Fuel pass, which is celebrated in columnist Joe Castello’s Going WFO entry.

The triple-header of event coverage also includes the completion in Charlotte of Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Stock eliminator from the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Sportsman-racing fans will find a slew of great content, including an in-depth profile of Ford-favorite Stock and Super Stock racer Anthony Bongiovanni; a salute to Kris Whitfield, our latest National Dragster Sportsman Racer of the Month; a deep dive into the current NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series points battles by three-time world champ Luke Bogacki in his Science of Winning column; and an interview with another three-time world champion, Doug Gordon, following his announcement of a return to competition in 2026 after a two-year “retirement” to let daughter Maddi drive the family race car.

The issue also contains race coverage from the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, with two races apiece in Indianapolis, Madison, Ill., and Las Vegas.

Sportsman racers will also find harmony in this issue’s Racing Technology column about harmonic balancers: What they are, what they do, and which one is right for you.

You’ll also get to know NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League racers Dylan and McKenzie Nelson and Kane Kern, accomplished racers with great futures, all of whom are profiled in this issue.

Finally, our Road to the 75th feature takes a look back at how the sport of hot rodding accelerated in the wake of World War II.

NHRA Members: Click this link or the cover image above and log in, then select View National Dragster under the Member dropdown menu.

Not a member and want to get National Dragster delivered to your doorstep? Click here.