NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

In an NHRA offseason that has ranged from interesting to downright wacko, it can be hard to keep an eye on every story that has been hitting the proverbial newswires. The truly huge ones have kept people buzzing, chatting, and commenting on the internet like few years we can ever remember. That said, there are so many stories that will have a definite impact on the 2026 campaign, we thought a refresher wouldn’t hurt.

Here’s a dive into some of the personnel and power moves that have truly shaken up the NHRA universe over the last few months, beyond the ones most have been talking about daily.  

In no particular order, here we go:

KB/Titan goes Pro Mod racing: It was announced at the 2025 SEMA Show that Keith Haney had become a partner in the KB/Titan Racing team, and beyond that, they were expanding their doorslammer umbrella into the world of Pro Mod racing with a customer program. Housed in an all-new building in Mooresville, N.C., on the same large property as the rest of the operation, this program will allow racers the opportunity to “arrive and drive” in the Pro Mod category.

At SEMA, Haney talked about the fact that there would be nitrous and blower options available for prospective drivers, and the intent is that anyone who gets involved in this program would be responsible solely for showing up to the track with their helmet and firesuit, and the team would handle the rest.

The Congruity HR NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series has been in a renaissance the last few seasons, and this new program is further proof of its popularity and the want of so many to be involved. 

The team has been adamant that this would not interrupt, distract, or derail their world-class Pro Stock operation, and the only true way to judge that will be to gauge the results when the 2026 season hits full stride.

Aaron Brooks to Dave Richards: When Bob Tasca quietly released virtually his entire race team early in the offseason (and we still wait for an official announcement for what’s next), it sent Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks onto the free agent market. Brooks, who is one of the human Swiss Army Knife talents in the sport, was eventually hired by the Bluebird Turf team, a part of the larger Scag factory effort. He’ll be tuning the car that Dave Richards drives.

A fabricator, a crew chief, an experienced leader, and a guy who worked his way to the crew chief level on the traditional path from the bottom up, he is a great addition to this team.

In the back half of the 2025 season, Richards’ car made some very competitive runs, but it lacked any sort of repeatability. We know the team is funded in all the right ways, so it is not a parts and pieces situation; it is likely one more based on the human level. This is where Brooks can really shine.

Working on organization, execution, consistency of the turnarounds, and nailing the details will make this car if not a different animal in 2026, certainly a faster one.  

DeLago at the helm: Sure, you can say this is a 2025 story, but it really isn’t. When Mike Green was released by the Scag team in very late 2025, Tommy DeLago was named the crew chief, not just temporarily but in permanence. He then added Jason McCulloch as his assistant crew chief.

The story here is one of motivation, evolution, and championship aspirations. The DeLago we’ll see as the leader and de facto boss of his team in the pits in 2026 is not the guy who was last in this role little more than seven years ago at Kalitta Motorsports.

He’s the operator of a successful (and self-started) beef jerky company, he’s locked in his health and fitness, and he comes into the role with a mindset that is a lot more Alan Johnson than it was once “Jungle Jim” Liberman.

This is the shot that DeLago has wanted and worked toward for a very long time. Watching what he does with it will be a huge story for this championship-level team in 2026.  

Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield to license in Top Fuel: The Elite Motorsports Top Fuel story will be a gift that keeps on giving in 2026. Yes, the major headline was that Tony Stewart was tapped to be the driver for the team’s first Top Fuel car, but the secondary story that almost got lost in the maelstrom is the fact that there will be a second car, and both Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield will license in it.

On the face of it and by the comments both have made in public about it, Stanfield seems the more excited of the two for the opportunity. Enders, who has long contested that Pro Stock is her home and where she always wants to be, has been more measured in her words when it comes to Top Fuel, but her stance does seem to have softened over time, and she seems like there’s a guarded level of excitement in licensing to that level.

We see Stanfield as the guy in this car. That’s not because Enders is incapable or unwilling; she is the opposite of both of those things, but more because Standfield has no qualms about saying that he wants this shot, and when the funding and equipment are all aligned, he’s excited to take it. Could he be the first guy to legitimately challenge Justin Ashley on the starting line week after week?

Todd Smith back to Kalitta with Dickie Venables: In a story that has been truly under the radar over the last few weeks, there have been changes made quietly at Kalitta Motorsports. Jon Oberhofer was released from the team after the conclusion of the 2025 season and replacing him is Todd Smith — yes, the Todd Smith that was displaced when Venables arrived as the crew chief on the DHL GR Toyota Supra.

In the world of sports, personnel changes don’t shock us like they used to anymore, but this one is pretty interesting. Last season, Smith worked with Mike Neff on the Alexis DeJoria JCM Racing Funny Car team. With that operation wholesale moving to John Force Racing, he was a free agent.

Smith was at Kalitta Motorsports for nine years before his departure, so he knows his way around the shop, the people, and the organization. We have to imagine that Venables had a say in who his right-hand man would be, and Smith certainly brings leadership, experience, and a winning record with him.

The 2026 results will show us all the effectiveness of this decision.

A mystery Top Fuel car on the way: Oh, you have not heard this one yet? Yes, there is a Top Fuel car being added by an existing team with a driver for which fans will definitely be overjoyed.

This one is a relatively late offseason surprise, and we’re still sorting out how the details, logistics, and even the equipment will come together in little more than two months to make it all happen, but with the people involved, we know they will. Stay tuned!

Buddy Hull is his own man in 2026: After two seasons with Jim Dunn Racing, Buddy Hull announced in early December that he was going to race the 2026 season under his own banner as a team owner and driver. Mike Guger and Johnny West will be the mechanical brains of the operation, and their stated goals are to have a consistent, run-completing 3.90-second Funny Car to do battle with.

In his tenure with Dunn, Hull learned the ropes of nitro Funny Car handling, scored some highly memorable upset round-wins, and battled through a tumultuous 2025 season packed with lessons from the school of hard knocks. One of the category’s big personalities, Hull’s got the motivation, the experience, and the wherewithal to build his résumé into a regular qualifier and round-winner this coming season.

The fact is that we could continue this exploration for likely another few thousand words. Everywhere you look, there is an offseason story. It was Ernest Hemingway who once said, when he was asked how he went bankrupt, “Slowly and then all at once.”

That’s kind of how the NHRA landscape remade itself in this offseason, which is not over yet. In some ways, it started slowly and then went crazy all at once. The 2026 season will be so fresh that the only thing we can lock in on is the fact that the rules say whoever gets to the finish line first in their lane wins. Everything else seems to have changed!