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Keeping NHRA Fans Up to Date

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Anticipation builds for Amalie NHRA Gatornationals as Sportsman fields quickly filled

Following the COVID-shortened 2020 season, anticipation builds for the Gainesville season opener as sportsman racers begin to pre-enter the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
04 Jan 2021
NHRA National Dragster staff
News
Latino
Even before the calendar officially turned to 2021, the first race of the new season was staged; the race to enter the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Pre-entries for Lucas Oil Series sportsman racers opened on Wednesday, December 30, and…
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Racing Technology: Donnie Bender explains barrel valves and flow meters (part 2)

In the second installment of our Racing Technology series, veteran crew chief Donnie Bender provides an in-depth explanation of barrel valves and flow meters.
04 Jan 2021
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Racing Technology
Bender2
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Nitro Time Machine: Doug Herbert's spectacular Dallas blowover

At the 1992 Dallas event, Doug Herbert joined a not-so-exclusive fraternity when he suffered a Top Fuel blowover in round one.
04 Jan 2021
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Nitro Time Machine
Doug Herbert
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Nitro Time Machine: Shelly Anderson bests Mike Dunn in Seattle Top Fuel final

In this edition of the Nitro Time Machine, we go back to the 1996 Seattle Top Fuel final, where arch rivals Shelly Anderson and Mike Dunn combined for what was then the sport's quickest side-by-side run.
01 Jan 2021
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Nitro Time Machine
anderson
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Happy New Year from the NHRA

As we all put behind us a very challenging 2021, the staff of the NHRA wishes a Happy New Year to its members, fans, racers, sponsors, member track operators, and everyone else who helps make the world of NHRA Drag Racing a wondrous place.
01 Jan 2021
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Happy New Year
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The Struggle Was Real

"I think that most of us can agree that racing was, by and large, a safe haven in 2020. Personally, 2020 never felt more “normal” than when I was at the racetrack. That doesn’t mean that racing wasn’t a struggle in its own right. I know it was for me." -- two-time world champion Luke Bogacki
31 Dec 2020
Luke Bogacki
2020 in retrospect
Luke Bogacki
“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” – Sigmund Freud To say that 2020 has been a struggle feels like an understatement of massive proportion…
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2020: By the Numbers

Drag racing has always been all about the numbers, whether they're e.t., mph, reaction time, index, dial-in, horsepower, or the dozens of other data that rule our lives, but here are some interesting numbers about the 2020 season in general.
31 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 in retrospect
By the Numbers
       
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Finally, Gratefully at the Finish Line

31 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 in retrospect
Phil Burgess
I stood on the starting line at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 1, marveling that it was all over. The selfie photo that I took for posterity stamped the time in my phone as 4:56 p.m. In the background, above the fading…
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The Parting Message

WFO Radio host and NHRA National Dragster columnist Joe Castello looks back at the challenges and successes of the 2020 season,
31 Dec 2020
Joe Castello
2020 in retrospect
Joe Castello
Here we are. December 2020. Who knew it’d be like this? I certainly didn’t. I’m lucky to have a column as we close the book on this season. Going WFO, one more time. Most importantly, we got it in! We completed the 2020 NHRA season and champions…
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Keeping Calm and Carrying On

The NHRA community pulled together as one during the COVID-19 pandemic to complete an entertaining and safe season of racing.
31 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 in retrospect
2020
March 12 was the day that the drag racing world stood still after the World Health Organization declared the surging novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic.  On the advice of the governor of Florida, NHRA officials quickly…
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Passings of original NHRA DD Darwin Doll, car owner Dale Creasy Sr. add to 2020 toll

Darwin Doll, one of NHRA’s original division directors who oversaw the Northeast Division from 1964-78, and longtime nitro Funny Car owner Dale Creasy Sr. both passed away recently, adding to a year of tremendous losses within the sport. We salute them all one final time.
30 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
2020 losses
Darwin Doll, one of NHRA’s original division directors who oversaw the Northeast Division from 1964-78, and longtime nitro Funny Car owner Dale Creasy Sr. both passed away recently, adding to a year of tremendous losses within the sport. We salute…
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Steve Torrence and team overcame near-tragedy to win third straight championship

They say that the measure of a champion is not how they deal with success, but how they deal with adversity, and Steve Torrence and the crew of the now three-time champion Capco Contractors team are evidence of that.
30 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 world champion profile
Steve Torrence
They say that the measure of a champion is not how they deal with success, but how they deal with adversity, and Steve Torrence and the crew of the now three-time champion Capco Contractors team are evidence of that. After skipping the season…
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Veteran tuner Mike Green joins Justin Ashley Racing

Justin Ashley Racing has announced that world championship-winning crew chief Mike Green has joined the Strutmasters.com/Auto Shocker Top Fuel dragster team.
30 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Justin Ashley
Justin Ashley Racing has announced that world championship-winning crew chief Mike Green has joined the Strutmasters.com/Auto Shocker Top Fuel dragster team. The move comes as Ashley looks ahead to the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and…
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Dean Skuza ends John Force's win streak at the 1997 Gatornationals

Funny Car kingpin John Force's streak of 13 straight round wins ended when he took on Dean Skuza in the quarterfinals of the 1997 Gatornationals.
29 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Nitro Time Machine
skuza
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Consistency, resiliency earned Matt Hagan a third Funny Car championship

Matt Hagan and crew chief Dickie Venables made the most of a shortened season with unparalleled consistency and performance that carried Hagan to his third NHRA FUnny Car world championship.
29 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 world champion profile
Matt Hagan
As a guy who rides a tractor when he’s not wheeling his 11,000-hp Mopar Funny Car, the farmer in Matt Hagan is very familiar with the old encouragement to “Make hay while the sun shines.” So, when the two-race-old NHRA racing season resumed in…
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Erica Enders joins exclusive company with fourth Pro Stock championship

Erica Enders wins back-to-back Pro Stock world championships for the second time in her career, joins exclusive company as a four-time Camping World NHRA World Champion.
28 Dec 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
2020 world champion profile
EE1
The list is fairly impressive, and it includes Bob Glidden, Warren Johnson, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Lee Shepherd, Greg Anderson, and now, Erica Enders. Those are the only NHRA drivers who have won four or more world titles in Pro Stock. Enders became…
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Matt Smith rebounds from disappointing 2019 finish to claim fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle title

After a disappointing finish to the 2019 season, Matt Smith came out swinging in 2020 and was rewarded with his fourth Camping World NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship.
28 Dec 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
2020 world champion profile
smith
After a disappointing finish in 2019, where he lost the championship largely due to a mechanical failure on the last day of the season in Pomona, Matt Smith entered 2020 with a lengthy to-do list, and by the time it was over, he’d checked off…
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Nitro Time Machine: The day Bob Bode scored one for the little guys

At the 2010 Houston event, independent Funny Car racer Bob Bode scored one for the little guys when he upset Jack Beckman in the final round.
27 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Nitro Time Machine
bob bode
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Megan Meyer clinches second TAD championship with dramatic mic-drop win

Just a few months after announcing her retirement from driving, 2019 Top Alcohol Dragster champ Megan Meter won her second straight championship in dramatic style at the season finale in Las Vegas.
26 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 world champion profile
Megan Meyer
As hard as it is to believe, the second straight world championship that she could claim by lighting the win light in the final round of the season-ending Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas was not even the last thing on Megan Meyer’s mind as she…
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John Force and the Grinch steal the Funny Car title at 2000 NHRA Finals

At the 2000 NHRA Finals in Pomona, John Force was the Grinch who stole everything when he won the Funny Car title over the late Bruce Sarver for his 92nd victory.
25 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Nitro Time Machine
force
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the NHRA staff

The staff of the NHRA wishes a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the fans, sponsors, race teams, racetracks, and other supporters of the NHRA.
25 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Merry Chirstmas
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89 questions about Chris “the Greek” Karamesines (or should there be 92?)

Drag racing's legendary "Greek," Chris Karamesines, ended his driving career at the close of the 2020 season at age 89. Or is it 92? There are so many questions. After all, when your drag racing career spans 67 years (61 of them in Top Fuel), there’s a lot of room for questions we'll try to answer.
24 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
DRAGSTER Insider
Chris Karamesines
When it comes to the life and times of Chris Karamesines, there will always be some things you can debate. His age. Whether or not he made the first 200-mph quarter-mile pass. How much gold plating really was on his famed Top Fueler. After all,…
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After years of close calls, Doug Gordon finally wins first TAFC championship

For the last six years, Doug Gordons has been in the Top Alcohol Funny Car championship discussion but never won the title. That all changed in 2020.
24 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 world champion profile
Doug Gordon
The last place that Doug Gordon and his father, Mike, wanted to be at the late-season Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals in Houston was at the top end, with TV cameras trained on them as they waited to see whether points rival Sean…
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NHRA.tv subscribers can be the first to watch 'They Walked Away' special

Santa's elves have brought a little pre-Christmas gift for NHRA.tv subscribers: the chance to be the first to watch "They Walked Away, 2020," the annual crash-and-burn festival of highlights. The show will air on the FOX networks later, but you can see it first here.
23 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
They Walked Away
  You can watch the entire show now on NHRA.tv. Not a subscriber yet, JOIN NOW.
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Comp champ Craig Bourgeois beat COVID-19, persistent rivals for second title

2015 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Comp champ Craig Bourgeois won his second title in 2020, but he had to not only beat reigning champ Frank Aragona Jr. and hard-charging Doug Engels, but also defeat COVID, too.
23 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
2020 world champion profile
Craig Bourgeois
The spring of 2020 was not kind to Craig Bourgeois. After finishing second behind Frank Aragona Jr. in 2019, falling just short of winning what would have been his second NHRA Comp world championship, the Louisiana veteran opened his 2020…
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Catching up with Top Fuel's Clay Millican during a hectic offseason

Clay Millican has been plenty busy since the end of the 2020 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and in our latest Skype interview, he sat down with Brian Lohnes to bring NHRA fans up to speed.
23 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
millican
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NHRA Shop Talk: Everything you need to know about centrifugal superchargers

This week on NHRA Shop Talk, Brian Lohnes and Alan Reinhart were joined by Lance Keck of Vortech Superchargers to talk about centrifugal superchargers.
22 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Feature
Shop Talk
This week on NHRA Shop Talk, Brian Lohnes and Alan Reinhart were joined by Lance Keck of Vortech Superchargers to talk about centrifugal superchargers. They talked about how they work, why they are now so popular in NHRA Drag Racing,…
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Racing Technology: Donnie Bender explains the inner workings of a nitro fuel system

In the first of a two-part Racing Technology series, crew chief Donnie Bender explains how a modern nitro engine can burn 18 gallons of fuel on a single pass down the dragstrip.
22 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Racing Technology
bender
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NASCAR hero Tony Stewart a star student at Frank Hawley Drag Racing School

Motorsports standout Tony Stewart has been a success at every level and in every form of racing that he’s tried, so it’s probably no surprise that the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had no problem in his recent introduction to drag racing at the Frank Hawley School of Drag Racing.
21 Dec 2020
Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor
News
Tony Stewart
Motorsports standout Tony Stewart has been a success at every level and in every form of racing that he’s tried, so it’s probably no surprise that the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion had no problem in his recent introduction to drag racing at…
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Tickets now on sale for 2021 NHRA Midwest Nationals, Sept. 24-26

Tickets now are on sale for World Wide Technology Raceway’s 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series' NHRA Midwest Nationals.
21 Dec 2020
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Madison
Tickets now are on sale for World Wide Technology Raceway’s 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series' NHRA Midwest Nationals. The annual national event, scheduled for Sept. 24-26, features the world’s biggest names in professional drag racing,…
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