NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The NHRA Countdown to the Championship blasted off in Reading and NHRA National Dragster photographers Marc Gewertz and Bob Szelag captured the action.

Antron Brown enters the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil in third place, just 30 points behind Steve Torrence as he chases his fourth Top Fuel world championship. The New Jersey native knows how difficult earning that trophy will be, but that doesn't make the ever-optimistic Brown any less confident.

“I think there’s a lot going on mentally for a driver going into the Countdown. There’s really no easy way to go about it, but I do know that being in that number one spot, it’s yours to lose. That’s a tough spot to be in." --Shawn Langdon

Watch the start of Steve Torrence's historic NHRA Countdown to the Championship sweep in highlights from the 2018 Dodge NHRA Nationals.

Andrew Hines and Bo Butner are in similar situations heading into the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, as both have been the points leader in their respective classes for the entire season. Now they just have to keep the mojo going for the next six events.

After arguably the most consistent regular season in his Funny Car career, Tommy Johnson Jr. hopes it translates into more clutch performances in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship and possibly his first career world championship.

Since 2013, the Top Fuel winner of the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Maple Grove Raceway has gone on to win the season championship, and Mopar driver Leah Pritchett would like to continue that trend.

Andrew Hines enters the countdown as the No. 1 seed with teammate Eddie Krawiec close behind. Can anyone offer a challenge in Pro Stock Motorcycle?

Bo Butner un-retired his way to the No. 1 seed in the Pro Stock playoffs. Can he turn that into another world title?

Robert Hight holds the No. 1 seed in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, but he will face a stacked field of competitors in the Funny Car category entering the Mopar NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

We answer the biggest questions surrounding the Top Fuel category entering the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, which kicks off Friday at the Mopar NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

Heading into final eliminations for Top Fuel at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, one thing that won’t change is that Steve Torrence will enter the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs as the top seed.

Five rounds of Funny Car qualifying at the 2019 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals helped create a record-breaking field of 16 qualifiers with Justin Schriefer’s 4.005 sitting on the bump spot. Qualifiers John Force, Ron Capps, and Tommy Johnson Jr. all have connections to previous record fields.

Ray Martin has NHRA licenses in 12 classes, but the latest ticket to ride for the Alaska-based driver is for a nitro Funny Car. He qualified the Worsham family’s Toyota for a shot at winning the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

As the rain continued to fall Sunday morning, Tommy Johnson Jr., driver of the Make-A-Wish Funny Car, had a wish of his own: a chance to still make the Funny Car field at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

Jim Dunn knows that magic happens at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. The veteran car owner has won the race before, but faces a stiff challenge to put his driver, Jim Campbell, into the field of one of the sport's quickest-ever fields.

T.J. Zizzo and the Rust-oleum Top Fuel team don’t run a lot of races, preferring to spend their humble budget on quality outings instead of quantity, and they're looking to continue their impressive 2019 season this weekend at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals.

Kenny Delco has overcome a lot of adversity this season, now he's on the verge of his first top ten finish in Pro Stock since 1990.

You don’t have to have won Indy to be a fan of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, but it certainly helps. Just ask Jack Beckman.

The Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley season championship will be decided this weekend at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in a two-rider showdown between points leader and defending series champ Tii Tharpe and second-ranked Doug Vancil.

Funny Car racer Phil Burkart Jr. and Paul Smith are saluting former Funny Car owner Fred Castronovo on Smith’s Rock Batteries Funny Car at this weekend's Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, a nod to their shared history with the Castronovo family.

The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season has been a challenging one for three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ Angelle Sampey, but all of that could be wiped away with an impressive showing on drag racing’s biggest stage.

J.R. Todd has back-to-back wins at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and can become the first Funny Car driver in NHRA history to win the prestigious race three straight years.

Erica Enders is chasing another memorable Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in her Chevrolet Camaro.

E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod points leader Stevie "Fast" Jackson joined Lewis Bloom via Skype in the Wally Parks NHRA Studio to talk about the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the battle for the season championship.

Scott Palmer sits 11th in the Mello Yello Top Fuel standings, just one spot out of making the Countdown to the Championship field, and a win at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals -- his stated goal -- would easily could take care of that.

Ron Capps has never won the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, but he enters the event hot off of a win in Brainerd. Capps joined Lewis Bloom via Skype in the Wally Parks NHRA Studio to talk about that challenge, the upcoming Countdown to the Championship, and his passion for racing.

John Force scored his 150th win at the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Northwest Nationals. Some of the legends of motorsports sshare their thoughts on the 16-time Funny Car champion.

Sixteen-time NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car champion John Force joined Lewis Bloom in the Wally Parks NHRA Studio to talk about his milestone 150th career win and the wins and losses on and off the track that have marked his hall of fame career.