Funny Car fan-favorite Courtney Force enters Winternationals with high hopes
After seven wins in her first three seasons, including four during a banner 2014 campaign, Funny Car star Courtney Force seemed primed for big things in 2015. Instead, Force was dealt her most trying and frustrating season in her young NHRA Mello…
Maybe this year
Tommy Phillips’ racing résumé reads like that of a first-ballot Hall of Famer. For starters, he has won 34 NHRA national event wins in 45 final-round appearances. Throw in another 29 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series divisional…
Crampton eager for continued success in 2016
Now, entering his third season in Top Fuel, Richie Crampton doesn’t take his opportunity for granted. That appreciation to drive the 10,000-horsepower Lucas Oil dragster for Morgan Lucas Racing has already taken the Australia native to…
Head Racing inks two-race deal with Western Sales Management Auctioneers
NHRA Funny Car racer Chad Head will represent Western Sales Management Auctioneers during the first two events of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Starting at this weekend’s Circle K NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, and continuing…
NHRA Membership Hospitality Center to join Enders, Coughlin at Winternationals
The pitside location of the NHRA Membership Hospitality Center at the 2015 Auto Club Finals was a huge hit, so NHRA and National Dragster are expanding the experience to include not one, but two championship-winning race teams at the Circle K NHRA…
Testing takeaways
NHRA Nitro Spring Training at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix (covered on Friday and…
Defending Funny Car world champion Worsham excited to start 2016
The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will celebrate 50 years of Funny Car racing during the 2016 season, and reigning Funny Car world champion Del Worsham can think of no better way to cap that celebration than with a second straight world title…
Baldwin to make Top Alcohol Dragster debut
Krista Baldwin will make her Top Alcohol Dragster debut this weekend at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals piloting an A/Fuel dragster. This will be her first national event competition at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Baldwin will be running…
Five great debuts
The Winternationals not only kicks off the season, but also can be the stage upon which stars are born. As the traditional season opener, the Winternationals is known for new car and team debuts, but for many drivers, it also has marked the…
Ferré signs American Plastic Technologies
With the racing season fast approaching, Top Alcohol Dragster racer Cameron Ferré and Miersch Racing are pleased to announce that American Plastic Technologies will be joining their 2016 efforts starting at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals…
NHRA Nitro Spring Training concludes with big runs by Force, Johnson
Tommy Johnson Jr. closed testing with an outstanding 3.874 at 318.47 mph. Tommy Johnson Jr. and Brittany Force posted the quickest runs in their categories Saturday during the final day of NHRA…
Schumacher, Beckman quickest in Friday's NHRA Nitro Spring Training
Jack Beckman led the Funny Car testers with a 3.880 at 325.77 mph. NHRA Funny Car racer Jack Beckman posted a time quicker than the current national record that he owns, and veteran Top Fuel…
NHRA announces two new programs for fans to access race coverage worldwide
NHRA will launch a premium live streaming service, anticipated to start in March 2016, which will deliver live video streams from NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events to Internet-connected devices, including mobile devices. This subscription…
New DRAW booth location for 2016
The DRAW booth will be in a new location on the Manufacturers Midway at NHRA events this season, as a standalone operation near the Amalie display on the Midway. Look for the tent with the blue/gray top. DRAW will still be selling qualifying and…
Remembering Jess Tyree
The history of the Funny Car class that we’re celebrating this year suffered a significant loss earlier this week with the passing of Jess Tyree, one of the drivers who was in on the ground floor of the class in 1966. Tyree died Monday of cancer…
Torrence, Beckman quickest in Thursday’s NHRA Nitro Spring Training
Steve Torrence led all Top Fuel testers with a run of 3.729 at 326.08 mph. (Photos courtesy of Auto Imagery) Steve Torrence and Jack Beckman were the quickest in their categories Thursday during…
Walla Walla, The Big Country, and Miramichi join NHRA Member Track Network
Walla Walla Drag Strip in Walla Walla, Wash.; The Big Country Race Way near Abilene, Texas; and Miramichi Dragway, in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada have all joined the NHRA Member Track Network. As NHRA-sanctioned tracks, the facilities will be…
FireAde teams up with Bob Vandergriff Racing
FireAde will be the primary sponsor of the Leah Pritchett-driven Bob Vandergriff Racing Top Fuel dragster at select events in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, and will serve as an associate sponsor throughout the rest of the…
Mickey Thompson
Only one week remains until the kickoff of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. With the Circle K NHRA Winternationals almost upon us, this week’s look into the National Dragster photo archives continues last week's theme and…
Chasing history
Ask Dan Fletcher about what made him want to become a professional touring racer, and he’s succinct and to the point. One of NHRA’s most recognizable Sportsman drivers, Fletcher said that when it came to chasing his dreams, half the…
Permatex continues with Follow A Dream TAFC team
Permatex, a leading innovator in chemical technology for automotive maintenance and repair, will continue its longtime sponsorship of the Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car as the team’s corporate sponsor for the 2016 NHRA season. The…
Enders pumped after successful first test with new Dodge
Two-time defending NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders completed a successful first test with her new Elite Motorsports Mopar Dodge Dart, and the first full day of testing could not have gone any better. "I was really…
The other guys
With the full-time teams having announced their plans for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, we explore what’s new with some of the independent teams in the Top Fuel and Funny Car ranks. We expect to see a few new faces in…
Inaugural SPORTSnationals champs to be honored at 2016 event
Jimmy Scott Bobby Warren The champions from the inaugural SPORTSnationals in 1974 have been named grand marshals of the JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals, which returns to…
Oberto Beef Jerky primary sponsor for Jim Dunn Racing in 2016
Oberto Beef Jerky will be the primary sponsor of the Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Oberto will be displayed as the title sponsor on the Dodge Charger at 10 NHRA races beginning at the 2016 NHRA…
Five wild Winternationals rides
The Circle K NHRA Winternationals is known for many things. It’s the annual season opener, where new cars, sponsors, and paint schemes famously debut. It can also be one of the most scenic venues on the tour when snow caps the mountains behind…
Valvoline, Nova Services to partner with Shane Gray for 2016
Pro Stock racer Shane Gray will carry the colors of Valvoline on the Gray Motorsports Camaro for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, along with backing from Nova Services at select events. Valvoline, a longtime partner of Gray…
McClelland among 2016 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductees
Television personality and announcer Dave McClelland, the longtime former Voice of the NHRA, will be one of seven motorsports figures inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America later this year. In addition to McClelland, the 2016 class…
Funny Cars: Who's on first? I dunno ...
Jim Johnson and Jimmy Nix suited up; the firesuits were mostly for show. Jack Chrisman's Comet was a race car, shown here running in B/FD in Pomona. Well…
DeJoria returns to Tequila Patrón livery for 2016
Alexis DeJoria Racing is going back to its roots for the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Operating out of the Kalitta Motorsports camp, The Patrón Spirits Co.-backed Toyota Camry Funny Car team will once again sport the…