A final look back at 2016
If you had to pick one Sportsman run as the most impressive of the 2016 season, which would you choose? I posed that question to my panel of experts that includes NHRA announcers Alan Reinhart and Brian Lohnes and NHRA Director of Statistics &…
NHRA Today: J.R. Todd talks about 2017 transition to Funny Car class
In his first full video interview since the news broke earlier this week, J.R. Todd visited the Wally Parks NHRA Studio to talk with NHRA’s Lewis Bloom about his move from Top Fuel to Funny Car next season for Kalitta Motorsports.
Original story…
2016 Comp champion Doug Doll Jr.
No driver in the history of the Comp class has ever scored more points than Doug Doll Jr. Driving for team owner Charlie Greco, Doll, a former Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals winner in Super Comp, completed a rare perfect season with eight wins…
Capps’ Long Road to his First Championship
Ron Capps’ road to his first Funny Car championship was littered with potholes and detours, not the least of which included four second-place finishes. Here’s a look at that roadmap of runner-ups. 1998: Driving for…
Kalitta Motorsports completes off-season changes
J.R. Todd will take over the wheel of the Kalitta Motorsports DHL Toyota Funny Car. Kalitta Motorsports has announced that its current Top Fuel driver, J.R. Todd, will move into the seat of its DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car vacated by…
2016 Super Stock champion Jimmy DeFrank
For the fifth time in his storied career, DeFrank was crowned the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series national champion in Super Stock. Driving his California Car Cover entry, DeFrank began the season with a victory at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals in…
NHRA’s Most Prolific 'Bridesmaids'
This season, Ron Capps broke through and earned his much-awaited first championship, removing himself from a list most racers don’t really want to be on: most wins without a championship. Who remains on that list? We look at the five…
2016 Stock and Top Dragster champ Jeff Strickland
Jeff Strickland pulled off an extremely rare feat when he won national championships in both Stock and Top Dragster. Driving a COPO Camaro for the Gray Motorsports team, Strickland won the title at the final event of the season when he defeated his…
2016 Top Sportsman champ Mike Williams
Mike Williams used a late-season rally to take the title in the Top Sportsman presented by Racing RVs class. The Canadian racer won the rain-delayed Division 7 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Las Vegas in November and returned two days…
NHRA Funny Car champs over the years
As we wind down this 50 Years of Funny Car celebration, with Ron Capps – a huge fan of the history of our sport -- finally and fittingly crowned the champion, I took a look back over the list of champions who had preceded him and whose company he…
Mopar Road Ready teen-driving school set for Austin
“Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge” is continuing its mission of teaching teens safe driving skills with the program’s first-ever Texas stop. Four complimentary, advanced behind-the-wheel training sessions are scheduled for the…
2017 Hot Rod Heritage Series schedule set
NHRA officials have announced the 2017 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series schedule, headlined by the Nostalgia Top Fuel and Nostalgia Funny Car categories. The series, celebrating its tenth season, includes classes for front engine dragsters,…
Dates set for 2017 Hot Rod Reunion events
The NHRA Motorsports Museum has announced the 2017 NHRA Hot Rod Reunion racing schedule. Unique among motorsports events, Hot Rod Reunion events honor some of the top names in hot rodding from the past and feature a fabulous array of drag cars,…
2016 Super Comp champion: Nick Folk
After years as one of the sport’s most successful E.T. bracket racers, Nick Folk pursued the NHRA Super Comp title this season and was rewarded with the national championship. He got off to a hot start with a runner-up finish at the JEGS NHRA…
Top five sportsman moments of 2016
The quest for 100: In the 62-year history of NHRA drag racing, just two drivers – John Force and Frank Manzo, have managed to win 100 national event titles. For most sportsman racers, even those who travel often and attend many…
2016 Super Gas champion: Mia Tedesco
For just the third time in the history of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and for the first time in Super Gas, a woman was crowned the national champion. Mia Tedesco drove her CARS Protection Plus Cavalier to national and divisional…
Pieces falling into place for Team Liberty
With the 2017 season on the horizon, teammates Cory Reed and Angelle Sampey recently announced their highly-anticipated plans for next year. It was announced in September that Reed was starting his own team in 2017 and three-time Pro Stock…
2016 Pro Stock Qualifying by the Numbers
Following is a look at the drivers in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle who had the best overall qualifying efforts throughout the 2016 season and in the Countdown to the Championship, breaking down qualifying bonus points and average starts…
Firebird Raceway completes upgrades and improvements
The New Crew at Firebird Raceway outside of Boise, Idaho, has completed upgrades and improvements at the facility, work that began Firebird following the final event of the season in late-October. A-1 Quality Concrete, earned the bid to…
Victory Motorcycles returns to partner with Matt Smith Racing for 2017
Victory Motorcycles will return to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series in 2017, as the company will again partner with two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith and his successful Matt Smith Racing team. Victory joined the NHRA…
Summit, Harley racers plan return to Middle East to visit troops for 2016’s Operation Appreciation
Once a year since 2011, Operation Appreciation has brought a taste of home to American troops stationed overseas. Sponsored by Summit Racing and Armed Forces Entertainment, Operation Appreciation sends some of motorsports’ best drivers to talk…
Catch 22
The fact that Matt Driskell won’t have to repaint the competition number on his six-second dragster is little consolation to the man who came up short of winning the championship in the Top Dragster presented by Racing RVs class for the…
J&A Service Pro Mod Series set to race at NHRA Kansas Nationals in 2017
NHRA officials have announced that the 12th additional race for the J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series will be contested at the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka, May 19-21.
J&A Service, a leader in oil and gas well-…
Worsham leaves Kalitta Motorsports to rejoin family-owned Funny Car team
2015 NHRA Funny Car champion Del Worsham will leave Kalitta Motorsports and rejoin his family-owned Funny Car team. “It was a hard decision to leave a championship-caliber team such as Kalitta…
Summit National Championships Super Pro Motorcycle winner Curtis Spracklin
Curtis Spracklin, the Super Pro Motorcycle wild card entry, made his second trip to the National Championship pay off when he rode his ’05 Athanis past fellow Division 5 racer Michael Shelton’s Hayabusa to claim this year’s title…
Summit National Championships Sportsman winner Jeff Hefler
Jeff Hefler won his third Summit Racing Series national championship at the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Division 4 champ Hefler, who also won national championships in 2010 and 2013, drove his Fort Worth, Texas-based ’65 Chevy to the Sportsman…
Summit National Championships Pro winner Chad Isley
Division 3 ace Chad Isley, a former Summit Motorcycle national champion who last won in 2013, collected his second crown, this time on four wheels with his Charleston, Ill.-based ’67 Chevy when he bested Division 5 runner Steve Stockton in…
Summit National Championships Super Pro winner Timmy Smith
Timmy Smith, a Division 2 racer from Roanoke, Ala., won his first Summit Series national championship by driving his dragster to victory in Super Pro class, besting Division 4 champion Max McGlothin and his ’27-T Ford in the final round.