The Sports Report: Fletcher on the verge of more history
When Dan Fletcher won the Super Stock title at the DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte, it gave him 105 national event victories. He’s got one more to go to pass Frank Manzo for second on NHRA’s all-time wins list.
There was a time when the news of a Dan Fletcher victory would barely register a blip on the drag racing radar screen. For most of his career, Fletcher won often, securing a total of 104 national event wins since his inaugural win at the 1994…
Sports Report: The triumphant return of Edmond Richardson
With back-to-back wins in Bowling Green and Indy, Edmond Richardson has remerged as one of NHRA’s best super class racers and more than 30 years into his career, he’s still got something to prove.
Bad news for anyone who thought Super Gas racing would somehow be easier in 2022.
It won't be.
Edmond Richardson is back, and he plans on sticking around for a while.
Richardson won the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals Super Gas title to earn the…
The Sports Report: With latest win, Luke Bogacki closes in on Super Gas title
Luke Bogacki has crested the 700-point mark for the second time in his career following his Super Gas win in Brainerd, and he’s built a massive lead in the race for the championship.
As baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once famously said, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and in the case of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Gas world championship; it's over.
Over as in finished.
Game, set, match.
Done deal, or…
The Sports Report: A magical moment for the Meyer family
The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series winners from last weekend’s Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor included cousins Rachel and Dusty Meyer, and it was an incredibly emotional weekend for both of them.
It’s a simple and undeniable truth that some wins mean more than others, and in the wake of a personal tragedy, it’s hard to imagine any win could mean more to a driver than Dusty Meyer’s recent victory at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by…
The Sports Report: First-time Super Comp winner Nick Cobb has a story to tell
From mechanical gremlins to lucky breaks, and ultimately a trip to the beach, it's fair to say that Nick Cobb's first NHRA national event win will long be remembered.
Two-time NHRA world champ Sherman Adcock once famously delivered the following take on the finer points of Super Class racing, “It’s just like playing rock, paper, scissors; no matter what you bring, it might not be enough.”
Indeed, truer…
The Sports Report: The ultimate father-daughter weekend
Joe Mozeris and his daughter, Kayla, had a weekend they’ll never forget at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Mile-High Nationals presented by Pennzoil in Denver when they earned national event titles in Comp eliminator and Super Stock, respectively.
Kayla Mozeris won the Super Stock title at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Mile-High Nationals presented by Pennzoil and then watched a few minutes later when her father, Joe, drove to the win in Comp eliminator. It was the sort of day that every family that…
The Sports Report: Anthony Bertozzi nearly runs the table in Norwalk
Anthony Bertozzi has enjoyed a lot of success in his career, but he’s never had a day like the one he had at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, where his team celebrated three wins and a runner-up finish.
Our regular readers will likely recall The Sports Report story we published last February with two-time NHRA world champion Anthony Bertozzi. The story highlighted Bertozzi’s well-known generosity toward others and the amount of enjoyment…
The Sports Report: Remembering Kyle Seipel
It’s painful anytime our tight-knit drag racing community loses one of its own but the plain truth is that some losses hurt more than others and today, it’s hard to imagine anything more painful than having to say goodbye to Kyle Seipel, who lost his long battle with cancer on June 21.
It’s painful anytime our tight-knit drag racing community loses one of its own but the plain truth is that some losses hurt more than others and today, it’s hard to imagine anything more painful than having to say goodbye to Kyle Seipel, who lost…
The Sports Report: Like father, like daughter
Amanda Boicesco won her second NHRA national event title at the TascaParts.com NHRA New England Nationals following a historic all-female final round, and she nearly shared the winner’s circle with her father, Iggie.
It isn’t an accident that Amanda Boicesco’s dragster carries the No. 11 that signifies that she’s the reigning NHRA Division 1 Super Comp champion. During the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Boicesco overcame a slow start to win a pair of Lucas Oil…
The Sports Report: David Barton scores two Wallys in eight days
In a span of two weeks, David Barton went from winning his first event in Comp eliminator to breaking a nearly four-year victory drought in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown class.
To suggest that the last two weeks have been good to David Barton would be an understatement. Following the NHRA tour to stops in Charlotte and Houston, Barton picked up a pair of Wallys, but did so in a most unusual way. He cashed in Charlotte in…
The Sports Report: Kent Hanley joins the “near double” club in Atlanta
Kent Hanley became the latest driver to nearly double up at an NHRA national event when he drove to a win in Super Stock and a runner-up finish in Super Comp at the Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals.
The list of drivers who have doubled up at an NHRA national event remains fairly small; currently, there are just 26 members of that exclusive fraternity, and the feat has been accomplished just 42 times in more than 1,000 events over NHRA’s 70-year…
The Sports Report: This time, the spotlight shines on Conner Statler
Stanfield racing crewmember Conner Statler has appeared in many winner's circle celebrations, but in Las Vegas, he accomplished a rare feat when he won the first national event he attended as a driver.
As a valued member of the Stanfield Engines team, Conner Statler has been a part of many winner’s circle ceremonies. In 2020 alone, Statler helped his buddy Aaron Stanfield celebrate five straight wins in the Factory Stock Showdown class as…
The Sports Report: Bradley Johnson’s furious fight to the finish
Bradley Johnson came up two points short in his bid to win the championship in Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers but his late-season charge was nothing short of amazing.
Bradley Johnson needed 17 round wins. He got 16.
Johnson entered the late stages of the 2020 season as a leading contender for the Vortech Superchargers Top Dragster title. Short on time and nearly out of races to claim, Johnson needed nothing…
Following St. Louis win, Christopher Dodd takes aim at Super Comp championship
It probably wasn’t fair to call it a “must win” race, but if Christopher Dodd is to become the 2020 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp champion, his recent win at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil could certainly be defined as “clutch”.
It probably wasn’t fair to call it a “must win” race, but if Christopher Dodd is to become the 2020 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp champion, his recent win at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil…
High-stakes bracket racer Williams values the importance of Indy Super Comp title
Troy Williams Jr. has won a host of big money bracket raceing titles but few of his wins can compare to his latest triumph in Super Comp at the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals.
With a win at the Million Dollar Drag Race, three titles at the Moroso 5-Day race, and a host of $10,000, $20,000, and even $50,000 wins, Troy Williams Jr. long ago secured his place among the greats in high stakes E.T. bracket racing. Williams has…
The Sports Report: Once is nice, three times is better
Jason Coan scores his third win at Indy after a late-night final against Craig Bourgeois, and the rest of the sportsman action from the 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Craig Bourgeois was just one round away from a historic double-up in Comp Eliminator, but Jason Coan had other ideas. Bourgeois, well-known throughout the sport for his unique front-engine A/Nostalgia Dragster and 2016 world title, won the JEGS…
The Sports Report: The Sky’s the limit
When his career as a Top Fuel crew member was interrupted by the pandemic, Skylar Blades and his friends went bracket racing and so far it has worked out quite well for them.
Sometimes, when life deals you lemons, you make lemonade, or in the case of Skylar Blades, you simply restore your lemon-yellow Chevy Nova and return the track for a little bracket racing action. For the last six seasons, Blades has been a regular…
The Sports Report: James Kunkel’s dynamic (and unconventional) double
James Kunkel won 15-straight rounds of eliminations in Super Comp to sweep last weekend’s Division 5 Lucas Oil Series double-header in Topeka. And, he did it in a slow door car.
Door cars don’t win Super Comp races.
Slow cars don’t win Super Comp races.
No one wins back-to-back Super Comp races.
These are all things you may have heard but shouldn’t believe especially after James Kunkel’s performance last week in Topeka…
The Sports Report: Anthony Bertozzi makes history at JEGS SPORTSnationals in Columbus
Coming off a near-sweep of the JEGS Speedweek doubleheader in Columbus, Anthony Bertozzi is well on his way to a second NHRA world championship. Oh, and he also won a million dollars this month (sort of).
If not for a slight lapse in his final round battle against reigning Top Dragster world champ Danny Nelson during last weekend’s Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event at National Trail Raceway, Anthony Bertozzi might well have engineered a clean sweep…
The Sports Report: Don’t get mad, get even
At the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Kyle Rizzoli was able to turn quickly the disappointment of last year’s lost championship in Super Stock into a convincing victory against Justin Lamb.
One could hardly blame Kyle Rizzoli if he had told you his off-season was miserable. After all, how many racers wouldn’t harbor some unpleasant feelings if they’d had a chance to win a world championship and came up just a few…
The Sports Report: Don't pick on little brother
The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by Protect the Harvest.com opened a new decade for NHRA’s sportsman racers, but the winner’s circle featured a lot of familiar faces and an brother vs. brother final round.
There were eight different sportsman champions crowned during last week’s season-opening Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by Protect the Harvest.com and at least seven of them didn’t need directions to find the winner’s circle. With the lone…
The Sports Report: The best final round of the year?
At the Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Ray Miller III defeated Evan Kowalski in what can only be described as the best final round of the 2019 season, regardless of class.
Unless you’ve been there, and few have, it’s hard to imagine the plight of Las Vegas Super Gas runner-up Evan Kowalski. The winner of the 2017 Sonoma event, Kowalski is one of the West Coast’s most successful Super Class racers and when he…
The Sports Report: Old, new, borrowed and blue
In just her fourth race with a new 50th anniversary COPO Camaro, Brina Frank earned her fifth national event victory at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Almost everyone has heard of this old English rhyme that is supposed to bring good fortune and prosperity to newlyweds and for St. Louis Stock champ Brina Frank, it certainly…
The Sports Report: The 2019 JEGS SPORTSnationals
At 63, Top Dragster racer Danny Nelson is enjoying one of the best seasons of his long career, and after his latest win at the JEGS SPORTSnationals he’s got a shot to win the Top Dragster national championship.
When he’s not busy racing or building race-ready dragsters in his RaceCraft Chassis shop in Batesville, Ark., Danny Nelson occasionally plays in high stakes poker tournaments so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about dealing with…
The Sport Report: The waiting game
Joe Santangelo took advantage of his final chance to earn points by winning the Stock title in Reading; now he’s got to wait to see if he can hold on to the points lead in Stock and Super Stock.
Following last weekend’s Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Joe Sangangelo’s scorecards are complete in both Stock and Super Stock and they are both impressive. Santangelo already won a national championship in Stock in…
The Sports Report: Austin Williams, the internet’s newest sensation
Two-time national champion Austin Williams used a perfect light to help win his first Indy title in a heads-up final round. Now, his friends have made him a social media celebrity.
Meet Austin Williams, the internet’s newest sensation. Okay, so he’s not exactly a Kardashian, but in the wake of his late-night Stock Eliminator win at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Williams has “gone viral” as they say, with a flood of…
The Sports Report: Stinnett to win it
Four-time NHRA Super Comp champ Gary Stinnett joins an exclusive fraternity with his 25th national event victory, and his fifth at Brainerd Int'l Raceway.
Whether its building engines, tuning carburetors, or driving his 185-mph Super Comp dragster, there aren’t many elements of drag racing that Gary Stinnett hasn’t been able to master. A former crewmember on Warren Johnson’s Pro Stock team,…
The Sports Report: A semi-sweep
Division 7 Super Stock and Stock racer Kyle Rizzoli finished the Western Swing with two wins and a runner-up in Stock and Super Stock
Over the last three weeks, a number of Lucas Oil Series racers on the West Coast have competed in their own version of the Western Swing which includes the Division 7 Lucas Oil Series event at Sonoma Raceway, the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, and the…
The Sports Report: Buy on Friday, win on Sunday
Just days after purchasing Aaron Kinard’s Super Gas operation, Bo Butner recorded his 27th career NHRA national event victory and wins in his sixth-different class.
NHRA fans know Bo Butner as the 2017 Mello Yello Pro Stock champion, but during the week, he’s a used car salesman, and a pretty good one at that. That might help explain how Butner was able to purchase Aaron Kinard’s entire Super Gas operation…
The Sports Report: Holy Moses
Ken Moses became the latest driver to double-up at an NHRA national event by winning Super Comp and Top Dragster at the New England Nationals.
It may not be as impressive as the parting of the Red Sea, but what Ken Moses accomplished at the NHRA New England Nationals could just as easily be described as a miracle. Moses, a part of the Division 1 landscape for more than…