NHRA Winternationals Hit by a Hailstorm

NHRA Winternationals Hit by a Hailstorm Image

The Los Angeles County Fair was a California sugar beet field in 1922 that originally featured chariot-style races. In 1952, it expanded to include a drag racing facility, established by Bud Coons, a local police officer. This city’s investment was intended to offer a safe space for drag racers, which has since become a holly spot for all drag racing enthusiasts. The Pomona Dragstrip, now associated with In-N-Out Burger, continued its role as a historical site, and over the weekend hosted the 64th annual NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals. The Fairplex was originally named after the 1922 Los Angeles County Fair. The popular facility attracts over 630,000 visitors annually to its 17-day fair concluding on Memorial Day and also houses the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. The...

March 25, 2024
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Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at Pomona

Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at Pomona Image

Remember those late night grudge races between car owners that actually started side-by-side racing? Well, Mission Foods is back as the co-sponsor of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The opening round was staged over the weekend during Saturday qualifying at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals. In 2024, the popular specialty event will be hosted at thirteen (13) regular season events by pitting the semi-finalists teams from the previous NHRA national against each other in a pair of rematches in Nitro and Stock classes. The semifinalist winners in each class matchup in Saturday’s final qualifying session at each of the selected events. In addition to bragging rights, competitors put the pedal to the metal with a bonus purse...

March 25, 2024
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NHRA Nitro Season Opens at Gatornationals

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Fifteen months after Gainesville Raceway was built in 1968, the first Gatornationals was held as a four-day event that featured National Hot Rod Association classes alongside amateur divisions, motorcycle races and Jr. dragster. For decades the drag racing event served as the traditional East Coast opener for the National Hot Rod Association and this year was the opening round of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Both fans and competitors love coming to Florida and, over the years, the track has earned its status one of the season’s must-see national events. Long considered one of the NHRA’s fastest tracks, the Gatornationals saw the first 260-mph passes in Top Fuel (Joe Amato) and Funny Car (Kenny Bernstein) in 1984 and the first 300-mph passes by Don...

March 12, 2024
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NHRA Stock Season Opens at Gatornationals

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Unlike many of drag racing facilities across the country, Gainesville Raceway is available for rental year round to host private or group Pro Class test sessions, including both Nitro and Stock divisions. Owned and operated by the NHRA, the state-of-the-art facility features a full quarter-mile race track with smooth concrete surface launch pad and the longest shutdown area on the circuit. While the racing world has seen declines in attendance following the pandemic years, Gainesville Raceway is still posting “Sorry the Event is Sold Out” signs for the historic Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. In addition to being one of the most historic dragstrips, the pavement at Gainesville has delivered many record-setting passes over the years. Including the first plus 260 mph...

March 12, 2024
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Gainesville Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout

Gainesville Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout Image

For more than fifty years, drag race fans have been making the annual journey to Gainesville, Florida, to watch the fastest drivers on the planet compete for pride, points, and prize money. This year was no exception as Gainesville Raceway hosted the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Top Fuel Callout in conjunction with 55th annual Gatornationals. The Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout is a specialty race that began in 2022 featuring a field composed of the top eight finishers from last season. The number one seed goes first and gets to name their first round opponent. After round one, whoever had the lowest ET gets to pick their opponent for first for the second round of the All-Star Callout Once again, the unique format delivered can’t-miss racing action from the Top Fuel stars of the...

March 11, 2024
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2024 NHRA Racing Schedules Released

2024 NHRA Racing Schedules Released Image

The National Hot Rod Association released category schedules for the sanctioning body’s 73rd season of side-by-side racing. This included several fan-favorite drag racing classes and specialty events being hosted for the upcoming season. The 2024 season will open on the East Coast at the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. NITRO & STOCK – Professional classes for nitro Top Fuel, nitro Funny Car, and Pro Stock will race at all 21 NHRA national events. Pro Stock Motorcycle will compete at 16 events during the 2024 campaign, beginning with the opener in Gainesville. All four professional categories will also race in all six events in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. PRO MOD – FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series has ten scheduled events...

January 19, 2024
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The Swamp Rat: Drag Racing's King of Accomplishments

The Swamp Rat: Drag Racing's King of Accomplishments Image

Originally nicknamed the Floridian by his NHRA competitors, Don “Big Daddy” Garlits has been called many things over his seventy years roaming the pits at National Hot Rod Association events. Born on January 14, 1923, in Tampa, Florida, Garlits won a total of 144 national events and three NHRA Top Fuel world championships with an impressive list of “firsts” that sets a high bar for the next generation of professional drag racing teams, drivers, and event organizers. By the early 1950s, the sport of drag racing moved from the dried up lake beds in the California desert to barely used airport runways. Plus, in the shadows of the second World War, lots of people began working on and modifying their own vehicles to meet this growing need for speed. With no...

January 17, 2024
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What's New for NHRA Drag Racing in 2024?

What's New for NHRA Drag Racing in 2024? Image

As you can see, the National Hot Rod Association found a stellar new title sponsor to replace Camping World, who is still onboard as an official partner of the NHRA. Mission Foods has transcended from team sponsorship to special event sponsor of the Mission Foods NHRA Challenge to signing an agreement as a multi-year sponsorship. FILL-IN DRIVER ANNOUNCED AT JOHN FORCE RACING Three-time NHRA Funny Car world champion announced that Austin Prock will be taking over the driving duties for the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS at the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals to begin the 2024 season. Hight is stepping down to take care of a personal medical issue and vows to resume competition for John Force Racing as soon as his health permits. The company behind the...

January 15, 2024
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Happy Holidays from E3 Spark Plugs

Happy Holidays from E3 Spark Plugs Image

From the entire team at E3 Spark Plugs, we would like to wish all our customers and fans for making 2023 another special year. As we all know, you can’t start a fire without a good spark and E3 Spark Plugs would never have become one of the leading spark plugs online as well as on store shelves across the country without everyone’s support. It's not surprising that E3 became heavily involved in a wide variety of racing programs where performance is tested every day on tracks across America. Especially considering that the DiamondFIRE technology powers the spark plug that was “Born to Burn” came from underneath the grandstand of our nation’s grass-roots racing events. For those who don’t know, underneath the grandstands is where race teams pitted in...

December 7, 2023
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2023 World Champions Crowned at NHRA Banquet

2023 World Champions Crowned at NHRA Banquet Image

The famed Pomona Dragstrip once again hosted the National Hot Rod Association’s final round of the 2023 World Championships at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA National Finals for Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Sunday’s elimination rounds at the historic Southern California Fairplex was the sixth of six Countdown to the Championship rounds for nitro and stock teams and drivers.  The race for titles started in September at Maple Grove Raceway for the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, where the top 10 racers in each of the four professional categories qualified to battle it out for the title in their respective classes. Points were reset among the qualifiers, with the leader enjoying a 20-point cushion ahead of the No. 2-seeded racer. The remaining qualified...

November 14, 2023
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