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How Cold Hard Art's Tom Patsis created special Camping World champions trophies
Renown artist and metal sculptor Tom Patsis of Cold Hard Art was tasked with creating a special trophy for the Camping World NHRA Drag Racing series professional champions and he delivered a timeless masterpiece.
Random Racer Roundup
Challenged to cite a random drag racer from their memory banks, dozens of NHRA fans responded to share their thoughts abut racers past and present whose accomplishments resonate with them.
The tweets that became a viral thread that launched a Dragster Insider column that spawned a follow-up now has an offspring. Challenged by yours truly to cite a random drag racer from your memory banks, dozens of you responded to share your picks…
Mike Green ready to help take Justin Ashley to the next level in Top Fuel
Championship-winning Top Fuel crew chief Mike Green is ready to help reigning rookie of the year Justin Ashley and the Strutmasters.com team in their pursuit of a world championship.
Tickets on sale for Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals 2021 kickoff event
For the first time in NHRA history, the 2021 season will kick off at the famed Gainesville Raceway. Tickets are now on sale for the 52nd annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
For the first time in NHRA history, the 2021 season will kick off at the famed Gainesville Raceway. Tickets are now on sale for the 52nd annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
The stars of the NHRA will begin their season-long hunt for a…
2021 NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League Conference Finals set for summer 2021
The two premier events for the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League will return to familiar surroundings for the 2021 season. The Western Conference Finals will once again take place at Osage Hotel Tulsa Raceway Park in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Conference Finals will again visit Bristol Dragway in Tennessee.
The two premier events for the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, the popular series for young NHRA racers, will return to familiar surroundings for the 2021 season. The Western Conference Finals will once again take place at Osage Hotel…
Nitro Time Machine: Kenji Okazaki's trial by fire
At the 1993 Houston race, Japan's Kenji Okazaki earned his stripes as a Funny Car driver when he walked away from an inferno in Jim Dunn's Mooneyes entry.
NHRA Shop Talk: Roots Superchargers
In the latest edition of NHRA Shop Talk, hosts Brian Lohnes and Alan Reinhart were joined by Mike Janis Jr., of Mike Janis Superchargers, to talk about Roots Superchargers.
In the latest edition of NHRA Shop Talk, hosts Brian Lohnes and Alan Reinhart were joined by Mike Janis Jr., of Mike Janis Superchargers, to talk about Roots Superchargers.
Roots blowers have been around for far more than 100 years, but they…
Anticipation builds for Amalie NHRA Gatornationals as Sportsman fields quickly filled
Following the COVID-shortened 2020 season, anticipation builds for the Gainesville season opener as sportsman racers begin to pre-enter the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
Even before the calendar officially turned to 2021, the first race of the new season was staged; the race to enter the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Pre-entries for Lucas Oil Series sportsman racers opened on Wednesday, December 30, and…
Racing Technology: Donnie Bender explains barrel valves and flow meters (part 2)
In the second installment of our Racing Technology series, veteran crew chief Donnie Bender provides an in-depth explanation of barrel valves and flow meters.
Nitro Time Machine: Doug Herbert's spectacular Dallas blowover
At the 1992 Dallas event, Doug Herbert joined a not-so-exclusive fraternity when he suffered a Top Fuel blowover in round one.
Nitro Time Machine: Shelly Anderson bests Mike Dunn in Seattle Top Fuel final
In this edition of the Nitro Time Machine, we go back to the 1996 Seattle Top Fuel final, where arch rivals Shelly Anderson and Mike Dunn combined for what was then the sport's quickest side-by-side run.
Happy New Year from the NHRA
As we all put behind us a very challenging 2021, the staff of the NHRA wishes a Happy New Year to its members, fans, racers, sponsors, member track operators, and everyone else who helps make the world of NHRA Drag Racing a wondrous place.
The Struggle Was Real
"I think that most of us can agree that racing was, by and large, a safe haven in 2020. Personally, 2020 never felt more “normal” than when I was at the racetrack. That doesn’t mean that racing wasn’t a struggle in its own right. I know it was for me." -- two-time world champion Luke Bogacki
“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” – Sigmund Freud
To say that 2020 has been a struggle feels like an understatement of massive proportion…
2020: By the Numbers
Drag racing has always been all about the numbers, whether they're e.t., mph, reaction time, index, dial-in, horsepower, or the dozens of other data that rule our lives, but here are some interesting numbers about the 2020 season in general.
Finally, Gratefully at the Finish Line
I stood on the starting line at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 1, marveling that it was all over. The selfie photo that I took for posterity stamped the time in my phone as 4:56 p.m. In the background, above the fading…
The Parting Message
WFO Radio host and NHRA National Dragster columnist Joe Castello looks back at the challenges and successes of the 2020 season,
Here we are. December 2020. Who knew it’d be like this? I certainly didn’t. I’m lucky to have a column as we close the book on this season. Going WFO, one more time.
Most importantly, we got it in! We completed the 2020 NHRA season and champions…
Keeping Calm and Carrying On
The NHRA community pulled together as one during the COVID-19 pandemic to complete an entertaining and safe season of racing.
March 12 was the day that the drag racing world stood still after the World Health Organization declared the surging novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic.
On the advice of the governor of Florida, NHRA officials quickly…
Passings of original NHRA DD Darwin Doll, car owner Dale Creasy Sr. add to 2020 toll
Darwin Doll, one of NHRA’s original division directors who oversaw the Northeast Division from 1964-78, and longtime nitro Funny Car owner Dale Creasy Sr. both passed away recently, adding to a year of tremendous losses within the sport. We salute them all one final time.
Darwin Doll, one of NHRA’s original division directors who oversaw the Northeast Division from 1964-78, and longtime nitro Funny Car owner Dale Creasy Sr. both passed away recently, adding to a year of tremendous losses within the sport. We salute…
Steve Torrence and team overcame near-tragedy to win third straight championship
They say that the measure of a champion is not how they deal with success, but how they deal with adversity, and Steve Torrence and the crew of the now three-time champion Capco Contractors team are evidence of that.
They say that the measure of a champion is not how they deal with success, but how they deal with adversity, and Steve Torrence and the crew of the now three-time champion Capco Contractors team are evidence of that.
After skipping the season…
Veteran tuner Mike Green joins Justin Ashley Racing
Justin Ashley Racing has announced that world championship-winning crew chief Mike Green has joined the Strutmasters.com/Auto Shocker Top Fuel dragster team.
Justin Ashley Racing has announced that world championship-winning crew chief Mike Green has joined the Strutmasters.com/Auto Shocker Top Fuel dragster team. The move comes as Ashley looks ahead to the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and…
Dean Skuza ends John Force's win streak at the 1997 Gatornationals
Funny Car kingpin John Force's streak of 13 straight round wins ended when he took on Dean Skuza in the quarterfinals of the 1997 Gatornationals.
Consistency, resiliency earned Matt Hagan a third Funny Car championship
Matt Hagan and crew chief Dickie Venables made the most of a shortened season with unparalleled consistency and performance that carried Hagan to his third NHRA FUnny Car world championship.
As a guy who rides a tractor when he’s not wheeling his 11,000-hp Mopar Funny Car, the farmer in Matt Hagan is very familiar with the old encouragement to “Make hay while the sun shines.” So, when the two-race-old NHRA racing season resumed in…
Erica Enders joins exclusive company with fourth Pro Stock championship
Erica Enders wins back-to-back Pro Stock world championships for the second time in her career, joins exclusive company as a four-time Camping World NHRA World Champion.
The list is fairly impressive, and it includes Bob Glidden, Warren Johnson, Jeg Coughlin Jr., Lee Shepherd, Greg Anderson, and now, Erica Enders. Those are the only NHRA drivers who have won four or more world titles in Pro Stock. Enders became…
Matt Smith rebounds from disappointing 2019 finish to claim fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle title
After a disappointing finish to the 2019 season, Matt Smith came out swinging in 2020 and was rewarded with his fourth Camping World NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship.
After a disappointing finish in 2019, where he lost the championship largely due to a mechanical failure on the last day of the season in Pomona, Matt Smith entered 2020 with a lengthy to-do list, and by the time it was over, he’d checked off…
Nitro Time Machine: The day Bob Bode scored one for the little guys
At the 2010 Houston event, independent Funny Car racer Bob Bode scored one for the little guys when he upset Jack Beckman in the final round.
Megan Meyer clinches second TAD championship with dramatic mic-drop win
Just a few months after announcing her retirement from driving, 2019 Top Alcohol Dragster champ Megan Meter won her second straight championship in dramatic style at the season finale in Las Vegas.
As hard as it is to believe, the second straight world championship that she could claim by lighting the win light in the final round of the season-ending Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas was not even the last thing on Megan Meyer’s mind as she…
John Force and the Grinch steal the Funny Car title at 2000 NHRA Finals
At the 2000 NHRA Finals in Pomona, John Force was the Grinch who stole everything when he won the Funny Car title over the late Bruce Sarver for his 92nd victory.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the NHRA staff
The staff of the NHRA wishes a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the fans, sponsors, race teams, racetracks, and other supporters of the NHRA.
89 questions about Chris “the Greek” Karamesines (or should there be 92?)
Drag racing's legendary "Greek," Chris Karamesines, ended his driving career at the close of the 2020 season at age 89. Or is it 92? There are so many questions. After all, when your drag racing career spans 67 years (61 of them in Top Fuel), there’s a lot of room for questions we'll try to answer.
When it comes to the life and times of Chris Karamesines, there will always be some things you can debate. His age. Whether or not he made the first 200-mph quarter-mile pass. How much gold plating really was on his famed Top Fueler. After all, when…
After years of close calls, Doug Gordon finally wins first TAFC championship
For the last six years, Doug Gordons has been in the Top Alcohol Funny Car championship discussion but never won the title. That all changed in 2020.
The last place that Doug Gordon and his father, Mike, wanted to be at the late-season Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals in Houston was at the top end, with TV cameras trained on them as they waited to see whether points rival Sean…