- VINTAGE JOHN FORCE TAKES PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT CHARLOTTE NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS
- Jeff Taylor Races Himself in JEGS $50K Final and Eric Aman Captures Silverstate $50K Win on Friday at the Spring Fling
- BO AND RANDI LYN BUTNER KICK OFF JHG NHRA MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK SEASON AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
- JOHN FORCE AND RICK HENDRICK: A LONGSTANDING FRIENDSHIP INITIATED BY A MOVIE AND LATER A RED BALL CAP
- Kalitta, Force, Anderson and Smith take the #1 spots at Friday qualifying of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
- A Family That Races Together Stays Together!
- J. FORCE, KALITTA, ANDERSON AND M. SMITH RACE TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS IN CHARLOTTE
VINTAGE JOHN FORCE TAKES PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFIER AT CHARLOTTE NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS
Earns 10th-quickest elapsed time – and career-best — in NHRA Funny Car history
CONCORD, NC – Ageless John Force recorded a career-best and the 10th-quickest elapsed time in NHRA Funny Car history to take the No. 1 
provisional qualifying spot Friday in the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
One week before his 75th birthday, Force clocked an outstanding run of 3.820 seconds (at 330.96 mph) – also setting the track ET record – in the second session of the day, which was held under the lights in the chilly Carolina evening.
“They said they were going to lean on it because conditions are getting better,” Force said of co-crew chiefs Daniel Hood and Tim Fabrisi and assistant Chris Cunningham. “They leaned on it and said, ‘Hang on,’ and that’s what I did. And it wound up being even quicker than they thought it would be.
“I feel really good about it. We’ll come back tomorrow and see what we can do.” Continue reading
Jeff Taylor Races Himself in JEGS $50K Final and Eric Aman Captures Silverstate $50K Win on Friday at the Spring Fling
Benson, NC — Another historic showing of 547 entries rolled through eliminations on Friday at the Strange Engineering Spring Fling 
presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park. The schedule for the day would be stacked with the completion of the late rounds of Thursday’s JEGS 50K, running the Silverstate $50K from start to finish, and the 1-run Brodix Shootout.
The morning began with six drivers in the quarterfinals including Howie Adams, Kevin Brannon, Jeff Taylor in two entries, Jeff Serra, and Austin Thompson. Thompson turned it two thousandths red to the .007 of Taylor in his first entry, while Brannon had the starting line advantage by .010 but broke it out against Adams. Serra was .003 ahead at the hit against Taylor in his second entry, but Taylor advanced by way of Serra’s one thousandth breakout.
The semifinal ladder worked in Taylor’s favor as he earned the bye to the final in his first entry. On the other side of the ladder Adams fouled out by four thousandths of a second to the .010 bulb of Taylor, which cemented him in the Fling record books as the second racer to ever carry two entries to a Fling main event final round for the JEGS $50,000 purse. Continue reading
BO AND RANDI LYN BUTNER KICK OFF JHG NHRA MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK SEASON AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
CONCORD, NC – Racing a pair of black-and-red Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Branded Chevrolet Camaros, the Bo Butner Racing team 
consisting of husband-and-wife Bo and Randi Lyn Butner, will make their Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock debut at this weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
The Butners, whose entries are owned by Elite Motorsports and tuned by veteran Frank Gugliotta, are no strangers to NHRA Drag Racing. Bo is the 2017 Pro Stock world champion while Randi Lyn has a Division 3 Stock championship. Joining the well-versed team is Darrel Herron, Randy Lyn’s former Stock Eliminator crew chief who most recently tuned Bruno Massel to a pair of Comp Eliminator championships, veteran Pro Stock crew man Rodney Crabtree, as well as Gage Green, who joined the crew in 2023. Continue reading
JOHN FORCE AND RICK HENDRICK: A LONGSTANDING FRIENDSHIP INITIATED BY A MOVIE AND LATER A RED BALL CAP
For over 30 years, both men have been admirers of each other’s success and now finally have a perfect opportunity to work together
CONCORD, NC – John Force is a man who wears many hats: multi-car NHRA team owner, businessman, and driver of the PEAK Chevrolet 
Camaro Funny Car.
He has become one of the most quotable athletes in sports, and one of the most successful and popular drivers in NHRA history. Force is also well known for his signature hat, having worn a bright white sponsor hat on race day for the last 40 years.
But this weekend in suburban Charlotte, while bidding to extend his own record to four career wins in the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, Force will also be carrying a red City Chevrolet hat that he received a number of years ago.
The hat serves as a reminder of Force’s admiration for his friend, NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick (who owns the original City Chevrolet), but also of the movie “Days of Thunder”, which premiered in 1990, the same year as Force’s first of what would eventually become a record 16 NHRA Funny Car championships. Continue reading
Kalitta, Force, Anderson and Smith take the #1 spots at Friday qualifying of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Charlotte, NC – Kalitta, Force, Anderson and Smith take the top spots in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock car and motorcycle during Friday qualifying at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals
Doug Kalitta – Top Fuel Provisional No. 1 Qualifier
Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster – 3.779 seconds, 337.92 mph
John Force – Funny Car Provisional No. 1 Qualifier
PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS – 3.820 seconds, 330.96 mph
Greg Anderson – Pro Stock Provisional No. 1 Qualifier
HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro – 6.500 seconds, 210.90 mph
Matt Smith – Pro Stock Motorcycle Provisional No. 1 Qualifier
Denso Spark Plugs Buell – 6.685 seconds, 201.61 mph
video courtesy of NHRA
A Family That Races Together Stays Together!
Charlotte, NC – Charlotte, NC – With Fernando Cuadra Sr retiring after this event, the NHRA decided to allow the family to make a run as a family to celebrate the birthday and retirement of the family patriarch.
Fernando Sr., Fernando Jr., Cristian and David Cuadra line up during Friday qualifying for Pro Stock eliminator.
video courtesy of NHRA
J. FORCE, KALITTA, ANDERSON AND M. SMITH RACE TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS IN CHARLOTTE
CONCORD, NC – Funny Car legend John Force set a new zMAX Dragway track record on Friday, powering to the provisional No. 1 spot at 
the 14th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the fifth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the final Funny Car quad of the night, Force went an impressive 3.820-seconds at 330.96 mph in his 11,000-horsepower PEAK Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS, setting a track record previously set by teammate Robert Hight last September. If that holds, Force, who won the Winternationals earlier this year in Phoenix, would pick up his 167th career No. 1 qualifier and first in 2024. It’s been a strong season thus far for Force, who looks to pick up his fifth career victory at zMAX Dragway this weekend after making the 10th-quickest run in Funny Car history on Friday. Continue reading
SOX & MARTIN® AND MCCANDLESS COLLECTION TO SPONSOR NHRA HEMI® CHALLENGE
Burlington, NC – Sox & Martin and the McCandless Collection are thrilled to announce their sponsorship of the 2024 HEMI Challenge as 
part of the 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The world’s biggest and most prestigious drag race takes place Aug. 28-Sept. 2.
The HEMI Challenge is the longest running continuous specialty race in NHRA history and has been a fan favorite for over two decades. This event features exciting heads-up, wheel-standing, side-by-side racing of HEMI-powered 1968 Super Stock Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas competing in the NHRA SS/AH class. These limited production ‘HEMI Package Cars,’ built specifically for Super Stock competition, have been a part of drag racing history for more than five decades and made the Sox & Martin name legendary among fans and feared among the competition.
The Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge presented by the McCandless Collection will elevate this celebrated event to even greater heights with an enhanced social media and marketing focus, bringing even more recognition to the hardworking and diehard SS/AH racers and their HEMI-powered machines. Continue reading
Final Rounds of JEGS $50,000 Race to Conclude On Friday at the Spring Fling
Benson, NC — JEGS $50,000 Thursday at the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by Optima Batteries at GALOT Motorsports Park 
boasted the highest entry count seen in eight years of Fling events at the facility after 500 staged up for the first round.
The combination of new arrivals, 500 entries, and buyback round extended the program late into the evening. The decision was made to conclude for the night at the round of eight cars. The ladder is as follows: Howie Adams versus Kevin Brannon, Austin Thompson and Jeff Taylor in his first entry, and Jeff Serra versus Jeff Taylor in his second entry.
New Entry Time Runs will fire up at 8:15 a.m. before the continuation of the JEGS $50K with Silverstate $50,000 Friday eliminations to follow. The Laris Motorsports Insurance Racer Appreciation Party will kick off trackside at 7 p.m. with a free dinner, live music, and prizes for racers and their families. Continue reading
HendrickCars.com to sponsor Brittany Force’s Top Fuel dragster starting at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte
This event kicks off a four-race partnership with John Force Racing
CONCORD, NC – Two of the most iconic and successful names in motorsports have united for the first time. HendrickCars.com, the online 
brand for NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick’s automotive retail enterprise, and John Force Racing have teamed up on a four-race, primary sponsorship of Brittany Force and her Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster.
HendrickCars.com will also serve as an associate sponsor on the Funny Car entries of team patriarch and owner John Force, and current NHRA points leader, Austin Prock. The partnership begins this weekend at the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte and extends to the events at Virginia Motorsports Park (June 21-23), Charlotte (Sept. 20-22) and the Texas Motorplex (Oct. 10-13), the latter two being part of the NHRA’s “Countdown to the Championship.”
“I’m honored to have HendrickCars.com as a partner and be the first to bring them to the Top Fuel category in NHRA,” said Brittany Force, a two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion. ”Charlotte is home to Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Motorsports, so to debut the car here is pretty cool.” Continue reading
