DragStory
AMKUS RESCUE SYSTEMS TO CONTINUE AS OFFICIAL RESCUE TOOLS OF NHRA
INDIANAPOLIS – NHRA officials announced today that AMKUS Rescue Systems, which has been an industry leader in motorsports for more than 40 years, will continue as the “Official Rescue Tools of NHRA” as part of a multi-year agreement. It continues a lengthy partnership between the two brands, as AMKUS has been the “Official Rescue Tools of NHRA” since 2014.
The multi-year extension ensures AMKUS will be the official supplier of rescue equipment to the Simpson NHRA Safety Safari, including updating safety equipment as technology mandates. AMKUS will continue to work closely with Simpson NHRA Safety Safari as well, conducting annual training sessions to help ensure the safest possible environment for NHRA race teams.
John Force Racing Ready to Extend Successful 2024 Start In Charlotte 4-Wide Race
Austin Prock leads Funny Car points standings, looks to repeat last season’s success for both himself and his car at zMAX Dragway
CONCORD, NC – It’s going to be a busy and noteworthy few days for John Force Racing heading into this weekend’s 4-Wide Nationals at 
zMAX Dragway.
Things kick off Thursday morning at 9 a.m. ET with a major sponsorship announcement. Check JohnForceRacing.com and our various social media channels at that time to learn all the exciting news.
On Thursday afternoon, team owner John Force will appear on Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody on SiriusXM Channel 90 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. John always has a rollicking good time with “The Godfather.”
Then comes the weekend action, with two Nitro sessions each scheduled for Friday and Saturday, followed by three rounds of final eliminations on Sunday. Of special note: JFR is going for its fourth consecutive win in Funny Car in the Charlotte 4-Wide. Continue reading
Jeff Verdi Captures RAD Torque Systems $20,000 Shootout Win at the Spring Fling
Benson, NC — The Fling Race Series 2024 Tour arrived at GALOT Motorsports Park for the Strange Engineering Spring Fling presented by 
Optima Batteries for some east coast action. With great racing weather predicted, coupled with one of the best track surfaces in the country would make for some tight racing.
Rob’s Automotive, Collision, and Towing Tuesday saw 175 racers dialing in their cars during the test and tune session in conjunction with eliminations of the RAD Torque Systems Shootout where 32 drivers would battle it out for a $20,000 big check.
Eight shootout drivers remained at the quarterfinals including Vinny DiMino, Alexis Thompson, Arnold Smith, Connor Caulder, Jeff Verdi, Scott Sanders, Chad Duke, and Donovan Williams. Verdi had the reaction time advantage and took .003 over Sanders, while Caulder put together .024 total getting there by just .001 to move past Smith. DiMino was .009 against the redlight of Thompson, and in the last pair Williams was .008 and dead-on two taking .0008 against Duke.
In the semifinals, Verdi was .010 total getting to the stripe by .007 to advance past the .006 and .011 over of Williams to guarantee a door car versus dragster final round with his GTO. DiMino was .013 taking .013 to knock Caulder out of competition. Continue reading
AFTER HISTORIC FUNNY CAR WIN, BOB TASCA AFTER MORE AT CHARLOTTE’S NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS
CONCORD, NC – Bob Tasca III knows all about how difficult it is to win a four-wide drag race, doing so two weeks ago in Las Vegas under 
the rarest of circumstances in NHRA Funny Car history.
The talented veteran pulled off the first triple holeshot in Funny Car to defeat Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and Austin Prock at the four-wide event in Vegas, winning one of the most thrilling final rounds in four-wide history. Next up is a chance to sweep the four-wide events at this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.
Tasca feels right at home at the “Bellagio of Dragstrips,” winning the fall race at the state-of-the-art facility and bringing plenty of momentum into this weekend following his historic win. But Tasca, who is seeking his first Charlotte 4-Wide Nationals victory in his 11,000-horsepower Ford Performance Mustang, knows just how difficult it is to win one of the biggest spectacles in motorsports. Continue reading
This Week at MBE
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CONTINUES TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF NHRA JR. DRAG RACING LEAGUE FOR ACTION-PACKED 2024 SEASON
INDIANAPOLIS — NHRA officials announced today that Summit Racing Equipment will again be the title sponsor of the NHRA Summit 
Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, a popular racing league for kids ages 5-17, which features a host of special events during the 2024 season.
Summit Racing Equipment has been a longtime supporter of the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, which celebrates its 32nd year with a host of thrilling races, providing a memorable platform for young racers to perform at a high level. Back in 2024 are the exciting eight-car shootouts that take place at seven different NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series national events.
“We’re proud to continue to support the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League, which has enjoyed terrific growth and an incredible level of competition. For so many young racers, this is the start of a long career in drag racing and we believe this is a great program to get their start,” said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports & Events Manager. “Now in its third year, the Summit Racing JDRL National Shootouts have helped create more national exposure to junior drag racing and give the racers an even bigger and well-deserved platform.”
The eight-car shootouts debuted two years ago and will take place sat NHRA national events across all seven divisions, beginning with the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 26-28 at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. The final round will take place on Sunday and be included on the television broadcast during eliminations on FS1, with racers running alongside the stars in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Continue reading
Josh Hart Looking for Continued Success at Charlotte Four-Wides
OCALA, FL – The second four-wide national event of the 2024 NHRA Mission Food Drag Racing Series will take place this weekend at the 
Bellagio of Drag Strips, zMAX Dragway, when the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals begins with two rounds of qualifying on Friday. Josh Hart and the TechNet/R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team will be looking to keep their final quad streak alive and focus on grabbing one more win light. Since Hart began racing at the unique four-wide format in 2021 he had qualified in the top half of the field and raced to the final quad three years in a row.
“We have done well at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals and this year I feel good heading into the race,” said Hart, who will be flying the red, white and blue of TechNet this weekend. “We made some progress in Las Vegas and I think we can carry that over to zMAX Dragway. There are a ton of motorsports fans in the Charlotte area and I love it when new fans come to the ropes and get to see our TechNet/R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster up close.”
Hart is also looking to join a short list of Charlotte winners who have won in the fall at the Countdown national event and at the spring four-wide nationals. Only three Top Fuel drivers have accomplished this feat and Hart would like to join Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Cory McClenathan. Hart won the Carolina Nationals fall race during his rookie season in 2021. Continue reading
LONGTIME BATTLE FOR CONSISTENCY ENTERS NEW PHASE FOR TODD, DHL TEAM
YPSILANTI, MI – It’s a familiar storyline – “we just need to be more consistent.” But what happens when consistency is within reach? That’s 
something J.R. Todd and his DHL GR Supra team are working on entering the season’s fifth race. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes April 26-28, 2024 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
Todd won the season’s opening race in Gainesville, Fla., and has three semifinal showings in the races since winning the Gatornationals when he “doubled up” with teammate Shawn Langdon who won the Top Fuel race the same day. Reaching at least the semifinals in each of the four races so far this season is consistent, but the 2018 Funny Car champ says now the goal is fine-tuning the consistency the team is achieving.
“Consistency comes with going down the track, and we are” Todd said. “You have to make clean runs to learn from them and kind of pick away at it as we work to fine tune it. We still have room to be a little more aggressive, but we’ll get it. It’s hard to fine tune the consistency and be more aggressive when you’re not going down the track. You have to have the runs to pull data. That’s how you give yourself opportunities to fine tune the tune-up. We’re doing that. It’s a matter of making small adjustments here and there, and I think we’ll be in the hunt.” Continue reading
CONFIDENT SHAWN LANGDON, AUTODESK TEAM APPLY JOHN WOODEN MANTRA TO NHRA
YPSILANTI, MI – Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Winning breeds winning.” After winning two of the season’s 
first four races, Shawn Langdon and his Autodesk team enter the fifth race hungry and hoping the comment from the late UCLA coach, who won 885 games in his career, also applies to motorsports. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes April 26-28, 2024 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
Langdon joined his teammate, DHL Funny Car driver J.R. Todd, in the winner’s circle at the season-opening race in Gainesville, Fla., last month for the team’s first-ever double victory, and then the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion won in Phoenix two weeks later. Flying the Autodesk colors this weekend, the team will look to make it three out of five with what would be Langdon’s third win at zMAX Dragway.
Autodesk is no stranger to Team Kalitta having adorned the sides of either Langdon’s or Doug Kalitta’s Top Fueler once in each of the last three seasons in addition to nearly a decade of partnership with the race team and Kalitta Air. Autodesk solutions help Team Kalitta design and make engine components that create 11,000 horsepower to power Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars. Continue reading
DOUG KALITTA, REVAMPED TEAM, NEW CAR EARN LAS VEGAS PAYOFF – MORE AHEAD IN CHARLOTTE?
YPSILANTI, MI – What started with Doug Kalitta’s 2023 NHRA Top Fuel title continued in the season’s first four races with the latest 
chapter of the Kalitta Motorsports resurgence coming two weeks ago in Las Vegas. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes April 26-28, 2024 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
After some challenging years, Kalitta Motorsports is in quite an impressive stretch. Kalitta won three of the six Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoff races at the end of last season. After Kalitta won a special event in February, his teammates, Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd earned the first double victory in team history at the season’s opening race in Gainesville, Fla. Those Top Fuel and Funny Car wins came on the day Kalitta received his 2023 championship ring on the weekend the late Scott Kalitta was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame.
Two weeks later, Langdon took the Top Fuel title in Phoenix, and then Kalitta earned his first four-wide victory in Las Vegas the following weekend. Entering the fifth race of the season, the Kalitta teams are second, second and fourth in points. Not terrible. When asked how this Team Kalitta resurgence came to life, Kalitta credited not only his uncle and team owner but also the entire three-car operation. Continue reading
