NHRA
FUNNY CAR’S MATT HAGAN STILL FEELING EFFECTS OF STRONG FINISH T0 2019 SEASON HEADING TO NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
CHANDLER, AZ – It might be a new NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, but Matt Hagan still feels the 
momentum of last year’s hot finish. The two-time Funny Car world champion won two races late in the year to jump into the title conversation and following a strong pre-season test session this season, he’s ready to pick up in 2020 where he left off a year ago.
That includes a good showing at the upcoming 36th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals, which takes place Feb. 21-23 at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Hagan is the defending champ of the race and has three wins at the track since 2015 in his 11,000-horsepower Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, adding to the positive vibes the standout feels heading into the race and the entire 2020 Funny Car campaign.
“We’ve really got a great car right now,” Hagan said. “We finished strong and really turned it on late in the season, and we really had a great year. Then we had a good test session, and I’ve just got a lot of confidence in the team and all the parts and pieces we have. I really do feel like there’s a lot of momentum, and we’re probably carrying as much as you probably could heading into the season. I feel like if my lights stay on point, we can do some things. This car is really good and I’m excited about what the season holds.”
BIG GOALS ON REIGNING FUNNY CAR WORLD CHAMP ROBERT HIGHT’S MIND HEADING TO 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — After putting together the most consistent and impressive season of his standout NHRA Mello Yello 
Drag Racing Series career in 2019, Robert Hight knows just how he can top his championship season in 2020. It’s been nearly 20 years since someone has won back-to-back championships in the class, and it’s something Hight would love to accomplish this year.
That end goal is a ways off, but Hight can get off to a great start in 2020 at his hometown track during this weekend’s 60th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. It’s a special facility for Hight, who started his 2019 title season with a win at Pomona in his 11,000-horsepower Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS. Adding a sixth Pomona win would put him on another ideal path.
“Three months is too long to be away from the track and the fans, so I’m excited to get back at it and try to defend this championship,” Hight said. “Nobody has done that since John (Force, in 2002), so it shows you just how hard it is. It’s a tall goal, but it’s one we have. Our goal last year was to win a championship where we were the dominant car all year long and we kind of did that. We can check that off our list, so to win two in a row would be really special.”
Mickey Thompson Again Backing the Bikes
Returns as title sponsor of the NHRA Top Fuel Harley Drag Racing Series
STOW, OH – Back by popular demand, the Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Drag Racing Series will be 
featured at 10 events during the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
“The Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels Top Fuel Harley motorcycle category has quickly become one of the most exciting of the NHRA series,” said Brad Gerber, NHRA vice president and chief development officer. “Top Fuel Harley thrilled fans at events in 2019, and we look forward to another electrifying season.”
The Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels Top Fuel Harley series features bikes capable of exceeding 220 mph, making it the fastest motorcycle racing action on the circuit. Races are often decided by thousandths of a second.
TOP FUEL VETERAN DOUG KALITTA AIMS TO KEEP STREAK GOING WITH QUICK START AT 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — If there’s been a constant in recent NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series history, it’s veteran Doug 
Kalitta performing well at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona to open the year. The longtime Top Fuel standout has advanced to four straight finals at the NHRA opener and won the past two, and Kalitta is eager to keep that streak going.
He’ll look to make it three straight wins at the annual iconic opener, as Kalitta and the rest of the NHRA stars open the 2020 season with this weekend’s 60th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com. It’s a race – as well as a track – that has been good to Kalitta and his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools Toyota dragster lately, as he swept both Pomona races a year ago. That included the finale to close out 2019 strong, and Kalitta hopes to maintain that momentum while seeking a fifth straight final at the season-opening event.
“The big wins from the end of last year, the U.S. Nationals and the Auto Club Finals, made the off-season easier,” Kalitta said. “We are really focused on winning the championship and that is where we put a lot of attention. I know the team worked hard and we are excited to get back to the track. My confidence level is very high. This Mac Tools team is on a streak at Pomona and we want to keep winning there. We focus on the little things all the time and I think that shows at the start of the season. We really work on staying sharp over the off-season and getting the most out of pre-season testing. I love racing in Pomona and the fans are always awesome.”
Mickey Thompson Returns as an NHRA Major Sponsor
The company will support racers, events & series for 2020
STOW, OH – The 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is just around the corner, and Mickey Thompson Tires 
& Wheels will again have a prominent sponsorship presence to showcase its championship lineup of racing products.
“Drag racing is an important part of what we do and who we are,” said Ken Warner, Vice President of Marketing, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels. “We offer a complete line of competition tires for drag cars and bikes, and our products set new standards and break traditions in innovation.”
The company will again attend all NHRA national events with one fully equipped onsite trailer to attend to racers’ needs as well as a marketing trailer to activate with fans in Nitro Alley showcasing their off-road tires and wheels. Fans can enter to win a set of light truck tires and participate in family-friendly games for giveaways.
BACK-TO-BACK TOP FUEL WORLD CHAMP STEVE TORRENCE LOOKS TO START 2020 STRONG AT 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — With 28 wins the last three seasons and back-to-back NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world 
championships, Top Fuel star Steve Torrence has put together one of the most impressive stretches in recent memory. Torrence has no plans of slowing down, but even he remains blown away with what has transpired since the start of the 2017 season.
Torrence will get the chance to continue his remarkable pace as the 2020 NHRA season starts Feb. 6-9 with the annual iconic opener, the 60th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, his sights set on his third win at the historic facility. The Texan will begin the charge for a third straight world title in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster, realizing full well he’s accomplished a great deal the last two seasons.
“It’s been kind of surreal,” Torrence said. “You look back at the last couple years – and really the last three years – and see the success we’ve had and what the team has been able to accomplish, and it’s a big confidence-booster. We’re probably more relaxed than we were 4-5 years ago. But we just want to go to Pomona and do the best we can do. You don’t really think about all of it and what it means, you just go and do it.”
NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES POWERS BACK TO WILD HORSE PASS MOTORSPORTS PARK
CHANDLER, AZ – The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is ready for a duel in the desert, bringing plenty of 
adrenaline-filled action to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the 36th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals on Feb. 21-23.
It is the second of 24 races during the 2020 NHRA season, providing the opportunity for an early-season victory at one of the traditional stops on the NHRA circuit. Southwest race fans have enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells and thrills of NHRA racing for more than three decades, with the early-season fixture set to provide more pulsating 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph action in 2020.
The thrilling NHRA Prime Time, where drivers perform a burnout to their favorite jams played by an onsite DJ, takes place during the second qualifying session on Friday and will help kick off the weekend in style, while all the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will look for some early-season momentum during the NHRA’s annual stop in the Valley of the Sun.
NHRA ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STRUCTURE
POMONA, CA — The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship will see some new 
elements this year. Competitors in the premier series may earn their way into the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s version of the playoffs, by one of two ways.
As in previous years, the top ten drivers in each of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series categories at the conclusion of the NHRA U.S. Nationals will earn positions in the Countdown to the Championship.
New for 2020, drivers in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series who meet a minimum set of requirements will also earn their place in the playoffs.
In NHRA’s Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, collectively referred to as “Nitro,” drivers who compete at all 18 events in the regular season and run a minimum of two qualifying sessions at each event will also earn their place in the playoffs.
In Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, drivers who compete at all 13 or 11 events, respectively, in the regular season and run a minimum of two qualifying sessions at each event will get to compete for the championship in five events throughout the Countdown to the Championship.
Jason Line to Retire from Pro Stock Driving Duties After 2020 Season
NHRA celebrates 50 years of Pro Stock in 2020. Turning 50 and having 50 Pro Stock wins to his name, Jason Line 
feels the numbers add up just right for retiring from behind the wheel of the Summit Racing Pro Stock Camaro. The three-time NHRA Pro Stock champion has dubbed this final season of driving for Ken Black Racing The Finish Line Tour.
Line will channel his fierce drive to win into building and tuning Pro Stock and Sportsman-class race engines at the Ken Black Racing shop in Mooresville, North Carolina.
“It’s been a good run, and I’ve really enjoyed driving a Pro Stock car for Ken Black and Summit Racing,” Line said. “I’m not leaving Pro Stock—I’m just going to be working for wins for KB Racing from a different kind of seat.”
“We are very grateful to Jason for all of his contributions as a Summit Racing Pro Stock driver,” said Summit Racing President and CEO Scott Peterson. “He is a great driver and we’ll miss cheering for him as one of the faces of Team Summit.”
NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES 2020 SEASON ROARS TO LIFE AT SEASON-OPENING 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series starts its 2020 season in memorable fashion, as the 
annual iconic opener, the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, will celebrate its 60th rendition Feb. 6-9 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The tradition-rich event is the first of 24 during the 2020 season.
The historic race takes place at the birthplace of NHRA drag racing and the Winternationals has provided one incredible moment after another for six decades. Fans can expect another must-see event in 2020, one that will also include the kickoff to the 50th anniversary celebration of Pro Stock. With new cars and new teams set to make their 2020 debuts as the 11,000-horsepower nitro machines roar back to life, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona provides the ideal backdrop for drivers to leave their mark in the Winternationals history books.
The biggest stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will also try to start their 2020 season strong with a Wally at one of drag racing’s most revered events. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of a race that will be televised on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including finals coverage beginning at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 9.
