- FOSTER LOOKING TO TAKE AQUA PROP ALL THE WAY AT CHARLOTTE FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
- MBE Tech Report
- MATT SMITH LOOKS FOR HOMETOWN WIN AT ZMAX DRAGWAY, DERIC KRAMER AIMS TO REPEAT HIS 2023 4-WIDE NATIONALS WIN
- FERNANDO CUADRA SR. TO HAVE LAST DANCE WITH PRO STOCK AT CHARLOTTE FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
- HULL READY TO CELEBRATE PROFESSIONAL ANNIVERSARY IN CHARLOTTE
- AMKUS RESCUE SYSTEMS TO CONTINUE AS OFFICIAL RESCUE TOOLS OF NHRA
- John Force Racing Ready to Extend Successful 2024 Start In Charlotte 4-Wide Race
This Week and MBE
Matt gives tour of his Mooresville NC Cylinder Head Manufacturing facility………. QUESTIONS??? Ring or Email Matt@MBELLC.com (704) 856-0200
TOP FUEL’S TONY STEWART FEELING SURGE OF MOMENTUM HEADING INTO VEGAS’ NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS
LAS VEGAS – Returning to the site of his first victory as an NHRA competitor, racing legend and Top Fuel rookie Tony Stewart also enters 
this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with some newfound momentum.
The motorsports Hall of Famer picked up his first NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series round win on Sunday in Phoenix and then added another, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in Top Fuel.
It was a strong improvement for Stewart in his 11,000-horsepower Rayce Rudeen Foundation Dodge//SRT dragster ahead of this weekend’s race at Las Vegas, which is a motorsports facility that has treated him very well over his storied championship career. That includes on the drag racing side as well, where Stewart won in Top Alcohol Dragster last year at the four-wide event. The unique spectacle of four-wide drag racing is also something Stewart has quickly embraced.
Stewart Advances to Top Fuel Semifinals at NHRA Arizona Nationals
Hagan Takes Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car to Winternationals Runner-up Spot
Auburn Hills, MI – Hall of Fame racer Tony Stewart has won races in various forms of motorsports including paved ovals, dirt ovals, road 
courses and drag strips during his famed racing career and the Top Fuel “rookie” added to his winning total Sunday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals when he captured two Top Fuel rounds in the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT car.
Known throughout the racing community as “Smoke,” Stewart had actually lived up to his nickname in qualifying rounds at Firebird Motorsports Park with his Top Fueler losing traction in very tough track conditions, but his TSR Dodge//SRT squad, led by Neal Strausbaugh and Mike Domagala, adjusted the car’s settings for Sunday’s eliminations and Stewart won two rounds of competition.
The first-round victory over former World Champion Brittany Force was Stewart’s initial Top Fuel round win after making an impressive performance last year in the Alcohol Dragster division, which included two NHRA national event wins. Stewart replaced his wife, Leah, as the driver in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster at the Gatornationals last month.
AUSTIN PROCK JOINS JOHN FORCE IN COLLECTING NHRA WINS THIS WEEKEND AT PHOENIX
Prock earned his first win as a Funny Car driver in just his third start in the class
CHANDLER, AZ – John Force Racing driver Austin Prock proved Sunday that he is unquestionably a quick learner. In just his third career 
NHRA start in a Funny Car, the Lansing, Mich., native recorded his first win in that class, earning top honors in the 39th annual Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park.
Prock (3.952 seconds/320.74 mph) defeated Alexis DeJoria (4.049 seconds/316.90 mph) in the final round.
“This is huge,” Prock said. “All you want to do is to make your parents proud. It was a big win for Chevrolet and a double-up for John Force Racing. We’re rolling out of here with some gold, baby. WOOOOOH!”
Cheered on by a second straight sold-out crowd in as many days, Prock joined team owner John Force in leaving Phoenix with a Wally winner’s trophy.
HULL GIVES PROCK A RUN FOR HIS MONEY IN PHOENIX
CHANDLER, AZ – Some race weekends serve as lessons more than others. For this year’s NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports 
Park, the lesson for Funny Car driver Buddy Hull is ‘it’s not how you start, but it’s how you finish.’
The driver for Jim Dunn Racing started race day from the No. 16 spot, which is a challenge that Hull is not one to stray away from. In round one, he was set to run against No. 1 qualifier and recent Funny Car standout, Austin Prock. With close reaction times, Hull was ahead of Prock at the 330-foot mark. The tide turned by the end of the race, but Hull was still proud that he didn’t give Prock an easy win. Prock would go on to win his first Funny Car national event outrunning Alexis DeJoria in the final round.
“We both left, and even though I didn’t see him, I heard him pedal the car two times. It’s this thing that you feel when you’re in the car, you actually feel it more than you hear it,” said Hull. “And then we struck the tires and knocked the tire off at probably 450-500 feet, somewhere in that range. Next thing, he comes by me, and I heard him pedal it one more time, and maybe even one more time after that. So when I saw him out in front of me that far, I wasn’t going to pedal it again. I’m not going to blow up our race car.
KEVIN RIVENBARK WINS FIRST CONGRUITY NHRA PRO MOD RACE AT CATEGORY’S DEBUT IN PHOENIX
PHOENIX, AZ – In the first-ever appearance for the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+ at Firebird 
Motorsports Park in Phoenix, Kevin Rivenbark picked up his first career victory in front a sellout crowd as part of this weekend’s 39th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.
It was the second of 10 races during the 2024 season and this weekend’s event was powered by LAT Racing Oils. Rivenbark knocked off Ken Quartuccio in a matchup of first-time finalists, going 5.746-seconds at 249.76 mph in his Culp Lumber Ford Mustang, grabbing a memorable first victory at NHRA Pro Mod’s debut in Phoenix.
“This is unreal,” Rivenbark said. “It hasn’t set in yet. We’ve run in this class off and on, and we’ve tried to be consistent the last few years, but this year we’re going to make a run for a championship. To get a win at the second race, it’s just remarkable.”
JUSTIN ASHLEY AND SCAG RUNNER-UP AT NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
CHANDLER, AZ – Justin Ashley and the SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel dragster team raced their way to their second 
consecutive final round of the year, 20th of Ashley’s Top Fuel career Sunday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park.
Ashley, who entered race day as the No. 11 qualifier, began his road to the finals with a rematch from the Winternationals finals against Tony Schumacher. Ashley would come up with the holeshot win again with a 3.804-second pass at 328.22 mph and a .039 reaction time to Schumacher’s 3.791 at 325.69 and .067 reaction time.
In the semifinals, Ashely would face reigning world champion Doug Kalitta and pull off a 3.825 second run at 326 mph to defeat Kalitta’s 3.866 at 307.37. The win would line Ashley up with motorsports legend Tony Stewart for the second time. Ashley would improve to 2-0 against Stewart with a 3.844 at 323.74 bettering Stewart’s 3.885 at 316.45. The win would set Ashley up with a final round against veteran racer Shawn Langdon.
Doug Kalitta, SealMaster Top Fuel Dragster out After Round 2 in Arizona
Phoenix, AZ – Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 3 qualifier at the NHRA Arizona Nationals; it was his best qualifying position of the 
season. Late Friday afternoon, Kalitta made a 3.697-second pass at 323.66 mph to claim the No. 3 position.
Eliminations: Kalitta defeated Terry Totten before losing to Justin Ashley in the quarterfinals.
When Kalitta advanced to the quarterfinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at next week’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the quarterfinals in Phoenix will re-run the quarterfinals in the 4-Wide format with the four winners advancing to the “finals” earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Phoenix in sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails fifth-place Antron Brown by one point and leads seventh-place Tony Schumacher by one point.
J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car Makes Semi-Final round at Arizona Nationals
Phoenix, AZ – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 5 qualifier at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. During the first round of qualifying Friday 
afternoon, Todd made his best qualifying run – a 3.923-second effort at 320.58 mph. It was his best qualifying effort of the season.
Eliminations: Todd defeated Cruz Pedregon and John Force before losing to Austin Prock in the semifinals – it was a rematch of the Gainesville final round Todd won. In the Phoenix semifinal, Todd left the starting line first, but Prock won the race by two thousandths of a second. Todd now has a win and two semifinals in the season’s first three races.
When Todd advanced to the quarterfinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at next week’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the quarterfinals in Phoenix will re-run the quarterfinals in the 4-Wide format with the four winners advancing to the “finals” earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel Dragster wins Arizona Nationals
Phoenix, AZ – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. His best qualifying attempt came during 
the final qualifying round Saturday afternoon when he posted a 3.750-second elapsed time at 327.74 mph.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley on the way to his second winner’s circle celebration in the season’s first three races. Langdon was off the starting line first in the final and never looked back racing to the win light with a 3.760-second run at 318.69 mph to Ashley’s 3.849-second effort. It was Langdon’s 19th-career victory in a rematch of the Phoenix final-round matchup, which Ashley won, last season.
When Langdon advanced to the quarterfinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at next week’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the quarterfinals in Phoenix will re-run the quarterfinals in the 4-Wide format with the four winners advancing to the “finals” earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
