- TSR Heads to Maple Grove for Round 1 of the Countdown
- DRAG RACE BRACKET BONANZA READY TO GIVE FANS WHAT THEY WANT AGAIN IN 2024 COUNTDOWN
- COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP LOADED WITH STORYLINES AS NHRA PLAYOFFS SET TO BEGIN
- JOE MORRISON ON A MISSION TO IMPROVE LUNG HEALTH AND AWARENESS IN RETURN TO MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY
- CORDOVA DRAGWAY SECURES OVERALL TEAM VICTORY AT WDRA SUMMIT MIDWEST BRACKET FINALS
- Jayden Lawler Crowned Silver State HVAC $50,000 Saturday Champion at the Summer Fling
- 4 Questions with Bill Bader about the NHRA North Central Division 3 Summit Racing Series Team Finals in Norwalk
TSR Heads to Maple Grove for Round 1 of the Countdown
Reading, PA – The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 12-15 at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pennsylvania, is the 15th race on the NHRA 
Mission Foods Drag Racing Series’ 20-race schedule. However, it’s the opening round in the six-race Countdown to the Championship, where both Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers – Tony Stewart in Top Fuel and Matt Hagan in Funny Car – are ready to make a title run in their respective divisions. The top-10 drivers in each of the NHRA’s four professional categories – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – compete in the Countdown. Stewart is a Top Fuel rookie and Hagan is a 51-time Funny Car winner and four-time champion.
This year’s Countdown marks Stewart’s first appearance in the NHRA postseason and Hagan’s 13th. Stewart is seventh heading into the Countdown, 77 points behind leader Doug Kalitta. Hagan is third, 46 points behind leader Austin Prock.
Hagan has won 15 times in the Countdown to the Championship, second among Funny Car drivers only to Robert Hight (16), who presently is not active.
Stewart and Hagan come into Reading representing Rinnai America Corporation and Operation Healing Forces/Shelor Motor Mile, respectively. Continue reading
DRAG RACE BRACKET BONANZA READY TO GIVE FANS WHAT THEY WANT AGAIN IN 2024 COUNTDOWN
DALLAS, TX – Drag Race Bracket Bonanza, the first dynamic bracket competition for drag racing fans, will once again give fans the chance to 
be Countdown Champions beginning with this weekends Reading Nationals from Maple Grove Raceway. The top three finishers in the six-race playoffs will receive custom championship belts signed by the 2024 world champions. Fans will be able to fill out the complete competition brackets for Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle when qualifying concludes on Saturday evening. Brackets can be filled out until the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters fire up during the first round of eliminations at 10:30 a.m. ET.
“This season of Drag Race Bracket Bonanza has flown by, and we have had winners from around the world,” said Elon Werner, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza creator. “We improved the look and player experience and have seen record growth. This year’s Countdown Series will be even better with three championship belts on the line.”
Clay Millican, Austin Prock, Aaron Stanfield and Gaige Herrera all took home wins at the biggest drag race of the season and the fans playing Drag Race Bracket Bonanza were able pick brackets against U.S. Nationals legends Larry Dixon Jr., Ed “Ace” McCulloch, Warren “The Professor” Johnson and Angelle Sampey. DRBB also awarded one-of-a-kind The Majors trophies designed by metal artist Katie Buttera to the top five finishers who scored the most points for picks from the Gatornationals, Winternationals and U.S. Nationals. Continue reading
COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP LOADED WITH STORYLINES AS NHRA PLAYOFFS SET TO BEGIN
Six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs start this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway as racers start title journey
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2024 NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs are set to open at this weekend’s 39th annual Pep Boys NHRA 
Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa., and it’s a postseason filled with excitement and plenty of intriguing storylines.
This weekend’s race kicks off three straight race weekends, as the Countdown to the Championship goes from Reading to zMAX Dragway in Charlotte for the NHRA Carolina Nationals on Sept. 20-22 and then the NHRA Midwest Nationals on Sept. 27-29 at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis.
From there it’s a furious three-race finish, beginning with the main event of the Texas Motorplex’s “Stampede of Speed,” the 39th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals on Oct. 9-13 in Dallas. That leads into the fall stop at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 and then the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals on Nov. 14-17 at historic In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
Heading into the playoff opener at the fan-favorite facility in Reading, let’s look at some of the top storylines in each category in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series: Continue reading
JOE MORRISON ON A MISSION TO IMPROVE LUNG HEALTH AND AWARENESS IN RETURN TO MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY
READING, PA – NHRA professional driver Joe Morrison is dedicating his racing program to something bigger than win lights and reaction 
times. The veteran Top Fuel racer turned Funny Car racer is on a personal mission to help other people have more time with their loved ones. Morrison lost his father to COPD in 2016 and he has joined forces with a number of incredible organizations to bring the opportunity for early detection and treatment to the race track. Joining Morrison at the NHRA Reading Nationals, September 13-15, 2024, will be three instrumental companies and organizations: Right2Breathe, the Temple Lung Center and Chiesi USA. All three groups will have a specific mission at Maple Grove Raceway and Morrison will be the ambassador promoting their initiatives.
“I love racing at Maple Grove Raceway. I got my first wins here at an event called ‘Geezers at the Grove’ in my nostalgia altered in 2009. It’s my home track, and I always have a ton of friends and family around,” said Morrison, who made his Funny Car debut at the Norwalk Nationals in June of this season. “The fans here are some of the best anywhere. Every year, people who we have ‘Put Their Lungs on the Dyno’ at past events come by to tell us how their lives have improved. To know that we are making a positive impact in the lives of fans and racers is both humbling and gratifying.” Continue reading
CORDOVA DRAGWAY SECURES OVERALL TEAM VICTORY AT WDRA SUMMIT MIDWEST BRACKET FINALS
The 2024 WDRA Summit Bracket Finals, presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance, kicked off with the Midwest event contested at Eddyville Raceway Park
OSKALOOSA, IA – After competing all season long at their respective racetracks, WDRA members converge regionally to compete against 
neighboring facilities in hopes of clinching victory as a team and/or a coveted invitation to the WDRA Summit World Championships presented by SunCoast Performance. WDRA member tracks Cordova Dragway, Mid America Dragway, I-29 Dragway, and Mo-Kan Dragway competed alongside the host facility, Eddyville Raceway Park, to kick off these end-of-year festivities during the WDRA Summit Midwest Bracket Finals, presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance over the weekend.
On-track action kicked off on Friday with a Gamblers Race for the Box, No Box, and Junior Dragster classes. Eddyville racers nearly swept the competition with five of the six finalists hailing from the home track. Mark Lambert defeated Gary Smiley in the top bulb class, while the lone Cordova Dragway representative, Ryan Robinson, earned the No Box win over Donnie Ellison. A nearly heads-up final in Junior Dragster ended with Jailin Breeding winning over Ty Ratcliff.
Saturday’s Gamblers Races featured the support of several companies that would sponsor the winning racer in each class with a free 2025 WDRA membership. In the Outlaw Trailers Box class, Steve Lohrer from Eddyville earned the win over a red-lighting Brandon Phillips. Another all-Eddyville final saw Camden Baarda win over Kyle Vogel in the TechnoCraft Trailer Cabinets No Box class. The Junior Dragster class was sponsored by Funny Bone Embroidery & Screen Printing, where Trey Ratcliffe was .004 on the tree to defeat Frankie McGlynn. A Teen Racing Gamblers Race was also contested, where Jaleigh Lightsey from Mid America won over Elizabeth Wehling, representing I-29 Dragway. Continue reading
Jayden Lawler Crowned Silver State HVAC $50,000 Saturday Champion at the Summer Fling
Bristol, TN — Saturday brought the highest car count of the week with 331 entries staging up for the first round of the Silver State HVAC 
$50,000 race at the JEGS Performance Summer Fling presented by OPTIMA Batteries at Bristol Dragway.
The fifth and final day of the event meant an event MVP would be crowned. A shortlist of racers was narrowed down to two including Jon Corbin and Jeff Taylor. Round wins and average reaction times came into consideration, but it was ultimately Taylor’s Wednesday $15,000 Warm-Up win and Friday $50,000 runner-up that led the Fling Team to present Taylor with the 2024 Summer Fling MVP Award. The title follows Taylor’s Spring Fling GALOT MVP Award after racing himself in a 50K final round back in April, making him the Fling Race Series’ first ever two-time MVP.
The ladder for the last day for 50K included Matt Dadas in two entries, Matt Cooke, Wallace Wilson, Carson Brown, Jayden Lawler, Cameron Manuel, and Shannon Gilmore. Cooke was .009 taking .003 to be dead-on nine to knock out the .013 and dead-on eight of Dadas’s first entry. The next pair saw Brown put together .014 over Wilson, while Lawler was .020 and dead-on one crossing the stripe first by .003 while Manuel was .003 on the tree and a few hundredths above. On his second entry, Dadas and Gilmore were separated by just .001 on the tree but it was Dadas who put it dead-on eight taking .003 to move on to the semifinals. Continue reading
4 Questions with Bill Bader about the NHRA North Central Division 3 Summit Racing Series Team Finals in Norwalk
Norwalk, OH – Bill Bader cares about every racer who comes to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. As the president of the track, he 
hires team members who care as deeply as he does, and for the past year, all hands have been on deck to prepare for the NHRA North Central Division 3 Summit Racing Series Team Finals, which is set for Sept. 12-15, 2024 at the fabled facility.
This will be the first time the track has hosted the event as it moves from its previous longtime home of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana, and racers who qualified to represent their track will be part of history. In addition to competing as part of a team to take home a title, individual winners will advance to the NHRA Nevada Nationals, scheduled from Oct. 31-Nov. 3 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, to race toward a World Championship.
Along with Summit Motorsports Park, NHRA North Central Division 3 tracks taking part include Byron Dragway, Coles County Dragway, World Wide Technology Raceway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Wabash Valley Dragway, Wagler Motorsports Park, Beech Bend Raceway Park, Ohio Valley Raceway, Milan Dragway, Edgewater Sports Park and National Trail Raceway. Continue reading
Jacob Stolworthy Picks Up FuelTech $50,000 Friday at the Summer Fling
Bristol, TN — The JEGS Summer Fling presented by OPTIMA Batteries at Bristol Dragway rolled into FuelTech Friday with an action-packed 
schedule with the Reaction Time Challenge, Brodix Best Package Runoff, Laris Motorsports Insurance Racer Appreciation Dinner, Micro Strategies 16-Car Dragster Shootout, the $50,000 main event, and a grudge match to end the evening.
With Thursday’s 16-Car Shootout being for the door cars, Friday’s Shootout hosted 16 dragsters presented by Micro Strategies. Chase Conley, Paul Warwick, Jordan Eaker, and Jerry Hollingsworth paired up on the ladder. Warwick took the win over Conley after the two were separated by .001 at the hit, while Hollingsworth turned it three thousandths red to advance Eaker. By way of Eaker’s two thousandths breakout, Warwick picked up the $3,000 check.
The main event started with 315 and eventually narrowed down to eight including Will Holloman, Ritchie Howard, Mark Price, Dustin Chesnut, Jacob Stolworthy, Adam Quesenberry, Jeff Taylor, and Donovan Williams. Quesenberry turned it .005 red against Price, while Stolworthy took .003 on Chesnut to put together .019 total. Taylor knocked out Howard while Donovan crossed the stripe first by .001 to break out by .011 against the .011 package of Holloman. Continue reading
PRO SUPERSTAR SHOOTOUT RETURNS FEB. 6-8 TO BRADENTON MOTORSPORTS PARK
INDIANAPOLIS – The Professional Racers Owners Organization Inc. (PRO), announces the return of the SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout to 
Bradenton Motorsports Park, February 6-8, 2025. The 2024 inaugural event took the motorsports world by storm with incredible side-by-side racing, a unique chip draw elimination format, record-setting speeds and a fan-friendly atmosphere.
This year’s race will once again feature the full-time professional Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock drag racing teams. Given the success of last year’s event, and the likelihood of a sellout crowd, PRO is offering fans the opportunity to immediately purchase tickets here for an early bird discounted rate of $55/day or $150 for the three-day pass until October 31.
“The inaugural shootout was a huge win for the fans, for PRO, and its members” said Alan Johnson, PRO President. “Our goal with the SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout is to give motorsports fans a unique event and to get them excited for the start of the 2025 NHRA season. Last year we put on an amazing show that saw Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) drive to exhilarating victories. This year we will be looking to once again offer fans an unparalleled Drag Racing experience. We know interest in the PRO Superstar Shootout will be very high which is why tickets are going on sale now to ensure fans from around the world can secure their entry.” Continue reading
COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP HITS KEY POINT IN ST. LOUIS AT NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – At the start of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, drivers in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series 
know only 24 rounds of racing remain in the season. In that mix is the 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals, which again comes at a critical juncture on Sept. 27-29 at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis.
A mainstay in the Countdown to the Championship, the annual race at the fan-favorite facility again serves as the halfway point in the six-race playoffs, finishing off an important stretch of three straight racing weekends in September.
Fans have always packed the standout track and the action starts immediately when all the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle hit the track in St. Louis on Friday. Continue reading
