NHRA Set to Open Thrilling 72nd Season of Nitro-Filled 11,000-Horsepower Action in Gainesville, Followed by Trio of West Coast Races

INDIANAPOLIS – NHRA officials announced the dates for the first four races for the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule today, as the upcoming season will open March 9-12 with the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Fans can also look forward to all four professional categories (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle) in attendance at Gainesville to start the season.

The legendary track served as the opener for the 2021 campaign and is set to open the 2023 season as well, as all the top NHRA stars will look to open their year with a victory at the historic Gatornationals. The year will also open with the Pep Boys All-Star Top Fuel Callout specialty race in Gainesville, pitting eight star Top Fuel drivers against each other in a thrilling one-day shootout within the Gatornationals race weekend.

Following the March opener in Gainesville, the NHRA will head to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on March 24-26 for the final NHRA Arizona Nationals. Drivers will look to end nearly four decades of racing in Phoenix with a victory, and the last NHRA Arizona Nationals also starts a three-race stretch over four weeks on the West Coast. The 63rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals takes place the following weekend, March 30-April 2, at famed Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, which has been home to some of the biggest moments in NHRA history.

Continue reading →

DENVER – Coming off the best race of her 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, Leah Pruett is ready keep that momentum going at one of the Top Fuel standout’s most important races of the season, this weekend’s 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

It’s her sponsor’s race, as well as the first race in the famed three-race NHRA Western Swing. Winning on Thunder Mountain has always been important for Pruett, who grabbed a Denver victory in 2018, and that’s especially true during the 2022 season.

She’s the Top Fuel driver in the 11,000-horsepower Dodge Power Brokers dragster for the first-year Tony Stewart Racing team, which puts the spotlight on Pruett for several reasons. After advancing to the semifinals at the most recent race in Norwalk, Pruett is ready to embrace that spotlight in what she hopes is her first winning weekend of 2022.

Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – After being previously announced as a contestant on this season of The Bachelorette, NHRA Top Fuel driver Jordan Vandergriff will be part of the season debut on Monday as the reality show kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Part of Bachelor Nation, The Bachelorette is a reality television show where a group of men (in this season, that includes 32) compete to capture the heart of the Bachelorette. At the start of the season, there are one-on-one dates, group dates, and roses handed out weekly to weed out the love interests based on their connection with the Bachelorette. As the season goes on and deeper bonds are made, there’s more of the same, except the stakes are a bit higher. The season usually ends in a proposal and engagement, aside from the few that have ended in heartbreak.

What makes this season of The Bachelorette unique is that there will be two of them, Gabby Windey, and Rachel Recchia, who were both contestants on the most recent season of The Bachelor (same premise as The Bachelorette), with Bachelor Clayton Echard, and were part of the final three.

Continue reading →

SONOMA, CA – With a breathtaking backdrop in the heart of wine country, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is set to deliver an incredible weekend of 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph action at Sonoma Raceway during the 34th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals on July 22-24.

It is the 12th of 22 races during the 2022 season, marking the second stop in the famed three-race NHRA Western Swing and kicking off the second half of the year. Winners in Denver will look to keep rolling with a victory in Sonoma and set up a chance at history and to sweep the Western Swing with a win the following weekend in Seattle.

The annual stop in Sonoma has always been a marquee race for drivers and fans who love the picturesque setting in the heart of Northern California’s wine country as well as the incredible race conditions that has led to countless historical NHRA milestones over the years. This year promises to be just as thrilling, with nitro qualifying under the lights on Friday, two rounds of qualifying on Saturday and eliminations on Sunday at one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won the 2021 event, and this year’s race will be broadcast on both the FOX broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including live eliminations coverage starting at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 24 on FOX.

Continue reading →

DENVER – Boasting one of the most unique challenges in motorsports, legendary Bandimere Speedway once again plays host to the upcoming 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals as the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to Thunder Mountain on July 15-17.

It is the 11th of 22 races during the 2022 season, as the NHRA reaches the halfway mark of the year and kicks off the famed three-race NHRA Western Swing that also includes stops at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and Pacific Raceways in Seattle.

The race at Bandimere Speedway has been considered a special event for more than four decades, with competitors racing at an elevation of nearly 6,000-feet in front of a packed house in Denver. The elevation affects everything from engine tune-ups to aerodynamics, posing one of the biggest challenges of the year, but racing in the Rocky Mountains also provides some of the biggest thrills of the racing season. This year, fans will get to enjoy the excitement of 330-mph racing under the lights on Thunder Mountain, four rounds of qualifying and then final eliminations on Sunday.

Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – NHRA four-time defending Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence has been nominated for the Best Driver Award for the 2022 ESPYS.

Torrence claimed his the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship in Top Fuel last year, giving the Texan his fourth consecutive world title in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster.

It also gives Torrence his second ESPYS Best Driver Award nomination, putting him in select company of NHRA stars who have been nominated two or more times for the prestigious award. Torrence was previously nominated in 2019 and now join the likes of John Force (2000-03, 2011, 2014), Tony Schumacher (2007-2010), Greg Anderson (2005, 2011) and Erica Enders (2015, 2021) as NHRA drivers with multiple ESPYS nominations.

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Mike Salinas won for the first time at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, taking over the Top Fuel points lead on Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals with his fourth victory of the 2022 season.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won at the 10th of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

In the Top Fuel final round, Salinas’ run of 3.706-seconds at 333.58 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Valley Services/Scrappers Racing dragster outdistanced Josh Hart, as he also set the track speed record in the championship round. It continued Salinas’ remarkable season, sending him past Brittany Force for the points lead with his seventh career victory. Salinas reached the final round by knocking off Tony Schumacher, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett, posting a stellar reaction time in the final round against Hart as he won for the third time in the past five races.

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Looking for his second straight win this season, Funny Car’s Ron Capps put himself in a good position on Saturday at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, taking the No. 1 qualifier into raceday at the 15th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 10th of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Capps, the defending Funny Car world champ, impressed last weekend in Bristol and kept that momentum going in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra with his run of 3.901-seconds at 328.38 mph on Friday. It stood up on Saturday, handing Capps his fourth No. 1 this season, which is the most in the class, and 33rd in his career. After getting the first win for the new GR Supra body last week, the veteran also grabbed the first No. 1 qualifier for the innovative new Funny Car body. He’ll open eliminations against Dale Creasy Jr. with a third win this season on his mind.

Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Top Fuel points leader Brittany Force made the quickest run in each qualifying session on Friday, taking the provisional No. 1 spot and breaking both ends of the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park track record at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Ron Capps (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 10th of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

In the final pair of the second session, Force went 3.666-seconds at 333.08 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster, powering to the quickest and fastest run ever in Norwalk history. Should it hold, Force, who broke her own E.T. track record from a year ago, would qualify No. 1 for the third time this season and 35th time overall as the points leader looks to win for the fourth time in 2022 and first time at Norwalk.

Continue reading →