POMONA, CA – Fresh off back-to-back final round appearances in Top Fuel, Mike Salinas continued his strong run on Friday, powering to the provisional No. 1 spot at the season finale, the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the final race of the Countdown to the Championship and the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Salinas had another impressive performance in his 11,000-horsepower Scrappers Racing dragster, going 3.694-seconds at 328.78 mph. If it holds, it would be the second No. 1 qualifier this year for Salinas and the eighth in his career. It’s also another great run in what’s shaping up to be a big finish for Salinas, as he has a chance to win in Pomona for the first time and finish in the top three in points in Top Fuel.

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GLENDORA, CA – The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) announced today that Cornwell Quality Tools has been named the Official Professional Tools of the NHRA beginning with the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Already a partner with John Force Racing, Cornwell Tools will now begin a partnership with the NHRA next year as it continues to build brand awareness in the sport.

“We are thrilled to begin this partnership as the Official Professional Tools of the NHRA, beginning in 2022, which will be our 103rd year in business,” said Bob Studenic, President and CEO of Cornwell Quality Tools. “As a partner of the 21-time NHRA world champion John Force Racing team since 2019, we have seen the excitement that NHRA championship drag racing brings to their fan base. We have witnessed that same excitement within the Cornwell Tools organization, making the ‘Official Professional Tools’ partnership a perfect pairing.”

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POMONA, CA – Competing for a world championship at the final race of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season is a new experience for Steve Johnson, but the Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran is embracing the opportunity heading into this weekend’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. It is the final race of the Countdown in the Championship and the 2021 campaign, and Johnson has the chance to win his first world championship on his Suzuki.

Johnson enters the final race 20 points behind defending world champ Matt Smith and is ready to be part of what’s shaping up to be a wild and must-see weekend in the two-wheeled category. Three-time world champ Angelle Sampey is just 30 points back and with each round win worth 30 points in Pomona due to the points-and-a-half scenario at the finale, the world title could be decided on the final run of the season. It could potentially be a nerve-wracking situation, but Johnson is savoring the moment as he tries for his first career win at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona and his first NHRA world championship.

“I’ve been chasing this championship for a long time and to be in this position, I’m over the moon,” said Johnson, who has picked three wins and three No. 1 qualifiers in 2021. “I’ve dreamed of it and we’ve applied some action and now the dream is getting pretty close. We’ve got a lot of heart and it’s really, really going to be fun.”

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GLENDORA, CA – The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) today announced an exciting new Factory X (FX) exhibition racing class for the 2022 season. Known as NHRA Factory X presented by Holley, the FX category will bridge the gap between Factory Stock Showdown and Pro Stock, and will be reserved for 2019 and newer manufactured automobiles, including the Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Dodge Challenger Drag Pak and Ford Mustang Cobra Jet.

The FX class will have a minimum weight limit of 2,650 pounds, which is nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than a Factory Stock Showdown car, and a manual transmission is mandatory. FX will be included in the 2022 season with Competition Eliminator across all seven NHRA Divisions and will debut as a 2022 exhibition category beginning mid-year at select NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events, with the potential to showcase big performance numbers right off the bat in the lightweight, modified class.

“We’re extremely excited to debut this new and thrilling FX class in 2022 and our intention is this will become at a heads-up category at select NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events in 2023 and will continue to be included in Competition Eliminator across all divisions,” NHRA National Tech Director Lonnie Grim said. “This class will be one more solid addition to the exciting lineup of very quick NHRA doorslammer classes and there is incredible potential in this class. The fact that it is manually shifted with strong performance capability and will allow fans to enjoy the sounds of 10,000 RPM will be a huge draw for fans and racers alike.”

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POMONA, Calif. – Having already won once at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona this year, longtime star Ron Capps will try to do something he’s never done in his impressive career and that’s win the Auto Club NHRA Finals. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes out its 2021 campaign at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona this weekend and a first-ever win at the traditional finale would ensure Capps would walk away with his second career Funny Car world championship in the loaded Funny Car class.

He currently leads Don Schumacher Racing teammate and defending world champ Matt Hagan by 58 points heading into Pomona, but with the points-and-a-half scenario in place for the Auto Club NHRA Finals, round victories are worth 30 points this weekend. That means Capps’ advantage is less than two rounds heading into Pomona, putting a major must-see spotlight on the Funny Car championship race. For a driver who’s done it all, including winning twice this year — with one of them coming in Pomona in mid-summer — and claiming a world championship in 2016, a World Finals victory would be the perfect capper to 2021 in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

“One thing I’ve known is ‘Guido’ (co-crew chief Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen have always done well at the World Finals, so I’m leaning on that and hoping it continues,” Capps said. “I’ve never closed the deal at the season-ending race, so that would be especially big to do it this weekend. The championship is looming and we’re going to keep trying to do what we’ve done all year. We have to approach it like normal, but this would mean the world to win another championship. It’s been a really crazy year in Funny Car and whoever wins this year, they will definitely have earned it.”

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GLENDORA, CA – The NHRA Breakfast is regarded as one of the most popular events at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and with the return of the popular trade event to the Westgate Las Vegas Casino Paradise Events Center in 2021, the NHRA Breakfast is back as well with an exciting topic featuring NHRA Top Fuel stars.

The 2021 NHRA Breakfast will take place from 7:30-9 a.m. on Nov. 3 with a trio of NHRA standouts coming together to discuss “NHRA’s Next Generation of Team Owners.”

The NHRA Breakfast will feature three-time Top Fuel world champion and fan-favorite Antron Brown, as well as rising Top Fuel stars Josh Hart and Krista Baldwin. Both Hart and Baldwin are in contention for NHRA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2021, with Hart winning two events in his debut season.

For the third time, FOX broadcast announcer Brian Lohnes will serve as the panel moderator, asking probing questions to give attendees an in-depth look at what it takes to make the move to team ownership at the sport’s highest level. Those in attendance will hear the steps Brown took to become a Top Fuel team owner for the first time beginning in the 2022 season, as well the challenges the likes of Hart and Baldwin faced in bringing their team together as they jumped into the nitro ranks for the first time this year.

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LAS VEGAS – Steve Torrence picked up his 50th career Top Fuel win and moved a step closer to his fourth straight world championship, rolling to the victory on Sunday at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won at the 19th of 20 races during the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the sixth race in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The race was also the 1,000 race in NHRA history.

Torrence drove his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster to a 10th win in his impressive 2021 season, powering to a run of 3.717-seconds at 329.50 mph in the final round against Mike Salinas, who went 3.737 at 314.24 and was after his second straight victory. To reach the final round, the points leader took out Jim Maroney, Tripp Tatum and Justin Ashley and then posted a wire-to-wire win against Salinas. Torrence was impressive on the starting line in the championship round and it led to another victory in his dominant 2021 campaign, as the Texan will now take a 105-point lead into the final race of the season.

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LAS VEGAS – After going five years between No. 1 qualifiers, Alexis DeJoria has now accomplished it in back-to-back races, rocketing to the top position in Funny Car on Saturday during the Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the 19th of 20 races during the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the sixth race in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

DeJoria made a pair of solid runs on Saturday, but it was her pass of 3.896-seconds at 327.03 mph from Friday in her 11,000-horsepower Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry that gave DeJoria her second straight No. 1 qualifier and sixth in her career. The Funny Car standout will try for her second straight win on Sunday and is sitting in a great position as she opens eliminations against Jeff Diehl. DeJoria has enjoyed how the team has come together late in the season and she hopes to keep rolling along on Sunday.

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LAS VEGAS – Already the track record holder in Top Fuel, Brittany Force added another impressive performance at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, racing to the provisional No. 1 spot at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil.

Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car), Kyle Koretsky (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 19th of 20 races during the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the sixth race in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Force powered to another standout run to close out qualifying on Friday, this time going 3.693-seconds at 333.41 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy dragster. Should it hold, Force would earn her 12th No. 1 qualifier this season, one off the Top Fuel record for a single season, and the 32nd in her career. It’s been a dominant season in qualifying for Force, but the former world champ is after race wins as she tries to track down three-time defending world champ Steve Torrence. Force entered the weekend 73 points back of the Texan.

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LAS VEGAS – It’s been a tremendous rookie season for Dallas Glenn, but the rising star has the chance to make it an even bigger finish heading to Las Vegas for this weekend’s Dodge//SRT NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Glenn has picked up two Pro Stock wins in his debut season in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and with two chances remaining, he has the opportunity to cash in on his first career Countdown to the Championship victory as well.

That would be a meaningful finish for Glenn, who is in the heat of the NHRA Rookie of the Year battle and is also still alive in the championship hunt with two playoff races remaining. After a terrific season in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro, Glenn is eager to end his year on a bright note. He advanced to a final round in St. Louis a month ago and currently sits third in Pro Stock points, but a late-season victory is what he is really after in Las Vegas.

“To get a win in the Countdown would be something special and be a major confidence booster going into the off-season,” Glenn said. “It would be a major boost to come through and succeed at the toughest moments of the season. The added pressure of the playoffs adds another level of enjoyment to all this, so we just want to keep pushing forward. I’ve learned how difficult it is to win the Countdown and you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get.”

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