Camping World
TOP FUEL’S STEVE TORRENCE AFTER TEXAS-SIZED PLAYOFF WIN AT TEXAS NHRA FALLNATIONALS
ENNIS, TX – With three races left during the 2023 season in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, Steve Torrence is still very 
much alive in the Top Fuel championship chase. The four-time world champion trails Doug Kalitta by just 51 points heading into the final stretch of the Countdown to the Championship.
That final three-race span starts at this weekend’s 38th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex, which is the main event of the legendary track’s Stampede of Speed. It’s also a key race for Torrence for a multitude of reasons. It’s the home race for the Texas native and it’s been a race filled with family and friends for the last several years.
Torrence has won in Dallas twice in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster and knowing the magnitude of the event as it fits into the NHRA playoff picture, the veteran knows how big a win would be. Doing it in front of a massive amount of family and friends has always made it that much sweeter for Torrence, but it would also go a long way in helping him try to secure a fifth world championship.
NHRA DRIVERS DOUBLE DOWN IN LAS VEGAS AT PENULTIMATE EVENT OF 2023 SEASON
LAS VEGAS – As the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series winds down, teams gear up for the penultimate race of the Countdown 
to the Championship playoffs at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 23rd annual NHRA Nevada Nationals on Oct. 26-29.
The race marks the fifth event of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs and drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will have their eyes locked on the ultimate prize: an NHRA world championship.
The intensity will be high, the action will be nonstop and race fans won’t be able to look away for a minute as the dragstrip lights up with 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph excitement the entire weekend.
Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won the 2022 NHRA Nevada Nationals. This season’s race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including eliminations at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 29 as the stars of the NHRA battle it out in Las Vegas.
HAGAN, MILLICAN, ANDERSON AND HERRERA RACE TO PLAYOFF WINS AT NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – Funny Car driver Matt Hagan picked up his fifth win of the season for Tony Stewart Racing on Sunday at World Wide 
Technology Raceway, defeating defending world champion Ron Capps in the final round in front of a huge crowd at the 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals.
Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 18th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Hagan went 3.991-seconds at 324.90 mph in his 11,000-horsepower American Rebel Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to slip past Capps’ run of 4.025 at 306.68, earning his 48th career win in the process. The three-time world champ also pulled to within less than a round of first, as he now trails Bob Tasca III by just 13 points heading into the final three races of 2023.
It was a clutch performance by Hagan as he defeated Alexis DeJoria, John Force and Tasca to reach the finals. He went 4.016 at 316.38 to get past Tasca and then held off Capps and his run of 4.025 at 306.68 to get a much-needed victory.
IN FRONT OF SELLOUT CROWD, TASCA, KALITTA, ENDERS AND HERRERA QUALIFY NO. 1 AT NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – Looking to move into the points lead in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs for the first time in his career, 
Funny Car’s Bob Tasca III clinched the No. 1 qualifier in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway at the 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the 18th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Saturday also marked the eighth sellout of the 2023 NHRA season.
Tasca picked up his sixth No. 1 spot this year as Friday’s run of 3.852-seconds at 324.90 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang held up during Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions. Currently second in points, Tasca trails Robert Hight by less than a round as he looks for his second straight victory in the postseason. He’ll open eliminations against Jack Wyatt and heads into Sunday with plenty of positives after a strong pass of 3.877 at 331.85 to close out the evening as well.
SELLOUT CROWD ANNOUNCED AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY FOR NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – For the third straight year and the seventh time in the past eight seasons, the NHRA and officials at World Wide Technology 
Raceway announced a sellout crowd for Saturday’s qualifying action at the NHRA Midwest Nationals.
The standout fanbase once again packed the St. Louis facility during the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, as the massive crowd enjoyed an action-packed day of racing during the third race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Minus the COVID season in 2020, World Wide Technology has hosted a Saturday sellout every season since 2016, as St. Louis continues to be a hotbed for NHRA drag racing.
“Today’s reserved-seat sellout at World Wide Technology Raceway is a testament to the continued support of St. Louis and the Metro East racing community,” said Chris Blair, WWTR’s Executive Vice President and General Manager. “Year after year, our fans prove this area is one of the greatest racing regions in the United States. They love NHRA drag racing and know this event always delivers edge-of-your-seat excitement.”
KALITTA, TASCA, ENDERS AND HERRERA GRAB PROVISIONAL NO. 1 POSITIONS AT NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta continued his impressive run in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship at World Wide 
Technology Raceway, powering to the provisional No. 1 spot to close out Friday’s racing at the 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals.
Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 18th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
As part of the final pair of the evening under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway, Kalitta turned in a run of 3.709-seconds at 331.85 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools/Toyota dragster. If that holds, the veteran would pick up his second No. 1 spot this year and 53rd in his career. Seeking his first career world championship, Kalitta has won the first two playoff races this year and continued to gain momentum on Friday.
“Everybody is running really close, and we somehow snuck by them,” Kalitta said. “Hat’s off to (crew chiefs) Alan Johnson and Brian Husen and all my guys; they’re really working their tails off on this car, and it’s definitely showing. Consistency is everything in this sport, and that was a nice A to B run for us. It was close, but we pulled it off.
NHRA DRIVERS RIDE INTO DALLAS FOR KEY PLAYOFF RACE AT TEXAS NHRA FALLNATIONALS
ENNIS, TX – The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series gallops into the Texas Motorplex to conclude the third annual Stampede of Speed with the main event of the 10-day event, the 38th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals on Oct. 12.-15. The stakes will be high as the second half of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs takes place at the fan-favorite event in Dallas.
The 19th event of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season is the fourth event of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs, and it promises to deliver all the thrilling 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph race action fans have enjoyed for nearly four decades at the legendary Texas Motorplex.
An extra element of excitement will also return to the Texas NHRA FallNationals with the addition of “Friday Night Live,” which offers more than $40,000 in bonus money to the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
PRO STOCK’S GREG ANDERSON AIMS TO CONTINUE PLAYOFF SURGE AGAINST LOADED FIELD AT NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – With as quickly as things change in Pro Stock, Greg Anderson knows he can’t get too comfortable with last week’s win in 
Charlotte, especially with another huge NHRA Countdown to the Championship race taking place at this weekend’s 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.
But the five-time world champion got new life when it comes to the title chase with his first win of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and the 102nd in his career. After struggling during the regular season, Anderson has put things together at the right time, pulling within 61 points of points leader and KB Titan Racing teammate Matt Hartford.
Anderson, though, knows he can fall back out of the title hunt just as quick as he got back in it, which is why this weekend in St. Louis is so important for the veteran in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro.
“Things are great and I can’t wait to get to St. Louis,” Anderson said. “I know I’m back in the fight and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. We feel great as a team and our effort, and I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a battle. All these cars are fast and it seems like everyone has stepped up when we got to the playoffs. You better find something special and we were back on the dyno trying to find something for St. Louis. If not, you’re going to get waxed and that’s how fast everything changes in this class.”
FUNNY CAR’S BOB TASCA III IN THICK OF TITLE HUNT HEADING TO NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – The opening stretch of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship features three straight weeks of racing, capped off by this 
weekend’s 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.
It’s an intense span of races and can go a long way in shaping championship journeys across all four classes in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Funny Car’s Bob Tasca III has made a strong impression over the first two races and looks to close out the first half of the Countdown to the Championship in style this weekend in St. Louis.
He won on Sunday in Charlotte, getting past points leader Robert Hight in a thrilling final round to move to second in points. He trails Hight – the defending Funny Car winner in St. Louis – by just 25 points, firmly putting his name in the championship mix. But Tasca, who qualified No. 1 at the first race of the playoffs, is eager to keep rolling in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway.
TOP FUEL POINTS LEADER DOUG KALITTA LOOKS TO STAY RED-HOT IN ST. LOUIS AT NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
ST. LOUIS – Before the NHRA Countdown to the Championship started, Doug Kalitta’s last Top Fuel victory came in 2020 at World Wide 
Technology Raceway, the site of this weekend’s 12th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals.
Since then, the fan-favorite driver has been perfect in NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series action, winning a pair of playoff races as he competes for that elusive first world championship in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools/Toyota dragster. Kalitta had waited nearly three years between wins, dating back to his 2020 triumph in St. Louis, before getting his 50th career win two weeks ago and adding another on Sunday in Charlotte.
Heading into St. Louis, where Kalitta has always thrived, the veteran also has the points lead for the first time in three years. A fifth victory at World Wide Technology Raceway – which would tie him with Antron Brown for the most in NHRA Top Fuel history at the popular track – would keep him perfect in this brilliant postseason run and cap off this string of three consecutive race weekends in dominant fashion.
