CHICAGO – Funny Car driver and team owner Chris King wrapped up the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season with a busy and productive Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Indianapolis last week. The full-time Chicago firefighter made the most of the three-day event meeting with sponsors and talking with a variety of media outlets about his 2024 successes and his plans for the 2025 NHRA season. The highlight of the 2024 season for King was qualifying his Howards Cams/Competition Parts Funny Car in the U.S. Nationals, one of the toughest fields of the season, with over 20 Funny Cars vying for the 16 spots in the field.

Chris King (right) talks with NHRA on FOX’s Hannah Rickards during 2024 PRI

“PRI is really my last chance to get face to face with possible new sponsors and most importantly to thank my existing sponsors for their support,” said King, who raced in four NHRA national events in 2024. “We spent time every day in booths signing autographs and taking photos with the attendees. This year I felt more people than ever were familiar with our program and we are moving in the right direction. I had some productive talks with people, and I feel like my Funny Car team will be better than ever in 2025.” Continue reading →

DALLAS – The last time Chris King was on track in his Howard Cams/Competition Products Dodge Funny Car he was qualifying for the Toyota U.S. Nationals, the biggest drag race in the country. This week at the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals and the Stampede of Speed King was once again battling to qualify in one of the toughest fields. The fourth race of the NHRA Playoffs featured 19 Funny cars vying for 16 spots. After four qualifying sessions King came up just short of making the field but closer to building a successful Funny Car team.

“We overcame a lot this weekend just to make four qualifying runs,” said King. “Throughout the qualifying rounds we were battling some issues. Every run we made some tweaks, but we were chasing some gremlins. I am very proud of this team and how we got our Funny Car up and running for every session.”

Coming into the race King was a part of numerous pre-race events. He was one of the driver guests at the Champions’ Dinner on Wednesday night to celebrate the 2023 Mission Foods Drag Race Series. King took advantage of his first trip to Texas Motorplex and Stampede of Speed hospitality. On Thursday night he was one of nearly 60 professional drivers spending time with fans at the Pre-Stage Fan Fest in downtown Waxahachie. Continue reading →

CHICAGO – Throughout the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Chris King and the Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car have been hitting some of the biggest NHRA races on the tour. For the first time King, who owns his team and wheels the 11,000-horsepowered Funny Car tuned by veteran crew chief Bob Peck, will head to Texas Motorplex for the Stampede of Speed and Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, October 9-13. This season King has made career best passes in Chicago and Norwalk as well as qualifying for the prestigious Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Adding the race at Texas Motorplex is another major step for his Funny Car team.

“I am fired up to be heading to the Texas Motorplex for the Stampede of Speed and the Texas Fall Nationals,” said King. “We were looking at St. Louis but the opportunity to be involved with a mega-event like the Stampede of Speed was too good of an opportunity. We’ll be doing the Fanfest on Thursday night as well as autograph sessions throughout the race. I can’t wait to show off for the Texas fans.” Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Chris King and the Howard Cams/Competition Products Dodge Funny Car team were looking to the 70th Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals as an opportunity to continue to chase their Funny Car dream. Through three days of qualifying leading up to race day King rode an emotional roller coaster. Their perseverance and support from the racing community provided them the chance to compete with the best of the best.

King opened the first qualifying round posting his career best elapsed time, 4.079 seconds and his career best speed of 302.21 mph. The pass fired up King’s team and added momentum to the part-time team’s efforts.

Chris King made his career best run on Friday night at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit NHRA/National Dragster
“It’s been a weekend of ups and downs and a roller coaster for sure,” said King. “We came in with expectations to try to run our best numbers, and we did. We were very excited after running a 4.07 and going 300 miles an hour. That’s two big check marks off my list.” Continue reading →

CHICAGO – Funny Car driver Chris King grew up attending the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals as a fan and then a crew member on Lucas Oil Series sportsman teams. The magnitude of participating in the “Big Go” for the first time as a nitro Funny Car driver with a competitive team is starting to sink in with the full-time Chicago firefighter as he prepares for his third race of the season. King will once again be behind the wheel of the Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car that he owns and is tuned by veteran crew chief Bob Peck, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, August 30 – September 2.

“I get goosebumps thinking about racing at the U.S. Nationals,” said King. “This is the biggest race of the season, it is the 70th Toyota U.S. Nationals and I will be competing against the best of the best. I feel like I am in the best position heading into a race I have ever been in. When I got out of the race car in Norwalk, I couldn’t wait to get back into it for the U.S. Nationals.”

During the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals King qualified No. 15 and gave J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Funny Car team a solid race in the first round. The Competition Products/Howards Cams Funny Car has continued to improve throughout the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season in limited appearances. Between races King and Peck have been adding parts and working on a tune-up that will set them up for success at the U.S. Nationals and beyond. Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – For Chris King and the Howard Cams/Competition Products Dodge Funny Car the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals was a huge step forward for their young Funny Car program. In just the second race of the season for the Chicago-based team owner and driver, King was able to make four solid qualifying runs and give a world champion a battle to the finish line in the opening round. King and his Bob Peck crew chiefed Funny Car bounced back from a tough race in Chicago last month to make the 16-car qualified field and give the fans a solid race in the first round.

Racing 2018 Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd in the first round King knew he would have his hands full. As the No. 15 qualifier King was at a performance disadvantage against the No. 2 qualifier but the full-time Chicago firefighter knew anything could happen on race day. Both drivers were on their game off the starting line and King’s Howard Cams/Competition Products Funny Car was side by side with Todd’s DHL Toyota Funny Car. As the finish line closed in King’s racecar began to give up some ground and the driver wisely lifted. Continue reading →

CHICAGO, IL – Funny Car driver Chris King has been building his nitro program with an attention to detail that would make Bill Bader Jr., second generation owner of Summit Motorsports Park, proud. Known as “America’s Racetrack” the host facility for this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals presents one of the most professional and family friendly motorsports events in the country and King along with his Howards Cams/Competition Products Dodge Charger Funny Car team is looking forward to racing there for the first time. The event will start with two qualifying sessions on Friday, June 28 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 29, before the quickest 16 Funny Cars take to the track for final eliminations on Sunday.

“I am excited to get back on track and race at Summit Motorsports Park for the first time,” said King, who started his season at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals. “The Baders do an amazing job with their event, and it is one of the most popular races on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series for the fans and the teams. They have a rich history, great track and if you win you get a one-of-a-kind ice cream scoop. ‘How cool is that?’”

King and his Bob Peck tuned nitro Funny Car will have their hands full with the rest of the Funny car competition. The plan is to take advantage of all four qualifying runs to gather additional data and build off their positive momentum from Chicago. As a new team they are still putting organizational pieces together and building a reserve of parts to make sure when they go rounds that are keeping a high level of competitiveness. Continue reading →

CHICAGO – Funny Car team owner and driver Chris King spent the off-season chasing sponsors, adding to his Funny Car team assets and as a full-time Chicago firefighter putting out actual fires. The third-year pro was focusing on the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals as a debut event that would help the aspiring Funny car team build momentum for a handful of NHRA national events in 2024. Unfortunately, a series of new team and early season gremlins derailed his best efforts at Route 66 Raceway this weekend.

“We just ran into one thing after another this weekend,” said King, driver of the Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car. “We were working until 1 a.m. every night almost leading up to the race and we did some really cool events in advance to promote the race. I was away from the team on Thursday and on Friday we just struggled. This is a brand-new team and the one thing we will never do is take a racecar to the starting line that isn’t 100 percent.”

On Friday the team worked all day prepping for the two qualifying runs on Saturday. In the first session of the day, they made a planned shutoff at 300 feet. The run showed promise from the starting line until they shut off the 12,000-horsepower nitro Funny Car. Posting an elapsed time of 7.013 seconds that have crew chief Bob Peck a baseline to build off. Prior to the final session the team ran out of time to prep the Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car for a final attempt to make the 16-car field. Continue reading →

ROMEOVILLE, IL – For the second year in a row Funny Car driver and full-time Chicago firefighter Chris King introduced some of his NHRA competitors to the challenges and thrills of being a firefighter leading up to the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals. In conjunction with the Romeoville Fire Department, Romeoville Fire Academy and the Joliet Fire Department NHRA Top Fuel racers Cody Krohn, Krista Baldwin and Travis Shumaker along with Funny Car driver Buddy Hull joined King in an afternoon of drills and activities highlighting just a few of the incredible activities firefighters experience on Thursday, May 16.

“We want to thank Romeoville Fire Department and the Romeoville Fire Academy, along with Joliet Fire Department for supplying us with the equipment and facilities to host the event,” said King. “Everybody was excited and it was great to have Cody, Buddy, Travis and Krista get an eye-opening experience to realize the physicality of being firefighters and how heavy the equipment is and a few of the things that I do on the job away from the track. They had fun, cutting cars, dragging hoses, chopping, dragging manikins, climbing ladders, and various tests that firefighters do every day and their job duties.”

The crew of NHRA professionals first put on the standard gear worn by firefighters across the country. The drivers are used to firesuits, but these pants and jackets plus additional gear added nearly 50 pounds. The drivers were also given the opportunity to run some obstacles and use a variety of the day-to-day tools firefighters have at their disposal. Continue reading →

CHICAGO, IL – It has been a year since Chris King and the Howards Cams/Competition Products Dodge Charger Funny Car hit the track at Route 66 Raceway. This weekend’s Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals will be a homecoming and relaunch for the Chicago firefighter and aspiring professional Funny Car driver. Last year King made a valiant effort and narrowly missed making the field. This season King and his revamped team have reason for optimism heading into their first race of 2024.

“We made some significant changes in the off-season, and I feel like we are starting the season in a much better position,” said King, who made his professional Funny Car debut in 2021. “Last year we raced in five races and we had our ups and downs. I have to thank everyone that has worked over the off season and beginning of this year to get us to this point. I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep in the past couple of weeks but when you are chasing a dream that doesn’t really matter.” Continue reading →