Mission #2FAST2TASTY
Ron Capps Wins Second Mission #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge at Norwalk
NORWALK, OH – For the second time this season, Ron Capps won the Mission #2Fasty2Tasty Funny Car Challenge when he defeated 
Robert Hight in the final round of the NHRA Norwalk Nationals edition of the specialty event.
In what was the final round of both the challenge and qualifying for Sunday’s elimination rounds, Capps raced his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car to a winning pass of 3.887 seconds at 327.74 MPH to the losing run of Hight’s 3.933 at 290.44.
“I’d love to give the trophy to Mr. (Bill) Bader and all these Norwalk fans. These fans are unbelievable,” said Capps following the win. “The championships, races – everything has to go through that car with (crew chief) Jimmy Prock and Robert Hight. I would like to think most of the teams say the same thing about our NAPA car. I don’t even know what the money is for winning it, but we get three championship points that go in our bank, and that is huge.”
Capps, who has qualified for the specialty race four times, is the only Funny Car competitor to win the challenge twice. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a $10,000 purse in addition to the championship points.
FUNNY CAR’S BOB TASCA III THRILLED WITH TEAM’S PROGRESS AHEAD OF SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS
NORWALK, OH – The start of this season brought major changes to the Funny Car team of Bob Tasca III, with two new crew chiefs coming 
into the fold for the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Tasca, though, was excited about the potential, and it hasn’t taken long to see why.
With Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks now calling the shots on Tasca’s 11,000-horsepower Ford Mustang, the veteran has enjoyed a fast start to the season, winning a race and sitting just outside the top five in the loaded category.
Tasca advanced to the final round last year at Summit Motorsports Park, the site of this weekend’s 17th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, which only adds to the confidence level he feels approaching the midway point of the 2023 season.
“We’ve just felt like this whole season has been building for us,” Tasca said. “I’m just so impressed with Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks. They changed everything and this car is nothing like it was last year. This team has put in an incredible effort. I knew I wanted to race with Todd. I’ve always wanted to race with him, and I just love Aaron’s style. He’s an aggressive guy and I just love listening to both of them in the trailer. There’s spirited dialogue back and forth on what they think, and you see the result with how this car runs.”
HERRERA, STANFIELD WIN MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE IN BRISTOL; HERRERA, ENDERS, PRUETT AND HIGHT QUALIFY NO. 1 AT NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
BRISTOL, TN – Gaige Herrera continued his perfect run in Pro Stock Motorcycle on Saturday at Bristol Dragway, winning the Mission 
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge and securing his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) also won the bonus event in Bristol. Leah Pruett (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) all qualified No. 1 at the eighth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
In the final round of the bonus event, Herrera was quicker on the starting line against Hector Arana Jr., posting a .009 reaction time and a run of 6.849-seconds at 194.83 mph on his Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. It’s Herrera’s second Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge victory this season, with his run of 6.808 at 198.61 earlier on Saturday giving him the No. 1 qualifier. Herrera hasn’t lost a round in 2023 and will aim for his fourth straight win on Sunday as he opens eliminations against Ron Tornow in what also is Herrera’s Thunder Valley debut.
MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE MATCHUPS SET FOR NHRA’S RETURN TO ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
JOLIET, IL – The Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge is back, bringing an added measure of excitement as the NHRA Camping World 
Drag Racing Series makes its first Chicago appearance in four years at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway on May 19-21.
The Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, which debuted this season, didn’t take place at the pair of four-wide races in April, but it returns in Chicago, delivering new participants, a defending winner and an entirely new category with it – along with competitive racing to qualifying on Saturday.
It also offers a bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship, as the challenge features the rematch of semifinalists from Pomona in the nitro class and from Gainesville in Pro Stock Motorcycle, with the winners meeting up in the finals. It’s already brought a new level of action to Saturday qualifying and fans in Chicago will get a chance to see it for the first time.
Justin Ashley Wins #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and Goes to No. 1
POMONA, CA – Reigning NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals winner Justin Ashley saved the best for last today at In-N-Out Dragstrip racing to 
the No. 1 qualifier position and winning the $10,000 top prize in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge outrunning Leah Pruett in the final round. His winning time of 3.707 seconds at 330.15 mph moved him around provisional Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force and earned the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year three important qualifying bonus points. It was a monster run for the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by National Debt Relief as they head into Sunday looking to defend their Winternationals title and win for the second week in a row after taking the win at the NHRA Arizona Nationals.
“I think this is probably the best Saturday I think I’ve ever had at the racetrack,” said Ashley, from the Shav Glick Media Center. “It’s amazing to win the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Challenge and go to No. 1. It’s great for the fans, but it’s also great for the teams. It really was a great day for this Phillips Connect Toyota team powered by National Debt Relief, and it is a positive step in the right direction.”
In the first round of qualifying Ashley defeated Steve Torrence in a close race. Ashley was first off the line and his 3.751 second pass held up at the finish line for the win.
PRO STOCK’S CAMRIE CARUSO AIMS TO TURN FIRST WIN INTO CONTINUED SUCCESS AT LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA – Returning to the site of where she was officially named the NHRA Rookie of the Year to close out the 2022 NHRA Camping 
World Drag Racing Series season, Pro Stock’s Camrie Caruso has plenty of reasons to be excited at this weekend’s 63rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
Now part of the loaded KB Titan Racing team, Caruso scored her first career Pro Stock win last weekend in Phoenix, becoming just the second female to win in the class in NHRA history. Caruso was tremendous on the starting line in her Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro, finishing her day in the winner’s circle as part of her memorable weekend.
She’ll look to keep rolling in Pomona, thankful to find such quick success as part of a new team that includes Pro Stock standouts Greg Anderson, a five-time world champ, Dallas Glenn and Kyle Koretsky. Things have come together quickly for the KB Titan Racing team and Caruso has already seen huge benefits of racing with such a strong group.
“I was hoping we would start the year off with a bang,” Caruso said. “Getting to work with Greg, Dallas and Kyle has been so great. They are really supportive and I am so comfortable in my Powerbuilt Camaro thanks to all their input. Having teammates to lean has been really good and it’s already been way better than I could have imagined. I’m just going to try to hold up my end of the bargain. They’ve had so much success and they all have wins and No. 1 qualifiers and championships, so I just want to be able to hold up the name and do well for all of them.”
MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE RETURNS THIS WEEKEND AT IN-N-OUT BURGER POMONA DRAGSTRIP
POMONA, CA – Following a thrilling opening weekend of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, the special challenge returns as part of this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
The Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge brings competitive racing to the qualifying schedule at 12 regular-season events during the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series campaign, pitting semifinalists from the previous race against each other in a pair of rematches, with the two winners then matching up in the final qualifying session.
It opened last weekend in Phoenix, with Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car) and Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) taking the wins and, along with it, the bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship. This weekend in Pomona, the action promises to be just as exciting, with 12 racers getting their chance for a bonus payout and points on Saturday, leading into eliminations at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals.
