NORWALK, OH – Three-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown slipped past points leader Doug Kalitta in the final round of the 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, racing to his 76th career win on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park.

Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 10th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Brown denied Kalitta, the reigning world champ, his second straight win, going 3.736-seconds at 330.55 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools/Toyota dragster to get past Kalitta’s 3.747 at 334.65 in a fantastic side-by-side duel. It is Brown’s second win this season – and the 60th Top Fuel win in his spectacular career – and he reached the final round after defeating Dan Mercier, Clay Millican and Justin Ashley. Brown then led wire-to-wire against the No. 1 qualifier, moving to fourth in points with the thrilling victory. Continue reading →

M. Smith qualifies No. 1 in PSM, Gadson gets first win in PSM bonus race

NORWALK, OH – Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta made the fastest run in track history on Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park, picking up the win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and cementing his No. 1 qualifier position at the 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Austin Prock (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Richard Gadson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, while Prock, Anderson and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) qualified No. 1 at the 10th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta stayed red-hot in the loaded Top Fuel ranks, picking up his first specialty race win of the year, going 3.703-seconds at a track-record 337.16 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Applied Innovation/Toyota dragster to defeat Antron Brown’s 3.755. It was an impressive performance in a stretch that has been filled with them for the defending world champion.

Friday’s track-record run of 3.692 held up as well at the home track for Kalitta Motorsports, handing the veteran his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 57th in his career. He opens eliminations against Kyle Wurtzel, looking for his second straight win and third in the past four races. Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Funny Car points leader Austin Prock set the track record on Friday at Summit Motorsports Park, powering to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position for John Force Racing at the 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 10th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Prock made the quickest run in both sessions on Friday, going 3.863-seconds at 327.51 mph under the lights in his 11,000-horsepower AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS, which also puts him in line for a remarkable seventh No. 1 qualifier in 10 races.

Prock is the only John Force Racing driver competing this weekend in Norwalk, as John Force remains hospitalized following his crash on Sunday during the first round of eliminations at Virginia Motorsports Park. His daughter, Brittany, is also not racing this weekend in Top Fuel, remaining at the hospital with her father and family. Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – After a career-best season a year ago, things haven’t exactly gone to plan in 2024 for Pro Stock standout Matt Hartford heading into this weekend’s 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at world-class Summit Motorsports Park.

The good news is Hartford is the defending event winner, which at least gives him and the team a positive heading into the race weekend. The team performed at a high level last year in Norwalk, defeating Dallas Glenn in the final round, providing Hartford something to build on as he looks to jumpstart his 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Currently 13th in points in his Total Seal/GETTRX Chevrolet Camaro, a big weekend could change a lot of things for Hartford, who is more than ready to put the early-season frustrations behind him.

“We ran really well here last year. We have a lot of good memories at this track and we’re trying to get rid of a lot of demons we’ve had this year,” Hartford said. “It’s a small team, but at no point in time since the beginning of the year has there been any negativity with the team. There’s frustration we’re not running well, but you win together and you lose together. We’re just going to keep dragging the car up there and sooner or later this is going to change. Hopefully we qualify near the top this weekend, run well on Sunday and go on to win the race.” Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Last year at Summit Motorsports Park, Blake Alexander joined an elite list of NHRA drivers to win in both NHRA nitro categories, picking up his first career Funny Car victory. He’ll look to repeat that win this weekend at the 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Alexander, driver of the 11,000-horsepower Pronto Auto Parts Ford Mustang, won last year’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals when he beat reigning world champion Matt Hagan in the final round, making him just the 18th driver in NHRA history to claim wins in both Funny Car and Top Fuel.

The win was even more meaningful for Alexander as “America’s Racetrack” was also where he won his first Top Fuel race at Norwalk in 2018. It’s a track that has always served him well and Alexander is hopeful for more success this weekend.

“I thought it was a really special day. I guess I really didn’t recognize it at the time, that I had done something exclusively and only a few people had done before,” Alexander said. “Then as time went on, I kind of noticed the fraternity of the drivers who had done it before and that makes it a lot more significant when you speak to those drivers. A lot of people come out here and try to do this, and not many people ultimately get it done.” Continue reading →

NORWALK, OH – Last weekend in Richmond represented an ideal scenario for Kalitta Motorsports in the Top Fuel ranks and standout driver Shawn Langdon would love to see that continue – with one minor change – at this weekend’s 18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at world-class Summit Motorsports Park.

Langdon and points leader Doug Kalitta met in the final round on Sunday at Virginia Motorsports Park, with Kalitta getting the win and his third victory of the season. It was a great moment for the team and Langdon is hopeful for another opportunity this weekend in Norwalk, which serves as the home track for Kalitta Motorsports.

The only difference, of course, is Langdon would like to get the win in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Careers dragster, which also give him three victories in what has been a massive turnaround season for the former world champion.

Kalitta and Langdon are first and second in points approaching the halfway mark of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, rolling to five wins in the first nine events. It’s been an ideal start and Langdon is hoping it continues at “America’s Racetrack” to close out a stretch of four races in five weeks.  Continue reading →

DINWIDDIE, VA – John Force Racing swept the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for the first time on Saturday at Virginia Motorsports Park, as Brittany Force won in Top Fuel and Austin Prock picked up the victory in Funny Car in the specialty race as part of this weekend’s PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals.

Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the specialty race at the ninth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Force won the Top Fuel Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the first time in her standout career, going 3.966-seconds at 316.97 mph in her 11,000-horsepower HendrickCars.com Chevrolet dragster to defeat Tony Schumacher in the finals. It was a welcome turn of events for Force, who has struggled for the bulk of the 2024 season. She is the defending event winner in Richmond, breaking track records in 2022, and again found success at the facility on Saturday.

“This is big for us, just because we’ve been struggling for so long, and to be able to win this Mission Foods Challenge is huge for our team,” Force said. “We need it just to keep us moving forward, keep us pumped up. We’ve stayed motivated for all of it through last season and coming into this season. Every week, we come out here we you know, we push as hard as we can, and we still feel like we’re going to win this thing. To be able to bring home this win for this team is huge. We all definitely needed it and we’re excited about race day tomorrow.” Continue reading →