NHRA
TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF DODGE POWER BROKERS NHRA U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS – The world’s biggest drag race turns 70 in 2024 and tickets are now on sale for the prestigious 70th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, which takes place on the sport’s grandest stage on Aug. 28-Sept. 2 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Loaded with special events, a massive event payout and an illustrious history that spans seven decades, the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals is an event that can’t be missed. Commemorating the 70th anniversary in 2024 will make for an even more memorable weekend, with plenty of special celebrations in store to close out the regular season in the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Next year’s race will include everything from the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout to the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge and so much more, and it’s an event every competitor wants to win. From qualifying under the lights, to non-stop action from drivers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and all the superstars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, the 70th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals will include the very best drag racing has to offer.
FUNNY CAR’S MATT HAGAN JOINS ELITE COMPANY BY EARNING FOURTH NHRA FUNNY CAR WORLD TITLE
INDIANAPOLIS – It wasn’t the exact way Matt Hagan had planned to win his fourth NHRA Funny Car world championship, but it was the final point that showed his championship was about an overall impressive body of work and not just one particular run.
The strong season from start to finish proved to be pivotal, as Hagan took the points lead into the final event of the NHRA season, the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals. It proved to be the difference, too, in a tightly-contested points battle between Hagan, Robert Hight and Bob Tasca III.
The trio was only separated by 17 points heading into the finale, but in a wild turn of events, each lost in the second round on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. That meant the championship belonged to Hagan and his 11,000-horsepower Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat, securing a distinct honor for the longtime standout.
TICKETS ON SALE FOR LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS, WHICH FEATURES FIRST MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE OF 2024
POMONA, CA – Tickets are now on sale for the 64th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, which takes place March 21-24, 2024 at legendary In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
One of the most historic races on the NHRA tour, the NHRA Winternationals will be the second race of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. It also will mark the 2024 debut for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, a specialty program that started in 2023 and brought competitive racing to the Saturday schedule.
Fans in Pomona got a taste of that event specialty race last year – one with championship bonus points and a bonus purse on the line – and it returns with great fanfare in 2024 to a track steeped in history. A year ago, the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals also marked the first official race with the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip name, a change that brought noteworthy updates to the facility.
Thank You from NHRA
To Our Fans,
As the final win light flashed on the season and we crowned world champions at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, we enjoyed one of the most exciting and competitive seasons in NHRA history.
It feels like just a few short weeks ago we had the green light to open the year at historic Gainesville Raceway, starting a 2023 campaign that nobody will forget.
From start to finish, our amazing fans packed the grandstands at national events across the country, enjoying everything from first-time winners and champs to exciting new programs like the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge to legendary performances in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series to incredible support from our member tracks and sponsors. This season, we also had the opportunity to return to Chicago, welcoming fans and partners back to that great market.
It’s been a historic season on so many levels, including Gaige Herrera’s record-breaking year in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Erica Enders adding to her awe-inspiring legacy by earning her sixth championship in Pro Stock. Funny Car’s Matt Hagan delivered a first championship for Tony Stewart Racing, while fan-favorite driver Doug Kalitta captured that elusive first Top Fuel world championship in a historic fight to the finish.
CLUTCH PERFORMANCES GIVE DOUG KALITTA HIS CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: A NHRA TOP FUEL WORLD TITLE
INDIANAPOLIS – At long last, Doug Kalitta is a NHRA Top Fuel world champion, a moment that instantly entered the history books on Sunday at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip as one of the most memorable in NHRA history.
A championship runner-up six times in an otherwise remarkable 26-year career, Kalitta and his team, led by crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen, came through with a clutch run that will be replayed forever, defeating Leah Pruett in a winner-take-all final round at the 58th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals.
Kalitta went 3.673-seconds at 334.98 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools/Toyota dragster, handing him the event win and a world title, erasing a career of championship heartbreak and giving the fan-favorite veteran a label that can never be removed: NHRA Top Fuel world champion.
“It definitely has a nice ring to it. It’s going to take a while for that to settle in, but I’m definitely going to be grinning here for quite a while,” Kalitta said. “What a blessing to have Alan (Johnson) on our team. To be one of the guys that has won a championship with him as a crew chief is what I’ve dreamed of, and winning it with Connie (Kalitta, team owner) here was extra special as well.
GETTRX NAMED TITLE SPONSOR OF PRO STOCK AND PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ALL-STAR CALLOUT BONUS RACES
The GETTRX Pro Stock NHRA All-Star Callout set for Chicago, with GETTRX Pro Stock Motorcycle NHRA All-Star Callout to follow in Sonoma
INDIANAPOLIS – NHRA officials announced a multi-year agreement today that GETTRX, powered by Global Electronic Technology and the fastest name in credit card processing, has been named the title sponsor for the NHRA All-Star Callout specialty races in both Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, starting with the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
The exciting bonus races feature a unique callout format, pitting eight standouts against each other with big money and bragging rights on the line in both Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
The GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock All-Star Callout will take place on Saturday, May 18 as part of the Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.
In the two-wheeled category, the GETTRX NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout happens on Saturday, July 27 at Sonoma Raceway as part of the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Combined, the total purse for both specialty races will be nearly $140,000.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE’S CHASE VAN SANT NAMED 2023 NHRA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
TEMECULA, CA – After a successful debut NHRA season, Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Chase Van Sant has been named the 2023 NHRA Rookie of the Year in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.
The four other NHRA pros eligible for the award were Top Fuel driver Dan Mercier, as well as Pro Stock competitors David Cuadra, Eric Latino and Jerry Tucker. The NHRA Rookie of the Year award honors a first-year standout competitor within the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series ranks.
“The 2023 season was a great rookie year for us,” Van Sant said. “We went to four semifinals this season and I’m really proud of the work we did. I think we’re just getting started. I’d like to thank my family for getting me into racing and the whole White Alligator Racing team for giving me the opportunity.”
2023 NHRA CAMPING WORLD DRAG RACING SERIES CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY
TEMECULA, CA – First-time world champions Doug Kalitta and Gaige Herrera were crowned Monday evening, along with multi-time world champs Matt Hagan and Erica Enders, during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series awards ceremony at the Pechanga Resort Casino in scenic Southern California Wine Country.
The four superstar competitors were honored for their incredible achievements over the course of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season and given their trophies for their championship runs during one of the most thrilling Countdown to the Championship playoffs in NHRA history. The NHRA also handed out a new award for the first time, naming a Crew of the Year in each category.
Kalitta picked up his long-awaited first Top Fuel world championship after powering to the victory in an incredible winner-take-all final round on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragster. It’s the crowning achievement for the 26-year veteran who had finished second in points six times throughout his standout career. But the fan-favorite Kalitta and his team went on a remarkable run during the Countdown to the Championship, winning three times – the first that gave him his 50th career win in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools/Toyota dragster – to clinch his first world title.
GREEN, KALITTA, STANFIELD AND HERRERA CLOSE OUT 2023 WITH WINS AT IN-N-OUT BURGER NHRA FINALS
POMONA, CA – Chad Green powered to his first career NHRA Funny Car win on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, defeating Tim Wilkerson in the final round of the 58th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals to close out his 2023 season in style.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 21st race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the last of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Kalitta’s victory also handed him the championship for the first time in his career.
Green knocked off Wilkerson in his 11,000-horsepower Bond Coat, Inc. Ford Mustang, going 3.916-seconds at 328.54 mph in the championship round. It’s been a true breakout season for Green, who advanced to seven semifinals and two final rounds heading into Pomona. He knocked off Robert Hight in the second round, handing the world championship to Matt Hagan in the process, and then J.R. Todd to reach the final before a great .033 reaction time helped Green to a memorable holeshot victory.
KALITTA GETS FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP; HAGAN, ENDERS ALSO CLAIM WORLD TITLES AT IN-N-OUT BURGER NHRA FINALS
POMONA, CA – Top Fuel veteran Doug Kalitta claimed his first career NHRA world championship on Sunday at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, knocking off Leah Pruett in a winner-take-all final round, while Funny Car’s Matt Hagan gave Tony Stewart Racing its first world championship at the 58th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals.
Erica Enders (Pro Stock) also secured the championship on Sunday at the 21st race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, and the last of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Gaige Herrera earned the Pro Stock Motorcycle world title on Saturday.
Kalitta powered to a Sunday-best run of 3.673-seconds at 334.98 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools/Toyota dragster in the final round, driving past Pruett’s run of 3.720 at 326.16 to pick up his third win of the season. After six runner-up finishes in his 26-year career, Kalitta finished the job on Sunday to win a world title for the first time.