NHRA
TOP FUEL VETERAN DOUG KALITTA AIMS TO KEEP STREAK GOING WITH QUICK START AT 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — If there’s been a constant in recent NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series history, it’s veteran Doug 
Kalitta performing well at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona to open the year. The longtime Top Fuel standout has advanced to four straight finals at the NHRA opener and won the past two, and Kalitta is eager to keep that streak going.
He’ll look to make it three straight wins at the annual iconic opener, as Kalitta and the rest of the NHRA stars open the 2020 season with this weekend’s 60th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com. It’s a race – as well as a track – that has been good to Kalitta and his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools Toyota dragster lately, as he swept both Pomona races a year ago. That included the finale to close out 2019 strong, and Kalitta hopes to maintain that momentum while seeking a fifth straight final at the season-opening event.
“The big wins from the end of last year, the U.S. Nationals and the Auto Club Finals, made the off-season easier,” Kalitta said. “We are really focused on winning the championship and that is where we put a lot of attention. I know the team worked hard and we are excited to get back to the track. My confidence level is very high. This Mac Tools team is on a streak at Pomona and we want to keep winning there. We focus on the little things all the time and I think that shows at the start of the season. We really work on staying sharp over the off-season and getting the most out of pre-season testing. I love racing in Pomona and the fans are always awesome.”
Mickey Thompson Returns as an NHRA Major Sponsor
The company will support racers, events & series for 2020
STOW, OH – The 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is just around the corner, and Mickey Thompson Tires 
& Wheels will again have a prominent sponsorship presence to showcase its championship lineup of racing products.
“Drag racing is an important part of what we do and who we are,” said Ken Warner, Vice President of Marketing, Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels. “We offer a complete line of competition tires for drag cars and bikes, and our products set new standards and break traditions in innovation.”
The company will again attend all NHRA national events with one fully equipped onsite trailer to attend to racers’ needs as well as a marketing trailer to activate with fans in Nitro Alley showcasing their off-road tires and wheels. Fans can enter to win a set of light truck tires and participate in family-friendly games for giveaways.
BACK-TO-BACK TOP FUEL WORLD CHAMP STEVE TORRENCE LOOKS TO START 2020 STRONG AT 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — With 28 wins the last three seasons and back-to-back NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world 
championships, Top Fuel star Steve Torrence has put together one of the most impressive stretches in recent memory. Torrence has no plans of slowing down, but even he remains blown away with what has transpired since the start of the 2017 season.
Torrence will get the chance to continue his remarkable pace as the 2020 NHRA season starts Feb. 6-9 with the annual iconic opener, the 60th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, his sights set on his third win at the historic facility. The Texan will begin the charge for a third straight world title in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster, realizing full well he’s accomplished a great deal the last two seasons.
“It’s been kind of surreal,” Torrence said. “You look back at the last couple years – and really the last three years – and see the success we’ve had and what the team has been able to accomplish, and it’s a big confidence-booster. We’re probably more relaxed than we were 4-5 years ago. But we just want to go to Pomona and do the best we can do. You don’t really think about all of it and what it means, you just go and do it.”
NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES POWERS BACK TO WILD HORSE PASS MOTORSPORTS PARK
CHANDLER, AZ – The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is ready for a duel in the desert, bringing plenty of 
adrenaline-filled action to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the 36th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals on Feb. 21-23.
It is the second of 24 races during the 2020 NHRA season, providing the opportunity for an early-season victory at one of the traditional stops on the NHRA circuit. Southwest race fans have enjoyed the sights, sounds, smells and thrills of NHRA racing for more than three decades, with the early-season fixture set to provide more pulsating 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph action in 2020.
The thrilling NHRA Prime Time, where drivers perform a burnout to their favorite jams played by an onsite DJ, takes place during the second qualifying session on Friday and will help kick off the weekend in style, while all the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will look for some early-season momentum during the NHRA’s annual stop in the Valley of the Sun.
NHRA ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STRUCTURE
POMONA, CA — The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship will see some new 
elements this year. Competitors in the premier series may earn their way into the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s version of the playoffs, by one of two ways.
As in previous years, the top ten drivers in each of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series categories at the conclusion of the NHRA U.S. Nationals will earn positions in the Countdown to the Championship.
New for 2020, drivers in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series who meet a minimum set of requirements will also earn their place in the playoffs.
In NHRA’s Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, collectively referred to as “Nitro,” drivers who compete at all 18 events in the regular season and run a minimum of two qualifying sessions at each event will also earn their place in the playoffs.
In Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, drivers who compete at all 13 or 11 events, respectively, in the regular season and run a minimum of two qualifying sessions at each event will get to compete for the championship in five events throughout the Countdown to the Championship.
Jason Line to Retire from Pro Stock Driving Duties After 2020 Season
NHRA celebrates 50 years of Pro Stock in 2020. Turning 50 and having 50 Pro Stock wins to his name, Jason Line 
feels the numbers add up just right for retiring from behind the wheel of the Summit Racing Pro Stock Camaro. The three-time NHRA Pro Stock champion has dubbed this final season of driving for Ken Black Racing The Finish Line Tour.
Line will channel his fierce drive to win into building and tuning Pro Stock and Sportsman-class race engines at the Ken Black Racing shop in Mooresville, North Carolina.
“It’s been a good run, and I’ve really enjoyed driving a Pro Stock car for Ken Black and Summit Racing,” Line said. “I’m not leaving Pro Stock—I’m just going to be working for wins for KB Racing from a different kind of seat.”
“We are very grateful to Jason for all of his contributions as a Summit Racing Pro Stock driver,” said Summit Racing President and CEO Scott Peterson. “He is a great driver and we’ll miss cheering for him as one of the faces of Team Summit.”
NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES 2020 SEASON ROARS TO LIFE AT SEASON-OPENING 60TH ANNUAL LUCAS OIL NHRA WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, CA — The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series starts its 2020 season in memorable fashion, as the 
annual iconic opener, the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com, will celebrate its 60th rendition Feb. 6-9 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The tradition-rich event is the first of 24 during the 2020 season.
The historic race takes place at the birthplace of NHRA drag racing and the Winternationals has provided one incredible moment after another for six decades. Fans can expect another must-see event in 2020, one that will also include the kickoff to the 50th anniversary celebration of Pro Stock. With new cars and new teams set to make their 2020 debuts as the 11,000-horsepower nitro machines roar back to life, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona provides the ideal backdrop for drivers to leave their mark in the Winternationals history books.
The biggest stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will also try to start their 2020 season strong with a Wally at one of drag racing’s most revered events. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Bo Butner (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners of a race that will be televised on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), including finals coverage beginning at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 9.
FOX SPORTS, NHRA ANNOUNCE 2020 NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Live Coverage of ‘Western Swing’ Highlights Four Consecutive Races on FOX
U.S. Nationals Coverage Includes Five Hours Live on Labor Day
CHARLOTTE, NC – FOX Sports and NHRA today announce the release of the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing 
Series television schedule, highlighted by live FOX broadcast network coverage of four consecutive summer events, including the “Western Swing” (Denver, Sonoma and Seattle), as well as the iconic U.S. Nationals from Indianapolis on Labor Day Weekend.
The 24-event 2020 FOX NHRA season opens Sunday, Feb. 9, with the 60th Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals live from Pomona, Calif., at 5:00 PM ET on FS1. Fifteen of the season’s final 16 events are scheduled to air live, including the season finale Auto Club NHRA Finals from Pomona.
The 2020 season also marks the 50th anniversary of the NHRA Pro Stock Division.
REINTJES NAMED VICE PRESIDENT OF BROADCASTING
GLENDORA, CA – Steve Reintjes, who has served as NHRA’s Coordinating Producer for the past two years, has been 
promoted to the role of Vice President of Broadcasting.
In his new role, Reintjes will continue to oversee the NHRA’s production of all NHRA on Fox television broadcasts, as well as content created at the NHRA Wally Parks Studio, displayed at NHRA events and streamed online via NHRA.TV.
Reintjes has an extensive background in live broadcasting with over 19 years of experience in network television. He has produced over 500 live events covering 11 sports, including major college football bowl games, multiple FCS college football national championship games and NCAA national championship games in men’s and women’s soccer. He has produced the last two years of all NHRA on Fox television broadcasts.
SOUTH CENTRAL DIVISION 4 HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS
DALLAS, TX – Former NHRA Division Director Craig Hutchinson and Division Administration Assistant Sue Hutchinson will join the ranks of legendary South Central Division personalities that include K
enny Bernstein, Raymond Beadle, Billy Meyer, Richard Tharp, and Dave McClelland when he is inducted into the Division 4 Hall of Fame.
Hutchinson, who was only the division’s third director, was one of a group of second-generation NHRA division directors who took over the reins from the position’s founding fathers of the 1960s. When Hutchinson was hired in early 1988, he replaced George Raglin, the interim director in 1987 after Dale Ham’s retirement in 1986. Hutchinson had developed a solid reputation while working with Charlie Allen at Firebird Int’l Raceway in the early 1980s.
Hutchinson, a native Arizonan who grew up bracket racing his Pinto at tracks such as Beeline Dragway and Tucson Dragway, had been working with partner Buddy Murphy to bring a track to the Phoenix area in the early 1980s. When Allen learned that he would soon lose the lease on famed Orange County Int’l Raceway in Southern California, NHRA’s Wayne McMurty hooked up Allen and his partner, Bill Guptil, with Hutchinson and Murphy, who already had done much of the legal legwork, and fellow partners Bob Bayer and Dick Scott to make Firebird a reality in early 1983. Hutchinson’s name was on the track’s long-term lease.
