Pep Boys
BROWN WINS PEP BOYS TOP FUEL ALL-STAR CALLOUT; LANGDON, PROCK, ENDERS & HERRERA QUALIFY NO. 1 AT AMALIE MOTOR OIL NHRA GATORNATIONALS
GAINESVILLE, FL – Antron Brown picked up the victory in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout on Saturday at Gainesville 
Raceway in front of a capacity crowd, knocking off Brittany Force in the final round of the specialty race as part of this weekend’s 55th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all qualified No. 1 at the first of 21 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
Brown went 3.709-seconds at 332.43 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools Toyota dragster, taking down Force’s 3.730 at 328.70. It gave Brown, who defeated Langdon and Steve Torrence earlier in the day, his first Pep Boys All-Star Callout victory, a big payday in the specialty event and a stellar way to start his 2024 NHRA season.
Antron Brown Wins Pep Boys All-Star Callout at 2024 NHRA Season-Opener
GAINESVILLE, FL – Antron Brown’s 2024 campaign got off to a hot start on Saturday night at the NHRA Gatornationals when he powered 
to victory in the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout specialty race. Brown defeated three world champions to capture his first win of the year during the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season-opener, winning an $80,000 bonus purse and a special wrestling-inspired champions’ belt trophy.
The AB Motorsports team’s 2023 qualifying performance allowed them to secure a berth in the race-within-a-race, which featured a gauntlet of eight Top Fuel heavy-hitters with a combined 11 world championships between them. Brown faced his Toyota teammate Shawn Langdon in the opening round, which was contested during the event’s third qualifying session. Both drivers encountered traction issues and pedaled down the track with the three-time world champ crossing the finish line stripe first to advance. Next up was another Toyota driver, Steve Torrence.
Brown moved first and took his 45th anniversary Matco Tools Toyota dragster down the track in 3.761 seconds to defeat his friend’s 3.765 E.T. Despite winning the first two rounds of the Callout race, Brown went into the final round of qualifying, which also served as the showdown of the Pep Boys race, sitting in the No. 14 spot. There he faced his third world champion in his opponent Brittany Force. Against Force, Brown laid down a stout 3.709 E.T. at 332.43 MPH to defeat her 3.730-second attempt and moved up to fourth on the Gatornationals elimination ladder in the process.
Josh Hart Exits Early in Bid to Win Second Pep Boys All-Star Callout
GAINESVILLE, FL – After a lengthy rain delay Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team were eager to defend their 2023 Pep 
Boys Allstar Callout title. Earlier in the day Hart, the No. 8 qualifier, was called out by No. 1 qualifier Steve Torrence in a made-for-TV event in the Top Eliminator Club at Gainesville Raceway. All eight Top Fuel competitors were vying for the $80,000 top prize that Hart collected last year when he turned on three win lights outrunning Austin Prock, Brittany Force and Mike Salinas.
Today, racing Torrence as the last pair of Top Fuel land rockets Hart was the first off the line with a strong .030 reaction time. Unfortunately, his 12,000-horsepowered R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster overpowered the track and had to watch Torrence cruise to the finish line for the round win. Torrence’s time of 3.708 seconds was the quickest pass of the third round of the Top Fuel qualifying session.
“We got a little too aggressive chasing that $80,000,” said Hart, who won the 2021 NHRA Gatornationals his rookie season. “It was tricky for everyone after the rain delay, but Steve made a strong run. Last year we on this deal and then went home early on Sunday. I am going to try and flip that script and win the Gatornationals again. We have a solid team and I am looking forward to race day.”
DEFENDING EVENT WINNER JOSH HART JOINS PEP BOYS NHRA TOP FUEL ALL-STAR CALLOUT FIELD IN GAINESVILLE
GAINESVILLE, FL – Top Fuel standout Josh Hart will have the opportunity to defend his victory in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star 
Callout, which takes place on Saturday, March 9 as part of the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at legendary Gainesville Raceway.
Hart, the defending event winner in the big-money specialty race, moved into the final spot after Leah Pruett opted not to compete in the Callout. A year ago, Hart won out of the No. 8 spot in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, and he’ll try to repeat that effort at his home track to kick off the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
“I have always believed ‘Anything’s Possible’ and this turn of events proves that you have to stay ready because anything can happen,” Hart said. “I am excited to get to mix it up with these other seven drivers. We won from the No. 8 spot last year and we will try and do it again. This R+L Carriers Top Fuel team learned a lot at the end of the season and over the off-season. We will be ready.”
SCHEDULE UPDATES MADE TO BIG-MONEY PEP BOYS NHRA TOP FUEL ALL-STAR CALLOUT IN GAINESVILLE
GAINESVILLE, FL – NHRA announced today a pair of scheduling updates for the upcoming Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, 
which takes place on Saturday, March 9 as part of the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
The autograph session for the participants will now take place at 12:30 p.m. ET on Friday at the Pep Boys display, while the first-round Callout selections will be made at 10 a.m. ET in the Top Eliminator Club. Steve Torrence is the top seed in the big-money specialty race and has the first pick to call out his opening-round opponent.
The rest of the current lineup, in order, includes Doug Kalitta, Brittany Force, Mike Salinas, Justin Ashley, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon. If Kalitta isn’t called out, the veteran picks next, going down the line until all four first-round matchups are set. Then, the driver who makes the quickest winning run that round selects their semifinal opponent, locking in the other matchup.
After qualifying sixth for the Callout, there is the chance Pruett wouldn’t race in the shootout if team owner Tony Stewart, who is making his Top Fuel debut in Gainesville, is not deeply qualified in the Gatornationals field after Friday’s two qualifying sessions.
EIGHT PARTICIPANTS SET FOR PEP BOYS NHRA TOP FUEL ALL-STAR CALLOUT IN GAINESVILLE
Loaded field for the big-money specialty race at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals features five world champions
GAINESVILLE, FL – The lineup for the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout is set and it’s a star-studded field that includes five world 
champions, record-breaking drivers and a host of all-star drivers.
The race, which started in 2022 and pits eight standouts against each other in a unique specialty shootout, takes place on Saturday, March 9 during the highly-anticipated opener to the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
With big money, including a total purse of $130,000, a special Callout trophy and belt, and bragging rights on the line at legendary Gainesville Raceway, the top eight seeds, in order, are Steve Torrence, Doug Kalitta, Brittany Force, Mike Salinas, Justin Ashley, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon.
HIGHT WINS PEP BOYS FUNNY CAR ALL-STAR CALLOUT; TORRENCE, HIGHT HARTFORD AND HERRERA QUALIFY NO. 1 AT DODGE POWER BROKERS NHRA U.S. NATIONALS
INDIANAPOLIS – Robert Hight claimed his first Funny Car specialty win at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Sunday, defeating Matt 
Hagan in the final round of the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout at the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed No. 1 qualifiers at the 15th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
In the final round of the Pep Boys NHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout, Hight went 3.955-seconds at 321.58 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS to slip past Hagan’s 3.979 and win the $80,000 shootout at The Big Go. The multi-time world champ had fallen short in four previous specialty event final rounds at Indy, but came through in a big way on Sunday, knocking off points leader Ron Capps and Cruz Pedregon to set up the marquee matchup with Hagan.
“It’s amazing to get this,” Hight said. “Hagan really stepped up in the final round. We made the right decisions today, went out and did the job today. There’s been a lot of double-ups at this race and I’d like to add my name to it. You’ve got to win on Sunday first to even have a chance, but we’re looking forward to Monday. We’re definitely coming around and coming together at the right time.”
Josh Hart Pockets $80,000 for Pep Boys All-Star Callout Win
Gainesville, FL – Ocala, Florida resident and Top Fuel standout driver Josh Hart drove his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to Pep Boys Top 
Fuel Allstar Callout victory and an $80,000 payday on Saturday at Gainesville Raceway. It was Hart’s first appearance in a big money specialty race and the 2021 Gatornationals winner took out Austin Prock, Brittany Force and Mike Salinas enroute to the win to start the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
“It’s a huge, huge accomplishment for our team, we have prepared like no other through December, January and February,” said Hart, in the Norm Froscher media center. “To go right out and win a specialty race right off the trailer is awesome. This R+L Carriers crew are the ones that should be sitting in the seat talking about this win. I’m just the jockey that gets to hit the gas. All the credit goes to the team. This is obviously off the charts awesome. But you have to not take anything like this for granted because it can go away just like that. Savor the moment.”
“I’ll just say that nice guys don’t finish last,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “When you go up against Prock, you gotta be deadly on the tree and I was off my game a little bit in that first round. It was my first competitive pass with this R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster. I was kind of nervous about staging. (Crew chief) Ron Douglas and the team saved me on that one.”
PEP BOYS NHRA TOP FUEL ALL-STAR CALLOUT NEWCOMERS HART, PROCK AND MILLICAN READY TO MAKE NOISE IN GAINESVILLE
GAINESVILLE, FL – The Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout is back in 2023 to help kick off the season at the 54th annual Amalie 
Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, and with it comes a trio of first-time competitors in the specialty race.
Austin Prock, Josh Hart and Clay Millican are in the Callout field for the first time, joining a loaded eight-car lineup that also includes reigning Top Fuel world champ Brittany Force, defending Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout winner Steve Torrence, Justin Ashley, Mike Salinas and Doug Kalitta.
It presents a golden opportunity for the first-time Callout drivers to start the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series on a strong note, but also win the big money on the line at the specialty race.
“There’s some elite drivers in here and to be in that same group in this Callout, that’s really special,” Prock said. “We worked hard to get in here and it’s going to be a blast. I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited for a little bit of the smack talk. I like that it’s at the first race of the year. It’s going to show who did their homework in the off-season.”
DEFENDING PRO STOCK WORLD CHAMP GREG ANDERSON READY TO DEFEND CROWN HEADING TO PEP BOYS NHRA NATIONALS
READING, PA – Two months ago, Greg Anderson likely wouldn’t have considered himself much of a threat to defend his world 
championship in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. But the longtime star has made a swift turnaround in recent weeks, vaulting back into title contention as the Countdown to the Championship playoffs open this weekend at the 37th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
Anderson, a five-time world champ in Pro Stock, picked up his 100th victory at the most recent race at Indy, continuing a recent hot streak that has included three straight No. 1 qualifiers in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro as well as final round appearances in three of the past four races.
Points leader Erica Enders remains the favorite in the class thanks to a dominant season that’s included six victories and eight final rounds, but Anderson is coming on strong and he can’t wait for the six-race playoffs to begin this weekend in Reading.
