- Hagan Captures 50th NHRA Career Win in TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Funny Car at NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte
- Ashley, Hagan, Anderson and Herrera take Wins at Charlotte Four-Wide
- TOUGH FINAL ROUND PUTS DAMPER ON WEEKEND FOR JOHN FORCE IN CHARLOTTE NHRA 4-WIDE NATIONALS
- BO BUTNER WINS JHG MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK SEASON OPENER
- AARON STANFIELD RUNNER-UP AT NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
- JUSTIN ASHLEY WINS NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS AT ZMAX DRAGWAY
- Tony Schumacher Out Early After Jam-Packed Four-Wide Weekend in Charlotte
Brent Darroch finally gets his championship
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – Brent Darroch is a bridesmaid no more.
Finishing second in the world twice in the past three seasons, Darroch finally broke through at the 2012 IHRA Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions presented by AMSOIL with his first career championship by beating fellow divisional champion B.J. Bianchi in a battle of the heavyweights for the Stock Eliminator crown.
But it was far from easy.
Darroch actually broke the motor in his 1994 Chevrolet Camaro the week before the race and had to completely overhaul the guts of the car prior to the World Finals. And with a fresh setup and a new bullet Darroch traveled to Memphis International Raceway with the goal of making it one step further than his previous two TOC appearances and he did just that in spectacular fashion.
Troy Coughlin Jr. returns to Las Vegas looking to follow in his father’s footsteps
Courtesy of Jegs
LAS VEGAS, NV – If Troy Coughlin Jr. is looking for motivation for this weekend’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing series finale at The Strip at Las 
Vegas Motor Speedway, he need look no further than last weekend’s NHRA Big O Tires Nationals, where his father, Troy Sr., turned in an amazing performance to win the championship in the NHRA Pro Mod series presented by ProCare Rx.
Debuting a new turbocharged Corvette at the Las Vegas event, Troy Sr. drove to his second-consecutive victory in the series, winning the title by a scant three points over Mike Castellana in one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the class. Watching his father hoist the championship trophy on Sunday afternoon, and then collect a $50,000 bonus at the annual champion’s banquet, did nothing but inspire third-generation racer Troy Jr.
Ron Capps, Allen Johnson, Eddie Krawiec, and Alan Reinhart on WFO Radio
Courtesy of WFO
HOLLYWOOD, FL – Ron Capps, Allen Johnson, and Eddie Krawiec all join Joe Castello, along with the NHRA’s Alan Reinhart, on WFO 
Radio NHRA Nitro. To listen now, go to http://www.wforadio.com/
Ron Capps stops by WFO Radio to discuss his monster victory over teammate Jack Beckman, pulling within 4 points of the Championship lead, his thoughts on the final battle at the Auto Club Finals, and being on the sidelines during Monday Night Football.
Allen Johnson speaks about the emotion of being so close to the Pro Stock championship, his extremely consistent day at the race track, his long road to this point, and celebrating in Las Vegas, NV.
Corey Manuel gives family another IHRA title
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – It is hard to believe, but just two years ago Corey Manuel was navigating the dragstrip in the confines of a single-
groove-wide dragster at blazing speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour.
Fast forward two seasons later and Manuel, at the ripe old age of 17, is an IHRA World Champion in Quick Rod. Yes, you heard that right; Manuel is an IHRA champion at just 17 years of age, just two years removed from Junior Dragster.
“Yeah, it is a bit surreal. It all just feels like a dream, like it didn’t really happen. You are not supposed to win one of these things so early, but here we are,” Manuel said. “This whole thing is just so crazy, I can’t tell you what it means to be number one.”
But Manuel is number one in the world and he owes a lot of that success to the man calling the shots – his big brother, 2010 Super Rod World Champion and 2011 IHRA Sportsman Driver of the Year Cameron Manuel.
Perkins Works His Way to First Round in Vegas
Courtesy of 801 Racing
Las Vegas, NV – Long days preceded the return of Cody Perkins to the Top Alcohol Dragster class at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor 
Speedway. A string of twelve to fourteen hour days is what it took to just make a qualifying run. Their efforts were rewarded with a good qualifying position and valuable tuning data. The racing ended in the first round but not for a lack of effort and insight.
“We spent Friday getting things done,” said Perkins of not running the first qualifying session. “It was a big team effort to get everything together. We had parts that hadn’t been on the car for years. We had to work out a bunch of little issues instead of rushing and finding them out the hard way on the track.”
Friday’s second qualifying session was cancelled due to track issues so the 801 Racing Team had time to put into Saturday’s efforts. Their first trip down the quarter mile resulted in a 5.919/249.38 Early in the run there was a bit of tire shake and a quick pedal job followed. In the final qualifying session the car responded with a 5.393/263.72.
Ahten Continues His Quest after First Round Vegas Exit
Courtesy of Athen Family
Las Vegas, NV – Making it to the first round at the Big O Tire Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is just part of Johnny 
Ahten’s quest. It’s more like a vision quest, which usually means looking for spiritual guidance and purpose. Ahten’s purpose is to go quick and fast on the racetrack, and that is truly a spiritual thing. Ahten was seeking deep understanding of this purpose in Vegas. Taming the beast that is the Nitromethane injected Top Alcohol Ahten Racing Dragster is not an easy thing.
Johnny Ahten got an eyeful of the Las Vegas sky on his first qualifying run. The Island Renovations/ 801 Racing/ Fireman’s Brew Dragster yanked up the front end and did its best impression a ten year-old on his bicycle popping wheelies. The car pulled 3.3 g’s until the finality of the wheelie bar put an end to that reach for the stars. That unloaded the tires and the resulting 15.688/31.67 time slip might be astonishing for a Schwinn, for a Top Alcohol Dragster it only meant the quest continued.
Goforth Joins Elite Company With Second Straight ADRL Extreme Pro Stock World Championship
Courtesy of ADRL
O’FALLON, MO – Cary Goforth knows all about finishing strong, doing it for the second straight year in the American Drag Racing 
League’s (ADRL) Extreme Pro Stock class.
But Goforth took it a step further in 2012, joining some incredibly elite company in the process.
Not satisfied with one championship, Goforth pushed harder than ever to close out his 2012 campaign, winning the season-ending World Finals VIII presented by CarSafe at the Texas Motorplex. It gave him three wins for the year, a class-best nine for his career and his second straight XPS championship, joining the likes of Jason Scruggs, Mike Castellana and Billy Vose as the only two-time world champions in the history of the ADRL.
Hunter Seeing Improvement in ExactAir TAD
Courtesy of Kenny Gilmour Racing
LAS VEGAS, NV – Going into the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals, Greg Hunter and the ExactAir Top Alcohol Dragster team had four main 
goals: go deeper into eliminations, and improve on their best ET, MPH, and qualifying position. By the end of the event, they had accomplished three of those goals. The ExactAir TAD qualified 9th, running 5.38 at 267 mph.
“That run was just awesome. I knew it was strong, but I wasn’t sure it was that good. I thought it was maybe a forty until they told me at the end of the track that it was a 5.38. Everyone was high-fiving; the whole crew was pumped about that,” said Hunter.
Greg started qualifying with a strong 5.45, which put him in the #4 spot after the first session was complete. The car stepped up in the second session, running the 5.38 in the afternoon heat. The team elected to skip the third and final qualifying session to prepare for their first round match-up with Randy Meyer. Once the field was set, Hunter was qualified 9th.
Ruff loses on Friday, wins on Saturday to take first IHRA championship
Courtesy of IHRA
NORWALK, OH – It is an old proverb, but its words couldn’t ring any more true – “for every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile.”
It is safe to say no one understands that saying more than Super Rod racer Michael Ruff.
Ruff had about as rough of a first day of racing as any one man could possibly have at the IHRA Summit Racing Equipment World Finals. After blowing a tire on his motor home on his way to Memphis Ruff, driving over 900 miles from his home in Orlando, Fla., began his big weekend with a first round loss in the Sportsman Spectacular followed by an even bigger loss in the re-entry round of that same race all on opening day.
With an 0-2 start to the weekend and the biggest race still yet to come, Ruff wasn’t exactly high on his chances to be competitive during the Summit Racing Equipment Tournament of Champions presented by AMSOIL later in the weekend with the biggest prize – a world championship – still on the line.
Strong Start, Finish Leads Abruzzi To Summit Racing Top Sportsman World Championship
Courtesy of ADRL
O’FALLON, MO – Known for fast starts and strong finishes throughout his standout drag racing career, Marco Abruzzi once again relied 
on that method in 2012 in the American Drag Racing League’s (ADRL) Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman class.
The end result was one of the biggest moments in a career filled with wins and spectacular seasons.
In a championship chase that came down to the final day, it was Abruzzi’s strong start and finish that proved to be the difference, as it carried him to the 2012 ADRL world championship in Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman.
Abruzzi won the first race of the season, became the first repeat winner in the history of the class in September, advanced to a third final later that month and then held off William Brown III and Ronnie Davis in a thrilling finish to capture the first world championship in Summit Racing Equipment Top Sportsman history in the ADRL.
