Drag Strips

Three-time Funny Car world champion Ron Capps recovered from a massive engine explosion in the second round at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Spencer Hyde in the final round to earn his 78th career win on Sunday at the 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the second of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. In the final round, Capps went 4.124-seconds at 30

Jack Beckman was John Force Racing’s standard bearer in qualifying for the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals by posting the second-quickest Funny Car run, while JFR teammates Jordan Vandergriff and Alexis DeJoria will go head-to-head in Round 1 and Josh Hart qualified 10th in Top Fuel for Sunday’s first-round matchups at Firebird Motorsports Park. Temperatures in the 90s and into triple digits continued to play a critical role in the success of the competitors in either nitro category getting down

Two weeks ago on Sunday in Gainesville, six-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson’s HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro was ultra-fast and extra hungry, and that’s exactly how it showed up at Firebird Motorsports Park for the 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals. Throughout qualifying, his hot rod continued to stun with stellar performances that bested the field and landed Anderson the 141st No. 1 qualifier award of his career.   After throwing down the quickest qualifying runs in bot

A year after a disappointing qualifying effort at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs second year Funny Car pro Spencer Hyde grabbed his second career No. 1 qualifier today at Firebird Motorsports Park. The up-and-coming driver who hails from Stratford, Ontario will go into eliminations with the quickest Funny Car on the property facing No. 16 qualifier Blake Alexander in the first round of eliminations. Hyde recorded his first career No. 1 qualifier at the Reading Nation

A year after dominating the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, reigning Top Fuel world champion Doug Kalitta is off and running in 2026, winning the first bonus race of the year in front of a capacity crowd on Saturday at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Antron Brown in the final round as part of this weekend’s 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. J.R. Todd (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the year,

In only her second outing in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Top Fuel rookie Maddi Gordon clinched the provisional No. 1 qualifier position today at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. The relentless Arizona heat created challenges, but the spirited young Ron Capps Motorsports driver rose to the occasion, making the first sub-four-second run of the weekend in the highly competitive Top Fuel field. Gordon’s Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster, tuned by crew chi

The second race of NHRA’s 75th anniversary season is off to a blazing start at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz., and Greg Anderson and his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro have risen to the top on a blistering first day of the 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. After the first two rounds of qualifying, Anderson was sitting in the No. 1 spot, and with more hot weather to be dished out on Saturday, odds are reasonably good that he will be able to prot

Making just her second career Top Fuel start on Friday at Firebird Motorsports Park, rookie sensation Maddi Gordon took the provisional No. 1 spot to kick off this weekend’s 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. Spencer Hyde (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the second of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season. Gordon went 3.844-seconds at 329.42 mph in her 12,000-horsepower

With a cool head and competitive spirit, David Theisen has achieved a lot of success in racing over the years. He earned the NMCA Dart NA 10.5 championship in 2018, and more recently, he pulled off a third-place finish in Small Tire Pro Stock and a second-place finish in All Motor at Darana Dragway in Michigan in 2025. The Michigan-based racer who famously flies banners for sponsor LaFontaine Performance Center, ran as quick and fast as 7.70 and 178 mph in his fan-favorite Firebird power

31 years after winning an IHRA Pro Modified championship together, Pro Mod icons Tommy Mauney and Shannon “The Iceman” Jenkins are teaming up once again to compete at the IHRA season opener this weekend at Darana Motorsports Park – Benson.  Fellow veteran driver, Tony Wilson, initiated the reunion after he asked Mauney to build a modern-day replica of “Barney,” the acclaimed nitrous-fed ‘41 Willys that Mauney – with Jenkins tuning – won the 1995 IHRA Pro Mod championship with, ending a strea

Traction is a critical in a no prep or low prep racing environment. AFCO developed its long travel struts for no prep racers with Mustangs.View the full article

Dayco officially enters the NHRA Contingency Program to reward drivers. Top drag racers earn major cash payouts for reaching the finals.View the full article

Terry Haddock is regrouping following an on-track incident during the fourth qualifying session at Gainesville Raceway that resulted in major damage to his primary Nitro Funny Car. Haddock had just completed a strong 4.12-second pass and had lifted early at approximately 800 feet. Near the top end of the track, the Buddy Hull’s car caught fire and crossed into Haddock’s lane, running over the left front of Haddock’s Funny Car. A parachute from Hull’s car then became entangled with the wheeli

Jordan Vandergriff had a successful NHRA professional debut in 2019 at Firebird Motorsports Park when he competed in Top Fuel for his family-owned team and he’s looking to go a couple round-wins better when he returns in the John Force Racing Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car for the March 20-22 FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. “The Cornwell Tools Chevy team left Gainesville fourth on the points. You know, that’s really a great start,” said Vandergriff. “We’ve gel

Derek Menholt’s hot streak in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports started late last year and after his second win in three races – this one to open the 2026 season – Menholt has no plans of slowing down this weekend at Firebird Motorsports Park. The category returns to Phoenix as part of this weekend’s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs and Menholt has proven to be the man to beat as of late. He won the penultimate race of 202

Jon Moore has taken an interesting route to build an 8-second street car. His Crown Vic is not only lifted, it makes 1,800 horsepower. View the full article

Alexis DeJoria reached the final round in her John Force Racing debut two weeks ago at Gainesville Raceway and, having earned her first career NHRA Funny Car victory at Firebird Motorsports in 2014, the driver of the Bandero Premium Tequila Chevrolet SS Funny Car has every confidence she can pick up another Wally at this weekend’s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. DeJoria and her Mike Neff / Jonnie Lindberg team took out Cruz Pedregon, Spencer Hyde and JR Todd enroute

As good as a season-opening win in Gainesville felt for Matt Hartford, a repeat of that at his home track during this weekend’s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs would represent something extremely special for the Pro Stock veteran. The Phoenix-area resident estimates more than 200 friends, family and Total Seal customers will be on hand to witness what he hopes is a second straight victory to open the 2026 NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series season. The Gainesville win

Dayco, a global leader in high-performance drive system solutions, has announced its 2026 participation in the NHRA Contingency Program. Dayco will post $17,000 for racers competing at the NHRA level in specific classes who run Dayco blower belts and earn win or runner-up finishes. This initiative reinforces Dayco’s commitment to high-horsepower performance and grassroots-to-professional motorsports racing, as the Contingency Program was designed by the NHRA to create a direct connection bet

Defending event champion Paul Lee heads into this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park with Mainline Sales, Inc. returning as the primary partner on the Paul Lee Racing Nitro Funny Car. Lee captured his first career Nitro Funny Car Wally at this event one year ago, marking a milestone victory for both the driver and the growing Paul Lee Racing (PLR) program. Now returning to Phoenix as the defending champions, the team looks to build on that momentum with a refreshed

Tony Stewart Racing’s Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan are set to take on the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park, the second of 20 events on the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season. Purett, who has a residence in Lake Havasu, will compete for her home crowd in the vibrant Rayce Rudeen Foundation livery on her Top Fuel dragster while Hagan will sport the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage colors on his Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car.  Although this is the only event Pruett wi

THE WES BUCK SHOW – EPISODE 417 “WHEN THE CAT’S AWAY…” WES IS OUT OF TOWN. AND YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. THE MICE ARE RUNNIN’ THE SHOW. This week on The Wes Buck Show, we’re handin’ over the keys and lettin’ it rip. JT Hudson and Mike Carpenter are holdin’ it down, and they’ve brought in some serious backup with Brian Lohnes jumping in to co-host. That’s right. The voice of NHRA is in the seat and anything could happen. We’re talkin’ racing, we’re talkin’ nonsense, and we

Melanie Johnson has been selected as a 2026 grant recipient by the Shift Up Now Foundation. The announcement, made in celebration of Women’s History Month, marks a significant milestone as Johnson becomes the first drag racer in the organization’s history to receive a grant. The Shift Up Now Foundation is dedicated to driving gender equality in motorsports by providing critical funding and resources to talented female athletes. For the 2026 season, the Foundation awarded over $300,000 in grants

Coming off a win at the season kickoff in Gainesville, Funny Car’s Chad Green is ready to head to the desert for the 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park. Green wheels the 12,000-horsepower Bond Coat Ford Mustang and secured his third career win two weeks ago at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. The win was his second consecutive win at the season opener and Green believes his team will carry that mome

A near-flawless weekend to open the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season has Top Fuel’s Josh Hart riding high heading into this weekend’s FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park. Hart made career-best runs, qualified No. 1, set the Gainesville Raceway track speed record with a 340-mph run and won in his debut with John Force Racing to kick off NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. It was a storybook start for Hart’s tenure at John Force