Drag Strips

As the NHRA celebrates its 75th anniversary this season, fans can expect to see plenty of familiar and even nostalgic elements – the return of legends, the celebration of the people and moments that made NHRA history, and even official uniforms that harken back to the “glory days” of the sport.  But the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour will also see some new scenery as an unprecedented four new venues join the national event tour. It’s the first time a new track has joined the line

Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett are ready for Route 66 Raceway. The TSR team is locked in for a big weekend at the Route 66 NHRA 'NatsView the full article

Tony Stewart Racing heads to North Carolina’s zMAX Dragway for this weekend’s NHRA 4-Wide Nationals with sights set on the history books. Matt Hagan and the Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car team come in fresh off a win that moved them into a tie for first in the points standings, while Leah Pruett and her Dodge Top Fuel dragster sit fifth in points after a commanding start to her 2026 return. With his win at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, the 1,000th NHRA Funny Car race winner,

Matt Hagan and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge // SRT Hellcat Funny Car team raced to their second win of the season, 57th of his career Sunday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The four-time world champion secured the victory at his home track with a 4.125-second pass at 310.91 mph to defeat second generation racer Daniel Wilkerson who ran 6.317 pass at 128.89 mph. Hagan’s win comes two days after teammate Leah Pruett picked up her first win of the

Matt Hagan and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car team capped off the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip with Hagan’s 56th career victory, not only taking home an NHRA 75th Anniversary Wally but the 1,000th NHRA Funny Car event trophy.  Hagan took down three-time Funny Car world champion and most recent NHRA event winner Ron Capps in the final round. Hagan handled the JHG Dodge Hellcat to a 3.876-second pass at 330.39 mph to defeat

Drag racing has a way of delivering its biggest moments when nobody quite planned for them. Sunday evening at Pomona, after a day full of weather delays, Matt Hagan piloted the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Funny Car to the winner’s circle for Tony Stewart Racing – and in doing so, became the driver who won NHRA’s 1,000th Funny Car race. The number lands hard when you sit with it. One thousand races. Decades of passes, countless careers made and broken, John Force in the news week after week

Tony Stewart Racing's Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett are ready for the 4-Wide Nats. Here's what they're bringing to zMax DragwayView the full article

With a quarter of the Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series season already past, Tony Stewart Racing enters this weekend’s Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals with both Matt Hagan’s Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car and Leah Pruett’s Dodge Top Fuel dragster sitting third in their respective points categories. Hagan, a 56-time Funny Car national event winner, has had a quarter final finish or better through the first five races with a win and two semi-final finishes. His victory a

Matt Tucker did the one thing almost nobody in drag racing does anymore: he said no prep, and he meant it. This weekend, the WesTx Abilene Raceway owner and promoter is putting $150,000 in guaranteed money on the line at his Freedom of War, and he is doing it on a surface scraped down to nothing. No rubber. No glue. No groove built up over a season of Friday-night test-and-tunes. Tucker had the entire racetrack, and the parking lots around it, sandblasted to raw concrete. “There is not r

Intercooler pumps play a big role in helping a boosted engine make horsepower. Here's a look at why these pumps are so important. View the full article

If the 1600+ horsepower, supercharged, nitromethane-burning Top Fuel Motorcycles (TFM) and the men who ride them looked insane enough before the first IHRA Triple Crown race at Darana – National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio, the insanity amped up tenfold over the June 19-20 weekend.  Larry “Spiderman” McBride – probably the most experienced and successful racer in the history of nitro motorcycle drag racing – had the wind peal him off of his bike after a bump in the shutdown area in the fir

Rich McPhillips Jr. opened the 2026 IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series season with his first Top Alcohol Dragster victory, taking the Ironman trophy at Motorsports Park – formerly Galot Motorsports Park – in dominant fashion across three elimination rounds on Saturday. McPhillips qualified sixth with a 3.547-second pass at 225.11 mph in Q2 after posting a 3.552 at 223.80 mph in the opening session. On race day, McPhillips ran a 3.459 at 231.04 mph in Round 1 to defeat Joey Severance (3.482, 220.84

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

Returning to the site of her first career victory, Melanie Johnson is set to defend her Top Alcohol Dragster title at this weekend’s 20th Annual Cavalcade of Stars at Summit Motorsports Park. The event marks a pivotal Central Regional stop on the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series tour. Last year, in just her sixth career start in the category, Johnson drove the McPhillips Racing A/Fuel Dragster to a hard-earned victory at the Norwalk facility. While she has since secured multiple semifinal f

Melanie Johnson is bringing a new look to the NHRA Winternationals, announcing Speedmaster as her primary partner for the 2026 season. The partnership officially hits the track April 9-12 at the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, where Johnson’s Top Alcohol Dragster will debut its new Speedmaster livery at her home race. The partnership is built on a natural alignment between two names driven by horsepower. Speedmaster is defined by a mission to blend traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge

Melling Engine Parts proudly announces its 80th anniversary as a family-owned leader in the automotive aftermarket industry. Since its founding in 1946 by George Melling Sr. and his son Ben, Melling has been committed to delivering high-quality engine components that keep vehicles running strong. What began with precision oil pumps for older vehicles has grown into a global brand offering thousands of aftermarket and performance engine parts across 27 product lines and over one million appli

Melling Engine Parts is proud to announce it was named Engine Pro’s Branded Supplier Partner of the Year during the Engine Pro Group (EPG) Annual Meeting held in Kingsport, Tennessee, May 20-21. Representing Melling, Laura Short, Doug Smith and Karen Bewley were on hand to receive the award presented by David Garmenn, Vice President of Engine Pro. David Garmenn stated, “We evaluate multiple factors when selecting our Supplier Partner of the Year and Melling delivers excellence in every a

Melling Engine Parts was recognized for excellence in product content during the 2026 Auto Care Connect event, held May 11–14 in Atlanta, Georgia. The recognition highlights Melling’s continued commitment to delivering accurate, high-quality product data that supports customers, partners and the broader automotive aftermarket. Presented in connection with the Aftermarket Content Professionals Network (ACPN), a community of the Auto Care Association, the recognition was announced during Auto

Drag Illustrated, Melling Performance, and promoters Tom Gunner and Michael Poland have teamed up to deliver the Lil Gangstas Championship Series presented by Melling Performance for the 2025-26 Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service, race officials announced today. The points champion at the end of the three-race series will earn $10,000 and a sponsorship package from Melling. For over 75 years, Melling has been manufacturing and providing customers with the newest cutting

Derek Menholt became the first two-time winner of the season in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports, driving past Jason Collins in the final round on Sunday at Route 66 Raceway as part of this weekend’s Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK. It marked the fifth of 11 races during the 2026 season and this weekend’s event was powered by ProFlow Pumping Solutions. Menholt was one of four drivers who had won alread

MGP Connecting Rods, an innovative industry leader, has partnered with Small Tire Pro Stock as a class sponsor. The company, which is based in Lakewood, New Jersey and part of Race Winning Brands, specializes in billet aluminum connecting rods for a variety of domestic and import applications. Seasoned MGP Connecting Rods sales specialists ensure that enthusiasts and engine builders around the world select the right MGP Connecting Rods for their drag racing, boat racing, tractor pulling,

Elite Motorsports, the largest professional drag racing team in the NHRA, has announced Michelle Domagala as its newly appointed Vice President, Operations and Partnerships. Domagala, who has served as the Administrator for PRO (Professional Racers Owners Organization) for the past 18 years, will work with Elite Motorsports owner and President Richard Freeman in acquiring new partnerships, maintaining current relationships and building the Elite Motorsports brand both on and off the racetrac

The Turn & Burn drag-and-drive provides a twist on the typical drag and drive. Racers will get to hit some unique stops during this event. View the full article

Summit Motorsports Park hosted the inaugural Turn & Burn drag-and-drive. We've got the event recap that features all the winners. View the full article

The Mid-West Drag Racing Series is collapsing two of its 2026 Flying H Drag Strip dates into a single weekend, turning what had been the June and October Smack Down stops into a four-day double-header September 24-27 – two complete, separately scored races run back-to-back with their own purses, their own qualifying, and their own eliminations. Series founder Keith Haney announced the move alongside Flying H Drag Strip owner Scott Higgs, citing a stack of scheduling and economic pressure poi