Drag Strips

Lesenko reunites with Jim Dunn Racing to pilot the Funny Car for the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.View the full article

One of drag racing’s most entertaining personalities is about to step into one of the most proven pieces in Limited Drag Radial. Tom “Jimmy Dale” Gunner has been announced as the new driver of Rob Kohler’s familiar screw-blown fourth-generation Camaro, with his competition debut set for the fast-approaching U.S. Street Nationals presented by M&M Transmission – the second stop of the Drag Illustrated Winter Series presented by J&A Service. Gunner’s arrival in LDR comes with real momen

Tommy D’Aprile has seen Pro Modified drag racing from just about every angle imaginable. He’s lived through the handbrake days. The clutch cars. The 5,000-RPM launch routines. The 52-car IHRA staging lanes fighting for 16 spots. The era when simply qualifying could feel like winning. Now, as the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by Red Line Oil approaches, D’Aprile finds himself immersed in a version of Pro Mod that is faster, tighter, and more unforgiving than ever before.

One of the largest Pro Nitrous fields in recent history came down to a unique final round at the Summit Racing Equipment East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech, pitting three-time PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion and series co-owner Tommy Franklin against Keith Haney, who’s the owner of the Mid-West Drag Racing Series as well as a multi-time champion in that series.  When the tree dropped Saturday night at Darana Motorsports Park – Benson, NC, it appeared to be Haney’s race as he left fir

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

Tommy Youmans earned his first career Limited Drag Radial victory and first major event win of any kind at the U.S. Street Nationals presented by M&M Transmission, delivering a strong and consistent performance in one of radial racing’s most competitive categories at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Driving his steel-bodied 1970 Pontiac GTO, Youmans put together a steady weekend and battled through a demanding elimination ladder that included wins over No. 1 qualifier Jamie Stanton and Snowbi

There are celebrities who show up to drag races, put on a helmet, and let someone else do the thinking. They’re good for a photo-op and a press release and not much else. Tony Stewart is not that kind of celebrity. What Stewart has done since committing to NHRA nitro competition – not just as a driver, but as a team owner building a program from the ground up – is something fundamentally different, and people inside the sport are starting to take notice. Matt Hagan, a man who doesn’t throw c

TSR is showing off new paint at the Southern Nationals. Here's a look at how the team is preparing for this new event at SGMP. View the full article

Tony Stewart's comparison between Kevin Harvick and Leah Pruett is a big compliment. Pruett's ability to do more than drive is underrated. View the full article

Tony Stewart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team rallied to the first nitro victory for Elite Motorsports Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip. It was Stewart’s third career Top Fuel victoyr and his first at Pomona Dragstrip. After multiple delays due to weather and on-track incidents, Stewart faced-off with Top Fuel rising star Justin Ashley in the finals under the lights at the historic facility. Ashley, known for his stout reaction times, left the

The best story coming out of the Pro Mod final at the second stop on the 2026 IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series tour at Virginia Motorsports Park wasn’t the win light. It was who was standing on both sides of it. Tony Wilson, driving Ed Burnley’s Harts Charger-equipped “Iron Man” ‘69 Camaro, put together his best weekend of driving in the class to take home the Pro Mod Ironman trophy and $50,000. His tuner? Jason Harris. His final-round opponent? Also Jason Harris. Wilson nailed a .012 reaction t

As part of the season-opening kickoff to NHRA’s 75th anniversary in 2026, the NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout returns to Gainesville Raceway, taking place on Saturday, March 7 as part of the 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The specialty race features a loaded eight-car field, including defending Callout winner and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta. He earned the top seed in the unique bonus race that offers a big purse and bragging rights to open the milestone campaign. The

The insane, 1600+ horsepower Top Fuel Motorcycles (TFM) are back on track this weekend, June 19-20, at IHRA’s Triple Crown race at Darana National Trail Raceway, Hebron, Ohio.  With eight supercharged, nitromethane-burning bikes, it will be the biggest field in many, many years for these mythical beasts known as the Kings of the Sport. Larry “Spiderman” McBride will start the run for his 25th title as the favorite. He and brother/tuner Steve McBride have spent their careers being nearly

Maddi Gordon experienced another first in her Top Fuel rookie campaign Sunday at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, where the Ron Capps Motorsports driver had to pedal her Carlyle Tools dragster for the first time in competition during a second-round loss to Leah Pruett. Competing in the eighth of 20 races on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule, Gordon continued to gain critical race-day experience while maintaining her No. 6 position in the Top Fuel points sta

Clay Millican has a lot of stops he enjoys on the NHRA Mission Drag Series tour, including the most recent event in Bristol. This weekend’s fan-favorite 20th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park also qualifies as one, leaving the Top Fuel veteran equal parts hopeful and excited heading to the halfway point of NHRA’s 75th anniversary season in 2026. Millican and his Rick Ware Racing team haven’t hit their stride yet this year in the team’s 12,000-horsep

For the second time in three years, Top Fuel veteran Doug Kalitta will start the season as the reigning world champion heading into this weekend’s Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, an impressive feat considering Kalitta’s longtime quest to win a world title in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Kalitta will open NHRA’s special 75th anniversary season as the driver everyone is chasing after a brilliant run in the second half of the 2025 campaign. He remained

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

Justin Ashley heads to this weekend’s Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK at Route 66 Raceway feeling good about the path his SCAG Racing team is on. There have been adjustments with new crew chiefs and new team members, but the Top Fuel standout continues to thrive, especially over the past three races. After a slow start to the year, Ashley has picked up steam in his 12,000-horsepower dragster, advancing to two semifinals and a final round in the load

Leah Pruett has enjoyed a strong start to her return to the Top Fuel ranks and appears as close as ever to her first win of the 2026 season in the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series. Heading to South Georgia Motorsports Park for this weekend’s NHRA Southern Nationals, Pruett is also one of a handful of drivers with experience at the new track on NHRA’s national-event circuit. She’s tested in a variety of cars at the facility and while none of those were in a Top Fuel dragster, there is some

Racing at his home track is always special for Shawn Langdon. But racing at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip during this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals will be even more memorable this season for the past Top Fuel world champion. It’s the first Pomona race of the year during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season and also the first for Langdon at his home track since being named to NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers list at the start of the 2026 campaign. Langdon will be officially recognized with that ho

Torrence Racing is proud to announce that Billy Torrence will pilot the CAPCO Contractors Top Fuel dragster for the 2026 season, beginning with the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, part of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Torrence, father of four-time world champion Steve Torrence, has earned eight career Top Fuel victories. The resident of Kilgore, Texas, last competed full-time in 2023, qualifying for every event he entered in the Top Fuel category. The team made a si

Trackside Systems, the industry’s leading race-operations and ticketing platform, has announced its acquisition of Accutime Timing Systems, drag racing’s most advanced and accurate timing system. The announcement comes as Trackside prepares for its largest presence ever at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show, where the newly unified platform will be showcased for the first time. The acquisition brings together Accutime’s proven timing accuracy with Trackside’s modern digital operation

Travis Harvey scored a big win at the IHRA Pro Mod Mania event. Harvey brought home a cool $125,000 payday for his efforts at Milan.View the full article

The 66th edition of the famed NHRA Winternationals will be a celebration of Funny Car history as the sanctioning body presents the 1000th Funny Car race in its 75th anniversary season. Legends will be on site, and a special trophy will be presented to the Funny Car winner. One of the significant figures recognized will be the late Tripp Shumake, winner of the 100th Funny Car race. The well-respected driver will be celebrated on track as well by his son Travis Shumake, who will honor his late fat

Top Fuel driver Travis Shumake steps into a Nostalgia Funny Car. This historic hometown race honors his father at the Arizona Nationals.View the full article