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We recently posed a simple question to a handful of NHRA Sportsman racers and other knowledgeable insiders: “Who is the best current NHRA Sportsman racer who has yet to win a world championship?”

Not surprisingly, many likely candidates were mentioned, but the name that came up most frequently was Brad Plourd.

That should not be surprising. By any measure, Plourd is one of NHRA’s most decorated Sportsman drivers. The son of longtime alcohol racer Bernie Plourd, he has a résumé that compares favorably to almost anyone else in the sport with 23 national event wins, including three NHRA U.S. Nationals titles as well as 18 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series victories. Plourd can also multitask with wins in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, and Top Dragster to go with plenty of big-money bracket race victories. To put it mildly, Plourd is universally respected by his peers, but the one thing he does not have, however, is an NHRA world title.

“Oh, man, that’s the one thing I really want but haven’t been able to do yet,” Plourd said. “I get goosebumps when I think about it. I’m 42 years old now, and sometimes, I feel like I get better every year, but there’s other times when I feel like I’m not as good in some areas.

“Championships are funny. You’ve got to be able to put together a great national score and a great divisional score. I’ve had plenty of years where I’ve done one, but not the other. I just need to put them together one year.”

Plourd has finished in the Top 10 on eight occasions, including a best of third in Stock in 2005 and again in Comp during the 2019 season. He also finished fourth in Stock in 2007, and that year, he recalls, was the closest he has come to winning it all.

“Late in the season, I went to Reynolds, Ga., with a borrowed car,” said Plourd. “I went to the final round and had to race Peter Biondo. I won that race and went out West to Pomona. I needed to get to the fifth round to win the title, and I went to the third.

“I also came close in Comp in 2019. I remember losing a race in Bowling Green [Ky.] that I should have won. That was a 40-point swing that might have made the difference.”

Plourd figures to have two more shots in 2025 as he’s planning on racing in Stock and Top Dragster and hopes to race in enough events to challenge for a title.

“Like I said, I just want one [championship],” he said. “I feel like I’ve done everything else I set out to do in this sport.”

If Plourd isn’t the most obvious choice of racers who should have already won titles, perhaps that honor should fall on Tom Stalba Jr. A longtime Division 1 Super Comp and Super Gas racer, Stalba has won 10 national event titles, and he has put together 10 Top 10 finishes. Stalba also won the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 2002, and last year, he doubled up in Dallas when he won the JEGS Allstars title on Saturday and then returned to win again on Sunday.

Stalba knows all too well the pain of barely missing a championship as he has come close on more than one occasion. In 2002, Stalba missed the Super Gas title by just 20 points, and two years later, he finished second again by 28 points.

In recent years, Stalba has focused much of his attention on his kids, Paul and Emily, who are both aspiring Jr. drag racers, and wife Karen, who races in Top Alcohol Dragster. However,�� if opportunity presents itself, he’ll go all-in to win a title.

When it comes to racers who are “deserving” of a championship, Plourd and Stalba are just the tip of the iceberg.

Division 4 ace Tommy Phillips has been mostly inactive for the last few years, but he is perhaps the best example of drivers who are overdue because he’s got 40 national event wins. ��

Listed below (alphabetically) are some other prominent Sportsman racers who have accomplished a lot but still have one big item on their to-do list. To see any of them win a championship in 2025 or beyond would not be the least bit surprising.

THOMAS BAYER

With 13 national event titles across four categories, Thomas Bayer has proven that he can get the job done in almost any arena. The drag racing school instructor also has six Top 10 finishes. That includes a best of No. 2 in 2009, when he finished just eight points behind champ Jim Perry.

DAVID BILLINGSLEY
David Billingsley scored his first Top 10 finish in Comp eliminator in 2001, and more than two decades later, he’s still a championship threat. Billingsley earned additional Top 10 finishes in 2011 and 2012, but his best season might be 2021, where he finished second to Bruno Massel. On the national event front, Billingsley won his first title in 1989, when he beat David Rampy to win the Super Gas class in Houston. He went on to win Indy in 1994, and last year, he claimed a major victory in Gainesville.

MONTY BOGAN
When it comes to “what have you done for me lately,” Monty Bogan might just top the list because the former IHRA champ was a threat to win two championships as recently as last season. Bogan earned a No. 5 finish in Comp and also finished No. 9 in Super Stock. Bogan also has six wins in 12 final rounds at national events.

TYLER BOHANNON

When he’s not busy promoting his own race series or operating several other businesses, Tyler Bohannon has been known to win a race or two. He’s currently got four national event wins and a pair Top 10 points finishes. In 2023, Bohannon was in contention for the Stock title until late in the season before settling into a respectable No. 3 finish behind Kyle Rizzoli and Jeff Strickland.

TYLER CAHEELY
With four national event wins in Super Comp and Top Sportsman, Tyler Caheely has plenty of street cred when it comes to NHRA Sportsman drivers. He’s also got a pair of Top 10 finishes in Super Stock to round out his résumé. Last season, Caheely won the fall Charlotte event in Top Sportsman and finished No. 21 in Top Sportsman and No. 30 in Super Stock.

RUSTY COOK
Although he has just two national event wins, Rusty Cook is someone who is mentioned often when it comes to championship potential. Racing in Super Comp and Super Gas, Cook has scored four Top 10 finishes, including a best of No. 4 in 2017. Cook also finished No. 6 during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season but was just 22 points behind eventual champ Brian Preszler.

JEFF DONA

Four times in the last 12 seasons, Jeff Dona has finished sixth or better in the final NHRA Super Stock standings, so he knows a thing or two about close calls. A four-time national event winner, Dona finished sixth in 2019 and 2020, and last year, he enjoyed his best points finish with a fourth-place showing. Dona won three races last season to remain in contention, and he finished just 44 points behind champ Jimmy Hidalgo Jr.

LEO GLASBRENNER
Racing in Stock and Super Stock, West Coast racer Leo Glasbrenner has put together a solid career that features 12 national event titles. When it comes to chasing championships, he’s also regularly in the mix with five finishes in the Top 10. Glasbrenner’s best showing came in 2012 when he finished second in Stock, albeit 97 points behind eventual champ Brad Burton.

DYLAN HOUGH
At just 22 years old, Dylan Hough is still relatively new, so he may not have the impressive win total of some of his rivals, but he’s already come close to championships on a couple of occasions. In 2023, Hough finished No. 4 in the Right Trailers Top Dragster class, and last season, he improved to a second-place finish, just 21 points behind eventual champion Cody Webber.

STEVE HOYT

On five separate occasions, Steve Hoyt has earned a Top 10 finish in either Super Comp or Super Gas, and he also once finished No. 11. Hoyt has won just two national event titles but has appeared in 10 final rounds. Last year, Hoyt went to four final rounds and finished No. 8 in the Super Gas standings but was just 44 points behind world champ Val Torres. ��

GREG KAMPLAIN
Division 3’s Greg Kamplain has had a long and memorable career with 11 national event wins, primarily in Comp eliminator. Kamplain also won the NHRA U.S. Nationals in 2012 and is a two-time NHRA Gatornationals champ. Since 2003, he has scored a half-dozen Top 10 finishes, and the most memorable is easily 2023, where he finished No. 3 in Comp and was just 24 points behind champ Ryan Priddy.

JASON KENNY
The son of former Top Dragster champ Al Kenny, Jason has earned plenty of victories on his own, including five national events and 18 divisional wins. He’s also finished in the Top 10 on eight occasions, including a best of No. 2 in 2020, when he came just 20 points from the Super Gas title.

DOUG LAMBECK

Doug Lambeck’s mantel holds 16 NHRA national event Wallys from wins in Comp, Super Stock, and Stock, and he’s got six Top 10 finishes to his credit. Lambeck’s best shot at a title came in 2009 when he scored a fourth-place finish in Comp.

RICHARD OKERMAN
Five times since 2015, Richard Okerman has been a legitimate challenger for the Right Trailers Top Sportsman title. In addition to his five national event victories, Okerman has finished among the top five on five different occasions, including a best of No. 3 in 2015 and back-to-back No. 5 finishes in 2022 and 2023.

ED OLPIN SR.
Seven times, Olpin has finished in the Top 10, and he’s got ten national event victories and a host of Lucas Oil Series titles. His best seasons have come in 2017 when he finished No. 3 in Top Dragster and 2022, where he was No. 3 in Top Sportsman.

GLEN TREADWELL

Veteran Comp racer Glenn Treadwell’s scorecard has seven Top 10 finishes and 10 national event titles, including back-to-back Indy wins in 2005-06. Treadwell’s closest brush with a championship came in 2010 when he finished second behind Al Ackerman. As recently as 2023, Treadwell was also a title contender with a solid fourth-place showing.

PHIL UNRUH
Phil Unruh might well be one of the favorites to become a future world champion because he’s proven to be incredibly versatile with eight national event wins spread across four different eliminators; Top Dragster, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street. In 2022, Unruh came within 11 points of winning the Super Gas title, finishing second to Bob Locke on the last day of the season.

KRIS WHITFIELD
Between NHRA Super-class racing and big-money brackets, Kris Whitfield wins quite often, so it's not surprising that he’d be included as a possible future NHRA champion. After four national event wins and a Top 10 finish in 2023, he’s already come close. Last season, Whitfield just missed the Top 10 in both classes. ��

TYLER WUDARCZYK
Another longtime title threat is Tyler Wudarczyk, who typically turns on his fair share of win lights in both Super Stock and Stock in his native Division 5. In addition to his six national event titles, Wudarczyk has posted four Top 10 finishes, including a pair of fifth-place showings in 2010 and 2022. In 2015, he also accomplished a rare and impressive feat by earning Top 10 rankings in both Super Stock and Stock.��