1992 California Hot Rod Reunion—reprinted from National Dragster
An overwhelming crowd of fans and racers exceeded the greatest expectations for the inaugural California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Dragstrip. Read this and join the action this weekend in Bakersfield!
As we celebrate the enduring spirit of the California Hot Rod Reunion, we are excited to reprint this 1992 National Dragster article that captures the passion and nostalgia of the event’s inaugural year. Born from the desire to reunite racers…
Sticking with it: National Dragster highlights the best stickshift class racers
Driving a manual transmission is something of a lost art, but not every Super Stock and Stock driver is about to sacrifice their clutch pedal. Here's a look at some of the best of the best.
Whether or not you’ve ever raced a car with a manual transmission, it’s hard to deny the appeal of dumping a clutch pedal and slamming gears as you make your way down the dragstrip. Say what you want about stick-shift cars, but they are never boring…
10 Unforgettable Moments From the 2021 NHRA Season
A a sense of normalcy returned to NHRA racing in 2021 but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of drama, excitement, and unexpected twists and turns along the way. Here are 10 of our favorites
A a sense of normalcy returned to NHRA racing in 2021 but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of drama, excitement, and unexpected twists and turns along the way. Here are 10 of our favorites
THE SMASHING DEBUT OF “DOUBLE-OH” DALLAS…
The Science of Winning: The Pointless Nature of Staging Battles
Two-time Sportsman world champ and NHRA National Dragster columnist Luke Bogacki wrote recently of the futility of starting-line staging battle, a column that becomes even more relevant following this past weekend's epic Pro Stock burndown in Topeka.
Staging battles have been around since the advent of the automated Christmas Tree, perhaps even before. In a recent edition of the popular “Nitro Time Machine” on NHRA social media, Brian Lohnes relived a great Pro Stock burndown between Larry…
The Science of Winning: Let It Be
Let it be. These three words can be interpreted in two distinctly useful ways. The first: whatever happens, happens. The second: whatever our lofty desire or dream … let it come to fruition. Not necessarily, “Make it happen!” Rather, let it be. Â
There is an innocence to beginning. Whether it’s blissful ignorance or genuine curiosity (or a combination of both), we often enter into new situations and pursuits with an open mind and a desire to soak it all in. We’re at the base of the mountain…
How Austin Williams’ love of data and racing made him a Sportsman standout
Austin Williams’ ambitious 2021 NHRA racing schedule includes trying to chase championships in three different classes, but he uses a scientific approach to data to work his magic,
The way he figures, it’s doable to do the full complement of NHRA national event races in three classes (Super Comp, Stock, and Super Gas), followed by the six divisional races in Division 4. Williams will then do the double divisional in Topeka — a…
The Science of Winning: Growing Pains and The Cycle of Improvement
It’s only when we make the commitment to truly dig deep and improve that the true extent of how much we don’t know becomes painfully obvious.
So, you want to become a better racer? You’re serious about this pursuit. You’ve invested significant time, money, and effort. Perhaps this means that you’re racing more often; building experience. Maybe it’s a renewed commitment to the practice…
Playing All the Engels
Doug Engels didn’t win the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Comp world championship last year, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort.
Doug Engels didn’t win the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Comp world championship last year, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort. Late in the season, with a strong chance of winning his first title, he wrecked his dragster in a top-end…
Determined, Not Deterred
After a pair of near misses, Kyle Rizzoli is more determined than ever to win an NHRA world championship
When it comes to his racing career, Kyle Rizzoli has a lot to feel good about, not the least of which is his Jr. Dragster title at age 13, his back-to-back Division 7 titles, and, perhaps most of all, his three Top 10 finishes in Super Stock and…
Moving On Up: A look at more emerging Sportsman stars (part two)
Get to know these names, especially if you happen to be a fan of NHRA Sportsman racing, because many of the drivers featured here are going to carry the sport well into the future. Part two of our two-part series.
Get to know these names, especially if you happen to be a fan of NHRA Sportsman racing because many of the drivers featured below are going to carry the sport well into the future. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is loaded with talented racers…
Bob McCosh: Living the Dream
Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Bob McCosh’s breakout 2020 season in Top Alcohol Funny Car has him thinking big in 2021.
Bob McCosh Jr. headed to No Problem Raceway a year ago with a new Top Alcohol Funny Car, eager to put together a new chapter in a racing career that had reached its third act.
But as he arrived at the track to open his 2020 campaign — one that…
Florida farmers Glen and Jenny Treadwell are a double threat in Comp eliminator
The father-daughter duo of Glen and Jenny Treadwell has been tearing up Comp eliminator the last couple of years, and not just in their home Division 2. Both are national-event-winning threats and championship contenders.
In the rich soil of Central Florida’s Lake County, traditional citrus crops and sweet berries take root and prosper in “the Golden Triangle” named after the yellow color of the clay beneath the fertile sandy earth. The Treadwell family has been…
Moving On Up: NHRA National Dragster highlights emerging sportsman stars
Get to know these names, especially if you happen to be a fan of NHRA Sportsman racing, because many of the drivers featured here are going to carry the sport well into the future.
Get to know these names, especially if you happen to be a fan of NHRA Sportsman racing, because many of the drivers featured here are going to carry the sport well into the future. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series is loaded with talented racers…
After a life-changing accident, Dom Lagana is on the comeback trail
Among the list of inspiring life rules inscribed onto the side of Dom Lagana’s Nitro Ninja Top Fuel dragster are these three: Life is built on second chances. Treasure your family and friends. Think positive, not negative. They became a roadmap to recovery for him after his devastating accident last year.
Among the list of nearly a dozen inspiring life rules inscribed onto the side of Dom Lagana’s Nitro Ninja Top Fuel dragster are these three: Life is built on second chances. Treasure your family and friends. Think positive, not negative.…
Could 2021 be the year that Shawn Cowie finally wins the TAD championship?
If resiliency alone won world championships, Shawn Cowie probably would have run out of fingers for championship rings by now. The Top Alcohol Dragster racer finished in second place for the fourth straight time last season, but 2021 might be his year.Â
If resiliency alone won world championships, Shawn Cowie probably would have run out of fingers for championship rings by now.
The British Columbia native finished in second place in the 2020 Top Alcohol Dragster championship battle, but it…
World champ Anthony Bertozzi shows its better to give than receive
Two-time world champion Anthony Bertozzi wins a lot of races, but what he enjoys most is helping his friends win.
Last year, Anthony Bertozzi won his second NHRA world championship when he drove to the Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers title. Bertozzi appeared in four finals and won two races, including the JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals for a record…
The Nuances of Pressure
In the current issue of NHRA National Dragster, NHRA announcer and ND columnist Brian Lohnes weighs in on the pressure that awaits teams as the Countdown to the Championship approaches. "There will be teams that excel and teams that fold up like a cheap tent," he predicts.
As you read this column, the “regular season” portion of the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour will be coming to a head. The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd and the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals represent the closing verses…
NHRA Jr. Street, a steppingstone to 'big-car' racing for teenagers
As part of a special, youth-oriented issue, NHRA National Dragster took a look at Jr. Street, a racing program for 13-16-year-olds that gives them the opportunity to race against their peers in full-body street vehicles with an adult co-driver as their teammate.
Three years ago, NHRA introduced Jr. Street, a new youth racing program for 13-16-year-olds that gives teenage boys and girls the opportunity to race against their peers in full-body street vehicles with an adult co-driver as their teammate.
“…
Launch Pad: "I've seen drag racing's future"
As part of the magazine's "Next Gen" special edition about NHRA's many youth-related programs, NHRA National Dragster Editor Phil Burgess shares the story about a special encounter with a Jr. Dragster racer in Bristol.
In a small theatre in Cambridge, Mass., in May 1974, aspiring music critic Jon Landau saw fledgling rocker Bruce Springsteen for the first time and famously wrote for Boston’s alternative weekly newspaper, The Real Paper, “I saw rock and…