In a wild Funny Car final round that saw both cars break their tires loose in the first 60 feet and then repeatedly down track, J.R. Todd got it together more quickly and took the stripe ahead of opponent Robert Hight at the 52nd annual AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals…
Sampey, Vreeland Lead in Gainesville
Pretty impressive when a brand new combination goes straight to number one in the first qualifying round of the season. But that’s what three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Angelle Sampey did with her new Vance & Hines/Mission Foods four-valve Suzuki today at the 52nd annual AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA…
JFR Comes Out Strong After ’20 Sabbatical
John Force Racing raised a lot of eyebrows when they sat out NHRA’s return to 2020 racing after the COVID shutdown. Eyebrows have been raised again, but this time for entirely positive—and perhaps surprising—reasons. The team wrapped three days of testing at the PRO Winter Warm-Up at Palm Beach International Raceway…
Matt Leads Assault on Houston Track Records
story by Tim Hailey and NHRA, photos by Craig Hopkins Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Matt Smith continued to roll in qualifying on his Denso/Stockseth/MSR EBR, picking up his fourth straight No. 1 qualifier with a run of 6.729 at 199.88. The class raced in Houston for the first time…
Wins Adding Up for Andras and MSR
I’m no mathematician, but I’m told that Jay Turner Racing (JTR) rider Randal Andras has the 2020 NHRA Top Fuel Harley (TFH) championship already sewn up with two races yet to go. The choice may not be so clear-cut in Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM), but it is clear that Matt…
English Beat: Moxley at the STP Green Light Nationals
Due to COVID19, there will not be any ACU and FIM Championships in 2020. But Santa Pod has saved the day and decided to run three races in a club series. This is the Green Light Nationals. Funnybike Funnybike riders faced a strong headwind during qualifying on Saturday, but the…
Inside with Eatmyink: The Complete U.S. Nationals Story
When it came to two wheels at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals, there wasn’t much more that Matt Smith Racing and Jay Turner Racing could have done better while sweeping up every honor in sight. MSR’s domination of Pro Stock Motorcycle started on day 1 when Angie Smith…
Triumph and Tragedy at Indy 3
Note: Coverage of competition at the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Lucas Oil Raceway is overshadowed by the street accident on Sunday night involving Dom Lagana, Richie Crampton and Jake Sanders in Crampton’s iconic ’57 Chevy wagon. Sanders has been released, Crampton was broken up pretty good,…
Flyin’ Ryan Oehler’s First: The Whole Indy Story
Clearly, no National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) team spent the COVID19 delay better than “Flyin’ Ryan” Oehler and his small, independent team. His B&K Cylinder Heads EBR hit the ground at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis for the unique E3 Spark Plug NHRA Nationals ready to…
MIA at NHRA: What to Expect at Indy
NHRA is hemorrhaging star power. Corporate belt tightening and reduced purses (by 35% for fuel and 50% for gas classes) at limited-spectator events is part of the story, but you might remember that some teams were skipping the early season races long before the COVID19 crisis set in. The big…