Photos by Ron Lewis, Mike & Jeff Burghardt, Alex Owens, NHRA
WEDNESDAY PHOTO GALLERY
WEDNESDAY NOTEBOOK – THE GO IS WIDE OPEN WITH FIRST DAY QUALIFYING
1 – TOP OF THE LINE – After winning, and then losing, last year’s Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge on a disqualification, former NHRA Pro Stock champion Jason Line made his way back to the front of the line during Wednesday’s opening qualifying session at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Line drove his 1968 Plymouth Barracuda to an 8.451-second pass at 159.99 mph, taking the provisional No. 1 position in the 17-car field at Indianapolis Raceway Park. This year’s HEMI Challenge winner will collect $10,000.
Steve Comella, another perennial player in the HEMI Challenge, was right behind Line. The Webster, N.Y., driver stopped the clocks at 8.468 and 158.82 in his 1968 Barracuda, leaving him just .017 seconds behind Line.
Eric Bell gave the top of the qualifying sheet an even tighter look with an 8.478 at 158.58. Bell’s run put the Chandler, Ariz., driver third and only .027 seconds behind Line after the opening session.
Anthony Rhodes claimed the No. 4 position with an 8.498 at 158.26, while Stephen Smyth followed with an 8.527 at 158.99. Their runs gave the 1968 Barracuda a sweep of the first five positions.
Jimmy Daniels broke the Barracuda streak by putting his 1968 Dodge Dart sixth with an 8.552 at 157.59. Eldon Baum Jr. followed with another Dart, running 8.560 at 156.92 for seventh.
Charlie Westcott, one of the iconic names in modern SS/AH competition, landed eighth with an 8.585 in his 1968 Barracuda. His position on the qualifying sheet didn’t tell the entire story.
Westcott ran 160.10 mph, the fastest speed of the session and the only driver to crack the 160-mph barrier. With more qualifying ahead, that speed suggests Westcott has something to work with.
The specialty race is celebrating its 25th anniversary at the U.S. Nationals, continuing a tradition that began at Indianapolis in 2001. Bucky Hess won the inaugural race, beginning a run that has made the HEMI Challenge one of the signature Sportsman attractions of the U.S. Nationals.
2 – GIVING BACK – Before the first Sportsman cars rolled toward the Indianapolis Raceway Park starting line Wednesday, NHRA took care of something it considers every bit as important.
Roughly 900 people packed the TEC building Tuesday night for NHRA’s annual Sportsman Appreciation Dinner, a U.S. Nationals tradition built around thanking racers before they begin the long haul toward Monday.
Jason Galvin, NHRA Sportsman Racing Manager, estimated about 70% of the entered Lucas Oil Series competitors attended. That came despite a number of teams still traveling to Indianapolis Tuesday night.
“We had a great night at the Sportsman Appreciation Dinner,” Galvin said. “We had basically 70% of the entered Lucas Oil Series competitors who came and inherently that number ends up skewed down a little bit because it’s Tuesday night and so many of our top teams just aren’t here yet.”
The dinner has been part of the U.S. Nationals routine for years, growing under NHRA President Glen Cromwell and former Sportsman Racing Manager Sarah Walker. Galvin said Walker played a major role in building an event racers now expect when they arrive at Indy.
More than 750 Lucas Oil Series entries are competing this week, representing all seven NHRA divisions. For Galvin, getting that many racers in one room creates an opportunity NHRA rarely gets anywhere else.
“It’s so easy to say that our Sportsman racers are the backbone of the company and they are, but how do you show that?” Galvin said.
NHRA fed the racers and distributed tens of thousands of dollars in products supplied by corporate partners. Galvin said the larger purpose went beyond dinner and giveaways.
“There are people from around the country who spend weeks of their lives chasing a Wally on Monday here,” Galvin said. “You have to show those people that you respect them and appreciate them.
“And it’s not just the time and the race cars, it’s the money. It’s the time, it’s the effort, it’s the time away from family, from work. It’s the time that spouses give their husbands to go chase a 13-inch trophy on Monday.”
Galvin, himself a past Sportsman racer who once reached the final 16 at Indy, understands what awaits once racing begins. Long days, staging-lane waits and multiple runs are part of surviving the U.S. Nationals.
That made Tuesday night NHRA’s chance to recognize the racers before the marathon began.
“It’s the single most important thing that we do from an event standpoint all year, as far as I’m concerned,” Galvin said. “It’s the one way that we can touch racers from all seven divisions that we have and beyond and let them know that we see them, we appreciate them, we care about them and we are thankful that they are here to help make this event the most special drag race in the world.”
3 – THE SUPER STOCK FIELD – Mike Johnston drove his way to the top of the Super Stock ladder after two qualifying sessions at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, leading a massive field where just getting into the top 128 required running well under the index.
Johnston, of Parker, Arizona, wheeled his FSS/F 2012 Chevrolet Camaro to a 9.137-second run against a 10.20 index. The 1.063-second-under performance put him atop the qualifying order as the Sportsman-heavy opening portion of the U.S. Nationals unfolded at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
There wasn’t much breathing room at the top.
Houston’s Stan Holt sits second after taking his GT/L 1966 Chevrolet Nova to a 9.803 against a 10.85 index, good for 1.047 under. Holt trails Johnston by only .016 second in the qualifying battle.
Tom Ferruggia occupies the third position with another Factory Stock combination. The Menifee, California, racer ran 9.172 against the 10.20 FSS/F index in his 2013 Camaro, finishing the second session 1.028 seconds under.
The rest of the top eight isn’t far behind, either.
Jeff Dona sits fourth after running 9.575 against the 10.60 SS/HA index in his 1998 Pontiac Firebird, a 1.025-under effort. Jim Whalen’s 1998 Firebird is fifth at 1.022 under following a 9.978 against his 11.00 SS/JA index.
Jeff Myers put a third late-model Camaro into the top six, recording a 9.030 against the 10.05 FSS/E index for a 1.020-under run. Chelsea Tindle follows in seventh with a 9.646 in her GT/IA 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, 1.004 seconds beneath the 10.65 standard.
Avery McLawhorn completed the top eight and gave the group another member on the other side of the one-second-under barrier. McLawhorn drove his GT/QA 1966 Chevrolet to a 10.748 against an 11.75 index, putting him 1.002 under.
The size of the U.S. Nationals Super Stock field puts another number into play beyond who occupies the top spot.
After two sessions, Terry Nolen held the No. 128 position with his SS/HA 1966 Chevrolet. Nolen’s 10.178 against a 10.60 index left him .422 under and, for the
4 – TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS – NHRA’s Senior Director of Competition Mike Rice spends much of Tuesday entering names, numbers and classifications into the NHRA racer database for the U.S. Nationals. Beginning Wednesday, Indianapolis Raceway Park starts eliminating them.
It’s a safe bet more pairs of race cars travel down the Indy drag strip in one day than some local tracks see in a considerable stretch. Rice, NHRA’s senior director of competition, estimates Wednesday alone can approach 600 pairs — and possibly more.
“In a day? Oh, boy,” Rice said. “Just an estimate. … Just pairs of cars, you’re probably close to 600 today. Maybe even a little more than that.”
And Wednesday is only the beginning.
Stock, Super Stock, Super Comp and Super Gas fill a schedule where wasted minutes become expensive. A Super Comp session with more than 100 cars can consume roughly an hour even when NHRA keeps the lanes moving at a blistering pace.
“It’s usually just over a minute a pair when you add it all together,” Rice said. “So basically, we’re right around an hour just of Super Comp today. Just one session.”
Moving that many cars is one thing. Doing it without allowing speed to compromise track safety requires considerably more manpower than what spectators see from the grandstands.
“Well, that’s why we have so many people out there, trackside and everything else,” Rice said. “We’ve got eyes up here obviously, and then the start line and all the trackside people, they’re watching for anything coming off a car, anything leaking, anything like that. So it’s a group effort.”
Then Thursday makes the traffic heavier.
“Today is just Stock, Super Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas,” Rice said. “Now tomorrow we throw in Top Sportsman, Top Dragster and Comp, and then the next day, you throw in everything else.”
That is the U.S. Nationals before most fans consider the weekend fully underway.
At Indy, the challenge isn’t merely putting hundreds of race cars down the same quarter-mile.
“It’s getting one pair off the track and having the next one ready roughly a minute later — then doing it hundreds of times without losing sight of what might be leaking, loose or lying on the racing surface,” Rice explained.
5 – LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING – There’s one thing about Earl Nichols’ Super Gas roadster. His machine looks fast while sitting still, and old pace cars seem to have that effect.
Nichols’ 1978 Corvette roadster, adorned in Indianapolis 500 Pace Car graphics, is one of those cars that grabs attention in the largely similar Super Gas division. There’s only one problem with the assumption most people make when they see it.
It was never a pace car.
“It’s a real race car, that whole body comes off,” Nichols said. “It’s all tubular chassis, but it is the exact configuration of a real car.”
Nichols, who lives in Fair Hill, Maryland, acquired the Corvette from friend Dave Graytag, a Wilmington, Delaware, Chevrolet dealer who once raced NHRA nitro coupes. Graytag drove the then-roofed Corvette to street rod shows with a supercharged engine before Nichols traded a paint job and some money for it.
Nichols eventually transformed the car as roadsters became more practical for Super-class racing, where visibility at the finish line can be critical. Tom Goldman of Auto Race Specialties handled the tinwork and roll cage, while Classic Auto Body in Wilmington worked on the body.
The result is something Nichols believes stands alone among Corvettes of the 1978-82 body style.
“There’s a lot of Corvette Roadsters, but this is the only one I’ve ever seen that is of this style,” Nichols said.
The Corvette still incorporates legitimate production pieces, including a Corvette rear body panel, hood and bumpers, wrapped around its race chassis. Nichols even retained working doors.
Its Indianapolis Pace Car appearance came later.
Nichols previously raced the Corvette in pearl white with candy-colored flames, including an appearance at the U.S. Nationals 50th anniversary 25 years ago. He made it to Monday eliminations before losing to Ray Conley in the opening round.
After years racing it with the roof, Nichols decided visibility won out over originality and converted it into a roadster. Following a crash at Englishtown during the track’s final season, he rebuilt the front end and eventually repainted the car.
The pace-car treatment was almost an experiment. The reaction convinced him to keep it.
“When everybody in the lanes was coming over, looking at it and a lot of people have stopped, it’s been a pretty neat experience that everybody just seemed to be thrilled with it,” Nichols said. “So that’s cool. There’s a lot of beautiful cars here, so that makes a difference if the other racers think it looks nice too.”
Not everyone gets the joke.
“More than one,” Nichols said when asked how many people have questioned cutting up an original pace car. “I’ve had older gentlemen screaming at me at Maple Grove in the staging lanes, ‘Why would you cut a pace car up?’ But they never made a convertible pace car.
“So if they really knew what they were talking about, they would know that wasn’t true.”
6 – HIS PLACE IN THE EMPIRE – Royce Lee Freeman doesn’t necessarily consider himself the forgotten Freeman in the family. He just hasn’t minded remaining outside the spotlight occupied by his younger brother Richard and their father, Royce Sr., who passed away in 2022.
Freeman couldn’t be more content racing in Competition Eliminator and serving as a driving force behind the family’s Elite Motorsports operation. Richard may be the public face, but Royce has carved out his own piece of the family business.
“Those guys over there have a lot going on and requires a lot of their attention to be at the top of their game like they are,” Freeman said. “And so, I do what I can to try to take care of the sportsman side of things.”
Freeman’s Comp car shares plenty with Elite’s Pro Stock machinery, including engines from the same shop. He’s also learned when those engine builders tell him not to touch something, he should listen.
“My motors are just like the Pro Stock motors,” Freeman said. “And they’ve got me trained well enough to know what to touch and what not to touch. And so, a lot of times I’ll start, they tell me, ‘Don’t touch that.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’m not touching that.’”
That lesson came through experience.
“Well, I’ve actually touched what I wasn’t supposed to and it didn’t turn out well,” Freeman said. “So I have learned by experience to do exactly what they say and things seem to go a lot smoother.”
Sportsman racing also keeps Freeman connected to where the family started, long before Elite became one of NHRA Pro Stock’s powerhouse operations.
“And Richard, sometimes he doesn’t act like it, but his roots come from the sportsman side of things,” Freeman said. “So he knows how important this is to all of us, our business and our family. This is kind of where we started. And so we’re just trying to keep it going as long as we can.”
7 – CATCH ALL THE ACTION FOR FREE – The first cars to hit the Indianapolis Raceway Park track Wednesday morning won’t require a subscription to watch. For the third consecutive year, NHRA is opening a sizable portion of U.S. Nationals coverage to fans free of charge.
Free streaming began Wednesday and continues through Friday’s final round of the Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge, giving viewers access through NHRA.tv and NHRA’s YouTube channel. Richmond Auctions is backing the free preview for the 72nd annual NHRA U.S. Nationals.
The coverage puts Sportsman racing front and center during the opening two days. Every pass from Wednesday and Thursday Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition will be available, including Stock and Super Stock class eliminations.
Friday expands the menu considerably.
Along with qualifying and eliminations in the Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge, the stream will include Top Alcohol competition, Pro Mod qualifying, Factory Stock Showdown and Outlaw Street. Fans also will get the opening qualifying sessions for Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Racing begins at 8 a.m. ET Wednesday and Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday.
The free portion concludes following the HEMI Challenge final, scheduled for approximately 7 p.m. Friday.
Mike McCandless has been involved with the free-preview program since it began three years ago, with Richmond Auctions joining the effort for the first time in 2026.
“It’s a pleasure to sponsor once again the NHRA live stream program during the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals,” said McCandless, CEO of the McCandless Collection and co-owner of Richmond Auctions.
“We’ll be highlighting all the Sportsman classes Wednesday through Friday, including Stock and Super Stock Class Eliminations and, of course, the Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge.
“All these sportsman racers are the backbone of the sport we so dearly love, and they deserve the recognition.”
8 – HIGH PERFORMANCE ALPHABET SOUP – There are throwbacks to the days when class racing was king in NHRA, and then there is Thursday at the U.S. Nationals, when Stock Eliminator class eliminations turn the alphabet into a pecking order.
For years, the A-cars occupied the high-rent district. An A/S designation put the stick-shift cars near the top of the food chain, while A/SA represented their automatic counterparts.
Then somebody apparently decided A wasn’t enough.
The AA/S and AA/SA combinations have pushed farther up the alphabet chain, bringing quicker indexes and another layer of muscle to an Indy tradition built around running heads-up for class trophies.
John Korish provided a reminder that the original A/S cars haven’t exactly become tame.
Korish, driving his 2015 Camaro, ripped off a 9.750 against the 10.95 A/S index, running 1.200 seconds under. Randy Mans followed with a 9.798 in his 2000 Firebird, 1.152 under the same index.
Jacob Decker was also more than a second under at 9.937, while Caleb McFarland rounded out the A/S group with a 10.005.
The automatic side brought more players to the game. Brian Martel led A/SA with a 10.034 against an 11.00 index in his 1969 Camaro. Mark Howes followed at 10.093 in his 2019 Challenger, with Jimmy DeFrank, Doug Box, Doug Lambeck, Jim Farrell and Austin Williams completing a class loaded heavily with 1969 Camaros.
Mike Ficacci led AA/S with a 9.789 against the 10.70 index in his 1969 Camaro, putting him .911 under. Brett Saurbaugh’s 1967 Corvette was next at 9.837, followed by Sean Gaffney, Brett McFarland and Dirk Olson.
Justin Hutto paced AA/SA with a 9.853 in his 1969 Corvette, .847 under the 10.70 standard. Rylie Trumble followed at 10.051 in a 1971 Corvette.
9 – BEE STOCK, BEE ALOT – NHRA begins one of its oldest U.S. Nationals traditions Thursday morning, when class eliminations settle the argument over who has the best car in each Stock Eliminator classification.
And if there is one class where winning the trophy figures to require some work, B/Stock Automatic has brought enough gunslingers to make four rounds necessary before anybody can claim it.
Fourteen B/SA entries are on the Indianapolis qualifying sheet, ranging from 1969 muscle cars to a 2024 Camaro. The first three cars went more than a second under the 11.25-second class index Wednesday.
Jim Boudreau fired the biggest shot, wheeling his 1969 Camaro to a 10.159, 1.091 seconds under the index. Chris Howes was only four-thousandths behind with a 10.163 in his 1970 Challenger, 1.087 under.
Sam Reuland made it three members of the one-second-under club with a 10.216 in his 2011 Challenger. Jerry Emmons sits fourth after running 10.264 in his 1969 Camaro, .986 under.
The numbers don’t ease up much from there.
Hunter Pierdolla ran 10.274 in his 1970 Camaro before Allison Doll, Andrew Collins and Thomas Baker produced one of the stranger statistical ties on the sheet. All three ran 10.286 — Doll in a 1998 Firebird, Collins in a 2024 Camaro and Baker in a 1970 Barracuda.
Three cars from three different eras produced exactly the same elapsed time.
Paul Stalba followed at 10.312 in his 2001 Corvette, while Jarrod Granier’s 1999 Trans Am ran 10.349. Ten of the 14 B/SA entries were at least nine-tenths under the index.
10 – TODAY’S SCHEDULE – More classes are added to the schedule for today including Competition Eliminator which has two sessions and Top Dragster which has two sessions. Top Sportsman also gets in two runs.
Super Comp and Super Gas get one run and it is the first round of eliminations.
