It's hard for some to believe, but it's the truth. On Sunday in Bakersfield, CA., during the most prestigious nostalgia event, the March Meet, Cory Lee, a decorated veteran in drag racing, finally won his first national event. He did so as a driver behind the wheel of Gary Turner's Challenger Funny Car. 

"I've had, I think, two or three as a tuner, but this is my first as a tuner driver, so it's really exciting," Lee said. 

Lee was joined in the Famoso Dragstrip winner's circle by Tyler Hester (Top Fuel) and Lyle Greenberg (Fuel Altered).

Lee bought Jeff Arend in a battle of drivers with plenty of experience racing on the NHRA's Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Arend was first off the land, but the lead was short-lived as his 5.658 elapsed time at 260 miles per hour quickly gobbled up Arend's 5.829.  

A former Tom Hoover protege, Lee has two runner-up finishes (to John Force) as a driver on the NHRA fuel Funny Car tour, but finally winning a race is great. Winning a race he didn't even think he would be at was even better. 

"Five days ago, I didn't have a supercharger, and things were getting pretty desperate," Lee explained. "And we actually talked about not coming to the event. Gary and I had had one of those sorrowful conversations, and we nearly threw in the towel. But we are both hardcore, and we didn't want to give in. We're not quitters. And so we persevered. We got the supercharger the morning we left at 9:00 AM, got in the truck, and drove up here, and it's history now."

"I've heard stories like that where people, they're just up against the wall. And then they just come out swinging, and they end up really succeeding. And never giving up is, I guess, the moral of the story."

It could have also been the ten-year tradition of The Pedaler at play, and in 2014, James Day won the Nostalgia Funny Car title at the March Meet by beating Dan Horan on a holeshot. 

"That's an oddity that goes along with Gary's story," Lee said. "Gary's had pretty good luck up here with his race team, so yeah, that's great to be a part of that."

Hester was also a first-time Bakersfield winner as he won the Top Fuel title by beating Shawn Bowen. An hour after his monumental victory, Hester was still shocked. 

"It hasn't sunk in yet," Hester said. "I don't know, but I'm so happy that I can't even think straight right now. My family has been chasing this one for a long time, and we've just never been able to make it happen. To finally have a little bit of luck on our side and things to go our way to get it done, it feels really good."

Hester's day started off by taking out the No. 1 qualifier and defending champion, Tyler Hilton. He then took out Pete Wittenberg on arguably one of the closest races of the day, a 5.725-to-5.728. 

"I could see them for a long time," Hester added. "That was a good drag race. Yeah, that was definitely the drag race of the day."

The Fuel Altered final round was a rematch of the 2022 Bakersfield March Meet when he beat Keith Wilson. Wilson got to the finish line first but did so by running a 5.77, which was too quick for the 6.00 index. 

Greenberg scored a victory he admits he backed into. Regardless of style points, Greenberg will take it. 

"A win is a win," Greenberg said. "Sometimes you're better lucky than good, but two years ago, when we won Nitro Pro Comp, I'd like to think we ripped their throats out. But this year, not so much. We got some lucky breaks, but you got to be there to win. And we were there, and we were running okay. We just weren't running great."

"As soon as it smoked the tires, and I'm chugging along there a little bit, just idling along, I see him disappearing into the sunset with the header flames high. And I'm telling you what, I'm thinking, 'Wow, I don't think he's going to lift. He's not going to lift. He's not going to lift." 

"And I see a 5.77 flash on the scoreboard, and I'm like, "Wow, we just won another March Meet."

Greenberg's final round berth came with wins over NHRA regulars Johnny West and Ron Capps.