It was a good day to be a part of John Force Racing at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals. 

One of drag racing’s most iconic nitro teams scored a double-up in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty, with Brittany Force winning Top Fuel and Austin Prock winning again over John Force. 

Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the specialty race at the ninth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

The Finnish team of Elmeri Salakari that had shown so much promise in the Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle Series opener is regrouping after a serious accident earlier this week on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma as it was traveling to the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Crew member Ari Lapiolahti (who goes by the nickname "Nitro Jesus") was severely injured and remains hospitalized at an Oklahoma City hospital. According to Jaska Salakari, the racer's father, Lapiolahti's right foot was severed at the scene, and his leg has been amputated below the knee. He also suffered splintered ribs, a broken collarbone, and possible shoulder damage and is in danger of losing several fingers. He has undergone several surgeries and is facing several more in the coming days.

To some drag racers, driving in two categories can be challenging. But for Bo Butner, it’s really nothing more than walking and chewing gum. 

With this said, Butner, credited with winning national event titles in seven different categories, plans to race Mission Foods Series Pro Stock behind the wheel of a Camaro usually piloted by Fernando Cuadra Jr., 
He also continues his pursuit of the first Mountain Motor Pro Stock championship at this weekend’s PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Butner is able to run the two because the JHG Mountain Motor Pro Stock division is a specialty series that is not part of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. 

Yes, there was a sighting of Vincent Nobile competing in a new car at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., June 7-9.

Nobile was driving a 2024 Jerry Haas-built Camaro in the Johnson's Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock class.

“That was the first race for us in that car,” Nobile said. “We got to shake it down a little bit. We just picked a car up from Jerry Haas's shop in St. Louis. I drove straight to Maple Grove (in Reading, Pa.), to race a divisional with my Super Comp dragster. Then after the divisional we stayed for a day to try and shake the car down and get it tested. We fought some new car blues, which wasted a little bit of time, so we didn't get to really put as many laps as we wanted to before we got to Bristol. But we didn't want to miss another race just because we weren't 100% ready to be there.”

Drag racers usually make guest appearances ahead of NHRA national events to help promote the events and encourage attendance. However, this week, a couple of championship drivers from Kalitta Motorsports made appearances at key venues to celebrate their prowess. 

Doug Kalitta, who is the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion, his status earned him a chance to throw out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers baseball game. 

The NHRA’s decision to condense the Virginia Nationals into two days doesn’t present as big of a challenge to the more prominent teams as one might expect.

In. his first season as a Top Fuel driver, Tony Stewart believes the format will be just fine for his team. 

“I honestly think our team is more than capable of handling it," Stewart said. "On race day, they’re doing four rounds if they make it to the final. So, three rounds and having the time to prepare beforehand makes it not an issue as far as the teams are concerned. 

It might be the one thing the pandemic got right. 

NHRA confirmed in a statement that it would once again open its season in Gainesville, Fla. It's the third consecutive season the California-based sanctioning body has started its season in Match and on the East Coast. 

Tickets for the Gatornationals will go on sale on Aug. 19, and the entire 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule will be announced soon.

On a weekend where the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund traveled outside of its NHRA Division 5 (South-central) divisional base, the D5 racers who have long supported the series displayed their prowess in sweeping both races.

Scott Linder completed the sweep by driving his A/Altered Pontiac Grand Am to the title by stopping Adam Hickey in the final round. Linder joined Taylor Chomiski in winning those events. 

Tony Stewart Racing [TSR] will represent the Dodge brand as the team announced an extension for the foreseeable future. Details of the extension, which entails both the team’s Top Fuel and Funny Car teams, were not revealed in a team statement.

The partnership began in 2022 and has yielded 15 national event victories and the Funny Car NHRA Mission Foods championship in 2023 with Matt Hagan. In 2024, team owner Tony Stewart took over the driving chores on the dragster while his wife Leah Pruett is on leave of absence as they begin a family. 

NHRA has been rapidly charting new frontiers, and the upcoming NHRA Virginia Nationals will showcase two of its latest efforts. Not only will the event hosted by Virginia Motorsports Park become an unprecedented two day national event where professional teams qualify on Saturday and race on Sunday, it will also feature title sponsorship for its new PlayNHRA, an initiative that provides fans opportunities to engage in fantasy games, gaming, and betting for NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events.

The PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals, June 21 - 23, 2024, serves as the ninth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.