The New England Nationals were marred by rain on Friday and Saturday.

Mother Nature’s presence resulted in only one qualifying session each day. The second qualifying session on Saturday was canceled because of rain.

Antron Brown made the most of his lone qualifying pass on Saturday, clocking a 3.729-second lap at 329.99 mph in his Matco Tools dragster to take the No. 1 qualifying spot in Epping, N.H.

Antron Brown powered to his first Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier in nearly six years on Saturday, claiming the top spot at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway.

Funny Car’s Chad Green also qualified No. 1 at the seventh of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Saturday’s second qualifying session, as well as the finals of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, were canceled due to weather. No points were awarded in the challenge and the bonus prize money was divided among the participating competitors.

Sunday’s eliminations were also bumped up to a 10 a.m. ET start from New England Dragway.

The lone qualifying session for the nitro Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters at the New England Nationals was moved up to 1 p.m. (ET) Friday because rain was in the forecast for later, on top of the originally scheduled time.

The time didn’t do many Top Fuel drivers any favors, but Leah Pruett wasn’t complaining.

The Tony Stewart Racing driver clocked a solid 3.856-second run at 319.37 mph in the conditions to take the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot.

The early qualifying session on Friday at the New England Nationals was a great fit for nitro Funny Car driver Chad Green.

Green clocked a 4.100 at 310.98 in the less-than-ideal conditions to capture the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot in Epping, N.H.

The qualifying session for Funny Car and Top Fuel drivers was moved up to 1 p.m. (ET) Friday because of rain forecast for later in the day.

There was a time when the big-money payday shootouts were exclusive to the professional categories at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Not anymore, thanks to Competition Eliminator racer and advocate Rodger Brogdon and his Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund.

As part of Brogdon's expansive program, the top 16 points earners will have a chance to race for a $50,000 total purse in the Rooftec Competition Eliminator Cash Clash, with the winner pocketing $30,000 for winning the race-within-a-race. The 16 drivers competing in the event were established at the recently completed NHRA Division 4 doubleheader Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at the Texas Motorplex. 

Leah Pruett put together an impressive run in the heat on Friday at New England Dragway, rolling to the provisional No. 1 position in Top Fuel at the NHRA New England Nationals.

Funny Car’s Chad Green is also a provisional No. 1 qualifier at the seventh of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Pruett went 3.856-seconds at 319.37 mph in her 11,000-horsepower Rush Truck Centers dragster for Tony Stewart Racing, making one of only a trio of three-second runs in the class on Friday. Pruett is after her first No. 1 qualifier this season and 14th of her career, as well as her first victory of 2023 and at New England Dragway.

On June 1st, 2023, NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) officials announced that the newly constructed Flying H Dragstrip near Kansas City was added to the NHRA Member Track Network. Owned by local business owner Scott Higgs, Flying H Dragstrip broke ground earlier this month and is expected to be completed later in the year.

The new dragstrip is set to become a premier race track in the Kansas City area, providing world-class amenities to bring sanctioned NHRA events to the facility. It is also a great addition to NHRA's West Central Division (Division 5).

"It's an exciting time for us and an exciting time for drag racing to be bringing racing back to Kansas City," Higgs said. "It's a big deal for all of us at Flying H Dragstrip, and we're really looking forward to building a standout facility that has a great atmosphere and a strong family environment."

There’s a lot to be said for consistency, and for four-time NHRA Top Fuel champion, a points lead without a national event victory speaks volumes for his consistency of performance.

Torrence, the 40-year-old Texan, has led the Top Fuel point standings after all but one race this year. The 53-time national event winner heads into New England Dragway for the NHRA New England Nationals with a record of solid performances at the Epping, New Hampshire facility. He won back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.

Josh Hart seems like the type of racer who will try something different. 

That rang true Monday, May 29 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. 

As part of the grand prize Snap-on Tools Superspeedway contest event, Hart an NHRA Top Fuel championship contender squared off against Cruz Pedregon a two-time NHRA nitro Funny Car world champion in 1992 and 2008. 

Snap-on Tools hosted 24 VIP contest winners and their guests at the Indy 500 on May 28, and then at an all-day fully immersive day of drag racing that included instruction in the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School culminating with a side-by-side exhibition race between Hart’s R+L Carrier Top Fuel dragster and Pedregon’s Snap-on Tools Dodge Funny Car.