Simple was good for nitro Funny Car driver Blake Alexander and his team owner Jim Head on Friday.
 
While most all drivers struggled to get down the track in Q1, Alexander clocked a solid 3.927-second elapsed time at 322.50 mph to claim the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot at the Arizona Nationals near Phoenix. 
 
“A lot of times when you come to this track, there has been a lot of preseason testing here and lots of knowledge and a lot of people prepping the track and taking care of it,” Alexander said. “We kind of came out here (Friday) with the mindset that we didn’t do that good on Friday in Gainesville (at the season-opening Gatornationals). In fact, we lit the car on fire, and we wanted to just go down the track, so we did that, and it turned out to be a nice ending for us.”
 

The potential of Doug Kalitta’s Top Fuel dragster is unlimited, especially with renowned crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen making the tuning calls.
 
Kalitta’s Mac Tools Kalitta Motorsports machine had glimpses of success in 2022 and began the 2023 season by reaching the semifinals of the season-opening Gatornationals on March 12 in Gainesville, Fla.
 
Kalitta hopes to take the next step into the winner’s circle this weekend at the Arizona Nationals near Phoenix.
 
He took a baby step toward reaching that goal by snaring the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot with a 3.679-second elapsed time at 330.23 mph lap on Friday.

Driver interviews and a selection of photos from the NHRA Arizona Nationals are available on the NHRA media site

Top Fuel veteran Doug Kalitta is in line for his second straight No. 1 qualifier position in Phoenix, powering to the provisional top spot on Friday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

Blake Alexander (Funny Car) and Cristian Cuadra (Pro Stock) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the second of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
 
Kalitta, who has 49 career Top Fuel victories, went 3.679-seconds at 330.23 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster to go to No. 1. Should it hold, Kalitta would pick up his first No. 1 qualifier since last year in Phoenix and the 52nd in his career. It marks another strong moment in the early part of the season for the veteran. He struggled a year ago, including a first-round upset in Phoenix last year, but is motivated for a big turnaround in 2023.

There’s no questioning Buddy Hull's determination to succeed as an NHRA Top Fuel owner/driver.

Hull, who is in his third year on the circuit, will make his 2023 season debut at the Arizona Nationals Friday through Sunday in Phoenix.

Hull will be driving the Methanol Moonshine dragster tuned by veteran crew chief Mike Guger.

At the end of 2021, Hull purchased the Top Fuel operation of Tim Wilkerson. Hull had a successful season last year racing limited national events.

Let the record reflect Hell has frozen over.

Rickie Smith, the leading advocate of the nitrous combination, doesn't want other combinations slowed down. He wants a concession that he believes will speed up the nitrous cars.

So what is this magic elixir? Smith seeks a wider wheel for the nitrous cars. He said he took his idea to the NHRA but is still waiting for an answer.

In only his first year competing in Comp Eliminator, Monty Bogan already has a divisional event win to his credit.

And not just any event win. He won the first Divison 4 Comp Eliminator race in Belle Rose, La., which means he’s leading the points in the Rooftec Comp Eliminator Bonus Fund. He couldn’t have planned it any better.

“We cooked out, won some races, and had a pretty good time,” said Bogan. “And we didn’t break anything, so all in all, it was a great way to start the season.”

It was two decades ago this week that Erica Enders and her sister Courtney became drag racing movie stars.

The Disney Channel released an original movie, Right On Track, based on the lives of the drag racing siblings.

Right On Track premiered on March 21, 2003, and starred two young actresses who’ve gone on to have standout careers in show business. Beverly Mitchell (7th Heaven, Candy Cane Christmas) played Erica and Academy Award winner Brie Larson (Room, Captain Marvel) played Courtney.

In its continued effort to grow partnerships and strengthen business-to-business relationships, John Force Racing announced that they have hired Paul Woody as its Chief Revenue Officer. In his new role, Woody will be responsible for creating new and enhancing current partnerships as well as developing and executing successful activation.

 
M&M Transmission, owned by Pro Mod driver and radial standout Mark Micke, will serve as the new class sponsor for the Professional Drag Racers Association’s (PDRA) Pro 632 class, series officials announced ahead of the series’ 10th season.
 
Pro 632 features big-tire doorslammers running either naturally aspirated or nitrous oxide-aided combinations.  
 
“Mark, Damon, Troy, and the entire M&M Transmission team have been long-time supporters of not only the PDRA series, but also the racers in the parking lot,” said PDRA Race Director Tyler Crossnoe. “From on-location service and emergency repair to championship-winning products, M&M Transmission continues a winning résumé with the PDRA with the new increased support level by title sponsoring Pro 632 this season.”