Final round-by-round results from the ninth annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, the eighth of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

​​​Sometimes athletes have great rookie seasons in sports and then they vanish and were a fluke.

That isn’t the case for 2021 NHRA Rookie of the Year Dallas Glenn.

Little did Brian Lohnes know a completed assignment would set the stage for what would become one the more storied careers in drag racing's microphone man history. 

Lohnes was 19 years old and working at New England Dragway on a Wednesday test and tune session. A go-fer in the track's tech department when the entries slowed down, track manager Joe Lombardo sent Lohnes to the tower to begin announcing. While the kid was proficient at teching cars, it became clear his talents were in conveying the attributes of those running down the track. 

Fast-forward 23 years later to 2022, every time the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series heads to Epping, NH, Lohnes, now the lead broadcaster on the NHRA's FoxSports broadcasts, feels like he's returning to the sandlot where it all began. 

So far in 2022, this has not been a Steve Torrence-like season in NHRA’s Camping Word Drag Racing Series.

Through seven races, Torrence, the reigning four-time Top Fuel world champion, has yet to win an event.

Matt Hagan’s first season with Tony Stewart Racing has been one to remember and that trend continued Friday at the New England Nationals in Epping.

Hagan clocked a 3.878-second elapsed at 332.51 mph in his Dodge Brokers Charger to claim the No. 1 qualifying spot in the lone session at New England Dragway.

“We’ll put the preacher in it.”

That’s what Luigi Novelli decided to do with his Top Fuel dragster, as he prepares to step into the public for the first time since his literal heart-stopping incident at last June’s Camping World Drag Racing Series event at Norwalk, Ohio.

Mike Bucher, senior pastor at Calvary Chapel of Cleveland at Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, is “the preacher” Novelli tapped for the honor when he realized the NHRA is not prepared yet to grant him medical clearance to compete again.

Bucher’s selection wasn’t random, beyond his Christian belief that God has a plan for him to use the drag-racing platform to share the gospel of Jesus. Novelli, 79, had raced alongside Bucher’s dad, the late Jim Bucher, and that has been their connection.

When the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series began Top Fuel superstar Tony Schumacher had hopes it would be an epic season for him and his team.

However, Schumacher, winner of eight world championships, also knew things wouldn’t be easy.

Schumacher, winner of 85 NHRA national events, was returning to fulltime driving for the first time since 2019 with a new and Don Schumacher Racing’s lone Top Fuel team.

Mike Carpenter, a member of the Drag Illustrated team for 15 years, has been named the company’s chief operating officer (COO), the magazine announced today. While overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company’s efforts across print and digital platforms, Carpenter will also continue his role as the design & production director for the magazine.
 
"Mike Carpenter has been an invaluable part of this team since he joined us in 2007,” said Wes Buck, founder and editorial director, Drag Illustrated. “His role has expanded tremendously over the course of the last decade-and-a-half, and it is no surprise to see him move into the role of Chief Operating Officer at Drag Illustrated Media. As our business continues to grow and expand, it's important to have people that share our vision for the company and for the sport of drag racing in influential positions – especially someone as dedicated and experienced in high-level execution and operation as Mike Carpenter."