It’s hard to imagine a driver who has already achieved so much success in Pro Stock by winning four races in his relatively sho rt career may have finally gotten around to scoring his first career No. 1 qualifying effort. The action took place during first-day competition at the DeWalt Tools NHRA Carolinas Nationals. 

“If it holds, this would be the first pole position,” Aaron Stanfield said with a smile. “I guess I haven’t been holding the throttle down hard enough. But I held it down good that time.”

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​NHRA officials announced today the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule to include 22 national events throughout the course of the season. Details on Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle schedules will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

NHRA looks forward to its 22-event schedule next season with the return of fan favorite events such as the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, the Virginia NHRA Nationals in Richmond and the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, which will serve as the traditional conclusion of the annual Western Swing.

Krista Baldwin was destined to drag race. In this video, the third-generation Top Fuel racer showcases the enthusiasm which lifts the spirits of those around her, and inevitably the sport. Sit back and watch as she talks about her relationship with her grandfather, the legendary Chris "The Golden Greek" Karamesines, as well as he father, the late Bobby Baldwin.

Baldwin takes time to extol the virtues of drag racing, and why it needs to be on Corporate America's radar. She brings a refreshing spirit for a sport which can sometimes be tough on those who take part in it.

​Pro Stock young gun Dallas Glenn announced that Summit Racing Equipment will be joining on as an associate sponsor on his RAD Torque / KB Racing Chevrolet Camaro for the remainder of the season. 

“I’m real excited to have Summit Racing Equipment believe in me and want to be a bigger part of what we’re doing at the end of my rookie season,” Dallas Glenn said. “I’ve had a great relationship with Summit’s Jim Greenleaf for about a decade thanks to working on Jason Line’s car all these years.”

Four years ago, Ryan Peery became a motorcycle drag racer and finished second in AMRA’s Funny Bike points.

Three years ago, Peery won AMRA’s Funny Bike championship.

Two years ago, a testing crash put his racing on the back burner as he rebuilt the bike for Top Fuel Harley competition.

A pair of past Funny Car champions exchanged words Sunday in the shutdown area of Maple Grove Raceway following the second round of the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals, the first race in the seven-event Countdown to the Championship.

Ironically, it was the second time in as many races the seasoned drivers had met in the second round, and also the second time something outside of the routine pre-stage, stage, and green light scenario transpired.

Veteran nitro crew chief Aaron Brooks has been hired as the new crew chief for Doug Foley’s Foley Lewis Racing Top Fuel dragster, the team announced today. Brooks will lead the team at their final race of the season, the DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway this weekend. Foley’s longtime crew chief, Doug Kuch, has been released from his duties. 
 
“Our performance has been down and we just felt like it was time for a change,” Foley said. “We weren’t expecting to make this change with one race remaining, but that’s where we’re at. We’re going to turn it into an advantage and give Aaron the chance to learn our program, our equipment and the people we have here, which will help him as we go into the offseason to help us better prepare for success in 2022.”

Reigning NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series nitro Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan is returning to the cockpit this weekend in Concord, N.C.

Hagan, who has missed the last two races – the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and Reading, Pa. – after testing positive for COVID-19 prior to qualifying in Indy, is back driving his Shelor Motor Mile Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye for Don Schumacher Racing at the DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, Sept. 17-19.  

Hagan enters the weekend second in the point standings just five points behind leader John Force.

Although Hagan didn’t compete in Indy or Reading, Tommy Johnson Jr. picked up valuable points for him in Reading by winning the race. 

Kalitta Motorsports works to create product designs and expand manufacturing capabilities for the multi-time world championship drag racing team. The team has worked since 2015 with Autodesk, a global leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, to do so. This weekend Autodesk will be the primary sponsor of Shawn Langdon’s 11,000 horsepower Top Fuel dragster during the DeWalt NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Over 1,000 parts are now designed and made in the Kalitta Motorsports CNC, chassis, and fabrication shop using Autodesk solutions. 

“We have built our entire parts manufacturing and design program with the help of Autodesk technology,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports General Manager. “We started in 2015 machining our clutch assemblies and now we are doing clutch assemblies, cylinder heads and so many more parts. It is a huge cost savings and so much more efficient. The Autodesk software is a game changer for us and they are an integral part of our success at Kalitta Motorsports and Kalitta Air.”