Pro Stock’s Erica Enders has worn white hats as a series champion and a Mission Foods #2FastTasty Challenge winner, yellow hats for qualifying first in the starting order, and a variety of colors of hats for earning her 48 victories. Now she will once again be wearing another hat – that of a driving mentor.

Rookie of the Year Award candidate Sienna Wildgust has jumped ship from KB Titan Racing to Elite Motorsports and will be racing with her new colleagues starting at the July 19-21 Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, near Seattle. And Enders, who has helped show the Pro Stock ropes to such standouts as Drew Skillman, Bruno Massel, Marty Robertson, Brandon Foster, and current teammate Jerry Don Tucker.

Wildgust, whose father, Scott, is competing this weekend in the Pro Modified category, joined Elite Motorsports in making the announcement Saturday morning at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon closed out qualifying with the quickest run of the day on Saturday at Virginia Motorsports Park, taking the No. 1 spot at the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals.

Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also qualified No. 1 at the ninth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

On a day where the NHRA pro categories all made three qualifying runs on Saturday for the first time ever, Langdon went 3.872-seconds at 319.82 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster in the final round of qualifying, giving the former world champion his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 21st in his standout career. The veteran is also looking for his first career win at Virginia Motorsports Park, opening eliminations against Lex Joon.

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.