John Force racing–RACE RECAP – INDIANAPOLIS Race 14 of 20

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

PROCK WINS ALL-JFR FINAL FOR BIG PAYDAY WEEKEND AT THE CORNWELL QUALITY TOOLS U.S. NATIONALSBeckman goes runner-up and will start Countdown in second; Force to start Countdown in fifth place after second-round showing

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

BROWNSBURG, IND. (SEPT. 1, 2025) – All three John Force Racing entries left very positive marks on this year’s Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals but it was Austin Prock and the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS team that now only left their mark but left Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park with a bagful of money and hardware.
Prock finished off a flawless weekend that netted the points leader $330,000, defeating John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the final round after a run of 3.903 at 332.92 in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet SS. Funny Car.
A day after winning the PlayNHRA All-Star Callout, Prock finished off the regular-season championship, netting $230,000 in the process. He added the $100,000 U.S. Nationals victory for a second consecutive year, a feat not even his legendary team owner could accomplish despite five U.S. Nationals victories of his own.
Prock defeated Julie Nataas, Bob Tasca III and Blake Alexander on the way to the final-round matchup with Beckman and now has seven victories this season and an astonishing 15 wins in his last 32 Funny Car races. He also has 19 victories, with the majority coming during this impressive run over the past two seasons. Prock powered past Beckman in the final round, capturing another special Indy moment and taking the points lead into the Countdown to the Championship.
Prock’s big points lead will reset in the playoffs, but he enters the postseason as a dominant champ, winning back-to-back races and taking plenty of momentum into the postseason as he seeks a second straight world title.
“To win the U.S. Nationals in my rookie season (in Funny Car) was obviously really special,” said Prock. “We came out guns blazing, and it just put a little bit of an extra pep in our step, and to go out there and execute and do the job and have a dominant performance like we did last year, and then to come back again this year and do it is just surreal.
“It was a dream of mine to win a championship, but you never know if that’s going to happen. So many stars have to align. You have to get the right opportunity. You have to be surrounded by the right people. You have to have the right sponsors backing you. So, to get a U.S. Nationals win last year and then win the championship and then come back to win the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S Nationals again in our Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, I don’t even know what to say. You know, they say when you win the U.S. Nationals once, it puts you in an elite group. When you do it back-to-back, it’s an even more elite group.” Beckman, who was the No. 1 qualifier, drove to his fourth final round of 2025 after defeating Justin Scheiefer, Paul Lee and Alexis DeJoria. He’ll open the Countdown in second place ahead of Matt Hagan in third.
“So, there’s no silver lining to this, right?” said Beckman, “You make it to a final round, you need to capitalize. Now, in the Countdown, if you tell me six runner-up finishes will get us the championship, sign me up for that. But nobody gets to the final round and says, ‘Ah if we lose, it’ll be okay’. It stings. “We did lose to our Cornwell Tools-sponsored teammate at the Cornwell Quality Tool Nationals so there is some silver lining, but it’s frustrating for us because we have a PEAK SQUAD Chevrolet SS good enough to win. And I was driving good today.
“We’ll be back here to test all day tomorrow. We will unload a brand-new car, which will be our backup car. We just want to prove it, and we will go onto the Countdown and unload maybe be a little bit hungrier.”
Force earned her fifth U.S. Nationals No. 1 qualifying position (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025), putting her against No. 16 qualifier Ida Zutterstrom in Monday’s first round of elimination. Force and the Cornwell Quality Tools team posted a lap of 3.690 seconds, the third-quickest run of the event to that point, to dispatch Zetterstrom and move on to the second round. On top of that, the speed, 343.51 mph, was the fastest run in NHRA history, surpassing the 343.16 mph run she made July 25, 2025, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
In Round 2, the two-time NHRA Top Fuel Champion (2017, 2022) left on Tripp Tatum by one-hundredth-of-a-second (0.063 to 0.073) but the run went awry immediately after. What was initially thought to be loss of traction turned out to be something completely different: the engine’s horsepower hit so hard that it activated the safety system that automatically shuts off the engine and deploys the parachutes. There was nothing Force could do to respond after that.
“In the second round, it stuck the rear tire so hard off the step, that when it released, our automatic safety system put out the chutes and shut off the engine,” said Forcre. “I went to pedal the car and had no power. I would have loved a shot to chase down Tatum who got into trouble further down the track. Luckily, we will be testing here in tomorrow so we can prevent this from happening in the future. “Overall, we’ll look at the positives in the weekend: we qualified No. 1; we set the national speed record at 343.51 mph, and we leave fifth in points going into the Countdown. Proud to have done all of that at the biggest race of the season, here in Indianapolis in Cornwell Quality Tools colors.”
NEXT RACERound 15 of 20 of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is the 40^th NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish, Sept. 19-21 at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pa.

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John Force Racing–U.S. Nationals post race

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Austin Prock Takes John Force Racing and Chevrolet to Second Consecutive U.S. Nationals Win Captures regular season Funny Car championship, and is victorious in the $120,000 to win All-Star Funny Car Call OutJack Beckman and Brittany Force both No. 1 qualifiers/Force sets all-time NHRA fastest record speed

Media Resources: Images | Chevrolet Newsroom

Notes:

Austin Prock, defending NHRA Funny Car World Champion, won the 71^stCornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals piloting the Cornwell Quality Tools John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny CarIt is the second consecutive win of the pinnacle NHRA race held annually at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway ParkThe victory came over John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman Beckman had the advantage off the line, but lost the tires about 60 feet out and started to pedal. Prock went down the groove with another great pass of 3.903 seconds/332.92 mph to take the winThis is Prock’s seventh Funny Car win of the season, the 15^th of his career and the 19th total national event winProck captured the regular season Funny Car championship and heads into the Countdown to the Championship as the No. 1 seedHe also won the $120,000 All-Star Call Out defeating Cruz Pedregon, Matt Hagan and Ron Capps that secured the No. 2 Qualifier spot heading into Sunday’s eliminationsIn Elimination Round One, Prock bested Julie Nataas with a pass of 3.883 seconds/333.66 mphRound two saw Prock gain the advantage over Bob Tasca III who shook the tires and cut it off. Prock posted a run of 3.894 seconds/332.92 mph Prock then beat Blake Alexander with another stellar run of 3.93 seconds/331.12 mph while Alexander smoked the tires to propel him to the finals against Beckman

Jack Beckman powered the Brute Force Tribute Peak Antifreeze John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car to the No. 1 qualifier spot for Monday’s US Nationals Final Eliminations.Beckman ran a 3.881 second/328.78 mph in Round One while opponent Justin Schriefer rolled through the box, turning the light red With a run of 3.920 seconds/330.47 mph against Paul Lee’s 3.946 seconds/300.26 mph to take the Round Two win light. Opponent Alexis DeJoria was out first, but went up in smoke in the Semi-Final while Beckman got 900 feet out and the car noses over, but he got the win, and moves on to the final round against teammate ProckThis is Beckman’s 76th career final round, the fourth this yearBeckman starts the Countdown as the No. 2 seed in Funny CarBrittany Force driving the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet John Force Racing Top Fuel Dragster was the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel for the 71^strunning of the Cornwell Quality Tools US Nationals with another record run of 3.666-seconds at 339.79 mph, the fastest in track historyBut her run of 3.690 seconds/343.51 mph against Ida Zetterstrom in Round One Eliminations is the fastest pass in NHRA historyIn Round Two, the two-time NHRA Top Fuel Champion fell to Tripp Tatum when a mechanical issue shut off the car and popped the chutes right out of the boxForce enters the Countdown to the Championship as the fifth seed in Top FuelErica Enders snapped a 30-race winless streak and won her 50th national event after going 6.564 at 209.95 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Chevrolet to hold off Matt Hartford.
UP NEXT:The 15th round of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series opens the Countdown to the Championship playoffs with the 40th annual NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish on Sept. 11-14 at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pa.

Media Resources: Images | Chevrolet Newsroom

Post-Race Driver Quotes: AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:“To win Indy in my rookie season (in Funny Car) was obviously really special. We came out guns blazing, and it just put a little bit of an extra pep in our step, and to go out there and execute and do the job and have a dominant performance like we did last year, and then to come back again this year and do it is just surreal.”It was a dream of mine to win a championship, but you never know if that’s going to happen. So many stars have to align. You have to get the right opportunity. You have to be surrounded by the right people. You have to have the right sponsors backing you. So, to get a U.S. Nationals win last year and then win the championship, and then come back and win the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S Nationals again in our Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS, I don’t even know what to say. You know, they say when you win the U.S. Nationals once, it puts you in an elite group. When you do it back-to-back, it’s an even more elite group.”
JACK BECKMAN, DRIVER OF THE BRUTE FORCE PEAK PERFORMANCE CHEVY SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:“So, there’s no silver lining to this, right? You make it to a final round, you need to capitalize. Now, in the Countdown, if you tell me six runner-up finishes will get us the championship, sign me up for that. But nobody gets to the final round and says, ‘Ah if we lose, it’ll be okay’. It stings. “We did lose to our Cornwell Tools-sponsored teammate at the Cornwell Quality Tool Nationals so there is some silver lining, but it’s frustrating for us because we have a PEAK SQUAD Chevrolet SS good enough to win. And I was driving good today. “We’ll be back here to test all day tomorrow. We will unload a brand-new car, which will be our backup car. We just want to prove it, and we will go onto the Countdown and unload maybe be a little bit hungrier.”

BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF CORNWELL QUALITY TOOLS CHEVROLET DRAGSTER FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:In the second round, it stuck the rear tire so hard off the step, that when it released, our automatic safety system put out the chutes and shut off the engine. I went to pedal the car and had no power. I would have loved a shot to chase down Tatum who got into trouble further down the track. Luckily, we will be testing here in tomorrow so we can prevent this from happening in the future. “Overall, we’ll look at the positives in the weekend: we qualified No. 1; we set the national speed record at 343.51 mph and we leave fifth in points going into the Countdown. Proud to have done all of that at the biggest race of the season, here in Indianapolis in Cornwell Quality Tools colors.”

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TAYLOR DIETSCH WINS U.S. NATIONALS TITLE FOR FIRST CAREER FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN VICTORY

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) – Second generation Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series racer Taylor Dietsch captured his first victory in the ultra-competitive factory stock class. Today Dietsch battled through five rounds of racing over two days as the No. 5 qualifier raced to his first final round and first win. Dietsch drove his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet past Raymond Nash and his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak in the final.

Taylor Dietsch and his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet (foreground) race to victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, photo credit Auto Imagery

“To win the U.S. Nationals is absolutely amazing,” said Dietsch. “We look forward to this race all year. This is the one everyone wants to win. I want to thank my dad for letting me have this opportunity. It’s so fun to go out here and race with all these super strong competitors. This class is so tight, and you have to be on it all the time to take home the win. I want to thank all the guys back at KSR, they all built a rocket of a race car. I have to thank my sister and my mom.”

Dietsch’s best finish previously was a semifinal effort in Chicago at the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 Nationals when he lost to his father Jason, who went on to win the race. The father and son have a combined three Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown wins in 2025.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Jason Dietsch, Taylor’s father and teammate. “I was more nervous for him than when I raced. The kid’s awesome. He’s gonna keep winning. It’s really cool because we’ve had eight races this year and our KSR team has won six races. Our team’s awesome.”

In the final round racing against last year’s U.S. Nationals runner-up Raymond Nash Dietsch was nearly psychic off the starting line with a .015 second reaction time. His Ford Mustang Cobra Jet was straight and true getting to the finish line first with a winning elapsed time of 7.719 seconds at 178.35 mph.

Taylor Dietsch celebrates at the top end with the iconic Wally trophy after winning NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

TAYLOR DIETSCH WINS U.S. NATIONALS TITLE FOR FIRST CAREER FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN VICTORY

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) – Second generation Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series racer Taylor Dietsch captured his first victory in the ultra-competitive factory stock class. Today Dietsch battled through five rounds of racing over two days as the No. 5 qualifier raced to his first final round and first win. Dietsch drove his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet past Raymond Nash and his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak in the final.

Taylor Dietsch and his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet (foreground) race to victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, photo credit Auto Imagery

“To win the U.S. Nationals is absolutely amazing,” said Dietsch. “We look forward to this race all year. This is the one everyone wants to win. I want to thank my dad for letting me have this opportunity. It’s so fun to go out here and race with all these super strong competitors. This class is so tight, and you have to be on it all the time to take home the win. I want to thank all the guys back at KSR, they all built a rocket of a race car. I have to thank my sister and my mom.”

Dietsch’s best finish previously was a semifinal effort in Chicago at the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 Nationals when he lost to his father Jason, who went on to win the race. The father and son have a combined three Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown wins in 2025.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Jason Dietsch, Taylor’s father and teammate. “I was more nervous for him than when I raced. The kid’s awesome. He’s gonna keep winning. It’s really cool because we’ve had eight races this year and our KSR team has won six races. Our team’s awesome.”

In the final round racing against last year’s U.S. Nationals runner-up Raymond Nash Dietsch was nearly psychic off the starting line with a .015 second reaction time. His Ford Mustang Cobra Jet was straight and true getting to the finish line first with a winning elapsed time of 7.719 seconds at 178.35 mph.

Taylor Dietsch celebrates at the top end with the iconic Wally trophy after winning NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

On the way to his first win Dietsch beat David Davies II and Rouven Dawson on Saturday followed by wins today over Doug Hamp, a competition bye in the semis and finally Nash. He moved into fifth place in the Flexjet point standings with his winning effort. This race is recognized as a marathon not a sprint in all the classes but for the Flexjet Factory Stock competitors it takes a toll.

“You never get a moment to rest,” said Dietsch. “You’re always thinking about racing. You almost can’t think about anything else. It’s a mental struggle as much as it is a physical struggle. It really pays off when you see that final win light come on.”

Nash, the No. 6 qualifier, was racing in his second consecutive U.S. Nationals final and he collected the $2,000 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown bounty when he defeated back-to-back winner Mark Pawuk in the semifinals. Dietsch will carry the bounty to St. Louis for the Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, the penultimate race of the 2025 season.

Mark Pawuk will lead the class into St. Louis as the points leader with a comfortable lead over the elder Dietsch, Lee Hartman and Jason Allergrucci. Once again, the world championship will come down the wire over the final two national events.

Flexjet Bounty Program
Gatornationals (Gainesville, Fla.)
$1,000 bounty collected by David Davies II, defeated Mark Pawuk (St. Louis winner)

American Rebel Light Four-Wide Nationals (Concord, N.C.)
No Bounty

Route 66 Nationals (Chicago, Ill.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Alex Anderson, defeated Jonathan Allegrucci (Charlotte winner)

Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol, Tenn.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Mark Pawuk, defeated Jason Dietsch (Chicago winner)

Summit Racing Equipment Nationals (Norwalk, Ohio)
$1,000 bounty not collected as Mark Pawuk won

Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals (Indianapolis, Ind.)
$2,000 bounty collected by Raymond Nash, defeated Mark Pawuk (Bristol and Norwalk winner)

2025 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Results
Gainesville –Jason Dietsch, winner; Lenny Lottig, runner-up
Charlotte – Jonathan Allegrucci, winner; Mark Pawuk, runner-up
Chicago – Jason Dietsch, winner; Lee Hartman, runner-up
Bristol – Mark Pawuk, winner; James Betz, runner-up
Norwalk – Mark Pawuk, winner; Scott Libersher, runner-up
Indianapolis –Taylor Dietsch, winner; Raymond Nash, runner-up

Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Point Standings
1. Mark Pawuk                  554
2. Jason Dietsch                435
3. Lee Hartman                 433
4. Jonathan Allegrucci       385
5. Taylor Dietsch               366
6. Raymond Nash             354
7. Scott Libersher              324
8. Doug Hamp                   323
9. David Janac                  319
10. James Betz                 273

2025 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Schedule

Sept. 11-14             Reading NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa.
Sept. 26-29             NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis, Mo.

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josh Hart’s Third U.S. Nationals Title will have to Wait

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — As a two-time NHRA U.S. Nationals winner Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will have to wait another year to add a third title from the most prestigious drag race in the world. After a solid qualifying effort at the NHRA U.S. Nationals that set the team up as the No. 8 qualifier they were ousted in the first round by No. 9 qualifier Tripp Tatum. Through three days of qualifying the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team posted some of the quickest runs in the category earning four qualifying bonus points for making the quickest run of the second qualifying session. Their final run on Saturday night was an impressive 3.809 seconds at 330.31 mph pass that gave the team confidence heading into the opening round.

Josh Hart will leave Indy in 8th place chasing his first Top Fuel world championship,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Facing Tatum, who was returning to racing action after a lengthy hiatus, Hart had lane choice and momentum on his side. The R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster rolled to the starting line looking to start adding win lights to Hart’s U.S. Nationals history. In 2018 and 2019 Hart won the event in the competitive Top Alcohol Dragster class before stepping to Top Fuel for the 2021 season.

Hart was first off the starting line with a reaction time advantage of .057 to .077 seconds but as his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster began to race to half-track his Goodyear slicks overpowered the track, and Tatum made a smooth pass in the right lane for the first round win. This was just the second time in his career that Hart has not advanced to at least the quarterfinals at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

“I think that we have assembled a very fine group of mechanics that are capable of top shelf performances,” said Hart, following the first round loss. “We’ve provided everybody with all the proper tools to keep this program evolving with no expense spared. I’m very grateful for my sponsors and my wife, Brittanie, and every single person that supports our efforts.”

Josh Hart thanks the fans during the NHRA U.S. Nationals opening ceremonies,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Exiting the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team will be looking to make a run at the Mission Foods Top Fuel world championship. The first of six playoff races will be contested at Maple Grove Raceway, September 11-14. Hart will enter the Countdown as the No. 8 driver in the point standings less than 100 points behind the point leader.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.734 sec, 333.00 mph; Qual. 8
Q2: 3.733 sec; 334.73 mph; Qual. 8
Q3: 4.902 sec; 147.63 mph; Qual. 8
Q4: 5.269 sec; 127.09 mph; Qual. 8
Q5: 3.809 sec; 330.31 mph; Qual. 8
Bonus points: +4 (Quickest of Q2)

Race Results
First Round

Tripp Tatum, Avon, Ind., Tripp Tatum Racing, (.077), 3.724 sec, 327.74 mph def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, (.057), 5.610 sec, 119.65 mph

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — As a two-time NHRA U.S. Nationals winner Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will have to wait another year to add a third title from the most prestigious drag race in the world. After a solid qualifying effort at the NHRA U.S. Nationals that set the team up as the No. 8 qualifier they were ousted in the first round by No. 9 qualifier Tripp Tatum. Through three days of qualifying the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team posted some of the quickest runs in the category earning four qualifying bonus points for making the quickest run of the second qualifying session. Their final run on Saturday night was an impressive 3.809 seconds at 330.31 mph pass that gave the team confidence heading into the opening round.

Josh Hart will leave Indy in 8th place chasing his first Top Fuel world championship,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Facing Tatum, who was returning to racing action after a lengthy hiatus, Hart had lane choice and momentum on his side. The R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster rolled to the starting line looking to start adding win lights to Hart’s U.S. Nationals history. In 2018 and 2019 Hart won the event in the competitive Top Alcohol Dragster class before stepping to Top Fuel for the 2021 season.

Hart was first off the starting line with a reaction time advantage of .057 to .077 seconds but as his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster began to race to half-track his Goodyear slicks overpowered the track, and Tatum made a smooth pass in the right lane for the first round win. This was just the second time in his career that Hart has not advanced to at least the quarterfinals at the NHRA U.S. Nationals.

“I think that we have assembled a very fine group of mechanics that are capable of top shelf performances,” said Hart, following the first round loss. “We’ve provided everybody with all the proper tools to keep this program evolving with no expense spared. I’m very grateful for my sponsors and my wife, Brittanie, and every single person that supports our efforts.”

Josh Hart thanks the fans during the NHRA U.S. Nationals opening ceremonies,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Exiting the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team will be looking to make a run at the Mission Foods Top Fuel world championship. The first of six playoff races will be contested at Maple Grove Raceway, September 11-14. Hart will enter the Countdown as the No. 8 driver in the point standings less than 100 points behind the point leader.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.734 sec, 333.00 mph; Qual. 8
Q2: 3.733 sec; 334.73 mph; Qual. 8
Q3: 4.902 sec; 147.63 mph; Qual. 8
Q4: 5.269 sec; 127.09 mph; Qual. 8
Q5: 3.809 sec; 330.31 mph; Qual. 8
Bonus points: +4 (Quickest of Q2)

Race Results
First Round

Tripp Tatum, Avon, Ind., Tripp Tatum Racing, (.077), 3.724 sec, 327.74 mph def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, (.057), 5.610 sec, 119.65 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings - Top Fuel
1. Tony Stewart          1138
2. Shawn Langdon      1099
3. Justin Ashley           1084
3. Doug Kalitta             1082
5. Brittany Force         909
6. Antron Brown         861
7. Clay Millican           786
8. Josh Hart                625
9. Steve Torrence       622
10. Shawn Reed          535

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THANKFUL TJ ZIZZO TAKES POSITIVES FROM SHORT strong NHRA U.S. NATIONALS RACE DAY

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — The Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster team owned by Anthony “Tony” Zizzo and piloted by his son TJ Zizzo relishes every opportunity to compete at the highest level of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. There is no race bigger or more prestigious than the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals and Zizzo was in the mix today when final eliminations got underway.

The team that competes at only a handful NHRA national events annually has become a feared opponent when they roll into the pits. Last year Zizzo and the Rust-Oleum team turned heads grabbing the No. 3 qualifier spot and they duplicated that effort this weekend rolling off the trailer on Friday and running 3.695 seconds at 333.08 mph to earn two qualifying bonus points and the No. 3 spot again after the first day of qualifying. This run was also a new personal best elapsed time for the team. Over the next two days they held their own against sixteen other tough competitors and came into race day with confidence and momentum after running the quickest qualifying pass of the final qualifying session.

TJ Zizzo and the Rust=Oleum Top Fuel dragster posted a career quickest elapsed time during the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

THANKFUL TJ ZIZZO TAKES POSITIVES FROM SHORT
NHRA U.S. NATIONALS RACE DAY

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — The Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster team owned by Anthony “Tony” Zizzo and piloted by his son TJ Zizzo relishes every opportunity to compete at the highest level of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. There is no race bigger or more prestigious than the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals and Zizzo was in the mix today when final eliminations got underway.

The team that competes at only a handful NHRA national events annually has become a feared opponent when they roll into the pits. Last year Zizzo and the Rust-Oleum team turned heads grabbing the No. 3 qualifier spot and they duplicated that effort this weekend rolling off the trailer on Friday and running 3.695 seconds at 333.08 mph to earn two qualifying bonus points and the No. 3 spot again after the first day of qualifying. This run was also a new personal best elapsed time for the team. Over the next two days they held their own against sixteen other tough competitors and came into race day with confidence and momentum after running the quickest qualifying pass of the final qualifying session.

TJ Zizzo and the Rust=Oleum Top Fuel dragster posted a career quickest elapsed time during the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

“I am so proud of all these guys on the Rust-Oleum team,” said Zizzo. “It was impressive to come off the trailer and run a 3.69 second pass in the first round of qualifying. We do so much work just to get to the races and I am thrilled to see those results play out on this stage. The NHRA U.S. Nationals is the biggest race of the season, and every team wants to be a part of it. We are running numbers that have impressed a lot of people.”

In the first round they squared off with Jasmine Salinas who was making her return to the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series after a lengthy hiatus from competition. When the tree flashed both 12,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters blasted off the starting line and as Zizzo’s race car accelerated it drove into major tire shake. Zizzo was forced to lift as Salinas made a smooth pass down her lane. It was a surprising turn of events for Zizzo and the Rust-Oleum Top Fuel team.

“That was some of the worst tire shake I have ever experienced,” said Zizzo. “We are looking at what happened, but I am so thankful to be able to race on Monday. I appreciate all our sponsors giving us this opportunity. We do our best to represent them on and off the track.”

Zizzo was busy every day of the U.S. Nationals on and off the track. In addition to the five qualifying passes Zizzo was a featured driver at the Cruz Pedregon Racing Open House on Thursday night, on Friday he spent time with the fans in the Top Eliminator Club and on Saturday he was a highlighted driver with NHRA announcer Hannah Rickards talking with fans about what it takes to race at the highest level on a part time schedule.
“These fans have been so amazing all weekend,” said Zizzo. “You hear the roar when you come back up the return road and that is so special. I have to give it up to them because they packed this place every day.”

The Rust-Oleum Top Fuel team will be back in action at the Midwest Nationals, September 25-28, at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.695 sec; 333.08 mph; Qual. 3
Q2: 3.782 sec; 322.65 mph; Qual. 3
Q3: 4.371 sec; 185.10 mph; Qual. 3
Q4: 4.218 sec; 199.76 mph; Qual. 3
Q5: 3.768 sec; 332.84 mph; Qual. 3
Bonus Points: +6 (3^rd quickest of Q1 and quickest of Q5)

Race Results

First Round
Jasmine Salinas, Brownsburg, Ind., Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster, (.092), 3.759 sec, 331.53 mph def. TJ Zizzo, Rust-Oleum Top Fuel dragster, (.117), 8.287 sec, 80.09 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Top Fuel
1. Tony Stewart          1138/1168
2. Shawn Langdon      1099
3. Justin Ashley 1084
4. Doug Kalitta            1082
5. Brittany Force         909
6. Antron Brown         861
7. Clay Millican           786
8. Josh Hart                 625
9. Steve Torrence       622
10. Shawn Reed          535

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HYDE MAKES CANADIANS PROUD AT THE U.S. NATIONAL

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — As the only full-time Canadian driver in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Spencer Hyde feels a sense of pride in getting to represent his country on drag racing’s biggest stage. The rookie for Head Racing and Hyde Construction leaves the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park ninth in the Funny Car points standings, earning him a spot in his first ever Countdown.

“I am ready for the Countdown. I have several goals I want to achieve in my rookie season,” said Hyde. “We are a team capable of winning races and getting wins in the Countdown would be a big deal. I have to thank Jim Head for this opportunity and everyone at Hyde Construction along with all our other sponsors.”

The race known as The Big Go is a marathon, not a sprint with five qualifying sessions made over three days leading up to eliminations on Labor Day. Hyde’s best run during qualifying was on Saturday morning, a 3.976 second, 326.71 mph pass that landed him in the No. 14 qualifying position in an incredibly competitive 19-car field.
Spencer Hyde takes off on Friday Night at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit Innovation Creative Experts“Indy brings out the best teams and everyone gives 100%,” said Hyde. “I know we have been working really hard all week to be ready for today and we made a great run.”

In the first round of eliminations, Hyde was up against No. 3 qualifier Ron Capps, in their fourth matchup of the year. Despite making his best pass of the weekend, a 3.869 second, 325.37 mph run, Capps got past him on a holeshot. They now hold an even 2-2 record against each other.

“This is the U.S. Nationals, and you are going to get everyone’s best shot,” said Hyde. “I knew I was racing a tough driver and team over there. Jim and the guys gave me a great race car and we lost another close one. I am working really hard to get better and I feel really comfortable. This was just a close race that didn’t go our way.”

After this race the points will be reset for the Countdown, so in the ninth spot, Hyde will be just 90 points behind the leader and will be in contention for his first Funny Car championship.

“I’m so thankful to Head Racing for putting me in a position where I can be competing for a championship in my rookie year,” said Hyde. “I can’t wait to get to Reading to begin closing the gap on the guys and gals in front of me. I’ll keep doing the work to get us up there in the points.”

Hyde and the Head Racing team will be back in competition in two weeks at the 40th NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish on September 11-14 at Maple Grove Raceway. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, September 12 and two more qualifying sessions on Saturday. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Reading Nationals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.164 sec, 230.53 mph; Qual. 13
Q2: 3.976 sec, 326.71 mph; Qual. 14
Q3: 6.959 sec, 88.94 mph; Qual. 14
Q4: 5.351 sec, 135.28 mph; Qual. 14
Q5: 5.896 sec, 117.25 mph; Qual. 14
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
First Round
Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, (.081), 3.876 sec, 333.16 mph def. Spencer Hyde, Stratford, Ontario, Head Inc. Funny Car, (.090), 3.869 sec, 325.37 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series – Funny Car Top Ten
1. Austin Prock            1323
2. Jack Beckman         1050
3. Matt Hagan             956
4. Ron Capps               931
5. Paul Lee                   849
6. J.R. Todd                 770
7. Dan Wilkerson        720
8. Alexis DeJoria         689
9. Spencer Hyde         668
10. Bob Tasca III          648

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JUSTIN ASHLEY WINS FIRST U.S. NATIONALS IN INCREDIBLE FOUR-ROUND RUN

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Claims third win of 2025 NHRA season and 18th of Top Fuel career

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 1, 2025) – Justin Ashley captured his first career victory at the U.S. Nationals on Monday at Indianapolis Raceway Park, winning the final round via a holeshot. Ashley went through the likes of Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta, Tripp Tatum and Tony Stewart on his way to the Wally Trophy – his third win this season and the 18th of his Top Fuel career. It’s also Toyota’s seventh consecutive Top Fuel win, dating back to Bristol in June.

In Funny Car, Ron Capps advanced the furthest of the Toyota GR Supra Funny Cars, making it to round two. J.R. Todd and Julie Nataas were eliminated in round one.

The NHRA Countdown to the Championship begins in two weeks at Maple Grove Raceway where multiple Toyota drivers will compete for the championship in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

Indianapolis Raceway Park

U.S. Nationals

Race 14 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W (3.721 – holeshot) v. A. Brown (3.706) W (4.087) v. D. Kalitta (4.486) W (3.808) v. T. Tatum (8.317) W (3.839 – holeshot) v. T. Stewart (3.815)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.706) v. T. Schumacher (3.736) L (4.486) v. J. Ashley (4.087)
Steve Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.741) v. T. Stewart (3.716)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.706) v. J. Ashley (3.721 – holeshot)
Shawn Langdon	Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.767) v. C. Millican (3.749)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	Carlyle Tools Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W (3.876 – holeshot) v. S. Hyde (3.869) L (3.914) v. B. Alexnder (3.925 – holeshot)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (3.899) v. B. Tasca III (3.868)
Julie Nataas	Airmine DC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (4.308) v. A. Prock (3.883)

*= Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, SCAG Racing

TF Final Result: Winner

How amazing is this U.S. Nationals win and by a holeshot?

JUSTIN ASHLEY WINS FIRST U.S. NATIONALS IN INCREDIBLE FOUR-ROUND RUN

Claims third win of 2025 NHRA season and 18th of Top Fuel career

In Funny Car, Ron Capps advanced the furthest of the Toyota GR Supra Funny Cars, making it to round two. J.R. Todd and Julie Nataas were eliminated in round one.

The NHRA Countdown to the Championship begins in two weeks at Maple Grove Raceway where multiple Toyota drivers will compete for the championship in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

Indianapolis Raceway Park

U.S. Nationals

Race 14 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W (3.721 – holeshot) v. A. Brown (3.706) W (4.087) v. D. Kalitta (4.486) W (3.808) v. T. Tatum (8.317) W (3.839 – holeshot) v. T. Stewart (3.815)
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.706) v. T. Schumacher (3.736) L (4.486) v. J. Ashley (4.087)
Steve Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.741) v. T. Stewart (3.716)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.706) v. J. Ashley (3.721 – holeshot)
Shawn Langdon	Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.767) v. C. Millican (3.749)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	Carlyle Tools Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W (3.876 – holeshot) v. S. Hyde (3.869) L (3.914) v. B. Alexnder (3.925 – holeshot)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (3.899) v. B. Tasca III (3.868)
Julie Nataas	Airmine DC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (4.308) v. A. Prock (3.883)

*= Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, SCAG Racing

TF Final Result: Winner

How amazing is this U.S. Nationals win and by a holeshot?

“In a lot of ways, reaction time is a team statistic. And this trophy right here is a complete team effort. I’ve dreamed of this very moment, over and over – and to be actually living it, right now, is incredible. Thank you to Randy (Gloede, CEO, SCAG Power Equipment), Maria (Oldenburg, President of SCAG Power Equipment)and the SCAG Racing team. Toyota, Mobil 1, Mac Tools. It takes a group and takes an incredible group of incredible individuals that work collectively as a team and a family. To win the U.S. Nationals, that’s career-defining and very special.”

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HULL LEAVES U.S. NATIONALS A PROUD FATHER AND COUNTDOWN CONTENDER

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — Drag racing is first and foremost a family sport, and that was never more evident for NHRA driver Buddy Hull than this weekend at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Hull was out of the driver’s seat of the Jim Dunn Racing Blaze Exhaust Probes Funny Car while he continues to recover from a left-hand injury that he obtained at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals a few weeks ago. But the Hull family still left victorious after son, Maverick, won the Baby Walker Nationals and Hull qualified for the Countdown.

“Highlights from the marathon that is Indy include still being able to meet with some of our partners and entertain fans,” said Hull. “The biggest thing for me, obviously, was my son. Maverick winning the Baby Walker Nationals was so cool. I’ll be able to tell him, he won at the U.S. Nationals before me. That sets me up in a place where I have to make sure I win some day.”

Buddy Hull, Maverick Hull (in walker) and Johnna Dunn raced to victory at the NHRA Baby Walker Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Maverick was up against Noah Alexander (Blake Alexander’s son), Tripp Coughlin (Troy Coughlin Jr.’s son), Harper Torrence (Steve Torrence’s daughter) and Dominic Stewart (Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett’s son). From the jump, Maverick was off the starting line first, where he surged forward, diagonally, jumping a few lanes. Despite this causing him to have to walk further than all of his competitors, he was the first to the finish line, focused on the goal while his competitors dawdled behind him.

“I believe that every human being on this earth received genetics from their parents. I also believe they receive a spirit and a soul, two separate things,” said Hull. “And that kid has a unique spirit. Spirit means his natural attitude towards things, like his aggressiveness and his non-verbal communications are way different than any other kid I’ve ever been around. And I’m not saying that just because he is my kid.”

Hull stayed busy over the course of the weekend, finding himself doing Q&A’s in the Top Eliminator Club, signing autographs at multiple different displays and giving his quarterfinal elimination predictions in the announcing booth with Joe Castello and Travis Shumake.

Buddy Hull (far left) talked to a packed house in the NHRA Top Eliminator Club on Sunday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

HULL LEAVES U.S. NATIONALS A PROUD FATHER AND COUNTDOWN CONTENDER

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — Drag racing is first and foremost a family sport, and that was never more evident for NHRA driver Buddy Hull than this weekend at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Hull was out of the driver’s seat of the Jim Dunn Racing Blaze Exhaust Probes Funny Car while he continues to recover from a left-hand injury that he obtained at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals a few weeks ago. But the Hull family still left victorious after son, Maverick, won the Baby Walker Nationals and Hull qualified for the Countdown.

“Highlights from the marathon that is Indy include still being able to meet with some of our partners and entertain fans,” said Hull. “The biggest thing for me, obviously, was my son. Maverick winning the Baby Walker Nationals was so cool. I’ll be able to tell him, he won at the U.S. Nationals before me. That sets me up in a place where I have to make sure I win some day.”

Buddy Hull, Maverick Hull (in walker) and Johnna Dunn raced to victory at the NHRA Baby Walker Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Maverick was up against Noah Alexander (Blake Alexander’s son), Tripp Coughlin (Troy Coughlin Jr.’s son), Harper Torrence (Steve Torrence’s daughter) and Dominic Stewart (Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett’s son). From the jump, Maverick was off the starting line first, where he surged forward, diagonally, jumping a few lanes. Despite this causing him to have to walk further than all of his competitors, he was the first to the finish line, focused on the goal while his competitors dawdled behind him.

“I believe that every human being on this earth received genetics from their parents. I also believe they receive a spirit and a soul, two separate things,” said Hull. “And that kid has a unique spirit. Spirit means his natural attitude towards things, like his aggressiveness and his non-verbal communications are way different than any other kid I’ve ever been around. And I’m not saying that just because he is my kid.”

Hull stayed busy over the course of the weekend, finding himself doing Q&A’s in the Top Eliminator Club, signing autographs at multiple different displays and giving his quarterfinal elimination predictions in the announcing booth with Joe Castello and Travis Shumake.

Buddy Hull (far left) talked to a packed house in the NHRA Top Eliminator Club on Sunday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

“I love the energy at this race. There’s a special energy this year,” said Hull. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m injured, and I couldn’t compete. I haven’t seen fans this excited in a long time. There were huge crowds and the weather was fantastic. It was just a really positive weekend.”

Jim Dunn Racing and Alex Laughlin made a representative effort during qualifying with the Blaze Exhaust Probes Funny Car with a 4.112 second, 270.05 mph pass made during the fourth round of qualifying. Unfortunately, this was not enough to keep them in the show, and they ended Sunday in the No. 18 qualifying position.

In a scary moment during the final qualifying session, Justin Schriefer crossed the centerline in front of Laughlin, where his deployed parachutes clouded Laughlin’s windshield. Laughlin skillfully navigated the car into what was originally Schriefer’s lane, and they avoided colliding.

“Alex did a great job driving. He couldn’t have done any better than what he did to avoid potentially destroying two nitro Funny Cars and having them both get injured. It’s situations like this where I am an advocate for every team testing before competition. Being on the sidelines watching it happen felt like an out of body experience. I look forward to my hand healing and getting back into the seat.”

The U.S. Nationals was the final race of the regular Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, and by the end of it Hull had officially qualified for his second Funny Car Countdown.

“It’s a huge blessing to say that I have made it into the Countdown for my first two Funny Car seasons,” said Hull. “I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family and our sponsors. I want to keep representing them well throughout the rest of this year in the playoffs.”

Hull and Jim Dunn Racing will keep fans updated as they evaluate Hull’s medical status going into the 40th NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish on September 11-14 at Maple Grove Raceway. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Reading Nationals visit nhra.com

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CHRIS KING SEES IMPROVEMENTS BUT U.S. NATIONALS SUCCESS ELUDES THE TEAM

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — The most prestigious drag race in the country, the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, has a rich and storied history. Careers are defined by wins on Labor Day and every Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competitor circles the race dates on their calendars at the beginning of the season. Regardless of your schedule competing and winning at the NHRA U.S. Nationals is a bucket list achievement. For Chris King, team owner and driver of the Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car, the joy of qualifying in 2024 was tempered with the cruel twist of narrowly missing the field this weekend. King’s best effort, a solid 4.120 second run at 299.53 mph on Saturday during the second of five qualifiers was only quick enough for the seventeenth spot in a sixteen-car qualified field.

“This is a tough pill to swallow for sure,” said King, who last year qualified for the U.S. Nationals. “I am proud of the effort Bob Peck and this team put together. We made every turn around and we were ready to race. We had an oil line issue and made the smart call to skip a session but overall, we didn’t make any mistakes. You look at our runs and we made clean runs right down the middle of the track.”

Chris King gets suited up during qualifying of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

On Friday night in the first qualifying session King made a straight and true shakedown run slotting him in the No. 15 spot on the ladder. His time of 4.309 seconds at 235.31 mph gave the team data they used to step up heading into Saturday. At the conclusion of the second day of qualifying King was still in the field but the team knew they needed to get more aggressive considering the level of cars just behind them on the qualifying sheet.

“We didn’t hurt anything, and Bob got a lot of good data,” said King. “For a team like ours that is the name of the game. We need good info and that is what we got. You look at our numbers and we are seeing improvement. We are looking at possibly St. Louis or Dallas for our next race but no matter where we go, we will be a much stronger team. I am proud we qualified better than two full-time teams with much bigger budgets. This sport is incredibly tough on the wallet and the psyche.”

Consistent temperatures gave King, and his Bob Peck-tuned Funny Car the chance to take some chances for elapsed time improvement with two runs available to the upstart team. During the fourth qualifying round King’s Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car launched hard and was accelerating down the track when the Goodyear slicks lost traction and slowed to a 8.511 second run. King was still in sixteenth position, but two pairs later rookie Julie Nataas made a 4.09 second pass and jumped from the outside of the field to the No. 15 spot shuffling King to the seventeenth spot with one run remaining.

“We took our shot with the last qualifying session and we didn’t step up enough,” said King. “I probably drove it a little further than I should have but I was hoping some tire shake would clear up. Ultimately, I didn’t want to do something stupid. You have to be smart about it and this race just didn’t go our way. I always want to put on a good show and not impact the other drivers.”

Last year King had to stand on the starting line hoping for his time to hold up but yesterday the Chicago firefighter and Funny Car team owner was in control of his destiny. King rolled his Funny Car into the staging beams and took off looking to improve his performance enough to race on Monday but as he closed in on halftrack his 12,000-horsepower Funny Car overpowered the track slowing him to a time of 6.740 seconds at 99.72 mph.

Chris King (center) spent time with fans throughout the weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

CHRIS KING SEES IMPROVEMENTS BUT U.S. NATIONALS SUCCESS ELUDES THE TEAM

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — The most prestigious drag race in the country, the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, has a rich and storied history. Careers are defined by wins on Labor Day and every Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competitor circles the race dates on their calendars at the beginning of the season. Regardless of your schedule competing and winning at the NHRA U.S. Nationals is a bucket list achievement. For Chris King, team owner and driver of the Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car, the joy of qualifying in 2024 was tempered with the cruel twist of narrowly missing the field this weekend. King’s best effort, a solid 4.120 second run at 299.53 mph on Saturday during the second of five qualifiers was only quick enough for the seventeenth spot in a sixteen-car qualified field.

“This is a tough pill to swallow for sure,” said King, who last year qualified for the U.S. Nationals. “I am proud of the effort Bob Peck and this team put together. We made every turn around and we were ready to race. We had an oil line issue and made the smart call to skip a session but overall, we didn’t make any mistakes. You look at our runs and we made clean runs right down the middle of the track.”

Chris King gets suited up during qualifying of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

On Friday night in the first qualifying session King made a straight and true shakedown run slotting him in the No. 15 spot on the ladder. His time of 4.309 seconds at 235.31 mph gave the team data they used to step up heading into Saturday. At the conclusion of the second day of qualifying King was still in the field but the team knew they needed to get more aggressive considering the level of cars just behind them on the qualifying sheet.

“We didn’t hurt anything, and Bob got a lot of good data,” said King. “For a team like ours that is the name of the game. We need good info and that is what we got. You look at our numbers and we are seeing improvement. We are looking at possibly St. Louis or Dallas for our next race but no matter where we go, we will be a much stronger team. I am proud we qualified better than two full-time teams with much bigger budgets. This sport is incredibly tough on the wallet and the psyche.”

Consistent temperatures gave King, and his Bob Peck-tuned Funny Car the chance to take some chances for elapsed time improvement with two runs available to the upstart team. During the fourth qualifying round King’s Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car launched hard and was accelerating down the track when the Goodyear slicks lost traction and slowed to a 8.511 second run. King was still in sixteenth position, but two pairs later rookie Julie Nataas made a 4.09 second pass and jumped from the outside of the field to the No. 15 spot shuffling King to the seventeenth spot with one run remaining.

“We took our shot with the last qualifying session and we didn’t step up enough,” said King. “I probably drove it a little further than I should have but I was hoping some tire shake would clear up. Ultimately, I didn’t want to do something stupid. You have to be smart about it and this race just didn’t go our way. I always want to put on a good show and not impact the other drivers.”

Last year King had to stand on the starting line hoping for his time to hold up but yesterday the Chicago firefighter and Funny Car team owner was in control of his destiny. King rolled his Funny Car into the staging beams and took off looking to improve his performance enough to race on Monday but as he closed in on halftrack his 12,000-horsepower Funny Car overpowered the track slowing him to a time of 6.740 seconds at 99.72 mph.

Chris King (center) spent time with fans throughout the weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

While King’s on-track performance did not yield the results he was looking for, his off-track efforts showed the caliber of professional he is quickly becoming on the NHRA tour. On Thursday night he was one of the headline drivers at the Cruz Pedregon Racing open house to support Riley’s Children’s Hospital and throughout the weekend King invited first responders to sign his Funny Car. Hundreds of men and women who protect their local communities enjoyed meeting King, signing the Funny Car and sharing stories. King was especially moved by the support he received Friday, Saturday and Sunday from the NHRA community.

“Having the first responders come by and sign our Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car was really cool and highlight of the weekend,” said King, a full-time Chicago firefighter. “I heard a lot of great stories and made a lot of new Chris King fans. Thanks to everyone that came by. I also appreciate the support from the NHRA on getting the word out. We had a ton of people come by every day of qualifying.”

Racing his third race of the 2025 season King was once again invited to talk to fans from the NHRA stage and he spent time with fellow Funny Car drivers Joe Morrison and Spencer Hyde along with Top Fuel driver TJ Zizzo on Sunday signing autographs to support the Right2Breathe program.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.309 sec; 235.31 mph; Qual. 15
Q2: 4.120 sec; 299.53 mph; Qual 15
Q3: No Run; Qual. 16
Q4: 8.511 sec; 83.62 mph; Qual. 17
Q5: 6.740 sec; 99.72 mph; Qual. 17

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Funny Car’s Joe Morrison Brings Message of Health and Racing Passion to Week of U.S. Nationals

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (September 1, 2025) — Funny Car and Top Alcohol Dragster driver Joe Morrison wasn’t behind the wheel of either of his high horsepower race cars this week at the 71^st Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals but he was still turning on symbolic win lights for fans and his Right2Breathe Project. Morrison had a packed schedule, beginning with fan appearances on Thursday and racing all the way to today’s race day activities. The driver from New Jersey has competed at the prestigious drag race before but this year he put his focus on spending time with the fans and sponsors.

On Thursday night Morrison was one of the featured drivers at the Cruz Pedregon Racing Open House participating in a driver autograph session and fan meet and greet. The event has become the kick-off fanfest for the U.S. Nationals as thousands of fans enjoyed a classic car show and the chance to talk with drivers like Morrison and get autographs and photos. The event also raises money for the Indianapolis-based Riley’s Children’s Hospital.
Joe Morrison enjoyed his time at the Cruz Pedregon Racing Open House on Thursday night,
photo credit Werner Communications“I was excited to get the race started with the Cruz Pedregon Racing Open House,” said Morrison. “They had a great crowd, and they were raising money for an amazing cause. I saw a lot of the people from Thursday night at the races this weekend too.”

Throughout the race Morrison was active with the Kroger Health display and promoting the Right2Breathe Project. The Right2Breathe® Project is a dynamic, grassroots initiative focused on lung health education, awareness and screening. This campaign is hosted at various public venues, including automotive and sporting events across the United States. The U.S. Nationals screening event was Right2Breathe’s third venture of 2025 and will continue into the Countdown at multiple events later this season.

“The mission of Right2Breathe is very personal for me so being able to partner with Kroger Health at an event like the NHRA U.S. Nationals gives us a great platform,” said Morrison. “We were able to talk with hundreds of fans about their lung health. Having drivers come over for autographs and talking with fans was a big hit too. We do these events all over the country and being at NHRA national events is a great platform to talk about all our lung health efforts.”
Morrison thrilled the fans in the Top Eliminator Club on Saturday of the U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Werner CommunicationsOn Sunday Morrison hosted fellow NHRA competitors TJ Zizzo, Spencer Hyde and Chris King in the Kroger Health booth for an autograph session. The quartet of drivers signed autographs for fans and Morrison talked about the importance of early detection for COPD and asthma issues. The display featured several race cars as well as interactive displays for fans to better understand lung health issues.

On race day Morrison was on the American Rebel Light stage talking with fans about the Right2Breathe Project as well as giving fans insight into the racing action on track. Morrison will be driving the Paul Smith owned and tuned Funny Car with marketing support from long-time sponsors PennGrade1 and Glockner Oil at the NHRA Reading Nationals. At that event he will be doing double duty also racing in the Top Alcohol Dragster category.

“Race day is a magical day and while we weren’t on track today for the U.S. Nationals,” said Morrison. “Getting to talk to the Monday crowd from the American Rebel Light stage with NHRA announcer Hannah Rickards was another great opportunity to talk about Right2Breathe as well as who fans should keep their eye on once the race gets started.”

The NHRA Reading Nationals is the first of six playoff races for the NHRA Countdown. The event will begin for Morrison and the PennGrade1 Funny Car with two qualifying sessions on Friday September 12 at historic Maple Grove Raceway.

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Early Spin Derails Berry’s Night at Darlington

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Josh Berry’s third-place starting position in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway offered plenty of promise, but that promise disappeared almost immediately when a first-lap spin in Turn 2 left the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Dark Horse battered in the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

Berry was able to drive the car to the garage, where the Wood Brothers Racing crew went to work on repairs. He said the car bottomed out several times before the spin.

“It was definitely unexpected,” Berry said. “We didn’t really fight that too bad in practice. I saw a replay of it (from the camera in Ross Chastain’s car) and you could tell that it bottomed out four or five times. You can’t save them when they’re like that.”

After spending more than 100 laps in the garage, Berry returned to the track in 38th position with little opportunity to recover. The team instead focused on securing a bonus point for the fastest lap of the night, and on Lap 114 Berry delivered with a speed of 169.351 miles per hour.

He carried on to finish 38th, collecting two points and leaving Darlington 16th in the Playoff standings, 19 points behind the cutoff line.

After two more races – at World Wide Technology Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway – the bottom four drivers in the standings will be eliminated from championship contention. Despite the setback, Berry remains confident that he and the No. 21 team can rebound.

“It looked like a lot of people had a bad night, which we know how this goes,” he said. “We just need to avoid a bad night ourselves. I feel like we’re still within striking distance. If we just go have two good weeks, we’ll at least be in the mix once we get to Bristol.”

Berry and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team now turn their focus to Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

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Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercar entries aim to carry momentum into COTA

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Cadillac primed to defend home turf DETROIT (Sept. 1, 2025) – What would be more satisfying than a Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA victory at its home race? An encore 1-2 finish, of course.
Following the dominating performance in the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign in São Paulo, Brazil, the twin Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs head to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Central Texas with intentions of lassoing a third consecutive pole and repeating the dual podium celebration.

“Obviously, the team is on a complete high from the 1-2 in Brazil, so we’re hoping for more good things,” said Bamber, who has two victories at COTA (IMSA GTLM class in 2016 and WEC LMP1 in 2017). “And I think we’ve just got to keep pestering that top five with both cars and then chipping away. Closing that gap is going to be tough. But if we’re always in the top five and we’re always there, we know we’re going to be closing in points and scoring big points.”
Last year, in the WEC’s return to the circuit for the first time since 2020 when Nato co-drove to the overall victory, Cadillac Racing’s lone Hypercar entry driven by Bamber and Lynn qualified third and finished a season-high fourth.

Cadillac primed to defend home turfCadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercar entries aim to carry momentum into COTA DETROIT (Sept. 1, 2025) – What would be more satisfying than a Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA victory at its home race? An encore 1-2 finish, of course.
Following the dominating performance in the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign in São Paulo, Brazil, the twin Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs head to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Central Texas with intentions of lassoing a third consecutive pole and repeating the dual podium celebration.

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INEVITABLE: Kofoid Sneaks by Gravel for Third Huset’s Victory of 2025, Banks $25,000

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

The Series sophomore out duels the defending champion for his fifth win at Huset’s

BRANDON, SD (August 31, 2025) – Michael “Buddy” Kofoid did it again at Huset’s Speedway.

It’s starting to become a foregone conclusion that you’ll find the Penngrove, CA native parked in Victory Lane when big money is on the line at the Brandon, SD oval. A devastating defeat in the 2023 Huset’s High Bank Nationals due to mechanical troubles didn’t simply motivate he and Roth Motorsports. It fueled them with an absolute unwillingness to lose when the lights are brightest.

Rewind to June two years ago when a powerplant souring stripped away a probable $250,000 win at the 3/8 mile. Since then, Huset’s has hosted a trio of six-figure payday World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series races, and Kofoid has won all three. Labor Day weekend brought The Greatest Show on Dirt back to town for the L.G. Everist Huset’s Shootout presented by Myrl & Roy’s Paving and another solid paycheck. This time $25,000 was up for grabs, and the result was the same, another checkered flag in Kofoid’s hand.

The 23-year-old lined up third for the 40-lap finale and slipped to fourth on the opening circuit where he rode for a while. But then a pivotal Lap 13 saw Kofoid rip by both Ryan Timms and Carson Macedo to take over the runner-up spot.

Then began the pursuit of leader and defending World of Outlaws champion David Gravel. Kofoid stalked him in traffic and even snuck by at one point only to have Gravel rip back around in the next set of corners. A caution with 10 laps remaining made Kofoid think his chances were over, but he was far from done.

On Lap 36, Gravel left the door open down low and Kofoid capitalized. He rolled right on by and drove to yet another Huset’s win.

“I thought I had him (Gravel), and then I tried to sneak under a lapped car and he circled me, and I was like, ‘Man, that’s probably it,’” Kofoid explained. “I figured maybe he would be going to the bottom, and I just wanted to do the opposite of what he did in (Turns) 1 and 2, but I felt like the top was the place to be at the end in (Turns) 3 and 4. I was catching him little by little, and I don’t know if he saw me on the screen. And then I just went to the bottom last second and stuck it pretty good.

“This is one of my favorite tracks. Running good here and for some reason having an edge here definitely helps you like it more. It just has always been a really fun track for me. No matter if it’s slick or heavy, I feel like it puts on good racing. But I’m confident that we’ll be just as good hopefully everywhere else we go.”

Kofoid notched a pair of milestones with the victory. His 10th win of the season made him the 18th different driver to reach double digits in one year with the World of Outlaws. It was also his 20th overall Series triumph, making him the 34th to reach that mark and tying him with Greg Hodnett, Lance Dewease, and Rico Abreu on the all-time list. He’s now up to five overall World of Outlaws wins at Huset’s, ranking behind only Sammy Swindell (10), Mark Kinser (nine), and Steve Kinser (seven).

Gravel held on for the second spot after leading a majority of the race. The Watertown, CT native felt some disappointment after he felt a single slip up was the difference between a trip to Victory Lane and settling for runner-up. He and Big Game Motorsports have pieced together 13 consecutive top fives.

“I just got the right rear (tire) plugged in the cushion and got tight and couldn’t get off of it and got over the cushion off of (Turn) 2,” Gravel said. “Bummer for my guys. Definitely had a car capable of winning there. Buddy was stalking me a lot in lap traffic and got up in the seat. Man, I felt like I was good on the bottom of (Turns) 1 and 2, but the lappers were running low so I ran high, and it just cost me.”

The final podium position belonged to Carson Macedo aboard the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41. They closed out their strong month of August with their eighth finish of sixth or better in nine races. After Mother Nature threatened the night early, Macedo was simply happy to be able to hit the track and race.

“I think the track crew at Huset’s Speedway and everybody here at this place did a great job just to get the race in in the first place,” Macedo said. “I was sitting in the lounge earlier during that storm, and I really didn’t think we were going to race on the first place. We’re standing here on the front stretch, and we still had a pretty wide, racy track. I thought it was good enough to make passes. Buddy didn’t start on the front row and still won the race.”

Sheldon Haudenschild and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.

Schuchart wheeled from 17th for his result, enough to earn him the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

David Gravel earned his 18th Simpson Quick Time of the season and the 140th of his career in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

Heat Races belonged to David Gravel (NOS Energy Drink Heat One), Buddy Kofoid (Real American Beer Heat Two), Mark Dobmeier (WIX Filters Heat Three), and Carson Macedo (TheGreatestStoreonDirt.com Heat Four).

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Gravel also topped the Toyota Dash.

Christopher Thram won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Cole Macedo.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars return to New Mexico for the first time since 2022 with a weekend (Sept. 5-6) at Vado Speedway Park. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

INEVITABLE: Kofoid Sneaks by Gravel for Third Huset’s Victory of 2025, Banks $25,000

The Series sophomore out duels the defending champion for his fifth win at Huset’s

BRANDON, SD (August 31, 2025) – Michael “Buddy” Kofoid did it again at Huset’s Speedway.

On Lap 36, Gravel left the door open down low and Kofoid capitalized. He rolled right on by and drove to yet another Huset’s win.

Sheldon Haudenschild and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.

Schuchart wheeled from 17th for his result, enough to earn him the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

David Gravel earned his 18th Simpson Quick Time of the season and the 140th of his career in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Gravel also topped the Toyota Dash.

Christopher Thram won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Cole Macedo.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars return to New Mexico for the first time since 2022 with a weekend (Sept. 5-6) at Vado Speedway Park. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid[3]; 2. 2-David Gravel[1]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[2]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[7]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[17]; 6. 10-Ryan Timms[5]; 7. 13-Mark Dobmeier[4]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog[13]; 9. 15S-Kerry Madsen[10]; 10. 6K-Kaleb Johnson[15]; 11. 16-Riley Goodno[6]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[18]; 13. 83JR-Sam Henderson[8]; 14. 99-Skylar Gee[22]; 15. 96-Blaine Stegenga[23]; 16. 7S-Chris Windom[16]; 17. 23-Garet Williamson[25]; 18. 18-Emerson Axsom[24]; 19. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[11]; 20. 6-Zach Hampton[19]; 21. 64-Andy Pake[12]; 22. 28M-Conner Morrell[14]; 23. 2C-Cole Macedo[9]; 24. 24T-Christopher Thram[21]; 25. 45X-Landon Crawley[20]

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McFADDEN SURVIVES LATE DAMAGE, BAGS $10K LOUIE VERMEIL NARC FINALE!

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

(8/31/25 – Andrew Kunas) Calistoga, CA … James McFadden ended up with a second Louie Vermeil trophy in as many nights, but that very nearly didn’t happen as a last lap parts break left McFadden fighting to make it to the checkered flag and had the capacity crowd in a frenzy in Sunday’s NARC 410 sprint car feature at the newly reopened Calistoga Speedway.

The Australian ace, who led all 25 laps on Saturday’s Vermeil opener, looked like he was on his way to easily doing so again as he made a couple of key late race passes around slower cars to keep the pursuing Dominic Gorden behind him. However, a left front shock stud on McFadden’s car broke late on the final lap, leaving the left front tire not rolling in sync with the right side and lagging as he rounded Turns 3 and 4 of the big half-mile.

Gorden quickly closed in but McFadden stood on the gas off of Turn 4 and managed to keep the car straight enough and just hold off Gorden for the $10,000 top prize at the finish line. Letting off the gas after crossing the line, McFadden’s car finally gave in and he spun out in Turn 1. With the crowd showing its approval for him successfully saving the win, McFadden was towed to the front stretch to celebrate his seventh career NARC victory, and also at another track he had never been to before Saturday.

McFadden’s two wins this weekend were also the first by an Australian at the historic half-mile since Gary Rush in 1975. McFadden was made aware of it and felt honored, having grown up watching Rush in his home country. Acknowledging the timely checkered flag coming out just in time for him with the damage on his car, McFadden also said that sometimes it was better to be lucky than good. He did, however, praise the Tarlton family and team for their work. Sunday was McFadden’s sixth NARC win on the season aboard the American Rock & Rent-sponsored Tarlton Motorsports No. 21 TRD-powered Maxim.

McFadden’s sweep of the Louie Vermeil Classic came after McFadden and the Tarlton Motorsports team were not even scheduled to be at Calistoga’s grand reopening after being closed for six years. The team was at Skagit Speedway in Washington with the High Limit Racing series on Thursday and Friday nights, but a very tough time there led the team to decide a change in scenery was needed and the team hurried south to California for the Vermeil. The decision paid off with $5,000 and $10,000 paydays and a pair of “Louies” to put in the trophy case. They also got an additional $500 over two nights in lap leader money from METTEC Titanium. McFadden won four out of five nights during NARC’s Fastest Five Days in Motorsports in the Pacific Northwest in June before he and the Tarlton Motorsports headed east for the summer. Despite only running part of the schedule, McFadden’s six wins are tied for the most in NARC competition this season.

Gorden, almost got the wounded McFadden car at the line but settled for a strong second place finish aboard the Gary Silva Ranches-sponsored Fortitude Driver Development No. 10 Rider-powered Maxim. Former NARC champion and current points leader D.J. Netto padded that points lead with his second podium in as many nights aboard the Penny Newman Grain-sponsored Netto Ag No. 88n Rider-powered KPC. Backing up his Saturday runner-up finish, Shane Golobic finished fourth aboard the NOS Energy-sponsored Matt Wood Racing No. 17w Kistler-powered KPC. Indiana visitor Spencer Bayston bounced back from a DNF Saturday to finish fifth aboard the Works Limited-sponsored Kevin Kozlowski No. W Speedway-powered Schnee-Lawson.

Bud Kaeding earned the Williams Roofing Hard Charger nod, coming from 12th to finish sixth. Chance Grasty, Sean Becker, Dylan Bloomfield and Caeden Steele rounded out the Top 10.

Heat races earlier in the evening were won by D.J. Netto and Dominic Gorden. Spencer Bayston paced the 17-car field in Automotive Racing Products Qualifying with a time of 16.756 seconds around the big half-mile clay oval.

Hoosier Racing Tires Feature (25 laps): 1. 21-James McFadden[2]; 2. 10-Dominic Gorden[1]; 3. 88N-DJ Netto[4]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic[7]; 5. W-Spencer Bayston[3]; 6. 29-Bud Kaeding[12]; 7. X1-Chance Grasty[6]; 8. 7B-Sean Becker[11]; 9. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[8]; 10. 121-Caeden Steele[10]; 11. 14-Mariah Ede[13]; 12. 12-Jarrett Soares[14]; 13. 12J-John Clark[15]; 14. 17-Colby Copeland[5]; 15. 26-Billy Aton[9]; 16. 11-Tyler Cato[16]; DNS – 92-Andy Forsberg.

METTEC Titanium Lap Leaders: James McFadden 1-25

Williams Roofing Hard Charger: 29 Bud Kaeding, 12th to 6th (+6)

Automotive Racing Products Fast Qualifier (17 cars): W Spencer Bayston, 16.756 seconds

Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 88n D.J. Netto, 2. X1 Chance Grasty, 3. W Spencer Bayston, 4. 83v Dylan Bloomfield, 5. 26 Billy Aton, 6. 7b Sean Becker, 7. 12 Jarrett Soares, 8. 12j John Clark, DNS – 92 Andy Forsberg.

Bud Kaeding earned the Williams Roofing Hard Charger nod, coming from 12th to finish sixth. Chance Grasty, Sean Becker, Dylan Bloomfield and Caeden Steele rounded out the Top 10.

METTEC Titanium Lap Leaders: James McFadden 1-25

Williams Roofing Hard Charger: 29 Bud Kaeding, 12th to 6th (+6)

Automotive Racing Products Fast Qualifier (17 cars): W Spencer Bayston, 16.756 seconds

Kimo’s Tropical Carwash Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 10 Dominic Gorden, 2. 17 Colby Copeland, 3. 21 James McFadden, 4. 17w Shane Golobic, 5. 121 Caeden Steele, 6. 29 Bud Kaeding, 7. 14 Mariah Ede, 8. 11 Tyler Cato.

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Allmendinger Leads Chevrolet with Top-Five Finish at Darlington Raceway

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

·        Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger led Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a fifth-place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway – the team’s second top-five finish of the season. Three different Chevrolet organizations were represented in the top-10 of the final running order, including Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team, who overcame damage during an opening lap incident to rebound for an eighth-place finish. Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar turned in his seventh top-10 of the season – driving his No. 77 Chevrolet to a ninth-place result.
·        With much of the playoff field plagued with problems throughout the opening race of the Round of 16, five Team Chevy championship contenders will head to World Wide Technology Raceway above the cutline – led by former champion, Kyle Larson, who drove his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a strong points day in the first two stages to build his cushion to now 38-points.
·        A trio of playoff contenders representing three Chevrolet organizations began their championship campaigns with top-10 qualifying efforts – led by the 2023 Southern 500 winner, Kyle Larson, who took the green-flag for the crown jewel event from the fifth position. Chaos ensued at the front of the field to bring the caution out on the opening lap, but all seven Team Chevy playoff contenders escaped without damage. The remainder of the opening stage went caution-free with the field seeing two sets of green-flag pit cycles. Remaining a steady fixture in the top-10 of the opening stage were Ross Chastain and Larson, who took the first green-white checkered flag in the fourth and sixth positions, respectively.  ·        Picking up right where he left off, Ross Chastain made the move up into the runner-up position when the second natural caution of the race fell on Lap 151. With a majority of the lead pack opting to hit pit road, the No. 1 pit crew powered off a stop to keep Chastain on the front-row for the restart. With a valiant effort to battle then-race leader, Chase Briscoe, for the top position, Chastain ultimately settled his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet back into the second position near the halfway point of Stage Two. Battling overall loose conditions, Chastain held onto a position in the top-five before crew chief, Phil Surgen, called his driver to pit road during the green-flag cycle with 43 laps to go in the stage. As the field cycled through for the next green-flag run, it was playoff contenders Larson and Chastain that found their way back into the top-five before a pair of cautions flew during the closing laps of Stage Two. The duo went on to add onto an already strong points night with back-to-back top-six stage finishes.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER
5th – AJ Allmendinger8th – Kyle Busch9th – Carson Hocevar

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 27 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 12Poles: 10Top-Fives: 53Top 10s: 114Stage Wins: 22

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 will continue at World Wide Technology Raceway with the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, September 7, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Allmendinger Leads Chevrolet with Top-Five Finish at Darlington Raceway

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race Advances Chevrolet Newsroom

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS. DRIVER
5th – AJ Allmendinger8th – Kyle Busch9th – Carson Hocevar

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 27 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 12Poles: 10Top-Fives: 53Top 10s: 114Stage Wins: 22

Post-Race Driver Quotes: Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 11th“We were the best Chevrolet for a lot of the night. We were racing around the No. 5 (Kyle Larson), which we haven’t been doing much this year, so that was step one if we want to do anything this year in the playoffs. We had to be faster and we were. I was proud to be up there fighting with him and racing around him because he and the No. 24 (William Byron) have been the benchmark a lot of the year. To carry the flag for Chevrolet a lot tonight is something to be proud of. We just had a fueling issue there at the end and it took us back.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 23rd“We started OK and then we just had issues throughout the race. We got too tight in that one run and just couldn’t overcome it. We kind of got it back going the other direction; made some passes and got up to around 18th. We hit pit road and the caution came out. It was just unfortunate. We just struggled with our No. 3 BPS/Winchester Deer Season XP Chevrolet and didn’t execute like we needed to. We just have to do better. But all-in-all, we’re not that far below the cutline. We just need to have a solid finish in the next two races of this round.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 19th“It was a good thing we were able to get those stage points early. I felt pretty average all night. We had a lot of stack-ups on the restarts. I’m not sure why, but we had a big one there in the final stage and we just struggled after that. I’m not sure if the splitter got bent up or what happened, but it just took all my problems and made it all worse. We also had radio issues and all sorts of other problems, so to have a bad race and still gain on the cutline is rewarding. Obviously, we want more on this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. It’s typically a good track for us, so I’m not sure, but we’ll regroup and hopefully rebound in the next two races.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 8th “The No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet was a strong car tonight in Darlington. We got caught up in the wreck on the initial lap of the race, but thanks to the hard work of our pit crew, they got us back on track and we raced our way to the front of the field. We struggled on restarts, but our adjustments on pit stops kept us competitive and let us leave with a top-10 finish.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 17th“It was a long night for the No. 9 NAPA Chevy team. We clawed our way up into the top-10. We went long on that one run in the second stage. Everybody had gotten really aggressive shorting it, so we just thought we’d tried to run long and see what happened. As soon as we did that and got eight or 10 laps in, the caution came out. We came in and ended up having an issue on pit road and, unfortunately, it all kind of happened at the same time on that next cycle. We just had to put our heads down and grind it out. We just have to keep pushing at it. We just have to put our heads together and try to execute better at Gateway. Appreciate all the effort from everyone at NAPA, Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. Everyone is working really hard, we just have to put our heads together and figure out how to go forward.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 5th“It feels awesome to get a top-five finish with our No. 16 Black’s Tire Chevrolet. Darlington (Raceway) has owned me, and I’ve worked hard trying to study this place. Our Black’s Tire Chevy was awesome all night. Trent Owens (crew chief) did a phenomenal job on the adjustments. We just kept fighting all race long. I’m constantly trying to learn around this place. My pit crew were absolutely phenomenal and that’s what got us near the front, and then we could just hold the track position. I’m just so proud of everyone on this team. It was a well-executed night all around. It just feels good to get around this place decent and come out with a strong finish.” William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 21st“We just struggled all night. I thought the short run was a struggle. I was hoping we’d be able to pay on the backend and have some long run pace, but we would just fall off a cliff. A lot of the time, the pit cycles would kind of save us where we could just pit right when we started to struggle, but the last run was really long. As good as we normally are here, it’s definitely a bummer. Appreciate All-Pro Auto Reconditioning, Chevrolet and everyone on this No. 24 team. We’ve definitely got some work to do. We’ll go to Gateway and try to be better there.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 33rd“Not the day we were hoping for with our Delaware Life Chevrolet; we had some decent pace during Stage Two, but just couldn’t put it all together and fell a lap down. After that we had an issue with one of our tires and just didn’t have enough race left to earn those laps back. We have some things to look into so we can figure out exactly what happened, but just not our day here in Darlington.” Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 32nd“It was a tough day for the No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet team. Our car was very different from yesterday. Stephen (Doran, crew chief) didn’t give up on tuning on it, but we just couldn’t make it better. We tried something different with strategy, but got a caution at the wrong time and couldn’t rebound from it.”

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John Force Racing–SUNDAY RECAP – Indianapolis Race 14 of 20

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

PROCK DOMINATES PLAYNHRA FUNNY CAR ALL-STAR CALLOUT, FORCE AND BECKMAN CAPTURE NO. 1 QUALIFIER SPOTSJohn Force Racing leads the way across the board Sunday at the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

BROWNSBURG, IND. (Aug. 31, 2025) – John Force Racing collectively ran the table Sunday at the NHRA Mission Foods Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, with Brittany Force and Jack Beckman earning the No. 1 Qualifier spots in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively, and Austin Prock grabbing the trophy and the $80,000 winner’s check in the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout. Prock defeated Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan in the Callout with runs of 3.907 seconds and 3.910 seconds but saved his best run of the week for the final round against Ron Capps, whom he beat for last year’s U.S. Nationals title. Capps got the holeshot but the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car was soon ahead and pulling away at the lights with a run of 3.873 seconds at 333.00 mph to Capp’s 4.048 and 302.01. The run also moved Prock to second in the qualifying order for Monday’s eliminations. “Driving for Cornwell Tools, you always want to take out your sponsor’s competitors. We raced Cruz this morning, so we had ‘Tools Wars’ this morning first round and then worked out to where we had a Tool War in the final against Ron Capps,” Prock said. “So anytime we turn on the win light, it’s exciting, but when you’re racing against one of your sponsor’s competitors, and you can turn on the win light, it tastes a little better. So, all the people at Cornwall Tools were definitely stoked that we got the job done.” The reigning 2024 NHRA Funny Car Champion also clinched the 2025 regular season championship, and with it a $150,000 bonus, running his Sunday total to $230,000. Prock will line up against No. 15 qualifier Julie Nataas (4.099, 279.85) in Monday’s first round of eliminations. Force earned her fourth No. 1 Qualifier of the season and fifth career U.S. Nationals low elapsed time (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025) with Friday’s night session run of 3.666 seconds at 339.79 mph. Her Cornwell Quality Tools Top Fuel Dragster also had passes at 3.779 seconds at 337.41 mph (Q3 Saturday afternoon) and 3.767 seconds at 338.85 mph (Q4 Sunday afternoon). “We feel ready and confident going into race day tomorrow,” Force said. “You can’t look at all the excitement that is Indy. For me, it’s just, it’s no different than when we were running in Brainerd last weekend, or two weeks from now when we’ll be running in Reading. Our focus is always one run at a time, and we want to win everywhere we go. It doesn’t matter what racetrack we’re at or what event is happening. We always want to win. “Now, the U.S. Nationals? Yes, this is a special one. This is on everybody’s bucket list. Everybody wants to win here, especially our Cornwell Quality Tools team.” Force will face No. 16 qualifier Ida Zetterstrum in Monday’s first round of eliminations. Beckman’s Friday night qualifying lap of 3.865 seconds at 332.26 mph in the Brute Force PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS established the Funny Car benchmark throughout the extended five rounds of qualifying. In the PlayNHRA Funny Car All-Star Callout, the two-time NHRA Funny Car Champion took out Bob Tasca III in a close first-round matchup (3.951 seconds at 332.02 mph versus 3.972 and 322.43). He lost lane choice to Capps for the semifinals and had a strong run going until the the crankshaft broke right before the lights. Capps ran 3.912 seconds at 333.33 mph to Beckman’s 3.993 and 282.012. “We broke the crankshaft in half,” said Beckman. “I heard Jason Galvin announcing and it looked like maybe the car spun the tires because you saw one of the holes go dead. No, it was way worse than that. It snapped the crankshaft in half down there. But, if there’s a silver lining on that, it didn’t happen Monday on race day. So, we put another engine in it went out in the final round of qualifying and pushed hard trying to get bonus points. Our numbers looked great until it spun the tires, but we know exactly what we need to do for race day. And tomorrow’s going to be exceptionally quick first round because we’re starting an hour early (at 10 a.m. ET). Beckman will go up against No. 16 qualifier Justin Schriefer (4.103, 280.78) in the first round of eliminations. Track & TV SchedulesFinal eliminations are scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept 1. Coverage of Monday’s elimination rounds begins at 12 p.m. ET on FS1 and shifting to FOX at 2 p.m. ET.

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Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-ovalLebanon, TennesseeRace ReportAugust 31
LEBANON, Tennessee (August 31, 2025) – Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet won an exciting 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale, giving the Bowtie five trips to victory lane in the last seven races. Team Chevy dominated a chaotic race, leading 207 of 225 laps, with Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet joining his teammate on the podium and Conor Daly in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finishing fifth.
Pole winner Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet dominated early, leading 116 of the first 126 laps until a mechanical issue ended his day early.
The No. 14 Phoenix Investors A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, with Santino Ferrucci behind the wheel, was on the move early, going from 12th to fourth before a penalty sent him to the back of the field before finishing eighth, leading all drivers with 36 on-track passes.
Newgarden’s win is the 237th all-time for Chevrolet in the INDYCAR SERIES and the 127th since the introduction of the twin-turbo 2.2L V6 in 2012. Newgarden now has 32 career wins, all of them powered by Chevrolet, leading all Bowtie drivers. It was Newgarden’s 20th win on an oval and 14th trip to victory lane on a short oval (those 1.3-mile or under). Of Team Penske’s 246 wins, 124 have been Chevrolet-powered, including 87 since 2012. It was his first win at Nashville Superspeedway and the 14th different track that the 34-year-old has visited victory lane, extending his win streak to 11 years. McLaughlin’s daring last-lap pass rewarded him with his third podium of the season and the 22nd of his career. After a hard impact in Turn 2, David Malukas in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, out of an abundance of caution, was taken to the hospital. He was released after all scans came back clear.

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix Race Results:

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet won:
I’m just glad we got one without anything going wrong. For the No. 2 crew. Just happy to celebrate with this team. They deserve it. It’s rewarding for our team; they’ve done a great job. Obviously, Will won in Portland, which was a huge lift for everybody, and he really deserved it. I think he could have won this race today. It was a shame to see what happened to him. He’s a legend. It was great for our team, Astemo, and Team Chevy. Tough year, tough, tough year, but good to get a win here at the end.
How about doing it here at home in Nashville and the great crowd.
It’s pretty great. I think we should be racing in Nashville to end the year all the time. We don’t need to be going anywhere else. I don’t care if it’s this track or somewhere else. But, in the vicinity would be a good thing. It’s great to be at home. Pumped! Just pumped!

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet 3rd:
“I’m not exhausted. I’m fine. I’m just really gutted for my guys. I just got a little high there. Just trying to protect my entry and, just got too high. I can’t believe the DEX Imaging Chevy was okay. I think it was a little bent at the end, but I wanted a podium bad, and I just kept my foot in it. And the last lap, I just sent it, and I was like, if I hit the fence, I hit the fence. I don’t know. But the handle only went away little bit. But I just held it flat, and didn’t really care if we went in the fence or not. And thankfully, it stuck, and I was glad to get the boys a podium. But congrats to Josef. Congrats to the team Penske. It’s a great end to our year. We were good today. Just not good enough.”

Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet 5th:
“Honestly, I was just hoping we were gonna finish it out there because I I didn’t know how good the reds would be, on a restart when they cool down. And Scott (McLaughlin) was proof. We both fired it into turn one on that last restart, and we nearly ended up both in the wall just with no grip. So, to hang on to a top five is really cool. Appreciate the All American Rejects for being a part of our car. And Chevrolet, honestly, thank you so much to Chevrolet all year. It’s just good to finish on a high note. This team deserved it after a tough start to the weekend. Just wish we could have finished it off on the podium.”
Callum Ilott, No, 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet 9th:
“It was a good race. We stabilised in the mid pack throughout the middle of the race, and we decided that the Alternate was good towards the end of the race. I did have a bit of vibration during one of the stints which was a bit scary. However, we were able to move forwards after the last stop with the newer tires and made some decent moves. The crew did a good job in the pits and Chevrolet did a great job with the engine, so overall a positive way to end the season.”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Phoenix Investors A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 8th:“Honestly, my crew did a phenomenal job all day. This one’s on me, and under the caution – you know? I was in the mindset of Gateway, and I pitted off of turn three, instead of off of turn four. Gave us an end of the line penalty when we were running sixth early on in the race, and that would have made for an easy day.
“But, you know, we came back, finished eighth, passed probably 10 cars on one of those restarts. I mean, the guys did an incredible job over the wall, passed a bunch of people in pit lane as well. So a little hairy at the end there between a couple of competitors, and broke the front wing and finished off the last stint with the front wing all mangled too. So, honestly, it was a hell of a day.
“I had a really good feeling for the high line in the first half of the race. Once the front wing broke and I was kind of sure it was if something was wrong, it was a little bit more of a gamble for me. And when I got towards the end of the race, I was just trying not to take too many more chances than I needed to.
“I can’t wait until next year, and I want to thank Sexton Properties, Phoenix Investors, Vensure HR, ABC Supply, and Homes for our Troops. I mean, this whole team’s done a phenomenal job. Cannot wait to come back next year.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Java House Chevrolet 10th:
“It was going to be tough starting where we did. We stayed aggressive on strategy all day and got a respectable result. The No. 20 Java House Chevrolet was good all weekend, we just didn’t seem to have overall pace. Lots of positives to take from the year, lots of room to grow. We’ll start prepping for 2026 now.”
Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet 14th:
“That’s the final round finished. I don’t really have much to say after we lost the Rookie of the Year battle in the final few laps after my drive through penalty. I was defending for my position on the restart and got the penalty, so we lost out on the title and on a top ten finish as I was running eighth at the time. It’s a shame because the car was really fast and I was having a lot of fun, so I’m sure we could’ve finished in the top ten even though I did make a mistake in the final pit stop. Thanks to the team for the great car, it felt really good all weekend, it’s just a shame with the final result.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet 16th:
“Year-end finale at Nashville Superspeedway. It was chaos. Seems like there was a lot of attrition out there. Some big hits for some of the leaders, which was pretty crazy to see, but that just shows you how competitive the series is and how tough the track was today. So, I’m really happy with this team.
“You know, they’ve worked so hard this year, and I’m very thankful to be a part of it and to come back to a place where I won a championship before it feels like home. So, I know that we got some learning to do, but, this is going be a season to build on for sure. And I think that, Conor did a great job this year. Congrats to him for today for another top five. That was really fun to see. We’ll put our heads back on after a couple week break and then see what we can learn and see how we can move forward.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 17th: “We had a lot of pace. We qualified 7th yesterday with a really strong run, but then we had the engine change so we started 16th today. That put us in the thick of it in the race. This season we’ve had many days where there’s been a lot of potential, and we haven’t ended up finishing the weekend. I’ve made mistakes, other issues happened that were out of our control, we’ve just had bad luck. All in all, it was really important to build momentum for 2026. Today, to do a race distance, have a clean day, smooth day: that’s what we did.”
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet finished 21st:
“The Verizon Chevy was fast today, and it definitely showed there to start the race. I wish it had all played out differently so we could end the season with a strong result that I know our team was capable of. Really excited for Josef (Newgarden) to get the win, though.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 24th: “We were moving today in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. All weekend it’s been such a joy to drive. Sadly, we ended up moving into the wall. That’s sometimes how it goes. These things are out of your control. All you can do is move on, keep on growing, keep on working on the things that we know we’ve been doing well, and also get better. Thank you to all the fans. Thank you to all of our partners who have been with us all year, and we look forward to 2026.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished 25th: “It’s been an amazing season with this team and credit to the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevy crew for giving it our all from start to finish. They gave me a fast car all weekend, and we could have clinched third in the standings with the pace we had. Unfortunately our day ended with an issue outside our control, and that was it for the season. We’re keeping our spirits high and know we’ve got more to accomplish in 2026. Thanks to our team partners and the Arrow McLaren fans who’ve been cheering us on all year long.” David Malukas, No. 4 Clarience Technologies A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet finished 26th: Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Splenda Stevia Chevrolet finished 27th:
I got away pretty good at the start. I got a good jump and got an opportunity to go to the high side, which is where I wanted to be. It seemed like I lost the rear end. I’m not sure why. I guess it was just very low grip. It was low grip up there and around I went.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, August 31, 2025Josef NewgardenJonathan DiuguidPress Conference
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by the champion of the race, Josef Newgarden. First win of the season. 32nd career win, which ties him with Al Unser Jr. for ninth all time. Also joined by Penske Racing president Jonathan Diuguid.
Josef, better late than ever to get a win here in 2025. Your thoughts, to do it here in Nashville?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Very special. Never a bad time to show up and have a good day. I think the team really performed like you expect from Team Penske. I think we’ve had the same core that Team Penske’s always had throughout this whole year in a lot of ways. You saw it again today, just the men and women across the board.
Really didn’t matter which car. There was a point midway through the race, I came on the radio, Look at Will, looked amazing, incredible. He could have won the race today. I think Scott could have won the race.
That’s the cool thing about Team Penske. You walk into that building, it really doesn’t matter which car you’re looking at, I would be privileged to step in any one of them. I think they give you a shot to win the race.
It’s cool to be part of this team. We’ve got great leadership and depth across the board. I think that’s what carried us through this weekend to bring in this result.
THE MODERATOR: Jonathan, a nice finish for 2025, two at the podium, the win at Portland. A lot of good things happening towards the end.
JONATHAN DIUGUID: Yeah, obviously to win the last race of the season is a good stepping off point for next year, the best way you can end the championship or season.
It’s been a difficult year for us, but we’ve had strong performances the last few races. Like Josef mentioned, all three cars led laps today throughout different phases.
New downforce configuration this weekend. We didn’t know how it was going to pan out. When it came time to go, Scott and Josef was at the front, Will was up there earlier on. A really solid day for the entire group.
THE MODERATOR: Open it up for questions.
Q. Josef, if you were sitting here a year ago, this would have been a normal thing. Felt like there’s a lot of relief after what has been the craziest year where nothing went right. Talk about this, a classic Newgarden feel to this victory.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t have a great answer for you. It doesn’t feel that different. Nothing went diabolically wrong. I tried to throw it in the bin there in the final pit stop. On the edge, but not over it (smiling).
Like a meteor didn’t come out of the sky today, which was nice. Other than that, it felt like a normal day in a lot of respects. It was not an easy race. I did not have the car where I wanted it at the start right away. I’m like, Okay, we’re nowhere where we need to be, let’s be patient.
We just did our thing like we always do: assessed everybody, hung there, went when we needed to go. We got the car in a really good spot in the end. I was like, Now we have a race-winning car. Let’s close the deal.
That whole sequence felt very normal to me. Just proud of the team. More than anything, when I show up and I’m ready to see the team rewarded for the effort. I really mean that. You have no idea what goes on. Some of you guys do know what goes on.
It is grueling to get to these races and to get through the weekend, put a car on the track that’s capable of winning, hitting all your marks every second of the race. It’s just so difficult to do.
To get that reward for the team… We had it in Portland, which was great for everybody. We had it today. That’s probably the highlight for me, just to see everybody rewarded for the effort and what they put in the end.
Q. (Question about many drivers with problems in the race.)
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I become so oblivious to it at this point, I’m not even looking for it anymore. If it happened, I would expect it, so…
Yeah, I was just driving today.
Q. John, two wins from the last three races. You said y’all aren’t really trying to do anything differently. The ingredients are there. Just needed to have clean runs. Speak to that. Seems proof that the formula is there.
JONATHAN DIUGUID: Yeah, no, Josef mentioned it before, we got a good, strong core. Didn’t mean that we didn’t have difficult conversations about where we needed to be.
Different issues with other cars, people making mistakes, it shows how tight the field is. We didn’t lift off the gas for these last few races, we pushed down further. I think that goes to show how we showed up today and how we raced on all three cars.
Q. Josef, we used to talk about how significant it was for you to win at Indy. You won there. Talked about winning here. It’s not the same, close, but where does it rank?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, definitely up there. This was a hard race to win today. There was no gimmes. Got such depth across the board, everybody is so close as far as the competitive landscape, it’s just hard to find an advantage on anyone nowadays. This was a hard race to win.
It’s satisfying when you win a race in this environment. Then to win it at my hometown was really gratifying. I mean, I used to come here when was 12, 13 years old and I would watch stockcar races, INDYCAR races. I’d watch anything that came here. I sat in those stands, wherever I was able to go at the end of the race. Had no idea that I would have a racing career at that point in my life.
It’s cool to come full circle and to be so close to home. I love being here in Nashville, too, for the season finale. I like it for INDYCAR. It’s a great destination for us. Good for Nashville and certainly good for the series. I think we should continue that tradition.
I love this track. Whether it’s here, somewhere else in the future, as long as we’re in the Nashville vicinity, I’m going to be a happy guy.
Q. Talk about how much this means to you in terms of your confidence level going into 2026.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Honestly no difference. I think it’s probably more a team question. This season, tough year on the team. I think the schedule was tough this year. Everybody just kept working, kept their head down, kept doing their jobs. If anything, that’s what’s gratifying I think for us as a unit. It definitely can send us into the off-season and we can go to work.
At the end of the day we need to go to work. We need to have a better 2026, and we’re ready to do that.
Q. Obviously your team has been informed about the tire troubles of Pato O’Ward. What was going through your mind when you had this information? Did you feel it could happen to you as well?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I immediately got feedback from the team that we were doing a pretty good job at managing our temperatures. We seemed to be in line with our metrics. That gave me a lot of comfort.
I think we heightened our awareness to it after that. The guys were feeding me a lot of information after that to make sure I stayed in line. I wasn’t too worried because of what they were telling me.
Q. Penske started off the season, especially at the Indy 500, as a team who almost nothing went your way. How does this result revitalize the team going into 2026?
JONATHAN DIUGUID: I think Josef mentioned it. The INDYCAR season ends beginning of September. There’s long winter off months. Being able to finish with a win, it’s the last race that everyone went to. It’s hugely rewarding and a good springboard for 2026.
Q. Josef, when you saw Scott have his trouble after such a tumultuous season, what did that feel like in the cockpit where suddenly you’re in the lead, got a break that went your way?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ll be straight up with you, I was about to pass him. I didn’t care. I was like whatever. That’s a real answer for you.
Q. Obviously the end of the season has been much better than the beginning of the season for Team Penske. Was there a moment internally that was a pivot point in positivity?
JONATHAN DIUGUID: No, not really. Obviously our short oval package is quite strong. We were strong in Iowa, Milwaukee, strong here this weekend. The calendar helped us a little bit.
As Josef mentioned, we have to improve on some other types of circuits. Today it was about execution. That’s the biggest thing, showing the group and the team we could still do it. Just brings a level of excitement back.
Q. After such a difficult season, is it a relief to take victory at home, knowing you would have entered a winter with a winless year? What does that mean to you, winning at home?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Please don’t be mad at me. It really didn’t cross my mind. I wasn’t worried about any of that. For me, genuinely you got to focus on just doing the best job that you can, everything within your control. I think the same on the team side. If you do that, you leave, you do the best job you could, you can be satisfied to some degree leaving the track. That was my only focus.
I had a little bit of a mistake there at that last pit stop. If that had hurt us ultimately for the result, I would have been bummed by that because that was in my control. But that was the focus is what I’m trying to tell you. I just was trying to hit my marks as best that I could today. That’s all that was going through my mind.
Q. Up-and-down season. Did you take an extra moment to take this all in? The competition level in INDYCAR, these are hard to come by.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Definitely. I mean, not yet, to answer your question. I’m ready to go home.
Q. Josef, busy off-season coming up with a baby on the way. How much are you looking forward to not racing, just getting back and being a dad and husband again for a little while?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, candidly I’m looking forward to it. I’d like to go away and start to miss it again. Sometimes that’s what you want, is to miss something. That’s my plan.
Q. You mentioned throughout the season keeping the faith a little bit, looking at each race and trying to take it individually. How do you think that helped you throughout the season?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, I think whenever there’s difficulty, I’m going to let Jonathan speak to this, it was a trying year for the team. I think for us just to stay focused. It’s one thing individually, but I think it’s even harder from a whole team standpoint to do that.
JONATHAN DIUGUID: What Josef was mentioning, when you’re not winning, you can question everything. You can question Josef’s performance to the pit crew to the car setup to reliability, everything that affected our year. We really have to sit down and focus on our processes, try to trust in what you believe is right.
I think what we’ve seen over the past couple races is that the processes work. We have a little bit more work to do to get back to the top of where we’re used to being. In general it’s easy to get sidetracked, get down on yourself, questioning everything.
That’s where the team excelled, we just sat and talked about the facts, how we need to improve together.
Q. Did you try to go whole doughnut there on the celebration?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I did, yeah. I was going to do that. I got the angle wrong. I’ll just leave is there. I wanted to go in the crowd. I thought that was cool if they opened the gate. I almost lied about it. I was just going to half slide. But I messed it up, unfortunately. I was going to burn that thing to the ground, too. That’s the saddest thing for me. Chevrolet probably wouldn’t have been happy about that. It’s probably good what happened, to be quite honest with you. I was going to go until it stopped.
Q. You said something like this was for the pigs. Can you explain that at all?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I said no one’s going to understand that.
Chad Gordon, my crew chief on the 2 car, he gave an incredible pre-race speech in Milwaukee. I think you’ll have to ask him about this. I don’t know that I’m going to relay this speech.
It involved pig farming. He had a stuffed pig today. It was for the pigs. Yeah, I don’t know how to elaborate much more on this. He gave a great team speech and we all felt it. We rallied behind that at the end of today. That’s about the only way I can surmise it for you.
Q. Was this about bacon or poop?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, no, no. It was with team moral.
JONATHAN DIUGUID: More wholesome than that.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Very wholesome.
Q. Does this win at all change how you will look back on this season?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Boy, that’s a good question.
I don’t know. No. I mean, probably not, if I really think about it. Mostly because I’ve seen the win potential in this team all year, I mean, so many different times. Whether it’s Indianapolis or it’s a place like Long Beach or St. Petersburg. Actually, I think the glaring weak point for us right now is road courses. But there’s been a lot of strength across the calendar.
This win, it’s not even like it’s validation. I saw the potential of it all year for the group. I don’t really feel differently about it being realized. I’m just happy for everybody. Happy that they’re able to enjoy it.
JONATHAN DIUGUID: Does keep your season winning streak alive.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I got to be honest, I didn’t care about that anymore. I really didn’t. I know we have that. But what does it matter? I used to be a big stats guy. I don’t care about stats anymore.
That doesn’t anymore, I guess is my point.
Q. Did you feel something wrong with the tires or do you feel like the tires are weaker? It was said maybe we have to talk with the company because the tires are wrong with all the competition.
JONATHAN DIUGUID: I think there were some tire issues today. Majority of the field got it right. The tires performed well all day, both the alternates and the primaries.
Not to say that they did anything wrong. Like Josef mentioned, we kind of did our homework and knew what we needed to do.
We’ve suffered with tire issues on short ovals from years ago, tried to understand what we needed to do. That’s what paid off today, not having a tire failure. But the degradation of our tires was quite low relative to everybody else.
Q. Josef, as you head into this off-season, you told us yesterday you would love a week or two, then be able to get back at it, you’ve used these off-seasons to evaluate your approach. Do you have any plans on using this off-season to look at or change anything up about how you go about trying to attack 2026?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not at the moment.
Q. About 22 laps to go, you take the lead from Scott McLaughlin. The caution flies. What was your thought there?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: At that point we were in prime position to seal the victory. That was the only thing in my mind, was let’s close the deal here.
When you get an opportunity to close the deal in an INDYCAR race, you want to do that. Harder than it looks, to be quite honest with you. It’s like climbing a mountain to get to that point. You put yourself in position to say, Okay, we’ve run this day, we are here, let’s close the deal and get the result.
I knew for us, they’re giving me this scorecard, this is how many laps, this is what you need to do. I’m looking at my tools, looking at everything, planning how do I need to drive this last 12 or 13 laps when it goes green.
That’s what’s going through my mind. We’ve done all this work, gotten to this point, let’s close the deal and realize the victory.
THE MODERATOR: Anytime you can tie the great Al Unser Jr. in the stat sheet, that’s a pretty good year. Congratulations.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceSunday, August 31, 2025Scott McLaughlinPress Conference
THE MODERATOR: Third-place finishing driver today, Scott McLaughlin.
One of those races you look back and watch, a lot of action.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on finishing 2025 with a podium?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I had an absolute blast, man. That was so much fun. Restarts were intense. Yeah, it did string out a little bit, as it always does, mid to late stint. I think the exchanges and the restarts were phenomenal.
Yeah, obviously bittersweet for me. Third is great. I’m glad I sort of held on to that at the end. I felt like I could have held off Josef there. He was controlling his lane. I just turned a little late, got caught. Nearly saved it. Once you’re sort of out there, it’s hard to get it back.
Thankful I was able to straighten the wheel just before I hit the fence. The car was straight. I was able to push on, yeah.
Very good end to our season. Great team win. But I’m pissed off at myself.
THE MODERATOR: For? Could have been more?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I feel like it’s just been one of those years, haven’t quite put everything together. Had plenty of speed. Very lucky to get a podium today.
I have to give massive props to Kyffin Simpson. Probably the best oval race I’ve had. Felt like 2006 or something. Pinned around the outside, gave me some room. If he came up, I was in the fence hard. Big props to Kyff. Really, really happy to race him.
I thought the racing out there was really fair. I don’t know what happened to Malukas and Foster. Yeah, I thought it was a really good, proper goddamn INDYCAR oval race. Yeah, anyway, let’s get this going. I want to go to Broadway (smiling).
THE MODERATOR: Open it up for questions for Scott McLaughlin.
Q. In the long off-season is there a possibility we see you somewhere else, maybe in Europe?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m racing at Suzuka in a couple weeks in a Corvette. Working on a couple other things right now. Won’t be at Petit. It’s my daughter’s birthday, first birthday. I’ll actually be in Australia at the time spending a little bit of time there. Not racing anything, just going to hang by the beach, have a bit of fun.
I don’t know. Couple little forks in the iron, in the pot.
THE MODERATOR: Stokes. Iron in the fire.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Iron in the fire. There we go. Yeah, that’s where we’re at.
Q. Would you mind taking us through those final laps with you’re battles with Kyffin Simpson. What did you think when he overtook you in the closing laps?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I made sure as soon as he got in front of me, I kept that lane open as much as I could. I didn’t care if I was the only one up there. I used it until I couldn’t. Kept there, kept there.
I got a really good run off one, sort of psyched him to go to defend me. I wasn’t going to pass him on the inside into three. I wanted him to go so it cramped his entry. Then I was able to get a really good run through three, four. Basically just held it flat. It was one of those ones where if I’m in the fence, worst case probably sixth.
Like I said, that kid raced me with a lot of respect. He’s getting better and better every week. I really did enjoy racing him. Like I said, probably my best battle ever on an oval.
Q. We need some more of these bigger ovals on the schedule. They’re a lot of fun. This season for Team Penske as a whole, up and down. Talk about St. Pete to today, the roller coaster of a season you’ve had with the team. What does it mean to finish on the podium and take that momentum into the off-season?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think we’ve had really good speed all year, as we’ve always said. Not quite Palou. He’s been standout. That’s on top of everyone. Massive props to him. Everyone needs to be better.
Certainly a different team, different look, different look inside. It’s got a great future. I see light at the end of the tunnel. Very excited for what’s ahead.
I think Roger is pumped and ready to go. Wants not only INDYCAR to be amazing, but our team, too. He’s pushing us. Yeah, it’s exciting.
Yeah, I’m glad to finish out the way it is. It’s nice to have a beautiful, long off-season. At the same time I kind of wish we had six or seven races left. It’s not realistic.
These big ovals are great. We need people to come to them. At the end of the day it’s on everyone to work yourselves, everyone be positive, get people coming to our races.
Very excited for the future of INDYCAR. I can’t wait to be a part of it. Hopefully we can, yeah, as a team grow and grow.
Q. What does this do for your confidence going into the off-season, having had a strong end to the season?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I don’t think I lost a heap of confidence throughout the year. It’s just nice to have a couple good results. Like I said, it’s bittersweet to end right now, knowing we were coming into our own a little bit, having strong results.
It’s kind of nice to have this off-season now. I felt like we just got our feet on the ground with people. Now we can really work this off-season to be better, work together, smoothen things out.
We know exactly where we need to be better. We have the people, the personnel, to improve. I’m very excited for that.
But yeah, it’s a long off-season. Is it a needed off-season? I think so. It’s going to be really nice for us. Yeah, I’m sad as a race car driver I’m not racing my car next week.
Q. It’s been a tough season across the board for everybody at Team Penske. A little bit of cause to celebrate when Will won a couple weeks ago. Roger finally I don’t want to say looked ecstatic, but he looked relieved when he left Victory Lane. How important was it to finally see the guy that runs everything to get a break?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I mean, I’m glad Josef won because I would have got a kick up the ass. Fantastic. I’m very happy for Roger. He’s been through a lot obviously. But he’s a great leader, someone that I respect immensely. Yeah, very happy for him to just get some results.
As we know, we are strong on ovals. We needed to be better at other places. Important we had a win here. Important that we won on an oval. Yeah, it’s just nice to give him some results and give him something to be happy with.
Q. When you had the moment out of turn two, how quickly did you go from being upset that you nearly lost it to the fact that you realized you’re not in that bad of shape?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I dropped the right rear. I tried to save it. Went up the track a little bit. Then I knew I was definitely gone. I tried to sort of pedal it a little bit and straighten the wheel when I hit the fence. Thankfully that saved it. I was pleased.
Entry of three, this thing is kind of still straight. For me it was just about cleaning the tires off. Benny, my engineer/strategist, was super good on the radio, kept me calm, which is sometimes hard to do.
Yeah, the restart, I think Conor Daly, he had alternates on, a mushy feeling tire. Softer, but felt a little bit loose on the restart. That’s why I lost out to Palou there.
Yeah, I’m sad I probably didn’t get to keep second because I think I had something there for Josef. Would have been fun.
Hey, we’re good. Keep pushing.
Q. Penske started off the season and especially at the Indy 500 as a team where almost nothing went your way. How does this result revitalize the team going into 2026?
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Like I said, it’s bittersweet to end right now because we’re on a bit of a momentum. Gives us a chance to reset, recuperate, smoothen things out within the team.
We’re in a great spot right now. Really genuinely see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone is getting better. We’ve got to get better ourselves. But I’m really trusting and confident that the (indiscernible) gets better, get better for next year, start the season right in 2026. 2026? Jesus.
Q. You mentioned your battle with Kyffin. You were teammates in IMSA. You hear a lot of drivers talk about the best oval racing happens when you trust the driver that is alongside of you. Talk about your relationship.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Outside of the LMP2 thing, I haven’t raced Kyffin a ton, at least on an oval. I put a lot of trust in what Kyffin was doing. I raced him how I would race Alex Palou or Josef or anyone like that. He raced me like them. That’s a huge credit to him and his development. I know he’s put a lot of work in to be better, be stronger.
Obviously he’s in a Ganassi car, which is strong. We all know that. Still got to pedal the thing. He ran a really good race.
Yeah, man, I couldn’t believe how long we were side by side for, especially in P3, P4. I thought it would have run out, he would have washed it up. Honestly thought I was in the fence probably four or five laps to go. I thought he was going to wash up. I was sort of prepared for it.
Yeah, like stellar job by him. I’m no oval veteran. Like, I got a little bit more experience. It was nice to race a dude that genuinely respected the outside lane. Honestly, man, it felt like I was Helio and Sam Hornish. It was sick. It was really cool.
I was trying to give the fans something. When I went across the line, I could see everybody – probably cheering Josef – but thought they were cheering me (laughter).
We had a good time. Good kid.
THE MODERATOR: Great way to finish up 2025. Congratulations.
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Cheers.

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESBorchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway tri-ovalLebanon, TennesseeRace ReportAugust 31
LEBANON, Tennessee (August 31, 2025) – Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet won an exciting 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale, giving the Bowtie five trips to victory lane in the last seven races. Team Chevy dominated a chaotic race, leading 207 of 225 laps, with Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet joining his teammate on the podium and Conor Daly in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet finishing fifth.
Pole winner Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet dominated early, leading 116 of the first 126 laps until a mechanical issue ended his day early.
The No. 14 Phoenix Investors A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, with Santino Ferrucci behind the wheel, was on the move early, going from 12th to fourth before a penalty sent him to the back of the field before finishing eighth, leading all drivers with 36 on-track passes.
Newgarden’s win is the 237th all-time for Chevrolet in the INDYCAR SERIES and the 127th since the introduction of the twin-turbo 2.2L V6 in 2012. Newgarden now has 32 career wins, all of them powered by Chevrolet, leading all Bowtie drivers. It was Newgarden’s 20th win on an oval and 14th trip to victory lane on a short oval (those 1.3-mile or under). Of Team Penske’s 246 wins, 124 have been Chevrolet-powered, including 87 since 2012. It was his first win at Nashville Superspeedway and the 14th different track that the 34-year-old has visited victory lane, extending his win streak to 11 years. McLaughlin’s daring last-lap pass rewarded him with his third podium of the season and the 22nd of his career. After a hard impact in Turn 2, David Malukas in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, out of an abundance of caution, was taken to the hospital. He was released after all scans came back clear.

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix Race Results:

Chevrolet wins at Nashville Superspeedway: 1
2025 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2002 – Alex Baron – Blair Racing
Chevrolet poles at Nashville Superspeedway: 2
2025 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2005 – Tomas Scheckter – Panther Racing
Chevrolet podiums at Nashville Superspeedway: 7
Chevrolet podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Josef Newgarden (2), Alex Barron (1), Gil de Ferran (1), Sam Hornish (1), Scott McLaughlin (1), Pato O’Ward (1)
Chevrolet podiums at the Milwaukee Mile by team: Team Penske (4), Arrow McLaren (1), Blair Racing (1), Panther Racing (1)
Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway: 272
Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Pato O’Ward (137), Josef Newgarden (114), Sam Hornish (99), Alexander Rossi (48), Tony Renna (35), Scott Sharp (16), Alex Barron (11), Scott McLaughlin (7), Will Power (5), Conor Daly (2), David Malukas (1)Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by team: Arrow McLaren (169), Team Penske (126), Panther Racing (103), Kelley Racing (51), Blair Racing (11), Juncos Hollinger Racing (2), A.J. Foyt Racing (1)
Manufacturer History at Nashville Superspeedway
Wins (with competition):
3 – Honda (2024, 2005, 2004)3 – General Motors (Chevrolet/Oldsmobile)2 – Chevrolet (2002, 2025)1 – Oldsmobile (2001)1 – Toyota (2003)
Poles (with competition):
2 – Honda (2024, 2004)2 – General Motors (Chevrolet/Oldsmobile)1 – Chevrolet (2005)1 – Infiniti (2002)1 – Oldsmobile (1)1 – Toyota (2003)

Uncategorized

Champion Alex Palou finishes second in Nashville, Louis Foster takes Rookie of the Year crown

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

August 31, 2025 — LEBANON, TN

Honda sweeps 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES titles
Palou, Honda wrapped up drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in Portland
Louis Foster clinches Rookie of the Year in battle to the line

Alex Palou bolstered his incredible championship season with another podium finish in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.

Palou led the charge for Honda this season, taking 8 of the 12 Honda-powered wins en route to the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles. Palou’s wins included St. Petersburg, Thermal, Barber, the Indy GP, Road America, Iowa, and Laguna Seca, as well as a win at the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. His podium today makes 13 podium finishes in 17 races in 2025.

Honda’s other four wins this season came at the hands of Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood—at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Detroit Grand Prix and World Wide Technology Raceway—as well as Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the all-new 2026 Passport.

Kirkwood finished the year fourth in the championship standings, while Scott Dixon took home third place. All-in-all six Honda-powered drivers finished in the top-10 in the championship points standings including Felix Rosenqvist (P6), Colton Herta (P7) and Marcus Armstrong (P8).

Those 12 victories propelled Honda to their seventh championship in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and 11th in American Open Wheel competition. Honda’s previous titles came in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and a four-year consecutive run from 2018 to 2021.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster’s Rookie of the Year title is the fourth-consecutive Rookie of the Year win for a Honda-powered driver. The battle between Foster and Robert Shwartzman came down to just two points at the finish, 213-211.

This year is the first year since 2005 that Honda has won the Indianapolis 500 and swept all three IndyCar championships in the same season.

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix Honda Race Results

2nd Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
6th Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global Honda
7th Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
11th Colton Herta	Andretti Global Honda
12th Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
13th Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing Honda
15th Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global Honda
18th Devlin DeFrancesco	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
19th Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
20th Louis Foster-R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
22nd Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
23rd Jacob Abel-R	Dale Coyne Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished second, 2025 champion: “I’m happy, but also a little sad that the season has just ended and that we couldn’t get the win as well to close it out. I tried really, really hard but I was not really comfortable with the car in the second lane, so that made it a bit tough when heading into traffic. I feel as though the #10 Honda was the fastest car when running in clean air. We had all the speed that we needed; it was just not the best at going through traffic. I’m still super happy with the P2 and of course to celebrate the championship today. I can’t thank this #10 team, that has been working so hard to make us so good on track, enough. I also can’t thank Honda enough—congratulations to everyone at Honda and HRC. Let’s do it again!”

Kyffin Simpson (#8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished fourth: “The #8 Honda felt great. We had great power and it was super strong all day. It felt like we could race against anyone in the field on that restart near the end. We were super strong from the get-go and I was able to capitalize on it. It was a great, great day for us, for Honda, and for Chip Ganassi Racing. I’m super happy about it!”

Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Global Honda) finished sixth: “It was a good day for the Hondas. Not quite a win here today, but very, very close. It was smooth sailing for us for most of the race until around lap 200, I got pinched onto the apron and it almost sent me into the wall. I was able to save it, but that cost us a handful of positions but that’s part of it. We’ll take a sixth place today, and we finished fourth in the championship, which is huge. Good day for us in the #27 Honda. We’ve secured the manufacturers’ championship for Honda, and this team has worked tirelessly to get us further up in the drivers’ championship than we’ve ever been. It’s certainly been a great season.”

Louis Foster (#45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) Rookie of the Year: “This means a lot. This is the main thing that the team has been trying to achieve this year. Rookie of the Year was one of our biggest goals to accomplish and we managed to just scrape it right the end. It’s a great relief, honestly. I’m super, super happy that we’ve been able to do that and massive thank you to RLL and Honda. I think there’s a lot to learn still, but we’ve also learned a lot in return. There’s still more to come from me and the team. Next year and we’re going to work hard to try and achieve even more.”

Champion Alex Palou finishes second in Nashville, Louis Foster takes Rookie of the Year crown

August 31, 2025 — LEBANON, TN

Honda sweeps 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES titles
Palou, Honda wrapped up drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in Portland
Louis Foster clinches Rookie of the Year in battle to the line

Alex Palou bolstered his incredible championship season with another podium finish in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.

This year is the first year since 2005 that Honda has won the Indianapolis 500 and swept all three IndyCar championships in the same season.

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix Honda Race Results

2nd Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
6th Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global Honda
7th Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
11th Colton Herta	Andretti Global Honda
12th Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
13th Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing Honda
15th Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global Honda
18th Devlin DeFrancesco	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
19th Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
20th Louis Foster-R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
22nd Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
23rd Jacob Abel-R	Dale Coyne Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “Indy 500 win, Drivers’ Championship, Manufacturers’ Championship, Rookie of the Year, 12 wins and 10 pole positions from 17 races—winning the first 10 in succession—what an absolutely superb achievement for Honda by our brilliant HRC associates. There is no greater pleasure than contributing to Honda Racing’s rich racing history and heritage. Our teams were brilliant, all contributed points towards the manufacturers’ championship, together with Chip Ganassi’s outstanding team at CGR and the prodigiously talented Alex Palou, we had a dominant season. The greatest achievement in a sporting series is to dominate, it happens rarely. Thank you to the challenging spirit of our Honda Racing associates, we dominated. We will pat each other on the back, hug, and enjoy the moment, then re-group and back to work. Thank you team HRC US—Bravo!”

Uncategorized

Lowe Takes Honda to Victory, Daniels Grabs Command of Title Fight in Consequential Springfield Mile II

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Trent Lowe (48) leads Henry Wiles (911) and Brandon Price (92) during the Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event Sunday at the Springfield Mile II presented by Drag Specialties event. [Photo: American Flat Track/Tim Lester] DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 31, 2025) – Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp) scored Honda’s first twin-cylinder premier-class victory in more than a quarter century in a momentous and pivotal Springfield Mile II presented by Drag Specialties, the penultimate round of the 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. Lowe dove past long-time leader Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) entering Turn 3 on the race’s final lap and then held off the Mission AFT SuperTwins title contender by a scant 0.026-second margin at the checkered flag. Despite that minor disappointment, it was still a huge day for Daniels at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois, when taking the bigger picture into consideration.  While seven riders finished within a second of the win, three of the race’s most significant figures weren’t included among them. Early leader Jeffrey Carver, Jr. (No. 123 Happy Trails Racing, Carver’s BBQ Kawasaki Ninja 650) was the first to pull out with mechanical issues. He was joined a few minutes later by AFT Singles champ Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who was ensconced in the lead pack in his premier-class debut before being forced out with problems of his own. Moments later – and most consequentially of all – then-Grand National Championship leader Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R) was black-flagged while racing up front as a result of smoke that billowed from his machine. Daniels’ runner-up, combined with Bauman being credited in 14th, completely alters the championship outlook with just a single race remaining. The Estenson Racing Yamaha rider now leads his Rick Ware Racing Harley rival by 13 points with only 23 points left in play. That means even if Bauman wins the finale, Daniels needs to finish just seventh or better in order to defeat him for the ‘25 Mission AFT SuperTwins crown. Despite that shift, this day belongs to Lowe, who delivered the Big Red SuperTwins program its first win since kicking off the initial development of a Honda Transalp-based racebike ahead of the 2024 season. It was also the first for Lowe, who had already made a strong impression in his first full premier-class season. The Indiana native’s win was the first for a Honda twin-cylinder since Rich King claimed victory at the 1998 Joliet Half-Mile aboard a Honda RS750. It was also the first such podium since King finished second at the Springfield Mile later that same year. Honda’s last win of any kind in the premier-class came back in 2016 with Jake Johnson riding a Honda CRF450R at the DAYTONA Short Track II. Afterward, Lowe said, “First and foremost, I want to thank my whole team. I’ve been a little bit of a pain, but there has to be a little bit of conflict in the pit area just to kind of get everything going. I’m serious, they’re serious. We all want to figure this out.  “I have to give a huge shout out to Mission Foods, Jerry Stinchfield, Mike Turner and the whole Turner family, Steve Watt, Kenny Coolbeth, Randy Triplett, Mike Lozano, the whole Maxwell Industries crew, and Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda… I’m just so thankful for this. These guys put so much into this. It just means a lot to finally get one here.” Meanwhile, Brandon Price (No. 92 HRP Racing/Duffs Speed Machine Yamaha MT-07) closed out a remarkable comeback weekend with a third to add to yesterday’s runner-up.  He was followed closely to the line by Declan Bender (No. 70 Memphis Shades/Luczak Racing Yamaha MT-07), Henry Wiles (No. 911 1st Impressions Racing KTM 790 Duke), and Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R). Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke) was the last rider to finish in the lead pack, just 0.548 seconds off the win yet relegated to seventh in the final order.

Lowe Takes Honda to Victory, Daniels Grabs Command of Title Fight in Consequential Springfield Mile II

Trent Lowe (48) celebrates his Main Event victory with the team and the checkered flag Sunday. [Photo: American Flat Track/Tim Lester] AFT Singles presented by KICKER With the 2025 championship already decided, the AFT Singles presented by KICKER category simply delivered a Springfield Mile classic. A huge pack of riders went bar-to-bar for ten minutes plus two laps, with 11 riders taking the checkered flag within a second of victory. But despite the extraordinarily close margin, victory once again belonged to the newly crowned class king, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F). The Australian cemented his reputation as a young master of the Springfield Mile, now boasting five wins in the last six AFT Singles Main Events contested at the venue (and that’s even after compacting yesterday’s 1-1-1 into a single victory). Other than a single, momentary stint outside the top five, Drane factored heavily at the front throughout, trading the lead with fellow front-row runners Trevor Brunner (No. 21 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), and polesitter Kage Tadman (No. 288 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450). Meanwhile, Jared Lowe (No. 63 Big R/Little Debbie Racing Honda CRF450R), Bradon Pfanders(No. 83 Hannum’s HD/Pfanders Racing KTM 450 SX-F), and Tyler Raggio (No. 55 Raggio/Sluggo/Unsettled Racing KTM 450 SX-F) poked at them from meters behind, with Walker Porter (No. 100 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha YZ450F), Hunter Bauer (No. 24 Vinson Construction/Reel Medics Yamaha YZ450F), and Ryder Reese (No. 244 Mission Foods Roof Systems) a double draft away from pulling the upset. Despite the seeming unpredictability of the contest, Drane calmly positioned himself where he needed to be on the final lap, pulling in behind late leader Brunner as the pack negotiated the race’s final two corners. The Estenson Racing star pulled out at just the right moment, soaring past in time to grab the checkered flag by 0.028 seconds over the Turner Honda pilot. “I’ve had a really good run here,” Drane said. “Ever since we first came here in ‘22, I’ve always done well here. I had a great bike underneath me, which really helped. Big thanks to my whole Estenson Racing Monster Energy team. They’ve put in a lot of work and given me a really fast bike. It’s been amazing. We’ve had a really good year.” Cose edged teammate Tadman once again for third, the two taking the stripe 0.086 and 0.150 seconds behind Drane, respectively. Raggio edged Lowe and Pfanders for fifth, while Porter, RoosEvans, and Bauer rounded out the top ten. Rookie Reese missed out on a third-career top ten despite finishing just 0.892 behind race winner Drane. Speaking of Drane, he now has seven race wins on the season and 18 for his career, putting him in position to tie Dallas Daniels and Kody Kopp for most single-season wins and Shayna Texter-Bauman for second in career AFT Singles Main Event wins in two weeks at the ‘25 season finale. Next Up: Progressive American Flat Track will conclude an epic 2025 Grand National Championship season with the Arby’s Lake Ozark Short Track presented by Arrowhead Brass at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri, on Saturday, September 13. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/lake-ozark-short-track-126438 to purchase your tickets now. For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://flosports.link/aft. FOX Sports coverage of the Springfield Mile I presented by Drag Specialties, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, September 6, at 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT). The Springfield Mile II presented by Drag Specialties will air the following Saturday, September 13, at  10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT)

Uncategorized

KALITTA, TODD SWEEP #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGES IN U.S. NATIONALS QUALIFYING

September 3, 2025 ARP Trish

Toyota drivers qualify in prime positions for Monday’s eliminations

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 31, 2025) – Kalitta Motorsports’ Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd swept the nitro categories’ Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenges on Saturday during qualifying for the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Kalitta claimed his fifth Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win, which crowned him the Top Fuel challenge champion of 2025, gaining valuable bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship that begins in two weeks. For Todd, it was his second challenge win of the season that joined his challenge triumph at Bristol in June. The wins by Kalitta and Todd completed Toyota’s streak of victories in all 13 challenge events this season in either Top Fuel or Funny Car.

Kalitta was also the quickest Toyota Top Fuel Dragster after the five qualifying sessions, earning the No. 4 seed and moving into second in the Top Fuel points standings ahead of tomorrow’s regular season finale. Shawn Langdon, Kalitta’s teammate and the Top Fuel points leader, enters tomorrow as the sixth seed and 47 points in front of Kalitta as he searches to win the inaugural Top Fuel regular season championship. Langdon also posted a 340.90 mph speed in Q4, which set the track speed record at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

In Funny Car, Ron Capps led the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car contingent, earning the No. 3 seed for tomorrow’s eliminations as he seeks his third U.S. Nationals win. Todd will be the No. 7 seed tomorrow and Julie Nataas starts tomorrow 15th.

Eliminations of the U.S. Nationals from Indianapolis Raceway Park begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. EST with live TV coverage beginning at 2 p.m. EST on FOX.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

Indianapolis Raceway Park

U.S. Nationals

Race 14 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force*	Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Dragster	1st	I. Zetterstrom
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	4th	T. Schumacher
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	5th	J. Ashley
Shawn Langdon	Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6th	C. Millican
Steve Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th	T. Stewart
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	12th	A. Brown

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Jack Beckman*	Peak Chevrolet Funny Car	1st*	J. Schriefer
Ron Capps	Carlyle Tools Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	3rd	S. Hyde
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	7th	B. Tasca III
Julie Nataas	Airmine DC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	15th	A. Prock

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 4th

How are you feeling entering tomorrow’s eliminations?

“Yeah, so we ended up fourth for tomorrow. Looks like it’s going to be a good spot to start in. Conditions will be cool at 10 a.m. (when eliminations begin), so hopefully, we should have a good car for tomorrow. The Mac Tools Toyota Dragster is running well, so we’ll see how it goes!”

You also claimed another #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win. How does it feel?

“Yeah, I’m super stoked with all of my guys. Alan (Johnson, crew chief) and Mac (Savage, crew chief) and all the Mac Tools Toyota guys. We couldn’t have done it without Mission Foods and everybody that supports this great effort out here. It’s just great to race on a Saturday, or Sunday, (in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge). It’s greatly appreciated all that they do for us and just real fortunate to pull this off.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 7th

How nice is it to end Saturday with a #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win?

KALITTA, TODD SWEEP #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGES IN U.S. NATIONALS QUALIFYING

Toyota drivers qualify in prime positions for Monday’s eliminations

Eliminations of the U.S. Nationals from Indianapolis Raceway Park begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. EST with live TV coverage beginning at 2 p.m. EST on FOX.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

Indianapolis Raceway Park

U.S. Nationals

Race 14 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force*	Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Dragster	1st	I. Zetterstrom
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	4th	T. Schumacher
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	5th	J. Ashley
Shawn Langdon	Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6th	C. Millican
Steve Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th	T. Stewart
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	12th	A. Brown

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Jack Beckman*	Peak Chevrolet Funny Car	1st*	J. Schriefer
Ron Capps	Carlyle Tools Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	3rd	S. Hyde
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	7th	B. Tasca III
Julie Nataas	Airmine DC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	15th	A. Prock

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 4th

How are you feeling entering tomorrow’s eliminations?

You also claimed another #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win. How does it feel?

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 7th

How nice is it to end Saturday with a #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win?

“Wish it was Monday! Yeah, it’s good to get some bonus money, and bonus points are the biggest thing going into the Countdown. It’s great to have Mr. Gonzalez (Juan Gonzalez, CEO, Mission Foods) here from Mission Foods to give us a chance to put on a race for the fans on a Saturday. Want to thank them for coming out and supporting us. Yeah, that was wild. I was about to go when he (Austin Prock) did and next thing you know, the win light is on. We go up there and spin, but either way, the big picture is Dickie (Venables, crew chief) is saying ‘we’re working towards race day,’ and I’m kind of seeing what we can get away with. I like that mentality.”

Taylor Dietsch and his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet (foreground) race to victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, photo credit Auto Imagery

Taylor Dietsch celebrates at the top end with the iconic Wally trophy after winning NHRA U.S. Nationals,photo credit Auto Imagery

TAYLOR DIETSCH WINS U.S. NATIONALS TITLE FOR FIRST CAREER FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN VICTORY

Taylor Dietsch and his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet (foreground) race to victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, photo credit Auto Imagery

Taylor Dietsch celebrates at the top end with the iconic Wally trophy after winning NHRA U.S. Nationals,photo credit Auto Imagery

Josh Hart will leave Indy in 8th place chasing his first Top Fuel world championship,photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Josh Hart thanks the fans during the NHRA U.S. Nationals opening ceremonies,photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Josh Hart will leave Indy in 8th place chasing his first Top Fuel world championship,photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Josh Hart thanks the fans during the NHRA U.S. Nationals opening ceremonies,photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

TJ Zizzo and the Rust=Oleum Top Fuel dragster posted a career quickest elapsed time during the NHRA U.S. Nationals,photo credit Auto Imagery

THANKFUL TJ ZIZZO TAKES POSITIVES FROM SHORT NHRA U.S. NATIONALS RACE DAY

TJ Zizzo and the Rust=Oleum Top Fuel dragster posted a career quickest elapsed time during the NHRA U.S. Nationals,photo credit Auto Imagery

Buddy Hull, Maverick Hull (in walker) and Johnna Dunn raced to victory at the NHRA Baby Walker Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Buddy Hull (far left) talked to a packed house in the NHRA Top Eliminator Club on Sunday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

HULL LEAVES U.S. NATIONALS A PROUD FATHER AND COUNTDOWN CONTENDER

Buddy Hull, Maverick Hull (in walker) and Johnna Dunn raced to victory at the NHRA Baby Walker Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Buddy Hull (far left) talked to a packed house in the NHRA Top Eliminator Club on Sunday at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Chris King gets suited up during qualifying of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Chris King (center) spent time with fans throughout the weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

CHRIS KING SEES IMPROVEMENTS BUT U.S. NATIONALS SUCCESS ELUDES THE TEAM

Chris King gets suited up during qualifying of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Chris King (center) spent time with fans throughout the weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Champion Alex Palou finishes second in Nashville, Louis Foster takes Rookie of the Year crown

Racer News and Results

Taylor Dietsch celebrates at the top end with the iconic Wally trophy after winning NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

Taylor Dietsch celebrates at the top end with the iconic Wally trophy after winning NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

Josh Hart will leave Indy in 8th place chasing his first Top Fuel world championship,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Josh Hart thanks the fans during the NHRA U.S. Nationals opening ceremonies,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Josh Hart will leave Indy in 8th place chasing his first Top Fuel world championship,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

Josh Hart thanks the fans during the NHRA U.S. Nationals opening ceremonies,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

TJ Zizzo and the Rust=Oleum Top Fuel dragster posted a career quickest elapsed time during the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

THANKFUL TJ ZIZZO TAKES POSITIVES FROM SHORT
NHRA U.S. NATIONALS RACE DAY

TJ Zizzo and the Rust=Oleum Top Fuel dragster posted a career quickest elapsed time during the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit Auto Imagery

Chris King (center) spent time with fans throughout the weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography

Chris King (center) spent time with fans throughout the weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals,
photo credit AJ Bohlander Photography