Press Release | KALITTA MOTORSPORTS Doug Kalitta and In-N-Out Burger Dragstrip share quite a storied history, and Kalitta’s Mac Tools Toyota team is hungry to add another gripping chapter this weekend. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues March 28-30, 2025 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. Kalitta has seven wins in 15 final rounds at In-N-Out Burger Dragstrip, and this suburban Los Angeles race track is loaded with NHRA history. The most significant of Kalitta’s seven Pomona wins happened in November of 2023 when he defeated Leah Pritchett in a winner-take-all final round to clinch the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship, the first of his career. “Pomona has been a really good track for us over the years, and we’d like to make more memories there this weekend,” Kalitta said. “We’ve done well there, but so has Alan (Crew Chief Alan Johnson) so that’s a lot of track knowledge that is an added bonus for our Mac Tools Toyota team. Hopefully things will line up well for us, and we can have a shot at a win this weekend. “The Winternationals is a race with so much incredible history. It’s at one of the NHRA’s most historic tracks, and you could call it the birthplace of the NHRA so it’s always fun to race there. Southern California race fans are passionate, and they know their drag racing. We always have great crowds there, and that only adds to the excitement of racing at Pomona.” Kalitta enters this weekend’s race in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings on the strength of his runner-up finish last weekend in Phoenix. He lost a close final-round race to his teammate, Shawn Langdon, in an all-Kalitta Motorsports final round. Both cars made good runs, but Langdon came out on top. That runner-up result pushed the 2023 champion to third in points entering the season’s third race. “At the end of last year, we were running well, and all through testing, my car was running well. We’ve had a lot of good runs. We qualified fourth at Gainesville but then had that issue with the car in the second round. We qualified No. 1 in Phoenix but lost a good race to Shawn in the final. We’re looking forward to going some rounds this weekend and taking it one more step. My team is hungry, super motivated and our confidence is high – that’s pretty cool. When you get someplace where you’ve had a lot of success, it always seems like maybe it’s just a little easier to have higher confidence.” The Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout, postponed from Gainesville, Fla., earlier this month, will be run Friday, March 28 during Pomona, Calif., qualifying. In Gainesville, Kalitta, who is the second seed for the event, “called out” his opponent for the first round of the event and will race Clay Millican when the event begins. In addition, Kalitta will compete in Saturday’s Mission Foods NHRA Challenge, a rematch of the Phoenix, Ariz., semifinals and finals. (Photo Courtesy Kalitta Motorsports)

Press Release | KALITTA MOTORSPORTS Life is pretty good for the Kalitta Air Careers team and its driver, Shawn Langdon. The season is still very young, but it’s looking pretty good so far. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues March 28-30, 2025 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. Two races into the 2025 season, Langdon has one win in two final rounds and enters this weekend’s race he watched through the fence as a child on a bit of a heater. After a runner-up finish in the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals in Florida, Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers team ran the table in Phoenix last weekend winning in the desert southwest for the second-consecutive year and winning an all-Kalitta Motorsports final round one day after winning the season’s first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. Langdon enters In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip atop the Top Fuel point standings. “Sunday was a great day for Team Kalitta; we accomplished our goal of getting both cars into the Top Fuel final,” Langdon said. “It’s kinda neat when a plan comes together so I’m just happy for the guys. I have 100 percent confidence in this team. I really feel like last year, we had a car capable of winning the championship; we showed up in Pomona (in November) with a shot, and that’s all you can ask for as a driver. Whether it’s good conditions or not, the Kalitta Air Careers team is able to adapt to the conditions very well, and that shows all their hard work from top to bottom.” In Phoenix last weekend, the Kalitta Air Careers team adapted to very hot conditions and a hot, recently-paved track. This weekend in southern California looks to be significantly cooler with fast conditions. Langdon has four wins in seven Pomona final rounds and looks to keep the heater intact this weekend, and should the team reach the final round, don’t expect the Kalitta air Careers crew to be bashful. “We have a lot of confidence going into Pomona, and we have a lot of confidence about this season,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion said. “I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success at Pomona; it’s my home track, and I always look forward to racing there. “What we’re doing started a year ago when we won in Phoenix, but then we went on a runner-up streak,” Langdon continued. “It’s not a horrible problem, but when you have high expectations with your team, it’s a problem if you’re not getting it done on race day. At the end of last year, we lost a couple final rounds in various ways, and then two weeks ago in Gainesville, we got the final round and lost a good race to Antron (Brown). Now we’re at the point where we have a little bit of an attitude in the final rounds that we’re not gonna get outrun, and I’m not gonna get treed (lose the race off the starting line). We’re gonna hope the track will hold our tune-up. “We have the motivation that we’re a championship-caliber team with a championship-caliber car so it’s really neat to be a driver and feel like I just can’t be the weak link because I have such a great opportunity with a great team.” The Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout, postponed from Gainesville, Fla., earlier this month, will be run during Pomona qualifying on Friday, March 28. In Gainesville, Langdon, who is the third seed for the event, “called out” his opponent for the first round of the event and will race reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown when the event begins. In addition, Langdon will compete in Saturday’s Mission Foods NHRA Challenge, a rematch of the Phoenix, Ariz., semifinals and finals. (Photo Courtesy Katlitta Motorsports)

William Byron at Phoenix earlier this season - Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images By Adam Carabine A look at the Top Ten in our weekly Power Rankings, plus the biggest movers! While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture.  StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs, with an emphasis placed on the most recent 5 races.   Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – This week: 10 – Last week: 10 Somehow Stenhouse sticks around in the Top 10 this week.  Still riding high from his stats at Daytona and Atlanta, Stenhouse will continue to fall back to earth here as we get farther away from those races.  If you took away any stage points, Stenhouse actually has more points than Josh Berry.   Joey Logano – This week: 9 – Last week: 9 Still searching for his elusive first Top 10 of the season, Logano’s finishes have left a little to be desired.  However, his last three finishes have been in the Top 15, and he had a solid day at Homestead, leading all drivers in Pass Differential.    Chase Elliott – This week: 8 – Last week: 7 Elliott slips one spot, though you can probably thank an obscure penalty for that.  The 9 team was dinged for not entering pit road single file.  You don’t hear that called often, though upon replay it looks like it was a legitimate penalty.  Chase is looking for that finishing speed still, but he’s in the hunt each week.   Austin Cindric – This week: 7 – Last week: 8 Cindric’s Homestead finish might not have been where he’d have liked it (P19) but he scored points in both stages, and earned some solid stats in the underlying numbers.  His average running position on the day was 11th, so his finish isn’t indicative of the day he had.   Ryan Blaney – This week: 6 – Last week: 11 Despite the DNF and the 36th place finish, the rest of Blaney’s day at Homestead was going pretty well.  That is, until his engine blew for the second time in three races.  He led the most laps (124), had one of the fastest cars on the track, and earned himself a spot back in the Power Rankings Top Ten.   Tyler Reddick – This week: 5 – Last week: 3 Homestead being one of Reddick’s favourite tracks, expectations were high.  On the surface, a P8 finish with solid underlying numbers isn’t a terrible day at all – but you can’t help but think the 45 team is disappointed with how the day turned out.  Bonus for having the most quality passes of anyone though, with 84.   Kyle Larson – This week: 4 – Last week: 6 We’re accustomed to seeing Larson dominate races, and yet his victory at Homestead was really the result of a late-race pass.  He only led 19 laps en route to his first win of the season.  He probably tagged the wall more than 19 times.    Alex Bowman – This week: 3 – Last week: 5 Bowman was close to keeping the B-names stat alive (in case you didn’t notice, all five races leading into Homestead were won by drivers whose last names start with B), but he had it fall apart in the final moments of the race.  With Larson creeping up and putting pressure on him, he tagged the wall and had to settle for a P2 finish.    Christopher Bell – This week: 2 – Last week: 1 Bell falls from the top spot this week after a P29 finish at Homestead.  He was actually pretty fast on the track, but an early spin took him out of contention.  He finished a lap down but still managed to have 29 fast laps on the day.  He may have the most wins of any driver, but he’ll want to work on consistency, since he’s actually fifth in points.   William Byron – This week: 1 – Last week: 2 Your Daytona 500 champion is the points leader, and has probably been the most consistent of any driver to start this season.  He’s only finished outside of the Top 12 once in six races.  That consistency, paired with some stage points and solid underlying numbers at Homestead, gives us a new top driver in the Power Rankings!   Biggest Movers   Carson Hocevar – This week: 33 – Last week: 23 Falls 10 places   Austin Dillon – This week: 28 – Last week: 34 Gains 6 places   Rest of the List             11. Kyle Busch LW: 4 -7 12. Bubba Wallace LW: 16 +4 13. Denny Hamlin LW: 17 +4 14. Ryan Preece LW: 14 -- 15. JH Nemechek LW: 12 -3 16. Chris Buescher LW: 19 +3 17. Michael McDowell LW: 18 +1 18. Chase Briscoe LW: 21 +3 19. Josh Berry LW: 15 -4 20. Daniel Suarez                      LW: 22 +2 21. Ross Chastain LW: 13 -8 22. Todd Gilliland                      LW: 20 -2 23. Erik Jones                            LW: 26 +3 24. Justin Haley                         LW: 27 +3 25. SVG                                       LW: 24 -1 26. Riley Herbst                         LW: 25 -1 27. Ty Dillon                                LW: 29 +2 28. Austin Dillon                         LW: 34 +6 29. Ty Gibbs                               LW: 28 -1 30. Brad Keselowski                 LW: 31 +1 31. AJ Allmendinger                 LW: 30 -1 32. Noah Gragson                     LW: 32 -- 33. Carson Hocevar                LW: 23 -10 34. Zane Smith                           LW: 33 -1 35. Cole Custer                          LW: 36 +1 36. Cody Ware                           LW: 35 -1

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images By Adam Carabine & Logan Morris Logan Morris:  Adam, we’re fresh off a showdown in South Beach, Kyle Larson may have taken a unique route to it, but he got his 30th career win.  Adam Carabine: Hey Logan, happy to be back with you here.  You’re not wrong when it comes to how Larson got there!  We’re used to seeing him dominate races, and this was anything but that.  But hey, a win’s a win, and he moves up on the all-time lists with his 30th at Homestead-Miami. What did you think of the race?  LM: I thought it was a great race overall, lots of great stories coming out of Homestead. A one-two finish for Hendrick Motorsports will be the ultimate story. But, it was a strong day for a lot of cars that we may not think of as a major player at Homestead. Larson gets his first win of the season, but what else stuck out to you? AC: It’s true, we saw some drivers that we don’t normally consider ‘Homestead contenders’ up there in the hunt.  And then the drivers you might have expected to see rule the day didn’t really show up.  Tyler Reddick, for example, was competitive all day long in the Top 10, but never really had enough to challenge the leaders.  I thought Josh Berry followed up his first win last week with a solid performance too, despite his final finishing position of 17th.  He qualified on the front row and was a player early on.   I’ve already seen some reactions being mixed to this race, though.  While it wasn’t as race-y as we’ve seen at Homestead in years past, I still thought it was great.  However, the overwhelming calls for NASCAR to return to Homestead for the Championship Race seem a little dulled after this weekend.  What do you say? LM: I think so many fans have their expectations set a little too high. Not every race, no matter the track, will be as “exciting” as you may hope. I did think there was a bit of a lull at certain points on Sunday, but that’s racing. Some weeks are going to be incredibly intense. I would venture to say even most weeks in this era. However, these are the best drivers in the world at what they do. The same goes for the crews. I think Homestead is still my preferred Championship weekend destination. But no matter what, Phoenix probably falls victim to the fact that the loudest fans tend to be the toughest to please.  AC: Yeah, I also would prefer to see the Championship return to Homestead, but another factor is attendance.  Some of the crowd shots on Sunday showed more than a few empty seats.  I understand that maybe a Championship Race sells more tickets than a random one in the spring, but if the fans want Homestead back, they need to show up.  Phoenix sells out the Championship Race every year, and the product on the track doesn’t seem to make a difference in that.  Follow the money, and you’ll figure out where the grand finale will be. I understand what you said about the occasional lull in the race, but even when Blaney was leading all of those laps, there were a bunch of strategy things going on to keep things interesting.  This could be controversial, but I might say that if you’re watching this race and finding yourself bored, maybe it’s time to educate yourself a little more on the inner workings of the sport. LM: I actually agree with you. There are several races within the one race for each car in the field. The storylines are there for every car, you just have to look and know what to look for.   AC: I don’t mean to sound harsh.  But there’s always something going on, you just have to know where to look! Anything else you’d like to touch on before we move to our awards? LM: I think we’ve pretty much covered it. For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen an engine blow up like Blaney’s did in quite some time. What a mess!  AC: Hey, spoiler alert!  Check out our awards for more below: Best Performer LM: For my best performer, I have to go with Bubba Wallace. He didn’t get the checkered flag, but he drove a great race on Sunday. It was a big day for the 23 team and they showed some speed on a track that historically hasn’t been great for Bubba. If they can keep the momentum rolling, he’ll break that winless streak soon.  AC: I was going to say Bubba Wallace as well, but for the sake of being different, I’ll shout out Austin Dillon.  I’m not sure whether it was because of the broadcast not paying attention to him much early on, but he seemingly came out of nowhere.  He finished P13 but he was super competitive in the final stage. Biggest Move of the Race LM: My biggest move of the race has to go with the crew of the 5 car. Larson sustained damage amid chaos on pit road, but you would have never known it. As a team, they did what championship-caliber teams do and battled back in a big way, by helping Larson get the win.  AC: Sometimes the biggest move of the race isn’t always the best one.  This week I’m going to choose Alex Bowman’s love tap on the wall at Homestead, which ultimately cost him the race win.  He probably wasn’t as fast as Larson who had been stalking him for quite a while, but he was doing a decent job blocking.  Whether it was nerves, or a sudden blip in concentration, Bowman tagged the wall ever so slightly, and it was the only thing Larson needed. Bowman finished P2. Biggest Disappointment LM: My biggest disappointment this week goes to Kyle Busch. After a few weeks of really building momentum, they were a non-factor all day. One step forward and two steps back seem to be the theme of Busch’s winless streak.  AC: You mentioned mine earlier - Ryan Blaney blows up for the second time in three races.  Having an engine blow up is never a fun way to leave a race (though some might argue there’s no fun way), but having it happen after such a dominant performance like Blaney had on Sunday? That’s got to hurt.  He led the most laps of anyone (124), and was the fastest car on track 54 times - also the most of any driver on Sunday.  Team Penske might want to figure out what’s going on there. What to Watch for Next Weekend LM: Next Weekend we’re heading for hot dogs at the Paperclip. I think you have to keep your eye on two names, Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin. Berry is a bit of a short-track ringer and is off to a bang-up start. Denny Hamlin has had plenty of success at Martinsville. He’s fresh off a major sponsorship announcement. This could be the week he finally passes Lee Petty on the all-time wins list. Beyond that, I’m curious to see how the short-track package looks at our first real short-track of 2025. AC: All solid points, indeed.  I was going to bring up Josh Berry and his great season he’s been having.  Watch out for him, for sure.  Denny is the winningest current driver at Martinsville, though it may take him a while to pass Lee’s son, the little-known ‘Richard,’ for most wins at the track.  He finished his career with 15 wins at Martinsville.  You might’ve heard of him. I’m also excited to see what sort of short-track package we’re working with here.  Martinsville has tended to be a bit of a snoozer with the Next-Gen car, but I know NASCAR has been putting a lot of work into that.  I’ve got my eye on Ryan Blaney next weekend, but that’s assuming his car can stay in one piece. Until then - have a great week and we’ll catch up to break down the race next time! LM: Do you have mustard? I need it for my hot dog!

Photo from www.x.com/f1 By Ryan Wu Looking Good for McLaren After a strong qualifying performance, Oscar Piastri set himself up for success by achieving pole position for McLaren at the China Grand Prix. His teammate, Lando Norris, followed close behind in third, separated only by Mercedes’ George Russell. From first and third in the qualifying order, McLaren moved into a 1-2 position out of the gates, with Norris passing Russell on the first turn. After pitting on lap 16, Norris rejoined the race only to find himself a split second behind Russell yet again. However, it only took two laps before the McLaren car could pass the Mercedes, putting Norris in third. While in second place on lap 48, Norris experienced rear brake pressure difficulties, eliminating his ability to use hard brakes. While Norris seemed eager to pit, the McLaren team kept him on the track by saying, “It’s better to finish second than not at all.” Despite the flat pedal, Norris had enough of a lead on Russell to strategically downshift in the place of hard brakes during the last few turns. Norris finished second overall, defending his status on the podium that he had earned last weekend in Australia. First place in the China GP went to Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, who used his advantage qualifying from pole to score his first win of the 2025 season. With this win, Piastri redeemed himself after a disappointing weekend last week at his home race. McLaren is headed into the third race in Japan with two wins under their belt, starting the 2025 season off strong. Triple Disqualification The Ferrari team did not have the weekend they hoped for in Shanghai. Starting on lap 1, a wide turn by LeClerc caused him to damage his front left wing after touching cars with Hamilton. The Ferrari team seemed to struggle with placement throughout the race, with Hamilton being ordered to swap positions with LeClerc on lap 14. Hamilton pushed ahead until lap 21 when the swap finally took place, putting LeClerc in fourth position and Hamilton in fifth. Later, issues with a rear axle lock forced LeClerc to downshift through some turns, allowing Verstappen to overtake both Ferraris with three laps to go. While Ferrari finished fifth and sixth, a post-race investigation by the FIA led to a shocking announcement: Both Ferrari cars would be disqualified from the China Grand Prix. LeClerc’s car was reportedly 1 kg underweight, which Ferrari claimed was due to high tyre wear from LeClerc having only one pit stop. Hamilton’s car had a rearward skin wear below the allowed limit, which Ferrari later took responsibility for in a statement. Even after winning the Sprint race, surely this is not the season start that Hamilton, Ferrari’s newest addition, or Ferrari fans, would have wanted. Pierre Gasly who initially finished 11th, was also disqualified for an underweight car. Rookie Mistakes Four out of six rookie drivers - Bearman, Doohan, Bortoleto, and Lawson - were eliminated in Q1 before the China Grand Prix. In qualifying, Doohan spun out early on, mimicking the poor performance seen from Alpine last week in Australia. The two remaining rookies qualified in the top 10, with Hadjar in seventh followed by Antonelli in eighth. Bortoleto suffered his own spin-out before lap 15, putting him behind the other rookies, where he finally finished 14th. The Downfall of Red Bull? Max Verstappen qualified and finished fourth in Shanghai, leaving the reigning World Champion without a podium after two races this season. More concerning for Red Bull, however, are the struggles of his teammate, Liam Lawson. The Red Bull car is notoriously difficult to handle, with past young drivers like Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly struggling before ultimately losing their seats. Lawson qualified last in 20th but managed to finish 12th, aided by three disqualifications. Still, this is far from the strong start Red Bull had hoped for after replacing Sergio Perez. With Lawson yet to score a point, the team now finds itself 43 points behind after just two rounds. Racing Refresh Driver of the Day Oscar Piastri, McLaren Final Points Finishing Positions 1st: Oscar Piastri 2nd: Lando Norris 3rd: George Russell 4th: Esteban Ocon 6th: Andrea Kimi Antonelli 7th: Alex Albon 8th: Oliver Bearman 9th: Lance Stroll 10th: Carlos Sainz Next on the F1 Schedule: Japanese Grand Prix: April 4th-6th

(Photo Courtesy NHRA) PRO STOCK FUNNY CAR TOP FUEL

Press Release | NHRA Funny Car’s Ron Capps claimed the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the year on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Matt Hagan in the final round of the bonus race as part of the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.   Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge specialty race, while Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) earned No. 1 qualifiers at the second of 20 races during the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.   In front of a capacity crowd, Capps went 3.989-seconds at 318.24 mph in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra, driving past Hagan in the bonus race in a matchup of multi-time world champions. It was a welcome victory for Capps, who went all of 2024 without winning a national event. He was the runner-up in Gainesville and built on that on Saturday, defeating Alexis DeJoria earlier in the day before getting past Hagan for a much-needed result.   “I’m very excited myself, but I'm more excited for ‘Guido’ [crew chief Dean Antonelli] and the team,” Capps said. “Last year was a rebuilding of sorts. We knew we had to change the setup to get ahead of the competition after back-to-back world championships, and we felt like we needed to get to where Jimmy Prock and Austin were last year and this year.   “It's fun to win the Mission Challenge because it’s really brought out a lot of fun on Saturdays. For the fans, it's great. It really creates a different Saturday, and when you get to the semis at a race you’re always happy because you know you’re in the Mission Challenge the next race, and whatever happens is icing on the cake. So a great, great win for us today.”   Tasca finished as the No. 1 qualifier for the 19th time in his career, as Friday’s run of 3.863 at 333.82 in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang easily held up. He’ll open eliminations against Jon Capps, looking for his first victory of the season.   “It’s going to be a stacked group out there, but this car can go up and down a hot or cool track,” Tasca said. “We were aggressive (today), trying to find the limit of where we thought the track was to kind of set us up for tomorrow. I think the guys will take that data and compensate for it tomorrow and we think that 3.92 (from Q1) was really in the sweet spot for the heat.”   Austin Prock qualified second after going 3.883 on Friday, while R. Capps took third with a 3.912 at 323.50.   Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon stayed red-hot at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Tony Stewart in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge thanks to a run of 3.805 at 315.19 in his 11,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Careers dragster. It’s another strong performance in Phoenix for Langdon, who is the defending event winner and has been to the past two final rounds at the track. That could bode well for Sunday, as Langdon, who was the runner-up in Gainesville, appears to be rolling.   “There are some tracks that just seem to work well with what you have and there's some tracks that just doesn't seem to work well, and Phoenix, obviously, fortunately, is one of those that seem to work well,” Langdon said.   “The team has done a great job with the car, and we’re making great runs and kind of continuing that success. I didn't do a good job in the final. I clicked it a little bit early so, truth be told, it probably was going 3.79, which shows how much stronger the car really is, and it definitely gives us a lot of confidence going into Sunday.”   His teammate, Doug Kalitta, earned his 60th career No. 1 qualifier in his 11,000-horsepower SealMaster/Toyota dragster on the strength of Friday’s standout run of 3.688 at 330.09. That came under the lights, but Kalitta made a pair of strong runs on Saturday in the heat, giving him confidence for eliminations. He’ll take on Phoenix-area native Travis Shumake to open raceday.   “The track is holding up good in the heat,” Kalitta said. “On that last run, we shot a couple of spark plugs out, so it shut off early, and we ran that 3.82. I’m not really sure what it would have run, but probably a little better than that, so that'll put us right in the mix where everybody else is.”   Brittany Force took the second spot with a run of 3.705 at 331.69 and Langdon is third after going 3.706 at 331.85.   Pro Stock’s Jeg Coughlin Jr. showcased his classic form on the starting line in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, using a pair of holeshots to win the bonus round, including the final round against Dallas Glenn. Coughlin, a five-time world champ, went 6.583 at 208.88 in his Scag Power Equipment/Outlaw Light Beer Chevrolet Camaro for Elite Motorsports, utilizing a .026 reaction time to hold off Glenn and get the victory. He beat longtime rival and reigning world champ Greg Anderson earlier in the day, dialing up a strong performance in the Challenge.   “I think that was a big shot in the arm for our entire team,” Coughlin said. “Pro Stock is so close. I mean, a holeshot is almost a loose term because you can win or lose races by thousandths of a second.   “We've made a lot of changes to our cars across the board coming into this race and obviously our we feel like our performance is there, but we're just not able to light the [score]boards up, so we're working hard and fortunately, we made some strides today.”   Racing in front of plenty of family and friends, as well as a sold-out crowd, local native Matt Hartford easily held onto the No. 1 spot in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro with Friday’s strong run of 6.509 at 208.20. Hartford picked up his fifth career No. 1 qualifier, setting the tone for what he hopes is a meaningful Sunday and a win at his home track. He opens eliminations against Brandon Foster.   “When we unloaded off the trailer here in Phoenix, we thought we had a pretty good setup,” Hartford said. “Even though the scoreboard didn't show any good numbers for us today, that doesn't mean that it wasn't beneficial.   “There's nothing more that we want to do than win this race at our home track. We've got a runner-up here [in 2019] and our goal is to take the hardware. When I lost in the finals to Jeg a few years back, it was crushing, because it was that would have been awesome to win, but we've won from No. 1 before, and our goal is to do it again.”   Anderson took second with a 6.512 at 208.91 at 208.91 and Cory Reed qualified third after a run of 6.516 at 208.91.   Eliminations for the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals begin at 11 a.m. MT on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park. (Photo Courtesy NHRA)

Press Release | ELITE MOTORSPORTS Jeg Coughlin Jr. picked up championship bonus points and a cash prize during Saturday qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park when he won the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Nicknamed “The Natural," Jeg. Jr. won the first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the 2025 season with a pair of holeshot victories over rivals Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn. “Going into round one this morning, I had a couple of question marks in my mind because we made a lot of changes to the setup on this SCAG machine overnight. But I was confident it would go A to B, and it did. That was a huge boost for our entire team—making those changes and seeing them work,” Jeg Jr. said. “Pro Stock is so close you can win or lose by just a few thousandths of a second. Fortunately, I’ve been on the winning side of holeshots many times in my career, and hopefully, we can keep that trend going tomorrow.” In a rematch of the semifinals at the NHRA Gatornationals, Jeg Jr. took on reigning world champion Anderson in the first round. Jeg Jr. had the race won on the starting line with a .011 reaction time coupled with his 6.574-second pass at 208.81 mph that was enough to take down Anderson’s .058 reaction time and 6.550 pass at 209.01. In the finals, Jeg. Jr. raced against NHRA Gatornationals winner Dallas Glenn. Jeg Jr. handled the SCAG hot rod to a 6.583-second pass at 208.88 mph with a .026 second reaction time bettering Glenn’s 6.570 at 210.37 with a .051 reaction time to take home $5,000 and three bonus championship points. Jeg Jr. is qualified 14th for the NHRA Arizona Nationals and will take on Cory Reed in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. “It’s been a tough weekend. On Friday, we spun the tires hard in Q1. Then in Q2, we had a cylinder out just as I backed up from the burnout—you could hear it fluttering a little, but we decided to send it and thankfully, it still ran a 6.57, even though the car wasn’t real happy. The crew sat down, we evaluated everything and made a lot of changes across the board coming into today,” Jeg Jr. said. “We’ve been working hard, and fortunately, we’ve made some strides. We ran that 6.57 in the first round of the #2Fast2Tasty, and the quickest of the round was a 6.55, so we closed the gap quite a bit. We’ve got a car we can keep fine-tuning, make more efficient, and hopefully make it even faster for race day tomorrow.” Eliminations kick off at 11 a.m. with Pro Stock first round hitting the track at noon. Television coverage continues on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show at 12:30 p.m. ET and Eliminations at 6:30 p.m. ET. (Photo Courtesy Elite Motorsports)

Press Release | KALITTA MOTORSPORTS Doug Kalitta won the NHRA Arizona Nationals No. 1 qualifier, and his teammate, Shawn Langdon, won the season’s first Mission Foods NHRA Challenge in front of a sellout crowd at Firebird Motorsports Park near Phoenix. During the Friday evening qualifying session, Kalitta’s SealMaster dragster was the only car in the 3.60s. Kalitta’s 3.688-second run at 330.39 mph gave him the provisional No. 1 qualifier. Saturday’s weather was quite warm, and Kalitta’s 3.668 easily held up through the Saturday afternoon qualifying sessions giving Kalitta the 60th No. 1 qualifier of his storied career. “We were pretty happy with that run last night,” Kalitta said. “Alan and Mac (Crew Chief Alan Johnson and Assistant Crew Chief Mac Savage) and my whole SealMaster Toyota team got a good run in last night. My car has been going down the track every time so the SealMaster team is getting it done. I have to say, they’ve really done a nice job with this facility (Firebird Motorsports Park). The track is nice and smooth so hats off to everybody that was involved in the repaving. “It’s Alan Johnson’s birthday today - it ended up being a pretty good day. We certainly appreciate Duke, Rhonda and Allison (Duke, Rhonda and Allison Thorson) with SealMaster coming on board this weekend along with Toyota, Mac Tools, Revchem and all our supporters. So far so good – we’ll see how Sunday goes. Like all these races, everybody’s running close so you have to get up on the wheel and make it happen on Sunday.” While Kalitta was claiming his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, Langdon was winning the first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the season in a rematch of the semifinals from the season-opening race in Gainesville, Fla., two weeks ago. Langdon defeated Jasmine Salinas in the semifinal rematch and then took out Tony Stewart to claim the title earning bonus money and championship bonus points that will be applied when the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs begin in September. “In this last year, the whole Kalitta Air Careers team turned around,” Langdon said. “Good job to the team and thanks to everybody at Kalitta Air, Dayco, Revchem and Toyota. The car's been really good, and it’s nice to earn a little bit of extra money and some countdown points; it all starts to here. Hopefully we can cap it off tomorrow as the winner.” Langdon is on a hot streak in Phoenix. Two years ago, he was the runner-up. Last year, he won the race, and this year, he earns the first trophy of the weekend with the Mission Foods Challenge win. “There are some tracks that seem to work well with what you have, and Phoenix obviously is one of those,” Langdon said. “I remember always loving coming here as a kid racing Junior Dragster, and I’ve been able to get some wins in Super Comp as well so I love coming here. Brian and the whole Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team did a great job with the setup making great runs last year and continuing that success this year. The car is all of the guys and Brian – it’s all their talent and hard work. I’m just the guy that gets to show it off to the fans. “Our clutch guy, Jeff Leister, had a health scare driving back from Gainesville, and he’s home recovering. We miss him, and today’s win was definitely for him.” Kalitta will open eliminations against Travis Shumake; Langdon qualified third and will race Scott Palmer. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd, qualified No. 9 in the DHL GR Supra and will race No. 8 qualifier, Daniel Wilkerson, in the first round of eliminations. (Photo Courtesy Kalitta Motorsports)

Press Release | NHRA FVP has been named Official Battery of NHRA as part of a multiyear partnership beginning with the 2025 season in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. A longtime partner of NHRA, FVP was previously Preferred Battery of NHRA before moving into an official NHRA partner this year. FVP will also continue as an associate sponsor for reigning and four-time Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown. “Factory Motor Parts is excited to accelerate our partnership with the NHRA,” FVP Director of Marketing Dave Schumacher said. “Over the past seven years, they’ve been an invaluable partner, powering our connection with the most passionate and loyal fan base in motorsports. This year also marks our seventh year with our FVP battery on the starting line, and we are proud to be the Official Battery of the NHRA.” Launched in 2005, FVP batteries are specially engineered for maximum performance, offering a full line of batteries for all automotive, RV, boating, commercial, and lawn and garden needs. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues this weekend with the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park in Phoenix as part of a thrilling 20-race schedule. As part of the official partnership, the large FVP battery starting line box will continue to be at every NHRA national event. At the same time, other in-venue marketing items include top-end inflatables, interactive display space for consumer activation at select events, and at select Y.E.S program events, and hospitality through Brown’s Top Fuel team. FVP will also have television spots during NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series broadcasts and social media activation across NHRA’s channels. “FVP has been a great partner for the NHRA for several years, so we’re thrilled to now have them as the Official Battery of the NHRA,” NHRA Vice President and Chief Development Officer Brad Gerber said. “Their oversized battery on the starting line has become a signature item at all NHRA national events, and it’s exciting to see this relationship continue to grow. FVP remains an industry leader, and we look forward to a terrific 2025 season and beyond with them.” For more information about FVP, visit www.fvpparts.com.  (Photo Courtesy NHRA)

Press Release | NHRA For the third straight year, NHRA and officials at Firebird Motorsports Park announced a sellout crowd for Saturday qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The huge fanbase in the Phoenix area continued to pack the historic facility, which is celebrating its 40th year of the NHRA Arizona Nationals in 2025. On Saturday, the overflow crowd enjoyed qualifying action and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the second of 20 races during the NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series season. After signing a long-term extension with NHRA in the off-season, Firebird Motorsports Park also invested in a new track surface, showcasing the bright future ahead at the standout facility as they celebrated a sellout crowd on Saturday. “In a year that saw a seven-figure investment from the Gila River Indian Community for new asphalt on the dragstrip and signing a multi-year extension with the NHRA to continue to host a national event, there could be no better payoff than selling out our 40th annual Arizona Nationals,” Firebird Motorsports Park Track Manager Casey Buckman said. “I cannot say thank you enough to the fans, sponsors, team and staff that have continued to support Firebird throughout the years. “I am beyond excited to see what we can do together in the future.” It is the first sellout crowd of the 2025 NHRA season. Eliminations for the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals begin at 11 a.m. MT on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park. (Photo Courtesy NHRA)

Press Release | TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY Retired NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) superstar Kevin Harvick will be honored as the 2025 inductee at the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Luncheon presented by WÜRTH on Friday, May 2, at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick, currently a television analyst for NASCAR on FOX broadcasts, enjoyed an illustrious 23-year NCS career that included immense success at Texas Motor Speedway. He will be honored with this special event from 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT in The Speedway Club Ballroom with local FOX 4 sports anchor Mike Doocy serving as emcee and PRN’s lead anchor Brad Gillie as moderator. The luncheon will include a candid “Fireside Chat” with Harvick and Gillie, panel discussion regarding the impact of motorsports on the Fort Worth community and lunch prepared by Levy Restaurants. The event is open to the public with individual tickets on sale for $125 and VIP table options also available for purchase. All proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the Speedway Children’s Charities Texas Chapter. Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets. “We are thrilled to induct Kevin Harvick into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame,” Speedway Children’s Charities Texas Chapter Executive Director Marissa Chaney said. “He has not only left an incredible legacy on Texas Motor Speedway, but also on the community with his unwavering support of Speedway Children’s Charities.” Harvick concluded his full-time racing career in 2023 with the 49-year-old Californian, nicknamed “Happy”, amassing 121 victories across NASCAR’s three national series. His 60 wins in the NCS ranks 10th on the all-time list, and he added 47 in the Xfinity Series (NXS) and another 14 the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS). Nine of those victories came at Texas Motor Speedway, highlighted by a run of three in a row in the fall NCS race from 2017-19. He also had five NXS wins (2001 spring race, fall race in 2005, ‘06, ‘07 and ‘12) and one in the NCTS (2011 fall race). Harvick’s major achievements include being the 2014 NCS champion; 2007 Daytona 500 winner; three-time Brickyard 400 winner (2003, ‘19 and ‘20); two-time Coca-Cola 600 winner (2011, ‘13); two-time Southern 500 winner (2014, ‘20); 2007 NASCAR All-Star Race winner; 2001 NCS Rookie of the Year; and two-time NXS champion (2001, ‘06). He also had 31 NCS poles during his career where he drove from Richard Childress Racing from 2001-2013 and Stewart-Haas Racing from 2014-2023. The Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame induction is part of the May 2-4 WÜRTH 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR tripleheader at Texas Motor Speedway. The three-day weekend features a race every day, beginning with the NCTS SpeedyCash.com 250 on Friday, May 2, at 7 p.m. The NXS Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 will be held Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. and the weekend culminates with the NCS WÜRTH 400 on Sunday, May 4, beginning at 2:30 p.m. (Photo Courtesy NASCAR)

Press Release | SAM HUNT RACING Sam Hunt Racing (SHR) announced today that Retina Surgeon, (Dr.) Patrick Staropoli will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) debut at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, March 29th as part of a multi-race deal. Staropoli, driving the No. 24 SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan injection) GR Supra, is a second-generation driver from Plantation, Florida. Staropoli gained national recognition by winning the 2013 PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge. The Harvard graduate has beat out some of NASCAR’s top amateur drivers, including runner-up, and fellow Toyota driver, Chase Briscoe, to earn a spot with Bill McNally Racing in the ARCA West Series during the 2014 season. “It’s a dream come true to make my NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville Speedway” said Staropoli. “Really thankful to Sam Hunt for this opportunity and all the work the team is putting in so we can take a fast No. 24 Syfovre GR Supra to the racetrack.” Most recently, Staropoli captured a top-10 finish with Venturini Motorsports at Phoenix Raceway where he made his regional touring series return. Previously, Staropoli has made ten starts across the various ARCA series. With a 2014 ARCA West victory at Irwindale Speedway, Staropoli became the first Doctor in NASCAR history to win a race. Adding to his career, he also has a single start in the NASCAR Camping World Series. As a board-certified medical and surgical retina specialist, Dr. Patrick Staropoli practices medicine for Retina Consultants of Texas, a Houston-based organization. He is a published researcher in various areas of clinical practice. The full-time physician and part-time racing driver finished his vitreoretinal surgery fellowship and ophthalmology residency at the nation’s top-ranked eye hospital, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. “Our entire team is excited to work with Patrick and give him the shot he’s been working towards for so long. He’s an incredible person, extremely smart, and genuinely deserving of this opportunity” said team owner, Sam Hunt. “Our team is ready to embrace the challenge, and Patrick is working hard to be as prepared as possible for his debut in Martinsville. We’re also excited to welcome Apellis/Syfovre to the Sam Hunt Racing family, and grateful for their support of this program.” Brian Gainey will continue to lead the effort as crew chief for the No. 24 team. Gainey has seen much success at fellow Toyota organization Joe Gibbs Racing, most recently serving as the car chief on the No. 20 NASCAR Xfinity team that won nine races and qualified to run for the owner’s championship in Phoenix last fall. Tune in to the Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 29th at 5:00 PM ET. All NASCAR Xfinity Series races will be broadcast on the CW Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90. (Photo Credit: x.com/ 97patrickstar )

Press Release | JOEY GASE MOTORSPORTS WITH SCOTT OSTEEN Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen confirmed today the signing of Japanese driver Takuma Koga to compete for them in the No. 53 car at Dover Motor Speedway on July 19, 2025 and Portland International Raceway on August 30, 2025. Takuma Koga is a native and resident of Nagoya, Japan and has more than 10 years of experience in the ARCA Menards Series. Koga has a career-best ARCA finish of fifth on three ocassions, all at Portland International Raceway. “I am proud to announce that I will be competing in the 2025 Xfinity Series with Joe Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen,” said Koga. “I look forward to learning a lot from team owner Joey Gase and preparing for the race together with the entire team. Please support the No. 53 GR Supra of Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen and Takuma Koga. Above all, I am excited to race alongside my teammates at Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen!” The BetRivers 200 is set for Saturday, July 19, 2025 with live coverage on The CW Network, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The Pacific Office Automation 147 is set for August 30, 2025, with live coverage on The CW Network, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. (Photo Credit: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)