Hight wins first Funny Car title

  Former JFR Crew Member Wins 16th World Title for John Force
Robert Hight and his Auto Club Ford Mustang team fulfilled a dream that ten years ago was beyond his comprehension when he won the 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car World Championship today at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. For the former John Force Racing crew member clinching the championship on Saturday night with a No. 3 qualifying performance was more than a huge achievement for Hight. For the 16th time in twenty years the Funny Car championship will be held by a team racing for Yorba Linda, Calif., based John Force Racing.

Scenes from NHRA zMax Raceway

  by Rhonda McCole

NHRA Drivers Make Four-Wide History at zMax Dragway

  by Pete McCole
Eight National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle drivers lined up to make history on Sunday night as the NHRA staged the first four-lane, four-wide race in the modern era of drag racing during the second annual Carolina’s Nationals at zMax Dragway.

McClenathan, Edwards, Arana post wins at zMax

  by Pete McCole
NHRA Full Throttle Series Top Fuel driver Cory McClenathan and Funny Car pilot Robert Hight notched their first final round win of the season on Sunday as the Countdown to 1 got underway at the Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway. Mike Edwards took the top spot on Pro Stock, while Hector Arana won the final round in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

NHRA zMax Qualifying

  by Pete McCole
Larry Dixon led the field in Top Fuel qualifying on Saturday while Cruz Pedregon tried his best to salvage his Funny Car season as the NHRA prepares to kick off the Countdown to 1 at the Carolina’s Nationals at zMax Dragway. Under far more different rack conditions than on Friday, Dixon powered his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a top elapsed time of 3.844 seconds.

Pedregon wins, takes points lead

  NHRA
Tony Pedregon had twice the reason to celebrate at the United Association NHRA SuperNationals, wheeling his special-edition Nitro Fish entry to a second straight Funny Car victory and taking the points lead in the process. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock), and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victorious. In a rematch of the Chicago final one week ago, Pedregon once again defeated Ashley Force Hood to claim the win.

Schumacher, Force Hood, Krisher, Treble win in Houston

  NHRA
Tony Schumacher, Ashley Force Hood, Ron Krisher, and Craig Treble emerged the winners at the record-breaking 22nd annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. The event is the fourth on the 24-race 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule. Favorable weather conditions throughout the weekend led to a slew of career bests and a pair of national records in the Pro Stock classes.

Dixon, Tasca, Line, Arana score Gatornationals wins

  by Phil Burgess
Bob Tasca III followed his first career Professional pole position Saturday with his first career Pro final and then his first Pro win before a packed house at the Gainesville Raceway during the 40th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals. The race is the third of 24 on the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. There were more firsts of a different nature as 44-time series winner Larry Dixon won his first title as a driver for Alan Johnson in Top Fuel, and, with his Pro Stock Motorcycle win, Hector Arana earned the first points lead of his career.

John Force Pat DiMarco update the Eric Medlen Project

  NHRA
Two years ago John Force Racing and Ford Racing lost Eric Medlen in a tragic Funny Car testing accident.  In the aftermath John Force Racing and Ford Racing banded together to form the Eric Medlen Project with an eye on finding safety innovations for the sport.  Along with the NHRA, John Force Racing and Ford Racing have instituted a series of safety measures ranging from significant Funny Car chassis modifications to the instillation of the Ford Blue Box (crash data recorder) on all nitro cars.

Kalitta, Capps win rain delayed Winternationals

  NHRA season opener
Doug Kalitta (pictured right) and Ron Capps opened the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season with wins in Funny Car and Top Fuel at the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Both had not won since the 2007 season, but got their new seasons off to a flying start with morale-boosting victories in Pomona. The Tuesday finish was a rare one, matched randomly by the 1978 event , which also needed two extra days to complete.

Brown, Hight, Anderson lead Winternationals qualifying

  Rain finally stops in Pomona
After two days of anxiously sitting idle in the pits while rain was the top eliminator, the NHRA Full Throttle Pros took to the fabled Auto Club Raceway at Pomona racetrack Saturday for their opening — and closing -- qualifying efforts at the 49th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals, the season opener for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.  Antron Brown leads Top Fuel, and Robert Hight (4.037) and Greg Anderson (6.588) front the fields in Funny Car and Pro Stock.

John Force looks ahead to 2009

  NHRA
John Force, driver of the Castrol Edge Ford Mustang Funny Car, heads into this weekend’s 2009 Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., with four career victories in the season-opening event. Force, who has a record 126 career victories and 14 championships, reflects on his team’s 2008 accomplishments and looks ahead to this year.