Larry mullen jr

Listen to this article It’s not hard to remember times when NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series fields were over-subscribed with racers vying to make the fields of 16 that race in Sunday eliminations. Go or go home was the mantra. The financial demands of big-time drag racing have taken their toll on fields in the past few years and some drivers and teams have, due to financial hardship, departed the sport, no longer able to function at the highest standards. That wasn’t the case for three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon. True, he lost his ride with Bob Vandergriff Racing (BVR) at the end of the 2015 season when Leah Pritchett brought sponsorship to the team, but at the time Dixon had been dealing with an even bigger battle than one with a 10,000-horsepower-plus dragster. He was recovering from throat cancer; Dixon needed to beat that devil to the winner’s beam. After whipping throat cancer with radiation and chemotherapy over the 2014 off-season (he called it … [Read more...] about Return of the modest superstar, Larry Dixon

Listen to this article FUNNY CAR Tommy Johnson Jr. powered his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T to a 3.895-second pass at 330.63mph in the final round to defeat teammate and points leader Ron Capps’ 3.911 at 324.12 in the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. Johnson Jr., who has raced to the final round in all three NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship events, claimed his 14th career victory, second of the season and first at Maple Grove Raceway. He is second in the points trailing Capps by only 24 points. Johnson beat Cruz Pedregon, Mike Smith and Jack Beckman en route to his fifth final round of the season. “You want to have a strong start in the Countdown; we knew that going into it,” said Johnson Jr. “I said I’d be happy with four more runner-ups, but when you look in the other lane and it’s Capps, who’s leading the points, it’s a must-win. You’ve got to gain some ground.” Jack Beckman is third in points and is followed by Hagan in fourth, reigning world champ … [Read more...] about Johnson Jr., Brown, Nobile, Krawiec grab wins in Maple Grove

Listen to this article Mohnton, Pa. – Leah Pritchett raced to her first career No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel on Saturday at the Dodge NHRA Nationals. Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 21st event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The Dodge NHRA Nationals is the third race of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs. NHRA officials were forced to cancel the second session of qualifying on Saturday due to persistent showers and misting. Since Friday’s sessions were also cancelled, racers had only one session to qualify for Sunday’s eliminations, which are scheduled for noon. Top Fuel Pritchett piloted her Mopar / Pennzoil dragster to a 3.705-second pass at 327.35 mph to claim her first top qualifier. Pritchett, who notched her first career victory earlier this season in Phoenix, is competing in … [Read more...] about Pritchett, Hagan, Nobile and Hines race to No. 1 qualifiers on Saturday at Dodge NHRA Nationals

Listen to this article TOP FUEL Antron Brown sprinted to a 3.744-second pass at 321.12 mph in his Matco Tools dragster to defeat Steve Torrence’s 3.750 at 323.12 in his Capco Contractors dragster. This is Brown’s 61st career win, seventh of the season and third at the Texas Motorplex, and it extended his lead over second-place Doug Kalitta by 150 points. Brown outlasted Chris Karamesines, Kalitta and J.R. Todd in the earlier rounds. “We had a great drag race out there,” said two-time and reigning world champion Brown. “It could’ve gone either way. We were both close on the tree, but we snuck one out there. “Nobody is blowing people out anymore,” he observed. “The only way you win is by inches. To win that final was monumental for our team. We needed to do that. We’re still not done working yet.” Torrence raced past Clay Millican, Leah Pritchett and Shawn Langdon en route to his seventh final round appearance of the season. His runner-up finish bumped Torrence up to … [Read more...] about Brown and Hagan conquer Texas