Pruett, Hight, Hartford and M. Smith Open Western Swing With Wins at Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals
Leah Pruett went 3.884 seconds at 316.38 mph in her 11,000-hp Dodge Power Brokers dragster to knock off Shawn Langdon in the final round.
Leah Pruett delivered the first Top Fuel win for Tony Stewart Racing, powering to the victory on Sunday at the 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Robert Hight (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won at the 11th of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. The stop in Denver marks the first event in the three-race NHRA Western Swing. Pruett went 3.884 seconds at 316.38 mph in her 11,000-hp Dodge Power Brokers dragster to knock off Shawn Langdon in the final round.
In a Funny Car finals rematch of the most recent race in Norwalk, Hight delivered the same result against Bob Tasca III, continuing his incredible season by going 4.065 at 311.92 in his 11,000-hp Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS. That gives the points leader his second straight win, fifth this season and 58th in his career, and his fifth victory in Denver.
Hartford used a .004 reaction time and then a strong run of 6.967 at 196.36 in his Total Seal Camaro to knock off No. 1 qualifier Aaron Stanfield in the finals.
Smith capped off a dominant weekend in Pro Stock Motorcycle by going 7.097 at 190.22 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell to knock off Joey Gladstone and win for the second straight time in Denver.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action July 22–24 with the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
Chicago To Host First-Ever NASCAR Cup Series Street Race In 2023
NASCAR has announced the NASCAR Cup Series will race on the streets of downtown Chicago, July 1–2, 2023. The first-ever NASCAR Chicago Street Race will take place July 2, and be preceded by an IMSA-sanctioned race, which will run July 1. The specific IMSA series will be announced at a later date.
Officials will transform Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, Columbus Drive and surrounding thoroughfares into a 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course, with the start-finish line and pit road located along South Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain. The course will pass through Grant Park, as well as approach the northern edge of Soldier Field—home to the Chicago Bears and the site of the only other Cup Series race to take place in Chicago in 1956.
The course layout was first developed on the iRacing platform, which was used in the 2021 eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series.
The Chicago Street Race will replace Road America on the Independence Day weekend schedule, as confirmed by Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing development and strategy.
For more information, visit nascar.com.
NMCA Announces ‘All-Star’ Event for NMCA All-American Nationals
ProMedia’s National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) has announced a new “All-Star” race is set for the NMCA All-American Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, August 25–28. The NMCA vs. Buckeye Stock/Super Stock All Stars presented by A&A Transmission class will feature a 32 cars. The field will include the top five in points for both the NMCA Stock Eliminator and Super Stock Eliminator classes, along with the top 10 in points for the Buckeye team, which runs its events as a single combination class of Stock and Super Stock racers. Then, the top points earner will be able to select a blocker from the non-seeded cars, and the remaining slots will be filled from the top qualifiers in Stock and Super Stock after Q1.
“There are basically two races for one entry fee,” NMCA’s Jim Bailey said in a release. “The NMCA and Buckeye Stock/Super Stock groups are each offering an extra $1,000 bonus if one of their cars wins. If a driver [wins] this deal, [they’ll] get $1,000 plus the other $1,000, and if [they] turn around and win the NMCA race that’s around $3,000—that’s a $5,000 weekend for a $150 entry fee.”
For more information, visit nmcadigital.com.
NHRA Announces First Four Races of 2023 Camping World Season
NHRA officials have announced the dates for the first four races for the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule, as the upcoming season will open March 9–12 with the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Fans can also look forward to all four professional categories (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle) in attendance at Gainesville to start the season.
Following the March opener in Gainesville, the NHRA will head to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on March 24–26 for the final NHRA Arizona Nationals. Drivers will look to end nearly four decades of racing in Phoenix with a victory, and the last NHRA Arizona Nationals also starts a three-race stretch over four weeks on the West Coast. The 63rd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals takes place the following weekend, March 30–April 2, at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
After an off week, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will go to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 14–16 for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals to wrap up the first four races of the 2023 NHRA season. It is the first of two races in Las Vegas, with the spring race featuring four-wide racing.
The full 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule will be announced soon, as well as details on class schedules.
For more racing news, visit Performance Racing Industry’s (PRI) website.