NHRA’s decision to start each Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season on the historic grounds of Florida’s Gainesville Raceway has turned out to be a good one. While purists loved the opening and closing dates in Pomona, CA, it became apparent that Gainesville brought out more fans and more racers.
The track is situated near the home, workshops and museum of one of the sport’s giants, 94-year-old Don Garlits, who was in his element all weekend long. While he wasn’t part of the Legends races on Friday and Saturday that featured Joe Amato, Kenny Bernstein, Warren Johnson and Bruce Larson, he certainly enjoyed being part of a group at this 57th Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals to celebrate NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. Other legends on-site included Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, Darrell Gwynn, Frank Hawley and so many others. NHRA intends to showcase its legendary drivers and crew members throughout the 20-race season.
Gainesville’s weather, which can be iffy this time of year, held off with rainfall until after Sunday’s semifinal round. The Safety Safari quickly cleared the track and the final rounds went off just a wee bit later than expected. There isn’t enough virtual ink to congratulate the four Mission Foods winners for their efforts on the track or to celebrate those that challenged the fortuitous foursome and those that qualified for the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge to take place at the next, Phoenix race.
That specialty race will include Top Fuel’s reigning champion, Doug Kalitta and Gatornationals winner Josh Hart from John Force Racing, together with four-time champion Antron Brown and true rookie Maddi Gordon of Ron Capps Motorsports . Gordon became the darling of Gainesville fans after she picked off Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher, before losing to Kalitta in the semis. Until her first test for licensing a few weeks ago, the Top Alcohol Funny Car standout hadn’t driven a nitro dragster. She belongs and the sold-out crowd let her know she belongs.
In Funny Car, we can look forward to watching Gatornationals winner Chad Green and his final round combatant, Alexis DeJoria, who joined John Force’s camp in the off-season as one of three new drivers. Working with Mike Neff and Jonnie Lindberg, she looked sharp and ready for action after beating Cruz Pedregon in the first round when he struck a timing pylon on a wild run, 2025 Rookie Of the Year Spencer Hyde and J.R. Todd in the semifinal round when he uncharacteristically red-lit at the line. Todd will join her in the challenge race, along with Jordan Vandergriff, who took his John Force Racing Funny Car to the semifinals in his first race in the class.
After driving competitively but failing to reach the Winners Circle since Reading in 2023, Pro Stock racer Matt Hartford broke through for the win against Greg Anderson, who wasn’t even in the field until the fourth and final qualifying round. The six-time titleholder made his way past teammate Derek Kramer, his son Cody who was making his first Pro Stock start and familiar foe Erica Enders to reach the last round, while Hartford defeated newly-crowned champ Dallas Glenn in the semis.
The final round for Pro Stock Motorcycle belonged to reigning titleholder Richard Gadson of Vance & Hines Motorsports, who earned his first Diamond trophy against Matt Smith Racing’s John Hall.The classic Suzuki vs Buell battle went to Gadson. That duo will be in the Challenge race, along with Suzuki riders Steve Johnson (in his 40th year racing this class) and newcomer Clayton Howey, competing with Clontz Racing.
All of the success stories at this event were contrasted by who was left out when it was time to go racing, at 10am on the Sunday morning that Daylight Saving Time went into effect. Tasca Racing’s haulers had already left the track after their vaunted acquisition of two-time reigning Funny Car titleholder Austin Prock, his father Jimmy and brother Thomas failed to get it right in qualifying. Of 19 entries, theirs was the slowest of the pack. It was an unfortunate and unexpected end to their weekend of racing, but to leave the facility when fans wanted to meet the reigning Funny Car champ was definitely not the right thing to do.
Shortly after Derek Menholt beat Lyle Barnett in Pro Mod, NHRA announced a new season-long sponsor for the popular class, which will now carry the colors of JBS Equipment, while Elite Motorsports was named the class’ presenting sponsor. Justin Bond, who has been a longtime class competitor stepped forward, along with Elite’s Richard Freeman to help grow this class and keep its constituents capable of making each race financially.
During pre-race ceremonies, Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett’s son Dom was omnipresent backstage and in front of the fans, squirming like any 16-month-old. Both of his parents – on opposite sides of the ladder – made it out of the first round, Pruett beating Jasmine Salinas and Smoke defeating Clay Millican. That was as far as both got: Stewart lost a squeaker to Antron Brown; Kalitta had Pruett at the lights and left her behind to win his quarterfinal bout.
If Gainesville sets the tone for each NHRA season, the following 19 events on the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series calendar should be up to the task of making this 75th anniversary campaign one that all drag racing fans will remember.
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