With the first – of 20 – NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events completed, it’s time to start thinking about competitors’ favorite part of the season: the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge events that take place during qualifying for the next 13 regular-season events.
The Challenge pits semifinal contestants from the prior race against one another, with the two winners of the initial bout matching up. Offering a bonus purse and bonus championship points, this race-within-the-race occurs as part of Saturday’s qualifying sessions, with the finals of this bonus event occurring during the final qualifying session.
When NHRA alights to Firebird Motorsports Park south of Phoenix, AZ for the 40th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals March 21-23, semifinalists from this past weekend’s Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals will vie for the money, the points and, of course the always intoxicating pride of victory. With Pro Stock Motorcycle off until the second four-wide contest of the season, at zMAX Dragway outside Charlotte, NC, fans will have to be content to witness battles in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock.
Antron Brown, the reigning and four-time Top Fuel champion, who recorded his 81st career national event victory in Gainesville last weekend leads the fray in Phoenix. Fellow four-time champ Steve Torrence has elected not to compete in Phoenix, elevating Tony Stewart to the Challenge next week, racing against Brown. The second Top Fuel matchup features defending Phoenix winner Shawn Langdon racing Jasmine Salinas, who earned her first semifinal appearance in Top Fuel at Gainesville Raceway. This will be Salinas’ Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge debut.
Salinas, starting her second season in the dragster class with Scrappers Racing is “so excited to compete in my first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. We showed a lot of consistency in Gainesville, and I think it’s going to help us when we line up against Langdon for the rematch” of their Florida semifinal round. While Langdon’s event victories and championship can be intimidating, “It’s a factor that I’ll need to overcome mentally, but that’s what I love about this sport. It’s called a challenge for a reason and we are doing everything we can to be ready for it!”
The first Funny Car racer to win one of these Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenges in 2023 gets an opportunity to race again, as Alexis DeJoria, now competing with JCM Racing in a Dodge Charger earned her bonus round reentry with a semifinal loss to three-time Funny Car champion Ron Capps and his Toyota GR Supra in Gainesville. This duo are joined by Gatornationals winner Chad Green and his Ford Mustang, who gets a match-up against four-time champ Matt Hagan and his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from Tony Stewart Racing.
Great – and lengthy – rivalries in NHRA straight-line racing come with the territory and this bonus race is no different. In Pro Stock, the continuation of battles between six-time door-slammer titleholder Greg Anderson, the reigning champ and five-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. remains a fight for the ages. That race between KB Titan Racing and Elite Motorsports is bound to be an activity that draws fans to the stands. The second pairing is all KB Titan-centric, with Gatornationals winner Dallas Glenn racing former Pro Stock Motorcycle standout – and rising Pro Stock car racer – Cory Reed.
The 39th NHRA Arizona Nationals were won by Shawn Langdon, notching his second straight victory, John Force Racing’s Austin Prock and his Chevrolet Camaro for the third generation raceer’s first Funny Car win and Anderson in Pro Stock. The first 2024 Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season produced victories for Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel, J.R. Todd’s Toyota GR Supra Funny Car and six-time champion Erica Enders.
The 40th annual Arizona NHRA Nationals will be broadcast on FS1, including Sunday eliminations coverage on March 23 at 6:30PM EDT. In addition to the three Mission classes next weekend, Lucas Oil Sportsman competition is part of the meet’s activities, along with Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series and the Legends Nitro Series. Jet car action from team “Buy Caliente” and Curt White “Iceman” close out each qualifying day’s action.
Leave a Reply