{"id":83838,"date":"2022-02-10T09:32:08","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=83838"},"modified":"2022-02-10T09:32:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T17:32:08","slug":"nhra-teams-ready-for-71st-season-of-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/nhra-teams-ready-for-71st-season-of-racing\/","title":{"rendered":"NHRA Teams Ready for 71st Season of Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Drag racing’s premier series, the NHRA Camping World series, kicks off with the Winternaionals in Pomona the third weekend in February, returning to So Cal for the first time since 2020, with new faces, sponsorships and a new outlook.<\/em><\/h3>\n

NHRA\u2019s Camping World Drag Racing Series<\/a> is a mere week away from beginning its 71st season of competition, which takes place at its customary site, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, for the first time since 2020. Last year\u2019s season starter was the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals on the Gainesville, Fla. drag strip, as Southern California\u2019s COVID strictures made it impossible to hold the Winternationals until July, of all times!<\/p>\n

As the season starts, so do pronouncements about sponsorships, partnerships and changes in team structures. Equally important to racers, as they prepare for a 22-contest season, is conditions of various NHRA-owned and operated circuits around the United States. In particular, the Auto Club Raceway circuit, which hosts the 62nd Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals February 17-20, has been upgraded. The track surface, which hadn\u2019t been primed for more than 20 years, was ground and polished in early January in order to make it a more equitable surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe racing surface in Pomona has served us well for over 20 years,\u201d said Kasey Coler, NHRA vice president of track management and operations, \u201cbut we felt it was time to grind and polish it as we prepare to kick off the 2022 season. We have worked with Kurt Johnson at Toal Venue Concepts on a variety of track-related projects, and this should greatly enhance the experience for the racers and fans,\u201d she said. Similar improvements are set for Gainesville Raceway and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.<\/p>\n

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On the sponsorship front, rookie Pro Stock racer Camrie Caruso, 23, landed backing with Powerbuilt Tools of Cypress, California for the first two contests of the season, at Pomona and Phoenix. She\u2019s racing a Jerry Haas-built Chevrolet Camaro and has veteran racer Jim Yates as her crew chief. After testing in Florida, the racer who won her first Top Alcohol Dragster race in only her second start said, \u201cMy crew chief Jim Yates has been amazing and I was getting more confident with every pass.\u201d She realizes Pro Stock \u201cis one of the toughest categories in drag racing,\u201d but feels confident in her team, her equipment and her abilities to be competitive from the start. NGK Spark Plugs has signed up as an associate sponsor for this third-generation racer.<\/p>\n

Josh Hart, the Top Fuel rookie who took home the Wally winner\u2019s trophy in his first race at Gainesville last year – it didn\u2019t hurt that Gainesville is his \u201chome\u201d track – acquired backing from R+L Carriers in mid-season, shortly afterwards he earned his second victory in this tough category. Intending to run the full Top Fuel season of 22 races after entering 13 contests in 2021, Hart has aligned with R+L Carriers for the season. The partnership includes employment opportunities for fans at a variety of circuits on the tour. \u201cI count on the R+L Carriers team to transport my dragster and equipment to each racetrack,\u201d Hart confirmed. \u201cThe company\u2019s family roots and customer service are top notch; they really deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This year\u2019s Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals marks the beginning of NHRA\u2019s Factory Stock Showdown campaign. As they did in 2021, Constant Aviation is continuing as the title sponsor for this class in 2022. The industry leader in aircraft and engine maintenance, Constant Aviation\u2019s CEO, David H. Davies recognizes, \u201cSponsoring the Factory Stock Showdown aligns Constant Aviation with a number of key elements that are important to our core business model,\u201d he said. \u201cOur business is built on attention to detail, speed, efficiency and, most of all, quality people. Our technicians have a passion for racing and especially a series like Factory Stock Showdown, that highlights Camaro, Cobra Jets and Drag Paks. The competition is fast and fierce, and we are looking forward to an event more exciting 2022 season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalitta Motorsports has extended and expanded its relationship with DHL, which is now one of the longer-running and more successful marketing programs in motorsports. This season marks the 15th year that Kalitta Motorsports and DHL have worked together both on and off the track. For on-circuit promotions, look for 2018 Funny Car titleholder J.R. Todd in his new DHL Toyota Supra GR and for 2013 Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon wheeling the DHL Top Fuel dragster. Together, DHL and Kalitta Motorsports have won the Funny Car titles with Todd and with 2015 champion Del Worsham. The two companies will celebrate 15 memorable moments of this partnership throughout the season on social media and through media opportunities.<\/p>\n

New teams abound in NHRA\u2019s Camping World nitro ranks, with two champions starting their own teams at Pomona this year. Antron Brown\u2019s AB Motorsports has been in the works for quite a while, stymied by the COVID pandemic and forced to wait a year before launching at Pomona this season. Although his plans weren\u2019t known for a while last season, Ron Capps was making strides towards team ownership and, during the PRI show in Indianapolis last December, the now two-time and reigning Flopper champ announced the formation of Ron Capps Motorsports, which is operating out of the driver\u2019s former home, Don Schumacher Racing. Both Capps and Brown have kept their teams intact from when they raced with DSR. Capps\u2019 strides towards team ownership began during a conversation with team owner Don Schumacher over the long, Labor Day U.S. Nationals week of racing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The road to Camping World competition nominally begins at a lower level of racing, with the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League the optimal starting point. With this category for kids aged 5-17 celebrating its 30th season in 2022, NHRA revealed that Summit Racing has renewed its title sponsorship as part of a multi-year extension. NHRA confirmed the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Western Conference Finals are set for Bandimere Speedway June 24-25 and that Bristol Dragway hosts the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Eastern Conference Finals, set for July 14-15.<\/p>\n

Lucas Oil is marking two decades as the presenting sponsor and the official oil of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, where NHRA\u2019s top Sportsman racers contend for national, regional and divisional titles. There are a total of 44 events at premier racing facilities across the country, beginning February 11-12 at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NHRA\u2019s Camping World Drag RAcing Series is a mere week away from beginning its 71st season of competition, which takes place at its customary site, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, for the first time since 2020. <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":83840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3465,3470,5029,3399,22],"tags":[8729,2,509],"class_list":["post-83838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-news","category-racing","category-nhra","category-event-coverage","tag-2022-nhra-camping-world-drag-racing","tag-drag-racing","tag-winternationals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Camrie-Caruso-Powerbuilt-Pro-Stock-2022.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-lOe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83843,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83838\/revisions\/83843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}