{"id":88718,"date":"2022-12-08T19:41:34","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T03:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=88718"},"modified":"2022-12-15T11:13:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T19:13:42","slug":"news-from-pri-2022-thursday-happenings-nhra-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/news-from-pri-2022-thursday-happenings-nhra-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"News from PRI 2022 — Thursday Happenings NHRA Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

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Antron Brown and FVP’s Dave Schumacher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This year’s NHRA players were on hand to talk wins, losses, new team members and more at day one of the race industries family reunion in Indy.<\/h2>\n

The prominent NHRA stage at this year\u2019s Performance Racing Industry show was busy from the 9AM opening bell through to the show’s 5PM close on the first of three days at this racing industry trade gathering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emphasizing that it\u2019s not only what happens on each race track that is dominant in each weekend\u2019s proceedings; drag racing\u2019s no-barriers pits are what bring new people into the sport, as fans, as participants and as partners to racers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Antron Brown, the three-time Top Fuel champion who launched AB Motorsports in 2022, wanted to remind everyone that it was his own experiences as a child at Englishtown, New Jersey\u2019s dragstrip that influenced his life choice to become a member of the drag racing community. Meeting his racing heroes up close and personal at their hospitality areas enabled him to learn more about the sport and get even more hooked on it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That ideology brings Factory Motor Parts and its FVP battery brand to AB Motorsports in 2023, placing the FVP name prominently on the sides of Brown\u2019s Matco Tools dragster; the company intends to use Brown\u2019s team\u2019s hospitality center to enhance its relationship with at least 1,300 guests and clients during NHRA\u2019s 21 events. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a great experience working with NHRA and their team, and we\u2019re very proud to join Antron\u2019s team as we continue to invest in the sport of drag racing and grow the FVP brand,\u201d noted Clay Johnson, senior vice president of sales. \u201cAntron\u2019s values and vision align effortlessly with our brand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Camrie Caruso discusses her Rookie of the Year Pro Stock season<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This time last year, Camrie Caruso had just announced her first year in Pro Stock, driving a Camaro for her family team. They were all new to the class, but adapted exceptionally well, as Caruso earned her first No. 1 qualifier in only her fifth race and went to a final round. She qualified for every race but her early season prominence in the class dissipated as the Countdown to the Championship playoffs began. She started the playoffs within the top 10 – there were 15 total eligible drivers for the Countdown in the Pro Stock class – but fell to 12th by the time the season finale Auto Club Finals were complete in Pomona. Still, she believes she and her team learned a lot and will be stronger in 2023. She goes into her sophomore season having earned NHRA\u2019s Rookie of the Year award for her exceptional efforts.<\/p>\n

Last year at this show, Ron Capps announced his new eponymous team in NHRA\u2019s Funny Car division. At the time, he\u2019d just clinched his second championship with Don Schumacher Racing, who were shutting down all but Tony Schumacher\u2019s Top Fuel team for the 2022 season. Capps went on to be the first back-to-back Flopper champion in 20 years, as he earned his third title in the difficult class. At the same time, as he was victorious in Pomona, he also was relieved to have found a manufacturer who believed in his efforts to produce wins and championships.<\/p>\n

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Ron Capps discusses his third Funny Car championship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Capps brought Toyota its first title in the Funny Car division and was the only champion for the manufacturer this year, despite having such luminaries as Top Fuel titleholders Steve Torrence and Antron Brown, together with Brown\u2019s technical partner Justin Ashley. In Funny Car, Capps said he was assisted in his conversion to Toyota\u2019s new GR Supra body by Kalitta Motorsports\u2019 Jon Oberhofer, driver J.R. Todd and DC Motorsports\u2019 Del Worsham, together with driver Alexis DeJoria. What did he like most about the new car? He said the visibility in the GR Supra is superb and it was something new for him to be able to see the whole track, something he couldn\u2019t do with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat he previously drove.<\/p>\n

Alex Laughlin has raced NHRA\u2019s Pro Stock and Top Fuel in the Camping World Drag Racing Series. Now he\u2019s going to attempt to throw his estimable hat into the Funny Car ring, racing Jim Dunn Racing\u2019s Dodge Charger in 2023. While he hasn\u2019t licensed yet for the class – that\u2019ll happen over the winter, likely at either Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside Phoenix or on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – the Texan realizes this is a very different animal from the two cars he\u2019s been racing in the past.<\/p>\n

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Johanna Dunn and Jon Dunn welcome Alex Laughlin to the Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car team<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI watched John Force at Pomona when his body blew off and saw the destruction. These things are daunting,\u201d he said. With no preconceptions, but knowing how difficult the Flopper can be to drive, Laughlin is looking forward to the challenge of racing this car Ian 2023. What he does know is the Dunn Family\u2019s cars \u201cgo down the track\u201d and are always presented well. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When Tony Stewart Racing began its nitro squad with Stewart\u2019s wife, Top Fuel racer Leah Pruett and three-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan, the latter\u2019s squad was already in place, led by Dickie Venables. Pruett\u2019s team, on the other hand, was pretty much brand new. She did announce that they\u2019re going to be intact for the 2023 season and believes that will make a big difference in how they\u2019re able to perform consistently, knowing their driver and knowing the tools in place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett share a laugh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Starting a new team from scratch is never easy and both Stewart and Pruett were very much aware of that fact. They knew it was going to be tough to earn wins in the first year with Neil Strausbaugh taking on his first role as crew chief, and they were right. The duo are hoping that the experiences they\u2019ve had in 2022 will give them a better foothold to earn those elusive wins in 2023.<\/p>\n

Buddy Hull joined the NHRA\u2019s Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel category in 2020, working initially with Terry Haddock equipment and then purchasing Tim Wilkerson\u2019s dragster equipment to run in 2021 as he learned the series, the tracks and the competition. Hull did well in his first two seasons, well enough to earn the interest of a new sponsor for the 21-race 2023 campaign.<\/p>\n

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Buddy Hull’s minimum eight Top Fuel races will be Methanol Moonshine-fueled<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Buddy Hull’s new look Top Fuel dragster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not only will his engines be fueled by nitromethane, Hull\u2019s captured the attention of Methanol Moonshine, the Australian take on an American icon that was introduced to the U.S. market over the past year. Methanol Moonshine and Buddy Hull Racing have entered a new relationship for the 2023 season, where the moonshine maker\u2019s logo will adorn the sides of Hull\u2019s rail, along with the front and rear wings. The company joins solar experts Vertex, who are roofing and general contractors.<\/p>\n

Hull and Methanol Moonshine founder, Wade Aunger, met at last year\u2019s Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals outside Indianapolis, arguably the biggest drag race on the planet. The duo hit it off immediately. \u201cI was impressed with Buddy when we met in Indy,\u201d Aunger said. \u201cI knew from the second we sat down that this was a good match.\u201d Hull\u2019s first race – of eight planned so far – will be the final contest at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside Phoenix.<\/p>\n

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Jerry Tucker’s Pro Stock entry from Elite Motorsports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Elite Motorsports had another announcement today at the show, taking sportsman driver Jerry Tucker to drive the eighth Pro Stock Camaro in Elite\u2019s fleet. The Oklahoma racer has competed in everything from sprint cars, midgets and has been a constant in the Lucas Oil NHRA sportsman ranks. He\u2019ll work on earning his Pro Stock license in January to be prepared for March\u2019s 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla.<\/p>\n

Tucker and Elite owner Richard Freeman have been friends since childhood. \u201cThe really cool thing with Jerry is that we grew up together. He\u2019s drag raced in several different classes and it\u2019s going to be cool to see him have this opportunity to work with our team and learn from them.\u201d Tucker said that Pro Stock is his favorite category: \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to drive one and Elite Motorsports is the best team in the class, so I\u2019m pumped to be joining them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker joins five-time and reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, runner-up Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., 2017 Pro Stock champ Bo Butner, together with the Cuadra family team of Fernando Cuadra, Fernando Cuadra Jr. and Cristian Cuadra.<\/p>\n

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This year’s NHRA players were on hand to talk wins, losses, new team members and more at day one of the race industries family reunion in Indy.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":88727,"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],"tags":[7457,4564,82,9456,8784,1704,9455,1858,8458,9457,8055,8759,9446,9416,1192,1883],"class_list":["post-88718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-news","category-racing","category-nhra","tag-ab-motorsports","tag-alex-laughlin","tag-antron-brown","tag-buddy-hull","tag-camrie-caruso","tag-elite-motorsports","tag-fvp","tag-jim-dunn-racing","tag-leah-pruett","tag-methanol-moonshine","tag-nhra-camping-world-drag-racing-series","tag-performance-racing-industry-show","tag-pri-2022","tag-ron-capps-motorsports","tag-tony-stewart","tag-tony-stewart-racing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Buddy-Hullls-dragster.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-n4W","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88718","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=88718"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88735,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88718\/revisions\/88735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}