Throwback Weekend, Every Weekend
In an era where fans often lament decades of racing past, events like the NHRA New England Nationals prove that the good old days are still here—as long as you know where to look
How do you tell that an event is popular? When you show up an hour before the schedule suggests you should and the place is already packed.
That was the case in Epping, New Hampshire on the first day of June, as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series rolled back into town. Engines may not have been allowed on until 9AM and eliminations weren’t set to start until 11, but by 8AM the lines were already forming to get into New England Dragway for the New England Nationals, the seventh round of the 2025 season and site of the first of eight scheduled over-the-air broadcasts this year on FOX.
The New England Nationals are, by NHRA standards, a pretty new event. This is only the 12th time that the pros have made the trip to Epping, and when you compare the infrastructure to some of the sport’s better-known venues—from the classics like Pomona to Speedway Motorsports’ four-wide behemoths in Charlotte or Las Vegas—you understand. Epping, New Hampshire isn’t the longest haul on the schedule for the Indianapolis-based teams, but it is the furthest east, and if you’re a race fan, you’d better arrive early on Sunday; signs on NH-101 purposely steer people away from the exit that would otherwise drop you right at the main gate.
Lest these things read like complaints, though: they’re exactly what allow for this race to take the already classic feel of an NHRA event and double down on the old-school vibes. The first thing that most fans see when they get through the gate is a fleet of retro machines from the area, ranging from custom builds like Scott Jezak’s Shower Power to historic Funny Cars. Even the entry list has a decidedly local vibe, as teams based in New England and even Quebec make this one of their only starts of the year, standing in for some of the part-time teams that will hit the larger-stage events.
And when the locals do well, the crowds go wild. Dana Hard’s Massachusetts-based Hard Guys Racing team is one of the local Davids going up against the Goliaths. They qualified 15th, drawing the mighty Bob Tasca III—another local, but a mainstay of the full tour—in the first round. Driver Phil Burkart would pull off the upset, though, and the fans responded with a passionate salute as the crew made its way to the top end. (Their dreams of going all the way would be dashed in the second round after issues getting into reverse after the burnout.)
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Mechanical issues like Burkart’s are a dying breed in many forms of top level racing. Cynics about the spec vehicles seen in many of America’s biggest series complain that cars are run well below their true capabilities. That’s not an option in drag racing. With factory-backed efforts for Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, and even Dodge, not to mention horsepower in the high four or low five figures, every run features two machines built to run to their absolute limits, a thousand feet at a time.
But what else comes with pushing the limits besides blown motors? New records. And it didn’t take long for the old ones to fall in Epping.
Cool temperatures are a record book writer’s best friend, and the partly cloudy New Hampshire day only meandered in the 50s and 60s. That was good news for Top Fuel drivers Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force, who had shown blistering pace just over a month earlier on Friday night qualifying in Charlotte. Kalitta set a new track record at 3.646 seconds, while Force set a new all-time speed mark at 341.59 miles per hour.
Kalitta was the top qualifier this weekend, earning a bye run in the first round. He promptly threw down a 3.686 at 338.34 miles per hour, proving that there’s no such thing as a layup even when you only need to get to the finish line unopposed. Both were new track records for the man who completed his quest to win at every track on the NHRA schedule here last year. If anyone was going to knock him off, it was going to take a historic day.
Enter Force, who came into the day seeded fifth. New England Dragway holds a special place in her heart, as it was the site of her father John’s record 157th career win before a massive crash at Virginia Motorsports Park just weeks later sent him to the hospital with a brain injury. John Force has since returned to the track, but not in the cockpit of his familiar Funny Car just yet, and while both his stand-in (Jack Beckman) and protege (Austin Prock) have excelled so far this season for the family team, his daughter came to Epping looking for her first win of the year.
With that kind of motivation, it was no shock that Kalitta’s speed record lasted just minutes. Just like in Charlotte, Force would post the faster speed in the first round at 339.87 miles per hour. Her second round speed would fall to only 338.26, setting up a battle with Kalitta in the semifinals. Except this time, it wasn’t much of a battle—Force’s 3.681 seconds at 341.42 mph would make sure of that, even if Kalitta didn’t struggle to get off the line. Once again, both records were reset.
Closing out the day was a battle between Force and Tony Stewart, the man who decided that three NASCAR Cup Series titles and a Hall of Fame shrine, an IndyCar championship, and the establishment of multiple professional racing series and teams weren’t enough to satisfy him when going 330 was an option. The duo put on the most exciting final of the day, split by just .0074 seconds at the line, but Force’s second straight run in the 340s (3.694 seconds) ensured that a member of the First Family of Drag Racing would be holding a Wally at the top end once again in New Hampshire.
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It can be hard to balance the line between a fun gimmick and getting too gimmicky, especially when you’ve only got two cars on track at a time and two runs per day. Fortunately, the NHRA has found plenty of ways to make things interesting without crossing the line, and giving many of its qualifying runs dual utility.
From the second round of the season through the US Nationals on Labor Day that wrap up the regular season, the NHRA and title partner Mission Foods have an event called the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for extra cash and bonus points in the championship. The previous round’s semifinalists (or the next-fastest available, if one of those drivers doesn’t make the next round) run grudge matches in Saturday’s first qualifying pass, with their times counting for both qualifying results and the race-within-a-race, and the winners of those matchups run a new final. Kalitta and Beckman took the two nitro class wins in Epping, while Matt Hartford came out on top in Pro Stock.
If that wasn’t enough, Friday had its own perks with the unique Number 1 Clawifier award. The bit of handing out lobsters to anyone who wins a big race in New England is a little tired, but the NHRA found a way to make it interesting again by parking a chair made of lobster pots at the top end of the track and having the fastest driver in each class sit in it until either someone posted a faster time or the round ended. A lobster dinner that night was on the line for the teams that survived the gauntlet (not to mention the weather-related schedule changes).
But only one person could take the lobster chair home at the end of the weekend, and it would go to the Funny Car winner. That honor went to JR Todd, and if he didn’t have the record-setting speed that Force did, Team Kalitta was still certainly deserving of the honor. Todd’s Toyota blew up on Saturday’s final qualifying run, and the team had to rebuild it overnight just to make it to the line. The series may not have paid for a lobster dinner for the DHL Toyota team on Friday night, but here’s hoping that someone else footed the bill for one on Sunday.
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That the NHRA has figured out how to make its qualifying sessions dual-purpose is about the furthest that any given race weekend breaks from tradition. Everything else is a time capsule. Even the manufacturers and sponsors play a big role in that—in spite of all of Dodge’s fits and starts in other forms of racing, they’re firmly here behind names like Stewart and Matt Hagan, while endemic automotive brands primarily share space with tool brands, construction companies, and power equipment.
And it’s not just the more modern ones that you’ll see on site. Parked on the far end of the fan experience was a full setup for Mooneyes, one of drag racing’s most classic brands and the primary sponsor of Jim Dunn Racing’s Funny Car for Buddy Hull on the weekend. (Full disclosure: I dropped a fair amount of coin there over the weekend. I’m a sucker for a good vintage photo book.)
Of course, it’s pretty easy to justify keeping the age-old racing brands around when their products are still being actively used on race day. Even the ones that aren’t on the nitro bracket are seeing plenty of use in the lower-level classes, where dozens of old-school match races with dial-in times on the windshield are some of the first things you’ll see on Sunday morning after walking past the retro racer corner.
No matter your preferred spec, era, or manufacturer, the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series had a car for you. Classic muscle was of course prominent, but more modern Camaros and Mustangs made appearances of their own, and if not for their age and the occasional flashy paint scheme, most of the cars retain pretty close visual cues to what you’d see on the road on any given day. Four of the pro sportsman brackets accommodated five rounds of elimination; Stock Eliminator and Super Comp required six apiece. (Both of those classes are so popular at NHRA member venues that they’ve registered more than 500 point scorers apiece across America so far this season, and we’re just days into June.)
Just imagine if Sunday morning at a NASCAR short track saw Aero War-era stock cars doing battle for 100 laps. Or if the warmup for IndyCar at Long Beach was CART-era Lolas and Reynards fighting like they did 30 years ago.
In an era where racers and promoters alike are clamoring for more sold-out shows, and fans are looking for more on-track action like “the good old days,” maybe it’s worth a shot. The NHRA may produce the shortest races of any major-league series, but it’s preserved its original spirit for the longest. And in that respect, it just might offer a few other series out there the most to learn.
Special thanks to Allie Bland in the NHRA communications department for accommodating a last-minute credential request, and Ron Capps for his assistance in making it happen.