The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has recently experienced an infusion of new faces into its Top Fuel and Funny Car ranks , both with exciting young talent and racing veterans that have jumped into the deep end of the drag racing pool . Top Fuel has especially seen a spike in bright young stars , such as Jasmine Salinas , Ida Zetterström , Krista Baldwin , Cody Krohn , and Travis Shumake . Even Justin Ashley , who feels like a veteran at this point , won ’ t turn 30 until December .
“ I ’ m super excited for this new wave of nitro drivers entering the mix ,” says Zetterström , the 2023 FIA European Top Fuel champion . “ I think this year is probably the largest ‘ Rookie of the Year ’ class we have ever seen , and it says a lot about what is happening right now . The competition is fiercer than ever and the rookies coming in are performing at a high level , which is exciting for both fans and fellow competitors . I think this wave will continue and more new names will pop up on the entry lists within the next year and beyond .”
Add to that the star power of three-time NA-
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SCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart , who took over driving duties this season for wife Leah Pruett as they start a family . While no stranger to the racing world , Stewart is still a rookie when it comes to Top Fuel competition .
Funny Car , meanwhile , has seen multiple drivers shift into new roles , as Austin Prock and Buddy Hull switched over from Top Fuel , and Daniel Wilkerson took over full-time driving duties for his father , Tim .
Prock hasn ’ t skipped a beat filling in for veteran Robert Hight . After winning the $ 250,000 PRO Superstar Shootout in his Funny Car debut , the 29-year-old Prock has already gathered four NHRA Wallys in 2024 en route to a commanding points lead as of this writing . And with John Force stating publicly earlier this season that Prock would take over for him when he retires , the future of John Force Racing is secure .
While the veterans in the NHRA nitro ranks may not be ready to give up their spots on the totem pole just yet , it ’ s clear both classes are in good hands with the next generation of drivers .
– CRAIG COOK DI
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Reigning FIA European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström is now competing on U . S . soil as an NHRA Top Fuel rookie contender . |
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICK BELDEN , DAVID HILNER |
The seventh season of No Prep Kings has been a time of transition , moving away from Discovery Channel to their own live streaming service . While some may focus on the lower car count than in previous seasons , we believe there ’ s still a lot to be excited about . Perhaps the biggest takeaway this season is the incredible level of competition . Gone are the days where it seemingly took an act of God to prevent Ryan Martin from winning an event . Six different drivers have already found the winner ’ s circle in the first nine races this year .
“ It used to be there were probably five cars that you could tell were a lot faster than the rest of the field ,” says NPK Race Master Chris “ BoostedGT ” Hamilton . “ Now , that number is much bigger . There ’ s no ducks . Everyone is within a tenth of each other ; everybody has stepped up their game .”
Although Martin does have two event wins this year , he currently sits fourth in points . Kye Kelley , last year ’ s Individual points champion , is in seventh . Meanwhile , drivers like Giuseppe Gentile and Robin Roberts have positioned themselves
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to win their first championship .
Perhaps no one has upped their game more than longtime fan-favorite Shawn Ellington – better known as Murder Nova . Heading into this season , Ellington had never won an NPK Invitational . He already has two so far in 2024 . It ’ s safe to say the parity in the Invitational class has never been higher .
“ It really comes down to who leaves the line first ,” Hamilton says . “ They ’ re so close . If you ’ re getting beat by half a car , that ’ s considered a lot now . You can ’ t ask for much more .”
Another great aspect to this season is the more efficient format . With the first round taking place on Friday nights now – setting up a winner ’ s and loser ’ s bracket – the stakes are high both days . It also allows NPK to conclude by around 8 p . m .
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on Saturdays , as opposed to running late into the night like in previous seasons – enabling families to stay for the entire event , creating a better overall atmosphere .
“ In some of the formats we did in previous years – say Team Attack – fans would come on Friday , and their favorite driver may not represent their team that week ,” admits Hamilton . “ Now they get to see everybody race . It ’ s very streamlined . You ’ re essentially taking away a round of racing [ on Saturday ] because you ’ ve split the field into two different classes . I think it ’ s a great format change .”
While we may not know exactly what the future holds for NPK , we ’ re enjoying the current elite level of competition , and are excited to see how the series continues to evolve . – CRAIG COOK DI
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September / October 2024 |
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