A diesel oxidation catalyst is an exhaust part that helps clean up diesel fumes. It works by changing some of the harmful stuff into less harmful emissions.
A diesel particulate filter is a device that catches the smoky soot from a diesel engine’s exhaust. If it gets clogged, the car can run worse and may need service or a replacement.
DPFXfit is a company that sells aftermarket exhaust emissions parts for diesel trucks. They’re advertising filters and catalysts meant to replace the factory pieces.
FTI is a company that makes aftermarket parts for performance and drivetrain systems. In this segment, they’re talking about expanding their reach and product support.
Top Fuel Funny Car is a drag racing category. These cars are built for maximum acceleration over a short race distance, and they use specialized high-stress drivetrain parts.
McLeod driveline components is a company that makes drivetrain parts used in performance and racing. The segment says FTI teamed up with them to expand capabilities.
A torque converter is an automatic-transmission part that uses fluid to send power from the engine to the drivetrain. Racers use the right one to help the car launch harder and hook up better off the line.
Piston rings are the parts that seal the gap between the piston and the cylinder wall. Total Seal’s rings are designed to seal better so the engine holds compression and runs more consistently.
Ring seal technology is about making the piston rings seal tighter inside the engine. That helps keep combustion gases where they belong, which can improve power and consistency.
Motor State is a store that sells racing/auto parts. They’re mentioned because they now carry the same product line too.
Company
Cornwall quality tools
Cornwall Quality Tools is a company that’s supporting the racing effort. In this quote, it’s part of the team’s backing.
Concept
professional motor sports
They mean racing at the top, where it’s not just a hobby—there’s a lot more pressure and competition. The speaker is saying it felt like a whole new level.
In drag racing, the starting line is the exact spot where the cars line up before they launch. It’s where the run begins and everything is set up for the start.
“On rails” just means the car feels super stable and stays pointed straight. In drag racing, that’s a good sign that the tires and setup are working well.
Lane choice means picking which lane on the drag strip you’ll run in. If one lane has better grip, your car can launch and stay straight more easily.
Term
tested
In drag racing, “testing” usually means running the car in controlled practice sessions to evaluate setup changes like tire pressure, gearing, and tune. The goal is to find a combination that produces consistent elapsed times and stable launches.
Concept
Wally four races
“Wally” is the name of the trophy NHRA gives to winners. “Wally four races” here sounds like a group of NHRA events where drivers are trying to win those trophies.
An “alcohol funny car” is a drag-racing funny car that uses alcohol fuel instead of regular gas. The engine and tune have to be set up differently so it can make power reliably.
Brand
Chris Cunningham
Chris Cunningham is the person they’re talking about most in this segment. They’re describing his presence and how he’s been involved with racing.
In drag racing, the event is split into multiple elimination rounds. “Round by round” means they’re talking about each matchup in order, not the whole event at once.
“ETS” is an abbreviation for the specific drag racing class or series they’re talking about. It tells you what rules and car category the race is using.
“First round” is the first head-to-head race in the elimination bracket. If you win, you move on to the next round; if you lose, you’re done for the day.
Term
95 zero
In drag racing, they measure how fast the car runs using elapsed time (ET). “95 zero” sounds like a shorthand ET number they’re reading off the results.
“Super Comp” is a specific drag racing class with rules about what the car can be and how it’s set up. The training helps drivers learn how to launch and drive these cars effectively for that class.
“Second round” is the next head-to-head race after the first one. Teams try to make small changes so the car runs the same way again.
Term
on rinse and repeat
“Rinse and repeat” here means the goal is to run the car the same way again and again. If the car keeps behaving the same, you’re more likely to advance.
In drag racing, a “bracket car” is tuned and driven to be consistent. The idea is to hit your target time as closely as possible and then beat the other car by being closer to your own prediction.
“Car to beat” just means the other racers think that car is the toughest one in the field right now. Everyone else is trying to beat it in the next runs.
Concept
97
In drag racing, numbers like “97” usually refer to how many seconds the car took to run the track. Faster elapsed time (ET) means the car got down the finish line quicker.
Term
elimination bracket
An elimination bracket is the tournament format where you keep moving forward by winning. If you lose, you’re usually out of the event.
“Pedaled it” means the driver briefly backs off the gas and then reapplies it to get control again. It’s often used when the car starts to spin or lose traction.
“Funny car” is a type of drag racing class. The cars are built for very fast launches, and the drivers have to handle traction and control under hard acceleration.
This is NHRA drag racing shown on Fox. The host is saying that doing that job helped them learn how the sport works.
Term
drivers drove
In drag racing, how the driver drives—especially at launch—can make a big difference in performance. Even small changes in throttle and timing can affect how well the car hooks up.
A crew chief is the team member who calls the shots on strategy and car setup. They work with the rest of the crew to decide what to change between runs.
In drag racing, the temperature of the track matters because it changes how well the tires grip the surface. That can affect how well the car launches and accelerates.
Track conditions are basically how the track surface is behaving that day—how slippery or grippy it is. That can change how the car performs and what the team needs to do for each run.
A clutch is what helps transfer power from the engine to the drive wheels. In drag racing, how you engage it at launch can make the car hook up or bog down.
“Funny cars” are a type of drag race car. They’re built specifically for straight-line racing and are designed to launch hard over a short distance.
Term
drafters
“Drafters” are drivers who take advantage of drafting. Drafting means staying close behind another car to reduce air resistance and potentially go faster.
Staging is how you line up at the start line before the race begins. You’re positioning the car so it can launch at the right time when the lights start.
Race control is the group of officials who run the event and make sure the rules are followed. They also handle timing and any calls that need to be made during the race.
The launch is how the car gets moving right after the start. That’s when tire grip and throttle control decide whether it goes straight or starts to slide.
Concept
shoving me over the wall
They’re saying the car started pushing sideways toward the track wall. That usually means the tires weren’t gripping evenly, so the car didn’t stay pointed straight.
Concept
cross the finish line
Crossing the finish line means the race run is over. After that, the track’s systems and signals kick in and the car starts slowing down.
Concept
breaks on
This sounds like the brakes being applied right after the run. It’s how the driver slows the car down safely once they’re past the finish.
Car
pro mod cars
“Pro Mod” is a drag-racing category. It’s for heavily modified cars built to go extremely fast down the strip.
Topic
tractors going
They’re talking about track vehicles/equipment moving around the strip. Seeing them is a clue that the event is still in progress, not over after their run.
“Space Wagon” sounds like a nickname for a car, not a typical official model name. In a podcast, it’s probably used to describe a wagon-style vehicle that looks unusual or has a fun theme. More details from the episode would be needed to identify the exact make and model.
Larisse Motorsports Insurance is an insurance company that specializes in covering racing-related stuff. They’re pitching it as coverage for race cars, tools, and other track equipment.
Friction is the “drag” between moving engine parts. More friction usually means more heat and faster wear, which can hurt how well the engine performs.
Piston rings are small metal parts on the piston that help keep combustion gases from leaking and help manage engine oil. Better ring design can reduce friction, which helps the engine last longer.
The WFL Radio League is a way for listeners to join a group competition for the fantasy bracket game. They’re encouraging people to sign up and play.
Topic
factory hot rods
They mean race cars that start from regular, production models, not one-off custom builds. Then teams modify them to race.
Topic
Lucas Oil Racers
This is a racing category or group tied to Lucas Oil sponsorship. It usually means a specific set of competitors and rules within the event.
Term
transmission sliders
“Transmission sliders” are internal parts inside the gearbox that physically move to select gears. If you shift at the wrong time—especially under hard launch conditions—you can damage them.
In drag racing, “60-foot” is how fast the car gets down the track’s first 60 feet. Faster 60-foot times usually mean the launch was better and the car hooked up well right away.
Term
ET
“ET” means elapsed time—how long the car takes to finish the race distance. Lower ET usually means the car ran faster overall.
A “forward back gear shifter” means the gear lever moves forward and backward to shift. Some racing cars use this style so shifting can be quicker and more consistent.
An “H pattern shifter” is the common manual-transmission gear layout where you move the stick into an H-shaped pattern to pick gears. It’s different from some racing shifters that move forward/back instead.
Term
Liberty style shifter
A “Liberty style” shifter is a drag-racing shifter setup. It’s designed so you can quickly and precisely select gears during hard acceleration runs.
Term
dog-ring engagement
Dog-ring engagement is a racing-style way of locking gears together. It relies on the transmission’s internal clutch pieces and the driver’s shifter position—so when you lift off the gas, the gear can want to disengage.
Here “ratchet” means the transmission wants to push the shifter back when you let off the gas. It’s like the mechanism is set up to stay put only while you’re pulling power.
Term
ramps backwards
“Ramps backwards” is about the shape inside the transmission that helps gears lock under power. When you lift off, that same design can make the transmission want to let go of the gear.
A gear mismatch means you end up in a gear that doesn’t “fit” the car’s current speed. In race cars, that can make the clutch take a huge hit instead of the shift being smooth. The result can be clutch damage that needs replacement.
“Subaru Uncharted” sounds like a name for an event or challenge, not a clearly defined car model. In the podcast, it’s being used to describe doing something new or unfamiliar. To know the exact vehicle, you’d need more details from the episode.
“Clutch comes in” means the clutch finally grabs and starts sending power through the drivetrain. In a race, when that happens matters a lot—if it grabs at the wrong time, the car can jerk or upset the suspension. That’s why they connect it to the front end moving around.
Term
gear groove
“Groove” is the familiar, repeatable way the car is supposed to behave during a run. After a bad shift or upset, they’re trying to get back to the right RPM and traction so the car accelerates smoothly again. It’s basically getting back to the “right rhythm.”
The Ford Bronco is a type of SUV made to drive on rough roads and off-road trails. People talk about it when they’re describing how it feels to drive, like if the ride or movement feels bumpy or “bucking.”
“Dump the clutch” means letting the clutch out very fast at launch. It’s a way to get the car moving hard, but if traction isn’t right it can cause wheelspin.
“Pop the chutes” means opening the parachutes at the end of a drag race to help slow the car down safely. The timing matters so the car stays stable.
Term
radial prep
In drag racing, “radial prep” means preparing the track and/or tires so the tires grip the road the way the team wants. It’s done to make launches more consistent and prevent the car from spinning too much.
Term
braumeters
They’re talking about a track readout that helps estimate the air conditions. In drag racing, the air can change a lot from run to run, and that can change how much power the car makes.
Vapor pressure is basically how “ready” water is to turn into vapor. When it’s lower (and the air is drier), the engine often makes more consistent power.
The track surface doesn’t stay the same all day. As more cars run (and after rain), the grip can change, so the car may feel different in later rounds.
Second gear is one of the car’s gear settings. When the car shifts into it, the wheels and engine are working differently, and that can affect traction—especially on a track surface that’s not behaving well.
Tire spin happens when the tires lose grip and start spinning instead of pushing the car forward. If the track is slick or the rubber isn’t right, the tires can get damaged very fast.
Race tracks get a sticky layer of rubber over time from cars running. If it’s not thick enough—or rain messes with it—the track can be slippery or unpredictable, so they may clean it up.
This is a drag racing event run by NHRA. The point here is that teams may not be as familiar with that particular track, which can change how they set up and prepare.
Test runs are practice passes where a drag-racing team evaluates how the car behaves and makes setup changes. Teams use them to check things like traction, acceleration, and whether the car is consistent enough to race.
Pro Stock is a specific class of drag racing. It’s not just any race car—these cars are built and tuned for that category, and the host is saying they hadn’t been there driving one before.
NHRA is a big organization that runs drag races. A “national event” means it’s a major race weekend that brings in lots of fans, which helps the track become more popular over time.
Concept
national record area
“National record area” means they were talking about times fast enough to be near national record performance. It’s about whether the car and track conditions could produce record-level results.
Drag racing times can be adjusted based on the weather. A “correction factor range” is basically a way to say how good (or bad) the air and conditions were for fast runs.
Concept
redragon
“Redragon” sounds like a specific product or method they use on the track to help with traction. The segment doesn’t give enough detail to say exactly what it is.
Concept
16th
“16th” here sounds like a position in the event bracket or field. That placement can change who you race next.
A “whole shot” means you get off the line first in a drag race. If you launch better than the other car, you usually have the advantage for the whole run.
In racing, “safety equipment” is the protective gear drivers must wear to reduce injury in a crash. The transcript is saying he removed his required gear while still on the track, which is not allowed.
In drag racing, qualifying is like a timed tryout before the bracket races. “Number one qualifying” means you were the fastest in qualifying and usually get the best starting spot for the elimination rounds.
In drag racing, reaction time is how fast you launch after the starting lights. They’re saying most Pro Stock drivers didn’t get extremely fast starts that day.
Rules changes are updates to what race teams are allowed to build and use. In Pro Stock, those changes can affect how the cars breathe and how fast they can run.
A hood scoop is a raised opening on the hood that helps bring air into the engine. In racing, where airflow matters a lot, the shape and fit can affect how strong the car runs.
They’re talking about an earlier time when the race cars used carburetors to feed fuel/air. That older setup can change what parts you need and how the engine bay has to be shaped.
“Semis” means the semifinal round. It’s the stage right before the final, so racers have to perform well again to move on.
Company
Black family
The “Black family” is referenced as the group behind the racing team they credit for helping enable the driver’s career. In motorsports, family-run or sponsor-backed teams often provide the funding, engineering support, and logistics needed to compete at a high level.
An internal combustion engine is the type of engine that burns fuel inside the engine to make power. Fogging oil is used to protect those internal parts during storage.
“Alcohol cars” are drag racers that use alcohol-based fuel instead of regular gasoline. That fuel choice affects how the engine burns and how the car is set up.
A dyno is a special testing machine that measures how much power a car makes. Instead of guessing, teams can test changes and see what actually improves performance.
They’re experimenting with different oil versions until they find one that works best for their race setup. It’s a trial-and-improvement process, not a one-shot change.
A backup engine is an extra engine the team keeps ready in case the main one has a problem. Drag racing is so hard on the engine that teams plan for failures and swap parts quickly.
A “tune up” here means changing the bike’s engine settings to make it run better for the track. Even small tweaks can change how strong it feels during a race run.
Term
air feels
“Air feels” means the racers are noticing that the air at the track is affecting how the engine runs. If the air is different, the bike may need a setup change to feel right.
Term
motor all the way apart
“Motor all the way apart” means they took the engine apart completely to check what was wrong. That’s often necessary when something inside may be damaged.
Intake cams are parts inside the engine that control when the engine lets air in. If the intake cam timing is damaged, the engine can lose power and become unsafe to run.
“Cam teeth” are the gear teeth that help keep the engine’s timing synchronized. If some teeth are lost, the engine timing can get messed up and the motor may be damaged.
Term
trash talk
“Trash talk” is the playful (or not-so-playful) back-and-forth between competitors. It’s a common part of racing rivalries and hype.
Concept
pro stop motorcycle
The speaker mentions “pro stop motorcycle” as part of someone’s racing background. The exact meaning (a specific racing class or series) isn’t fully clear from this snippet.
Concept
XZ eighth
“XZ eighth” sounds like a specific racing class or event name. The snippet doesn’t give enough detail to know exactly what it means, but it’s clearly part of the racing context.
“Shift points” are the moments when you change gears while accelerating. If you shift at the right time, the engine keeps pulling strongly instead of losing momentum.
A “toggle switch card” is an electronic part that controls the fuel pump. If it malfunctions, the bike may cut out, like it did to them in the first round.
Term
MSR
MSR is a racing venue mentioned in the conversation. The point is that it gives other riders a chance to compete and get runs in.
Topic
Chicago
They’re talking about the next race location—Chicago. Different tracks can feel different, so teams often adjust their setup.
The Gator Nationals is a drag racing meet. They’re saying the time off after that event makes it harder to stay sharp, but now they’re getting back into rhythm.
“Dino” is slang for a dynamometer—basically a testing machine that measures how strong an engine is. It helps teams tune without needing to race every time.
The Wally trophy is the famous NHRA drag racing championship trophy. In this story, they’re excited about winning one and about how the trophy’s diamond design makes it feel like a bigger prize.
VP Fuel is a brand of racing fuels used in motorsports. In nitro/drag contexts, fuel choice and consistency are critical for power, tuning, and repeatable performance.
In drag racing, “345” is about how fast the car is going by the time it reaches the end of the run. Reaching a number like that is a big deal because it means the car is accelerating extremely hard. They’re also talking about how surprising it was that major news outlets reported it.
They’re talking about testing in Gainesville, where drag teams practice and try changes to see what works. The point is that the huge speed number happened during testing, so it seemed credible. They’re using it to argue the sport is improving.
Air deflectors are small aerodynamic parts that help control how air flows around the car. In drag racing, that can help the car stay stable and efficient at very high speed. The hosts are saying aero changes are part of why speeds are rising.
They’re talking about hitting 345 mph during qualifying, which is the session that sets up where the car starts for the race. It’s important because it shows the car can do that speed under official event conditions. They also bring up whether it followed the rules.
Term
points for a record
They’re talking about a scoring idea where people get extra points when they set a new record. The goal is to make record-breaking feel like a big deal in the results.
Term
340 club
They’re using “340 club” as a nickname for people who’ve hit a very high speed milestone. It’s basically a way to say, “you’ve reached the next big level,” even if it’s not an official club.
They mean the team has to adapt as conditions change during the day. If the track is different from one run to the next, the car may need adjustments to keep running strong.
Topic
Life's a Drag
“Life’s a Drag” is a drag-racing show/segment the hosts reference as another place where Jason Logan appears. It’s presented as part of the broader drag-racing media ecosystem around NHRA fans.
Topic
Q1 on Friday
“Q1” means qualifying session 1. Qualifying is when drivers try to set their best times to decide who starts where.
Top Fuel is the fastest class in NHRA drag racing. The cars use very powerful engines and try to accelerate as hard as possible to cover the track distance in the quickest time.
Miles per hour (mph) is a speed unit commonly used in U.S. motorsports reporting, especially for drag-racing trap speeds. The transcript contrasts mph with kilometers per hour to make the numbers easier for an international audience.
NHRA is a big drag-racing organization in the U.S. “NHRA TV” is basically where they show the races on TV or online so you can watch what’s happening at the track.
Bonneville is a famous place in Utah where people try to set world land-speed records on the salt flats. It’s more about going extremely fast in a straight line than racing another car.
Land speed racing is when vehicles try to hit the highest speed possible over a measured course. It’s less about quick starts and more about staying stable and fast for the whole run.
A solo speed trial is when one car goes for maximum speed by itself, not against another car in the same run. It’s different from drag racing where you’re racing another car.
Concept
North American rocket car record
A rocket car record is a top-speed record attempt by a car that uses rocket power. The discussion is basically about which record gets surpassed first.
Concept
Santa Pond
Santa Pod is a famous drag-racing track. The host brings it up because someone achieved a speed milestone there.
Aero deflectors are little body parts that change how air flows around the car. The goal is usually to make the car more stable and efficient at speed.
Concept
natural evolution
“Natural evolution” means the performance got better gradually. Teams keep learning and improving the car and setup race after race.
Term
points for record
This is about balancing two goals: scoring points in the championship and trying to set records. Sometimes the safest strategy for points matters more than chasing a record every time.
The U.S. Nationals is a major drag-racing event where racers try to have their cars perfectly set up for the whole weekend. It’s a big deal because the competition is tough and you need to be ready for multiple elimination rounds.
Super Stock is a drag-racing category for cars that start as regular production vehicles but get performance upgrades. Racers go head-to-head and advance by running better than the other car.
Stock Eliminator is a drag-racing class where the cars have to stay relatively close to stock. Racers still tune and improve them, but the rules keep the competition more “production-like.”
Concept
Super Cop
Super Cop is the name of a specific drag-racing class at the event. It’s how they group cars and racers so they compete under the same rules.
Top Dragster is a drag-racing category for dragsters—special-purpose race cars designed for straight-line speed. James Brown is mentioned as the winner in that class.
Concept
Summit Race Equipment Junior Shootout
The Summit Race Equipment Junior Shootout is a drag-racing competition for younger racers. The hosts mention it while listing the Junior Dragster results.
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This is WFO Radio.
Hey, everybody. WFO Radio NHRA Nitro is back.
I'm Joe Costello and boy, do we have a great show for you.
I am super excited.
We've got the winners from the Southern Nationals, the South Georgia Motorsports Park in Funny Car Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Jordan Vandegriffe, he made the run, the same run as Uncle Bob made years ago.
What a tribute to the family legacy.
We're going to speak to Jordan from John Force Racing moments from now.
So listen, if you're a fan of John Force Racing of John Force yesterday was May the fourth May the force be with you.
John Force's birthday also Star Wars Day.
How about that?
We ask you to post the show and if you're out there in one of those John Force only John Force fan Facebook groups and groups like that.
How about a drop of comment about this kid getting his first win in race number four?
Shocker will talk about it also on the show.
Dallas Glenn, was it the ugliest pro stock race in history?
We'll see what Dallas has to say.
But I found it entertaining.
You know, they don't have to be beautiful record setting performances like seeing guys, you know, shake the fillings out of their teeth.
Assuming they have some that can be entertaining too.
And Dallas survived.
That's why he's a world champion over Troy Coughlin Jr.
And the final round.
Matt Smith, no such issues for the pro stock motorcycles set the top speed.
All kinds of great running this weekend with pro stock bike and Matt Smith is your winner.
We'll hear from all three of those winners from South Georgia Motorsports Park.
The star South Georgia Motorsports Park are first time there.
The first of four new venues here in the 75th season of NHRA drag racing.
I'm super excited.
The first one, the leadoff hitter couldn't have done much better.
Ralph Torres, Jennifer, they had the Cuban coffee going.
They got us fired up.
The place was packed two days.
We could have called a sellout on Saturday.
Guys, we could have done it.
They decided, you know what, let's wait till Sunday and then announce them both, announce them both.
Let's walk down the hill and announce them both.
And it was a great deal.
So we're going to get into all that.
Jordan is queued up in the red room.
I see your comments in the comment section.
I do want to shout out to the people who make it's possible for me to go WFO as often as I do.
You already heard from Jesse and the fine folks at FTI performance transmissions and torque converters.
I'll tell you a little bit more about Larisse Motorsports insurance later on, but your stuff should be covered.
Unless you can just like easily replace it, which I can't, which is why I am a policy holder.
Total seal piston rings.
The leader in ring seal technology.
Thank you.
Total seal and thank you.
Redline synthetic oil, Bernie's speed shop.
That's Josh Hart.
That's Jordan's teammate, Josh Hart over there.
Bernie's over a hundred thousand square feet in Ocala, Florida.
They're buying.
They're selling.
They do consignment.
You definitely want to check out their inventory.
Our great friends at Frank Hawley's drag racing school.
This is all like related to Jordan.
He went to Frank Hawley's drag racing school.
Our great friends at husseyperformance.net, not just copper gaskets anymore.
Course Fogget is now available at Motor State in addition to summit racing equipment.
I prefer you order from summit just because they put me in the catalog.
Let's see how that works.
Our great friends, Marvin Rodak, Rodax coffee and grills.com, hot sauces, spice rub, everything good.
Marvin Rodak.
Appreciate him for supporting the show.
But right now, let's bring on.
I guess we're getting two guests.
We got Jordan van Agrippen, his little golden buddy.
What's up?
It's either diamond.
He's diamond this year.
Diamond Wally.
Look at that.
Yeah, beautiful.
All right, let's let's can the the talk and just get right to the emotion.
Jordan, you came into the sport and it was all ripped away for reasons that were not your fault.
And then you were on the outside and you might never have gotten back and you did a whole bunch of stuff in in the quest for this,
including reality TV, man.
Everybody knows that was just that was just for this.
And now you and now you got it.
Well, it was for love, Joe.
It was for love.
But, you know, yeah, Joe, you know, you know how long I've been waiting to do this interview with you.
I mean, I came on your show, you know, when my rookie year started in 2019.
And I remember I was sitting in my shop at the, you know, sitting in my office in Indiana and did the show together.
And I remember thinking, man, I want to be on that show after I win.
And that was eight, nine years ago now, you know, and so much has happened.
So much has transpired since then and so many nights and thoughts and dreams and and work and doubts and, you know, everything.
Yeah, I mean, I could go on and on about, you know, how long of a road this has been for me.
But to get this opportunity with John Force racing and Cornwall quality tools and having John believe in me.
That was really all I needed to, you know, kind of kind of just take it take it as I can go, you know, and do the best I can.
And we've got this.
I've got this.
Now I've got one of these now, Joe.
I've got one of these, Joe.
Look at this thing, man.
Amazing.
No, it's amazing.
And I want to talk about the doubts, though, because you're a confident guy.
We know that you're confident.
Why wouldn't you be confident, right?
You had a little family legacy.
Your uncle Bob is an athlete, your mom and dad.
They love you to death.
You've got a great situation, but this is a different league.
This is professional motor sports.
You can you can come in with some swagger and then you may rapidly realize like, oh my gosh, there's so much that I don't know.
So talk a little bit about those tough times because I think that's what people really learn for like, oh man, Jordan had concerns.
Jordan had doubts.
Yeah, I mean, absolutely.
I did, you know, like, you know, I, you know, my rookie year in 2019, you know, was driving for my family and, you know, on a part time schedule, but things went great.
You know, we were winning and we were doing well and going rounds, going on my first final round back then and everything was great.
And then, you know, it all got taken away.
And then, you know, COVID hit and things changed.
And I definitely saw myself, you know, sitting on the sidelines where I didn't expect to be again.
And and it took a long time.
You know, it was very, you know, I remember back when it first, you know, was taken away.
I just remember feeling so sad and better.
Honestly, I was so bitter about it and I was upset.
And, you know, that's why I stayed away from the racetrack for a few years because I was upset and seeing other people, you know, have success and have the seats that I wanted.
And and, you know, then I kind of just, you know, decided, you know what, you know, this is what I want to do.
You know, I want to drive again.
I have a singular goal.
You know, I said that in my interview on the track, a singular goal on the singular goal, simple, simple, plain and simple drive again.
That's it.
That was that was one that was the one thing that I wanted to do.
And so I just focused all of my energy into, okay, well, what do I need to do to drive again?
And, you know, I did do some things, you know, on on national television.
And and then after that, it was like, okay, I need to be back at the racetrack.
You know, I thought, you know, do I do I become a crew guy?
Do I move back to Indy?
I thought a bunch of these things.
I was like, I just need to get back to the racetrack.
And then it was like, you know what, I wonder if Fox and a train on Fox would would take me as a reporter and they did.
And I took that, you know, in stride.
And I just was like, okay, I'm going to be the best reporter I could possibly be and working with you, Joe.
It was great.
And, you know, I wanted that, you know, that I wanted to use as, you know, broadening our sport.
You know, I wanted to learn about the behind the scenes and things like that and, you know, did that for a while.
And there were times even in my time with any current Fox that, you know, I still questioned it.
You know, it was like, man, you know, I'm here now, I'm working at the TV side, but it doesn't feel like I was having conversations.
And it just it just things weren't still working out on the driving aspect.
There were times where I was sitting on the starting line doing my reporting job and I was watching cars good on the track in my golf cart.
And I was like, man, I don't know if I'll ever get the opportunity to do this again.
And then John Force called the soft season and gave me the dream.
So just doing all this to make him proud.
Happy birthday, John, by the way, we love you.
And it's a surreal feeling, Joe.
It's a surreal feeling.
It was a tough weekend for the Force family.
The passing of Adra that was news that kind of got out there.
And now I think everybody understands where John has been for the past few races to be able to deliver a victory, a bright spot in what will always be a tough part of the calendar for John.
That's that's got to feel great also.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, you know, I think, you know, Adra had definitely something to do with this win.
I just I had a feeling, you know, this weekend, you know, and knowing what the Force family was going through for the last few weeks and coming into this race.
I just felt different, Joe.
I felt different on Sunday, you know, on Sunday.
I they say that you come into some days and you just feel different.
I never felt that before.
Obviously, I never had a win before, so I never felt it.
But there was a few times throughout the day, I was in the back of my pit looking across, you know, just into Georgia into the state of Georgia away from the racetrack.
And I just had a few feelings where I was like, man, I haven't felt like this before.
And after first round, the car went, you know, Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker and all of my guys had this Cornwall quality tools.
Funny car.
It was it was just on rails.
It was literally on rails all weekend after first round.
I think that it was that was the smoothest run I've had in this funny car.
This this entire year so far, it was so smooth, so straight, so clean, didn't shake, didn't rattle, didn't do anything.
And then when we did it again in second round and it felt the exact same.
That was when I was like, OK, I think we have the car that can do it here today.
So keeping lane choice was super important for us.
We were able to do that and keep the right lane and it paid off.
It paid off.
It paid off.
It paid off.
So we got people in the chat.
Everybody wishing you congratulations and we certainly appreciate that.
Congratulations.
Jordan says Eddie, who is a super fan, obviously.
Imagine if John Force was a broadcaster, people wouldn't be able to get a word in edge.
Edgewise congratulations.
Jordan says key Jordan is proof that no matter what he pursued,
he succeeded WFO Jordan.
That is great stuff.
OK, one more backward looking question because the how you got here, right?
Like now we can talk about it.
I think we've shared that you were thinking about going in one direction,
but maybe that wasn't going to happen.
You tested in John's car.
Some said and I want you to address this.
Some said the test didn't go great.
I think it's the first time in a night to a funny car.
It's never going to go great.
We are with holding the Wally four races in.
I you're ahead of the curve.
I had planned for you.
I told you it was like halfway through the season that we started to apply
a little expectation at all.
That's my clock.
So walk us through that like the how you got here now that you're a race
winner.
I think it's more impactful to hear that.
Yeah.
I mean, over the years, you know, a lot of things happened.
You know, I could go through every single opportunity that I might have had
that almost came together, but there was three or four of them.
But you know, John called me in 2023, I believe was the first time we spoke
about possibly doing something and it was it was for a different situation.
And so, you know, we were working toward that goal and and that's why I
tested in this funny car in 2024 and you were trying to get me in the fold
in sort of the team and you know, just get kind of, you know, adjusted to the
team or you could do that.
We didn't talk about a lot though.
And that situation when it took its course and it was like, okay, and yeah,
let me talk about that test for a second, Joe.
I've really got a bone to pick actually because a lot of people.
You're welcome.
You wanted to do this.
Go for it.
I even heard you say something on the broadcast, but in Charlotte, I believe
last race.
But yeah, I mean, I went into that test, you know, I hadn't driven a car.
I drove, you know, I finished in 2019 on my top fuel car.
I drove Tony Schumacher's Dragster in a test in 2022 one run and we went like
72, 74 at like 320 something.
I had one run.
That was it.
And then it was 2024, two years later.
I'd never driven a funny car.
I hadn't been in a car in two years and I came into John Force's funny car with
him sit there with his entire team put together and they were running well.
And I just really had no idea what to expect and looking back on that, I was
not ready for that test.
I know that for a fact.
I got in there and I obviously, you know, I did the best I could.
It was just a total different experience.
You know, these funny cars are completely different than the Dragster.
And so I didn't, I didn't know what to expect.
I got in there and hit the gas and I was like, okay, well, what was that?
And then it was the next one was like, okay, that went way further, right?
Then I expected and I didn't have time to correct it.
And then the third one, I was just trying to keep it in the middle and I
was over driving it.
You know, it was my third run in this, I didn't know what to expect.
And looking back on that, I'm glad that I had those runs though because they
definitely helped me this year because I've had years to think about those
runs and how that test went.
And then when I went to Frank Holly's Drag Racing School over the
soft season, he, he really helped me out.
You know, John gave me a bunch of advice.
Jack Beckman gave me a bunch of advice.
But Frank Holly, when I went to him over the soft season, we tested and hit,
or we drove, I drove his alcohol funny car.
We did eight runs, something like that.
And about the third run through, he was starting to say stuff and it was
starting to click to me.
It was like, okay, I'm starting to get this now.
I, I'm understanding what this funny car is going to need.
And so far, so good in this Cornwall quality tools funny car, Joe.
You know, it's, it's five races in and I've got one of these things and
I'm feeling, I'm starting to feel good about what, what it's doing.
Um, but this car was so easy to drive this weekend.
This, this, this funny car, Chris Cunningham, just, it was just unbelievable.
It was straight, true.
And, uh, and we got the one.
I think it's important to know about the tough times to fully appreciate how
much ground has been covered to get to this moment.
I do want to talk about Chris Cunningham.
We got to talk about your run back.
Like, but, but let's get there.
Let's do the round by round cause I'm looking at the ETS and, uh, you know,
you're seven, you're 76 first round against Jeff Oren.
They gave you all you could handle 95 zero on the track.
And I talked to Chris and Chris Cunningham.
He has been most of the years, always very willing to talk to me.
He and Jimmy working together.
I would go to him sometimes.
Uh, he's a South Florida guy, Darryl Gwynn got a personal legacy.
I've always wanted to make sure he gets the appropriate love and attention
from people out there, but he's also been kind of a quiet guy.
We had him on the show a few weeks ago.
He said, I'm, I'm ready now.
I'm ready to be in the spotlight and you can hear it in his interviews.
He almost felt like he was going to win from that first round win.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then, you know, Chris Cunningham, you know, let me tell you, I am so
honored to work with him and drive for him.
And, um, you're right, Joe.
I think, you know, I think our whole team has a lot to prove.
And I think, you know, he does as well and, uh, he's ready.
You know, just like me, I think we're both ready to step into the spotlight
and showcase what we can do and any, any proved right there.
Yeah.
That 395 and Jeff Oren gave us all we could handle for sure.
And it was a full circle moment for me because when I first went to Frank
Holly's drag racing school for super comp in the very beginning back in 2018,
Jeff Oren was my teacher there.
So, um, he taught me how to drive a super comp car and I got out of the car
after we won first round.
I said, Hey man, you know, full circle for me.
Thank you for everything.
You, you were there at the beginning of all of this.
So, uh, it was cool to, to run you.
But yeah, we, we had that 395 and I got out and Chris, you know, I went up
in the lounge and Chris was like, man, that thing was smooth.
And I said, it felt smooth and, um, it felt good in the morning.
And then like I said, when we did it again, you know, I think we ran 95 six
at 3 32 in the second round.
Uh, it was like, okay, this thing, you know, this thing's on rinse and repeat
right here.
So if we can keep this thing going all day, we'll have a good shot at it.
You had yourself a bracket car.
You had to run Spencer hide in the head and corporate machine.
They went up in smoke, but I like, I confess.
Like I love Spencer and Spencer is the next first time race winner.
It's going to happen at some point.
He's talented.
He's amazing, but I couldn't help but look at the ladder and think like maybe
this is the day that we see that first you and Austin sat side by side at the
autograph session.
You guys were, you know, yucking it up.
I talked to Austin and Charlotte about the move and, and you know, like
there's all these different.
Like you wouldn't be here if he hadn't made that decision.
You'd be somewhere else.
It's all connected, but I, I'm excited for whenever that's going to happen.
Okay.
It could happen today.
I'm looking at the letter.
It did not happen.
And you went through Spencer hide with 96 and pretty much a bracket car at that
point.
Yeah.
I mean, that, that, that situation is going to happen.
We'll do with that when we get there.
But, um, yeah, we, we, you know, we just had the car to beat, I believe.
And having that right lane, having lane choice was super important for us.
And I think, you know, it's pretty obvious, but you know, cars made good runs
down that left lane.
You know, we were coming into that second round and Spencer had ran a 97 in that
left lane on the first round against Austin.
So, uh, you know, going into that round, it was like, well, okay, well,
Spencer can get down this lane.
So it's going to be an even race.
And, and we knew we had to be on it.
And Chris Cunningham, Jason Munker and the boys were.
So, um, it's, it's, it was just an unbelievable day, Joe.
I, I, I don't know if I processed it still, um, but it, I mean, I'm sitting here
with my buddy, Wally, and I got my medal right.
Look, I've got, I'm surrounded by all of it right here.
I got this.
I got my hat right here.
I got it all, man.
I, it's just a great day.
That is great.
That is great.
Well, someone even said here in the chat, okay, they wanted you to show them the diamond.
Let's, uh, they like, I can't see the diamond.
Where's the diamond on the Wally?
On the bottom.
There it is.
Look at that.
I love it.
That diamond.
So other nationals right there.
Boom.
The Georgia connection.
All right.
Well, we'll get to that at the end because, okay, you got through Hunter Green, Hunter
very tough.
He beat his dad.
So he got a highlight on this given day.
But in this, uh, in this case, another 96, 331 to set up a final round against JR Todd.
Before the show, you were telling me that you guys used a clip of me setting up the
final and I'm, I don't know what part you use, but I'm thinking back to what I said.
And you have two young men who couldn't possibly want it more.
JR's trying for the Coletta double.
He's told me he's told everyone like that is what they're there for to make Connie
happen with those Coletta doubles.
They've been rare.
But then over on the other side, here's Jordan trying to win for John force,
trying to win for himself.
So we could set up this deal and that's, that's intense.
That is an intense setup to the final round.
So walk me through that final.
Yeah, definitely.
I mean, going up against JR and the Coletta boys right now, like, you know, I,
I saw a post on Instagram after the race was over, but you know, something came up
on my feed of where they all qualified and it was like, JR was one.
I think Doug was one and Sean was two.
And I'm like, you know, you combine these guys qualifying scores, they have four
out of three, you know, it's four and they have three drivers.
It's like, you know, the whole team is clicking on all cylinders right now.
And, you know, I was behind JR and the semis.
So I watched him and what they did in the right, you know, they went up and smoke
and he pedaled it and you want it.
Now I was in the car thinking, you know, that's, that's a driver right there.
You know, he's going to be able to handle this car.
And so coming into the final, I'm like, if anything goes wrong, you know,
I know I have to be on it and because I know he will.
And, you know, we knew that, that they weren't going to be anything to mess
with in that left lane either.
So yeah, Titanic matchup and honestly super, super honored, super grateful
to get that win against him.
And he came by the winter circle, which I thought was really cool.
So I wanted to thank him.
Thank you for coming by and giving me some props.
It really means a lot to me.
You know, you know, Joe, coming into this class at the beginning of this year,
I just wanted, you know, I wanted to feel like I belong or I wanted to prove
to the other funny car drivers out here that, that I can do it with them
and be there with them.
And when stuff like that happens, I think, I think it solidifies my, my
place right now.
So hopefully I can keep doing it.
Well, and here's a question from D rail.
He wants to know if you think your NHRA on Fox experience made you a
better driver, I think it made you a better interview.
Like you're telling you experience good and bad of otherwise.
But what about that?
Was that good training for what you're doing now?
Yeah, I think so.
I think absolutely.
I think I don't get this opportunity.
If I'm not working with NHRA on Fox too, I think that had a big thing to
do with it, but I think my time with NHRA on Fox was yes, understanding
the interviews was understanding the TV aspect of it and all that.
But at the same time, it was just learning about the sport and how
drivers drove and how teams worked and how crew chiefs thought and what
the race track was doing, what kind of, you know, track temperatures or
conditions are going to help and what they're going to do, when, where.
And so yeah, I was just, you know, as I was doing my job, I was trying to eat
up as much as I could and, you know, just analyzing everybody's runs.
I would, I remember watching, I would watch people if I'm starting
like doing my Fox job, I would watch people how they drove and what was
going on.
The whole went out.
Okay.
How far over did they go?
Or did they keep it straight?
Did they wiggle?
Like what were things that were going on in those cars?
And I was trying to learn from the best.
I would listen to, I would listen to idols.
I would listen to the clutches coming out on funny cars on
drafters and feeling the tempo of how people drove.
And so I took everything I've learned and applied it now.
You know, it's, it's hard to apply when you're driving these things
because you're still getting a feel for it yourself, but you kind of
know what you want to do when you're, so I'm trying to refine that.
I think this race in the middle of Charlotte, coming into this race,
I'm really starting to refine what I want to do on burnouts, packing
up and staging and all that.
So it's starting to come together.
And I think, I think this proves it.
I think this proves it.
It absolutely does a tremendous victory.
You got the job done.
You get down there, you stop, you get out and here we go.
The moment that you've been dreaming of.
And I got my perspective.
I got the race control perspective.
If you want it, but first off, let's get your version.
People want to know, like, was it hard?
The boots, do you wish you took your boots off?
People are asking Jack Beckman.
We had cherry.
It's a fire playing.
What could you hear?
Just break it down for us.
I didn't hear anything.
I didn't hear anything.
But anyways, no, first off, I want to apologize to the NHRA to
race control, the NHR on Fox, because I understand the situation
that I put all of you in, but I got to be honest.
I had to do it.
Okay.
I had to do it.
You know, I was sitting in the car before the final round and,
you know, they were doing Sean Langdon's interview and you're
just sitting there thinking and I thought to myself, you know,
okay, if I win this thing, you know, I have to do it just for
me, just for my memory and and to, you know, I've always wanted to
do it and Joe, Joe, it's been such a long road for me.
You know, like this is seven, eight years in the making.
And I knew that if I didn't do it, I would regret it.
So, you know, but you got to get by the final round first, you
know, so I, you know, I'm in the car and I make the decision.
I'm like, okay, if I win this thing, I'm going to do it.
And we go up there, we bring the burnout back up, line it up.
It launches, it launches clean and then all of a sudden I'm
going right and it had driven straight all day, wanted to go
straight all day and it just starts going right.
So I turn left and it kind of stays and then it wants to keep
going right.
So I'm really wrenching this thing over left, come to find
out a drop the hole so that was shoving me over the wall and
I was keeping my foot in and I was keeping it in, keeping it
in.
I'm holding it like this and getting close to the wall.
I'm like, I don't see JR.
So I'm like, please don't touch, please don't touch.
And I cross the finish line and, you know, shoots come out,
breaks on and I get on the radio and I go, did we win?
Did we win?
And all I hear is, and I'm like, what the, so I get back
and I'm like, did we win?
Did we win?
I'm trying to slow this thing down and all I hear is like,
all you, you won and I went, uh-oh, smash on the break.
I was like, I gotta get out soon.
I wish I had heard the first one because then it wouldn't
been such a long run, but then I got out and I was like, oh,
man, I'm really down here, but you know what?
I got to do it and I hopped out and I took a second.
I remember I stopped and I thought to myself, you know,
am I really doing this right now?
And I said, yeah, absolutely.
I'm going to do this and that's when I took off.
I didn't even think of the boots about, you know, it was
like quite a long run.
So then the thoughts, the thoughts starts happening and,
and I was like, oh, I got my boots on and then it was like,
oh, I got, I got to about almost to the finish line.
I was like, oh man, this is longer than I expected.
And then I was tired getting tired and I was like, I can't breathe.
Then I hit the, I hit the glue and I was like, oh no, my boots
were sticking to the glue and it was like, you know what?
And then I looked up and I saw my uncle on the track and I was
like, first off, I was like, how did he get on the track?
I was like, what are you doing here?
And then, uh, you know, we, we, you know, he met me there
and I think it's just a moment that we're going to remember
forever, that I'm going to remember forever.
And, uh, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I would do it again.
I'm not going to do it again.
NHRA race control, every other competitor.
I will not run back on the track again, but I had to do it
for my first time.
Sometimes, and I said it in the tower, I said, Hey guys,
you know, sometimes you just got to go with it.
And that was one, we had pro mod cars on the starting line
and they're like, you know, I apologize too because I thought,
you know, they put me last.
So Sean, Sean and Doug ran.
So I was last and I, I'm thinking, okay.
So they're putting me last.
So I'm, I'm it after, right?
And cause I knew the TV set of things, typically after us,
it's done, right?
I didn't realize we had pro mods to run still.
So, um, I literally, I'm running on the track and I look up
and I see the tractors going and I'm like, huh, I wonder
where the tractors are going.
And then I look on the starting line and I see two pro mods
sitting there and I was like, Oh, I'm holding up the show,
but I got, I got a run.
So I apologize.
Guys, I am sorry, but just know that it was a moment for me
that I'll never forget and I needed to do it.
It's in the rearview mirror, right?
It is already happened.
We got to see Jack Beckman running.
He's bringing you water.
Jason Logan, who had his final race, perhaps played chariots
of fire.
So we, you know, you get the reference.
If you're old enough for the running, it was a very fun
and memorable moment.
People will remember that forever.
The thing about pro mod cars on the starting line, Jason Collins
doesn't care because he won the race.
So it's all a good, good stuff.
Is there anything that we didn't cover that we need to cover
about this historic first Jordan van der Griff win?
No, I don't think so.
I mean, just, you know, really just thank you to Cornwall
Quality Tools.
I really want to, you know, thank them because, you know,
they've been so successful in our sport for the last few years.
And, you know, when everything happened, they, they, they took
a chance on me.
You know, it was not proven and I'd never driven a funny car
and I had a test session that, you know, didn't go great.
So just really thank you to them and all the dealers out there
that work so hard and get up every morning and go out there
and sell the tools.
And I'm really just doing it all for them.
You know, I want to, I want to mimic their, their outlook,
their hard work and their determination.
And I know that every time I get in this race car, I'm doing
it for them and, you know, they're out there working hard.
So I better give them the same work ethic as well.
So, you know, just, just a full circle moment for me, Joe.
I've been wanting to do this for a long time and now we're here
and thank you to John Force and still thinking about the
Force family and everybody and driving for John, a funny car
for John, getting a win for John to dream come true.
Truly.
And now the goals move forward.
We're going to Chicago next.
You got a little time to think about this.
You're going to work together with, you know, the cutting hammer
and try to get more, try to get multiple, try to put yourself
in position.
You've proven that you're capable and it's going to be very
fun to watch.
Jordan, thank you.
I remember that first interview as well.
And I'm just excited for how far you've come in such a short
amount of time, but I will tell you still the greatest thing
that happens in your family is your mom's salsa.
Yes, that's a fact.
It's still, it's still the number one thing.
So keep working.
The Perez, you know, my mom's out of the family, the Perez family
salsa recipe.
There's nothing better.
Trust me.
So I'm going to get my mom to make you some more, Joe.
I promise.
That's what I was pushing for.
I was really just working for that.
Jordan, thank you very much.
Congratulations.
Thank you, Matt.
Appreciate it.
I'll see you.
There he goes.
Jordan Vanagriff with us here on WFO radio.
If that doesn't make you want to subscribe, click the bell,
YouTube, share the show, tell your friends like, man, you
know, this is kind of a cool show if you like drag racing.
If you like drag racing, this is kind of a cool show, but
maybe you're a fan of the naturally aspirated stuff and
you want to know about Dallas Glenn and how he survived.
We got him next.
Dallas Glenn, Matt Smith.
What did what did Matt think when Richard Gadson said, shut
up, Matt.
We're going to find out that's all coming up on this
edition of WFO radio, NHRA, Nitro.
People are enjoying it.
They like good interview with Jordan and it's not going to
be this last of this season and the common denominator is
Cornwell quality tools.
All of these things are all true.
Now, Dallas is next, but I do want to tell you guys about
the fine folks at Larisse Motorsports Insurance.
This is for racers.
So I know the audience of racers.
If you've got a race car and equipment, Dallas is a racer.
All your tools, your pit vehicles, all of that, they can
provide a policy that covers it all.
But the thing about their policies that attracted me was
the limited exclusions like the lack of exclusions.
If you get your policy from a and we're talking insurance
here, right?
Like, let's be honest, when people make jokes about things
that are boring, they make jokes about insurance talk, but
this is racing insurance talk.
So that juices it up a little bit.
But in the end, you got to avoid all those exclusions and
exemptions.
Where was the trailer parked?
What was in the trailer?
Was the car on the lift?
All of these things, countless potential exemptions that
Larisse Motorsports Insurance doesn't have.
So read your policy and then reach out and give them a call.
Larisse Motorsports Insurance dot com.
Tell them you heard about it on WFO radio and they'll give you
the deal that I got, which I'm very happy to have.
Appreciate those guys and happy they've joined us on WFO radio.
Holden even made it into one of our features earlier this
weekend at the track, South Georgia Motorsports Park.
But what do they think about it in pro stock?
Dallas Glen will be next.
He'll tell us all about it.
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The guys from Life to Drag will be on.
Yeah, I know everybody's talking about Jason Logan
and what's gonna happen.
He is committed to Life to Drag at least this coming week
and until his new job opportunity decides,
I feel like he's gonna be able to do it.
And Jason Logan says, like, now it's time to release
where all the skeletons are.
So it should be very interesting
for those of you that are very interested,
but definitely join our Drag Race Bracket Bonanza League.
It'll be a lot of fun.
All right, pro stock, factory hot rods, my favorite class,
because I feel like you can relate to it
from bracket racers to sports and racers
to Lucas Oil Racers and a guy who's done all that.
Got it done.
He's the reigning world champion.
Two wins on the year, Mr. Dallas Glenn.
What's up, Dallas?
How you doing, Joe?
I'm great.
How about yourself?
How did you do it?
How'd you survive that chaos out there?
I'd say a little bit of the planet's
just being aligned correctly.
You know, any one of those guys
that could have made a clean run next to me and put me out
and I would have just been out of it, but nope,
just survived and I got a lot more practice
at getting it back into gear.
That was kind of where some experience played in.
These cars, when they shake and you have to lift,
they don't like staying in gear.
So getting it back into a correct gear
and not completely destroying your clutch or your engine
or whatever your transmission sliders, it's tough.
All right, let's walk through that.
I think that's great.
So 105, 60 foot in the final,
that's what I told you in the winter circles.
It's like 105.
How do you soften up a pro stock car to a 105, 60 foot
and get it down there?
Like I don't even know how they had that kind of,
you know, like in their setup book to figure out that.
Troy was 103 and you guys ran the same ET,
which is wild.
You end up winning on a whole shot,
but walk us through the process
because it's a forward back gear shifter.
So like those of us who drive an H pattern shifter,
like, all right, you want to go to second, you go over here.
You want to go to fourth, you go over here.
But with a forward back Liberty style shifter,
you're in first, you start to shake the tires,
you're trying to find a gear, where are you going?
What are you doing?
How does that work?
Well, the way these transmissions work is they, you know,
when they're in a gear,
they're kind of being held by the load of, you know,
the acceleration.
So when you lift, it loses that load
and it wants to pop back into neutral
unless you're holding onto the shifter
and anybody who's driven a Liberty transmission knows
if you're just kind of putting around
or if you're in a gear and you let off,
they'll want to ratchet your hand really bad
because they're running on the ramps backwards.
So whenever you lift in one of these transmissions,
you have to hold onto it
and you usually just grab the next gear, roll into it,
and it'll grab the next gear and take off.
And hopefully it doesn't skip a couple gears
because, you know, it's very easy if it ratchets a little bit
and the lever drops down too far in the gate that you have
because it's kind of like a forward.
So it's like first, second, third, fourth, and fifth.
So if you're in first and it ratchets a little bit
and drops down too far
and then you go thinking you're shoving it into third
and you shove it into fifth,
it'll just completely destroy the clutch.
And, you know, you'll be able to make it down,
but you're probably gonna have to take that clutch out
and just put a brand new one in, which is never good.
But as far as the crew chiefs having anything like that
in their setup, but I don't think they did
because they said we were in uncharted territory.
We were just kind of doing everything
that they knew how to do, how to put more bite into it
and calm it down and slow it down.
And it gets just got the car so upset
that it wasn't, you know, it doesn't actually work properly.
So, you know, if you watch the videos from behind the car,
it like leaves and tries getting the front end up
and then it slams it back down and shakes a little bit.
And then the clutch comes in
and then it rips the front end back up
and it's going right.
And I pulled second gear and the front end slams down
and try to get it back to the groove.
It's just, it was, it's like a bucking Bronco inside the car.
It's pretty weird feeling compared to a normal run.
Which is why I was entertained.
They can't all be the same.
And it's not good if they're all the same.
Like every time you come to the starting line,
you dump the clutch, it goes down the track,
you shift the gears, you pop the chutes,
a number comes up.
Sometimes it's gotta be challenging
to make it entertaining, maybe not this challenging.
Because cars were blowing the tires off at the hit.
There was one where Hartford moved one inch
and just it came up crazy.
Did you guys come up with a an understanding
of why you all had so much challenge?
And I can tell you that I've heard that radial prep in the past,
we had to get all of that off there
and they got 90 percent of it off or 95 percent.
Maybe that was a reason.
Maybe it was the aggregate in the concrete.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Did you ever dial in a reason
why ProStock in particular was having such issues?
I think it was, you know, I'm not going to pretend
to be an expert or anything,
but it was probably a little bit of all of the above.
You know, and it was just something that was a little different,
which made it probably 10 times worse
is the air got really good on Sunday.
I mean, the weather conditions, I mean, you know,
the braumeters up two-tenths,
the vapor pressure and humidity are down.
It's nice and cool out.
Just everything was going in our favor to be able to run fast
and make the engine make more horsepower.
Well, when the engine makes more horsepower,
it doesn't want to go down.
So when you combine that with a track that's a little bit,
you know, lower than than what we've been used to running on,
it kind of throws it throws you for a loop.
And then, you know, not having really any experience
on how the track goes away throughout the day
and how it thins out and, you know, where it is.
It just it was just a whole combination
of not as much experience with it and really good conditions.
So, you know, you we've we've seen it before
where, you know, it gets really sunny on a track
and it gets a little too thin after a day of rain
and the air is really good and we might struggle for first round.
But typically people will back it down enough second round
to where it goes out.
But it it seemed like a lot of the issue wasn't always
necessarily the first few feet.
It was, you know, I saw a lot of cars first round leave OK.
And then they hit second gear
and it just completely obliterates the tire.
So I'm not 100 percent sure exactly why that is.
I don't know if the rubber was just thin
because of the rain the day before, you know, whenever it rains,
it wants to peel the rubber up.
So they have to go and scrape it
and maybe they just couldn't get enough back onto it.
Could be just a little bit with NHRA
not having a whole lot of experience with that track, too.
You know, I'm sure they change their methods
a little bit per track.
But no, it was just kind of a kind of a perfect storm
of of conditions to make it difficult.
I found it interesting and I we had two sellout crowds
Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday was even bigger, beautiful, perfect weather.
The new facility.
What was your impression?
I know when we go to Rockingham, you are, you know,
part of the asphalt at Rockingham,
having made so many test runs over there with KV Titan.
But South Georgia, people used to test there years ago,
not not as much lately.
What was your impression of the fans of the track
of the experience out there?
I mean, the fans were great.
There's lots of lots of new fans that that it was it seemed
like every few minutes, a fan would be coming up saying
this was their first time ever at a drag race,
which we love to hear, you know, we really like seeing all
the first timer, getting, you know, baptized and seeing it
and being able to talk to the drivers and check everything out.
And I was really surprised on Saturday, you know,
all there was a lot of people that really stuck around,
even though it was raining so much.
And and that's cool to see, you know,
that's some that's some pretty dedicated hardcore fans there.
The facility, you know, I've been to the facility before,
never in a pro stock car.
You know, we've we've tested there maybe 10 years ago,
I think, when when I was still doing the back half
on Jason's car.
So the facility was not necessarily new.
That was the first time I'd ever been down the track.
You know, in a car, which, you know, I had no issues there
other than, you know, obviously the traction issues,
but everything seemed seemed pretty good.
I, you know, I like the facility.
It it, you know, it should be a definitely a fun one to go to.
I agree. I agree.
This is just the first year and people have asked me over the years,
like, you know, how do the big tracks get big?
Well, they get big because they have an NHRA national event
for a decade or two or three and build this fan base.
And and that's how it happened.
So I have no doubt that in a few years,
we keep going to South Georgia Motorsports Park.
It will improve and Raoul and Jennifer will do different things
to make it even more friendly to you guys.
And, you know, Val Dostov, plenty of hotels, plenty of restaurants.
Just not a lot of things for those people to do, right?
So we're giving them one.
Yeah, you know, absolutely.
You know, we did the the fan fest there on Thursday,
that was Thursday Thursday night.
You know, all these races blur together.
I got to try to keep them straight.
Yeah, Thursday, we did a fan fest to met lots of people.
They had a live band.
We had a good time.
Lots of drivers there, you know, lots of people got autographs.
You know, we had a good time.
We talked to a lot of locals.
They gave us some tips on what what the best place is to go eat worse
so we could, you know, kind of stay away from some of the normal
chains that we see everywhere.
But no, it was it was a good time.
It was a good place and it was a good learning experience.
I think maybe before we go next year, we might want to go testing there
once or twice, try to get a little bit better, handle on everything
and learn a little bit of what we have to do to put on a little bit
better of a show for, you know, for the fans.
I think the weather was good enough.
We could have been approaching, you know, possible record, you know,
national record area if the track had been, you know, capable of it there
on Sunday morning, you know, the weather was down in the 102
correction factor range.
So it's better than it was in Seattle when I went 44 last year.
Wow.
Okay.
Yeah.
Randy says they just needed to sprinkle some gold dust on the starting line
and that would have solved the whole thing.
Yeah, I think it was going to need a little bit more than that.
You know, they were putting gold dust on it for all of our burnouts
and it just, you know, maybe the entire starting line needed a little
sprinkle and then a whole, you know, wear out a couple sets of tires,
redragon and just putting a little bit more on it.
I don't really know.
I'm, I don't have a ton of experience and, you know, every track kind
of has its own little, a little, you know, attitude, personality.
Exactly, yeah.
And so, you know, every track needs to be prepped a little bit differently.
And it goes to a little bit with how they prep it normally there too.
And I'm assuming that tracks kind of have their own little attitude of,
oh, this is how I've been prepped normally.
So this is what works best for me.
So, you know, it's just like when, you know, we, it's, we, you know,
we go to some of these tracks that don't have very many races on them a year.
And then some of them that do have a lot of races on a year.
So it's just NHRA has to kind of adapt and learn what each track likes.
Just that simple.
All right.
So real quick, you know, were you surprised you didn't have to run
Greg second round?
Matt Latino got kicked down to 16th.
He said in his my shirt is off and I'm sitting in a cooler of ice video
that he's been putting out after each race.
And I highly recommend every I mean, do you recommend people see that Dallas?
Oh, yeah.
No, it's it's very entertaining.
It's something.
Matt, Matt's friend, it's something.
Ice baths are very good for you.
I don't know if a cooler is quite enough ice for you,
but an ice bath is very healthy for you.
Do you do do you do ice baths?
Not yet.
I've been wanting to get one, but I'm kind of waiting for the new place
that Sadie and I are building to get done.
And then I might I was tempted to put an ice bath in there.
Tricking your body into thinking that it's dying.
Very good. Very good for you.
I'm freezing to death. Oh, my goodness.
But anyway, Matt takes out Greg on a whole shot.
Matt may a culpa said he did the wrong thing.
He took off his safety equipment while he was still on the track.
Not supposed to do that.
Got kicked down to the 16th spot has to run Greg whole shots.
Greg second time Greg has lost from the number one qualifying position.
And if memory serves me right, second time you won that race.
Well, you know, I don't want Greg to lose first round a whole shot.
But I mean, every time he's done that, I've won the race.
So, you know, I didn't even think about that.
But no, it was very difficult, you know, right from the very first run
that we made, even though I shook, we could all tell that the tree
just seemed a little bit looser compared to the previous two races we were at.
You know, it was more like a Phoenix type of what we were used to.
You know, Phoenix, it seemed like it was just 100th or 200th loose.
So it's just a little harder to cut a light.
And then you start adding them.
They're trying to back the cars down to get them down the track.
It makes it even harder to cut a light.
So I don't think Greg was like super late.
You know, if you take his what was he?
Sixty four, I think.
Sixty eight, according to NHRA.com.
Sixty eight, if you take that 68 and do everything exactly the same
at Charlotte, he's probably, you know, 43 or 45, you know, somewhere in there.
I bet it was probably 200th looser than it was at Charlotte.
So, but, you know, hats off to Matt, because, I mean, being 24 on that,
I was doing all everything I could do, and it seemed like I was just stuck
in that right in that 30 to 37 range, no matter what I could do to it.
I thought I was doing a good job and hitting the tree really well.
And, you know, it's just, it's just, you can just look at all of the average
of pro stock lights and nobody really got too much below a 30 throughout the entire day.
So, no, hats off to him for cutting a good light.
And, you know, he made a pretty fantastic run, too.
You know, Greg basically is low for race day right there by a couple of hundreds.
And Matt was close enough to hang on.
Yeah, and gets the job done.
But, you know, live by the sword, die by the sword, as they say,
with the very intense reference, right?
Holeshots, Greg gets hole-shotted by you out second round.
You run up against Greg Stamfield in the semis, like you said, 30 reaction times
and then the final, another 33 against Troy to win the race.
664 at 2-11 to lock it in.
And the Southern Nationals is in the rear view mirror.
Going to Chicago next and, you know, pro stock, what would you say
that your opinion is on what we've announced for rules changes for next year?
Like weighing on that a little bit?
Yeah, it's definitely going to be a lot different.
You know, we still have some of our old hood scoops upstairs from back in those
carb-rated days, so they've started blowing the dust off of them,
pulling them down and trying to get models and see, you know,
if, you know, what, how everything fits with our current package kind of thing.
So it, it'll definitely be different.
I never got to drive one of the carb-rated cars,
so it'll be different having a big hood scoop on there.
The look will be a lot different, but, you know, it will definitely make the cars go faster.
So I would 100% not be shocked to see a pro stock run in the 630s next year.
Well, there you go.
And that's part of the goal too.
I like how to achieve it is, is part of it.
But that's why the rules makers are the rules makers.
Dallas, is there anything you wanted to talk about
or anything I didn't ask you about that we need to address before we let you go?
No, no, I mean, thanks for having me on here.
You know, that was a, it was a pretty cool win to be the very first person to win pro stock
at Val d'Astet, a brand new track like that.
And then it was right before the semis, Greg Anderson had gotten a call from Judy Black
and she said that Kenny Jr., her son, her and Ken's son had passed away.
And I know that he had had some, a little bit, he's been fighting some health issues
and it finally, he kind of took a turn for the worse.
So we were all really shocked and sad to hear that.
So it definitely gave me extra motivation to go up there and do my job the best I can.
And, you know, so I really wanted to dedicate that win to her and Kenny Jr.
and the entire Black family, you know, without them, I wouldn't be here racing for sure.
You know, they basically started this company with Greg and Jason and everybody and assembled
an incredible team and, you know, they still feel like family.
Every time we go to Las Vegas, we're over there and spending time with them and
no, so we were all really sad to see that.
But no, it just wanted to go out there and try to get her a diamond Wally for that.
You did a great job.
Now we found out Courtney and I were floored in the moment that you said that we did not know.
And, you know, it all worked out in that moment and very good of you, but I understand why.
To dedicate and give the Wally to Judy.
It's just, you know, that's terrible.
I don't even know what to deal with it.
Like you get to know so many people through this that at times, like with John Forces,
daughter Adra, we're going to experience pain on their behalf because you care about them.
So very tough stuff, great stuff, though.
Dallas, I appreciate you.
And I just want everybody to know, though, that Dallas is invited on every time he wins.
It's just that since he's also the truck driver, when you win in Arizona,
dude is driving back on Tuesday, right?
Like that's the problem, Dallas.
This one, you didn't have far to drive.
No, I didn't have too far to drive and there's been a few races where I've had a second driver
and I've been tempted to just, you know, either have him driving when it's time to get on or just
have him work the phone or the camera or whatever.
But I think the last time, I think I was going to be in the mountains in the middle of nowhere
and probably have very spotty service.
So I didn't want to mess with the feed and have any of those problems.
Thank you for caring about me because that is very frustrating, right?
Like you want to hear from someone and the cell service technology doesn't work.
Then again, it's a miracle we can do this the way we're doing it now at all.
I'm not jaded yet at all.
I'm appreciative of the technology.
Dallas, congratulations.
Way to go.
And we'll see you in a couple of weeks.
Enjoy your weekend.
Happy Mother's Day to you, Ma and all the moms out there.
Appreciate you being on.
Absolutely.
Thank you, Joe.
And I'm excited to go to Chicago where I've won the last two times I've been there.
It'll be a polar opposite racetrack, I'm guessing.
Going for a three in a row.
All right.
There we go.
Dallas Glenn, way to go.
Champ, world champion, Dallas Glenn.
Thank you, Dallas.
Appreciate it.
And he joins us on WFO radio after those big wins for KB Titan racing engines and
Dallas.
You know, since he is world champion, like I've noticed a bit of a difference.
I wonder, have all of you noticed a bit of a difference?
Well, someone who has been working very hard during the winter break and posting a whole
lot about it will be joining us next as Matt Smith.
We'll talk a little pro stock motorcycle when we return.
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All right, there he is.
I'm looking, I'm looking at this shot and I don't see him down there.
Like, where's Matt Smith?
It says, I got a little thing that says add to the stage and he's below it.
And so I'm like, is Matt not there?
So now that I know that he's there, I can give him the big buildup.
Track speed, record holder, race winner, South Georgia Motorsports Park, Matt Smith.
What's up, Matt?
How are you?
Good.
How are you doing, Joe?
Good.
I didn't, I didn't see you there.
I was in Condito.
I tried to set up a little thing for, uh, for, you know, instead of just being in the
office there that you can see all the time.
I love it.
Thank you for putting in the effort.
And folks, if you're out there watching your first episode of WFO radio,
racers like Matt Smith has been coming on my show for a long time,
helping tell the stories behind the scenes and making little extra efforts just like that.
So subscribe and never miss one because this is not his last interview of the year, I'm sure.
Matt, you and Angie worked your tails off in the off season.
We saw a lot of, a lot of photographs and, you know, Johnny Hall is fast and Angie's fast and
you're fast and you really showed it here in race three set that speed record.
But take us back to the winter break where you guys really had to go to work.
Yeah.
I mean, me and Angie in the shop and I mean, we got Michael Ray in the shop too.
I mean, so we have, uh, you know, three people is all we have in our shop full time.
And, uh, we did a lot of work, a lot of dyno and a lot of testing.
We went tested a lot and just had to work on finding a little bit of power and trying to
figure out this clutch just a little bit better and, uh, big thanks to red line.
Oh, I mean, you can see right over my shoulder.
We paired up with them this year and really worked with Mark Betty and Roy out at, uh,
you know, there and trying to develop a better oil for us.
And we've, we, they hit it home run.
We, it took four or five tries, but we got it and we found some power with the oil and we're good.
We're, uh, we found some, some good stuff and, uh, everything's reliable and we are,
are ready to go, uh, see if we can get changed at six up there to a number seven.
That goal remains intact.
He would become the first time ever to be a seven time world champion,
but I want to go backwards though.
Maybe this is new. Maybe it's not new.
Maybe I'm just, uh, behind, but Michael Ray has, has moved to the Carolinas.
Like he's no longer Texan.
Is that a long time thing?
Is he just flying in?
What's the story with that?
Cause you know, I think the world of Michael Ray, I said it on the mic a couple of weeks ago
that, you know, anyone that is willing to stay in the game, even when they're not the driver,
to me, I respect that because I know it's tough, right?
You want to be the rider or the driver.
Of course the person going fast, but if you love it that much,
then you can help others do that and still get that feeling.
That's what being a real racer is to me.
So when did, what, when did he move out there?
Michael's been here for about three years.
He still has his house and, and Jennifer's wife is in, you know, Texas,
but he lives here. He's, he's renting a little house here from one of my buddies.
So we got him a really smoking deal on his own little place to stay.
And, you know, he tries to go back at least once a month.
It goes back for, you know, a week or so and, and goes, you know, home to Texas.
But, uh, all in all, he's here pretty much full time.
And, you know, like I said, it takes, it takes every bit of three of us here
to try to run four bikes, you know, cause not only do we have John Hall on our team,
but we got John Everisto and, you know, it's just, it's, it's all hands on deck
with three people trying to run four bikes out here, uh, in pro stop motorcycle.
I can imagine. I can imagine.
So throughout qualifying, uh, you had the, you were the class of the field in this given
circumstance. Had you tested at Val Dosta? I know years ago, uh, Val Dosta was a hot spot for testing.
I think Eddie went the first 200 unofficially there years and years ago.
What was your experience and were you coming in with a decent book?
Yeah, no. So when COVID, the year COVID that we ran, uh, Vegas, um, and man cup had a
race there the following weekend. Uh, we packed up from Vegas after winning the
championship in 2020 went straight there and me and Angie ran our bikes there at the man cup.
They had a pro stock deal and we ran there and it was me and Angie in the final.
So we kind of had a little notebook of that, that track from then and just par laid that into it on,
you know, Friday track was great on Friday. Of course, the rain hit and, you know, it's not the
track's fault. It's not in here's fault, but it just filled the rubber up and the track just
never came back on Saturday and Sunday really for the pro racers.
Makes sense. Makes sense. Now during qualifying, uh, I remember Richard, uh, you first of all,
you, you heard an engine at some point and you put in a backup engine.
I know that Michael Ray told me a little bit about that and you mentioned that to Richard.
The backup didn't seem that slow though, Matt.
No, but it, it looked like it wanted a little bit different tune up cause it changed my air
feels and you know, I had to put it in against Angie and air feels definitely changed a little
bit. I made a little tweak. I didn't want to change much cause I thought that once we had
lane choice on Richard, we stuck him in the left lane and there was at least two to three
hundreds difference in lanes on Sunday for, for the pro stock motorcycles.
And I knew sticking them over there that I didn't want to go out there and jeopardize
and go slower and then him run a 75 again. So, um, I kind of just did a little tweak
and it didn't really change nothing. So I need to make a bigger move with that motor,
but at least I know kind of what direction I need to go with my backup motor.
But we did find out we've got the motor all the way apart.
If you can see that right there.
Yes.
We lost a couple can cam teeth. It's on the alligator that controls the two intake cams.
So that's what I heard. It didn't blow up, but it definitely affected performance and it definitely
affected. I could hear it. So it was a smart move for us to change it because it could have
blowed up next round.
Yes. And you saved yourself a lot of money, time, but potentially dangerous situation.
That is great stuff. When you pulled around the corner though, Richard was doing an interview.
You said something to him. He goes, shut up, man. And, and, and I love the fact he's the champ.
He's not afraid to chirp back, but neither are you. When you beat him in the final, he came over.
He said, congratulations. Talk a little bit about the relationship that is developing there.
Like it's been a while, you know, the Vance and Heinz guys and you guys have had this rivalry
now that Richard is the champion. And he seems willing to be very forward and vocal
with trash talk where his gauge talks, but it's kind of a quiet talk.
Talk a little bit about Richard and where that thing is going. What do we need to look out for?
Oh, no, I respect Richard. I mean, me and Richard are pretty good friends.
I don't think that we jab on each other too much. We have, it's all fun.
There's no hard feelings toward me or him. He actually, before he came into pro stop
motorcycle, he wrote one of our bikes for us over in XZ eighth one year and just playing around.
And he's a great rider and no different engage. I mean, Richard and Gager are two of the best
riders out there in our class. And I have a lot of respect for them. I mean, I'm not the oldest
out there, but I feel like I'm the second oldest out there and veteran rider. And
I'm sure those guys look up to me. I definitely kind of, you know, look up to them because
they're the future of our sport, you know, one day I'm going to step out and they're going to
continue to, to go and do this. And hopefully I can bring some new guys and girls into our
class and, you know, keep the MSR tradition going like Vance and Heinz is doing with their group.
But all in all, me and Richard is good. You know, it was just one of them things. They were doing
an interview and he said, I have the best crew chief, Eddie and Andrew. And it was, I don't know
how he said crew chief when he named two of them. But I said, no, that's the second best like that
because I was just joking with them. But all in all, it's all good. Well, good. Then that's,
and but keep talking. He needs to keep talking. You need to keep talking. Everybody needs to
keep talking. Maybe the toughest run you had that was in the semis, right? Like you got to go up
against Angie and nobody wants to win more than Angie Smith. She is very tough. All the bikes are
fast. John Hall driving like maniac. This guy was double O a bunch of times out there at Z max.
Seems like the whole squad that is Matt Smith racing is ready for the 75th season.
We are, we are all four bikes are fast. You know, it's just, it's all according to
if you 60 foot, if you hit your shift points and if you can stay tucked on the bike and
that's the problem with all three of our bikes or all four of our bikes, you know,
everybody's got to do their job. Every bike has great power. Every bike can run fast. We all
qualify the top eight there. But it's just, it's just according to who does their job
as far as shifting and staying tucked and keeping the bike straight. And all in all,
we all did a good job. We all made mistakes. I got the lucky break first round. Luckily,
I had a buy. We had a toggle switch card on the fuel pump and it shut the bike off. And just
wanted deals. We come back, replace the toggle switch and we have the dominant bike again in
second, third and fourth round. But Angie was the second quickest bike second round. It just
happened to be we were on the same side ladder and had to run each other. So we knew a Smith was
going to the finals. We knew a Denzel bike was going to the finals and we knew advanced times
bike was going to the finals. So it's going to be no different. It has been a lot the last couple
years. Yes, it's it's fun to see little toggle switch could have knocked you out. That is just
crazy stuff. A couple of questions out there. Someone mentions Keith says, I love that MSR
gives other bike riders an opportunity, but he's missing Ron Torno. Right, Ron out there. He
learned a lot started going fast at the end. I remember was trying to sell his operation.
Where is that operation? Did that get purchased? No, that operation is right here in our shop.
It's right over here sitting here. We're storing it for him. When he has a buyer to to buy it,
then I told him we would try to go to the track within the first time and help him out and get
it going. Let them ride it. And but everything's right here. And you know, he's he's retired.
I don't think you'll see him come back. He might come back and rent a bike, but he doesn't want to
own anything anymore. That was just kind of a family deal with him and his mom and Tom.
And, you know, there they decided to to be done racing, you know, as a family.
I understand that, right? Mama Rat wants to be there for every race. She can't go to every race.
And so it was just that simple. Maybe he'll read. But we loved Ron. All right, we're headed to
Chicago. And you guys will be out there as well. That long break after the Gator Nationals is tough.
But now you're kind of getting into a groove. A lot of bikes over 200 this year, like it's a
big step forward. It feels like in performances of most people. What do you think looking into
Chicago? Yeah, I think I think I went two or three there last year at Chicago. If it wasn't two or
three, it was a high two or two. So I think we'll run faster. We're learning this fuel, you know,
the whole class had to switch the VP fuel last year. And we're just learning it. I'm learning
more and more every day. We dino or run a race track. And we've done a lot of work with combustion
analysis with Dan. And we have learned a lot in that. That's kind of another step up the
performance that we've done. So hopefully one of these four bikes in our camp can win Chicago.
That's the goal. We just, I've got this Diamond Wally. I want to, I want somebody else on our
team to get a Diamond Wally this year. I'd like for all four of us to get one at some point through
the year. It's the silliest. All right, it's not silly, but you know what I mean, like the change
in the trophy, right? Like we're going to modify the Wally trophy a little bit instead of a gold man
who'll be standing on a diamond for the 75th year. And suddenly everyone is highly motivated
to get as many of those diamonds as is possible. I think NHRA has done a great job with all the
different extra stuff. We're going to these four new events. So you want it, South Georgia.
But how much of a motivating factor is, is some minor change to the shape of the trophy?
Oh, it's huge. I mean, like Angie says, you know, Diamond is a girl's best friend
and she wants one of them so bad. And, uh, but I told her, I said, guys like diamonds too,
you know, so I, uh, I really liked the, the trophy. I guess it's right here over this one.
Yes. But, uh, all in all, I mean, the ultimate goal for our team and our championship is
we want number seven. We want that big Wally at the end of year with that great big diamond
underneath of it. And, uh, I can't wait to see what that trophy looks like. Uh, hopefully it'll
go to the MSR camp. Um, but, uh, it's a really cool deal for NHRA to do what they do, uh, as far as
changing trophies up and all that. I think it's pretty awesome. No, it's great. It's great. They've
been, you know, sometimes you get stuck in a rut and they are breaking out of their rut
in the 75th season. My argument would be afterwards. Yes. Go ahead.
Even the medallion, you know, we went from a gold medallion to the diamond medallion that we put
around our neck. So even that is pretty awesome. So, uh, hats off to them for doing everything
they've done. They want it to be a great year. All the collectibles in the nitro mall, there's
just so many great things. And you know, you got to shake it up for these big events, 75 years.
That is a huge, huge deal. And, uh, can't wait for the next one. Just that simple. Matt, thank
you very much for joining us on WFO radio. Appreciate it. First win of the season, not the
last. And maybe we'll keep track of that MSR, uh, 25% to the goal of getting all four racers a diamond
Wally. Good job. Thank you. Yeah, we're going to try real hard and two things real quick before we
go. I'd like to thank Denzo for sticking with us through all this red line offer coming on board,
VP fuel, max ECU with Steve Nichols. I couldn't do without him. And, uh, Mark stalks us. I mean,
what a guy with this outlaw beer and all that stuff. I mean, just with all of them, we could,
we couldn't do this without all of them. So thank you. And one last thing, if you haven't gone on
the SGMP page, go to that, go click on the brick thing. It's a, they're calling it a legend wall
or whatever. Go do that. I signed up today to do that. Let's help the track out. Let's help them
promote stuff. Get your name out there. It can be a memorial, you know, to anybody. But do that.
Go help them out. And let's, uh, let's let them build this track bigger and better. Thank you,
Matt for, uh, activating my memory on that. I was just moments ago, scrolling, and I saw
Ralph Torres on the page saying basically that, you know, they had planned for 2000 bricks and
they sold 40 of them and it's not going well and that they want to use that money to do great
things at the racetrack. Right. And I loved the way he did it. First of all, Ralph and Jennifer,
great addition to the NHRA ownership track ownership group, but then I totally forgot all
about it. I said, I want to talk about it on the show and I totally forgot all about it, man.
So thank you for bringing it up. I want to get a WFO brick as well. You can get a terracotta one.
I think you can get a granite one or a marble one. And I challenge the four winners out there
or the three more winners cause I did a winner's brick. Uh, it's, I did a marble one and I challenge
Dallas Glenn, Austin proc and, uh, or not Austin, pro Jordan Vendagriff and so LinkedIn,
go get a brick, go pay for a brick and put your name up there. So you can see it next year when
you're there. I love that. I love that. If only they were still watching, we'll send them a link
this show. No, great job. We got to help out that track. That track is the next thing.
And, uh, after five more years, like we get those suites up top rebuilt,
we figure out the best way to lay the thing out instead of the first way to lay it out.
Uh, it's going to be a packed house. We're going to love going to Valdosta each year.
Matt, thank you very much. Thanks Joe for having me on. There he goes. Matt Smith with us here
on WFO radio. Thank you, Matt, for reminding me of something that I had forgotten all about.
All right, guys, put your comments in the comments section. Let's get some comments
loaded up there. I see some people in the chat bringing up some personal stuff with me. I'll
definitely talk about that. I want to mention, uh, countless, uh, things. But first, let's talk
top fuel. Let's talk top fuel. We got our pro stock and, uh, funny car and pro stock motorcycle
takes. But in the end, top fuel, uh, wow, what a weekend Sean Langdon had. And I don't know what
you want to say, uh, whether you want to say that, uh, winning the race is the biggest deal
or running 345 is the biggest deal. I think that when it comes to news coverage, I know they want
to win the race, but man, that milestone 345, I'm kind of stunned at how many news outlets,
the New York Times and the athletic and, and, and just, you know, Fox news, they'll cover drag
racing on a pretty regular basis, but outlets that don't normally cover our motorsport,
wait for a big terrible crash or something just insane to cover and they covered 345. And
when it happened in testing at Gainesville, I'm proud to say I assumed it was genuine and real.
I'm not surprised at all that we're taking big step forwards. Now you got those air deflectors off
and the longer and the more people are running and learning with them. And of course the natural
evolution of, of pro chiefs in racing. So 345 pumps up in testing at Gainesville,
but was it legal? What was everything about board? You know, who knows?
Go out there and qualifying 345, skipped right over 344, then back it up with the 344,
backup is not a thing anymore. Me personally, I would like to bring back points for a record.
That's just me. I'm not criticizing anybody. I know years ago we kind of got away from that.
I don't know exactly the methodology to getting away from points for a record. I think it's
nice to reward an amazing accomplishment, but press coverage, media coverage. Langdon is now
Mr. 345. I looked at Sean, I was like, Hey man, great job. And you know, big smile came on his
face. He's no, he's not a robot. He understands that he did something spectacular. Got garlets
out there, garlets known for breaking 270 and other milestones. That's what our sport is.
And 345, that's just hard to wrap your mind around 345, 555 kilometers an hour,
right? Just to use the international language. It was amazing. And that it keeps happening
over and over. I love it. I think it's a part of the sport. You know, who knows what's possible.
We got from 340 to 345 pretty quickly. And then the next thing out there is, you know,
I don't even want to say it. I'm not even going to say it because I'm loving where we are right now.
Maddie Gordon running 340. When a 340 comes on the board, everybody celebrates. It's a big deal.
Someone in one of my social feeds was trying to become negative about 340. Oh, you know,
it's no big deal anymore. Like, dude, why, why you got to dump cold water on anything?
There's a 340 club, even though it's not an official 340 club. There's a, there's a club.
Once you run 340, you are now part of something. And Maddie Gordon got it done a couple of times.
Rob Flynn, that Carlisle tool drags. Remember, they're still ramping in the power on her,
trying to, you know, get her laps, get her up to speed. So I just thought Langdon's 345 was a
big deal. Doug Colletta is now living over 340. But in the end, it was all Colletta Motorsports in
the final round. And Langdon gets the job done. 380, 333 is what, what did it? It was a workman-like
day. And if you go back to Brian Hueson's interview that he did here on WFO radio,
and Langdon, I think, has got a media availability with NHRA coming up at three o'clock,
Brian Hueson said he was focusing on racing the conditions throughout race day. Like,
he learned how to hit the home run ball. And now he wants to learn how to lay it up, to lay up.
So I mixed my metaphors there with golf and baseball. But you get what I'm doing.
And I think this was a perfect example of that. Like, tricky track conditions, good air, sure
enough. Now, I do wonder, though, no one has talked about the Nats. The Nats. The downside of
South Georgia Motorsports Park, there were little, these little black Nats that were flying around.
And you could see, like, the trick was to go around someone who was sweatier and smellier than
you, and you survived. Like, you just kind of, you'd have these Nats kind of going around,
and then you go next to somebody. And if they were sweatier and smellier than you,
the Nats would go to them and get run away. It was a, it was thing. Is there like power in the Nats?
Could burning Nats be the source of the horsepower? We don't know. Life's a drag going to be on
tomorrow. Want to remind you guys, the big Jason Logan sign off. I'm not going to steal
any more of his thunder. He'll be on Life's a Drag. If you're a fan of WFO Radio and you like
Life's a Drag and the numbers have been going up and up and up as Elon and Jason do their thing
and bring their brand of information and infotainment to the Drag Racing fans out there here on our
YouTube channel and on X and on Facebook and wherever you might watch the show, all the four
people that watch it on Facebook, right? Facebook. Jason Logan is going to come on and going to
talk a little bit about it, I'm sure. We had a little fun with it. He got a pie in the face
at some Mexican restaurant that they do that. I tried to, I tried to call it off. No, I don't
give him a pie in the face. I mean, come on, this guy's a respectable person, doesn't deserve to
get a pie in the face. I was outvoted by the other coworkers. They got him the pie in the face, which
it works out for me because I got to defend my friend and also see him get a pie in the face,
which is good. Life's a Drag tomorrow, 12 noon Eastern time. I did the right thing. Michael
Heiner, they hear it from Heiner's show for Patreons. This is all stalling so that you guys can
put your comments in the comments section, the final comments. Eddie Granace, who won the last
race with Matt Hartford, they had a deep dive pro stock conversation. If you're a fan of pro stock
and you're not a WFO patron, I mean, you could hate me like vile poison, but the Heiner show,
hear from Heiner for Patreons is worth it for fans of pro stock. And I believe he has got,
you know, I don't even know what to say, but like one of the elite motorsports crew chiefs
queued up for this week's show to talk about Troy Coughlin getting all the way to the final.
Pretty exciting. Want to remind you guys, PowerTube TV, one of the alternative places that you can
watch WFO radio, PowerTube TV, all car culture stuff. The new pinks is on there, but WFO radio,
NHRA Nitro is on there. And maybe you're watching right now on PowerTube TV. Reach out to the WFO
universe. You can email me joe at WFO radio.com. If you're a PowerTube listener would love or
viewer would love to see you and shout out to all of our friends. If you're not wearing your WFO
gear, I saw a lot of WFO gear at South Georgia Motorsports Park goes on sale from time to time,
whether project Pontiac gear, the fire gear. I haven't seen a Jetcar in person in a long time.
The Miami Hollywood Speedway t-shirt interviewing Big Daddy Don Garlets during Q1 on Friday.
Garlets and me in the booth.
It doesn't get cooler than that. I wanted to break the fourth wall a little bit and tell everybody
at home like this is not wasted on me, guys. I don't think I'm cool. I'm thrilled to be in
here with Garlets calling Nitro cars at a brand new race. It was awesome. But I'm here to tell you
it gets better. We got Garlets and Gwen in Darrell's RV taking shots at each other. And that's
going to come out on NHRA social media like big moments. And Garlets is like, can I use a bad
word? It's like, yeah, I prefer it. So watch NHRA social feeds, NHRA on YouTube, NHRA on Facebook.
It will hopefully make it. I feel like it's some of the greatest
drag racing content that has ever been created is what I think.
Big shout out to the folks at Fogget, Frank Hollys
and our Patreons. These are VIP listeners, patreon.com slash WFO radio. All right,
before we get out of here, let's see what you guys got to say. What did you think about South Georgia
Motorsports Park?
Garlets did not give a damn when he was calling it.
I don't know what he didn't give a damn about. He seemed to have a great time. We were laughing,
having fun. So glad Don got his hearing aids. Well, he had the cochlear implant put in.
But there were times where he added out like being on the starting line.
It's too loud for that. So he had to pull it out. And then someone was like, hey, man, Garlets on
the starting line, go interview him now. And I'm like, okay, and he didn't have his hearing aid in.
But the thing about Big Daddy is everything that he says is priceless. It's all part of the charm of
Garlets. And so even he's like, I don't have my hearing aid in. Let me get it. It's still great.
Enjoyed the show, Joe. Well done as usual. Thank you, Mary.
Subscribe, click the bell and invite some new viewers. You, Mary, you are our marketing platform.
You got to get out there. You got to go to the neighbors. You got to knock on the doors.
345 and a thousand feet is mind boggling. Mac, thank you.
Thank you. Anybody that would try to like lessen the impact of this, like, you know, top fuel drag
sir, I like to speak in a language that people can understand. It's a ton plus to accelerate a ton
from zero to 345 miles an hour in 3.7 seconds.
It's insane. And to do it in a thousand feet is insane.
All these other motorsports, they're doing amazing things and I love them all.
But when it comes to the extreme nature, nothing beats NHRA drag racing. It doesn't. We were not.
That's why I came up with the kilometers because internationally, maybe they just don't understand
miles per hour, man. We're not like 550. I did the calculations of 555 kilometers an hour.
Maybe we should be announcing that not just like the third thing we say.
Because does the international crowd even know what a mile per hour is compared to a kilometer?
You know, they're weighing themselves in kilos, guys. Good show as usual says Monica.
It was a great race at a new track. Yeah, I saw someone,
James, questioning the Saturday sellout. I can tell you I was there. It was packed.
Did every single person sit in their seat every minute the whole day? No, they were walking around.
They were walking there. I was referring to Don not giving a damn about calling people out
on too much clutch and better ways to run the car for an issue. Yeah, you're right. He didn't.
He didn't give a damn. He's like, yeah, too aggressive. Jordan and team doing a great job together.
Yes, they are. So the Jordan deal, I'm so happy that he came on and sent a message to NHRA and
everybody in the teams. There was a little bit of debate about was that selfish or not.
And I think it's one of those moments that in the moment when you got two pro mod cars on the
starting line and we want to close the book on the South Georgia Motorsports Park Southern Nationals,
any extra moment feels like the worst thing in the world. But once he starts to run and Jack
Beckman starts to run and guys, if you watch on NHRA TV, the experience you got was a little
different because Jason Logan's music can't really go out over the air. And so if you pick
it up in the background, but the second Jason Logan started to play chariots of fire and you see
a person on the screen running and let's be honest, everybody that was running there was running in
slow motion. OK, Jack Beckman, not exactly fleet of foot. Jordan Vanagraph wearing his boots,
not a gazelle by any means. So it was almost as if they were running in slow motion like chariots
of fire, the movie, which is an old movie. But if you watch it, you get the reference and it was
very fun and funny. Wild thought on three forty five ninety nine percent of people who land speed
race such as Bonneville have never been three hundred three forty five is wild. Wow. Thank you.
Because I always think about those soft flats, folks, speed trial folks. When we say that we
are the fastest motorsport, I always say fastest in racing because racing implies two or more cars
as opposed to a solo speed trial. I respect those guys so much so much. But they are not racing
each other. They are doing speed trials. And I check this with loans and I check it with
Fiberger. I don't I don't want to annoy anybody. But when you're getting over three forty five,
suddenly things are different. And you know, someone said loans said that that eclipses the
North American rocket car record. But then someone said you Sammy Miller went faster than that at
Santa Pond. And so like, oh my gosh. But we're getting there. I'm thinking of the three hundred
shirts who's going to break three fifty mile per hour. Can we please and I brought it up, but I
didn't want to. Can we please just enjoy this for a little while for a little while, like to the end
of next season three forty five three fifty by next season. Stop. Can we please just stay here
for a little bit and sit down and enjoy the sunset and just be happy about what we've gotten to
witness instead of moving ahead immediately and thinking of three fifty. Please. Please.
NHRA fans. What we have been gifted by this combination of the good year tires,
the good year engineers, folks at Toyota and Slugger and taking off those aero deflectors.
That's what's given us this natural evolution. It wasn't that long ago where people were saying
like like really, you know, entrenched people in the sport. You'll never see three forty.
They'll never let it happen. And now here we are. We're seeing three forty. How about let's
take a second to just be appreciative for once. And how about this, Matt Smith, good job challenging
our other winners. I challenge everybody who said they'll never let three forty happen to go on their
social media and make a post that they were personally wrong and that they take responsibility
for putting out the wrong pessimistic opinions. How about that?
What was the manifold color for three forty five? Right. Exactly.
I'm all about points for record and a workable backup. I don't think you should have to back it
up if you do it in the finals just to package the idea better. See, we're packaging ideas on WFO.
I like it. Like we're doing a package talking about packages.
Testosterone commentators is prox sorry he left. I'm not worried about Austin proc. I'm not sorry.
He left. Remember, if Austin doesn't leave, Jordan doesn't get his opportunity. Think about that.
Think about that. Everything happens for a reason, guys. Everything happens for a reason.
Austin proc. I'm not worried about Austin proc at all. I do know typically it takes longer than
you expect it will. What? Everything. So Jordan steps into a championship car with a championship
caliber crew chief, Chris Cunningham, and it took him four races to punch it into the winner's
circle. So that one's ahead of schedule a little bit. But generally speaking, it always takes longer.
It always takes longer. And so it might take a little longer for Austin proc. I think we all agree
that they got to be right by the U.S. Nationals. And if they're right by the U.S. Nationals,
they're going to have a chance to storm through the field. Congratulations to Jason Collins
winning his first race. He was like, they said a radio versus the world. I never said that. Nobody
said that in the NHRA. I don't know who he's talking to, but those people were wrong. Dan Fletcher
is winning again, guys. Dan Fletcher, this guy started going again, almost doubled up.
Super stock winner, Michael Brand, stock eliminator, takes out Fletcher. Sherman Adcock in Super Cop,
way to go, Sherm, one of the greatest of all time. Tracy Barnes in Super Gas, James Brown in
Top Dragster, and Matt Peterson in Junior Dragster, the Summit Race Equipment Junior Shootout,
Wright Trailers, Top Dragster for James Brown. It was a great race. We had a lot of fun.
Went to a couple of cool restaurants. Smoking Pig was my call. These guys on Life's a Drag
tomorrow, they'll probably be like, you know, smoke a pig. Really good. I enjoyed it. Had great
service there, too. The locals were excited for us to be there. And I really feel like that was a
big, big thing. South Georgia Motorsports Park has got a QR code on the website. I'm going to go do
that right now. I'm going to go do that right now. We're going to get a brick for WFL Radio. But
what should it say? We'll figure that out. Remember, Life's a Drag tomorrow. The archive is wide
open. Go back and check out Amber Hartford on last week's show. That was big.
About this episode
Jordan Vandergriff’s long road back to the cockpit pays off with his first Funny Car win, and he talks through the emotion, the team effort, and the broadcast experience that helped him get there. Dallas Glenn then breaks down a chaotic Pro Stock final, from tire shake and tricky shifting to the importance of lane choice and changing rules. Matt Smith closes with motorcycle development, backup-engine drama, and a look at how tight the class is getting heading toward Chicago.
#NHRA #dragracing #JohnForceRacing
Jordan Vandergriff, Dallas Glenn, and Matt Smith join WFO Radio after winning the NHRA Southern Nationals. Following his historic run, 1st time NHRA Funny Car winner Jordan Vandergriff stops by WFO Radio to discuss the details that lead to victory in his John Force Racing Camaro. Dallas Glenn will share his story of surviving a very challenging day in Pro Stock. Matt Smith who set the SGMP speed record and won is first race of NHRA 2026, will recap his event with host Joe Castello. You don't want to miss this one...
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