Route 66 and Chicago take center stage as the hosts trade race-weekend recaps, bracket-ladder observations, and standout performances—highlighting Josh Hart’s “track record 341 miles per hour” and Chad Green’s tough-path win. Weather and travel chaos keep interrupting plans, from Chicago flight delays to rain concerns that pushed racing later. The show also dives into funny car handling fixes, pro stock/pro stock motorcycle results, and a few off-track moments—plus NHRA’s Dragon Drive expansion and a Bracket Bonanza recap.
#NHRA #dragracing #nhraresults
The Life's A Drag team rehashes an exciting Route 66 Nationals from Chicago. Big wins for Chad Green, Shawn Langdon, Aaron Stanfield and Matt Smith. Plus travel mayhem, great food, Alex and Nick Taylor dive into DRBB and a look ahead to Memorial Day weekend
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"...de of just like I have to think that when project Pontiac gets back on track, the level of input he's gotten fro..."
The Pontiac GTO is a muscle car, meaning it’s designed to be powerful and fun to drive. The podcast mentions it in connection with a project, which usually means someone is restoring or building the car. That kind of project often takes time and specific parts to get the car back to where it should be.
The Pontiac GTO is a classic American muscle car that’s historically associated with bold performance and a strong enthusiast following. In the podcast context, it’s brought up as part of a “project Pontiac” that’s working toward getting back on track, suggesting it’s a restoration or build effort. That’s why it would come up—these cars often require planning, parts sourcing, and careful work to return them to a desired performance or appearance level.
"Number one qualifier.
Number one qualifier luck just didn't go his way."
Qualifying in drag racing is when drivers run to set their position for the bracket. “Number one qualifier” means they were fastest in qualifying and get the best starting spot.
In drag racing, a “qualifier” refers to the qualifying session results that determine the starting order for eliminations. Being “number one qualifier” means the car posted the best qualifying performance and earns the top seed.
"It just that, that funny car class.
Is just so like Jordan van der Griff goes from winning the race."
In drag racing, “funny car” is a specific category of race cars. They look a bit like regular cars from the outside, but they’re built very differently underneath to go extremely fast in a straight line.
“Funny car” is a drag racing class where cars run with a short, wide body and a highly modified powertrain, typically using a supercharged engine. The body resembles a production car, but the chassis and drivetrain are purpose-built for straight-line acceleration.
"Austin proc one his,
his first round of eliminations.
Right."
“Eliminations” are the actual tournament-style races. Drivers race one-on-one, and if you lose you’re out of the next round.
“Eliminations” are the head-to-head rounds in drag racing where cars race in a bracket format and the loser is knocked out. The weekend’s qualifying performance sets the matchups for these elimination rounds.
"They were battling some balance issues with his car that the nose was
just coming up."
“Balance issues” means the car isn’t staying settled the way it should when it launches. If the front end rises too much, it can make the car harder to control and reduce traction.
“Balance issues” in drag racing usually means the car isn’t behaving as intended under acceleration—often related to how weight transfers and how the chassis stays stable. In this context, they mention the nose “coming up,” which points to an imbalance between front and rear traction/weight distribution.
"They were battling some balance issues with his car that the nose was
just coming up.
So that's why he had his hands full."
If the front end lifts during launch, the car is shifting weight forward-to-back as it accelerates. Too much lift can make it harder to hook up and stay consistent.
When the “nose” comes up during a launch, the car is pitching upward due to weight transfer under hard acceleration. In drag racing, excessive front lift can hurt traction and make the car less consistent run-to-run.
Term
fourth qualifying session
"Like he made a run in the fourth qualifying session to basically saved his race car."
Qualifying is when drivers try to set their best time before the race. The “fourth qualifying session” means they got a chance to qualify in a later group/round to earn a good starting spot.
In racing, qualifying sessions are timed runs used to set the starting order for the race. Saying “fourth qualifying session” implies there were multiple qualifying attempts or groups, and the driver ran in the fourth one to secure a grid position.
"You know, because it just was light on the front end, but they got it fixed for first round."
This means the front tires weren’t getting enough grip. When that happens, the car can feel like it doesn’t want to turn the way the driver expects.
“Light on the front end” describes a handling condition where the front tires have less grip or load than the rear. That often leads to understeer (the car wants to go straight instead of turning) and can make the car harder to control mid-corner.
"You know, because it just was light on the front end, but they got it fixed for first round."
Many racing events have stages. “First round” is the first competitive heat/bracket, and they fixed the car before that first stage.
“First round” refers to the initial elimination/heat stage of an event format where cars compete in brackets or grouped sessions. Improving the car “for first round” implies they made adjustments between qualifying and the first competitive stage.
"They wanted to get data. And then he has, he goes, he told me it was almost bit me in the butt because his car got super sideways"
Teams collect information from the car during runs. That helps them figure out what’s going wrong and what to adjust next.
In motorsport, “data” usually means telemetry collected from the car (like speeds, throttle/brake inputs, and tire behavior) to understand performance and diagnose handling issues. Teams use it to decide what to change for the next run.
"And then he has, he goes, he told me it was almost bit me in the butt because his car got super sideways and he kept it off the wall."
“Super sideways” means the car’s rear end slid out a lot. The driver kept control and avoided hitting the wall.
“Super sideways” indicates the car is experiencing significant oversteer, where the rear slips outward relative to the front. Keeping it off the wall suggests the driver managed traction and steering inputs to recover before impact.
Company
Bob Pex
"but you know, Chris is out there grinding Bob Pex's crew chief. They're doing a really good job."
Bob Pex is mentioned as the crew chief. The crew chief is the person who helps set up the car and directs changes during the event.
Bob Pex is referenced as a crew chief figure in the racing team context. A crew chief typically leads the team’s setup strategy and makes calls on adjustments based on driver feedback and telemetry.
"Joe had Matt on his show yesterday and showed the broken transmission part."
The transmission is what sends power from the engine to the wheels. If it breaks, the car can’t drive properly—so in a race, it can ruin your run fast.
A transmission is the gearbox that transfers engine power to the wheels through different gear ratios. In drag racing, a broken transmission can end a run immediately because the car can’t properly put power down or shift into the needed gears.
"I do agree like getting your bike or car started and then having something happen on the burnout is, is the worst."
A burnout is when the driver spins the tires on purpose to warm them up. In drag racing, it’s done right before the run, so if something breaks during that moment, you can’t get a good launch.
A burnout is when a driver intentionally spins the driven wheels (often by holding the car or bike at high engine power while braking/holding it in place) to heat the tires and improve traction for the next launch. In drag racing, it’s a common step before a run, so mechanical issues during a burnout can be especially damaging to your chances.
Term
MSR
"But moving forward, I think you have to look at that whole MSR operation as a real threat."
MSR here sounds like a racing team or organization. The hosts are saying they’re strong enough that they could seriously affect who wins upcoming races.
MSR is referenced as an operation that’s a “real threat,” implying it’s a racing team/organization with strong competitive capability. In drag racing contexts, such team operations often manage car preparation, strategy, and driver support to maximize performance.
"I think they're going to Buds Creek is our next race, basically in Maryland."
Budds Creek is where the next race is happening. The hosts mention it because it’s close to a driver’s home track and could be a big event.
Budds Creek is a racing venue referenced as the next race location in Maryland. The hosts connect it to a specific driver’s home track and discuss how it could be a major event for the season.
"She has a ton of runs there. I think that's a huge, that's probably going to be one of our biggest pro stock motorcycle interest races of the season."
Pro Stock Motorcycle is a specific drag-racing category for high-level bikes. The rules are tight, so teams focus a lot on tuning and getting the bike to run consistently.
Pro Stock Motorcycle is a professional drag racing class where riders compete with purpose-built motorcycles that follow strict rules on engine and vehicle configuration. Because it’s a specialized class, performance depends heavily on setup, tuning, and consistency rather than just raw power.
Term
factory stock showdown class
"a lot of people follow the flex that factory stock showdown class, Jonathan Algrucci goes back to back."
Factory Stock Showdown is a drag racing class where the cars have to stay relatively close to what you’d find from the factory. Teams still tune and prepare them, but the rules keep it more “stock-like.”
The Factory Stock Showdown class is a drag racing category that emphasizes cars built to be closer to factory specifications, with rules designed to limit how far teams can modify them. That makes the competition more about preparation within constraints and consistency at the track.
"...h gave them everything he could handle in a great Mustang, Cobra Jet, final round. But it was, Jonathan's g..."
The Ford Mustang is a sporty car made by Ford, and it’s often chosen for fast acceleration. Some versions are built specifically for drag racing, meaning they’re designed to go very quickly in a straight line. The podcast is referencing a Mustang that was set up to perform at a high level.
The Ford Mustang is a performance-focused American muscle car known for its wide range of engine and trim options, from everyday driving to serious track and drag setups. In the podcast context, it’s mentioned alongside high-performance variants like the Cobra Jet, which are built for strong straight-line performance. That makes it a natural topic when discussing how a driver performed under pressure in a capable, purpose-built Mustang.
"The number one source of friction in your engine is not what you think. Piston rings rubbing against the cylinder walls generate more friction than any other part of the engine."
Piston rings are small metal bands on the piston. They help keep engine gases from leaking and help manage oil inside the engine, but they can also create friction as they slide against the cylinder walls.
Piston rings are thin metal bands mounted on the piston. As the piston moves up and down, the rings seal the combustion gases and help control oil on the cylinder walls, but they also create friction when they rub against the cylinder.
"The number one source of friction in your engine is not what you think. Piston rings rubbing against the cylinder walls generate more friction than any other part of the engine."
Friction is the “drag” created when parts rub against each other. In an engine, more friction usually means more heat, faster wear, and less effective power.
In an engine, friction is the resistance to motion between moving parts, like piston rings sliding on cylinder walls. Higher friction increases heat, which can raise wear rates and reduce how efficiently the engine turns fuel into usable power.
"Piston rings rubbing against the cylinder walls generate more friction than any other part of the engine. More friction and temperature means more wear and less horsepower."
Cylinder walls are the inside surfaces of the engine where the piston moves. The piston rings rub along these walls, so if the surface gets worn or rough, the engine can lose efficiency and wear faster.
Cylinder walls are the inner surfaces of the engine block where the pistons travel. Their surface finish and wear matter because piston rings slide along them; more friction and heat from that contact can accelerate wear.
"Fortunately, the team at total seal knows how to reduce friction and wear through innovative piston ring design. If it takes a piston, total seal could build a better ring."
Total Seal makes piston rings. They’re advertising rings designed to reduce rubbing and wear inside the engine.
Total Seal is an aftermarket piston ring brand that claims its piston ring designs reduce friction and wear. The pitch here is that better ring design can improve engine efficiency by lowering the rubbing losses between piston rings and cylinder walls.
"Redline oil formulated to win proven by me. Redline oil formulated to win proven by me. Formulated to win proven by me."
Redline oil is a type of engine oil brand. The hosts are repeating an ad claim that it’s made to help engines run better and last longer by reducing friction.
Redline oil is a motor oil brand being promoted as “formulated to win.” In this segment it’s part of an ad message tying oil choice to engine protection and performance by reducing friction and wear.
"And sadly, there will be no IHRA triple crown race this weekend.
[2816.2s] They made a very I feel proactive decision in deciding to postpone it.
[2823.4s] Because the weather forecast looks awful. Looks awful."
IHRA is another major drag-racing organization. A “triple crown” event is a special, bigger deal race weekend with multiple races and bigger stakes than a normal meet.
The IHRA triple crown race refers to a marquee drag-racing event series run under the IHRA (International Hot Rod Association). A “triple crown” format typically means multiple high-stakes races where drivers can compete for a combined or cumulative prize.
"Now, when that happens, you hate to root for rain, but now you're kind of, I want it to rooting for rain, because if it doesn't rain out, like if it's not terrible, then they're just going to have all this and as a track operator like when I was the
[2848.7s] That was the worst thing to do is like you're trying to be proactive because you don't want people to do all this stuff and then it doesn't rain and then they're like you're just a jerk."
A track operator is the group that runs the race track and makes the call on whether events can safely happen. When weather is uncertain, they have to decide early and deal with the consequences either way.
A track operator is the person or team responsible for running a racing venue day-to-day, including scheduling, safety decisions, and event logistics. In weather-related postponements, they balance keeping the event on track with preventing unsafe conditions and managing the fallout if the forecast changes.
"And sadly, there will be no IHRA triple crown race this weekend.
[2816.2s] They made a very I feel proactive decision in deciding to postpone it.
...
[2879.5s] And also it made news this weekend by letting go another president, which again is just mind boggling for the organization when you think about say what you know every organization is different but the NHRA celebrate celebrating 75 years of NHRA."
NHRA is the big organization that runs and regulates drag races in the U.S. They set the rules for what kinds of cars can race and how events are run.
NHRA stands for the National Hot Rod Association, the major U.S. drag-racing sanctioning body. It organizes and governs events where cars race over short distances (typically a quarter-mile) and sets rules for classes and safety.
"Speaking of A.J., A.J. won in the peak squad league this weekend for Drag Race, Braga Bonanza, so was emailing this week so he's going to get a special peak prize pack for doing that."
“Drag Race” refers to a drag-racing competition. It’s basically cars racing side-by-side in a straight line to see who accelerates fastest.
“Drag Race” here is being used as the name of a competition/league context where A.J. won. In drag racing culture, “drag race” typically refers to straight-line acceleration contests where cars race over a short distance under a specific ruleset.
Select text to request an explanation
This is WFO Radio.
Hello, Life's a Drag is live and rolling.
I'm one of your hosts, Elon Warner.
And I'm happy.
Happy Warner Woodward.
We'll nail this intro eventually.
No, we will not.
It will constantly be chaos,
like everything in the drag racing world,
constant chaos.
I'm not saying we're going to change hosts every,
every two weeks,
nor will a host be fired mid show,
but lots going on in drag racing.
We're not rolling that out.
Abby could fire me at any moment.
So we are excited to have everybody joining the show.
Please like the show, share the show,
do all the things with the show as we get going.
So we're back from Chicago.
Have you recouped, Abby?
Have I recouped?
Chicago is one of our busiest races.
Just we've got more people because some of our part-time guys
are Chicago based with TJ Zizzo and Chris King,
and they've got fun things going on.
And then peak sponsoring drag race bracket bonanza
and flex jet factory stock showdown is heating up.
Richard Gaines had big brothers, big sisters.
Richard Gaines had big brothers, big sisters.
So I feel, I like Chicago because I feel like we're firing
on all cylinders.
There's not really a moment to like,
there's not much downtime and that just keeps the weekend
going at a really good pace, which I like.
Yeah.
And, you know, this race just had a lot of cool racing action.
You know, it was little, little shaky.
There are concerns about the weather,
which I'm the worst of looking at the weather in advance.
So I flew sans raincoats.
Which it ended up working out in your favor because it really
only rains, really only rains a little bit in the morning.
Which is perfect.
Exactly.
It only delayed racing a little bit on like what,
Saturday or was that Friday?
I think it rained a little bit Saturday morning.
Yes.
So we got started a little bit later,
but I don't think it was that big of a deal.
I mean, I'm not a sportsman racer,
so I'm sure they probably had a big deal.
It may be for a little bit longer day for flex jet factory
stock showdown on the sportsman guys.
Flex shot thought they were going to be racing at 11
and then I don't think that they raced until like at least
five p.m. or something like that.
And then the round of eliminations at seven.
So, but yeah, I loved,
I loved everything about the Chicago race, you know,
just the vibe you had, you know,
Chris Karen Macinus was the racing legend,
which was really cool.
I mean, the debate on how old Chris Karen Macinus is still
rages on.
We think he's between 96 and possibly 98 years old.
He's still getting around really good for whatever,
wherever he falls in that age range.
And he did really well on the booth with Joe, I thought.
How about Joe's latest interview string,
our great executive producer,
the founder of WFO radio,
goes back to back with sit down interviews with big daddy
done garlets and Darryl Gwyn and then follows it up with
booth time with the Greek.
I have to think that Joe is having like the time of his life
this season so far since getting like, I mean,
just getting to share the booth,
getting all this like one-on-one time basically with all these
really cool people.
And I hope, I hope he's taking the time to pick their brains
like outside of just like I have to think that when project
Pontiac gets back on track,
the level of input he's gotten from big daddy done garlets
and the Greek and guys like Darryl Gwyn.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
So, yeah.
Yeah, no.
Joe does always have the best seat in the house,
even when he's down on the starting line and you know,
all that stuff.
So I just thought the whole,
so let's dive into the racing real quick.
So, you know, qualifying, cruising along.
We get Saturday and Josh Hart blows doors off track record baby
track record 341 miles per hour that grave that Dave Grubnick
power and the smile on Josh Hart's face, you know, amazing.
So great.
But, you know, the two fast two tasties were dominated by the
usual suspects.
Yes.
Colletas.
I mean, except not really because Alexis DeGiorgio got a
mission too fast.
She did sneak in there and you know, guys really excited for
awesome.
You know, but just rolling into race day with those guys.
Some spectacular first round matchups.
Everyone got the Maddie Gordon versus Krista Baldwin.
First round matchup, which if they wanted to start a podcast,
I would watch that.
I would watch that.
I would tune into that in two seconds.
And I mean, it would have been great if they would have been a
little bit later in the day, but to just highlight those two
personalities, you know, they just feed off of each other.
And I think it's hard for me to think of a better backup person
driver combo than Katie and Krista.
I mean, Katie, they had bits.
Oh yeah.
Krista had, I should have grabbed it.
Krista basically had a mustache like her grandfather.
And then Katie had the wig had a whole wig.
So it was a whole, I mean, they, they put some time into it.
It was, it was awesome.
Get a chance to go back to nha.tv and watch that.
Just, just having those bits was so great.
And, you know, Krista's at the top end with that mustache.
And I don't know.
I can't remember.
I think it was Courtney was with her, but Courtney really didn't
know what to do with that.
It was just spectacular.
Well, and Krista maintained a pretty straight face while.
Yeah.
I mean, she was like totally leaning into the whole Greek,
Greek deal.
So it was, you know, that was great.
But then the racing action on Sunday, you know,
shockingly, I mean, there weren't too many upsets.
No, we didn't have that many bracket busters and DRBB this weekend.
But, but I mean, I, I thought it was interesting to have the
Coleta guys on the same side of the ladder facing each other in
the second round, which I can't remember the last time they've
had to face each other that early.
Lately it's been like they, if they meet each other,
it's in the finals.
So Sean Langdon obviously bested Doug Coletta and then went
on to win the race.
And I have to think Coletta was probably his fear.
Like he, he had to have thought like if I could just get past Doug,
I have a real shot at getting another one of those diamond wallies.
Oh yeah.
I mean, you think for sure.
I mean, I think right now those two guys are the teams.
Teams to beat you just, you know, that's the best thing for the
rest of the categories for those guys to meet each other early.
Yes.
Yes.
Everyone else is seeing that in the like, we have hope.
Yeah.
And I think the resurgence of Antron Brown was kind of good to see.
So good to see.
You know, but also you had, you know, TJ Zizzo came out first
race of the year.
You know, they've been dominant and qualifying in years past,
but they, they just kind of figured some things out this weekend.
And they just lost a close drag race in the first round.
I mean, they could have beat other people with that.
Yeah.
It's, I mean, it was a great drag race for the fans.
Disappointing.
I know mom picked, picked TJ to win.
So she, you know, one of these days she's going to get it right
and she's going to look super smart.
Right.
Because it was, it was wild.
TJ's attitude is so great.
Yes.
You needed nitro cakes on Saturday morning.
He's out there flipping pancakes for the fans on Saturday.
Chris King came over, fellow Chicagoan and they're out there serving up pancakes.
They actually had planned on serving pancakes from eight until 10 and ran
out of pancake batter at like 930.
They'd serve so many pancakes.
That's why you have to get there early.
Get there early.
And it was really cool to just see that that was people's on their mind to
just start the day, you know,
Even with the rain that morning and there were actually like puddles
and everywhere like they were like, we got to get there for those
cakes, get there for the nitro cakes.
So the funny car was probably my favorite result.
Yes.
Because Chad Green basically had a murderer's row
and got through everybody to win his second race of the year.
Yeah.
He's a true championship contender at this point.
And, you know, I asked him in the press room, like,
do you think you're the best kept secret in the funny car class?
And he kind of chuckled at that a little bit,
but I'm guilty of overlooking him.
Yeah.
But I mean, he, he makes for a good interview.
Oh yeah, he's great.
He's got this real like cool guy,
like just atmosphere about his, his vibe.
He comes in with the sunglasses on and the white styrofoam cup.
And he's just really living his best life.
I mean, just racing and kicking people's asses and just, you know.
Well, and it was his birthday weekend this weekend,
as well as his daughters who,
if y'all don't know his daughter is also Lexi is also gauge her as
girlfriend.
So she's all over the place.
I have to feel on race weekends between watching her dad and
brother and watching gauge kick ass too.
So good family weekend for them.
So super excited for that.
And then Alexis get to another final.
Yeah. I mean, she almost took it all.
She was, she was, she was ready to go.
And that Mike Neff and Johnny Lindberg have that car running really,
really, really well.
You know, I thought it could be Jack Beckman's weekend.
You know, he's won this race in the past, but.
Number one qualifier.
Number one qualifier luck just didn't go his way.
And I think the second round.
You know, J. R. Todd's car.
It just that, that funny car class.
Is just so like Jordan van der Griff goes from winning the race.
To I think out in the first round.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's.
Well,
and Austin proc one his,
his first round of eliminations.
Right.
And then actually won two rounds of eliminations this weekend.
So showing that they.
Might be beginning to get their stuff together.
Yeah.
And the, the Beckman race, you know, he drew.
Chris King qualified for the race, which big for him,
his first race had been running really good.
They were battling some balance issues with his car that the nose was
just coming up.
So that's why he had his hands full.
Like he made a run in the fourth qualifying session to basically
saved his race car.
You know, because it just was light on the front end,
but they got it fixed for first round.
He gave Beckman a run for his money,
his money, you know,
and he was super happy about that. I mean,
he's got his program going in the right direction.
The coolest thing I think that Chris did for the race fans is.
He got locked into the show.
And it was on a single.
And they're making announcements like it looks like Chris King is
on the show and he's like, no, he was going to run.
He was going to put on a show for the fans.
They wanted to get data.
And then he has, he goes, he told me it was almost bit me in the
butt because his car got super sideways and he kept it off the wall.
But I mean, that's just Chris is there to entertain.
He's got sponsors.
He wants to be on the track, you know,
and he made the show and he, you know, he got good coverage,
but that's, that's a team that, you know,
so many teams are out there looking for support,
but you know, Chris is out there grinding Bob Pex's crew chief.
They're doing a really good job. So yeah.
So if Beckman would have stumbled,
that would have been Chris King's race to win.
And just to see him, you know,
make a good, solid run, they were super, super happy.
And, you know, yeah, guys are talking about, you know,
the procs are definitely getting, getting closer to success.
Yeah. And that'll be, again,
another good quality car in the category.
Exactly. Can we talk about pro stock now?
Yes, we can talk about pro stock.
I love pro stock. So Aaron Stamfield coming up on top first
race wins since I believe the 2024 Nevada Nationals.
So here's his wife, Jolie weighing in, which now I'm torn because
I love that Jolie plays bracket Bonanza,
but I also know she's invested in Aaron winning races.
So we need to, we need to figure that system out for Jolie.
Cause it is, um,
it is great to see the leap back in the winter circle.
Yes. Um, and you know, you look at, you know,
he beat Greg Anderson in the final Greg Redlett,
but that is a tip of the hat to, you know, Aaron being a good
lever and Greg knowing he needed to get up on the wheel,
but Greg's, Greg's route to the final was no easy task.
He had to beat his son Cody.
He had to beat Matt Latino, another killer on the tree,
and he had to beat his nemesis Erica Enders.
And then Aaron gets revenge for the elite team with the win in
the finals.
So, you know, I love to see Aaron signing a DRBB,
DRBB plaque again. And, uh,
and that was what was that his 15th or 20th,
15th pro stock when he signed on the plaque. So,
so, I mean, that's in that class, you know, getting wins.
They're so hard to come by. Um, man, it was,
it was really, really good to see him, uh,
come out on top there and just kind of reinvigorate that elite
versus KB Titan, um, battle.
And then there were elite three elite cars to one KB Titan car
in the semis. So it's been a while I feel like since that balance
has been there. And so that was just really good to see.
And then we come to pro stock motorcycle, which just brutal.
This sport is gut wrenching on so many levels.
I was rooting for Angie Smith. I was pulling so hard for Angie Smith.
She had an amazing motorcycle from the jump.
Yep. I mean, number one qualifier,
just running away from people like not, like not even close.
And she and Matt are on opposite sides of the ladder, which they love.
Yep. They get to the final, you know, you.
Trailer Gator era, your trailer, the points leader, Richard Gadson.
You're set up for a great heads up final, the previous race winner,
Matt against his wife, Angie, and she's got a great bike and
her bike won't start in the final round.
I just seeing the emotion on her face. Yeah.
Being luckily like Gianna was up there on the starting line.
CD Glenn was up there on the starting line.
I think Erica might have been up there.
He had her friends there to support her.
But yeah, the thing about the bikes is you, I mean, they don't have
the car on them. So you could see in real time,
the heartbreak of the situation.
And then Matt comes into the press room and he basically opens
up his press conference. He knows, he knows what the people want.
He's like, just right off the gate. No, I'm not getting a divorce.
So I, he's, I don't think I've ever seen such a sheepish
winner before, especially since it wasn't even like his first
win of the season. So he didn't even like, so I think he was
probably pulling for Angie a little bit too.
He was going to give her a good, good contest.
But I mean, if that bike had gone, he, she would have won that
because he, that was not his best run.
And so it's unfortunate.
I feel that the social media people are like people on social
media talked because Angie felt the need to have to like defend
Matt Smith, which I hate when drivers feel the need to do that,
but there was no sabotage. No.
And things happen in racing sometimes and it sucks, but they do happen.
Yeah. And he talked, Stephen touched on it that, you know,
everything was in Angie's favor, even the crowd. I mean, they,
Joe gave the shout out of, Hey, who do you want to see win?
Matt or Angie? And the crowd was definitely behind Angie.
And then like W4, you know, Joe, you know, Joe had Matt on his show
yesterday and showed the broken transmission part. And I do agree
like getting your bike or car started and then having something
happen on the burnout is, is the worst.
But moving forward, I think you have to look at that whole MSR
operation as a real threat. And I think they're going to
Buds Creek is our next race, basically in Maryland.
That's Kelly Klontz's home track. She has a ton of runs there.
I think that's a huge, that's probably going to be one of our
biggest pro stock motorcycle interest races of the season.
And I'm here for it.
Yeah. And they're doing a fan fest before the race.
So, you know, get on the NHA social, get on the bike social and,
you know, and check that out. But I just think that, you know,
you look at the, you know, also just, you know, a lot of people
follow the flex that factory stock showdown class, Jonathan Algrucci
goes back to back. Jason Deitch gave them everything he could
handle in a great Mustang, Cobra Jet, final round.
But it was, Jonathan's got a great car.
He's having the season of his life so far.
Yeah. So, you know, points leader back to back, you know, pushes the,
there's now a $2,000 flex jet factory stock bounty.
That was great to see. I thought the Dragon Drive stuff was really cool.
You almost got a Nick Taylor, Alex Taylor, final round.
So close. Which, you know, Nick Taylor won and he like, he was blown away.
I don't think he knew he was getting a diamond wallet.
Yeah. And he got one of those medals too.
Yeah. It was really cool.
So he was like just an embarrassment of riches.
And he was just like totally blown away by the whole, whole scene,
but that whole Dragon Drive universe.
I talked to Brian Bolander at peak.
They're big sponsors of that all the time. I want to, I want to try that.
And I wanted to try it with big blue, my old minivan, but just, you know,
and if you're not familiar with the concept, it's basically, you know,
you have a car that you have to drive to the racetrack and then race it
and then drive it out.
My favorite was the ice cream truck.
Yeah. I mean, there's some really, they got bits and, you know,
it's just a, that's a cool deal.
And I love how NHRA is kind of adding, you know, the Dragon Drive elements,
the street outlaw elements and kind of making the tent a little bit bigger
so you can highlight. So if you don't have a national event in your hometown,
here's, you know, here's some other cool racing opportunities.
Yes. For sure.
I just, you know, just overall, you know, we got in, got the race in
and then leaving on Monday.
Do you want to touch on our travel insanity?
And then we'll circle back on all the non racing stuff that happened over the weekend.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
We were supposed to fly out Monday at roughly 830 in the morning,
woke up, had our alarm set for four, discovered our flight had been pushed to two.
So we were like, all right, we'll sleep a couple hours, get to the airport,
still fairly early for this 2pm flight and just work from the Amurals Club.
And then our flight got pushed to six.
So then we tried to get on a couple different standby flights with no luck.
O'Hare is nuts. I have to think that we like, we were not the only people having issues.
Oh yeah. Because there was weather, but I mean, our issue is our flight apparently had mechanical issues,
which I am not sure what kind of mechanical issues required that many hours worth of work.
Right.
But we eventually, you were dropping me off in my driveway at 1030pm on Monday.
Supposed to land in Dallas at 11.
Yes.
Ultimately got home at 11am, 1030pm.
And I was scheduled to be on the drag list live podcast with Bill Pratt,
that had been scheduled months in advance.
Yes.
And I figure landing at 830 in the morning, no problem.
I can do a seven o'clock podcast.
No problem.
Nope. I'm just furiously trying to do standby and I'm emailing Bill and I'm so,
and I'm so sorry. So we're going to have to reschedule that, but I was just like,
what, what a mess.
Yes.
We're going in and out of the animals club and every time we come back to the animals club,
it's more crowded.
Yes.
We're split up at this point, just sitting a different.
Yeah, I was basically survival of the fist.
Who's who in the animals club?
Yeah.
I saw Alexis Dejuri in there.
I mean, we, we hung out with Greg.
Earlier in the day, I saw Dave Richards and Paul.
Yes.
Leaving.
And then really what made it all worth it at least is at the end,
we were joined by Greg and Kim Anderson.
We spent some time with them.
And their sweet puppies.
And their sweet puppies.
And got to catch up on the race from the day before and all that good stuff.
But it was, but it's funny how all this travel stuff is just such a,
everyone that doesn't travel a lot thinks it's just so glamorous.
Going to NHA races and you're flying and it's all this stuff.
And it on days like Monday.
And it always seems to happen in Chicago because didn't last year.
Yes.
We got delayed in Chicago last year too.
And they had to spend the night.
We did.
I'd forgotten about that.
Push back and push back and then they canceled it.
Yes.
And you had checked a bag.
So you were like, cause I think had like my clothes,
like I could change into something.
Cause that was the infamous they canceled.
And then when they automatically rebooked us,
they rebooked us for like Wednesday.
And so we flew back through Manhattan, Kansas.
Yes.
That was the infamous Manhattan, Kansas.
When we were landing and we're like, how many gates do you think this airport has?
And I was like, it's got like at least six.
No.
Two gates.
Their concession situation was one vending machine.
Yes.
We did take advantage of.
Yeah.
So back to back.
Terrible Chicago return experiences.
Be better or Chicago driving.
Exactly.
But yeah, but there's, so we're bouncing back and forth.
And I'm just, I'm just trying to make sure, you know,
we're have access to the animals club, you know, all that stuff.
It was just, yeah, it was definitely.
Nightmare is right.
Monica, you totally nailed it.
It was just, and the Chicago airport is like Abby said,
just so packed full of people also to get way into the weeds.
Worst outlet airport in the country.
If you're not in a club, there's like two outlets.
And the entire every gate area.
That's why we travel with like little power strips.
Yes.
Should we pay some bills?
Yeah, hang on.
Let's see.
Yes.
I believe that is the two dogs.
Yes.
They do travel with their dogs.
Yeah.
They do travel with their dogs.
They're a little, like a little things.
Like I have to think they may be way like three pounds each.
Yeah.
They, they are dogs that would be very dangerous for my household
because I would step on them in two seconds.
And then we would be constantly replacing dogs,
but they love Greg.
It is obvious.
And Greg loves them.
It's very funny to see him with the dogs.
He stepped away at one point and they were like trying to climb
out of their little to go after him.
They were like, where did dad go?
What is happening?
And I just love, I love any like pairing that small dog,
large man, the juxtaposition of it.
It's just always so good to me.
And he brings them into the press room.
Like he'll do his post race or number one qualifier with the dogs,
which I think is very on brand.
My ideal way to do a press room.
I prefer the dogs.
You prefer more dogs.
I'm fine with more dogs in the pressure as long as they're entertainment
dogs.
Yes.
So all right, let's let that, you made a good point.
Let's, let's pay some bills and we come back.
We're going to talk food.
We're going to talk press room snacks was a big player this weekend.
Thanks to peak.
And then also upcoming Memorial Day.
All right.
Here we go.
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Enter back.
So I keep keeping you guys on your toes by shuffling up the commercial order.
Normally we close it out with red line oil.
I know, but mix it up.
So this weekend, since we do love to talk about food, we got some great.
We also, we like local restaurants.
So we are breaking news.
We're going to have Kelly Klontz on next week on Life's a Drag.
And she's from Buds Creek, Maryland, international raceway area.
So we're going to get all her restaurant tips.
Yes.
Since that's a new track for us.
But Chris King, Chicagoan gave us a tip for a restaurant that we went to on Thursday night called Marichka's.
So good.
So good.
It has been a race in Juliet.
It's been around since 1933.
And it, they're famous for like their garlic.
Butter rolls on their sandwiches.
But they're also in my book famous for this.
The super combo.
As an appetizer.
What was Abbey onion rings?
It was onion rings, fried mushrooms, chicken tenders and.
And mozzarella sticks.
I was like, all, all the fried.
And we had it with, it was me, Abbey and an Aiden Lampkin from Lampkin software solutions.
He helps with dragon, sprek of ananza and nitro.
So we crushed that before we all got our sandwiches, which was probably a critical error because none of us really finished our sandwiches.
And it wasn't for lack of trying.
And it was also this, this restaurant was really, we got there kind of early, but I had more people coming up to me throughout the weekend.
Like Brian karate was in the restaurant saw us.
Someone else saw, and it was like, who's who apparently in there of NHA people.
That's how you know that spot.
That's how you know you're in a good spot for sure.
We did not get any Chicago style pizza.
I was thinking about that.
Last night that.
We'll just have to go back.
I just go back or order it.
Because that's also because very true.
I'll tell you what that Lou Lamotti's their frozen pizza delivery system truly is like if you follow the directions, it basically tastes as good as the restaurant experience.
So that was our big.
So yeah, so if you know of restaurants around the Maryland area, hit us up.
Also, this is going to make us sound so snooty.
Snacks were back in the press room.
Thanks to DRBB and peak.
Yes.
Sponsored the race.
Peek sponsored drag race bracket, but Anza, they had the dragon drive.
They were everywhere, including sponsoring the snacks in the press room.
Yes, they tasked us with procuring the snacks, which there's nothing better than going to your local Walmart and literally filling a shopping cart.
Full of all the snacks.
So we sent out a text all the PR and media people.
What snacks do you want?
And the list was long and diverse. It was very funny and specific and specific.
Oh, we want red vines, but don't you dare get Twizzlers?
Yeah, there's a big as it is the elite versus KB Titan, Matt Smith racing versus Benson Heinz, JFR versus Coletta level.
Full of red vine versus Twizzlers because I'm a Twizzler guy.
And I think I might be in the minority because there was some serious red vine.
Love.
Exactly.
Well, and people went as I mean Richard chute made sure to like send us a photo of the exact little cheeses he wanted.
The texturing was so funny that
Bless you.
The texturing was so funny that it drove so many people were commenting that it drove Joey little from Tesco racing out of the group chat he was actually trying to work.
He's like, I can't deal with it right now. And he's like, I can't.
I can't handle people texting me cheeses and baby bell cheese and double stuff Oreos or golden Oreos or beef jerky teriyaki and Kelly Wade asking for Apple slices.
No, these are snacks.
Cheese is as healthy as we'll get.
All right, so they're here's.
Oh, be drizzle.
I see.
See now see Monica's on point here. Twizzlers always.
So,
Yeah, so we
I'm going to jump around. I just got back to the comments and this is very funny.
Did not like the shuffling of the commercials.
Just.
I know what would I just call it.
But yeah, so Kelly wanted apples and peanut butter and there was just no way to we couldn't find pre cut apples.
And you know, and all the stuff so.
But yeah, so also Sadie Glenn wife.
Well accomplished top fuel drags top dragster driver driven media social media Maven.
Yes, kind of the gushers.
So we had to get the gushers to the point that I called her even to specify that we got the exact flavor of gushers experts.
So we had to just verify and she knew when we called because that we were calling to verify what kind of and she's old school gushers.
Yeah, classics.
But yeah, so we had all all the snacks.
We found a local donut place.
Which was weird because we spent two days we're driving through the main roads of Joliet to get to the track.
We're not on highways we're going through the town because there's so much construction passing by so many strip centers.
Yeah, so many places that had nail salons and CBD and tattoos and all the stuff.
No donut places.
Some Duncan's but they were like Duncan's in a gas station.
So then Sunday morning we just Google from our hotel donuts place and we found was it Ben's donuts or donut.
It was like, I think it was called like donut den.
Yeah, donut den.
But yes, but they were.
If you're in Joliet go hit up donut then because their donuts were spectacular.
Yes.
And they had their donut operation because we always get a mixed deal.
They had their donuts ID behind them.
Yeah, one of the more efficient I feel like donut places.
We've been here.
So we had donuts but then the snack we did a good job of nailing it with the snacks a nice mix of salty and chocolate.
And also the distribution of the snacks to I felt like we had the perfect amount each day with Oreos or we're a big player.
Yeah, so we had we had a good mixture of that.
So once you get the peak.
Yeah.
Thanks to peak and recommend Anza for making that all happen because man, snacks go a long way.
They really do.
Snacks and good internet.
If you have if you have those things, you can pretty much battle through just about anything.
So we got Memorial Day weekend coming up.
A nice little break.
Nice little break.
You're going to go see some fam in St. Louis.
I am my husband will be here.
And my neighbor Dale who's from Louisiana is doing a massive crawfish boil for the neighborhood.
And my level of excitement for that is getting higher every day.
I'm very jealous that I'm missing this.
Because he does the full just the traditional we have the tables in his driveway.
And he just slings the food out and I'm not a huge crawfish fan.
But I do love all the fixings that are in there, the sausage, the potatoes, the corn, the cob, the garlic, garlic ball that's in there.
And he does a couple boils so every boil gets progressively spicier.
So good.
Can't wait.
My favorite is one of our one of your neighbors cuts up like he has a he basically is turned an old towel into a giant crawfish bib.
Yes, like a hole in it for his head.
Because I mean if you have not experienced the joys of a crawfish boil, it is a messy full body experience like you do not want to be wearing your cutest outfit.
No, not a fashion show.
Yeah, at a crawfish boil.
But it's a very social eating experience because you're standing around all these tables and drinking to be itself regulates because it's like your regular long tables and you're standing there.
It could really become a feast if they did high top tables with stools.
But you really just kind of can't stand there too long.
But we'll have, you know, adult refreshments will have all the stuff.
So, and then yeah so also there probably will be this so go and throw back Hershey's chocolates made it made an appearance.
We had writing backs of that.
But yeah so crawfish boil on Saturday.
And then Sunday will be the Indy 500.
Yes, which I will watch the beginning of it and I usually watch until Graham Ray Hall is not a factor.
Just still shout out.
Graham McCourtney Ray Hall.
So I watched a little bit of the pre race.
And then I love just the start of the Indy 500 on TV to me.
When they're green flag coming out of turn four to start the race to me is one of the most stressful like sporting events.
Oh yeah.
I'm going into turn one and there's 500,000 people there and you're just like, let's just get a clean restart.
Exactly.
Would you also have a vested interest in the Indy 500.
Well, I like the we need 500.
So they would I think they started last year.
Oscar Meyer has 66 wheeler mobiles.
So they all compete.
The wheeler mobiles are named after different regions. So there's like the Chicago dog and like all the different things.
So yeah, so there's 12 hot doggers.
And we have, you know, a couple of personal favorites because we had one of the winter both winter mobiles at the fall nationals this past year, which if you aren't aware of like the whole hot dogs hot dog or system.
I'll do some education life's a drag listeners you're about to get way more information about how winter mobiles work. This is why you need to follow life's a drag.
This kind of insight and how the world works.
Exactly.
So, you know, if you've ever thought, hey, I want to drive.
Then we know we'll just the general their general system.
They do their hiring during the spring. They get a new class of 12 hot doggers every like June.
So the people who we had at the race, the two hot doggers that we had at the race cocom cam and relish Raina at the fall nationals.
Follow them on social.
Follow them on social.
They are the part of the class that's going to be finishing out real soon but they'll be competing in the in the we need 500 so they Oscar Meyer pairs the 12 hot doggers up and then halfway through their like season they change partners.
So cooking cam and relish Raina are going to be competing on different teams but that means I have two horses in this race.
And technically I have a third because there's another hot dogger competing who's from a zoo.
So, Missou, which is where I graduated M I Z.
They have a very we strong hot dogger pipeline for the past like 15 plus years, almost every year we've had a Mizzou grad become a hot dogger.
So anyways, two of the current hot doggers this year are Mizzou grads. So we'll be rooting for them just on principle and the one of the hot doggers who won last year was a Mizzou grad as well.
So, I kind of just like for the sake of being a good alumni, want to keep this like Mizzou hot dogger winning the we need 500 trend go in.
But yeah, so when I was in college, I came, I went through the interview process and got very, very close to becoming a hot dogger like I was in the final 24 whatever was a great interview experience was very informative and was one of those things where it didn't work out but that's
okay because who knows if I'm working in drag racing.
It's so crazy, we started working, Abby started working on getting the Wiener Mobile to the Texas Fall Nationals. Well before they announced the we need 500 so we were like a little, you're always kind of like trying to do something
different and like we had them locked down. Yes, and then all of a sudden it's like oh we need mobile 500 and we're like, I promise we weren't copying this was something.
No, we had that like, I have, I have like a Wiener Mobile network now because I went through the process. And so I was just like leaning on that.
So if you're doing a big event, if you're out there doing a big event and you need to get the Wiener Mobile head Abby up because she has connections so yeah so Wiener Mobile any 500 is great.
You know, and it's going to be really interesting to see kind of how that all shakes out because again, people talk about drag racing and short fields this that like any 500 had exactly like there was no no one did not make the
I think they had 33 spots open and they had 33 people try to make a run at it.
Very excited to see Catherine leg. There's a leggy. I don't know. She's trying to do the double. She's going to do the any 500 and the Coca Cola 600.
I think that's keep an eye on that. Very cool. You would see someone try to do that. I think she's the first female ever attempt to do that.
You know, so, so that's going to be cool. And just the spectacle of the any 500 is just so I would I would totally love to go back. I've been one time I went with force.
It was spectacular.
But I would love to go back and just check check that out. So, so that's the weekend so Abby will be in St. Louis. I would be crawfish boil and any 500 get up.
And sadly, there will be no IHRA triple crown race this weekend.
They made a very I feel proactive decision in deciding to postpone it.
Because the weather forecast looks awful. Looks awful.
So terrible.
Now, when that happens, you hate to root for rain, but now you're kind of, I want it to rooting for rain, because if it doesn't rain out, like if it's not terrible, then they're just going to have all this and as a track operator like when I was the
That was the worst thing to do is like you're trying to be proactive because you don't want people to do all this stuff and then it doesn't rain and then they're like you're just a jerk.
So that whole.
I mean, it's so much riding on it like Ron caps is planning on going out there and I'm sure so they're you know, million dollars on the line so now you're going to reschedule it and can you reschedule it to give big name drivers the chance to come out there.
Yep.
And also it made news this weekend by letting go another president, which again is just mind boggling for the organization when you think about say what you know every organization is different but the NHRA celebrate celebrating 75 years of NHRA.
So cool. The NHRA has had five presidents, Wally Parks, Dallas Gardner, Peter, Tom Compton, Peter Clifford and now Glenn Cromwell, five and 75 years.
I feel like the IHRA has had five presidents in the last six months.
The NHRA is the Pittsburgh Steelers of motorsports and the IHRA is like the Cleveland Browns changing, changing head coaches so willy nilly.
And the way they did it really cracks me up. Abby and I were talking about this before the show.
Based on media reports from the Leah, the former president and how NHRA, she was let go in the middle of an of a boat race that her husband was also working.
And when he heard that he quit on the spot and delayed the start of the race, that Daryl Cottrell the owner was racing in.
So it's just a whole wild, wild situation over there.
Yeah. Yeah, just nuts.
So we'll have to keep an eye, we'll keep an eye on that.
Monica says it better rain all weekend. A.J. is totally wishing for rain. Yeah, he's there.
Speaking of A.J., A.J. won in the peak squad league this weekend for Drag Race, Braga Bonanza, so was emailing this week so he's going to get a special peak prize pack for doing that.
So big congrats to A.J.
Touching on that real quick, kind of putting a whole bow on peak, but Alex and Nick Taylor actually filled out brackets for Braga Bonanza.
Yes, they did.
And you've got their prizes involved in that, certificates.
Yep.
You know, that basically it was very funny also, we think, we don't know, but we think that Nick used the randomizer because his pics were so chaotic.
I think he hit randomizer button, and then I think he went back and like edited his funny car bracket so he could have Jack Beckman winning the race, understandably.
But yeah, he had, I think, like Chris Vang winning in Pro Stock, which I would love to see a Chris Vang Pro Stock win.
He picked Clay Milliken to win in Top Fuel, which once again, a solid pick, and then Matt Smith to win the race, but just some of his choices kind of getting to those winners were interesting.
We were, how we kind of like get, when we have like special guest pickers, like in the past, we've had legends pick, we've had Bill Bader pick.
They have to fill out their brackets and then I have to go basically get a screenshot of their bracket because we can't see brackets until we lock them.
But yeah, I was just going through his choices, like, okay, okay.
But that's the fun part of Bracket Bonanza is if you don't know something about a class, you can do the randomizer and then go back and edit it.
I know some people do that because they either know Top Fuel and Nitro, but they don't know Pro Stock and vice versa.
So Bracket Bonanza will be up and running for obviously the Potomac Nationals, have a whole new audience.
Super excited about that.
Like I said, we're going to have Kelly Clonson next week.
And hope everybody has a exciting Memorial Day weekend.
Be safe, make good choices.
And we'll be back next Wednesday to preview the Potomac Nationals.
Yes.
And then also get your restaurant recommendations.
Of course.
So thanks everybody for tuning in and all that good stuff and we will see you guys next week.
See you next week.
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