NHRA on Fox's Brian Lohnes joins WFO Radio before the NHRA Western Swing
WFO Radio Podcast · Jul 14, 2026
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Term
friction
Friction is the “drag” created when engine parts rub against each other. More friction usually means more heat and faster wear, which can hurt how well the engine performs.
Term
piston rings
Piston rings are small metal bands on the piston that help seal the engine so power-producing gases don’t leak past. They also scrape/control oil on the cylinder wall, and because they move constantly, their design affects how much the engine wears out.
Term
cylinder walls
Cylinder walls are the inside surfaces of the engine block where the piston moves up and down. The piston rings ride on these walls, so if they get worn or damaged, the engine can lose efficiency and wear faster.
Term
piston ring design
Piston ring design is how the piston rings are built—shape and materials included. The idea is to make them seal well and rub less, so the engine lasts longer and doesn’t lose power.
Company
Total Seal
Total Seal is a company that makes piston rings for engines. The host is saying their ring designs are meant to reduce friction and engine wear.
Topic
Western Swing
The Western Swing is a series of NHRA races in the western U.S. that are scheduled close together. The host is saying it’s a fast, exciting run of events.
Topic
NHRA Nitro
“NHRA Nitro” is a reference to NHRA drag racing, especially the nitro-fueled cars that are known for huge power and loud, dramatic runs. Here it’s just setting up the next races on the schedule.
Term
after dark qualifying session
An after dark qualifying session is when qualifying runs happen at night instead of during the day. It’s usually more of a show, and it can make the racing feel more intense and exciting.
Person
Brian Lones
Brian Lones is the guest on the show, coming from NHRA coverage on Fox. He’s there to talk through the upcoming NHRA races and storylines.
Person
Maddie Gordon
Maddie Gordon is being talked about as a big standout in the NHRA news. The host is treating her as a major storyline for this stretch of races.
Person
Sadie Glenn
Sadie Glenn is described as a new media sensation, meaning she’s getting a lot of attention right now. The host is saying she’s one of the big names in the current NHRA conversation.
Term
funny car points
In NHRA, drivers earn points at races. “Funny car points” are the points specifically for the Funny Car class, and they add up over the season to decide the champion.
Company
Jesse Converters
Jesse Converters is a company that makes exhaust emissions parts, especially catalytic converters. They’re mentioned as part of the show’s featured brands.
Term
catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is a part in the exhaust that helps clean up the car’s fumes. It helps reduce pollution by changing harmful gases into less harmful ones.
Company
Global Emission Systems Incorporated
Global Emissions Systems Incorporated is a company that makes emissions-related parts. In this segment, they’re tied to catalytic converters for trucks.
Term
direct OE replacements
This means the replacement part is made to match the original factory part. It’s intended to bolt in and work the same way, rather than requiring custom work.
Term
DPF X-Fit
“DPF X fit” sounds like a specific emissions-part option that’s made to fit a certain way. It’s basically a named product/fitment system for installing the part correctly.
Term
stock engine
Pro Stock is a drag racing class with very powerful, purpose-built engines. Saying it was tested on a Pro Stock engine means they checked the product on a serious performance setup.
Company
Larisse Motorsports Insurance
Larisse Motorsports Insurance is an insurance company focused on motorsports. The host mentions they personally use it.
Term
torque converters
A torque converter is a part in an automatic transmission that helps the car get moving smoothly. In racing, it’s tuned to help the engine launch hard and stay in its best power range.
Company
FTI Performance Transmissions
FTI performance transmissions is a company that builds racing transmissions and related parts. In drag racing, the transmission setup can make a big difference in how hard the car launches.
Term
power glide transmission
PowerGlide is the name of a type of automatic transmission. In drag racing, people use it because it can be upgraded to handle big power.
Company
red line
Redline is mentioned as another place to find people or help related to the racing parts being discussed. The segment doesn’t give enough detail to pin down exactly what it is.
Term
drag racing
Drag racing is a type of racing where cars race in a straight line over a short distance. The goal is to get to the finish first, usually by accelerating as hard as possible.
Term
mile per hour
Miles per hour (mph) is a way to measure speed. In drag racing, speeds like this help show how strong the car is by the time it reaches the end of the track.
Term
altitude
Altitude is how high a place is above sea level. At higher altitude the air is thinner, so engines may make less power unless they’re adjusted for it.
Term
condition
In drag racing, “conditions” means things like weather and track grip. If it’s hotter, colder, windier, or the track is slicker, the car may not accelerate as well.
Term
in-car radios
In-car radios are the radios inside the race car. They let the driver and the crew talk to each other during the event so the team can give real-time instructions.
Term
semi-finals
Semifinals are the round right before the final. If you win in the semifinals, you advance to the last race of the event.
Place
Gainesville
Gainesville is a well-known NHRA drag-racing track in Florida. It’s the kind of race stop where teams see how their cars are performing early in the season.
Term
return road
The return road is the path the race car uses after it finishes a run. The car then heads back toward the starting area so it can race again.
Brand
Monster Energy
Monster Energy is a drink brand that sponsors racing. You’ll often see its logo and hear about it in racing broadcasts and ads.
Term
air failure
“Air failure” in drag racing usually points to a loss of compressed air used to operate critical systems (for example, for starting, shifting, or controlling components). When that happens, teams generally can’t keep the car running safely, so they recover it by pushing it back rather than continuing under power.
Term
fuel car
A “fuel car” here means a drag-race car that uses specialized racing fuel (not normal street gasoline). If something goes wrong, the team often has to stop and move the car back safely.
Term
starting line
The starting line is where the cars line up to launch and start their timed run. If something breaks right there, the run can be over very quickly.
Term
blower oil
Some drag race engines use a forced-air device (a blower) to make huge power. “Blower oil” is the special oil that helps that blower keep working reliably when it’s under a lot of stress.
Term
top fuel championship
“Top Fuel” is the NHRA drag racing category with the quickest cars. The “top fuel championship” means the season-long race where drivers earn points at many events to win the overall title.
Term
electronic problems
An “electronic problem” means something in the car’s computer/sensors wasn’t working right. In drag racing, that can hurt how the engine runs, and fixing it can make the car much more consistent and fast.
Place
Indy
“Indy” means Indianapolis, a big NHRA drag-racing event. Weather and track conditions there can be different from other tracks, so what works at Indy might not work the same way elsewhere.
Topic
US Nationals
The “US nationals” is a big NHRA event. Hot weather can make the cars behave differently—especially grip and engine performance—so it matters a lot for race-day results.
Term
semi-final round
“Semifinal rounds” are the late races in the bracket, when only the best teams are left. If a team keeps getting knocked out there, it usually means something isn’t working well enough at the highest level—either the driver or the car’s setup/performance.
Term
fuel categories
“Fuel categories” means the different NHRA class groups based on what kind of fuel the cars use. Different fuels can change how the car needs to be tuned and how it behaves, especially when conditions change.
Term
qualifying spot
A “qualifying spot” is your rank from the timed qualifying runs. That rank decides your first-round opponent, so a worse spot can mean you have to race a stronger car immediately.
Term
qualifying position
Your “qualifying position” is where you place based on your timed runs. That placement affects who you race early in the bracket and can change your chances of winning rounds.
Term
countdown
The “countdown” refers to the NHRA season’s playoff-style points stretch where drivers fight to qualify for the championship rounds. Performance and qualifying position become especially important as the field narrows.
Person
Will Smith
Will Smith is a professional NHRA drag racer. In this segment, the host is praising how well he performs when it really matters.
Person
Justin
Justin is mentioned as someone who may be helping with race strategy and car setup. In drag racing, small tuning choices can make a big difference in how consistently a driver performs.
Person
Ron Kapps
Ron Kapps is a major name in NHRA drag racing. The episode is talking about his team leading the season standings, which matters because it can set you up to win the regular-season title.
Term
points lead
The “points lead” just means your team is currently in first place in the season standings. You earn points at races, and the team with the most points is leading the season.
Term
120 point thing
The “120 point thing” is a reference to a points gap—how far ahead a driver/team is in the standings. The host is emphasizing that if you can maintain most of that advantage through upcoming races (like Indy), you can still have a strong shot at the regular-season championship.
Term
regular season championship
A “regular season champion” means the team finishes the main part of the season with the best points total. It’s a separate goal from the final championship decided later.
Term
clutch disc combination
In racing, a “clutch disc combination” refers to the specific clutch disc setup the team is running—often including the disc type/material and how it’s paired with the rest of the clutch hardware. Teams choose combinations to match the car’s torque, launch strategy, and track conditions, and they’ll swap or reconfigure when performance or durability isn’t where they need it.
Term
clutch discs
The clutch disc is the part that helps connect the engine to the transmission. If it’s worn or the wrong setup, the car may not launch or shift as consistently as the team wants.
Term
clutch disc allocation
Clutch disc allocation is basically how the team decides when to use their clutch parts. Since the clutch wears out from hard launches, they have to plan so they don’t run out at the wrong time.
Term
crew chief
The crew chief is the team’s main decision-maker. They guide the car setup and strategy, and they decide what to try (and what to save) during the weekend.
Term
inventory
Here, “inventory” means the spare parts the team has available. The crew chief has to manage what they have so they can keep the car running through the whole event schedule.
Term
Norwalk
Norwalk is a specific drag-racing track/event location. The host is hoping the Wilkerson team performs better there than they have recently.
Place
Bristol
Bristol is another drag-racing stop the host is talking about. They’re saying what happened there sets expectations for how teams should perform elsewhere.
Term
hot track management
When the track is hot, the tires grip differently. Hot track management is how the team adjusts the car and driving strategy so it still launches hard and runs consistently.
Place
Dallas
Dallas is another NHRA race stop mentioned in the Western Swing. Like any track, it has its own conditions, and those conditions can affect how well the cars launch and run.
Place
Pomona
Pomona is a famous drag racing venue in California where NHRA races are held. Track conditions at that event can make a big difference in who runs the fastest and advances.
Term
pro stock
Pro Stock is a specific category in drag racing. It uses cars that are based on real production models, but they’re heavily modified and tuned for extremely consistent acceleration down the strip.
Person
Matt Hartford
Matt Hartford is a racing person involved in Pro Stock. They’re talking about his chances for a championship and how well his team has been running in recent rounds.
Term
whole shot
A whole shot is when a car launches first and gets out to an early lead. In drag racing, that early advantage can be huge because it’s hard to catch up once you’re behind.
Term
NHRA Insider
NHRA Insider is an NHRA-related show or segment where people talk about drag racing. The host is saying he mentioned this idea there before.
Car
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a sporty two-door car made by Chevrolet. The podcast is talking about an older Camaro (around the 2015 timeframe) instead of the newest version. People mention it because it can still be a fun performance car even if it’s not the newest model.
Term
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is how the car’s shape affects the air around it. Less drag can help the car go faster, and better stability helps it stay controlled at speed.
Term
chassis
The chassis is the main frame/structure of the car. In racing, it matters because it affects how the car hooks up and stays stable.
Term
elapsed time
Elapsed time (ET) is how long it takes a drag car to go from the start to the finish. Lower ET means the car is faster.
Term
qualifying E.T.
Qualifying E.T. is the time a driver runs during the qualifying sessions. It helps decide where they start in the bracket for the races that follow.
Term
KB cars
“KB cars” means the KB team’s cars in Pro Stock. The host is saying one driver is currently the biggest threat to the KB cars that are leading the championship points.
Term
win light
A winlight is the light that comes on to show who won that race. If your car gets the winlight, you move on to the next round.
Concept
first round
The first round is the earliest head-to-head race in the tournament. Win it and you move closer to the final race.
Term
reaction time
Reaction time is how fast the driver launches after the lights tell them to go. In drag racing, even tiny delays can cost the race.
Term
double one
“Double one” is drag-racing shorthand for running two consecutive “one” numbers—typically referring to the car posting a very strong performance figure in back-to-back rounds (often in the context of elapsed time). The speaker is using it as a sign of consistency and momentum.
Term
shook the tires
“Shook the tires” means the tires weren’t gripping cleanly, so the car wobbled or slipped. That usually makes the car slower and less consistent.
Term
red light
In drag racing, a red light is when the racer starts too late at the starting line. Even if they’re quick after that, the run is usually counted as a loss.
Person
Richard Gadson
Richard Gadson is a well-known motorcycle drag racer in NHRA Pro Stock. The hosts mention him here because of a notable race moment and result.
Person
Matt Smith
Matt Smith is another motorcycle drag racer in NHRA Pro Stock. Here he’s mentioned as the opponent in a matchup involving Richard Gadson.
Place
Sonoma
Sonoma is a race track where NHRA events happen. The host is saying the track seems to suit these pro stock motorcycles and supports very fast runs.
Person
Gage Herrera
Gage Herrera is a motorcycle drag racer in NHRA Pro Stock. The host is basically saying fans want to hear what drives him and how intense his racing mindset is.
Term
third in the order
“Third in the order” means you’re ranked/positioned so you get to choose or be matched in a specific spot. That affects who you’ll race early, which can make the rest of the bracket easier or harder.
Term
pick
A “pick” is when you choose who you’re going to race next (or which matchup you end up with). Teams try to pick an opponent they think they can beat.
Term
lineup in the seating
This is basically the event’s matchup order—who is lined up to race whom. Where you sit/where you’re placed in the order can affect your early opponents.
Brand
MSR motorcycles
“MSR motorcycles” means a specific racing team’s motorcycles. The host is saying two bikes from that same team could end up racing each other early.
Term
FAFO
“FAFO” is slang that basically means “try it and see what happens.” Here it suggests a bold, risk-taking attitude about race strategy.
Person
Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson is a famous drag racer. In this conversation, he’s being used as an example of a driver who makes a tough, aggressive decision.
Concept
bracket racer
Bracket racing is a way to race where everyone is given a target time to hit. You win by being as close as possible to that time, not necessarily by being the absolute fastest.
Concept
NHRA national event
IHRA is another organization that puts on drag racing events. An “IHRA national event” is one of their bigger races where competitors follow IHRA rules.
Concept
race tracks
A racetrack is the track where race cars run. The host is saying drag racing stays healthy when cars are able to make runs down the track.
Person
Bill Bader
Bill Bader is referenced as a leader and editor connected to IHRA drag racing coverage, known for being direct and demanding high effort. The host credits him with shaping the series culture and setting the tone for how people should perform.
Concept
IHRA experience
IHRA is a drag racing organization. When the host says “IHRA experience,” they mean the vibe and attitude people had while working and racing in that series.
Concept
match race
A match race is a one-on-one race between two drivers. It’s usually set up as a special showdown, not just part of a normal points event.
Person
Clay Millican
Clay Millican is a drag racer. The host says he was dominating in IHRA, which is what led to the story about a big head-to-head race.
Person
Larry Dixon
Larry Dixon is named as the other competitor in the proposed high-dollar match race. The host frames it as a notable, memorable showdown idea tied to IHRA history.
Term
HRA cars
HRA cars appears to refer to drag racing cars competing under a specific sanctioning/series acronym (likely a regional or organizational label). The speaker is contrasting earlier IHRA experience with later competition at a higher professional championship level.
Term
Nitro Methane
Nitromethane is a special fuel drag racers use because it helps the engine make a lot more power. It’s different from regular gasoline and is common in high-level drag racing.
Term
alcohol
In this context, “alcohol” means a type of fuel drag racers use instead of gasoline. It can help the engine run cooler and behave differently when making power.
Term
sanctions
A sanction is official approval from the racing organization. If an event is sanctioned, it follows that organization’s rules and safety standards.
Place
Piedmont Dragway
Piedmont Dragway is a specific drag racing venue the host calls out as having major recent changes. The speaker notes it was purchased and knocked down, and that it has been running as a dirt drag strip, which is a big operational shift for a drag facility.
LIVE
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.
More friction and temperature means more wear and less horsepower.
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.
This is WFO radio.
Hey, everybody, WFO radio is back on the air.
NHRA Nitro as we get ready for the Western swing.
That's right.
All right.
It's a two way race swing.
It's a back to back, but it's going to be great.
Sonoma, a party race, a fun race.
We got the D cell power systems after dark qualifying session on Friday night.
The session where last year, 343 miles per hour for the first time.
It was incredible.
We're going to be doing all that in Sonoma.
Then we're going to move up to Seattle.
It's going to be great.
My guest on this show, NHRA on Fox, Brian Lones.
We're going to break it all down.
Everything that's going down, the Maddie Gordon phenomenon, the emergence
of new media sensation, Sadie Glenn.
We're going to talk about the funny car points.
We're going to talk about the odds to win the championship and anything else
that is out there in the world of drag racing.
Lones and I are going to break it all down.
It's going to be fun if you got comments, use the chat section.
But if you love WFO radio and if you love NHRA drag racing,
you definitely want to share this show.
I think it's going to be very interesting.
Now, before we do all that, before we get to the loans, I want to mention
the people who make it possible.
And then later on in the show, we'll go in depth about the folks at Jesse Converters,
Global Emissions Systems Incorporated, catalytic converters over the road trucks,
direct OE replacements.
That's the DPF X fit, the G sport brand that's high performance.
They've even had it on the dyno with a pro stock engine, lost no horsepower.
We'll talk about them a little bit later on in the show.
Of course, Larisse Motorsports Insurance.
I am a customer of Larisse Motorsports Insurance.
Can't wait to get the Pontiac back out on the track later on this year.
Total seal piston rings.
You heard about them, FTI performance transmissions and torque converters.
Paul Lee's company, they're located in the land, Florida and PowerGlide
transmissions for extremely powerful race cars all the way up through Pro Modified.
So FTI can hook you up literally or find folks at Redline.
Hussey performance.net.
Frank Hawley, Bernie Speedshop.
Josh Hart on the line.
The GTO project is get ready to go.
Probably will happen after the Western swing.
The folks at Foggett spent the morning speaking with Gary Stinn.
It was out there at Great Bend, the new facility at Great Bend.
I got the full report going to be great.
Tell you about it later on.
And of course, Marvin Rodax, coffee and grills dot com.
Thank you all for supporting WFO.
So I get the opportunity to talk great guys like this from NHRA on Fox and great friend
from the early days at the NHRA, Mr.
Brian Lowe. How are you? I'm well, Joe. Are you doing?
I'm great. I am great.
I'm excited. This is so it's race.
You know, race one of the second half.
We just came out of the clubhouse.
We've had a couple of adult beverages and we're ready to attack the back, the back 10.
We are. I'm excited, you know, this is appointment viewing.
We talk about we talk about days of every season that you have to tune in and watch.
That's Monday at the US Nationals.
That's the finals. That's Sunday at the finals.
There's a handful of them.
But Friday at Sonoma is one of those days.
And our forecast has set itself up to give us that, that what we expect and love
it a door about this place.
I think the high temperature weekend is going to be 80, some cloud cover.
But most importantly, Friday night, 65 degrees, it is going to be the stage
will be set to see what we saw last year, potentially to see it again.
And my imagination can no longer predict what we might see.
What we experienced last year when the 343 came up and you and I last year,
you referenced Brittany Forrest as Johnny Appleseed running across the country,
dropping 300 and forty mile per hour runs.
And it was really amazing.
We experienced it in Charlotte.
And next thing you know, it became this Friday night thing that we got to be on
the mic for that 343 was just on another planet.
And the energy that we felt at Sonoma after the race was over.
I talked about it on Ignition Podcast last night.
We didn't want to leave the track.
We didn't want to leave like people wanted to stay and just linger.
Almost after your team wins a world championship,
you don't want to leave the stadium because you knew something special had happened.
Well, it was an enduring moment from that night.
So, you know, just inside baseball, we work on the very top of, you know,
Joe and I and Galvin and those guys were all the way up on the top of the main
grandstand in the in what we guess you refer to as like the NASCAR tower.
That's where we call the race from.
And we park in a different location where you have to go up this big hill
and go back to your stuff.
Leaving there, you walk past where Brittany Forrest was pitted.
And there was hundreds of people crowded around that trailer.
And it was it was one of those things where it's like anybody that was there
to see it had a lifelong memory of seeing it.
And, you know, you know, the impact on stuff like that in the moment
when it draws all those people instead of getting in line to beat the traffic
instead of getting out of the racetrack, they went straight there just to watch.
Like, and it's that that drag racing kind of tribal primal experience
where you just go there and most people don't say anything.
Most people just stand there and silently watch.
They watch the team do the work.
They cheer when they see Brittany come out of the trailer.
It was it was great.
Definitely one for the lifelong drag racing memory banks.
It was spectacular.
Without a doubt.
But now we have a 300 and 45 mile per hour car out there
and the conditions and the altitude and everything.
So that's why I say I can't even imagine, but I'll let you imagine.
What can you imagine, Brian? What can you imagine?
I can imagine seeing that number
and maybe not a ton more, but I can imagine seeing that that 345
happened again to some degree.
I can also imagine seeing J.R.
Tyron 339 in Georgia.
I can see that car maybe touching 340
I mean, not to oversell anything and not to not to over predict
and nor what I want to do that.
But but the reality of the situation is historically and forward looking,
the table is going to be set.
And normally when we get to a Friday evening there,
that racetrack has been run in enough over the course of the Thursday
previously on Sportsman and they've been running a lot of cars up there recently
that the track is where it needs to be, the air is where it needs to be.
And, you know, all all the indicators are that we could definitely see
some just monster, monster stuff come out of that night again.
Yeah, very exciting.
It will not listen.
I'm going to make a prediction.
No one is going 360
It's not going to happen.
It's literally not going to happen.
I mean, it's not going to happen.
No, if, you know, the math, the math says that there's a little more
to be found on the table, right?
They Sean's car ran almost 300 and 46 during testing in Gainesville.
So we know that that car has incrementally more in it,
however many tenths of a mile an hour.
And is there a whole another mile per hour left in that car?
I don't know.
I don't know if there's much more than that for anybody with the way
that the technology and the way that the systems on the cars operate.
But we know that there's more than 345 point 00
So it's hanging out there.
That is wild.
Everyone's out there saying good morning.
WFO from North Cal.
People are excited.
Walt Walker, racer.
Let's go WFO.
People saying good morning.
Hi, Joe and Brian, of course, Blake is out there.
Blake got a nice little write up in Drag Illustrated.
He is wrapped with Bill Bader and myself, Blake.
We got on their baby finally.
We made it, Blake, but all kinds of good stuff.
But I do want to.
This is always good news, bad news.
I do think the joy of being in Sonoma this weekend, juxtaposed to last year's race,
where I think many of us wondered, would we be back?
Would they get a whole bunch of like highly they're having a good time
out there, man, people are intoxicated in a good way.
They loved that race and walking out of there last year.
I wondered, would this be our last?
Yeah, and it would have the two sides of the coin are, well, if that was the last
one, then my God, we left everything we had on the table and we gave him the show
of the lifetime.
The other side of it was like, man, how can we not come back here?
And it is it is an important race on a few different levels.
One, because we always fill the place.
The crowds are always huge and energetic.
The beat, the heat, race, the cops deal they do.
And the afternoons get some of the loudest, loudest ovations
you will hear in the sport of drag racing, no matter the genre, is a kid
in an Infinity G 35 racing a cop car on Saturday or Sunday at Sonoma.
They love it.
People eat it up.
But the reason we're back there is the reason why NHRA has existed for 75 years.
The reason we're back in Sonoma is because people got around a table.
People figured out how to make it work and they made it work.
So, you know, it's a testament to the racetrack.
It's a testament to the NHRA.
It's a testament to the racers.
It's a testament to understanding the value of being where we need to be
and figuring out ways to make these things work for everybody.
And, you know, the one downside of racing in Sonoma is that it's an incredibly
expensive place to go drag race.
And the, you know, the nuts and bolts stuff that have put you to sleep
is are the things that make or break events for racetracks and sanctioning bodies.
How much does it cost for the security?
How much does it cost for the simple operation of the event?
And there's no way around it.
It's one of the most beautiful places in the country, but frankly,
it's one of the most expensive places in the country to do anything.
And so the ability for, you know, the NHRA, the ability for SMI
and everybody involved in the operation of that racetrack to make this happen.
And not just on a, let's give it one more shot deal, but on a move forward
basis is phenomenal.
And I think the other part of this that can't be forgotten is, you know,
the reason it makes sense for us, if anything, makes sense for us in drag racing
to go all the way up to Seattle, Washington, all the way up to Sonoma
is because we have the ability to run those two races.
And as we know, the Banda Meer family continues to be diligent in their pursuit.
And their work on the construction of a new facility in the greater Denver area.
So, you know, we want to be back to a three-race Western swing.
The world wants us back to that.
And we do, too.
The Banda Meers were loving the fact that they have committed themselves
to move forward in that process.
So, yeah, it was a lot of questions leaving there.
But again, I go back to leadership and I go back to having a vision.
I go back to the decision making that has to happen to come up with solutions
that are creative and helpful to both parties.
So proud that they were able to work that out.
Speedway Motorsports and HRA figured it out and some changes happened.
And, you know, we've got people in the chat section asking questions.
We'll get to some of them now.
We'll get to some of them later.
Keith, you know, what's your opinion of the IHRA situation?
We'll get to that one later.
We'll use it as a nice, healthy tease as we continue through the talk of the Western swing.
All right, so let's let's talk Maddie Gordon.
She's come again to her home race as the most recent race winner.
She broke through in a way.
We had a huge television audience for that, her energy.
It's it's infectious.
It's palpable, but I have spoken about it.
We've spoken to Maddie.
We've heard from Ron.
Just do your best to describe what we're seeing with this Maddie Gordon Gordon phenomenon.
You know, Freiberger, to make an end around kind of analogy here when, you know,
that when Roadkill, the series that he did for 13 years became the insanely popular thing
that it did and even through his years, decades of being a magazine editor.
And since as long I've known him for 21 years now, one of the things he always defaulted
to in any situation was that real always wins, real wins.
And Maddie Gordon is the latest example in our sport of drag racing that real wins.
It is a person whose genuine nature is infectious, is unpretentious,
is as elbows deep in drag racing, neck deep in drag racing, eyeballs deep.
However deep you want to go, that's that's where she's at.
You know, the social media videos of her, you know, fabricating stuff in the shop.
It's it's not done as some elaborate setup.
It's done because it's like, this is cool.
It's the thing I'm doing.
Maybe you guys want to check it out.
So yeah, it is there's nothing hokey about it.
And that's what people have gravitated to.
And, you know, her in car radio, which we have accessed all the in car in car
radios and we've gotten some of that stuff on the air.
You know, sometimes it comes with a bleep, but it should come with a bleep
because, you know, the the energy and her excitement and responses
when those guys win rounds and then doing what they did on Sunday at Norwalk.
It just it speaks volumes.
And I don't know.
I just remember vividly at Gainesville this year when she went to the semifinals,
she won the second round, towing the car to return road.
And it was a reverse wave as the car came up the return road, as that thing
would pass through sections of the grandstands, people would people would
jump up and physically react.
And I was almost like emotionally moved by it because it's like, man, I've.
I've never actually seen, you know, here or here and there.
I've seen it happen, but it's like, this is a thing.
And this is her first freaking race.
And it's it's only kind of gone on from there.
You know, one of the things that was interesting is the fact that
monster energy actually includes her in their television advertising,
which isn't something they did for whatever reason.
I'm not saying this as a as an attacker or pejorative, but like I never
subred the force in a monster energy television ad.
And I see when you watch the monster ad that's on, it's their rodeo stars.
It's their NASCAR stars.
It's Maddie Gordon feature prominently in the ad.
It's it's all their their athletes, all their people.
And it means that we're all seeing the same thing.
And, you know, there are some people that get their noses
bent out of joint because people are paying more attention to Maddie
than other people that have been out on the tour for a while.
There are some people that think that she's, you know, just had this
whole thing kind of boxed up and handed to her.
But the reality of the situation is she hasn't.
This has been her whole life.
And she's worked and she's played her dues and she's done what she's needed to do.
And there's, I don't know, if there's a more satisfying thing to see
than when somebody gets an opportunity, the size and scope of this one
and doesn't just handle it, but takes it to the moon.
I mean, to win in a rookie season in top fuel as it is, to do it
for Ron Kapps, having a double up in his 10th race as a team owner,
something that took Colette of Motorsports decades to do, by the way.
And then to have her dad went on the same day.
It was it was unreal.
Yeah. I mean, just the whole Norwalk race.
If you go through the sportsman, unruh doubles up, you have like all these
first time winners, you brought up Sadie Glenn's name.
I'm sure we're going to talk about Sadie.
That whole thing was was a phenomenal thing.
I've said it once or twice, you know, last couple of weeks in different
conversations, but that Sunday, that Sunday at Norwalk to me is only second
in my own personal experience to the 2024 finals.
You know, when the airplane crashed and the whole thing went crazy
and Antron wins the top field championship, that day is, I don't think
it's ever going to be top for me because of everything that happened.
But then Norwalk Day is a number two in terms of just these story lines
just pouring out of it.
It could feel something happening there.
It could feel it, the Maddie thing, even with the first round issue that she had.
And, and, you know, that was a great incredible part of the story.
I mean, in your experience, I've never, and I said this to Tony
Pettigon today, I've actually, the more I think about it, I've never seen
a fuel car have an air failure that doesn't result in them just pushing
the car back and down the return road.
You've been down there at the starting line when, when a team realizes
that happens, people just put the fuel bottle back, they push the car back
and they're gone.
Like the idea that they were able to overcome that, that particular thing
in that particular time window is even more astonishing.
And Spencer Massey and Scott Graham and those guys like doing
helping their competition to beat them by slow walking everything they did
along and they used every second cannibalizing a line from the blower oil
or just really amazing stuff.
And it worked out for the benefit of all drag racing.
So way to go, Spencer.
And this stuff, this stuff comes back like these, these, these things,
especially, you know, I don't, I don't know as much as about other motorsports
they do about drag racing, but I know my experience, these things, when you
need them, they come back to you.
So there will be a moment, whether it's next month or a year from now, where
Spencer finds himself in a spot that he's able to overcome or somebody,
you know, kind of pays the, pays the deal back.
But that's, that's how it works.
And that's what I love.
But you do know a lot about motorsports bug hunt and says only Brian would
have a framed Gary Benton house and dirt photo over his shoulder sweep.
Yeah, I got some of the bonds up there.
There we go.
Yeah, there's Gary over there.
Yep.
Kicked out sideways.
That is wild.
That is so you know, you're a fan, you're a fan of other motorsports.
That haven't been said, let's stick in top fuel.
You're going to be all over the place is not going to be a flow to this.
We're going to be all over the place.
HRA posts odds for the top fuel championship the other day.
And gambling on drag racing is very, very hard.
But I did notice that if you put $100 on Sean Langdon to win the championship
and you put another $100 on Doug Coletta to win the championship
and you took those two versus the field, Brian,
I'm feeling pretty good about those odds.
I I'm not telling people what to do with their mortgage or their kid's
college fund to Harvard, but I'm just saying Brian.
Yeah.
What do you think about Sean Langdon and Doug Coletta versus the field
to win the championship?
I I'm picking I'm picking those guys.
You know, last year, Doug Doug's car wasn't that great.
Coming into this part of the season, we saw a little
twist out of that car at Norwalk last year.
But what did they do?
They came to Sonoma and then it was game on from there.
I mean, that car was untouchable from really from that point of the season forward.
They just absolutely lowered the boom on everybody.
And, you know, I think the difference between last year and this year on that side
is that they were trying to solve a problem last year.
They were trying to overcome something, which I believe is an electronic problem
that finally they were able to get ironed out at Norwalk and that let them open the
floodgates. This year, car has been incredible.
But also the Alan Johnson model is we're gathering data.
We're gathering data.
We're going to apply what we learn as we go, but we're putting all the pieces
in place to be our best to peak at the right time to be the NFL team that peaks
late season and goes on a run and wins the championship.
So I am fearful for Sean Langdon, everybody else from this point
of the season forward regarding Doug Coletta's car, because if it was scuffling
last year and they're able to turn it around and run as hard as they did at the
end of last year and they've not had a struggle, in fact, they've been able to
pick their spots and do what they needed to do to win races, to be a factor to
rack up mission points.
They should be even better down this stretch and into the playoffs.
But at the same time, there is there is not a molecule of my being that
believes Sean Langdon's car is just going to stop being awesome.
I mean, you look at, you know, you look at the season that's going on right now
and it's reminiscent of things that we saw Tony Schumacher do years and
years ago with the Army car.
That's how good and top down, up down and sideways they are.
You look at the risk, the Bristol race that they had and what Sean was doing
in the race car, we talk about that ability to tune and adjust and fix
things, you know, under fire in the moment that the first and second round
craziness that they suffered with a throttle pedal that they worked their
way through.
So yeah, I mean, it's there's good cars.
There's some very good cars.
Leah's car is exceptionally good.
But no one's there yet.
No one is on that plane.
And that's, and that's what gambling is all about guys.
Like maybe they run each other second round a couple of times and can't
realize you just don't know the WFO playing HR a deadlock or pick of the championship.
Bet them both, bet them both and see what happens.
If Doug wins, you win big.
If Sean wins, you win little.
But either way, you've got entertainment.
You know, you mentioned those problems that Sean had.
They also had the front steering link break in Charlotte.
They've had a lot of little, oh crap, kind of moments like Matty had.
We've seen a lot of that this year and they have overcome them.
It's been, it's been fun.
It's been dramatic.
Other other players in top fuel that you'd like to shout out, you know,
smoke has been good.
He got to win the elite motorsports car.
They're going to be able to get their their consistency there down the stretch.
Remains to be seen.
Got teams like Justin Ashley, which I think it's safe to say have not yet
achieved their top performance.
No, and those guys are an interesting case that there was a big test
last week, the Skag power equipment factory team.
All the cars except for Dan Wilkerson tested at Indy.
It was very hot, so I'm not sure if they got the, you know, direct
translation information from that test to Sonoma conditions.
But we're going down a stretch and of course we get to Indy and it tends to
it tends to heat up very toasty at the US nationals.
It's an interesting thing that the problem, if you go down and actually
break the numbers down on Ashley's car and look at where the struggle is,
it's very easy to say, well, they lose a lot in the first round.
That's the that is the easy thing to look at.
But you have to back your way into results.
Sometimes we see a lot of cars in different categories that lose
a lot of semifinal rounds, especially in the fuel categories.
So what does that tell us about about what's going on there?
Oftentimes it tells us that they qualify pretty well.
They're able to get their way through the first couple of rounds.
But when they get to a semifinal competition level comes up.
Is that the driver not being able to match the level of competition?
Or is that the team not being able to make a performance increase to make
their way into a final?
Justin's problem is not that their problem is qualifying position.
They're averaging, if my memory is correct, they're averaging
about a number 11 qualifying spot, which is it just makes your life
so incredibly difficult because you look at who you then have to race
in first rounds.
So you're stuck with a problem where you have to press right out of the gate.
Like you don't have an opportunity to put a foundational good run, solid run.
Let's not blow ourselves out of the the facility first round,
where you get when you qualify in the upper top half.
If you are having to press from the moment the car comes out of the trailer
on Sunday morning, your percentage of winning first rounds is going to plummet.
And that doesn't matter if you're Justin Ashley.
It doesn't matter if you're Sean Reed.
It doesn't matter who you are.
It doesn't matter if you're Doug Coletta or Sean Langdon.
In fact, we watch Doug Coletta and Sean Langdon go through a period
of multiple seasons where their cars will qualify 12th and 13th,
and they could not find their way out of the first round.
If and when the Ashley car is able to get themselves in a stronger qualifying
position, you're going to see that thing do what we have seen it do several times.
You know, Justin's the ultimate case of get him within two
three hundredths of who he's racing and let him handle the rest.
So I mean, Tommy DeLago is a world champion.
He has a crew of people that are dedicated to what he's doing.
I know that they're they're doing the best they can with the Bluebird car
and the the Skag Turf Tiger car.
But I think the key to what we're going to watch out of the next four races,
going into the countdown with Justin Ashley is going to come down a qualifying position.
If we see that car go from 11, 12, 13, where they've been most of the season
and become even 678 or 567
you're going to start seeing around once that while we will see.
And again, Justin's driving has been there.
It's just they have done it the other way, which is strong start to the season
and kind of trail off at the end.
Maybe this year they're going in the other direction.
And since we started off talking about Britney Force is amazing.
343
Josh Hart, that was a huge story.
Josh, when you see your nationals, they have been conspicuous by their their absence.
Is that because of them or is that because of Coletta Motorsports
just really blocking out the sun?
How would you rate where that team is right now?
Yeah, I think I think that's part of it.
I think there is a, you know, I think David Grubnick is a very exceptionally
strategic guy, a guy who understands, you know, you can give up.
You can give up the short term to win in the long term.
And I feel as though that's probably where those guys are.
I would expect to see over the next four races, not a change in approach,
but maybe a change in success rate and success level.
I think they've really been looking at what they're going to have to contend with
to win a title, which is to go through one or two or, you know,
both of those cars to actually win a world championship.
And so the fact of the matter remains, if you are going to go into the playoffs
with a car that is repeatedly 34 hundreds behind them,
your cannon fire, you got to figure out a way to stand in the ring with them.
And I think that's where they're at right now.
Well, we will see soon enough.
Any other notes on top fuel you want to touch on
before we move to another category?
I think limited amount of time.
I've got a lot of things I got to hit you with.
No, I think I mean, look, I think the other thing
I just bring up in top fuel is just Will Smith, how impressive Will Smith has been.
Yes. Delightfully, delightfully impressed.
And I'm not saying I wasn't expecting Will to be good,
but I was not expecting Will to be a freaking sniper up there.
And he is. So I'm very impressed with Will.
And I know you've spoken with Will.
I ask him about exactly that, like, hey, man, what's, you know,
some people are wondering, like, did Justin give him some, you know, tips?
Are they setting the car up the same as Justin's car or whatever?
And Will gave me this whole deal about, like, I knew that when my chance came,
I would only get one opportunity and I had to be ready to show the world
what I'm capable of moment.
And it's like, OK, dude, we got you.
It's like go 30.
Just like everybody's like, just like Justin, he can go 30 and 40 on the reg.
And it's like, oh, wow.
And that, yeah, that car has been real good.
All right, move over to a funny car here where Ron Kapps quietly, sneakily.
Got a hundred and 21 point lead.
Ron Kapps all of a sudden in a field that we would say on a regular basis,
like it's wide open, it's wide open.
You got Hagan, you got JR, you got Jack, you got Jordan, you got all those guys.
Of course, Austin Prok, they're finding their footing and they're coming online now.
So I think the points are going to change over these next four races going into Indy.
But Ron Kapps, they have they have seized control of the points lead.
Yeah. And we've watched it.
And at times, even I didn't notice it.
But if you go back and really look at the numbers and look at what the incremental
success of the car was and continue to be to bring them to this point,
this was building to a crescendo and I don't think they're they're they're not
going to fade the level of skill and patience and intelligence
that's that's in that team between between Guido and and T-Buck and everybody
they got around there.
It's it's to your point, sneaky, the 120 point thing.
When I was getting ready and working on my stuff for this race,
it was sneaky to think, wait a second, he's 120 up.
If you can take 120 and keep it, if you can carry and it's going to be hard,
but if you can carry 90 of it into Indy, you got a great shot at being
a regular season champion, let alone growing it.
Right. And it's three wins, right?
Caps has got three on the year.
Derail is asking out there how many wins his cap has.
But yes, that that's the thing.
Clutch discs couple of years, Guido said like they lost it.
They lost their clutch disc combination and they spent a lot of time working
and it appears that now they have it back and it's all about clutch disc
allocation and do you have enough to get you to the end?
And it is my understanding that they do.
Yeah. And it takes I mean, the amount of self control it takes for a crew chief
for the great crew chiefs, especially in this era of the sport,
to be able to manage that idea, to be able to manage the inventory.
And it's not simply like, OK, I got six more of these and two more of these.
I mean, to a level it is, but you have to start making critical decisions
that in the middle of a season, at a point in the season,
you have to actually take yourself back a little bit and say, OK,
I got to save this like as good as this is.
And I know we could probably go on a three or four race run right now.
I got to figure out a way to not spend the money right now.
I got to keep the money in my pocket and spend it when I need it.
So that that level of thinking and that level of execution
on the cruise side is always impressive to me because it's all about self control.
Every drag racer wants to go out there and win the damn race.
That's why they show up.
Every crew chief wants to win the damn race.
But I mean, there are going to be times when you have to be honest with yourself
and everybody else and say, we got to try a couple of things this weekend.
And it may not be our weekend, but we'll be better for it.
And yeah, Guido yelled at me last week.
He's like, oh, you remembered that we're here, huh?
It's like, hey, man, you're going under.
You're going under the grandstands to escape, dude.
It's not because I don't want to talk to you.
But you know what? I'll tell you this.
When those guys are at their best and we saw it a few years ago,
they are at their best when they believe they have been forgotten.
Yes, we've seen it.
We've seen it multiple times over Ron's career.
And and listen, it works for them.
So don't don't ever give that up.
Don't ever give off the chip off your shoulder.
Don't ever let that.
But they are at their best when they feel like people are forgotten about them.
Well, you and I both know our great mutual friend, Ron Tobler,
who tuned Ron to a couple of world championships and everything like Jimmy
Proc gets the lion's share of the crew chief attention in the funny car ranks.
It's just the way it is.
Everybody's races, whether you're Dicky Venables or you're Ron Tobler
or you're Dean Antonelli.
It's just the rock star status of Jimmy Proc, right?
But those guys, they got a swagger about them.
They're like, no, they feel like, you know,
the Guido talked about the briefcase and bringing it up there
and putting it on the table.
And we're just going to have to wait and see that having all been said.
Jimmy Proc, how do you think that project is going?
We're now seeing some mid 80s runs.
Yeah. And it's like they're coming online.
The last two races, back to back semifinals.
Running in the 80s, like.
I I think this weekend is going to tell us all we're going to need to know.
And I think if they can, if they can end up fifth,
six and a points, because they got a gap, like where they're at,
I think is their eighth, I think, or ninth, there's a gap to get.
They need about 80 points to get from where they're at to the next spot up.
Yeah, there are eight to 86 out of the lead.
Yeah, yeah.
We're not even a second.
Yeah. Yeah.
So exactly.
So my opinion, I'm not even thinking about the lead.
I'm just thinking about realistically, if those guys can just
get themselves in the in the fifth or sixth range coming out of the US
Nationals game on.
But this this weekend here, if they cannot succeed in what we're looking
at conditions wise here to a degree, like I'm not saying, oh, they're just
going to win the race.
What I'm saying is if we don't see a late round finish out of that car
at Sonoma this year, I would be shocked after seeing solid back to back
semifinal races.
Yeah, it's they again, they're they're getting their strength.
They're coming online and how powerful will they be down the stretch?
Hagen's team looking good.
JR's team yet to get there.
But on their way, as you mentioned with that 339 and finding
consistency, funny car is going to be a wide open.
I feel like the Wilkerson car is, you know, teeter tottering cruises car has
been better generally.
Is there anybody else you'd like to note before we move on from funny car?
Well, the one thing, yeah, I would say I agree with both of those statements.
I was hoping for the Wilkerson car to see a better norwalk for them.
After what we saw at a Bristol, it's like, OK, like, plant the flag, baby.
Like you get the flag right there, like let's just plant it in the ground.
Didn't necessarily get the satisfaction of seeing that, but I do believe
it's better now than it was 34 races ago.
The only other car I bring up is Hagen, who's second of the points right now.
And when we have seen them be exceptionally good at hot track management,
we seem to be very good in those environments.
I just want to see some big punch power out of them.
I want to see I just want to see the in 80, especially this weekend,
I want to see some mid 80 performance out of the thing.
And then I'll really buy what they're selling.
But very good hot weather car.
They just need to to me to be really be in contention and to show us all we need
to know, we got to see the 80s when it comes around.
So exciting that championships are won because you can really throw down
in great conditions at Pomona, at Dallas, those races.
You got to be able to have you got to have that in your toolbox.
So it'll be interesting to have it.
Let's talk pro stock.
All right.
So the way I want to come at this is over the past few years,
you watch the broadcast, our mutual friend from Tokyo Piston Rings,
Matt Hartford, as you know, they've been that you've given him credit
and he's taken a beating sometimes.
Right. Yeah, so let's start there.
Matt Hartford has got his best chance to win a world championship
that we have seen car fast, driving well, the competition, Greg and Dallas.
They are good elite, getting better.
What do you think about the total seal team, Brian?
Guys, me three final rounds in a row.
I mean, there is there is nothing.
And I texted him after the I texted him after the final round in Norwalk
when when Stanfield, you know, got him on a whole shot.
Aaron had one of the great, you know, driving performances we've seen in years
that day and I just texted Matt, I said, Hey, man, sometimes you get to tip
your hat to a guy and just tip your hat and nod because that's that's
what Stanfield earned in that final.
But yeah, I mean, I jokingly said on the NHRA Insider a few weeks ago,
I said, I need to see this guy lose more in the second and third round
to really buy this thing.
Because right now, still to this day, it's either been a first round or a final round.
That's all they've that's all they've done.
Wow. It is wild.
But, you know, I've seen all I need to know that's a championship level car.
There's no question about it.
And I've seen all I need to know out of the guy in the seat because he's done
things this year with a more consistent with a higher level of consistency,
with a higher frequency of repeatability than he has in many years
in the seat of his race car.
And so whether that speaks to the approach on the year, whether that speaks
to just simply understanding that he has the tool that can do the job.
But that is he's one or two guys with three wins on the season.
And, you know, he's he's in a position right now and he understands the position
he's in. He knows what's there and Eddie knows what's there and Adam knows
what's there and Amber knows what's there.
And he is going to be a very fun guy to watch during this part of the year.
Very fun guy to watch.
Yeah. Well, they got you've raced.
I've raced somebody's, you know, 002 against you, man.
It's like not your day.
It's not your day.
You but you can avoid the sixties and the fifties and critical times.
You're going to go a lot more rounds.
And so they have gotten past that this gentleman wants to know is
Hartford using an older body style.
I tell you, yes, he is all this cars and stuff.
Yeah, no, that thing is that that thing could get an AARP card at some point.
But yeah, no, it is the it's the older, you know, what to say is 20.
I'm going to say 2015.
It's a it's not the newest five star body Camaro that you can run.
It's the a generation or two back.
And, you know, it to a degree speaks to the fact that the aerodynamics
on these cars are so close, he's not at a disadvantage.
His speed is where everybody else's is.
And the chassis they have has had 6.7 trillion runs made on it.
But guess what?
It is working real damn good.
And Eddie knows that thing like the back of his hand.
I mean, yeah, I mean, there's no reason in hell
he should get out of the car ever.
Oh, no, well, and they did.
And they realized like, why would we do this?
We're going to learn everything brand new, right?
So we'll be good in four years.
Now, let's be good.
Let's continue right now.
But Greg Anderson, of course, still a threat.
Dallas Glenn is your points leader by 23.
Aaron Stanfield and Greg Stanfield have been Greg Stanfield in particular
has still been the quickest elite car based on just raw performance.
Excuse me, the red car.
I'm never convinced that they are down down.
I am always convinced that at any race, it could be the turnaround race.
But ProStock has been been wild this year.
Let me blow your mind a little bit.
Eric Anders has a quicker average Sunday elapsed time
than both Greg Stanfield and Aaron Stanfield have.
But but qualifying is not that car strong suit.
Greg Stanfield is a hundredth better on average
and qualifying E.T. than his son is,
which he averages a seven ish qualifying spot.
Aaron averages like 11th.
The two races, Aaron's one this year, he won out of the seventh
and 10th qualifying position, which is insane.
And if you go back and look at the number of races, one from the number
seven and 10 qualifying positions in this class, it is minuscule
is compared to 12 or three minuscule
because the driver has to load the team on his back and carrying down the racetrack.
That to me, like.
Aaron is Aaron.
Right down now, Aaron is the biggest threat
to the three KB cars at the top of the points right now than anybody else.
Anybody else?
Because when somebody is as dangerous as he is and as good as he is,
can then deliver and win from seven and 10.
If you can win from seven and 10 during the regular season,
you can win from seven to ten in the playoffs.
You know what I'm saying? Yes.
Like it's and he didn't lock any of these things.
He absolutely just blitzed his way to both of those wins.
So he is one of the few cars, I would say, can win from a mid late
qualifying position in this entire class.
Far none in the story and and is able to go double low like Dallas has the nickname
because he can get there. He can get there, too.
Remember, they're very similar.
Yeah, very similar.
Yeah, very similar people.
But what Aaron has done, his Chicago victory,
that was just craziness to get to the final round his reaction time.
And then, you know, again, against Hartford, double low two.
Like you can't let a guy like that keep believing he can do it
because once he really believes he can keep doing it, he is going to keep doing it.
And that is going to be a very bad day for everybody else.
You know what I mean? Yes. Yeah.
Yes. Then again, there's still Greg Anderson.
They are the whole shot loss for the number one spot.
I find it entertaining.
I know Greg doesn't.
But that gets people someone.
Kenny Delco gets a winlight, man.
There are fans that have been cheering for this guy for years.
They're going to keep coming because of that.
I know Greg didn't like it, but it's 16 16 beats.
One is the most compelling story in drag racing every every week.
Like there is no greater story than number 16 beats.
Number one in the first round, that's that is the nature of this business.
So to your point on entertainment, absolutely is entertaining.
It was incredible.
It was gobsmacking to watch it happen when you look down
and you see the reaction time and you see Kenny's double one and you look over.
It's like, oh, man, he doesn't have enough car.
Nobody's got enough car to get there.
And I thought it was great for Kenny.
I did.
And, you know, those guys have been getting some help from the hard
throbs and it shows and how the car is performing.
And, you know, if Kenny, Kenny doesn't have to find in himself to be double
one every round, but man, if he can find it in himself to be 30 to 40,
we're going to see that cargo rounds, you know, couple of rounds of race.
And the old what might have been right?
Had they not shook the tires, they could have gotten the round
went pretty easily and you'd had a hard hard Delco final.
How weird would that have been?
Really, really bizarre.
All right, pro stock motorcycle going west.
Get tricks, pro stock motorcycle all-star call out.
Last year, Richard Gadson went on to win the championship red light
into Matt Smith double one, really going after it.
This is one of my favorite elements about Sonoma.
The bikes going there just for this all-star race, but the bikes
just work so well, big speeds there also.
My message to the bikes and I mentioned this on the inside of this week.
I'm going to it's my it's a platform now.
So I'm stomping on this.
No points are involved.
OK, no points are involved.
80, you're here.
You're going to get your own TV show this weekend.
You're on a pedestal.
Give us what we want.
Give us good matchups.
Give us some screwing around at the starting line, gouge people's
eyes, hit them below the belt, do do some stuff.
Talked, I want to hear some.
I want to hear some Richard Gadson grudge, race or mentality stuff.
I want to hear some Gage Herrera grudge, race or mentality stuff.
I there's no consequence to this other than a paycheck.
And I know everybody wants to paycheck.
But what I'm saying is in terms of, you know, all this, I can't do this
because this is a no, all that's out the window.
Give us the show.
This is the ultimate opportunity to get the show out of the eight
competitors that are there from the Smiths, from Johnson, from Van Zand.
You name it, we got them all right there.
You're the only ones we're talking about.
You're hermetically sealed off from everything else in the drag racing world.
So give us the show.
Do some stuff, says Brian Lone.
Do some stuff.
Well, listen, I think you couldn't have said it better yourself like that's it.
Like what stuff?
No, as soon as we start saying what, that's when it becomes contrived.
You want the attention.
You believe that the machines you ride are the coolest and maybe they are.
We can see on there.
We see it looking over there.
I love it, Brian.
And they get I say, I didn't know this.
They get their own separate independent show.
Which they are the total feature with this call out.
Yes, that is great.
They can do whatever they want.
They can be whoever they want to be in this one thing.
Sell, sell the class to the world on this one.
Exactly.
That's that's all we're looking for.
And, you know, I remember a few years ago, um, Eddie and Andrew, uh,
Eddie and Andrew kind of hemmed in Matt and Matt and Angie making them race
each other in the first round.
Now that can't happen this year because Matt is third in the order.
So he'll be able to make a pick avoiding, um, you know, avoiding that fate.
But if you look at the lineup in the seating, I do believe two MSR motorcycles
will probably have to face off in that first round.
I don't believe in any speck of my imagination.
It's going to be Matt and Angie.
Um, and it's a Denzo race.
So it's a big deal for those guys.
A lot of focus on that as well.
So yeah, I just, I want to see it because this is a unique opportunity.
This is the only color we do like this or have done like this.
Like this is the one time where you are a showcase, a literal showcase.
So make yourself a showcase.
So Herrera, it gets first pick Richard, second, Matt, third, Angie, fourth,
right? And then it's John Hall, Gianna, Chase, Van Dan, Steve, Johnson.
So if you're Gage, right, there's there's a couple of different ways you can go.
You try to pick the weakest opponent, right, which nobody likes that.
But then again, Greg Anderson, FAFO out there.
I talked to Greg about that.
Yes, Joe, if I don't, you know who I got to pick.
If I don't pick her, they'll, they'll, they'll ride in the streets.
Joe, I have no choice.
There's nothing I can do and look what happened, right?
But I liked that he thinks that I liked it.
He thinks that he did.
I love that he thinks that.
Sorry, Greg, and he's right.
And he's right.
Right. You pick anyone else, Greg.
We're going to be mad.
You got to give us what we want.
And look, I wouldn't, you know, I don't necessarily think the team
would be too enthusiastic about it.
But if Gage pick Richard, oh, baby, come on, man.
You know, this guy, this guy left with a championship.
He thought he might have been able to win last year, like paying back a little bit.
I mean, entertainment, it's all about entertainment.
I don't think they'll they'll ever do that.
I don't think they will either.
But I can at least construct it in my, my pea sized brain.
Yeah.
Legends of the race.
Gary Selze going to be there with us.
Alan Johnson as well.
Gary's going to be in on the mic.
Are we doing what are we doing for the, the super session?
The D cell?
Oh, we're, we're going, we're going whole hog.
We have no Friday night FS1 broadcast.
So I think we're going live to the world on the internets.
How lucky are we?
The gym head thing was one of the best things that I ever.
Like, well, it's happening.
First of all, that's the most I've ever spoken with Jim head.
He couldn't, he had nowhere to run.
We had him trapped and escaped.
But wow, what a great guy, like his whole demeanor.
I know he's a nice person, but I don't want to bother him, right?
Like, I know that's my deal.
I don't want to bother people when they're working, but he was working with us.
Now we get Gary Selze.
Yeah, wild thing, baby.
Yeah, he, Gary, who obviously raced before I was able to be on the NHRA scene.
I, I've spoken with him a few times, but I talked to him several years ago
at the actually at the garlics induction at in Florida.
He was, he was being inducted that year.
Or was he being inducted or doing somebody's induction?
Either way, I think he was being inducted, right?
Austin Proctor is this is not last year.
This is like three years ago.
Yeah, two years ago.
He was being inducted.
Yeah. And just to have a phenomenal conversation with him after the after the event.
So I'm, I'm extremely excited to be able to to shake his hand and congratulate him.
And hopefully the boys will be there as well.
All right. So and then we're heading to the Muckleshoot Casino Resort.
Yes, Pacific Raceways.
I love that facility as well.
I love the Great Northwest.
This is back to back.
Hopefully we get three in a row.
Is there anything racing related, as I do want to touch on that one topic
that came up earlier in the deal that that's on your radar that we need to know about?
Things you're thinking about?
Um, you know, NHRA wise, I'm just I'm thinking about I'm just thinking
about the next two, really.
And what that's going to set us up for for a brainer and then, of course,
the U.S. nationals.
You know, look, the big the topic that was brought up earlier.
I mean, it is the biggest story that's going on in the sport right now.
It's not a positive story.
It's not a positive story.
So let's just set the table.
Yeah, look, this show is called NHRA Nitro.
Years ago, when I was on XM, that there was a discussion to talk all all drag racing.
And I said to myself, just because this is the truth, I love all drag racing
and I'm a bracket racer.
But when it comes to focusing on a sport for a mass audience like on XM,
you know, there's lots of baseball, high school baseball, there's college
baseball, but it's the channel they had was MLB.
And that's how I viewed NHRA.
So I've always spent 98% of my time focused on NHRA drag racing.
I know you have worked for IHRA in the past when Bill Bayer was there.
I know you have done a lot of the duck grudge racing.
In fact, you I credit you with introducing me to a lot of people like
telling me about fast before I got to meet him.
So this has got to hit you a little bit differently.
So let's divorce ourselves from anything NHRA in this moment.
And we're just like a couple of guys on WFO.
How do you see this?
So this is the name tag that I was given at my first IHRA national event.
24 years ago, 23 years ago, Bill Bayer's seen
we all wear name tag as part of our uniform.
This is the one that he gave me.
I never I'm not going to get rid of it.
It's got the rubber specs and stuff on it from working at the starting line.
Well, I got to be measured.
What I say, the health of drag racing depends on cars going down the racetracks.
That's that's the bottom line.
And we can we all have our favorite things in the sport or our favorite classes
or categories or favorite races and all those things.
But the health of what we do as an industry and as a business is dependent
on people buying parts, racing their cars, blowing their cars up, building
new cars and doing all this stuff.
We had a new venue come in that allowed a lot of people to do that.
And that is a huge boon to the sport.
That is a huge boon to the sport options and venues and availability
is what drag racing has always been about and what it's thrived on.
To see that turn into what it's turned into in the last month
is horrifying to me because now
it appears as though you have entire categories of the sport that are effectively homeless.
You have a lot of people that have invested.
God only knows what they've invested of themselves, of sponsors, of everything.
And this is just it scares the daylights out of me because I don't want to see any
of these people leave the sport.
I don't want to see cars left outside the realm of what we do.
But I also understand that not everything can be in the same place.
Like you cannot have a series where every single class of drag racing is contested.
So there needs to be places and venues for people to do that.
And, you know, it's just it's a trying thing.
It's a thing that I'm not going to it sounds overly dramatic, but it keeps me up at night
because I just I fear for the negative potential impact of what's going on.
Yeah, I I I don't disagree.
It's certainly a negative story from from jump when this emerged.
PRI a couple of years ago, you may recall, never thought it would be a negative.
There was all the story about true motivations and data centers and any of that.
I'm not going there with any of it.
I just feel badly for the people who made a schedule.
I allocated some resources, elected to to not go here to go there, and now it doesn't exist.
And, you know, I don't know what lies ahead.
I just think in the end, it's just it's a sad thing for the racers and the people who put their hearts into it.
Yeah, and I think, you know, when I worked it, at the IHRA with Bill Bader,
his slogan was IHRA and damn proud of it.
That's how he would sign his his editorial as a drag review.
And Bill Bader senior was a great leader.
He's a great he was a great guy to work for because he did not put up with BS.
He did not have any problem telling you if you were out of line or weren't giving your best stuff.
And that's in any role, whether it was an announcer,
whether it was somebody who was on the maintenance crew,
like he was this guy was somebody you wanted to work for.
He was a leader that you wanted to achieve for and do great things with.
And our series attitude was killer.
And that's the part of the IHRA experience that I'll always carry with me.
Was this the attitude of we're not trying to be anybody else by ourselves.
We're going to be the best free conversion of ourselves that we can be.
And yeah, occasionally we're going to try to we're going to try to be a little annoying.
We might poke we might poke the big guy in the side a little bit every once in a while.
Famously, when Clay Millican was dominated in the IHRA series,
Bill Bader came up with the idea to have I think it was $150,000
match race between himself and Larry Dixon,
who was the dominant top fuel racer at the time.
And he made a big public splash about like,
we need to have this race course.
We want to do it at Norwalk and everything,
but we need to have this this match race between the two great,
you know, the two great top fuel names of the day.
And it never came to pass for various reasons,
but that was the type of thing you were seeing there.
It was actually something that augmented both sides.
And the amount of racers and people crew chiefs
that came through the IHRA when I was working there,
that now tune on professional championship level and HRA cars is astounding.
The amount of guys I remember and, you know, guys that were my old,
my own age, guys that were just a little older than me,
guys that were younger than me, you know,
people that I saw figuring out how to do this and are now the best in their field.
That's what the sport benefited from with IHRA.
And, you know, they were sure there were people that were like,
oh, you guys are the little leagues, you guys are this or that.
And people are going to say that shit and it's fine.
It's meaningless.
But the intention of what we were doing at that time
was to make great shows, to go to venues.
You know, we were not,
Norwalk was our premier facility at the time
before they became an entry sanctioned track.
We'd go to Great Bend, Ontario.
We'd go out west to the Rocky Mountain Nationals out in Edmonton,
you know, Empire up in New York, New England, Dragway.
You know, we went to a lot of very solid drag strips
and put on events that filled those places and put on a really great show.
And it was a show that helped a lot of people evolve,
helped a lot of classes grow, helped a lot of things flourish.
And I don't believe that the modern version of that company started with that intent,
my own opinion.
I don't believe, and I'm not going to go too far in the weeds here,
but knowing people that were in the room during those early days,
I can say that with a fair amount of confidence,
because understanding the intention of things when it got going,
obviously it's gone into a totally different realm now.
But I just think, and this is just drag racing Brian Lone's guy.
This is not NHRA Brian Lone's guy.
This is just me, guy who's lived my life in this sport
and who loves it and wants to see it survive and grow.
Be intentional what you're going to do next year.
Be intentional with what your plans are in 2027.
And if you're a racer that has a category right now
that you don't know if it has a home or not,
start working on 2027 options.
That's my opinion.
Yeah, the word you said was intentions.
So we hear the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
There's all kinds of sayings like that.
But we don't know what they are.
You're looking backwards at someone who we know
and we know their family and you know where their heart was.
This one, we don't know that yet.
We don't know what lies ahead and what the true motivations
and true all that we just can't know.
And that's the debate, right?
People are having that debate right now.
Every show is about it.
Like what are they really all about?
And we just don't know.
And look, that is the problem with anything in life.
The uncertainty, right?
Whatever it is.
Uncertainty in any aspect of your life
is the thing that causes people
to get the most wigged out about stuff.
Whether that is the uncertainty of what's going on
on the homeroom straight and how much gas
is going to cost next week.
Whether that is the uncertainty of anything you can put in.
When those things creep in, that's when people start getting weird.
And over the last week, we have seen a lot of people get weird.
People that I didn't think would ever get weird got weird.
And next thing you know, we see every media outlet
posting a story about a racetrack
that two years ago was listed for sale somewhere
just because somebody grabbed it and off we go to the races.
It had nothing to do with anything
that's going on on the current day.
But that lack of any communication,
that lack of any sort of anything
is why people are freaking out.
And that's the bottom line.
The bottom line is people are freaking out
because they don't know anything.
And Joe, you well know this.
Any human being knows this.
Imagine you've worked for good people and bad people
to know if everybody watching the show
has had a good boss and had a crummy boss.
And the good boss, whether you liked him or not,
to me was always the person that would at least give it
to you straight and tell you if it was good or bad.
I'm a worker for a company that was about ready
to close the doors years ago.
Not a drag racing company, just a regular company.
And this guy dragged me in his office.
He said, hey, good news and bad news.
The good news is we're going to get paid,
but your drivers are supposed to get paid on Friday.
We're not going to get paid until Tuesday.
And you got to go into a meeting
and tell your 20 frickin' truck drivers
that their paycheck is not going to be
in their bank account tomorrow morning.
But it will be in there on Tuesday.
And he gave me the reasons why,
and he said to do with this what you will.
And so I was at least able to stand there
and take the slings and arrows,
but guarantee these guys they'd be paid on Tuesday.
If that same guy had hauled me into his office
and said, hey man, no paychecks tomorrow.
Go tell your guys that.
What happens then?
Oh man, there's no brand because they would have rioted.
I would have been dead.
Yeah, I would have been dead.
But that's the problem with the moment we're living right now.
The problem is a Kremlin-esque level of nothingness
that everybody is just grabbing for straws
from every direction to try to figure out.
And it's crumbling for the sport.
That's all I'll leave it at that.
So and now we will resume, or at least I will,
my NHRA cheerleader dumb and say something like,
we learn that there is a value, a value to stability,
that the race is going to happen for 75 years.
And you're not going to get paid as much for super gas.
It's not going to be 5,000.
It's going to be 2,000 or whatever it is.
But the race is going to happen.
And that is something that I think maybe in our modern culture,
our modern world, people forget things that that is a value
because of all the money that is then lost in time and resources
when things do maybe go bust.
And so I cheerleader for the NHRA.
I'm proud that the organization, at least to my knowledge,
no one, no one in a position of power or responsibility
or anything has ever said one word of negativity
directed at the other way.
There were some surprising, shocking moments that were just
taken in stride and dealt with thinking about US 131 versus Maple Grove.
What? You bought the racetrack that we, wow, okay, we'll do this.
And I'm proud of that.
And I don't, it's not sexy like reliability.
Reliability is not the sexiest thing.
But boy, in times like this, I think it should be acknowledged.
Well, yeah, there's a couple angles to that.
This is why Toyota sells 6 billion cameras a year
and a couple of thousand high-end Lexus sports cars.
Because what do people value ultimately?
They value reliability, as Eki said, as unsexy as it is.
I will say this, there is not a person
who has led NHRA through more storms than Glen Cromwell.
And if you're unable to realize or recognize the fact that this guy
has been placed in some of the most trying situations
in the history of this organization,
you're more ignorant than I could ever imagine.
The simple fact that we were able to navigate COVID
is the crowning achievement of that guy's career,
as unsexy as that is, to your point.
That is the crowning achievement, and always will be in my mind,
having been there and in the trenches for it,
of Glen Cromwell's career and his leadership.
And the reason you get there is because you have a stable leader
and you have a guy who is not going to permit,
who is not going to allow,
who is not going to condone, stand for,
or propagate the idea that you should run your mouth.
And we shouldn't run our mouth.
It's undignified, it's beneath us to be attacking people.
And it's hard not to sometimes.
It is, it is freaking hard, man.
And you get hit up, upside,
they have some of this stuff sometimes and it's difficult.
But in the end, I try to emulate the people that I am being led by,
the people that I have placed my trust in for my career,
the people that I've worked for at this company,
and to a man and woman, they are all people that I respect,
that are dignified and that hold us as an organization to a standard.
And I'll be damned if I'm going to be the guy that lets that standard fall,
or be the person that defies or disrespects what a 75 year legacy is.
And so yeah, dude, it is freaking hard.
It's hard to know stuff.
It's hard to know stuff and not be able to say anything about it.
But such is the case.
And that's, hey, listen, we're going to navigate it.
And as we have the 131 race, if you've not bought tickets for that race yet,
you may not be able to buy tickets.
That race is going to be, and I'm not just saying it because that's what popped up in conversation,
that race is going to be insane, insane.
And if we look at the backside of our season, I think you're going to see more race cars.
And I think you're going to see more race cars because there were multiple people
of multiple categories, of all categories, that had a plan and a schedule,
that that schedule has been upended, and they want to go drag racing.
So I think we're going to see some folks, some faces, some names we haven't seen in a while.
Glad to have them.
Certainly welcome anybody whether it burns gasoline, alcohol, or nitromethane to come.
Bruce Maul is going to run the U.S. Nationals in his funny car, which is fantastic.
It's all positive stuff in that regard, but it is a crummy thing.
Jolie Stanfield, right?
This is Erin's wife, and she's a super supporter, loves this sport.
Her whole family is involved in it, right?
NHRA drag racing.
Her husband runs everything.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the NHRA?
Like, does it hurt drag racing?
Does it help?
And I'm interested to hear what you say.
I don't know the answer.
I think, I don't know.
Well, there's two ways to look at it.
If you just simply look at the, if you're just going to be shrewd,
if we're going to be shrewd business guy about it,
we're going to divorce ourselves from any other thing other than what's directly in front of us.
Of course, it's a good thing for NHRA because people need to race their race cars,
and they can come race with us.
If you look at it as drag racing as a whole,
the unanswerable question right now is,
is it going to, could it hurt drag racing?
Could it hurt drag racing?
We frame that up.
If damn right, it could.
Because, again, they have made, there's been statements made by the NHRA.
They're going to continue to sanction and they're going to continue to operate,
you know, the sports and stuff like that.
And, which I freaking hope they do, because these racetracks are a valued asset
to the sport of drag racing.
Like this is our place of business.
And this is where, without racetracks, we don't have an industry.
Without racetracks, we don't have anything.
So you have seven racetracks, eight racetracks, however many there are,
that, again, level of uncertainty comes up.
Like, let's hope, let's hope that this is the long-term deal,
that those traction and continue to operate,
they're going to do their thing, they're going to be successful,
have whatever happens at them, happen at them,
and give people a place to go racing.
One story that blows my mind that nobody's brought up is Piedmont Dragway.
Home with the big dog.
Piedmont's been around for 50 plus years.
It was purchased.
It was knocked down.
And it has been a dirt drag strip this whole year.
How no media outlet has reported on the fact
that these guys bought a track and freaking destroyed it.
And if you have to put a surface back in it,
and no one knows if they're ever going to put a surface back in it,
is incredible to me.
That's bad.
Yeah. Well, a perfect example.
And, you know, we don't really need to rehash every one of those stories.
We're not going down that road, but it just there's track that.
And then the big dream.
And then, oh, my gosh, it's great.
It's all coming back.
It's going to be bigger and better than ever before.
And it's like, well, like to me, just all the major questions
get answered over the course of time.
And I'm not right.
We're not I'm not wanting to get involved in any of that.
Nope.
But just the overarching thing that that the overarching thing
that I just default back on that makes me concerned
because of being uncertain is just we need to have the race tracks operating.
We need to have the racers at them because when tracks close, the math is very bad.
When tracks close, you know, we all know it, right?
It's not it's not like anything.
I'm breaking news here, but, you know, it becomes a generational problem
to either keep the people racing or, you know, the kid that races as junior.
It is local racetrack.
All of a sudden, dad, we get to tell this thing two and a half hours to go racing
and now the kid's not really into it anymore.
So now we've now we've lost a drag racer.
We've lost a guy for or a girl.
We've lost them for the next 15 or 20 years.
Like that's the stuff that scares the hell out of me.
Well, not to make it about me, but that's me.
Miami Hollywood Speedway, 20 minutes from the house.
It's gone.
All right.
Moroso hour and 20 minutes from the house.
Okay, it's gone.
And next closest track, Bradenton in Orlando, three hours from the house.
Boy, that's a tough night, guys.
You know, tow three hours, unload, race all night, tow home three hours.
So all right, we'll build a super street car.
We'll race every once in a while.
Orlando, Gainesville, Rockingham, the next close to 12 hour tow.
It makes it the hurdle to entry is just so much higher.
So you've got to have racetracks.
And I'm living that experience right now, Brian.
Like, what did I do building this super street car that I can race three times a year?
But it's it's worth it for a thousand other reasons.
Let's bring it back up.
After that.
But thank you for entertaining that.
I think it's important that we tackle the tough issues
and the passion for drag racing comes first.
The reason we both work for the NHRA is because we love the sport
and it's the pinnacle.
It's the pinnacle of the sport.
It is.
And, you know, we're doing our best.
I know we everyone sees your passion.
Every day open to the show.
Like we see that you love this thing.
Yeah.
The only other thing I would say is this from move on,
we'll move on to greener passers and better topics.
There is no professional sports league in this country
or in this world that has a direct competing professional sports league
trying to run into it.
Stock car racing doesn't have it.
Professional football.
Yes, there are spin off leagues, but they play in the off season.
Go down the list.
You cannot name a single freaking sport that has a professional tier level,
that has another professional tier level league
trying to steal the same talent from the other league.
Is that how it works?
Right.
That's all.
And we'll leave it there.
We'll leave it there.
You know, the ABA, they had Dr. J.
What happened?
In the end, there's an assimilation.
NHRA does a pretty good job, man.
And that's the one thing like if there's a person watching this
who for whatever reason doesn't feel welcome
coming to the National Hot Rod Association.
I think that guy right there and myself
would be very happy to speak with you
and try our best to make sure that you do.
Yeah, I would say your cars and enjoy.
We got a lot of people there.
So it's kind of hard to service every single person
and give them the down home feeling
because we do have a lot of people racing with us,
but we certainly want to.
Yeah, that's a fact.
And nobody's perfect.
There's never been a perfect drag race.
As much as I'd love to think there has been
and I've been a part of them.
There's never been a perfect one.
There's never been a perfect parking weekend
where every person is parked in the place they want.
Let's go down the list.
And the ultimate thing is,
and I talked to the Winkland Dragway Bank
for a couple of years about this
because they had had some stuff go on locally
that was kind of weird.
And I was just, the weirdest thing about
in the best way of what we do is
the person that's towing their race car into the gate
that's geared up to go racing
is actually as passionate as the person
that is on the scooter,
getting ready to park them in their pit spot.
So when passionate guy A in the truck
is all fired up to go racing,
gets all up in the business of passionate guy B,
who all passionate guy B wants to do on his scooter
is to lead you into the pits
and put you in a spot and get you where you need to be.
It just immediately ramps up into
into a much higher tension situation
than it would be otherwise.
It's not like you're going to the grocery store
and somebody slipped in your parking spot
and you can kind of go ask or this guy will go park over here.
We're already in that keyed up moment.
I know how I feel when I arrive at a drag strip.
I'm not Aaron Stanfield.
I'm not cool.
I'm not cool.
Right?
I am geared up.
I'm excited.
I have my energies going.
My brain's going.
The adrenaline, it's not even under your control.
It's your body is squeezing out adrenaline into your brain.
Right.
And it's just why all the small things
can turn into bigger, more explosive things very quickly
because believe it or not,
that person that is working the race
loves their role in drag racing
as much as the person holding on to the steering wheel.
And I can say that for my whole life experience
working at local racetracks,
working for a match race,
you know, working it.
God only knows how many racetracks across the country,
but that is the thing.
Everybody that's doing their job at a drag strip,
whether they appear to or not,
wants to do the best job they can
and is in that somewhat same mindset.
And everybody has a bad moment here or there,
especially if you're at work for 12 straight hours,
four straight days.
There is going to be a moment where you're not
at your optimal kindness.
But we got we got to work through it.
Brian, where are you going to eat in Sonoma that you like?
Like we like to go off the track every once in a while.
And as we wind this conversation down,
and I appreciate you greatly,
like this is one of the pinnacles
when it comes to fantastic food.
You don't have to give your super secret place
but where do you recommend people eat
when they're in Sonoma?
OK, I'm looking the name of the place up
because it's a...
You're welcome, folks.
You're welcome.
This is what I do for you.
So this is this is I'm going to give you a city
and you're going to think, oh,
foofy foof.
No, this is the most down home,
awesome place you will eat at in the Napa Valley.
It's a place called Trankas, T-R-A-N-C-A-S,
Trankas Steakhouse.
It is a family-owned old school, not fancy at all.
It's like a neighborhood, 60s-ish style.
Like go get a steak, hang out,
have a couple beers, enjoy your night type of place.
I love Trankas because it is the opposite
of everything else in Napa,
which is beautiful and elegant and very expensive.
But Trankas is this little bastion of local history
and it's great and it's family-owned.
And I would recommend you try Trankas Steakhouse.
Okay.
That's what I wanted right there.
You just got the full report.
Brian, I'm super excited.
The Friday Night Session B-Cell Power Systems,
yourself, myself, Gary Selzee,
and hopefully a 340-something mile per hour
funny car and dragster.
It will make it happy for me.
This has been a great conversation.
Thank you for the time for us here today.
I appreciate it.
Thanks for having me, Joe.
All right.
There he goes.
Brian Lones, way to go, Brian.
Awesome.
Thanks.
Brian Lones with us here on WFO Radio.
And what can I say?
What can I say?
Your comments in the comments section, guys.
Let's hear what you have to say about what Brian
just hashed out there.
And we've got all this positive energy
in the 75th season of NHRA.
Look, we've got Jason Logan.
He's even out there.
He's watching on X.
Thank you for sharing the show.
JLo, JLo who was on the show last week
for fans of Jason Logan and Life's a Drag.
Jason Logan back on the show.
Guys, this is not easy.
And it's not just cut and dry, black and white,
good guy, bad guy.
What were the intentions?
What are in people's hearts?
You don't know.
I know that, you know, Alan Reinhart went there
and then went away back.
I know Rich Schaefer, somebody who I greatly
appreciate his work ethic, former Division Two
director went there, was gone.
Just so many things, so much turmoil,
so many questions that at some level,
it's not worth digging into.
It's not worth it.
Got to focus on what we can control.
And the only thing that I can control is this show,
my own little teeny tiny racing program
with Project Pontiac and what I say on the microphone
at the National Hot Rod Association
and hope for the best for everyone that is involved
and genuinely feel that the best like man.
I know a lot of people that got their dream jobs
and they're not doing their dream job right now,
but they did and they're going to and, you know,
there's no animosity.
There's just want for the best things for drag racing.
But we'll see what you guys have to say.
Certainly, there's a lot of comments in the comment section.
I wasn't able to show Brian every one of your comments,
but I want to tell you about a couple of great things here.
Please, if you will, allow me to tell you
about our great friends at Larissa Motorsports Insurance.
Yeah, Motorsports Insurance.
What a topic.
You know, things can go wrong, guys.
And if you're like me, who put every little penny aside
to build my dad's car into a race car Project Pontiac
and occasionally race it out there on the NHRA tour
in the Super Street category, one of my favorite classes,
I got to be covered, man.
That thing's got to be safe going up and down the road.
Gosh, forbid that one, my mom's neighbor's tree falls down.
Guess where it's going to land?
Oh, my gosh.
Hope not.
But the good news is that there's no exemptions
and exclusions at Larissa Motorsports Insurance.
They're not going to tell you no
because your car was on the lift.
They're not going to tell you no
because it was parked in a different place
than it's normally parked.
They're not going to tell you no
because there happened to be racing fuel in a race car trailer.
Reach out to them if you've got racing equipment
that you need covered.
And, you know, how many times can one person say like,
guys, this is important.
You really can't afford to not have it.
It's just that simple.
And they've got countless people
who have had the unfortunate thing happen to them
who have worked with Larissa and they've been covered.
Larissa Motorsports Insurance.com.
Tell them you heard about it on WFO Radio.
I appreciate those guys so much for being involved with the show.
Holden and the family.
And that's what they are.
They're a family.
They invented this.
They look for the product.
It didn't exist.
And they made it themselves.
What is more drag racer than that?
The entrepreneurial spirit, right?
Back in the day, it was gaskets.
Nobody had gaskets.
People had to make the gaskets.
Moroso pops up.
That kind of deal.
Well, insurance for your investment.
Larissa pops up.
Great job for those guys.
But speaking of gaskets,
husseyperformance.net.
David Allen and the team, these guys
have the cutting edge, literally,
technology for gaskets.
And of course, they do copper gaskets.
That's what they're known for.
But now they do composite gaskets as well.
Oil pan gaskets, valve cover gaskets.
So you're running an alcohol car,
a pro mod car, a nitro car.
They've got gaskets for you.
But if you've got a regular car like me,
Ram Air 4 style exhaust gaskets in copper
or in composite, they do them both.
Reach out to David Allen and the team.
412, this is their actual number.
412-716-4872.
I'll say it again.
Next time WFO universe,
you need gaskets for your race car.
Give these guys an opportunity.
412-716-4872.
They have contingency programs as well.
Top alcohol, dragster, top alcohol.
Funny car, top dragster, top sportsman in NHRA.
They're also involved in PDRA as well.
Top sportsman in top dragster.
Reach out to the fine folks at husseyperformance.net.
All right. When we come back, we're going to get your comments.
We're going to see what you guys think about all the topics
that we have discussed here on today's WFO.
And we're going to get ready for the rest of the week.
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Hey, I know that guy.
Brian Lones, voice of the National Hot Rod Association,
and Jesse Converter's Global Emissions Systems Incorporated
when we get back from the swing.
That's one of my projects.
I've got a bunch of projects here in the WFO universe.
One, I got to put new G-Sport catalytic converters
on my 2006 Cadillac CTS-V.
Apparently, catalytic converters have got a lifespan, guys.
And if you've got a V, guess what?
They don't make them.
But Jesse does.
Thank goodness.
Got, I have an outlet for which to solve my problem.
Thank you, Matt and Eric Latino.
Hey, also want to shout out to Gary Stinnett
and the Foggett brand, guys.
If you don't have a can of Foggett,
you can go to Summit Race Equipment right now
and get yourself one.
It's just that simple.
It works great.
Like in the garage, you know, machine shops
have a can of Foggett near each machine
at Straub Technologies in Piney Flats, Tennessee,
where they did all the machine work on Project Pontiac.
There's a can of Foggett at each machine
because you want to, you know, you spray to help the cutting
process like a cutting wheel.
It works in 100 different ways.
So if you're a consumer, homeowner, regular person,
and you're like, what do I need a can of Foggett for?
Just get one at Summit.
Support Gary, support the show, support Summit.
Get involved, have a cool race product around.
You'll find 100 things to use it on.
But if you've got a high performance racing engine,
man, you got to be doing it.
It's cheap insurance for your racing engine.
And one final note, like we've gotten a lot of positive feedback
about the RLShirtClub.com.
Scott Bathurst was on a couple of weeks ago.
These classic racing shirts, like not necessarily these,
that's the thing.
It's a membership.
You just join RLShirtClub.com.
It's 26 bucks a month.
And a classic racing shirt shows up in the mail each month.
And some of our audience have already done it.
And one of our Patreon listener club, the VIPs,
that listen, they have already gotten their shirt.
So it's very cool.
Go to RLShirtClub.com and check it out.
Sign up.
And each month you'll get a package.
You'll wonder what it is and you'll be excited.
You get a brand new shirt.
To your door for 26 bucks.
Come on.
That is a great deal.
Now, as people are populating their comments,
I got some things here.
Like the Flat Guard family sends me something every year.
Like I never mentioned the Flat Guards out there,
but I was kind of going through a stack of papers.
They're like, just a nice note.
Thank you for doing the show.
Mark Flat Guard.
Thank you, Mark.
If you're out there still, I appreciate you.
And whenever I get mail from the audience,
we do have a P.O. Box,
P.O. Box 848353 Pembroke Pines, Florida 33084.
People send mail and I got this the other day.
And I'm like, what is this?
Now, this is from Keith.
He's one of our Patreon VIP members.
And he sent me this and I thought I'd open it on the air.
You know, unboxing videos are popular.
So he sent me something.
Look at this.
It is wrapped in bubble wrap.
The unboxing videos.
I'm not really a fan of the unboxing videos,
but this one I am because I think it is something kind of cool.
Something kind of special that we have talked about a little bit.
I successfully unwrapped it on the air.
Not too terrible.
Look at this.
This is the authentic, thank you very much, Keith,
thousand round win club collectible,
one of a thousand signed by the only 2000 round win club members,
John Force and Greg Anderson.
And with the authenticator, like I get to see what this is going out.
I'm like talking about this with Elon and Abby on Life's a Drag.
And this is something that they have done.
And Keith, one of our listeners has sent me one.
Thank you, Keith.
Now, what will I do with it?
Will I keep it here in the studio?
Will I repurpose it and send it out to WFO listeners?
We don't know.
That's going to take time to think about.
We don't know.
But thank you, Keith.
Excellent work.
I appreciate you greatly for looping me on and on a couple of things.
He sent me some artwork, too, that is here in the WFO studio,
but you can't see it because it's off camera.
All right, let's see what everyone's got to say.
Let's get some real good comments out there.
Ron Merkel knows PBIR was the IHRA headquarters.
So. The first time IHRA did a massive expansion.
Was directly related to the death of my last home track.
And there is no connection to the two.
It's just a coincidence.
But this is not the first time that big plans have been made.
And it hasn't necessarily worked out.
It's it's not the first time.
Health of drag racing is also spectators in the stands, says Randy.
The stands that are at the tracks.
And you could do the chicken or the egg game all you want.
But you've got to have the tracks.
You've got to have facilities at which to have these events.
No facilities, no cars, sport, no fans.
Fans have a lot to go to.
They've got many choices in their lives.
More choices than ever before.
Things to go be entertained by guys in wingsuits and drone racing.
And more choices of things to go watch than you could ever possibly imagine or have imagined
when Snake and Mongoose were out there doing their thing.
We got to have the tracks.
That is important.
So we want to do that.
Jim had was a fantastic person in the booth.
Certainly he was.
It was one of the best things that I have done all year long.
Pits podcast as a pro stock motorcycle junkie.
I'm so looking forward to this weekend.
I like what Brian had to say about this is an opportunity to do something.
Please do something.
Now, we're not we know who everybody is.
Like Steve Johnson, you know what you're going to get with Steve Johnson?
Steve Johnson is going to do something.
That's I'll use the word, you know, cute, right?
That's what Steve does.
Gianna Gianna is in the bottom half of the field.
What can she do with this situation?
What can we do to what?
What can we do to what?
And the word is entertain the audience.
What can we do to entertain?
So you all know that the on track stuff is pretty much what it is.
You're going to have two bikes doing a burnout.
You're going to have two bikes staging up.
You're going to have two bikes racing down the track.
They're going to go as fast as you can make them go, given the circumstances.
We know that that happens in every but everything else is up for grabs.
What is your character?
What kind of person are you?
And Brian, I think does a great job of instigating like those guys come out of
the grudge racing scene.
Now, you cannot use profanity.
That's one thing that I'm quite certain the folks at NHR and Fox don't want you to do.
I don't know what that one is all about.
You guys look great on my big screen.
Thank you.
I like to think that sponsorship money up in smoke.
It's of all the things that's an issue, but I don't think it's the primary issue.
You know, if you spent the money, that means you went down the racetrack
and that part of the commitment is fulfilled.
Money that hasn't been spent hasn't been spent.
The commitments that cannot be fulfilled now are astronomical, says Sammy.
You banks, Sammy, we miss you, bud.
I miss Sammy.
I don't even, I choose to not go there.
I choose to not go there, just so negative.
I don't know what everyone has committed to doing or not doing.
There are many layers to this.
Much of it is that we don't know.
My question would it be feasible to run fuel bikes, mountain motor,
pro stock at NHRA divisional events?
You know, Ford,
I don't know if it's feasible or not feasible, but I don't think it's a bad idea at all.
I think that the divisional events that I grew up with, you know, they all had alcohol cars and
there was more.
We have more classes of cars out there in the world, like those fuel altars they were running.
We're really wild.
They were cool, man.
There's a lot of stuff.
Our mountain John DeFlorien, mountain motor pro stock friend, John had a lot of conversations
with John about that or the whole thing.
Now you got a 200 and 50000 dollar race car and nowhere to race.
What are you going to do?
Very difficult, very challenging situation.
I think, Ford, I appreciate and admire your creativity.
Who's going to pay the purse?
Where's it going to come from?
It's just that simple.
Mountain motor pro stock could be racing at the NHRA right now.
Like that's look at what pro modified has done and everyone needs to look at pro modified
as some of the most ingenuitive, aggressive, entrepreneurial racers we have seen.
They have linked arms together.
They have agreed to put any mild differences aside and have taken what they have and turned
it into something I think can be said as fantastic.
The season of pro modified that we're having this year coming off the last year is if it
was a stock, it's an arrow pointed straight up.
I had a recent conversation with Lyle Barnett and I asked him this, hey, man,
things are better than ever.
Am I wrong about that?
And he said to me, no, he agrees.
So what they did by going out and finding their own sponsors in many ways,
self funding, look at Justin Bond, putting up, he's got a company, he's very successful.
He's a high energy business person.
And he understands he's like, I got to coach my little league, my kid's little league.
I got to give back.
It's part of it.
Other classes need to acknowledge the success of that model.
And I think mountain motor pro stock, if they went out, I'm not connected to NHRA right now.
But I think if mountain motor pro stock went out and found and put together a program for
themselves that they could all live with, NHRA wanted that.
Exactly.
Thank you.
Bill Bader somehow made you not want to disappoint him, says Jimmy Dietrich.
He was a great man.
Well, and that's what the great ones do.
Bill Bader Jr., I'm impressed by him every time I get to speak with him.
There was a great story.
You know, I mentioned Blake earlier in the show about it's on drag illustrated to Ohio lawmakers
who are fighting very hard to protect racetracks and their state.
That's the story.
But you can see a photo of Blake, Bill Bader and myself, you know, taking a photograph.
And you got to work together.
You got to work together.
Like this thing that we're part of, guys, it's pretty small in the grand scheme.
And to have enemies and in fighting and factions fighting against each other,
it'll always stay small.
And that's maybe a lesson.
They tried to get too big, too fast.
I'm not I'm going to withhold any criticism of anybody.
Will there be any Saturday daytime track live YouTube shows this year in Sonoma?
Unknown.
I know we'll be on Friday night.
So be ready for that.
Be ready for that.
Sammy, you banks, amen, brother.
I'm falling way behind this guy.
Man down the road, Brian loans for president in the NHRA.
I don't think Brian wants that.
My opinion, I think Brian is happy doing exactly what he's doing.
Brian's Brian's secret weapon for all of us is his passion for drag racing and his ability
to communicate it to people.
There are a lot of people who are passionate about drag racing,
but they can't communicate and they don't want to communicate.
And they keep all the passion for themselves.
And when the opportunity comes, they don't know what to do with it.
A guy like Brian, his skill is that he can talk to someone and make them excited about
what he's excited about.
And that's why he does what he does.
And we need more of that.
That's what we need more of.
We need people out there, you know, metaphorically speaking, knocking on doors.
I didn't ask him about the new television deal.
I did not want to put him in a difficult situation.
That is going to be very important for the sport of drag racing guys.
We have to scale that passion, the sport that we all love, regardless of who signs the checks
or regardless of that is really a great thing.
It's genuinely a great thing.
I bring the 15 year old nephew out there, 15 year old nephew.
Hey, bud.
What did you think?
Did you like it or did you not like it?
Is this cool or is it not cool?
He said, no, it's cool.
It's a thing.
It's a vibe.
There's an energy.
He said all the buzzwords that we've all been saying that we all agree.
But you know, you can't like fighting against each other is never going to work.
Never going to work.
I think it's too early to tell next year we'll prove it out either way.
Yeah, well, that's true.
Like what happens in the future?
If only I knew that.
Moroso is a prime example.
Moroso Motorsports Park, a track that now sits totally vacant.
Sitting there in a market that loves drag racing.
You know, I'm just saying words here, guys.
They may land.
They may not.
I cannot stress how much South Florida from Lake Okeechobee and below loves cars.
Car culture, car shows.
They have a wheel hub dyno races in our community because there's nowhere to race.
You go and you take your streetcar and you strap it to a wheel hub dyno and you see
who can make the most power on that given Friday night.
That's what the kids are doing because there's nowhere to race.
We've got a track.
It's sitting there vacant because of real estate.
That's what we're dealing with.
Now, you know, I'm not saying that Governor DeSantis should eminent domain the whole place
and give it back to us, but it's not a bad idea.
Great conversation.
I appreciate Brian's comments.
I agree as well.
Also, I keep hearing how apparently NHRE treats the racers bad, which is funny.
I know people who are sportsmen race and they never complain about it.
And they are just happy to be there.
Well, there are people who complain about everything.
And in the moment, like, who knows what happened?
But go talk to drag racers about drag racers.
Like, go ask a drag racer about drag racers and see what they tell you.
Jimmy misspelled my last name.
It's OK, Jim.
Good to see you.
Have been known to bounce in my seat the entire way to a drag strip.
The adrenaline when you're a racer and you pull in the gate,
the adrenaline is flowing immediately.
And every person that is dealing with every other person at a drag ship should know that these
people are it's an adrenaline sport.
These people are full of adrenaline.
If you say something that's perceived as, you know, jerky, it could be taken wrong.
But that's the basics.
Nothing like the feeling of getting to the strip.
NHRA handles fans with respect.
See you guys this weekend.
Yeah, who's coming?
I'm excited for this Friday at Sonoma Raceway.
I agree.
Kara going to be there.
Great show, Joe.
See you in a couple of days.
A lot of people talking about Alan Reinhardt.
Reinhardt has cut ties again.
That's old.
That's old news.
I, Alan and I are scheduled for a catch up.
Alan is doing his show on Competition Plus, along with Nicole Erickson,
having some big interviews, doing some good things.
I think it is great.
There is a Wednesday show.
See, Hasee, you know, right?
Like we are just now starting to feel the waves and hear some stories.
Honestly, I think that nobody wants to get sued by anybody.
So nobody wants to say anything in the world anymore.
You know, we are free to speak, but you also have to deal with potential consequences.
And so in this kind of challenging situation, I don't think anybody wants to say what's going on.
Ron Merkel selling my 268 Firebirds because nowhere to race in Florida.
You selling?
You selling the convertible?
The tow vehicle?
This guy, Ron Merkel, tows a 68 Firebird race car with a 68 Firebird convertible tow car.
It's one of the coolest things to ever see down the road.
Cliff says, terrific WFO show today.
I would love to spend time one-on-one with Brian Lones.
Is that what you wrote?
But listening to Joe and Brian is probably even better.
I don't know.
Depends on what you guys are doing together.
I don't know.
Such a great show today.
Always love listening to Brian's views on Drag Race.
Sorry to go there, Cliff.
You just made it impossible to not.
Sorry, bud.
I would like to know what a guy like Joe knows about the deals IHRI made to buy these tracks.
I hear Maple Grove is a land contract type deal.
Wondering if others are the same type of deal says this guy.
And the answer, nothing.
I know nothing about the types of deals that were made.
And that's one of those ignorance is bliss kind of deals like I don't.
I try to keep my head clear on that stuff.
Joe, are you doing the long stay at Brainerd again this year?
No, I am not.
Brian Zen Zen.
I am not doing the double divisional at Brainerd again this year.
Great ignition show.
Ignition was tremendous.
We fought it out on several topics.
Ignition was everybody showed up spicy.
I don't know what happened, but we all had a smile on our face
and we attacked each other with with kindness.
Fast Eddie WFO.
Wow.
Nick Spiegel and James Stevens won this weekend at the SRCA Divisional Race
where we last left off with those guys the earlier this year and the live in Pomona.
James Stevens had an at a nasty one.
That makes me very happy.
I'm going to follow up on that.
I'm excited for this Friday at Sonoma me too.
Speaking of shirts, received a couple in the mail a couple of weeks ago,
second day air from you folks.
If it's someone else's order, I'll gladly return so it gets to the right direction.
If you're a Patreon Larry, no man.
We're sending out stuff to our Patreons for no reason.
Just to tell our Patreon VIP listener club that we are thankful and appreciate you for
being part of the Secret Society and, you know, more and more.
I don't typically have the manpower to do, you know, 20 or 30 packages each day.
But right now we did.
And so many of our VIP listener club members, Patreon.com slash WFO radio,
in addition to the RL Shirt Club t-shirt, which was won by Bob H in Ohio.
In addition to the 1000 round win club collectible, which will be given away
randomly later on this month.
People are getting stuff, stickers and t-shirts and hats and all kinds of things
that I've acquired over the years here in the WFO studio that would be way better
on your back, brand new in the package than with me.
So enjoy your shirts, Larry, assuming that's what you're talking about.
Well,
Mac, who is doing a great job, Mack listen, I appreciate your passion for drag racing.
Mac, I made a whole video of my thoughts on the IHRA situation.
The bottom line in my heart breaks for the team's employees and fans of IHRA.
Well, yes.
Yes, it breaks.
We've got a great race going on this weekend.
NHRA on Fox, NHRA TV can follow NHRA social media, can read National Dragster.
Hopefully I'm getting close to the end of these comments.
I don't want to shut anybody down.
Rumors of a TV package are looming, looming.
That sounds negative.
Guys, I am cautiously optimistic.
We're getting close to the U.S. Nationals.
Let's just kind of set the table here.
We've got this Western back to back, Sonoma, Seattle.
Let's have a lot of fun with it.
It's going to be great.
I'm excited about Sonoma.
I'm excited about Seattle.
Seattle is going to be wild.
I'm going to be going straight from Sonoma to Seattle.
I'm going to do a lot of fun things in between.
Then come back.
I think we're back home for at least two weeks, maybe three weeks before Brainerd, Minnesota.
What I always call the last race that before things get extremely serious,
then suddenly you've got the U.S. Nationals, the Cornwall Quality Tools U.S. Nationals,
the biggest, most significant drag race on the planet.
I would imagine that is where we'll be finding out a lot of information.
I know Daryl Gwyn has got a big announcement he's going to be pushing out there,
something cool for fans of Daryl Gwyn that you all need to know about.
If you're a fan of Daryl Gwyn, you're going to want to put aside a couple of bucks,
go through the couches, because something very cool.
It's going to be announced at the U.S. Nationals.
But I hope we find out there what is the result, whatever it is.
And I am also totally content to find out then.
Joe, could you explain why some of us received surprise packages this week from you?
Thanks, as Steven Frisky.
I think I just did.
But for those that don't know, we do have a VIP membership, patreon.com,
slash WFO radio.
You can find it on our website.
Maybe I'll drop you a link.
But it's really for people who genuinely love this show and understand that I am the
most micro of entrepreneur.
You know, there's MRN radio, Motor Racing Network.
It's owned by NASCAR.
There's Speedway Motorsports.
They own PRN, right?
There's all these giant, massive corporations that put out entertainment.
You think about iHeart radio and you think about IndyCar.
WFO is owned by me, started by me a decade over a decade ago.
I'm the ultimate mom and pop store.
I decided to do this to avoid being fired in the future.
After working at XM satellite radio and doing what everyone suggested was the most amazing job
to be totally turned upside down in my life, fired because of a merger
and realizing like this is going to happen again and again in my life.
I decided to start WFO radio and we are the mom and pop store.
We are the small business.
And so we have a VIP membership.
They get Monday Motivation.
They get to talk Pro Stock with Michael Heiner.
But really it's people who want to just help cover the costs of this exercise that is WFO radio.
And I looked one day and I thought to myself,
like, man, these people have been with us for a long time.
It's really amazing.
It's like 100 people, like 100 people.
Now, is that a small number or is it a big number?
It depends on where you're coming from.
To me, that's a big number, man, to motivate 100 people to do anything,
let alone sign up for a membership where they get really nothing.
What do you get?
You get nothing.
Get to pat yourself on the back that you're helping out me with my work.
You don't have to do that.
No one has to do that, but these people do.
And so every once in a while when there's some time,
there's opportunity and I have a little help.
We went through the prize closet and we sent out a whole bunch of stuff.
And that's why you got it, Stephen.
That's why you got it because you support this show.
And I really am genuinely trying to create a small but mighty group of positive minded people
who love cars, drag racing, NHRA drag racing, the grassroots level,
and can exchange positive energy.
That's it.
That's my motive and also pay for my lifestyle while doing it.
Got to be honest.
I agree with you.
Am I bringing my nephew to Indy?
No, I am not.
He is going to Seattle, though.
And he and his parents are going to Seattle, so it's going to be great.
Did you hear that Kyle Bush passed?
Yes, I did.
I'll be in Seattle on Sunday.
I think what Mario and the top sportsmen group have done with their social media
has been fantastic, says Ford Perley.
MKD Pit Reporter, man.
I still don't understand what's going on over there, but I love it.
I'm addicted to it.
When the MKD Pit Reporter comes on my phone and I've subscribed and I am just loving it.
Now, I don't really understand the issue.
And we had Sadie Glenn on the show last week in interview.
I highly recommend you all go watch.
But it's fun.
I got to faster here.
I plan on being on the BMX circuit.
Cliff Swanson, Hayes Joe, well played.
Man, guys.
There it is.
We're at the end.
Your hero card was the best, especially your likes and dislikes.
Man, I don't even remember what's on there.
Oh, this guy's a Patreon.
Thank you for the surprise any time.
Good to see you and your mom.
Thanks for posting, says Scott, and we'll end it there.
I did get to take my mother out to lunch for the very first time.
My mother, who many of you know,
like we have first time listeners every time we do a show.
If you hung around this time, we got a nice audience, you know,
nearly 400 people live and then countless others watch afterwards.
And the podcast, Apple podcast, Spotify, SoundCloud,
you can listen to the audio only, take it on the road.
You don't have to see this.
But the bottom line is we got a good audience out there.
Many know that my mom got sick in February.
That's why I did not go racing and it was
two straight months in the hospital.
Saturday, we went to lunch in a restaurant in public
for the very first time.
It was an amazing, wild and emotional experience.
To sit across a booth from my mom,
watch her figure out what she wants to order,
and feel this, the sensation that things might be getting back to normal.
It was wild.
It was wild.
And it's just like that.
Thanks to Brian Lowens, appreciate you,
heading out west, very exciting.
And all I can say is this, you know, on that one,
the negative side of the storyline,
I am proud of the work that I do,
and I'm proud of the people that I work with.
But I know there are a lot of people
that feel the same way about the work they did over there.
And I admire that.
And I honor that.
And anybody who went to work in the sport of drag racing
and tried to grow the sport of drag racing
and tried to make some racers happy,
I salute that as well.
And I hope for the best for the sport and for all the people in it.
Again, Fogget, Marvin Rodak, RodaxCoffeeandGrills.com,
Marvin, 817-924-6821, Frank Holley's Drag Racing School,
everyone who supports this show, thank you.
Life's a drag tomorrow, 12 noon.
What will they talk about?
Who knows? WFO.
About this episode
Sonoma Raceway sets the tone for the NHRA Western Swing opener, with Friday night conditions expected to mirror last year’s big-speed runs—hosts talk 343 mph milestones and hope to see 345 again, while also setting realistic ceilings. The show then shifts to Top Fuel and Pro Stock storylines, including Maddie Gordon’s breakout and Norwalk’s turning-point moments. Late-season points, clutch-disc inventory, and playoff threats get debated, alongside broader concerns about venue stability and drag racing’s future.
Original notes
#NHRA #DragRacing #NHRAschedule
NHRA on Fox's Brian Lohnes joins Joe Castello on WFO Radio before the NHRA Western Swing. The DENSO Sonoma Nationals and Muckleshoot Casino Resort Northwest Nationals are back to back as the NHRA travels up the West Coast. Brian and Joe will recap the season to this point, preview the blockbuster Sonoma event, and relive Brittany Force's unforgettable 343 MPH record run under the lights in last year's Friday night qualifying session. It's all on the table as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series has just three races remaining before the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals.
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WFO Radio Podcast
Joseph Castello
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