NHRA Insider Podcast

On this post Summit Racing Equipment Nationals episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Carlyle Tools Top Fuel crew chief Rob Flynn joins the show along with Pro Stock winner Aaron Stanfield. The two share their awesome stories of victory on one of the most memorable NHRA Sundays in years.    Rob Flynn explains the team's first round drama, the tuning decisions he made during th...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by the insiders themselves, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna. The guys break down Bristol results, some of the overarching stories that have been a part of each category leading up to Norwalk and the teams that are trying to change their position over this last run of the regular season.   The conversati...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Top Fuel runner up Shawn Langdon and Funny Car runner up Dan Wilkerson. They both have amazing stories to share about their weekends in Thunder Valley.    For Langdon, it was escaping two harrowing rounds where mechanical issues reared their heads at the last second, and his team was able to remedy them both...

On this rollicking episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join the show to talk about the first two races of the NHRA three race Eastern Swing, how they have gone, the stories they have produced, and what's to come at the Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol.    The Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals will feature a new track surface,...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Thomas Prock and Angie Smith join host Brian Lohnes to talk about their winning weekends at the first ever NHRA Potomac Nationals at Maryland International Raceway.    For Thomas Prock, this victory was the validation of a decision he and his family made to leave John Force Racing and take over the on-track operations at Tasca Rac...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Kevin McKenna and Tony Pedregon join to talk about the upcoming NHRA Potomac Nationals presented by Jegs and privateer Funny Car racer Chris King joins to talk about his first 2026 race at his home track in Chicago.    The Potomac Nationals kick off a three-in-a- row rip for NHRA drag racers that will take them up the eastern seab...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Chicago winners Matt Smith and Chad Green join the show to talk about how they navigated the track, the wind, and the competition to victory.    For Matt Smith, it was a harrowing experience picking up a second consecutive win on the NHRA tour. The crosswinds tested his bravery and ability on the drag strip. He goes in-depth about...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join the show to talk all things SGMP and Gerber Collision and Glass Rt 66 Nationals presented by Peak, plus, two-time NHRA Heritage Series Top Fuel Champion Mendy Fry joins to talk about a new documentary she is the subject of; "Time Trials: A Drag Strip Requiem".    Pedregon and McKenna get into the meat...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Brian Husen the Crew Chief for the record setting and Southern Nationals winning Kalitta Air dragster and Chris Cunningham, the crew chief for the winning Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet Funny Car join host Brian Lohnes to break down their memorable wins on a wild and challenging Georgia weekend.    Great insights from these tune...

On this monologue style episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster host Brian Lohnes talks about the highs and lows of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax and previews the return of this weekend's Southern Nationals at South Georgia Motorsports Park.    Get up to speed on the inside stories from the four-wides, on top of the teams and individual racers that surprised the NHRA world b...

On this three-wide episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster dropped on Charlott Four-Wide Nationals week, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Tony Pedregon, Kevin McKennna, and Matt Hagan.    Pedregon and McKenna join first to look back on an epic Pomona race day and then look forward at the names and news makers that will be attacking this four wide format at Charlotte for the only t...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster Pomona winners Greg Anderson and Mike Green join host Brian Lohnes to talk about their weekends, their early seasons, and a whole lot more.    The Lucas Oil Winternationals were historic in its denotation of the 1,000th Funny Car race, challenging in its weather and track conditions, and ultimately epic in its ending. Both of these guys we...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster Kevin McKenna and Tony Pedregon join the show to talk about the lessons learned over the first two races and how the game will totally change in Pomona.   With temperatures expected to be more than 40 degrees cooler than Phoenix, this will be the fastest, highest performing race of the early 2026 season so far. In this episode of N...

On this jam packed episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, three big guests join host Brian Lohnes to talk all things NHRA.   First up is Richard Freeman. Richard talks all about the new Elite Top Fuel Team, their early success, the evolution of the program, and how it will grow in the future. He also talks about major transformative changes to Pro Stock in 2027 with a new look...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, winning Funny Car Crew Chief Dean "Guido" Antonelli and runner-up Top Fuel Crew Chief Neal Strausbaugh talk about navigating the heat of Phoenix and collecting win lights along the way. The show opens with an in-depth race monologue by host Brian Lohnes.   Antonelli's path to the winner's circle was tumultuous, having a solid runn...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Matt Hartford joins the show to talk about his hard-fought Pro Stock victory in Gainesville, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join to recap the Gatornationals, and a whole lot more.    Pedregon and McKenna open the show with a freewheeling discussion about all the big stories that came out of the Gators both on and off the track. The drama...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Joe Serena and Rob Flynn join host Brian Lohnes to talk about their experiences at the Amalie Oil Gatornationals. Serena and Dean Marinis tuned Chad Green to a second straight win in Gainesville and Rob Flynn oversaw the semi-final finish of Maddi Gordon much to the delight of the crowd.    The conversation with Serena is enlighte...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Kevin McKenna of National Dragster and Tony Pedregon of the NHRAonFOX join host Brian Lohnes to talk all things Gatornationals and beyond in 2026.    This conversation covers a wide array of subjects, people, rumors, speculation, and more leading into the first race of the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule.    Th...

On this high-speed episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster, Shawn Langdon talks about his historic week of testing at Gainesville Raceway and Jordan Vandergriff talks about a breakout rookie week earning his stripes as a Funny Car driver. For Langdon, Gainesville was not a test session but a continuation of a global drag racing journey he'd been on since November. Langdon ran 3....

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast Powered by Speedmaster, NHRA Pro Mod legend Von Smith and the March Meet's Blake Bowser join host Brian Lohnes to tell stories, recount history, and explore all that's coming at the 2026 March Meet at historic Famoso Drag Strip in Bakersfield. 2010 NHRA Pro Mod champion Von Smith is the first guest on the show and he talks about his incredible career, tr...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Josh Hart and Mike Knudsen join host Brian Lohnes to talk about the off-season, preparing for 2026, what they are looking forward to, and how this next season will show off the evolution of their respective careers.    Josh Hart goes into depth about his experience so far at John Force Racing, his new sponsorship with Speedmaster, and how...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster Maddi Gordon joins host Brian Lohnes to talk about the final preparations for her Top Fuel debut in 2026, moving into the role of being a professional full-time driver, her goals for this career evolution, and a whole lot more.    Add into that the huge Prock family news, massive facility upgrades being made across the sport, espec...

On this super-sized, three-guest episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast Powered by Speedmaster, National Dragster's Kevin McKenna, Bluebird Turf Top Fuel driver Will Smith, and Funny Car stalwart Buddy Hull join the show to talk 2026 in all forms and fashions.    McKenna and host Brian Lohnes dive into a range of 2026 season topics, break down some of the recent news, speculate on some of the happeni...

On this 2026 kick off episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Phil Burgess, Editorial Director for the NHRA and NHRAonFox's Tony Pedregon come on to talk about the off-season craziness, rumors, a new mystery dragster on the way to Top Fuel, 75 th  Anniversary content and celebrations, and more with Brian Lohnes.   In the first half of the show Pedregon and Lohnes dive into the wildness...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Jordan Vandergriff who was revealed to be the new driver of the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet for the 2026 season at John Force Racing.    Vandergriff talks about gaining the shot, the challenges ahead, how he is preparing, and the natural rivalry he'll share with Austin Prock when the season dawn...