NHRA Insider Podcast

NHRA Editorial Director Phil Burgess and NHRAonFOX Analyst Tony Pedregon join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The conversation ranges over the course of the episode but the crux of it is looking into those racers who are performing up to expectations, some who are exceeding, and a few others who are not making the cut at this early part of the season.  There's also a...

Matt Hagan and Shane Westerfield join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The two men are both playing a hot hand with respect to their competition in the nitro funny car and top alcohol funny car ranks respectively. Hagan is coming off of a victory in Gainesville after making the final round in Phoenix as well. Westerfield, the 2017 Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion...

Funny car racer Blake Alexander as well as crew chiefs Jamie Miller and Dickie Venables join host Brian Lohnes on this post-Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast. Off the top of the show, Lohnes recounts the race, his experiences during it, and the near-mythical quality it took on as what was a seemingly lost weekend turned into one of the quickest pound-for-pound two...

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast, 2017 NHRA Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force joins host Brian Lohnes to talk about the often hidden hard work of racing at a championship level in the class. Lohnes leads off the show with a Gatornationals preview monologue running through the latest news in the sport leading up to the race, looking at the pro stock motorcycle category, and talking...

NHRAonFOX analyst Tony Pedregon and NHRAonFOX pit producer Todd Veney join host Brian Lohnes for this episode of the NHRA Insider. This wide-ranging show surveys the scene after the second race of the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season. The action has been amazing across each of the professional categories and Phoenix was no exception.  Lohnes and guests talk about early-season surprises,...

Justin Ashley and Bo Butner join Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast.    Ashley talks about his highly impressive start at the Lucas Oil Winternationals where he took home a national event victory over Austin Prock in the final round. The race may be a harbinger of things to come in top fuel where the competition is off the charts and will only get more difficult as the season...

National Dragster's Phil Burgess and NHRA on Fox analyst Tony Pedregon join host Brian Lohnes on this final episode of the off-season before the 2022 NHRA Winternationals. The triumvirate talk about the major stories of the winter, one of which is how many major stories there have been this winter! From the wild performance of John Force at the pre-season test to the emergence of new team owners,...

Tony Schumacher and Austin Prock join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The two returning top fuel standouts have a lot to say about the 2022 season to be, the way that their teams will attack pre-season testing in Phoenix, and what it means to be back as sponsored drivers who know they have a full season in front of them.    The winningest driver in top fuel history i...

It's a funny car extravaganza on this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast. Championship driver JR Todd and championship crew chief Dean Antonelli join host Brian Lohnes and talk about all the things going on to prepare for the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season. There's also a rather in-depth look into the 2022 top fuel season to get the show started.  JR talks about the early GR Supra tes...

Multi-time Top Fuel winner Josh Hart and NHRAonFOX analyst Tony Pedregon join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast.  For Josh Hart, 2022 represents his sophomore year as a driver/owner in the top fuel category of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. He comes in as a confirmed race winner, fully sponsored, and prepared to run every race of this upcoming year with his...

Multi-time pro mod winner Lyle Barnett and drag racing suspension guru Mark Menscer join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The guys talk about their careers in the sport, how they have achieved their success, and what the future holds for premier door slammer straight-line competition.  Lyle Barnett was one of the breakout stories of the 2021 NHRA pro mod season. Barne...

Nitro crew chiefs Aaron Brooks and Jason Bunker join Brian Lohnes on this week's episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The two men have wildly different histories in NHRA drag racing with Brooks being the more experienced of the two.  Aaron Brooks began his career in drag racing in 1997 and worked his way to the lofty position of crew chief over his time working for some of the best minds in the sp...

Guests Bob Tasca III and Camrie Caruso join host Brian Lohnes on this first episode of the NHRA Insider podcast for the 2022 season.  Tasca is coming off a career season in 2021 with multiple victories, including the season-ending NHRA Finals in Pomona. He talks about his team, keeping his program working with the right people, the oncoming rise of electric cars on the drag strip and in the market...

Guests Tony Pedregon and Wes Buck join Brian Lohnes on this final episode of the NHRA Insider podcast for 2021. The conversations range from a look back over the NHRA's insanely successful PRI show to the season that was, what to look for in 2022, the changing landscape of professional drag racing, and the plethora of breaking news that has swarmed over drag racing in the last few weeks and promis...

NHRA National Tech Director Lonnie Grim and NHRA Medical Director Dr. Phil Surface join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider that is TRULY insider! Grim talks about how the tech department works on race weekend and the process in developing a new class like Factory X, the freshly announced category that has captured the imagination and attention of drag racers across the country....

NHRA Rookie of the year Dallas Glenn, and a pair of Pomona top fuel semi-final finishers, Tripp Tatum and Cameron Ferre join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider. All three racers have had late-season success stories to tell. Glenn, a rookie sensation in pro stock achieved three wins and made five final rounds this season on the way to an awesome first season in the class.    Trip...

NHRA Editorial Director Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Sr. Editor Kevin McKenna, and NHRAonFox analyst Tony Pedregon all join host Brian Lohnes on this throwdown Auto Club Finals episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The most informed insiders in the sport dish on what they know, what they think, and what they have heard is coming in the high tension world of pro drag racing. From finals winn...

Tony Pedregon joins host Brian Lohnes for this episode of the NHRA Insider. The two talk about the upcoming Dodge SRT Las Vegas Nationals presented by Pennzoil and break down the racers who really need to win this event to keep their title hopes alive. The conversation is honest, interesting, and enlightening as all four championships look poised to come right down to the wire. Interestingly, as t...

Matt Smith and JR Todd join Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast to talk about their respective weekends in Bristol, Tennessee at the Thunder Valley Nationals and to chat about the last two races of the season. Both men are in a strong championship position with Smith leading the Pro Stock Motorcycle category into Las Vegas and Todd launching himself into third place on the str...

Greg Anderson and Ron Capps join NHRA Insider Podcast host Brian Lohnes to talk about their success at Texas, their championship hopes, and in the case of Capps an interesting upcoming weekend at Bristol Dragway.    Greg Anderson made history at Dallas last weekend, winning his 98th career pro stock racing and supplanting Warren Johnson as the all-time leader in class history. It has been an amazi...

This week pro stock racer Dallas Glenn and pro stock motorcycle racer Angelle Sampey join host Brian Lohnes on the NHRA Insider podcast. The two competitors are in the midst of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship and they each have a fighting chance of getting the job done.    In the case of Dallas Glenn, the rookie has been nothing short of sensational in his first season behind the wheel of t...

Tony Pedregon and Josh Hart join Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider. Lohnes and Pedregon go over who has risen and who has fallen over the last four races, who can get their program righted, and who is in big trouble as the countdown continues. They talk some silly season stuff and layout what needs to be done for certain teams to lock down a title or at least get back in the fight. ...

Alexis DeJoria and Clay Millican join Brian Lohnes on the NHRA Insider podcast this week to talk about their strong seasons and what it will take to move from being good cars to great cars. Both teams and drivers have made finals in 2021 but neither has closed the deal on the 4th win light of a Sunday afternoon. Alexis and Clay share great insights into their teams and how the pieces all come toge...

Steve Johnson and Edmund Richardson join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast. Johnson after a stunning triumph at the Countdown Opening event at Maple Grove Raceway and Richardson after a larger-than-life reentry into NHRA sportsman racing with victories in consecutive weeks at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the Dodge SRT US Nationa...

Erica Enders and Cruz Pedregon join host Brian Lohnes on this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast. The conversations are wide-ranging and cover not only the success of both drivers on the track but also the pressures and hidden work that's done away from the track to win on Sunday. Cruz Pedregon is entering the 2021 NHRA Countdown to the Championship with the best car and team he has had in years....