NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

This season, Darian Boesch came extremely close to joining the short list of drivers who have won two world championships in a single year. The late Scotty Richardson did it first in 1994, and Justin Lamb and Jeff Strickland have since followed suit. This season, Boesch was in the mix until season’s end as he won the Right Trailers Top Sportsman title for the second time in five years and finished third in Right Trailers Top Dragster.

Boesch entered the final weeks of the season as the leader in both Top Dragster and Top Sportsman, and for a while, it looked as though he was going to win both championships. The Top Dragster title slipped from his grasp on the final day of the season when Jessica Eastburn won the first round in Pomona, only to be later passed by Casey Plaizier.

Boesch still had to sweat the results in Top Sportsman, and when rivals David Cook and Dan Lafferty each went out early, the title was his. Just 27 points away from making history, Boesch isn’t complaining.

“Of course I wanted to win both of them, but as long as I got one, I was going to be happy,” said Boesch, who was also the Top Sportsman champ in 2020. “When I was racing Jr. Dragsters, the thought of winning a championship never crossed my mind. I mean, it was a bucket list thing, but you can’t count on it. We just raced until we got the first one five years [later], and that was like injecting a drug. It’s beyond cool to do it twice.

“At the end of the season, I think luck fell my way. I didn’t think a 568 score would win in either class. It usually doesn’t, and it shouldn’t. I didn’t think that score would hold up, but I’m not mad that it did.”

Boesch didn’t wait long to get on the scoreboard as he kicked off his 2025 by driving his Jerry Haas-built supercharged Camaro to a runner-up finish at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, an event that was postponed by rain and finished weeks later at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

Before finishing Gainesville eliminations, Boesch ventured to the Division 4 doubleheader at the Texas Motorplex, where he posted back-to-back quarterfinal finishes. He also claimed another runner-up at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol and a semifinal at the Division 3 event in Norwalk. By that time, Boesch began to think a second championship was possible, although he more realistically set his sights on a Top 10 finish in both classes.

“At times, I was a bit disappointed in my driving, and we had a few other things not go our way,” Boesch said. “I got to the semi’s of the [JEGS SPORTSnationals] and threw a rod out of the engine in what could have been a winnable race. Also, in the Gainesville final, I just lost track of what I was doing and got beat.”

Boesch didn’t just win a championship this season, he also claimed another crown jewel of the sport when he won the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Boesch, who had previously won the Indy divisional race a few weeks earlier, defeated fellow world champ Jimmy Lewis in a dynamic final round, turning on the win light by just .011-second. As if the magic of winning Indy doesn’t carry enough weight on its own, Boesch also racked up an additional 95 points that would prove crucial to his championship drive.

“Indy is special because, well, it’s Indy, but this one was different from the first one,” Boesch said. “My buddy, David Olinde, was with us, and his dad, who we called Soody, passed away, and I had his ashes in the car all weekend. That made it pretty emotional. We also got to keep the NHRA backdrop, and we’ve got that hanging up in our shop.”

Nearly out of events to claim, Boesch closed out his points-earning campaign with a semifinal finish at the Division 3 doubleheader at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis.

After that, Boesch had to play the waiting game. He considered making the long pull from his home in Louisiana to Las Vegas and Pomona for the final events of the season, but with no opportunities to earn points, he elected to stay home and let the chips fall where they may.

“They were racing in Pomona, and I was at home in Louisiana working,” said Boesch, who works in the family landscaping business. “I was in a hole, replacing an irrigation system, and my phone started going off. My hands were dirty with pipe glue, and when my mom called, she was crying. That’s when I knew it was over. I usually don’t watch these things because it does no good. If you win, someone will let you know.”

A second title safely tucked in the bank, Boesch plans to pursue both the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman titles again next season. Looking back, he thanked his supporters, especially his parents, Mario and Karen; his girlfriend, Rilan Percle; as well as Brodix, Jerry Haas Race Cars, Mark Micke of M&M Transmissions, Ronald Jackson Designs, and Bill Doucet of Race Engine Development.