NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Casey Plaizier only led the points standings in Right Trailers Top Dragster for one day in 2025, but it was the day that matters most, the final day of the season.

And oh, what a final day it was.

The weather that eventually forced the cancellation of the Professional classes at the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals also forced the Sportsman classes into a single-day race with several titles to be decided, including Top Dragster.

Trailing title contenders Darian Boesch and Jessica Eastburn, Plaizier was in the running but was hardly the favorite. Plaizier’s initial plan was to drive a car owned by his friend and partner, Aaron Steinkey, because it was quick enough to qualify, but once the field dropped to fewer than 32 cars, he elected to race his own car, which runs 7.30s.

Shortly after eliminations began, Plaizier’s mission became clear: win the race and win the championship, which is exactly what happened.

“When we were in Las Vegas a couple of weeks before Pomona, I figured I might have a 10% chance of winning this deal,” said Plaizier. “We got to Pomona, and I entered my car, and I figured the percentage went up, but not by a lot. I hadn’t driven my own car since August, but on the first [qualifying] hit, I was .007, and it ran 7.309 when we thought it would go 7.30. At that point, the percentages probably went up a little more.”

Plaizier was understandably a bit more nervous than usual heading into eliminations, but he managed to work his way into the late rounds with wins over reigning champ Cody Webber, Tom Bayer, and Val Torres Jr. The highlight was his perfect .000 light in round one.

“It was tough in every round. Tom Bayer beat me in Las Vegas, and he had a .00 light but couldn’t get there,” said Plaizier. “I wasn’t necessarily counting points, but we knew that no matter what, we had to go to the final, and when Jessica [Eastburn] won the first round, it meant we had to win the race.”

The ladder worked in Plaizier’s favor as he got a bye run in the semifinals, and his final-round opponent was scheduled to be teammate Steinkey, who elected not to race.

“The final was a cool team moment for us. The goal all year was to win a championship, and that’s the way the story played out,” said Plaizier. “I knew we’d probably catch some grief over it, but Aaron made the decision not to run his car. I’d never ask anyone to do anything, but when we got back to the pits, he said, ‘The car is broken. I’m not running.’

“This was part of a plan we had for most of the year. Aaron has a stable of fast cars, and he didn’t just offer to let me drive one of them, he made sure I had the best of everything. If the car needed something, we bought it, and during the year, we changed everything under the sun. And if I had been .001-second quicker in qualifying, I’d have run Aaron in the first round, not the final. That’s just the way things worked out,” he said.

Plaizier enjoyed a great year with three wins, including the first two divisional events he attended, but he was not what one might consider a serious title contender until the final weeks of the season. His run to the title got a big boost in August when he recorded a semifinal and a quarterfinal win at the Division 6 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series doubleheader at Pacific Raceways in Seattle.

“Seattle was a key race. I didn’t do anything spectacular, but after those races, I had a massive divisional score,” said Plaizier. “Aaron and I talked, and we knew we had a shot, but if I sucked, none of this would matter. We also knew we needed a faster car, and he made it happen.”

Plaizier didn’t necessarily face a lot of adversity in 2025, but the one obstacle nearly impossible to overcome is geography. A resident of Spruce Grove, Alta., Plaizier is 12 hours from his nearest divisional event and 17 hours from his closest national. To help minimize travel, he often leaves his rig in the U.S. and flies to most events.

“It is hard to chase points when you live just outside of Edmonton [Alta.],” he said. “A championship was never on our bucket list just because it’s so difficult. I fly to most races, so that’s 10-12 flights a year, plus a lot of highway miles. You also need to have the car stay together, get time off work, and not have the motor home break down.

“Then, at the Dallas national event, I [needed] to do something, and I let go on nothing and was -300 red. I just did a horrible job, and that was a massive hit to my ego. I wondered if the pressure was getting to me. You can’t have that and expect to win a championship,” Plaizier said.

Once he returned home from Pomona and the NHRA champion’s banquet in Temecula, Calif., Plaizier began to grasp the reality of his championship season.

“The whole deal has been amazing,” he said. “After the banquet, I had about 300 missed calls and text messages, and nothing beats putting a No. 1 on the car. Just the whole deal has been so cool.”

Following the most rewarding season of his career, Plaizier had a lot of people to thank.

“I’ve got to start with Aaron Steinkey, for loaning me a car, chasing this as a team, and being a true teammate; Kevin Dalgleish, our crew guy and head chef; and Cooper Chun, who dialed me all year.

“Also my dad, Eddy; his wife, Doreen; my wife, Celeste; and son, Kees. We travel and do this as a family, and I love having them with me.”

Plaizier also thanked Dan and Tammy Provost and Zak Clarke from RAD Torque Systems, Vince, Jamie, and Kevin from CMP Products, Harold from ACE Manufacturing, Bruce from Impact Powder Coating, Casey and Amie from DC Signs, Faron, Robert, and Marty from Hoosier Tire, Dave Richardson, and the Thompson family.