Cooper Chun named March's Peak Performance Sportsman Racer of the Month
The first month (actually, month and a half, counting events in February) produced a large number of quality candidates for the first Peak Performance Sportsman Racer of the Month award in 2026, as selected by the staff of NHRA National Dragster magazine. Nearly a dozen drivers appeared in two or more final rounds, but in the end, one driver remains perfect on the young season, and that’s Top Dragster racer Cooper Chun. A former winner of the Spring Fling Million, one of the sport’s biggest E.T. bracket events, Chun got his long-awaited first national event win at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs. A week earlier, he also found the winner’s circle at the Snyder Sportsman Classic at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, a Pacific Division NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event.
Through 11 rounds this season, Chun remains perfect, but the real story here isn’t how many rounds he’s won, but rather how he’s won them. In the Phoenix final, Chun used a perfect .000 reaction time to stop Dylan Hough. That is not an anomaly but rather typical of his performance because his worst reaction time this season has been a .018. That’s right, 11 rounds of eliminations between .000 and .018. It’s far too early in the season for predictions, but that’s how championships are won.
Chun topped our Racer of the Month standings, but he wasn’t the only driver with two wins as Pro Stock and Comp veteran Rodger Brogdon put his new B/Street Roadster into the winner’s circle twice. Brogdon’s first title came at the Baby Gators Southeast Division NHRA Lucas Oil Series event, and he later won the Laris Motorsports Insurance NHRA Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., to give himself a solid start on the young season.
Honorable Mentions
There are a large number of drivers who are off to great starts so far this year, and that includes six-time world champion Justin Lamb, who has a win and a runner-up in Super Stock and a win in Stock.
Gatornationals Stock champ Jeff Adkinson returned to Gainesville Raceway to secure a runner-up at the Baby Gators, so he’s also got a pair of finals on his scorecard.
In Super Comp, John Labbous Jr. and Tanner Theobald have each been to two finals, with the end results being a win and a runner-up for both of them.
The same goes for Bruce Thaxton and Allen Firestone in Right Trailers Top Sportsman as they’ve both enjoyed early success with two final-round split decisions.