NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

NHRA’s 75th Anniversary season kickoff at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals certainly has set the bar for excitement and drama right out of the gate. Here’s a look at five big takeaways from the race.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

So, who had a better debut, Jordan Vandergriff in Funny Car or Maddi Gordon in Top Fuel?  Statistically, it was pretty much a toss-up as they both reached the semifinals in their respective categories, and both drivers endeared themselves to the Gainesville fans. That’s especially true for Gordon, who radiates positive energy, particularly in her two interviews following her round-wins against Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher, two of the most accomplished racers in the category. Vandergriff also gained respect with a pair of wins against teammate Jack Beckman and John Smith.

There are a lot of similarities between Gordon and Vandergriff as they were both hired by high-profile teams this offseason despite very limited experience. While Gordon recently won races in the family Top Alcohol Funny Car and Vandergriff capably filled in for injured Shawn Reed last season, neither driver held a license for their respective categories until just a few weeks ago. Going forward, there are also unmistakable signs that Gordon and Vandergriff will become two of NHRA’s biggest stars and help push the sport forward for the next generation.
 

THE LEGENDS SHOW

The Gatornationals was the first event for the rollout of the new Legends tour that will come to every national event this year. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Don “the snake” Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, Kenny Bernstein, Joe Amato, Warren Johnson, Bruce Larson, and Hall of Fame announcer Bob Frey were the featured legends at the event who met with fans, signed autographs, met with the media, spent time in the announcers' booth, and took part in a special race. Not only did they make the circuit but all of them seemed to relish the acknowledgement of their great careers and enjoyed interacting and reminiscing with the fans.

Bernstein, Amato, Johnson, and Larson took to the track in 550-horsepower '26 Dodge Charger Sixpacks in a race where Funny Car hero Larson beat fellow Pennsylvanian and Top Fuel icon Amato in the final round.

NHRA also had a special ceremony on the starting line to present special diamond-shaped keepsakes to members of NHRA’s Top 75 Drivers club, as Garlits, Prudhomme, Muldowney, Bernstein, Amato, Johnson, Darrell Gwynn, and Frank Hawley were honored in front of Saturday's sellout crowd. More Top 75 Drivers presentations will take place throughout the year.

GATORNATIONALS SOLD OUT, AGAIN

Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the 57th edition of the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, following a longstanding tradition of its predecessors, attracted a sell-out crowd on Saturday, bolstered by extremely strong attendance on Friday and Sunday. Gainesville Raceway has a robust seating capacity and plenty of onsite parking, but it was bursting at the seams by midday Saturday, and why wouldn’t it be?

The Gainesville event not only marked the kickoff to NHRA’s 75th Anniversary season but also has the ability to attract fans from all over the globe. Every March, Gainesville becomes ground zero for drag racing action, and there are few other events anywhere in the known universe that compare.

And those fans that came to Gainesville this season; oh, they’ll be back. No one who watched the 57th edition of the Gatornationals won’t want to also be a part of the 58th next season.

PROCK DNQs; BECKMAN, ANDERSON ALMOST

The shocker of the race certainly had to be two-time and reigning Funny car world champ Austin Prock not making the field in his debut for Tasca Racing after a successful stint at John Force Racing, but former world champs Jack Beckman and Greg Anderson also both flirted with being on the sidelines on Sunday.

Prock’s peers have floated the idea that his crew chief, wunderkind Jimmy Prock, might struggle early with a whole new inventory of unfamiliar engine and clutch parts and a different chassis, and they were right as the PPG Mustang never made it past halftrack under power on four shots. It’s the first time that a reigning world champ DNQ’d at the next season’s opener since 1984 Funny Car world champ Mark Oswald failed to make the field at the 1985 NHRA Winternationals.

Beckman wasn't in the Funny Car show when he pulled the Peak Chevy to the line in Q4, but the team tip-toed down the track to get “Fast Jack” into the show.

Anderson also flirted with what would have been his first DNQ since late 2002, also outside of the Pro Stock show as he pulled into the beams for his last shot, but the six-time world champ and team pulled it together and then had a great Sunday.

MY FATHER’S SON

When six-time world champ Greg Anderson raced his son, Cody, in the second round of Pro Stock, it immediately became one of the most poignant moments of the Gainesville event. Greg ultimately defeated Cody, and the event will long be remembered as one of the highlights of his long and illustrious career. Surprisingly, the Andersons aren’t the first father-son duo to race in Pro Stock, or the second, or the third. In fact, there have now been 28 different father-son combinations that have raced in the Factory Hot Rod class since it became an NHRA eliminator in 1970.

Ironically, the Gainesville field included several such duos, including Greg and Aaron Stanfield, Chris and Mason McGaha, and Eric and Matt Latino. Furthermore, Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s father, Jeg Sr., previously raced in Pro Stock, and the same goes for Troy Coughlin Jr.’s father, Troy Sr. Add to that list Brandon Miller and his father, David.

For those who love trivia (and who doesn’t?), here’s the full list of father-son Pro Stock racers