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The Sports Report: This time, the spotlight shines on Conner Statler

Stanfield racing crewmember Conner Statler has appeared in many winner's circle celebrations, but in Las Vegas, he accomplished a rare feat when he won the first national event he attended as a driver.
22 Apr 2021
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
Conner Statler
As a valued member of the Stanfield Engines team, Conner Statler has been a part of many winner’s circle ceremonies. In 2020 alone, Statler helped his buddy Aaron Stanfield celebrate five straight wins in the Factory Stock Showdown class as…
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The Sports Report: Bradley Johnson’s furious fight to the finish

Bradley Johnson came up two points short in his bid to win the championship in Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers but his late-season charge was nothing short of amazing.
23 Nov 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
johnson
Bradley Johnson needed 17 round wins. He got 16. Johnson entered the late stages of the 2020 season as a leading contender for the Vortech Superchargers Top Dragster title. Short on time and nearly out of races to claim, Johnson needed nothing…
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Following St. Louis win, Christopher Dodd takes aim at Super Comp championship

It probably wasn’t fair to call it a “must win” race, but if Christopher Dodd is to become the 2020 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp champion, his recent win at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil could certainly be defined as “clutch”.
14 Oct 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
dodd
It probably wasn’t fair to call it a “must win” race, but if Christopher Dodd is to become the 2020 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Super Comp champion, his recent win at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil…
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High-stakes bracket racer Williams values the importance of Indy Super Comp title

Troy Williams Jr. has won a host of big money bracket raceing titles but few of his wins can compare to his latest triumph in Super Comp at the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals.
16 Sep 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
williams
With a win at the Million Dollar Drag Race, three titles at the Moroso 5-Day race, and a host of $10,000, $20,000, and even $50,000 wins, Troy Williams Jr. long ago secured his place among the greats in high stakes E.T. bracket racing. Williams has…
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The Sports Report: Once is nice, three times is better

Jason Coan scores his third win at Indy after a late-night final against Craig Bourgeois, and the rest of the sportsman action from the 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals.
09 Sep 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
coan
Craig Bourgeois was just one round away from a historic double-up in Comp Eliminator, but Jason Coan had other ideas. Bourgeois, well-known throughout the sport for his unique front-engine A/Nostalgia Dragster and 2016 world title, won the JEGS…
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The Sports Report: The Sky’s the limit

When his career as a Top Fuel crew member was interrupted by the pandemic, Skylar Blades and his friends went bracket racing and so far it has worked out quite well for them.
20 Aug 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
blades
Sometimes, when life deals you lemons, you make lemonade, or in the case of Skylar Blades, you simply restore your lemon-yellow Chevy Nova and return the track for a little bracket racing action. For the last six seasons, Blades has been a regular…
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The Sports Report: James Kunkel’s dynamic (and unconventional) double

James Kunkel won 15-straight rounds of eliminations in Super Comp to sweep last weekend’s Division 5 Lucas Oil Series double-header in Topeka. And, he did it in a slow door car.
28 Jul 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
kunkel
Door cars don’t win Super Comp races. Slow cars don’t win Super Comp races. No one wins back-to-back Super Comp races. These are all things you may have heard but shouldn’t believe especially after James Kunkel’s performance last week in Topeka…
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The Sports Report: Anthony Bertozzi makes history at JEGS SPORTSnationals in Columbus

Coming off a near-sweep of the JEGS Speedweek doubleheader in Columbus, Anthony Bertozzi is well on his way to a second NHRA world championship. Oh, and he also won a million dollars this month (sort of).
23 Jul 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
bertozzi
If not for a slight lapse in his final round battle against reigning Top Dragster world champ Danny Nelson during last weekend’s Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event at National Trail Raceway, Anthony Bertozzi might well have engineered a clean sweep…
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The Sports Report: Don’t get mad, get even

At the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Kyle Rizzoli was able to turn quickly the disappointment of last year’s lost championship in Super Stock into a convincing victory against Justin Lamb.
26 Feb 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
rizzoli
One could hardly blame Kyle Rizzoli if he had told you his off-season was miserable. After all, how many racers wouldn’t harbor some unpleasant feelings if they’d had a chance to win a world championship and came up just a few…
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The Sports Report: Don't pick on little brother

The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by Protect the Harvest.com opened a new decade for NHRA’s sportsman racers, but the winner’s circle featured a lot of familiar faces and an brother vs. brother final round.
12 Feb 2020
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
pomona1
There were eight different sportsman champions crowned during last week’s season-opening Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by Protect the Harvest.com and at least seven of them didn’t need directions to find the winner’s circle. With the lone…
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The Sports Report: The best final round of the year?

At the Dodge NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Ray Miller III defeated Evan Kowalski in what can only be described as the best final round of the 2019 season, regardless of class.
06 Nov 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
miller
Unless you’ve been there, and few have, it’s hard to imagine the plight of Las Vegas Super Gas runner-up Evan Kowalski. The winner of the 2017 Sonoma event, Kowalski is one of the West Coast’s most successful Super Class racers and when he…
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The Sports Report: Old, new, borrowed and blue

In just her fourth race with a new 50th anniversary COPO Camaro, Brina Frank earned her fifth national event victory at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis
02 Oct 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
brina
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” Almost everyone has heard of this old English rhyme that is supposed to bring good fortune and prosperity to newlyweds and for St. Louis Stock champ Brina Frank, it certainly…
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The Sports Report: The 2019 JEGS SPORTSnationals

At 63, Top Dragster racer Danny Nelson is enjoying one of the best seasons of his long career, and after his latest win at the JEGS SPORTSnationals he’s got a shot to win the Top Dragster national championship.
25 Sep 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
nelson
When he’s not busy racing or building race-ready dragsters in his RaceCraft Chassis shop in Batesville, Ark., Danny Nelson occasionally plays in high stakes poker tournaments so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about dealing with…
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The Sport Report: The waiting game

Joe Santangelo took advantage of his final chance to earn points by winning the Stock title in Reading; now he’s got to wait to see if he can hold on to the points lead in Stock and Super Stock.
18 Sep 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
RP1
Following last weekend’s Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Joe Sangangelo’s scorecards are complete in both Stock and Super Stock and they are both impressive. Santangelo already won a national championship in Stock in…
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The Sports Report: Austin Williams, the internet’s newest sensation

Two-time national champion Austin Williams used a perfect light to help win his first Indy title in a heads-up final round. Now, his friends have made him a social media celebrity.
04 Sep 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
williams
Meet Austin Williams, the internet’s newest sensation. Okay, so he’s not exactly a Kardashian, but in the wake of his late-night Stock Eliminator win at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, Williams has “gone viral” as they say, with a flood of…
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The Sports Report: Stinnett to win it

Four-time NHRA Super Comp champ Gary Stinnett joins an exclusive fraternity with his 25th national event victory, and his fifth at Brainerd Int'l Raceway.
21 Aug 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
stinnett
Whether its building engines, tuning carburetors, or driving his 185-mph Super Comp dragster, there aren’t many elements of drag racing that Gary Stinnett hasn’t been able to master. A former crewmember on Warren Johnson’s Pro Stock team,…
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The Sports Report: A semi-sweep

Division 7 Super Stock and Stock racer Kyle Rizzoli finished the Western Swing with two wins and a runner-up in Stock and Super Stock
08 Aug 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
rizzoli
Over the last three weeks, a number of Lucas Oil Series racers on the West Coast have competed in their own version of the Western Swing which includes the Division 7 Lucas Oil Series event at Sonoma Raceway, the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, and the…
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The Sports Report: Buy on Friday, win on Sunday

Just days after purchasing Aaron Kinard’s Super Gas operation, Bo Butner recorded his 27th career NHRA national event victory and wins in his sixth-different class.
01 Aug 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
bo
NHRA fans know Bo Butner as the 2017 Mello Yello Pro Stock champion, but during the week, he’s a used car salesman, and a pretty good one at that. That might help explain how Butner was able to purchase Aaron Kinard’s entire Super Gas operation…
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The Sports Report: Holy Moses

Ken Moses became the latest driver to double-up at an NHRA national event by winning Super Comp and Top Dragster at the New England Nationals.
10 Jul 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
moses
It may not be as impressive as the parting of the Red Sea, but what Ken Moses accomplished at the NHRA New England Nationals could just as easily be described as a miracle. Moses, a part of the Division 1 landscape for more than…
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The Sports Report: The Full Monty

After a near-double in Charlotte at the Four-Wide event, Monty Bogan’s success continued with a victory in Thunder Valley
19 Jun 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
bogan
To suggest that Monty Bogan’s 2019 season has been successful would be a serious understatement. A decade removed from his most recent national event victory at the Texas Motorplex in 2009, Bogan returned to the NHRA stage in a…
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The Sports Report: Friends helping friends

After Kyle Fickler celebrated the end of a long winless drought in Topeka, he generously reached out to help an old friend.
12 Jun 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
fickler
Kyle Fickler won his first national event title in Dallas in the Fall of 2003 and when he turned on the win light in the final of the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties, he couldn’t help but take a trip down memory lane. “…
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The Sports Report: The JEGS Allstars biggest stars

Against long odds, Jeff Lopez and Lester Johnson nearly doubled-up in the JEGS Allstars and NHRA Route 66 Nationals last weekend.
05 Jun 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
lopez
Given the level of competition that exists in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, it’s a small wonder that the folks from JEGS Mail Order ever have to make good on their longstanding policy to double the winnings of any driver who can win…
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The Sports Report: Back on the winning track

Absent from the winner's circle for nearly three years, Joe Santangelo came back in style with a near double at the Virginia NHRA Nationals
22 May 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
joeS
Most racers, even the ones who win a lot like Dan Fletcher and David Rampy, can’t help but wonder if their latest win might be their last. As much as all successful racers have an abundance of self-confidence, the realities of NHRA racing in the…
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The Sports Report: Craig Bourgeois, Comp’s Ragin' Cajun

With four wins in five finals, Louisiana's Craig Bourgeois might be headed for his second national championship in Comp Eliminator
08 May 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
bourgeois
In last week’s edition of The Sports Report, we detailed the fast start by Super Comp ace Ray Miller III and his prospects of winning the Lucas Oil Series national championship. Although the calendar only recently turned to May, the same buzz…
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The Sports Report: Winning the war

Even though he lost the Super Comp final to Jonathan Anderson, Ray Miller III took another step towards a national championship in Charlotte.
01 May 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
miller
In NASCAR teams, Ray Miller III had what one would call “a good points day” during last weekend’s NGK Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Miller lost in the Super Comp final against Division 2 rival Jonathan Anderson, but that did little…
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The Sports Report: Pitt’s Texas two-step

After a forgettable 2018 season, Jacob Pitt rallies with back-to-back victories in Dallas and Houston
17 Apr 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
pitt
To suggest that Jacob Pitt’s 2018 season was a disappointment would be a bit like saying the Titanic encountered a small problem during its maiden trans-Atlantic voyage in 1912. While Pitt didn’t hit an iceberg, he did encounter almost every…
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The Sports Report: Night moves

Under the lights on Saturday night, NHRA’s best sportsman racers chased Gainesville glory at the 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals.
20 Mar 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
shipp
It might not have been exactly what the event planners had in mind, but when sportsman eliminations for the 50th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals were moved to Saturday evening, it made for an electric atmosphere, especially for those who…
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The Sports Report: Rising from the ashes

A year after his team suffered a devastating trailer fire, Cody Lane returned to claim an emotional Stock win in Phoenix.
27 Feb 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
lane1
Regular readers of The Sports Report will no doubt remember a year ago when the Hancock & Lane team was nearly put out of business before their season had started. Heading from their home in Seattle to Pomona for the traditional season-…
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The Sports Report: Late, but worth the wait

Led by Scott McClay, Ryan McClanahan, and Kevin Wright, NHRA’s Lucas Oil Series stars shine in rain-delayed Pomona opener.
13 Feb 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
mcclanahan
A year after watching his father, Brian, claim the national championship in Stock, Ryan McClanahan joined the fun by winning his eighth-career national event title in Pomona. McClanahan drove his eight-second Cobalt to the win…
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Forrest's last gift

Longtime NHRA Super Stock racer Forrest Pierdolla passed away recently, and he was a hot rodder until the very end.
12 Dec 2018
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
The Sports Report
forrest1
On Tuesday, Nov. 27, longtime NHRA Super Stock racer Forrest Pierdolla lost his long battle with cancer. The NHRA class racing community is a close-knit group, especially in the South Central Division where the Texas-based Pierdolla was one of…
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