NHRA Insider Podcast

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster Kevin McKenna and Tony Pedregon join the show to talk about the lessons learned over the first two races and how the game will totally change in Pomona. With temperatures expected to be more than 40 degrees cooler than Phoenix, this will be the fastest, highest performing race of the early 2026 season so far. In this episode of NHRA Insiders, the guys break down who is in the best position to take advantage of the horsepower that will be available. The panel talks about the early season surprises for some teams and those that need to really establish themselves at the Lucas Oil Winternationals. Everyone has been chomping at the bit for this race, and by the time you are done listening to this show, you'll have your own predictions to make regarding who's favored to win and just how quick everyone will have to go. Hot takes and great insight from the crew abound.

On this jam packed episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, three big guests join host Brian Lohnes to talk all things NHRA. First up is Richard Freeman. Richard talks all about the new Elite Top Fuel Team, their early success, the evolution of the program, and how it will grow in the future. He also talks about major transformative changes to Pro Stock in 2027 with a new look, new rules, and more. Chase Van Sant is the second guest. Chase talks about his outlook for 2026, the work his team has done to get faster, the increase in participation by Trick Tools, and how it is all coming together to make a more competitive campaign this year. Finally, National Dragster Editorial Director Phil Burgess joins to talk about the early stories of 2026, the 75th NHRA season, 55 years of rear engine Top Fuel winners, the major stories for the Lucas OIl Winternationals, and a whole lot more. This is a banger of a show!

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, winning Funny Car Crew Chief Dean "Guido" Antonelli and runner-up Top Fuel Crew Chief Neal Strausbaugh talk about navigating the heat of Phoenix and collecting win lights along the way. The show opens with an in-depth race monologue by host Brian Lohnes. Antonelli's path to the winner's circle was tumultuous, having a solid running car explode during a second-round victory which kicked off an amazing thrash to get it prepared for the semi-finals. Their recovery, performance, and precision in that round propelled them to a final round success for the ages. Get the inside story of this incredible win from the man who led the effort. Neal Strausbaugh weaved his Top Fuel tune up to a near victory at the Arizona Nationals. Get his perspective on the event, the track, the challenges, and how the TSR and Elite Top Fuel teams are working with and learning from each other in 2026. The inside stories of the hottest race in years on this episode of The NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster.

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Matt Hartford joins the show to talk about his hard-fought Pro Stock victory in Gainesville, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join to recap the Gatornationals, and a whole lot more. Pedregon and McKenna open the show with a freewheeling discussion about all the big stories that came out of the Gators both on and off the track. The dramatic wins, the dramatic DNQs, the energized crowd, and what it all seems to mean for the season to come. The guys talk about how teams will deal with the challenging conditions of a red-hot Phoenix weekend on the horizon and many other topics. A truly rollicking chat. Matt Hartford's win at the Gators was a long time coming. After making four final rounds in the 2025 season and winning none of them, he won the first final he appeared in to start 2026. Matt talks about the team's approach, their strategy, and how sometimes letting it all hang out is the best way to do business in Pro Stock. Hartford is candid, interesting, and provides valuable insight into his home track of Firebird Motorsports Park where the action will take place for race two of 2026. An episode you'll want to hear every moment of this week!

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Joe Serena and Rob Flynn join host Brian Lohnes to talk about their experiences at the Amalie Oil Gatornationals. Serena and Dean Marinis tuned Chad Green to a second straight win in Gainesville and Rob Flynn oversaw the semi-final finish of Maddi Gordon much to the delight of the crowd. The conversation with Serena is enlightening and interesting, a window into what goes into the building, training, and drilling of a new team to start a new season. He talks about the decisions and execution that carried the team to victory, his own growth in drag racing, and more. A fascinating chat. Rob Flynn is the crew chief for the Carlyle Tools Top Fuel Dragster with additional support from Monster Energy. Flynn talks about how Gordon has come a long way in a short time in a Top Fuel car, how he has approached this season with a new driver and how that approach changed with her skillset, and his front row seat to Maddi Mania which exploded onto the scene in Gainesville. To start the show Lohnes has a monologue about the event and how significant and wildly positive things happened during the weekend which will reverberate for a long time to come.

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Kevin McKenna of National Dragster and Tony Pedregon of the NHRAonFOX join host Brian Lohnes to talk all things Gatornationals and beyond in 2026. This conversation covers a wide array of subjects, people, rumors, speculation, and more leading into the first race of the 2026 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series schedule. The personnel, driver, equipment, and sponsor changes we'll see are gone over, broken down, and evaluated. The variables that no one can predict are approached, and beyond that, the guys all lend their considerable insights into what will be a Gatornationals unlike any we have seen in many, many years. Race one of 2026 promises to be a contest for the ages, attended by legends that span the history of the NHRA. Let this episode get you fired up for it!

On this high-speed episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster, Shawn Langdon talks about his historic week of testing at Gainesville Raceway and Jordan Vandergriff talks about a breakout rookie week earning his stripes as a Funny Car driver. For Langdon, Gainesville was not a test session but a continuation of a global drag racing journey he'd been on since November. Langdon ran 3.621, which is the unofficial quickest of all time, and then the next day went 345.62, the unofficial fastest of all time. He breaks down these runs, his globe-trotting odyssey, and more in this insightful interview. Vandergriff has massive shoes to fill at John Force Racing. He knows it, the world knows it. He had an amazing week, gaining a Funny Car license, running 3.80s, and putting the world on notice that he can do the job. Vandergriff tells all about his new status as a Funny Car driver, his new crew chiefs, and his new crew in this chat. This and some more testing and cool news on the show!

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast Powered by Speedmaster, NHRA Pro Mod legend Von Smith and the March Meet's Blake Bowser join host Brian Lohnes to tell stories, recount history, and explore all that's coming at the 2026 March Meet at historic Famoso Drag Strip in Bakersfield. 2010 NHRA Pro Mod champion Von Smith is the first guest on the show and he talks about his incredible career, transitioning from Funny Car to Pro Mod, winning championships, being among the first to race internationally more than a decade ago, and the kind of inside racer stories we love. Learn about the health battles he overcame, his memorable 2010 season title, and how the world of five second 250mph door slammer racing has evolved and how he himself helped evolve it. Blake Bowser is the second guest on the show. A man with multiple generations of history at Famoso Drag Strip, he now oversees the operation of the famed Good Vibrations March Meet and the California Hot Rod Reunion. Get the inside scoop on what's happening in 2026, the incredible history of the event, and why it continues to be one of the great drag races on the planet from the guy who knows it best. All that and more including news and rumors, right here!

On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Josh Hart and Mike Knudsen join host Brian Lohnes to talk about the off-season, preparing for 2026, what they are looking forward to, and how this next season will show off the evolution of their respective careers. Josh Hart goes into depth about his experience so far at John Force Racing, his new sponsorship with Speedmaster, and how the team is working to craft the most precisely tailored Top Fuel dragster he has ever piloted. He talks about the shift in pressure from being an owner/driver to a dedicated driver, what David Grubnic and John Collins are doing and how fired up he is for Gainesville. Mike Knudsen heads into the 2026 season with something virtually no other Funny Car Crew Chief has, the same team. The growth they showed in 2025 along with the stability they bring into 2026 means that the car which finished second last season is expected to challenge for a title once again. Mike talks approach, new tracks, how the tuners will navigate them and what he learned from last year. Some awesome deep insight from these two guys who will star prominently in the 2026 nitro fueled war that will be NHRA competition.

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster Maddi Gordon joins host Brian Lohnes to talk about the final preparations for her Top Fuel debut in 2026, moving into the role of being a professional full-time driver, her goals for this career evolution, and a whole lot more. Add into that the huge Prock family news, massive facility upgrades being made across the sport, especially at Bristol Dragway, and a whole lot more and you have a quick and quick moving episode of the Insider. Maddi's move to the Top Fuel world has been very public in its announcements and gradual forward moving steps but now the time has come to truly prepare for the season. Lean about outlook, process, and all the behind the scenes work happening in the Ron Capps Motorsports race shop. It's a great conversation with Top Fuel's newest driver.

On this super-sized, three-guest episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast Powered by Speedmaster, National Dragster's Kevin McKenna, Bluebird Turf Top Fuel driver Will Smith, and Funny Car stalwart Buddy Hull join the show to talk 2026 in all forms and fashions. McKenna and host Brian Lohnes dive into a range of 2026 season topics, break down some of the recent news, speculate on some of the happenings still in the wings, and explore the radical door slammer fun to come in both Congruity HR Pro Mod and the new Right Trailers Outlaw Street series presented by Xpel. A great chat with lots of insight. Smith is living a dream. Recently named the driver of the new addition to the Scag Power Equipment factory team, he will be competing full time in Top Fuel. Smith shares his story, his outlook, and his awesome persona here. A real-deal drag racer speaks from the heart. Hull made big news a few weeks back, announcing that he would be fielding his own Funny Car operation in 2026. Get the inside scoop on who is tuning, what lessons he learned over a hard 2025 season, and what the strategy is for 2026. One of the biggest personalities in the class goes into success, failure, and the effort of doing it his own way in the coming year.

On this 2026 kick off episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Phil Burgess, Editorial Director for the NHRA and NHRAonFox's Tony Pedregon come on to talk about the off-season craziness, rumors, a new mystery dragster on the way to Top Fuel, 75th Anniversary content and celebrations, and more with Brian Lohnes. In the first half of the show Pedregon and Lohnes dive into the wildness of the off-season, the personnel changes, who won, who lost, and who is in a better position than they were last year. They talk about the off season work, the importance of adapting to new tracks, and how some new crew chief pairings are perhaps a little strange but potentially great. International Drag Racing Hall of Fame member and NHRA Editorial Director Phil Burgess joins the show as the second guest. He and Lohnes visit some of the same off season content and then they dive into the incredible array of 75th Anniversary content Phil and his people have been working on and are releasing. This season is going to rock and this show will get you fired up for it!

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Jordan Vandergriff who was revealed to be the new driver of the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet for the 2026 season at John Force Racing. Vandergriff talks about gaining the shot, the challenges ahead, how he is preparing, and the natural rivalry he'll share with Austin Prock when the season dawns at Gainesville. The conversation is open, honest, and full of the kind of insights only a professional driver on the doorstep of living a dream can share. Lohnes talks PRI, the recent announcement of a new NHRA National event at US 131 Motorsports Park in Michigan, breaking news and more. This one's got something for everyone.

On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon joins Brian Lohnes to talk about the chaos of crew chiefs in the NHRA nitro ranks right now, fresh news about a Top Fuel team, landing places for the experienced leaders currently standing as free agents, and a whole lot more. Why did this happen, how did this happen, and how all these moves will reshape the nitro landscape in 2026. This is an interesting episode that takes you to ground zero where all the news is radiating out of and helps to perhaps sort some of the craziness out.

On this in-depth episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Richard Gadson and Dallas Glenn join host Brian Lohnes to talk about their first championships in the world of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing. The two hardcore racers take you deep into their championship seasons, talk about behind the scenes moments you've never heard them talk about, analyze their approaches, their successes, failures, and the moments that brought them the sport's ultimate glory. For Richard Gadson, it was a season of intense conversations, learning, and ultimately self-realization that he was not only capable of winning a title but deserving of it as well. Gadson takes us into an intense meeting with Terry Vance after a loss in Chicago that changed his mentality and ultimately set him on a path to the pages of drag racing history forever. His breakdown of the semi-final in Las Vegas against Gaige Herrera, his discussion of the team dynamic when Brayden Davis came on for the Countdown, and more are revelatory. Dallas Glenn had one of the most statistically amazing seasons in modern Pro Stock history and he breaks it down, sometimes to the thousandth of a second in this interview. The depth of desire and the will to win and keep winning are fascinating points of this conversation. You'll fully understand his championship mindset after listening. These conversations as well as deep insider breaking crew chief news will have you glued to this show from end to end!