The Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast w/ Luke & Jed

Racing coverage from Coast to coast, Tucson to Gainesville. The guys recap some of the highlights from Tucson, Gainesville, Texas, and the Loose Rocker race in Virginia! It’s also that time of the year, March Madness, this year Luke and Jed attach races phrases that “whip us” Like basketball or not, this is an entertaining segment!

Luke, KB and Justin, get together to answer some of your questions. Covering a wide range of topics, from Setup questions, to strategy, these guys get down to the nuts and bolts of the sport. They also talk about the benefits and advantages of being a member of This is Bracket Racing Elite.

On this week's episode of the Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast, we catch up with reigning NHRA Stock Eliminator Champion, Brian McClanahan. Brian will walk us through his championship campaign, his epic heavyweight slugfest with Justin Lamb down the stretch, and his incredible family history (3 generations of NHRA World Champions).

Luke and Jed recap NHRA action from either side of the country, and also have some fun discussing a social media post suggesting Scotty Richardson vs Gary Williams at $5k a pass. They talk some about a new Division 6 program an extremely quick race sell out.

On this week's episode of the Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast, we catch up with reigning NHRA Super Comp Champion, Steve Williams. Steve is a longtime veteran of the sport, with incredible insight. Within the interview, he shares his incredible perspective on the Super Comp category, sportsman racing in general, and the industry that surrounds it.

This week we cover some ACTUAL racing! For the first time in a few months, there were a few races to catch up with, Luke and Jed discuss the NHRA Winternationals, The Division 2 race in Orlando, as well as some bracket racing from Belle Rose, LA. Getting to what you all really want however, Hot Rod Rodney Finchum joins us for a nice long interview full of great stories and hucklebuckin!

We are back to our coverage of 2018 Champions. Jed sits down to talk with NHRA Super Pro E.T champion Patrick Osmundson. Listen in as we get to know Patrick, his story, and the events that led to his Super Pro Championship

Taking a break from the 2018 Championship interview series, Luke and Jed take some time to catch up with some of the happenings over the winter. The guys talk about some big money races that are coming up in 2019 all over the country, as well as some of the other news from the racing world.

2018 NHRA Top Sportsman Champion Ronnie Proctor has won just about everything that one can win in a Top Sportsman car. A Ford guy through and through, Ronnie currently is running a Jerry Haas built Mustang in the 6 second zone at 200+ MPH. Ronnie gets the opportunity to tell his story on this weeks episode.

2018 IHRA Top Summit Super Series Champion Dale Scates, 25, East Texas resident travelled to Memphis to compete for his National Championship. Dale has been racing since he was 10 years old, starting in a Jr dragster at Pine Valley, and hasn’t taken a break since. Listen to his story, winning his championship in a borrowed car after finding a bad lifter in his own!

2018 NHRA Top Dragster Champion Paul Nero, a perennial top finisher in Top Dragster joins us in this installment of our championship coverage. Paul has multiple national event wins in multiple classes, has qualified for the NHRA All-Stars, and also competes in big money bracket races. Paul, an Oregon resident, finds himself behind the windshield putting in a lot of travel time to reach races all over the country with his closest national event over 4 hours from home and others being 17-21 hours from home or more!

2018 NHRA Sportsman Motorcycle champion John Markham is a 49-year-old from Bowling Green, KY, and has a storied history drag racing motorcycles. John has 10 National Championships in various motorcycle racing associations and over 30 national wins Listen as John details his championship season with Jed.

This week’s champion guest, Frank Aragona is a perennial top 10 Competition Eliminator National points finisher. He has stood at the top twice now, once in 2007 and of course this season. Nearly a dozen national event wins to his credit, Frank has seen a lot of success in Competition Eliminator, but has also dabbled in nearly all of the NHRA sportsman categories with success. Frank is a huge proponent for Competition Eliminator and you can hear the true passion in his words about the class!

Kyla is 14 yrs old Jr Dragster racer from Wisconsin Rapids, WI She’s a freshman At Lincoln High school in Wisconsin Rapids. WI where she’s a High Honor Roll student. She started racing when she was 10 & won her first race the following year. She won two races & was X number points Champion this year at Great Lakes Dragaway, which led her to be invited to Memphis for World Finals. There she was runner up in the gambler race & then won the World Finals. Outside of racing, Kyla enjoys dancing. Which she’s been doing since the age of 3. She’s in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, & modern. She’s also won 2 scholarships for her dancing.

Devin Isenhower is just 21 years old, our youngest 2018 NHRA Sportsman Champ. Devin competes not only in his championship winning Camaro bodied Roadster SG machine, but also an American Race Cars dragster in the 8.90 category. Not only did Devin win the 2018 Super Gas national title, he also finished 10th in Super Comp points. In addition to his world championship, Devin won the Division 3 Super Gas championship (for a second consecutive season) in 2018.

In this BONUS episode, Luke and Kevin Brannon discuss racing strategy, philosophy, and execution (at both ends of the track). Luke and KB are the lead instructors within ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE, an exclusive online membership community. Within the group, they hold regular live chats in which they discuss topics and field a variety of questions presented by group members. This bonus episode is essentially a public version of that; and a bit of a glimpse inside ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE.

2018 IHRA Modified Champion Toby Daniels, 44, from Barbourville Kentucky began his drag racing journey tagging along to the track with family. Going to the track with his father and brother got Toby hooked on drag racing, just like so many of us. After battling some nerves in the first few rounds, Toby tells Jed about his trip to the final, and the people that helped make it possible!

Justin Lamb recently won his 5th NHRA World Championship, which puts him in rare air within the sportsman drag racing community. His 2018 Super Stock crown, in addition to his 5th title total, was his 3rd in Super Stock and his third in the last two calendar years. In 2017, Justin became just the 3rd driver in NHRA history (joining Scotty Richardson and Jeff Strickland) to win two championships in the same season when he won the Super Stock and Stock titles. In 2018, he came painfully close to duplicating the feat. Justin won the Super Stock title for a second consecutive season.

In today’s episode, the guys sit down with Nelson Belot (Bee-Lot) to discuss how he not only won the long distance award at the NHRA Finals, but also took the Summit Pro National Championship back home to Massachusetts. Kenny Underwood is back at it, padding his phenomenal win total with a pair of scores down south; and the long awaited, highly anticipated return of Racer Confidential!

In this week's show, the guys discuss David Rampy's 100th NHRA National Event victory, the 2018 class of NHRA Summit Series champions, and that wild finish to the NHRA Super Comp title chase. Plus regular and semi-regular features: BTE Who's Hot, #RacingAnswers, and of course, shoutouts for days!

In this week’s episode, lead (only) Sportsman Drag Racing correspondent J.J. Pennington shares his Top 10 from October! In addition, Luke and Jed recap the drama in Las Vegas that culminated in 6 of the 7 NHRA sportsman world champions being crowned. They also previewed the upcoming Summit Series World Championships in Pomona and break down the action from the World Series of Bracket Racing in Georgia.

Luke and Jed discuss SFG’s stance on Excessive Braking, along with a seemingly bizarre ruling from NHRA. Plus, Million Dollar Race Promoter Randy Folk joined the show to clarify some of the details of this year’s Million and to provide his unique perspective on the decisions he was faced with at the event; both this season and in years past. Plus: BTE Who’s Hot, event results from across the country, nerdy NHRA championship breakdowns, and of course, shoutouts for days!

Kenny Underwood became just the second two-time Million Dollar Race Winner. Randell Reid nearly went Verdi on ‘em. Scotty Richardson came close to getting the one win that has eluded him. And none of that was the biggest story of the Million. You know what was. Luke & Jed talked about all that and more. Guests for this show include BOTH the Million Dollar Race winner Kenny Underwood, and runner-up: 17-year-old Cory Gulitti. One long episode to recap one crazy weekend in Montgomery. You gotta hear this.

On the eve of the 23rd annual Mickey Thompson Million, the guys welcome the only 2-time winner of the Million, Gary Williams to the show. GW rehashes his glorious triumphs from 2004 and 2007, how they changed his life, and some thoughts on the Million in general. Gary, Luke, and Jed all weigh in on predictions for the winner and the car count at this year’s Million. In addition, the guys break down the NHRA title chase following an exciting weekend in Charlotte, and recap a handful of big buck bracket events leading into the Million Dollar Race.

In this week’s show, the guys break down coast to coast action from a busy weekend. Highlights include David Rampy’s quest to reach 100 national event wins, a slew of young guns with huge performances, breakdown and insight on a few unsubstantiated rumors, and of course the monthly edition of JJ’s Top Ten!

In this episode, Luke & Jed discuss Jake Howard’s incredible run: all he does is win E.T. Finals (that’s 5 in 3 years, and 3 in 3 weeks for those keeping score at home). Luke took a deeper dive into the NHRA national points chase in Super Stock, Super Comp, and Top Sportsman to break down the championship contenders and their odds. The guys closed the show with a couple of listener e-mails that depict some unique and thought provoking situations (re-runs, points implications, gifted rounds, etc.). Plus the usual nonsense: BTE Who’s Hot, What’s On Tap, Shoutouts and more.

Luke & Jed sit down with the man of the hour, Rocky Pintavalle. In case you haven’t heard, Rocky had an incredible season… last weekend! Pintavalle drove his 3-speed equipped back-half Mopar to wins in both the $15,000 opener and the $50,000 main event at the Fall Fling. The guys recapped everything Fall Fling, including the big ($500,000) announcement for next year’s event. NHRA got slippery in St. Louis, so the guys did their best to rehash that drama and recap a busy weekend of sportsman action from across the country

Luke and Jed did their best to recap an incredible weekend of racing from across the country. Jake Howard and Mikie Sturgill headlined a weekend chalk full of E.T. Finals action with rare doubles. Cory Gulitti and Andy Schmall showed out in big dollar bracket competition. We’ve got new national points leaders in two NHRA categories. Lots to talk about - plus potentially the most memorable Luke rant/tangent to date. That and more on one long episode of the Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast!

In this episode, Luke & Jed get “Dialed In” with Zach Schlumpf, co-host of a new racing podcast titled “Dialed In with Jake & Zach. In addition, they recapped a fairly light weekend of racing action highlighted by a pair of NHRA divisional events, and previewed a big weekend of bracket finals action on the horizon. Jed, Luke and Producer Mark also weighed in with memories from September 11, seventeen years later.

In this episode, the guys caught up with recent NHRA U.S. National Super Gas champion (and current Super Gas points leader) Devin Isenhower to recap the biggest win of his young career. That leads their in-depth coverage of the Big Go, and some of the stories of note from the fabled event. Lead (only) Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast correspondent JJ Pennington provided his Top 10 for the month of August, and the guys closed the show with a pair of epic Racer Confidential stories.

In this episode, the guys dissect the NHRA points chase following a big weekend of divisional action. Did you hear that the Top Dragster bump in Bowling Green was 6.342?!?! That’s not a typo: 6.343 DID NOT get in! Jed and Luke discuss and get deeper into the 32 vs. 48 car Top Dragser/Top Sportsman debate. Plus they recapped a busy weekend of bracket action from coast to coast that featured another pair of bottom bulb racers scoring big wins in Top Bulb/Combo events. All that plus the usual shenanigans: two new “Racer Confidential” stories, Chance from BTE (not from the roof of a motorhome), and shoutouts for days.

In this episode, the guys catch up with Nick Duty fresh off of his big win at the Windmill Nationals. They discuss his emotional triumph, his life as a track operator who gets to race every once in awhile, and the year of the Chevette. The NHRA points picture got a little bit clearer after a big weekend of events across the country; and some pockets got a little fatter following a number of big dollar bracket events from coast to coast.

In this episode, Luke & Jed start off talking about ducks, pylons, and kamikaze racers before smoothly transitioning into the week that was in sportsman drag racing - and it was a big one! They highlight results from the SFG event at Dragway 42, along with the Nightfire Nationals in Boise, ID and big bracket action from Virginia, South Carolina, and Illinois. Plus they recap the lone NHRA event of the weekend and the points implications attached to it. The guys closed the show with the first edition of “Racer Confidential” a fun format to tell anonymous (and entertaining) stories about the folks that we (and you) race with!

This episode of the podcast is jam packed with guest appearances from our lead (only) correspondent, JJ Pennington (JJ’s Top 10) and recently crowned World Super Pro Challenge $50,000 winner Chris Stine. Also: Are we understating the accomplishments (and greatness) of Justin Lamb? The weekend brought a memorable father-son final round (and nearly two) And it’s the year of the No Box racer and the No Split Final!

In this NHRA heavy episode of the Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast, Luke gets all nerdy talking numbers and details in the NHRA sportsman title chase. The guys get deeper into the 32 vs. 48 car field debate for the NHRA Top Dragster and Top Sportsman classes. And the guys introduce a new (to the show) sponsor with a cameo appearance from Chance Lykens of BTE Performance. They close this week’s show where they opened last week’s episode: on the topic of some nasty turns in the “drama” surrounding the current big dollar bracket scene.

Facebook drama within the big buck bracket community, Jed’s redemption tour at the JEGS Summer Door Car Shootout, and the NHRA sportsman world championship picture (and our podcast pick ‘em contest) is a little bit more in focus. The guys discuss these topics and more in Episode 87!

In this episode, Luke & Jed rehash the action from the SFG Summer Shootout at US 131 as well as NHRA action from Division 3 and 6, and assorted big dollar bracket events across the country. Two former world champions that the guys dropped from their team last week showed out over the weekend and forced them to rethink those decisions… Luke previews the upcoming JEGS Summer Door Car Shootout, and they close the show with a popular #RacingAnswers topic: dealing with the first round (or final round) jitters.

National Dragster Senior Editor Kevin McKenna joined Luke & Jed for this week’s show, as the trio performed their mid-season re-draft of Sportsman champions. That closed an episode that led off with Jed’s World Footbrake Challenge Recap, as well as insights from Luke’s weekend at the Firecracker Bracket Nationals in Byron, IL. In addition, they touched on results from the Tenn-Tuck series, and NHRA national and divisional action. Jed was tired and slurring his words... Luke shouted out half of Minnesota… It was a pretty typical Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast!

This episode features our monthly segment from the best 12-year-old announcer and podcast personality in the land, JJ Pennington: JJ’s Top Ten. In addition, the guys discuss the holiday weekend events, introduce a new Siebert Performance Who’s Hot, and close with some final thoughts on the constantly changing landscape of big dollar bracket racing in 2018.

In this episode, Luke welcomes the newest addition to his family, and the guys recaps a weekend of racing, in Texas and North Carolina. They highlight a standout JR performance and another footbrake racer earns Who’s Hot honors. IHRA’s new Summit Sportsman Spectacular is explained by our guest Skooter Peaco, and as always the popular shoutouts round out the episode.

In this episode, Luke & Jed lay gifts at the feet of Kevin Pollard, and discuss related news from the SFG No Dragster Nationals. That was the lead event of a busy weekend of racing that also included the No Box Nationals, the 75 Hundos in New York, and a full slate of NHRA divisional and national event action. The show wrapped with a long overdue edition of #RacingAnswers, the regular What’s On Tap segment of upcoming events, and the increasingly coveted show-ending shoutouts.

Barry Davis, the longtime crew chief for sportsman racing legend David Rampy joined Luke and Jed this week to discuss his role and the role that crew members (who are often family members and/or friends) play in racing everywhere. The guys led the show with some big talk from the weekend: a $50,000-to-win NO SPLIT final round. As always, they covered notable results from across the country and previewed this weekend’s biggest upcoming events.

This week, the guys got to catch up with the most recent winner on the NHRA Top Sportsman tour, Don O’Neal, who claimed his second win of the 2018 season in bizarre (and controversial) fashion last week in Chicago. Don talked about that, his hot start to the season, and the cloud of tragedy hanging over the entire Top Sportsman class. In addition, Luke & Jed covered the big weekend in Chicago including the annual JEGS All-Stars competition and big dollar bracket racing from around the country.

It’s the end of the month and you know what that means! It’s JJ’s top ten! This time around, JJ not only broke down his top 5 Super Pro and Bottom Bulbers from the month of May, but added in a Jr. Dragster segment. In addition, the guys broke down a massive holiday weekend that included a legendary performance from Kevin Pollard, and no less than half a dozen standout performances from across the country.

In this episode, the guys took an opportunity to sit down with the masterminds behind the SDPC Dream Team Challenge: Gaylon Rolison and Britt Cummings. The duo explained how the unique Dream Team idea came to fruition, and all four (Gaylon, Britt, Luke & Jed) discussed their excitement for the weekend that lies ahead. Britt even got a few jabs in at Johnny Bracket Racer, as that epic grudge match will culminate this weekend in Memphis as well! In addition, the guys broke down last week’s action, which was NHRA heavy with several results that could impact the national championship chases throughout the sportsman landscape.

In this episode, the guys deviate significantly from the typical show for an interview with Bruce Deveau, a licensed psychotherapist and Performance Consultant and the author of the popular Racer’s Mind series of audio trainings and workbooks. In the interview, they had a wide ranging discussion on optimal mental performance, how sports psychology applies behind the wheel, and also touched on the topic of mastery and our pursuit of it. In addition, the guys previewed the upcoming Dream Team Challenge, discussed the pending culmination of the Cummings vs. Ezell grudge match, and even talked a little smack about their own teams as they prepare for Memphis.

In this episode, the guys were joined by the driver of the Kalitta Racing Global Electronic Technology Funny Car, Shawn Langdon. Prior to his nitro fame, Shawn was a 2-time national champion in Super Comp, and also has a Jr. Dragster national title to his credit (he’s the only driver to date to hold titles in Jr. Dragster, a sportsman category, and a professional category: Top Fuel). Shawn talked a bit about his foray in the Funny Car category, brought us up to speed on his sportsman racing operation, and his latest project: The Nomex Effect podcast that he hosts with teammate J.R. Todd. In addition, Luke & Jed had a lengthy discussion about the tragic events of the past week, and what it means going forward. And, as always they recapped the major action from the week that was, including the Spring Fling Galot, the NHRA Southern Nationals, and more.

This week’s episode kicked off with the monthly breakdown from Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast Lead (and only) Correspondent, J.J. Pennington. In it, the best 12-year-old announcer in the world unveiled the second edition of “J.J.’s Top Ten.” Luke & Jed then reviewed an entertaining list of “retro” racing phrases submitted by you the listeners and threw in a few entertaining stories to boot. They recapped the past week of on track action, highlighted by the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, as well as big bucks bracket action from across the country.

Randell Reid, the winner of last weekend’s Spring Fling Million joined Luke & Jed on this episode to recap and relive his huge victory over J.R. Lobner in Friday’s main event. While Randell and J.R. were obviously the big story, their success was at least somewhat overshadowed by a staging controversy earlier in the day involving Johnny Ezell. The guys put Johnny Bracket Racer on trial so to speak, and weigh in on the intentions and ramifications of his actions. In addition, they broke down the Bigfoot $40k’s from Darlington, the first IHRA Sportsman Spectacular from Baton Rouge, and the NHRA national event from Houston.

In this episode, Luke & Jed are joined by last weekend’s $175,000 Powerball of Drag Racing winner, Brandon Taylor. Brandon gives us a bit of a round-by-round of how the biggest windfall of his drag racing career to date happened, and what was going through his head in that crazy final round sequence. In addition, the boys recapped the weekend action from not only the Powerball event, but also NHRA Lucas Oil Series action from Texas, Las Vegas and North Carolina. They previewed what may well be the biggest weekend of the sportsman drag racing season coming up: Spring Fling Million, Bigfoot $40k’s, and more. And they closed the show with the popular #RacingAnswers segment.