Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park

Brian Deegan set for Nitrocross Group E debut in Phoenix

Brian Deegan will make his Nitrocross Group E debut driving for Dreyer & Reinbold JC at the next event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix on November 10-11 It will mark a return to rallycross-like motorsport for off-road racing veteran …

Brian Deegan will make his Nitrocross Group E debut driving for Dreyer & Reinbold JC at the next event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix on November 10-11

It will mark a return to rallycross-like motorsport for off-road racing veteran Deegan, who previously competed in Global Rallycross between 2011-16, but has more recently been supporting his childrens’ motorsport endeavours, including NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan while competing in off-road truck racing as well as making occasional appearances in Nitrocross’ Side-by-Side class.

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“I’m really looking forward to this new challenge,” said Deegan. “Nitrocross is a whole different animal, but I love pushing my limits and trying new things. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has a strong track record winning the team championship along with going 1-2-3 in the driver’s championships, and I believe this partnership will be a winning one.”

After a decorated career on two wheels – which included 10 X Games medals across Freestyle Motocross, Step Up, and Best Trick – he joined a number of his contemporaries, including motocross rival and Nitrocross founder Travis Pastrana in switching to four wheels. There he added four more X Games medals in Rally Car Racing and Rallycross, including a gold for his maiden win in the discipline in Los Angeles at the end of 2011.

Deegan won his most recent rallycross race, at the Port of LA in 2016. Larry Chen/Red Bull Content Pool

Across three full-time and three part-time campaigns in GRC with Olsbergs MSE and later with Chip Ganassi Racing, Deegan took 18 podium finishes from 42 GRC starts, including a string of five consecutively in 2012 en route to second in the championship behind Tanner Foust. His second, and most recent event win came at his most recent start, the 2016 GRC finale.

“We are elated to have Brian Deegan join our team for Rounds 4 and 5 of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season,” said Dennis Reinbold, team owner of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “Brian’s fearless attitude and his drive to conquer new challenges are qualities that resonate deeply with our team. We believe that this collaboration will ignite the racing world with excitement and intensity.”

Deegan completes a 10-car field for rounds four and five of the 2023-24 Nitrocross season, filling the seat held by IndyCar and NASCAR driver Conor Daly for the first three rounds of the year. XITE Energy Racing is also set to drop down to a single-car entry for team owner Oliver Bennett, having fielded five-time World Rally winner Kris Meeke and four-time U.S. rallycross champion Tanner Foust so far this season.

Ashley, Hight, Caruso win NHRA Arizona Nationals

Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley closed out the final NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Motorsports Park with a victory in a front of a sellout crowd, powering to a win over Shawn Langdon in the championship round on Sunday. Robert Hight (Funny Car) and …

Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Camrie Caruso (Pro Stock) also won the second of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Ashley put together a run of 3.705s at 329.34mph in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by National Debt Relief, driving past Langdon’s 3.732s at 329.58mph. It gives Ashley his sixth career victory and first at Phoenix as the championship contender also defeated Tony Schumacher, Mike Salinas and Steve Torrence to reach the final round. Ashley was stellar on the starting line during eliminations, leaving first in the final round and holding on for the victory in front of another massive crowd in Phoenix.

“You’re as only as good as the team you surround yourself with,” Ashley said. “We’re a resilient group and it was an incredible race day. The fans were fantastic all weekend long, but I knew we had to go through a gauntlet of opponents. A win like this sets the tone for the year because it builds momentum and every point matters.

“We made a lot of changes to the car in the off-season and we’ve got a new setup, but the guys have stayed with it. It was just a matter of being patient and it was an incredible weekend. The fans were amazing and it was absolutely packed.”

Langdon drove to his first final round in 2023 and 38th in his career, defeating Antron Brown, No. 1 qualifier and Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett. He’ll face Pruett in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge next weekend in Pomona, with Ashley racing Torrence.

In Funny Car, Hight, who finished 2022 with eight victories, picked up his 62nd career victory in his 11,000-horsepower Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Camaro after going 3.930s at 328.62mph to beat defending world champ Ron Capps. It gives Hight the points lead and his second straight Phoenix victory, putting on a show after struggling during eliminations. The multi-time world champ qualified just ninth but Hight and his team, led by crew chief Jimmy Prock, were brilliant on Sunday, making the quickest run of every round, including a 3.900s in the semifinals to beat Chad Green. He also picked up wins against teammate John Force and No. 1 qualifier Bob Tasca III, making another strong run in the final round to the huge crowd’s delight.

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“We better get used to that because this whole Funny Car field is stacked from top to bottom, and to win one of these races, you’re going to have to go through four hitters, and that’s we did that today,” Hight said. “It’s a huge win. You can just tell when Jimmy is on to something, and he’s got the confidence, and that gives me confidence.

“I just love coming here. The fans are great and to see this crowd we had for three days, that really pumps you up as a driver. They’re back in the pits with you and that’s just what makes NHRA drag racing so awesome.”

Capps went to his 141st career final round thanks to round wins against Alex Laughlin, Blake Alexander and Alexis DeJoria. He’ll race DeJoria in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, with DeJoria winning the Challenge on Saturday in Phoenix. Hight will take on Green in a semifinal rematch as well.

Caruso enjoyed her own memorable day in Phoenix, picking up her first career victory with a run of 6.592s at 210.31mph in her Powerbuilt Tools Camaro to slip past Bo Butner’s 6.593s, becoming just the second female to win in Pro Stock in NHRA history. The second-year driver impressed throughout eliminations, also giving the new KB Titan Racing team its first victory. She opened race day by knocking off Deric Kramer, got past No. 1 qualifier Cristian Cuadra and then got past Matt Hartford on a holeshot. Caruso, who reached one final round a year ago en route to winning NHRA Rookie of the Year honors, was first off the line in the final round as well, securing a victory and a moment she won’t forget.

“It was so awesome to get the win,” Caruso said. “I just went out there like it was another round and tried my best to do my job because I knew the guys were going to do their job. I’m just excited and thankful. I was really hoping we’d start the year off with a really good bang. There’s just a whole bunch of people here that I couldn’t have done it without, especially my team and our partners. This new team, working with them has really been great and I just wanted to hold up my end of the bargain.”

Butner reached his first final round since 2020, which also took place in Phoenix, by defeating teammate and defending world champ Erica Enders, Fernando Cuadra Jr. and Kyle Koretsky. The next Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in Pro Stock will feature Caruso taking on Hartford and Butner facing off with Koretsky.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action March 30-April 2 with the Lucas Oil Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif.

Kalitta, Tasca, Cuadra top qualifiers at NHRA Arizona Nationals

Alexis DeJoria claimed the victory in the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge as part of the NHRA Arizona Nationals, defeating J.R. Todd in the Funny Car final round of the bonus event on Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd at Wild Horse …

In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Troy Coughlin (Jr.) also picked up wins in the bonus event in Phoenix. Kalitta (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) and Cristian Cuadra (Pro Stock) all qualified No. 1 at the second of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

DeJoria went 3.914s at 324.51mph in her 11,000-horsepower Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota GR Supra to knock off Todd, claiming the bonus purse and bonus points for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The win also took place at the site of her first Funny Car victory, which came in 2014 at Phoenix. She knocked off Matt Hagan to reach the final round of the Challenge and then easily drove past Todd when he went up in smoke to start the celebration.

“It’s really incredible to be able to do this here at this track. It really just makes even better memories of this track,” DeJoria said. “They just keep coming here. The track was a little tricky this weekend, so to make it down the track was a big deal. It feels really good to get that redemption and give that (bonus) check to my team. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but today we’re going home with a win.”

Tasca claimed the No. 1 spot with a stout run of 3.898s at 329.50mph in his 11,000-horsepower Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, giving the veteran his 10th career top spot. He was the only driver to make a run in the 3.80s in qualifying, giving Tasca plenty of confidence heading into eliminations. He’ll open race day against Jim Campbell, racing for his first win of the year.

“Hats off to (crew chiefs) Todd (Okuhara) and Aaron (Brooks) and the whole team. They’re very different than anyone I’ve ever raced with,” Tasca said. “You saw all of the cars struggling, but they don’t care what anyone else runs. They just focus on what they believe we can run. I love racing here and it’s great to see a sellout crowd. It’s an iconic place and I’ve had so many great memories here.”

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DeJoria finished second in qualifying and Blake Alexander took third after going 3.927s at 322.50mph.

In Top Fuel, Kalitta is on the verge of a stellar weekend in Phoenix, enjoying another great day at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with his victory in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. The veteran earned the win over Mike Salinas in the bonus event with a run of 3.868s at 294.82mph in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster. Kalitta also sewed up the No. 1 qualifier spot with his stellar Friday run of 3.679s held up, earning his 52nd career top spot.

He’ll open eliminations against Rob Passey, aiming for his milestone 50th career win, but grabbed plenty of momentum with his Challenge victory, which included getting past Steve Torrence in the semifinals on Saturday.

“We certainly appreciate the opportunity to run this race and it’s such a cool challenge,” Kalitta said. “Fortunately, I got to the end and the win light was on, so that was good and we’re super happy. We’re definitely looking forward to tomorrow, but it’s going to be a dogfight like it always is. But we’re looking forward to getting after it and let’s see if we can get a double-up.”

Salinas qualified second with a 3.689s at 335.73mph from Friday, while Austin Prock’s 3.696s at 330.31mph gave him third.

In Pro Stock’s first Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Troy Coughlin Jr. kept his early-season hot streak going, beating Greg Anderson in the final round with a pass of 6.572s at 208.78mph in his JEGS.com/White Castle/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. It follows his victory in Gainesville and Coughlin, who also knocked off Dallas Glenn in a Gatornationals rematch, couldn’t be more thrilled with his quick start.

“What an honor to be the first winner of this. I can’t say enough about my group right now,” Coughlin said. “Cloud nine is an understatement right now. They’ve got this car flying and it’s just a tribute to my guys and how hard they work. I wish we could race every day, so let’s keep this going.”

Qualifying also included a historic moment, as Cristian Cuadra kept the top spot, becoming the first Mexican driver in NHRA history to qualify No. 1, as his 6.552s at 210.24mph in his Corral Boots Ford Mustang held up from Friday. It gave Cuadra a special moment as he now looks to pick up his first career victory, opening eliminations against Alan Prusiensky.

“It’s crazy. Everything starts with a dream,” Cuadra said. “I was a kid and saw my dad racing and I wanted to be in that spot. You meet the people at Elite Motorsports to help make the dream come true. My heart wants to go out of my chest and I feel really, really happy. That’s why we’re here. We want to make history for our country. Now my next goal is to try and get a Wally.”

Eliminations for the NHRA Arizona Nationals begin at 11 a.m. MT on Sunday at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.