Episodes
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Jack Beckman the Funny Car winner from the Gerber Collision and Glass Rt 66 Nationals presented by Peak as well as Chicagoland's favorite Top Fuel son, T.J. Zizzo. The two guys take us deep inside a race weekend that will long live in the lore of NHRA history. Incredible weather conditions from high winds to the first actual dust storm in Illinois for 91 years had racers on their toes. The teams that best navigated the conditions won the race and Beckman takes us all on a weekend trip through a topsy-turvy battle he and his team faced. T.J. Zizzo was eliminated in the first round but it's still amazing to hear how his part time team dealt with the wild weather everyone was handed at Rt 66 Raceway. He takes us through their approach, goals, and what they learned. A great show about an exceptional race!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join Brian Lohnes to talk all things about the Gerber Collision and Glass Rt 66 Nationals presented by Peak Performance. The guys go over each class of competition, talk about the teams that are struggling and those that are on the rise. The weekend is also unique in that there are loads of independent nitro teams in both Funny Car and Top Fuel which have the potential to upend the apple cart for the established full-time touring operations. The facility is one of the best on tour and the action will be hot and heavy from qualifying session one all the way to Sunday afternoon. This is a great conversation and one that will have you fired up for the week's upcoming action!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster, Austin Prock and Dallas Glenn join host Brian Lohnes to talk about leading the points in their respective categories, winning back to back four-wide races, and their outlook for the rest of the season. Prock is the first guess and in this conversation he talks about the evolution of his team, why they work so well, the elements fans can't see that make teams great, and how John Force continues to be the guiding star for the race team that bears his name. Prock is insightful in his answers and provides a lot of interesting takes on his team and season. Dallas Glenn is having the season dreams are made of so far. He has appeared in every final round since late in 2024 and has won back to back races. He has come close to winning a title but has never been able to leave a season as a champion in Pro Stock drag racing. Is this the year? He talks about his approach and how he is working to make himself better each race. A fun episode with two really hot superstars of NHRA!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster Shawn Langdon and Matt Smith join host Brian Lohnes to deep dive into their victories at the American Rebel Light Four-Wide Nationals. For Shawn Langdon it wasn't just the second win of his season, it was winning the 1,000th Top Fuel race ever held that has set it apart in his already decorated career. Langdon talks about a dramatic qualifying run in amazing detail, how the race day went, and why this team is once again on a path to championship contention. His insights about winning and sharing the winner's circle with Don Garlits and Connie Kalitta are fantastic. A truly historic day for both he and the NHRA. Matt Smith made the final in Gainesville and then roared through the field to win the 4-Wides in Charlotte. In a wide-ranging discussion, Smith talks about not only his path to victory but the ins and outs of his rigorous off-season making more than 70 dyno pulls to master the VP Racing Fuel that has come back into the class for 2025, and more. It's a window into the mind and approach of a six-time champion, who is relentlessly seeking 7. Great racers talking success and hard work!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join the show to talk about all things Las Vegas and Charlotte Four Wide. The teams that made an impression in Vegas, the impact of Tony Stewart's victory, which teams need to make a stand at Charlotte and which ones are in the driver's seat. There's loads of discussion on the news of the week, Jasmine Salinas' foregoing some upcoming races, and all the juicy insider stuff that you love to hear about the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Top Fuel race #1,000 is happening at zMax so the history of that is discussed along with a class by class breakdown of the contenders and pretenders. It's an action packed hour!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Crew Chief Neal Strausbaugh joins host Brian Lohnes to give an in-depth breakdown of how he and his team were able to provide Tony Stewart a race car capable enough to win one in Las Vegas. A race rife with challenges, plot twists, and downright curveballs, Neal's take on how the team did it is fascinating. Strausbaugh talks about the change in approach for the entire team in 2025, the addition of experienced people like Phil Shuler, and a whole lot more. He takes us inside the workings of the operation, the pressures, the decisions, and the mentality of a crew chief. The episode begins with a race breakdown from host Lohnes and brings some more insight into why the conditions were so seemingly impossible, outside of the desert heat. A great race on a wildly hard to navigate race track, this is a listen any Top Fuel fan will enjoy.
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On this pre-NHRA Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna of National Dragster to talk all things Las Vegas. From the PlayNHRA gaming odds to the teams that may be best equipped to deal with a very hot race track, the guys go in-depth on a multitude of topics in each professional category of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing. Along with all that, get the latest updates from the Brownburg, Indiana tornado from last week delivered by two guys who live minutes from the highly impacted areas from the storm. Loads to set up, break down, and go over before the first NHRA Four-Wide of the season, right here!
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It was an amazing weekend at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Drag Strip for the 2025 Lucas Oil Winternationals. The stories from every aspect of the race were amazing. From Bob Tasca III not qualifying to the continued dominance of KB/Titan Racing in Pro Stock, but the nitro racing action was off the charts. Daniel Wilkerson clawed his way to a Funny Car final round, Clay Millican took home a dramatic Top Fuel victory, and the fans turned out under cloudy skies all weekend long to watch it.
On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Wilkerson and Millican join host Brian Lohnes to tell the inside stories of their successes at the Winternationals. From crewmembers catching last minute mistakes before a run to holeshots, tuning calls, and more, this is an awesome dive into just how fantastically crazy the world of professional drag racing could ever be.
Enjoy this high-energy, in-depth pair of conversations!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, David Freiburger and Kevin McKenna join host Brian Lohnes to talk about an incredible weekend in Phoenix and the looming Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals. Whether it was the bizarre Pro Stock final round, the emotional Funny Car victory of Paul Lee, or the domination of the team Kalitta Top Fuel cars, it was a weekend packed with stories from wall to wall. Oh, did we mention that the place was sold out, as well?! The Lucas Oil Winternationals, one of the great major races on the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour is this weekend and the weather forecast is laying out conditions that could lend themselves to historic performances. The stories, the stats, and the odds. It's all on this episode of the Insider!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join host Brian Lohnes for a rip-roaring conversation that covers a lot of ground in the world of NHRA drag racing. The group talks a lot about Gainesville, what was learned and maybe what is yet to be learned from premier teams in 2025, they talk about the reverberations of Bob Tasca's Gainesville interview, how it has prompted discussions across media and motorsports, reactions to the Gatornationals, Robert Hight's retirement from John Force Racing, the PlayNHRA odds coming into Phoenix, and a whole lot more. This is a high octane, high intensity episode that will have you picking a side for sure. The desert battleground of Firebird Motorsports Park will be the scene of the action this weekend but before you get there, this battle of the airwaves will get you pumped up!
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It was a weekend that challenged drag racers in every way possible and on this episdoe of the NHRA Insider podcast, host Brian Lohnes has winning Funny Car co-crew chief Dean Marinis and Top Fuel winner Antron Brown on to talk about it all. From the weather, to the power outages, the broken parts, and a race track that was as challenging as any Sunday has ever presented itself, winning this Gatornationals was an accomplishment few will ever forget. On the heels of a championship Antron Brown and his team put on a masterclass in both driving and tuning at Gainesville. When they needed to manage the power and rely on their driver, he was there, when the driver needed maximum performance in the final, the car was there. How? Antron tells all here. Dean Marinis has had an epic career in drag racing. From street racing in New York to class racing, dominating small tire racing, becoming one of the best nitrous tuners ever, and now a winning Funny Car wrench, he has truly done it all. He talks about his career and the Gainesville win here. So many great stories, these are two of the best.
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Kevin McKenna of National Dragster and Tony Pedregon of the NHRAonFOX join Brian Lohnes to give a comprehensive look at the upcoming Amalie Oil Gatornationals this weekend. The race has loads of storylines in all categories and these guys break into loads of them systematically. Who's showing up with new equipment, new people, new challenges, or a new outlook? Which racers are most due for a come up in 2025 and which may be facing turbulent times. The discussion is lively, interesting, and contains a few nuggets that even hardcore fans may have missed or simply don't know otherwise. The 2025 season is about to start and we want you to start it being as informed as possible! Listen up to this episode and you will be.
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On this monologue style episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes takes you though a plethora of news developments that happened over the last week. From results at the Division 2 and 7 season opening races in Orlando and Phoenix to an update from the NHRAonFOX pre-season meetings, driver announcements, Gainesville entry list bingo, some breaking news in various categories, and even some editorial comment on the racing world outside of the NHRA, this is a fast moving episode that covers a lot of ground. If you need to get caught up on all the pre-season fun and preparation that's been happening and continues to happen around the sport, this is the place to do it!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Powered by Speedmaster, Debbie O'Rourke, the series manager of the NHRA Congruity Pro Mod Series and Top Fuel team owner and driver Shawn Reed join host Brian Lohnes to explore a load of different topics. O'Rourke talks about the growth the work of the Pro Mod class over the last several years, initiatives that have been successful, and the product on the race track being compelling, unpredictable, and highly entertaining. The class is going to swell with entries once again in 2025 and there's plenty of chatter about Al Tucci coming on board to call the action and more. Shawn Reed is having an excellent to his 2025 Top Fuel season. Winning his first ever race in a dragster a few weeks ago, he talks of the experience, what it has done for he and his team, and his approach to 2025. This is an interesting chat with a guy unwilling to over promise and under deliver on his expectations and so far, so good on that front. A unique and interesting episode with two first time guests!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join host Brian Lohnes to talk about a really busy and exciting week of news in drag racing. From Sean Bellemeur's incredible A/Fuel Funny Car runs in Gainesville to the winners and high performers in Bradenton, Florida, the picture of the 2025 season is starting to form up. The guys talk about the teams that really made an impression, those that surprised, and those that may have a bunch more work cut out for them before the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Hot takes, insightful analysis, and the insider info only these three can dig up. An exciting show that ends the talk of off-season theories and breaks down real world performances.
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon joins host Brian Lohnes to talk about the importance of pre-season testing and how every team does it a little bit differently. With the majority of NHRA teams headed to Florida this week, the guys thought it would be a good exercise to take you inside the way teams view the work they'll start putting in on the race track for the 2025 campaign. New crew chiefs, new team leadership, new drivers, and more all confront these operations in a different way. Does everyone have the same objectives and goals during a test? What separates a successful one from a dud? Which teams have the most compelling stories at this time of the year? All this and the headlines of the last week discussed in only the depth the insiders can bring you.
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes is joined by Top Fuel crew chief Brian Husen. The Brians chat about the 2024 season that was, lessons learned, things accomplished and how it sets the Kalitta Air team up for success in 2025. Husen shares some really great personal insights into what he learned and how he will grow along with his entire crew for the upcoming season. Along with that chat, Lohnes has some semi-spicy rumors regarding some equipment bought, a familiar name that's also going to be a bit of a shocker in Pro Stock, and more. The off-season is nearly over and racing is on the horizon!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, Tony Pedregon and Kevin McKenna join host Brian Lohnes to talk all things off season. The trio get into the day to day shop routine of the teams, the leadership aspects necessary to succeed in this vital part of the year, and how the good teams can make themselves great. Following that they talk about some of the larger stories of the late 2024 and early 2025 time frame, which teams can come out swinging, who is thrashing just to make the first event, and how the drivers can let us more into their particular off-season habits as well. It's a cool and informative discussion about the ways that drag racers thwart Old Man Winter, chase horsepower, and fill their war wagons before the season kicks off in a few short weeks for many. Beat the cold with some good old hot stove drag racing chat!
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On this episode of the NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster, host Brian Lohnes takes a deep dive into a myriad of news, headlines, topics, rumors, and speculation for the 2025 season. After a holiday break, this show is designed to get you back into the right frame of mind to stay on top of all the stuff that is happening and is yet to come for the 2025 NHRA season. A breakdown of many news announcements that flooded the airwaves at the end of 2024 is followed by updates to the side of insider team news you won't hear anywhere else. Teams moving, personnel moving, cars coming, cars going. Who's racing a full season? Who's season may be in jeopardy, and a whole lot more. This one sets the table for the true start of 2025 with the drivers, tuners, personalities, and newsmakers that will be a part of the NHRA Insider universe!
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It's the final NHRA Insider Podcast powered by Speedmaster of 2024 and your favorite insiders, Tony Pedregon and Brian Lohnes are taking you out in style. After a short monologue the two hit some of the high points of 2024 including the people and the races that really impacted the series. They begin to peek forward into 2025 and talk about who can be contending for championships, who needs to rebound from a hard season, and if the chances are good for back to back titlists in any of the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series categories. A quick one to end the year but a good one to end the year on as well.
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