Current stars and champions like Capps, Kalitta, Torrence, Hagan, Todd and Enders enjoy first Indy victories and more
By: NHRA (Photos Courtesy NHRA)
INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 22, 2024) – It’s been said that no racer’s legacy is complete without a win at the prestigious Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals. Known as the world’s biggest drag race, a victory in Indy is the one that every competitor wants and that will be the case at this year’s 70-year celebration of The Big Go on Aug. 28-Sept. 2 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
For nearly 70 years, racers have chased the ultimate glory at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals, including several marquee and star drivers who cashed in for the very first time during the 2010s and thus far in the 2020s.
Celebrating 70 years of The Big Go greatness brings us to the two most recent decades, which featured a flurry of first-time winners, many of whom waited a considerable time to taste success on drag racing’s grandest stage.
By 2015, many of the sport’s biggest current stars had not won in Indy, a list that included Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Doug Kalitta, Erica Enders, J.R. Todd and Steve Torrence, an impressive group that now has more than 300 victories and 19 world championships combined. It took them time to find their Indy moment, but each has found the prestigious Indy winner’s circle in the past 10 years.
Enders, a six-time world champion and motorsports’ winningest female driver, broke though in the midst of her dominant 2015 campaign, following it up with Indy triumphs in 2020 and 2021.
Kalitta’s time came even later, as he could never find his footing at the U.S. Nationals. That all changed in 2019, as the veteran, who went on to claim his first career world championship in 2023, defeated Billy Torrence in the final round for his first Indy win. It came 25 years after his uncle and team owner, Connie Kalitta, picked up his lone Indy victory in 1994.
“I’m a real persistent guy, so I never give up,” Kalitta said in his post-race interview. “But it does make you wonder if you’re going to win it. After we got past the first round, I was thinking this was going to be a pretty good chance to win it.”
In 2017, both Todd and Torrence broke through, sharing the winner’s circle as first-time Indy winners in the professional ranks. Todd, who grew up not far from the facility, repeated the next year as well en route to his first world championship, while Torrence won again in 2021 as he finished the year with a fourth straight world championship.
Hagan, who claimed his fourth world championship last year, enjoyed his marquee Indy moment in 2016, while Capps had to stay (very) patient. After years of agonizing losses at The Big Go, Capps, who had done everything in his career but win Indy, finished the job on Labor Day Monday in 2022 in a spectacular moment he will always remember. The following year, though, was just as special, as Capps showcased a special paint scheme honoring Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. With Prudhomme in attendance, Capps went back-to-back in an Indy moment that will undoubtedly live forever.
In Top Fuel in the 2010s, Shawn Langdon won in 2013 for his first victory, adding another in 2020, while Antron Brown’s first Top Fuel win at Indy came in 2011, as well as back-to-back years in 2022 and 2023. Tony Schumacher’s 2016 victory gave him an incredible 10th victory at The Big Go, while Terry McMillen’s 2018 Indy victory serves as one of the biggest upset wins of the decade.
John Force Racing ran roughshod at Indy in the 2010s, winning for six straight years from 2008-2013. Ashley Force Hood won in 2010, defeating her father, John, in the final round, while Mike Neff took back-to-back wins and Robert Hight capped off the streak in 2013. Who broke it? It was Alexis DeJoria, who scored her biggest drag racing moment with her 2014 Indy victory. Jack Beckman, now driving for Force, claimed the Indy win in 2015, while Force’s fifth Funny Car win at The Big Go followed in 2019.
Other Indy highlights in the past decade-plus include Andrew Hines’ first Pro Stock Motorcycle win at the race (2012), Chris McGaha’s 2016 win in Pro Stock, Eddie Krawiec finishing the deal in 2014 in PSM, a pair of wins from Jerry Savoie in the 2010s and Greg Anderson getting his 100th career victory in 2022 at Indy.
Back to the present, what star will be next to pick up their first victory at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals? It’s not easy and standouts like Justin Ashley, Brittany Force, Bob Tasca III, Dallas Glenn and Gaige Herrera remain looking for their moment at the world’s biggest drag race.
This year would be an ideal one to win, as the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals promises to be one of the biggest in the illustrious history of The Big Go. It features the final Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the year and the Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout, as well as the special Sox & Martin Hemi Challenge presented by the McCandless Collection and the Rooftec Comp Cash Clash, along with racing in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™ and NHRA Holley EFI Factory X, plus:
- A special 70th anniversary NHRA U.S. Nationals pennant for the first 8,000 fans in attendance for eliminations on Monday, Sept. 2.
- Free parking for all fans and children 12-under admitted free.
- An unforgettable Top Eliminator Club experience, including NHRA driver appearances, food and drink, TEC gift bag, starting line seats and much more.
- The biggest field in drag racing, with more than 900 cars in attendance.
Last year, Brown (Top Fuel), Capps (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won, with Brown, Capps and Smith winning at Indy for the second straight year. This year’s race will again be broadcast on FOX and FS1, including eliminations on FOX at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 2.
Kalitta currently leads the Top Fuel ranks, while Austin Prock’s debut season in Funny Car has been a huge success as he leads the way. Glenn is the Pro Stock points leader, while Herrera has six wins to his credit in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature one round at 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 30, two rounds at 12 and 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 31 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 12 and 3:00 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept 2.
The first round of the Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout takes place at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 1, with the semifinals at 2:40 p.m. and the final round at 4:30 p.m. A special broadcast of the Callout takes place on FOX at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, and eliminations at 12 p.m. on FS1 on Monday, shifting to FOX at 2 p.m.
To purchase tickets to the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. All children 12 and under will be admitted free in the general admission area with a paid adult. For more information about NHRA, visit www.NHRA.com.
