PRO Nitro Spring Training - Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park - Chandler, AZ

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PRO NITRO SPRING TRAINING - Day One

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series opened the 2022 season yesterday with the first of three days of testing at Chandler, AZ's Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. With warm (75 - 80 F) temperatures, light breezes and lots of sun, it was a good way for the teams to shake off the winter rust and get up to speed in a hurry, with the season opening Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals barely one week away. Here's the first of many photos from our Southwestern correspodent, BIG Bob Snyder as he captures all the action from the starting line.

Debuting his new RoofTec" car, Texan Rodger Brogdon has returned to the Pro Stock cars with a serious plan to challenge for the championship. He made four runs on the day, all in the 5.50's (e.t.'s taken at the 1000' mark), with a best of 5.518 - 190.22, which equates to roughly a high 6.50 in the quarter-mile.

Opening his season with a full pass right out of the box, former world champion Robert Hight lit up the scoreboards with a 3.911 - 323.11 that showed the "Auto Club" Chevy was back in the hunt for another title.

(LEFT) The other JFR car didn't get too far under power on his first attempt, as John Force clocked an .858 short time, but shut off soon after and coasted to an 8.122 -79.69 result.

(RIGHT) Finally back on the tour with serious sponsorship from the Maynard Family, multi-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle and idled down the track on his first attempt.

(LEFT) Showing that they weren't slowing down from their Auto Club Finals win that closed out the 2021 season, the Motorcraft Mustang of Bob Tasca III rang up a 3.924 - 315.64 on their first pass.

(RIGHT) Same sponsor, different colours, same driver, different team as Antron Brown debuted the Antron Brown Motorsports Matco Tools dragster. His first pass was a strong one, at 3.861 - 268.06 despite the obviously early shutoff.

Showing off her new DODGE Power Brokers wrap, last season's #7 driver in Top Fuel, Leah Pruett made her first passes as part of the newly formed Tony Stewart Racing team. Her only pass of the day ended in a blaze of tire smoke and a 9-second clocking.

The other half of the Tony Stewart-owned team, Matt Hagan, was looking to find enough extra performance to take the championship in 2022, after finishing just 63-points behind Ron Capps last year. His first pass of the new season saw 4.007 - 281.36 numbers come up on the scoreboard.

(LEFT) With new sponsors for 2022, Justin Ashley looked to keep moving up the performance ladder and improve on his #4 finish in the standings in 2021 after just three full seasons in Top Fuel. His first pass netted very early shutoff numbers of 4.446 - 170.92.

(RIGHT) Anxious to get going in the new season after a disappointing runnerup finish in the championship chase of 2021, Brittany Force clicked it off at half track and still stopped the timers at 4.190 - 192.55 on her first pass of the year.

Following his very successful 2021 season, where he finished in his highest placing in nearly a decade, Cruz Pedregon had spent the winter working to improve even more with his Makers & Fixers team. An opening pass of 3.955 - 324.35 showed that they had obviously done their homework.

Showing off one of the new Toyota Supra GR bodies, and a new wrap design, Alexis DeJoria was ready to build on her late season success in 2021, and it looks like crew chief Del Worsham had turned the right screws as it laid down a very good 3.921 - 321.73 right out of the trailer.

(LEFT) The Pro Stock cars made the most of their track time, with a number of them making four passes on the day. Last year's NHRA Rookie of The Year, Dallas Glenn was one of them, as he worked up to a cumulative best of 5.559 - 181.32 (clocked at the 1000' mark).

(RIGHT) Not having as much luck was Matt Hartford who never made a full pass in four attempts. They were working out the bugs and with two more days of testing available to them, were certain to find a combination to start the season with next week at Pomona.

(LEFT) Now with new tuning direction as Alan Johnson and Brian Husen have joined Kalitta Motorsports, Doug Kalitta came into Wild Horse Pass looking for much improved performance after a very disappointing 2021 season. He made three attempts on the day, with the middle one netting a solid 3.842 - 257.58 timeslip, despite the early shutoff.

(RIGHT) Kalitta's teammate Shawn Langdon first pass ended in a haze of tire smoke at the 300' mark. Not exactly what they were looking for but at least they found what didn't work.

(LEFT) The Funny Cars were out in full force with 13 of them in the pits. Preparing to run a full schedule in Funny Car this season, after making the gradual transition from Pro Mod, Chad Green opened his account with a decent early shutoff 4.296 - 227.84 that showed the Daniel Wilkerson tuneup was making power and applying it to the track.

(RIGHT) After two seasons of part-time participation, with four races each year, Alex Miladinovich was still looking to get close to the 3-second zone in his homebuilt Hot 4 Teacher Toyota. His first pass clocked in at 13.88, and the second one was only marginally better at 9-seconds. There was obviously lots of work to do in the clutch and power delivery department, but this test session was the place to work on it.

(LEFT) On his second attempt of the day, after his first one fizzled out at the 60' mark, J.R. Todd showed off the sharp new DHL wrap on the Toyota Supra body. This pass went a little further before he lifted, with a 4.884 - 161.77 coming up on the scoreboards.

(RIGHT) Also making his second pass of the day, Matt Hartford went a little further under power before clicking it off to a 6.152 - 122.13 over the 1000' timing distance.

Two views of the new SCAG (power equipment) sponsored car, Tony Schumacher debuted the car with a good half track pass of 4.229 - 193.46 as he began the process of getting back in the Top Fuel groove. After three years without a full time ride on the tour, this new car appears ready to be here for the long haul.

(LEFT) One of the new "independent" team owners, Antron Brown showed that he was ready to compete right out of the gate, with an early shutoff 3.861 - 268.06 timeslip on his first pass.

(RIGHT) Upping the ante put down by A. Brown, Steve Torrence dropped into 3.60's with a booming 3.682 pass, accompanied with a mph reading of only 303.84 to set an early high water mark.

(LEFT) Continuing with her half-track passes, the Monster Energy car of Brittany Force clicked it off to a 4.523 - 172.54 on her second pass.

(RIGHT) Showing that the tuneup help from his new crew chiefs was working well, Doug Kalitta was off the loud pedal well before the finish line, but still checked in at 3.842 - 257.58, showing that the potential was already in place.

(LEFT) Following his first pass that came in at 3.955, Cruz Pedregon didn't get very far before tire shake aborted his second attempt and left a 7-second time on the scoreboards.

(RIGHT) Making his second pass an abbreviated one also, after an opening 4.007 - 281.36, the Power Brokers car of Matt Hagan went 800' before lifting and coasted across the stripe with a 4.136 - 250.51 timeslip.

(LEFT) The Funny Car contingent continued to run, as Bob Tasca III made another pass but failed to improve on his earlier 3.95 effort.

(RIGHT) Back to the starting line for his second try at getting down the track, Alex Miladinovich got a little further under power before shutting off to a 9.481 - 68.27 clocking. Still trying to get on top of the tuneup was Kevin Poynter.

Making his second pass of the day, Justin Ashley and his crew, led by veteran crew chief Mike Green kept ironing out any wrinkles in their tuneup.

The two Force cars came out for their second passes and didn't have any better results than their first attempts, with Robert Hight (left) going up in smoke early and coasting to a 9.207 - 81.30. His boss, John Force got a little further down track before giving up on the run, clocking in at 6.966 - 88.38 to cap a rather dismal day of testing.

(LEFT) After coming on the scene with his own car at the U.S. Nationals last September, the "Capco Clone" car of Tripp Tatum III has made tremendous progress in Top Fuel. He continued that journey here with two early shutoff passes, a great earlier 3.817 - 258.47 and an equally good 3.823 - 267.75 on this run.

(RIGHT) Showing off the new DHL wrap for 2022, Shawn Langdon was looking for a better season with help in the tuning department from the Johnson - Husen duo. He improved greatly from his first pass, with an early lifting off the throttle producing a 3.921 - 239.91 result.

(LEFT) Even with a crew chief change from Alan Johnson to Rob Flynn, it looks like the Scrappers team is still hitting on all eight with a solid 3.815 - 271.62 pass for Mike Salinas on his second attempt. His first pass ended early with a respectable 4.104 - 204.70 coming up on the boards.

(RIGHT) Four-time defending world champion Steve Torrence followed up his earlier 3.68 pass with an almost as good 3.711 - 308.85 to show that they were ready to go for Pomona. Even without father Billy competing for at least the first few races of the 2022 season, the CAPCO team appears to be in mid-season form on day one.

(LEFT) On her third pass of the day, Brittany Force kept the throttle open a nano-second longer to clock in at 4.013 - 217.25 for her best numbers of the day.

(RIGHT) Making his last attempt of day one really count, J.R. Todd ripped off an excellent 3.988 - 321.88 in the late afternoon.

With no lettering or competition number visible on this all-black car, we're a little confused as to the identity of the driver. Our best guess is that was Hunter Green (son of nitro funny car racer Chad Green), making passes towards his Top Fuel license. The best clue we have is seeing Tim Wilkerson standing behind the car on the launch. The numbers on the scoreboard were impressive with a 4.152 - 230.17 coming up.

Working hard to get enough passes under her belt before her Pro Stock competition debut at the Winternationals, Camrie Caruso clocked a pair of 5.665 runs at the 1000' distance, with this one going through the speed trap at 165.60-mph.

Closing out the day with another pass in her A/Fuel Dragster, Jasmine Salinas ran into tire shake and shut off to a 5.764 - 124.69 to finish the session.

PRO NITRO SPRING TRAINING - Day Two

With a full day of testing under their belts, the number of competitors making runs on the second day of the PRO Nitro Spring Training increased as the racers looked to improve on the first day's results. Leading the way in Top Fuel was Steve Torrence with an early shutoff 3.682 - 303.84, while the top Funny Car driver was Robert Hight with a very strong 3.911 - 323.11. That run was a fitting start to his (totally unofficial) "Redemption Tour 22" after last season's disastrous string of early round losses. With a total of 16 T/F cars (and 19 drivers), 13 F/C's and 9 Pro Stockers, plus a few A/FD's in the pits, Friday promised to be full of good performances.

(LEFT) Leading off the day's action was a side-by-side Pro Stock pairing, with rookie Camrie Caruso (left) and returning Matt Hartford facing off. After good launches, both drivers ran into trouble downtrack, with Hartford stopping the clocks first at 6.885 - 158.91 and Caruso trailing at 7.111 - 143.54. Note that all Pro Stock e.t.'s and speeds were recorded at the 1000' mark, unless otherwise noted.

(RIGHT) The first car to go all the way to the finish line under power, was the new dragster of Josh Hart as he ran strong to a 3.765 - 322.50 to show that the Ron Douglas led team were ready to hit the tour full-time in 2022.

Switching bodies from her "Power Brokers" look to part-time primary sponsor "Sparkling ICE", Leah Pruett made a good 800' run that rang up a 3.901 - 235.60 on the timers.

After a strong burnout, Ron Capps launched hard, but so did the parchutes as the car shut down to a 7.063 - 79.97 in a rather inauspicious start to the day.

It's a "Tale of Two McGaha's" as young Mason McGaha (left) and father Chris McGaha laid down their first passes after sitting out Thursday. On his first attempt, Mason carded an early shutoff 5.971 - 138.10, while his dad kept the pedal down close to the 1000' mark, clocking in at 5.688 - 155.99 to start their weekend.

(LEFT) After his first pass of the day ended with a 3.765 on the scoreboards, Josh Hart backed it up with a slightly better 3.761 - 321.12 to show everyone that their tuneup was repeatable.

(RIGHT) Announcing that he and partner Tim Lewis were planning to run the entire schedule - or until the money runs out - is longtime competitor Doug Foley made a good abbreviated pass of 4.089 - 221.82 as new tuner Aaron Brooks worked to get a handle on the brand new car and combination.

(LEFT) With the new Bandero - Rokit wrap presumably waiting to be installed, Alexis DeJoria backed up her Thursday 3.921 run, with an even better 3.912 - 316.15 that saw her off the pedal a little before the speed trap.

(RIGHT) One of the hardest working men in drag racing, Tim Wilkerson took a quick ride into the 3-second zone, with a 3.929 - 29.69 coming up on the scoreboards. It was his first pass of the year and showed there was certainly no rust on the LRS Mustang.

A good burnout (left) and solid launch (right) for Clay Millican were the precursor to a half track effort that timed in at 4.383 - 179.42, very creditable numbers for such an early shutoff.

Local Arizona racer, Jim Maroney, in his American Flow Tech-backed entry, opened his 2022 campaign with an early shutoff 5.608 - 117.90 as his team started getting ready for their Winternationals appearance. That will be the first of a planned 8-race schedule this year after three and four race seasons in the previous three years in the class.

It looks like two views of a burnout for Scott Farley in the Terry Haddock Racing car, but the photo on the right is of the launch. Needless to say, the numbers on the scoreboard were larger (e.t.) and smaller (mph) than they were hoping for.

(LEFT) The struggles continued for the Paul Lee team as a 5.008 - 157.50 came up on the scoreboards on their first attempt of the day.

(RIGHT) Rebounding from the aborted run (chutes out on the launch) earlier, Ron Capps laid down a very good 3.916 - 324.12 to show the other racers that they were ready to defend their 2021 World Championship.

(LEFT) We don't have the numbers for Leah Pruett on this pass, but she was helping dial in the newly formed Tony Stewart Racing team crewmembers with a series of runs during the test session.

(RIGHT) Warming up the tires before his next pass, Clay Millican went on to pound at a solid 3.814 e.t. with an early shutoff speed of just 264.75 mph to wrap up the day for the Parts Plus team.

(LEFT) Running alongside Matt Hartford (far lane) again, Camrie Caruso (near lane) got some practice staging up against a competitor as they both made full passes, stopping the clocks with a 5.544 - 187.78 for Caruso) and a 5.581 - 172.65 for Hartford.

(RIGHT) Making another licensing pass, Hunter Green dipped into the 3-second zone with a strong 3.933 - 294.75 to presumably complete the T/F license process.

(LEFT) On his fourth run of the test session (one yesterday, two earlier today), Austin Prock showed that he wasn't rusty after a near two year layoff from driving, cranking out a very good 3.816 - 275.62 to finish his day.

(RIGHT) Making his third consecutive run in the 3.70's, Doug Kalitta clicked it off a little early to a 3.754 - 292.01 as the rejuvenated MAC Tools team kept making strides in the right direction.

(LEFT) Saving his best pass for last, Ron Capps kept the loud pedal down all the way, ringing up an excellent 3.874 - 325.13 to finish his test day on a high note.

(RIGHT) Finishing the day with a spectacular show of header flames, Leah Pruett lit up the night sky for a second or two, before lifting and coasting to a 6.032 - 112.35 on the rapidly cooling track.

PRO NITRO SPRING TRAINING - Day Three

Shooting from a very different vantage point in the braking area, BIG Bob Snyder has provided us with some great shots from the final day of the test session. Going into the final day of pre-season testing, the leaderboard had Mike Salinas on top with a great 3.677 - 296.31, followed closely by Steve Torrence at 3.693 - 328.78. On the Funny Car side, Ron Capps with a 3.874 - 325.14 was just a fraction in front of Robert Hight's very good 3.879 - 331.26, while John Force was very close behind the top two, clocking in at 3.888 - 321.88.

In total, after the two 3.60 runners in Top Fuel, the next nine drivers were all in the 3.70-zone, with two more trailing in the low 3.80's. On the Funny Car side, four cars were in the 3.80's and four more in the 3.90's going into the final day of testing.

(LEFT) It didn't take long for the best numbers from the first two days to be obliterated, as J.R. Todd blew through the lights with an awesome 3.866 - 334.32 clocking to start the ball rolling.

(RIGHT) Just a few minutes later, John Force blew away Todd's numbers with an even better 3.836 - 335.40 to show everyone that he was going to be competing hard from the start of the season.

(LEFT) The good numbers continued for Leah Pruett (back in her Power Brokers wrap), who broke into the 3-second zone, despite a very early shutoff, with a very good 3.911 - 237.05 timeslip.

(RIGHT) Continuing to make solid runs as he prepared for his second full season in Pro Stock, Mason McGaha put down a solid 5.542 - 177.74 to start his final day of pre-season testing.

(LEFT) More good runs for the naturally aspirated cars followed, as Matt Hartford turned his best times of the test session with a very good 5.506 - 180.57 on his first Saturday pass.

(RIGHT) Nearly matching Hartford's numbers, defending World Champion Greg Anderson stopped the clocks with a 5.508 - 177.74 on his second test pass, after sitting out the first two days.

The second run of the day for Robert Hight wasn't all smooth sailing as a head gasket expired on the top end, with smoke trailing the car through the braking area and leading to a visit from the Safety Safari to ensure everything was safely extinguished. The car did run strong before the incident, with the timeslip reading 4.185 - 226.20.

(LEFT) Making another solid run, Josh Hart came through the lights at 3.731 - 306.88 to just miss joining the top runners in the 3.60-zone.

(RIGHT) Slowing after a less than successful pass, Matt Hagan couldn't have been happy with the 8.681 - 80.88 reading on the scoreboards.

(LEFT) Continuing to make solid runs without going all the way to the finish line, Clay Millican stopped the timers with a good 3.831 - 272.89 on his first run of the final day.

(RIGHT) Still looking to see some good numbers come up on the scoreboard, Paul Lee's troubles continued as evidenced by the 6.810 - 92.23 reading from this pass.

(LEFT) Getting more laps under his belt, Top Fuel rookie, Scott Farley, shut off very early to a 5.56 e.t. on this attempt.

(RIGHT) Making only his second pass of the three-day test session, Tim Wilkerson backed up his earlier 3.929 - 294.69 with an almost as good 3.945 - 323.12 on this run.

(LEFT) The numbers don't really add up, but Chad Green stopped the clocks at 4.780 with a trap speed of only 62.21 mph. The incrementals must have been incredible before he shut off, but unfortunately, we don't have access to them.

(RIGHT) Making his first pass of the test session, Gary Densham (filling in for his "otherwise engaged" son Steven), didn't get very far under power, crawling to a 15-second e.t. on this run.

(LEFT) Running side-by-side with his teammate Doug Kalitta (not shown), Shawn Langdon clicked it a little early but still put up a very good number of 3.765 - 312.71 on his first run of the day. It was his best run of spring training to this point.

(RIGHT)

(LEFT) After several 3-second runs, Cruz Pedregon pushed the Snap-On car to his best of the test 3.920 - 322.18 as the team prepared to build on their successful 2021 season with a strong start at the Winternationals.

(RIGHT) The good runs continued for Chris McGaha as he posted a solid 5.524 - 190.67 to show he was ready to race next week.

(LEFT) Getting into the competitive zone with this 3.732 - 324.20 pass, Tony Schumacher started seeing some good results as the team worked hard to get the new car and crew members sorted out before the season opener in Pomona.

(RIGHT) Making his best run of the week - to this point - was Austin Prock who laid down a very good 3.734 - 327.59, but that was surpassed later in the day with a great 3.685 - 333.66 to finish his testing with two back-to-back great runs.

(LEFT) Slowing after putting down his best run of testing, Justin Ashley rang up a big number on the boards with a 3.691 - 330.07 displayed.

(RIGHT) Not doing quite so well was Antron Brown who needed an assist from the Safety Safari after shutting down early to a 10-second pass.

(LEFT) Making his ninth and final pass of the three-day test session, Shawn Langdon made his best run at 3.731 - 310.77 to show some good consistency as they prepared to head for the season opener in Pomona next week.

(RIGHT) Another solid run was on tap for Doug Kalitta as he stopped the clocks at 3.797 - 277.89 and showed the consistency that had been so sorely lacking in the 2021 season.

(LEFT) Continuing his careful series of test runs, Clay Millican cut the power early, leading to a 3.810 - 286.98 timeslip, but more good data for crew chief Mike Kloeber to work with as they prepared for the coming season.

(RIGHT) Making his sixth and final run over the 3-day session, Alex Miladinovich showed that there was still more work to do to get on top of the tuneup for his Hot 4 Teacher car. The numbers were his best of the week, but a "best" of 5.828 - 190.27 wasn't a good way to end the pre-season.

(LEFT) After his troubled run earlier in the day, with a bit of a fire at the finish line, Robert Hight kept everything in good order on this pass, clocking a 3.938 - 325.77 to get things back on track.

(RIGHT) A seldom seen sight of a Top Fuel car and a Funny Car running side-by-side featured the two members of the Tony Stewart Racing team in a matchup made for publicity photos. On the left, Matt Hagan stopped the timers with an early shutoff 3.954 - 284.45, crossing the finish line second, as teammate Leah Pruett made her best run of testing, a very good 3.706 - 330.47 to take the "win".

(LEFT) After a best of 4.16 yesterday, Chad Green didn't pick up enough to go into the 3's, but did cross the line at 4.231 - 242.06 on his final test pass.

(RIGHT) Gradually improving as he acclimates himself to a Top Fuel car, after a few years of running in Pro Mod, Scott Farley (in the Terry Haddock Racing) car, got closer to making a full pass, carding a 4.291 - 218.58 on this attempt.

(LEFT) Finishing up his second day of testing with a string of 5.50-runs, Chris McGaha stopped the timers with a 5.515 - 191.13 on this pass.

(RIGHT) Not too far back in the e.t. department, Camrie Caruso continued to show she was a quick learner, whipping her mount to a 5.540 - 176.95 on this outing. With more than a dozen passes over the three days, including several side-by-side passes she appeared more than ready for her debut at the Winternationals.

(LEFT) Making another foray into the 3-second zone, Bob Tasca III cut the power a little early, but still put up a solid 3.945 - 300.53 on the scoreboards. That made a total of three runs in the 3's of the seven passes he made during testing.

(RIGHT) With four out of seven runs under 4-seconds, Cruz Pedregon had to be happy with the test session. He finished with this run, slowing from his earlier in the day 3.92 effort, coming in with a 4.160 - 232.25 timeslip.

(LEFT) Winning the award for most runs in the 3-day test session was Matt Hartford, as this was the last of 16 passes he made during Spring Training. It was one of his best, as he laid down a very good 5.502 - 190.27 on this attempt, just a little slower than his best of the session 5.499 - 191.24 earlier in the day.

(RIGHT) Making her third 3-second pass in five attempts over the course of the 3-day session, Alexis DeJoria rang up a good 3.942 - 325.22 on this run.

(LEFT) Saving his best for last, Paul Lee's fourth pass in testing yielded a promising 4.393 - 200.74, after three troubled runs on earlier attempts.

(RIGHT) Making nine runs during the three days, Matt Hagan finally broke into the 3.80's with a very good 3.858 - 329.04 to close out his test week for the new Power Brokers team.

Closing the final day of pre-season testing, Doug Kalitta headed down track with the flames up, enroute to a good 3.723 - 319.14 as he finished the three days with his quickest pass of the 11 he made during the test session. All that testing looked like it could be a good lead-in to a much improved season in 2022.