GAINESVILLE, Fla. Racings most unexpected rivalry reached a new level on Sunday afternoon during the 56th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

With the addition of the NTT IndyCar Series to FOX Sports TV coverage this season, the company has pushed ads with the slogan, fastest racing on earth.

Once drivers and teams within the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series caught wind of the marketing campaign, it became personal. After all, two drivers eclipsed 341 mph last season alone in Funny Car.

Bob Tasca III was the first at the PRO Superstar Shootout, while Austin Prock also hit the mark during the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

The fastest an Indy car can reach is approximately 235 mph entering turn three at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Many employees of NHRA have been wearing black T-shirts with the slogan, #NHRASpeedCheck all weekend.

The shirts referred to the series recent social media campaigns with the same hashtag being used.

But that was just the beginning.

Following his winning run against Prock in the first round, Tasca, who eclipsed 341 mph during the PRO Superstar Shootout last year, dropped a match on gasoline during his top-end interview.

I said a few things getting out of the car, and I really mean it, and I want to say it to the fans, Tasca began. Im very disappointed with FOX Sports. All winter, I got to hear The fastest motorsport in the world, and I looked up and I didnt see the PPG Mustang, and I didnt see (Austin) Procks car. I saw an Indy car.

And the fact is, we are the fastest motorsport in racing and I think its an insult to the drivers and the fans. And truthfully, I didnt think FOX was the fake news network.

Ironically, full-time IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal was in attendance in support of John Force Racing. His wife is former Funny Car driver Courtney Force.

AVONDALE, Ariz. Christopher Bell prevailed in a dramatic side-by-side finish with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin the second-closest finish in Phoenix Raceway history to earn Bell his third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory this season, a record in the sports Next Gen Car era.

Bells No. 20 JGR Toyota went high alongside Hamlins No. 11 Toyota as the two cars dueled it out in the final two corners of a two-lap shootout on the one-mile speedway.

The 30-year-old Oklahoman claimed the historic win by a mere .049 seconds, marking his second straight victory in this spring race at Phoenix.

How about that one, race fans? Oh my gosh! a jubilant Bell shouted to the Phoenix crowd after collecting the winners checkered flag at the start-finish line.

Whenever youre sitting there dreaming it up, thats about as ugly as it gets. You put the red [option] tires on, and youre like, all right, what I dont want to happen is go 20, 30 laps, get a yellow. That happened. Then we went 10 more laps, had another yellow.

It was all about who could get clear on the restart. Neither of us could. We were racing really hard coming to the line. JGR ran 1-2 how about that?

Hamlins runner-up finish was disappointing in the moment but still his best of the early season in the No. 11 JGR Toyota, earning the team its first 1-2 finish of 2025. He led the white-flag lap but couldnt fend off Bell, who drove the fastest car of the day, leading a race-high 103 of the 312 laps.

Great job by the Sport Clips team, it got better as it went, Hamlin said. Pit crew did a phenomenal job keeping us in the game. We had a bad stop in the middle but made up for it in the end.

[The end] was the first time we were able to get some clean air all day, and our car was really fast. I really wanted it to stay green because I thought thats where wed excel, especially on these tires. We got a good restart the five [Kyle Larson] really gave me a good push on the frontstretch and down the backstretch. I had position on the 20, but I knew he was going to send it in there if he could. We just ran out of racetrack. But great finish.

Team owner Joe Gibbs joked afterward that having his two drivers battle for the win and finish 1-2 was a huge positive, but it had him on pins and needles during the closing laps Sunday.

It can be a tense Monday meeting if it doesnt work out, he said with a laugh.

Hendrick Motorsports Kyle Larson claimed third place, with Wood Brothers Racings Josh Berry and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racings Chris Buescher rounding out the top five.

It was the best finish of the year for Berry and came on a busy afternoon where teams had to strategize using two kinds of tires option (red) or primary (yellow) for only the second time in Next Gen points-racing competition.

Goodyear allotted each team two sets of the option tires and six of the primary, with the idea that the red option tires were quicker but presented a challenge due to their quicker wear. The initial response to the extra element in the race was positive.

Everything went according to plan at Phoenix, and the option tire worked very well, Goodyears NASCAR project manager Mark Keto said after the race. It gave teams a chance to vary their strategies and maximize their effectiveness to gain track position over teams that were on the primary tires.

Teams were also able to manage their options once they got track position and make them last longer into a run. Overall, we were very happy with the balance and strategy of the prime/option tire setup and how it added to the racing all day.

The tire option played into the race, with RFK Racings Ryan Preece, for example, switching early to the red tires and ultimately advancing more than 25 positions on track to lead 34 laps. Winning crew chief Adam Stevens said after the race that a lot was learned about the tires and hoped the series would be open to using them again. NASCAR will hold a closed tire test Monday at Phoenix.

Hendrick teammates William Byron and Alex Bowman finished sixth and seventh, followed by Richard Childress Racings Kyle Busch, Front Row Motorsports Zane Smith, and Hendricks Chase Elliott, rounding out the top 10. It was the third consecutive top 10 for two-time series champion Busch and a season-best finish for Smith.

It was just crazy there at the end, Byron said. We restarted 21st and got into the top 10 pretty quickly. I feel like we probably used up a lot of tire on the reds to get those last few spots, so it was hard to get much more.

Im happy with it. The No. 24 Chevrolet team put together a good weekend. We learned a lot and got a solid finish, so thats something to be proud of.

One-mile tracks like Phoenix are not typically known for big multi-car accidents, but the big one in the desert occurred early in Sundays race. Spire Motorsports teammates Justin Haley and Carson Hocevar, along with Joe Gibbs Racings Chase Briscoe, made heavy contact racing four-wide out of Turn 2, ultimately collecting and eliminating five other cars from the race.

Despite the early end to his chances, Haley was impressed with the softer option tires.

I wish I would have been on the option tires the whole time and everyone else on the primaries, Haley said. They just make you feel like Superman. I like the tire. I honestly feel like we should go to them everywhere. They make the cars drive a lot better. I dont know if thats what you want, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Bell now heads to the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week, hoping to match a milestone set by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who is the only driver to win four of a seasons first five races, doing so in 1992.

Byron leads the championship standings by 13 points over Bell as the NASCAR Cup Series returns to competition Sunday in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Larson is the defending race winner.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Defending Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown kicked off the NHRA season with a victory on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway, defeating defending event winner Shawn Langdon in the final round of the 56th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Chad Green (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the first of 20 races during the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Brown went 3.673 seconds at 333.99 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster to slip past Langdons 3.684 at 332.67, as the four-time world champion won for the 81st time in his career. Brown, who qualified No. 1, defeated Krista Baldwin, Clay Millican and Steve Torrence to reach the final round before picking up his second career win at Gainesville Raceway.

That gives Brown, who posted reaction times of .032 and .036 in the semifinals and finals, respectively, eight straight round wins dating back to last season as the year started in perfect fashion for the longtime star.

Its tough to go against Shawn Langdon and [crew chief] Brian Husen, Brown said. They always have the performance. Actually, there are a lot of cars out here that did their homework, put the work in, and can run mid-to-low 3.6s. Brian [Corradi, crew chief] and my guys were just adamant that we dont shoot ourselves in the foot.

We dug deep to make a run like that and set low E.T. says a lot about our team. We just stayed cool until the track came around. Youve got to put it up there when youre racing these guys. These drivers in Top Fuel are just incredible this year. We kept on digging deep after winning a championship and thats a tribute to these guys.

Landgon, who won in Gainesville a year ago, drove past Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Jasmine Salinas to reach the final round for the 46th time in his career.

Chad Green opened his 2025 Funny Car season in standout fashion, going 3.921 at 329.18 in his 11,000-horsepower Bond-Coat Ford Mustang to roll past Ron Capps and earn his first career Gatornationals win. This will be one Green surely remembers, as Green went 3.922 and 3.921 in back-to-back rounds to claim his second career victory.

He defeated Paul Lee, Buddy Hull and Matt Hagan to reach the final round, posting a series of consistent runs to get past a loaded Funny Car class. Green will now leave Gainesville Raceway with the points lead for the first time in his career and also plenty of momentum after a magical performance on Sunday.

This race is so special, I mean its the Gators, Green said. There are so many historical things that have happened at this race for so many years and I was saying in my [top end] interview that my very first race down the racetrack in an official race car was here at this track, so yeah, it means a lot to me.

Ive always said its so important to start off the year off and do well at the first race or else youre behind the eight ball. This just takes the cake right here. To start off No. 1 in points, that really awesome. Im just so excited.

Capps, who is seeking his first win since the 2023 season, advanced to his 148th career final round with victories against John Smith, Bobby Bode and Alexis DeJoria.

In Pro Stock, Dallas Glenn extracted some bit of revenge on his KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson, defeating the reigning world champion to open the 2025 season with a run of 6.549 at 211.13 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro. It is Glenns 14th career win and second at Gainesville (2022) and helped make up for Anderson picking up the win at a winner-take-all final round with the championship on the line last November at the NHRA Finals in Pomona.

Glenn defeated Brandon Miller, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Cory Reed to advance to the finals and rolled to the win against Anderson, who ran into trouble right off the starting line. It was Glenns first win in five final-round matchups with Anderson, a strong sign the young phenom could be in for a big season.

Im thankful because there were a few rounds where I felt like I didnt have the best car but we picked away at it, Glenn said. In the final I was looking to throw one down but it shook a little in low gear. I think we had more in it. Its nice to get one back from Greg but Im more impressed by our KB Titan team. We had the top four spots in qualifying and almost put four cars in the semis. Cory Reed was a handful today and hes going to be tough all year. It wont be long before hes sitting up here doing a winners interview.

Ive now made a lot of runs in the car and I know I can beat Greg, but you have to do your job to perfection. Its hard to do, but I know I can beat him. When we race, I just try to be me, and stick with my normal routine.

Anderson, who qualified No. 1 with a world-record run of 6.443, picked up his 183rd final-round appearance with victories against Chris McGaha, Derrick Reese and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

There appears to be no stopping Gaige Herrera at Gainesville Raceway, as the back-to-back defending world champion remained unbeaten at the historic facility, picking up his third straight Gatornationals victory with a run of 6.722 at 200.23 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki to defeat rival Matt Smith.

Its Herreras 22nd win since the start of the 2023 campaign, an incredible run that started with his first career win in Gainesville. He knocked off Geno Scali, Kelly Clontz and Chase Van Sant to reach the final round, leaving first against Smith and picking up the victory. He also matches Eddie Krawiec as the only riders to win three straight Pro Stock Motorcycle races at Gainesville Raceway.

This was a good day for me and a great day for Vance & Hines, Herrera said. We got here early this morning and had to sit through hours and I was like, Lets get on with it. Otherwise, my bike was deadly consistent. We made three straight runs that were 6.76 and Im amazed that Andrew [Hines] can do that. In the final, we knew we needed more so we threw everything at it. I thought wed run better but I didnt expect a 6.72. Im a neutral person and Matt [Smith] and I are cordial, but he does have a bit rivalry with Vance & Hines and I think its good for the class.

Smith went 6.723 at 203.19 in the final round, advancing to the championship round for the 82nd time in his career. Earlier in the day, the six-time world champion knocked off Lance Bonham, John Hall and his wife, Angie.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. After countless speculation on whether the 56th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals would be pushed to Monday due to weather, the famed event was completed in its entirety on Sunday.

With that, brought perhaps one of the most action-packed days Gainesville Raceway has seen in recent memory.

The long, grueling day saw the following winners: Chad Green in Funny Car, Antron Brown in Top Fuel, Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock and Gaige Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Heres some of our observations from the day:

A Rare JFR Dud 

As the defending Funny Car champions, John Force Racing naturally has a target on its back entering the season.

The weekend began with plenty of promise as Jack Beckman notched the No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car.

However, eliminations presented a new challenge.

Beckman survived his opening round against Blake Alexander before is day coming to a halt against Matt Hagan and Tony Stewart Racing.

Reigning champion Austin Prock had arguably the worst start to a season imaginable as he lost in the first round to Bob Tasca III. Procks Funny Car barely got off the line before the tires gave out in a puff of smoke.

That comes after two brutal qualifying runs on Friday which put him 15th on the board.

Interesting enough, the last time a defending champion in the category lost in the first round of the NHRAs opening race was 2020 with Matt Hagan in Gainesville.

In Top Fuel, Brittany Force suffered a first-round loss to Tony Stewart after qualifying sixth on Friday.

Female Semifinals 

A day after International Womens Day, two women in NHRAs nitro categories reached the semifinals. Alexis DeJoria knocked out Terry Haddock and Bob Tasca III en route to a final four appearance in Funny Car.

It was a sensational first day with her new team, JCM Racing. It was perhaps a positive team-building event as well as the team thrashed to get her car to the starting line twice, including to repair their one and only car body.

Jasmine Salinas also reached the semifinals in Top Fuel. Salinas took out Shawn Reed and Dan Mercier before falling to Shawn Langdon.

It wasnt for a lack of trying in the semis for Salinas, however, as she lost by 0.05 seconds.

Gainesville Fans Are Diehards 

For as much rain and uncertainty fans endured throughout the weekend, attendance for all three days of the NHRA Gatornationals was simply off the charts.

Even during a long period of time in the morning where everyone was forced to wait out the rain, it seemed as if barely anyone left. Once clear skies reemerged, the grandstands were blanketed with people.

The only downside to diehard fans showing up in droves at a drag racing facility is the difficulties of getting in and out of the parking lot.

If anyone considers going to the Gatornationals in the future, a piece of advice if you think a certain time is early enough, get there one hour earlier than that originally proposed time.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Sundays Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals featured something not seen very often at a typical NHRA event a full rounds-worth, if not more, of head-to-head pedalfests.

Lack of rubber due to excessive rain on Saturday made for sketchy conditions during the first handful of rounds. Every Top Fuel pairing endured the same issue during the first round, which made for some fascinating racing.

Last years rookie of the year, Tony Stewart, was the only driver in the first round to reach the top end of the race track under full power as he knocked out Brittany Force.

Against Dan Mercier, No. 2 qualifier Tripp Tatum had a wild moment as his dragster veered left and slapped the outside wall before spinning to the other side. Tatum was OK. It was an unfortunate end to the part-time driver, who showed plenty of speed.

The question remains how do drivers counteract when track conditions force them to almost go into dirt track mode at speeds reaching 330-plus mph?

Eventual event winner Antron Browns philosophy begins at the water box when he does his burnout. That becomes the gauge of the current conditions.

I saw all the bald spots in it, Brown said. I saw bare concrete, rubbers coming right off the race track.

Im like, Alright, well, man should I leave my hand on the brake? Thats what Im telling myself. But I didnt. I was like, No, I better not do that. Because then it might slow it down too much and do some different stuff.

Next comes the mental aspect mere seconds before the tree lights up green. Being ready for the effects the track will have on his race car.

(As) soon as I hit the gas pedal, I was ready for any rattle that I felt, Brown said. You didnt see smoke come off my tires. I felt the rattle before it spun.

As soon as I felt that rattle, its one of those things in your mindset where you go, Alright, what do you do?

Thats where the experience comes in where Im always not patient. Im very anxious. Where Im always quick to catch it, but Im really quick to get back on the gas pedal because I wanna recover quicker to get the deal.

When those instances come in, you gotta be able to pause yourself and be very slow to react, Brown continued. Thats what I did. I literally was slow to react and when I came back onto the pedal, you can look at the video, I didnt even push the pedal the whole way down.

I literally cracked them open like you do a burnout. I kept it there until the car go momentum before I rolled all the way into it.

Browns first and only pedalfest on the day came in the first round against Krista Baldwin, who hung alongside the four-time Top Fuel champion for a decent amount of the run before experience won the day.

From there, Brown and his Brian Coradi-led team got better with every pass. They saved their best for last as Brown ran low ET in the finals against Shawn Langdon with a 3.673 ET at 333.99 mph.