Last Updated on February 22, 2026 9:46 pm
Sunday Recap
Division 7 crowned the first NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series winners of the 2026 Season on Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, AZ. Defending Top Alcohol Dragster World Champion Shawn Cowie picked up where he left off with a wire-to-wire victory defeating first time finalist Braiden Chesleigh in the final round. The opposite could be said in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final round as first time finalist Tobin Gasparrelli got the job done defeating former World Champ Doug Gordon in an excellent 5.62 to 5.66 battle. Dennis Paz may have had the most impressive victory of the weekend wheeling his SS/NA ’65 El Camino to the Super Stock Wally defeating former World Champ Justin Lamb in the final round. Other class winners from Firebird include Grant Durie (Top Dragster), William Mizia (Top Sportsman), Scott McClay (Comp), Chris Hall (Stock), Trey Vetter (Super Comp), Pete Bothe (Super Gas), Kyle Fritz (Super Street) and Jeremy Bates (Sportsman Motorcycle).
NHRA D7 Points Race
February 21-22, 2025
Firebird Motorsports Park – Chandler, AZ
Top Alcohol Dragster
Winner – Shawn Cowie
RU – Braiden Chesleigh
Semis – Jerry Kumre
Semis – Johnny Ahten
Final Round: Cowie .062, 5.335/277 def. Chesleigh .111, 8.657/96
#1 Qualifier – Shawn Cowie 5.147
Top Alcohol Funny Car
Winner – Tobin Gasparrelli
RU – Doug Gordon
Semis – Shane Westerfield
Final Round: Gasparrelli .071, 5.625/263 def. Gordon .054, 5.660/264
#1 Qualifier – Shane Westerfield 5.434
Top Dragster
Winner – Grant Durie
RU – Tom Bayer
Semis – Bruce Williams
Semis – Mitch Lippen
Final Round: Durie .008, 6.205 (6.23) def. Bayer .027, 6.164 (6.19)
#1 Qualifier – Don London 6.106
Top Sportsman
Winner – William Mizia
RU – Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson
Semis – Will Yakimetz
Final Round: Mizia .014, 7.787 (7.79) def. Snyder-Ellingson .043, 6.518 (6.53)
#1 Qualifier – Jeff Connelly 6.100
Comp
Winner – Scott McClay
RU – Joe Mozeris
Semis – Kevin Carter
Semis – Steve Graham
Final Round: McClay .131, 13.895 (7.75) def. Mozeris -.499, 26.947 (7.52)
#1 Qualifier – Ryan Priddy (A/A) -.696 – 6.384
Super Stock
Winner – Dennis Paz
RU – Justin Lamb
Semis – Trey Vetter
Semis – Tim Seymour
Final Round: Paz .022, 11.835 (11.83) def. Lamb .017, 8.603 (8.61)
#1 Qualifier – Chris Hall (FSS/C) -1.121 – 8.529
Stock
Winner – Chris Hall
RU – Parker Theobald
Semis – Mike Johnston
Semis – Jimmy DeFrank
Final Round: Hall .018, 10.431 (10.43) def. Theobald .023, 10.656 (10.67)
#1 Qualifier – Mark Madison (AA/SA) -1.186 – 9.514
Super Comp
Winner – Trey Vetter
RU – Jack Derencin
Semis – Trevor Harkema
Final Round: Vetter .013, 8.868 (8.90) def. Derencin -.001, 8.886 (8.90)
Super Gas
Winner – Pete Bothe
RU – Brandon Dolezal
Semis – Bryan Morris
Semis – Mike Lang
Final Round: Bothe .019, 9.969 (9.90) def. Dolezal .044, 9.882 (9.90)
Super Street
Winner – Kyle Fritz
RU – Kenny Snow
Semis – Keith Manogue
Final Round: Fritz .045, 10.873 (10.90) def. Snow -.004, 10.935 (10.90)
Sportsman Motorcycle
Winner – Jeremy Bates
RU – Sean Phipps
Semis – Kahea Woods
Final Round: Bates .027, 8.724 (8.73) def. Phipps .039, 9.210 (9.23)
Saturday Recap
The first Lucas Oil Series event of the 2026 NHRA season spent Saturday Qualifying at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, AZ. This Division 7 event saw some incredible performances, including Jeff Connelly’s perfect 6.100 on the 6.10 Top Sportsman class cap. Don London was 6 thousandths from perfect with a 6.106 to lead the Top Dragster field. Comp Eliminator saw Ryan Priddy’s A/A ’20 Camaro edge out Cody Lane for the #1 Qualifying position by just .005. Chris Hall (Super Stock), Mark Madison (Stock) and Kahea Woods (Sportsman Motorcycle) rounded out the Lucas Oil Series Top Qualifiers at this event.
Saturday Top Alcohol Recap
The NHRA Lucas Oil Series Top Alcohol classes kicked off their 2026 season at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, AZ with Qualifying on Saturday. Defending back-to-back TA Dragster World Champ Shawn Cowie continued his reign of terror on the class earning the #1 Qualifying spot with a 5.147 ET at 280MPH. Cowie led an all-Blown Alcohol Top 3 with Jon Bradford and Joey Severance right behind him going into Race Day. Top Alcohol Funny Car saw Shane Westerfield steal the show in Q2 with a booming 5.434 ET in his brand new car for the Jackson team. Annie Whiteley was right behind him with a 5.456, while Doug Gordon’s return to the driver’s seat lands him in the #3 position heading into Eliminations on Sunday. Round One pairings listed below.
— TAD Final Q Order
Cowie 5.147
Bradford 5.200
Severance 5.216
Ahten 5.319
Demke 5.546
Kumre 6.232
Chesleigh 8.157
— E1 Pairings
1. Cowie vs. Bye
4. Ahten vs. 5. Demke
2. Bradford vs. 7. Chesleigh
3. Severance vs. 6. Kumre
— TAFC Final Q Order
Westerfield 5.434
A.Whiteley 5.456
Gordon 5.517
Martin 5.624
Gasparrelli 5.660
— E1 Pairings
1. Westerfield vs. Bye
3. Gordon vs. 4. Martin
2. Whiteley vs. 5. Gasparrelli
Friday National Open Recap
Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, AZ hosts the first NHRA Lucas Oil Series event of 2026 this weekend. Thursday and Friday consisted of a NHRA D7 National Open event as a Warmup to the D7 Points Race on Sat-Sun. Tom Bayer put it dead-on with a 3 to take the Top Comp combo class victory over Brandon Hoover. Mike Williams scored the Stock/Super Stock combo Wally defeating Michael Povolny in the final. Tom Medlin continued his winning ways with another Sportsman Motorcycle class victory. The .90 classes were incredibly competitive as usual with Cody Stevenson (SC), Val Torres (SG) and Keith Downing emerging victorious. Saturday will see Qualifying for the NHRA D7 Lucas Oil Series points race in all categories, including the Top Alcohol classes. To watch this event, check out www.NHRA.tv or @NHRA on Youtube.
NHRA D7 National Open
February 19-20, 2025
Firebird Motorsports Park – Chandler, AZ
Top Comp (TD/TS/Comp Combo)
Winner – Tom Bayer
RU – Brandon Hoover
Semis – Anita Strasburg
Final Round: Bayer .029, 6.163 (6.16) def. Hoover .003, 6.551 (6.51)
Super Stock/Stock Combo
Winner – Mike Williams
RU – Michael Povolny
Semis – Shelby Williams
Semis – Ritch Ahrens
Final Round: Williams .103, 10.697 (10.65) def. Povolny .309, 9.413 (9.42)
Super Comp
Winner – Cody Stevenson
RU – Mitch Marcy
Semis – David Alves
Final Round: Stevenson .005, 8.927 (8.90) def. Marcy .028, 8.916 (8.90)
Super Gas
Winner – Val Torres
RU – Chris Naffziger
Semis – Mike Boehner
Semis – Ken Yeoman
Final Round: Torres .013, 9.898 (9.90) def. Naffziger .024, 9.889 (9.90)
Super Street
Winner – Keith Downing
RU – Art Hoover
Semis – James Gonzalez
Final Round: Downing .023, 10.914 (10.90) def. Hoover .021, 10.917 (10.90)
Sportsman Motorcycle
Winner – Tom Medlin
RU – Clay Pollitt
Final Round: Medlin .032, 8.142 (8.09) def. Pollitt .041, 8.317 (8.23)
