Last Updated on August 11, 2026 10:54 pm
A look at the most Interesting Drag Racing Stories over the Weekend that may get buried in the News Cycle. The DRN Weekly Roundup is Presented by DragRacing.News.
PDRA Thunder Valley Throwdown @ Bristol (DRN’s Coverage)
Ryan Altman Scores First Pro 632 Win at PDRA Bristol
Ryan Altman earned the Victory in Pro 632 defeating #1 Qualifier and Points Leader JC Beattie in the Final Round. Altman used a unique double bulb staging technique to get a small holeshot advantage 052 to 056, and hang on for a 4.185 to 4.191 decision. #3 Qualifier Altman fought through tough battles with Jason Ventura and Jeff Pittman in the opening rounds. Ryan’s Win was part of a Double Up for the Greenbrier Excavating & Paving Team as Wyatt Piercy was the Top Junior Dragster Winner.
Jody Stroud’s Zombie is Unstoppable in Elite Top Dragster at Bristol
Jody Stroud has been a mainstay of Fast Top Dragster racing for many years with the Zombie, and this Weekend it all came together for Jody and his Team. They first uncorked an incredible 3.598/208MPH (.919 60′, 2.419 to the Middle) blast during Qualifying that was Quicker than the 3.65 PDRA Elite Top Dragster class cap. Jody’s Race Day tuneup saw him dialed in the 3.70-71 Range, getting by Tisha Wilson & Danielle Gonzalez in the Opening Rounds before setting up a Primetime Semi-Final Matchup with Points Leader Steve Furr. Jody laid down a solid 14 Total Lap (011 + Dead 3, 3.713 on 3.71 Dial) and he needed every bit of it as Furr was 23 Total & 009 Behind at the Stripe. This set up a Final Round between Stroud and new Points Leader Josh Duggins. The Luck was on Stroud’s side on this Day as Duggins turned it 003 Red, while Jody had his worst run of the Event at 3.870 to earn the PDRA Bristol victory.
NHRA Division 3 LODRS @ Indy (DRN Coverage)
Tim Millwood’s Super Comp Win at Indy
Super Comp (8.90 Index) is typically a Dragster dominated category. Occasionally, you will see an Altered, Roadster or Door Car but at NHRA Events 95%+ of entries are Rear-Engine Dragsters. That’s what made the SC Final at Indy this weekend so special. Tim Millwood’s Dodge Daytona earned the win over Nathan Vrooman’s Cavalier in an excellent Drag Race. Millwood left first 006 to 016, and kept the lead thru the stripe in a 8.917 to 8.954 decision. Millwood’s Win propels him into the Top 5 in National Points, while Vrooman’s Runner-Up puts him in a Tie for 2nd Place currently.
Darian Boesch “The Champ” is Back with Top Sportsman Win at Division 3 Indy
Not that Darian Boesch has gone anywhere this Season, but it hasn’t exactly been a normal season for the Defending Top Sportsman World Champ. His best finish heading into this Weekend’s NHRA D3 Points Race in Indy was a Runner-Up at Race 2 of the Norwalk Double Header. Boesch Qualified #3, then was plain flat nasty in Eliminations with a Worst RT of 017 over the 5 Rounds. In the Semis, Darian let go 011 and put it Dead-0 on the 6.28 Dial taking 001 Stripe to defeat Brandon Baxter. Boesch then came back in the Final and was 007 on the tree and 1 Above (6.281 on 6.27 Dial) to defeat the always tough Chris Osborn. We will see if Darian can keep the momentum rolling, and make a run at the Title Defense.
Street Warrior and Specialty Classes Add Spice to Indy
NHRA Division 3 added some specialty classes to the Indy Weekend. These classes were highly attended within the now defunct NMCA series, and had a solid turnout at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The closest Final Round was in the Street Warrior 10.10 Index category. Keith Vaughn earned the Wally in his Corvette with a 035 RT and 10.117 ET to defeat Jaden Dietsch’s 071 RT and Dead-0 Lap (10.100). Other Winners from these classes include David Theisen (Small Tire Pro Stock), Tim Flanders (8.60 Outlaw Eliminator) and Gordon Harlow (Open Comp).
TB Promotions $250K @ US 131 Motorsports Park (DRN Coverage)
David Wright ‘Space’ Cracks Em for $250K
Florida Racer David Wright scored the Biggest Drag Racing Win of his Life on Saturday night as he won the TB Promotions $250K Main Event Final Round. Wright let go 004 and set it Dead-8 (4.448 on 4.44 Dial) to earn the prestigious victory over Blake Fuqua in an all-Dragster Final. David is affectionately known as “Space” due to his connections with the Space X program, hence the X on the side of his Folk Race Cars-built Dragster. Congrats to David Wright and his Friends on the Big Score at US 131.
Michigan No Box Racer Kelly Smith Cashes in Big for $50K at US 131
Kelly Smith has had an Incredible 2026 Season, and it got even better during the TB Promotions $250K Weekend. Kelly has been dominant at Mid Michigan Motorplex this Season as he has a Massive Lead in Modified Points & is just 1 Point out of First Place in Top ET. He showed just how good he and his ’57 Chevy Roadster (named “Betty White”) are during the Friday $50K Main Event at the TB Promotions US 131 Event. Kelly had an early exit on his No Box Entry, but Entry 2 on the Box side is the one that paid off big. Letting go off the Bottom Bulb, Smith made it to an all-Roadster Final Round versus Lysle Roseman. In the Final, Roseman let go 005 Red sending Smith and Betty White to the Winners Circle.
Nightfire Nationals @ Firebird Raceway Boise (DRN Coverage)
Brandon Seraphine Continues Fuel Altered Dream Season with Boise Win
Brandon Seraphine continued his impressive Fuel Altered Season with another Big Victory at the Nightfire Nationals in Boise. Seraphine qualified #1 with his familiar “Spare Change” Altered. Brandon recorded a 6.19 to defeat Rodney Flournoy in Round 1 before going 6.09 on his Semi-Final Round Bye Run. In the Final, Brandon slowed to a 6.16 but it was good enough to earn the W as Vince Karstetter left 072 early turning on the Red Bulb. Brandon’s Boise Trophy joins his other 2026 Fuel Altered hardware from Bakersfield (March Meet) and Tucson (Fuel Altered Chaos). There’s no doubt who has the Baddest Fuel Altered on the West Coast in 2026.
Boise Top Fire Storylines: Kidd Family Sweep and Hired Gun Henry Roberson Full-Bodied Winner
Firebird Raceway’s Nightfire Nationals features a Special Quick 16 Showdown called Top Fire. Basically the Quickest 16 Bracket Dragsters race down to 1, and the Quickest 16 Full-Bodied Cars do the same. The Final Round is a Run Off between the Dragster & Full-Bodied Winner. The Top Fire Dragster Final Round saw a Father-Son matchup as Rayce Kidd took the win over Dad (Mark) in a great Drag Race. On the Top Fire Full-Bodied side, Henry Roberson did an excellent job as Hired Gun piloting Mark Tyacke’s ’55 Austin Healy Roadster to the victory over Duston Wurtz’s Corvette Roadster. This set up a Final Round where the Dragster was not to be denied as Kidd let go 000 Perfect and set it 1 Above (4.61 on 4.60 Dial) to earn the W.
Triple 777 Bracket Jackpot @ Earlville
Brandon Schmall Puts On a No Box Clinic in Iowa
Brandon Schmall had an incredible weekend at Tri-State Raceway during the Triple 777 Bracket Jackpot. Schmall piloted his Fox Body Mustang to the No Box victory during the Friday $7K, that was finished on Saturday. Brandon then went on to the Main Event Final Round, where he came up 011 short to the Dragster of Tyler Barsema. Later on Saturday, Brandon was crushing it with two Entries still in with 4 Cars Left in No Box. He would drop the first Entry to Steve Roehrs, but advanced past Nick Engler, setting up another battle with the 3rd Gen Camaro of Roehrs. In this rematch, Schmall crushed the tree 005 and set it 2 Above (6.264 on 6.26 Dial) to turn on the Win Light by 003. This would put Brandon into the Main Event with 4 Cars Left. Unfortunately, darkness would cause the Purse to be split among the Final 4: Schmall, Dan Boger, Mitch Melchert and Al Grimm. Schmall drove off with plenty of Hardware & a good Chunk of Cash from this visit to Earlville, Iowa.
Points Updates
Lucas Oil National Points
The only NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series action over the Weekend was the Division 3 Points Race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Michael Brand jumped to the Top Spot in Stock Eliminator National Points with a 4th Round Loss, now 3 Rounds ahead of Shane Oakes. Nathan Vrooman was the other big mover on the Day as his Super Comp Runner-up moved him into a tie for 2nd Place in Points with Don Higgins, while his Quarter-Final (5th Round) Finish in Super Gas stretches his Points Lead to 4 Rounds. Another racer that made a Big Move is Blaine Zaskowski in Super Stock as his Runner-Up Finish puts him within 120 Points of the Lead despite having only 1 National Event claim so far this season.
PDRA Drag Racing Series
- The Pro Street title hunt tightened up in Bristol with Richard Reagan’s Win moving him within 1 Point of Leader Blake Denton. Scott Kincaid, Joel Wensley and Jerry Morgano are all within striking distance with 2 Races Left.
- Austin Vincent’s Win coupled with Connor McGee’s E2 Loss moved Vincent 1 Round ahead in the Championship Battle.
- In Elite Top Sportsman, Zach Houser’s Runner-Up Finish propels him past incoming Leader Scott Duggins heading to Benson.
- Joe Roubicek’s Big Win in Bristol moves him into a 4+ Round Lead in Top Sportsman.
- The Elite Top Dragster chase is a two horse race with Josh Duggins’ RU Finish jumping past Steve Furr’s semi-final exit by just 18 Points with 2 Races to go.
- Joe Gary’s Final Round RU moves him to the Top of the List in Top Dragster with nearly a 3 Round Lead over Steven Boone.
TB Promotions
The TB Promotions Season wrapped up over the Weekend with the $250K Event at US 131 Motorsports Park. Several racers came in with a shot at the coveted title, but it was Zac Fulcher and the MRCOOL Team taking the Top Prize. $5K Cash plus a 2027 TB Promotions Gold Card went to Fulcher for earning one of the toughest honors in all of Big Money Bracket Racing.
