More Than 10 Reasons to Watch NHRA Gatornationals; Plus Picks to Win Season Championships

Yahoo

05-03-2025

Mike Salinas is returning to Top Fuel with a renewed sense of energy following heart bypass surgery. Will Steve Torrence regain his relentless performance form? And Tony Stewart, no longer a pro rookie in Top Fuel, continues to fight with his contrary car—but those who have watched Tony Stewart for long know that he usually wins his battles.
So in the Top Fuel category alone, the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series brings plenty of suspense to the start of the new season this weekend at the Amalie Oil Gatornationals at Florida's Gainesville Raceway. Funny Car could end up with the hottest competition, and the Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes could deliver some fun entertainment.
And honestly, picking champions before even the first of 20 races is like throwing darts blindfolded. Besides, if we hit a couple of bullseyes, you'll swear we peeked. But if you want to be the best, you have to outguess the best.
So, here's our take on how we think the 2025 season will shape up:Antron Brown – The reigning champion already had a stretch of three titles in five years (2012, 2015-16) before capturing his fourth last November. When he gets on a roll, he's hard to stop.
Tony Schumacher – The most successful Top Fuel star and one of its most charismatic personalities returns to a new team at Rick Ware Racing. Schumacher is an eight-time champion and 88-time winner might just be a factor this year.
Brittany Force – Brittany Force, well, call her Full Force, as she's free from the overwhelming weight of worrying about her father's progress from a traumatic racing injury and being the family spokesman for the last half of the 2024 season. Antron Brown knows she's a threat. He said, 'She looks like a Barbie doll, but she ain't no Barbie doll when she puts that helmet on. I say she is a monster.'
Championship pick: Justin Ashley (pictured)
Former public-address announcer Alan Reinhart said, 'The kid is driving unconscious. You just can't rattle him. We're going to have a purple giraffe jump over the wall, and then we're going to have a balloon blow up, and then we're going to have dynamite and flares. And then we're going to have a spaceship land on the track. And he probably wouldn't even notice. You just can't bother the kid.'
Known for his class-best reaction times, for leading the standings in the Countdown multiple times, and for being a top-five finisher the past four seasons, Ashley finally will break out this year and win when it counts.Jack Beckman – The 2012 Funny Car champion officially has shaken the 'substitute driver' status at John Force Racing. He is chasing points that he gets to keep for himself – and although he says he loves his off-track job as an elevator repairman, the ups and downs of elite drag racing certainly offer more thrills. So he's ready to mix it up with teammate and current champ Austin Prock and everyone else.
Bobby Bode – This 22-year-old has shown his passion and promise while taking over his dad Bob's Funny Car seat and eventually calling his own tuning shots. It all didn't go unnoticed by team owner Del Worsham, who as a driver is just one of three drag racers (besides Kenny Bernstein and Gary Scelzi) ever to earn championships in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Worsham put Bode in his DC Motorsports entry at the PRO Superstar Shootout in February, and it looked like a comfortable fit.
Matt Hagan – Team owner Tony Stewart wasn't messing around when he replaced longtime crew chief Dickie Venables, who tuned Hagan to three of his four championships, with established assistant Mike Knudsen.
'Having a new crew chief is kind of exciting,' Hagan said. 'I had almost 15 years with Dickie Venables. We made a lot of memories. We won a few championships and accomplished a lot of great things. I've also spent 15 years with [Knudsen] and watched him move his way up from the bottom. I would love nothing more than to win a championship with him. We have a chance to start a legacy with what he's doing and build on what I've accomplished so far in the sport. I'm excited to dig deep and work hard.'
Cruz Pedregon – With John Force on the shelf, the two-time class champion is the longest-tenured Funny Car racer who's embarking on 700 starts. Pedregon is settling in with his crew, which has the chops to bring him a third title.
Championship pick: Austin Prock (pictured)
As tough as the field will be, it's hard to imagine the reigning class champ stumbling right now.
He wasn't perfect in 2024, but face it—in his first season after a switch from Top Fuel, Prock won eight of 12 final rounds in 20 races, qualified No. 1 a Funny Car-record 15 times, and made the fastest run in NHRA history at 341.68 mph in his most recent official event en route to clinching the championship.
And this week he said, 'There's always room to improve,' Prock said. 'The way I've always looked at it, if you lose that hunger and intensity to do better, that's your sign to hang it up. We're always pushing to innovate and make things better and relay that to the track.
"Coming into the season, we'll have a totally different package. My dad and this team have done things to try and make the car better and we're going in the right direction.'
That ought to scare his rivals.For the past four years, the chatter has been the battle between the established class royalty (predominantly six-time champ Erica Enders and five-time and current king Greg Anderson) and the wave of bold, self-assured young heirs to the throne.
The fresh competition—Aaron Stanfield, Dallas Glenn, Troy Coughlin Jr., the Cuadra brothers Cristian and Fernando Jr., Mason McGaha, and, if he returns, Kyle Koretsky—has been right on Anderson's and Enders' heels in the final standings. And it's time they stepped forwardor they won't be considered the 'young guns' much longer.
Championship pick: Dallas Glenn—He works hard, wins humbly, has 13 victories is 27 finals as he approaches his 75th start this weekend, sports a 135-60 career record so far, and has an excellent mentor in Anderson. He was second last year after leading for most of the season. This should be his year to shine.Matt Smith will go again for his seventh championship, and Gaige Herrera again will try to stop him.
Smith might not get too much of a rise from Herrera's low-key personality, so the super-talented and sometimes-agitator might find himself engaged elsewhere in a debate along the line.
This class takes the prize for drama. And while it's swirling around, second-year Vance & Hines competitor Richard Gadson just might fly under the radar and into the record book.
Championship pick: Richard Gadson (pictured)
As thoughtful as he is talented, Gadson also has the best mentors in Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec, with their combined 10 championships. Gadson will win his share of races this season and possibly the title.