On Monday following the NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas, second-generation drag racer and Top Alcohol Dragster points leader Hunter Green will follow in his father’s footsteps as he makes his first passes in a nitro Funny Car. His father, Chad Green, races the Bond-Coat Funny Car and will stand watch at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as both coach and dad as his son makes his first licensing passes in an 11,000-horsepower Funny Car. Chad Green Motorsports crew chiefs Dean Marinis and Joe Serena will also be there in support as the newest student of the class stakes his claim.
“I’ve been licensed in Top Fuel, and that’s coming up for renewal in December,” said 29-year-old Green, who resides in Midland, Texas. “But in talking about it with my dad, it just makes more sense to pursue nitro Funny Car, and I’m excited but nervous. In my opinion, Funny Car is the pinnacle of the sport. It’s top of the food chain.”
Green had his first experience in drag racing as part of the crew on his father’s Pro Mod car, and eventually, he licensed in the Super classes at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School. There, he shook off any trepidation early and soon was hungry for more, and so the young man took the next step to license in an alcohol dragster. Green found his home in a dragster with Randy Meyer Racing, where he has so far been tuned to a perfect five wins in five two-wide final rounds, along with setting low elapsed time at multiple events and earning a generous handful of No. 1 qualifier awards.
“The experience and success I’ve had with Randy Meyer Racing in the Top Alcohol Dragster has been well beyond my expectations,” said Green, who earned his first win in 2023 in Topeka, finished last season with a double-up with his father at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, then won the regional event at Texas Motorplex and national events back-to-back in 2024 with Brainerd and coveted U.S. Nationals titles.
“It will be interesting to see how much that has prepared me for this next step, because the Funny Cars are beasts,” continued Green. “This makes sense for us as a team, and we have all of the equipment and people to do this, and hopefully, do it well. I expect a learning curve, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The future has yet to be determined, precisely, for Green, but for now he is focused on earning his license in the nitro Funny Car and continuing to sharpen his skills along the way to a future two-car nitro team under the Chad Green Motorsports banner. Green believes that driving and winning in a Top Alcohol Dragster has prepared him to face the enormous mental challenge of racing a nitro-powered Funny Car in the upper echelon of NHRA competition.
“I feel like I’m growing, and I understand now what it feels like to be under that microscope where you’re in stressful situations as a driver,” said Green. “You learn pretty quickly that the only way forward is to deal with the pressure. You have to look at every challenge as a stepping stone to where you want to go, and you have to embrace those moments because you aren’t going to grow without them. This is the next challenge, and I’m ready for it.”
