November was a thousand years ago, but fret not, National Hot Rod Association followers. An attuned ear will catch the hum of NHRA drag racing rapidly rising, indicating that all will be well quite soon. Most of the buzz has been around the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA’s 75th anniversary celebration, and thankfully, one does not need to wait to get a fix! The big party celebrating the milestone season begins on the West Coast IN JUST A FEW SHORT DAYS.
It’s been a brief winter for Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors in NHRA’s Pacific Division, and the first race of the season is set to commence at Firebird Motorsports Park just outside of Phoenix, Feb. 21-22. The sector’s full schedule includes eight divisional events highlighted by a pair of doubleheaders – one in the spring at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and another in the fall at Bakersfield’s Famoso Raceway.
The season-launching event at Firebird Motorsports Park will feature eleven different highly competitive categories lit up by a wild variety of powerful, well-equipped, ultra-cool racecars traversing the quarter-mile dragstrip just a handful of seconds at a time. From dragsters to doorcars and everything between, there’s something for everyone. Categories contested include Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Sportsman Motorcycle, and both Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car.
The national open before the divisional race will take place over two days and begin on Thursday, Feb. 19, with Top Comp, Super Stock/Stock Combo, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, and Sportsman Motorcycle taking the stage.
With the clutch about to drop on NHRA’s first Lucas Oil Series event of the season, Pacific Division director Matt DeYoung is ecstatic that a milestone year of racing will begin at Firebird Motorsports Park.
“In the Pacific Division, we typically get to kick off the Lucas Oil Drag Racing season, but this year, we not only get to start the season – we get to hand out the first set of NHRA’s 75th anniversary Diamond Wallys,” said DeYoung with characteristic enthusiasm. “There’s so much buzz and excitement in the air around Firebird Motorsports Park for this event. Racers, fans, crew members, and our Pacific Division team are all ready to get cars on track and hand out those Wallys.”
Sportsman Spotlight
Last season’s Pacific Division opener was a doubleheader, and David Cook Jr.’s performance in both events proved monumental. In 2024, Cook reached the final in both races but came up short, but in 2025 he powered to the Top Sportsman win in race one and reached the final in race two. In both outings, the pouring a steady foundation proved pivotal for the Novato, Calif., competitor. This past year, Cook went on to win the Seattle national and Bakersfield divisional, and for the second consecutive season, he finished No. 3 in the nation and won the Pacific Division’s Top Sportsman championship.
“We were excited to pick up where we left off at this time last year, and it absolutely set the tone for the season,” said Cook, who competes with wife Kayda by his side, alongside 24-year-old daughter Hannah – who races in Top Dragster – and 15-year-old son Boden, a Jr. dragster racer. “We’ve always been competitive, but the racing gods have been good to me the last few years, and my racing has really progressed in the last 10 years. We work a lot of hours and there are a lot of long days, but we’re fortunate to be able to do this.”
In 2023, father and daughter both reached the final at a Las Vegas divisional, and in 2024, they again reached respective finals in their chosen categories in Phoenix; closing the deal on a father-daughter winners circle is high on their list of priorities, and their first chance in the new year will be at Firebird Motorsports Park.
Racing is very much all about family for the Cooks, and it all started with David Sr., who raced side-by-side with his namesake for decades.
“My dad has always been into cars, and he’s a great mentor for me,” said Cook, noting that his father, 79, has continued to race over the years on occasion and as recently as last year. “I’m just trying to take it in – we’re creating a legacy, in a way, with three generations of racers in our family. Our bond has become really strong. I was asked in 2024 when we nearly won the world championship what had changed, and really, it’s just the gelling of our family that’s caused good things to come. I’m very thankful.”
Lucas Oil Flashback: Phoenix Winners
In addition to Cook, last season’s winners at the D7 opener include Don Bevers over Kevin Carter, who would go on to win the division championship in Comp, while Ryan McClanahan got the better of Leo Glasbrenner in Super Stock. Initiating his race to the Division 7 title, Kyle Rizzoli beat Chad Langdon in Stock, Cody Stevenson defeated Gabriel Torres in Super Comp, and Evan Kowalski launched his successful bid for the division title with a nod over Greg Ventura in Super Gas. Kenny Snow won Super Street over Allen Taylor, and Cook’s Top Sportsman title came with a defeat of Joseph Lucas. Ayden Blevins won the Top Dragster final over Wyatt Wayman, and Gary Stoffer scored his first Lucas Oil Series trophy over Tom Medlin in Sportsman Motorcycle.
The second leg of last year’s divisional in Phoenix saw Bever nearly double in Comp with a runner-up in race two to Joe Mozeris, while Chad Guilford started a strong Super Stock campaign with a win over Randy Loge, Darin Grossi got the win over Paul Calvert in Stock, Jonathan Flores defeated Cecil Wiles in Super Comp, Super Gas sent Michael Boehner to the winner’s circle with a defeat of Douglas Sedmak, and Mark Simonian claimed the Super Street title over Dustin Ward. In Top Sportsman it was Robert Strohm over Cook, and Top Dragster winner Rick Milinazzo knocked out young gun Dylan Hough. Justin Woolison, the division’s eventual Sportsman Motorcycle champ, won over Sean Phipps.
There were two regional events for the alcohol classes last season at Firebird Motorsports Park. The Top Alcohol Dragster portion of the early season race was won by Jon Bradford, with third-generation racer Madison Payne winning the later event. Maddi Gordon won Top Alcohol Funny Car in the first race, and Annie Whiteley earned the trophy there in the fall.
The Most
Counting the event previously held at now-defunct Arizona Speedworld, the most winning driver in the Valley of the Sun – aside from national events – is five-time world champion Jimmy DeFrank. His seven Phoenix division wins have come across the Stock and Super Stock categories. Reigning and back-to-back Top Alcohol Dragster world champ Shawn Cowie has the second-most in Phoenix with six victories, while reigning and six-time world champion Justin Lamb’s five division wins there were awarded in three different categories: Comp, Super Stock, and Stock. Five-time Phoenix divisional event winner Ray Martin’s trophies also came in three different categories: Top Sportsman and both alcohol classes. Andy Manna (Comp), Ryan McClanahan (Super Stock and Stock), and Thomas Bayer (Super Comp and Super Gas) also have five wins there.
Attend the event or watch live for FREE on NHRA.tv
- Gates open for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series division race at 7:00 a.m. local time on Saturday and Sunday, with on-track action beginning at 8:00 a.m. both days.
- The Lucas Oil event will be broadcast live on NHRA.tv. To watch free, subscribe here: NHRA.TV
- Pre-sale tickets for spectators are $25.00 each day or $90.00 for full event (Thursday – Sunday). Go here and scroll down for spectator tickets: BUY TICKETS
Note: A national open race will take place in the days preceding the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event (Thursday and Friday).
2025 National Champions
Competition Eliminator – Jeff Taylor (Division 4)
Super Stock – Justin Lamb (Division 7)
Stock Eliminator – Bubba Linke (Division 1)
Super Comp – Chad Webber (Division 7)
Super Gas – JJ Brock (Division 2)
Top Dragster – Casey Plaizier (Division 6)
Top Sportsman – Darian Boesch (Division 3)
2025 Division 7 Champions
Competition Eliminator – Kevin Carter
Super Stock – Justin Lamb
Stock Eliminator – Kyle Rizzoli
Super Comp – Chad Webber
Super Gas – Evan Kowalski
Super Street – James Brown
Top Dragster – Andy Spiegel
Top Sportsman – David Cook Jr.
Sportsman Motorcycle – Justin Woolison
If you find an error in this story or have anything to add, please contact WinLight News editor Kelly Wade: kelly@winlightnews.com. Thanks for reading!
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