REIGNING PRO STOCK CHAMPS STRIVE FOR HOT START IN 2025

REIGNING CHAMPS ANDERSON, HERRERA STRIVE FOR HOT START TO 2025 NHRA SEASON AT GAINESVILLE RACEWAY

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 7, 2025) – As the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series starts its 74th season in Gainesville, reigning Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle champions Greg Anderson and Gaige Herrera will be ready to defend their world championships against a pair of highly competitive fields at this weekend’s 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Anderson, the winningest driver in Pro Stock history, earned his sixth world title last season in a winner-take-all final round over KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn at the NHRA Finals in Pomona. This weekend at Gainesville Raceway, Anderson will have his sights set on his sixth Gatornationals title.

“I love coming to Gainesville,” Anderson said. “I always love coming to this track. It’s probably the first race I ever went to as a spectator. I came with my father back when I was probably eight years old, so it’s been a long run for me and now here I am racing at the Gators.”

Along with Anderson and his teammate Glenn, who won five events in 2024, the Pro Stock division will again be stacked with fierce competition. Atop that list is the six-time champion Erica Enders, the defending Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals winner. Others to watch will be Aaron Stanfield, who won six events last season, as well as five-time champ Jeg Coughlin Jr.

“We’re coming in this year after winning this championship feeling great and running great equipment,” Anderson said. “We’ve got great cars within our KB Titan camp and we feel we like we’ve had a great off-season of work. I think we’re going to have very fast cars this weekend, so I’m excited.”

Herrera, the back-to-back Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, opened his career at the powerhouse team of Vance & Hines with a win at the 2023 Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Since then, he’s racked up 20 more national event wins and dominated the category. This weekend at Gainesville Raceway, he’ll aim to win his third consecutive Gatornationals.

“I’m excited to be back in Gainesville,” Herrera said. “This is where I got my first win and where I basically started my Pro Stock Motorcycle career. This weekend is going to be hard. I’ve won the last two opening races in Gainesville, but the field stacked this year. There’s a lot of newcomers coming in the class that are fast. My teammate Richard Gadson is really fast. Everyone’s fast so we have to be ready for anything. We’ll find out basically after the first round of qualifying and see how everything stacks, but I think it will be good and it’s going to be tough.”

In 2024, Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Enders (Pro Stock) and Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won the Gatornationals to open the year. It marked the first double-up victory for Kalitta Motorsports, while six-time world champ Enders won the historic race for the first time. This year’s race will again be broadcast on FS1, including eliminations at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The first round of the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout, which features eight Top Fuel standouts in a one-day, big-money bonus race, takes place on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET and the semifinals at 2:20 p.m. The finals are slated for 3:30 p.m. A special Callout broadcast will air at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday on FS1.

The 2024 Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown is the fifth seed in the specialty race, meaning there’s likely a good chance he’ll get called out in the first round. Those selections take place at 12 p.m. on Friday and the 80-time event winner is ready to roll after his stellar 2024 season.

He won six times a year ago, but the “drive for five” titles won’t be easy with a class that includes Doug Kalitta, Langdon, Brittany Force, Clay Millican, Steve Torrence, Josh Hart and Tony Stewart. Brown, though, is plenty motivated, especially with a chance to add a regular-season championship this year, a feat that would certainly be helped by a second Gatornationals win.

Todd earned his second Gatornationals win when he took out Funny Car newcomer Austin Prock in the final round. Prock quickly recovered and picked up eight race wins and ultimately the Funny Car championship. Other stars to watch will be Jack Beckman, who will be racing for John Force in 2025, Matt Hagan, Ron Capps and Bob Tasca III.

The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals will also see the season debut in the highly competitive Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series and the Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown class, as well as a full slate of sportsman classes in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, which features some of the sport’s top drivers.

Race fans at Gainesville Raceway can enjoy the special pre-race ceremonies that introduce and celebrate each of the drivers racing for the prestigious Wally on Sunday and includes the fan favorite SealMaster Track Walk, which benefits the Darrell Gwynn Foundation in Gainesville. The final can’t-miss experience of any NHRA event is the winner’s circle celebration on Sunday after racing concludes, where fans are invited to congratulate the event winners of the season-opener.

The Nitro Alley Stage is a huge attraction all weekend and is the main entertainment hub in the pits when the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competitors are not on the track, hosting Nitro School, NHRA Insider Live, meet and greets and much more. Before the first round of eliminations on Sunday, fans can enjoy a C-17 flyover from the Mississippi Air National Guard’s 172nd Airlift Wing.

As always, fans get a pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. Fans can see their favorite teams in action and servicing their cars, get autographs from their favorite drivers and more. They can also visit NHRA’s Manufacturers Midway, where sponsors and vendors create an exciting atmosphere of interactive displays, merchandise, food and fun.

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying features two rounds at 2 and 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday and the final two qualifying rounds on Saturday at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Sunday. Gainesville Raceway will give fans a memorable experience with free general parking at the facility.

To purchase tickets to the 2025 Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. Children 12 and under are free in general admission areas with the purchase of an adult ticket. General parking is free and limited preferred parking is available for purchase. Get your tickets now for the Top Eliminator Club because these will sell out. For more info on NHRA, including the full weekend schedule in Gainesville, please visit www.NHRA.com.