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Gearing Up For The 2022 NHRA Season

Sun, speed, and sound: What could be better than experiencing the season opener for the 2022 NHRA season at one of the most legendary venues in the entire sport of drag racing?

Yes, race fans - the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals are back at Auto Club Raceway in sunny Pomona, California from February 17th to the 20th! This year, the 71st legendary year of racing action, the best teams in drag racing duke it out for a chance at starting off the 2022 season the right way.

Bob Tasca III Has His Eyes On The Prize

There’s no driver on the grid more excited to come back to this legendary track than Bob Tasca III, the driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Funny Car. A close contender for the 2021 title race (finishing third), and winner of the season closer in Pomona last November; taking home a Wally in Pomona during the close of the 2021 season was a long time dream realized for the intrepid racer.

Bob led the 2021 pack through the first 8 races of the year, only to get challenged by not other drivers, but the availability of clutch discs for his Motorcraft/Quicklane Ford Mustang Funny Car midway through the season. Through this adversity, Bob managed to pick off a third-place showing overall with some incredible momentum as the season wound down in Pomona next year.

If you know the Tasca family, then you know that they don’t take a challenge lying down. In fact, Bob and his team spent the majority of the off-season not only securing enough clutch discs to get his team through the next season but working with his team, including racings vets Mike Neff and Jon Schaffer, to dial in the car for a championship run for 2022.

The Return Of Funny Car Single Team Racing

2022 represents an interesting, and promising opportunity for teams like Tasca racing.

Don Schumacher Racing, a powerhouse in the sport, isn’t running any Nitro Funny Cars in this year’s series. In fact, World Champion Ron Capps has departed DSR to form his own team, along with last year’s runner-up (also a DSR driver) Matt Hagan. Runner-up Hagan has split with DSR to form his own team under the newly formed umbrella of former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

This means that 2022 is poised to be the year of the single-car team, meaning tighter competition and more guts and glory from teams who will be closer than ever in both budgets and pure racing ability. This puts teams like Tasca Racing, already competitive against teams like Don Schumacher Racing that run multiple cars, as the potential front runner rolling into the 2022 season.

Fans can expect tight racing, high emotions, and plenty of drama.

What’s New & Different For The 2022 NHRA Season

For starters, we have a total of 8 new teams for 2022 include AB Motorsports (Antron Brown), Kalitta Motorsports, Ron Capps Racing, and Tony Stewart Racing.

Yes, you read that right, none other than Tony Stewart will not only be driving a Top Fuel dragster but also running a team as well. How this will go has yet to be seen, but the energy around Tony Stewart’s foray into the NHRA competition has been palpable, especially with world-class drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan on the roster. World Champion Ron Capps has split from DSR (drama, perhaps?) to race and run his own Funny Car team as well, making for one of the most interesting teams to watch in 2022.

Tony Stewart & Leah Pruett (left) Matt Hagan (right)

Top Fuel is buzzing for 2022 with the comeback of none other than 8 time World Champion Tony Schumacher, who enters into a positively jam-packed lineup of Top Fuel stars. Backed by Scag Power Equipment, Schumacher is poised to make a run for the title, but 4 time World Champion Steve Torrence, and Brittany Force will offer plenty of competition. Keep an eye out for former Rookie Of The Year, Austin Brock as well.

Toyota, now a long-time runner in the world of NHRA, will offer its recently introduced G.R. Supra for the 2022 season, driven by J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria. In addition, an entirely new class drops with the introduction of Factory X. Spurred on by the popularity of stock vehicles like the Dodge Hellcat, and Chevrolet ZL1; the Factory X class had drawn in some huge interest from both domestic and foreign manufacturers, sponsors, and drivers. The coolest things about Factory X? Regulations stipulate that every vehicle must run a manual transmission! #savethemanuals

Lastly, NHRA is planning a return to some fan-favorite venues for 2022, adding these locations to the calendar:

Phoenix, Arizona

Richmond, Virginia

Seattle, Washington

Are You Ready For the 2022 NHRA season? We Are!

Pushing ourselves to the maximum is exactly what the team at Tasca Parts does on a daily basis.

Bob is eyeing the “Big W” for the 2022 NHRA Funny Car racing season, and that passion for motorsports and winning spirit is shared by everyone at Tasca Parts. Global supply shortages, a persistent pandemic, and a changing world all seem to be in the way of achieving our 2022 goals, but the Tasca Team is here to restate our commitment to our customers.

We’re here to help get you the factory parts you need - fast. Maybe not as fast as Bob Tasca III in the quarter-mile, but fast nonetheless. We deliver a huge variety of factory parts to locations all over the world, which is no easy feat in this new age of shipping delays.

We don’t know about you, but we can’t wait to see where this year takes us.

Here’s to 2022!

About Tasca Racing

Now headquartered near Charlotte in Concord, N.C., Tasca Racing was founded in 1962 by legendary Ford dealer Bob Tasca, Sr. of Rhode Island. While most well-known for coining the term “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday”, Bob Tasca, Sr. is also widely recognized for helping bring Ford to the forefront of performance during the golden era of racing in the 1950’s and 1960’s with such vehicles as the 428 Cobra Jet, the Thunderbolt, Tasca Street Boss, and the Mystery race cars.

Today the Tasca performance heritage continues with the second and third generations of the family. Carl Tasca, Sr. (Bob’s son) drives the fastest Ford Cobra Jet in the country. Bob Tasca III (Bob’s grandson) pilots a 300 mph 10,000 horsepower Shelby Mustang Nitro Funny Car. You can read more about Tasca Racing at www.tascaracing.com.

You matter to us!

You are our #1 priority! The Tasca family always puts customer service above all else, and stands by our promise to deliver:

Genuine OEM parts and accessories
Brand new items (you will NEVER get a used part or accessory from us)
Top-notch, personalized customer service (we’ve even won awards for our customer service)
Guaranteed 100% order accuracy when provided with your VIN
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