The first event of 11 scheduled for the NHRA Heritage Drag Racing Season, presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports, showcased drag racing similar to the way it was in the early days, often called “nostalgic.” Famoso Dragstrip in Kern County was the site for the recent competition. The premier categories are Nostalgia Top Fuel (NTF, AA/FD), consisting of front motored nitromethane fueled dragsters and Nostalgia Funny Car (NFC, AA/FC) consisting of 1969 to 1979 body cloaked shorter wheel-based dragsters. The third popular category is the Fuel Altered (AA/FA). These cars have wheel bases similar or slightly shorter than the Funny Cars, utilizing older (modified roadster style) bodies and running on a 6-second performance index.

Nostalgia Top Fuel featured 11 cars attempting to qualify for the eight car eliminations field. Tyler Hilton, the 2024 class champion, once again was a dominating performer in the class. He qualified number one and ran low elapse time of the event with a strong 5.61 at 260.94 mph. But Tyler Hester was not too far behind with a 5.96 at 262.31 mph in the second spot. But elimination performances add driver reaction time performance to the equation, as the number seven qualifier Brad Thompson took out number two Hester on a 0.068 to 0.134 reaction time advantage (“hole shot”) taking a 5.803 at 227.90 mph to (quicker) 5.770 at 260.04 mph win. Top qualifier Hilton used strong performances and great reaction times to power his way to the final round, taking out Shawn VanHorn and Bret Willams with 5.669 at 262.33 mph and 5.649 at 263.13 mph performances. Then there was the stealth performer, Pete Kaiser. He had qualified third with a 5.797 at 252.73 mph and utilized consistent performances in the 5.70’s to advance to the final round, getting by Adam Sorkin and Brad Thompson. In the final, Kaiser got away first (0.049 to 0.192) on Hilton and held on for a hole shot 5.705 at 254.38 mph to 5.641 at 261.70 mph win.

Nostalgia Funny Car had 22 cars battling for the 16 car elimination slots. Shane Westerfield put the Bucky Austin Bardahl ’69 Camaro on the pole, with a 5.566 at 263.23 mph performance. Westerfield used strong 5.549 at 263.85 mph and 5.548 at 264.00 mph runs to power his way into a semifinal round match up with 2024 Champion, Bobby Cottrell. Cottrell struggled somewhat in qualifying (13th), but utilized some performance gains and superb reaction times along the way. Cottrell left first (0.138 to 0.163), but was unable to hold off Westerfield’s 5.603 at 260.11 to 5.635 260.11 mph winning effort. Westerfield entered the final round to face off against the number two qualifier, Capps. This made for a unique, coincidental final. In Gainesville, Florida, Capps was also running in the final found of Funny Car at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gator Nationals. Capps racing at two events on two different coasts at the same time? Yes, as they are brothers. Ron Capps was at the Gator Nationals, where he lost in the final to Chad Green. At the March meet, Jon Capps had better luck, as he defeated a red lighting (-0.032 foul) Westerfield, to score a 5.627 at 254.74 mph win. Westerfield ran a 5.607 at 260.64 mph.

During Saturday qualifying, a special NTF vs NFC battle for the who’s the king of the sport battle, was staged between the 2024 champions of NTF and NFC: Tyler Hilton vs. Bobby Cottrell. It was Cottrell that got away first, but he could not hold off Hilton, who took a 5.63 at 260.44 mph to 5.75 at 254.38 mph win by a mere 0.008-seconds margin at the finish line stripe.

The Fuel Altered (AA/FA) had nine cars/drivers contesting for a position of the eight-car eliminations ladder. The number one qualifier was initially Pete Peterson and his ’48 Topolino bodied roadster, who posted a strong 6.121 at 231.00 mph. On that run, his car suffered a mechanical issue, which exploded the engine. He suffered no serious injuries, but the car could not be repaired, so he was ultimately replaced by Keith Wilson (Witch Doctor ’37 Topolino) in the eighth spot. The category runs on a 6.00-second performance index. If you go quicker than the index, you are disqualified (lose; unless your opponent goes further below the index than you). The final top two qualifiers were Bill Windham (in the popular Burkholder Brothers ’48 Topolino) and Johnny West (in the Plan A 23T Ford). James Generalao Jr (number five qualifier; ‘23T roadster) lost on a hole shot to Kyle Hough in the opening round, as both cars ran identical elapse time (6.318 seconds). Hough then went on to take out Bill Windham to advance to the final round. Taking on Hough in the final would be Mark Whynaught (Nitro Mamba ‘23T), who took out Keith Wilson and Johnny West along the way. In the final Whynaught got away first, but could not hold off Hough and his Sheep Herder ‘23 Ford, who claimed the win (6.100 at 212.86 mph to 6.353 at 167.37 mph).