MAHLE Aftermarket has announced plans to continue its partnerships with several of the most recognized motorsports icons in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). As core members of Team MAHLE’s engine parts and product testing teams, this elite group of drivers entered for the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season will also support MAHLE by promoting cars from branded races and special event appearances planned throughout the year.
“MAHLE has been fortunate to have collaborated with some of these incredible forces in the automotive industry for a number of years; in fact, 2023 marks six years of partnership with John Force Racing and 12 years of partnership with Clay Millican,” said Jon Douglas, President of MAHLE Aftermarket North America. “Since our initial incorporation, our relationship with NHRA has grown and we’ve been able to grow our arsenal of Team MAHLE championship riders.”
According to MAHLE, all NHRA Nitro racing teams use their premium engine piston rings and bearings. The company’s recently launched gasket offering also allows for good vehicle penetration, the company adds. MAHLE says its components are used by all NHRA Nitro competitors because of their proven reliability and consistency of optimized vehicle performance when it’s time to hit the track.
Earlier this month, the MAHLE NHRA Team drivers kicked off the 2023 season at the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. Notably, Tony Stewart Racing’s Matt Hagan took home the first Kalitta Motorsports driver to win the 2023 Funny Car Wally, JR Todd, in the final round. During his first-round victory en route to a semifinal, Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta posted a career-best elapsed time of 3.646 seconds at 333.82 mph, which also set the Gainesville Raceway elapsed time record. Finally, Brittany Force, drag racing champion and daughter of well-known drag racer John Force, took the first Top Fuel No. 1 of the year. Ron Capps won the No. 1 runner-up title in the Funny Car division.
2023 MAHLE NHRA Team Driver List
JR Todd, Kalitta Motorsports – 2018 NHRA Funny Car Champion
Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Motorsports – 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion
Doug Kalitta, Kalitta Motorsports – Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer
John Force, John Force Racing – 16-time NHRA Funny Car Champion
Brittany Force, John Force Racing – 2-time NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Champion
Robert Hight, John Force Racing: Three-time NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Funny Car Champion
Austin Prock, John Force Racing – 2019 NHRA Rookie of the Year
Leah Pruett, Tony Stewart Racing [] – 2010 NHRA Nostalgia Funny Car Champion
Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart Racing [] – 3-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion
Ron Capps, Ron Capps Motorsports [] – 3-time NHRA Funny Car Champion
Antron Brown, AB Motorsports: Three-time NHRA Top Fuel Dragster Champion and first African-American champion in drag racing history
Clay Millican, Clay Millican Racing – 6-time IHRA World Champion
Details of the complete 2023 NHRA schedule can be found here: https://www.nhra.com/schedule/2023.
