Eight NHRA Mission Foods Drad Racing Series Drivers Eligible for 2024 Rookie of the Year - Motor Sports NewsWire

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – October 10, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – NHRA officials announced the eight NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competitors in contention for the 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year award.

The eight racers eligible for this year’s award include Top Fuel’s Jasmine Salinas, Tony Stewart and Ida Zetterström; Funny Car’s Daniel Wilkerson; Pro Stock’s Brandon Foster, Derrick Reese and Sienna Wildgust; and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Richard Gadson.

Salinas joined the Top Fuel ranks in Phoenix when she stepped in for her father, Mike Salinas. Salinas has three quarterfinal round finishes. Her best qualifying effort came in Seattle where she qualified fifth.

Stewart, a motorsports legend, stepped into the seat of his Top Fuel car at the start of the 2024 season after starting up his nitro team in 2022. Stewart has advanced to two final round appearances including the Las Vegas 4-Wide and Sonoma races.

Zetterström is a European drag racing champion and made her NHRA debut in Brainerd this season, where she advanced to the semifinals after defeating former champion Steve Torrence in the first round.

Funny Car driver Wilkerson took over driving duties in 2024 after his father and long-time tuner, Tim Wilkerson, retired. Wilkerson finished runner-up at the Charlotte Four-Wide event earlier this spring and is in the top 10 in points.

Pro Stock’s Foster made his debut in Gainesville where he defeated 2023 winner Troy Coughlin Jr. He then advanced to the quarterfinals in Phoenix before advancing to the final round at the Las Vegas 4-Wide race.

Reese attended five events this season. He qualified for the Sonoma race as well as the Charlotte fall event.

Wildgust, hailing from Stratford, Ontario, has attended nine events thus far in 2024, qualifying for six. Her highest qualifying effort came in Las Vegas where she qualified 14th.

Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gadson, who rides for the motorcycle powerhouse Vance & Hines team, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge specialty event in Norwalk over Hector Arana Jr. He qualified second in Bristol and Richmond and has also collected three runner-up finishes, sitting in the top five in points.

Last season, Chase Van Sant was named the 2023 Rookie of the Year. Other recent winners include Pro Stock’s Camrie Caruso in 2022 and Dallas Glenn in 2021, and Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley in 2020 and current Funny Car points leader Austin Prock in 2019.

The NHRA Rookie of the Year award recognizes the top rookie competitor who also represents the future of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. The nation’s leading auto racing journalists select the winner through a voting system based on the following criteria: number of events competed in, performance on and off the racetrack, participation in NHRA promotions, and relationships with fans, sponsors and media.

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NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by LearnEV+, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With 110 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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