Celebrating 75 years of speed, power, and the world's fastest motorsport

2008

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2008 FUNNY CAR WORLD CHAMPION CRUZ PEDREGON

  • Scored second Funny Car world championship (1992)
  • Rebounded from 12th-place finish in 2007
  • Won final three races of season to clinch
  • Scored milestone 25th win at fall Las Vegas event
  • Compiled 32-20 win-loss record

Top Fuel world champion
Tony Schumacher

Funny Car world champion
Cruz Pedregon

Pro Stock world champion
Jeg Coughlin

Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion
Eddie Krawiec

Top Alcohol Dragster world champion
Bill Reichert

Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion
Frank Manzo

Comp eliminator world champion
Dan Fletcher

Super Stock world champion
Ricky Dicker

Stock eliminator world champion
Lee Zane

Super Comp world champion
Shawn Langdon

Super Gas world champion
Brian Forrester

2008

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

WINLESS KRAWIEC WINS TITLE

Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Eddie Krawiec became the second driver in NHRA history to win a series title without winning a race during the season. Krawiec had four runner-up finishes, all during the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

ANOTHER FORCE MAKES FUNNY CAR HISTORY

Ashley Force defeated her father, John, in the final round in Atlanta to become the first woman to win an NHRA Funny Car title in the 39-year history of the category.

SCHUMACHER BLITZES TOP FUELERS

Tony Schumacher collected his fifth consecutive Top Fuel crown and his sixth title overall, scoring a category-record 15 victories in his Alan Johnson-tuned U.S. Army dragster.

MOVE TO 1,000 FEET

In the wake of the death of two-time world champion Scott Kalitta, NHRA changed the racing distance for Top Fuel and Funny Car classes to 1,000 feet instead of the traditional 1,320 feet.

2008

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

2008 rookie

Mike Neff

Mike Neff traded in his crew-chief wrench for a pair of driving gloves. Neff scored three runner-up finishes and two No. 1 qualifying awards and was the only rookie candidate who qualified for the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. He was the third driver in the last four years from John Force Racing to win the title (Robert Hight, 2005; Ashley Force Hood, 2007).

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