Last year in just her second career Pro Stock race Camrie Caruso picked up her first win light at the NHRA Arizona Nationals. That round win gave the rookie loads of confidence that carried her through a strong rookie campaign that included a No. 1 qualifier a few weeks later in Houston and her first final round appearance at the same national event.

At the end of the season Caruso was crowned NHRA Rookie of the Year and now the second year pro is looking to return to the site of her first win light with her sights set on securing her first win. Caruso will be wheeling her Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro with a new team and crew chief.

“Last year we qualified in the top half of the field at the Winternationals to start the season and then got our first win light at the Arizona Nationals,” said Caruso, a third generation drag racer. “I can’t explain the feeling of seeing that win light come on at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park last year. So much time and energy went into just getting our team organized to race last year. I am looking forward to getting back with my new KB Titan Racing team and turning on even more win lights this weekend.”

Over the off-season Caruso jumped at the opportunity to join KB Titan Racing and become a teammate with multi-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson, 2021 NHRA Rookie of the Year Dallas Glenn and second-generation driver Kyle Koretsky.

The new alliance has freed up Caruso’s time to focus even more on improving her driving skills and building her marketing team of supporters.

“Powerbuilt Tools is a great company to be associated with and our relationship is about more than selling tools,” said Caruso, who made multiple appearances for Powerbuilt Tools in the off-season. “Through their relationship with CAWA we are helping provide scholarships and career opportunities for people all over Arizona, Nevada and California. They are doing great things to encourage women to get involved in motorsports at all levels. There are so many opportunities beyond driving and working on race cars and CAWA is doing great things to promote this with the support of Powerbuilt Tools.”

Heading into the second race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series this weekend at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster team powered by National Debt Relief are looking to write their name into the record books.

“The NHRA has had so many great races at this facility,” said Ashley, who has qualified No. 5 in both of his previous races in Arizona. “Every race is equally as important. But this one has added significance. We’d love the opportunity to join a long list of previous winners in Phoenix. We have high expectations for ourselves and look forward to racing in front of a sold-out crowd.”

With three qualifying sessions on the schedule Ashley knows it will be critical to come off the trailer on Friday night and lay down a solid number. At the season opening NHRA Gatornationals the team battled some early season issues during qualifying before losing a close first round race at Gainesville Raceway.

Ashley was at the top of his form off the starting line with a stellar .038 reaction time, quickest of the round in the losing effort.

Top Fuel pilot Josh Hart made his Arizona debut at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park racing his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to the semifinals. The third year pro is looking to add two more win lights to his Sunday this year and win the final NHRA Arizona Nationals Wally.

The Ocala, Florida racer and business owner is off to a hot start so far in 2023 winning the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout two weeks ago at the NHRA Gatornationals. The $80,000 winner-take-all payday in front of his hometown fans and family was a great momentum builder for the season and Hart’s R+L Carriers team.

“We saw the first big money win light of the season on Saturday of the Gatornationals winning the Pep Boys Allstar Callout and I talked about how great the win was but also how this sport will humble you very quickly,” said Hart, who also won his first career Top Fuel race in 2021 at Gainesville Raceway. “We celebrated on Saturday with our team and lots of our staff from Burnyzz Speed Shop. Then we got serious for Sunday. Ron Douglas and my guys gave me an amazing race car and I didn’t take advantage of it.”

Last year Josh Hart made his Arizona debut at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park racing his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to the semifinals. The third year pro is looking to add two more win lights to his Sunday this year and win the final NHRA Arizona Nationals Wally. The Ocala, Florida racer and business owner is off to a hot start so far in 2023 winning the Pep Boys Top Fuel Allstar Callout two weeks ago at the NHRA Gatornationals. The $80,000 winner-take-all payday in front of his hometown fans and family was a great momentum builder for the season and Hart’s R+L Carriers team.

“We saw the first big money win light of the season on Saturday of the Gatornationals winning the Pep Boys Allstar Callout and I talked about how great the win was but also how this sport will humble you very quickly,” said Hart, who also won his first career Top Fuel race in 2021 at Gainesville Raceway. “We celebrated on Saturday with our team and lots of our staff from Burnyzz Speed Shop. Then we got serious for Sunday. Ron Douglas and my guys gave me an amazing race car and I didn’t take advantage of it.”

On Sunday morning racing in the first pair of Top Fuel dragsters Hart was second off the line against eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher and his race day was over in spite of making his quickest pass of the weekend. Hart’s R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster crossed the finish line 3.693 seconds after it left the starting line at a career best speed of 335.40 mph. It was a disappointing end to a magical weekend to start the season. At the end of the day Hart reflected on the high of winning the Pep Boys Callout with the low of not advancing further on race day.

“I talked about how this sport will humble you in less than a second,” said Hart. “I am not sure what happened on the starting line, but it was not up to my personal standards. I told my guys I will do better and then I put it behind me. You can’t dwell on your mistakes, you have to learn from them and move on. I am excited to get back to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. I wish this race was the Monday after the Gatornationals.”

Last year Hart qualified No. 8 and raced past Leah Pruett and Rob Passey before dropping a semifinal race to veteran Clay Millican. The first-time experience of racing in the desert was a great learning opportunity for Hart. He spent time with new fans and made laps at a brand new facility. This year Hart will be taking that experience and build on it heading into this weekend’s race.

“Last year we were racing for the first time at a lot of tracks,” said Hart. “It was a huge deal but there was a level of uncertainty that I don’t have this season. I think we will be better prepared and ready to take our first win of the season. We are racing against the best drivers in the world and there is no doubt I feel like I belong. Qualifying starts on Friday night and we are going to come out with a winning attitude.”

Qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nationals will begin on Friday night for Hart and the R+L Carriers team with one session followed by two qualifying sessions on Saturday. The quickest 16 Top Fuel dragsters will battle for the Wally starting at 11:00 a.m. local time with the race being televised on FS1.

w/ Werner Communications