Stage is Set for Final NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park

First Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge will also take place at
last NHRA race in Phoenix

PHOENIX, AZ – March 1, 2023 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The last “Duel in the Desert” is set for Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, as the final NHRA Arizona Nationals will take place on March 24-26 at the facility just outside of Phoenix.

The 38th and final NHRA Arizona Nationals marks the second race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, bringing plenty of excitement and anticipation to the facility. Massive crowds are expected all weekend, as race fans will look to celebrate nearly four decades of history in Phoenix with plenty of 11,000-horsepower, 330-mph action to close out racing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.

The final NHRA Arizona Nationals will also include the first Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, a special program that will take place on Saturday and offer bonus money and bonus points. It will feature the rematch of the semifinalists at the season-opening Gatornationals, with the winners meeting up in the finals. All the action will take place during qualifying on Saturday, adding another memorable incentive to the last NHRA appearance in Phoenix.

Mike Salinas (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) all won last year in Phoenix. This year’s race will again be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 (FS1), as all the top stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock will look to pick up the final win in Phoenix and grab an early-season victory.

Salinas made a strong statement early last year, grabbing the first of his career-best four victories in 2022. He held the points lead for a stretch in the regular season, but eventually succumbed to Brittany Force’s stellar and record-breaking 2022 campaign. She won her second world title on the strength of five wins and will look for early momentum against a loaded lineup that also includes Steve Torrence, Justin Ashley, Josh Hart, veteran Doug Kalitta, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown, Austin Prock, Tony Schumacher and Clay Millican.

Hight enjoyed a two-race winning streak to open last year, and he’s after another Phoenix triumph in Funny Car. But it won’t be easy against the likes of Ron Capps, who has won back-to-back world titles, three-time Phoenix winner Matt Hagan, 16-time world champ John Force, J.R. Todd, Bob Tasca III, Tim Wilkerson, Alexis DeJoria, class newcomer Alex Laughlin and Cruz Pedregon.

In Pro Stock, Stanfield will try to replicate…