While we're on Christmas break, we thought we'd keep you entertained with some of the best episodes of The DragChamp Show podcast. This week we're bringing you an encore of our first episode with funny man Steve Foley. Steve kept us in tears with his great since of humor and funny stories from years of traveling with Rodney Finchum of Fast and Finchum fame. This episode was longer than we expected but it was so funny we couldn't bring ourselves to cut Foley off. In the coming weeks we'll bring y...
Dec 24, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 43
Sin City based big money bracket racer Greg Hicks joins the DragChamp Show this week. Greg shares his comedic talents with us along with a rant or two. We talk West Coast drag racing, running from security at Sonoma, his high school prom misadventures, racing with Scotty Richardson in Kentucky, missing flights and more. Greg also covered his "bromance" with Chad Axford, why he's not allowed to work on Shane Thompson's race cars, his success at the Guaranteed Million, and so much more. The DragCh...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 42
The man famously known as Loose Change joins the DragChamp Show podcast this week. The expert gambler gave us the ins and outs of gambling on drag racing. We learned the phrase turn your light out, I'll give you both ends of the track, and so much more about how he wins more money in the bleachers than he does competing. We heard stories of New London Dragway in Virginia where the crowds were as big as the bets. Change told us the story of Severn Johnson who once dialed off a 30 year old time sl...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 41
IHRA Division Director and former NHRA Super Comp World Champ Frank Kohutek joins the DragChamp Show this week. The outspoken bracket racer and race director shared his thoughts on IHRA vs NHRA, running a division and big money bracket races, racing in the Super categories, and more. Frank discussed the impact Tommy Phillips made on his racing career, how he missed a round once but still won the race, wrestling with Slate Cummings, and his biggest accomplishment in drag racing. The DragChamp Sho...
Dec 03, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 40
Successful bracket racer and race promoter Chad Axford joins the podcast this week in what turned out to be one of the funniest shows we've done. You don't want to miss this one but be prepared, it's definitely R rated! Chad opens up quickly and we get some extremely entertaining stories from him. We heard stories about riding a scooter to the Aria casino, winning Top Dragster at The Hill without a headsock, losing bets to Greg Hicks, ex-girlfriends, and blowing three motors in two days. When he...
Nov 19, 2020•50 min•Ep. 39
Mark Walter of MotormaniaTV fame is our guest on the DragChamp Show. Walter has been live streaming races for 15 years and today is one of the premier producers of bracket racing live streams. Walter and his wife Joanne crisscross the country each year covering 40+ events annually. During our conversation we learned about his military and ministry background, what lead him into producing live racing coverage, his bracket racing background, and the challenges they face producing live TV. We also ...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 38
Newly crowned 2020 NHRA Super Comp World Champion Christopher Dodd joins the DragChamp Show this week. We discuss his amazing five-win season, racing with an uncertain schedule due to COVID, racing with his dad Sean, Comp cars, Jr. Dragsters, bracket racing, and more. The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style podcast where hosts Jake Hodge, Ryan Gleghorn, and Gary Don Free sit down with racers to discuss current racing topics and share racing stories. For more visit our website at DragCh...
Nov 05, 2020•55 min•Ep. 37
Bailey Ferraro, who enjoyed a wildly successful week in Montgomery at the Million, joins the show this week to talk big money bracket racing. Less than a week removed from his back-to-back $50K finals, Bailey called in from South Georgia Motorsports Park to recap his Million week. During the conversation we learned where the FUG nickname came from, what it's like working for Bug McCarty, who's the better driver between Caraline and Tripp McCarty, crashing roadsters in Bristol, and racing at Immo...
Oct 29, 2020•51 min•Ep. 36
NHRA Division 7 Super Gas Champ Mike Boehner joins the DragChamp Show this week. Mike recently documented his cross-country trip to the U.S. Nationals on DragChamp. We talk about his INDY trip, his recent hat trick in Phoenix, index racing, holding numbers, and how he got started in racing. We also discussed top-end throttle stops and how hard they are to race against, the history of his Camaro, how he successfully competes against a sea of roadsters, chasing points, and why he loves NHRA racing...
Oct 22, 2020•55 min•Ep. 35
17 year old rising bracket racing star Caraline McCarty is our guest this week. A couple weeks removed from her breakout $30K win at the Spring Fling in Bristol, Caraline and her mom Carol sat down with the DragChamp Show. In this episode we discuss the wheelstanding Rambler Wagon, recap the $30K, discuss her start in the sport, her competition with her little brother Tripp, arguing with Mom, and more. The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style podcast where hosts Jake Hodge, Ryan Gleghor...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 34
Big money bracket racing superstar Gary Williams joins the show this week. We caught up with Gary in between the Spring Fling Million and the Guaranteed Million. We discussed his unbelievable win/loss record in final rounds over $25,000. He reminded us of his first $50K final against Kenny Underwood where he won the no-split final. We talked racing for a living, the costs involved in racing the big money swing that's currently going on, teaching his son Donovan how to race, and how he'd love to ...
Oct 08, 2020•57 min•Ep. 33
EH3 otherwise known as Ernie Humes joins the DragChamp Show this week! Ernie, hot off a $40,000 victory at the Loose Rocker Super Doorcar Challenge, made some time for us to chat about his on track success. We also dove into slot car racing, top bulb vs bottom bulb, why Ernie didn't race juniors, and his thoughts on $50 bills. Ernie also gave his thoughts on local points racing versus big money bracket races. We asked him who he looked up to in the sport as well as how he got started in drag rac...
Oct 01, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 32
The creators of the Spring Fling bracket races, Peter Biondo and Kyle Seipel, join the DragChamp Show this week! We're super excited to have drag racing royalty on the podcast as Peter and Kyle have taken bracket racing to another level with their Spring Fling brand. In addition, both are talented racers with a resume that would fill a room. We sat down to discuss the upcoming Spring Flings in Galot and Bristol, and the Fall Fling West in Vegas, but also got some background on their racing caree...
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 31
The BTE Labor Day 100K champion Caleb Ellison joins the show this week to talk Footbrake racing at Bristol with Big Jed, Jared Pennington and our crew. We talked about the big news from the 100K, what Caleb splurged on with his winnings, how the split went down, dirt track racing compact cars, burnout contests, Ryan's runner-up in the Gamblers race, and more! This was a fun episode since there were so many stories from the 100K race weekend. Caleb is rising star in our sport and Big Jed is one o...
Sep 17, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 30
Bracket racing ace and carburetor specialist Wes May is our guest this week. As a racer, Wes has won practically everything in the world of big money bracket racing. Now his carburetors are becoming more and more popular since they are "always dead on"! In our conversation, we found out what all of the buttons on his steering are for (there's nine of them!), his dream of driving a bracket funny car, doing wheelies in the Regal, his biggest win, the round that he regrets the most, promoting races...
Sep 10, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 29
Badass bracket racer and design guru Jeff Serra joins the show this week. Jeff was an interesting interview and although it took him a few minutes to get warmed up, once he downed a few man cans of beer, things got fun! We asked him about racing for Steve Witherow, racing with his brother Sean, the mental aspect of racing, how his momma didn't raise no bitch, who he looks up to in racing, and how he got started in the design business. Once he was loosened up, Jeff told us his version of the wate...
Sep 03, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 28
Chris Forsyth of West Coast Bracket Races fame joins the show this week. Chris is a former NHRA Division Director, NHRA Tech Official, racer, and promoter. With such a varied past, we had a fun conversation which spanned a number of topics, most of which included heavy doses of alcohol. We discussed Shawn Langdon, Brad Plourd's putting game, Hunter Patton, Kyle Seipel, NHRA, west coast bracket racing, the one thing that chaps his ass (racers griping about no races but never show up when there is...
Aug 27, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 27
Tyler Bohannon joins the show this week to talk NHRA class racing, slot car racing, Dylan Mudd (Rent-a-Dilly) and Brian Whitworth stories, the Zoo in Brainerd, and his upcoming race the Derby City $100K. Tyler's better half Megan Strassweg sits in with him while Dylan hung out in the back of the room watching TV as we recorded this episode! Although Tyler's only 20 years old, he's done a ton of racing in a short time and we had an awesome conversation. Sit back and enjoy! The DragChamp Show is a...
Aug 20, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 26
Alabama based bracket racing ace Brandon Taylor is our guest this week on the DragChamp Show. Brandon has won at the highest levels of the sport including a $175,000 victory at the SFG Powerball of Drag Racing. The episode was a little bit of a mess as Ryan was battling food poisoning, Gary Don has just got back from vacation, and BT was a little shy. In the end, we had some fun, gave Brandon a hard time, and hopefully provided some entertainment for everyone. In the episode we talked about how ...
Aug 13, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 25
Our guest this week are the founders of the Corona Lockdown Practice Tree Challenge, Blase Raia and Bob Welsch. What started out of boredom earlier this spring during the COVID-19 lockdown has grown into a 1,300+ strong community of racers looking to fun and competition. The invitation only Facebook group routinely produces some of the toughest competition in drag racing. Blase and Bob joined us to discuss the origins of the Challenge, how much work goes into managing the online competitions, wh...
Aug 06, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 24
Cool Hand Luke Bogacki is our guest this week on the DragChamp Show! Luke is a 2x NHRA World Champ and has won over a $1,000,000 while drag racing for a living. He's the founder of the online driving school This is Bracket Racing and This is Bracket Racing Elite along with co-founding the Sportsman Drag Racing Podcast with Luke and Jed. Our conversation covered a range of topics including hearing some old racing stories from Luke's early days of racing, how his schedule is now focused more on hi...
Jul 30, 2020•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 23
Our guest this week on the DragChamp Show is NHRA Sportsman great Tommy Phillips. Tommy is one of the most decorated sportsman racers in the country and we get the scoop on sponsorships, holding numbers, racing with Frank Kohutek, Edmond and Scotty Richardson, Stock and Super Stock racing, playing games on the starting line, his multiple second place championship finishes, racing for a living, and much more. Tommy also credited a number of people that helped him throughout his career including S...
Jul 23, 2020•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 22
The $1.2 Million dollar man Steve Sisko joins us this week to talk about his historic weekend at the SFG 1.1 Million. But before we hooked up with Steve, we started discussing Ryan's adventurous weekend at the World Footbrake Challenge. Just prior to bringing Steve on the show, Jake get rear ended in his Motorhome! It's a wild and crazy episode but entertaining none the less. And yes, Jake is ok but his racing operation suffered major damage. The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style pod...
Jul 16, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 21
Loose Rocker co-promoter and drag racing super star Michael Beard joins the podcast this week. Michael is an accomplished racer winning at all levels of the sport including mulitple IHRA World Championships and countless bracket racing victories. He and partner Anthony Walton promote a number of bracket races each season through their Loose Rocker Promotions brand. As usual, our conversation covered a variety of topics including Michael's thoughts on cheating, announcing, practice tree races, ex...
Jul 09, 2020•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 20
Big money bracket racing super star Matt Dadas joins the DragChamp Show this week to talk bracket racing. Matt, the 2019 DragChamp Driver of the Year, has been on an incredible run over the last year. He's won in just about everything imaginable from his trusty Starfire to his daily driver and there's even a Mopar thrown in there too. In this episode we discuss being part of the final rounds of the two highest paying drag races in history, touched on the topic of cheating, Matt shared how he and...
Jul 02, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 19
Our guests this week are the Great American Bracket Race and Dream Team Challenge promoters Gaylon Rolison and Britt Cummings. They are joined by the winning Dream Team Captains Ben Willis (Jr. Dragster), Slick Rick Baehr (Footbrake), and Allen Wickell (Top Bulb). We recap the Dream Team Challenge weekend, trash talk alot, learn why the Dream Team race is so special, learn that Allen is Jake's daddy, and preview the upcoming Great American Guaranteed $1,000,000. There's something for everyone in...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 18
4-time INDY HEMI Challenge Champion Jimmy Daniels is our guest this week on the DragChamp Show. Jimmy drives the baddest HEMI car on the planet along with wheeling a couple of 3rd Gen Camaro's in Stock and Super Stock. With Jake out of pocket in Galot, Ryan and I sat down with Jimmy to discuss HEMI Shootout racing, class racing, the NHRA tech process, his thoughts on cheaters, getting engaged, and more. As usual, we had a long discussion about everything drag racing. The DragChamp Show is a week...
Jun 18, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 17
Our guest on the DragChamp Show this week is none other than Fast & Finchum's Rodney Finchum. Rodney is one of the best story tellers around and he didn't disappoint. He was on the chip as soon as he called in and didn't stop until we were done. Hot Rod told stories for over an hour and kept us crying laughing. We even had a surprise for Rodney as his good buddy Steve Foley called in during the podcast. These two went at it for an hour and it was hilarious. Sit back, relax, and enjoy one of ...
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 16
Three-time U.S. Nationals Champion Bad Brad Plourd is our guest this week on the DragChamp Show. Brad is a professional sportsman racer that is one of the most versatile and accomplished drivers in the country. After spending years traveling the country, Brad has pulled back somewhat in recent years racing closer to his Holly Pond, Alabama home. Even though he's no longer touring the country on a regular basis, he still races and wins on a consistent basis. In this episode we discuss driving a s...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 15
Reigning Division 5 Super Gas Champ Kris Whitfield is our guest this week on the DragChamp Show. Chris, a 17-time track champion at Bandimere Speedway, discussed the challenges of racing on the mountain, how he adjusts to sea level, racing on the West Coast versus the East Coast, how he finds and maintains sponsors, and much more. The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style podcast where hosts Jake Hodge, Ryan Gleghorn, and Gary Don Free sit down with racers to discuss current racing topic...
May 28, 2020•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 14
