NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Bo Smith went back-to-back during the Right Trailers NHRA Western Conference Finals at Texas Motorplex, adding this year’s 10-year-old age-group title to the one he earned in the 6-9 bracket last year. Smith was joined in the winner’s circle by Clay Burrell (age 6-9), Malachi Phillips (11), Gary Bogacki (12), Dawson Rogers (13), Camden Teel (14), Blaine DeNunzio (15), and Tyler Wied (16-17). Ardmore Dragway Team 2 won the team championship at the first of two national events for drivers in the NHRA Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League.

Smith, who hails from Jay, Fla., cut a near-perfect .002 light then ran an 8.933 (8.92 dial) to turn on the win light against La Vernia, Texas’ Cash Pennington, who clocked a 9.079 (9.06) to finish as the 10-year-old class runner-up.

Burrell picked up his second Western Conference Finals Wally when he outlasted the field in the 6-9 age group. In the final, Idabel, Okla., runner Austin Gibson left the starting line early to turn on the win light in Burrell’s lane. Burrell, who hails from Claude, Texas, celebrated with a 12.061 (12.08) victory lap. Burrell was also the 6-9 class champ in 2024.

Phillips made the trip from Buckeye, Ariz., pay off when he bested reigning Western Conference Finals champ Ryker Flowers in the 11-year-old category. Phillips got off the starting line first in the title round, .037 to .040, and used the advantage to eke out a narrow 0.0007-second win over Kingsbury, Texas’ Flowers, 8.904 (8.90) to 8.902 (8.90).

Bogacki, son of three-time NHRA world champ Luke, added another trophy to the family mantle when he drove his Carbondale, Ill.-based dragster past former Right Trailers NHRA Eastern Conference Finals champion Waylon Bennett in the 12-year-old age group final. Gainesville, Fla., driver Bennett had the advantage on the Tree, .037 to .056, but Bogacki was able to drive around him and win on an 8.927 (8.92) to 8.951 (8.90) count.

Rogers, a winner at this event in 2024, took top honors in the 13-year-old bracket when Pleasant Hill, Mo., racer Ryan Clark experienced a mechanical issue and broke on the starting line. Rogers, who lives in Burke, Texas, posted a 7.990 (7.97) on his winning solo pass.

Newcastle, Okla., runner Teel joined a small group of racers who have won three or more Conference Finals title when he bested Venice, Fla., competitor Tanner Mocny in the 14-year-old class final. Appearing in his fifth Conference Finals title round, Teel got a reaction-time edge of more than seven-hundredths and turned that into a 7.936 (7.90) to 7.903 (7.90) holeshot win against Mocny. Teel was a champion at both the Western and Eastern Conference Finals in 2021 and joins Cade Poe, Gage Wilson, and Riley Trumble as the only drivers to win three or more Conference Finals titles.

In a battle of former Western Conference Finals champions, Blaine DeNunzio, a winner in 2022, came out on top against 2020 champ Jenna Chesleigh. The final was decided at the Tree when Claremont, Calif.’s Chesleigh fouled by .001-second. DeNunzio, who hails from Beaumont, Calif., posted a 7.887 (7.90) en route to victory.

A .000 light helped lift Wied, of Neenah, Wis., to his second Western Conference Finals victory. After the perfect light, Wied posted an 8.006 (7.98) to edge Abilene, Texas’ Cayden Keyes, who cut a .017 light and ran a 7.925 (7.90) to finish second.

Led by champions Burrell and Bogacki and runners-up Gibson and Pennington, Ardmore Dragway Team 2 came out on top in the team competition, tallying 21 points. This is the second team championship for the Oklahoma track, which also finished atop the standings in 2024. Texas Motorplex Team 3 and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Team 2 finished tied for second with 14 points each, followed by Las Vegas Team 1 (13) and Ardmore Team 3 (12).

Osage Tulsa Raceway Park earned the Team Spirit award. Other special-award winners were Kaselynn Fischer (Best Appearing Car), Makenzie Roberts (Best Engineered Car), and The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Best Appearing Team).

Results from the 2026 Western Conference Finals:

6-9

W: Clay Burrell (Claude, Texas): .051, 12.061 (12.08 dial)

R/U: Austin Gibson (Idabel, Okla.): -.038, * 12.014 (11.96)

10

W: Bo Smith (Jay, Fla.): .002, 8.933 (8.92)

R/U: Cash Pennington (La Vernia, Texas): .049, 9.079 (9.06)

11

W: Malachi Phillips (Buckeye, Ariz.): .037, 8.904 (8.90)

R/U: Ryker Flowers (Kingsbury, Texas): .040, 8.902 (8.90)

12

W: Gary Bogacki (Carbondale, Ill.): .056, 8.927 (8.92)

R/U: Waylon Bennett (Gainesville, Fla.): .037, 8.951 (8.90)

13

W: Dawson Rogers (Burke, Texas): -.013, 7.990 (7.97)

R/U: Ryan Clark (Pleasant Hill, Mo.): broke

14

W: Camden Teel (Newcastle, Okla.): .033, 7.936 (7.90)

R/U: Tanner Mocny (Venice, Fla.): .107, 7.903 (7.90)

15

W: Blaine DeNunzio (Beaumont, Calif.): .025, 7.887 (7.90)

R/U: Jenna Chesleigh (Claremont, Calif.): -.001, *8.528 (7.90)

16-17

W: Tyler Wied (Neenah, Wis.): .000, 8.006 (7.98)

R/U: Cayden Keyes (Abilene, Texas): .017, 7.925 (7.90)

* red-light