Any concerns about starting the 2023 NHRA Camping World Series season in Gainesville , Florida , rather than the traditional opener in Pomona , California , were quickly squashed when fans packed into Gainesville Raceway for the 54th Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals . NHRA announced an official sellout on Saturday , starting a trend that continued at the next stop in Phoenix . The Gatornationals , which also hosted the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Callout on Saturday , saw packed grandstands throughout the weekend , including Friday qualifying and Sunday eliminations . Fans witnessed competition in all four
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Camping World Series categories , the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by Type A Motorsports , and sportsman action in the Lucas Oil Series . The winners in the pro classes were Mike Salinas in Top Fuel , Matt Hagan in Funny Car , Troy Coughlin Jr . in Pro Stock , and Gaige Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle . Justin Bond won in Pro Mod .
“ What a great way to kick off the 2023 season with a sold-out crowd at Gainesville Raceway ,” said Glen Cromwell , NHRA President . “ It ’ s a tribute to our tremendous NHRA fans to start off the year in this fashion . Our race teams and partners circle this event each season and you could feel
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the energy and excitement at the track today .”
The race also had a lot of eyeballs on it from afar , as 1.12 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday eliminations , marking a new viewership record for race day at the Gatornationals during the NHRA on FOX era . A total of 1.684 million viewers watched the weekend broadcasts across FOX , FS1 , and FS2 .
“ We ’ re thrilled to cap off the incredible display of NHRA fans in attendance at Gainesville with record-setting television viewership for the event ,” said Steve Reintjes , NHRA Vice President of Broadcasting . “ The total viewership for our weekend of shows outpaced any previous season
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY NHRA |