The DragChamp Show

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 be the first racer to win three million dollar races.

We even got G-dub to tell a couple of his favorite stories from life on the road.  After the interview, Ryan and Gary discuss the upcoming Guaranteed Million and Fall Fling West.  Jake was out of pocket this week but will return next week.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 racing.  Ernie and Gleghorn also told the story of their crazy trip to OKC for a slot car race.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 careers including details on a few of Peter's crashes.  Peter discussed his heartbreaking loss at the U.S. Nationals in 2019 and battling Mike Sawyer for the Super Gas world title. Kyle talked about kicking cancer's ass, his 12 bracket final victories, and how he's more focused on coaching other racers than his own driving right now.  Emily Biondo jumped in near the end of the conversation to discuss her first Super Gas race and her burnout struggles.  By the way, she went on to win that race! 

We also broke down the upcoming Young Guns vs. Has Beens that's going down Thursday at the Spring Fling Million in Bristol.  This was such a cool conversation with two of the greats in our sport.  We hope you enjoy it.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 of the top names in the sport.  To have both on the podcast was really cool.  We had lots of fun, hope you enjoy.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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, why he started selling race carbs, Tri-State weight, and more. 

Wes and Jake shared stories from hole-in-the-wall tracks in the Indiana area which was a lot of fun.  And Wes shared stories about his dad, Gary May.  Even the one where his Dad left him at the track when he was a young boy...lol. 

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 water park slide story that Chris Gulitti covered in an earlier episode.  That story never gets old.  Jeff got "salty" with Jake throughout the episode which was entertaining.  He also compared Jr. dragsters to shopping carts and gave us his thoughts on cheating.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 one), snake juice, pop bombs, 6 minute abs (thanks Big Jed), and so much more.  There's something for everyone in this one.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 weekly bench racing style podcast with some of the biggest names in sportsman drag racing. You’ll find entertaining racing stories, interesting people, and an all-around good time with sportsman drag racers.

The DragChamp Show is hosted by talented drag racing announcers Jake Hodge and Ryan Gleghorn. They’re joined by DragChamp founder Gary Don Free.

You can contact us at the following: jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, and garydon@dragchamp.com or find us on Facebook at @dragchampmagazine.

For more DragChamp podcasts click here.

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 BT's son Braden is leaving juniors at the end of the year and taking over his racing operation.  We talked about killing copperhead snakes, a couple of road trips with BT and Gleghorn to get dinner, the most frustrating part of junior racing, BT Sunday, getting kicked out of race tracks, and Brandon's wild trip to Michigan last year.

After the interview the guys talked about Ryan's Jr. ET Finals weekend at Ardmore, Jeff Riedel's big weekend in Ardmore the previous week, Cameron Fulfer's current hot streak, Jake's upcoming race the Working Man's $10 Grands, and more!

The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style podcast with some of the biggest names in sportsman drag racing. You’ll find entertaining racing stories, interesting people, and an all-around good time with sportsman drag racers.

The DragChamp Show is hosted by talented drag racing announcers Jake Hodge and Ryan Gleghorn. They’re joined by DragChamp founder Gary Don Free.

You can contact us at the following: jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, and garydon@dragchamp.com or find us on Facebook at @dragchampmagazine.

For more DragChamp podcasts click here.

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, what they would change if they could...(not much), the Triple 0 Jackpot, they're personal racing endeavors, and they're future plans.  As always we get into a number of other topics as well.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 his business than being on the road racing, his newly updated Vega, spraying to go dead on, his toughest opponent, a 26 mile moped trip, and his Stock Eliminator experience.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 Steve Williams of K&N fame, Roger Martin, Finley Ledbetter, and Heidi and Duane Robison.  Tommy is so well spoken and shares so many details with us.  Enjoy!

The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style podcast with some of the biggest names in sportsman drag racing. You’ll find entertaining racing stories, interesting people, and an all-around good time with sportsman drag racers.

The DragChamp Show is hosted by talented drag racing announcers Jake Hodge and Ryan Gleghorn. They’re joined by DragChamp founder Gary Don Free.

You can contact us at the following: jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, and garydon@dragchamp.com or find us on Facebook at @dragchampmagazine.

For more DragChamp podcasts click here.

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 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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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, extremely slow race cars, and of course his upcoming events the Colonial Classic and the Lil Bigfoot Triple 10's.  There's something for everyone in this episode.


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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 his dad built each of their race cars, and of course discussed the upcoming SFG 1.1 million.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 this episode.

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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 the funniest podcasts you've ever heard.  And like Rodney says, like and share, like and share.

The DragChamp Show is a weekly bench racing style podcast with some of the biggest names in sportsman drag racing. You’ll find entertaining racing stories, interesting people, and an all-around good time with sportsman drag racers.

The DragChamp Show is hosted by talented drag racing announcers Jake Hodge and Ryan Gleghorn. They’re joined by DragChamp founder Gary Don Free.

You can contact us at the following: jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, and garydon@dragchamp.com or find us on Facebook at @dragchampmagazine. 

For more DragChamp podcasts click here.

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 six-second roadster in Comp, being a full-time racer, why he prefers bottom bulb racing, his trusty Nova, 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 DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!

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 topics and share racing stories.  For more visit our website at DragChamp.com, our Facebook page, or email the team at jake@dragchamp.com, ryan@dragchamp.com, or garydon@dragchamp.com.

To get the best of DragChamp delivered to your inbox, click here!