After the 2026 NHRA Heritage Series kicked off on Feb. 13–14 with the Tucson Dragway Reunion in Tucson, Ariz., featuring Group 1 and 2 classes, the excitement continued on March 5–8 at the legendary Famoso Dragstrip in Bakersfield, Calif., for the Good Vibrations Motorsports March Meet, where all classes competed. Favorable weather conditions drew large crowds and teams to the famous strip, set amid the fields surrounding Famoso – nicknamed “The Patch.”
Nostalgia Top Fuel
Ten Nostalgia Top Fuel teams battled to secure spots in the eight-car field during the two qualifying days. Tyler Hester secured the top spot with a 5.679 at 224.66 mph, followed by four-time champ Tyler Hilton and his 5.724 at 237.21 mph and Pete Kaiser rounding out the top three of the eight-car field with a 5.742 at 249.58 mph.
The opening round of eliminations started with an unfortunate upset for No. 1 qualifier Tyler Hester as he broke his throttle cable on the hit and just rolled towards the finish line, while Adam Sorokin powered to a 5.918 at 243.24 mph to advance into the semifinals. No. 2 qualifier Tyler Hilton won over Bret Williamson while No. 3 qualifier Pete Kaiser beat Bobby Cottrell. Mike Hilton also advanced with a tire-shake-troubled pass after Frank McBee Jr. pulled a red light at the tree.
In semifinal action, Mike Hilton stepped up his performance, running 5.758 seconds at 236.96 mph to defeat Sorokin, who slowed to a 6.405 at 151.18 mph. On the other side of the ladder, Tyler Hilton laid down one of the quickest runs of eliminations with a 5.689-second blast at 263.31 mph to defeat Kaiser’s 5.814 at 249.23 mph run.
The final round paired Tyler Hilton against his uncle, Mike Hilton, for the Nostalgia Top Fuel title. Mike Hilton showed some nerves and left too early, which led to a disqualification for a foul start. His 5.929 at 197.41 mph would have been no match to Tyler Hilton, who drove his McKinney chassis dragster to a 5.714-second pass at 265.09 mph to claim his first March Meet win, starting his championship title defense strong.
Nostalgia Funny Car
In Nostalgia Funny Car, Todd Plate in “The Problem Child” bounced back from his crash at last year’s Hot Rod Reunion in a big way with a blazing 5.485 at 253.23 mph, running the quickest pass in Nostalgia Funny Car history, to secure the top spot in front of Jon Capps, who posted a best of 5.507 at 265.33 mph to the scoreboards, followed by Shane Westerfield’s 5.515 at 267.53 mph in the Bardahl Camaro. On a side note, Eily Stafford made her debut in the “California Hustler” Pontiac and qualified in a solid 11th place.
Round one in Nostalgia Funny Car also saw a big upset win as Geoff Monise put No. 1 qualifier Todd Plate on the trailer in a spectacular pedal fest. Capps defeated Tony Jurado, who encountered problems right at the hit. Westerfield also advanced over Bill Windham. In other matches, Mike Peck eliminated Derrick Moreira, Drew Austin took out Jeff Arend, Nathan Sitko beat Cory Lee and Bobby Cottrell defeated Jerry Espeseth, while Ryan Horan advanced over Eily Stafford.
In the second round, Sitko ran 5.552 at 264.00 mph to defeat Capps, who posted a 5.762 at 205.99 mph. Peck continued his strong performance with a 5.584 at 260.56 mph to eliminate Austin, who ran 5.890 at 224.88 mph. Westerfield advanced with a 5.917 at 261.70 mph after Horan shook the tires and coasted to a 7.952 at 228.02 mph. Cottrell rounded out the semifinal field with a 5.634 at 254.38 mph, defeating Monise, who ran 5.789 at 223.99 mph.
In the semifinals, Peck powered to a 5.666 at 260.04 mph to defeat Cottrell, who had to lift and ran 5.879 at 254.81 mph. On the other side of the ladder, Sitko advanced with a 5.590 at 259.44 mph over Westerfield, who posted a 5.964 at 195.73 mph.
The final paired Peck against Sitko in a close contest. Peck left the line with a .077 reaction time and drove his Camaro-bodied Funny Car to a 5.581-second run at 261.70 mph. Sitko was close at the finish line, running 5.620 at 260.19 mph, but it was Peck who claimed his first-ever March Meet Nostalgia Funny Car victory.
Fuel Altered
Out of the eight entered Fuel Altered teams, Australian driver Mathew Leonard went to the top with a 6.004 at 238.34 mph in the “Nitro Rat” Fuel Altered. Vince Karstetter’s 6.031 at 261.47 mph earned him the second spot in front of Brandon Seraphine, who ran a best of 6.071 at 230.29 mph in his “Spare Money” Fuel Altered to secure the third spot of the eight-car field.
Competing under a 6.00-second index, the Fuel Altered category once again delivered one of the most unpredictable shows at the March Meet at Famoso Dragstrip. In elimination round one, Leonard broke the index with a 5.98 at 225.28 mph but still advanced over Jeff Bennett in the “No Mercy” ’48 Fiat, who kicked a couple of cones during his 6.16 at 192.002 mph run. In the next pairing, Karstetter in “Cherry Bomb” ran 6.252 seconds at 201.11 mph to defeat Bob Godfrey in “Burnin’ Money,” who crossed the stripe in 6.541 seconds at 175.33 mph. Seraphine in his ’32 Bantam Altered named “Spare Change” ran 6.177 at 229.29 mph, but the win came when James Day, who was driving the Burkholder Bros. ’48 Topolino, fouled at the starting line (-.010 reaction time) despite running 6.202 seconds at 230.53 mph. In the final Round One matchup, Dylan Winefsky advanced despite running a slower 6.015 at 208.81 mph. His opponent, Kyle Hough, broke out with a 5.98 – quicker than the 6.00 index – handing the win to Winefsky.
In the first semifinal, Winefsky advanced with a 6.289 at 193.88 mph after Leonard broke before attempting a run. The other semifinal saw Seraphine run 6.100 seconds at 229.65 mph to defeat Karstetter, who pulled a red light.
The final paired Seraphine against Winefsky. Engine failure in the semis prevented Winefsky from making the call, giving Seraphine the Fuel Altered victory. Seraphine, on a bye, posted a 6.144-second run at 206.89 mph to cap off his winning weekend.
All other categories
Other winners in their respective categories were Wayne Ramay in Pro Comp, Alan Hull in Jr. Fuel, Steve Faller in 7.0 Pro, Hans Jakob in Nostalgia Eliminator 1, Eric Warner in Nostalgia Eliminator 2, Don Mallory in Nostalgia Eliminator 3, Keith Morovich in A/Gas, Neal Westbrook in B/Gas, Brian Smith in C/Gas, Tim Mulvihill in D/Gas, and Jesse Howe in Hot Rod.
The next event of the 2026 NHRA Heritage Tour, part of the 11-race series, is the Cactus Clash, scheduled for April 24–26 at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, Ariz.
This story was originally published on March 30, 2026. 
