Rich McPhillips Jr. opened the 2026 IHRA Outlaw Nitro Series season with his first Top Alcohol Dragster victory, taking the Ironman trophy at Darana Motorsports Park – formerly Galot Motorsports Park – in dominant fashion across three elimination rounds on Saturday.
McPhillips qualified sixth with a 3.547-second pass at 225.11 mph in Q2 after posting a 3.552 at 223.80 mph in the opening session.
On race day, McPhillips ran a 3.459 at 231.04 mph in Round 1 to defeat Joey Severance (3.482, 220.84 mph), a run that established a new elapsed time track record at the facility. He followed with a 3.477 at 228.61 mph in the semifinals over Jackie Fricke (3.676, 222.18 mph) before closing out Jamie Noonan in the final, 3.493 at 229.78 mph to Noonan’s 3.545 at 229.04 mph.
The victory marked McPhillips’ third IHRA final-round appearance – the most of any Top Alcohol Dragster competitor in the newly revived series. His two prior finals came in 2025 at Darana Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio, and Darana Dragway in Milan, Michigan.
The win carries added family significance. Rich McPhillips Sr. was part of an IHRA victory in 1989 as car owner and crew chief for driver Peter Gallen in Alcohol Funny Car at Bristol Dragway, and won his own Ironman from the driver’s seat in Pro Fuel Dragster in 2010 at Grand Bend, Ontario.
“You can’t explain what it means to win,” McPhillips Jr. said. ”When the scoreboard lights up, it’s a great feeling. The great thing about running eighth mile is you’re able to see who wins. I have to thank all of my guys – Kenneth, my Pop, Larry, Earl, and Bill. We were short crew guys and they all stepped up. This is a team effort and we raced a great team tonight. It’s been a couple years since I’ve gotten a trophy, so it feels good.”
McPhillips Racing’s next outing is a dual-car effort featuring drivers Anthony Troyer and Melanie Johnson at the NHRA Winter Nationals at In-N-Out Burger Dragstrip in Pomona, California.
This story was originally published on March 24, 2026. 
