Entrepreneur and heart attack survivor Paul Lee captured his first career Funny Car victory at the 2025 NHRA Arizona Nationals, piloting his McLeod Racing/FTI Performance Dodge Charger nitro Funny Car to the winner’s circle.
With impressive runs and a little bit of race day luck, Lee and his team, led by Jonnie Lindberg and John Medlen, forged through four rounds of tough competition to hoist the Wally at the end of the day. Leaving the Arizona Nationals in the no. 1 position in NHRA Funny Car points, Lee is ready to head straight into the WinterNationals this weekend.
With his victory on Sunday, Lee etched his name into NHRA history as the 96th different Funny Car winner. Sunday’s elimination rounds presented formidable competition for the McLeod team, as Lee powered past Gainesville winner Chad Green, Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca III, and ultimately defeated reigning Funny Car world champion Austin Prock in the final round. This milestone victory underscores the dedication and relentless effort Paul Lee has consistently demonstrated in this competitive class.
“I’ve been working towards this since I was 13 years old,” said Lee. “Every day all I’ve ever thought about is not just driving a nitro Funny Car but winning. I’m not happy just being out here but winning this Wally. All those 50 years of hard work, you know what? It’s worth it. And it is a special day. We lost (Funny Car driver) Eric Medlen on this day (March 23, 2007). We have a team prayer every Sunday, and John Medlen (Eric’s father) leads us in the Sunday prayer, and today he asked for Eric to watch out for us. And you know something, our whole pit was calm all day. We just had a feeling that Eric was watching over us. And it’s a funny feeling. We were calm all day. Nobody was excited. Everybody did their job.”
With the wave of excitement and accomplishment in the air, the McLeod Racing team must turn their focus from celebrating right back to competition. In just a few short days, the team will begin qualifying for the WinterNationals. With the opportunity of staying in the no. 1 position in the Funny Car class, Lee begins to return his focus to another successful weekend.
“After taking a few days to celebrate, it’s back to business. Our team is working like a Swiss clock currently, and we want to take that momentum into Pomona. Our focus is now on repeating each run and getting more data with this new car. Jonnie is learning fast about what this new car likes. Let’s go,” added Lee.
To honor Paul’s win, both McLeod Racing and FTI Performance are holding a special 11.6% discount to honor Paul’s competition number, 116. Give them a call to claim the offer and get your clutch or torque converter ready for the summer.
This story was originally published on March 26, 2025. 
