Rain delays and tricky track conditions made for a difficult weekend for the Chad Green Motorsports Funny Car father and son pair of Chad and Hunter Green this past weekend (June 6-8) at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals drag races.
Competing in a tough 16-car Funny Car field, the Greens took their Bond-Coat machines to ninth and tenth in the qualifying lineup with runs of 3.998 for Chad and 4.004 for son Hunter after several rain delays halted the nitro-burning cars on Friday and Saturday.
The action at the famed Bristol dragstrip was the first for Hunter in six weeks since the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals in April and after CGM teammate Blake Alexander had driven the team’s car at the Chicago and Epping, N.H., NHRA national races.
But the Midland, Tex., second-generation racer fought off the Bristol track’s tough conditions in just his third NHRA national event with runs of 4.004 and 4.060 in qualifications. Meanwhile, Chad was seeking his second NHRA Funny Car win in 2025 at Bristol after taking the season-opening Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
After qualifying runs on Friday and Saturday, the sun appeared on Sunday morning and track conditions changed from the previous days with track temperatures turning much hotter.
In round one, Hunter Green went up against former two-time World Champion Cruz Pedregon, but, unfortunately, Hunter didn’t have the advantage of lane choice, and the right lane proved not equal to the left lane. Despite taking the jump off the starting line, Hunter’s Bond-Coat Dodge//SRT Hellcat lit up the rear tires quickly, and Pedregon took the win with a 4.084.
“It was my third Funny Car race, and I had heard about the tough track conditions at Bristol, so I went to ask several top drivers for any suggestions on handling the track,” said H. Green, the 2024 U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol Dragster champion. “I talked with Matt Hagan, Cruz Pedregon and, obviously, my dad about the Bristol two lanes. They gave me some advice, but it usually comes down to the crew chiefs’ car setups. I basically took Matt’s theme, and he said ‘just mash the throttle.’
“In qualifying, we had some good runs going, in the 3.90s, but the car was drifting towards the centerline, and I had to shut the engine off. Of course, I’m still learning with a nitro-burning Funny Cars. They are tough to handle with 12,000 horsepower. I’ll continue to learn with these cars.”
Chad Green just missed advancing to the quarterfinals Sunday with his Bond-Coat Ford Mustang, as the Midland, Tex., businessman/racer turned in a strong 4.026 at 325.06 miles per hour, but he was nipped at the finish line by rival Paul Lee’s 4.024, just 0.0254 seconds apart. C. Green’s losing time would have won every other race in the first round of Funny Car eliminations.
“Wow, just bad timing for our Bristol run in the first round,” said C. Green. “Our guys had a good reading on the track with the sun on Sunday. We just lost a tough drag race and had to be in the right lane. That happens sometimes. Overall, I am pleased with the team’s performances on the tough Bristol track surface. We’ll be ready for the Richmond race and Blake (Alexander) will be back in the Pronto (Auto Service Centers) car too.”
Alexander and Green will be in action at the NHRA Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Va., in a special two-day program (June 21-22) with three qualifying runs (11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. EDT) on Saturday, June 21, and the final eliminations set for 12 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 22.
The NHRA Fox television coverage is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1.
This story was originally published on June 10, 2025. 
