Top Fuel veteran Doug Foley is rolling into Gainesville Raceway for the season-opening 56th annual NHRA Gatornationals this weekend as prepared as he’s ever been for a new season. After an offseason that included moving into a new shop and working upgraded components into the Foley Lewis Racing dragster, Foley is motivated to continue checking off items on the team’s list of goals this season. He’ll start the year with Alloy Employer Services and Authority Garage Supply Inc. bannered on the side of his 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster.
“We made some progress in testing down at the PRO Superstar Shootout, but now it’s time to start the NHRA season and see the results of the work we did over the winter,” Foley said. “We moved our team from Brownsburg, Indiana, back to Mooresville, North Carolina. We brought our crew chief, Doug Kuch, on full-time starting in December, which is the first time we’ve had a full-time crew chief since we came back to Top Fuel in 2019. That allowed him to spend more time preparing the car, bringing in brand-new AJ 8 cylinder heads, and working on the supercharger program. We’re really trying to improve and grow the program.”
The fairly new routine of starting the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season at the Gatornationals is beneficial for an East Coast team like Foley Lewis Racing. It gives Foley the opportunity to make a big statement right out of the gate, like he did in 2022 when he went to the final round at Gainesville.
“The Gatornationals is just a huge race,” Foley said. “It’s kind of like the Indy of the beginning of the season. It’s become one of our largest races of the entire season. Gainesville has always been a big one, but with the sold-out crowds they’ve had the last few years, it’s just on another level. It’s a great opportunity to introduce partners like Alloy and United Garage Door to a lot of new potential customers.”
Gainesville has also become one of the most competitive events on tour, with strong fields filled with teams who’ve just wrapped up preseason testing.
“With the NHRA season starting at Gainesville, you need to bring your A-game at the first event,” Foley said. “Usually, you get a race or two to get some laps under your belt and make sure everything is good to go, but you don’t get that luxury at the Gatornationals. But I’m confident that we’ve done everything we need to do to compete with these full-time teams.”
Foley is hoping the Gatornationals serves as a jumping off point for his strongest season yet since he returned to NHRA Top Fuel. Alloy Employer Services and United Garage Door Company both stepped up their involvement with the team, empowering Foley, longtime team partner Tim Lewis, and Kuch to continue improving the team’s parts and equipment.
“Alloy and United showed they believe in us and want to grow with us, so we want to show them that we take that very seriously,” Foley said. “We eventually want to be a full-time team, and the only way you can do that is to show you’re capable. We added a second race hauler, which will serve as a technology trailer as well as a hospitality unit since our hospitality program has grown tremendously in the last two years. We’ve invested in new cylinder heads. We took delivery of a new PBRC chassis that we’ll debut later this season. These are all steps we’re taking to better represent our sponsors on and off the racetrack.”
Returning sponsors also include Red Line Oil, Goodson Tools & Supplies, TechnoCraft Trailer Cabinets, The BAMR Company, PROTECS Inc., and ARP. Insinger Performance also joined on as the Official Fuel Provider of Foley Lewis Racing.
Nitro qualifying sessions at the NHRA Gatornationals are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 12:35 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Race day kicks off at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
For more updates on Foley Lewis Racing, visit www.FoleyLewisRacing.com and follow the team on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FoleyLewisRacing.
This story was originally published on March 4, 2025.
The post Doug Foley Ready to Put Offseason Improvements to The Test at Season-Opening Gatornationals first appeared on Drag Illustrated.