2024 DragChamp Bottom Bulb Racer of the Year

Jake Howard raced to 25 finals and four track championships to lead the DragChamp Top 10 List, presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance

01/15/25 – Welcome to the 2024 DragChamp Bottom Bulb Racer of the Year Top 10 List presented by Laris Motorsports Insurance. We ranked the best Bottom Bulb racers of the year. Read below to see which racers made the biggest impact over the 2024 season.

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Want to check out previous Top 10 Lists, click here.

DragChamp Top 10 List

1 – Jake Howard

Texas bottom bulb ace Jake Howard won 16 times in 25 finals to claim the 2024 Bottom Bulb Racer of the Year title. The DragChamp Pro member finished the season with four track championships (3 No-Box and 1 Super Pro) and another Super Pro championship runner-up between three different racetracks. He won six Gold cards across three tracks and two sanctioning bodies. In addition to numerous $4K-$10K finals, Howard won the IHRA D4 No-Box championship for the third time, was the D4 No-Box Race of Champions runner-up in IHRA and NHRA, won the IHRA ROC at the World Finals, and lost the No-Box final at the IHRA World Finals by a .003 redlight.

2 – Jordan Johnson

Jordan Johnson takes the #2 spot on the Bottom Bulb Top 10 List after posting 14 wins in 19 finals during the 2024 racing season along with 12 semifinal finishes. Johnson also swept the IHRA World Finals winning both the Race of Champions and the Sportsman world championship. He ended the season as the Music City Sportsman champion and finished 2nd in the Pro class points.

3 – CW Hoefer

West Coast bottom bulb star CW Hoefer was dominate in his near-stock Firebird. Hoefer drove the car to three track championships (Super Pro, Pro, and Sportsman) last season. At the NHRA D7 ET Finals, Hoefer won the Super Pro Race of Champions, was runner-up in the Sportsman ROC, and made the semifinals in the Pro ROC, all in the same car! He finished the weekend winning the Sportsman class which qualified him for the national championship in Vegas which he won! CW also won the NHRA Winternationals in Stock eliminator further proving his bottom bulb dominance.

4 – Charlie Lockhart

Charlie Lockhart posted another impressive season off the bottom which culminated with a $25,000 victory at the Forever Footbrake 150 in Gulfport in November. Along with numerous victories at local races, Lockhart won $20,000 at the World Footbrake Challenge, posted a $25K semifinal finish at the Big Buck Nationals, won the No-Box class at the Spring Fling Million and made it to 8 cars in the Million. He also won an IHRA Sportsman Spectacular, won the Bottom Bulb Dream Team race, and was the Race of Champions runner-up at the IHRA World Finals.

4 – Lucas Walker

Lucas Walker, the 2022 DragChamp Racer of the Year, lands in a tie for the #4 spot this year with his good friend Charlie Lockhart. Much like Charlie, Lucas traveled to the biggest races of the year and showed out against the biggest fields. His best performance of the season came at the TB Promotions $250K where he earned a $25K runner-up and a $50,000 win. At the New Year Nationals he grabbed a $20,000 runner-up in a borrowed car, posted a runner-up at the World Footbrake Challenge along with a $20K semifinal at Bristol and won he Dream Team Bottom Bulb title again. In addition to his big money success, Walker posted numerous wins and finals at smaller events ($5K-$10K) and also at local races.

5 – Keaton Overstreet

Keaton Overstreet enjoyed a successful season winning 14 times in 17 finals while being a consistent fixture on the weekly Top 10 Lists. Overstreet not only dominated on the local level, he showed out at the Forever Footbrake 150 winning a $4,000 Gamblers and the $8,000 No Guts No Glory race the next day. Keaton also won a $7,500 Top Bulb race leaving off the bottom and made two finals at the IHRA ET Finals. He finished the year with a $2,500 win and runner-up at Prescott Raceway.

6 – Mitchell Seymore

Mitchell Seymore owned the bottom bulb class at events across the Southeast last season. This was especially true at Montgomery where he won seemingly every week ultimately finishing first and second in the No-Box points.

7 – Andrew Innes

Andrew Innes had a great year posting numerous big money wins and late round finishes. Notable finishes included a $13K victory at the No Delay Nationals, $4K victory at the Hootenanny, and a $2K victory at Dragway 42. At the D3 ET Finals, Innes swept the weekend winning the $4K Pro Gamblers and the $8K Pro championship. He finished the season in Florida where he made the quarterfinals of the $50K (leaving off the bottom) and earned a $4K runner-up in Gainesville.

7 – Taylor Pofahl

Taylor Pofahl mostly stayed close to home last season but that didn’t keep him from making the Top 10 List on a regular basis. After winning numerous times throughout the season Pofahl won the No-Box track championship at Music City. He also won several $5K Super Pro races (off the bottom) at Beech Bend, was the Dream Team Bottom Bulb runner-up, and won the D2 ET Finals Gamblers race. At the TB Promotions $100K, Taylor won the $5K No Box class and made the split in the $50K. His most notable performance of the season came mid-year when he won at Clarksville on Friday, ran himself in a $2K final at Music City on Saturday, and won $5K in Super Pro (leaving off the bottom) at Beech Bend on Sunday.

8 – Grant Zimmerman

Grant Zimmerman was nasty at big money races last season. At the OG Million in St. Louis, Grant won the No-Box class on back-to-back days. He had dominating performances at the 777 races at Cordova and at the Gallstar events too. His biggest weekend of the year came at the Summer Door Car Shootout where he made the No-Box finals all three days. He won two of the three finals and then won the main event on Sunday.

9 – Steve Collier

DragChamp Pro member Steve Collier continues to be a fixture on the Top 10 Lists and last season was no exception. Highlights of his season included a $5K win and $10K runner-up at the Hootenanny, a $4K win at the Halloween Hootout at National Trail, and a runner-up at the NHRA D3 Bracket Finals. His biggest weekend of the season came at the Doorcar Duel where he was awarded the MVP. During the weekend he won $2K on Saturday, then ran himself in Sunday’s $2,500 bottom bulb final then won the $10K main event off the bottom.

9 – Henry Roberson

West Coast hitter and DragChamp Pro member Henry Roberson lands in the #9 spot after winning 11 times in 17 races! This included 4 Wally’s, 9 big checks, and the Pro ET track championship at Sonoma.

10 – Daniel Young

Daniel Young posted a series of strong performances including a $25,000 victory at the Forever Footbrake 150 to earn a Top 10 spot. In addition to the $25K win, Daniel raced to a $20K runner-up at the World Footbrake Challenge along with a deep run in the other $20K. At the Labor Day Footbrake Challenge, he raced to a victory in the Thursday Gamblers race. In addition to the big money finals, Daniel won numerous local bracket races in Florida and posted several deep runs in other big money bracket races.

10 – Colby Walker

Colby Walker continues to follow in his father’s footsteps raking up race wins on a consistent basis. Over the season, Colby won 8 times in 9 finals including a $7,500 victory at the TB Promotions $100K. He won several $4K-$5K races along with numerous local race wins and deep runs at big money events to earn a Top 10 spot.

Shout Outs

DragChamp Pro member Shane Lile drove his Gas Hole ’55 Chevy to 9 wins in 12 finals on the season

Ray Zumstein earned a shout out after winning over 20 races over the season in Pro and Sportsman.

Drew Buchner earned a shout out after winning the WDRA No-Box world championship a few months after posting a runner-up finish in the TB Promotions $250K main event.

Jordan Waldrop won 12 races last season racing in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Clint Cothran earned a shoutout after winning 11 races last year.

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And remember, look for our DragChamp Top 10 List nominations Facebook post every Monday evening. You can nominate your favorites in the comments of the post for consideration on the list.

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