Hale Racing

This is how you do Championship Weekend… 🏆
(Last weekend — delayed post, as usual! 🤣)

5 Finals • 3 Wins • 2 Runner-Up Finishes
1 Points Championship • 2 Runner-Up Points Finishes

What a way for Cohen to wrap up the 2026 points season!

🏆 HIGH SCHOOL — 2026 POINTS CHAMPION

Cohen went into Championship Weekend leading the points by 55 and only needed one round win to officially clinch the championship.

Not only did he get that first-round win, but he kept going, earned a bye into the final, and finished the day with the WIN! That made Sunday pretty much pressure-free, but he still went right back to the final again, finishing runner-up.

Out of the 9 points races this season, Cohen went to 6 finals and won 5 of them, earning the 2026 High School Points Championship!

This one feels especially good after last season. The Camaro was new to Cohen and, to put it nicely, it was a pretty rough year. The car let him down several times, but Co paid attention, took notes, and knew exactly what mechanical changes he wanted to make over the winter. He also decided he wanted to learn HP Tuners so he could tune the car himself round by round.

It was a lot of work — and a lot of money 🤣 — but seeing the success he had with it this season made it all worthwhile.

The Camaro has really become Cohen’s special project. He pretty much runs the car on his own, and there is a whole lot to be proud of there.

🥈 SPORTSMAN — POINTS RUNNER-UP

Cohen put on one heck of a show in the final two Sportsman races of the season, which also happened to be two of the biggest races of the year with more than 30 cars in the field.

He came into the weekend sitting 3rd in points — 49 points out of 2nd and 98 points out of 1st.

On Saturday, he turned on six win lights, including the one that mattered most in the final.

Then he came back Sunday and DID IT AGAIN. 🏆🏆

Those back-to-back wins moved him all the way into 2nd place for the season, just 21 points behind the champion.

Sunday’s win also gave him the opportunity to race in the King of the Track race, where he made it all to the final before breaking out by just .002.

Not bad for a “bonus” class that he originally planned to run mostly for extra laps and to use the free entries he earned through High School! The Camaro not only carried him to the High School Championship, but also made for a pretty exciting late-season run in Sportsman.

🥈 JR. LIGHTNING — POINTS RUNNER-UP

Jr. Lightning was definitely a season of ups and downs.

Cohen started the year a little slow, but once things started clicking, he went to back-to-back finals and made up 76 of the 77 points he had been behind.

Then…the motor broke.

He swapped in one of our backup motors for the next race, and that turned into a total disaster. 😅 Thankfully, we were able to get his original motor repaired in time for Championship Weekend. Also of note, Cohen did both of these complete motor swaps by himself (Doug was at work). Junior crew chief for hire next season...who needs one? 😆

Saturday ended early with a red light. He went some rounds Sunday, but just couldn’t make up enough ground to take over the number-one spot.

He finished the season Runner-Up in Jr. Lightning.

There are still about 6–7 Jr. races left on Cohen’s farewell tour, but I don’t think it’s much of a secret where his heart has been this season. He’s licensed and ready for Super Pro next year, and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll still see that Camaro in the lanes too.

Very proud of Co for all the hard work he has put in this year and for his ability to jump from car to car, run back-to-back classes, and keep his head in the game through all of it.

This was the first season in two years that he didn’t have a schedule conflict and was able to make every points race — and he had an absolute blast doing it.

Without a doubt, this was his best overall year of driving yet.

2026 High School Champion.
Sportsman Points Runner-Up.
Jr. Lightning Points Runner-Up.

He’s definitely ready for whatever comes next.

Championship Weekend at WWT!

There was a lot of incredible racing this weekend (more to come on that later), but the BEST part was watching the 18-year-old get his first crack at the “King of the Track”race!

It’s a pretty rare opportunity—the winners from each of the four classes — Super Pro, Pro, Super Pro Bike, and Sportsman — face off for the title. It made for a very late night getting home, but it was completely worth it to watch the underdog in his street car line up against some serious heavy hitters.

After a quick chip draw, Cohen matched up first with Super Pro Bike winner, the always tough, BJ Evans. Cohen took the win with a .006 light, his best of the day!

That sent him to the final against Super Pro winner Cody Wiggins in his very fast, very loud, 4.30 blown dragster. Cohen always loves a challenge, and he was hyped for this matchup! He even ran back to the trailer to grab his GoPro. 🤣 (Video below!)

Cohen stepped it up again on the tree with a .004 light, but broke out by just .002. No win light this time, but he had an absolute blast and threw everything he had at that dragster!

Keep at it, Co. I have no doubt there is a King of the Track win in your future!

Cohen got it done in ET class at Bonne Terre last Saturday night. He won all five rounds and ran the final against a familiar WWT competitor, where Cohen's starting line advantage gave him the win!

Kennedy also had a great night. She decided to get back behind the wheel of the Chevy II. She won all five rounds of Box but came up short in the final.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to turn on some win lights and get some laps in before the upcoming Championship Weekend at WWT.

Next Up: Testing tonight at WWT!

Introducing your inaugural, FuelTech USA Jr Dragster points champion, Cohen Hale!

Cohen narrowly edged out the points runner up, Wyatt Scales, by just 6 points! Cohen will receive a COMPLETE FuelTech Jr ECU Kit for his efforts! ($1400 value!)

The FuelTech Jr ECU kit includes-
-FT450 EFI ECU
-FT450 Wiring Harness
-WB-O2 Nano + O2 sensor

From all of us at Wasting Fuel Promotions, Congratulations Cohen!

About FuelTech

FuelTech is a global leader in high‑performance engine‑management systems and motorsports electronics. Known for its innovative ECUs, data systems, and integrated tuning solutions, FuelTech supports racers across a wide range of disciplines — from Jr. Dragsters to 5000 horsepower Pro-Mods. With a commitment to reliability, technology, and racer-focused development, FuelTech continues to push the sport forward at every level.

Weekend Update

Our plans for this weekend changed more times than we can count!

We were originally pre-entered for the Wasting Fuel Promotions Coal Rush Twenties at I-57 so Cohen could finish up the Jr. points series. However, we found out the race had been cancelled. Cohen was sitting first in points after the first Coal Rush races, so with the final event cancelled, he officially secured the points championship!

Definitely not the way he wanted to wrap up the championship. He was looking forward to racing and seeing how everything played out on the track. But a championship is still a championship, and along with the title, Cohen brought home a pretty awesome ax trophy and a FuelTech ECU System! It’s a little bittersweet considering he’s nearing the end of his Jr. career, because fuel injection is absolutely something Co would have loved to dig into, learn, and experiment with.

With I-57 off the schedule, we pivoted and decided to give the Manufacturer’s Cup bike race at WWT a try since they were also offering a Jr. Dragster class. Kennedy and Cohen headed over Friday morning for tnt session, and Cohen was able to spend some time fine tuning the Jr. Unfortunately, once again, low car count changed our plans. So, with racing officially off the agenda, Saturday turned into the perfect opportunity to head to Arkansas and pick up the motorhome.

“Bertha” is officially home! Now it’s time to get her cleaned up, organized, and ready for the next adventure. Never a dull moment around Hale Racing!

WWT Heads-Up Race #5 Recap

Cohen qualified in the #1 spot, earning a first-round bye. There was a timing system issue round two, that produced a timeslip that showed Co went 7.60 at 180 mph. Needless to say, that round was thrown out and rerun! Unfortunately, Cohen experienced a pretty significant stumble off the starting line on the rerun and wasn’t able to get the win.

On a high note, Saturday morning Doug got the call that Cohen's OG motor was ready for pickup. A huge thank you to Doug at AMT Racing Engines for getting it back to us so quickly! We may make the switch this week and hopefully get some testing in this weekend. Stumbles are not going to cut it as we approach the final stretch of the season!

Other exciting news to report...Cohen is officially Super Pro licensed! He completed all of his required passes during TNT Saturday night and he is very excited for what lies ahead! According to Co, it's never too early to start preparing for next season!

Hoping he gets to have a little fun in the Chevy II and/or Camaro at the very end of the season when things slow down a bit. As always…stay tuned!

Drag racing has a way of testing you when you least expect it. Setbacks are part of the sport, but the way you respond is what truly matters.

After two weeks of major on-track setbacks in the Jr., Hale Racing spent this week working to get the backup motor where it needed to be. We studied the data, swapped parts, made adjustments, and, of course, put in some time testing. It looks like we finally have Cohen dialed in and ready for today’s throw-down at WWT!

Friday night bonus…Kennedy relived her glory days and made a pass down the track for old times’ sake. She’s definitely still got it, but we don’t think she’ll be giving up the Super Pro life anytime soon!

And…you may catch Co making a few extra passes tonight. 😉 There’s always something new going on at Hale Racing!

Weekend Recap: WWT Points Races 7 & 8

With rainy weather moving in on Saturday, Points Race #7 was unfortunately canceled. Racing resumed Sunday, with Hale Racing running a total of five classes between two drivers.

Kennedy had a great day and definitely held it down for the team! She went five rounds in Super Pro, making it down to the final nine cars. She finally broke what she calls her “fourth-round curse” and was on the tree all day. A perfect light in round two earned her a bye into the third round.

Kennedy left with a .005 reaction time in round five, but the tires spun, causing her to run off the dial and come up just short. Even so, it was a strong day of racing for K.

Things did not go quite as smoothly for Cohen, but it certainly was not due to a lack of effort. Last Monday, Co swapped engines after discovering a compression issue with the motor he had run all season. We had planned to test Cohen’s Jr. with Kennedy’s old motor Friday night, but Mother Nature had other plans, leaving us without much time to fine-tune the new setup.

After losing several rounds in the Jr. because of unusually slow reaction times, Co discovered a major issue with the clutch grabbing the belt as soon as he hit the throttle. Despite using the same belt, clutch, and secondary from the other motor, the new combination was simply not happy.

Loosening and tightening the belt did not solve the issue, and it only seemed to grab correctly when the car spun the tires. That made it nearly impossible to cut a good light, while also causing the car to become extremely inconsistent. On his final pass, it ran seven numbers over the dial.

Co had the car apart after nearly every round, trying to pinpoint the problem while also competing in four different classes throughout the day. It was frustrating, for sure, but that’s racing!

Cohen went out in the first round of High School by just .005 on a breakout. In Sportsman, he won the opening round against an always-tough opponent before losing in round two on another breakout.

Cohen and Doug are currently back in the garage making changes to the Jr. They plan to make a few test hits tomorrow in preparation for Saturday’s Heads-Up race. If the changes do not lead to an improvement, there are still a few other options on the table.

Stay tuned!