By Nathan Harnagel There are times in competitive sports where a team comes out of nowhere and achieves far more than anyone expected. A “Cinderella Season” is one where the previously unknown challengers don’t seem to have anything in their favor and yet they make it into the championships.  The appeal of the story is that the new contenders are not from powerhouse programs with massive resources and hand-picked players.  I had the chance to participate in one of these underdog teams during the National Championship Air Races in 2016. The airplane that was the basis for the team was...

For the second year in a row, NBC Sports will cover the Reno Air Races on national television.  This 3 part special, brought to you by Stihl USA, will air on the following dates: March 11th 2:00 PM ET March 25th 6:00 PM ET April 2nd 3:30 PM ET

How about a quick look back? The pilots and their airplanes are all in Reno for the 2016 races. Today through Wednesday lunch are trial and timing races to set the field - After that, we'll rank our pilots by speed and the racing begins Wednesday at noon. Meanwhile, how about one last look back at the 2015 Reno races and crews? Can't wait for 2016?

Reno, Nev. – The National Championship Air Races has partnered with select Costco stores in northern Nevada and northern California to sell tickets to the National Championship Air Races. Costco members can now purchase discounted two-day Saturday and Sunday General Admission tickets to this year’s Air Races, to be held September 14-18, 2016. “This is a great partnership for the National Championship Air Races,” Reno Air Racing Association President and CEO Mike Crowell said. “Not only does partnering with Costco allow us to expand the area where our fans can purchase tickets, but it also allows Costco members who perhaps haven’t...

What do race pilots do during the "off-season?" Obviously, they practice and refine their skills to remain sharp for the September races. One of our race pilots, however, used some of his "non-racing" time to lead a group of six (6) Epic LT aircraft on a 15,000 mile, 21-day, 21-city journey completely around the world! The entire flight and international planning was led by our 2015 Gold Champion, Pete Zaccagnino. Later in September, an Epic LT will be one of our Jet pace planes ...Think about that for a minute - A Prop will be pacing a Jet start - That's...

With 2016 PRS (Pylon Racing School) now concluded, our field of 18 pilots and 19 aircraft is set. But before we get to the September races, let's take a video look back at last month's PRS ...

RARA News National Championship Air Races Pylon Racing Seminar Attracts Record Number of Participants and Planes Annual safety briefing and qualifying seminar for September races occurred last week Reno, Nev. – The 19th annual National Championship Air Races Pylon Racing Seminar (PRS) was held last week, June 15-18, at the Reno Stead Airport. PRS is a qualifying and safety seminar for pilots new to the National Championship Air Races. This year’s event, which was not open to the public, hosted a record 79 airplanes and 130 participants, including students, instructors and certified pilots. “We are beyond excited to have hosted...

With Rookie School (aka PRS or Pilot Racing Seminar) behind us, RJI is proud to announce four (4) new graduates (racers) for 2016. They are: L-39 - Kevin Roll L-29 - Bob McCormack L-29 - Scott Farnsworth L-39 - Nathan Harnagel Several certified racers also participated just to maintain their racing skills: L-39 - Mark Johnson (Pace Pilot) L-29 - Joe Gano Soko Galeb - Jon Socolof Look forward to seeing you with all our other pilots in September!