One of drag racing’s most skilled and respected drivers — Jeff Arend — is getting some well deserved opportunity as the 2019 NHRA drag racing season winds down.

With help from new sponsor — California Pest Management — Jeff Arend will close out the 2019 racing season with momentum on his side.

Arend, a native of Toronto, but who now lives in La Verne CA.,  drove Don Nelson’s “California Hustler” Firebird Funny Car to and impressive second place season finish within the NHRA’s co-production Hot Rod Heritage Series this year.  But he is also finishing the current NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season in high gear with consecutive appearances during that circuit’s final three events for 2019.

After qualifying for both the NHRA AAA Texas Fall Nationals (Dallas) and then the Dodge Nationals at Las Vegas  — Jeff will once again assume the controls for the truly international Nitro Funny Car effort owned by Australia’s Russo family — at next week’s season ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at the Pomona Fairplex November 14 – 17, 2019.

Prior to that race, new sponsor California Pest Management will host a press opportunity including car owners, Peter and Helen Russo along with Arend : (Wednesday November 13, 2019 from 11 am to 1 pm at the California Pest Management offices (908 Palomares Ave, La Verne, CA).

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Arend said. “We bought some later model cylinder heads for it at the end of last year had them checked out and then bought all new parts for them. Our original plan was to go to Las Vegas (Oct. 31-Nov. 3) and Pomona (Nov. 14-17) to end the year and then we decided to also go to Dallas. That way we can kind of test a bit with these new heads and make a partial run or two. It certainly helped that Jim Harmon from California Pest Management came on board and helped us out financially as a major associate sponsor.”

Jeff Arend

The last time Arend drove the Russo Funny Car – owned by Peter and Helen Russo – was at the NHRA Finals in November of 2018. Since 2016, Arend has driven a limited schedule in the nitro Funny Car owned by the Russo family. He competed at three races in 2018, for the Russo’s including the last two of the season at Las Vegas and Pomona where he qualified at both with a 4.11-second elapsed time.

Over the last several years, Arend has found a niche competing on a limited schedule in the NHRA Mello Yello Series – and he also has served as a fill-in driver. Arend’s last drove as a substitute driver for Jonnie Lindberg, the primary driver for Jim Head, at the Route 66 Nationals May 30-June 2 in Chicago. Lindberg missed the event to return to his native Sweden as he pursued U.S. citizenship.

(Jeff Arend completed his strong season within NHRA’s Hot Rod Heritage Series placing second in final FC points — as driver of the California Hustler Firebird)

Arend, who has won four career NHRA national events, served as a substitute driver for Kalitta Motorsports driver Alexis DeJoria at the 2016 season-ending Auto Club Finals in November in Pomona, Calif. DeJoria was sidelined because of a concussion. Arend clocked a personal-best 3.930-second time at 317.19 mph during the event. Arend upset Matt Hagan in the first round before losing in round two to Courtney Force. Arend clocked a 3.979-second elapsed time against Force with a career-best 323.97 mph.

Photos by Bruce Biegler & Randy Anderson