Jeff Arend has had an accomplished racing career.

Now, the veteran Funny Car driver can check winning a NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series race off his list.

Arend, piloting the Don Nelson’s California Hustler, won the Nostalgia Funny Car class at the NAPA Auto Parts Ignitor May 6 at Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho.

The win was extra special since it also was the first Nostalgia victory for team owner Nelson.

“The car owner Don (Nelson) has had this car for a long time and I was talking to him on Saturday (May 5) and he said he really wanted to get a Wally,” Arend said. “I said, ‘What do you mean, you have never got one before?’ I told him all right we will fix that (May 6) for you. I’ve won before and it’s always fun to win! Ronnie (Swearingen, crew chief) had the car running so well, especially in qualifying, we were almost a tenth quicker than everybody else and that took some pressure off me as a driver. I just knew that if everybody did their job properly, it was our race to lose. I was really happy when we got it done.”

Arend set the tone for the weekend by qualifying No. 1 with a 5.68-second lap at 255 mph. He then defeated Jon Rice in the first round with a session-best 5.720-second lap, and in the second round he ousted defending world champion Bobby Cottrell, who was driving Bucky Austin’s Funny Car. Against Cottrell, Arend won with a 5.707-second run which was low ET of raceday.

In the finals, Arend met up with Shawn Bowen and he turned on the win light with a 5.741-second run compared to Bowen’s 5.866-second effort.

Arend was only driving his second race in Nelson’s 1978 Pontiac Firebird and he also was competing at Firebird Raceway for the first time.

“Ronnie Swearingen called me over the winter time and said they were going to make a driver change and asked me if I was interested in driving,” said Arend, who has won four career NHRA national events in a nitro Funny Car. “When I look at a car I want to drive, I want to make sure it is a car capable of winning and it has a good crew chief and crew and honestly their setup is second to none. 

It was like going to see one of the big teams. It was super professional and organized and everything is clean. I can honestly say one of the main reasons I took it was, it is probably the best car I’ve ever had in my career to drive that has a chance of winning races and winning a championship. No doubt. That’s how nice that operation is, and I really want to thank Fred Spell from Concrete and Asphalt Paving Services for helping me put this deal together.”  

After his big win in Boise, Arend has lofty expectations for his team for the remainder of the season.

“We definitely have a car that contend with anybody else,” he said. “For me, the Heritage Series is a lot of fun. It is really laid back and reminds you when you were getting into racing, that whole atmosphere of teams helping each other out, and you go to the other guys' pits at night and tell stories. It’s like one big family. I really enjoy this and they are definitley fun to drive.”