NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

There are at least a half dozen championship contenders that took mulligans last week with early losses at the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte. That group includes eight-time Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher, three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Eddie Krawiec, and Funny Car fan favorite Courtney Force.

Those racers, and anyone else trailing in the points standings, will have an opportunity to reverse their fortunes this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park for the second of six events in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

Even those racers who did well in Charlotte, including points leaders Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Jason Line, and Andrew Hines, will be looking to pad their leads once the tour heads westward.

Last season, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Del Worsham (Funny Car), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) earned wins in St. Louis. Brown and Worsham used those titles to help secure titles in their respective nitro classes while Skillman’s Gateway victory helped put the wraps on the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award.

Here’s a look at some of this year’s major storylines:

Countdown drama
The points standings got a major shake-up last week when numerous favorites got beat early in Charlotte. In Top Fuel, five of the top 10 players failed to make it out of the first round including Tony Schumacher (pictured), Shawn Langdon, and Steve Torrence. Funny Car featured a similar number of upsets with Courtney Force, Jack Beckman, and Alexis DeJoria all going out early. Five Countdown riders in Pro Stock Motorcycle; Eddie Krawiec, Jerry Savoie, Matt Smith, Hector Arana Sr. and Cory Reed, also went out early. Most racers can withstand one bad race in the Countdown, almost no one can withstand two.

Non-Countdown threats
Given the level of competition in each class, there is a distinct possibility that one or more of the winners in St. Louis will be non-Countdown drivers. The biggest threats would appear to come in Funny Car where the highly competitive entries of Chad Head and Cruz Pedregon lurk outside the top ten. Pro Stock also appears ripe for an upset winner with Matt Hartford, Seattle winner Aaron Strong, and Alex Laughlin not among the Countdown players. There is also a lot of quality competition outside the top ten in Pro Stock Motorcycle with Steve Johnson, Jim Underdahl, Karen Stoffer, and rookie Melissa Surber all capable of claiming victories.

Erica looks to rebound
Six-time Pro Stock world champ and part-time philosopher Warren Johnson once noted that the only race he cared about was the next one and reigning champ Erica Enders-Stevens should probably adopt that mentality after one fo the most trying outings of her career. Enders missed the field in Charlotte for the first time since the 2010 season, when she was driving for the late Jim Cunningham. Prior to Charlotte, the Elite Motorsports team appeared to be making headway with their new 2016 Mopar engine program but the Charlotte DNQ was a crippling blow that likely cost them any chance they had whatsoever of winning the title. Enders won back-to-back Pro Stock titles in the Gateway city in 2012-13 so she’s obviously had success at the track.

Qualifying pressure
Once again, Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock Motorcycle all have more than 16 teams on the entry list, meaning there will be competition for those 16 starting spots on Sunday. Last week’s DNQ by two-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders-Stevens proved that no one is immune from a bad weekend and even the current points leaders can ill afford to take any Sunday’s off from this point forward.

Pro Mod City
There are 31 entries on the list for the J&A Services Pro Mod Series which means that 16 drivers will race in eliminations and 15 will not. While the battle just to make the field should be epic, there is also an ongoing battle for the series championship with just two rounds remaining in the season. Currently, Rickie Smith has a substantial 94-point lead over second-place Bob Rahaim. Smith can mathematically clinch his third title with a strong showing in St. Louis, but if he should go out early, or fail to qualify, Rahaim and third-ranked Troy Coughlin will have an opportunity to get back in the title hunt.

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel
3.718 seconds by Steve Torrence, September 2015
329.99 mph by Dave Connolly, September 2015

Funny Car
3.883 seconds by Matt Hagan, September 2015
330.47 mph by Matt Hagan, September 2016

Pro Stock
6.492 seconds by Jason Line, September 2015
213.47 mph by Jason Line, September 2012

Pro Stock Motorcycle
6.796 seconds by Hector Arana Sr., September 2013
198.58 mph by Hector Arana Sr., September 2013

Schedule
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds Friday, Sept. 23, at 2:45 and 5:15 p.m. and two rounds of qualifying Saturday, Sept. 24, at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.

Tickets
Call 855-RACE-TIK (855) 722-3845) or log on to gatewaymsp.com

Television
FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one hour of live qualifying coverage at 7 p.m. (all times ET) on Friday, Sept. 23; one hour of qualifying coverage at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25; and three hours of live finals coverage at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25.