NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship enters the second half with the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at venerable Texas Motorplex, home of so much history since its creation in 1986. Three decades later, the all-concrete supertrack still has a reputation for dishing up big numbers if the conditions are ripe, so it could be a good ol’ Wild West shootout.

At last year’s event, Del Worsham in Funny Car and Erica Enders in Pro Stock used victories at the event to boost them to their world championships; they were joined in victory by Richie Crampton (Top Fuel) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

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

Setting the table
There’s no way for any of the four points leaders – Antron Brown in Top Fuel, Ron Capps in Funny Car, Jason Line in Pro Stock, and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle – to clinch their championships in Dallas, but a good effort on their part and a poor outing by their closest pursuers could certainly set them up to do so at the season penultimate event in Las Vegas in two weeks. Brown (pictued), winner of two of the three Coutndown events so far in his Matco Tools dragster, has the largest lead – 77 markers, or just shy of four rounds, over Doug Kalitta – and if he can grow that lead by one or two rounds at Texas Motorplex, a Las Vegas clinch is certainly possible.

Funny Car battle royale
Funny Car, on the other hand, has the narrowest lead, with Capps leading teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. by just 24 points as both veterans continue to battle for their first career season championship. Not to rule out third-place Jack Beckman (69 points behind Johnson) or fourth-place Matt Hagan (17 behind Beckman), but Capps and Johnson have had killer consistency. Capps has advanced to the semifinals or better in the first three playoff races (and 12 of his past 13 races), and Johnson has been in every final of the Countdown. This one should go down to the wire in Pomona.

Little points matter
Early-week forecasts of Friday rain that had some people fretting seem to have largely evaporated, with mid- to high-80s forecast for the weekend, meaning that the Pros will probably get in all four sessions, and those 3-2-1 bonus points for the top three qualifying runs in each session will be coveted. Brown, for example, would love to earn four more points than Kalitta to give him another round’s worth of cushion (81 instead of 77), while Johnson (pictured) would love to get his deficit to Capps below 20 points. Greg Anderson trails teammate Jason Line by 45 in Pro Stock and would love to get it to 40 or below, while bike leader Hines would love to push his lead over teammate Eddie Krawiec from 38 to 40-plus. If you think that’s not significant, remember that three recent championships have been decided by two points.

Double duty
Alex Laughlin, who in St. Louis became the Mello Yello tour’s most recent first-time winner with his victory in Pro Stock, will be pulling double driving duty this week, wheeling not only his Gas Monkey Garage Camaro Pro Stocker, but also the A/Fuel Dragster of Anthony Dicero in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. Laughlin, who had a lot of fast dragster experience before turning to Pro Stock, licensed impressively in the car at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The car itself is top notch, having carried Mike Lewis to the No. 1 qualifying spot at the Dodge NHRA Nationals in Reading, and although a double will be tough, it’s not unprecedented. History buffs will remember that the sport’s first double win was pulled off by Pat Austin in Topeka in 1991 (and repeated by him in Phoenix the following year) when he won in Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster.

Unfinished business
Remember Seattle in August, where the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals was rained on heavily and not all racing finished? Well, the event will finally be officially completed this weekend with the running of the last two final rounds, in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car. Recently recrowned world champ Joey Severence will take on former world champ Chris Demke in the Top Alcohol Dragster finale, and Chicago winner Shane Westerfield will face Nick Januik in the Top Alcohol Funny Car conclusion.

Track records
Top Fuel
3.705 seconds by Richie Crampton, October 2015;
329.18 mph by Dave Connolly, October 2015

Funny Car
3.909 seconds by Jack Beckman, October 2015
326.32 mph by Jack Beckman, October 2015

Pro Stock
6.457 seconds by Greg Anderson, October 2015
214.59 mph by Greg Anderson, October 2015

Pro Stock Motorcycle
6.744 seconds by Jerry Savoie, October 2015
198.99 mph by Jerry Savoie, October 2015

Schedule
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4:15 and 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14, and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 12:45 and 3:45 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16.

Tickets
Call 800-668-6775. Tickets also are available online at www.texasmotorplex.com.

Television
Friday, Oct. 14, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Oct. 16, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 1 a.m. (ET), with a repeat at 1 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 16, FS1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage starting at 2 p.m. (ET).