NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

When the Countdown to the Championship format was introduced in 2007, this is pretty much what its creators envisioned: a season final packed with drama and tight points battles.

The 2016 Auto Club NHRA Finals includes three undecided championship battles – two very close, one not so much – that will not be completely decided until the last day of the season, Sunday at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Here’s a look at some of the major storylines:

Capps closes on first championship

Ron Capps

He’s one of the hard-luck poster children for NHRA championships, having finished in second place four times – once by just two points – but Ron Capps has to be feeling pretty confident that his bridesmaid streak will end this weekend in Pomona. He enters the event with an 86-point lead over teammate Matt Hagan and 113 over another teammate, Tommy Johnson Jr.

Capps only needs to enter final eliminations leading by 81 points to clinch the title before the first engine is fired Sunday so he’ll look to maximize both session and position points in qualifying to keep Hagan at that distance. Over the course of the first five Countdown races, Capps has averaged more session/position points per race than Hagan, so that’s another advantage.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky, so stay with us: If Hagan can get the lead down to 80 points or less before Sunday, he’ll have to hope for Capps to lose in round one and then win the event himself.

The possibility of a points tie certainly exists if Hagan enters Sunday exactly 80 points behind Capps. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head during the Countdown, and they’re tied 1-1 right now but even Hagan beating Capps himself in round one won’t mean anything unless Hagan can add three more round wins he needs to tie Capps in points. The second tiebreaker is rounds won in the Countdown, where Capps currently leads 12 to 10, but Hagan can turn that into a 14-12 tiebreaker edge by going the distance if Capps loses in round one, regardless of to whom Capps loses. If Capps wins round one, the championship is his.

Who will reach Pro Stock summit?

Jason Line

The scenario in Pro Stock is no less – and perhaps more -- complex. Jason Line leads his Ken Black Racing/Summit stablemate Greg Anderson by 19 points, which is less than a round win. Line’s task during qualifying will be to push that lead to 20 or more. Line currently owns the first tiebreaker with a 2-1 edge over Anderson in head-to-head races in the Countdown and they’re tied entering the event with 11 Countdown round wins.

Here are the scenarios:
1. Line is able to improve his lead to exactly 20 points
Unless Anderson beats Line in round one --which would even the head-to-head tiebreaker and give him the rounds-won tiebreaker and the championship on the spot -- Anderson will have to go at least two rounds further than Line to pass him.

2. Line is able to improve his lead to more than 20 points
A points tie would no longer be possible, but Anderson would still have to go two rounds further than Line to pass him.

3. Anderson is able to maintain or reduce Line’s points lead (anything less than 20)
Anderson will need to win one more round than Line. If they lose in the same round, or Line wins more rounds than Anderson, Line is the champion.

A trio of two-wheeled trouble

Eddie Krawiec

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the battle is between Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley riders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines and Suzuki rider Jerry Savoie. Against all odds, Hines and Krawiec are tied with 2,509 points and Savoie, winner two weeks ago in Las Vegas, is just three points behind.

The scenarios for any of the three to change their position and points lead/deficit in qualifying is too overwhelming to get into and we could even see a three-way tie entering eliminations, but here are two key points:

1. Whomever is leading the points entering Sunday must only match the other two in round wins to stay ahead. Second- and third-place must go at least one round further than the leader to surpass him, and, unless they are tied for second place, third place must go one round further to pass second as well.

If second and third are tied entering eliminations, whomever goes one round further than the other two will win the championship.

2. If there is a tie when eliminations complete, here’s where their records against one another stood coming into the event:
Hines vs. Krawiec (1-0)
Hines vs. Savoie (1-1)
Krawiec vs. Savoie (1-0)

Savoie has 12 round wins, Krawiec 11, and Hines 10.

Based on the Funny Car and Pro Stock guidelines laid out above, you can do the math from there.
 

Strickland going for rare championship double

Jeff Strickland

Jeff Strickland is already a 2016 NHRA season champion, having clinched the Top Dragster presented by Racing RVS championship last weekend at the Division 7 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series finale in Las Vegas, but he also could become just the second driver in NHRA history to win two season championships in one season. In 1994, Scotty Richardson pulled off the unheard-of feat first, winning both the Super Comp and Super Gas championships.

Strickland, who cannot earn any more points currently leads the Stock championship, and only Brad Burton can pass him. Burton is no slouch, as he previously has won the Stock championship twice (2010, 2012), but he must reach the fifth round of eliminations (semifinals) to pass Strickland and earn a third crown.

Track records:
Top Fuel
3.700 sec. by Shawn Langdon, February 2014
332.34 mph by Langdon, November 2015

Funny Car
3.884 sec. by Jack Beckman, November 2015
331.45 by Matt Hagan, November 2015

Pro Stock
6.480 sec. by Erica Enders, November 2014
213.84 mph by Drew Skillman, November 2015

Pro Stock Motorcycle
6.766 sec. by Andrew Hines, November 2012
198.29 mph by Eddie Krawiec November 2012

Schedule
Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying feature two rounds at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, and two final qualifying rounds on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Tickets
Tickets are available at NHRA.com/tickets or by calling 1-800-884-NHRA.

Television
Friday Nov. 11, FS1 will televise one hour of live qualifying coverage at 11:30 p.m. (ET).
Sunday Nov. 13, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
Sunday, Nov. 13, FS1 will televise three hours of live finals coverage starting at 4 p.m. (ET).