NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Who will win the 2016 NHRA world titles? The answer to that question will take six races and a couple months to answer, but the quest for the championships in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle officially begins this weekend at zMAX Dragway. As has been the case since it was added to the schedule in 2008, the NHRA Carolina Nationals officially kicks off the Countdown to the Championship playoffs this weekend, upping the pressure on the 10 drivers in each class who are still in contention for the titles. A good start to the Countdown could be crucial to a title run.

That point became very evident last year when Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Del Worsham (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) used wins at the NHRA Carolina Nationals as a springboard to the 2015 world championships in their respective classes.

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

Countdown kickoff
All eyes will be on the 10 drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle vying for this year’s championships, and for good reason. Last year, all four champions won the kickoff event of the Countdown to the Championship. While that was the first time all four champions won the first race en route to the titles, winning the opener has proven to be a great way to get to the title. Every season at least one title goes to a winner of the first race. In all, 17 times a driver who won the first Countdown event went on to win a season title. This race is not an absolute make or break, but success here very well can lead to big things at season’s end.

Spoiler alert?
With how competitive the sport is right now, just because a driver does not make the Countdown does not mean he or she cannot be a factor in how things play out through the end of the year. There have been many instances in which a driver not in the top 10 has won one or more races in the Countdown, denying those racing for championships those valuable points. One instance of that is Cruz Pedregon (pictured), who won two of the six Countdown races, including this one, in 2010 when he was not a part of the playoffs. Pedregon will again have the chance to try and play spoiler because he missed the top 10 after a rough regular season that was capped by a DNQ in Indy. But it’s not just the full-time teams like Pedregon and Terry McMillen, who again came up heartbreakingly short of the playoffs, who can spoil the days of the title contenders. Dave Richards is coming off a big first-round upset of Jack Beckman in Indy, and he put an early end to Alexis DeJoria’s weekend at this event in 2014.

Qualifying pressure
Top Fuel, Pro Stock, 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. While conventional wisdom says the drivers who performed well enough to make the Countdown should be OK, the reality is there are no guarantees. Ask Antron Brown, who struggled at the Countdown opener in 2013 and failed to qualify. Brown dropped from sixth to ninth in points after missing the field before rallying back at the remaining five events, ultimately finishing second.

More Funny Car magic?
zMAX Dragway was the site of the first three-second run by Matt Hagan (pictured) in 2011, and as we approach this year’s event, some are looking toward the next potential milestone in the class: a 3.7-second pass. The current national record is 3.822, set by Hagan in Brainerd, but while in the low 3.8s, that is still a pretty big leap to make in performance. The weather forecast for the weekend is good (low to mid 80s each day), but not great, and there is only one late qualifying session, on Friday beginning at 6 p.m. Barring delays that push that or another session later, chances of a 3.7 are on the low side. A new track record, however, is definitely within the realm of possibilities. The incoming mark is a 3.934, which considering the number of 3.8s seen this year, is, dare we say, on the slow side of things. The speed mark could also be up for grabs, currently sitting at 323.50 mph.

Increased competitiveness in Pro Stock
At the beginning of the season, the big question in Pro Stock was “When will someone other than Greg Anderson and Jason Line win?” That was answered in Denver when Allen Johnson became the first non-KB Racing driver to win this year, and it was the start of a more competitive Pro Stock class. Anderson won the next event, in Sonoma, but neither KB car has been in the winner’s circle since. Aaron Strong won Seattle, Drew Skillman took home the Brainerd trophy, and Chris McGaha was the Indy champ. In addition, at four of the last six events, a non-KB car qualified No. 1. Some have speculated the Summit cars may have shifted into testing mode, though they have neither confirmed nor denied that. The validity of that speculation will be tested this weekend because, if they were testing, now is the time they will shift out of it and potentially return to dominating form.

Track records
Top Fuel
3.713 seconds by J.R. Todd, March 2015
332.18 mph by Spencer Massey, April 2012

Funny Car
3.934 seconds by Alexis DeJoria, April 2016
323.50 mph by Matt Hagan, April 2016

Pro Stock
6.455 seconds by Jason Line, March 2015
215.48 mph by Greg Anderson, March 2015

Pro Stock Motorcycle
6.794 seconds by Hector Arana Jr., March 2015
199.88 mph by Hector Arana Jr., March 2015

Schedule
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds Friday, Sept. 16, at 3:15 and 5:30 p.m. and two rounds of qualifying Saturday, Sept. 17, at 12:45 and 3 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for noon Sunday, Sept. 18.

Tickets
Call 800-455-FANS or log on to zMAXDragway.com.

Television
FOX Sports 1 (FS1) will televise one hour of live qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. (all times ET) on Friday, Sept. 16; one hour of qualifying coverage at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18; and three hours of live finals coverage at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 18.