NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Doug Doll Jr. all but wrapped up the 2016 Comp national championship when he drove to victory at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, his third national event win of the season. Doll's win highlighted competition in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at the event, which awarded Wallys to drivers in nine classes, ranging from Top Alcohol Dragster to Top Sportsman.

Here's a collection of video salutes to the champions of the fall race at zMAX Dragway.

Shawn Cowie, who hails from Surrey, B.C., made the long haul from the West Coast to the East Coast pay off big when he outlasted Rich McPhillips to claim the Top Alcohol Dragster title, his sixth national event win. Cowie, who came up just short of winning the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals two weeks earlier, qualified sixth then made consistent low-5.3-second runs as he dispatched Jackie Fricke, Megan Meyer, Duane Shields, and McPhillips. In the final, Cowie got the slight edge at the Tree, then outran McPhillips, 5.35 to 5.40, to turn on the win light. [Watch video]

For the second straight year, the Bartone Bros. Top Alcohol Funny Car was in the winner’s circle at zMAX Dragway but with a different driver. Like Mickey Ferro did last year, DJ Cox Jr. took full advantage of the opportunity when he was tabbed to drive the Bartone Bros. flopper, earning his first national event Wally. Cox, a multitime winner at the divisional level, qualified No. 6 and was among the pacesetters every round. After getting past Tony Bogolo, Phil Burkart Jr., and national points leader Jonnie Lindberg in the opening rounds, Cox drove to a 5.53 to 5.60 win against Ulf Leanders in the final.  [Watch video]

Comp racer Doug Doll Jr. completed the perfect season with a strong performance in Charlotte, where he was the No. 1 qualifier and used a combination of solid driving and the strong horsepower from Charlie Greco’s dragster to get past Jim Kimbrough, Patrick Ross, Joe Carnasciale, and, in the final, Van Puckett, whom Doll bested, (-.432) 7.43 to (-.449) 8.64. [Watch video]

The Sportsman winner’s circle also featured the return of a familiar face after a two-plus-year absence. Peter Biondo, who last won in 2014 at the spring Las Vegas event, where he doubled, picked up win No. 49 when he bested Jeffrey Jewell in the Super Stock title round. Biondo left the starting line first in the final, then eased his Phillip Monteith’s Hatari Firebird to a 9.71 (9.54 dial) to beat Jewell’s 9.72 (9.55). [Watch video]

In Stock, CJ McDonald picked up the Wally in the first national event he entered. Though a first-timer at the national event level, McDonald is a veteran competitor who has been racing for more than three decades, and he put the skills developed through the years to good use as he worked his way through the field. In the final, Brad Ford made McDonald’s job easier when he fouled by .002-second, turning on McDonald’s win light. [Watch video]

Super Comp also featured a first-time winner, Ray Miller Jr., who came one round shy of making the Indy final. Miller, the father of multitime winner Ray III, survived a series of tough races, including a double-breakout match against Steve Hoyt in the final that was decided on an 8.88 to 8.87 count. [Watch video]

Super Gas winner Jason Lynch continued his strong run of late that included a semifinal showing in Indy and a runner-up finish in Brainerd. The victory, Lynch’s fifth, came courtesy of an on-the-index 9.90 in the final that allowed Lynch to narrowly edge former national champion Jim Perry, who finished .009-second behind with a 9.92.  [Watch video]

After a trying summer, during which his Top Sportsman Corvette was destroyed in a racing accident, Bob Mandell III’s fortunes made a turn for the better when he drove his ’11 ProFab entry to victory in Top Dragster presented by RacingRVs.com. Jeff Strickland had the slight edge at the Tree in the final, but Mandell was able to run closer to the dial and win, 6.44 (6.42) to 7.19 (7.15), picking up his second national event Wally.  [Watch video]

Driving the ’63 Corvette he and girlfriend Suzanne Poirier built themselves, first-time winner Gerard Milette outlasted the field in Top Sportsman presented by RacingRVs.com. Milette ran right on his 7.07 dial to turn on the win light in the final against Jonathan Gibbs, who slowed to a 7.44 (7.24).  [Watch video]

Previous events:
Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals