NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Antron Brown clinched his third NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel title while Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps moved a step closer to his first title after a strong semifinal finish during a thrilling NHRA Toyota Nationals. Brown officially locked up the title in the second round when Steve Torrence defeated his closest rival, Doug Kalitta. Capps lost in the semifinals, but he managed to extend his lead in the points standings over teammates Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr.

In Pro Stock, the 2016 Mello Yello championship will reside in the KB Racing team headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., but it's still unclear if KB driver Greg Anderson or Jason Line will earn the top spot. Anderson and Line were both beaten in the semifinals, but they remain a safe distance from third-ranked Vincent Nobile. The Pro Stock Motorcycle battle will go down to the wire after Jerry Savoie ran the table on his White Alligator Suzuki. Savoie won his second Countdown to the Championship race to move within three points of Harley-Davidson teammates Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec, who are tied for second.

Here’s a class-by-class look at the changes:

TOP FUEL

Driver

Antron Brown

Doug Kalitta

Shawn Langdon

Brittany Force

Steve Torrence

Tony Schumacher

J.R. Todd

Leah Pritchett

Richie Crampton

Clay Millican

Winners: Antron Brown (pictured) is the big winner of the NHRA Toyota Nationals after clinching his third NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel title in the last five years, but Steve Torrence also deserves credit for his thrilling 3.734 to 3.762 final-round win over J.R. Todd. Torrence gained three spots in the points standings following his third win of the season.

Losers: Doug Kalitta's chances of winning the title were slim before the weekend started, and he was officially eliminated after a round-two loss to Torrence. Tony Schumacher, Shawn Langdon, and Richie Crampton are also eager to put Sin City in their rearview mirror after disappointing and unexpected round-one losses.

Breaking even: J.R. Todd isn't fond of runner-up finishes, but he could not have been too disappointed in the performance of his SealMaster dragster in Las Vegas. Todd made a small move in the standings as a result of his final-round finish. Leah Pritchett, who was flying Pennzoil colors in Las Vegas, also enjoyed a solid outing with her fourth semifinal finish of the season.

Key stat: Antron Brown has now won 53 rounds of competition and has just 16 losses in 23 events, making this the best season of his career. During the Countdown, Brown is now 14-2 in eliminations rounds with his Matco Tools dragster following the Las Vegas event.
 

FUNNY CAR

Driver

Ron Capps

Tommy Johnson Jr.

Matt Hagan

Jack Beckman

Del Worsham

Robert Hight

John Force

Courtney Force

Tim Wilkerson

Alexis DeJoria

Winners: Finalists John Force and daughter Courtney emerged as the event’s biggest winners for obvious reasons, but Ron Capps also has a reason to feel good after his semifinal finish. Capps, seeking his first Funny Car championship, will head to Pomona with an 86-point lead over DSR teammate Matt Hagan.

Losers: Tommy Johnson Jr. had a shot to catch Capps in the standings, but that pretty much ended when he suffered a round-one loss. Robert Hight entered Las Vegas with arguably the best car in the field, but his weekend ended early when he also lost in round one.

Breaking even: Although they came up short of a victory, Matt Hagan and Courtney Force were solid in Las Vegas. Hagan went to the semifinals with wins against John Hale and Del Worsham while Force wheeled her Traxxas Camaro to the final round for the fourth time this season.

Key stat: John Force now has 147 career wins, which is 50 more than Pro Stock racer Warren Johnson, who is the second-winningest driver in NHRA's six decades of racing. 

PRO STOCK

Driver

Jason Line

Greg Anderson

Vincent Nobile

Shane Gray

Bo Butner

Drew Skillman

Chris McGaha

Allen Johnson

Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Erica Enders

Winners: Taken by itself, Shane Gray's first win of the season would be reason for celebration, but the win was made even more special when Gray raced his teammate and engine customer, Drew Skillman, in the final round. Gray engines have now won three events this season, and with the recent announcement that Gray's son, Tanner, will join the tour next season, the future looks bright for the Gray Motorsports team.

Losers: Bo Butner made quite a splash in Las Vegas with his Dukes of Hazzard-themed paint scheme, but he continues to struggle on race day. Butner has now slipped to sixth in the points after a round-two loss. Vincent Nobile also watched his championship hopes go by the wayside when he lost in round two.

Breaking even: Barring a minor miracle, either Jason Line or Greg Anderson will win the 2016 Mello Yello Pro Stock title, but at this point, we do not know which one. The Las Vegas race decided nothing since both of the Summit-backed drivers reached the semifinals. Line is the leader, but Anderson is just 19 points behind, less than one round of competition.

Key stat: In a season that started with near total domination by Line and Anderson, there have now been nine different winners in the Pro Stock class under the new fuel-injection rules. For comparison sake, there were eight different winners last season.
 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Rider

Eddie Krawiec

Andrew Hines

Jerry Savoie

Angelle Sampey

Chip Ellis

LE Tonglet

Cory Reed

Hector Arana Sr.

Matt Smith

Hector Arana Jr.

Winners: With a 130-point clean sweep of the Las Vegas event, there was nothing more that Jerry Savoie could have done to close the gap on points leaders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines. Savoie now heads to the final event of the season in Pomona within three points of the Harley teammates, who are tied for the lead. The news wasn't all bad for Krawiec and Hines, who each managed to avoid an early-round loss that likely would have crippled their title hopes.

Losers: Angelle Sampey's chances for a fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle championship ended when she lost to her teammate Cory Reed in the first round. Chip Ellis also went out early, ending his long shot hopes of a series title.

Breaking even: Matt Smith made a small move in the standings after riding his Victory Gunner to a semifinal finish, and LE Tonglet also held his position with a quarterfinal showing on his Nitro Fish Suzuki. Cory Reed also picked up a round-win, which should help his case for the Auto Club Road to the Future Award.

Key stat: After the first race of the Countdown in Charlotte, Savoie was in sixth place in the standings, 104 points behind leader Hines. He has now trimmed that lead to just three points with one event remaining.

AWARDS

Best race: Shane Gray over Deric Kramer, round one
Kramer did all he could do to win the round with a nearly perfect .003 reaction time and a competitive 6.739 pass in his American Ethanol Dodge, but Gray was able to hold on and win by just .003-second at the finish line.

Marquee matchup: Andrew Hines vs. Eddie Krawiec
The Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley teammates race each other often, but their latest meeting in the semifinals was one of their most meaningful. Hines won the bout, 6.968 to 7.014, and as a result, the factory riders will head into the final event of the season tied for the lead in the points battle.

Driver of the race: Jerry Savoie
Short of winning the Best Appearing Crew award, there was not much that Savoie could have done to make his weekend in Las Vegas more special. Savoie earned 130 points, the maximum after qualifying No. 1 and making the quickest run in all four sessions. He finished the job with a final-round win over Andrew Hines to preserve his title hopes.

Upset of the race: Wayne Newby def. Tony Schumacher
Australian Newby reached the semifinals a few weeks ago in Charlotte, and he qualified for the tough Las Vegas field with a solid 3.817, so his round-one win over eight-time champion Schumacher wasn’t a total shock, but it was one of the biggest upsets of the weekend. Other races that were in contention included Cory Reed’s win over teammate Angelle Sampey and Angie Smith’s upset win over Hector Arana Sr., both of them in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
 

Best run of the race: Clay Millican
At the most recent NHRA event in Dallas, Millican recorded some of the best incremental runs ever seen in Top Fuel, but his Dave Grubnic-tuned dragster didn’t make it to the finish line under power. On Saturday night, Millican’s Parts Plus/Great Clips dragster did make it to the finish line under power, and the end result was a spectacular 3.689 that was not only a track record but also a career best.
 

Memorable moment: Cruz Pedregon
Calling Pedregon's round-one win over Robert Hight one of the most amazing moments in NHRA history isn't much of an exaggeration for anyone who witnessed it either live or on TV. Pedregon's Snap-on Toyota launched into a midtrack wheelstand and didn't set the front end down until well after the finish line. Pedregon wasn't hurt in the incident, but his chassis was too damaged to return for his second-round race against Ron Capps.