NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

For more than five decades, NHRA National Dragster's famed Tricky Tipster has tested his prognosticating skills prior to each national event, putting odds on the top eight racers he thinks have the best shot at victory in Tricky Tipster. This week, Tricky Tipster handicaps the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals.

TOP FUEL Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Stock Motorcycle
	Antron Brown • Matco Tools He’s got a nice somewhat comfortable 77-point lead, so victory here would just about put the wraps on a third championship. Even a semifinal would be a huge boost.	3-1
	Doug Kalitta • Mac Tools Pretty much a must-win race for Team Kalitta or at the very least they need to pick up a round or two on Brown, which they are fully capable of doing.	4-1
	Brittany Force • Monster Energy This car has been a bit hot and cold since midseason, but lately it’s been more hot, so that bodes well for another victory. Certainly, Team Monster has the capability to get the job done.	6-1
	Tony Schumacher • U.S. Army Scored his first win in Dallas in 1999 and has since returned to bag five more titles at the Texas Motorplex. Oh, and he’s also an honorary Texan, for what that’s worth.	7-1
	Steve Torrence • Capco Contractors Trailing by 163 points with three races left, a championship is almost certainly out of reach, but for a native Texan, a win in Dallas would make a nice late-season consolation prize.	8-1
	Shawn Langdon • Red Fuel/Sandvik In the week between Reading and Dallas, he kept his skills sharp with a strong performance in his bracket dragster. That helps explain why his lights are among the best in the class. Oh, and the car is pretty solid as well.	10-1
	Richie Crampton • Lucas Oil Products This has obviously not been the type of year that the Lucas team expected to have, but they still have three chances to end it on a high note, and they are definitely better now than at the start of the season.	12-1
	Leah Pritchett • Papa John’s/Mopar Made a nice move in the points standings after winning four rounds during the Countdown. The “new” Schumacher team is coming together, and another win this season would not be at all surprising.	15-1
FUNNY CAR
	Ron Capps • NAPA Dodge OK, so he has not won a race since Seattle. He’s still the points leader, and he’s consistently turned in finishes of semifinal or better. That’s how championships are won.	7-2
	Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge In recent weeks, this team found the consistency they had been lacking in the first third of the season. While T.J. is probably not as overdue as teammate Capps, he’s still a guy who has paid his dues.	4-1
	Del Worsham • DHL Toyota Facing a 122-point deficit, he pretty much has to win here and probably collect a few bonus points to defend his title. It’s a tough task but not an impossible one.	6-1
	John Force • Peak Chevrolet The 16-time champ has seven wins in Dallas but none since 2005. We still don’t think it would be wise to bet against him. He needs to get back in the groove after a forgettable Reading event.	7-1
	Jack Beckman • Infinite Hero Dodge With six round-wins in the last two events, he’s been able to get back in the championship battle, but trailing by 93 points, he’s going to need to gain ground on Capps and Johnson in order to stay there. A win would do just that.	9-1
	Matt Hagan • Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge A day in the life of Tricky Tipster. Put a guy like this in the No. 6 spot and watch him go out and run the table. That’s just the nature of Funny Car racing in 2016.	10-1
	Robert Hight • Auto Club Chevrolet Frustrating times for the former world champ. He’s got one of the best cars in the class yet hasn’t been to the semi’s since Denver. Something has to give sooner or later.	12-1
	Tim Wilkerson • Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang Imagine where he might be if he hadn’t dinged two cars in bizarre starting-line accidents this season. Despite the setbacks, he could easily win one of the last three races, or all three for that matter.	15-1
PRO STOCK
	Jason Line • Summit Camaro His lead has been cut to 45 points with three races left. That’s not big enough to feel safe and not quite small enough to feel threatened. One thing for sure: an early loss here could have a devastating effect.	3-1
	Greg Anderson • Summit Camaro If he wants to win a fifth championship, the goal is simple: win the race or at the very least go a round or two more than teammate Line. The KB drivers generally get along well, but with three races left, there is a bit more of an “every man for himself” mentality.	7-2
	Vincent Nobile • Mountain View Camaro He publicly said that he needed to win Reading in order to stay in championship contention, and then he went out and did it. A similar statement and end result would be a really good thing right about now.	5-1
	Shane Gray • Valvoline/Nova Services Camaro It’s a crime that this car has not won a race this year. He was one of the first to get the new EFI package dialed in, and he’s been very quick in the second half. Basically, he’s long overdue.	6-1
	Bo Butner • Butner Auto Camaro So far, waiting for this guy to win his first Pro race is like watching Wile E. Coyote chase the Road Runner at the edge of a cliff; something bad inevitably happens. The difference is Butner is going to catch his prey.	8-1
	Alex Laughlin • Gas Monkey Camaro Going to have his hands full at his home event, where he is also making his Top Alcohol Dragster debut. Regardless, he should still be riding high from the St. Louis race and turn in a quality effort.	10-1
	Drew Skillman • Skillman Auto Group Camaro Tested the wheels off his car for two days in Indy last week. How much did they learn? We’ll see here, but we’re guessing it was a productive test.	12-1
	Chris McGaha • Harlow Sammons Camaro Odessa isn’t exactly next door to Dallas, but he’s still a Texan and this is still a home race, and it would be a great complement to his earlier Indy victory.	15-1
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
	Eddie Krawiec • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Did a little trash talking in Reading and then backed it up with a potentially season-saving performance. He’s 38 markers back in the title hunt, which makes him very much a player.	3-1
	Andrew Hines • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Tends to be a bit more reserved than his teammate, at least when it comes to voicing opinions. That being said, he wins a lot of races and remains a favorite to win a sixth championship.	7-2
	Angelle Sampey • Star/BPS Buell After the disaster that was Reading, she should be thankful to only be 52 points back. The damage could have been much worse. She’s not out of this thing yet, not by a longshot.	5-1
	Jerry Savoie • White Alligator Suzuki Remember what he did in Dallas last year? He ran the table with a string of mid-6.7s. That type of performance would also probably get the job done this season.	6-1
	LE Tonglet • Nitro Fish Suzuki Now that he’s 126 points back, it’s going to be really hard to win a second championship, but he’s also not someone you’d want to see on your side of the ladder.	7-1
	Chip Ellis • Pippin Trucking Buell Figures to rebound from Reading disappointment with a solid qualifying effort. He really could use a few round-wins to go with it.	9-1
	Cory Reed • PSE/YNot Racing Buell Got a feeling that Reading was the first of many more final rounds to come. Don’t be surprised to see him get a win before the end of this season, either.	12-1
	Hector Arana Jr. • Lucas Oil Buell The fact that he’s way down here shows you just how stacked the Pro Stock Motorcycle class is these days. There’s an easy 12 bikes that are capable of winning, and his is one of them.	14-1