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 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.

TOP FUEL Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Stock Motorcycle
	Steve Torrence • Capco Contractors The defending event champion returns with an even stronger car this year. Crew chief Richard Hogan knows the “Rocky Mountain Way” as well as anyone this side of Joe Walsh.	3-1
	Antron Brown • Matco Tools The last Mello Yello driver to sweep the Western Swing won this event in 2006 and 2012. He has the points lead for the first time all season and intends to keep a firm grip on it.	7-2
	Doug Kalitta • Mac Tools Connie and Scott Kalitta and teammate J.R. Todd are all multiple-time winners of this event. The 2010 winner is plenty capable of joining that club.	4-1
	Shawn Langdon • Red Fuel He has only been past the second round here once. However, the Bristol and Norwalk winner is competing with the Todd Okuhara- and Phil Shuler-led team that won this event in 2011 and 2013.	5-1
	J.R. Todd • SealMaster The 2014 winner has deposited many late-round near misses into the luck bank this season that he is ready to start withdrawing from. He performs well at the site of his first win.	6-1
	Tony Schumacher • U.S. Army The last time he won here, he won the Western Swing in 2008. The last time he raced here, he lost a close final to Steve Torrence.	7-1
	Brittany Force • Monster Energy This car outruns everybody when it keeps the tires glued to the concrete for the length of the dragstrip. She is on the verge of returning to her winning ways.	8-1
	Leah Pritchett • Don Schumacher Racing Tipster special. Though her history at this event dates mainly to her Jr. Dragster days, crew chiefs Mike Guger and Joe Barlam tuned Larry Dixon to the No. 1 qualifying spot here last year.	10-1
FUNNY CAR
	Ron Capps • NAPA Dodge How crazy good is this car right now? Good enough that a runner-up finish that came after a really strong qualifying effort that included an average time of 3.90 seconds seems like a disappointing finish.	2-1
	Jack Beckman • Infinite Hero Dodge Regained some of the consistency that made him and his team so dangerous from about this point on last year. There’s no reason to think the defending event champ can’t continue that here and possibly kick off another strong run like we saw last season.	3-1
	Matt Hagan • Mopar Express Lane/ Rocky Boots Dodge Though he came close in 2011, the Mopar-backed driver has never won at his sponsor’s race. Can he do it this year? His car was No. 1 and ran low e.t. of eliminations in Chicago, so the possibility is most definitely there.	4-1
	Robert Hight • Auto Club Chevy This team has regained the form that made it a favorite early in the season. Add in his strong record here that includes three wins and several late-round showings, and we think Hight has real potential to break up the DSR dominance of late.	5-1
	Courtney Force • Traxxas Chevy Though we dropped her several spots from last time, Tipster still thinks this car is among the best in the class, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Force in late rounds Sunday and moving up in our next set of rankings.	7-1
	Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge As with Force, his drop has more to do with the strong cases to move others up than it does with our feelings about his car and team. We still think prospects of a win are high with this group.	8-1
	John Force • Peak Chevy Often, our rankings have as much (or more) to do with past event success as with recent performance, and that is the case here. Yes, Force has made some good runs lately, but really what prompted this ranking is the six-time event winner’s strong record in Denver.	9-1
	Del Worsham • DHL Toyota Tipster’s word of the week: perplexed. That’s how we feel about this final spot, which realistically could have gone to Worsham, Alexis DeJoria, or Tim Wilkerson. With fairly even recent records here, we went with our gut and which of the three cars we feel is better overall.	10-1
PRO STOCK
	Greg Anderson • Summit Camaro The KB Racing cars may not have snagged the top qualifying spot at the last event, but Anderson brought home the team’s 13th Wally of the season. The incredible winning streak is still alive!	2-1
	Jason Line • Summit Camaro He has never won in Denver, although his seven wins, four runner-ups, and two semifinal finishes this season definitely put the odds in his favor this time around.	5-2
	Shane Gray • Gray Motorsports Camaro He continued his midseason hot streak by outrunning the KB Racing cars for the low-qualifying position at the last event and posted his fourth semifinal finish in the last six races.	3-1
	Allen Johnson • Marathon Petroleum Dart His performance has slipped slightly in the last month, but you can’t ignore the success he has had in Denver with six wins.	5-1
	Bo Butner • Jim Butner Auto Camaro After a difficult June, Butner finally turned things around in Chicago by making it to the final for the third time this season. His car has the ability to take him to the winner’s circle as long as his driving stays consistent.	6-1
	Vincent Nobile • Mountain View Camaro He has made some headway at the last few races and holds the best record among his Elite Motorsports teammates.	8-1
	Drew Skillman • Ray Skillman Auto Camaro He is still trying to find the performance he had at the beginning of the season, but not all hope is lost. The Gray Motorsports camp is certainly making strides in the right direction.	10-1
	Chris McGaha • Harlow Sammons Camaro He finally came up on a round-win in Chicago, breaking his five-race first-round losing streak. With a runner-up and semifinal finish this season, we know he is capable of greater things.	12-1
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
	Eddie Krawiec • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson He’s the points leader, the defending event champ, and a three-time winner at Bandimere Speedway. That should be more than enough to make him the favorite.	3-1
	Andrew Hines • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson His recent Chicago win probably did as much for his confidence as anything. Like his teammate, Krawiec, he also has three Denver victories on his résumé.	4-1
	Angelle Sampey • PSE/Star Buell Sampey has won this event twice, but both of those victories were more than a decade ago and on a Suzuki. That being said, she’s running well right now.	5-1
	Jerry Savoie • White Alligator Suzuki The thin air of Denver tends to affect small-displacement engines more than the big V-Twins, but the White Alligator team has enough power to overcome that challenge.	6-1
	Matt Smith • Victory Gunner After qualifying No. 1 in Chicago, he should be ranked a little higher, but the unique tuning requirements of Bandimere Speedway make this race a bit of a wild card. Still, he does have two wins here.	7-1
	Hector Arana Jr. • Lucas Oil Buell If there was ever a good time for a slump-busting victory, this would be it. The Lucas team hasn’t had a lot to cheer about lately, but with two-runner-up finishes here in the last three years, Jr. is more than capable.	9-1
	Hector Arana Sr. • Lucas Oil Buell The two Lucas bikes qualified Nos. 2 and 4 at this race last year, which means the team knows a thing or two about high-altitude racing. It wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see both Aranas make the final round.	11-1
	LE Tonglet • Nitro Fish Suzuki A huge battle is brewing for the final few spots in the Countdown to the Championship standings, which means riders such as the former champ need to keep winning rounds to remain in contention.	14-1