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 Dodge NHRA Nationals.

TOP FUEL Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Stock Motorcycle
	Antron Brown • Matco Tools Don’t be fooled by the rare first-round loss in St. Louis. This is still the best car/driver combo in Top Fuel, and he’s likely to go the distance at Maple Grove, one of his favorite tracks.	3-1
	Tony Schumacher • U.S. Army Yeah, so he got beat on a holeshot last week. It happens to even the most successful racer in the history of the class. Like Antron Brown, he’s probably going to put it behind him very quickly and move on.	4-1
	Doug Kalitta • Mac Tools Here’s the reality: There are four races left, and he’s 13 points out of the lead in Top Fuel. The Kalitta team still very much controls its own destiny.	6-1
	Shawn Langdon • Red Fuel/Sandvik He treated St. Louis like a Super Comp race, hammering the Tree in every round. More of that, and he’s going to cause some pain and suffering for his points rivals down the stretch.	7-1
	Brittany Force • Monster Energy Losing early in St. Louis definitely hurt, but the damage could have been worse. The Monster team can still contend for the title, but it's out of mulligans. Needs to be semifinals or better here.	9-1
	Richie Crampton • Lucas Oil Products If nothing else, claiming the pole position in St. Louis was a big confidence booster and a not-so-subtle reminder that this team has the ability to dominate.	10-1
	Steve Torrence • Capco Contractors Normally, back-to-back early losses in the Countdown is a killer. That being said, he’s still less than 100 points out of first place, so a win here could provide the momentum for a late-season championship charge.	12-1
	J.R. Todd • SealMaster Qualified in the top half and went to the semifinals in St. Louis. He’s also a guy who could make some noise in the championship battle before it’s all said and done.	14-1
FUNNY CAR
	Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge Totally playing a hunch here, but he has been to back-to-back final rounds, so why not go with the hot hand. Worth noting that he’s also 48 points out of first place.	7-2
	Ron Capps • NAPA Dodge Quite honestly, he should be No. 1 here, but he has never won in Reading. Best finish is a pair of runner-ups (1999-2000).	4-1
	John Force • Peak/Advance Auto Chevy Handicapping the Funny Car class right now is nearly impossible because everyone is good. That being said, picking the 16-time champ is never a bad idea.	5-1
	Jack Beckman • Infinite Hero Dodge Come on now, you really didn’t think that Jimmy Prock and company were going to go an entire year without making a statement, did you? The St. Louis win might have been just what the doctor ordered.	6-1
	Del Worsham • DHL Toyota The fact that the reigning world champ is buried here in fifth place tells you all you need to know about Funny Car racing in 2016. He could set the record, lead all four sessions, and win the race.	7-1
	Robert Hight • Auto Club Camaro Is 114 points too big a deficit to overcome with four races left? Maybe, but you’d be a fool to bet against the guy who came from 10th place to win the 2009 Mello Yello world championship. That was no fluke.	9-1
	Matt Hagan • Mopar Express Lane/ Rocky Boots Dodge This is a Dodge event, and he is a Dodge driver. Sounds like the perfect time to end a frustrating string of back-to-back early losses. Another car that could blast the record this week, too.	11-1
	Tim Wilkerson • Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang Can’t help but wonder if this year wouldn’t have been much better without those two strange starting-line accidents. That being said, he looked great in St. Louis last week.	14-1
PRO STOCK
	Jason Line • Summit Camaro In the regular season, he had an insurmountable points lead. Now, he’s just 63 points up on teammate Greg Anderson. That’s too close for comfort. A win this weekend would be a huge accomplishment.	3-1
	Greg Anderson • Summit Camaro He has been to five final rounds here with two wins, so Reading agrees with him. Close enough to a fifth world championship that he can ill afford a slipup with four races left.	4-1
	Shane Gray • Valvoline/Nova Services Camaro Yes, his Sunday results have been a bit inconsistent, but few would argue that this is the best car in Pro Stock right now. He’s certainly quick enough to pick up a victory, and that would be huge right now.	5-1
	Vincent Nobile • Mountain View Camaro How has this team not won a race this year? Same reason that Shane Gray hasn’t: pure luck. All the ingredients are there for a big victory that will change the complexion of the Countdown. Just needs a little luck to pull it off.	6-1
	Alex Laughlin • Gas Monkey Camaro Who’s Laughlin now? Yes, the guy who could barely do a Pro Stock burnout last year in his Sonoma debut just won his first national event. He is the real deal and will win again, probably soon.	8-1
	Bo Butner • Butner Auto Camaro Thought we were on the verge of a breakthrough when he slapped a .003 on teammate Jason Line in St. Louis. That might still be the springboard that leads to a long-overdue first Pro victory.	10-1
	Chris McGaha • Harlow Sammons Camaro Facing a 175-point deficit, he’s realistically out of the championship battle, but that doesn’t mean he can’t end the season with another win or two. That’s entirely possible.	12-1
	Drew Skillman • Skillman Auto Camaro Tipster would like to apologize in advance for having him ranked so low, but a round-two loss in St. Louis was painful. This is one of those times when he proves us wrong and storms his way to the final. Just watch.	14-1
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
	Andrew Hines • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Almost lost his grip on the top spot after tough St. Louis outing, but this is Reading, where the Harley bikes regularly run 6.7s. He’ll fix whatever ails him this weekend.	3-1
	Angelle Sampey • Star/PSE Buell This bike rarely gets outrun to the finish line. Now, red-lights? That’s a whole different issue that needs to be addressed if there’s a fourth championship in her future.	4-1
	Jerry Savoie • White Alligator Suzuki He didn’t exactly dominate in St. Louis but still found a way to get the Wally. That’s maybe more impressive than setting low e.t. of every round. Gearing up for another late championship run.	6-1
	Eddie Krawiec • Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Lost a little real estate here because of back-to-back early losses, but that trend won’t continue much longer. In fact, he could well score max points this weekend.	7-1
	Chip Ellis • Pippin Trucking Buell A win in Charlotte and a semifinal finish in St. Louis. With that, he’s just 17 points out of first place and well positioned for a championship fight.	8-1
	LE Tonglet • Nitro Fish Suzuki Mechanical issues got the best of him in St. Louis, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. This is also a great dark-horse pick for the first 200-mph run.	10-1
	Hector Arana Sr. • Lucas Oil Buell This has been overlooked for much of the season, but his riding has been spot-on. Exhibit A is a .007 light against Angelle Sampey in St. Louis.	12-1
	Cory Reed • Star/PSE Buell Back-to-back semifinal finishes can’t hurt his chances of winning the rookie of the year battle. Of course, a win or a runner-up would also help to seal the deal.	14-1