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 NHRA SpringNationals.

TOP FUEL Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Mod
	Tony Schumacher • US Army Began the season with a win, a runner-up, and two semi’s. That’s an early sign that the consistency now matches the performance potential for the Army team. ODDS: 3-1
	Antron Brown • Matco Tools Las Vegas champ is on a hot streak with seven wins in his last eight rounds. He did qualify No. 8 in Las Vegas, but he might not be ranked that low again this week. ODDS: 4-1
	Leah Pritchett • Papa John’s Pizza Cooled off ever so slightly since her hot start, but this is a car that can deliver an impressive number at any time. ODDS: 5-1
	Doug Kalitta • Mac Tools Defending Houston champ should get on the board any time now. So far this year, he’s lost nothing but close races. Eventually, they’re going to start falling his way. ODDS: 6-1
	Steve Torrence • Capco Contractors How many remember his holeshot loss in the final last year against Kalitta? We guarantee that Steve-O does, and he’d love nothing more than a bit of redemption in his home state. ODDS: 8-1
	Brittany Force • Monster Energy Not sure exactly what’s going on here, but this is too good of a team to have three second-round losses in four events. Expect to see another final round shortly. ODDS: 10-1
	Clay Millican • Parts Plus/Great Clips Anyone else notice he’s been a top-half qualifier in the last three races? Crew chief David Grubnic clearly has the Stringer entry headed in the right direction. ODDS: 12-1
	Shawn Langdon • Global Electronic Technology The newest Team Kalitta driver spotted the rest of the field four races. Now the battle begins to make the top 10. This will be fun to watch. ODDS: 14-1
FUNNY CAR
	Matt Hagan • Mopar Express Lane Dodge This is Funny Car 2017 where no one is supposed to dominate. Then again, he’s come out of the gate with an 11-2 record, which might be as close to domination as it gets. ODDS: 3-1
	John Force • Peak Chevrolet Might be a tad bit generous to have him in the No. 2 spot this week, but hey, he’s John Force, and nothing he does surprises us anymore. ODDS: 9-2
	Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge His stock is clearly on the rise after impressive Las Vegas win. Going back to back would also be great medicine for his biggest supporter, Terry Chandler. ODDS: 5-1
	Ron Capps • NAPA Dodge What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, at least when it comes to ugly round-one losses. Do not expect the NAPA crew to repeat that performance anytime soon. ODDS: 6-1
	Jonnie Lindberg • Head Racing Toyota Is this guy for real? Two races into his nitro career, and he’s been to back-to-back final rounds. It sure looks like he’s going to battle for a spot in the Countdown. ODDS: 8-1
	Robert Hight • Auto Club Chevrolet At times, this can be the quickest car in the field, which makes it difficult to understand why they haven’t been to a semifinal yet. That is a trend that certainly won’t continue much longer. ODDS: 10-1
	J.R. Todd • DHL Toyota How many times have we heard, “Once he gets the hang of driving a Funny Car, look out?” It’s now race No. 5. He’s got the hang of it. Draw your own conclusions. ODDS: 11-1
	Tim Wilkerson • Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford These days, just getting mentioned in the Funny Car Tipster is a badge of honor. He’s earned it this week with a nice qualifying performance in Las Vegas. ODDS: 15-1
PRO STOCK
	Jason Line • Summit Camaro Fresh off his runner-up finish in Stock Eliminator at the recent Division 2 race, he’s ready to resume the battle for the top spot in Pro Stock. ODDS: 2-1
	Greg Anderson • Summit Camaro Holeshot loss to Tanner Gray in Las Vegas prevented a double, but this is still a championship-caliber team with a four-time world champ at the wheel. He’ll be just fine. ODDS: 3-1
	Tanner Gray • Gray Manufacturing Technologies Camaro Is there anyone who didn’t see his Las Vegas win coming? It’s sure to be the first of many for the kid who, so far, looks like he was born to drive a Pro Stock car. ODDS: 5-1
	Shane Gray • Gray Manufacturing Technologies Camaro It’s certainly true that this year is all about Tanner, but it’s hard not to think that proud father Shane might stick around a while longer. After all, how cool would it be to have both Grays in the top 10? ODDS: 6-1
	Erica Enders • Elite Motorsports Camaro There is almost certainly a breakthrough event coming, and if the two-time champ had any say in it, the big comeback would begin in her old stomping grounds in Houston. ODDS: 8-1
	Jeg Coughlin Jr. • JEGS.com Camaro His qualifying performances this year are 7, 5, 4, and 2. Combine that with his clutch lights, and there’s another driver set for a big breakthrough. ODDS: 10-1
	Bo Butner • Butner Auto Sales Camaro Qualifying? He’s got that part down pat. The rest remains a work in progress. Perhaps he’ll follow Oprah’s lead and give away free cars when he finally wins his first Pro Stock race. ODDS: 12-1
	Chris McGaha • Harlow Sammons Camaro Racing as a single-car team, what this group is able to do is pretty amazing. Odessa is a long way from Baytown, but he’s still a true Texan, which makes this an important event. ODDS: 14-1
PRO MOD
	Steven Whiteley • J&A Services Cadillac We’re going with him in the top spot this week not just because he won the season-opener in Gainesville but because he looked darn good doing it. ODDS: 4-1
	Steve Jackson • Bahrain1 Camaro OK, so his NHRA debut didn’t go exactly as planned. That only adds fuel to an already raging fire. This guy will be fun to watch this year. ODDS: 5-1
	Jonathan Gray • IDG Camaro Pinch-hitting while reigning champ Rickie Smith recovers from surgery. Still a very dangerous car/driver combination. ODDS: 6-1
	Troy Coughlin • JEGS.com Corvette Despite the perception that the supercharged cars have the upper hand, the turbocharged JEGS Corvette is still one of the baddest Pro Mods ever built. ODDS: 7-1
	Mike Castellana • Al-Anabi Performance Camaro Admittedly, he got a bit lucky to reach the final round in Gainesville, but when you’ve got Frank Manzo on your side, how much luck do you really need? ODDS: 9-1
	Eric Latino • GESI/Quality Plus Camaro Welcome to Tricky Tipster, Eric. After your 5.72-second bomb in Gainesville, you’ve earned your place. Now, the mission is to stick around for a while. ODDS: 10-1
	Danny Rowe • Agave Underground Corvette If not for an untimely red-light start (aren’t they all?), he could easily have won Gainesville and taken the early points lead. ODDS: 12-1
	Mike Janis • Jan-Cen Engines Camaro Kicked off the season with a rock-solid 5.80 to qualify No. 4 at the season opener. That type of performance will get the job done just about anywhere. ODDS: 14-1