NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Megan Meyer is the reigning Top Alcohol Dragster champion who is looking to end her driving career on a high note while Doug Gordon is attempting to win his first Top Alcohol Funny Car title this season. Both racers took a step toward achieving those goals when they shared the winner’s circle at the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex. 

Meyer won her 12th national event title by stopping Aaron Cooper in the final while Gordon accomplished the difficult task of stopping reigning champ Sean Bellemeur to win for the 11th time. Meyer and Gordon were joined in Dallas by fellow champs Brad Plourd (Comp), Hayden Trumble (Super Stock), Lowell Gerber (Stock), Christopher Dodd (Super Comp), Evan Kowalski (Super Gas), John Leibham (Super Street), and Scott Barker (Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers). 

Meyer is expected to wrap up her Top Alcohol Dragster driving career at the season-ending event in Las Vegas so she’s got limited opportunities to add to her impressive win total and defend her 2019 world title. Coming off her groundbreaking 5.09-second performance at Indy, Meyer continues to post impressive numbers including a 5.16 in her semifinal win over Matt Cummings and a 5.12 in the final to stop Aaron Cooper. [video]

Gordon wheeled his Beta Motorcycles Top Alcohol Funny Car entry to a string of 5.4-second runs including a best of 5.45 on his way to a final-round win against reigning champ Sean Bellemeur, who shook and shut off in the final. Gordon was ninth-quickest in qualifying, but rallied to score wins against Chris Foster, Brian Hough, and Kris Hool in eliminations. Gordon now has six wins and a runner-up finish in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and leads Bellemeur by more than 100 points in the standings. [video]

Plourd won the Comp title at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in March but hadn’t been behind the wheel of Harry Schwartz’s AA/AM roadster since. He showed no signs of rust in Dallas where he powered to a string of low six-second runs to win for the 22nd time in his career. Plourd lost .11-hundredths in CIC penalties before the final yet still had enough performance left to run a (-.559) 6.271 to defeat Don Thomas, who lost .13-second to the CIC, yet still posted a (-.493) 6.807 in his B/Econo Dragster in the final. [video]

Earlier this year, second-generation racer Hayden Trumble won his first Lucas Oil Series event at the age of 16. Now, just weeks after his 17th birthday, Trumble joined his father, Mike Jr., as a national event champion after winning the Super Stock title. Trumble, paired with world champion Anthony Bertozzi in the final round, was nearly unstoppable as he drove his GT/KA Camaro to a flawless package that included a .003 light and a 10.153 on his 10.14 dial. Bertozzi was not far behind with a .001 light and a 9.163 on his 9.13 dial. [video]

When it comes to great runs, it would have been hard to top the performance turned in by first-time winner Gerber when he defeated Dale Hulquist in the Stock final. Gerber, in his AA/SA ’69 Chevelle, coupled a perfect .000 light with a 10.523 on his 10.52 dial to earn the win while Hulquist broke out by three-hundredths. [video]

Coming off a win two weeks ago in St. Louis, Dodd took over the lead in the battle for the Lucas Oil Super Comp title with his second straight victory. Dodd won his 12th straight round of national event competition when he topped Jason Kenny on a holeshot, 8.928 to 8.922. Dodd, who has now won five times in nine events this season, also defeated four-time world champ Gary Stinnett and Terry Sullivan on his way to the title. [video]

Kowalski ventured East from his home in California to Dallas and made the trip worthwhile with his second Super Gas national event win. The final was a great race with Kowalski holding on to win by just three-thousandths over Clark Mundt, 9.903 to 9.915. Kowalski also ran a 9.906 in the semifinals and has moved into the Top 10 following his latest victory. [video]

Leibham successfully defended his 2019 Super Street title at the AAA Insurance NHRA FallNationals when he drove past Chris Haralson in the final round. Leibham turned on the win light with a 10.934 to Haralson’s 10.880 breakout. Leibham has also had more recent success at the Texas Motorplex, where he won the Moser Sportsman Shootout. [video]

Facing reigning world champ Danny Nelson in the final of Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers, Barker figured he’d have to be almost perfect to win and he was with a .009 light and a 6.410 on his 6.41 dial. Barker made a similar run in the semifinals where he defeated Holden Laris. Ironically, this was Barker’s only appearance of the season in the Top Dragster class. [video]