NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Steve Torrence, Matt Hagan, Erica Enders, and Matt Smith won the inaugural NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championships on the final day of the season as the Dodge NHRA FInals in Las Vegas, but, for the most part, it was the work they did all season long that put them in that position.

Here's a look at the season records of the top two finishers in each class, comparing their round finishes, round records, and No. 1 qualifying berths,

Below that, we match the champs against one another to gauge their relative dominance.

Behind the numbers

• Steve Torrence won the championship despite skipping the season opener; his points per event total was a stout 101.2; Doug Kalitta's PPE was just 747
• Kalitta went through the season's first six races without losing in the first round, but lost twice in the opening stanza at the remaining five events
• Torrence's only first-round loss was to his father, Billy, at Indy 2. two of his six losses this year were to Billy
• Oddly, the two top championship drivers met just twice in eliminations and split the meetings 1-1, and both were in final rounds. Torrence beat Kalitta in the Phoenix final and Kalitta returned the favor in St. Louis.
• Torrence's other losses came to Terry McMillen, Leah Pruett, and Tony Schumacher (one each).

Behind the numbers:

• At 105 points, Hagan's championship margin of victory was the slimmest of all four Camping World champs and was the last one decided on the final day of the season.
• Hagan's five final-round appearances were second only to Torrence's seven. Hagan reached at least the semifinals at nine of the 11 events.
• Johnson's Achilles Heel was the second round. He lost four times in that frame; Hagan only lost one
• Johnson actually had a winning record against Hagan this year, 2-1. Hagan beat T.J. in the final to win Indy 1, but lost to him in the St. Louis final and in the semi's in Houston, which Johnson also went on to win.
• No Funny Car low qualifier won a race this season

Behind the numbers:

• Although Enders is the one champ without a No. 1 qualifying effort this season, she qualified No. 8 or better at nine of 10 events, assuring herself first-round lane choice
• Enders had no first-round losses this season and reached at least the semifinals in seven of 10 starts
• Her four wins in 10 starts matched the mark set by Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence, the highest this season among champs
• Enders had a winning record, 3-2, against Line, but was 0-2 against third-place Jeg Coughlin Jr.
• Enders' starting-line prowess and under-hood horsepower coaxed five red-light starts from opponents. She fouled twice against opponents

Behind the numbers:

• Smith's five No. 1 starts were the highest among any of the four Camping World champs
• Matt Smith Racing's three main bikes (his, Scotty Pollacheck, and wife Angie's) finished 1-3-5 in the standings and won a collective four of eight events. All three MSR bikes ran in the 200-mph range this season
• Smith was 3-1 against both Pollacheck and reigning world champ Andrew Hines
• Krawiec broke a long dry spell with a win in Houston and hit his stride a little too late after losing too many races via holeshot earlier in the season
• Ryan Oehler had an unblemished 2-0 winning record against Smith, and Steve Johnson was 1-1 against the champ, Discounting his breakage against part-timer Michael Phillips in Dallas, they were the only full-time riders to be even or positive.

Behind the numbers: 

• Enders' championship was her fourth, the most among all NHRA female racers; Smith's championship was his fourth, the fourth rider to win four
• Torrence, Hagan each won their third championship. Torrence is the third driver to win three straight in Top Fuel; Hagan is the sixth to win three Funny Car crowns
• Points per event averages: Torrence (101.2); Hagan (92.7), Enders (92.2), Smith (87.8)
• Average points advantage earned per race vs. second place earned points: Torrence (19); Hagan (9.5); Enders (16.7); Smith (13.65)
• All four champs had at least one teammate also in the title hunt. Their intrateam records:

Steve Torrence vs. Billy Torrence: 4-2

Hagan vs. DSR (Tommy Johnson Jr., Jack Beckman, Ron Capps): 11-4

Enders vs. Elite (Jeg Coughlin, Troy Coughlin, Alex Laughlin, Bruno Massel, Aaron Stanfield): 7-3

Smith vs. MSR (Scotty Pollacheck, Angie Smith): 3-1