Hight, Enders clinch Countdown berths; how the rest of the fields can shake out

27 Jul 2022

Phil Burgess, NHRA National Dragster Editor

Robert Hight in Funny Car and Erica Enders in Pro Stock are the first two drivers to officially clinch berths in the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. Hight, winner of five races this year, clinched his spot with a semifinal finish at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals, and Enders locked up her berth in Sonoma with her sixth win of the season.

As we peer down the stretch run to the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series regular season-ending Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, although only those two drivers are locked in, 12 drivers each in Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock Motorcycle still have shots to make the Countdown while a whopping 15 are in the hunt in Pro Stock.

A few years ago, the criteria for participating in the Countdown was widened from a straightforward points-ranking admitting the Top 10 points earners to also include any team that has made the minimum number of qualifying attempts at every national event of the regular season.

For example, after the Sonoma events, neither Antron Brown nor Tony Schumacher are in the Top 10 in Top Fuel (11th and 12th, respectively) but assuming that the two multitime world champs make the required qualifying runs in Seattle, Topeka, Brainerd, and Indy, they’ll be in the Countdown regardless of whether they can crack the Top 10, making for a 12-way shootout.

Position	Name	Points	All Events?
1	Brittany Force	982	Y
2	Mike Salinas	976	Y
3	Justin Ashley	842	Y
4	Steve Torrence	894	Y
5	Josh Hart	636	Y
6	Shawn Langdon	601	Y
7	Leah Pruett	601	Y
8	Austin Prock	570	Y
9	Doug Kalitta	566	Y
10	Clay Millican	551	Y
11	Antron Brown	466	Y
12	Tony Schumacher	454	Y

Ten of the 12 Funny Car combatants have also so far fulfilled the qualifying requirements, but if No. 10 Chad Green or No. 12 Blake Alexander is going to take part in the playoffs, they’ll have to do it solely on points, as each has missed a number of events. Jim Campbell, who sits 11th, can make it into the Countdown with a Top 10 berth, just as he did last season, although his Jim Dunn Racing entry has shown signs of recent improvement that could earn him a points-based berth.

Position	Name	Points	All Events?
1	Robert Hight	1133	Y
2	Matt Hagan	989	Y
3	Ron Capps	923	Y
4	John Force	827	Y
5	Bob Tasca III	733	Y
6	Cruz Pedregon	647	Y
7	J.R. Todd	615	Y
8	Alexis DeJoria	600	Y
9	Tim Wilkerson	522	Y
10	Chad Green	440	N
11	Jim Campbell	425	Y
12	Blake Alexander	397	N

The dozen Pro Stock Motorcycle riders include just eight who meet the qualifying-run requirement, so the two-wheeled contingent will come down to a points scenario. The bikes only run at two of the final four events — in Topeka and Indy — so there’s no room for error.

Position	Name	Points	All Events?
1	Angelle Sampey	599	Y
2	Joey Gladstone	597	Y
3	Steve Johnson	587	Y
4	Matt Smith	563	Y
5	Eddie Krawiec	530	Y
6	Karen Stoffer	501	Y
7	Angie Smith	500	Y
8	Jerry Savoie	468	N
9	Marc Ingwersen	346	N
10	Jim Underdahl	291	N
11	Ryan Oehler	266	Y
12	Kelly Clontz	189	N

Even though Enders has dominated Pro Stock with six wins in 10 races, it looks like there will be a 15-way battle in the Countdown if all of the drivers make the required number of runs at the reaming three events (Seattle, Topeka, and Indy).

Position	Name	Points	All Events?
1	Erica Enders	976	Y
2	Aaron Stanfield	896	Y
3	Kyle Koretsky	669	Y
4	Greg Anderson	590	Y
5	Dallas Glenn	561	Y
6	Mason McGaha	541	Y
7	Matt Hartford	489	Y
8	Camrie Caruso	487	Y
9	Troy Coughlin Jr.	454	Y
10	Bo Butner	443	Y
11	Deric Kramer	439	Y
12	Fernando Cuadra Jr	418	Y
13	Cristian Cuadra	400	Y
14	Chris McGaha	341	Y
15	Fernando Cuadra	250	Y

The 2022 Countdown to the Championship begins Sept. 15-18 with the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania and concludes at the Auto Club NHRA Finals Nov. 10-13 at Southern California’s Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Position

Name

Points

All Events?

1

Brittany Force

982

Y

2

Mike Salinas

976

Y

3

Justin Ashley

842

Y

4

Steve Torrence

894

Y

5

Josh Hart

636

Y

6

Shawn Langdon

601

Y

7

Leah Pruett

601

Y

8

Austin Prock

570

Y

9

Doug Kalitta

566

Y

10

Clay Millican

551

Y

11

Antron Brown

466

Y

12

Tony Schumacher

454

Y

Position

Name

Points

All Events?

1

Robert Hight

1133

Y

2

Matt Hagan

989

Y

3

Ron Capps

923

Y

4

John Force

827

Y

5

Bob Tasca III

733

Y

6

Cruz Pedregon

647