NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The first round of Top Fuel kicked off an hour late, at noon Eastern, for the simple fact that the track was too cold at the prescribed 11 a.m. start time. The track temperature was a measly 71.5 degrees, the lowest anyone could remember in recent memory. The air temperature was just 42 degrees (36 degrees with wind chill) and the density altitude was 1,500 feet below sea level. Killer conditions for sure, but the track would never have held the kind of extra power those atmospheric conditions produced.

When eliminations did kick off, the temperature had risen all the way to 47 degrees (42 with wind chill) and the track was at 75 degrees and the altitude was at 830feet below sea level.

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Austin Prock’s Montana Brands Top Fueler was in the first pair and the team barely made it to the starting line after experiencing problems during the pre-race warm-up in the pits, necessitating a last-second engine swap. The work went for naught as the car shook the tires and lost to Billy Torrence, who was experiencing traction woes of his own, his Capco dragster flirting with the centerline as Torrence had his hands full to the finish line.

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Hometown hero Josh Hart, who won the Gatornationals last year in his Top Fuel debut, won’t repeat after losing to Justin Ashley in round one. Hart, who exploded the blower in Saturday’s go-for-broke, one-shot qualifying, did it again against Ashley, losing an early lead he gained with a phenomenal.014 reaction time. Ashley, winner of the season-opening Winternationals, clocked a 3.68 for the win.

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Low qualifier Tripp Tatum had low e.t. of the first round of Top Fuel, a 3.677 (just a few ticks shy of his 3.674 pole shot), and was joined in the 3.6-second zone by Ashley (3.687) and Steve Torrence (3.696). Tatum will have an interesting match in round two against Billy Torrence in a battle of Capco team cars.

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Privateer Funny Car racer Terry Haddock scored a big upset win over Alexis DeJoria, powering his Circle racing Wheels entry to a steady 4.09 while DeJoria’s Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra dropped a cylinder then crossed over the centerline at the finish line, centerpunching the timing blocks on a 4.25 losing pass. The round win is just the 12th of Haddock’s career, which spans more than 300 races. Haddock will surprisingly have second-round lane choice over Matt Hagan, who won a pedaling match with Dave Richards with a 5.26.

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Funny Car low qualifier Robert Hight caught a break when his first-round opponent, Floridian John Smith, experienced problems during his fire-up. Hight, who shook the tires even en route to his No. 1-qualifying pass, did it again, only worse, on his single run and had to coast to an 8.45 win.

Somewhat prophetically, Hight had said last night, “Our enemy in these cars is track temperature. If it’s too cold, that’s your enemy. If it’s too hot, that’s your enemy. When it gets cold you’ve got to be very, very careful, and tonight it was getting cold enough – and that’s why mine shook at the end, because we were on the weak side. If you’re on the other side of it -- too aggressive -- you’re going to smoke the tires. It’s a balancing act.”

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Blake Alexander and car owner Jim Head, absent from the tour since a tragic highway accident claimed the life of a team member last fall, took a heartwarming first-round win over J.R. Todd, who smoked the tires at the hit. Alexander had qualified No. 6 with a 3.918 and fired off a 3966 to advance.

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It took just one pair for the drama to begin in Pro Stock. Dallas Glenn, the 2021 Rookie of the Year, defeated Phoenix runner-up Troy Coughlin Jr.,  but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Coughlin’s JEGS.com Chevy surged through the staging beams as soon as he hit the throttle pedal, ending the race via a red-light start. Typically, that’s the result of a faulty two-step switch. Given a free pass to the quarterfinals, Glenn gave an indication of things to come with a career-best 6.478, which at the time was the fourth-quickest Pro Stock run of all time.

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There aren’t many times when a 6.4-second run doesn’t turn on the win light, but Greg Anderson now knows how that feels after his 6.492 lost to Mason McGaha’s 6.521. McGaha was nearly perfect off the starting line with a .003 reaction time while the reigning world champ wasn’t too far off with a .033 light. The end result at the finish line found McGaha’s car ahead of Anderson’s by just a thousandth of a second.

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As if Anderson’s loss wasn’t puzzling enough, four-time champion Erica Enders followed with an uncharacteristic holeshot loss against fellow champ Bo Butner. Enders re-set the Pro Stock elapsed time record with a 6.450, the quickest pass in the history of the class, but the win light did not come on in her lane due to Butner’s .003 to .077 reaction time advantage. Enders, who has a reputation for being one of the class’ best starting line drivers, took full responsibility for the rare round one loss.

“The only thing I can take away from that is that I suck,” said Enders. “The only consolation is that Bo is my teammate.”

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The first round of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class also happened to be the first runs of the season for NHRA’s two-wheel racers after qualifying was cancelled last night due to cold temperatures. The lack of runs certainly didn’t seem to affect Karen Stoffer who became the first rider to venture into the 6.6s with a jaw dropping 6.682 on her Big St. Charles Suzuki.

Stoffer not only defeated Jimmy Underdahl, but also re-set Andrew Hines’ three-year old elapsed time record of 6.720 set in Gainesville during the 2019 season-opener.

"Throughout my career I've never been the first at anything," said Stoffer. "I wasn't the first woman or the first to go 200 or anything like that. To be the first to run in the 6.8s is really special. I have to thank [crew chief] Tim Kulungian and [team owner] Jerry Savoie. We knew it was out there, I just didn't think I'd be the one to make it happen. They say that the smoother the run, the faster it is and that was very smooth."

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Steve Johnson, who made a season-long run at the Camping World championship last season, got a single run in the opening round when David Barron was a no-show. That proved to be a big deal for Johnson since his MakRack Suzuki spun the rear tire violently as soon as he dumped the clutch. Johnson, a former Gainesville winner, will  fact Angie Smith’s Denso Buell in round two.

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The opening round featured two of the biggest upsets of this or any other season as Matt Smith and Angelle Sampey, the top two qualifiers, were both defeated by riders who earned their first-career round wins.

First, Mark Ingwersen defeated three-time world champ Sampey when her Vance & Hines Suzuki spun the tire off the starting line. To be fair, Ingwersen would have been tough to beat with a career-best 6.854 elapsed time.

In the next pair, Smith also encountered an issue off the starting line on his new Denso Suzuki and couldn’t chase down Lance Bonham, who rode the Gann Speed entry to a 7.44 to move into the quarterfinals where he will face Jerry Savoie.

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In a pre-season interview, Doug Foley said he’d be disappointed if his team – bolstered in the offseason with the purchase of new parts and the acquisition of respected crew chief Aaron Brooks – wasn’t in the top 10 in points entering the Gatornationals. He entered the event in13th but will finish in the Top 10 now that he’s reached the semifinals on Clay Millican’s second-round red-light.

"This is great," enthused Foley, who's hoping to find funding to run the entire schedule. "The first couple of races were kind of a warmup and we're catching our stride right now and we're hoping to keep adding races as we get even stronger."

Foley is all the way up to eighth place and could reach as high as fifth with an event win, which would be his first.

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The Capco Contractors team went 0-for-2 in round two as their satellite car, driven by low qualifier Tripp Tatum, defeated Torrence patriarch Billy by just .001-second and son Steve lost a tight battle to Winternationals champ Justin Ashley’s stout 3.683.

Steve Torrence, the four-time and reigning world champ, is now winless in the first three races of the season; in 2021, he didn’t go more than three races without at least one win.

Phoenix winner Mike Salinas' Pep Boys entry is the fourth car in the semifinals after edging past Doug Kalitta by .007-second in their second-round tilt.

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Cruz Pedregon became the third veteran nitro driver to red-light away a race, fouling against Blake Alexander in round two of Funny Car. Clay Millican also got the yips in his second-round race in Top Fuel and veteran Doug Kalitta fouled out in the opening round of the pep Boys All-Star Callout event on Saturday. Pedregon’s light was especially egregious, leaving more than two-hundredth while Millican was -.196. too soon with a -.236 reaction.

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Robert Hight’s nine-round winning streak was halted by tire smoke against Chad Green in round two as the Auto Club Camaro –- which had made 3.8-second passes on 14 of its 15 runs to start the season and only won the first round because opponent John Smith couldn’t make the call -– suddenly looks human.

Green, who is running the full season for the first time and is benefitting from Tim Wilkerson’s tuning advice after Wilk's first-round loss, will have semifinal lane choice after his 3.987 was better than the wispy 4.02 recorded by Matt Hagan on a solo pzz after Terry Haddock’s car was shut off on the starting line with a fluid leak.
 

Funny Car world champ Ron Capps lined up opposite the sport’s all-time winner, John Force, for the third straight race and walked away a winner of the second time with a 3.913 after Force had to pedal out of tire shake.

Capps won their first encounter this season, in round one of the Winternationals, and Force got revenge in the second round of the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

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 Mason McGaha’s .003 reaction time in the first round of Pro Stock not a fluke. McGaha returned for the quarterfinals and nailed a perfect .000 light in his win against Bo Butner and he’s easily one of the favorites to become NHRA’s next firs-time pro winner. McGaha also made a solid run with a 6.522 from his Harlow Sammons Camaro. McGaha was good when he made his debut as an 18-year old in 2020, and he’s even better now.

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When Rodger Brogdon made the decision to return to Pro Stock on a full-time basis this season, he was determined to make the most of it and so far, that’s been the case. Brogdon reached the semifinals in Gainesville following an impressive win against Matt Hartford’s Total Seal Camaro. Both drivers ran 6.515 but Brogdon’s three-thousandth advantage spelled the difference at the finish line. Brogdon will leave Gainesville ranked in the Top 10 no matter what happens in his semifinal race against Dallas Glenn.

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When she arrived in Gainesville, Angie Smith mentioned that she felt as though she was stranded on an island since she’s one of the few riders (along with Ryan Oehler) who will be racing a Buell V-twin this season. So far, that has worked out well for Smith as she’s reached the semfinals with wins against Chris Bostick and Steve Johnson. Smith has been quick with a best of 6.764, and her Denso Buell is perhaps the fastest bike in the field with back-to-back runs of 201.19 mph and 200.62.

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Think Karen Stoffer’s record-setting 6.682 in the first round of Pro Stock Motorcycle was impressive? How about the second round where the Big St. Charles Suzuki rider once again lowered the boom with a 6.665 that easily outdistanced Eddie Krawiec’s 6.927. NHRA no longer requires a 1-percent back-up in order to establish a national record, but if they did, Stoffer would still easily be in control of the elapsed time mark. Incidentally, two of Stoffer’s ten career wins have come at Gainesville Raceway.

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Just like last year when Josh Hart scored his first career Top Fuel win, Gatornationals fans will see another first-time Top Fuel winner crowned as Tripp Tatum and Doug Foley will square off for the event title.

Tatum defeated tire-smoking Mike Salinas in his half of the semifinals with a 3.709 and will have final-round lane choice over Foley, who used a 3.774 to beat tire-smoking Justin Ashley.

Foley is a four-time runner-up in Top Alcohol Dragster while the final round will be Tatum’s second following a Top Alcohol dragster runner-up in Brainerd in 2014.

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With his semifinal victory over tire-smoking Chad Green, Matt Hagan is closing the gap on early-season points leader Robert Hight, taking full advantage of Hight’s second-round loss. If Hagan wins the final, not only will he pull to within 11 points of Hight’s lead but he also will deliver a first victory to new team owner Tony Stewart,

Hagan’s 3.89 has earned him final-round lane choice against the event’s sentimental favorite, Blake Alexander, who has ridden a trio of 3.9-second passes to the final round in team owner Jim Head’s first event since the tragic highway accident last October that claimed the life of team member Dylan Cromwell. A victory would be a first in Funny Car for Alexander, who has two previous wins in Top Fuel.

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Two of Pro Stock’s so-called young guns will battle for the Pro Stock title as 2021 rookie of the year Dallas Glenn will take on KB Racing teammate Kyle Koretsky in the final. Glenn, who bagged three wins last season on his way to a third place finish, breezed to a 6.502 for the victory after Rodger Brogdon fouled in his RoofTech Camaro.

Koretsky, a winner last season at the Fall Charlotte event, will have lane choice in the final after driving the Lucas Oil Products Camaro to a 6.498 in his semifinal win against Mason McGaha, who slowed from his earlier pace to a 6.539.

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Angie Smith will race for her third national event victory after downing Joey Gladstone in the semifinals of Pro Stock Motorcycle, but she won’t have lane choice in spite of a career-best 6.738. Smith, last season’s sixth-ranked rider has been over 200-mph on all three runs in eliminations but she’s still a tick behind Karen Stoffer,  her final round opponent.

After making the two quickest runs in the history of the class with a 6.682 and 6.665, Stoffer could “only” muster a 6.721 when she defeated teammate Jerry Savoie in the semifinals. Stoffer previously won Gainesville titles in 2007 and 2015, and has ten career wins to her credit. 

Event recap: Tatum, Hagan, Glenn, Stoffer score victories in dramatic, historic Gatornationals finish