NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

After going winless since 2009, David Eaton, near lane, has now won  in Comp twice in the 2022 season with his Pro Stock-engined A/AP Bantam. Eaton, winner earlier this season at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, powered to his second victory on the strength of (-.42) 6.80 to overcome first-time finalist William Scott’s Ford-powered B/DA. [video]

Former world champ Bryan Worner picked up his seventh national event win by beating 2021 Gainesville champ Sterling Simmons in the Super Stock final. The final round was a great side-by-side race with Worner taking the win with a 10.15 on his 10.13 dial after Simmons broke out by four-thousandths. [video]

Five years after dropping his first final round to David Rampy in Atlanta, Jeff Longhany came through for a long-awaited first national event victory in Stock. Longhany finished the job by driving his Corvette to an eight-thousandths win against 2019 Richmond winner Wallace “Pie” Dent in the final.  [video]

John Labbous Jr. reached the double-digit mark in career national event wins, notching victory No. 10 in Richmond by defeating Deb Moses in the Super Comp final round. In pursuit of her first career win, Moses, the Epping runner-up in 2020, caught a clutch .008 reaction time in the final and seemed to have the race in hand but took too much stripe and broke out by a mere .003-second to hand the win to Labbous, who was hot off a runner-up two weeks earlier in Charlotte. [video]

Frank Altilio, runner-up at this event last year and runner-up at this year’s Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, went the distance this time in Super Gas in his Chevy S-10 truck for his third career win and his second at zMAX Dragway. Altilio, who won the fall Charlotte event in 2010, 18 years after scoring his first career win in Gainesville, notched the victory without leaving the starting line after opponent Jerry Heffelfinger, the 2010 Gatornationals champ, left too soon and fouled. [video]

It took three years, but Chad Traylor was able to successfully defend his Top Dragster title from the 2019 Richmond event. After defeating Robert Houston in the final three years ago, Traylor got his second win by stopping Houston’s son, Junior, in a close double breakout. [video]