NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

TOP FUEL ROUND ONE

The first pair in Top Fuel set the tone for what promises to be a great day of racing as Antron Brown, the No. 10 qualifier ran 3.739 to  hold off Tony Schumacher’s 3.746. Brown made his best run of the weekend while Schumacher ran within .002-second of his best qualifying performance.

Tony Stewart made what was the quickest run of the weekend with a 3.712 to overcome a starting line advantage by Justin Ashley, who could only muster a 3.826.

Billy Torrence upped the ante with a 3.707, 338.00 to easily defeat Shawn Reed.

Will Smith missed pre-race ceremonies and the Blue Bird team did not appear for their opening round race against Shawn Langdon. It might not have mattered as Langdon ran a 3.725 to extend his lead in the championship standings.

The 3.6s that were expected from the Kalitta team did not materialize but a 3.724 from Doug Kalitta and the Aflac team was enough to get the job done against Clay Millican, who hazed the tires.

Leah Pruett emerged victorious from the marquee match up against Norwalk champ Maddi Gordon. Pruett’s team was a bit disappointed with a 3.743, so the Mobil 1 team will give up lane choice against Billy Torrence in the quarterfinals.

Jasmine Salinas scored a win in front of her hometown fans with a 3.756 in her win against Josh Hart, who spun the tires.

Round two pairings (lane choice first). Tony Schumacher vs. Antron Brown; Doug Kalitta vs. bye; Billy Torrence vs. Leah Pruett; Shawn Landon vs. Shawn Langdon.
 

FUNNY CAR ROUND ONE

A red-light by Hunter Green sent Daniel Wilkerson into the quarterfinals with a 3.945 from the SCAG Power Equipment entry.

Paul Lee and the Power Edge team were aiming for a low 3.9-second run and hit the bullseye with a 3.937 to stop Chad Green’s 3.981. Technically, the round is an upset since Lee was the No. 12 qualifier while Green was No. 5.

Jordan Vandergriff was the star in qualifying with a string of 3.8s and that continued with a 3.891 in his round win against Jason Rupert, who kept the Cornwell team honest with a 4.040.

Ron Capps and Austin Prock don’t normally race until the late rounds on Sunday but as the ladder fell, they were paired in round one. Capps was the quicker qualifier but spun the tires before the finish line and Prock prevailed with a 4.101 for the win, knocking off the incoming points leader.

The tough luck for the SCAG team continued when Dave Richards was not able to stage his Blue Bird Turf entry, sending Spencer Hyde on a 4.241 single into the quarterfinals.

The round finished with a great side-by-side race between J.R. Todd and Matt Hagan with Hagan claiming a holeshot win, 3.933 to 3.944. The win allowed Hagan to move one step closer to leader Capps.

"I have not won at this %$&* place, so hopefully today is the day. We just need three more," said Hagan. 

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Paul Lee vs Austin Prock; Daniel Wilkerson vs. Spencer Hyde; Jack Beckman vs. Cruz Pedregon; Jordan Vandergriff vs. Matt Hagan.

PRO STOCK ROUND ONE

The round opened with a rematch of last year’s final round between Greg and Aaron Stanfield, but this one was a bit different. Aaron flickered the stage bulb and it clearly affected both drivers. The end result was a 6.513 to 6.534 holeshot win by Greg, with reaction times that neither driver will be proud of.

Eric Latino, who has been much maligned for his reaction times, turned the tables on “00 Dallas” Glenn with a .007 light and a holeshot win against the reigning champ. Latino won with a 6.511 to Glenn’s quicker 6.499.

Matt Latino joined his father, Eric, in the quarterfinals with an upset win against Greg Anderson. Latino left first, and outran the six-time champ, 6.519 to 6.527.

It wasn’t quite as bit an upset, but Jeg Coughlin Jr. took care of business against Matt Hartford, sending all three points leaders to the sidelines in round one. Coughlin will race Eric Latino in round two.  

Of course, what is shaping up to be the wildest day of the year in Pro Stock would feature a win by the No.  16 qualifier over the No. 1 qualifier and Mason McGaha followed script by beating Chris Vang. The Harlow Sammons team showed a dramatic improvement with a 6.532 to earn lane choice over Greg Stanfield.

A bit of order was restored when No. 3 qualifier Erica Enders turned on the win light against Kenny Delco. Enders left first by a bumch and then ran 6.520 to easily cover Delco’s 6.576.

Stephen Bell grabbed the second round win of his career with a 6.545 win over Shane Tucker, who shut off early. 
Bell is one of four quarterfinalists who have yet to win a Pro Stock event.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Eric Latino vs. Troy Coughlin  Jr.; Mason McGaha vs. Greg Stanfield; Erica Enders vs. Matt Latino; Jeg Coughlin Jr. vs. Stephen Bell.
 

TOP FUEL ROUND TWO

The day of upsets continued in Top Fuel with Jasmine Salinas taking out points leader Shawn Langdon. Salinas shut off a bit early, but ran 3.775 to beat Langdon’s 3.776.

On his bye run, Doug Kalitta and the Aflac team tested the limits of the Sonoma surface at midday and were rewarded with a 3.730 run that has lane choice over Antron Brown in the semi’s.

Antron Brown and Tony Stewart both broke traction, but Brown was able to keep his foot in the throttle to score the win with a 4.175.

Leah Pruett left on Billy Torrence by a lot and won via a holeshot, 3.766 to 3.751.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs. Antron Brown; Leah Pruett vs. Jasmine Salinas.

FUNNY CAR  ROUND TWO

Crew chief Jimmy Prock got enough data in round one to made adjustments that resulted in a 3.927 to win over Paul Lee. Prock was the No. 13 qualifier, but in this case, that’s misleading.

Jack Beckman made his best run of the weekend with a 3.894, joining teammate Jordan Vandergriff in the 3.8. Cruz Pedregon left first, but slowed to a 4.009 in the Snap-on Dodge.

Best race of the round? Most likely Jordan Vandergriff’s narrow 3.932 to 3.956 win over Matt Hagan, a battle decided by .016-second at the stripe.

Side-by-side tire smoke afforded Daniel Wilkerson the opportunity to outpedal Spencer Hyde to reach the semi’s.

Semifinal pairings (lance choice first): Austin Prock vs. Jordan Vandergriff; Jack Beckman vs. Daniel Wilkerson.

PRO STOCK ROUND TWO

Jeg Coughlin Jr. avoided the fate that befell many of the favorites with a narrow 6.572 to 6.574 win against Elite teammate Stephen Bell.

Greg Stanfield moved a step closer to his second-straight Sonoma win with a very impressive 6.519 to dispatch Mason McGaha, who pushed the clutch in early.

Erica Enders scored a win over Matt Latino via a holeshot, 6.535 to 6.533. A holeshot also settled the race between Troy Coughlin Jr. and Erica Latino, 6.543 to 6.541. Coughlin’s win guaranteed that the Elite team will win their third Pro Stock Wally of the season.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Greg Stanfield vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Erica Enders vs. Troy Coughlin Jr. 
 

 TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS

Jasmine Salinas will have an opportunity to win her first Top Fuel race at her home event, but she will have to get past two-time world champ Doug Kalitta in order to do it. Salinas won her semifinal bout against Leah Pruett on a holeshot, 3.751 to 3.772.

Salinas will have lane choice against Kalitta, who won a tire smoking battle against Antron Brown with a 4.105.

FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

In perhaps the most anticipated Funny Car round of the season, Jordan Vandergriff defeated two-time world champ Austin Prock in a great race, 3.911 to 3.921. For the few who may not know, Vandergriff replaced Prock as the driver of John Force’s Cornwell Tools Camaro in a shocking development last off-season.

Daniel Wilkerson and Jack Beckman both smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle and after a brief moment of eerie silence, both drivers hit the throttle and Wilkerson’s SCAG entry recovered to win with a 5.159 to reach his second final of the season.

PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS

There was plenty of tire shake in the semifinals as three of four cars did not make complete runs. The round opened with a tough battle between Erica Enders and Troy Coughlin Jr. that went to Enders.

The only full run was made  by Greg Stanfield, who used a 6.544 to beat Jeg Coughlin Jr., who also rattled the tires. In the final, Enders will have a chance to win her 50th Pro Stock event.

LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING SERIES RESULTS

COMP
Clint Neff def. Steve Graham

SUPER STOCK
Jody Lang def. Brad Burton

STOCK 
Justin Lamb def. Darren Grossi

SUPER COMP
Trey Vetter def. Grant Williamson

SUPER GAS
Doug Sedmak def. Brad Pierce

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP DRAGSTER 
Keith Winters def. Tom Bayer

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN
Ken Ratzloff def. Bryan Warr