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Fast Five: Route 66 NHRA Nationals

NHRA's Lewis Bloom and Amanda Busick count down their top five highlights from the Route 66 NHRA Nationals, race nine of the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
04 Jun 2019
Posted by NHRA.com staff
Fast Five
Fast Five
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Former world champs Demke, Westerfield lead Route 66 NHRA Nationals winners list

Former NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series champions Chris Demke and Shane Westerfield topped the list of winners at the 2019 Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
03 Jun 2019
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Shane Westerfield
Former NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series champions Chris Demke and Shane Westerfield topped the list of winners at the 2019 Route 66 NHRA Nationals. Top Alcohol Dragster Chris Demke, 5.265, 275.39 def. Megan Meyer, 5.594, 265.…
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WATCH: Steve Torrence earns fourth-straight Top Fuel Wally at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Steve Torrence won for the fourth-straight time in 2019, defeating Mike Salinas at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Steve Torrence
Steve Torrence won for the fourth-straight race, taking his Capco Contractors Top Fuel dragster to the winner's circle at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. He defeated Mike Salinas, who smoked the tires in his Scrappers Racing machine and failed to make…
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WATCH: Tommy Johnson Jr. drives Make-a-Wish Funny Car back to winner's circle at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Tommy Johnson Jr. earned his first win since 2017 in fiery fashion, defeating Robert Hight at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Tommy Johnson Jr.
Tommy Johnson scored his first win since the last race of the 2017 season in fiery fashion at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. He defeated Robert Hight, who he also beat to capture his last Wally, taking his Make-a-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the…
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WATCH: Deric Kramer rolls to victory against Erica Enders in Route 66 NHRA Nationals Pro Stock final

Deric Kramer picks up third-career national event win after Erica Enders red-lights in Chicago Pro Stock final.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Deric Kramer
Deric Kramer did not have the quickest or fastest Pro Stock car at Route 66 Raceway, but he was good when he had to be and picked up his third-career national event win and first of the season after two-time Mello Yello champion Erica Enders fouled…
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WATCH: Matt Smith earns first win of season over Karen Stoffer in Route 66 NHRA Nationals Pro Stock Motorcycle final

Reigning champ Matt Smith wins his 23rd Pro Stock Motorcycle race after a dominant performance at Route 66 Raceway.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Matt Smith
In a rematch of his first national event win at the 2006 Englishtown race, Matt Smith defeated Karen Stoffer to win the Pro Stock Motorcycle title in Chicago. Smith, aboard his Denso EBR, made the quickest run of eliminations with a 6.807 and needed…
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Chicago Pro Stock Motorcycle results: semifinals

Reigning champ Matt Smith powers his way to the Pro Stock Motorcycle final for the 52nd time in his career where he'll face Karen Stoffer's Suzuki.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Matt Smith
It wasn't the most enjoyable win of his career, but reigning Mello Yello Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Matt Smith did what he had to do when he raced his wife, Angie, in the semifinal round at Route 66 Raceway. Matt made one of the best runs of the day…
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Chicago Funny Car results: semifinals

02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Tommy Johnson Jr.
John Force will have to wait another week to get his 150th race win. Tommy Johnson Jr. defeated the 16-time champ with a holeshot after Force dove right in with his Peak Coolant Funny Car and got crew chief John Collins lane choice against 2017…
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Chicago Pro Stock results: semifinals

Deric Kramer will take on Erica Enders in the Pro Stock final at Route 66 Raceway. Neither driver has won a race this season.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Deric Kramer
Deric Kramer will have his first opportunity to win a Pro Stock race since last year's Brainerd event, but in order to do so he'll have to beat Erica Enders in the final of the Route 66 Nationals. Kramer drove to a 6.550 to 6.582 in the semifinals…
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Chicago Top Fuel results: semifinals

Steve Torrence is chasing his fourth-straight victory, but he'll have to get past Mike Salinas' Alan Johnson-tuned Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Steve Torrence
Steve Torrence will chase his fourth-straight victory. He defeated Antron Brown, who drove through a fiery explosion in his Matco Tools Top Fuel Dragster, and posted a 3.804-second elapsed time to secure lane choice against Mike Salinas in the final…
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Steve Torrence stretches win streak to four; Tommy Johnson, Deric Kramer, and Matt Smith get first wins of the year at Route 66 Nationals

Following his perfect six-for-six performance during the 2018 Countdown to the Championship, Steve Torrence is on another roll with four-straight Top Fuel wins; Tommy Johnson Jr. Deric Kramer, and Matt Smith also victorious at Route 66 Raceway.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Route 66 NHRA Nationals
After a rocky start to the 2019 season, Steve Torrence and his Capco creew have found the momentum that helped them win last season's Mello Yello Top Fuel championship. A recent winner in Charlotte, Atlanta, and Richmond, Torrence ran his win streak…
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Chicago Pro Stock Motorcycle results: E2

The Pro Stock Motorcycle semifinals are set in Chicago, but all eyes are on rookie Jianna Salinas, who walked away from a scary top-end crash.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Karen Stoffer
In less than an hour, rookie Jianna Salinas experienced both the highs and lows of of racing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. After claiming the first round win of her career in round one, Salinas took a tumble when she lost control of her Stoffer…
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Chicago Funny Car results: E2

Tommy Johnson Jr. will try to stop John Force from reaching his first final round of 2019 at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Tommy Johnson Jr.
Tommy Johnson Jr. ran the low elapsed time of the second round of eliminations and will get a shot at stopping John Force in the semifinals. That has proved difficult through the first two rounds of Funny Car racing at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals as…
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Chicago Pro Stock results: E2

Erica Enders wins her 300th round on a holeshot; goes to the semifinals for the first time since Phoenix.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Erica Enders
Erica Enders won her 300th round of Pro Stock competition in a familiar fashion with a holeshot win against her team owner, Richard Freeman in the second round at Route 66 Raceway. Enders drove to a 6.566 to beat Freeman's 6.560. Ender's Elite…
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Chicago Top Fuel results: E2

Steve Torrence made the quickest pass of the second round and will face Antron Brown in the semifinals of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Steve Torrence
A 2019 Top Fuel winner will add another Wally to his trophy case this afternoon. Mike Salinas, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Doug Kalitta all advanced to the semifinals after convincing wins in the second round of racing at the Route 66 NHRA…
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WATCH: Jianna Salinas and Andie Rawlings earn first-career Pro Stock Motorcycle round wins

Upsets galore in the first round of Pro Stock Motorcycle as Jianna Salinas and Andie Rawlings get their first-career round wins at Route 66 NHRA Nationals
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Andie Rawlings
//hide image on specific article jQuery(document).ready(function ($) { }); A record six women qualified for the Chicago Pro Stock Motorcycle field and five of them advanced in an upset-filled first round. Wins by Angelle Sampey, Karen…
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Chicago Pro Stock results: E1

Rival KB Racing and Elite teams each send four cars to Pro Stock quarterfinals at Route 66 Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Greg Anderson
The battle between the KB Racing and Elite Motorsports teams continued at the Route 66 Nationals with the rival outfits each putting four cars into the quarterfinal round. For the KB team, low qualifier Greg Anderson advanced with low E.T. of the…
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Chicago Funny Car results: E1

Jeff Arend picked up his first round win in more than two years, helping team owner Jim Head to the start of another solid weekend at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Shawn Langdon
//hide image on specific article jQuery(document).ready(function ($) { }); Jeff Arend earned his first round win since the final race of the 2016 season. He did so in an absolutely wild round against Shawn Langdon as the driver of the…
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Chicago Top Fuel results: E1

Pat Dakin was one of a handful of drivers that scored upsets in the first round of Top Fuel at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Pat Dakin
The bottom half of the bracket enjoyed a successful first round of eliminations at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. No. 1 and No. 2 qualifiers Mike Salinas and Antron Brown tied for low elapsed time (3.736-seconds apiece), but four racers in the top…
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Part-timer Freeman making Pro Stock look easy

Elite team owner Richard Freeman brought a new Pro Stock Mustang to Chicago and delivered a top-five qualifying performance
02 Jun 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
Feature
Richard Freeman
Prior to Saturday’s fourth and final Pro Stock qualifying session, Richard Freeman glanced at the sunsetting behind the tower at Route 66 Raceway and said to no one in particular, “If I make a good run, I should go about 6.59.”  Moments…
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Thirty years after his debut, Hector Arana Sr. is still going strong

During his career, Lucas Oil EBR rider Hector Arana Sr. has seen and done it all in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.
02 Jun 2019
Kevin McKenna, NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor
Feature
Hector Arana Sr.
Hector Arana Sr. is making his 315th start in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class this weekend and only Steve Johnson (432) has made more appearances in the two-wheel class. Arana can vividly recall the early days of his career in the late 1980s when he…
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Paul Lee is back with a great program around him

Paul Lee's McLeod Funny Car team is back, comfortable and ready to start winning
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Feature
Paul Lee
You wouldn’t be able to blame Paul Lee if he’s just happy to be here. Not because he’s back doing what he loves after suffering a massive heart attack, though, sure, that too. The McLeod Funny Car made its debut at the Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals…
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Scott Palmer finding balance as he chases first Top Fuel win

Top Fuel racer remains aggressive, but thinks he’s found balance in approach
02 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Feature
Scott Palmer
Scott Palmer started the season ripping the first 60 feet of the track to shreds. His Goodyears came back to the pits begging for relief because of how aggressively the racer ran his Magic Dry Organic Absorbent Top Fueler. Those times (around an .…
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Route 66 NHRA Nationals Sunday Preview

The ninth event of 24 on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour concludes with the race day at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals outside of Chicago.
01 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Chicago
The Route 66 NHRA Nationals wrap up outside of Chicago with race day in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, beginning at 11 a.m. Central Time. You can get caught up on who toke…
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Andy Bohl loses control of Top Alcohol Funny Car at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Andy Bohl lost control of his race car at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. He exited his race car under his own power.
01 Jun 2019
Posted by NHRA.com staff
News
Andy Bohl
//hide image on specific article jQuery(document).ready(function ($) {  }); Andy Bohl lost control of his Top Alcohol Funny Car during eliminations at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. He exited the car under his own power. 
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Greg Anderson, Robert Hight, Mike Salinas, Eddie Krawiec top qualifying at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Greg Anderson earned his first No. 1 qualifier since July 2018, while Robert Hight, Mike Salinas and Eddie Krawiec topped the sheets at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
01 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson earned his first pole position since July of 2018 at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. The Pro Stock racer took his Summit Racing Chevrolet to the top of the field in the final qualifying session with a 6.571-second pass at 210.54 mph at…
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Chicago Pro Stock Motorcycle results: Q4

Eddie Krawiec holds on to the top spot after the final round of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying while both Arana bikes score qualifying points.
01 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
krawiec
The rapid change in conditions that came with the Saturday's lengthy rain delay threw the Pro Stock Motorcycle class a curve ball and as a result, there were a number of aborted runs during the final session. Hector Arana Jr. was one rider who made…
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WATCH: Robert Hight captures Funny Car pole in Q4 at Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Robert Hight claimed pole position at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in his Auto Club Chevy Camaro Funny Car in a terrific session.
01 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Robert Hight
//hide image on specific article jQuery(document).ready(function ($) { }); Robert Hight returned with a vengeance in the final qualifying session at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. The driver of the Auto Club Chevy Camaro captured pole…
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Chicago Pro Stock results: Q4

Greg Anderson bumps teammate Jason Line from the top spot following a quick final session of Pro Stock qualifying.
01 Jun 2019
NHRA National Dragster staff
Race coverage
Greg Anderson
For the first time this year and 103rd time in his career, Greg Anderson will head into final eliminations as the low qualifier in Pro Stock. In order to gain the top spot, Anderson ran a 6.571 during a quick final session that was delayed by more…
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Chicago Top Fuel results: Q4

Scott Palmer and Terry McMillen punched their way into an incredibly competitive Top Fuel field at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals before weather got in the way.
01 Jun 2019
Jacob Sundstrom, NHRA National Dragster Associate Editor
Race coverage
Scott Palmer
Rain shortened the final qualifying session of Top Fuel, but fans at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals enjoyed plenty of drama before wet weather got in the way. Scott Palmer fought his way into the field with a 3.854-second run, getting on the bump spot…
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