Sunday's Big O Tires NHRA Nationals live photo gallery
Sunday, October 28, 2012
RACEDAY NOTES
POINTS UPDATE: Although the big points are earned in Sunday’s final eliminations – where each round-win is worth 20 points – qualifying is important, too, as is clearly evident from the table below, which shows the current status of the four Full Throttle points races with incoming deficits and the current deficit after qualifying, including qualifying bonus and position points. The Pro Stock Motorcycle total also includes the 20 points Eddie Krawiec earned for beating Matt Hines in the delayed Reading final.
| Driver |
Incoming Deficit |
Current Deficit |
| TOP FUEL |
| Antron Brown |
0 |
0 |
| Spencer Massey |
-104 |
-90 |
| Tony Schumacher |
-136 |
-125 |
| |
| FUNNY CAR |
| Jack Beckman |
0 |
0 |
| Ron Capps |
-23 |
-24 |
| Mike Neff |
-54 |
-48 |
| |
| PRO STOCK |
| Allen Johnson |
0 |
0 |
| Jason Line |
-82 |
-86 |
| Erica Enders |
-125 |
-137 |
| |
| PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE |
| Eddie Krawiec |
0 |
0 |
| Andrew Hines |
-17 |
-51 |
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TRACK RECORDS: Five of the eight track records fell in qualifying: both marks in Top Fuel and Pro Stock and the speed mark in Funny Car. Tony Schumacher’s 3.773 supplanted Antron Brown’s 3.779, and Doug Kalitta’s 327.11 bested Brown’s 326.08; Brown set both of those records at this year’s spring event. Jason Line’s 6.590, 209.72 broke Mike Edwards’ incoming marks of 6.594 and 208.84, both set last year at this race. Finally, Robert Hight’s 317.27 took away the 315.49 set last fall by Ron Capps.
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PRO MOD POINTS: This is the final event of the season for the NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by ProCare Rx, and a champion will be crowned today. After last night’s first round of eliminations, Mike Castellana is in the driver’s seat with 636 points, 41 ahead of Rickie Smith and 42 ahead of Troy Coughlin, but Castellana must face Coughlin in round two.
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LOOKING AHEAD: Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown struggled and qualified just No. 13 and will cede lane choice to Khalid alBalooshi in round one. If he can survive that encounter, he could face third-place teammate Tony Schumacher, the No. 1 qualifier, in the semifinals. Spencer Massey, No. 2 in points, is on the other side of the ladder and could make up significant ground on Brown. Should Brown fall in the first round and Massey go on to win the event, he’d trail Brown by just 10 points heading into the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona in two weeks.
Funny Car points leader Jack Beckman could have to face No. 3 points man Mike Neff as early as round two should they defeat John Force and Jeff Arend, respectively, in round one. Ron Capps, second in points, is on the other side of the ladder but faces a potential second-round race with low qualifier Cruz Pedregon should both get that far.
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What Greg Anderson couldn’t do in Reading three weeks ago, he pulled off this weekend: slotting his Summit Pontiac into a qualifying position in the Pro Stock field that allows him to race points leader Allen Johnson early in eliminations in a bid to help second-place teammate Jason Line carve into Johnson’s lead. Should both Anderson and Johnson win their first-round races (versus Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Deric Kramer, respectively), they’ll race in round two. Line, meanwhile, is on the other side of the ladder and could face third-place Erica Enders – the only other driver with a realistic chance at the championship – in the semifinals.
Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, the only two combatants still standing in the battle for the Pro Stock Motorcycle title, qualified on the same side of the ladder and could meet in the semifinals. If both get that far and Hines is able to beat Krawiec – a tall order based on the qualifying results – Hines could head for the season finale in Pomona trailing by less than a round of racing.
Sportsman and Pro Mod eliminations are currently running; Full Throttle eliminations begin at 11 a.m.
[10:10 a.m.] The drama began early as Troy Coughlin kept alive his Pro Mod title hopes by winning a crucial second-round race with points leader Mike Castellana. If Coughlin wins the event, he wins the championship. |
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[12:05 p.m.] Khalid alBalooshi (above) pulled off a big upset in round one of Top Fuel by defeating points leader Antron Brown. alBalooshi appeared to be in trouble when he lost traction at midtrack, but Brown's car also spun and lost the supercharger, and alBalooshi passed Brown just as his own engine expired in a huge ball of fire.
Second-place Spencer Massey (right) kept the pressure on Brown by defeating TJ Zizzo in round one of Top Fuel. He'll have second-round lane choice against Bob Vandergriff Jr. He's now 70 points behind Brown.
Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Tony Schumacher vs. Steve Torrence; J.R. Todd vs. alBalooshi; Shawn Langdon vs. Doug Kalitta
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[12:15 p.m.] Paul Lee, absent from the tour for more than a year, upset former world champ Robert Hight in round one of Funny Car. Said Lee, who has partnered with car owner Gary Densham, "We're just having fun." |
[12:30 p.m.] Funny Car points leader Jack Beckman aided his cause by defeating John Force in round one with a 4.115, earning second-round lane choice against third-place Mike Neff by just .003-second. Second-place Ron Capps also advanced but will not have lane choice against Cruz Pedregon, who set low e.t at 4.064 in his first-round victory. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Johnny Gray vs. Matt Hagan; Courtney Force vs. Lee. |
[12:55 p.m.] Pro Stock points leader Allen Johnson kept the hammer down with his Mopar Dodge, setting low e.t. of the first round with a 6.630 in defeating Deric Kramer. A.J. will have lane choice in round two against Jeg Coughlin Jr., who spoiled Greg Anderson's hopes of acting as a blocker for second-place teammate Jason Line.
Line did advance, as did third-place Erica Enders, ensuring that the points battle won't be decided until the season finale.
Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Line vs. Warren Johnson; Vincent Nobile vs. Enders; Mike Edwards vs. Ron Krisher |
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[1:05 p.m.] Points leader Eddie Krawiec had low e.t. of round one of Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.938 to defeat GT Tonglet. Krawiec's Harley-Davidson teammate, second-place Andrew Hines, also advanced to round two on Shawn Gann's foul, but it was a troubled 14-second cruise to victory after an air-shifter line popped loose early in the run. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Krawiec vs. Scotty Pollacheck; John Hall vs. Hines; Hector Arana Jr. vs. Hector Arana Sr.; Matt Smith vs. Karen Stoffer. |
[2 p.m.] Bob Vandergriff Jr. gave first-round loser Antron Brown's championship hopes a boost when he beat second-place Spencer Massey in round two. Vandergriff will have semifinal lane choice over Doug Kalitta. The other semifinal will pit Khalid alBalooshi, with lane choice, against third-place Tony Schumacher. |
[2:15 p.m.] Ron Capps, second in Funny Car points, kept pace with points leader Jack Beckman as both advanced to the semifinals. Capps upset low qualifier Cruz Pedregon with a 4.09 and will pick his lane against Johnny Gray. On the other side of the ladder, Beckman will face a John Force Racing car for the third straight round when he tangles with rookie sensation Courtney Force, who will have lane choice over Beckman's 4.17 after a 4.12 pass. |
[2:25 p.m.] Jason Line, second place in points, dodged a bullet in round two of Pro Stock when he had to pedal the throttle after shaking the tires but advanced to the semifinals when opponent Warren Johnson had even more trouble. Line's 6.99 cost him lane choice against Vincent Nobile, who ended the championship hopes of Erica Enders with a 6.64. Points leader Allen Johnson will have semifinal lane choice against Ron Krisher. |
[2:30 p.m.] John Hall pulled off a huge upset in the second round of Pro Stock Motorcycle when he rode the Sovereign/Star Racing Buell past Andrew Hines, who sits second in points. Points leader Eddie Krawiec, meanwhile, took out Hall's teammate, Scotty Pollacheck, with low e.t. of the round, 6.61. His lead over Hines is now 71 points. In the other semifinal, Matt Smith will get his choice of lanes against Hector Arana Sr. |
[3:30 p.m.] Tony Schumacher took a big step towards another possible world championship in Top Fuel by beating Khalid alBalooshi in the semifinals. Win the win -- in which he tied his own low e.t. of the meet, 3.773 -- he passed teammate Spencer Massey for second place in the standings and with an event win could close to within 45 points of leader Antron Brown. To do that, he'll have to defeat Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the final. Schumacher has lane choice over Vandergriff, who defeated Doug Kalitta by .004-second in their semifinal race. |
[3:40 p.m.] Ron Capps will have lane choice when he takes on teammate Jack Beckman in the Funny Car final in a clash with major implications in the championship race. Beckman leads Capps by just 24 points -- slightly more than one round of racing -- making the outcome crucial to what happens two weeks from now at the season finale in Pomona. Capps beat Johnny Gray with a 4.08, and Beckman smoked the tires but collected the win light when opponent Courtney Force red-lighted. |
[3:45 p.m.] Vincent Nobile advanced to the Pro Stock final over Jason Line, whose red-light just about put an end to his hopes of catching points leader Allen Johnson. A.J. advanced past Ron Krisher and will have lane choice against Nobile in the final. With a final-round win, Johnson can all but sew up his first season championship. |
[3:50 p.m.] Matt Smith, runner-up two years ago at this event, will be hoping to collect his first win of the season if he can stop points leader Eddie Krawiec in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final.
Smith, who in Dallas tuned Michael Ray to the only non-Harley-Davidson win this season, would like to add his name to the winner's list with his Viper-backed Buell entry.
Krawiec advanced to the final on John Hall's red-light to further expand his lead over second-place teammate Andrew Hines to 91 points. Krawiec has lane choice. |
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Eddie Krawiec, far lane, won his 20th national event and put himself into the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship driver’s seat by beating Matt Smith in the final round, 6.95 to 6.96. Krawiec’s lead over teammate Andrew Hines is 111 points heading to the season finale. |
A rematch of the Pro Stock final round at the spring Las Vegas event went the same way it did in April with Allen Johnson, far lane, beating Vincent Nobile, 6.63 to 6.67. The win by Johnson gives him a virtually insurmountable points lead of 126 heading to the final event. |
Ron Capps defeated tire-smoking points leader Jack Beckman with a dazzling 4.07 to pull to within four points of Beckman heading into the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in two weeks. |
Bob Vandergriff Jr., far lane, scored his second career Top Fuel win when Tony Schumacher smoked the tires in the final round. Vandergriff got the win with a 3.83 and denied Schumacher the chance to close to within 45 markers of points leader Antron Brown. |
The event champions: from left, Allen Johnson, Eddie Krawiec, Ron Capps, and Bob Vandergriff Jr. |