Lucas Oil Nationals Sunday photo gallery
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Well known for its popular campground and enthusiastic fans, Brainerd Int’l Raceway has long been a favorite of racers on the NHRA tour. This year’s event featured four days of nearly perfect weather. |
Hector Arana Jr. happily celebrated clinching a spot in the Countdown playoffs during the pre-race ceremony. |
Bruce Litton pulled off an upset when he handed Spencer Massey his first first-round loss of the season in Top Fuel. The Lucas-sponsored driver has won a round in each of his last two starts. |
In Funny Car, Mike Neff emerged the victor in a pedalfest against teammate Robert Hight in the first round. |
Doug Kalitta received additional good news after his second-round victory over Bruce Litton. The Top Fuel veteran earned a spot in the Traxxas Shootout based on points and a vacant seventh position when all other drivers who had yet to earn a win this season were eliminated. |
Ron Capps grabbed the Funny Car points lead for the first time this season with his second-round victory over Don Schumacher Racing teammate Johnny Gray. |
In Pro Stock, Larry Morgan had an interesting day in Brainerd; he defeated Vincent Nobile on a holeshot and then was re-instated in round two after opponent Mark Martino came up light at the scales. Morgan remains a contender for a top 10 spot heading into Indy. |
Unique to the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals is the appearance of the Pro Stock Snowmobile class, which features performances in the 8.2-second zone at more than 165 mph. |
Ron Krisher drove his Valvoline Pontiac to Sunday wins over Warren Johnson and Mike Edwards to reach the Pro Stock semifinals for the first time this season. |
Despite a round two-loss in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Karen Stoffer was able to secure her spot in the Countdown to the Championship. Stoffer is now guaranteed her ninth straight top 10 finish. |
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Working feverishly to grab a spot in the top 10, John Hall helped his cause with a semifinal finish aboard the Sovereign/Star Buell. Hall defeated Michael Ray and Michael Phillips before falling to Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle. |
Eddie Krawiec, far lane, won for the sixth time this season and extended the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson win streak to 11-races when Hector Arana Jr. fouled in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final. |
After qualifying No. 1, Erica Enders drove to her second straight win with a 6.56 after Allen Johnson shook the tires and shut off in his Mopar Dodge. Enders, near lane, is the first Pro Stock driver in Brainerd to win from the top qualifying spot since 1986. |
Ron Capps, far lane, notched his third Brainerd win and his third win of the season when he drove the NAPA Charger Funny Car to a 4.13 in the final against John Force. Capps has a final-round record of 6-8 vs. Force. |
Morgan Lucas, far lane, got well from a six-race skid in which he didn’t win any rounds by scoring his third win of the season in Top Fuel. The GEICO driver ran a 3.81 in the Top Fuel final to cover Antron Brown’s 3.83. |
The Full Throttle champions at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals were Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle). Lucas, Capps, and Enders have now won three times this year, and Krawiec has won six times. |