(This story will be updated as rounds are completed.)
Doug Herbert probably figured he'd never get as close to winning the $100,000 Winston No Bull Challenge award as he did at the Mac Tools Gatornationals, where he fell one round short of cashing in on the bonus.
He would have been wrong.
Doug herbert |
Beating incredible odds, Herbert's name was picked at random for the second straight event during a pre-race drawing, making him eligible for the reward if he won the race. This time, he didn't let the opportunity to break the bank slip through his fingers.
Herbert, winless on the NHRA national event tour since June 1993, made the wait very worthwhile when he defeated Tony Schumacher to claim the Top Fuel title at the 12th annual O'Reilly Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park.
Herbert opened his run to the money with an easy 4.626 conquest of Doug Kalitta, who broke traction, pedaled it, and smoked 'em again. Herbert's second-round conquest was nowhere near as easy as he outdueled Joe Amato, 4.655 to 4.642 after gaining a .512 to .530 advantage at the starting line. The margin of victory at the win stripe was just .005-second, or about two feet. Herbert ran his third straight 4.6-second pass, a 4.67 in the semi's to defeat Cory McClenathan, who lost a blower belt at 1,000 feet and slowed to a 5.20.
Schumacher defeated tire-smoking Bruce Sarver in round one with a great 4.568, then upset low qualifier Larry Dixon in round two after Dixon lost traction 200 feet out. Schumacher sealed that win with a 4.628, 319.98, then defeated Bob Vandergriff Jr. in the semi's with a 4.60, 324.83 after Vandergriff also lost traction.
In the final, it was Schumacher who lost traction and had to watch Herbert gain the win - and the 100 grand bonus - with a 4.65.
Top Fuel results
John Force |
John Force expanded his points lead over teammate Tony Pedregon but not only beating him in the final round but by gaining 20 bonus points by resetting the national record during the event.
Force reset his own 4.799 record, set at the Gatornationals, by a thousandth in qualifying, then broke that new mark by a hundredth with a 4.788 blast in the semifinals.
Force opened eliminations with a powerful yet costly 4.896 to beat Bob Gilbertson. The price was paid at the finish line as Force had flames shooting out from under the front fender of his Castrol GTX Mustang due to a small fire from an expired engine. Force bounced back with a 4.92 to 4.99 conquest of Dean Skuza, then blistered the HRP quarter-mile with his 4.788 blast to end Del Worsham's day.
Pedregon looked strong in eliminations with a 4.914 opening round victory over Jim Epler's Eckler's/EasyCare Corvette and a 4.924 to beat Gary Densham in a rematch of the Winternationals final round. Pedregon proved his worth as a driver in the semi's when he guided the Castrol Syntec Ford past older brother Cruz Pedregon with a 5.01 after Cruz smoked the tires in Joe Gibbs' Interstate Batteries Pontiac.
Force also paid a high price in the final when he car suffered a small fire in the lights after his winning 4.87 after Pedregon smoked the tires.
Funny Car results
Kurt Johnson |
Kurt Johnson, winner earlier this year at the Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals, won his second of the season and notched the third win in four races for the Johnson family when he defeated Mike Edwards in a rare, all-Camaro final round.
Johnson's ACDelco Camaro ripped off a 6.933 to beat John Nobile's Cutlass in round one, then followed with a 6.94 to 6.97 conquest of Mark Pawuk. Johnson then caught a huge break when No. 2 qualifier Mike Trumble Jr. broke on the burnout; fortunate because K.J.'s machine ran through the clutch on his launch and he had to coast to an 11.41.
A round earlier, Trumble had defeated Jim Yates on a holeshot, 7.018 to 6.985, ending Yates' hopes for the $50,000 "No Bull" bonus by just .007-second.
Edwards opened with a 6.97 that reeled in Ron Krisher's holeshot-aided 7.031 by just.007-second at the finish line, and another 6.97 dispatched Richie Stevens in round two. In the semifinals, it was Edwards who had the better light against No. 1 qualifier Warren Johnson and made it pay off 1,320 feet later with a stunning 7.00 to 6.95 victory.
Johnson then defeated Edwards in the final round, the first between two Camaros since 1987, driving around Edwards' .430 to .465 holeshot to take the win, 6.969 to 7.009, by just .005-seconds, or about 1.5 feet.
Pro Stock results
Former Pro Stock racer Mark Osborne, who opened his new Pro Stock Truck career with a victory in his debut at the Gatornationals, won his second straight in the RCL Components Chevy.
Osborne opened his run to the final Saturday with a 7.60 to 7.65 victory over Craig Eaton's Dodge, then followed with a 7.65 to 7.82 conquest of Winternationals champ Randy Daniels. In Sunday's semifinal round, Osborne outdueled Mike Coughlin in a close match, 7.66 to 7.67, to face off with Bob Panella Jr. in the final
Panella was on fire on the starting line, defeating all three pre-final-round opponents on holeshots. He beat John Lingenfelter, 7.65 to 7.63; low qualifier Brad Jeter, 7.69 to 7.62 in a mathematical dead heat; and Todd Patterson, 7.66 to 7.65. His string ran out in the final, where Osborne defeated him, 7.64 to 7.68.
Pro Stock Truck results
Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals Federal-Mogul Dragster champ Darren Nicholson won his second race of the year and his third since capturing his first at last year's U.S. Nationals when he defeated the A/Fuel Dragster of Darryl Hitchman in the final.
Federal-Mogul Dragster results
Gatornationals champ Tony Bartone captured the Federal-Mogul Funny Car title by defeating Pat Austin in a battle of former season champs, 5.680 to 5.704, for his second straight victory.
Federal-Mogul Funny Car results
Maryann Austin won her second career national event in Comp - and her second in Texas - when she defeated former season champ David Rampy in the final round. Austin's family-owned C;/ED ran (-.51) 7.47 to beat Rampy's A/EA entry's (-.50) 7.52.
Comp results
Jimmy DeFrank continued his hot streak in Super Stock as the second-generation California driver defeated Vic Penrod, running a 10.38 on his 10.36 dial to Penrod's break-out 10.76 on a 10.81.
Super Stock results
Steven Hall collected the Stock victory under unusual circumstances as Ronnie Cardwell was a no-show in the final round. Cardwell had hurt his entry in a quarterfinal win over Edmond Richardson, then received a bye run into the final.
Stock results
In Super Comp, Brian Folk collected a super-close final-round victory over Jerry Mungle. Both drivers had .431 reaction times, but Folk got to the win stripe first by two-thousandths of a second, 8.912 to 8.914 0.014.
Super Comp results
Bart Nelson took his first career Super Gas victory when he defeated perennial Division 4 challenger Gary Risk in a double breakout final rounds. Nelson took the win, 9.897 to Risk's further-out 9.885.
Super Gas results
