Championship Drag Racing

PROLONG SUPER LUBRICANTS NORTHWEST NATIONALS
SEATTLE (July 28-30)

EVENT HOME
   Event schedule
   Results
   Star Tracks
   Audio Broadcast
   Photo Gallery
   Video highlights
   Race Notebook

   Preview
    Event records
    Ticket information
    How to get there
    Where to stay
    Where to eat
    Visitor Information

13th annual

Sunday

Stevens stuns Coughlin; Scelzi, Force on top again

The hot track at Seattle International Raceway drew the ire of many racers on this unseasonably warm day in the Great Northwest. But to the three men who drove to SIR's Victory Circle, Seattle's most famous quarter-mile strip of concrete and asphalt seems to be paved with gold.

After a breath-taking final session that featured one of the closest races of the day, the Top Fuel class crowned points leader Gary Scelzi for the sixth time this year. Just before that, the NHRA's all-time winningest driver, John Force, dispatched the last of three Pedregon brothers he faced on the day to claim Win No. 87.

In Pro Stock one of the future stars of the sport, Richie "The Kid" Stevens, defeated top gun Jeg Coughlin to claim the third win of his short career.

The sport's quickest and fastest cars put a spectacular exclamation point on the weekend with a stellar side-by-side affair between Scelzi and Doug Kalitta. Scelzi got an early lead, .480-second start to Kalitta's .538-second launch, and held on through the finish line. But Kalitta stayed close. The final numbers saw Scelzi cross in 4.711 seconds at 303.98 mph while Kalitta recorded a 4.789 at 291.19 mph.

Gary Scelzi

The win helped Scelzi become the 20th driver in NHRA history to record 20 national event wins. The victory was also his sixth of the year, tying a record he shares with several other drivers for most Top Fuel wins in a season.

"The key today was lane choice," Scelzi said. "We ran quick enough every time to maintain it and that's why we won. The left lane had a bump out there and whenever anyone drove over it their car broke loose. We had to leave the ego at the trailer today and just get the car down the track every time instead of going for the kill.

"We did everything we wanted to do here. We were the No. 1 qualifier, we beat all the challengers, and padded our points lead. I'm happy as can be to be here (pressroom) talking about another win for Team Winston."

The Team Winston dragster ran like a bracket car all weekend. Starting from the pole, which he earned with a 4.65, Scelzi recorded a 4.70 in Round 1 against Rhonda Hartman-Smith, a 4.68 opposite Kenny Bernstein in the quarterfinals, and a 4.67 over Larry Dixon in the semis.

Tuned by his legendary uncle, Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta, Doug Kalitta was almost as impressive as Scelzi. He opened as the No. 2 qualifier and recorded easy wins over Paul Romine, a red-lighting Joe Amato, and Dave Grubnic to get to the finals. This is the second year in a row he has finished this race as the runner-up.

Reigning series champ Tony Schumacher bowed out in the first round with a .392 red-light start. It marked the first time Schumacher didn't advance past the first round since the NHRA's 1999 stop in Columbus. Top Fuel results

It's doubtful that Force will be invited to Christmas dinner at the Pedregon household. Force beat Cruz, Tony, and Frank Pedregon en route to his victory. Of note, he not only beat all three Pedregon brothers today but he has now bettered all three men in the final round of the Northwest Nationals. He earned a win over Cruz Pedregon here in 1993 and Tony Pedregon in 1996.

John Force

Today was Frank's turn in the finals and it turned out to be one of Force's easiest laps of the day. He ran a 4.973 at 299.60 mph in front of a tire-smoking Frank Pedregon, who posted a 6.530 at 140.69 mph.

"I beat all three Pedregon's today but they all beat me off the starting line so credit the car not me," Force said. "We had a good hot rod earlier in the year but we switched to a new body awhile back and we've been working it out ever since. It finally came together here thanks to the guys at the shop working around the clock to get it right.

"I have to tell you I've been sick since that first round loss in Denver. You don't just leave the track after a bad race, have a beer and forget about it. It stays with you until you get to the next race. I've been dreaming about it at night. This points race is too tight for it not to affect you."

Force's win, the 87th of his career, makes him a perfect six for six in final rounds this year. It also helped him draw within 32 points of the Funny Car points lead, which is held by WWF driver Jerry Toliver. Force had to beat Toliver to get to the finals.

Aside from Toliver, Force had to captain his Castrol Mustang past Cruz Pedregon and teammate Tony Pedregon to earn a final-round berth. On the other side of the ladder, Checker-Schuck's-Kragen pro Frank Pedregon fought his way past Dean Skuza, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Jim Epler. Funny Car results

Stevens, the youngest professional driver to ever win an NHRA national event in the Pro Stock category, racked up career win No. 3 today by downing points leader Jeg Coughlin in the finals. Coughlin actually got a big head start, leaving in .455 seconds to Stevens' .482-second launch, but his car got loose in the middle of the track and he had to lift. The 21-year-old Stevens stayed straight and won in 7.018 seconds at 195.70 mph to Coughlin's 7.498 at 146.00 mph.

Richie Stevens

"I never thought these wins would come as quickly as they have," Stevens said. "Ever since that first win in 1998 it's been like a dream come true.

"We pulled out our old Valspar car here after the DNQ in Denver and we put our own engine in there, just like old times, and it worked. The Valspar car wasn't the fastest one here but it sure was consistent, even when everyone else was struggling to stay straight. We went from zero to hero in one race. I love it."

Behind the wheel of his Valspar Refinish Pontiac Firebird, Stevens rode a lucky streak to the finals. He was drilled at the tree by Bruce Allen in the first round, .514 to .440, but won anyway when Allen's car got loose. He then pulled off a hole-shot win over five-time champ Warren Johnson before cruising past Troy Coughlin in the third round. During that lap, Coughlin's car shook so severely that he had to deploy his parachute during the run to regain control of the car.

Jeg Coughlin reached the finals in his Jeg's Mail Order Oldsmobile Cutlass with nice wins over Tom Martino and Jim Yates in Rounds 1 and 2. He then survived a wild semifinal race against defending champ Kurt Johnson when both men swerved around wildly during their runs. Coughlin is now six for seven in finals rounds this year. Pro Stock results