John Force and teammate Robert Hight will honor the legacy of the King of Rock 'n' Roll during the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, June 15-17. In conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. and Lionel NASCAR Collectables, John Force Racing will again feature Elvis on its Ford Mustang Funny Cars. Each driver will be competing in a specially designed Elvis 35th anniversary Ford Mustang Funny Car for this onetime special weekend. A number of fan promotions surrounding this event are also in the works.

“I love Elvis, and I am honored to be racing with him on the hood of my hound dog in Bristol. I always say I saw Elvis at 1,000 feet in Memphis, and I really believe that. Elvis was such an amazing performer and an icon. I remember listening to his music growing up and heading to the racetrack. I still make sure my girls all know his songs,” said Force, one of the most recent inductees into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. 

Lionel NASCAR Collectables will offer 1/24- and 1/64-scale diecast cars of both Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage/Elvis 35th Ford Mustang Funny Car and Hight’s Auto Club/Elvis 35th Ford Mustang Funny Car. Each diecast is available for preorder at NHRAdiecast.com, home of the officially licensed diecast of the NHRA.

This will be the first time that Hight has driven an Elvis-themed Funny Car. The importance of representing a legendary figure is not lost on the 2009 NHRA Funny Car champion and current Full Throttle points leader.

“Elvis has fans all over the world, and to be associated with a person of that stature is amazing. Music has always been an important part of my life, and when you think of rock 'n' roll, the first name that pops into your head is Elvis. I won at Bristol last year, and it would be amazing to get my Auto Club/Elvis 35th Ford Mustang back into the winner’s circle this year,” said Hight.

Quite simply, Pro Stock driver Shane Gray would like a repeat of last season’s event at Heartland Park Topeka. The eldest son of Funny Car driver Johnny Gray – brother Jonathan races in Comp – scored the second victory of his career in his Service Central-backed Pontiac there last year but hasn’t seen the inside of the winner’s circle since. The Gray Motorsports team has been tireless and persistent, though, and is aiming at seeing its efforts come to fruition at the upcoming Dollar General NHRA Summernationals.

True to his humble character, former NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Comp pilot Gray was modest regarding last season’s accomplishment and gave credit to his team.

“I think everybody just missed it last year, and we didn’t,” he said. “My guys did a great job out there, and it happened to be our day – but I don’t think we have more than anyone else unless you take into consideration how hard these guys all work. We probably put 100 runs on the car in testing before we won that race, and this year, we’ve tested just as much.”

At the 2011 event, Gray qualified in the top half for the first time that year with a 6.67 that was good for the No. 7 position. He got ahead of a tire-shaking Erica Enders in the first round of eliminations before taking on the power-packing Summit Racing cars of Jason Line and Greg Anderson, respectively, in the second round and semifinals.

In his meetings with the KB Racing cars, Line and Anderson each spun the tires while Gray got the power to the ground more effectively for the win light. In the second round versus Line, Gray improved on his qualifying best by a thousandth for a 6.674 to 6.690 victory, and his 6.710 in the semi's was quicker than Anderson by .08-second.

“There was a lot of excitement as we were going rounds, especially when we were able to beat Jason and Greg,” recalled Gray. “But when it came time for the final, I just said to myself, ‘It is what it is; let’s see what happens,’ and I treated it like it was another one of those test runs.”

It was a test that Gray and his Service Central Pontiac GXP passed. Final-round opponent Greg Stanfield was seven-thousandths quicker off the starting line and gave a good fight, but by half-track, Gray had the lead and followed through to win by .007.

This season has been a battle of another kind for Gray as the Gray Motorsports group has been digging to find more of those priceless ponies. In the factory hot rod category, where every bit of horsepower is critical to the game, the team has experienced bright spots of hope. But as it is for every other team, the hunt continues for more of what they need: power.

Entering this season’s event, Gray is in the same position in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series standings as he was at this point last year: 11th. The triumph at Heartland Park Topeka lifted the Denver, N.C.-based driver into the top 10, and he maintained a berth there for the remainder of the season, ultimately finishing in the top 10 for the second consecutive year in his second season driving in the category.

“That luck and momentum got us kicked off and going a little bit,” said Gray, a four-time finalist who won his first national event at the season-closing Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona in his rookie season. “We didn’t find the consistency that we wanted, but our confidence level really rose, and we went to Englishtown and qualified No. 2. We’ll be thinking about that as we head over there this year, and we’ll see what we can do in our Service Central Pontiac.”

Gray will be wheeling the team’s trusty GXP with an NTB scheme at the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals but plans to debut a brand-new Jerry Haas-built Chevy Camaro in the near future. Until they can click off a few more test laps in the Camaro, they are content to continue fine-tuning their program in the Pontiac and would like to send it to pasture on a high note.

“We were lucky there in Topeka last year,” said Gray. “I sure wouldn’t mind if a little of that luck fell our way again.”

For tickets for the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, call Heartland Park Topeka, 785-43-RACES (72237), or log on to HPT.com.

As one of the most accomplished students of the great history of NHRA Championship Drag Racing, Ron Capps gets goose bumps just thinking about returning to Kansas to compete in a professional drag race.

Due to the flat landscape and its central proximity to the rest of the country, in 1955, Kansas served as the official host for NHRA’s first “national event,” on an airstrip near the town of Great Bend. It was simply called The Nationals, and with that event, hot rodding enthusiasts across the U.S. could test their machines against the best of the best.

That race evolved into what is today the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, but Kansas has solidified its place in NHRA Drag Racing history. Heartland Park Topeka has hosted NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events since 1989 and in some seasons hosted two per year. Today, the track is regarded as one of the fastest on the circuit, and every year, drivers get to return and pay homage to the sport’s roots.

“What is so special to me is just going to Kansas to race where it really all started,” Capps said. “I’m a West Coast guy, but the first NHRA national event 57 years ago was held here in Kansas at Great Bend. Now, Heartland Park Topeka is a long way from what it was like at Great Bend, but the spirit of competition is still there.”

Capps’ competitive spirit is at an all-time high as the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger driver is riding a wave of momentum from his first victory of the season two weeks ago at Atlanta Dragway. After Capps failed to qualify for the Las Vegas event in April, team owner Don Schumacher made a change to Capps’ team, reassigning veteran crew chief Rahn Tobler to the job. Since then, the team has produced great results and has advanced to three consecutive final rounds, ultimately winning in Atlanta.

Capps is ready to keep his hot streak going at the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, May 18-20 at Heartland Park Topeka. Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), and Shane Gray (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event that will be televised on ESPN2HD.

“This is such a great team, and right from the get-go in Charlotte, the first run reminded me how fun it can be to race again,” Capps said. “When Don [Schumacher, team owner] made the move and put me with Rahn [Tobler] and John Collins, I’m telling you, it was just unbelievable. It is so much fun to get in the car and know it’s going to be a hot rod.”

With the win, Capps moved into a tie for second place in the points standings with Mike Neff, who failed to qualify for the race in Atlanta after winning in Houston. The series leader, Hight, has won the last two events at HPT and will be trying for a three-peat in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. Earlier this season, Hight won four consecutive races to open up a big lead on the rest of the top 10 drivers in the category.

Though Hight has dominated at the Kansas track in recent years, Capps has had quite a bit of success himself at Heartland Park: He claimed wins there in 1998, 2006, and 2009 and posted a runner-up finish to John Force in 2000.

“We won for the first time there in 1998, beating Al Hofmann, but it wasn’t until eight years later when we won again,” Capps said. “We have been able to celebrate there three times, so I like the track.”

Other Funny Car drivers who have had success at Heartland Park include Force, who has won there nine times, and two-time world champ Cruz Pedregon, a four-time winner at HPT. The only other active driver in the 7,000-horsepower category who has won there is Tony Pedregon, a three-time winner. Others to watch include defending world champ Matt Hagan, who is trying to get into the top 10 in the standings after a slow start to the season, Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray, Bob Tasca III, and high-profile rookies Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria.

In Top Fuel, most of the story centers around seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher, who is in a 30-race winless drought that dates back to October 2010. He hasn’t won in 11 straight final-round appearances, including four this season, but all is not lost as he comes into the event as the series points leader in his famed U.S. Army dragster. Schumacher’s lone win at HPT came in 2010. The Top Fuel drivers who have been winning all of the races this season include three-time winner Spencer Massey and two-time winner Morgan Lucas. Antron Brown and Steve Torrence have also visited the winner’s circle. Several past HPT winners in the field would like to make a repeat performance, including two-time winner Brandon Bernstein, David Grubnic, Doug Kalitta, and Hillary Will.

Greg Anderson has been leading the way in Pro Stock with three victories and holds the series lead over teammate Jason Line, the defending world champ, who is also a winner this year. Team Mopar’s Allen Johnson, Mike Edwards, Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders, and Larry Morgan are among the top contenders in the 200-mph category.  

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Friday, May 18, and noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, call Heartland Park Topeka, 785-43-RACES (72237), or log on to HPT.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 19. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 20.

To kick off the 24th annual Dollar General NHRA Summernationals at Heartland Park Topeka, May 18-20, Dollar General-sponsored Top Fuel competitor J.R. Todd and team owner Bob Vandergriff Jr. will be at a local Dollar General location for an autograph signing Wednesday, May 16.

Both drivers will be available for interviews to preview the race weekend. Dollar General edition hero cards will be available to fans, and country station 102.9 KTOP will be broadcasting live from the event. The autograph session will run from 5 to 7 p.m. The branch is at 3410 SE 29th St., Topeka, KS 66605.

Todd is entering his third race of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season and is bringing additional exposure to the event sponsor for the eighth race on tour.

“Going into Topeka, I am definitely more comfortable in the car than I was going into our first race in Houston. Kurt Elliott [crew chief] and the guys are doing a good job getting the car down the track every run, which builds my confidence and Kurt's as well,” said the accomplished driver, who has six wins and eight final-round appearances. “This race is extra special for us as it's the Dollar General event, and we'll be running the Dollar General car. Since this is their first time being involved with NHRA, we want to go out there and represent them the best that we can and put on a good show,” he added.

“It's always great to interact with the fans at these events, and hopefully we can attract some new fans at the Dollar General display and help grow our fan base within the NHRA,” Todd said.

Todd’s team is operated by Bob Vandergriff Racing; both cars are housed in its new race shop in Brownsburg, Ind.

“I am very thankful for Bob Vandergriff giving me this opportunity to drive his second team car. Bob is one of if not the best at putting deals together, and I'm hoping we can turn this into a long-term partnership. Given the way this team has performed in the past, I know that we are plenty capable of qualifying well and going rounds on race day,” Todd said.

For tickets, call Heartland Park Topeka, 800-43-RACES (72237), or log on to HPT.com.

The last time that Tony Schumacher had a winless streak going like this one was in 1999. However, at that time, he had yet to win a race. The Chicago racer advanced to eight consecutive final rounds before he finally claimed that elusive first victory. He raced to that inaugural win at Texas Motorplex in Dallas and carried that momentum to win his first world championship title later that season.

Schumacher finds himself in a similar pattern now behind the wheel of his famed U.S. Army dragster. His last victory came in October 2010 in Las Vegas. He has since gone to 11 straight final rounds and come up empty in all of them. His most recent runner-up finish was at Atlanta Dragway on May 6, when as the event’s No. 1 qualifier, he fell to first-time winner Steve Torrence.

As “the Sarge” heads to Heartland Park Topeka for the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, May 18-20, he hopes that he can finally turn the corner and put an end to this pesky winless streak. A winner at the ultrafast Kansas multipurpose motorsports facility in 2010, Schumacher is more than ready to add another Wally to his category-leading total of 67. This season, he has posted runner-up finishes in Phoenix, Gainesville, and Charlotte in addition to his Atlanta showing. In 2011, he was a runner-up seven times.

“We will stay at it; you can count on that,” Schumacher said. “There’s a lot of racing left, and we’re not going to settle for being runner-up all of the time. We will bring home some trophies this year.”

Just as in 1999, Schumacher is leading the points standings despite not having earned a victory. Another similarity to 1999 is the intense competition in Top Fuel. Back then, he was battling with an all-star cast that included Gary Scelzi, Joe Amato, Mike Dunn, Kenny Bernstein, and Larry Dixon, among others. Today is equally as tough, as there are so many drivers who can step up and win races at any time, such as Spencer Massey, Antron Brown, Morgan Lucas, Torrence, Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon, Brandon Bernstein, Clay Millican, and Bob Vandergriff Jr.

“It’s always a good thing to be leading the points,” said Schumacher, who is 25 points in front of Massey. “But let’s face it; you don’t have any easy rounds out here. This isn’t an easy sport. You can win a race one weekend and not qualify the next. These guys are tough. Every car out here is capable of winning. If somebody beats us, it is because they had a great car. We’ve been getting beat by some great performances lately.”

For a driver who has become so accustomed to winning races during his amazing career, Schumacher says the winless streak, now at 30 races and counting, doesn’t really bother him.

“I don’t think about it,” Schumacher said. “No more than I thought about winning 15 races in one season. As a driver, you just put your nose to the grindstone and do your job. It’s probably more difficult trying to win your seventh race in a row because you think about all the little things that can go wrong. Right now, I know we’re going to win one of these things because we have a great car and a great team. We’ve just had some terrible luck. It always turns. We’ll just keep the guys motivated. We can start a winning streak soon.”

The defending winners at the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals are Massey in Top Fuel, Robert Hight in Funny Car, and Shane Gray in Pro Stock. The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event will be televised on ESPN2HD.

“We’re going to keep fighting,” Schumacher said. “This is not over by a long shot. I have full confidence that wins are right around the corner for the U.S. Army team.”

In Funny Car, Hight will be going for a three-peat; the driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang has won that race the past two seasons. Earlier this season, Hight reeled off four consecutive victories and leads the standings by a commanding 203 points. If he’s going to turn the Topeka hat trick, he’ll need to hold off a strong contingent of rivals, including three-time Topeka winner Ron  Capps, who won in Atlanta and has advanced to the last three final rounds since joining forces with new crew chief Rahn Tobler following the Las Vegas event. During that stretch, Capps has moved into a tie for second place in the standings with Mike Neff. John Force is a nine-time winner in Topeka, and Cruz Pedregon has won there four times. Others to watch in Funny Car include Johnny Gray, Jack Beckman, Bob Tasca III, Jeff Arend, Courtney Force, and Alexis DeJoria.

Pro Stock points leader Greg Anderson has raced to three victories this season and holds a sizable lead over defending world champ Jason Line. Anderson is a four-time winner in Topeka and will be challenged by Team Mopar’s Allen Johnson, two-time Topeka winner Mike Edwards, Vincent Nobile, Erica Enders, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Larry Morgan.

Many of the biggest names in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will put the fans on the edge of their seats and bring plenty of on-track excitement. As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Friday, May 18, and will continue at noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

* TICKETS: For tickets, call Heartland Park Topeka, 800-43-RACES (72237), or log on to HPT.com.

* TELEVISION: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 19. On Sunday, May 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET.

Carroll Shelby, a longtime friend of the NHRA and an innovative car builder who gave the world the famous Cobra sports car and loaned his name to a series of special-edition Mustangs, died May 11 in Dallas. He was 89.

“The automotive industry has lost a pioneer and the motorsports world a legend with the passing of Carroll Shelby,” said NHRA President Tom Compton. “He and our founder Wally Parks were very good friends, and Carroll frequently attended events at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by the Automobile Club of Southern California. On behalf of everyone at NHRA, our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”

Shelby’s influence stretched from Detroit, where automakers soon learned that the kind of horsepower Shelby stuffed into that first AC Cobra would command legions of fans, to France, where his entries famously finished 1-2 in the 1966 24 Hours of LeMans, and even to the dragstrip thanks to his long friendship with NHRA legend Don "the Snake" Prudhomme.

Shelby, left, with Don Prudhomme

In 1967, Shelby sponsored Lou Baney’s Prudhomme-driven 427 Ford Cammer dragster, which was called Shelby's Super Snake.

Shelby, who had a keen eye for talent, became aware of the Southern California hotshoe after his numerous early successes in Top Fuel. The partnership paid off for both, and the Super Snake was the first car to break the six-second mark. The partnership ended in 1969 when Ford pulled out of racing, but the two remained friends for decades and even reunited in 2009 for a special-edition Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang street car that bore the famous names of both.

“I took a real liking to him and I think him to me,” said Prudhomme. “I always felt that. I always felt he was proud of me as his drag racer because I came up the same way he did, scraping and scratching for everything. He was a real hot rodder and respected the drag racing guys.

“Even after he got out of racing, we always stayed in touch and called to just BS. He was a great guy and a really good friend.”

Racetrack owner Bruton Smith was another longtime Shelby friend. “Carroll was one of the best friends I ever had,” he said. "He was known all over the world as an icon in the automotive industry and one of the greatest names in the history of motorsports. He was a great Texan and a great innovator with a style of his own. I’ll never forget how he would climb out of that sports car with bib overalls and a cowboy hat. Ford will do all but close the company because of his passing. I admired him a great deal and will miss him greatly as a friend and a business partner.”

Do you have the NHRA Nitro Gene? If you give the time to the hundredth of a second, call a freeway exit ramp your “shutdown area,” refer to your garage as your “pit,” and thoroughly enjoy the smell of burnt rubber, chances are you do.

NHRA announced today the launch of the Show Off Your NHRA Nitro Gene video contest and sweepstakes to celebrate NHRA’s season-long tribute to the generations of families, both on the track and in the stands, who have made NHRA the world’s largest motorsports sanctioning body. The contest is a way for fans to show their Nitro Gene to the world.

Beginning May 11, fans can enter both the Show Off Your NHRA Nitro Gene video contest and sweepstakes by visiting NHRA’s Facebook page.

Fans are encouraged to shoot a short video, no longer than 60 seconds, to show why they have the NHRA Nitro Gene, then post it to NHRA’s Facebook page via the Show Off Your NHRA Nitro Gene video contest app. Fans will have the chance to share their videos with their friends and vote for their favorites throughout the contest.

“The Nitro Generation is what the NHRA is all about,” said Pro Stock driver Erica Enders. “I definitely have the Nitro Gene and couldn’t think of a better way for our fans to show off theirs than by putting together awesome videos. I can’t wait to see them all and especially the winning video on ESPN2.”

In true NHRA Drag Racing fashion, the top 16 entries will be identified based exclusively on a fan vote and advance to the second round. The first round of fan voting ends on July 23, 2012. The second round of fan voting will narrow down the top eight at the conclusion of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd Int’l Raceway on Aug. 19, 2012.

A panel of NHRA and ESPN2 judges will evaluate the top eight finalists and pick the winning entry, which will be shown on ESPN2 during the telecast of the 58th running of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. The winning fan will also win two tickets to four 2013 NHRA events of their choice.

Fans entering the sweepstakes have a chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2013 NHRA event of their choice or an official NHRA T-shirt.

For the official rules of the Show Off Your NHRA Nitro Gene video contest, click here, and for the official rules of the Show Off Your NHRA Nitro Gene sweepstakes, click here.
 

Opportunity didn’t just come to Shawn Langdon – he worked hard for it, with his accomplishments on the racetrack speaking volumes of his capabilities. When Al-Anabi Racing tapped Langdon to drive the silver car for its Alan Johnson-managed, Sheikh Khalid Al Thani-owned team in 2012, it chose a diverse and established racer with three Lucas Oil Series championships, experience in six categories – seven if his early beginning in the Jr. Dragster ranks is taken into account – and five final rounds in his first three years of driving at the Professional level.
 
The 29-year-old, known for his exceptional starting-line abilities in every class that he has raced, brings a lot to the table in terms of skill, particularly after the experience gained driving the second Top Fuel car for Morgan Lucas Racing in the past three seasons. It seems a recipe for success to mesh those innate abilities with those of Johnson – arguably one of the most innovative and successful crew chiefs in NHRA Top Fuel history, who has 14 national championships and became team manager at Al-Anabi Racing in 2009 – and crew chief Brian Husen, who spent eight successful seasons with Johnson at Don Schumacher Racing assisting on the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster driven by Tony Schumacher.
 
“It’s a great opportunity just to be part of this team that has had so much success in the past,” said Langdon. “Getting a phone call from Alan Johnson and Sheikh Khalid was an opportunity that I really couldn’t pass up. Alan Johnson’s past success with Gary Scelzi, Blaine Johnson, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, and Del Worsham – they’re really just legends of the sport, and it’s pretty nice to think about what could potentially happen.”
 
Al-Anabi Racing has won the Top Fuel title for the last two consecutive seasons – Dixon won in 2010 and Worsham in 2011 – and so a lot of focus is on the silver and gold team cars driven by Langdon and Top Fuel newcomer Khalid alBalooshi. 

Shawn Langdon, right, and teammate Khalid alBalooshi are both still looking for their first wins this season for the Al-Anabi team.

alBalooshi has regularly qualified in the top half of the field, and Langdon has qualified in the quick eight at all but one of the first seven events of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season. He qualified No. 1 in Phoenix and went to the semifinals at back-to-back events, in Phoenix at the NHRA Arizona Nationals and in Gainesville at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com.
 
“Everything has been really good; we just haven’t had the success that we had hoped for to start off,” admitted Langdon. “It’s been a little tough here in the beginning, but once everything starts clicking, our chances are going to be pretty good. We know what this team is capable of, and we know what our goal is: We want to win the championship.”
 
This season is a different animal for Langdon, a previous multiclass hot-lapper who has put Sportsman racing at NHRA national events on hold to concentrate fully on the Top Fuel team – although he will still bracket race on off-weekends. The overall nature of the team is also a departure from his early roots, the past three years when he drove Top Fuel with good friend Morgan Lucas, and the days of racing Super Comp with Jack Brand.
 
“This is a big change for me because I grew up racing with my dad,” said Langdon. “We had enough money to go to the racetrack, but for a few years, we didn’t even have a trailer, and we made our sandwiches every night. When I raced with Jack Brand and then the Lucas family, it was always a family deal – but this team is like a business, and I represent the country of Qatar for Sheikh Khalid and everyone. There is a lot of pressure to do well, but Alan is so easy to work with, and he has made it an easy transition. He understands a lot of things that I think a lot of other people don’t from the driver’s perspective, and working with Brian Husen has been great. We all get along so well. They remind me that the little mistakes I’ve made are all part of learning and coming over to a new team. When I sit down with Alan and Brian or talk to Sheikh Khalid, everyone tells me that we may hit some bumps along the way, but to just keep doing what I’m doing, and everything will come together.”

The next event on the Full Throttle Series tour is the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals at Heartland Park Topeka, and with seven races gone by and Langdon tied for sixth in the Top Fuel standings, the Al-Anabi Racing team will be looking for valuable points to keep its driver well in the mix.
 
“I’ve never really had great success in Topeka; it has always been one of those tracks that has gotten the best of me, but I’m looking forward to going there because Alan, Brian, and this whole team have always done well there,” said Langdon. “I’ll follow their lead, keep the car straight, cut a good light, and hopefully success will come.
 
“I’m very competitive, so I always want to do well – not only for myself, but also for this team so that I can show them why they hired me. Every day when I come to work, I have the confidence of knowing that we could have the best race car out here based on what these guys have done in the past. We have the potential to go out at every racetrack and set low e.t., qualify No. 1, and win. Alan has always been one step ahead of everybody else, and when Alan says we’ll be fine, I take his word for it.”
 
 

Autograph seekers rejoice! Bristol Dragway is taking some of the legwork out of chasing a few of NHRA’s biggest signatures.

While NHRA competitors are the most accessible athletes in sports, a limited number of pre-autographed tickets are available for fans who purchase in advance for the June 15-17 Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers. 

John and Courtney Force, Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Spencer Massey, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray, Greg Anderson, Jason Line, and Alexis DeJoria have signed tickets to be given to fans who purchase in advance for the event.

On Wednesday, May 16, the autographed tickets will become available to fans ready to experience the jaw-dropping excitement of the NHRA in Thunder Valley. Fans must call Bristol Dragway to choose the ticket they want included with their purchase. Due to limited quantities, each ticket account will receive one autographed ticket while supplies last.

John Force, arguably the biggest name in NHRA racing, is a 15-time Funny Car champion and owner of John Force Racing. His daughter Courtney is one of NHRA’s youngest stars, competing in her first full season on the circuit. Though she only has been in the premier series for a few months, she already has become a fan favorite.

Tony “the Sarge” Schumacher has a Top Fuel career that would make any driver jealous, and his Don Schumacher Racing teammates Brown and Massey are amassing impressive resumes as well. Capps is the most recent Funny Car winner on the NHRA circuit, and Hagan is the defending Funny Car champion.

DeJoria, also in the midst of her debut season of nitro Funny Car competition, is a veteran Top Alcohol Funny Car racer and event winner. She also has developed a vast fan following in a short period of time.

Teammates Anderson and Line won the 2010 and 2011 NHRA Pro Stock championships, respectively, and have combined to win six NHRA Pro Stock championships since 2003. Easily two of Pro Stock’s most decorated racers, Anderson and Line are battling each other atop the 2012 points standings.

To buy one of the autographed tickets, fans are encouraged to call the Bristol Dragway ticket office, 423 BRISTOL (423-274-7865) or 866-415-4158, early on May 16. The ticket office will open at 9 a.m. 

Every ticket is a pit pass, giving fans amazing access to the teams as they thrash to prepare their cars for the next round of competition. Fans also can meet the fearless men and women who pilot these extreme machines and feel the unique experience that is the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers. Three-day combo and single-day event tickets are available.

Prime camping spaces still are available for the event in the Medallion Camping area overlooking the pit area in Thunder Valley. Each paved site is 20 feet by 50 feet and includes electric, water, and sewer hookups. The cost is $350 for the event (Thursday-Monday).

Gates open at 9 a.m. on Friday, June 15, with the first round of Pro qualifying slated for 5 p.m. The Pro cars will return at 7:30 p.m. for the exciting night qualifying round. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 16, with Pro qualifying set for noon and 2:30 p.m. Sunday’s action kicks off when gates open at 8:30 a.m., and final eliminations begin at noon.  
 

NHRA Now is a weekly Web series that gives fans an inside look at the lives of the drivers and teams of the NHRA and keeps everyone up to date on the latest happenings on and off the track, all season long. NHRA Now also is shared on NHRA's Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages each week.

In this week’s edition of NHRA Now, host Alex Baca recaps the racing action in Atlanta, including Steve Torrence’s first Top Fuel win, Ron Capps earning his first win of the season, and Drew Skillman’s double in Sportsman competition. She also gives us an update on the Snake & Mongoose movie and checks in with a couple of  drivers to see what they have planned for Mother’s Day.

Thunder Road Raceway Park in Gilliam, La., and Showtime Dragstrip in Clearwater, Fla., are the newest additions to the NHRA Member Track network. Thunder Road will be a part of the NHRA South Central Division and Showtime a part of the NHRA Southeast Division.

“It is a pleasure to have these two facilities come onboard as part of the NHRA Member Track network,” said Josh Peterson, NHRA vice president-racing administration. “Tim Pafford is a true supporter of NHRA Drag Racing, and we look forward to working with Robert Yoho and his staff at Showtime Dragway [formerly Sunshine Dragstrip]. We have a large number of racers in both of these areas and are thankful to these tracks for continuing to offer NHRA Drag Racing to them.”

As NHRA-sanctioned tracks, the two facilities will be eligible to offer racers a variety of NHRA racing opportunities, including the NHRA Summit Racing Series, the Jr. Drag Racing League, and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA program. Additionally, the tracks have the opportunity to host NHRA’s specialty events, including the National DRAGSTER Challenge, NHRA Summit King of the Track, and NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League Challenge.

“I’ve raced with NHRA all my life and have managed an NHRA track for 19 years [U.S. 19 Dragway]. We’re so excited to be a part of NHRA,” said Thunder Road Raceway Park General Manager Pafford. “There is so much potential for this facility, and we believe in selling fun.” Thunder Road Raceway Park is in the northwest corner of Louisiana and close to the Texas and Arkansas borders.

“We’re looking to make some changes to the facility and to bring families back out to the track and motorsports back to the community,” said Yoho, of Showtime Dragstrip. "I’ve been involved in motorsports and around this facility since the ‘70s and can’t wait to get things moving and get cars back out on the track.” Showtime Dragstrip is near the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., metropolitan area.

Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown will deliver a tire-smoking Memorial Day salute on behalf of Don Schumacher Racing and its sponsors May 27 as part of the exciting show before the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It’s believed to be the first time at a NASCAR race that a pair of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters will light up their giant rear slicks with power equivalent to 16 Cup stock cars.

“Tony and Antron, along with their crews, wanted to spend Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte to help show appreciation for those who have served our country and salute what their sacrifices mean to all Americans,” said Don Schumacher, who owns the seven-car DSR operation in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Schumacher, the seven-time Top Fuel world champion, echoed his father’s thoughts.

“I look forward to putting on a good show for the NASCAR fans in Charlotte,” he said. “More importantly, given the weekend’s significance, I welcome the opportunity to join so many folks in remembering and honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

“Needless to say, I will also be supporting my U.S. Army NASCAR teammate Ryan Newman and really hope he can win the race – it would be a great gift to all of our Army Strong soldiers.”

Brown, who also represents the U.S. Army, is equally honored by the opportunity.

“It’s giving back. Tony is my U.S. Army teammate, and we’re going out to give a little something back for what all of our soldiers have done for us and give them a little extra show.

“NHRA Drag Racing is a true, true American-born and -grown sport. We’re going to use our dragsters to give a special salute to our veterans and all the men and women in the armed forces.”
 

After four consecutive wins in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season and maintaining the series lead, Funny Car driver Robert Hight hopes to continue his success at Heartland Park Topeka at the 24th annual Dollar General NHRA Summernationals, May 18-20.

Last season, Hight faced fellow John Force Racing teammate Mike Neff in the final round of the event and captured the 200th win for John Force Racing.

“Last year was a huge win for me and John Force Racing,” Hight said. “Neff and I were in the final, and we were racing for JFR’s 200th Funny Car win. I got the win light and was able to repeat at Topeka. That was a win I will never forget since I started as a crewmember on John’s Castrol team, and then to get the 200th Funny Car win for the organization was a big deal.”

Not only is Hight the defending event winner, but he also has won the event the past two seasons and hopes to continue that success in 2012 with a third straight victory at Heartland Park.

“I am looking for a three-peat this year with my Auto Club Ford Mustang,” Hight said. “When you have streaks, you’re going to want to keep that momentum. We started the season with six wins in a row for JFR, and I won four in a row before Neff got the win in Houston. Our Auto Club Ford Mustang has run really well in Topeka, and we are getting excited about getting on the track there.”

Hight leads the Funny Car points battle. Ron Capps in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing is tied for second place with Neff, followed by Capps' DSR teammate Jack Beckman in fourth; Cruz Pedregon, Johnny Gray, John Force, Bob Tasca III, Courtney Force, and Jeff Arend round out the top 10.

Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey, who has won three races this season, is also hoping to defend his 2011 win in Topeka this season. Fellow DSR teammate Antron Brown, GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster driver Morgan Lucas, and seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher are among those to watch. Atlanta winner Steve Torrence, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, Bob Vandergriff Jr., David Grubnic, and Clay Millican hold down the remaining spots in the top 10.

In Pro Stock, the Summit Racing duo of Greg Anderson and Jason Line, who have won four events this season between them, are one and two in the points, respectively. Sophomore sensation Vincent Nobile is third, followed by Mike Edwards, and Allen Johnson.

Many of the biggest names in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will put the fans on the edge of their seats and bring plenty of on-track excitement. As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most incredible and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 4:30 and 7 p.m. on Friday, May 18, and will continue at noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Final Professional eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

* TICKETS: For tickets, call Heartland Park Topeka, 800-43-RACES (72237), or log on to www.hpt.com.

* TELEVISION: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 19. On Sunday, May 20, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET.

Ron Capps

Steve Torrence

Greg Anderson

Eddie Krawiec

Related stories:
Friday: Schumacher, Hight, Line, Arana lead Friday Atlanta fields
Saturday: Friday's leaders remain atop fields in 'Hot-lanta'
 

After collecting career round-win No. 600 last weekend in Houston, the big question remains for Tony Schumacher: When are you going to win again? His second-round exit in Houston pushed his string of winless events to 29, yet he has qualified No. 1 at this event for the first time in his career at the only race on the schedule that he has never won. Also, the week before the race, Schumacher also potted his first hole-in-one on the golf course. Omen?

In what continues to be the not-so-funniest season in Funny Car, Atlanta was Mike Neff’s turn in the DNQ barrel when the John Force Racing/Castrol driver failed to make the cut. On his final attempt, Neff appeared to be on a run good enough to qualify when the blower backfired before the finish line.

"We [were] running good enough to qualify, and then this cap for the spool where the barrel valve slides in, the snap ring or something, basically it unplugged the barrel valve while the fuel was in it, so it lost all the fuel and ran lean and popped the blower. It was running alright, it wasn’t going to be anything earth-shattering. It was going to qualify,” said Neff.

Neff has some good company this year because five of last year’s top-six finishers, including the top three (Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman, and Cruz Pedregon), have missed a field this year. Low qualifier Robert Hight, who finished fourth last year, is the lone exception in the top six that also includes Neff and Ron Capps. The final top 10 racer with a DNQ this season is Tim Wilkerson, who finished 10th last season.

Neff’s streak dated back to the 2008 Dallas race in his rookie season, spanning 56 events (he sat out 2010 to tune Force to his 15th championship, and it’s his first DNQ since returning from that hiatus). Team boss John Force has the longest current qualifying streak in Funny Car at 81 races, four more than Bob Tasca III. Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson has the longest active streak at 216 races.

The carnage raises memories of 2008 because when by season’s end eight of the previous year’s top 10 — Hight, Gary Scelzi, Beckman, Mike Ashley, Force, Jim Head, Del Worsham, and Ashley Force Hood — had missed at least one show, including Hight. Only reigning champ Tony Pedregon and fourth-place Capps had no DNQ demerits on their scorecard.

Despite two wins already this season, Morgan Lucas continues to have a Jekyll-and-Hyde car in qualifying. After qualifying No. 1 three times in the season’s first four races, he ranked only 14th at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, then returned to the No. 1 spot last weekend in Houston only to plummet to No. 13 this week. "We've had a lot of weird things happen in qualifying this weekend," Lucas said. "We're still ironing out some kinks, but we're not worried. The run in Q3 was looking really strong until it dropped a valve. That might've changed the whole outlook of qualifying because it probably would've put us in the top half of the field."

After going through the season’s first-five events without facing one another even in qualifying, high-profile rookie Funny Car racers Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria have paired off three times in the last two events. Force defeated DeJoria in round one in Houston, and they paired off twice in qualifying on Saturday. DeJoria went 4.16 to Force’s 4.17 in the first go-round (though Force may boast she reached the finish line first), and DeJoria, who has an excellent and consistent car this weekend, ran 4.22 in the final session after Force’s car broke traction.

Dan Wilkerson remained perfect in his young career after qualifying for the Funny Car field for event sponsor Summit Racing Equipment in his seventh start. His first-round opponent will be Capps, against whom young Wilk was racing in Memphis, Tenn., in 2009 when the rear wheels sheared off and caused him to crash. "As soon as I heard that we race Capps, I thought about Memphis,” he confessed. “This time, the plan is to get out ahead of him again but this time try not to crash. As long as the wheels stay on, I think we'll be OK in that department, but we're going to have our hands full with a very fast car and a very good driver. I bet my dad tells me we're just going to race the track and not worry about the other guy. He always says that."

Race-day Sunday started with a Track Walk with past event champs that allowed fans to make a "pass" down Atlanta Dragway to get up close and personal with "Georgia's House of Speed."

	(Above) The Automobile Club Funny Car team of low qualifier Robert Hight methodically went about its pre-race preparations in anticipation of today's first round, scheduled for 11 a.m. (Left) Steve Torrence, left, and crew chief Richard Hogan are quietly confident after qualifying their Capco Contractors dragster No. 2 in Top Fuel for the second straight event.

As always, NHRA's star drivers, like Top Fuel ace Spencer Massey, are meeting and greeting fans.

[11 a.m.] Terry McMillen (above) won the day-opening first pairing in Top Fuel, scoring his second round-win of the season by defeating Khalid alBalooshi. McMillen dropped a cylinder early, and alBalooshi seemed well on his way to his first career Top Fuel round-win but smoked the tires downtrack. McMillen raced by for the win, taking it in a blaze of fire from the engine. McMillen's other round-win this season also came against alBalooshi, in Las Vegas. (Right) Brandon Bernstein ran 3.843 against Hillary Will to advance, which was second best of the round behind Spencer Massey's 3.823. Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Tony Schumacher vs. McMillen, Massey vs. Kalitta, Steve Torrence vs. Bob Vandergriff Jr., and Bernstein vs. Clay Millican.

[11:45 a.m.] Ron Capps (above), racing a special-edition NAPA Brakes Charger Funny Car at the national event closest to NAPA Auto Part's headquarters in Atlanta, advanced to round two over Daniel Wilkerson with a 4.148. Capps has been runner-up here three times but has not advanced out of the semi's since 2001. Courtney Force (below) collected the fifth round-win of her rookie career by beating Jack Beckman by just .006-second. She'll have lane choice over teammate/low qualifier Robert Hight in round two. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Cruz Pedregon vs. Jim Head, Capps vs. Matt Hagan, and Johnny Gray vs. Jeff Arend.

[12:15 p.m.] Erica Enders (above) beat Shane Gray on a holeshot in round one of Pro Stock, 6.618 to 6.617, but she'll give up second-round lane choice to Allen and Roy Johnson (below), who reset low e.t and top speed with a 6.594 at 209.98 mph. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Jason Line vs. Vincent Nobile, Mike Edwards vs. Ronnie Humphrey, and Greg Anderson vs. Steve Kent.

[12:45 p.m.] Eddie Krawiec (above) reset low e.t. in round one of Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 6.888 to defeat Michael Phillips. He'll take on Karen Stoffer in round two. Chip Ellis (right), whose weekend began with a broken motorcycle Friday, upset No. 3 qualifier Hector Arana Jr. to advance but will cede lane choice to Shawn Gann. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Hector Arana Sr. vs. Scotty Pollacheck and Andrew Hines vs. Michael Ray.

[1:20 p.m.] A first-time season winner was assured after round two of Top Fuel because none of the four semifinalists have scored this season, Doug Kalitta (above), who beat Don Schumacher racing teammates Antron Brown and Spencer Massey in rounds one and two, respectively, will face the third DSR car, the Army dragster of Tony Schumacher, who will have lane choice. Neither driver has won since the 2010 season. The other semifinal will feature Steve Torrence with lane choice against Brandon Bernstein.

	It's been a rough Sunday for Terry McMillen. He won his first-round race, but it cost him two holes in his engine block (left), and then he repeated his fiery feat (above) in his second-round loss to Tony Schumacher.

[1:30 p.m.] After upsetting Tim Wilkerson in round one, Jim Head (above) bested No. 4 qualifier Cruz Pedregon to advance to his first semifinal of 2012. He'll race Robert Hight in semi's, where Hight gets to pick his lane. The other semi will pit Jeff Arend (below, beating Johnny Gray in round two) against Ron Capps, who has lane choice.

[1:35 p.m.] Ronnie Humphrey, representing the event sponsor through its Genuine Hotrod Hardware line, has everyone talking after reaching the Pro Stock semifinals on back-to-back holeshots in the first two rounds. Humphrey beat Kurt Johnson, 6.64 to 6.63, in round one and Mike Edwards, 6.67 to 6.64, in the second round. He'll take on teammate Jason Line in the semifinals, where Line has lane choice The other semifinal match will pit Greg Anderson, in the third Summit car, against Allen Johnson, who has lane choice. All four of the top qualifiers have reached the semifinals.

[2 p.m.] Attack of the shiny suits. (Above) Shawn Gann, near lane, defeated Chip Ellis, and (below) Michael Ray, near lane, upset Andrew Hines allowing both brightly attired riders to make the semi's, though neither will have lane choice. Ray will run Hector Arana Sr., who reset low e.t. with a 6.863, and Gann will tackle Eddie Krawiec.

[2:35 p.m.] After beating a tire-smoking Doug Kalitta in the semifinals, Tony Schumacher is one round away from winning at the only venue on the tour at which he has never won. Schumacher also is winless in his last 29 starts, dating back to the penultimate race of 2010. The only guy standing in his way is Steve Torrence (below), who will be appearing in his first career Top Fuel final and will have lane choice after beating Brandon Bernstein.

[2:35 p.m.] Ron Capps (right) made it to his third straight final round and is looking for his first win of the season after defeating Jeff Arend in the Funny Car semifinals. Capps' opponent will be Robert Hight (above), whose four-race winning streak Capps stopped last weekend in Houston. Capps will have final-round lane choice over Hight based on his 4.164 vs. Hight's 4.194 victory against Jim Head.

	[2:50 p.m.] As it was last year, Summit Racing Equipment teammates Greg Anderson (above) and Jason Line (left) will square off for the Pro Stock title at their sponsor's event. Line, the defending event champ, will have lane choice after his 6.634 victory against Ronnie Humphrey; Anderson ran 6.670 against Allen Johnson.

[3 p.m.] The Pro Stock Motorcycle final will pit reigning season champ Eddie Krawiec (above left) against first-time finalist Michael Ray (above right); Krawiec will have lane choice after a 6.953 in the semi's to Ray's 7.060.

Eddie Krawiec, far lane, defeated Michael Ray to win his 13th Pro Stock Motorcycle Wally, 6.90 to 7.03.

Greg Anderson, near lane, reversed the outcome of last year's Pro Stock final, beating Summit teammate Jason Line on a holeshot, 6.64 to 6.61, to claim his 73rd career win.

Ron Capps, far lane, ended John Force Racing's six-race 2012 dominance of the Funny Car class, defeating Robert Hight in the final round, 4.16 to 4.34.

Steve Torrence, far lane, a former world champ in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, scored his first career win in Top Fuel and kept Tony Schumacher winless at Atlanta Dragway, beating him in the final with a 3.89.

The event's Full Throttle winners, from left, Ron Capps, Steve Torrence, Eddie Krawiec, and Greg Anderson.

Robert Hight

Tony Schumacher

Jason Line

Hector Arana Sr.

Related story: 
Friday: Schumacher, Hight, Line, Arana lead Friday Atlanta fields
 

Grime Boss hand-cleaning wipes, an active partner in IndyCar and NASCAR Nationwide teams the past year, will now get to experience 300-plus-mph runs on the dragstrip with Jim Dunn Racing’s Funny Car team. Grime Boss hand-cleaning wipes has become a major sponsor of Jim Dunn Racing, signing a multiple-year agreement with the team that begins at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals this weekend.

Grime Boss will have the primary-sponsor paint scheme on the Funny Car at the Chicago, Seattle, Brainerd, and Indianapolis NHRA national events. Jon Dunn, business manager for Jim Dunn Racing, is not only excited about the new promotions that will surround the race team, but also use of the product.

“Our sport is a perfect fit for Grime Boss hand wipes,” said Dunn. “In the NHRA, like many other motorsports, our mechanics are constantly getting their hands dirty working on the engine, clutch, and other components from the time the race car is rolled out of the trailer through the end of each race day.”

Grime Boss hand wipes have become very popular due to their dual role of having a tough side that removes grease, grime, paint, and adhesives and a smooth side gentle enough for the face and other areas with no harsh chemicals. The wipes contain Vitamin E and aloe and have a clean citrus scent.

In addition to driving the Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car, Todd Lensko operates a Fountain Tire franchise in Edmonton, Alta., where he uses Grime Boss hand wipes as much as during race weekend.

“Our Fountain Tire center in Edmonton has technicians replacing tires, brakes, and suspension components all day. Those type of parts are full of road dust, grease, and other materials when they come off of a car or truck,” said Lesenko. "A package of Grime Boss wipes is perfect to have at each of our garage bays for the technicians to use, or take the portable package with them if they are on a service call.”

Grime Boss is familiar with motorsports and found the right fit in drag racing with Jim Dunn Racing to further its product awareness and create additional retail exposure. Jim Dunn Racing also has already connected Grime Boss to new retailer partners.

NHRA Now is a weekly Web series that gives fans an inside look at the lives of the drivers and teams of the NHRA and keeps everyone up to date on the latest happenings on and off the track, all season long. NHRA Now also is shared on NHRA's Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages each week.

On this week’s NHRA Now, host Alex Baca recaps the exciting race weekend in Houston with Morgan Lucas’ second win of the season in Top Fuel, John Force Racing’s dominance in Funny Car, Vincent Nobile defending his 2011 event Pro Stock title, and Andrew Hines using up some of his luck with a perfect light to score the Pro Stock Motorcycle win against Hector Arana Jr. She also looks forward to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta, where Dan Wilkerson will be making his 2012 debut in Funny Car, and reveals who fans think will be the first active female driver to win an NHRA event.

Fourteen world champions attended the event hosted by Full Throttle Energy Drink and The Coca-Cola Company two nights before the 32nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals roars to life at nearby Atlanta Dragway. 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series world champions Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock), and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were among the evening’s honorees, which also included executives from NHRA, The Coca-Cola Company, and broadcast partner ESPN as well as past champions, their guests, and team owners.
 
The other past world champions in attendance were Greg Anderson, Hector Arana Sr., Jeg Coughlin Jr., Larry Dixon, Mike Edwards, Robert Hight, Andrew Hines, Cruz Pedregon, Tony Pedregon, and Tony Schumacher.

 

As the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads south to Atlanta Dragway May 4-6 for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, the competition in Top Fuel is so tight that predicting the race winner is nearly impossible.

Morgan Lucas has finished in 10th place in the championship points battle the last two years, but this season, the outcome could be a lot different. The GEICO/Lucas Oil driver is coming off his second win and fourth No. 1 qualifying position of the season in Houston, which puts him in third place in the championship standings as the NHRA heads to Atlanta, site of his first victory in 2009.

“Houston might have been the best race we’ve ever had,” Lucas said. “Not only did we qualify No. 1, but we had low elapsed time of every round on race day. That’s never happened for us before and the reason we're encouraged as we look forward to Atlanta.”

Top Fuel points leader and defending event winner Antron Brown also hopes to continue the success he has had this season. The Matco Tools driver has earned one victory in five final-round appearances and has a little extra confidence from three wins in Atlanta. Needless to say, Brown likes his chances as the team heads south.

"I've always considered it to be an East Coast track, an older track where guys like my dad and uncle raced," Brown said. "It's a track we visited often from Pro Stock Bike days to now. You get that sense of the great old tracks. It puts me back in my element -- what I grew up around -- and I feel real comfortable there.”

Brown’s Don Schumacher Racing teammate Spencer Massey is in second place in the points thanks to three wins this season in his FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel dragster. As the circuit heads to one of Massey’s favorite tracks, he is out to prove that his second-place finish last season was no fluke.

"For whatever reason, Atlanta likes me, and I like Atlanta," Massey said. "Sometimes you shine at some tracks, and others you don't. It's the luck of the draw in a way. It has nothing to do with tune-up or whatever you might think; that's just how it works."

Massey’s DSR teammate Tony Schumacher may be experiencing the longest win drought of his career, currently at 29 races, but thanks to three final-round appearances this season, “the Sarge” is in fourth place in the points order. Atlanta Dragway is one of the few tracks where the U.S. Army pilot has yet to win, but the way that the Top Fuel competition has been, there is no reason his 68th victory couldn't also be his first in Atlanta.

Tony Schumacher

“I’m a positive-minded person and truly believe we will take home a bunch of race trophies this year,” Schumacher said. “And, of course, we want to take home the biggest trophy of them all at the end of the year.”

Steve Torrence is making an impact in Top Fuel with his Capco Contractors dragster in his first season as a driver and team owner. He sits in sixth place after back-to-back semifinal appearances and his first No. 1 qualifying position. Al-Anabi driver Shawn Langdon is still seeking his first win and sits in fifth place, but with Alan Johnson (team manager) power, that car could end up in the winner’s circle on any given Sunday.

Team Kalitta drivers David Grubnic and Doug Kalitta are also keeping things interesting in the 7,000-horsepower class, as are Bob Vandergriff Jr., Clay Millican, Brandon Bernstein, Terry McMillen, and Khalid alBalooshi. The top 10 is anyone’s game this season, and with 10 races remaining before the cutoff event for the Countdown to the Championship, the racing is expected to get even more exciting.

Funny Car has been dominated by John Force Racing, which has won all six races this season. Robert Hight leads the points, followed by Mike Neff in second, John Force in seventh, and Courtney Force in ninth. NAPA Auto Parts driver Ron Capps has rebounded well after a DNQ in Las Vegas and moved to third after back-to-back final-round appearances. His DSR teammate Jack Beckman is right behind him in fourth, Cruz Pedregon sits fifth, Bob Tasca III is eighth, and Jeff Arend is 10th.

In Pro Stock, Summit Racing teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line remain atop the points standings, and sophomore sensation Vincent Nobile moved to third after his win in Houston. Former Pro Stock world champ Mike Edwards is fourth, Nobile’s Dodge teammate Allen Johnson is fifth, and Erica Enders sits sixth.

The two-wheel class heads to Atlanta for its third appearance of the season, with the Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson duo of Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec leading the championship points standings. Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. is right behind them in third, followed by GEICO Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer. Matt Smith, Hector Arana Sr., Scotty Pollacheck, LE Tonglet, Michael Ray, and John Hall round out the top 10 in the class.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 3:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, May 4, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. Final Professional eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 6.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, call NHRA, 800-884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 5. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 6.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals also will feature competition in seven NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories, where some of the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on May 4. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on May 5 and continue through May 6.
 

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is heating up, both literally and figuratively. Fresh on the heels of a steamy Houston event, we head east to where the peaches grow, Georgia, and more specifically to a place we like to call Hotlanta. The early forecast for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway calls for the mercury to test the 90-degree mark every day, and that will give crew chiefs a fit trying to tune, drivers a handful trying to navigate, and last, but most importantly, another day of drama for the fans!

The second time this year with races back to back, the series gets serious now because after this weekend’s seventh stop, there will be only 10 races to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. Translation: The margin of error is getting smaller for the teams that are struggling. Names that you would expect in the top 10 that aren’t (yet) include Brandon Bernstein (winless since Richmond 2009), Matt Hagan (only one round-win this season), Tim Wilkerson (he loves a hot racetrack), and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (two broken engines led to testing before Atlanta).

Going back to back doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything else, but here is a sampling of what’s going on and who is moving and shaking in each of the four Pro categories.

Top Fuel: Morgan Lucas and the GEICO team are coming off their second win (both in dominating fashion), and in addition to having a "fit pit" area, Lucas is working out with his teammate at PitFit Training in Indianapolis, and it certainly appears to be paying dividends. After beginning his career 0-5 in finals, Lucas is on a streak of six straight final-round wins. Spencer Massey and the FRAM crew spent time at Kliebert Gator Farm outside of Atlanta taking “chomping” lessons, and J.R. Todd and his Total Equipment team took in baseball, watched C&J Energy’s Josh Comstock and other execs get drag racing lessons courtesy of Frank Hawley, and played a game called Dragster Mayhem (I have to get on that!). Following six races, Houston runner-up Antron Brown and his Matco team are in the points lead, followed by Massey (-1 spot), Lucas (+1), and the Army’s Tony Schumacher (-2). The top four teams are running away and are separated by two rounds of racing.

Funny Car: John Force Racing saw one streak end and another continue. After winning 17 straight rounds of racing, which included four national event wins in a row, Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California team broke the tires free in the Houston semi’s, which makes Ron Capps and his NAPA crew the answer to the trivia question "Who stopped the streak?" But when Capps got to his second consecutive final, a JFR car was waiting. This time, it was Mike Neff’s Castrol GTX flopper that won the race, which means it is still a season sweep for the JFR crew (Force, one; Hight, four; and Neff, one). Life is still good for Hight, though; with 597 points through six races, he has earned more than any other Professional driver. Leading into the weekend, I can’t wait to see where Capps' first pitch at the Atlanta Braves game goes on Thursday (Alexis DeJoria will be at Turner Field, too); it’s a given to be shown on ESPN2 this weekend.

Pro Stock: Boy, was youth served in the Lone Star State as Vincent Nobile earned his second straight Houston win in his Mountain View Tire Dodge when he beat the always-tough Dave Connolly and his Alamo Iron Works Chevy. The fourth win of his career moved him into third in the standings behind Summit’s Greg Anderson and Jason Line, respectively. For all you Twitter followers, get onboard with Vincent (@vincent154) and check out the photo of the Wally strapped safely in the back seat for the trip home. Safety first… It is priceless!

Pro Stock Motorcycle: Andrew Hines used a perfect reaction time (.000) to offset a quicker elapsed time by Lucas Oil’s Hector Arana Jr. (6.905 beat a 6.886) and the 20 extra pounds that NHRA added to the Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidsons after Gainesville to win in Houston for the third consecutive year. Knowing that he needed to push the Tree, Hines added in his post-race interview, “I’m lucky I didn’t roll in an eighth of an inch more or I’d have red-lighted.” Hines took over the points lead from his teammate, Eddie Krawiec, but both have company from Arana in third! This weekend marks the third of 16 starts for the two-wheeled warriors.

Well, the wash is done; time to stuff it back into a suitcase and roll! And that gets me to the weekend schedule: Friday, May 4, live qualifying on ESPN3 at 6 p.m. (all times ET); Saturday, May 5, qualifying recap on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, May 5, finals recap on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

The only thing that would be better is to be there! Come on out and join us at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga. For tickets, call NHRA, 800-884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.

As always, if you have questions that we can answer on-air, off-air, or for that matter anywhere, please do not hesitate to throw me a line either by email (drieff@cox.net) or Twitter (@DaveRieffNHRA).

See you from Hotlanta! 

Oh, how Bob Bode’s world has evolved. The former power boat champion made his Professional NHRA debut in a nitro Funny Car at Atlanta Dragway in 2001 and has since raced the circuit part time, simply enjoying the heavily horsepowered journey as often as he wished. This weekend, Bode returns to Atlanta for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, and the pace has quickened by a bunch as he has joined with apparel brand Stupid Fast Racing to take on the entire 2012 season of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing for the first time.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Bode. “We always wanted to get to the point where we could try to run all the races, and so far this year, we are way better than we thought we would be. We were a top 10 car there for two races in a row [the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte], and that’s big for us. We figured if we had a good car, we had a shot at doing that – but when it actually happened, boy were we happy.”

A semifinal performance at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway boosted Bode to the No. 10 spot, and a first-round exit at the most recent event, the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Houston, bumped him to a slim 23 points outside. Right on the cusp, Bode is on something of a mission to break back in – and stay there. The team fully intends to keep its expectations reasonable, but they know they have a good race car, and Bode has a little something else nudging him forward from quite a close proximity.

“For the last decade, my wife Alice has wanted to go to the NHRA awards ceremony at the end of the year,” said Bode. “It’s an expensive dream, and I’ve always said that I won’t go unless I’m in the top 10. Well, this year she says that I need to be in the top 10 because she expects to go.”

Considering his current position and the source of motivation, Bode thinks the goal is a distinct possibility. He knows that he and Alice, along with their son Bobby III, are part of a great and motivated crew that includes crew chief and rocket scientist/chassis builder Walt Przybyl Jr., Alex Diekfuss, Rich Carp, Mike Dusinski, Jake Fahy, Nick Kruger and Eugene Gray.

“We really just want to see the car get better and better every weekend. These guys out here always want to run top half or be the quickest; I just want to be above the No. 16 line. I want to qualify at every race, and let’s see what happens after that.”

Bode is taking the challenges of his first full season in stride. Whereas before, the only folks he had to please were his family, himself, and his team, he is now in the world of accountability to a major sponsor. So far, though, there are smiles all around, and the performance of Bode and the Stupid Fast Racing Funny Car have exceeded expectations.

Another factor ahead will be the exertion of running the full schedule. Bode has regularly entered the first three events of the season, but he swore off back-to-back events after his initial foray and is now facing a summer full of back-to-back races, three in a row, and even bursts of four consecutive weekends racing at national events.

“That’s really going to be the first big challenge for us so far this year,” he said. “But we’ve got back-up pieces and parts and we’re using back-up guys from local areas at some of those events. Last year, my son Bobby went to 19 Jr. drag racing with his little car, and I went to 11 events, so we raced 30 weekends. We’re pretty used to going racing, it’s just going to be a little different.”

This weekend is the first back-to-back adventure for Bode, but it is somewhat eased by the fact that the venue is a landmark in his personal history.

“Atlanta Dragway holds great memories for me,” said Bode. “I vividly remember my first run – it was a single – and I remember that we followed Top Fuel in qualifying, and I pulled up as the dragsters were finishing up. We lined up right behind Kenny Bernstein in the Budweiser dragster. They were a uniformed crew with a million dollar racecar and we were in T-shirts with our car sitting right behind them waiting to go down the track, just not the same program.

“I remember being in awe that I was the guy who got to do this. We didn’t qualifying, but just fielding a car for us was a major, major success back then. And standing on the same asphalt right after Kenny ran his car, man it was awesome. We were just so excited. It’s amazing to be able to go back all of these years later with a much better race car and a much better understanding of what drag racing is about. We’re so lucky to be able to do this.”

For tickets for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, call NHRA, 800-884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.

Before David Grubnic straps into his Top Fuel dragster to vie for the title at the 32nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway this weekend, the popular driver will take time to discuss racing strategy with fans during a meet and greet on behalf of series sponsor Full Throttle Energy Drink.

On Thursday, May 3, the driver of the Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster for Kalitta Motorsports will sign autographs and greet fans from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Walmart at 30983 Highway 441 South in Commerce, Ga.

With the store’s proximity to the track as well as its inventory of Full Throttle Energy Drink and NHRA Originals T-shirts, Grubnic points out that Walmart is the perfect stop for fans heading to the race. Depicting a class front-engine dragster and the iconic NHRA Championship Drag Racing logo, the gray-heather-color men’s shirt is exclusively available at all Walmart stores nationwide.

"There is no better way to start the race weekend than by spending some time with the fans while representing our title sponsor, Full Throttle Energy Drink,” said Grubnic. “I can't wait to meet the great folks shopping at Walmart, and if they want to drop by and pick up one of those great NHRA nostalgia T-shirts, I’ll be happy to autograph it.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a great time, and hopefully, they will all join us and the other stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Commerce this weekend.”

 

Full Throttle Energy Drink prides itself on delivering hardworking energy. The USO provides support for America’s hardworking military men and women and their families. This common ground has led the organizations to join in an impactful partnership aimed at celebrating and honoring the efforts of our country’s military heroes.

The new collaboration will include custom USO-centric Full Throttle packaging and point-of-sale materials, co-branded traditional and digital media, and USO integration and experiential interactivity at Full Throttle’s NHRA event footprint.

To help inaugurate the project, Full Throttle will make a $250,000 contribution to the USO in a check presentation during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals on May 5 in Atlanta. Fittingly, U.S. Army Top Fuel driver and seven-time world champion Tony “the Sarge” Schumacher was on hand to help make the announcement.

“Full Throttle is for the everyday hardworking men and women that need reliable energy,” said Eric Helms, director of marketing, Full Throttle. “There’s no better representation of that classification than the men and women in the armed forces, and for more than 70 years, the USO has provided unwavering support to them and their families. We’re excited to partner with such a terrific organization and look forward to joining their great cause.”

The mission of the USO is to lift the spirits of America’s troops and their families. When the USO was formed in 1941, Coca-Cola was the first to step up and help serve troops around the world, in battle zones, and coming home. The Full Throttle venture is the latest high point in a relationship that continues to prosper.

“Every day of the year, the USO works to provide our servicemen and women with the things they need most, such as comforts of home and a connection to their loved ones during lengthy deployments,” said USO SVP and Chief Development Officer Kelli Seely. “Partners like Full Throttle make it possible for the USO to lift the spirits of troops and their families. We are grateful for Coca-Cola’s longstanding support and excited about this latest phase of our partnership.”

The excitement of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing returns to Atlanta Dragway for the 32nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 4-6. The seventh race of the 2012 season is a favorite for all drivers in the four Professional classes of Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
 
Matco Tools Top Fuel driver Antron Brown is the defending event winner and could not be more excited to return to this track as he pursues his first Top Fuel world championship.

“I love it when we go back to Atlanta,” Brown said. “The track and all the fans are great. It feels like we can really do no wrong there. You know what they say, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and Atlanta kind of seems to always be nice to us. We always race really well in Atlanta, and the car always runs well, so it feels good to go there especially as defending event champ.”

Also last year, Jack Beckman, driver of the Valvoline NexGen Dodge Charger, defeated Mike Neff in the Funny Car final, and Jason Line defeated Greg Anderson in an all-Summit Racing Pro Stock title round; in Pro Stock Motorcycle, LE Tonglet earned his first win at Atlanta Dragway by outrunning Karen Stoffer.

The highly touted Funny Car rookie duo of Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria will make their Atlanta Dragway debuts at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, and Force is looking forward to her first visit to Georgia’s House of Speed. 
 
“I’m so excited heading into the Atlanta race and feel like I’m learning so much as a driver so far this year,” Force said. “The racetrack in Atlanta is fairly new to me, but I feel confident having a great car, supportive sponsors like Traxxas, and an amazing team going into it.”

NHRA is offering a limited number of NHRA Nitro Generation Fan Packs for the event, featuring a great day of fun and racing action for a family of four, including two adult and two child seats, preferred parking, four hot dogs, four small Coca-Colas, and an event program. The NHRA Nitro Generation Fan Packs are available in limited quantities for each day of the event, with Friday priced at $82 and Saturday or Sunday at $114. The NHRA Nitro Generation Fan Packs must be purchased in advance. As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet.

Don’t miss your chance to walk the track with 2011 event winners Brown, Beckman, and Line Sunday before the pre-race ceremony at 9:30 a.m. The track walk allows fans to walk on the actual race surface before racing kicks off at 11 a.m. Fans can stick around after the track walk to participate in driver introductions and the rest of the pre-race ceremony on the starting line at Atlanta Dragway.
 
SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions will run at 3:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, May 4, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. Final Professional eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 6.
 
TICKETS: For tickets for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, call NHRA, 800-884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.
 
 

Capps, driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger, will be a guest of primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. DeJoria, driver of the Patron Tequila Funny Car, will then make the announcement to the players to take the field and join Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez at home plate for the presentation of the evening’s starting lineup.

For tickets for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, call NHRA, 800-884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.

Green was fined for violation of 1.3.1 regarding participant conduct, found on page four of the 2012 NHRA Rulebook. Green must pay the fine in full prior to being allowed to participate at any future NHRA events. The fine levied by NHRA is appealable as outlined in Section 1, pages 18-25 of the 2012 NHRA Rulebook.
 

Frank Nelson Jr., a longtime member of the Division 6 safety team, has been named NHRA Northwest Division director.

“Nelson is well-established in the Northwest Division, and his familiarity with the racers and NHRA member tracks in the region made him the ideal candidate for the job,” said Josh Peterson, NHRA vice president-racing administration. "His entrepreneurial assets as a small-business owner are well-suited to assist and grow the NHRA member-track network in the Northwest.”

Nelson began working with the Division 6 Safety Safari in 1994 and served as safety director starting in 2007. He is a certified SFI instructor, and as safety director, he works with racetracks both within and outside the division on the SFI Safety Program.

Outside his duties at NHRA-sanctioned events, Nelson is a managing partner of Pacific Power Batteries of Bellingham, a retail battery store in Bellingham, Wash. Prior to that, Nelson worked for Waste Management Northwest for 13 years.

“I’m excited to serve the racing community, both drivers and track owners and operators, in Division 6,” said Nelson, who resides in Lake Stevens, Wash. “I have worked for years within the Pacific Northwest and believe the relationships I have developed will advance and grow racer participation and tracks in the region.”

Nelson began his new role as Division 6 director May 1.

NHRA’s Northwest Division is responsible for conducting and overseeing drag racing activities in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. There are 17 NHRA member tracks in the region: one in Idaho, two in Montana, six in Oregon, five in Washington, and three in western Canada.

John Force has raced dozens of Funny Cars in his Hall of Fame career, and this week, the 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion will display a one-of-a-kind Castrol GTX High Mileage Hall of Fame special-edition Ford Mustang Funny Car at Talladega Motor Speedway. In advance of Force’s induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Funny Car will list Force’s most notable accomplishments and have the International Motorsports Hall of Fame logo on it. The Funny Car will arrive at the Hall of Fame on May 1.

“I always thought they put you in the Hall of Fame when you were done racing or dead. Well I’m not done racing, and I promise you I ain’t dead. This is a big deal to go down to Talladega with Kenny Bernstein and Richard Childress. I am proud to represent my sponsors like Castrol, Ford, Auto Club, Mac Tools, Traxxas, and BrandSource. They have supported me over the years, and they are going into the Hall of Fame with this old truck driver,” said Force.

“I have to thank all my crew guys and especially my crew chiefs like Austin Coil, Bernie Fedderly, and Mike Neff who helped me win 15 championships. The brain trust was also a big part of our success, so I have to thank Jimmy Prock, John Medlen, Dean Antonelli, and Ron Douglas.”

The first and only driver to win 100 NHRA tour events and 1,000 racing rounds, the first Funny Car driver to overcome a points deficit on the final day of the season to win the championship, the first to win series titles in three decades, and the oldest champion in any racing discipline, Force is without a doubt one of the most iconic figures in all of motorsports.

The 1996 Driver of the Year and a four-time winner of the Jerry Titus Memorial Trophy that identifies the driver receiving the most votes for the AARWBA Auto Racing All-America team, Force this year is bidding for his 16th title in 23 years and his team’s 18th.

If there was one moment that ever caused Force to question his chosen career path, it was the 2007 death of team driver Eric Medlen, a tragedy that led to the creation of the Eric Medlen Project at JFR East in Brownsburg, Ind.

“Winning is still the priority,” Force said, “but today, it goes hand in hand with safety. Vince Lombardi said, ‘Winning is everything,’ and I used to go with that. It’s what I told my team. But I don’t think Lombardi ever lost a man on the playing field.”

Refusing to accept the explanation that Medlen’s accident was a one-in-a-million fluke that never again could happen, Force commissioned the first major changes to the basic Funny Car chassis in 25 years. It was work that paid immediate and unexpected dividends when he crashed heavily on Sept. 23, 2007, exactly six months after Medlen’s death. That crash in Dallas left him with injuries that required six hours of reconstructive surgery and months of rehabilitation.

Nevertheless, though he suffered broken bones in both hands and both feet, broken fingers, broken toes, severe lacerations, and tendon damage to an already injured right knee, he significantly had no head, neck, or torso injuries, and five months after his crash, the sport’s biggest winner was back in a race car.

He won the Dollar General NHRA Summernationals in Topeka in 2008, but he now admits that it wasn’t until the 2010 season that he really felt up to the day-to-day grind of competing for a championship. Today, he makes no concessions to his age. He insists, especially after undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery in the off-season, that he’s in the best shape of his life.

Of course, if he never won another race or another championship, his legacy would be secure. He did add to his legend by winning the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship on the last day of the season to cap a Hall of Fame recovery and continue a Hall of Fame career.
 

Funny Car driver Mike Neff earned his first win of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season in Houston, and his victory was the sixth of the season of six NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series races for his John Force Racing team.

“There are a lot of high expectations, especially when you are on a top team like John Force’s team,” Neff said. “John Force Racing is built on winning. Everyone knows what’s at stake here, and anything can happen out here. You get one shot at it, and you either get it right or it’s over with, and we got it right.”

As the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads south May 4-6 for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, JFR looks to continue its dominating performance one race at a time. Neff’s win snapped his JFR teammate Robert Hight’s impressive span of four race wins in a row.

“That was a heck of a string he had going,” Neff said. “That’s hard to do in Funny Car or any class for that matter. I’m just glad I could keep the string going for John Force Racing.”

Neff earned his first win of the season in his third final-round appearance, defeating Don Schumacher Racing driver Ron Capps and his NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car. Capps made his second straight final-round appearance after struggling early in the season and suffering a tough DNQ in Las Vegas.

“That’s two finals in a row for this NAPA team, and that’s great,” Capps said. “This crew is just top-notch. Like I said all weekend, Rahn Tobler [crew chief] could make this car go down the return road.”

Capps’ DSR teammate and the defending event champ at Atlanta Dragway, Jack Beckman, struggled in Houston, where he failed to qualify for the first time in 87 races, which was the longest qualifying streak of active drivers. Last season, Beckman defeated Neff in the final round in Atlanta, and he hopes for the same success this year. DSR’s other two Funny Car drivers, defending Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan and Johnny Gray, have struggled this season as well but plan to turn that around in Atlanta.

Snap-on Tools driver Cruz Pedregon is coming off a semifinal finish and his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to Atlanta, where the two-time world champ has earned one victory, in 1998, beating none other than John Force.

Rookies Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria are still working to make their impact on the 7,000-horsepower class. DeJoria’s Kalitta Motorsports teammate, Jeff Arend, is coming off his first semifinal finish of the season, and Pedregon’s teammate and brother, Tony, is looking to earn his first round-win of the season. Despite all of the JFR dominance this season, the top 10 is still up for grabs with 10 races left before the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s championship playoffs, which kicks off in Charlotte in September.

Matco Tools Top Fuel driver Antron Brown is coming off his fifth final of the 2012 season and regained the championship points lead even after losing to GEICO/Lucas Oil driver Morgan Lucas, who is in third place. Brown’s DSR teammates, Spencer Massey and Tony Schumacher, are in second and fourth place, respectively, and Al-Anabi Racing driver Shawn Langdon is fifth. Capco Contractors pilot Steve Torrence, who is coming off his second straight semifinal-round appearance, is in sixth place, followed by Doug Kalitta, Bob Vandergriff Jr., David Grubnic, and Clay Millican.

In Pro Stock, the Summit Racing duo of Greg Anderson and Jason Line are still atop the points standings, and sophomore sensation Vincent Nobile moved up to third after his win in Houston. Former Pro Stock world champ Mike Edwards is fourth, Nobile’s Dodge teammate Allen Johnson is in fifth, Erica Enders sits sixth, Ronnie Humphrey is seventh, Greg Stanfield is eighth, Rodger Brogdon is ninth, and Larry Morgan is 10th.

The two-wheel class heads to Atlanta for its third appearance of the season with the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson duo of Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec leading the championship points standings. Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Jr. is right behind them in third, followed by GEICO Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer. Matt Smith, Hector Arana Sr., Scotty Pollacheck, LE Tonglet, Michael Ray, and John Hall.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 3:30 and 6 p.m. on Friday, May 4, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. Final Professional eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 6.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, call NHRA, 800-884-6472, or log on to NHRATix.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 5. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 6.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals also will feature competition in seven NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories, where some of the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on May 4. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on May 5 and continue through May 6.

* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia, and the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at NHRA.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Mike Neff continued John Force Racing's dominance in Funny Car as he raced to his first victory of the 2012 season Sunday at the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway. With the win, Neff gave John Force Racing its sixth consecutive win to open the season.

Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also earned victories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Houston.

Neff powered his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang past Ron Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T in the final round of eliminations. Neff’s 4.239-second pass at 301.67 mph was too much for Capps, who hazed the tires in the Texas heat and clocked a 4.476, 211.79.

Mike Neff

“This whole race was one of a kind," Neff said. "To not be qualified until the last session and then have a wacky couple of rounds today was a nail-biter. Racing Jim Head, my old buddy, it took so long for the Tree to come on. I never let go of the brake, but I blipped the throttle. Thankfully, I was staged shallow, so I didn’t red-light. I looked down and saw green, so I legged it, and then it smoked the tires. It was a total mistake on my part as a driver and a crew chief.”

Neff struggled during qualifying and made it into the 16-car field during the final qualifying session in the heat of the day Saturday. That tune-up proved to be what the JFR driver needed throughout Sunday’s eliminations as he beat first-round foe Head, top qualifier Cruz Pedregon, and defending event winner Jeff Arend en route to his seventh Funny Car victory.

Neff is second in the NHRA Full Throttle points standings behind his JFR teammate Robert Hight, who saw his four-race winning streak snapped with a semifinal loss to Capps.

“That was a heck of a string he had going," Neff said about Hight. "That’s hard to do in Funny Car or any class for that matter. I’m just glad I could keep the string going for John Force Racing. I feel pressure, but that’s just the business we’re in. We’re a top team, and we were built on winning. I feel it, but I don’t get pressure from John or anyone else. Just myself.”

Morgan Lucas

Vincent Nobile

Andrew Hines

In Top Fuel, Lucas proved that he is a championship contender with his win as he posted low e.t. during each round of eliminations. The GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster driver outran Antron Brown’s Matco Tools dragster in the final round with his 3.848, 320.81 to Brown’s 5.894, 117.05.

“I’m just as proud as can be for this race team, the whole GEICO pit area, and my parents [Forrest and Charlotte],” Lucas said. “Just to be able to go up to the starting line on race day and feel like you can beat anybody is a feeling that I’ve never had before. This is probably the first time in my career, Top Alcohol Dragster included, that I’ve ever had low e.t. of every round of eliminations."

Lucas started from the No. 1 qualifying spot for the fourth time of the season, and the win moved him to third in points. With the runner-up finish, Brown took over the series points lead.

Nobile earned his first Pro Stock win of the season by outrunning veteran driver Dave Connolly in the final round. Nobile’s 6.595, 210.14 in his Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger edged Connolly’s 6.604, 210.41 in his Alamo Iron Works/KLR Group Chevy Cobalt to claim his second consecutive win in Houston.

“It’s an amazing feeling [to win this event two years in a row]," said Nobile, who beat Greg Stanfield, Larry Morgan, and Mike Edwards to advance to the final. "In the semi's, we actually had to swap motors in that short amount of time [before the final], and the crew did it with no flaws, and everything was perfect. The crew produces a really fast race car. I owe it to all of them. My dad taught me everything I know about driving a race car and drag racing period. This win is a win for the both of us. He never won a Wally because he never had the power. But now we’re doing it both together.”

Nobile’s win moved him from fifth to third in the series standings.

Hines used a perfect reaction time to beat sophomore rider Hector Arana Jr. in the final round in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Arana’s 6.886, 196.33 on his Lucas Oil Buell was quicker than Hines' 6.905, 194.52 on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, but Hines won the race on the starting line.

“I knew I’d need a good light, but I wasn’t expecting a .000," Hines said. "I’m lucky I didn’t roll in an eighth of an inch more or I’d have red-lighted. We had to add 20 pounds, so I figured I’d need to win on a holeshot in order to have a chance, especially after he [Hector Jr.] ran that 6.84 in the semifinals.”

Hines has won this event three years in a row and is now the series leader in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“I knew this was the 25th anniversary of this race, so I really wanted to win that silver Wally,” Hines said.

In the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx, No. 3 qualifier Danny Rowe earned his first victory.

Rowe’s Sterling Bridge ’68 Chevy Camaro powered to a winning performance of 5.969, 244.43 in the final round to beat Kenny Lang’s 6.043, 238.51.

Rowe defeated Mike Knowles, Troy Coughlin, and Danny Walsh in earlier rounds en route to his first final-round appearance of the season.

The next Pro Mod event is at the Toyota NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown May 31-June 3.

Lucas Oil winners:

Top Alcohol Dragster
Jim Whiteley, 5.264, 273.77  def. Duane Shields, 5.380, 268.97.

Top Alcohol Funny Car
Jay Payne, Ford Mustang, 5.631, 260.06  def. Steve Gasparrelli, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.652, 259.26.

Super Stock
Doug Baumgardner, Chevy Camaro, 9.468, 134.36  def. Gary Emmons, Pontiac Firebird, 10.005, 126.21.

Stock
Hagen Gary, Plymouth, 10.132, 128.79  def. Britt Cummings, Chevy Corvette, 10.503, 126.00.

Super Comp
Britt Cummings, Dragster, 8.920, 164.85  def. Shannon Brinkley, Dragster, 8.898, 167.97.

Super Gas
Luke Bogacki, Chevy Corvette, 9.918, 144.41  def. Jeff Lopez, Corvette, 9.878, 152.68.

Top Dragster
Rob McKinley, Dragster, 6.303, 220.69  def. Todd Schumert, Dragster, 6.654, 203.68.

 

In round one, seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champ Tony Schumacher (pictured) will be seeking to become just the fifth NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series driver to record 600 round-wins. He’ll have to beat Doug Kalitta to reach the milestone accomplished previously only by John Force, Warren Johnson, Larry Dixon, and Kenny Bernstein.

Former Funny Car world champ Robert Hight will be gunning for his fifth straight victory, which would make him just the fourth driver to accomplish the feat, joining Force, Bernstein, and Cruz Pedregon. After a first-round loss at the season opener in Pomona, Hight scored consecutive victories in Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, and, two weeks ago, Charlotte at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Hight’s first-round opponent will be two-time former world champ Tony Pedregon.

Fort Worth, Texas, hotshoe Spencer Massey (pictured) will be seeking his third straight and fourth overall win in Top Fuel. Massey qualified his Prestone/FRAM dragster No. 3 and will take on Terry McMillen in round one.

Rookie Funny Car sensations Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria will finally pair off against one another for the first time in their debut seasons. The duo has not even run against one another in qualifying, let alone eliminations. Five races into the season, Force has three round-wins, DeJoria one; Force will get lane choice after outqualifying DeJoria, 4.150 to 4.183.

For the first time in 87 races dating back nearly four years to the 2008 Englishtown event, Sunday’s Funny Car field will not include Jack Beckman, who failed to qualify. Beckman’s streak was the longest among active Funny Car racers; that mantle now falls to John Force, who has a streak of 80 races. Force, who once qualified for 395 consecutive events, has the seventh-longest current streak; Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson is the leader with 215 straight.

Five Texas racers are hoping that the home-state advantage will give them a boost toward collecting their first Full Throttle victories. Top Fuel’s Steve Torrence (pictured), of Kilgore, qualified his Capco Contractors dragster No. 2 and will begin his quest against TJ Zizzo in round one, and Spring's Troy Buff will take on low qualifier Morgan Lucas. In Pro Stock, six-time runner-up Erica Enders, a Houston native now living in New Orleans, and Tomball’s Rodger Brogdon, runner-up at this event last year, will be looking to cradle their first NHRA Wallys. Enders will open against veteran Larry Morgan, and Brogdon will take on Enders’ teammate and crew chief, Dave Connolly. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, New Braunfels-based Michael Ray will seek his first win aboard his Buell; he faces Shawn Gann in round one.

(Above) The cellphone and digital cameras were up as eager race fans crowded around the pit area of Mike Neff as his team warmed up their Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car. (Right) Drivers, as always, were out in force this morning, welcoming and chatting with fans and, of course, signing autographs. Top Fuel ace Terry McMillen autographed this fan's helmet.

	(Above) The Traxxas radio-control car corral is always packed with fans checking out the latest cars and watching the high-flying acrobatics of the Traxxas stunt team. (Left) A popular new attraction on Nitro Alley is the GEICO display, where fans must first virtually assemble a Top Fuel engine, then tune it to run. The results of their efforts are projected onto a big screen for all to see.

	(Above) During the pre-race ceremony, NHRA's Graham Light presented a special silver Wally to Royal Purple Raceway's Angel family in acknowledgement of the event's 25th anniversary. (Left) Funny Car rookies Courtney Force, left, and Alexis DeJoria will meet for the first time in their careers in Funny Car eliminations.

Low qualifier Morgan Lucas (above) had low e.t. of round one of Top Fuel, a 3.776 that nearly matched his 3.772 qualifying pace. The victory earns him second-round lane choice over Tony Schumacher (right), who became just the fifth NHRA Full Throttle driver to record 600 round-wins when he defeated Doug Kalitta. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): David Grubnic vs. Bob Vandergriff Jr.; Shawn Langdon vs. Steve Torrence; Antron Brown vs. Spencer Massey.

[11:50 a.m.] Funny Car rookies Alexis DeJoria, near lane, and Courtney Force squared off for the first time in their debut seasons in round one. DeJoria got a slim lead at the start, but Force's Traxxas Mustang collected the win light, 4.12 to 4.20. Force will have lane choice against Ron Capps in round two; other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Cruz Pedregon (who set new low e.t. in round one at 4.057) vs. Mike Neff; Jeff Arend vs. Tim Wilkerson; Bob Tasca III vs. Robert Hight.

[12:15 p.m.] Dave Connolly (above) continues to look good in just his second Pro Stock outing of the season, advancing past last year's runner-up, Rodger Brogdon, in round one with a 6.569. He'll have second-round lane choice over Greg Anderson. Larry Morgan (left) upset crew chief Connolly's teammate, local favorite Erica Enders, in round one but will cede lane choice in round two to Vincent Nobile. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Allen Johnson vs. Ronnie Humphrey; Jason Line vs. Mike Edwards.

[12:30 p.m.] Mike Berry (right) had the biggest upset in round one of Pro Stock Motorcycle, advancing on the -.005 red-light of low qualifier Hector Arana Sr. He'll face Michael Ray in round two; Ray has lane choice. John Hall (above) also advanced from a lower seed, at the expense of his Sovereign/Star Racing teammate, Scotty Pollacheck. Hall will face Andrew Hines in round two; Hines gets to pick his lane. Other second-round pairings (lane choice first): Hector Arana Jr. vs. Matt Smith; Eddie Krawiec vs. Karen Stoffer.

Texas race fans have packed Royal Purple Raceway for final eliminations day.

Retired former Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ Angelle Sampey, a four-time winner at this event in the 2000s, showed up with her daughter, Ava, to visit her extended family and received a warm welcome from racers and fans alike.

[1:15 p.m.] Antron Brown ended Spencer Massey's eight-round winning streak in round two, defeating his Don Schumacher Racing Top Fuel teammate by .006-second. Brown will have lane choice over Steve Torrence in the semifinals; the other semi will pit Morgan Lucas against Bob Vandergriff Jr.; Lucas will have lane choice.

[1:25 p.m.] Robert Hight, who scored his first win in 2005 at Royal Purple Raceway in only his fifth start as a Professional, had low e.t. of the second round of Funny Car, a 4.139 to defeat Bob Tasca III. Hight will have semifinal lane choice over Ron Capps. The other semi will be Mike Neff vs. Jeff Arend; Neff has lane choice.

[1:35 p.m.] Mike Edwards, a four-time event winner, surprised Pro Stock points front-runner Jason Line in round two, beating him by .008-second on a holeshot, 6.603 to 6.591. Edwards will have semifinal lane choice over Vincent Nobile. In the other semifinal, Allen Johnson will have lane choice against Dave Connolly.

[1:45 p.m.] Michael Ray, who went to the Pro Stock Motorcycle semifinals at last fall's event in Charlotte, returned to the final four in Houston, defeating Mike Berry on a second-round holeshot, 6.995 to 6.994. He'll face Andrew Hines, who has lane choice, in the semifinals. The other semifinal match will feature Hector Arana Jr. picking his lane against Karen Stoffer.

[2:45 p.m.] Low qualifier Morgan Lucas (above) reached the Top Fuel final round with a 3.870 victory over Bob Vandergriff Jr. and will have lane choice in the final round against Antron Brown (right). Lucas, No. 1 qualifier at four of the season's first six races, will be looking for his second event win of the season. Brown and crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi have had the hottest Top Fuel team in the NHRA Full Throttle Series in the past 15 events going back to the 2011 season. In that span, the Matco Tools dragster has won five event titles and advanced to the championship round 10 times.

	[2:50 p.m.] Ron Capps (above) ended Robert Hight's 17-round winning streak in the Funny Car semifinals with a 4.162 to earn lane choice over Mike Neff (left), who ran 4.176 to beat defending event champ Jeff Arend in a rematch of last year's final round. Capps, who won Houston event titles in 2006 and 2007, also became the first Funny Car driver to reach 315 at this event in 1997.

	[2:55 p.m.] Vincent Nobile (left) who scored his first Pro Stock win at this race in his rookie season last year, will run for the money again after outrunning Mike Edwards in the semifinals. Dave Connolly (above) will oppose Nobile in the final and will have lane choice after defeating low qualifier Allen Johnson on a holeshot, 6.584 to 6.580.

[3 p.m.] Andrew Hines (left), who has won this race the last two years in Pro Stock Motorcycle, will race for the Wally again after riding his Screamin' Eagle Harley to a 6.95 against Michael Ray. Hector Arana Jr. (above) will have lane choice in the final against Hines after resetting low e.t. with a 6.846 in the other semifinal to trailer Karen Stoffer. Hines beat Arana's father, Hector Sr., to win the 2010 event title.

Jim Whiteley (above) won his second race of the season in Top Alcohol Dragster, defeating world champ Duane Shields in the final. Jay Payne (below) beat Steve Gasparrelli for Top Alcohol Funny Car honors.

Danny Rowe defeated Kenny Lang to win the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx title.

Andrew Hines, far lane, won the Houston PSM title for the third straight year and did it in style, defeating Hector Arana Jr. on a holeshot with a perfect light. His 6.905 edged Arana's 6.886 by .007-second at the finish line.

Vincent Nobile, far lane, successfully defended his 2011 Houston Pro Stock crown, defeating Dave Connolly in the final round, 6.595 to 6.604.

Mike Neff, far lane, made it six straight victories for John Force Racing when he defeated Ron Capps for Funny Car honors, winning a wild, tire-spinning final, 4.23 to 4.47.

No. 1 qualifier Morgan Lucas, near lane, went wire to wire in Top Fuel, capturing his second win of the season in a lopsided final-round victory over new points leader Antron Brown.

Houston Full Throttle winners, from left, Morgan Lucas, Vincent Nobile, Mike Neff, and Andrew Hines.

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Hector Arana Sr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were No. 1 qualifiers and will lead their categories into Sunday's 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Houston.

The GEICO/Lucas Oil Top Fuel team ran low e.t. of the event Friday evening, and the 3.772-second pass at 327.74 mph held up as the No. 1 qualifying position throughout Saturday’s warm weather conditions.

Morgan Lucas

Cruz Pedregon

Allen Johnson

Hector Arana Sr.

“We were real fortunate that the Friday night session ran a little late for us, and we got the conditions to run that big number,” Lucas said. “We also had the opportunity to test a little bit [with the hotter temperatures] today, but for tomorrow, we’ll put the car back to where we know it can run well. We obviously have a good handle on the car and can make it run consistent 3.80s.”

Lucas will start from the No. 1 position for the eighth time and will face No. 16 qualifier Troy Buff in the opening round.

No one in Funny Car bettered Pedregon’s Friday pass of 4.103 at 305.29. The Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry driver will start from the No. 1 position for the second time this season and 47th time of his career. He will face No. 16 qualifier Gary Densham in round one.

“Thankfully, we made two good runs yesterday because we dropped a cylinder on both runs today,” said Pedregon of his eighth No. 1 qualifying effort at Royal Purple Raceway. “The good news is that we stayed No. 1. I’m already thinking about race day.”

In Pro Stock, Johnson held on to the No. 1 spot as no one outran the Team Mopar Dodge Avenger racer’s Friday evening pass of 6.545, 211.73.

“Our motto in the Mopar camp is consistency, and I think we’ve accomplished that this weekend,” Johnson said. “We weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be, but we were just a hundredth off. I think tomorrow will be a knock-down drag-out, but the Mopar Avenger team is ready for that. Everybody has their winning hats on, and we’re learning how to win.”

This is Johnson's second No. 1 of the season and 20th of his career. Johnson will race Shane Gray and his Tire Kingdom GXP Sunday morning.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Lucas Oil rider Arana set low e.t. of the weekend during Saturday’s final qualifying session when he posted a 6.850, 194.86 and secured his first No. 1 of the season and 18th of his career. Arana’s Lucas Oil Buell teammate and son, Hector Arana Jr., is qualified second in the 16-bike field.

“We just worked hard,” Arana said. “We know the Harleys are fast, but we can’t think about them. We just keep working, and the results show. I was happy when I ran, but I felt even better when my son was No. 2. We keep tuning on the bike, and little by little, it’s getting better. We’re making excellent runs, and that’s what’s giving us an edge.”

Arana will race No. 16 qualifier Mike Berry in the opening round of eliminations Sunday, and Arana Jr. will face Steve Johnson, the No. 15 qualifier.

In the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx, No. 3 qualifier Danny Rowe was among the first-round winners Saturday when he advanced his Sterling Bridge ’68 Chevy Camaro. 

Rowe’s 5.951, 244.92 was too much for Mike Knowles, whose '68 Camaro lost traction almost immediately and coasted across the finish line at 11.413, 78.30. Rowe will face Troy Coughlin in round two Sunday. Coughlin defeated Leah Pruett to advance.

Defending event winner and No. 1 qualifier Mike Castellana was upset in the opening round by Steve Matusek. No. 2 qualifier Rickie Smith also lost in round one, to Donald Walsh.

Other second-round pairings include Brad Brand vs. Kenny Lang and Walsh vs. Pete Farber; Matusek will get a bye run.

Pro Mod eliminations will continue on Sunday at approximately 2 p.m.

Related story:
Friday: Lucas, Pedregon, Johnson, Krawiec lead Friday fields in Houston

Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Houston.

Pedregon powered his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry to the top of the Funny Car qualifying field during the evening session with his pass of 4.103 seconds at 305.29 mph, a run that Pedregon almost didn’t complete.

Cruz Pedregon

Morgan Lucas

Allen Johnson

Eddie Krawiec

“We almost didn’t run because the reverser lever fell off in my hand; I threw it out the window,” Pedregon said. “Lee Beard [crew chief] didn’t know what to do with it. I’m just glad we got it in 1st gear because we really made a nice run.”

Pedregon’s Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry team struggled in the beginning of the season, but Pedregon believes that the team is finally coming together. If he holds on to the No. 1 spot through Saturday’s qualifying sessions, it will be his second of the season and 32nd of his career.

“Our car is coming around; I feel it in my bones,” Pedregon said. “We should have won the last race, but the driver let us down. We should have run a 4.07 on that run, but it dropped a cylinder. I know the time is coming when we can run with anybody.”

In Top Fuel, Lucas posted a 3.772 at 327.74 in his GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster to earn the qualifying lead. If Lucas holds on to the top spot, it will be his fourth of the season and seventh of his career. Several dragsters hit the 3.77-second mark during the exciting session, including second-place Steve Torrence, Spencer Massey, and Tony Schumacher.

“All I could think of when it left the line so aggressively was, ‘God, please let this thing stick,’ ” Lucas said. “We’re really fortunate to have the team that we do right now. It’s a good way to bounce back from what we did in Charlotte [first-round loss].”

In Pro Stock, Johnson drove his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger to the provisional No. 1 spot with his pass of 6.545 at 211.73.

“The air got about 300 feet better, and the track cooled down about 20 degrees, so that was good for us,” Johnson said. “We left a little bit on the table, but we were consistent. The morning qualifying round tomorrow could be as good or better as it was in today’s second session.”

If Johnson maintains the No. 1 position, it will be his second of the season and 18th of his career.

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Krawiec rode his Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson to the top of the pack with his performance of 6.872 at 197.83.

“The humidity went down on the second run, and we had a pretty stout tailwind,” Krawiec said. “If we’d had that tailwind in Gainesville, I would have run 200 mph. That was about a picture-perfect run. The bike went straight, and I tucked in and motored down the track. I don’t think there was much left, maybe a few thousandths, not hundredths.”

Qualifying action continues Saturday with sessions scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eliminations get under way Sunday at 11 a.m.

Mike Castellana powered his Al-Anabi Racing Chevy Camaro to the top of the qualifying order in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx.
 
The defending event winner ran low e.t. during the opening round of qualifying and held on to the top spot through the second session. If he keeps the No. 1 spot through Saturday, it will be the second of his career.

Veteran driver Rickie Smith trails Castellana with his 5.930, 242.15 pass, and Danny Rowe sits third with a 5.940, 245.14. Kenny Lang is fourth with a 5.960, 242.63, and Pete Farber is fifth with a 5.978, 245.32.

The final Pro Mod qualifying session will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the first round of eliminations scheduled for 4 p.m.; eliminations will continue Sunday.  

Here is a sneak peek at what is in store for viewers at home when they tune in this weekend:

Record-setting Spencer Massey: Massey is coming off a record-setting weekend at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, resetting the national speed record twice en route to winning his third race of the season and taking the NHRA Full Throttle points lead. Clearly, last year’s run for the Full Throttle championship was no fluke, and he looks as strong as ever in 2012. We’ll ask him and his team about their secret for success.
 
All access with TJ Zizzo: Zizzo is back in the seat for this weekend’s race, and the ESPN2 cameras go all access with the always-entertaining Top Fuel driver from Chicago. Where will Zizzo take us, and what will he say?

Two weeks ago no. 4, this week no. 5? Can Robert Hight, the runaway points leader in Funny Car, win an unprecedented fifth straight tour victory? Only four other drivers have won four consecutive NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events, and the list is a who’s who of Funny Car racing: Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, Cruz Pedregon, and John Force (twice). All previous winners say that Hight’s feat in 2012 is by far more impressive given the competitive field. ESPN2 will break down the previous four-peats and Hight’s odds of winning a handful in a row.

Memory Lane for Vincent Nobile: Nobile returns to the track where he became the youngest driver in Pro Stock history to win an event at the ripe old age of 19. In his second season behind the wheel in by far the closest side-by-side racing in all of motorsports, ESPN2 will see how he has progressed since that win in 2011. Is Nobile a threat to win it all in 2012?

Pro Stock Motorcycles back in action: After a two-race hiatus, the two-wheel machines are back in action this weekend in Houston. The Harley-Davidson teams, coming off a dominating performance in Gainesville last month, have had the rules adjusted and as a result will carry an additional 20 pounds when they hit the dragstrip. Do the Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors think that’s enough or too much?

Ask the Expert with Warren Johnson: This week’s Prestone Ask the Expert will go to Warren Johnson. He has the most wins in the Pro Stock class at this track, his first in 1990 and his last in 2005. Go to NHRA’s Facebook page and post a question to Johnson. It just might be the one selected for the weekend’s ESPN2 broadcast!
 

When the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx returns to action during the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, Mike Castellana will be returning to the site of his first professional Pro Mod victory riding a wave of success.

Castellana, in his Al-Anabi Racing ’12 Camaro, is the defending winner at Royal Purple Raceway. The victory has special meaning for him as it marked his return to NHRA racing after overcoming cancer.

“It was a good win for us,” Castellana said. “Not finishing the year before for health reasons, it was good to come back and get a win at the first NHRA race we were entered [that season], so it was good feeling. We are familiar with the track; we race there a lot, so we are coming into this race with a good bit of confidence.”

Since his return, Castellana has entered eight Pro Mod events, raced to the final round six times, and scored three victories. During this streak, the mind-set hasn’t wavered for the team.

“Last year’s attitude was, 'Let’s just come out and enjoy ourselves,' ” Castellana continued. “We will come
out and race hard, but more importantly, just go out and enjoy ourselves and have a good weekend. It’s working, so I think we are going to stick with it. I owe it all to my crew, really. They are the guys that do all the hard work, crew chief Shannon Jenkins and the team. They are the ones that give me this great car to race with, and team owner Sheik Khalid Al Thani gives us the resources to do it.”

He earned his most recent NHRA Wally with his victory at zMAX Dragway, where he was to face Leah Pruett in the final round. Pruett couldn't make it to the starting line due to engine damage suffered in her semifinal victory. Castellana and his team were excited for the win. The car ran a big number even though the other lane was empty, and as a result, the team obtained data to use later in the season.  

“We did change the car a little bit and did some things we normally wouldn’t try,” he said. “It’s a sigh of relief because you know you’ve pretty much got the win unless something crazy goes on and the car doesn’t start, but it takes some of the joy away, the excitement. You know you won, but if you race someone and win, it is more exciting.”

Other top drivers expected to compete at the event are Troy Coughlin, Jay Payne, and Danny Rowe.

Featuring the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars with an extremely diverse collection of vehicles, including ’63 Corvettes, ’68 Camaros, ’67 Mustangs, and ’68 Firebirds as well as late-model cars, the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx offers something for every kind of hot rodding enthusiast.

• SCHEDULE: NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx qualifying sessions are scheduled for April 27 at 1 and 4:30 p.m. and April 28 at 1:30 p.m. The first round of eliminations begins on April 28 at 4 p.m. Eliminations continue on April 29.

• TICKETS: For tickets, call 281-383-RACE (7223) or log on to www.royalpurpleraceway.com.

NHRA Now is a weekly Web series that gives fans an inside look at the lives of the drivers and teams of the NHRA and keeps everyone up to date on the latest happenings on and off the track, all season long. NHRA Now also is shared on NHRA's Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages each week.

This week’s edition of NHRA Now previews the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. Host Alex Baca checks in with Erica Enders, Courtney Force, and Steve Torrence about racing in Texas, and she talks with J.R. Todd about his return to NHRA Drag Racing. The episode also includes a poll question, so check it out and let us hear from you.
 

Top Fuel dragster pilot Spencer Massey is riding a two-race winning streak heading to his home state of Texas for the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway, the first of two stops in the Lone Star State during the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

“It’s awesome to come off any race as the winner, much less two in a row,” Massey said. “Winning four-wide was great, and winning Vegas was fun, so obviously, we have lots of momentum heading into a track that is kind of close to home. We’ll have lots of friends and family out, so it’s going to be a great weekend.”

Not only has the Texas native won two events in a row, but he’s also won three of the first five races this season and is the national speed record holder after his 332.18-mph performance during the final round at the circuit’s most recent event in Charlotte that held off his hard-charging teammates, Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher.

“We’re not trying to set the world on fire, but somehow, we managed to just set the national record and win the race,” Massey said. “It’s awesome to set the speed record. We’re the fastest team out there in NHRA Drag Racing thanks to [crew chiefs] Todd [Okuhara], Phil [Shuler], and my guys, and it should stick for quite a while. The No. 1 goal for us is to keep going rounds and winning races. We came so close last year, and we want to make sure we get it done this year.”

Massey and his Prestone/FRAM team came close to winning the Top Fuel world championship in 2011, taking their fight all the way to the final race of the season. The team lost the championship on the last day of the season, and Massey doesn’t want that same fate for his team this year. He has all the faith in his team to earn their first NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel world championship.

“It's still early in the year, and we still have the Countdown to the Championship, so I don’t want to use up all of my luck in the beginning of the season, but there are ups and downs throughout the year, and right now, we’re on the upside,” Massey said. “We’re not going to win every race; even though we’d love to, it’s just not going to happen. I’m hoping we ride this for a while and then hit another stride toward the end of the season during the Countdown. I know we have everything we need to go one more step this season and win the championship.”

Massey isn’t the only Texas native in Top Fuel ready to race for the Wally at Royal Purple Raceway. Steve Torrence, who earned his first No. 1 qualifying position in Charlotte, is looking to ride his own wave of momentum into Houston. Torrence is working to earn his first NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event win, seven-time world champ Schumacher is hoping to end his 28-race win drought, and Brown is looking to close the gap on points leader Massey.

Four-time world champ Greg Anderson leads the points standings in Pro Stock and is followed closely by his Summit Racing teammate Jason Line. Mike Edwards sits third, Allen Johnson is in fourth, Vincent Nobile is fifth, and Houston native Erica Enders is sixth; Greg Stanfield, Rodger Brogdon, Ronnie Humphrey, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. round out the top 10.

John Force Racing Funny Car driver Robert Hight, who is riding a four-race winning streak heading into Houston, has dominated all season and leads the points standings in the 7,000-horsepower class. His JFR teammate Mike Neff trails in second place, and Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray, and John Force round out the top five. Rookie Courtney Force is in ninth, and defending world champion Matt Hagan is outside of the top 10 after a DNQ in Charlotte.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2:30 and 5 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-7223, or log on to RoyalPurpleRaceway.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 28. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 29.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, where some of the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on April 27. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on April 28 and continue through April 29.

* PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will be featured at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles in quarter-mile competition. Two rounds of qualifying will be held on April 27, with one additional round of qualifying on April 28 followed by the first round of eliminations. Eliminations will continue on Sunday, April 29.

On behalf of the entire NHRA membership, it is time to call this DieHard Race Week Start-Up meeting to order (cue the gavel sound effect)!

I’d like to begin by thanking all of you who read this page and of course invite any and all forms of comment, question or otherwise. You may direct those to me via email at drieff@cox.net or through Twitter (@DaveRieffNHRA) or Facebook.

Let’s begin with old business! It has been nearly two weeks since the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, and as expected, opinions still vary widely. I am only here to present the facts.

1) Eliminations proved to be very exciting, with the three Pro finals each producing moments that will be talked about for quite some time. After winning the one-off race in Pro Stock for the second time in three years, Summit Racing’s Greg Anderson said, “I’ve complained about this [four-wide] concept, but I guess it’s time to embrace it.” In Funny Car, Robert Hight and his Auto Club crew became the fifth in class history to win four straight races (joining Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, Cruz Pedregon, and some guy named John Force). And it was the kings of the sport, most notably FRAM’s Spencer Massey, who blew us all away when he registered a 332-mph pass, the fastest ever. Let the record show it was Army driver Tony Schumacher who hit the 330-mph mark first.

2) As an ordained pit reporter, this journalist did take note of what Adrian Parker and the rest of the staff at zMAX Dragway happily reported: a 20-percent increase in ticket sales from the year before and the biggest three-day crowd for the Four-Wide Nationals. Well done!

3) And finally, ESPN2 reported the best rating that the NHRA has received since 2009. In addition, the Four-Wide Nationals was the most-viewed program on ESPN2 that day.

Everyone is free to make his or her own conclusions about what all of this means. Might I add one little tweak? The sound of 30,000 horsepower is undisputable. Take that sound and add the sight of 8-foot header flames, and we are talking sensory overload! Might have to push the race back a month or so, but … just a thought.

One last piece of business: I spoke with Chris “the Greek” Karamesines about the team’s starting-line incident in Charlotte. Both injured men are going to be OK. Dennis Swearingen took the hard fall and suffered rib fractures and bruising, and Phil Paul still has soreness in his ear. Everyone is healing, and "the Greek" said that they will rejoin the tour in Atlanta.

Now let’s move on to new business: the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston. That’s right, we’re heading to Texas, where everything is big! The sixth race of the year for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series is the second time we’ll have Pro Stock Motorcycles this season.

To recap Gainesville, Eddie Krawiec ran the table aboard his Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson, resetting the elapsed time (6.750) and speed (199.26 mph) records, qualifying No. 1, and gobbling up every point possible (150). Among those who took note was NHRA’s Tech Department, which has since added 20 pounds to the Harleys. It is a big story and will garner lots of attention this weekend. Twenty-one two-wheel warriors are pre-entered, and it will be nice to have them back on tour!

You can’t race in Houston without mentioning Erica Enders and her GK Motorsports crew, who are looking for their first Pro Stock win. A native of H-town, Enders has raced at Seth Angel’s facility for more than 20 years, and many of her firsts came there (Jr. Dragster win at age 8 and her first NHRA national event win in Super Gas, among others). Another name with plenty of clout is David Nickens, legendary engine builder and quarter-mile campaigner, who will have Chris McGaha behind the wheel and could give all the regulars all they want to handle! And let’s not forget about Tomball, Texas’ Rodger Brogdon. A total of 20 cars will compete for the coveted Wally!

Of course, the nitro divisions will have plenty to talk about as we follow the path of Hight and team in Funny Car as they try to add to their streak of four event wins in a row. Plus, we will see how Matt Hagan and the Aaron’s team rebound after a rough weekend. John Force Racing also looks to continue its season sweep; the 15-time champ began the season in the winner’s circle before Hight's team took fire! Terry Haddock and Todd Simpson will represent the home state at the event, which boasts 20 very capable cars on the entry list.

And in Top Fuel, a familiar face will be back in a car: J.R. Todd! He will drive a second car for Bob Vandergriff Jr., who will play host for his sponsor C&J Energy Services, which calls the Houston area home. Massey leads the points and will be joined in the field by two other Texas digger drivers, Steve Torrence and Troy Buff. After two straight series titles, when will the Al-Anabi group get it together? ESPN is on the case, with Top Fuel boasting a solid 21 pre-registered entries!

To purchase tickets to the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-RACE (7223), or log on to RoyalPurpleRaceway.com.

ESPN’s schedule for the weekend: Friday qualifying, ESPN3.com, 6 p.m. (all times ET); Saturday qualifying, ESPN2, 5-7 p.m.; Sunday final eliminations, ESPN2, 7-10 p.m.

Go Hard or Go Home! We’ll see you this weekend … I’ll be the one smiling! 

A recent study has determined that despite a struggling economy and astronomical fuel prices, car counts through the first five NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events of the season have increased nearly 5 percent over 2011 numbers.

Through the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, a combined total of 2,050 racers in 15 classes competed at the events, up nearly 100, or 4.9 percent, from 2011’s tally of 1,955 competitors.

“The Full Throttle classes [Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle] are all pretty stable,” said NHRA Senior Vice President-Racing Operations Graham Light. “Last year, we averaged 19.7 cars in Top Fuel -- you have to go back to 2005 to find a year that averaged more – and this year, we’re already averaging 19.6. Funny Car is up 4.2 percent, and Pro Stock is up 2.1 percent over last year.

“The numbers are especially encouraging in the Lucas Oil classes from Comp through Top Sportsman, where the numbers have increased 8.3 percent in an apples-to-apples comparison of Sportsman classes with equivalent schedules between the two years.

“The teams have maintained their numbers despite the downturn in the economy, which is surprising considering the cost to run those cars and how dependent they are on sponsors, and it speaks volumes for the value of NHRA Drag Racing and their ability and resourcefulness to find ways to pursue their dreams. We’re not only maintaining our numbers but seeing some growth in some classes, and we’re seeing existing sponsors getting more involved in activating their sponsorships.

“To have an overall 5 percent increase … well, there are a million businesses in this country that would love to have a 5 percent growth.

“This is a tribute to the teams in all classes and their abilities to get funding to continue to compete. We know how expensive it is to run these cars and that the cost of moving down the road – fuel costs and hotels and so on -- is the same no matter which class you’re running.”
 

“We are extremely excited to have the Irwindale Dragstrip reopen and applaud this group for all their efforts,” said NHRA Pacific Division Director Mike Rice. “The facility is so important to the sport of drag racing here in Southern California, and we’ll continue to work with them to ensure their success.”

Racers pay $20 to put the pedal to the metal, spectators pay $10 to cheer them on, and the pits are open to all.

Homepage image cfedit: mustangandfords.com

“We are pleased to partner with the NHRA this year. It is more than a sport; it is an experience,” stated Ken Butler, Aaron’s chief operating officer. “We have kept an eye on the NHRA for a number of years and have known that drag racing fans are passionate about their sport. Having the mobile marketing unit at the tracks along with the broadcast elements each race weekend will allow us to educate those fans on who we are and what we do. Hopefully, those fans will consider Aaron’s when it is time for brand-new, name-brand furniture, electronics, appliances, and computers for their home.”

Aaron’s will have a large 60-foot-by-80-foot display space at five NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events; the first display will be at the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Houston, April 27-29. The display will showcase Aaron’s products and services, and it will give fans attending the event an ideal location to relax while roaming the famous open-pit environment synonymous with NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing.  

In addition to Houston, the Aaron’s display will be featured at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver, the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Seattle, and the inaugural AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis.

In addition to display space, Aaron’s will provide advertising support in the ESPN2 telecast of NHRA Full Throttle events and receive a sponsorable feature, the Aaron’s Lucky Dog of the Race.

“We’re proud to be involved with Aaron’s and that they see the value of participation in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing. “The program with NHRA complements and reinforces the current relationship they enjoy with Don Schumacher Racing as sponsor of NHRA Full Throttle Series Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan and Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.”

Aaron’s Inc., based in Atlanta, has more than 1,960 company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur and current chairman R. Charles Loudermilk and publicly traded since 1982, Aaron's was a pioneer in the furniture-rental industry.

NHRA is seeking an executive director for the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum presented by Automobile Club of Southern California. This is a key opportunity for a hot rod culture enthusiast to oversee the administrative operations and fundraising efforts of this 28,000-square-foot museum in Southern California’s east San Gabriel Valley.

In addition to managing daily operations and staff, the executive director will identify and solicit major donors (public and private), develop corporate members and sponsors, and manage museum-related projects with an emphasis on special events. In addition, the position is responsible for the overall management of the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion events in Bowling Green, Ky., and Bakersfield, Calif.

The successful candidate will be a creative entrepreneur with five-plus years of senior-level management in a museum or similar institution known for its quality and excellence and have demonstrated ability to plan and operate strategically, build public support, increase membership, monitor and strengthen finances with innovative fundraising opportunities, expand collections, inspire staff, and create successful exhibitions and programming. A background working with a board of directors and the ability to forge strong relationships with a diverse group of peer, community, and business leaders, plus being well-connected and having a strong knowledge of the hot rod culture are musts.

In return, NHRA offers a competitive salary and benefits package. Please send your résumé and salary history to careers17@NHRA.com. For more information, log on to museum.NHRA.com or Jobs@NHRA. E.O.E.

2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world champion Del Worsham’s stunning decision to retire from driving and take on crew chief duties of the new Tequila Patron Toyota Camry Funny Car with rookie driver Alexis DeJoria was arguably one of the biggest stories to come out of last season. It takes a gigantic rucksack full of gumption, courage, and humility to change course at the highest point of a career, but Worsham had mapped a solid destination and was ready for a  new journey.

“I love driving, and I would never give up all the years I did that for anything, but at some point, you realize that you can’t drive forever – at least I didn’t want to,” admitted Worsham, who became a Professional driver in 1991 and has intermittently tuned the cars that he has campaigned throughout the years.

“I wanted to do this, and this was the job I wanted. The opportunity might have come a couple of years earlier than I expected, but I knew I had to take it. And it’s great to get to work with Alexis and her family and sponsors, the Kalittas and [Kalitta Motorsports tuning team] Jim O and Jon O, Connie [Kalitta, team owner], and Andy [Cetwinski]. I feel very fortunate.”

The newly formed team rooted in the richly experienced Kalitta camp has continued to stay atop the headlines as it forges its way, although Worsham has happily transitioned into his behind-the-scenes role. Former alcohol racer DeJoria is focused and studious in her new position – yet she’s anything but media-shy, and the cameras adore her sleek black and green flopper. The race for the Auto Club Road to the Future Award – for NHRA’s Full Throttle rookie of the year – pits DeJoria against, among others, another female Funny Car pilot, John Force Racing’s Courtney Force, and the girl vs. girl battle is destined to be a highly publicized, season-long affair.

In terms of performance, DeJoria has qualified for all but one event – the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix – and picked up the first round-win of her young career over one of the most celebrated drivers in NHRA history, John Force, at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by NAPAFilters.com in Gainesville. The Gatornationals was a very strong outing for the team and a soothing balm after the blister of a DNQ in the desert: DeJoria qualified 10th with her best pass of the season, a 4.125 at 306.81 mph, and improved in her defeat of Force to a 4.115, 309.27.

“Everybody would like to have started off maybe a little quicker, a little faster than we did, but we’re learning a little bit more every week,” said Worsham. “We’re making good, representable runs, and we’re pretty much where I thought we would be – other than Phoenix. To go there and never really get the car down the track was definitely a letdown. But nothing is going to happen easily, and everything takes time to build, so I’d say that we’re just about on target.”

The natural question is this: Has it been tough for Worsham to relinquish the reins and stand on the outside of a race car for the first time in more than two decades?

“Amazingly, it has not been difficult at all,” he laughed. “I was mostly worried about getting out there for those first runs in front of the crowd at Pomona. In testing, everything was new, and there was nobody there, but I thought, 'What happens when we get to Pomona?' I stay very busy and very focused with this job, though, and I can honestly tell you that I haven’t been up there once and thought, 'Man I wish I was driving that car.' ”

The next stop on the Full Throttle Series tour is the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Houston, and Worsham is likely looking forward to returning to a venue where he experienced a fair amount of success as a driver.

In 2001, contributing to what was then his best points finish in a season – third – he blasted to the top of the Funny Car pack in qualifying and claimed the Wally. It was his first victory since the 1999 Seattle event and the first time that he had earned the trophy starting from the No. 1 position. Worsham accomplished the feat by outrunning eventual season champion Force, 4.852 to 4.859, and in 2008, he extended his win-loss tally over the Force clan by defeating Force’s daughter, Ashley, at the Houston facility in her second final round as a Professional driver.

Firsthand knowledge of what makes a Funny Car happy at Royal Purple Raceway doesn’t send Worsham into the land of Unrealistic Expectations, however, and the driver who won a national event for the first time in 1991, his rookie year, and didn’t win again for eight seasons is not exactly looking for history to repeat itself.

“If we can win a race in our first year, that would sure be nice,” he said. “There isn’t any reason why we can’t; all the parts are here, the people are here, the car runs well, and Alexis is a great driver. But we’re all just learning this together, and it’s my job to remind everybody that this is going to take a little while. This is something that we want to build up to so that we know where we came from and really know how we got there. We’re taking our time so that when we do win, we can do it again.”

For tickets for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-7223, or log on to www.royalpurpleraceway.com. 

Route 66 Raceway will again welcome race fans to the Starting Line Party, set this year for Thursday, May 24, to include appearances by seven-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher, Top Fuel driver TJ Zizzo, Funny Car driver Bob Bode, and ESPN anchor/reporter John Kernan.

The exclusive event will give race fans unprecedented access to the dragstrip ahead of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries June 28-July 1. In addition to meeting the drivers, fans will have an opportunity to go through tech inspection and race their personal vehicles down the track to capture the full race-day experience. Guests interested in seeing the track at a slower speed can also participate in a track walk.

“Without fans, the great sport of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing would not exist,” said Lincolnshire, Ill., native Zizzo. “I look forward to having a great time with all the fans at Route 66 Raceway this May. Who knows, I may even line up my everyday grocery-getter next to you on the line!”

The Starting Line Party, from 5 to 8 p.m., is exclusive to those who purchase tickets for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries by May 1. For tickets to the race or any of the other 2012 Route 66 Raceway events, log on to Route66Raceway.com or call 888-629-RACE (7223).
 

J.R. Todd will return to Top Fuel action at this week’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Houston in a second car for Bob Vandergriff Jr. Racing and sponsored by Total Equipment.

The Lone Star state has been very good to Vandergriff during the past several years. He found his primary sponsor, C&J Energy Services, headquartered there and won his first Wally in Dallas last fall, and now, he welcomes Todd into the fold for several races beginning in Houston. Total Equipment is a subsidiary of C&J Energy Services.

Following the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Todd and new crew chief Kurt Elliot, tested in Charlotte to get Todd relicensed to compete in Houston.

Todd has not competed in Top Fuel since the 2009 event in Sonoma, but Vandergriff said that he looked as natural as ever.

“J.R. made a strong 3.90-second full pass right out of the box,” said Vandergriff. “He’s a great driver paired up with a strong team led by Kurt Eliott. It doesn’t surprise me that the car ran good with the combination of those two guys added to largely the same crew that we had on the Yas Marina Circuit car last season, which ran a best of 3.78 seconds at 325 mph last fall.”

Vandergriff’s primary sponsor, C&J Energy Services, and its 300 hospitality guests attending the event race in Houston have a lot to look forward to since their last outing at the 2011 NHRA AAA Texas Falls Nationals in Dallas, where they helped cheer the team to its first ever Top Fuel event title. This time though, the guests in attendance will have twice as much to cheer for.

Barry Beadle, president of Total Equipment, is very excited about the upcoming race weekend. “This is going to be fun,” he said. “We’ll have a huge turnout with employees and customers of Total Equipment and C&J Energy Services attending the race in Houston. It’s such an exciting atmosphere, and we have two strong drivers to root for in the Top Fuel class, so we can’t wait until Friday qualifying starts to see where our guys rank and follow them throughout the weekend.”

For tickets for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-7223, or log on to www.royalpurpleraceway.com.

Erica Enders is easily the most successful woman to compete in Pro Stock in NHRA history, but even with all of her accomplishments, there is still one thing left to do: become the first woman to win an event in the popular factory hot rod class. The driver of the GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt has led qualifying fields, won rounds, set national records, posted a top 10 points finish, and even made it to the final round, six times at that, but she has not been able to seal the deal and earn that elusive Wally.

She hopes to change that statistic at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, April 27-29 at Royal Purple Raceway. Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Jeff Arend (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2HD.

“I’m ready to get this monkey off my back,” Enders said. “I think we’ve figured out as many ways possible that there are to lose, so we’re ready to win. I’m ready to just get this first win over with so we can put it in the books and go on and hopefully win a lot more races.”

Enders earned her first final-round appearance of the 2012 season at the last event, in Charlotte, where she fell to Greg Anderson in the final for the third time in her career. Despite the loss, she is feeling positive and couldn’t think of a better place to earn her first victory than at her Houston-based home track.

“I feel really good about coming off our final round in Charlotte,” Enders said. “I’m really excited and optimistic about my team and car heading to Houston. I won my first events in Jr. Dragster, Super Comp, and Super Gas all at Houston, so winning there in Pro Stock would just top it off. We have lots of family and friends who are coming out, my sponsor and his company will be coming out as well, so it’ll be a full-blown crazy weekend, and hopefully we can finish the weekend off with a win.”

Enders has confidence in her car and her team every NHRA race weekend across the country, but the 28-year-old Houston native has a special place in her heart for Royal Purple Raceway and knows that winning there would be the highlight of her 20-year racing career.

The odds for earning a first victory at Royal Purple Raceway are definitely in Enders’ favor. As many as eight current Full Throttle Series drivers have earned their first wins at the super-quick Houston dragstrip, including Nobile last season, Cruz Pedregon, Matt Hagan, Mike Edwards, Robert Hight, Karen Stoffer, Michael Phillips, and Jeg Coughlin Jr. Enders would love to add her name to that list.  

“Winning in Houston would just be a storybook deal,” Enders said. “If I could write my story, I would write it that way. I want to win every race, but if I got to choose where I’d win my first Pro Stock race, Houston would definitely be it. It’s a track I’ve been racing at for 20 years; it would just be fabulous.”

Anderson leads the points standings in the ultracompetitive Pro Stock class, followed closely by his Summit Racing teammate Jason Line. Edwards sits third, followed by Allen Johnson, Nobile, and Enders; Greg Stanfield, Rodger Brogdon, Ronnie Humphrey, and Coughlin round out the top 10.

In Top Fuel, Texas native Spencer Massey is coming off a two-race winning streak and leads the championship points standings. Seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher sits second, his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown is third, Morgan Lucas is fourth, Shawn Langdon sits fifth, Doug Kalitta is sixth, and Texas native Steve Torrence, Bob Vandergriff Jr., Clay Millican, and Brandon Bernstein complete the top 10.

John Force Racing driver Hight, who is riding a four-race winning streak heading into Houston, has dominated Funny Car all season and leads the championship points standings in the 7,000-horsepower class. His JFR teammate Mike Neff is behind him in second place, and Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray, and John Force round out the top five. Rookie Courtney Force is in ninth, and defending world champion Hagan is outside of the top 10 after a DNQ at the last event in Charlotte.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 2:30 and 5 p.m. on Friday, April 27, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-7223, or log on to www.royalpurpleraceway.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 28. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 29.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, where some of the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8 a.m. on April 27. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on April 28 and continue through April 29.

* PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will be featured at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles in quarter-mile competition. Two rounds of qualifying will be held on April 27, with one additional round of qualifying on April 28 followed by the first round of eliminations. Eliminations will continue on Sunday, April 29.

Summit Racing drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line will reveal the radically new paint schemes for their forthcoming Summit Racing Pro Stock Camaros this weekend as they take advantage of an open spot in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule to head to their sponsor’s McDonough, Ga., location for today’s Super Summit 2012. Anderson and Line will sign autographs and spend time with the fans at the one-day open house that also features some of the finest custom cars and hot rods as well as a manufacturers’ midway with more than 100 vendors expected.

“Super Summit is a really neat event, a huge car show with all sorts of vendors in attendance that brings out tons of people,” said Anderson. “Due to our racing schedule, it’s been a couple of years since we’ve been able to attend one of these, and this will be our first one at the McDonough location. In addition to meeting a lot of our fans, we’ll also get to spend some quality time with the Summit brass away from the pressures of the racetrack.

“But our big news for the weekend is the unveiling of our Summit Racing Camaro paint schemes. We’re excited to give the Summit employees a sneak peek at what their new hot rods will look like, as well as showing them to the fans for the first time. I think they will be a little surprised at how different the Camaros will look from our current cars.”

“I’m excited by our move to the Camaros,” added Line. “For the first time in my Pro Stock career, I’ll finally be driving a real muscle car, and I think the fans are really going to like our new look, which is completely different from anything else we have ever run. It’s going to be fun to reveal the paint schemes to everyone as part of Super Summit this weekend, and even better when we get our Summit Racing Camaros out on the racetrack.”

The John Force Racing Road Show will be on display beginning April 20 at five Walmarts around the greater Houston area in advance of the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, promoting both the winningest team in motorsports history, the Castrol Funny Cars of JFR, and the fastest motorsport on the planet, NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing.

In partnership with Castrol and Walmart, five JFR Funny Cars will be on display for fans to enjoy. The race cars will be positioned inside the Walmarts in Baytown, La Porte, Houston, and Pasadena April 20-22.

“Last year, we received tremendous response from a similar program in Denver in advance of the NHRA national event. We have expanded the program to 12 markets across the country and so far, we have displayed in Gainesville and Charlotte with great success. Fans love coming into the Walmarts and seeing their favorite John Force Castrol GTX Funny Car or maybe seeing the Funny Cars driven by Ashley Force Hood, Robert Hight, Mike Neff, or rookie sensation Courtney Force,” said Lori Anne Gola, Castrol Sports Marketing, Sponsor Relations, and Promotions.

Locations of Houston-area John Force Racing Road Show
4900 Garth Road, Baytown, Texas
9025 Spencer Highway, La Porte, Texas
5200 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, Texas
1107 Shaver St., Pasadena, Texas
13750 East Highway, Houston

To purchase tickets for the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, April 27-29, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-RACE (7223), or log on to  www.royalpurpleraceway.com. 
 

The analogy “home run” refers to an activity or event that touches all four bases. That analogy is certainly appropriate when it comes to last weekend’s NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, where the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series enjoyed strong attendance, top ratings on ESPN2, unbelievable performances on the track, and great weather.

Attendance for the event was strong all three days, with the final attendance figures up 20 percent from 2011. The Speedway Motorsports Inc. facility in Charlotte, self-dubbed "the Bellagio of dragstrips,” enjoyed chamber of commerce weather, allowing NHRA fans the opportunity to enjoy the racing on the track and the plethora of activities in NHRA’s world-famous open pits. 

Clearly the fans at home have responded to the unique and once-a-year format. The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals was the highest-rated show on ESPN2 on Sunday, with ratings up 27 percent from last year’s event. The Sunday broadcast received a .65 rating, with 897,954 viewers. The ESPN television production is unlike any other on the NHRA Full Throttle circuit, requiring an increase in cameras and personnel to cover the four-lane format.

Adding to the excitement all weekend was record-setting performances on the track in all four Professional categories as well as the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. A number of national records were broken, none more impressive than that by Spencer Massey and the FRAM/Prestone dragster team, who took home the Wally in fine fashion. In the final round, racing alongside teammates Tony Schumacher in the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster and Antron Brown as well as Doug Kalitta in his Kalitta Air dragster, Massey put down a 3.802-second pass at 332.18 mph. With that run, Massey set the national speed record, one of several passes by Massey and Schumacher during the weekend that cracked the 330-mph barrier.

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series takes a weekend off as it travels to Royal Purple Raceway in Houston for the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries April 27-29. To purchase reserved seats, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-RACE (7223), or log on to  www.royalpurpleraceway.com.  

Daniel Wilkerson, son of popular Funny Car owner/driver Tim Wilkerson and a rising star in his own right, will make his 2012 debut at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway May 4-6. With backing again from Summit Racing Equipment, Wilkerson is also set to join the Funny Car field at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk July 5-8.

D. Wilk has raced sporadically in the past three NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series seasons while he concentrated on earning his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois. With his diploma in hand, the young driver is eager to get back on the track with an eye toward a much larger involvement in 2013.

"Getting my degree was the No. 1 priority, so that came first the last few years," Wilkerson said. "We've been able to get out there a few times, thanks to the great people at Summit Racing Equipment, and I can tell you for a fact that I have withdrawal from it when I can't be racing, so I'm really excited to get back in the car.

"My dad is always working on finding new avenues for us to get me out there on a more steady basis, so hopefully some of these opportunities can come together in the near future. Nothing would be cooler than to do this full time, but in the meantime, I feel really lucky to have a great company like Summit Racing behind me for a couple of races this year. It means a lot that they believe in me enough to do this."

A sponsor's belief can sometimes be founded on speculation about a driver's potential, and it can be based on a solid record on the track. In the case of D. Wilk, it's a combination of both. He has clearly shown a knack for handling a Funny Car with both natural and learned skills, and in his brief Pro career, he is 6-for-6 in qualifying for events entered. At his most recent race, the 2011 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, he stunned the class by qualifying sixth, then defeated Johnny Gray in round one. Not bad for an extremely part-time driver with a volunteer crew.

"Once we go racing full time, we'll have a professional crew just like the other big-budget teams, but if we're only going to be racing a couple times a year, it pretty much has to be my buddies, a lot of whom actually have a lot of experience. They may be volunteers, but they've all worked on this car and my Top Alcohol car, and we have Fred Mandoline around to oversee everything, not to mention my dad helping out with the tune-up.

"To be able to qualify at all six races we've been to is kind of surprising on one hand but also not surprising on the other. I give most of the credit to the guys and my dad, and my job is to make sure the driver does OK. We've won two rounds now, so I'm pretty proud of everyone involved with this deal. I can't wait to get to Atlanta, and we'll see how we can do there."
 

Royal Purple Raceway is offering a special $25 ticket to fans to help celebrate its 25th anniversary. The special advance-purchase-only ticket is available to fans for Friday admission to the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, April 27-29, the sixth race of the season in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Track officials have reported that tickets for the Darrell Russell Top Eliminator Club are sold out, but great seats are still available in the reserved sections of the grandstands as well as for the new Starting Line Club, a premium three-day reserved-seat ticket that will allow fans to experience the event from close range and provide all holders with members-only services such as complimentary food and beverages.

“We are excited about making the $25 Friday ticket available for our fans as part of our 25th anniversary celebration and the much-anticipated debut of our new Starting Line Club seating option,” said Seth Angel, Royal Purple Raceway general manager. “We’ve sold out the TEC, and there are some great seats still available, but they’re going fast. We encourage our fans to purchase their tickets early to be able to select their seat location and take advantage of the discount for purchasing early.”  

Angel also said that fans can expect new technology to assist with their enjoyment of the race weekend. The track has added a second jumbo video screen near the starting line as well as a second set of scoreboards on the face of the drag tower that sits directly behind the starting line.

“We are excited to put these new initiatives into play for our fans,” Angel said. “These two additions will keep our fans near the starting line in the TEC and Starting Line Club better informed throughout the race weekend.”

NHRA’s sixth event of the 2012 season will allow NHRA’s huge Texas fan base an opportunity to see the powerful cars and meet all of the drivers who will be racing at speeds of more than 320 mph in hopes of qualifying for the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoff. A win at this important regular-season event can mean great momentum as drivers pursue NHRA Full Throttle world championship glory during the 23-event season that crisscrosses the United States. 

During the 25th anniversary of one of the major motorsports attractions held annually in the Lone Star State, all of the biggest stars in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will be on hand to blast their way toward the finish line and keep the fans on the edge of their seats. The 2011 winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event were Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Jeff Arend (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle). The race will be televised on ESPN2HD.

In Top Fuel, Texas native Spencer Massey is making headlines with three victories at the five races this season behind the wheel of his FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel dragster. In winning last weekend, the Fort Worth driver also set the national speed record at zMAX Dragway with a jaw-dropping performance of 332.18 mph. Others to watch in Top Fuel include past Royal Purple Raceway winners Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, and Brandon Bernstein. Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, and another Texas native, Steve Torrence, the No. 1 qualifier in Charlotte, have been running really strong lately and should be in the mix all weekend.

In Funny Car, Robert Hight brings a four-race winning streak to Royal Purple Raceway and will try to become only the fourth Funny Car driver in NHRA history to win five consecutive races. To accomplish the feat, Hight, who earned his first victory in Houston in 2005, will have to hold off a strong contingent of talented Funny Car drivers, including the trio he beat in the four-wide final in Charlotte – John Force, Ron Capps, and Cruz Pedregon –  who are all past winners at Royal Purple Raceway, along with defending winner Arend, Mike Neff, Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray, Bob Tasca III, Courtney Force, and Alexis DeJoria.

Houston native Erica Enders posted a runner-up finish in Charlotte and is getting closer to capturing an elusive first Pro Stock victory after six second-place showings. Last season, she made NHRA history by becoming the first female driver to finish in the top 10 in Pro Stock. Series points leader Greg Anderson, who beat Enders in Charlotte, has two victories this season and has won two times at Royal Purple Raceway. Along with those two, four-time Houston winner Jeg Coughlin Jr., defending world champ Jason Line, defending event winner Nobile, and three-time event winner Mike Edwards are among the pre-race favorites in the 200-mph factory hot rod class.

The race also will feature competition in Pro Stock Motorcycle, in which defending world champ Eddie Krawiec will resume his quest to break the 200-mph barrier on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx also will be showcased at the event.   

As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet.

Full Throttle Series qualifying begins on Friday, April 27, with sessions at 2:30 and 5 p.m. The final qualifying sessions will take place Saturday, April 28, at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.

To purchase reserved seats, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-RACE (7223), or log on to www.royalpurpleraceway.com.
 

NHRA and JEM Sportswear have announced that Walmart stores nationwide are stocking the hugely popular NHRA Originals vintage T-shirts for men. This marks yet another expansion of the classic line of NHRA Originals vintage men’s T-shirts that debuted last fall.
 
“The NHRA Originals program has been a huge success,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing. “We are very excited to work with Walmart nationwide to bring this cool, classic line to retail and hope to expand the number of styles available in the future.”

Walmart is the largest retail outlet currently participating in the NHRA Originals program, operating 629 stores across the United States. Depicting a class front-engine dragster and the iconic NHRA Championship Drag Racing logo, the gray-heather color men’s shirt is exclusively available at all Walmart stores nationwide. Available men’s sizes range from small to XXL.

Last fall, NHRA Originals launched in Target stores nationwide and followed with the announcement earlier this year of subsequent distributions in Nordstrom, J.C. Penney, and Shopko stores. JEM Sportswear and NHRA will continue to roll out other designs and products through these and other retail outlets. 

The hottest Funny Car driver on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit is Robert Hight. The California native has won the last four races and holds a commanding lead in the points standings as the series moves to ultrafast Royal Purple Raceway near Houston for the 25th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, April 27-29.

After suffering a rare first-round upset from the No. 1 qualifying position at the season-opening O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Pomona in February, Hight went on a tear, racking up consecutive victories in Phoenix, Gainesville, Las Vegas, and Charlotte. With his fourth consecutive win, Hight joined some elite company in the NHRA record books. Only four other Funny Car drivers have claimed four wins in a row: Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, John Force, and Cruz Pedregon. Prudhomme’s mark of seven wins in a row in 1975-76 stands as the record in the category. The most consecutive Funny Car wins in a single season is five, held jointly by Prudhomme, Pedregon, and Force.

“This class is so competitive that just getting one win is tough,” said Hight, who has 27 victories. “To win one of these races is tough, but to win four in a row is stuff that you don’t even dream about. I don’t see why we need to stop here.”

In his most recent win, Hight qualified No. 1 and powered through the competition in his Jimmy Prock-tuned Auto Club Ford Mustang. In the final round of the unique NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, he beat an all-star lineup of drivers, including team owner Force, two-time champ Pedregon, and talented veteran driver Ron Capps.

“Racing those three guys in the final – Cruz, Capps, Force – those guys are all Hall of Famers,” Hight said. “They are guys I grew up watching. They all have more wins than me. Just to be out there racing those guys and to actually beat them is unbelievable.”

Robert Hight, second from right, John Force, second from left, crew chief Jimmy Prock, right, and assistant crew chief Eric Lane celebrated their Charlotte win.

Now Hight turns his attention to Royal Purple Raceway, where he earned his first victory, in 2005. He qualified No. 1 at the event and defeated the crafty Pedregon in the final round. This time at Royal Purple Raceway, Hight will be focusing hard to keep his positive momentum moving ahead at full steam.

“It is harder to start a winning streak than keep one going,” Hight has said. “Once you have a couple wins, momentum carries over from win to win. Your team builds up confidence, and it just seems to get easier. You never want to take it for granted because streaks can end just as quickly as they start.”

NHRA’s sixth event of the 2012 season will allow NHRA’s huge Texas fan base an opportunity to see the powerful cars and meet all of the drivers who will be racing at speeds of more than 320 mph in hopes of qualifying for the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s six-race playoff. A win at this important regular-season event can mean great momentum as drivers pursue NHRA Full Throttle world championship glory during the 23-event season that crisscrosses the United States. 

During the 25th anniversary of one of the major motorsports attractions held annually in the Lone Star State, all of the biggest stars in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will be on hand to blast their way toward the finish line and keep the fans on the edge of their seats. The 2011 winners of the event were Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Jeff Arend (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle). The race will be televised on ESPN2HD.

To keep his streak alive, Hight will have to hold off a strong contingent of talented Funny Car drivers, including the three he beat in the final at Charlotte – Force, Capps, and Pedregon –  who are all past winners at Royal Purple Raceway, along with Arend, Mike Neff, Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray, Bob Tasca, Courtney Force, and Alexis DeJoria.

In Top Fuel, Texas native Spencer Massey is making headlines with three wins at the five races this season behind the wheel of his FRAM/Prestone Top Fuel dragster. In winning this past weekend, the Fort Worth driver also set the national speed record at zMAX Dragway with a performance of 332.18 mph. Others to watch in Top Fuel include past Royal Purple Raceway winners Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, and Brandon Bernstein. Morgan Lucas, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, and another Texas native, Steve Torrence, the No. 1 qualifier in Charlotte, have all been running really strong lately and should be in the mix all weekend.

Houston native Erica Enders posted a Pro Stock runner-up finish in Charlotte and is getting closer to capturing an elusive first victory. Last season, she made NHRA history by becoming the first female driver to finish in the top 10 in the category. She has six runner-up finishes as she pursues her first win. Series points leader Greg Anderson, who beat Enders in Charlotte, has two victories this season and has won two times at Royal Purple Raceway. Along with those two, four-time Houston winner Jeg Coughlin Jr., defending world champ Jason Line, defending event winner Nobile, and three-time event winner Mike Edwards are among the pre-race favorites in the 200-mph factory hot rod class.

The race also will feature competition in Pro Stock Motorcycle; defending world champ Eddie Krawiec will resume his quest to break the 200-mph barrier on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. The NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx also will be showcased at the event.   

As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet.

Full Throttle Series qualifying begins on Friday, April 27, with sessions at 2:30 and 5 p.m. The final qualifying sessions will take place Saturday, April 28, at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.

To purchase reserved seats, call Royal Purple Raceway, 281-383-RACE (7223), or log on to www.royalpurpleraceway.com. 

 
Auto Club Ford Mustang driver Hight becomes just the fifth Funny Car racer to win four consecutive events in NHRA history, joining the ranks of Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, his team owner John Force, and Cruz Pedregon, who he defeated in the finals to accomplish the feat. Hight used a reaction time of .058 seconds at the start of his 4.076-second pass at 314.83 mph to secure his 27th career win.

“This is unbelievable. This class is so tough. Racing those three guys in the final, Cruz, Capps, Force, those guys are all hall of famers. They’re definitely guys that I grew up watching, and they all have more wins than me, so just to be out there racing those guys and to actually beat them is unbelievable,” said Hight.

Robert Hight

Spencer Massey

Greg Anderson

“To win one of these races is tough, and to have four in a row, it’s stuff that you don’t even dream about. I don’t see why we got to stop here, right? That was a 40-point swing for us in the final. That’s gaining 40 points on everybody but the runner-up. That’s big time. I want to keep this going. It’s not that easy to win out here, so you don’t want to give this up. You may never win another one.”

Massey is also enjoying a strong start to the season when he notched his third win of the early season. Massey and his FRAM/Prestone dragster, has yet to lose in a final-round appearance this year, and his 3.802-second pass at 332.18 was able to defeat his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher in the U.S. Army Top Fuel dragster. Massey also set the national speed record with his speed of 332.18 mph, and he takes over the points lead from teammate Antron Brown. 

“It’s unbelievable. Starting out running 328 mph in qualifying and then coming up this morning and blistering a 330 and then just trying to go down the racetrack in the final and running 332; we were just trying to go A to B and make them beat us. When I went across the finish line, I didn’t know who won until I made the turnoff, and it wasn’t until they were giving me the trophy that they told me I’d run 332 mph. That’s unreal. It just shows you how awesome this Prestone and FRAM team of Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara is running,” stated Massey. “The car always pulls hard on every run, and on that 332, it never let up. It pulled as hard at the finish line as it did at 330 feet. You know you’re on a good run when it does that. You just have to be focused on the starting line and have your head in the game. It’ll show you which driver knows what’s going on at the Four-Wide Nationals. I love it.”

This was the second NHRA Four-Wide Nationals win for Anderson, who calls Charlotte home for himself and his race team. The driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP held off a hard charging Erica Enders in her GK Racing Chevy Cobalt. Enders is working to become the first female winner in the NHRA Pro Stock category. The 6.540-second pass at 212.23 powered him to his 72nd career win and adds to his points lead in the category.

“I am off to a good start this year. I’ve been in three finals, and leading the points. I have a great race car, and Jason has a great race car. The Summit team is on fire. These are two of the very best cars we’ve had,” said Anderson. “When you’re racing four wide, you always feel like an underdog. Even if you have the fastest car, you have guys who cut .00 lights every time, and let’s face it, I’m not one of those guys. I’ve complained about this [four-wide] concept, but I guess it’s time to embrace it.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to action on April 27-29 at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston, April 27-29.

Mike Castellana was awarded his third NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series ProCare Rx victory in a single pass during the final round after his competitor was unable to make it to the starting line. Castellana was to face Leah Pruett in the finals, but she suffered extreme engine damage in the semifinals, and her team wasn’t able to fix the car in time for the final.

This was the second consecutive final-round appearance for Castellana, who was defeated in Gainesville by Rickie Smith. Castellana faced Smith in the quarterfinals during eliminations on Sunday and was able to avenge his loss at the prior event. Castellana also defeated Chip King, and the No. 1 qualifier of Danny Rowe en route to the finals. With the win, Castellana takes over the point lead from Smith.

The NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx will next be in action in Houston.


Lucas Oil event winners
Top Alcohol Dragster
Bill Reichert, 5.317, 264.23 def. Doug Foley, 10.199, 82.63.

Top Alcohol Funny Car
Andy Bohl, Ford Mustang, 5.614, 261.47 def. Dan Pomponio, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.721, 245.14.

Competition Eliminator
Russell Joly, Chevy Cobalt, 8.314, 115.49 def. Tony Terry, Cobalt, foul.

Super Stock
Michael Volkman, Chrysler Sebring, 10.359, 116.85 def. Joe Santangelo, Olds Achieva, 10.369, 103.40.

Stock Eliminator
Joe Lisa, Chevy Camaro, 10.724, 120.81 def. Dan Fletcher, Camaro, 11.129, 113.73.

Super Comp
Michelle Furr, Dragster, 8.896, 167.99 def. Lauren Freer, Dragster, foul.

Super Gas
Iggie Boicesco, Chevy Corvette, 9.905, 168.62 def. Frank Altilio, Corvette, 9.896, 158.95.

Top Sportsman
Tim Molnar, Pontiac Grand Am, 11.882, 110.25 def. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Stratus, broke.

 

Robert Hight continued his hot start of the season when he recorded his third No. 1 qualifying position in the first five events of 2012. Friday leaders, Jason Line in Pro Stock and Steve Torrence in Top Fuel, retained their No. 1 qualifying positions through Saturday’s qualifying efforts.

Hight was outside the 16-car field looking in when he powered his Auto Club Ford Mustang to the top of the field with a run of 4.074 seconds at 317.19 mph during the third round of qualifying. This is his 42nd No.1 qualifying position of his 166-race career.

Hight has won the last three events, and if he continues his winning streak at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, he will become the fourth Funny Car driver to win four in a row joining legends Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, and John Force.

Robert Hight

Jason Line

Steve Torrence

“It was a long night last night. It’s not a position that we’ve been in this year. My car has been running so well, but it was kind of comforting knowing we were on the slow side of it. Jimmy Prock, he has no problems making more power and making it go faster. That’s easy for him. If we were on the other side of it where we were fast and having to slow it down, I’d have been really nervous,” said Hight. “I would have a little more confidence if we had more than one run going into eliminations, but we hit it out there again tonight and shook. It was slow, so Jimmy will fix it tomorrow. We definitely have to get on the other side of it and make the thing faster, and if you do that, I have a good feeling this Auto Club car could be low e.t. every round, just like it was the first run today. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Four wide is exciting.”

In the four-wide format of eliminations Hight will face the No. 16 qualifier Jeff Arend, the No. 8 qualifier Bob Tasca III, and the No. 9 qualifier Tim Wilkerson.    

The 6.493-second pass at 213.91 mph Line recorded on Friday in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP held up during the final two rounds of qualifying to help secure his second consecutive No. 1 qualifying position and the third of the season. It is the 26th No. 1 of his career and this is the fourth time he has held the top qualifying position at zMAX Dragway.

“I get along with this track in qualifying, but no so much on race day. Today was not a great day. I got timed out on one round, but anytime you qualify No. 1, it’s great,” said Line. “I made a nice run on Q4, when I got timed out; in fact, it might have been the first 214-mph run, but we’ll never know. I got a little confused up there and didn’t realize which light I should have been looking at. Thankfully, it happened today instead of the first round tomorrow. That’s the only way you can look at it.”

Line will compete against the No. 16 qualifier Jeg Coughlin Jr., the No. 8 qualifier Ronnie Humphrey, and the No. 9 qualifier Rodger Brogdon.

Torrence maintained the top spot with the 3.799-second pass at 322.34 mph he recorded during the second qualifying session on Friday. This is the first No. 1 qualifying position of Torrence’s career in his newly built Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors team. Torrence is a second-generation NHRA racer and a NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster champion. 

“This is a blast. Any time you’re No. 1 at anything is great. This is a new team. I’m real happy to get that No. 1 spot, the first of my career. That just goes to show the hard work and dedication that the guys have put in,” said Torrence. “We’ve really strived to put together a top-notch team, and I think it’s beginning to show a little bit of what we’re capable of. I really felt confident that .79 would stay where it was at being as it was warmer today, and those conditions last night were really good. It gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow that I’ve got a good race car, and tomorrow e.t.s don’t matter; it’s all about the win light.”

When eliminations take place on Sunday, Torrence will be pitted against Pat Dakin, who qualified 16th; Bob Vandergriff Jr., who qualified No. 8; and Clay Millican, who is in the ninth position.

Eliminations for the 3rd annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals will begin at noon on Saturday.

Danny Rowe held onto to his No. 1 qualifying position following three rounds of qualifying and used the top spot to win his opening-round match against the No. 16 qualifier in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx. In eliminations Rowe recorded his fourth near-perfect run of 5.958 seconds at 244.12 mph to the losing effort of 6.073 at 236.01 mph by Scott Ray. When eliminations continue on Sunday, Rowe will face Ike Maier, who defeated Donald Martin in the first round of eliminations.

Other quarterfinal races will be Rickie Smith vs. Mike Castellana, Brad Brand vs. Mike Knowles, and Leah Pruett vs. Donald Walsh.
 

 
The other current No. 1 qualifiers are Summit Racing driver Jason Line in Pro Stock and Capco Contractors Top Fuel driver Steve Torrence.

Capps powered his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to the top of the class with a run of 4.105 seconds at 301.81 mph. Capps has yet to record a No. 1 qualifying this position season but has 11 in his 368 race career. The provisional No. 1 run comes off a recent addition of Rahn Tobler as crew chief for the team.

Ron Capps

Jason Line

Steve Torrence

“I told someone today that I was probably the most nervous I’ve been in a long time because that car had been down the track I think 19 runs in a row before the first run today, and the car didn’t change much. So then I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, if it doesn’t go down and it’s been down the track this many times, what does it say about me in the car?’ And then on top of it, you have the four wide, so you have all that stuff going on, and then on top of that, you have my teammate Matt Hagan making the highlight reel in front of me, and we had to sit for another half hour,” said Capps. “I just wanted to get that first run over with, so when it went down the track, it was such a huge relief.”

Line, the 2011 Pro Stock champion and Charlotte resident, powered his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP to the lead in the factory hot rod class with his 6.493-second pass at 213.91 mph. Line’s speed of 213.91 mph set the national speed record for Pro Stock.

"That was a good run, but it wasn't a great run. I don't want to sound spoiled, but we left a little bit on the table on the starting line and a little bit more on downtrack,” said Line about his first run of the day. “On the second run, the car shook the tires a little less than the first and did a little less of a wheelstand, but it still wasn't perfect. We're sneaking up on it. When I ran 213.91, I was a little disappointed because I wanted to skip right over 213 mph and go 214. We were so close."
 
In Top Fuel, Torrence racing his Torrence Racing/Capco Contractors dragster recorded a career-best speed of 322.34 mph during his 3.799-second run. If he remains in the No. 1 qualifying position on Sunday, it will be the first of his 53-race career and a boost for this family run team.

“We had a good car coming into this race, and I was really pleased with the first round. We went .94 when a lot of teams weren’t making it down through there, so I had a lot of confidence in my guys. We made it through half-track and just drove it right back into the groove and laid down a good number,” said Torrence. “[Outrunning the multicar teams] is a big achievement because those guys have a lot of data, lots of run, and lots of experience among them, so to come out, run a few races last year, and show up at the first of the season and consider yourself a competitive team, that’s a big achievement.”

Qualifying for the third annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals continues for the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with eliminations taking place on Sunday.

Danny Rowe powered his Sterling Bridge ’67 Camaro to the top of the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx qualifying order.

Rowe raced to the current No. 1 qualifying position during the first of the two sessions with a run of 5.874 seconds at 247.97 mph. If it holds going into eliminations on Saturday afternoon, it will be the fourth career No. 1 qualifying position for Rowe. Gainesville winner Rickie Smith qualified in the fourth position with his 5.934-second pass at 242.36 mph run, Brad Brand is currently second at 5.918 seconds at 248.84 mph, Leah Pruett sits in the third position at 5.934 seconds 249.95 mph, and Mike Castellana rounds out the top five at 5.967 seconds at 241.80 mph.

The third and final qualifying session for the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the first round of eliminations to take place at 4 p.m.  

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing fans around the country have been awaiting a John Force Racing RC Funny Car model since the new, unique, and energetic partnership between Traxxas and John Force Racing was announced in early January of this year. Today, fans at the 3rd annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals got their first peek at the four JFR Traxxas Funny Cars during a photo shoot beside the Traxxas fan experience zone.

Traxxas revealed last week a collection of fully assembled, ready-to-race Traxxas RC Ford Mustang Funny Cars. The new models run 70-plus mph and are designed to convey realistic effects of the Funny Car class. The Funny Cars have all the current logos and paint schemes from the 2012 JFR Ford Mustang Funny Cars.

“I’m very excited about the new Traxxas RC Funny Cars. I know this is something that our fans have been hoping for and looking forward to since the beginning of the season, and so have I. Traxxas really outdid themselves on these, and I think they are going to be a huge hit. I can’t thank Traxxas and Mike Jenkins enough for creating these for our fans,” said John Force. “I’ve always loved RC cars since I was little, so now to see my Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car come together as an 1/8-scale version that everyone can race is pretty cool. I wish I would have had one of these when I was a kid!”

Sold separately is an authentic, portable, and affordable drag race timing and scoring system. The DTS-1 unfolds and turns smooth asphalt into your own personal dragstrip. Dual beams on the starting line allow competitors to pre-stage and stage with laser-precise accuracy with the option to set up either a Pro or Sportsman Tree.
 

Bernie Partridge, who during NHRA’s formative years was the voice of drag racing as the lead announcer at the organization's national events and later became one of its great leaders, died April 12. He was 79. Partridge, known affectionately as “the Bird,” had been in ill health the last several years.

The loss was the third suffered by one of the first families of NHRA in the last year; third son John died two days previously of a massive heart attack, and second son Gary died in mid-2011 of cancer. The younger Partridges worked on the NHRA crews at West Coast national events; John also did announcing at both the original Irwindale Raceway and the new Irwindale track, and Gary also worked tech and often was part of the starting-line crew, both following in the footsteps of their famous father.

Though Partridge’s official NHRA career spanned more than 30 years, from his appointment as NHRA regional advisor in 1957 through his retirement in 1989, his involvement began much earlier.

Partridge joined the famed Dust Devils Auto Club of Ridgecrest, Calif., in 1951 and was elected its president in 1953, a position in which he served intermittently during the next seven years. He also was strip manager of Inyokern Dragstrip from 1954 through 1962 and an NHRA regional advisor from 1957 to 1961, and he acted as temporary division director during the 1960 season while the national records program was initiated. He announced at NHRA’s earliest national events in the 1950s and was named NHRA’s chief announcer in 1958 and Southwest Division director in December 1962.

Partridge, who tagged legendary Don Garlits with the famous "Big Daddy" nickname while announcing at the 1962 U.S. Nationals, was good on both sides of the microphone. He competed in stock classes at facilities such as Maricopa Dragstrip near Bakersfield from 1951 to 1958 with an assortment of stockers, gassers, and altereds, the most successful of which was a stock '52 Olds that he campaigned at West Coast tracks and was undefeated in in 1955. From 1958 to 1960, he competed in a DeSoto-powered modified roadster that he and his brother-in-law built, and he ran a 409 Chevy in SS/S class through 1962 before becoming a division director.

Bernie Partridge and his wife, P.J., were mainstays of the NHRA headquarters and Field Office staff for decades.

Partridge served as a division director through 1979, when he was chosen to head an experimental regional office as western regional director. In 1981, he was promoted to the newly created position of national field administrator to oversee NHRA’s field operations and serve as the direct liaison between NHRA’s division directors and headquarters. In 1982, he was named vice president-field administration.

Partridge’s wife of more than 50 years, Phillis Jean (P.J.), worked side by side with him in many of his duties and left NHRA in 1990. They were an inseparable and dynamic duo.

In addition to P.J., Partridge is survived by two sons, Bernie Jr. and Jim.

A celebration of life for Bernie will take place Thursday, April 19 at 2 p.m. at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum. John's memorial will be held at Irwindale Speedway Saturday, April 21, at 10 a.m.

Partridge with NHRA founder Wally Parks, left, and then NHRA President and current board chairman Dallas Gardner

Partridge, Dave McClelland, left, and the late Steve Evans were NHRA's national event announcing team in the 1970s.

A former racer himself, Partridge had a natural rapport with racers as both a regional and divisional director.

Unique.

It is not often that you can actually witness four cars with a combined 30,000 horsepower racing side by each at one time.

Unique is one simple word that says so much about the upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. In researching exactly how that word is defined, I actually tripped upon one that hit the nail on the head. Dictionary.com says that, used as a noun, unique is “the embodiment of unique characteristics, the only specimen of a given kind.” What blew me away was the example immediately following: The unique is also the improbable.

Let me check my math … about 7,000 horsepower per car multiplied times four nitro-breathing cars equals 30,000 horsepower! Improbable? Hell yes!

I most certainly understand that opinions vary widely on the four-wide event, and, as Americans, we all have that right to our opinions. In many times and on many occasions, tradition dictates what we believe. With 60-plus years in the books, the NHRA has always been traditionally two-wide. Bruton Smith may not be the first promoter to contest races four abreast (jet cars did it back in the day … what?!?!), but as a man who is a showman, he has introduced a new wrinkle to the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series by contesting a drag race in this manner. And in the For What It’s Worth category, I really enjoy this race.

Let’s return to the sentence using the word unique.

Is it improbable to expect everyone to love racing four-wide? Absolutely! There is not another race on our schedule that can garner such a debate. Almost everybody understands that the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is the biggest and most prestigious race of the year, or that the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals is one of the most challenging races for the men and women who make up our sport thanks to mile-high atmospheric conditions. But this race is truly a one-off, and it is that improbability that makes it unique. It gets everybody talking, and the more people we have talking, writing, debating (i.e., showing passion and expressing feelings), etc. about NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing, the better. One thing we all need to remember is any press is still press!

What is also highly improbable is predicting what will happen. When Sunday’s eliminations roll around beginning at noon ET, drivers will have to be ready to do whatever is required to get to the finish line. It tests both man and machine to be at their absolute best because getting to the end in first OR second means moving on to the next round. And with four racers in the final, the outcome is as wide-open as the race itself because of a little thing called reaction time. In Las Vegas, an NHRA-record 15 races were decided at the starting line (12 by holeshot and three by red-light), and there is no reason to think that that won’t continue. Again, that makes the Four-Wide Nationals unique.

Here is a brief rundown of what has happened in the two years that this race has been contested.

Cory McClenathan and Del Worsham are the only winners in Top Fuel, but with two victories already in four races this season, FRAM’s Spencer Massey is the odds-on favorite (don’t tell Tony, Antron, Morgan, Shawn, Brandon, or anyone else, for that matter!).

John Force won the inaugural race in Funny Car, and Jack Beckman ended a John Force Racing stranglehold at the start of last season by becoming the first non-JFR driver to win in 2011. He’ll face the same challenge again this weekend (Robert Hight has won three races in a row heading into the weekend, and the boss won the season opener) with a new crew chief as Todd Smith takes the reins and Rahn Tobler moves to the NAPA car of Ron Capps following the sudden resignation of Tim Richards in Las Vegas.

And it should come as no surprise that Mike Edwards (2010) and Greg Anderson (2011) have each won in Pro Stock. There is plenty of talent in the category, so who would be surprised to see Erica Enders finally win or Allen Johnson back up his tally from Las Vegas? Let us not forget about two of the purist drivers, Dave Connolly and Jeg Coughlin Jr., who could end up with the Wally.

Add in the fact that 11 drivers on the entry list in the three Pro categories (motorcycles will return at the Houston event) have never been four-wide, and it will be an eye-opening and pulse-pounding weekend for sure!

For those who have not yet had the opportunity to experience this improbable race, it’s time to free your mind and come see it in person! Love it or hate it, 30,000 horsepower will change your perspective on just about everything! For tickets for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, April 13-15, call the zMAX Dragway ticket office, 800-455-FANS (3267), or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com.

If you can’t make it, there is always the benefit of television in the form of ESPN2HD and ESPN3.com. Your first taste will come on Friday the 13th (cue the eerie music!) beginning at 4:30 p.m. (all times ET) when the second session of qualifying will be broadcast live on the ESPN3.com platform. Saturday, we will feature both sessions of qualifying in a two-and-a-half-hour show on ESPN2 beginning at 5 p.m. Then on Sunday, ESPN2 will have a full rundown of what happened in eliminations and all the improbabilities that make the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at 7 p.m.

As always, comments are welcome via email, drieff@cox.net, or Twitter @DaveRieffNHRA. For one weekend, let’s go full throttle … four-wide … or go home!

NHRA Now is a weekly Web series that gives fans an inside look at the lives of the drivers and teams of the NHRA and keeps everyone up to date on the latest happenings on and off the track, all season long. NHRA Now also is shared on NHRA's Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages each week.

In this week's edition of NHRA Now, host Alex Baca previews the much-anticipated NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway just outside of Charlotte. She checks in with drivers on how they're feeling heading into the season's one and only four-wide race as well as announces some racers who will be making their debuts this weekend. She also compares being an astronaut to being an NHRA driver.
 

When the first 2012 event in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx concluded in Gainesville, veteran driver Rickie Smith had outlasted a tough field to take home his first NHRA Pro Mod victory. It was the second time that Smith had advanced to a final round in the series, and the breakthrough performance jump-started his season and helped put memories of a rough 2011 behind him.

“After the year I had last year, from surgery on my back to hitting the wall at Bristol [Tenn.] and having knee surgery, I guess you could say it was a disaster of a year,” Smith said. “This win is definitely a big boost in my confidence. It is a good way to start the year for sure.”

Smith’s King, N.C., residence is a little more than an hour’s drive from zMAX Dragway, site of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15. The race is the second stop in the 10-event NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx.

The veteran driver considers this world-class facility his home track but admits that there isn’t any extra pressure to perform there. He enjoys the level of passion that local fans have for the Pro Mod series.

“You are in the heart of Pro Mod racing here in the Carolinas,” Smith said. “North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia are where you get those fans. I would definitely say that this area is where you would find the most passionate fans for Pro Mod racing.”

No stranger to the winner’s circle, having scored Pro Stock victories in the 1990s and Pro Mod exhibition wins in Indianapolis and Gainesville, Smith said that the recent Gainesville triumph trumps them all.
 
 

“I have to say that this year’s win was at the top of the charts out of those wins,” he said. “That week before Gainesville, we were testing in Bradenton, Fla., and we blew up the engine, which caused a lot of damage to the car’s front end. We drove 17 hours to St. Louis, stayed at [Jerry] Bickel’s shop there, worked 12 hours straight, then at 12:30 that night, we drove straight back to Gainesville and got there that Thursday. It took a whole lot out of me and my crew, so this win will definitely stand out.”

Another racer preparing for the event at zMAX Dragway is the driver of the R2B2 ProCare Rx '12  Ford Mustang, Leah Pruett, who posted her first Pro Mod victory at the facility in 2011. Pruett, who got her racing start in the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League, said that though the nerves were evident in that final last year, she worked hard to live in the moment and remember all the aspects of the title round.

“I was actually more nervous about doing everything right from a driving perspective in the car than worrying about winning the race,” she explained. “Most of my focus was on my new staging and launching procedure, as it was my first race in the turbo car, and I only had a few hits in the car before that event. As much as I tried to stay calm, I was super-pumped for the final round; you could see how hard I was breathing in the in-car camera by my chest moving, even under the supertight belts. I remember telling myself as I backed up from the burnout to remember and enjoy this moment for the rest of my life because you never know when it may come again.” 
 
Other top Pro Mod drivers expected to compete in this weekend’s race at zMAX Dragway are Mike Castellana, the No. 1 qualifier in Gainesville; Troy Coughlin; Jay Payne; and Danny Rowe.

Featuring the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars with an extremely diverse collection of vehicles, including ’63 Corvettes, ’68 Camaros, ’67 Mustangs, and ’68 Firebirds as well as late-model cars, the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx offers something for every kind of hot rodding enthusiast.

• SCHEDULE: NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx qualifying sessions are scheduled for April 13 at 1 and 4 p.m. and April 14 at 1 p.m. The first round of eliminations begins on April 14 at 4 p.m. Eliminations continue on April 15.

• TICKETS: For tickets for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, call (800-455-FANS (3267) or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com.

Two of the fastest women on the planet will face the biggest challenge of their rookie NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series campaigns during the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Alexis DeJoria and Courtney Force will be among the NHRA Funny Car competitors that take to the "Bellagio of dragstrips" for the greatest spectacle in drag racing, April 13-15. The unique four-wide format proves formidable to even the most experienced veterans but could level the playing field for the two first-year drivers.

Force has a lot to live up to. Her father, 15-time Funny Car world champion John Force, won the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in 2010.

“It is definitely breaking the norm, and this is really a really unique track,” said Force, the youngest of John’s daughters. “There is no other track on the circuit that has four lanes. There’s nowhere else you’re going to see 30,000 horsepower all at the same time. It’s definitely different than what we as drivers and the fans are used to, but I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s awesome, and it gives them a different show.”

It may take extra effort to prepare for competition at the only four-lane, all-concrete dragstrip in the world.

“When I get there, the first thing I’m doing is going to the racetrack and looking at each lane and trying to figure out the difference between all of them,” said Force. “Really getting to know the Tree, I think that’s going to be the hardest part as a driver; it’s definitely going to be a challenge, and that’s the one track where everything just switches up for everyone. It’s going to take a lot of practice, and I am going to have to get it down and figure it all out, but I think it will be fun.”

DeJoria, also a Funny Car rookie, has never raced at zMAX Dragway, but she is aware of the excitement generated for the fans by the greatest spectacle in drag racing

“I’ve never experienced four-wide before in Charlotte – I’ve never even raced in Charlotte before. This is all new to me,” said DeJoria. “This year is my first year in a nitro Funny Car with NHRA Drag Racing. I’m excited to do this, to do the four-wide. It’s great to see on TV; the fans absolutely love it.”

DeJoria thinks that one of the most difficult parts will be not knowing what is going on in all the lanes.

”I’ve talked to other drivers about it, and I hear them speak on the subject about how you’re not just racing that other guy in the lane next to you,” said DeJoria. “You don’t really know what’s going on in those other two lanes. It kind of makes you drive a little more aggressively.

“Where you might have lifted at a certain point – you probably won’t because you don’t know what’s going on over there, and you need to stay on top of it and get it down the track before anybody else does. So it kind of poses a little bit of an issue there, but it’s something that’s exciting for the fans, and I am excited to try it.”

Force and DeJoria will be joined by the rest of the stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series for a total of four qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday and final eliminations starting Sunday at noon.

Fans can purchase two tickets to any day of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for $60 and receive a choice of two T-shirts, two beer vouchers or two Coca-Cola soft drinks and two hot dogs.

Thanks to Traxxas and Circle K, children 13 and younger will get in free to the three-day event with a paying adult, and once inside, they can visit the new-and-improved POWERade Play Zone, behind the John Force Grandstand, which will include an 8,000-square-foot remote-control-car dirt course built by Traxxas.

For tickets and camping information for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15 at zMAX Dragway, call the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office, 800-455-FANS (3267).
 

Fans attending the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway this weekend (April 13-15) will experience double the horsepower in all qualifying sessions and eliminations rounds for Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock, which will run four-wide at this unique event in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Below is a quick reference guide that will help answer any questions regarding the special rules, race procedures, and configuration for four-wide drag racing, NHRA style.

LANE IDENTIFICATION
Lanes are referred to in numerical order from left facing downtrack (outermost left lane is No. 1, then No. 2 and No. 3, and the outermost right lane is No. 4).

QUALIFYING ORDER
In the first session, drivers with the least number of points will run first, and the points leaders will run last. The top four in the points standings will be the final group (points leader will be in Lane 4, second in points in Lane 3, third in Lane 2, fourth in Lane 1). The order for subsequent sessions will be determined per normal qualifying procedures. 
 
QUALIFYING FIELD
Because each team will have only one qualifying run in each lane, the standard qualifying procedure of transferring only the quickest 12 times from Friday to Saturday will not be in effect. All elapsed times from all qualifying sessions from both days will be used to establish the 16-car fields.

ELIMINATIONS BRACKET
The specially modified eliminations ladder structure will feature Race A: qualifiers 1, 8, 9, 16; Race B: qualifiers 4, 5, 12, 13; Race C: qualifiers 2, 7, 10, 15; and Race D: qualifiers 3, 6, 11, 14; Race A and Race B will be on one side of the ladder, and Race C and Race D will be on the other.

STARTING SYSTEM
Each track (left two lanes and right two lanes) will have the standard NHRA Christmas Tree. Each Tree will be fitted with four specially designed LED pre-stage/stage units, which will indicate the pre-stage/stage position of drivers in all four lanes (from left). The Compulink Auto Start system will continue to be utilized; however, unlike in two-lane racing, the Auto Start system will not activate until all four vehicles are pre-staged and one vehicle has staged. Each lane will be monitored by a qualified starter.

RED-LIGHTS
In eliminations, should three drivers red-light, the two to advance will be the driver who receives the green light and the driver who red-lights by the least amount. For example, if driver A has a -.029 r.t., driver B a -.103, and driver C a -.049, driver A would advance. If three drivers red-light, the win lights will come on immediately for the driver with the green light and the driver who red-lighted by the least. The winner’s light will flash, and the second-place light will be steady.

LANE CHOICE
First-round lane choice will go to the quickest qualifier in the group of four, second choice to the second-quickest, and third choice to the third-quickest. In subsequent rounds, first choice will go to the driver with the lowest elapsed time from the previous round, second choice to the second-lowest, and third choice to the third-lowest.

SCOREBOARDS
In qualifying, the lane number with the low elapsed time of each run will light up on the scoreboard. In eliminations, the lane number of the first-place car will flash, and the lane number of the second-place car will be lit solid on the scoreboard.

ELIMINATIONS
Two drivers from each group will advance in the first two rounds of competition, the first and second to cross the finish line. In the final round, the drivers will finish first through fourth in the order they cross the finish line, barring any red-light starts.

DISQUALIFICATIONS
The following prioritizes the degree of infraction (No. 1 being the worst):
  1. Driver leaving starting line before starting system is activated
  2. Driver crossing centerline or striking timing fixture(s)
  3. Driver contacting barrier wall
  4. Driver red-lighting

POINTS
Points will be awarded at the same level as at other NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events. The winner will receive 100 points, the runner-up 80, the third and fourth finishers 60, the four second-round losers 40, and the eight first-round losers 20.

LUCAS OIL SERIES COMPETITION
In an attempt to maintain uniform traction quality in all four lanes, competition in the Lucas Oil Series will be conducted in two lanes at a time for the entire event. Certain Sportsman categories will run in Lanes 1 and 2 only, and the other Sportsman categories will run in Lanes 3 and 4 only.

PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES PRESENTED BY PROCARE RX COMPETITION
As for the Lucas Oil Series, competition in the NHRA Pro Mod Series will be conducted in two lanes at a time for the entire event.

For tickets for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, April 13-15, call the zMAX Dragway ticket office, 800-455-FANS (3267), or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com.

Winning two of the first four races to open the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season is a good thing by any measure, and FRAM Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey agrees. The 2011 world championship runner-up has come out this season with a firm purpose and is ready to continue his early-season success as the circuit heads to zMAX Dragway for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15.

“We’re on a high note right now,” Massey said. “We just won the last event, and even though we won, we stayed and tested for Charlotte and the coming hotter months. I’m feeling very excited after winning and testing and especially heading into four-wide because it’s double the amount of race cars, which means it’s double the fun.”

In the unique format of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, drivers have to take a different strategic approach when they head to the starting line for each round of racing. Four 7,000-horsepower nitro-burning engines are staging at the same time, launching at the same time, and running down the "Bellagio of dragstrips" simultaneously, giving fans and competitors a little more to think about.

“I know I’ve got to be on my A-game even more with four-wide because there are three people who want to beat you, not just one,” Massey said. “There’s a different strategy in four-wide because the top two cars win, not just the first car across the finish line. I remember thinking, ‘I hope I’m second, I hope I’m second’ last year when I saw Del Worsham in front of me, and I’ve never had that mind-set before, but it’s the way this race works, until you get to the final, that is. Then it’s winner take all and even more exhilarating.”
 
Coming off winning the last event in Las Vegas, Massey sits third in the Top Fuel points standings and is looking forward to heading to North Carolina to keep the momentum going and build on his final-round appearance at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals last season.

“We were just in Vegas; now we’re going to the Vegas of dragstrips,” Massey said. “zMAX is the best of the best. It’s an amazing track and an amazing venue. It’s a place where you’ll see great things happen. It could be some great history, from winning four-wide to setting records; you just never know.”

Massey’s Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown leads the Top Fuel championship points, and Morgan Lucas is just four points behind him, followed by Massey. Tony Schumacher is fourth, followed by Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, Steve Torrence, Clay Millican, Bob Vandergriff Jr., and Brandon Bernstein.

Robert Hight leads the Funny Car points battle just ahead of his John Force Racing teammate Mike Neff. DSR drivers Jack Beckman and Johnny Gray are behind Neff, followed by John Force, Bob Tasca III, Courtney Force, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, and Bob Bode.

North Carolina residents Greg Anderson and Jason Line, who have each won one event this season, sit one and two in the Pro Stock points. Mike Edwards is third, and Allen Johnson, winner of the most recent race in Las Vegas, is fourth. The top 10 is rounded out by Vincent Nobile, Greg Stanfield, Erica Enders, Rodger Brogdon, Ronnie Humphrey, and Larry Morgan.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13, and 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. Final eliminations begin at noon on Sunday, April 15.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, call zMAX Dragway, 800-455-FANS (3267), or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 15.

* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals also will feature competition in seven categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series are born. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:30 a.m. on April 13. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8:30 a.m. on April 14 and continue through April 15.

* PRO MOD SERIES presented by ProCare Rx: NHRA’s popular Pro Mod touring series will be featured at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. The series features some of the world’s fastest and most unique doorslammer cars, with an eclectic mix of vintage and late-model body styles, in quarter-mile competition. Two rounds of qualifying will be held on April 13, with one additional round of qualifying on April 14 followed by the first round of eliminations. Eliminations continue on Sunday, April 15.

NHRA fans will have a direct impact on who will compete in the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge, held at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk July 5-8. Eight lucky NHRA fans will have the opportunity to see the event live, and one really lucky NHRA fan will leave the event as the owner of a 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge edition Toyota Tundra.

The first seven positions in the K&N Horsepower Challenge will be determined by points earned at NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events. But the eighth and final spot will be decided by a fan vote at www.NHRA.com/knhpchallenge.aspx. The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a race within a race, showcasing the top drivers in NHRA Pro Stock, with the winner receiving $50,000. The runner-up will receive $10,000, and $3,000 each will be paid to the two semifinalists and $2,500 each to the four first-round finishers. As part of the program, a $3,000 bonus is awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

In addition, K&N Filters is conducting the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes and the opportunity for eight lucky fans to receive a trip to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. NHRA fans can enter the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes at www.knfilters.com/register/KN_HP_CS.aspx. Each of the eight finalists will receive airfare, hotel accommodations, and ground transportation to witness the K&N Horsepower Challenge in person, July 5-8 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk. Finalists will be randomly paired with one of the eight Pro Stock drivers competing in the event. The sweepstakes finalist who is paired with the winner of the K&N Horsepower Challenge will win the K&N Horsepower Challenge edition Toyota Tundra, a unique '12 V-8 double cab specifically created by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and K&N Filters for this event with modifications to include a supercharger, custom wheels and exhaust, as well as other touches inside and out. Log on to www.knfilters.com for more details. No purchase is necessary. Sweepstakes ends June 4, 2012, at 3 p.m. PT. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Sweepstakes is subject to full official rules found at www.knfilters.com. Void in New York and Florida and wherever else prohibited.

“K&N is so proud of the Horsepower Challenge and all the Pro Stock drivers,” said Steve Williams, vice president, K&N Filters. “The competition is so close that it’s not unusual to see races won by just a few thousandths of a second. We are really excited about the custom truck one lucky fan will win this year, and we will be releasing exclusive pictures of the truck on knfilters.com very soon.”

Last year, Greg Anderson, driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac, won his second consecutive K&N Horsepower Challenge and fourth of his career, beating Mike Edwards in the final round.
 
K&N Engineering has been a major sponsor for many years in NHRA at the league and team level, including a major contingency sponsor for many years.

Funny Car veteran Bob Tasca III is riding the momentum from his first final-round appearance of the season as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series heads to zMAX Dragway, just outside of Charlotte, near the race shop of his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang team. The New England native is hoping to keep the positive energy going and earn his first victory of the season at one of his “home races” on tour, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15.

“It’s in our backyard, and the Wood Brothers, our sponsor teammate on the NASCAR side, are right down the street too,” Tasca said. “I come here as much as I can, so it’s become a third home for me. The guys like racing here because they can go home to their own beds at night. The people at zMAX Dragway and Bruton Smith have been great partners of the NHRA and are very supportive of our team and the sport, so it’s a good home race to have.”

After a few early-season struggles, Tasca added veteran crew chief Dickie Venables to the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team to work alongside the tuning duo of Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner. Just one race underneath the tuning trio’s belt, and the addition has already started to pay dividends on the racetrack.

“Adding Dickie was like completing the third point of a triangle,” Tasca said. “He balances out the personalities of Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner and really brings that new dimension to the team. It’s been great to watch them all work together and talk about the new ideas Dickie has. We’re all excited now about seeing what our Motorcraft/Quick Lane team can do.”

At the most recent NHRA Full Throttle event, in Las Vegas, Tasca lost a tough final round to fellow Ford Racing driver Robert Hight, who is on a three-race winning streak heading into the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. The experience whetted Tasca’s appetite for more success, and he and the team are ready for four-wide racing.

“I can’t tell you how quickly momentum can shift in NHRA Full Throttle Series Drag Racing,” Tasca said. “We’d been stalled since the beginning of the year. Then we started going rounds, and it was a dogfight right down to the final. The only thing more disappointing than not getting out of the first round is probably getting to the final with a car that can win it all and not getting the Wally, but when you look over and see another Ford in the final, you can say it was a good day. We’re riding high going into the Four-Wide Nationals.”

Last year at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Tasca posted a runner-up finish to eventual winner Jack Beckman. He says racing against three cars instead of one is extremely different, but the key to success in the format is strictly focusing on your own lane of the dragstrip.

“I try to treat it like any other race," Tasca said. "It’s not, of course. You have four cars lining up instead of two, and the horsepower is just incredible. The noise is different; the lights are different. For the fans, it’s a totally different experience. But at the end of the day, I try to race my race and not focus on what the other drivers are doing.”

Hight leads the Funny Car points battle just ahead of his John Force Racing teammate Mike Neff. Don Schumacher Racing drivers Beckman and Johnny Gray are right behind Neff, followed by John Force, Tasca, Courtney Force, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, and Bob Bode.

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown leads the championship points, with Morgan Lucas just four points behind him. Spencer Massey, who has earned two wins this season, sits in third, followed by Tony Schumacher, Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, Steve Torrence, Clay Millican, Bob Vandergriff Jr., and Brandon Bernstein.

North Carolina residents Greg Anderson and Jason Line, who have each won one event this season, sit one and two in the Pro Stock points. Mike Edwards is third, and Allen Johnson, winner in Las Vegas, is fourth. Vincent Nobile, Greg Stanfield, Erica Enders, Rodger Brogdon, Ronnie Humphrey, and Larry Morgan round out the top 10 in the factory hot rod class heading to zMAX Dragway.

* SCHEDULE: NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13, and 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. Final eliminations will begin at noon on Sunday, April 15.

* TICKETS: For tickets for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, call zMAX Dragway, 800-455-FANS (3267), or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com.

* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of qualifying coverage at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three hours of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 15.

Fans of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in the Atlanta area have a thrilling opportunity to secure tickets for an all-inclusive public suite at Atlanta Dragway during the 32nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 4-6. The seventh race of the season will feature all four Professional classes: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Defending winners are Antron Brown, Jack Beckman, Jason Line, and LE Tonglet.

Fans can still purchase tickets for the best seats in the house, in the dragstrip tower behind the starting line, to watch Tony Schumacher, John Force, Greg Anderson, and all the stars of the NHRA blast down the track while enjoying the exclusive surroundings. With each ticket, the holder will receive amenities including a hot catered lunch, mid-afternoon snack during each day of racing, unlimited water, ice-cold Coca-Cola beverages, souvenir program, climate-controlled seating area, Fan Zone access for Sunday’s eliminations, and pit access all three days. Those who purchase a minimum of two three-day suite tickets will also receive one preferred parking pass.

To purchase tickets to the public suite for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, May 4-6 at Atlanta Dragway, contact Crystal Wilson, 706-423-9252 or cwilson@nhra.com.
 

Hight claimed his third consecutive Funny Car victory of the season in Las Vegas and hopes that the upcoming off weekend doesn’t put a hiccup in his recent streak of wins.

“I definitely hope four is a magic number in Charlotte. This is huge because I always fear that when you have a couple weekends off, you’re going to lose that momentum, and like it or not, momentum does play a big role in this,” said Hight. “It gives you confidence, just as a driver being able to get in the car every week and run.”

The last time that NHRA raced at zMAX Dragway, at September’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, Matt Hagan became the first Funny Car driver to run a sub-four-second pass. Hight thinks that if the conditions are right, there’s a possibility for more of those performances.

“There’s definitely a possibility; it depends on the conditions there. Matt Hagan, he just stomped us in the fall,” said Hight. “He did a great job, set the national record, first in the threes. If you’re going to do it, it’s a lot easier at a Bruton Smith track because they are first-class. Beautiful surface, nice facility. It’s a fun town to go to. It’s just a great place to go, two Bruton Smith tracks in a row; this is a fun time of the year for us.”

To Hight, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals is a nice changeup on the schedule because the racing is so different.

“There’s just more going on in your head,” said Hight. “But you know what, it’s kind of cool because it shakes things up, it changes things. Like the NASCAR guys, they have short tracks, and they have long tracks, superspeedways, all this stuff. Ours is always the same, so the four-wide is something cool for the fans and something different for us drivers. Still has the same amount of points, same amount of money, and we want to go there and keep the points lead.”

“It’s extremely important. It gives you that much more boost going to the next race,” said Massey. “You want to go into Charlotte and have that going behind your back because a win is a win, and what you want to do is win every race. That’s hard to do, but it’s what I want to do now, obviously. It would be nice to double it up and win at the four-wide [event].”

Massey said that racing four-wide is very different from racing in the traditional two-wide format because you can cross the line second but still make it to the next round.

“You have to pay attention to two other lanes staging and then you have to pay attention to, ‘Hey, I might be the first one in my lane, I might be the first one against the guy next to me, but I may not be the first one in the other two lanes,’ ” said Massey. “So the one thing that is different going into the second round, even if you’re the second guy going into the first line, you’re still going to advance.

“Last year, I remember I was right behind Del Worsham and remember thinking, ‘OK, I hope I’m second, I hope I’m second, I hope I’m second, and we were second.’ It’s a little different strategy, but that’s what makes it that much better for the fans, that much better for all of us. Because it’s four-wide drag racing at 300 mph. It’s awesome.”

 
“There are about four or five of us that have momentum going into Charlotte,” said Johnson. “Any win is great, especially heading towards Charlotte. Bruton’s tracks are just first-class, and to be able to race two of them in a row is pretty awesome. Momentum and confidence is very key.”

According to Johnson, if the weather is cool, there could be some fast racing again at zMAX Dragway.

“That track so awesome,” said Johnson. “The atmospheric conditions are right for Pro Stock. You know over there you can never tell, it could be really cool or it could be hot and humid. If the atmospheric conditions are right, the track’s there. If you guarantee that, we’ll go out there and haul the mail.”

Fans can purchase two tickets to any day of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for $60 and receive a choice of two T-shirts, two beer vouchers or two Coca-Cola soft drinks and two hot dogs. Children 13 and younger are admitted for free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

To purchase tickets, call 800-455-FANS (3267) or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com. At-track camping options are also available.

NHRA Now is a weekly Web series that gives fans an inside look at the lives of the drivers and teams of the NHRA and keeps everyone up to date on the latest happenings on and off the track, all season long. NHRA Now also will be shared on NHRA's Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages each week.

In this week’s NHRA Now, host Alex Baca checks in from Las Vegas. She chats with some of the Full Throttle drivers and finds out how much they enjoy racing and playing in Sin City. She also talks about team announcements, the upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, and a little Force family history.

Rahn Tobler has been named crew chief for the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car of Ron Capps effective immediately, team owner Don Schumacher has announced.

Don Schumacher Racing also has hired veteran tuner Todd Smith as the new crew chief for the Valvoline NextGen Funny Car driven by Jack Beckman in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Smith's first race with the team will be the April 13-15 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte Motor Speedway's zMAX Dragway.

Tobler also will be the lead tuner for Beckman's team for at least the next two Full Throttle events as Smith transitions to his new position.

"Rahn will help Todd get adjusted to the Valvoline NextGen team and become acclimated to our DSR operation," Schumacher said. "Rahn will make the final decisions for at least the next two races.

"We have a strong enough organization that we can assist Todd, but it wouldn't take him long to become familiar with DSR and the Valvoline team; he has plenty of background in our sport."

Smith, a native of Oklahoma City living in Cooper City, Fla., has worked as a crew chief for Kalitta Motorsports, Darrell Gwynn Racing, Don Prudhomme Racing, and most recently Kenny Bernstein Racing's Brandon Bernstein from early  2010 through 2011. While at Don Prudhomme Racing, Smith was co-crew chief for current DSR Top Fuel ace Spencer Massey. Smith is the son of two-time NHRA Comp world champion Charlie Smith.

John Collins will assist Tobler on the NAPA Auto Parts team, and Terry Snyder will assist Smith on Beckman's car. 
 

Just a few days remain until one of the greatest spectacles in drag racing returns to zMAX Dragway April 13-15: the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Only at “the Bellagio of dragstrips” can fans see the fastest-accelerating machines on the planet release a 30,000-horsepower assault on the only four-lane, all-concrete dragstrip in the world.

Antron Brown, driver of the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster, explained the intensity of the one-of-a-kind event.

"When you say 'a spectacle,' you're talking about 30,000 horsepower," said Brown. "Raw, ground-pounding, asphalt-ripping horsepower, and we are going to get it done all in one shot. When you hear that thing hit, you're hearing this percussion going, and everybody thinks it's a category 4 earthquake, and it's nothing but our Top Fuel and Funny Cars ripping up that concrete at zMAX Dragway."

Defending NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion Matt Hagan elaborated on the uniqueness of the event, the challenge for the drivers, and the spectacle it is.

"It creates a spectacle for the fans," said Hagan. "Some of these drivers would usually lift off [the throttle] if things are going wrong. It makes the sensation of when things go wrong even bigger because they have to make it go to the end no matter what. So they're running and gunning and working hard, and no matter what, these drivers are getting it to the very end, to the finish line, trying to turn that win light on. A lot of times, you can't see that guy beside you, so you make that car go to the end."

Last year's NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Funny Car winner, Jack Beckman, explained how it feels to be behind the starting line during the event.

"When we roll up to the starting line, when it's two-wide and the pair in front of us step on the throttle, it's pretty impressive, and I didn't think anything could top that," said Beckman. "When you roll up there four-wide and the ones in front of you step on the throttle, our bodies are held up by these big metal poles; I swear it seems like that thing is going to snap in half and the body is going to fall down."

Shawn Langdon, who pilots a Top Fuel dragster for Al-Anabi Racing, finds the change in format refreshing.

"Going to four-wide, we always have a lot of fun with it," said Langdon. "It's something different, it's something for the fans to enjoy, 30,000 horsepower going down the track at once. It's entertaining. It's fun as a driver; I'm sure it's fun for the fans. Just have fun with it."

2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship runner-up Spencer Massey says that the speed and power are unique to the event.

"You get so much power all at once with four Top Fuel cars or four Funny Cars," said Massey. "That also means whenever you win, you're beating three other guys instead of just one. It makes it that much better of a win and that much more power and that much more speed. It's awesome!"

Fans can purchase three tickets and receive one free for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Children 13 and younger are admitted for free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

For tickets and camping information for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15 at zMAX Dragway, call the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office, 800-455-FANS (3267), or log on to www.zmaxdragway.com.
 

NHRA, Aerospace Components, and ProMedia, the parent company of NMCA, will again combine forces and continue the Aerospace Components NHRA Unleashed Series in conjunction with the NMCA Flowmaster Muscle Car Nationals event series.

Outlined in a multiyear agreement reached between NHRA and ProMedia, the Aerospace Components NHRA Unleashed Series will again be contested at NHRA member tracks on the 2012 NMCA and NMCA West tour. NMCA event sites include Atlanta Dragway (April 12-15), Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield (June 22-24), Route 66 Raceway in Chicago (July 12-15), Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky. (Aug. 3-5), Milan Dragway in Milan, Mich. (Aug. 24-26), Speedworld Dragstrip in Northwest Phoenix (Sept. 21-23), Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (Oct. 11-14), and Royal Purple Raceway in Houston (Nov. 9-11).

The originally scheduled NMCA West season-opening event planned for Auto Club Dragway at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. (April 20-22) has been postponed due to a recent court ruling temporarily halting all drag racing activity at the facility. As a result of this development, NMCA West will begin the season at Auto Club Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield (June 22-24). NMCA West and NHRA officials are diligently working to relocate and reschedule this race. The NMCA West finals remains on the schedule for Oct. 19-21. NMCA and NHRA have developed a contingency strategy to contest the event at an alternative California facility.  
 
Once again, all official NMCA class winners will be eligible to receive an NHRA Wally at each of the Aerospace Components Unleashed events contested at NHRA-sanctioned facilities. NMCA and NMCA West series champions will receive the double-tiered championship Wallys at the season-ending awards ceremonies in Orlando, Fla., and Pomona courtesy of the Aerospace Components NHRA Unleashed program.
 
Aerospace Components will continue to sponsor NHRA Unleashed, providing added benefits to the NMCA Flowmaster event series, which includes more than $3.1 million purse and cash contingencies for all 10 events.

“We are honored to be a 2012 major sponsor of NMCA and NMCA West, which will both feature NHRA Unleashed," said Kim Kussy, of Aerospace Components Inc. "We look forward to working alongside the NMCA and NMCA West teams and their great family of racers."
 
Charlie Harmon, president of ProMedia Events, said, “I continue to remain excited about the NHRA’s interest in reaching out to the growing heads-up and index drag racing market. The NMCA welcomes the opportunity to work directly with NHRA to carry on their support for heads-up and index drag racing. Over the years, NHRA has developed some amazing resources, and all of us here at the NMCA are thrilled to have the support of the NHRA. The multiyear support of the Aerospace NHRA Unleashed Series demonstrates there is no doubt that NHRA is continuing their long-standing commitment to Sportsman drag racing everywhere.”

“The heads-up, index segment of drag racing represents part of the very core in which NHRA was founded on. We are thrilled for the opportunity to carry on our relationship with the NMCA and continue to include the Aerospace Components NHRA Unleashed Series as a part of the Flowmaster/NMCA Muscle Car Nationals event series,” said Ray Wilkings, of NHRA.

“By combining resources, NHRA and NMCA will provide an opportunity for racers to take advantage of both organizations’ many benefits and services from coast to coast. The same opportunities can be extended to sponsors, providing the opportunity to reach out to a much broader group of participants and fans alike.”

Tickets for the world’s most prestigious drag race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, are on sale, and the excitement level for this tradition-rich event builds with each new day. This year, the event will run Aug. 29-Sept. 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis and will showcase all four classes in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. 

Tickets range from $10 to $61 and can be purchased by logging on to NHRATix.com or calling 800-884-6472. Those purchasing tickets in advance will have an advantage over those waiting until the race as advance ticket purchases will cost less than those purchased the days of the races. Also, purchasing your ticket in advance will secure you a premium seat.

A drag racer’s career isn’t complete without a Mac Tools U.S. Nationals title on his or her racing resume.  Championships, national records, and other event wins all ring hollow without a win at the Big Go, held annually over Labor Day weekend. The list of past winners of this world-renowned event reads like a Who’s Who of racing elite. Don Prudhomme, Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Warren Johnson, and Ed McCulloch all won at this historic facility. Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden has the most wins in the history of the event with nine, and Top Fuel drivers Garlits and Tony Schumacher sit just one victory behind him. Schumacher is a true historian of the sport and would like nothing more than to have his name next to Glidden's in the record books.

This year’s event will have added pressure as it is the last race of the regular season prior to the start of the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, the playoff system that decides the 2012 champions in all four classes.  The Mac Tools U. S. Nationals doesn’t award any extra points, but a win can give a team an extra shot of confidence going into the stretch run of the season.

New for the 2012 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is the introduction of the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts, special races within a race that will feature competition among eight racers in both the Funny Car and Top Fuel ranks. These best-of-the-best races in both nitro categories will pit the top Funny Car racers as they battle for $100,000 on Saturday, Sept. 1. The elite racers in the Top Fuel class will race for $100,000 on Sunday, Sept. 2. 

Each NHRA event is extremely fan-friendly. Every ticket for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is a pit pass that allows fans access to all of their favorite drivers. Fans aren’t allowed on the sidelines of a football game or in the dugout of a baseball game, but they are granted this level of access at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is also a great family event and an affordable entertainment option for families with children. The NHRA offers children 12 and younger free admission into general-admission areas of the event with the purchase of an adult ticket. This allows families to take in a great weekend of racing at a discounted price.

Companies and large groups can take in the exciting racing action as many ticket plans are available for groups of 20 or more and those looking to entertain clients during the weekend. TEC tickets, luxury suites, and corporate chalets are all unique ways to experience the action of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing.
 
Fans can also enjoy the NHRA Lucas Oil Racing Series, featuring Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and the remainder of the thrilling Sportsman classes that will be racing at the event starting on Wednesday.

The NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15, is one of the most unique events in motorsports. As a result, winning means that much more, and it has become one of the most prestigious victories on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit. Past event winners John Force, Greg Anderson, and Jack Beckman discussed how it feels to race and win at the greatest spectacle in drag racing.

Fifteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion Force won the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in 2010 after participating in a four-wide exhibition race during the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in 2009 at zMAX Dragway.

“I came back the next year [after running the four-wide exhibition], and they put it into play as a special race within running for the championship,” said Force. “I was lucky enough to win that, and my daughter Ashley was runner-up to me.

“I started finding the magic of it, and I know the fans loved it. But it’s tough, it’s a different ball game to race, and it changes you trying to stay in that Countdown on how your mind-set is.”

Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car driver Beckman took home the Wally in 2011 and enjoys the unique win. Beckman also won the inaugural event at zMAX Dragway in 2008.

“It’s cool because it’s novel,” Beckman said. “Anytime you can win an inaugural race, that’s the only one there is ever going to be, and I won that one at zMAX. Then, to win something like the four-wide because it’s such a special, unique race; that’s one of the trophies I like looking at the most.”

Four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Anderson won in 2011 and feels that the event provides a unique challenge that makes it even more gratifying to win.

“As a driver, it’s probably the toughest challenge we have,” said Anderson. “So for that reason, it probably makes you feel the best. I really didn’t have the faith that I could conquer that deal. It’s a heck of a challenge [to win], and I did last year, so it really makes me feel proud that obviously I did a better job somehow.

“With all the games going on out there, I found a way to keep my mind in the game on the toughest stage, so to speak. As a driver, you get a lot of gratification out of that, so I feel pretty darn good to have a Four-Wide win.”

The elite group of NHRA Four-Wide Nationals winners also includes Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock), and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) at the inaugural four-wide event in 2010 and Del Worsham (Top Fuel) in 2011.

The stars of the NHRA return to zMAX Dragway April 13-15 in an attempt to add their names to the exclusive list of winners.

Fans can purchase two tickets to any day of the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for $60 and receive a choice of two T-shirts, two beer vouchers or two Coca-Cola soft drinks, and two hot dogs. Children 13 and younger will be admitted free with the purchase of an adult ticket.

For tickets and camping for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15 at zMAX Dragway, call the Charlotte Motor Speedway ticket office, 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

Robert Hight raced to his third consecutive Funny Car victory of the season Sunday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Spencer Massey (Top Fuel) and Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) also were winners at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Hight earned his 26th career victory with a final-round performance of 4.154 at 312.93 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang to defeat Bob Tasca III, who trailed with a 4.213 at 292.14 in his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang. It is the second time Hight has won three races in a row.

Robert Hight

“This class and the parity has never been this close,” said Hight, who took the series points lead with the win. “It is exciting, and it makes winning three in a row all the more special. It is harder to start a streak than keep it going. It is not that easy to win out here. Most of the time when you lose out here, you beat yourself. There are no underdogs.”

Hight, who became the first Funny Car driver to win this event from the No. 1 qualifying position, beat Terry Haddock, Gary Densham, and Bob Bode in earlier rounds.

“I am very pleased because we go to Las Vegas in crusher conditions, and we were able to run good,” Hight said. “This is the hottest track we have been on all year, and we were almost flawless, We were one little adjustment away from making eight great runs in the top two every round. [Crew Chief] Jimmy Prock, you can just see it when you are in the car, and he is not having a hundred trips to the box. You just see the confidence in his eyes, and that gives you more confidence. You just go up there and cut a light and hopefully see that win light.”

Spencer Massey

In Top Fuel, Massey edged teammate Antron Brown at the finish line for his second victory of the season and the eighth of his career. Massey finished in 3.830 at 323.89 in his FRAM dragster while Brown trailed with a 3.849 at 315.86 in his Matco Tools dragster.

“Don [Schumacher, team owner] is always happy whenever we have two cars in the final round, but there’s one thing that’s most important for me, and that’s getting the FRAM filters car in the winner’s circle,” Massey said. “We go up there not really thinking about who we are going to be running. We got up there trying to not beat ourselves. That’s what our game plan was all day long. We’re not going to go out there and try and set low e.t. We’re going to go out there and try and not beat ourselves.”

Massey, who qualified second, outran Steven Chrisman, Terry McMillen, and Steve Torrence in the first three rounds to advance to the final. Massey moved to third in the point standings with the win. Runner-up Brown took the series lead. Top qualifier Morgan Lucas remained in second with his semifinal effort.

“This year, it seems like everybody has really stepped up tremendously,” Massey said. “You look through the Lucas cars, the Al-Anabi cars, these DSR cars, and even the newcomers, like Steve Torrence, who has this new team this year, and everybody is running extremely strong. It’s like Pro Stock racing. It’s like running a bracket race. You have to go up there and cut your Tree and do flawless on the run. You have to count every thousandth of a second. Back 10 years ago, it was almost hundredths of a second or by a tenth of a second, but now it’s that close, and it makes for that much better of a race.”

Allen Johnson

In Pro Stock, Johnson claimed his first win of the season and 10th of his career by outrunning Vincent Nobile in the final round. In an all-Dodge final, Johnson pulled away with a 6.648 at 207.30 in his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger while Nobile’s Mountain View Tire Avenger slowed with a 6.738 at 207.53.

“The Mopar Dodge Avenger was just really rock solid all day long, and that’s what we’re after this year, and we’ll be something to reckon with for the championship if we just can be consistent,” said Johnson, who beat Shane Gray, series points leader Greg Anderson and Erica Enders in the opening rounds. “We’re right there with them [Greg Anderson, Jason Line, and Mike Edwards], if not a little bit ahead of them by a little bit. And we want to keep it that way. Dad [Roy Johnson] is doing a great job with the Hemis, and Mark [Ingersoll] and Jim [Yates] are doing a great job with the new chassis. And we don’t want to make any boo-boos and remain consistent. That’s our goal for this year.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues April 13-15 with the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.

LAS VEGAS — Sunday's final results from the 13th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race is the fourth of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel
Spencer Massey, 3.830 seconds, 323.89 mph def. Antron Brown, 3.849 seconds, 315.86 mph.

Funny Car
Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.154, 312.93 def. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.213, 292.14.

Pro Stock
Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.648, 207.30 def. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.738, 207.53.

Top Alcohol Dragster
Jim Whiteley, 5.306, 269.35 def. Cody Perkins, 5.679, 247.25.

Top Alcohol Funny Car
Tony Bartone, Ford Mustang, 5.539, 261.62 def. Jay Payne, Mustang, 5.641, 255.53.

Competition Eliminator
Dan Fletcher, Chevy Cobalt, 7.816, 170.30 def. Doug Lambeck, Pontiac Sunfire, 8.511, 153.32.

Super Stock
Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Cobalt, 9.043, 149.58 def. Glenn Snow, Pontiac Firebird, 10.456, 120.88.

Stock
Brad Burton, Formula, 11.153, 115.14 def. Scott Burton, Formula, 10.617, 117.36.

Super Comp
Jeg Coughlin, Dragster, 9.060, 163.28 def. Michael Miller, Dragster, 9.030, 178.42.

Super Gas
Jesse Serna, Pontiac Grand Am, 10.052, 156.53 def. Val Torres, Chevy Corvette, 10.054, 159.10.

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In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Jenkins' name to the Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW), 4 Hance Dr., Charleston, IL 61920, or www.drawfasthelp.org.

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