NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The 2016 NHRA Kansas Nationals will very likely go down in the history books as one of the best races in the history of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. From the incredible Friday night qualifying that produced the quickest and fastest Funny Car times in history, both new national records, as well as a new e.t. record in Top Fuel to a crazy Sunday that featured a wild semifinal ride by Tim Wilkerson and repeat victories by the three Atlanta champions, the fans who packed Heartland Park Topeka certainly got their money's worth during the weekend.

Early hints of what was to come came during the first qualifying session Friday afternoon when both Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman exceeded the incoming speed record, but as impressive as those runs were, they were nothing compared to the performance-fest that came under the lights Friday night. Hagan was the best of the bunch with his national record 3.862 at a whopping 335.57 mph, but he was not alone in jaw-dropping runs; several 3.8s and multiple speeds over 332 mph were posted. When all was said and done during the weekend, the top five e.t.s in history and nine of the top 10 speeds were recorded.

Though the Top Fuel cars didn't quite have the number of incredible runs as the Funny Cars, the dragsters weren't without their strong performances. Tops among the great passes was the 3.676 that gave Brittany Force the national e.t. record.

On Sunday, Doug Kalitta outlasted the field for the third straight race, outpedaling Antron Brown in a wild final round. Hagan capped his record weekend by defeating teammate Beckman in the final for the second straight race, this time in a crazy pedalfest, in which Hagan got very close to the centerline at one point. In Pro Stock, Jason Line continued his strong start to the season, winning his fifth event in his eighth straight final.