NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

The 2016 CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals took place at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with temperatures well into the 80s that tested the hot-track tune-ups of the teams. Each of the Professional winners had the most success at an event since they were at Atlanta Dragway last May, another hot race, where Tim Wilkerson and Jason Line scored their most recent victories and Leah Pritchett competed in her first final.

Outside of Wilkerson, who is renowned for his ability to navigate his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang Funny Car down the dragstrip in warm conditions, the other two winners have faced abundant changes since that event. Pritchett is with an entirely different team, having joined Bob Vandergriff Racing this season. Line, like the rest of the Pro Stock drivers, is adjusting to electronic fuel injection and other changes mandated in the category this season.

The racing surface yielded surprisingly quick and fast performances considering that its temperature ranged from 110 to 120 degrees on race day. The sense of how far to push each tune-up as the track got warmer after the first round was key for each of those who advanced.

Pritchett’s win over Brittany Force in the Top Fuel final was the big story. Five drivers who had never won a national event in Top Fuel advanced out of the first round, and three of them reached the semifinals. Force took out Doug Kalitta, who had the best car to that point, in the semifinals to ensure that the class would have its 101st different winner and first new winner since Richie Crampton won in Englishtown in 2014.

It was the second all-female Top Fuel final in the history of the class and the first since Shirley Muldowney defeated Lucille Lee at the 1982 Springnationals, which was four years before either competitor in this year’s final was born. Force was 0-6 in previous finals, and Pritchett’s team was 0-6 in finals last season with Larry Dixon behind the wheel.

Pritchett, who won in a pedalfest in the first round and cut an .025 light against Clay Millican in the semi’s, came through for her team in the final with an .046 to .067 starting-line advantage that paid off in a 3.775 to 3.774 holeshot victory. It was the first win for crew chief Mike Guger as a lead tuner. Guger, a veteran of the sport who was mentored by the late Dale Armstrong, and co-crew chief Joe Barlam overcame a litany of gremlins that have plagued them since offseason testing to get the Quaker State dragster back on track just in time for a triumphant race day, working hard to earn the Breitling watches promised to them by team owner Bob Vandergriff Jr.

“It is the happiest day of my life, besides getting married, of course,” said Pritchett. "This is what dreams are made of. I feel like I just won the Super Bowl, even though it’s only the second race and it’s not the U.S. Nationals. For me, it’s an incredible personal and Professional victory to be able to compete with the team that I’m with.”

Last ride: Tim Wilkerson vowed to retire his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang after this event in favor of a new Murf McKinney-built entry with all the latest bells and whistles. If this was his last hurrah with the car he nicknamed “Bessie,” she went out in a blaze of glory.

Wilkerson’s charge through the field was reminiscent of the 2008 season when he scored six wins and was generally a thorn in the side of the John Force Racing team. The JFR trio of John and Courtney Force and Robert Hight looked more dominant as a unit than they had at any point last season, and each advanced to the semifinals, where they surrounded the popular driver, owner, and tuner who had never won an event earlier in the season than Gainesville.

Wilkerson’s only miscue in qualifying or eliminations was an overaggressive tune-up in the second round, but he pedaled to the round-win over similarly afflicted No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps. He reined it in for a 3.99 in the semifinals to earn lane choice over John Force, whom he recorded a 3.93 against to tilt their lifetime head-to-head record in finals to 4-3 in Wilkerson’s favor.

Line drive: KB Racing continued to show which outfit worked hardest during the winter to adapt to the new Pro Stock rules, which mandate electronic fuel injection. Jason Line, who is also the team’s dyno operator and engine tuner, scored his 40th win after the three drivers in the organization qualified in the top three spots and each reached the semifinals.

“We made over 500 dyno pulls over the winter, which is unheard of,” Line recalled.

The setups of their Camaros were exceptional as well, and they didn’t look vulnerable until the semifinals. Fortunately for them, they had only one other team to contend with by then. Chris McGaha used a holeshot to get past No. 1 qualifier Bo Butner in the semifinals and had a similar game plan to try to stop Line in the money round. Line, however, was first out of the gate with an .021 light to carry the Summit banner into the winner’s circle.

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Special Awards

Best run: Robert Hight’s 3.905 at 327.11 mph, Funny Car round one
Whether the track prep was so good that it was nearly impervious to the warm conditions or the tuners adapted to it expertly, fast times appeared on the scoreboard despite the sun heating the concrete and asphalt. Hight set career-best marks in elapsed time for the second consecutive race and looked to have the best car in a strong showing of John Force Racing entries. Special mentions belong to Jeff Diehl, who lowered his career-best e.t. by nine-hundredths in the first round of Funny Car with a 4.037, and Jay Turner, who went 6.251 on his Top Fuel Harley in the opening round of eliminations.

Best race: Brittany Force vs. Doug Kalitta, Top Fuel semifinals
One race after Kalitta came .004-second from winning the Top Fuel final at the season opener, the No. 1 qualifier fell just .003-second short against Force. The Monster Energy car ran down the Mac Tools dragster after Kalitta got the early jump. The result elicited a large crowd reaction, for Leah Pritchett had won in the pair in front of them, so an all-female Top Fuel final was on tap for only the second time in history.

Driver of the race: Leah Pritchett
What more can a driver do to help his or her team than what she did Sunday? One race after an uncharacteristic double-step thwarted her effort in Pomona, she won a pedalfest in the first round, cut an .025 light to pad her performance advantage in the semifinals, and won the final round on a holeshot.

Crew chiefs of the race: Tim Wilkerson and Richard Hartman
Wilkerson made it down the track during all four qualifying attempts and three of four eliminations rounds. His consistency was rewarded with the 20th win of his career.

Stat of the race: 216
Consecutive events that the Don Schumacher Racing organization had fielded at least one entry that got past the second round. Prior to the Phoenix event, the last time that all DSR drivers failed to reach the semi’s was the Dallas event in 2007. During that season, its lineup included Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel; Gary Scelzi, Jack Beckman, and Ron Capps in Funny Car; and Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Quote of the race: “This whole deal is in its infancy. It’s going to look a lot different three months from now. We’re no EFI experts. I don’t know if I can spell EFI. So far, we’ve been the least worst.” – Jason Line