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Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals Sportsman champion highlights

20 Sep 2016
NHRA News
News

More than 700 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors rolled through the gates of storied Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis for the 62nd annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, but just seven of those drivers accomplished their primary objective of winning at the sport’s biggest and most prestigious event.

Here's a collection of video salutes to the champions of the 2016 edition of the "Big Go."

In Top Alcohol Dragster, chassis builder Dan Page realized a lifelong dream when he drove Art Gallant’s entry to victory. Page left first in the final against Shawn Cowie and held on for a close 6.35 to 6.36 victory. In a remarkable showing of consistency, Page ran nothing but 5.3s in the last three rounds, which were run under some of the warmest conditions of the weekend. [Watch video]

Reigning Top Alcohol Funny Car champ Jonnie Lindberg took a big step toward a possible repeat title when he won his fourth event of the season. Lindberg moved into first place in the standings after final-round opponent Annie Whiteley shook the tires. Entering eliminations as the No. 4 seed, Lindberg drove his Landmeco Camaro past Tony Bogolo, Clint Thompson, and Doug Gordon to reach the final, where he won for the fifth time in eight money rounds. With his latest victory, the Swedish-born Lindberg also became the first European driver to win the Big Go.  [Watch video]

U.S. Nationals Comp champ Kevin Self won for the third time in his career when he defeated three-time Indy champ Jason Coan in the final. For Self, the victory carried extra meaning because his father, Glen, won the Street class at Indy in 1969. By the time Coan and Self reached the final round of the 52-car field, they both had been hit hard by the Competition Index Control system; Self had lost .19-hundredths and Coan .22-hundredths. At the stripe, Self’s F/EA was ahead by nearly a tenth and lit the win light with a 7.79, a run nearly seven-tenths under his original index. [Watch video]

Ryan Haag, the son of longtime Division 3 racer David Haag, is a former Jr. Dragster champion who was appearing in his first national event final. He met Division 6 racer Sean Cour in the Super Stock final and put together a great performance with a .006 light and a 9.821 on his 9.81 prediction. Cour couldn’t match Haag’s reaction time and crossed the finish line second, even though he ran right on his dial with a 9.497. [Watch video]

Jeff Lopez, another a second-generation racer, had previously won four national event titles, but all of them had come in heads-up classes and none at Indy. Driving his COPO Camaro, Lopez stopped the manually shifted Cobra Jet Mustang of Charley Downing in the Stock final round. After an even start, Lopez crossed the stripe first by .009-second with a 9.395 on his 9.36 dial. Downing followed with a 10.383 on his 10.34 dial. [Watch video]

Super Comp champ Gary Stinnett, a four-time national champion, earned his second Indy win and first since 1994 when final-round opponent Greg Kamplain fouled. Kamplain was attempting to win back-to-back Indy titles after his 2015 victory in Comp. [Watch video]

Tommy Phillips, coming off a win two weeks ago in Brainerd, stayed hot with a Super Gas victory against Ray Miller III in the final. The win was No. 37 for Phillips and his second at Indy, following his 2012 Super Comp title.  [Watch video]