Five things we learned at testing
Silly Season Scorecard
A look at the Funny Car performance surge
Does Winternationals success equal season success?
Intriguing storylines to kick off the 2017 season
2016 Champions By the Numbers
2016 Pro Stock Qualifying by the Numbers
2016 Nitro Qualifying By the Numbers
Saving the best for last
It all comes down to Pomona
One down, three to go
Rookie report card
Thinning the herd
Survival of the fastest
A St. Louis Shake-up
Welcome to the Countdown
Land of 10,000 horsepower
Upset winners
Emerald City makeover
Heard it through the grapevine
Prime-time players
Sweeping the Western Swing
Chi-Town Turnaround
Funny Car milestones
'Eastern Swing' MVP
A storm is a-brewin'
Super Summernationals
An epic Epping
Holding the Line
Record weekend
'Eastern Swing' MVP
Teams prepared for four consecutive weekends of racing that has been informally dubbed the “Eastern Swing” knowing that their fortunes in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season could change drastically in a short period of time. Within a matter of weeks, Ron Capps and the NAPA Dodge Charger team would have as much reason to celebrate in Northern Ohio as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
June of 2016 will go down as one of the finest stretches of racing in Capps’ career. Three wins and three No. 1 qualifying positions in a span of four events vaulted him to the top of the Mello Yello points standings with a 130-point cushion over Courtney Force. The latest win bumped his career total to 49 wins, which ties him with former boss Don “the Snake” Prudhomme.
"What Rahn Tobler is doing right now is hard work," said Capps. "This guy has been working his tail off. It is big picture to him; he is not just a good crew chief, he is a good racer, and I love that. When he is pointing at me in the windshield before a run, it gives me all the confidence in the world."
The Don Schumacher Racing team has won the last six Funny Car events and boasted 11 of 12 finalists in that span. To get to that point in a highly competitive category, the teams have benefited from each other’s strengths to push the whole wagon forward. Jimmy Prock and John Medlen on the Infinite Hero team are regarded as the modern-day Wright brothers, bringing new concepts into reality on the racetrack. Dickie Venables on the Mopar/Rocky Boots team is a fearless competitor who will squeeze the most out of his hot rod. Tobler on the NAPA team and former protégé John Collins on the Make-A-Wish car are methodical racers who aren’t likely to let a fast tune-up out of their grasp until it’s time to move on to the next step.
It is a difficult dynamic in which to maintain harmony with only one Wally being awarded at the end of each race, but the organization is benefitting from it thus far, and Schumacher’s model encourages competition. While some teams are licking their wounds and preparing for the Chicago event and the grueling Western Swing, Capps is likely wishing there was another race on Fourth of July weekend where he could be attempting to earn a milestone 50th victory in one of the best hot rods he has ever driven.
Fully charged: In the first eight races of the year, Shawn Langdon only managed four round-wins. During the Eastern Swing, he racked up 11 round-wins, which includes consecutive victories in Bristol and Norwalk.
June of 2016 will go down as one of the finest stretches of racing in Capps’ career. Three wins and three No. 1 qualifying positions in a span of four events vaulted him to the top of the Mello Yello points standings with a 130-point cushion over Courtney Force. The latest win bumped his career total to 49 wins, which ties him with former boss Don “the Snake” Prudhomme.
"What Rahn Tobler is doing right now is hard work," said Capps. "This guy has been working his tail off. It is big picture to him; he is not just a good crew chief, he is a good racer, and I love that. When he is pointing at me in the windshield before a run, it gives me all the confidence in the world."
The Don Schumacher Racing team has won the last six Funny Car events and boasted 11 of 12 finalists in that span. To get to that point in a highly competitive category, the teams have benefited from each other’s strengths to push the whole wagon forward. Jimmy Prock and John Medlen on the Infinite Hero team are regarded as the modern-day Wright brothers, bringing new concepts into reality on the racetrack. Dickie Venables on the Mopar/Rocky Boots team is a fearless competitor who will squeeze the most out of his hot rod. Tobler on the NAPA team and former protégé John Collins on the Make-A-Wish car are methodical racers who aren’t likely to let a fast tune-up out of their grasp until it’s time to move on to the next step.
It is a difficult dynamic in which to maintain harmony with only one Wally being awarded at the end of each race, but the organization is benefitting from it thus far, and Schumacher’s model encourages competition. While some teams are licking their wounds and preparing for the Chicago event and the grueling Western Swing, Capps is likely wishing there was another race on Fourth of July weekend where he could be attempting to earn a milestone 50th victory in one of the best hot rods he has ever driven.
Fully charged: In the first eight races of the year, Shawn Langdon only managed four round-wins. During the Eastern Swing, he racked up 11 round-wins, which includes consecutive victories in Bristol and Norwalk.
The saying “you make your own luck” seems true in Langdon’s case. When the Red Fuel dragster was struggling early in the season, the performance was compounded by the fact that they couldn’t seem to catch a break. Now that Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler have the car’s performance back to a championship-caliber level, the breaks have been more likely to present themselves when needed. That happened in the first round in Norwalk when Langdon smoked the tires but Troy Buff’s 3.89 run was negated by a red-light.
Langdon took full advantage of that mulligan by making the quickest run of every eliminations round that followed. He defeated teammate Antron Brown, Brittany Force, and J.R. Todd to earn his second straight win. In the span that includes the 2015 Auto Club NHRA Finals through today, only Langdon and Doug Kalitta have won three events in Top Fuel.
Langdon took full advantage of that mulligan by making the quickest run of every eliminations round that followed. He defeated teammate Antron Brown, Brittany Force, and J.R. Todd to earn his second straight win. In the span that includes the 2015 Auto Club NHRA Finals through today, only Langdon and Doug Kalitta have won three events in Top Fuel.
Trophies by the dozen: KB Racing drivers Jason Line and Greg Anderson extended their reign of terror over the Pro Stock field with their 12th consecutive win between them. They met up in the final round after Line dominated his side of the ladder and Anderson advanced past matchups with Shane Gray and Alex Laughlin, where he appeared somewhat vulnerable.
Line defeated Anderson in a 6.67 to 6.71 encounter to earn his seventh victory of the season. As always, it’s a big deal to the team to represent for sponsor Summit Racing Equipment at the track and event that bears its name.
"We didn't run as well as we would have liked today, and there were cars that were very close to us," said Line. "They are getting closer. To win at the Summit race, in a Summit car, at a Summit track is a huge deal. Greg and I have been very fortunate to make that happen a bunch of times; it's fun."
Line defeated Anderson in a 6.67 to 6.71 encounter to earn his seventh victory of the season. As always, it’s a big deal to the team to represent for sponsor Summit Racing Equipment at the track and event that bears its name.
"We didn't run as well as we would have liked today, and there were cars that were very close to us," said Line. "They are getting closer. To win at the Summit race, in a Summit car, at a Summit track is a huge deal. Greg and I have been very fortunate to make that happen a bunch of times; it's fun."
No slowing down: There was no slowing down Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Eddie Krawiec, though that was also a problem for Krawiec himself when he went off into the sand trap after his semifinal and final-round runs.
"We went back to the pit and had to take out 30 pounds of pea gravel," Krawiec said. "We put new brake pads on it, checked the fluid, drained everything, and made sure it was 100 percent. We stopped fine in the lanes and everything. I see my fourth round win light against my teammate and went 'not again.' I pulled the clutch in and went in for a ride."
Krawiec, a master of picking his spots when he needs to push the Christmas Tree, was brilliant in the last two rounds. A one-hundredth advantage off the line earned him a holeshot win over Jerry Savoie’s Suzuki in the semifinals. In an all-Harley final, Krawiec and Andrew Hines had identical .019 lights that let Krawiec’s slight advantage on the track earn him his third Wally of the season in his fourth final.
Special Awards
"We went back to the pit and had to take out 30 pounds of pea gravel," Krawiec said. "We put new brake pads on it, checked the fluid, drained everything, and made sure it was 100 percent. We stopped fine in the lanes and everything. I see my fourth round win light against my teammate and went 'not again.' I pulled the clutch in and went in for a ride."
Krawiec, a master of picking his spots when he needs to push the Christmas Tree, was brilliant in the last two rounds. A one-hundredth advantage off the line earned him a holeshot win over Jerry Savoie’s Suzuki in the semifinals. In an all-Harley final, Krawiec and Andrew Hines had identical .019 lights that let Krawiec’s slight advantage on the track earn him his third Wally of the season in his fourth final.
Special Awards
Best run: Del Worsham's 3.875-second, 328.70-mph run, Funny Car qualifying second session
It was a choice between which Kalitta Motorsports teammate had a more impressive feat on Friday with Doug Kalitta also racing to the top of the Top Fuel sheet. Worsham recorded a career best at a track that he has been able to dominate in qualifying at before.
Crew chief of the race: Rahn Tobler
Tobler and assistant crew chief Eric Lane got the NAPA Dodge Charger down the track in under four seconds in seven out of eight runs (it should be noted that there were no three-second runs in the heat during Saturday’s first qualifying session).
Driver of the race: Shane Gray
His performance is getting just close enough to the KB Racing team’s that the opportunity is within reach if he is able to make up the difference in the driver’s seat, and he is rising to the challenge. He scored a huge holeshot over Allen Johnson in a round that could have gone either way, and he nearly upset Greg Anderson in the semifinals. Speaking of which …
Best race: Greg Anderson vs. Shane Gray, Pro Stock semifinals
When Anderson and Jason Line speak about how the Pro Stock field is catching up to them, this race is what they’re talking about. Gray stretched a reasonable holeshot advantage into a lead that he held for almost the entire length of the dragstrip until Anderson closed the door on him at the finish line to win by a .001-second margin.
It was a choice between which Kalitta Motorsports teammate had a more impressive feat on Friday with Doug Kalitta also racing to the top of the Top Fuel sheet. Worsham recorded a career best at a track that he has been able to dominate in qualifying at before.
Crew chief of the race: Rahn Tobler
Tobler and assistant crew chief Eric Lane got the NAPA Dodge Charger down the track in under four seconds in seven out of eight runs (it should be noted that there were no three-second runs in the heat during Saturday’s first qualifying session).
Driver of the race: Shane Gray
His performance is getting just close enough to the KB Racing team’s that the opportunity is within reach if he is able to make up the difference in the driver’s seat, and he is rising to the challenge. He scored a huge holeshot over Allen Johnson in a round that could have gone either way, and he nearly upset Greg Anderson in the semifinals. Speaking of which …
Best race: Greg Anderson vs. Shane Gray, Pro Stock semifinals
When Anderson and Jason Line speak about how the Pro Stock field is catching up to them, this race is what they’re talking about. Gray stretched a reasonable holeshot advantage into a lead that he held for almost the entire length of the dragstrip until Anderson closed the door on him at the finish line to win by a .001-second margin.