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
An epic Epping
An action-packed NHRA New England Nationals may not have been executed as it was drawn up, but it was an event that people will be talking about for a long while.
The Funny Car category itself stole the show once again. The first round of qualifying on Friday started with Bob Tasca III lowering the track e.t. record with a career-best 3.98, which barely held a spot in the top 12 by the time the day was completed. Ron Capps recorded the second-quickest run in Funny Car history (3.865) that same day to lead a Funny Car field that, once completed on Saturday, featured 13 drivers that made three-second runs for the first time in NHRA history.
The part of the amazing Funny Car field that didn’t go according to plan was broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday when Jack Beckman walked away from a massive engine explosion in the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger. A broken camshaft caused the air/fuel mixture in the manifold to ignite for a huge top-end explosion that left little useable parts of the race car remaining.
The other unplanned phenomenon was the weather wiping out a day of racing on Sunday. Monday felt very much like any race day, however, with New England fans returning in droves to give NHRA what must be its biggest Monday crowd since the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, where final eliminations are scheduled on Labor Day.
The Funny Car category itself stole the show once again. The first round of qualifying on Friday started with Bob Tasca III lowering the track e.t. record with a career-best 3.98, which barely held a spot in the top 12 by the time the day was completed. Ron Capps recorded the second-quickest run in Funny Car history (3.865) that same day to lead a Funny Car field that, once completed on Saturday, featured 13 drivers that made three-second runs for the first time in NHRA history.
The part of the amazing Funny Car field that didn’t go according to plan was broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday when Jack Beckman walked away from a massive engine explosion in the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger. A broken camshaft caused the air/fuel mixture in the manifold to ignite for a huge top-end explosion that left little useable parts of the race car remaining.
The other unplanned phenomenon was the weather wiping out a day of racing on Sunday. Monday felt very much like any race day, however, with New England fans returning in droves to give NHRA what must be its biggest Monday crowd since the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, where final eliminations are scheduled on Labor Day.
Other oddities in the fuel classes were two red-lights in each category and Steve Torrence receiving two bye runs — the first because Smax Smith was unable to stay on Monday due to professional commitments and the second due to being the No. 2 qualifier on a 13-car ladder. Torrence made it to the final against Antron Brown, who had a single in the first round and faced two drivers who red-lighted in the next two rounds. Regardless of how they got there, I don’t think it can be argued that the two finalists didn’t have the best two cars this past weekend.
Torrence, who ended Doug Kalitta’s winning streak at 14 consecutive round-wins in the semifinals, pulled a good run together in the final despite drama after the burnout when the throttle stop didn’t come off with ease and with Torrence staging the Capco Contractors dragster by putting both bulbs on before Brown was pre-staged. Brown got a slight jump on the Tree and carried it to victory, his second of the season and 40th in his Top Fuel career.
Brown is 18-1 against Torrence in career head-to-head matchups. The Matco Tools driver gave the Wally to co-crew chief Brian Corradi and his wife, Jackie, who celebrated their 28th anniversary on Saturday.
Torrence, who ended Doug Kalitta’s winning streak at 14 consecutive round-wins in the semifinals, pulled a good run together in the final despite drama after the burnout when the throttle stop didn’t come off with ease and with Torrence staging the Capco Contractors dragster by putting both bulbs on before Brown was pre-staged. Brown got a slight jump on the Tree and carried it to victory, his second of the season and 40th in his Top Fuel career.
Brown is 18-1 against Torrence in career head-to-head matchups. The Matco Tools driver gave the Wally to co-crew chief Brian Corradi and his wife, Jackie, who celebrated their 28th anniversary on Saturday.
Epping-palooza: Ron Capps coined the phrase “Epping-palooza” due to the week of visiting various NAPA Auto Parts stores and personnel leading up to the NHRA New England Nationals. The veteran driver saved enough energy for one of the most memorable performances of his career.
Capps is known more for winning races than his prowess during qualifying, evidenced by the fact that he has more than twice the number of event wins than No. 1 qualifying positions. He did both at this event by qualifying No. 1 with the second-quickest run in NHRA history. In the Funny Car performance renaissance that has taken place in the past 11 months, Capps got to claim his own stake in it by being the first Funny Car driver to make three-second runs throughout qualifying and eliminations.
All of Capps’ opponents made sub-four-second runs except for first-round opponent Dave Richards, who still set career-best marks in e.t. and speed. Capps scored four hard-earned victories that culminated in a final-round victory against teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. Capps is a fan of the history of the Funny Car class as well as being a driver, so he appreciates winning at the historic New England Dragway’s 50th anniversary season during NHRA’s yearlong celebration of 50 years of the Funny Car class.
Capps is known more for winning races than his prowess during qualifying, evidenced by the fact that he has more than twice the number of event wins than No. 1 qualifying positions. He did both at this event by qualifying No. 1 with the second-quickest run in NHRA history. In the Funny Car performance renaissance that has taken place in the past 11 months, Capps got to claim his own stake in it by being the first Funny Car driver to make three-second runs throughout qualifying and eliminations.
All of Capps’ opponents made sub-four-second runs except for first-round opponent Dave Richards, who still set career-best marks in e.t. and speed. Capps scored four hard-earned victories that culminated in a final-round victory against teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. Capps is a fan of the history of the Funny Car class as well as being a driver, so he appreciates winning at the historic New England Dragway’s 50th anniversary season during NHRA’s yearlong celebration of 50 years of the Funny Car class.
End of the Line: Jason Line’s streak of consecutive final-round appearances to start the season ended at eight, tying the late Lee Shepherd’s mark but falling one shy of Bob Glidden’s record. It ended at the hands of Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson. The drivers are usually able to qualify on opposite ends of the ladder, but Anderson missed out on Friday’s superior conditions, which he used for testing, and ended up in the No. 4 position despite making the best run of any Pro Stock driver from Saturday’s first qualifying session until the final round on Monday.
Anderson and Line ran within two-thousandths of each other in the semifinals with Anderson’s .021 light making the difference in the battle. With Bo Butner bowing out on a holeshot defeat in the second round on the other side of the ladder, a driver from outside KB Racing would reach the final round for the first time since Chris McGaha did so at the start of the season. Fittingly, the last driver outside of KB Racing to win an NHRA event, Allen Johnson, would be that driver.
Johnson gave it everything he had on the starting line, but Anderson had it made up at the 330-foot mark to score his fourth win of the season.
Special Awards
Anderson and Line ran within two-thousandths of each other in the semifinals with Anderson’s .021 light making the difference in the battle. With Bo Butner bowing out on a holeshot defeat in the second round on the other side of the ladder, a driver from outside KB Racing would reach the final round for the first time since Chris McGaha did so at the start of the season. Fittingly, the last driver outside of KB Racing to win an NHRA event, Allen Johnson, would be that driver.
Johnson gave it everything he had on the starting line, but Anderson had it made up at the 330-foot mark to score his fourth win of the season.
Special Awards
Best run: Antron Brown’s 3.701, Top Fuel final qualifying session
The Funny Cars stole the show in qualifying once again with another performance extravaganza, and Ron Capps had the best series of runs, but the Matco Tools dragster stood out when it equaled the ninth-quickest run of all time in a session where no one predicted that the No. 1 qualifying spot would be overtaken.
Driver of the race: Antron Brown
At an event where red-lights were drawn like suited cards at a Blackjack table, Brown kept a cool head and was his usual consistently quick self. Leah Pritchett deserves a special mention for almost stealing a round-win against Tony Schumacher in the second round with a .019 light.
Crew chief of the race: Rahn Tobler
Tobler and assistant crew chief Eric Lane showed what they are capable of by tuning a driver to three-second runs throughout qualifying and eliminations for the first time in NHRA Funny Car history.
Best race: John Force vs. Bob Tasca III, Funny Car round 1
Tasca lowered his career-best e.t. three times at his home track, including during this round, and paired it with a slight holeshot advantage. The 16-time champion drove around the upset-minded Tasca at the very end for a win by a .004-second margin.
Stat of the race: The last time Todd Paton scored a round-win in a Professional category was at the Reading event in 2002 in Funny Car against John Force. The driver he defeated this weekend, Force’s daughter Brittany, was entering her junior year of high school at the time. Paton joked, “If it takes me another 13 years, I’ll probably be racing Jacob [Hood, John Force’s grandson].”
The Funny Cars stole the show in qualifying once again with another performance extravaganza, and Ron Capps had the best series of runs, but the Matco Tools dragster stood out when it equaled the ninth-quickest run of all time in a session where no one predicted that the No. 1 qualifying spot would be overtaken.
Driver of the race: Antron Brown
At an event where red-lights were drawn like suited cards at a Blackjack table, Brown kept a cool head and was his usual consistently quick self. Leah Pritchett deserves a special mention for almost stealing a round-win against Tony Schumacher in the second round with a .019 light.
Crew chief of the race: Rahn Tobler
Tobler and assistant crew chief Eric Lane showed what they are capable of by tuning a driver to three-second runs throughout qualifying and eliminations for the first time in NHRA Funny Car history.
Best race: John Force vs. Bob Tasca III, Funny Car round 1
Tasca lowered his career-best e.t. three times at his home track, including during this round, and paired it with a slight holeshot advantage. The 16-time champion drove around the upset-minded Tasca at the very end for a win by a .004-second margin.
Stat of the race: The last time Todd Paton scored a round-win in a Professional category was at the Reading event in 2002 in Funny Car against John Force. The driver he defeated this weekend, Force’s daughter Brittany, was entering her junior year of high school at the time. Paton joked, “If it takes me another 13 years, I’ll probably be racing Jacob [Hood, John Force’s grandson].”