NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Chris McGaha looks at his current situation and isn’t exactly happy about the missteps that have been made to this point during his 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

 

But instead of focusing on what has already transpired, the Pro Stock standout is trying to concentrate on what is in front of him approaching the final race of the famed NHRA Western Swing. That means a strong performance at this weekend’s 29th annual Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways, his first win of 2016, and a better position heading into the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

 

The new era of Pro Stock brought vast changes, and there have been bumps in the road this season for McGaha in his Harlow Sammons of Odessa Chevrolet Camaro. But while McGaha may kick himself for lost opportunities, he’s just as anxious to make up for them in Seattle and beyond.

 

"Well, I look back on it, and I'm kind of mad at myself at times because I shouldn't be No. 8 right now,” McGaha said of his position in the points standings. “I've given a lot of rounds away, including last Sunday [in Sonoma]. I've clearly given away rounds that should've been wins for me, and I could've gone extra rounds. We beat ourselves a lot, and that's what we’ve got to quit doing, and then we'll be good. I think if we can keep going the way we're going, we can get a better shot at it during the Countdown."

 

J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car), and McGaha (Pro Stock) were last year’s winners at the event held at the multipurpose motorsports facility in Seattle. It is the 16th of 24 races in 2016, and the event will be broadcast on the FOX national broadcast network for the first time.

 

McGaha has some momentum entering as the defending event winner and appears to be past the doldrums that led to five straight first-round losses. He has posted round-wins at each of the last three events, but with just three races before the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, McGaha knows more is needed. McGaha had a semifinal trip wrapped up in Sonoma when his opponent went red, but he crossed the centerline to hand the victory back to Matt Hartford. Those are the type of missteps McGaha referenced earlier, but he believes things are headed back in the right direction.

 

"I can't say it's behind me, but it is much better and improving for our Harlow Sammons team,” McGaha said. “We were definitely not headed in the right direction for a while. Things are definitely going in a better direction."

 

Some of the struggles could likely be attributed to the changes in the redesigned Pro Stock class, which now features fuel-injected engines, flat hoods, 10,500-rpm rev limiters, and shortened wheelie bars.

 

But McGaha said it went beyond that, and his team focused too much on what was different about the cars. Little issues then became major ones, and following an early-season final-round appearance in Phoenix, those problems seemed to plague McGaha on a regular basis. They appear to have been rectified, leaving McGaha time to finish the regular season strong and enter the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship as a title contender.

 

“Our biggest problem is that we got so caught up in all the rule changes, we just forgot the basics,” McGaha said. “That's what I think happened to us. We've got to have good tires and make sure our clutch program is in order, and the car needs to be in order. We were so consumed with the rule changes that we forgot to remember the simple stuff.”

 

Now playing catch-up, McGaha is trying to track down the dominant season that teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line are having. The duo has each posted seven wins, with Anderson taking the points lead following his win on Sunday in Sonoma.

 

But to make it two straight wins in Seattle, McGaha will also have to get past the likes of Allen Johnson, who started the Western Swing with a win in Denver; Bo Butner, who is third in points; Drew Skillman; Vincent Nobile; five-time champ Jeg Coughlin Jr.; and two-time, reigning world champion Erica Enders.

 

McGaha, though, is determined to head into the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship performing at his best.

 

“It's called momentum, and you’ve got to have it,” said McGaha, who has three career wins. “Seattle is the time to have it. It helps going into the Countdown with some momentum because you know you've got everything going right.”

 

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature rounds at 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5, and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 1 and 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7.

 

To purchase general-admission or reserved seats, call 800-884-NHRA (6472). Tickets also are available online at www.nhra.com/tickets. Kids 12 and under are free in general-admission areas with a paid adult.