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
The tightest of margins
The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals took place in front of a packed house at Atlanta Dragway, and the thrilling race culminated in the closest decision in a Top Fuel final in NHRA history.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Wally was going to go to Kalitta Motorsports with teammates Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd each advancing to the final round. It was the first all-Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel final since Kalitta defeated Hillary Will at the Memphis, Tenn., event in 2006 and the second all-Kalitta Motorsports final in the past four races following the showdown between Alexis DeJoria and Del Worsham in the Funny Car title round in Las Vegas. When the race took place, deciding which of the two drivers was going to take the win became far less captivating than the margin between the two dragsters as they neared the finish line.
Kalitta, who had recently scored his first win of the season in Houston, got a .050 to .071 advantage off the starting line that Todd picked away in every timed increment down the racetrack. The Connie Kalitta- and Rob Flynn-tuned SealMaster dragster caught up to the Mac Tools machine at the very end, and the true margin at the finish line was indecipherable to those watching. The electronic timing system clocked them as a dead heat to the ten-thousandth of a second (.0000). Kalitta’s 3.801 got the nod over Todd’s 3.780 on a holeshot in an incredible race.
The last two times that an eliminations round in a Professional category was decided by a number beyond the fourth digit after the decimal point each occurred in the Pro Stock class. The most recent example is the final round of the Bristol event in 2012 when Mike Edwards got the win light against Allen Johnson in the final round. Prior to that, Jim Yates defeated Brad Jeter in the first round of the Denver event in 2001.
Kalitta took the points lead at this event. His 40th career win marks his third straight season of multiple wins following a six-year dry spell. With crew chief Jim Oberhofer making the calls on a dragster that is performing at a top level and Kalitta being an asset with his starting-line performance, one of the best drivers without a championship on his résumé is getting in position to finally check that box off of his career to-do list.
Crew chief Dickie Venables began the season working with new variables such as a new chassis, a new clutch controller with two new air flows, a new timing controller, a new data logger, and a handful of new crewmembers. The breakout performance occurred as a compromise between getting in synch with the changes and going back to tried-and-true methods.
“Honestly, these cars are so humbling, and we’ve been trying to dig out of a hole that we’ve dug ourselves in from the first of the year,” said Hagan. “We went back to what we know. It really puts it in perspective how hard these things are to win, how hard it is to get round-wins sometimes. We’ve been working hard, and it’s not for a lack of effort, and now we’re starting to turn the corner. We’ve just felt good about everything recently.”
Hagan ran low e.t. and top speed of the event with a 3.906 at 329.02 mph in the opening round and kept the hammer down the rest of the way. In the final round against teammate Jack Beckman, who recovered from a trip to the sand trap in the first round and was also searching for his first win of the season, Hagan left first and was largely unchallenged with a 3.96.
It was a foregone conclusion that the Wally was going to go to Kalitta Motorsports with teammates Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd each advancing to the final round. It was the first all-Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel final since Kalitta defeated Hillary Will at the Memphis, Tenn., event in 2006 and the second all-Kalitta Motorsports final in the past four races following the showdown between Alexis DeJoria and Del Worsham in the Funny Car title round in Las Vegas. When the race took place, deciding which of the two drivers was going to take the win became far less captivating than the margin between the two dragsters as they neared the finish line.
Kalitta, who had recently scored his first win of the season in Houston, got a .050 to .071 advantage off the starting line that Todd picked away in every timed increment down the racetrack. The Connie Kalitta- and Rob Flynn-tuned SealMaster dragster caught up to the Mac Tools machine at the very end, and the true margin at the finish line was indecipherable to those watching. The electronic timing system clocked them as a dead heat to the ten-thousandth of a second (.0000). Kalitta’s 3.801 got the nod over Todd’s 3.780 on a holeshot in an incredible race.
The last two times that an eliminations round in a Professional category was decided by a number beyond the fourth digit after the decimal point each occurred in the Pro Stock class. The most recent example is the final round of the Bristol event in 2012 when Mike Edwards got the win light against Allen Johnson in the final round. Prior to that, Jim Yates defeated Brad Jeter in the first round of the Denver event in 2001.
Kalitta took the points lead at this event. His 40th career win marks his third straight season of multiple wins following a six-year dry spell. With crew chief Jim Oberhofer making the calls on a dragster that is performing at a top level and Kalitta being an asset with his starting-line performance, one of the best drivers without a championship on his résumé is getting in position to finally check that box off of his career to-do list.
Crew chief Dickie Venables began the season working with new variables such as a new chassis, a new clutch controller with two new air flows, a new timing controller, a new data logger, and a handful of new crewmembers. The breakout performance occurred as a compromise between getting in synch with the changes and going back to tried-and-true methods.
“Honestly, these cars are so humbling, and we’ve been trying to dig out of a hole that we’ve dug ourselves in from the first of the year,” said Hagan. “We went back to what we know. It really puts it in perspective how hard these things are to win, how hard it is to get round-wins sometimes. We’ve been working hard, and it’s not for a lack of effort, and now we’re starting to turn the corner. We’ve just felt good about everything recently.”
Hagan ran low e.t. and top speed of the event with a 3.906 at 329.02 mph in the opening round and kept the hammer down the rest of the way. In the final round against teammate Jack Beckman, who recovered from a trip to the sand trap in the first round and was also searching for his first win of the season, Hagan left first and was largely unchallenged with a 3.96.
Returning the favor: The magnitude of competing at their sponsor’s event isn’t lost among Summit Racing drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line. The two both reached the final round for the fourth time this season. This time, a motivated Line made sure he wasn’t going to be Anderson’s foil.
Line has been in every final round this season and has only lost to Anderson. The problem is that he has endured three such losses, and each instance can be attributed to Anderson winning with a slower elapsed time and holeshot advantage.
Line made sure he was on time in the final with a .015 light. He carried that advantage through and turned the tables on Anderson by winning on a 6.611 to 6.593 holeshot. It is Line’s second consecutive and third overall win in Atlanta.
“It’s a great day anytime you can win in front of your sponsor," said Line. "I haven’t been on an Atlanta track like this ever. We struggled hard with it, but again, I’m a little bit in awe that I’ve been able to race in all the final rounds this year.”
Line has been in every final round this season and has only lost to Anderson. The problem is that he has endured three such losses, and each instance can be attributed to Anderson winning with a slower elapsed time and holeshot advantage.
Line made sure he was on time in the final with a .015 light. He carried that advantage through and turned the tables on Anderson by winning on a 6.611 to 6.593 holeshot. It is Line’s second consecutive and third overall win in Atlanta.
“It’s a great day anytime you can win in front of your sponsor," said Line. "I haven’t been on an Atlanta track like this ever. We struggled hard with it, but again, I’m a little bit in awe that I’ve been able to race in all the final rounds this year.”
Steady Eddie: Teammate Andrew Hines may be able to do no wrong at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, but the good vibes shift back to the other side of the Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines camp when the V-Rods go to Atlanta Dragway. Eddie Krawiec scored his first win in Atlanta in 2009. This year, he scored win No. 33, which is also his third Atlanta victory in the past four seasons.
“Atlanta has treated me well,” said Krawiec. “I got my first win here, and it’s one of those things where if you just feel comfortable and you’re in a groove, you’ll have confidence. For me, I think all of that has fallen into place. It was definitely a good, exciting, fun weekend for me.”
Krawiec dodged several bullets on the way to the winner’s circle with opponents cutting great lights against him. He survived his first-round matchup with Matt Smith by .004-second, overcame Karen Stoffer’s .009 light in the semifinals by just more than one hundredth, and edged final-round opponent Jerry Savoie by .005-second.
Special Awards
Sampey qualified No. 1 in convincing fashion for the first time since the fall Las Vegas event in 2008 before her return to the class. The Precision Service Equipment/Star Racing Buell V-Twin swept all of the qualifying bonus points available in the last three sessions. She made the only 6.7-second run of the event in the first round en route to a semifinal finish for the Georgia-based team.
Best race: Doug Kalitta vs. J.R. Todd, Top Fuel final
You can’t ask for closer racing than a dead-heat to the ten-thousandth of a second at more than 320 mph.
Driver of the race: Jason Line
Though he prides himself in his engine tuning abilities far more than what he is capable of behind the wheel, he cut .018 and .015 lights in the last two rounds that were exactly what his team needed to seal the victory.
Crew chief of the race: Dickie Venables
Running low e.t. of every single eliminations round is one way to pull your team out of a slump. Venables and Mike Knudsen once again have a handle on the Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger.
Stat of the race: The last time Doug Kalitta won consecutive events was in 2006 when he accomplished the feat twice in a span of five races. He won the Bristol and Atlanta events before scoring again in Topeka and Chicago.
“Atlanta has treated me well,” said Krawiec. “I got my first win here, and it’s one of those things where if you just feel comfortable and you’re in a groove, you’ll have confidence. For me, I think all of that has fallen into place. It was definitely a good, exciting, fun weekend for me.”
Krawiec dodged several bullets on the way to the winner’s circle with opponents cutting great lights against him. He survived his first-round matchup with Matt Smith by .004-second, overcame Karen Stoffer’s .009 light in the semifinals by just more than one hundredth, and edged final-round opponent Jerry Savoie by .005-second.
Special Awards
Sampey qualified No. 1 in convincing fashion for the first time since the fall Las Vegas event in 2008 before her return to the class. The Precision Service Equipment/Star Racing Buell V-Twin swept all of the qualifying bonus points available in the last three sessions. She made the only 6.7-second run of the event in the first round en route to a semifinal finish for the Georgia-based team.
Best race: Doug Kalitta vs. J.R. Todd, Top Fuel final
You can’t ask for closer racing than a dead-heat to the ten-thousandth of a second at more than 320 mph.
Driver of the race: Jason Line
Though he prides himself in his engine tuning abilities far more than what he is capable of behind the wheel, he cut .018 and .015 lights in the last two rounds that were exactly what his team needed to seal the victory.
Crew chief of the race: Dickie Venables
Running low e.t. of every single eliminations round is one way to pull your team out of a slump. Venables and Mike Knudsen once again have a handle on the Mopar/Rocky Boots Dodge Charger.
Stat of the race: The last time Doug Kalitta won consecutive events was in 2006 when he accomplished the feat twice in a span of five races. He won the Bristol and Atlanta events before scoring again in Topeka and Chicago.