NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

News, notes, quotes, photos, and videos from final eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk. Updated throughout the day.

With an uncertain weather forecast for Sunday, NHRA officials made the decision run some of the Lucas Oil Series sportsman classes to completion on Saturday night so some winners have already been crowned at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Below is a list of the champions.

COMP
Scott Chamness def. Frank Aragona Jr.

SUPER STOCK
Tyler Bohannon def. Joe Santangelo

STOCK
Joe Santangelo def. Brett McFarland

SUPER COMP
Patrick Debottis def. Bob Prose

SUPER GAS
Duane LaFleur def. Dave Coapstick

TOP SPORTSMAN presented by Vortech Superchargers
Steve Jaeger def. Glenn Butcher

TOP DRAGSTER presented by Vortech Superchargers
Al Kenny (pictured) def. Karma Hopper

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After two days of warm sunshine and mostly cloudless skies, the conditions have changed dramatically at Summit Motorsports Park as  it’s currently overcast with a slight chance of precipitation. The cloud cover will dramatically reduce the track temperature which should lead to improved elapsed times. For anyone who struggled in qualifying, the change is welcomed but those who appeared to have a handle on the track surface might not feel the same way.

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It took just one pair for those improved conditions to yield dividends as Josh Hart recorded a 3.756 in his opening round win against Spencer Massey, who made a rare miscue on the starting line when he double-stepped the throttle on Pat Dakin’s Commercial Metal Fabrication dragster and red-lighted. Hart is flying the colors of R+L Carriers which has a terminal located directly across the street from Summit Motorsports Park.

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Austin Prock got a single run after Clay Millican’s crew shut his Parts Plus dragster off on the starting line. Millcan’s crew chief, Jim Oberhofer, reportedly observed a peculiar flame pattern on the engine and decided not to risk wounding the car.

Most fans will remember that Prock subbed for Millican last year in Norwalk and reached the semifinals.

“A lot has changed in the last year,” said Prock. “I’m back our here racing full time and living my dream. That team [Stringer Performance] gave me a great opportunity but what a difference a year makes. We had the anchor tied to this thing in qualifying, but we’ll be just fine today.”

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A week after winning in Bristol, Justin Ashley was sent to the showers early by Leah Pruett. Ashley’s Phillips Connect dragster ran just a 3.852,  which wasn’t nearly enough to cover Pruett’s competitive 3.776. Pruett was not ranked in the Top 10 coming into the Norwalk event, so that round win was especially critical. Pruett’s title aspirations also got a boost when Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher lost in round one.

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Doug Kalitta and the Seal Master/Mac Tools team were very impressive in round one with a 3.736 at 330.23 mph. Kalitta defeated Antron Brown, who wasn’t far behind with a 3.772. Kalitta, much like Pruett, is also in dire need of round wins as he came to Norwalk as the No. 9 ranked driver in what has been the most competitive Top Fuel field in recent memory.

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The best run of the round? That honor went to Gainesville winner Tripp Tatum, who powered to a 3.733 to defeat Shawn Langdon. Tatum’s car was built by the Capco team and it’s tuned by veteran John “Stewie” Stewart with the help of Donnie Bender. Tatum hasn’t raced since his breakthrough victory in Gainesville but it’s obvious that he hasn’t lost a step. Tatum has a tough draw in round two against low qualifier Brittany Force, but he does have lane choice.

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Bob Tasca III got a great view of Mike McIntire’s colorful MacAttack Toyota but only because McIntire left on a very early red-light. Tasca managed to hold steady with a strong 3.921 to give him lane choice in the quarterfinals against championship leader Matt Hagan. Tasca was one of the drivers who would have preferred the sunny conditions that were present on Friday and Saturday since his Motorcraft QuickLane Ford was one of the most consistent cars in qualifying and he was starting from the No. 4 spot.

For what it’s worth. Tasca has two wins in Norwalk. He won the Top Alcohol Funny Car title over Von Smith in 2007 and then won the nitro Funny Car title in 2019, when he beat Jack Beckman in the final round.

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The “Oh my gosh” moment of the round came when world champ and low qualifier Ron Capps took on Dale Creasy Jr. At the start, Capps smoked the tires, opening the door for Creasy to score an upset win. Creashy’s Tek Pak Dodge also lit the tires, and careened over the centerline, narrowly missing Capps’ NAPA Toyota. Creasy was officially disqualified because he crossed the centerline and knocked over the 660-foot timing blockes, but he managed to get the car under control enough to avert a disaster.

“I may have pooped my pants,” said Capps with a wry smile. “I saw his whole car sideways and I don’t know how we didn’t touch. It was a lot closer than I wanted it to be. The NAPA guys escaped that one in two different ways there.”

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Crew chief Del Worsham said he expected more, but Alexis DeJoria’s 3.952 run in the opening round was more than enough to secure a much-needed round win against Paul Lee, who smoked the tires. DeJoria is coming off an impressive semifinal showing a week ago in Bristol, and she’s climbed to No. 7 in the Camping World Funny Car standings.

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A trio of red-light starts by the Cuadra family sent Matt Hartford, Camrie Caruso, and low qualifier Erica Enders into the quarterfinal round. Cristian Cuadra left .02-second too soon and handed Hartford a free pass to the second round and a couple of pairs later, Fernando Cuadra Sr. also left too soon, allowing Camrie Caruso to advance. Both Caruso and Hartford ran 6.64 on their winning runs.

Fernando Jr. also left a red-light hanging but it’s doubtful he could have done much to stem the tide of low qualifier Erica Enders, who continued her domination of the Norwalk event with a 6.597, by far the quickest run of the round.

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Dallas Glenn was ready for his round one race against Mason McGaha with a sharp .011 light, but his RAD Torque Systems Camaro would not cooperate as it began to shake the tires almost immediately. After a stunning rookie season, Glenn has had his share of ups and downs in year two. He scored a win in Gainesville, but also suffered a pair of early losses in Houston and now Norwalk.

As for McGaha, the win was a welcomed relief following a tough round one loss a week ago in Bristol. He came into Norwalk as the sixth-ranked driver in the class and has a chance to move up if he can win a couple more rounds.

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A week after winning in Bristol, Jerry Savoie shook up the points battle when he dispatched points leader Steve Johnson in round one. Savoie made a solid run with a 6.956, but it was more than enough to cover Johnson’s off-pace 7.014. Johnson came to Norwalk with a sizable 79 point lead over Karen Stoffer, but that will be cut significantly depending on how the rest of the event shakes out.

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Joey Gladstone got away with one in the opening round and he knows it. Gladstone missed the Tree with a .055 reaction time which was noticeably late against Jimmy Underdahl’s nearly-perfect .003 light. Fortunately for Gladstone, his Reed Motorsports Suzuki had enough power to pull out a 6.89 to 6.98 victory.

“I had my worst reaction time of the weekend and that wasn’t a good time for it,” said Gladstone. “If you watch Jimmy, he’s been killing it this weekend. He’s been.00 on just about every run. I got lucky there but I’ll take it though.”

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Speaking of reaction times, LE Tonglet also threw a scare into Matt Smith with a .007 light, but Smith and his Denso Suzuki were able to easily rally for a 6.87 to 6.93 victory in a battle of world champions. Smith will now race another world champ in the quarterfinals when he takes on Angelle Sampey, who topped Ron “the Rat” Tornow.

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Josh Hart reached the semifinals for the third time in 10 races this year when he topped Austin Prock on what the NHRA announcers call “a little baby holeshot.” Hart, the No. 8 ranked driver in the class, won with a 3.813 to 3.808. The win was especially comforting for Hart, who qualified well at the last two events in Epping and Bristol, but did not have a round win to show for it.

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It probably isn’t an exaggeration to suggest that Leah Pruett’s victory over Steve Torrence in the second round was one of the biggest wins of her career. The battle to make the Top 10 in Top Fuel is intense and its no secret that Pruett has strugged at times this year with five round one losses and just three quarterfinals in her Dodge Power Brokers dragster.

It remains to be seen if the win against Torrence was the turning point of Pruett’s season, but it was certainly impressive to her husband and team owner, Tony Stewart, who made it to Norwalk late last night after winning the SRX event at South Boston Speedway in Virgnia.

“It’s intimidating going up against those guys,” said Stewart. “They’ve got their s**t together.”

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Ron Capps’ crew chief, Dean “Guido” Antonelli was not pleased with Cruz Pedregon’s antics in their quarterfinal race and he made his feelings known in a expiative-laced starting line interview. Once Capps staged his NAPA Toyota, Pedregon took his sweet time lighting the second bulb  . The move didn’t work as Capps had the quicker reaction time and squeezed out a narrow 3.974 to 3.982 victory over the Snap-on driver.

“Well, I mean, he sits there; and he’s famous for it. We have the clutch out and he sits there and waits four or five seconds. There’s no need for it. It’s chicken s**t,” said Antonelli.

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The points leader in Funny Car is out after Bob Tasca III took care of business against Matt Hagan in round two. Hagan’s Dodge Power Brokers Dodge lit the tires, and Tasca pounced with a 3.941 to earn lane choice in his semifinal round race against Capps.

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The starting line discourse wasn’t confined to the Funny Car class as championship leader Erica Enders apparently didn’t react favorably when Matt Hartford took his time staging in their round two meeting. Enders was able to take the win by just six-thousandths, but there were words exchanged at the top end between Hartford and Elite crew chief Mark Ingersoll.

“Let’s be clear,” Hartford said. “There were no vulgarities out of our team. All I suggested is that he read the rule book. I mean if you’re gonna come down there throwing every negative vulgar word at our team; I get it, if that’s who you are as people and that’s your character that’s fine with me.

“They’re upset because I took a while staging which I’ve done in the past and sometimes it throws her off her game but you know, she’s got me covered by six hundredths up there. I followed the rules. If the starter didn’t like it, he had every right to throw me out or back me up but he didn’t. He never ever walked to my car.

“So, at the end of the day, we lost by six thousandths. We’re gracious losers as we are gracious winners. I wish other teams could learn that.”

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Deric Kramer punched his ticket to the semifinals with a big holeshot win over reigning champion Greg Anderson. Kramer banked five-hundredths at the start and held on for a 6.658 to 6.616 victory.

***

There were plenty of upsets in the Pro Stock Motorcycle quarterfinals. Angie Smith red-lighted against Jerry Savoie, and then added insult to injury with a strong 6.90 second run. Matt Smith also lost to Bristol runner-up Angelle Sampey, 6.89 to 6.94.

The biggest shock came when low qualifier Eddie Krawiec slowed to a 6.942, allowing Hector Arana Jr. just enough time to squeeze out a 6.915 victory on his Buell V-twin. Finally, Joey Gladstone made one of the most impressive runs of the round with a 6.907 that beat Karen Stoffer’s much quicker 6.855. Gladstone helped his cause with a sharp .018 reaction time.

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Mike Salinas will attempt to win his fourth race in four finals this season when he takes on Josh Hart in the Norwalk Top Fuel final. Salinas, already a winner in Phoenix, Charlotte, and Epping, drove to a modest 3.822 in the semifinals after Leah Pruett smoked the tires. Salinas has a 21-6 record in elimination rounds so far this season, and he’s got a shot to take the points lead from Brittany Force.

Hart will have lane choice in the final thanks to a stout 3.750 in his semifinal victory against Brittany Force, who made it close with a 3.783. Hart hasn’t been to a final this year, but has semifinal finishes in Phoenix and Charlotte. Hart and Salinas last raced in the quarterfinal round in Richmond where Salinas won a tire-smoking pedal-fest.

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Robert Hight defeated J.R. Todd to reach the final in Funny Car while Bob Tasca III delivered on the promise of a “get healthy” weekend with a semifinal victory against world champ and Bristol winner Ron Capps.

Hight wheeled his AAA Camaro to a 3.890 which was just enough to hold off Todd’s 3.916. The difference in reaction times was just .007-second making for a typically close Funny Car battle.

Tasca has been consistent on Sunday with three solid 3.9-second runs including a 3.933 that was more than enough to get past Capps’ 3.973. Hight is 3-0 against Tasca this season with wins in Phoenix, Charlotte, and Richmond.

***

It probably won’t be decided in the same manner, but the Pro Stock final will be a rematch of the Bristol final where Elite teammates Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield race for the Wally. Last week, Stanfield got an unlikely win after Enders killed an engine in the final.

Enders has the quickest car in Norwalk and she proved it with a 6.611 win over Deric Kramer in the semi’s. Stanfield didn’t make it to the finish line under power in his half of the semifinals after shaking the tires, but he advanced after Kyle Koretsky rolled the staging beams and red-lighted.

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Three-time world champ Angelle Sampey made it to the final round for the 80th time in her career after beating Bristol winner Jerry Savoie in the semi’s. Sampey was late in firing her Vance & Hines Suzuki but she didn’t appear to be the least bit distracted as she rode to a 6.855 to earn lane choice over Joey Gladstone.

Gladstone will race in his third-career final and his first since last year’s Charlotte event following a win over Hector Arana Jr., who fouled. Gladstone previously raced in the 202 Dallas final, and last year in Charlotte, where he lost to Sampey.