TOP FUEL ROUND ONE

Top Fuel final eliminations kicked off with Clay Millican facing Dan Mercier. Mercier went up in smoke at half-track, while Millican, in his Summit Racing Equipment-backed dragster marched to a 3.81 at 331 mph for the win.

Brittany Force and Lex Joon were next. The pair left clean, but Force smoked the tires at the 330-foot mark. It appeared Joon would drive away, but he went up in smoke, while Force smoothly applied the power and got by for the win, running a 4.291 at 292 mph.

Tony Stewart, running in the left lane against Kyle Wurtzel took a win but for the third time this weekend he blew up his Dodge Direct Connection dragster as it neared the finish line. Stewart clocked a 3.89 but at only 270 mph.

If there was a marquee match-up of round one, it was Antron Brown and Doug Kalitta. Kalitta snuck into the field in the last session and made the most of it, defeating Brown 3.81 to 3.90. His 3.816 was enough to give him lane choice over Millican in round two.

Top qualifier Justin Ashely made quick work of Scott Farley, running 3.880 at 318, while Farley shut off early and coasted to a 4.87 at 190 mph. Steve Torrence and Josh Hart were the final winners in round one action.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Doug Kalitta vs Clay Millican; Justin Ashley vs Josh Hart; Shawn Langdon vs Brittany Force; Steve Torrence vs Tony Stewart

FUNNY CAR ROUND ONE

Funny Car kicked off with Matt Hagan taking his Direct Connection Dodge to a win over J.R. Todd, who smoked the tires mid-track. “Fast” Jack Beckman was the second driver to turn on a win light, driving his JFR Racing Chevrolet Camaro past Chad Green.

Top qualifier Cruz Pedregon was the third driver to deliver a win, running 4.057 at 318 mph against Buddy Hull who smoked the tires. Pedregon lost a burst panel in the lights, but it did not affect his performance.

Ron Capps won an important run against Paul Lee (4.004 to 8.530), as Lee can fall from third to as far as fifth in the points standings by the end of the day.

The first upset in the nitro ranks came when Dave Richards drove to a 4.196 at 280 to defeat the better-qualified Alexis DeJoria, who smoked the tires mid-track and only ran 4.70 at 225 mph. Other round one winners were Austin Prock, Bob Tasca III, and Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge winner Dan Wilkerson, who delivered the quickest run of the session at 3.967 at 324 mph.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs Jack Beckman; Ron Capps vs Dave Richards; Austin Prock vs Bob Tasca III; Dan Wilkerson vs Cruz Pedregon

PRO STOCK ROUND ONE

The first round of Pro Stock opened with a pair normally reserved for a final round as Elite teammates Erica Enders and Aaron Stanfield squared off, with the guarantee that a contending car would be sidelined. Stanfield got off the starting line first and held on for the holeshot win, 6.533 to 6.619. 

Cody Coughlin got the best of his uncle, Jeg Jr., in their first side-by-side meeting. Cody left first by a hundredth of a second and extended the lead with a 6.611 to 6.655 victory.

Cory Reed shaved his trademark beard on Saturday night and it might have affected his luck as he powered to low elapsed time of the weekend with a 6.591 to score a solid win against Troy Coughlin Jr., who debuted his new look black and yellow JEGS.com Camaro this weekend.

Cody Coughlin held low elapsed time for just a few minutes as Dallas Glenn made a great run in his RAD Torque Systems Camaro with a 6.581 to easily cover Val Smeland, who is filling in for his friend Kenny Delco this weekend. 

Low E.T. changed hands again, and it was no surprise as Greg Anderson banged out a 6.574 in his win against Derrick Reese, earning a date with Aaron Stanfield in the quarterfinals.

Greg Stanfield scored a win for Team Elite when he defeated Mason McGaha with a 6.612. Stanfield has won national events at 11 different facilities, but Norwalk isn’t one of them.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Dallas Glenn vs. Cody Coughlin; Greg Anderson vs. Aaron Stanfield; Cory Reed vs. Greg Stanfield; Matt Hartford vs. Eric Latino.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND ONE

Jianna Evaristo made one of her best runs of the weekend to kick off Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations with a narrow 6.908 to 6.924 win against Steve Johnson. 

Ron Tornow made some of the best runs of his career in qualifying and was competitive in round one with a 6.923 but that came attached to an early red-light, allowing Ohio’s Marc Ingwersen to advance with a 6.963. 

Richard Gadson, still riding his from his Bristol win earlier this month, made a very competitive run with a 6.844 that was easily enough to cover Chase Van Sant’s otherwise solid 6.935. 

John Hall, like the rest of his MSR teammates, remained steady at 6.862 in his win against Wes Wells, who struggled to get his Suzuki off the starting line.

Matt Smith had a bye run due to the short field and he didn’t let it go to waste. The six-time champion set the bar quite high with a 6.810, and also produced the only 200-mph run of the round. 

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Matt Smith vs. Jianna Evaristo; Richard Gadson vs. Angie Smith; John Hall vs. Marc Ingwersen; Gaige Herrera vs. BYE. 

TOP FUEL ROUND TWO

Top Fuel round 2 began with points leader Tony Stewart facing off against former world champion Steve Torrence. Stewart ran 3.908 at 318 to get the better of Torrence who smoked the tires. Stewart will move into his eight straight semi-final.

Justin Ashley made a move in the points running a 3.902 to defeat Josh Hart’s 3.976 at 320 mph. Shawn Langdon won over Brittany Force, delivering a 3.90 to Force’s 3.95 and the last pair of the round, Clay Millican moved his Summit Racing Equipment dragster into the semi-finals on a holeshot win over Doug Kalitta.

Round three pairings (lane choice first): Justin Ashley vs Shawn Langdon; Tony Stewart vs Clay Millican

FUNNY  CAR ROUND TWO

Funny Car saw big matchups in round 3, beginning with Austin Prock and Bob Tasca III. Prock came out on top, running 4.02 at 315, while Tasca III went up in smoke at half-track.

Low qualifier Cruz Pedregon got away with one in round 2. The former world champion smoked the tires, but only after Dan Wilkerson left too soon, handing Pedregon the win.

In a battle of true Funny Car heavyweights, Matt Hagan beat Jack Beckman on a slim holeshot (.071 to .073) and by .001 at the stripe when he ran 4.088 to Beckman’s 4.087. In the final pairing, Ron Capps ran 4.004 to beat Dave Richards.

Round three pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hagan vs Cruz Pedregon; Ron Capps vs Austin Prock

PRO STOCK ROUND TWO

Greg Stanfield grabbed four hundredths in his quarterfinal race against Cory Reed, but that’s where the good news stopped. Reed’s J&A Service Camaro was simply too much for the five-time Super Stock champ with a 6.622 to Stanfield’s 6.689. 

Dallas Glenn got a taste of his own medicine when Cody Coughlin threw a .006 light at him but in the end, “Double O Dallas” prevailed with a 6.617 after Coughlin slowed to a 6.662. 

“How about that Cody Coughlin with a double-oh. He’s gonna be holding a trophy before long,” Glenn noted.

Eric Latino was shut off after the burnout with an apparent fluid leak, handing GETTRX Callout winner Matt Hartford a free pass into the semifinals. Hartford did not let the opportunity go to waste with a very impressive 6.596. 

Greg Anderson had a nice view of Aaron Stanfield’s JHG Camaro but ultimately crossed the finish line first in a 6.594 to 6.629 race that was decided by just three-thousandths of a second at the stripe. 

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hartford vs. Dallas Glenn; Greg Anderson vs. Cory Reed.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND TWO

Richard Gadson ran a strong 6.84 in his win against Angie Smith, who missed the Tree in their quarterfinal match. John Hall also advanced with a 6.883 on his American Rebel Light Buell against Marc Ingwersen.

Gaige Herrera had a bye run into the semifinals and posted a 6.864 to earn lane choice against Hall. 

The final pair included Matt Smith and his teammate Jianna Evaristo in a race that was much closer than it probably should have bene. Evaristo was first off the starting line, .016 to .050, but Smith cruised to a 6.869 to Evaristo’s 6.904. 

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Gaige Herrera vs. John Hall; Richard Gadson vs. Matt Smith

Top Fuel Semifinals

Looking to maintain his position as the NHRA Mission Foods points leader, Tony Stewart lined up against the Summit Racing dragster of Clay Millican, who was looking to shine at his sponsor’s race. Both drivers left with .085 reaction times, but Millican was able to run 3.958 and out-power Stewart, who ran 3.974.

With lane choice by .004 of a second, Justin Ashley chose the Summit Racing (left) side of the track and he completed the burnout and staged against Shawn Langdon. Ashley will go to his 31^st Top Fuel final and face Millican after running 3.935 at 317 mph.

FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

In the Funny Car semi-finals, Matt Hagan defeated top qualifier Cruz Pedregon (4.12 to 4.14). This will be Hagan’s 94^th final round appearance. He will face Austin Prock who dropped a .055 reaction time on Ron Capps and then ran 4.091 to beat Capps on a holeshot. Capps had a .095 light and slightly quicker 4.089 elapsed time, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the driver of the JFR Chevrolet. This sets up the Hagan vs Prock final round.

PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS

Those who expected to see another Dallas Glenn vs. Greg Anderson final round were somewhat surprised to see the semifinals results in Norwalk. Glenn held up his end of the bargain and will race in his seventh final of the season, but will take on Cory Reed this time. 

Glenn punched his ticket to the final after Matt Hartford rattled the tires. Glenn would have been a handful regardless with a .011 light and a 6.638. 

Tire shake also bit Greg Anderson, who pushed in the clutch in his HendrickCars.com Camaro and watched as Cory Reed cruised to his third career final with a 6.640 in his J&A Service Camaro. 

“I have a new car and I’m trying to get comfortable in it,” said Reed. “That guy [Glenn] is awesome. He won’t let me struggle without coming over and getting in my business.”

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS

The Pro Stock Motorcycle final round will feature John Hall and Richard Gadson in the latest round of the Vance & Hines vs. Matt Smith Racing rivalry. Hall scored a big round win when championship leader Gaige Herrera made a rare error with a foul start. The elapsed times were close as Herrera threw away a 6.942 to Hall’s 6.956. 

Gadson, coming off his breakthrough win in Bristol, scored a huge win over Matt Smith in the other half of the semi’s. After a brief burndown, Gadson left first, .017 to .038 and held on for the win with a 6.929, giving him lane choice against Hall. 

LUCAS OIL SERIES RESULTS

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
McKenna Bold def. Shawn Cowie

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Sean Bellemeur def. Shane Westerfield

COMP
Dave Dupps Jr. def. John Frech

SUPER STOCK
Kevin Helms def. Peter D’Agnolo

STOCK
Joe Santangelo def. Caleb McFarland

SUPER COMP
Jeremy Mason def. Devin Isenhower

SUPER GAS
Jacob Elrod def. Jim Repka

SUPER STREET
Damian Hazelton def. Carl Saari

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP DRAGSTER 
Al Kenny def. Tony Elrod

RIGHT TRAILERS TOP SPORTSMAN
Chris Osborn def. Keith Castle

HOLLEY EFI FACTORY X
Conner Statler def. Lenny Lottig 

FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN
Mark Pawuk def. Scott Libersher 

JOHNSON’S HORESEPOWERED GARAGE MOUNTAIN MOTOR PRO STOCK
John DeFlorian def. Johnny Pluchino