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
Heard it through the grapevine
The quickest elapsed times of the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season were recorded in Top Fuel (3.670 seconds, Steve Torrence) and Pro Stock Motorcycle (6.730, Angelle Sampey). Torrence’s run marks the first time an NHRA national record in Top Fuel was set in Sonoma, and both runs were the second-quickest in the history of their respective classes. The low elapsed times in Funny Car (3.868, Del Worsham) and Pro Stock (6.553, Bo Butner) made this race the second-quickest of the season in those respective classes. Ron Capps had made the quickest Funny Car run of the season in Epping, and Pro Stock was quicker in Englishtown at what is traditionally one of the top tracks for the factory hot rods.
Though the sun was out all weekend with the exception of Friday night nitro qualifying, the weather was sufficient for making good horsepower in near-sea-level air with a steady tailwind on race day that particularly affected the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. The singular performance of Jack Beckman when he lowered the Funny Car record to 3.921 seconds at this event in 2015 seemed to be prevalent on a broader scale this year with career-best numbers abound.
John Force (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) scored milestone wins with Force raising the bar for most all-time NHRA wins at 145 and Anderson equaling NHRA legend Bob Glidden’s once-untouchable mark of 85 career victories. Meanwhile, J.R. Todd (Top Fuel) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) broke droughts with Todd earning his first win of the season in his fourth final round and Tonglet winning for the first time in five years.
Sealing the deal: Being part the closest Top Fuel final in NHRA history is a great honor, particularly when it is against your teammate, but J.R. Todd was sick of hearing about it. The competitive-natured driver knew that drawing from any bit that was left on the table in a .0000-second decision against Doug Kalitta in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals Top Fuel final would have put the SealMaster team in the winner’s circle for the first time since Seattle last season, and being asked about that final at every race since turned the chip on his shoulder into a boulder by the time the tour took him to the Western Swing.
Todd entered Sonoma on the heels of three straight semifinal appearances, which included runner-up finishes in Norwalk and Chicago. Improved qualifying performances led to better race-day fortune for the Connie Kalitta- and Rob Flynn-led team. Todd plowed through the field by running three 3.74s and surviving a semifinal pedalfest against Doug Kalitta.
Though Todd had won this event before as a rookie, he carried emotion in his voice in regards to this year’s victory at the home track of late friend and fellow racer Eric Medlen.
"Eric Medlen's mom gave me a poster of my car with ‘this win is for Eric’ before the final round, and I carried it in my firesuit,” said Todd. “He definitely brought me good luck and was watching over that run."
Over the past three years since he joined Kalitta Motorsports, Todd has won once on the Western Swing every season with a victory at each stop.
Still swinging: John Force is the only driver who can still complete a sweep of the Western Swing after wins at two of the first three stops. Force is the only driver in Funny Car history to complete a sweep. He won all three events during the 1994 season.
The 67-year-old, 16-time NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car champion got his groove back with a win in Denver with a special-edition, camouflaged Realtree/Peak Antifreeze Chevy Camaro. He returned to blue Peak colors on the first day of qualifying in Sonoma, but he and crew chief Jon Schaffer reverted back to camouflage on Saturday upon realizing that the blue body, which had been damaged in its debut in Topeka, would require extra work to maintain that could prove troublesome during the quick race-day turnarounds.
All three of the John Force Racing Funny Cars ran great throughout qualifying. The only problem for them was that Del Worsham made the best run at 3.868 seconds, which put all three drivers on the same side of the ladder. Force won intramural battles against Robert Hight in the second round and daughter Courtney in the semifinals to earn a final-round berth against Ron Capps. The final featured the two winningest Funny Car drivers at both the Sonoma event and in the history of the class.
Force got off the line first and won a 3.948 to 3.960 battle for career win No. 145, the all-time mark for wins in NHRA history.
“We won Denver, and that got me motivated,” said Force. “My daughter and Robert were outrunning me in Denver, but we got the win. We knew it was going to be a different animal here. We got down here, and I was amazed.”
Greg Anderson was a part of many of Johnson’s victories before going out on his own to have a dominant driving career with the support of Ken Black and sponsor Summit Racing Equipment. Those behind the scenes can attest to how relentless Anderson is in the pursuit of victory. That work ethic combined with the surrounding talent and resources at KB Racing’s Mooresville, N.C., shop allowed them to get a jumpstart in the electronic fuel-injection era by making the most of their winter and continuing their development throughout the course of the season.
Anderson’s milestone win stood in the way of KB Racing teammate Bo Butner, a two-time NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series champion who was looking for his first victory on the Professional level. Butner was the No. 1 qualifier and seemed to have the best of the three KB Racing cars through the first round. Butner buckled down and got off the starting line first in the final three rounds of eliminations, but it wasn’t meant to be in the final with Anderson scoring the 6.580 to 6.622 win.
“This track has been magical to KB Racing, not just to me but Jason Line, too,” said Anderson. “This place is special to me and magical. It is everything a Pro Stock racer wants. It is a great racetrack, great weather conditions, and full grandstands. You don’t get any better than that. It cranks us up and gives us a lot of energy.”
Back to the front: Nitro Fish Suzuki rider LE Tonglet won for the first time in nearly five calendar years. The firefighter from Metairie, La., who last won at the Brainerd event in 2011, became the second Suzuki rider to record a 6.7-second pass during qualifying and kept up his career-best performances throughout eliminations.
Tonglet ran 6.79s during wins over Katie Sullivan and Hector Arana Sr. As the sun put more heat on the track in the late rounds, brother and crew chief GT made sure the bike didn’t fall off as much as their competitors, which proved to make the difference in the event. Tonglet ran 6.81s in the last two rounds, which, combined with holeshots over Harley riders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, put him in the winner’s circle at this event like he was in 2011. Hines came one round-win shy of winning three consecutive races, which would have been a career first.
“It has been five years since we have won, and to bring home the Wally after beating Andrew and Eddie back to back is just huge for our team,” said Tonglet. “We just come out here to have fun, and it wasn’t getting fun. We had to change some things up and started getting round-wins, and it is just great.”
Tonglet’s win occurred at an event where the Pro Stock Motorcycle class often stole the show. The healthiest Mello Yello category at 25 entries did not disappoint from a fan’s perspective. From the NHRA Pro Bike Battle special event on Saturday to the near-200-mph efforts punctuated by Angelle Sampey’s 199.76-mph blast during eliminations on Sunday to the behind-the-scenes kerfuffle between Star Racing owner George Bryce and the Vance & Hines riders, the two-wheel category was the talk of the pits. The tailwind that was present essentially gave the bikes the same effect that laid-back headers have aided in Funny Car performance, and there were career bests all around throughout the quickest field in class history.
Special Awards
Driver of the race: LE Tonglet
The 2010 Mello Yello champion was consistent on the lights and his shift points. Though he must have been eager to win after waiting for nearly five years, he was unrattled when he showed up to race other past world champions in the final three rounds of eliminations.
Crew chief of the race: Jon Schaffer
The young NorCal native tuned his boss to four runs between 3.927 and 3.948 on race day for his second consecutive win at tracks with conditions that couldn’t be more different. Momentum in the Funny Car class has swung the way of the John Force Racing cars, and the Peak Antifreeze team is leading the charge.
The Star Racing rider dropped jaws and teased the long-awaited first 200-mph Pro Stock Motorcycle run with this pass in the first round. George Bryce and Ken Johnson called the shots on the run that goes down as the second-fastest and equals the second-quickest in class history. This category had tough competition with Steve Torrence running 3.670 for the NHRA national record in Top Fuel and Del Worsham making the second-quickest Funny Car run of the season at 3.868 seconds.
Best race: John Force vs. Robert Hight, Funny Car round two
The teammates were locked side by side in a race that was decided by only .007-second. Hight shot a spark plug out of the No. 8 cylinder, and that proved to be the difference in a very close race.
Stats of the race: Funny Car No. 1 qualifier Del Worsham competed in his 1,000th round of competition during his second-round victory over Jack Beckman. … Steve Torrence has made the quickest run in each of the past 10 consecutive qualifying sessions dating back to the third session of qualifying at the K&N Filters NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago and 11 of the past 12 sessions.
Tonglet ran 6.79s during wins over Katie Sullivan and Hector Arana Sr. As the sun put more heat on the track in the late rounds, brother and crew chief GT made sure the bike didn’t fall off as much as their competitors, which proved to make the difference in the event. Tonglet ran 6.81s in the last two rounds, which, combined with holeshots over Harley riders Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, put him in the winner’s circle at this event like he was in 2011. Hines came one round-win shy of winning three consecutive races, which would have been a career first.
“It has been five years since we have won, and to bring home the Wally after beating Andrew and Eddie back to back is just huge for our team,” said Tonglet. “We just come out here to have fun, and it wasn’t getting fun. We had to change some things up and started getting round-wins, and it is just great.”
Tonglet’s win occurred at an event where the Pro Stock Motorcycle class often stole the show. The healthiest Mello Yello category at 25 entries did not disappoint from a fan’s perspective. From the NHRA Pro Bike Battle special event on Saturday to the near-200-mph efforts punctuated by Angelle Sampey’s 199.76-mph blast during eliminations on Sunday to the behind-the-scenes kerfuffle between Star Racing owner George Bryce and the Vance & Hines riders, the two-wheel category was the talk of the pits. The tailwind that was present essentially gave the bikes the same effect that laid-back headers have aided in Funny Car performance, and there were career bests all around throughout the quickest field in class history.
Special Awards
Driver of the race: LE Tonglet
The 2010 Mello Yello champion was consistent on the lights and his shift points. Though he must have been eager to win after waiting for nearly five years, he was unrattled when he showed up to race other past world champions in the final three rounds of eliminations.
Crew chief of the race: Jon Schaffer
The young NorCal native tuned his boss to four runs between 3.927 and 3.948 on race day for his second consecutive win at tracks with conditions that couldn’t be more different. Momentum in the Funny Car class has swung the way of the John Force Racing cars, and the Peak Antifreeze team is leading the charge.
The Star Racing rider dropped jaws and teased the long-awaited first 200-mph Pro Stock Motorcycle run with this pass in the first round. George Bryce and Ken Johnson called the shots on the run that goes down as the second-fastest and equals the second-quickest in class history. This category had tough competition with Steve Torrence running 3.670 for the NHRA national record in Top Fuel and Del Worsham making the second-quickest Funny Car run of the season at 3.868 seconds.
Best race: John Force vs. Robert Hight, Funny Car round two
The teammates were locked side by side in a race that was decided by only .007-second. Hight shot a spark plug out of the No. 8 cylinder, and that proved to be the difference in a very close race.
Stats of the race: Funny Car No. 1 qualifier Del Worsham competed in his 1,000th round of competition during his second-round victory over Jack Beckman. … Steve Torrence has made the quickest run in each of the past 10 consecutive qualifying sessions dating back to the third session of qualifying at the K&N Filters NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago and 11 of the past 12 sessions.