NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

With top stars dominating the win column in 2015, the logjam of talent going for their first wins during the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season has us poised to see some new blood in the winner’s circle. Pro Stock’s Chris McGaha was the only Professional driver to hoist a Wally for the first time last season, and plenty of capable combatants are primed to join him among the ranks of winners.

The Top Fuel category has the greatest number of touring drivers who have come close to winning events but are yet to do so. Brittany Force, Clay Millican, Dave Connolly, Leah Pritchett, and Terry McMillen are all vying for their first victories in Top Fuel. The logjam was created by a few drivers taking big pieces of the pie, namely Antron Brown (seven wins) and Richie Crampton (five) combining to score half of the available event wins in 2015. Brown, in particular, has become the gatekeeper in the past couple of seasons with three final-round victories against Force, two against Millican and Connolly, and one against Pritchett.

Crampton became the 100th winner in the history of the class at the Englishtown event in 2014, and there have been no first-time winners in the 39 races that have passed since then. Prior to Crampton, the most recent first-time winner was Khalid alBalooshi, who won the Reading event 74 races ago in 2012.

Though Connolly (pictured) has 30 wins in four classes and Bob Vandergriff Racing teammate Pritchett has multiple wins in Pro Mod, both are awaiting their first wins in Top Fuel. The entire team is due, with Connolly and former teammate Larry Dixon combining to go 0-9 in finals last season, a statistic that is likely to even itself out over time. Connolly’s team progressed throughout the 2015 season, and it underwent personnel changes this winter, with Jason McCulloch taking the lead tuner role in the place of former colleague Kurt Elliott and Ron Douglas joining him as assistant crew chief. Pritchett joins a Mike Guger- and Joe Barlam-led team that thrived in its first full season together.

Millican and Force are eager to get their first wins. Millican has eight final-round appearances, and Force has been catching up to him with six. Millican, the winningest racer in IHRA history, likes his chances with the Stringer Performance outfit having one full season under its belt with crew chief David Grubnic figuring out how to make the Parts Plus/Great Clips dragster run hard early. Force is coming off the best season of her career, and John Force Racing is pulling out all the stops to make the Monster Energy dragster a winner this season.

The Funny Car class hasn’t had a new winner since the second race of the 2014 season (46 races ago), when Alexis DeJoria scored her first of three event wins that year. Thirty-four races prior to that, Courtney Force was the most recent first-time winner when she scored her first victory in Seattle in 2012. The Funny Car class has had a lot of familiar names in the winner’s circle due to the lack of turnover among the teams and the inclination to hire experienced drivers (e.g., Tommy Johnson Jr. taking over for Johnny Gray) when a seat has become vacant.

The two touring drivers who have yet to score a win, Chad Head (pictured) and John Hale, each reached the final round in 2015. Hale’s miraculous final-round run in Gainesville ended at the hands of Ron Capps. Head nearly pulled off a win in Reading with what was then among the quickest runs of all time, but he fell just short against Jack Beckman. Head is likely to have many more opportunities with the way that his father, Jim, has his Toyota Camry running.

Pro Stock has been kinder in awarding first wins in recent years than the other three major categories, which bodes well for drivers such as Bo Butner (pictured), going into his second season. Last season, McGaha scored his first of three victories when he won in Sonoma, and rookie Drew Skillman followed suit with a victory in St. Louis. In 2014, Jonathan Gray scored his first win at the fall Charlotte event.

This season will be something of a wild card with all teams adapting to the new rules package. Butner will be one to watch if the KB Racing team gets a handle on the fuel-injected setup. Another driver to watch will be Matt Hartford, whose limited appearances will be made under the watchful eye of Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson.

There were no new Pro Stock Motorcycle winners in 2015 after a flood of them in recent years. Jerry Savoie is the last rider to have tasted victory for the first time, 19 races ago in St. Louis in 2014, and Angie Smith won her first in Epping eight races prior to that. Among the top-10 riders from last season, Scotty Pollacheck and Jim Underdahl (pictured) are the only two who have yet to win. Underdahl reached the final round in Englishtown last season, and Pollacheck went to five finals in his first two years. Neither would be a surprise to win in the coming season.

An intriguing rookie this season is Cory Reed, who will be riding for a full season with Star Racing as a teammate to Angelle Sampey. Team owner George Bryce has had a hand in many riders’ first victories.

2016 figures to be an exciting season with several racers gunning for their first taste of glory while the old guard fights to fend them off for another season.