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Tricky Tipster's Seattle picks

04 Aug 2016
NHRA News
News

For more than five decades, NHRA National Dragster's famed Tricky Tipster has tested his prognosticating skills prior to each national event, putting odds on the top eight racers he thinks have the best shot at victory in Tricky Tipster. This week, Tricky Tipster handicaps the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.

TOP FUEL
Funny Car | Pro Stock |Top Alcohol Dragster | Top Alcohol Funny Car
  
Steve TorrenceSteve Torrence • Capco Contractors
The 2012 winner and national e.t. record holder has had the quickest car in the last 10 consecutive and 11 of the past 12 qualifying sessions. His Friday and Saturday heroics are bound to start paying off on Sundays.
3-1
  
J.R. ToddJ.R. Todd • SealMaster
He swept all of the races on the Western Swing; he just accomplished the feat over a three-year span. The defending event winner cracked the code with his Sonoma victory.
4-1
  
Tony SchumacherTony Schumacher • U.S. Army
His third of three consecutive wins here in 2008 began a story of eight different winners over the past eight years that “the Sarge” would like to bookend.
5-1
  
Doug KalittaDoug Kalitta • Mac Tools
Anyone who watched him pedal, drift, and holeshot his way to the semifinals in Sonoma has an idea of the lengths the veteran driver is willing to extend himself to get his points lead back.
11-2
  
Antron BrownAntron Brown • Matco Tools
He is the points leader and a two-time world champion for a reason. This team just doesn’t make many mistakes. He only has one first-round loss in 2016, and that occurred during the third race of the season.
6-1
  
Richie CramptonRichie Crampton • Lucas Oil
Welcome back to Tipster. The Aussie has been gaining traction in both the literal and figurative sense. This team won here in 2013 with Morgan Lucas behind the wheel.
7-1
  
Brittany ForceBrittany Force • Monster Energy
The last time she came out on the wrong end of a holeshot decision, she promptly won two of the next three races. This dragster is plenty fast.
8-1
  
Shawn LangdonShawn Langdon • Red Fuel/Sandvik Coromant
He won two consecutive races and only scored one round-win in a pedalfest in the three races that followed. Like a freight train, he’s hard to stop once he gets going in eliminations.
11-1
 

FUNNY CAR
Ron CappsRon Capps • NAPA Dodge
Not quite as dominant on the West Coast as he was back east, but if Tipster was given a chance to drive a Funny Car right now, this is still the one we would pick. It’s steady, consistent, quick, and continues to rack up the round-wins.
3-1
  
John ForceJohn Force • Peak Chevy
Tipster thinks the other two cars in his camp are probably better, but it’s hard not to move a guy with back-to-back wins who still has a shot to sweep the Swing up. Plus, his recent record here is strong: a win and two semi’s in the past four years.
4-1
  
Courtney ForceCourtney Force • Traxxas Chevy
This remains one of the class’ best cars. Even with that semifinal 4.07, Force still averaged a 3.93 for the Sonoma weekend. Her biggest roadblock at this point is dear ol’ dad, who has won all five of their matches this year, including at the last two events.
5-1
  
Robert HightRobert Hight • Auto Club Chevy
This team continues to show a lot of potential and could be a real factor heading down the stretch. Tied Matt Hagan for low e.t. of Sonoma eliminations and made another great run in round two, just coming up on the losing end of a great race.
6-1
  
Del WorshamDel Worsham • DHL Toyota
Tipster was very impressed with what we saw from this car in Sonoma, and if that same car shows up again this weekend, we like his chances of matching or bettering the runner-up finish he recorded here last year.
7-1
  
Matt HaganMatt Hagan • Mopar Express Lane/
Rocky Boots Dodge

This car may possibly be the most challenging to handicap. One round it’s running low e.t., and the next it is smoking the tires. It’s not a question of if they can contend for a win but rather when they will. The potential is definitely there.
8-1
  
Jack BeckmanJack Beckman • Infinite Hero Dodge
This week’s “falling several spots because others had strong cases to move up” driver is “Fast Jack,” who has had a bit of a rough Western Swing but is more than capable of correcting that and doing so in a hurry.
9-1
  
Tommy Johnson Jr.Tommy Johnson Jr. • Make-A-Wish Dodge
The defending event champ’s biggest problem right now is qualifying. His mid-pack starts aren’t giving him the most favorable first-round draws, so even with a solid run like he had in Sonoma, he still lands on the trailer early. Fix qualifying and race day may very well improve.
10-1
 

PRO STOCK
Greg AndersonGreg Anderson • Summit Camaro
He put the KB Racing team back on top by earning his seventh win of the season. The competition is getting tighter, but Anderson and his teammates are still the strongest in the field.
2-1
  
Bo ButnerBo Butner • Jim Butner Auto Camaro
He has had a great car all year. The problem had been the performance behind the wheel, but Butner picked things back up by appearing in his fourth final of the season but has yet to claim the ultimate prize.
3-1
  
Jason LineJason Line • Summit Camaro
After appearing in 11 finals this season and winning seven, it was hard to believe that he qualified No. 8 and suffered a first-round loss in Sonoma. Line’s performance has faltered recently but not enough for Tipster to believe he’s out for the count.
4-1
  
Allen JohnsonAllen Johnson • Marathon Petroleum Dart
He remains the only non-KB driver to have won a race so far this year, and with that, he is also on the verge of being the next Pro Stock driver to clinch a spot in the Countdown.
6-1
  
Shane GrayShane Gray • Gray Motorsports Camaro
He is staying steady, qualifying in the top half of the field for the 11th time and appearing in semifinals for the fifth time this season, but he has yet to break through to the final round.
7-1
  
Vincent NobileVincent Nobile • Mountain View Camaro
Continues to be the best amongst his Elite Motorsports teammates, but Nobile’s best is still only average compared to much of the field.
9-1
  
Drew SkillmanDrew Skillman • Ray Skillman Auto Camaro
He has a competitive car and is never far off from winning rounds. If he can get off the starting line first, his chances of going further in eliminations increases greatly.
10-1
  
Chris McGahaChris McGaha • Harlow Sammons Camaro
Things were looking up for this team when McGaha qualified No. 4 in Sonoma, being the best position he’s had all year. Who knows how far he could have gone if he hadn’t encountered that unfortunate second-round loss.
12-1
 

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Joey Severance • J&A Service
The 2011 and 2014 winner can really apply the pressure on the national title scene if he can wheel his Noonan-powered dragster to another win. He is making some big top-end power lately.
3-1
  
Chris Demke • Peen-Rite/Boost Performance
This hard-running blown team has been making personal-best runs at just about every track they’ve been back to this year. He is on the verge of putting the freshly-wrapped “X car” in the winner’s circle.
7-2
  
Megan McKernan-Troxel • Truck-Lite/Davco
Her first national event since getting married is also the first time she returns to a national event as a defending event champion.
4-1
  
Shawn Cowie • Mundie’s Towing
He scored an emotional comeback win here in 2013, and the Pomona winner is back to full stride.
5-1
  
Garrett Bateman • HipLink Solutions
The Oregon native reached the final round here in two of the past three seasons. He benefits from having a new teammate this year under Rick Henkelman’s tune.
6-1
  
Johnny Ahten • Island Renovations
The near-sea-level air and oxygen from the trees of the Pacific Northwest provide ample power for A/Fuel racers, and this firefighter’s injected nitroburner knows how to take advantage.
8-1
  
Kim Parker • HipLink Solutions
The 2004 finalist has been running strong as a teammate to Bateman in the same dragster he drove to a runner-up finish here last year.
10-1
  
Casey Grisel • Grisel & Darien Motorsports
He broke into the 5.2s during his last outing at Woodburn Dragstrip. The driver whose mantra is “just havin’ fun” is making life increasingly less fun for drivers staged in the opposite lane.
11-1
 

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Shane Westerfield • CP-Carrillo/BBR Chevy
He is 7-0 in elimination rounds since he became a father. His win and JEGS Allstars double in Chicago was an impressive feat.
5-2
  
Doug Gordon • MB Cabinets Chevy
The three-time Seattle winner has been to the semifinals in four of his five national event starts this season.
3-1
  
Terry Ruckman • Ruckman Brothers Chevy
The Las Vegas winner and his band of Bob DeVour-mentored young guns get better at each race. He won in his last outing at the West Region event at Woodburn Dragstrip.
4-1
  
Annie Whiteley • J&A Service Chevy
The defending event winner has done well in the Northwest with her most recent victory occurring in Seattle and earning her first No. 1 qualifying position at the same track.
5-1
  
Clint Thompson • Racers for Trump Chevy
The world’s fastest political billboard reached the final round in Topeka. Another win to add to his three Seattle Wallys would be yuuuge.
7-1
  
Nick Januik • Torco Race Fuels/Plan B Motorsports Chevy
The Las Vegas native is a 5.4-second player. He is capable of using his Co-Line power to run with anybody.
8-1
  
Jirka Kaplan • Bearspaw Petroleum Chevy
Tipster special. The Canadian driver can run 5.4-second elapsed times with a Lencodrive combination that allows for consistently quick reaction times.
9-1
  
Brian Hough • Olympus Trailers Chevy
The Oregon native scored his first and half of his six total Top Alcohol Funny Car wins at this event.
11-1