NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

NHRA National Dragster contributor Brenda Grubbs came tantalizingly close to becoming the 25th driver (and first woman) to double-up at an NHRA national event when she drove to a win in Super Stock and a semifinal finish in Stock at the NHRA SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway. Grubbs shared the intimate four-driver NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series winner’s circle with first-time winners Tim Snively and Lyndon Rutland, who won in Stock and Super Comp, respectively, and Koy Collier, who earned the Super Gas title by beating his father, Steve, in the final. 

Grubbs, who previously won the Stock title at the 2014 Denver event, wheeled her AA/SA ’69 Camaro to the semi’s in Stock, where she met Snively’s I/SA Camaro. The race ended on the starting line when Snively hammered the Tree with a .008 light, and Grubbs had her worst light of the event with a .108. 

Putting aside her loss in Stock, Grubbs, and her husband, Bill, regrouped for the Super Stock final against Craig Gualtiere, who recently won his first Lucas Oil Series event. Grubbs cut a competitive .014 light and scored a holeshot win with a 9.284 on her 9.26 dial to a .011-over 9.691 for Gualtiere’s clean SS/GA ’67 Nova. In both classes, Grubbs put together a near-perfect 10-1 record in elimination rounds during the three-day event. Her record included wins over a number of the best racers in Division 4, including Jacob Pitt, Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., and David Latino. [video]

Thanks to his many friends in the South Central Division, Arkansas-based attorney Snively has been a part of numerous winner’s circle celebrations, but he was able to celebrate a win of his own in Houston after driving to the Stock title. One round after ending Grubbs’ hopes for a double, Snively wheeled his I/SA ’85 Camaro to a final-round win over Brandon Bakies. After an even start, Snively claimed a narrow win with an 11.745 on his 11.73 dial. Bakies, in his F/SA Olds, was close behind with an 11.091 on his 11.07 dial. The difference at the stripe was just four-thousandths of a second. On his way to the final round, Snively faced a tough roster of contenders, including Brett Candies, multitime JEGS Allstars champion Slate Cummings, two-time world champion Austin Williams, Mike McMahan, and Grubbs. He managed to leave first in every round except for the final, where he was just .002-second behind Bakies. [video]

At the 1996 Houston event, Rutland reached the final round of Super Comp, where he was turned back by Jeromy Hefler. It took more than a decade, but Rutland reached the Super Comp final again in 2018, and this time he closed the deal with a dynamic victory over two-time world champion Williams. The final was easily one of the best races of the weekend, regardless of class. Rutland and Williams left as one, with matching .018 reaction times, and Rutland put the nose of his M&M Race Cars dragster ahead at the stripe by an inch or so to take the win with an 8.901 to Williams’ 8.902. Ironically, Rutland’s top speed at the finish line was 180.07 mph while Williams braked to just 156.99 from his usual 170-mph pace. Rutland came out swinging in eliminations with a .001 light in the opening round and later claimed wins against Tony Brown, Jay Bunce, Trene Cressonie, and Derek Denney. [video]

Super Gas finalists Steve and Koy Collier became the 11th different father-son duo to race in a national event final, joining a list that most recently includes fellow Division 4 racers Greg and Aaron Stanfield, who raced in the Super Stock final at the 2017 Chicago event. Coming off a bye run in the quarterfinals, Koy, 20, unleashed a perfect 9.900 run on Lloyd Parfait to reach the final round for the second time in his young career. Father Steve had already earned a semifinal bye after his quarterfinal win over James Carter, which guaranteed an all-Collier final. With family bragging rights on the line, Koy gained a small lead at the start and once again flirted with perfection with a 9.902 in his Camaro to beat Steve’s 9.890 breakout. In the 24 times that a father-son have raced in a final (including 13 by the Pro Stock duo of Warren and Kurt Johnson), the son has prevailed just 10 times. [video]