NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Tony Stewart and Brian Hough scored Top Alcohol victories at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series North Central Region event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, which was held in conjunction with a Cleetus and Cars show.

Stewart, at the wheel of his Mobil 1 McPhillips Racing Top Alcohol Dragster, qualified No. 1 with a career-best 5.18 and then defeated Jeff Chatterson, Jasmine Salinas, and, in the final, Jackie Fricke, 5.257 at 276.35 mph to 5.308, 274.27 mph.

It's Stewart’s second win in the NHRA competition and his third straight final-round appearance. Stewart recently won the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte after a runner-up earlier this year at the four-wide event in Las Vegas.

“The last three races have been amazing,” said Stewart. “To win at Vegas and runner-up at Charlotte two weeks ago, then come here to the regional event in Indy and win is awesome. I’m really proud of this team and how much they have progressed. It was a rocky start to the year, but once they figured out the problems we were having, this thing has come to life. 

“I feel like every run we make, we’re getting better and better and getting the window a little bigger on what makes the car happy. Rich [McPhillips Sr.], Richie [McPhillips Jr.], Renee, Wayne, Bill, and Eric that are on my car are great. There’s an awesome synergy with everyone. There’s Tex and Chris on Jasmine’s [Salinas] car and Darrell and Chad on Mike’s [Coughlin] car and Matt’s [Cummings] car when he runs it. Everybody works together, and we’re one giant team. It’s nice when you plan and envision a run before you do it and then it goes exactly like you had planned. The hard thing with this style of racing is keeping up with the racetrack and knowing how much power you can put to the car. They did a great job prepping the track, and Richie did a great job keeping up with it, so we knew what to do with the car.”

Hough collected the win in Top Alcohol Funny Car, defeating former world champ Sean Bellemeur, 5.484, 263.56 to 5.495, 266.58.

The Cleetus and Cars event made popular by YouTube sensation Cleetus McFarland featured burnouts, exotic car drag racing, and a full-field Ford Crown Victoria oval race. 

The following are Sunday's final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, North Central Division Cleetus and Cars:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER: 

ROUND ONE 
5) Jasmine Salinas, Brownsburg, Ind., 5.288, 278.00 def. 4) Taylor Vetter, Las Vegas, Nev., 8.658, 101.39; 3) Julie Nataas, Brownsburg, Ind., 5.274, 279.09 def. 6) Mike Coughlin, Dublin, Ohio, broke; 7) Jackie Fricke, Flemington, N.J., 12.956, 81.19 def. 2) Cody Krohn, Port Charlotte, Fla., broke; 1) Tony Stewart, Columbus, Ind., 5.202, 282.19 def. 8) Jeff Chatterson, Brantford, Ont., 5.309, 266.95; 

SEMI-FINALS 
Fricke, 5.300, 271.73 def. Nataas, 5.274, 278.75; Stewart, 5.288, 276.75 def. Salinas, 5.333, 272.89; 

FINALS 
Stewart, 5.257, 276.35 def. Fricke, 5.308, 274.27. 

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR: 

ROUND ONE 
2) Brian Hough, Junction, Ore., '20 Camaro, 5.485, 265.01 def. 9) Christine Foster, Davenport, Iowa, '17 Camaro, 5.731, 227.54; 3) Kyle Smith, Valley Center, Kan., '09 Mustang, 5.517, 253.47 def. 6) Tony Bogolo, Hamilton, Ohio, '19 Camaro, 5.752, 257.43; 1) Sean Bellemeur, Placentia, Calif., '21 Camaro, 5.453, 268.38 def. 8) Nick Januik, Las Vegas, Nev., '18 Camaro, foul; 4) Chris Foster, Davenport, Iowa, '20 Camaro, 5.626, 261.98 def. 5) Andy Bohl, Racine, Wis., '19 Camaro, 5.609, 261.02; 

SEMI-FINALS 
Hough, 5.487, 264.23 def. Smith, 5.556, 232.99; Bellemeur, 5.456, 266.42 def. Chris. Foster, 5.608, 259.46; 

FINALS 
Hough, 5.484, 263.56 def. Bellemeur, 5.495, 266.58. 

SATURDAY

The following are Saturday's final qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, North Central Division Cleetus and Cars:

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
1) Tony Stewart, Columbus, Ind., 5.183 seconds, 282.07 mph
2) Cody Krohn, Port Charlotte, Fla., 5.223, 274.22
3) Julie Nataas, Brownsburg, Ind., 5.230, 279.15
4) Taylor Vetter, Las Vegas, Nev., 5.246, 279.21
5) Jasmine Salinas, Brownsburg, Ind., 5.250, 278.58
6) Mike Coughlin, Dublin, Ohio, 5.252, 274.61
7) Jackie Fricke, Flemington, N.J., 5.256, 274.89
8) Jeff Chatterson, Brantford, Ont., 5.332, 270.54
Not Qualified
9) John Paul Gutierrez, Berkley, Mich., 5.343, 269.35
10) Brandon Greco, Roscoe, Pa., 5.360, 266.06
11) Jared Dreher, Clinton, Ind., 5.410, 262.74
12) Hunter Green, Midland, Texas, (no time)

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
1) Sean Bellemeur, Placentia, Calif., '21 Camaro, 5.432 seconds, 268.01 mph
2) Brian Hough, Junction, Ore., '20 Camaro, 5.459, 267.11
3) Kyle Smith, Valley Center, Kan., '09 Mustang, 5.507, 255.97
4) Chris Foster, Davenport, Iowa, '20 Camaro, 5.565, 262.85
5) Andy Bohl, Racine, Wis., '19 Camaro, 5.602, 265.64
6) Tony Bogolo, Hamilton, Ohio, '19 Camaro, 5.696, 258.81
7) Phil Esz, Amelia, Ohio, '17 Camaro, 5.699, 261.02
8) Nick Januik, Las Vegas, Nev., '18 Camaro, 5.717, 260.01
Not Qualified
9) Christine Foster, Davenport, Iowa, '17 Camaro, 6.951, 142.01