NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

IT REALLY IS POSSIBLE FOR 16 FUNNY CARS TO RUN IN THE THREES

Well, isn’t it about damn time? More than six years after a 4.001 bump spot at Indy fueled speculation of an all-three second field, it finally happened in Las Vegas, with room to spare.

The 20 car pre entry list fueled speculation of a history-making event and after Friday’s two sessions produced 12 three second players, optimism began to grow. On Saturday, Julie Naatas and Jeff Diehl ran 3.93 and 3.96 respectively, while Ron Capps, who struggled on Friday, joined the mix with a 3.89. Just two pairs later, Jason Rupert etched his name into history books with a 3.998, giving the sport its first sub-four second field.

Ironically, Rupert didn’t get to enjoy the moment for long as he was bumped from the field by Austin Prock, but the Vegas fans got exactly what they had waited for.

SPORTSMAN RACERS TEND TO THRIVE UNDER PRESSURE

The four Mission Foods pro titles aren’t the only ones up for grabs when NHRA makes its annual stop in Las Vegas. There are nine sportsman classes in the Lucas Oil series and Right Trailers series and heading into Las Vegas, just one had been clinched; Sean Bellemeur’s fifth Top Alcohol Funny Car title. The rest were fair game.

Ultimately, just one other title was locked up as Trey Vetter secured the Super Comp title after a monster season. Vetter reached the 700 point mark a few weeks ago, which put him in a prime position to win the title with any of the fellow contenders needing a minor miracle to pass him. It didn’t happen and Vetter claimed the title on Saturday.

During Monday’s wind-delayed final rounds, Super Stock leader Justin Picillo also locked up his first world title when he defeated Carl Youngstrom. Picillo was nearly flawless in the final with a .012 light and a 9.526 on his 9.52 dial.

The Top Alcohol Dragster title is also nearly settled as incoming leader Jamie Noonan needed to win the final in order to claim the top spot but he lost to Jackie Fricke, meaning it will carry over to the Las Vegas regional next week or Pomona.
 

THE PRO MOD CLASS CONTINUES TO DELIVER HIGH STAKES DRAMA

In all of drag racing, there are few things better than a winner-take-all final round to decide a championship and the JBS Pro Mod Series delivered just that with a high stakes showdown between Justin Bond and Mike Stavrinos.

Bond, the No. 5 qualifier, made his way to the final with wins over Shane Gray, Derek Menholt, and Billy Banaka. Bond was incredibly consistent with a 5.68 and a pair of 5.67 runs although he needed a holeshot to beat Banaka.

Stavrinos came from the No. 3 spot to score wins against Alex Laughlin, Nick Januik, and J.R. Gray, running a pair of 5.69s in the process. The final round was dramatic as Stavrinos left first by four hundredths, but slowed to a 5.791, allowing Bond to prevail with a stout 5.660, putting a cap on a memorable season.

PROFESSIONAL TITLES WILL ONCE AGAIN COME DOWN TO THE WIRE

Heading into the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, the championship battles are as follows. In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon leads Doug Kalitta by 107 points. Matt Hagan holds a 39 point lead over Jordan Vandergriff in Funny Car while Dallas Glenn leads Matt Hartford by 87 points in Pro Stock and Richard Gadson’s lead over teammate Gaige Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle is 55 points, with the Las Vegas final still to be run.

At first glance, Langdon and Glenn would appear to have their titles just about locked up but “just about” isn’t exactly the same as “done deal.” As history has shown, there is always room for upsets.

The wild card in the equation is the unique points format in Pomona where competitors earn 30 points per round instead of the usual 20. That means that there is hope for those who aren’t currently in the lead, and perhaps a few sleepless nights for those who are.
 

IF YOU LIKE UPSETS, NHRA’S ANNUAL STOP IN VEGAS IS FOR YOU

How many upsets were there on Sunday in Las Vegas? Let us count them all.

First off, how many expected Shawn Langdon to continue his dominance over the Top Fuel field and most likely clinch his second pro championship by the end of the weekend? Langdon topped the field in qualifying with a 3.672 and appeared unstoppable, at least until his Kalitta Air dragster smoked the tires in the semifinals, opening the door ever so slightly for teammate Doug Kalitta to remain in contention.

Greg Stanfield’s shot at the Pro Stock title likely went away when he lost in round one to Troy Coughlin Jr’s perfect .000 light. Coughlin went on to take out Greg Anderson in the semifinals, giving Dallas Glenn a leg up on a second-straight world title.

It might not have been an upset, but Jack Beckman’s quarterfinal loss to Ron Capps put an end to his faint title hopes. Beckman had been the class of the field with a 3.83 in qualifying and a 3.851 in round one. The same goes for No. 2 qualifier and incoming leader Matt Hagan, who dropped a close race against J.R. Todd in round two.