As if Las Vegas weren’t loud and ostentatious enough in its own right, the city hosts the fire and fury of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series twice each year, this event in the spring and the crucial penultimate stop on the schedule in the fall.

 

		EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

 

SUNDAY FINAL - SCHUMACHER, CAPPS AND COUGHLIN WIN SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS


Tony Schumacher raced to his second consecutive victory of the season Sunday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Schumacher’s teammate Ron Capps and Jeg Coughlin also were winners in their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Five-time defending world champion Schumacher moved into the Top Fuel points lead for the first time this season when he powered his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.874 second run at 311.77 mph to defeat Brandon Bernstein’s Budweiser/Lucas Oil dragster, which finished in 4.003 at 295.66.

Schumacher’s dragster was consistently quick in earlier round wins over Terry Haddock, Cory McClenathan and top qualifier Shawn Langdon.

“The team won today,” said Schumacher of his 58th career victory. “I didn’t do it with a great driving job like I did in Houston. What a great tune-up we had. They carried me today. It went right down the track every time. That’s what a team is all about. It’s fantastic. That was a big (final) round. (Brandon) is an outstanding driver and they have a great team. You aren’t just running an average guy. You’ve got to go up there and do your job. There are certain rounds that are just huge, and that was one of them.”

Capps extended his series points lead in Funny Car with his third victory this season and 28th of his career, outrunning teammate Matt Hagan in the final. Capps finished in 4.182 at 297.81 in his NAPA Dodge Charger, while rookie Hagan’s Shelor.com Charger lost traction near the finish line and trailed with a 4.335 at 248.89.

Capps, who ended a two-race mini-slump with his third victory at this track, defeated Brian Thiel, Mike Neff and Robert Hight to advance to the final.

“I was asked several times by the media what was wrong the last two races, and I just never worried,” said Capps, who posted back-to-back first round losses at Gainesville and Houston. “Ace [crew chief Ed McCulloch] needed to get in his comfort zone. You’ll find a lot of teams seem like they may be struggling here the last couple of races, but with four test days for the whole year, there are a lot of teams, including us, testing stuff that you have to try in qualifying once you get in the show and even race day, believe it or not. So it’s tough to gage how people are really doing. ‘Ace’ was trying things.

“We have found that just trying to approach the season like a NASCAR team and saying, ‘OK, as long as we’re in the Countdown and in the top 10,’ and try to focus and peak at the right time doesn’t work. So we stepped it up, and 'Ace' is trying to rip their throats out every single run. You can’t run these cars anymore and be halfway safe and just look to go down the track. You can’t do it. You have to step all over these things with the tune-up, and the driver has to be on their game. It is days like this where it’s fun. It sounds cliché, but we’re just focusing on one round at a time, one race at a time.”

It is the 21st time that Don Schumacher Racing teams have won two separate categories at the same NHRA event.

In Pro Stock, Coughlin claimed his second victory of the season in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt and 43rd of his career when final round opponent Greg Stanfield fouled at the start in his Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP.

“We’d love nothing more than to come out of Indy in first place in the Countdown with the extra bonus points that come with being No. 1, but there’s a lot of races between here and there,” Coughlin said. “We had a tough day. This is the most consistent our car has been, and that was our goal coming into here. We changed a lot of stuff in the suspension and with the car to try and get a more consistent race car. That’s what’s been plaguing us since the end of last year. The name of the game is to continue to better yourself and not make mistakes, and that’s what we were doing — shooting ourselves in the foot — and that’s what was hurting us.”
 
Coughlin’s day got off to an odd start when a piece of rubber jammed in the staging beams and inadvertently timed out first round opponent Kurt Johnson, forcing a rerun. When the pair returned about 25 minutes later, Johnson fouled at the start, and Coughlin took the win. In fact, three of Coughlin’s opponents – Johnson, Mike Edwards and Stanfield -- turned on the red light today.
 
“I’m used to going multiple rounds each day with bracket racing, but the team isn’t,” said Coughlin of the added run today. "We just kind of had a hurry-up offense all day. Really, we weren’t able to catch our breath until right before the final. NHRA did a great job of working with the situation and getting us delayed in the program enough to let us get prepared properly.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Series continues with the Summit Racing NHRA Southern Nationals, April 16-19 at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga.  

 

 

 

 

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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - LANGDON, PEDREGON AND EDWARDS EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS IN LAS VEGAS

Rookie Shawn Langdon raced to his first No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel Saturday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Langdon, a two-time Super Comp national champion in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the 1997 NHRA Jr. Dragster national champion, covered the race distance at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a performance of 3.874 seconds at 311.41 mph in his Dixie Chopper/Lucas Oil dragster.

Langdon will face Steve Chrisman in the first round of Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.

"My first No. 1 is a great feeling," Langdon said. "The car’s been running really good, and we’ve had the potential. We’ve run good and consistent in qualifying, and we’ve just struggled a little bit in eliminations. I think Stewie [crew chief John Stewart] is onto something. He showed a little bit today, and hopefully we can get four good runs tomorrow.

"I’ve been trying to adapt as quickly as possible so as to not slow anybody down. Being a rookie driver, I didn’t want to hold the team back. I’ve got a great team and a great crew chief and great sponsors, and I’ve just been trying to do my part."

Tony Pedregon and Mike Edwards also were No. 1 qualifiers in the NHRA Full throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD Sunday at 4 p.m. (ET).

In Funny Car, Pedregon posted a 4.100 at 302.62 in his Herzog/Q-Horsepower Chevy Impala to earn his first No. 1 of the season and 35th of his career. He will face Del Worsham in the first round.

"It was just good conditions going into that last session," Pedregon said. "I’m surprised that some other cars didn’t take advantage of the conditions. It was a good racetrack out there. The car finally did what we told it to do. We’re getting back on track, and I feel really confident about the car.

"We’ve got a pretty good history in this town. I love it. This is without question one of the nicest facilities that we race at, and if the weatherman’s right, we should have the same conditions tomorrow, so I feel good."

Edwards took his third No. 1 qualifying performance of the season in Pro Stock with a track record time of 6.656 at 206.16 in his Young Life/Penhall Pontiac GXP. Edwards will race Steve Spiess in the opening round.

"The conditions were really good, and the track was really good," Edwards said. "We’ve had an awesome start this year, that’s for sure. All my guys are doing an outstanding job. I’ve never really done good on Sunday here, but hopefully tomorrow I can turn that around. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going."

In other Pro Stock news for the day, Houston winner Ron Krisher failed to qualify in his Valvoline Chevy Cobalt.

 

 

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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday at the 10th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Shawn Langdon, 3.874 seconds, 311.41 mph vs. 16. Steven Chrisman, 4.243, 281.95; 2. Antron Brown, 3.878, 312.86 vs. 15. Mike Strasburg, 4.213, 220.73; 3. Larry Dixon, 3.907, 311.70 vs. 14. Urs Erbacher, 4.098, 292.01; 4. Tony Schumacher, 3.908, 313.88 vs. 13. Terry Haddock, 4.084, 291.82; 5. Cory McClenathan, 3.918, 306.74 vs. 12. Troy Buff, 4.078, 276.92; 6. Spencer Massey, 3.951, 305.08 vs. 11. Brandon Bernstein, 4.027, 281.13; 7. David Baca, 3.957, 303.30 vs. 10. Doug Kalitta, 3.991, 301.07; 8. Morgan Lucas, 3.987, 301.81 vs. 9. Joe Hartley, 3.989, 305.63. Did Not Qualify: 17. Steve Faria, 4.837, 189.39; 18. Rob Passey, 19.041, 42.41.

Funny Car -- 1. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.100, 302.62 vs. 16. Del Worsham, Toyota Solara, 4.278, 283.61; 2. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.115, 305.15 vs. 15. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.251, 297.88; 3. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.125, 304.46 vs. 14. Gary Densham, Impala, 4.212, 289.94; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.139, 303.23 vs. 13. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.202, 302.69; 5. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala SS, 4.145, 303.43 vs. 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.185, 301.33; 6. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.148, 297.94 vs. 11. Brian Thiel, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.182, 298.47; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.149, 302.35 vs. 10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.169, 298.93; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.167, 301.67 vs. 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.167, 301.67. Did Not Qualify: 17. Jerry Toliver, Monte Carlo, 4.340, 268.44.

Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.656, 206.16 vs. 16. Steve Spiess, Chevy Cobalt, 6.759, 203.74; 2. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.668, 206.70 vs. 15. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.758, 203.61; 3. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.690, 205.94 vs. 14. David Beckley, Stratus, 6.755, 204.76; 4. Jason Line, GXP, 6.697, 205.82 vs. 13. Dave Connolly, Stratus, 6.751, 203.22; 5. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.699, 205.26 vs. 12. Rickie Jones, Stratus, 6.739, 204.63; 6. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.703, 206.26 vs. 11. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.737, 204.29; 7. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.706, 205.13 vs. 10. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.723, 204.91; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.708, 204.94 vs. 9. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.715, 205.38. Did Not Qualify: 17. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.764, 204.32; 18. Gordie Rivera, GXP, 6.777, 202.39; 19. Ben Watson, Pontiac GTO, 6.781, 202.18; 20. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.782, 204.57; 21. Erica Enders, Mustang, 6.854, 199.11.

   

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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - BODE AND ANDERSON LEAD QUALIFYING IN WEATHER-SHORTENED DAY OF RACING AT THE SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS IN LAS VEGAS

Journeyman Funny Car racer Bob Bode claimed the qualifying lead for the first time in his nine-year NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series career Friday at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals.

Greg Anderson also raced to the top spot in Pro Stock at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a shortened day of qualifying after unseasonably cool weather and high winds forced NHRA officials to cancel the first session of Top Fuel qualifying and the second scheduled session for all three pro classes.

Bode powered his Alard Machine Chevy Impala to a performance of 4.145 seconds at 303.43 mph to claim the first provisional No. 1 qualifying position of his career.

"I was way surprised our time held up," said Bode, a former powerboat racer. "By the time they got the cars going again and I went back to the radio to listen, there were about four or five pair, and I’m going, “Well, the worst I’m going to be is ninth. Then, I went. The worst I’m going to be is seventh, figuring these guys were going to hit their numbers. Then it got down to the final pair, and we were actually nervous, standing at the radio listening. The nine guys who work on this thing just jumped up and down after that final pair ran because we’ve had a couple of unsuccessful races so they know how hard it is when it runs bad. They were just unbelievably happy when it happened.

"Coming in here, the dream was to maybe be in the top half after the first round or after all four rounds. Standing here being the No. 1 qualifier after the first day is amazing; all the stars lined up for us. We were 16th in Houston, but we had a good tune-up, and we knew we could step it up a little. We didn’t know we’d step it up to where I’d be [No. 1]."

Anderson, who has earned five of his 70 career No. 1 qualifying performances at this track, posted a 6.718 at 205.32 in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to lead the Pro Stock order.

"The conditions were tough today," Anderson said. "The wind is coming across the track, and that’s the worst thing. When they’re coming straight across, when you get to the end of the grandstands out there it can feel like somebody picked the car up and set it over a car length. To be honest with you, I probably got luckier than the rest of them. I don’t know why, but it seemed like the wind slowed down for me. I got lucky on that deal, but that’s a good start for us. I’m not going to say it’s a No. 1 spot yet. Tomorrow’s going to be a great day, and if the wind goes down, the cars are just going to get faster. Hopefully, that will happen, and I can run faster than that.

"I love coming here, and I love racing here," added Anderson, who has more wins here than any driver in any class (six). "It’s a lot of fun to come here and show off in front of [team owner and local Las Vegas resident] Ken [Black] and his family. On top of that, Summit sponsors the race, so it really can’t get better for me out here. I wish we had six or eight races a year out here instead of two."

Two rounds of qualifying remain for Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday’s eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m.

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Results Friday after the first of three rounds of qualifying for the 10th annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fifth of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Funny Car -- 1. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala SS, 4.145, 303.43; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.148, 297.94; 3. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.149, 300.00; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.175, 268.97; 5. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.178, 297.02; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.185, 301.33; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.188, 298.93; 8. Brian Thiel, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.233, 294.82; 9. Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.251, 297.88; 10. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.273, 293.54; 11. Jerry Toliver, Monte Carlo, 4.340, 268.44; 12. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.347, 215.75. Not Qualified: 13. Del Worsham, 4.503, 192.06; 14. Jack Beckman, 7.505, 82.88; 15. Ashley Force Hood, 8.130, 86.59; 16. Robert Hight, 9.249, 72.27; 17. Gary Densham, 10.214, 86.28.

Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.718, 205.32; 2. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.721, 205.19; 3. Jason Line, GXP, 6.725, 204.88; 4. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.749, 203.95; 5. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.752, 205.01; 6. Tom Hammonds, Chevy Cobalt, 6.759, 203.86; 7. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.764, 203.83; 8. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.764, 203.43; 9. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.783, 202.97; 10. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.807, 200.74; 11. Rickie Jones, Stratus, 6.812, 202.52; 12. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.816, 203.06. Not Qualified: 13. Ben Watson, 6.819, 199.91; 14. David Beckley, 6.869, 203.19; 15. Erica Enders, 6.927, 197.97; 16. Jeg Coughlin, 9.762, 93.50; 17. Steve Spiess, 11.154, 86.20; 18. Kurt Johnson, 13.782, 118.80; 19. Gordie Rivera, 17.140, 57.86; 20. Ron Krisher, broke. 

 

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FRIDAY SPORTSMAN -FICCO, GROSSI AND BURTON LEAD FRIDAY SPORTSMEN

Lou Ficco Jr., Wheat Ridge, Colorado, was the class of the field in Competition eliminator Friday in the 2009 Summitracing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ficco drove his 2009 Pontiac GXP to a solid 7.447 elapsed time, -0.573 seconds under the B/Altered Production classification. Ficco out performed Steve Holloway, also from Colorado, who negotiated the quarter mile in 6.727 seconds, -.567 seconds under his A/Altered Automatic standard. The field for the Competition Eliminator division will be set following another qualifying session Saturday morning. First round eliminations will be run later on Saturday.

NHRA Division 7 racer Eric Bell edged out Frank Grossi for the number one spot in Super Stock, heading into Saturday's eliminations. Bell, from Chandler, Arizona, took the pole position, drove his 1970 Dodge Challenger to an outstanding 9.545 elapsed time, -1.375 seconds under the SS/EA index.
 
Stock eliminator was lead by the father and son duo of Scott and Brad Burton from Golden, Co. They claimed the top two spots with a pair of Pontiac Formula Firebirds. Scott edged out his son, Brad, by .001 seconds to take the number one position, running a stout 10.767 elapsed time, -1.383 seconds under the D/SA index.
 
The Top Alcohol Dragsters and Funny Cars will get their first chance to negotiate “The Strip” Saturday morning. - Tim Charlet

 

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RAIN DELAYS FRIDAY SPORTSMAN

4:40 pm, EST - The track drying process is almost complete and we are ready to race. The call has been made for the remaining Super Gas cars to return to the lanes. Following Super Gas the pros will take the to the track for the first time this weekend. Super Stock and Stock class round three has been cancelled so the winner of class will be determined by the highest qualified car of those remaining in competition. As we receive more schedule updates we will post them. 

 

3:30 PM, EST - We are on hold at the 10th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals because it is raining. Round one of Super Gas was almost complete when the rain began. It isn't raining hard, but it is persistent. 

 

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EVENT PREVIEW - SCHUMACHER AND FORCE HOOD RIDING WAVE OF CONFIDENCE INTO SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS AT LAS VEGAS

Two popular drivers in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series – Tony Schumacher and Ashley Force Hood – are each riding a wave of confidence into this weekend’s SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals (April 2-5) at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Both were able to reach the winners’ circle at Houston Raceway Park last weekend and in the process, put to rest nagging questions that were revolving around their 2009 campaigns.

Six-time NHRA Top Fuel world champ Schumacher was able to power his U.S. Army dragster to victory behind a crew chief not named Alan Johnson. Schumacher was led by the tuning efforts of new crew chief Mike Green and a stable of new faces turning wrenches in his pit area.

It was a very satisfying win for Schumacher, who moves into second place in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship standings. On his way to the final, he was able to defeat Larry Dixon, who is driving Johnson’s new dragster for the Al-Anabi Racing team, in a much-anticipated semifinal meeting.

“Everyone knows we don’t have AJ (Alan Johnson) anymore, and people said we couldn’t win without him, so we had to dig deep, and I love ‘suck it up’ moments – bottom of the ninth, bases loaded – and that's what we had all day,” Schumacher said. “It's still early, but we want to be up there at the top. I love having everyone chasing us. I can’t wait for next weekend to arrive.”

Schumacher has four wins at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his career – one coming at the spring race and three in the fall. Dixon is a three-time winner of this event and also has one in the fall. Other past Vegas Top Fuel winners in the field include defending event champ Cory McClenathan, Brandon Bernstein and Doug Kalitta. Current Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown, who powered the Matco Tools dragster to a win at Phoenix and runner-up finish at the season-opener in Pomona, is still looking for his first win at The Strip.

In Funny Car, Force Hood proved that her win last year in Atlanta was no fluke. At that event she defeated her father – 14-time champ John Force – in the final round, raising some speculation that her proud Papa may have made her path to victory a little smoother than perhaps another rival. At Houston last Sunday, there was no doubt as Force Hood defeated her one-time driving coach, Schumacher Racing’s Jack Beckman, in the final.

Yes, indeed, in that round the student became the teacher.

“Our first win was against my dad [in the final], and we’ve had some people ask me, ‘Do you think your dad gave it to you?’ and it's heartbreaking because we know my dad would never give away any round-win,” said Force Hood, driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. “So to be able to race against another team’s driver in the final and win it where no one can have any doubt, we’re maybe a bit more cheerful than after that first win. It’s been hanging over our head, and it feels good to get past that.”

With her second-career victory she moved into third place in the point standings, and is in a good position to keep the momentum going. She has some good memories of racing at The Strip as she was runner-up at this event last year to Tim Wilkerson and was runner-up at the 2007 fall event here to Tony Pedregon.

Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is a two-time winner at LVMS and started hot this season by winning the first two races. Other drivers to watch in the 7,000 horsepower category include defending world champ Cruz Pedregon, a two-time winner in Vegas and his brother Tony, a three-time winner at The Strip. Gary Densham, Force Hood teammate Robert Hight, the elder Force and Beckman are all past winners at Vegas.

The race, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD, will also feature competition in the 200 mph Pro Stock category. Greg Anderson has six wins at The Strip in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, while defending world champ Jeg Coughlin is a four-time winner in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt. Ron Krisher, who won at Houston last weekend, claimed an LVMS win in 2002. Other Pro Stock favorites include two-time Vegas winner Kurt Johnson, recent national speed record setter Mike Edwards (212.03 mph) and Jason Line, who has won two races this season and is the current points leader in the category.