WINNERS CROWNED AT BRAINERD NHRA LUCAS OIL NATS

Ron Capps raced to the Funny Car victory   Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals and moved into the Full Throttle Series   points lead for the first time this season with one race remaining before the   Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
 

Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Eddie   Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the penultimate regular   season event in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
 

Capps powered away from 15-time world champ John Force in   the Funny Car final round to take his third win of the season, third at   Brainerd International Raceway and 36th of his career. Capps cruised to a   final round performance of 4.134 seconds at 304.05 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts   Dodge Charger, while Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang lost   traction and finished in 6.633 at 116.35.
 

"I’m pretty excited to go to Indy with the points lead,"   said Capps, who now leads Robert Hight by 53 points. "Force is cagey. He’s   good here. He could be having the worst year ever and still come here and win.   I was doubtful that we were going to get a win. He’s been eking it out all day   and getting on a roll. He knows how to take it to the next level. I looked   over at about 800 feet and didn’t see him ahead of me, and we got the win   light."
 

In Top Fuel, Lucas edged Antron Brown at the finish line   for his third victory of the season and his third win at this event, sponsored   by his family’s oil company. Lucas posted a 3.818 at 316.90 in his GEICO/Lucas   Oil dragster to hold off Brown’s charging Matco Tools dragster, which trailed   with a 3.831 at 313.80. 

“Anytime you can win here for our family, especially for my   dad who is so involved in this race, is a dream come true," Lucas said.   "Hopefully, it’s a sign of good things to come for us. You can’t help but get   a lot of confidence out of an outing like this. You never know with these   cars. There is a lot of hard work put in that is starting to show on the   track.”

With the runner-up finish, Brown moved into the series   points lead, 58 ahead of Spencer Massey.

Enders continues to make Pro Stock history as she raced to   her third victory of the season and second in a row.  She outran series   points leader Allen Johnson in the final round with a performance of 6.649 at   208.26 in her GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt. Johnson’s Team Mopar Dodge Avenger   experienced tire shake at the start and slowed near mid-track. Enders is the   first female to win at BIR since Shirley Muldowney won a Top Fuel title here   in 1982.

“Beating AJ [Allen Johnson isn’t easy,” Enders said. “There   are a lot of tough guys out there. To be able to run against the best out here   shows that our hard work is finally paying off. We’ve been chasing them for a   number of years.”

Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider   Krawiec remained undefeated in Pro Stock Motorcycle, claiming his sixth   victory of the season in as many finals and increasing his series points lead   by defeating final round opponent Hector Arana Jr., who fouled at the start on   his Lucas Oil Buell.
 

“He jumped out in front of me and at first I thought I was   late but about 300 feet out, I looked up and saw that my win light was on,”   Krawiec said. “I realized that he red-lighted.”
 

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues Aug.   29-Sept. 3 with the 58th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by   Auto-Plus in Indianapolis, the world’s most prestigious drag   race.

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