O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals Sept. 16-19; Second event in NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship

NHRA announced today that O’Reilly Auto Parts has agreed to a multi-year deal to become the title rights sponsor of the third annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway, Sept. 16-19.  

The O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals is the second of six races in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s playoff-style format to determine the world champions in each of its four Full Throttle Series classes.

Cary Goforth of Holdenville, OK had an almost perfect weekend of racing as he grabbed the number one qualifying spot and almost set a new national record in doing so during the MMPSA opener in Rockingham, NC.. During the Saturday night qualifying session, Cary laid down an earth shaking 6.258 at 220.84 mph- just .008 from eclipsing the record currently held by Frank Gugliotta at 6.251.

Although he received a bye run first round by virtue of being number one qualifier, he had his hands full with a host of tough competitors the remainder of the day. In round two he met up with J.R. Carr and the Agri-Pack backed Pontiac GXP. Carr laid down an impressive 6.43, but it wasn't enough for Goforth's 6.32.

Sometimes national event victories can get lost in the memory bank of a veteran NHRA driver.

It’s safe to say, however, Larry Dixon will never forget his win at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals.

Dixon won a pedal fest against Antron Brown, clocking a 4.541-second time compared to Brown’s 4.638 effort Sunday at Houston Raceway Park.

It was a milestone victory for Dixon as it was his 50th national event win, since begginning his racing career in 1995.

Andrew Hines knew the odds were stacked in his favor headed into the final round of the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Texas.

Actually, there were two factors which shined favorably on the three-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion from Brownsburg, Ind., headed into the final round. His V-Rod was consistently leaving with a green-light and his opponent was defending world champion Hector Arana.

Hines rattled Arana’s cage once again to claim his first national event victory of 2010 and 20th career. Arana left the line way too early with a .108 foul start.

“We have a deal going on with us,” Hines said. “Hector has been out here a long time. He’s really hungry and won the championship last year. He knows that we are going to be up near the front every time and it must rattle him every time to see our V-Rod in the other lane.”

This is the type of high performance Jeg Coughlin is used to delivering.

Coughlin’s Jegs.com Chevrolet Cobalt was consistent all weekend, culminating with him using a holeshot to defeat Allen Johnson Sunday in the Pro Stock finals at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

Coughlin clocked a 6.599-second time at 210.77 mph, while Johnson ran a quicker 6.596-second run at an identical 210.77 mph. The difference was at the starting line as Coughlin cut a .024 light compared to a .045 reaction time for Johnson.

Matt Hagan paused for a moment before he spoke to the assembled media at the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Tex., moments after defeating Jeff Arend in the final round.

This marked Hagan's first victory in three career final rounds in his two full seasons on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit, and moved him into second in the class point standings. He's now 70 points behind leader John Force, who was eliminated in the first round.

“You just can’t put your emotions into words,” said Hagan. “Other than my wife and kids, this is the best feeling in the world. This was such a big weekend for us because everyone ahead of us went out early.”

While the victory might come as a surprise to some, Hagan always believed in his DieHard-sponsored, Don Schumacher Racing team.

No one can say Andrew Hines doesn’t like taking chances.

Hines, who won Pro Stock Motorcycle world championships from 2004-2006, is going to try his hand at piloting a Pro Stock car.

The 26-year-old Hines will attempt to gain his Pro Stock license when he makes some runs in the John Gaydosh Performance Pontiac GTO on May 24, the day after the scheduled completion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan.

 Jeff Arend posted a season-high runner-up finish during Sunday’s eliminations of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.
 
In the final round of eliminations, Arend paired up against Matt Hagan. On the hottest racing surface the NHRA has raced on so far this year (track temperature of 118 degrees), both flopper pilots struggled to get their machines to maintain traction, but it was Hagan who crossed the finish line first, 4.714 seconds, 231.20 mph to 4.390 sec., 247.57 mph, to get the win.
 
Arend, the No. 6 qualifier (4.095 seconds, 309.98 mph), defeated Jim Head, Robert Hight, and Del Worsham in his march through eliminations to the final round match-up with Hagan. The trip to the “money” round was the fourth of Arend’s 16-year Funny Car driving career and his first final since getting an emotional first win with Kalitta Motorsports at the Memphis event last fall.

A runner-up finish at Sunday's 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals lifted Pro Mod superstar Melanie Troxel into the points lead of the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Larry Dixon outlasted Antron Brown in a thrilling pedal-fest in the Top Fuel final at the 23rd annual O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals Sunday at Houston Raceway Park to win for the second time this season and the 50th time in his career.

The other winners at the fifth event in the 23-race NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series were Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

The win in the Al-Anabi dragster – a 4.541-second pass at 222.36 mph to Brown’s 4.638 at 173.32 – moved Dixon into eighth place on the all-time NHRA Full Throttle Series wins list, breaking a tie with former owner and NHRA legend Don “The Snake” Prudhomme (49 career wins).