:::::: News ::::::

TOPEKA FINAL RESULTS

Sun, 2008-06-01 21:35

WILL BECOMES 11TH WOMAN TO WIN A NATIONAL EVENT; FORCE, KRISHER ALSO WINNERS AT HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA

 

top_fuel.jpg
Hillary Will (near lane0 ran 4.744 seconds at 304.53 mph to defeat Larry Dixonin the Top Fuel final round.


Hillary Will became the 11th woman in NHRA history to win a
national event when she raced to the win in the Top Fuel category at
the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals.

John Force and Ron Krisher also won in their respective categories at
Heartland Park Topeka in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event.

POINT STANDINGS FOLLOWING TOPEKA

Sun, 2008-06-01 20:35

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX
at Heartland Park Topeka, the ninth of 24 events in the  NHRA POWERade
Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Tony Schumacher, 779; 2.  Antron Brown, 670; 3.  Larry Dixon, 659;
4.  Hillary Will, 567; 5. Cory McClenathan, 527; 6.  Rod Fuller, 502;
7.  Brandon Bernstein, 480; 8.  Doug Kalitta, 418; 9. David Grubnic,
391; 10.  Doug Herbert, 377.

FORCE WINS RACE; FAN WINS TV

Sun, 2008-06-01 19:42

When John Force and his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang took the
measure of points leader Tim Wilkerson’s Chevrolet in the final round
of the 20th annual O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park-Topeka,
Kim Crum of Mission, Kansas was also a big winner as part of the
BrandSource “Win with Force” promotion.

At 16 selected events including the Summer Nationals, when John Force
Racing wins the Funny Car money, one lucky spectator wins a 65-inch
Mitsubishi television courtesy of BrandSource.

“I feel real good. I’m glad I was here for his first win back from when
he got hurt. Thanks to BrandSource and Mitsubishi and John Force I’ll
be able to watch the races on a new TV,” Crum said.

FINAL ROUND PHOTOS FROM TOPEKA

Sun, 2008-06-01 18:35

Sunday's final results from the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer
Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka.  The  race
is the ninth of 24 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
 

top_fuel.jpg
Top Fuel -- Hillary Will, 4.744 seconds, 304.53 mph def. Larry Dixon, 4.960 seconds, 281.42 mph.

  

ROUND-BY-ROUND PRO RESULTS FROM TOPEKA

Sun, 2008-06-01 18:35

Final round-by-round results from the 20th annual O'Reilly NHRA
Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at Heartland Park Topeka, the
ninth of 24 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Brandon Bernstein, 4.625, 311.99 def. J.R. Todd,
4.667, 286.74; Tony Schumacher, 5.862, 235.97 def. Alan Bradshaw,
11.201, 84.69; Morgan Lucas, 4.749, 305.98 def. Rod Fuller, 4.856,
261.98; Larry Dixon, 4.630, 308.85 was unopposed; Cory McClenathan,
4.587, 314.46 def. Bob Vandergriff, 13.150, 74.69; Antron Brown, 4.612,
294.50 def. David Grubnic, 8.328, 89.43; Joe Hartley, 4.727, 311.85
def. Doug Kalitta, 5.327, 208.84; Hillary Will, 4.633, 310.91 def. Doug
Herbert, 4.672, 308.43;

A LETTER FROM A DISAPPOINTED FAN

Sun, 2008-06-01 13:29

The following letter was sent to the National Hot Rod Association by
Jeremy Farmer of Malvern, Arkansas, an admitted lifelong fan of NHRA
drag racing. Farmer copied CompetitionPlus.com on his letter and
provided his blessings for publication. - Editor

TOPEKA ELIMINATIONS PAIRINGS

Sun, 2008-06-01 12:29
dixon_low_sat.jpg
Larry Dixon gets a bye run in the first round due to the short field of cars. (AutoImagery)

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the
20th annual O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals presented by Castrol GTX at
Heartland Park Topeka, the ninth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended
Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.


Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 4.527 seconds, 325.30 mph  vs.
Bye; 2. Cory McClenathan, 4.565, 323.04  vs. 15. Bob Vandergriff,
4.875, 291.01; 3. Rod Fuller, 4.565, 320.13  vs. 14. Morgan Lucas,
4.728, 306.12; 4. Antron Brown, 4.584, 312.06  vs. 13. David Grubnic,
4.690, 303.78; 5. Doug Kalitta, 4.590, 324.83  vs. 12. Joe Hartley,
4.653, 321.81; 6. Doug Herbert, 4.609, 313.15  vs. 11. Hillary Will,
4.649, 313.58; 7. Tony Schumacher, 4.622, 317.64  vs. 10. Alan
Bradshaw, 4.647, 307.79; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 4.623, 324.75  vs. 9.
J.R. Todd, 4.623, 322.34.

FORCE VERSUS FORCE

Sun, 2008-06-01 10:28
0822-03789D.jpgFor John and Ashley Force, the good news is that their Castrol GTX Ford
Mustangs, his green-and-white, hers white-and-green, were the two quickest Funny
Cars down the quarter mile Saturday during final qualifying for the 20th annual
O’Reilly Auto Parts Summer Nationals at Heartland Park-Topeka.
 
 The bad news is that since neither was able to eclipse the times rung up
Friday by No. 1 qualifier Tony Bartone and others in optimum conditions, they
will race each other in Sunday’s first round – a match neither relished.
 
 “Right now we gotta focus on winning this race,” said the elder Force,
whose resume includes eight wins at Heartland Park.  “Ashley needs to stay up in
the points and I need to get up in the points.  That’s just the way it
is.”

PICTURE STAGING

Sun, 2008-06-01 09:07

 

 

Sunday's final results from the Amalie Oil North American Nationals presented by New England Dodge Dealers at New England Dragway.  The  race is the ninth of 10 in the  2008 Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam Drag Racing Series:

TOUGH WEEKEND FOR WORSHAM

Sun, 2008-06-01 08:29
Del Worsham smoked the tires at the 330-foot mark during Saturday's second
session during the NHRA Summernationals in Topeka, Kansas, and failed to make the field.  Although a careful
analysis of the Q4 run mystified Worsham more than anything, since the car
seemed safe and on its way when it simply spun the tires for no apparent reason,
Worsham was more thoughtful about what cost him a spot in this race.
"We lost two runs to mechanical issues, including the big run on Friday
night when we were on our way to something that might have put us right at the
top of the list, and when you give back two runs like that, you're just begging
for this," Worsham said.  "Drag racing is like any sport, in that you can't give
the competition more than three outs, or four downs, or too many open shots.
 Here, we can't be giving laps away.  We had a clutch problem last night, and
then we had a problem with one cylinder on the left side of the motor in the
first run today.  We put ourselves in the hole, and put ourselves in the spot
where we had to pull one out in the last session.   We weren't unlucky, I can
tell you that.

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