2010 NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY FINAL - FORCE, SCHUMACHER, ANDERSON AND TONGLET RACE TO VICTORY AT NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS
John Force raced to an emotional Funny Car victory Sunday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals and in the process cut series leader Matt Hagan’s lead in half with one race remaining in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season.
Tony Schumacher, Greg Anderson and LE Tonglet also won in their categories at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the next to last race in the NHRA Full Throttle Series Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Force, 61, powered to a 4.232-second run at 281.36 mph in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang to take his fifth victory of the season and move into position to claim his 15th world championship title. Runner-up Hagan lost traction in his DieHard Dodge Charger in the final and finished in 6.925 at 110.96.
Hagan leads Force by 37 points as the tour heads to its final stop of the season, the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California, Nov. 11-14.
“I am holding my own with the young kids,” said 131-time winner Force. “It’s all about energy. I have to pace myself. We outran [Hagan] tonight. It’s how we live, right on the edge.”
Force, who has led the point standings for most of the season, is trying to regain his championship form after a near career-ending crash in 2007 and a winless season in 2009.
“I won for so many years that after a while you take it for granted,” Force said. “Then you are laying in a hospital bed and the doctors are saying you may not walk again. I am lucky, I got a second chance. The last two years I stunk, but I stayed with it and lived it and my family stayed with it and now I’m back. I want to do this. I really love these race cars.”
Schumacher moved into second place in the Top Fuel standings with a dominant victory and in the process cut Larry Dixon’s series lead to 85 points. Schumacher won from the No. 1 qualifying position and defeated 
first-time finalist Dom Lagana in the final round. U.S. Army dragster driver Schumacher covered the distance in 3.845 at 316.60 in the final round, to hold off the upset-minded Lagana in the Big-O Tires dragster, who beat Dixon in the second round and Antron Brown in the semis.
“It was fun to drive and great to be part of this win,” said seven-time world champ Schumacher, who has won the last six titles in a row. “We tested a couple of times this year and we’ve been working on some things. We had an excellent combination [this weekend].”
Schumacher, who has pulled off two come-from-behind miracle finishes to win championships at the Pomona finale in recent seasons, says just to be in position to do it for a third time is gratifying.
“I am looking forward to Pomona,” Schumacher said. “It is kind of out of my hands. We have to go out and set the national record and win the race. [Dixon] has to lose early. That’s what has to happen for us to win it. But hey, we are in it. We haven’t been written off. We are a long way off, but we have a shot. This kind of thing is our specialty.”
Veteran driver Cory McClenathan, who entered the race in second place and trailed Dixon by 89, saw his hopes for a long sought after first championship slip away when he was upset in the opening round by Australian Mark Mariani, who earned a round win in his first-ever NHRA start. The FRAM dragster driver dropped to third in the standings and now trails Dixon by a nearly insurmountable 106 points.
Anderson increased his Pro Stock series lead to 115 points over defending champ Mike Edwards by beating KB Racing teammate Jason Line in the final round. Anderson sped to a 6.654 at 207.43 in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to finish just in front of Line, who posted a 6.656 at 207.46 in his Summit GXP.
“This is the best day I’ve ever had at a racetrack,” said Anderson of his fifth victory of the season and 65th of his career, which he dedicated to his Las Vegas-based team owner Ken Black, who continues the recovery process from some serious health issues this season. “I’m just a lucky man today, like it was fate. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight and I know this is going to help Ken Black. What a comeback. After Indy we were down more than 100 points. The boys dug down and got the car close. It’s been a tough year. If we can close it out at Pomona this will be one that I will never forget and always cherish.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, rookie Tonglet claimed his fifth victory of the season and cut series leader Andrew Hines’ lead to 34 points. Tonglet took the win over Matt Smith in the final round by powering his NitroFish Gear Suzuki to a run of 6.951 at 188.86. Smith finished in 6.983 at 189.07 on his Al-Anabi Racing Buell.
Tonglet, who beat Bailey Whitaker, defending world champ Hector Arana and Jim Underdahl in earlier rounds, has advanced to every final round in the Countdown playoffs, winning four times.
“I don’t want to wake up,” said Tonglet, who also is a candidate in the $20,000 Auto Club Road to the Future Award, which recognizes NHRA’s top rookie driver for the season. “It’s been an awesome year after Brainerd. We’ve really been on a roll since Indy. We have to keep this momentum going and see what happens.”
Three-time world champ Hines, who had advanced to the last seven final rounds on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, saw his streak snapped in a semifinal loss to Smith.
“That Harley team is going to be tough to beat,” Tonglet said. “Andrew is a great rider and has been in this position before. We have to keep our head. The pressure is there and I try not to think about it. We came out here and thankfully we got the round wins and was able to step up on the tree. After Matt beat Andrew I told him I wanted to kiss him, but I wasn’t going to do it.”
FINAL PRO QUALIFYING - FORCE HOOD, SCHUMACHER, JOHNSON AND ARANA EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS
Ashley Force Hood raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car Saturday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
Tony Schumacher, Allen Johnson and Hector Arana also will lead their respective categories into eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Multiple delays throughout the day caused by several oildowns in Top Fuel and the cleanup following a spectacular crash by Funny Car driver Jeff Diehl extended qualifying into the cool evening hours. Diehl was not injured in the crash.
Force Hood earned her fifth No. 1 effort of the season and 15th of her career when she drove her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a 4.032 second run at 309.70 mph. She will face Paul Lee in the first round of Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.
“I knew it was a really good A to B pass, and I was surprised that more cars didn’t step it up and go quicker,” Force Hood said. “It was up to the tuners to get it figured out because that’s a long time to wait and the conditions are changing and the track is affected by different things. I was really proud of my team.”
Funny Car series leader Matt Hagan qualified fourth in his DieHard Dodge Charger and will face two-time world champ Tony Pedregon in the first round. Second-place John Force qualified second in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang and will race Jeff Arend in the opening round.
Schumacher claimed his second No. 1 of the season and 60th of his career in Top Fuel, powering his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.812 at a national record speed of 325.14.
“I wouldn't want to race against my car tomorrow,” Schumacher said. “We have an incredible car. The guys are doing an incredible job, and we definitely have the right tune-up for this track and these conditions.”
Schumacher sits third in points and will need a strong outing tomorrow if he’s going to climb back into the championship hunt with series leader Larry Dixon and second-place Cory McClenathan. Dixon, who led McClenathan by 89 points coming into the race, will race Troy Buff in the first round, while McClenathan will meet Mark Mariani in the opening round.
Johnson claimed his seventh No. 1 qualifying position of season in Pro Stock, covering the distance in 6.646 at 207.82 in his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger.
"We knew that this run was going to be the best one [in terms of conditions] after the four-hour delay [from oil downs],” Johnson said. “When the sun goes down, the track gets awesome here. We stepped it up and it’s the second race in a row now where the Dodges have qualified one-two. We’re not going to change our tune-up much for tomorrow when we have to run behind the Fuel cars instead of ahead of them. Maybe a little bit, but not a lot. We’re still going to be pressing hard on the kill button."
Series leader Greg Anderson qualified 11th and will race Rodger Brogdon in the first round. Defending world champ Mike Edwards, who is second in points, qualified ninth and will meet championship challenger Greg Stanfield in a huge opening round.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Arana posted a track record time of 6.909 at 193.60 on his Lucas Oil Buell to take his sixth top qualifying effort of the season and 15th of his career.
“It’s been good for us to run as well as we have this weekend,” Arana said. “We had the problem with the bike earlier in the year that kept it from responding to our tune-ups. But now that we have the bike fixed, we are running well again.”
Championship contenders Andrew Hines and LE Tonglet qualified seventh and ninth respectively. Hines will meet Craig Treble and Tonglet will open eliminations against Bailey Whitaker.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - SCHUMACHER, FORCE HOOD, JOHNSON AND ARANA LEAD QUALIFYING AT NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS
Tony Schumacher raced to the qualifying lead in Top Fuel Friday at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals.
Ashley Force Hood, Allen Johnson and Hector Arana also are qualifying leaders in their categories at the penultimate NHRA Full Throttle Series Countdown to the Championship event. The season will conclude Nov. 11-14 with the Auto Club NHRA Finals at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California.
Schumacher powered his U.S. Army dragster to a performance of 3.812 seconds at a track record speed of 325.14 mph to lead the category during the opening day of qualifying at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“The car is fast,” said Schumacher, who is third in the point standings. “We know we have a good race car. We won six championships in a row and it doesn’t look like we’re going to win one this year, but I don’t get down about it. We’ve won five races this year and Dixon’s won 12, and that’s an amazing accomplishment. But we’ve won the second-most races this year and we have an amazing team. We’ve got a great car, a great crew chief, a great assistant crew chief, and the best sponsor you can put on the side of a car, so I’m enjoying life. We’re going to try to win the last two races and not let Dixon have all the money.”
Series leader Larry Dixon was second with a 3.825 at 318.99 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster and second place Cory McClenathan was seventh with a 3.892 at 316.01 in his FRAM dragster.
Force Hood raced to the front of the Funny Car field with a 4.032 at 309.70 in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. 
“I’m excited and our team is really pumped,” Force Hood said. “We made it down the track on both runs today and that’s a great way to start our weekend here in Vegas. We’re approaching each run just trying to run the best that we can. We’re not thinking about records and we’re not thinking about other people, we’re just going to take each run as it comes. Tomorrow we’ll look at the conditions and how we think the car will run and try to get the best run out of it.”
Series leader Matt Hagan was fourth with a 4.090 at 304.53 in his DieHard Dodge Charger and second place John Force was second overall with a 4.059 at 311.70 in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Mustang.
Johnson was quickest in Pro Stock, posting a 6.660 at 207.46 in his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger.
“We didn’t make a very good run at all in the first session, so we knew we had more left in the car,” Johnson said. “The left lane is the preferred lane for Pro Stock here and we were able to take advantage of it this afternoon. We’re set on kill for this weekend. The kill button is pushed in, and we’re going to be aggressive on every run, try for all the bonus points that we can get, and hope for a miracle.”
Pro Stock championship frontrunner Greg Anderson is fifth in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP and his top title challengers, Mike Edwards and Greg Stanfield, are second and 14th respectively. 
Defending world champion Arana led Pro Stock Motorcycle on his Lucas Oil Buell, covering the distance in 6.929 at 192.30.
“After we made our 6.92 run this morning, we downloaded the computer data and everything seemed fine,” he reported, “but when we later went back to the computer we couldn’t find the data, and so we had to go up for the second qualifying run blind. We were very pleased with our 7.01. Hopefully we can download this one so that we can repeat for tomorrow.”
Series points leader Andrew Hines was fourth on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson and championship challenger LE Tonglet sits 12th on his NitroFish Suzuki.
Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at 11:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
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