2016 NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS - SEATTLE RESULTS
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SUNDAY - NHRA FINALS AT SEATTLE RAINED OUT, MOVED TO BRAINERD, INDIANAPOLIS
Rain ushered in race day at the Protect The Harvest NHRA Nationals near Seattle, causing a 98-minute delay, then returned to Pacific Raceways just before Sunday’s final round, forcing a halt to the 16th race on the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.
NHRA officials announced they have decided to complete the Top Fuel and Funny Car finals in two weeks at the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn. The Pro Stock final round will wait until the Labor Day weekend Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
“It would be really, really, really nice to get this race in right now,” Funny Car finalist Del Worsham said during the last rain delay, anticipating his showdown against NAPA Dodge driver Ron Capps. “I kind of want to finish what we started. We got a rhythm going. It definitely interrupts the momentum, but it’s the same for everybody.”
The DHL Toyota Camry driver for Kalitta Motorsports said he feels “like it’s been a turnaround race for us.”
He dominated qualifying and had the last word in a flurry of national-record runs. Worsham and JR Todd, both of whom clinched Countdown berths Sunday, are the only nitro-class drivers to reach the semifinals at all three Western Swing races this year. Worsham also extended his string of consecutive 3.8-second elapsed times from four to six this weekend. He’ll be competing in his third final round of the season, and this 64th career final (53rd in Funny Car) marks back-to-back Seattle money-round performances.
Points leader Capps, who recorded the second-quickest run in Funny Car history,is seeking his 50th overall victory and hoping to team with Top Fuel finalist Antron Brown to bring another double nitro victory to Don Schumacher Racing.
Brown (Matco Tools/Toyota Dragster) will race Steve Torrence (Capco Contractors/Rio Ammunition Dragster) for the Top Fuel trophy.
“I really wish we would have gotten this race in because I was really confident what we could have thrown down in the final,” Brown said. “We’re just going to go to Brainerd and give it all we got.”
Torrence said, “It’s pretty disappointing not to get this thing run today, but no matter when or where we finally run it, we’ve got a team and a hot rod that can win it.”
The Pro Stock final round has been pushed back to September to accommodate Aaron Strong’s schedule.
Strong, the Seattle-area class newcomer making his first final-round appearance, will put his No. 14-qualified A&J Furniture Camaro up against New Yorker Vincent Nobile and his top-qualified Mountain View Tire Camaro. Unlike Nobile, Strong is a part-time racer and had not budgeted an entry in the Brainerd race.
Some Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (sportsman) finals will conclude in two weeks at the regional event that’s scheduled for Pacific Raceways in two weeks. The venue and schedule for the Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car classes are to be determined, according to Graham Light, NHRA senior vice-president of racing operations.
In the Funny Car class, Matt Hagan, Robert Hight, and John Force all secured a berth Sunday in the six-race Countdown playoffs that will start at Charlotte in mid-September.
SUNDAY -
SATURDAY - WORSHAM DESTROYS RECORD BOOKS AT SEATTLE; SCHUMACHER AND NOBILE ALSO CLAIM TOP QUALIFIERS
Del Worsham reset the Funny Car elapsed time national record twice on Saturday en route to claiming the No. 1 qualifier at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle.
It was an extraordinary day for the entire Funny Car class, as it featured the top-five quickest passes in category history.
Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 16th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil is the final of three stops on the famed NHRA Western Swing.
Worsham, the reigning Funny Car world champion took full advantage of good weather conditions during Saturday’s first session to reset the elapsed time national record with a 3.841-second pass at 330.15 mph in his DHL Toyota Camry. Then, in the day’s second session, Worsham notched the quickest Funny Car pass in NHRA history with a 3.832 at 330.88 to again reset the elapsed time national record.
With the effort, Worsham claimed his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier, third of the season and 20th of his career. This is the first time he has claimed back-to-back top qualifiers in Funny Car. Worsham will face Tim Gibbons in the first round of eliminations, which will be shown live on the FOX national broadcast channel on Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. ET.
“We brought this car out at Denver and this thing has just been on fire,” said Worsham, who has victories at Seattle in both Funny Car (1999) and Top Fuel (2011). “The car ran great numbers at Denver, went to Sonoma and qualified No. 1, and came here to Seattle and ran record times. It’s coming together at the right time of the year, but tomorrow is when it counts.”
Ron Capps posted the second quickest pass in Funny Car history and qualified second with a 3.843 at 329.91 in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. Capps, a four-time winner this season, will go heads-up with Brandon Welch in the first round on Sunday.
Courtney Force is third with a 3.855 at 328.14, the third quickest pass in category history. Force, in her Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS, will hope to outlast Jeff Diehl in the first round. Jack Beckman, who clinched his spot in the Countdown to the Championship, is fourth with a 3.861 at 332.26 and is followed by Matt Hagan with a 3.872 at 332.51.
16-time Funny Car world champion John Force qualified seventh. Force won the first two races of the Western Swing in Denver and Sonoma, Calif. He swept the Swing in 1994 and will look to become the first driver to ever do it twice when he races Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round Sunday morning.
In Top Fuel, Schumacher claimed his 80th No. 1 qualifier of his career and his first of the season with a Pacific Raceways track record time of 3.686 at 323.58 in his U.S. Army dragster. Schumacher, who clinched his spot in the Countdown, is a three-time Seattle winner. The eight-time world champion has raced to one victory in three final round appearances this season and will go head-to-head with Ron Smith in Sunday’s first round.
“There were a lot of good cars and we weren’t the last one to go down the track so we thought somebody was going to go faster,” said Schumacher, who grabbed his first No. 1 since 2015 in Bristol, Tenn. “We’re happy to go into race day as the No. 1 qualifier. We’ve had some serious problems to work through and figure out, and once we did, the small moves that bring you to that .68 run. That run won’t win you races, though. It’ll qualify you really well, but you still have to go out on race day when it’s hot and run really well.”
Steve Torrence enters eliminations in the No. 2 spot after pushing his Capco Contractors / Torrence Racing dragster to a 3.701 at 328.54. The Texan has won two races in four final round appearances this season. He will race Scott Palmer in the first round.
Recent Sonoma winner J.R. Todd is third with a 3.706 at 328.14 in his SealMaster dragster. He will battle Troy Buff to open eliminations. Reigning world champ Antron Brown is fourth, Clay Millican is fifth and two-time 2016 event winner Brittany Force is sixth.
Nobile sprinted to the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock with a 6.527 at 211.49 in his Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro. The 2013 Seattle winner claimed his first top qualifier of the season and fifth of his career. Nobile, who is currently fifth in points, posted a runner-up finish two weeks ago in Denver. He will begin eliminations with a first round bye.
“Today the weather got a little bit better and the track got extremely better, so if we didn’t improve our time, someone was definitely coming around us,” said Nobile, who also led qualifying Friday night with a 6.549. “I know there was a little bit more in that run we made today, which is definitely comforting. Being No. 1 and knowing you can go a little bit faster is really cool. The car is on a rail. It’s real consistent and it’s real fast. Now it’s up to the driver.”
Bo Butner, who has raced to four runner-up finishes this season, qualified second in his Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro with a 6.530 at 211.73. Butner will race Alan Prusiensky in the first round. Points leader Greg Anderson is third with a 6.544 at 210.77 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. Anderson, a seven-time 2016 winner and three-time Seattle winner, is matched up with Aaron Strong. His teammate and six-time 2016 winner Jason Line is fourth and is followed by Denver winner Allen Johnson in fifth.
Eliminations are set to begin at 11 a.m. PT on Sunday at Pacific Raceways.
Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 29th annual Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways, the 16th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 3.686 seconds, 323.58 mph vs. 16. Ron Smith, 4.034, 288.33; 2. Steve Torrence, 3.701, 328.54 vs. 15. Scott Palmer, 3.879, 316.45; 3. J.R. Todd, 3.706, 328.14 vs. 14. Troy Buff, 3.827, 309.06; 4. Antron Brown, 3.717, 323.66 vs. 13. T.J. Zizzo, 3.794, 319.22; 5. Clay Millican, 3.727, 326.79 vs. 12. Terry McMillen, 3.792, 315.78; 6. Brittany Force, 3.729, 325.06 vs. 11. Shawn Langdon, 3.751, 325.14; 7. Doug Kalitta, 3.741, 324.98 vs. 10. Richie Crampton, 3.744, 325.53; 8. Leah Pritchett, 3.741, 322.11 vs. 9. Morgan Lucas, 3.743, 325.14.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Terry Haddock, 4.957, 163.35; 18. Bill Litton, 5.630, 268.92.
Funny Car -- 1. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 3.832, 330.88 vs. 16. Tim Gibbons, Chevy Impala, broke; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.843, 329.91 vs. 15. Brandon Welch, Chevy Monte Carlo, 10.864, 71.35; 3. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.855, 328.14 vs. 14. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Solara, 8.265, 100.55; 4. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.861, 332.43 vs. 13. Gary Densham, Ford Mustang, 4.036, 309.27; 5. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.872, 332.51 vs. 12. John Hale, Charger, 3.956, 316.75; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.878, 328.38 vs. 11. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 3.927, 321.88; 7. John Force, Camaro, 3.893, 328.06 vs. 10. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.902, 324.83; 8. Chad Head, Camry, 3.894, 328.62 vs. 9. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.894, 326.24.
Pro Stock -- 1. Vincent Nobile, Chevy Camaro, 6.527, 211.49 vs. Bye; 2. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.530, 211.86 vs. 15. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.755, 205.10; 3. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.544, 211.26 vs. 14. Aaron Strong, Camaro, 6.614, 208.46; 4. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.545, 212.13 vs. 13. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.612, 209.88; 5. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.550, 211.06 vs. 12. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.596, 209.92; 6. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.552, 211.53 vs. 11. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.572, 209.79; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.562, 209.98 vs. 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.568, 210.37; 8. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.567, 210.93 vs. 9. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.568, 210.97.
FRIDAY - TRACK RECORDS FALL AS WORSHAM, TORRENCE AND NOBILE RACE TO QUALIFYING LEADS AT SEATTLE
Reigning Funny Car world champion Del Worsham sprinted to the provisional top qualifier in record setting fashion Friday at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 16th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Worsham posted a 3.886-second pass at 327.98 mph in his DHL Toyota Camry to reset both ends of the track record at Pacific Raceways and lead the Funny Car class through Friday. Worsham, who has victories at Seattle in both Funny Car (1999) and Top Fuel (2011), has 19 No. 1 qualifiers in his career and two this season. Worsham raced to the No. 1 qualifier last weekend in Sonoma and is two sessions away from securing back-to-back top spots for the first time in his Funny Car career.
“I’ve been coming here most of my life, going back to the early-80s, and this track has always been great,” said Worsham, who is fourth in points. “It’s always been fast. We’ve always come to Seattle and made usually our best runs ever. This run didn’t let anybody down. We’re making runs on 120-degree tracks that 12 months ago nobody believed you could make.”
Chad Head pushed his Head Racing Toyota Camry to the No. 2 spot with a 3.894 at 327.11. Head is 11th in points and hoping to string together a series of strong performances to move into the top-10 and qualify for the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Two-time 2016 event winner Tim Wilkerson is third in his Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang. Points leader Ron Capps, who has four victories in seven final round appearances this season and has clinched his spot in the Countdown, is fourth in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. Courtney Force, who has also clinched a spot in the Countdown, is fifth.
Top Fuel’s Torrence also reset both ends of the track record when he navigated his Capco Contractors / Torrence Racing dragster down the dragstrip in 3.701 at 328.54. Torrence, who suffered a heart attack in late June, has eight No. 1 qualifiers so far this season and two victories in four final rounds. He is third in points and has already claimed his spot in the Countdown.
“I don’t think you could script this any better in a fairytale story book for a kid that wants to be a racecar driver,” said Torrence, who is having the best season of his career. “I’ve got a really great group of guys that stand beside me and they’ve pushed this car to the front. It takes absolute dedication and consistency for that car to go out and be able to do that time after time. I just try to not be the weak link. This track has proven to be pretty stellar right off the bat. We’ll just continue marching forward.”
Brittany Force posted a 3.729 at 325.06 at the controls of her Monster Energy dragster to claim the second spot through two sessions. Force has two wins this year and has secured a spot in the Countdown.
Clay Millican is third with a 3.733 at 319.29 and is trailed by reigning world champ Antron Brown in fourth and Doug Kalitta in fifth.
In Pro Stock, Vincent Nobile powered to the top qualifying position with a 6.549 at 211.10 in his Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro. The 2013 event winner is pursuing his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and fifth of his career. This is the first time this season Nobile has led qualifying through Friday.
“The No. 1 qualifier is great, but more importantly I have a really fast, consistent racecar,” said Nobile, who is currently fifth in points with a runner-up finish in Denver. “First round we were No. 3 and second round we were No. 1, but in my head, as a driver, I’ve got a really good, top-five car consistently and I think that’s what really wins races. Tomorrow we’re going to do our best to hold the spot.”
Greg Anderson sits second with a 6.560 at 210.01 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. Anderson, the Pro Stock points leader, has raced to seven victories in 2016 and has already clinched his spot in the Countdown. He is a three-time Seattle winner.
In third is Bo Butner in his Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro with a 6.565 at 210.11. He is followed by Shane Gray, who was the No. 1 qualifier in Chicago, in fourth and Drew Skillman in fifth.
The final two qualifying sessions of the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil will be held Saturday, Aug. 6, at 1 and 4 p.m. and will set the field for Sunday’s eliminations, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 29th annual Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil at Pacific Raceways, 16th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Steve Torrence, 3.701 seconds, 328.54 mph; 2. Brittany Force, 3.729, 325.06; 3. Clay Millican, 3.733, 319.29; 4. Antron Brown, 3.737, 323.19; 5. Doug Kalitta, 3.741, 324.98; 6. Tony Schumacher, 3.745, 318.24; 7. Leah Pritchett, 3.781, 319.45; 8. Terry McMillen, 3.792, 313.58; 9. T.J. Zizzo, 3.794, 319.22; 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.814, 316.75; 11. J.R. Todd, 3.816, 318.69; 12. Morgan Lucas, 3.836, 289.82.
Not Qualified: 13. Richie Crampton, 3.911, 278.06; 14. Bill Litton, 4.044, 268.92; 15. Troy Buff, 4.136, 227.57; 16. Ron Smith, 4.242, 259.46; 17. Scott Palmer, 6.396, 96.17.
Funny Car -- 1. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 3.886, 327.98; 2. Chad Head, Camry, 3.894, 327.11; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.901, 324.05; 4. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.902, 324.59; 5. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.902, 325.06; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.903, 322.73; 7. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.918, 324.75; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 3.927, 321.88; 9. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.928, 319.98; 10. John Force, Camaro, 3.940, 325.85; 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.941, 325.22; 12. John Hale, Charger, 4.005, 315.86.
Not Qualified: 13. Gary Densham, 4.052, 307.72; 14. Jeff Diehl, 6.609, 100.55; 15. Tim Gibbons, 7.090, 92.45.
Pro Stock -- 1. Vincent Nobile, Chevy Camaro, 6.549, 211.10; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.560, 211.26; 3. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.565, 211.86; 4. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.572, 210.93; 5. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.576, 210.28; 6. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.580, 210.50; 7. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.594, 209.43; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.597, 208.97; 9. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.612, 209.07; 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.622, 209.14; 11. Aaron Strong, Camaro, 6.640, 208.46; 12. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.645, 207.94.
Not Qualified: 13. Deric Kramer, 6.661, 207.75; 14. Alan Prusiensky, 6.783, 203.06; 15. Erica Enders, 12.279, 70.99.
