2017 NHRA MIDWEST NATS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY - TORRENCE, CAPPS, ANDERSON AND TONGLET ARE VICTORIOUS AT AAA INSURANCE NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS
Top Fuel points leader Steve Torrence piloted to victory for the eighth time this season Sunday afternoon at the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Ron Capps (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victorious in their respective categories at the third of six playoff events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.
Torrence powered to victory with a 3.684-second pass at 329.34 in his Capco Contractors / Torrence Racing dragster to take down Doug Kalitta’s 3.698 at 331.28 in his Mac Tools dragster in the final found. Torrence has doubled his career victories this season with a total of 16 Wally trophies with today’s victory.
“We got here by doing what we do all year long and doing it ourselves,” Torrence stated. “We went out and we just took those guys out and put them back in the trailer. We’re leaving here with a bigger points lead and a trophy. You’re going to have to come in here and do everything you can to get every possible point because this thing could come down to one or two points at the end of the season.”
Torrence qualified seventh and took down Shawn Langdon, Leah Pritchett and defending world champion Antron Brown on the way to his 11th final round this season. Kalitta qualified in the No. 2 position and defeated Scott Palmer, Brittany Force and Dom Lagana and as he reached his third finals round of the season.
Capps took down rookie Jonnie Lindberg with a 3.879 pass at 331.53 in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to secure his category-best eighth victory of the season and 58th of his career. He maintains the points lead and continues to pursue back-to-back world championships.
“The toughest cars in the Countdown are the ones that didn’t make the Countdown,” said Capps. “We saw that today with Lindberg and Alexis’ (DeJoria) car. We fear them more so than we do a lot of the Countdown cars because you’re trying to race smart. We’re just trying to get as many points as we can get.”
Capps entered Sunday as the No. 3 qualifier before defeating Jim Campbell, teammate Jack Beckman and 16-time world champion John Force on his way to his 11th final round of the year. Lindberg qualified fifth and was victorious against Tim Wilkerson, Alexis DeJoria and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight.
In Pro Stock, Anderson drove to victory with a run of 6.571 at 210.73 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro to defeat teammate and defending world champion Jason Line’s 6.545 at 211.26 in the final round. He locked down his third victory of the season and 89th of his career. Anderson took the points lead in the Countdown to the Championship with the victory.
“It’s hard to win out here,” stated Anderson. “I knew I was in deep in the final and knew it was going to take a stroke of luck, to be honest with you, to win it. I’d had a great race car, but didn’t have the total package. It’s been an up and down kind of year, but you have to peak going into the playoffs and obviously I have.”
Anderson was the No. 1 qualifier and continued his strong weekend with victories over Dave River, Larry Morgan, and Brian Self before reaching his 10th final round of 2017. Line earned the third spot in qualifying and defeated Alan Prusiensky, Deric Kramer and Bo Butner on the way to his second final round of the season.
Tonglet rode to the Pro Stock Motorcycle victory with a 6.792 at 197.91 on his Nitro Fish Racing Suzuki to better No. 1 qualifier Andrew Hines on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson in the finals. He earned his sixth Wally of the season and 16th of his career.
“You’ve just got to stay calm and go rounds,” Tonglet said. “This is make or break for us. We felt that if we lost this race that our Championship hunt was over. We just haven’t been qualifying that great, but Tim (Kulungian, crew chief) figures it out by Sunday and it just hauls butt and we’re able to get round wins.”
Tonglet qualified seventh before taking down Joey Gladstone, Eddie Krawiec, and Matt Smith en route to the finals. Hines bested Andrew Rawlings, Kate Stoffer and Scotty Pollacheck as he finished as the runner-up for only his third final round appearance of the season.
The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues with the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 12 – Oct. 15.
SATURDAY - HIGHT, MILLICAN, ANDERSON AND HINES EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT ST. LOUIS
Robert Hight powered to a track record to secure the Funny Car No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the third of six events in the NHRA Mello Yello Series Countdown to the Championship.
Hight’s track elapsed-time record 3.830-second pass at 333.91 mph in his AAA Missouri Chevrolet Camaro SS held up from Friday to earn him his seventh No. 1 of the season, 56th of his career and second at Gateway Motorsports Park. He’ll race Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round of eliminations on Sunday.
“Today was getting ready for Sunday. We pushed a little hard today. It was the first time we smoked the tires two runs in a row in a long time,” Hight said. "It shows you (crew chief) Jimmy Prock was out there pushing. The conditions were out there. I’m honesty surprised nobody ran better than our .83 and that we’re still No. 1 qualifier. We were pushing hard. Sometimes you gotta know your threshold. Going into Sunday if you’ve gone down the track every time you don’t know how close you are to the edge. We definitely know where we’re at.”
John Force, a 16-time world champion and Hight’s team owner, is qualified in the second position with his 3.832 pass at 334.65 in his Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS and will lineup against Brian Stewart. In third is reigning world champion and points leader Ron Capps whose first-round opponent will be Jim Campbell.
Millican piloted his Parts Plus / Great Clips dragster to the quickest pass in NHRA history on Friday with a 3.631 at 330.39 for his fifth Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier of the season and 10th of his career. He’ll face-off against Kyle Wurtzel in the opening round of eliminations.
“We felt pretty certain we were going to stay No. 1. The conditions weren’t there to run that kind of number there again,” Millican said. “Today we were thinking about those bonus points and we were scuffing some tires to get ready for tomorrow. We feel like we have a pretty good handle on this car. Whether it’s hot or cold it just continues to be really quick going down the race track. It’s going to be a fun day tomorrow. We want to see four win-lights tomorrow. Where we are at in points we need to make a move.”
Qualified in the No. 2 spot is Leah Pritchett with her 3.670 pass at 329.10 in her Papa John’s dragster from the final qualifying session. She will see rookie Ashley Sanford in round one and Tony Schumacher, who qualified third, will race Troy Buff. Points leader Steve Torrence is qualified seventh and will face Shawn Langdon in the opening round.
Anderson is the Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier after running 6.507 at 212.33 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro during the third qualifying session. This is the fourth time this season and 91st time in his career that Anderson will begin eliminations from the No. 1 spot. His opponent will be David River.
“It’s a ball to drive in conditions like this. It’s fun,” Anderson said. “You just hope you can set some kind of track record or world record and go fast. That’s what I love about driving these racecars is to go fast. I just want to go fast. It’s neat. All races pay the same amount of points and trophies are the same when you win and it feels just as good at the end of it, but it’s so much more fun to run in conditions like this as a driver because this is why we do it. We do it to go fast and these are the conditions you can go fast in.”
Anderson is followed by KB Racing teammates Bo Butner and Jason Line in the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. Butner, who is the category points leader, ran a 6.510 at 212.03 in his Jim Butner’s Auto Chevrolet Camaro to race Mark Hogan in the first round while Line, the defending world champion, will lineup with Alan Prusiensky.
Hines also improved upon his Friday qualifying with a 6.781 pass at 196.19 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson during the final qualifying session to secure his second Pro Stock Motorcycle No. 1 of the season and 40th of his career. He’ll matchup with Andie Rawlings in the first round.
“Our guys have these bikes dialed in right now like they haven’t been all season. I’ve been putting up my best 60-foots of the year this weekend. That just equates to good numbers all the way down the race track,” Hines said. “Tomorrow we’re looking for consistency. We have the street rods under us right now that are the best I’ve had all season long. I’m really excited about tomorrow.”
Hines’ teammate and points leader Eddie Krawiec landed in the No. 2 spot with his 6.783 run at 195.59 in the final qualifying round. He’ll see David Hope in round one and qualified third is Matt Smith whose opponent will be Steve Johnson.
Eliminations at the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Catch the action live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 2 p.m. ET.
Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, the 21st 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. Clay Millican, 3.631 seconds, 330.39 mph vs. 16. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.867, 303.91; 2. Leah Pritchett, 3.670, 329.83 vs. 15. Ashley Sanford, 3.842, 299.86; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.680, 330.72 vs. 14. Troy Buff, 3.839, 314.17; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.681, 332.18 vs. 13. Scott Palmer, 3.785, 326.24; 5. Brittany Force, 3.690, 329.58 vs. 12. Pat Dakin, 3.768, 323.27; 6. Antron Brown, 3.693, 330.55 vs. 11. Terry McMillen, 3.749, 321.27; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.696, 329.58 vs. 10. Shawn Langdon, 3.726, 324.28; 8. Dom Lagana, 3.713, 326.24 vs. 9. Richie Crampton, 3.714, 326.87.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Luigi Novelli, 3.941, 295.27; 18. Terry Haddock, 3.993, 295.21; 19. Chris Karamesines, 5.211, 135.92; 20. Rob Passey, 23.573, 29.31.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.830, 338.60 vs. 16. Dale Creasy Jr., Dodge Charger, 4.037, 303.64; 2. John Force, Camaro, 3.832, 335.32 vs. 15. Brian Stewart, Ford Mustang, 4.014, 285.11; 3. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.849, 332.51 vs. 14. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.003, 314.46; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 3.863, 333.16 vs. 13. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 3.978, 323.27; 5. Jonnie Lindberg, Camry, 3.871, 330.96 vs. 12. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.923, 325.37; 6. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.873, 331.77 vs. 11. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.910, 327.27; 7. Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.877, 329.50 vs. 10. J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.904, 332.02; 8. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.894, 330.96 vs. 9. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.897, 325.30.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Cory Lee, 4.135, 309.91; 18. Jeff Diehl, 4.153, 306.26; 19. Bob Bode, 4.397, 227.92.
Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.507, 212.33 vs. 16. Dave River, Chevy Cobalt, 6.906, 191.51; 2. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.510, 212.03 vs. 15. Mark Hogan, Pontiac GXP, 6.738, 203.92; 3. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.512, 213.30 vs. 14. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.623, 208.68; 4. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.517, 212.29 vs. 13. Brian Self, Camaro, 6.594, 209.92; 5. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.523, 211.36 vs. 12. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.579, 209.98; 6. Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.525, 211.23 vs. 11. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.577, 210.18; 7. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.550, 211.13 vs. 10. Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.560, 209.72; 8. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.551, 210.83 vs. 9. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.556, 211.10.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.781, 196.85 vs. 16. Andie Rawlings, Suzuki, 7.657, 174.14; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.783, 196.64 vs. 15. David Hope, Buell, 7.084, 186.25; 3. Matt Smith, Victory, 6.792, 197.22 vs. 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.026, 191.51; 4. Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, 6.809, 196.42 vs. 13. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.998, 191.05; 5. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.817, 197.28 vs. 12. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.982, 190.22; 6. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.820, 195.56 vs. 11. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.921, 192.03; 7. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.831, 195.87 vs. 10. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.880, 194.18; 8. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.833, 195.87 vs. 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.850, 195.22.
FRIDAY - MILLICAN, HIGHT, ANDERSON AND HINES HOLD THE CURRENT NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT ST. LOUIS
Top Fuel pilot Clay Millican set the national elapsed time record for the category under the lights at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Robert Hight (Funny Car) Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also current No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the third of six playoff events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship.
Millican raced his Parts Plus / Great Clips dragster to a 3.631-second pass at 330.39 mph at the home race for Stringer Performance during the second round of qualifying. He is chasing his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 10th of his career.
“That run is 100-percent is David Grubnick doing his thing,” Millican stated. “He is the baddest dude out here right now and I don’t think anybody can argue that. He does it his way, there’s no shared information and it’s done with group of young guys. That’s Doug Stringer’s car that I get to go out and stomp on that loud pedal in.”
Tony Schumacher an eight-time world champion, ran a 3.680 pass at 327.66 in his U.S. Army dragster to put him in the second spot and Doug Kalitta is currently third in his Mac Tools dragster after a 3.681 at 331.85 run.
Hight set the track elapsed time record with his pass of 3.830 at 333.91 in his AAA Missouri Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car. Hight also set the track speed record at 338.60 during his first qualifying session. He is in pursuit of his seventh No. 1 qualifier of the season and 56th of his career.
“It’s more fun to sit back and watch my team work and you know what they’re up against when the conditions are like this,” Hight said. “No one is really talking but they’re focused on what they’re doing because they’re trying to make record run. We got six more points today, we were low each session. Forget records or anything else that’s what we’re here for."
Teammate John Force follows in the No. 2 position in his PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS with a pass of 3.832 at 334.65 and points leader Ron Capps drove his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T to a pass of 3.849 at 332.51.
In Pro Stock, Anderson currently holds the top spot after driving to a 6.525 at 211.03 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro during his second pass of the day. He is in pursuit of his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season.
“The conditions, weather and atmosphere didn’t change that much between the first run and second run,” Anderson stated. “The race track is maxing out the track gripper and it’s as good of a race track you’ll ever ever get and when you get conditions like that you need to just throw everything at it.”
Teammate and reigning world champion Jason Line is in the No. 2 position with a pass of 6.553 at 211.66 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro and Drew Skillman follows in this third after a run of 6.535 at 211.56 in his Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro.
Hines took the lead in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with a 6.802 at 196.19 in his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson during his first pass on Friday. He is seeking his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 40th of his career.
“This sets the tone for the last three (races),” Hines said. “We need to come out of here strong and if we can maintain the No. 1 spot and get some more bonus points that would be awesome. We just need to do some damage on Sunday. It’s always good for team morale when you come out of the box and go Q1 to low and hopefully it will stick.”
Current reigning world champion Jerry Savoie currently sits second in his White Alligator Racing Suzuki after a pass of 6.817 at 197.28 and Scott Pollacheck is third in his Extended Protection Suzuki with a run of 6.820 at 195.28.
Qualifying resumes of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at 1:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the sixth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, 21st of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Clay Millican, 3.631 seconds, 330.39 mph; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.680, 329.26; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.681, 331.85; 4. Leah Pritchett, 3.697, 329.83; 5. Brittany Force, 3.714, 329.58; 6.
Richie Crampton, 3.714, 326.87; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.721, 325.37; 8. Dom Lagana, 3.729, 323.35; 9. Terry McMillen, 3.749, 321.27; 10. Antron Brown, 3.759, 325.45; 11. Pat Dakin, 3.768, 321.96; 12. Shawn Langdon, 3.768, 324.28; 13. Scott Palmer, 3.785, 320.97; 14. Troy Buff, 3.857, 314.17; 15. Terry Haddock, 3.993, 248.43; 16. Luigi Novelli, 4.263, 207.24.
Not Qualified: 17. Kyle Wurtzel, 4.563, 169.17; 18. Ashley Sanford, 4.740, 155.90; 19. Chris Karamesines, 5.533, 118.60.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.830, 338.60; 2. John Force, Camaro, 3.832, 335.32; 3. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.849, 332.51; 4. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 3.863, 333.16; 5. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.873, 331.77; 6. Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.877, 329.50; 7. Jonnie Lindberg, Camry, 3.885, 327.74; 8. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.897, 325.30; 9. J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.907, 329.34; 10. Del Worsham, Camry, 3.910, 327.27; 11. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3.923, 325.37; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.930, 327.19; 13. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 3.978, 323.27; 14. Brian Stewart, Mustang, 4.014, 285.11; 15. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.053, 313.73; 16. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Solara, 4.153, 306.26.
Not Qualified: 17. Dale Creasy Jr., 4.623, 184.07; 18. Bob Bode, 9.029, 90.03.
Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.525, 211.06; 2. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.533, 211.79; 3. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.535, 211.56; 4. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.542, 210.70; 5. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.548, 211.03; 6. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.550, 210.87; 7. Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.553, 210.34; 8. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.575, 209.39; 9. Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.591, 208.49; 10. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.612, 208.46; 11. Alan Prusiensky, Dart, 6.886, 168.96; 12. Dave River, Chevy Cobalt, 6.906, 191.51; 13. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 7.038, 155.01; 14. Mark Hogan, Pontiac GXP, 8.728, 113.16; 15. Brian Self, Camaro, 9.500, 98.77; 16. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 9.606, 95.73.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.802, 196.19; 2. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.817, 197.28; 3. Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, 6.820, 195.28; 4. Matt Smith, Victory, 6.837, 194.88; 5. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.841, 194.41; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.846, 194.74; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.867, 194.07; 8. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.869, 192.82; 9. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.894, 194.13; 10. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.921, 192.08; 11. Mike Berry, Buell, 6.960, 192.03; 12. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 7.009, 188.28; 13. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 7.211, 169.42; 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.218, 153.56; 15. Andie Rawlings, Suzuki, 7.657, 174.14; 16. David Hope, Buell, 7.845, 127.17.
