The Pro Stock final round at the 2010 NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals might have been the most notable upset since biblical times when David slew Goliath.
 
Greg Stanfield, driving Kenny Koretsky’s Nitrofish Pontiac, didn’t have a slingshot or a stone to throw at his opponent, Mike Edwards. For him, his left leg and lane choice got the job done just the same.
 
Stanfield has raced Indy every year since 1987, falling short every year until this year.
 
Stanfield fended off Edwards with a slower 6.665, 207.59 to claim his first career Indy title in his second straight final round appearance at this race. Edwards, racing from the less advantageous right lane, lost despite a 6.627, 208.75.

Tony Schumacher's iron grip on the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals title fell limp Monday in a tire-smoking National Hot Rod Ass'n. semifinal battle against Don Schumacher Racing teammate Cory McClenathan.
 
That's all Larry Dixon needed to become Top Fuel king again at O'Reilly Raceway Park, as he blazed to his 10th triumph in as many final rounds this year and his fourth at the storied track that's a stone's throw from his adopted home in Avon.
 
Ashley Force Hood scored back-to-back Indianapolis triumphs in the Funny Car class, this time at the expense of father John Force in an all-Castrol Ford Mustang final. She and Dixon joined Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) in the winners circle at this 56th edition of drag racing's marquee event.
 
In their third final-round meeting this season, Dixon and McClenathan made it a close one, but the Jason McCulloch-tuned Al-Anabi Dragster produced a 3.838-second elapsed time and 319.60-mph speed to best the FRAM rocket prepared by Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler. McClenathan registered a 3.870 / 319.82.

Maybe the mainstream media will take notice of Ashley Force Hood now.

Force Hood made history by becoming the first woman in NHRA history to win back-to-back Funny Car titles at the prestigious U.S. Nationals at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

Force Hood’s latest Indy victory came at the expense of her father, John, a 14-time world champ.

Force Hood clocked a solid 4.141-second time at 308.07 mph to defeat her dad who slowed to 7.246 seconds.

Talk about an improbable victory.

Less than three weeks after he thought his Pro Stock motorcycle season was done because of damaged engine, LE Tonglet was standing in the winner’s circle at the U.S. Nationals Monday evening.

Tonglet, a 20-year-old rookie, did the improbable by defeating Andrew Hines in the finals with a stout 6.869-second run at 195.22 mph to edge Hines’ 6.962-second effort at 194.13 mph.

“The U.S. Nationals is the biggest race of the year and just to be competing here is crazing and unreal for us,” said the baby-faced Tonglet, who cut an outstanding .011 light in the finals.

Tonglet, who started the Countdown to 1 playoffs at Indy in seventh place in the point chase, moved all the way up to second on Monday. Hines, thanks to overpowering the track during qualifying and setting the national record, leads Tonglet 2,243 to 2,155.

Shawn Langdon had one heck of a weekend.

It was hectic, for sure, but boy was it ever worth it. Driving his Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster and wheeling the Super Comp car owned by Jim Hughes, Langdon started picking up round wins early and just kept going – all the way to the final in the 9.90 class during the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Langdon was, of course, excellent on the tree throughout eliminations, clocking .017, .015, .006, .007, and .019 lights before putting an uncharacteristic .050 in the record books in the semifinals next to Craig Maddox, who fouled out by .033. In the final, he was .010 to David Tatum's .009 but ran closer to the index for the win, 9.220 to 9.930.

Being a member of the Coughlin family and success at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals seems to go hand-in-hand. Third-generation drag racer Troy Coughlin Jr. is just the latest example.

On Monday, T.J., as his friends and family know him, joined his famous father, uncles, and grandfather as a U.S. Nationals winner when the 20-year-old took the Super Comp title in Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series action at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

"You've got to focus from the minute you get here on Tuesday until the minute you leave on Monday," Coughlin said. "Even now, I've already won the race, but I'm still thinking about the run I had. That's the mindset it takes."

Top Alcohol Dragster – Marty Thacker is out of the gate with a stellar .003 reaction and keeps ahead of Shawn Cowie for a 5.415 to 5.488 victory to collect his second Indy win.

“This is better than the first,” said Thacker. “As I get older, I learn to appreciate these things so much more. There are millions of people who dream of doing this kind of stuff. I get to do it, and it's all because of my crew, my family, god above, all these NHRA fans, the sponsors who come out here and give us support. Spitzer Race Cars just gives us a Cadillac. I'm going to put a radio in it and drive it around town tonight.

“It's been a frustrating year. We run good and the driver makes errors. We run good but we have freak little things that break. If anything could save the year, it might be a U.S. Nationals win.”

A special edition of WFO Radio will air at 7 p.m. ET tonight following the U.S. Nationals.  The show will include interviews with the newly crowned U.S. Nationals champions plus coverage of post-race press conferences from the media center at O'Reilly Raceway Park.  The U.S. Nationals post-race show will be replayed on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET during the typical WFO Radio NHRA Tuesday time slot.
 

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Larry Dixon kept his perfect final round streak alive Monday by racing to his 10th win of the season at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most prestigious drag race.

Ashley Force Hood, Greg Stanfield and LE Tonglet also were winners in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship event, the first of six playoff races.

Dixon earned his fourth win at Indy and 58th of his career by outrunning Cory McClenathan in the final round. Dixon defeated Bruce Litton, Steve Torrence and Shawn Langdon in earlier rounds to advance to the final.

Top qualifier Dixon covered the O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis dragstrip in 3.837 seconds at 319.60 mph in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to hold off McClenathan, who trailed with a 3.870 at 319.82 in his FRAM dragster.

Brad Personett raced to his first career victory in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Series Monday at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, the world’s most prestigious drag race.