2019 NHRA NATIONALS - NORWALK RESULTS
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SUNDAY - TASCA, S. TORRENCE, MCGAHA AND HINES ALL PICK UP WINS AT SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS
Bob Tasca III picked up back-to-back Funny Car wins for the first time in his career, knocking off Jack Beckman in the final round on Sunday at the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners at the 12th of 24 events during the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Tasca, who won for the first time in nearly seven years last weekend in Bristol, waited just seven days to pick up his next victory, making it two in a row by going 4.383-seconds at 245.09 mph in the final round in his Motorcraft/Tasca Parts Ford Shelby Mustang. It is the sixth career win for Tasca, who reached his 14th career final round on Sunday with wins against Matt Hagan, Paul Lee and John Force.
Beckman, who slowed to an 11.764 at 77.85 in the finals, knocked off Jonnie Lindberg, Shawn Langdon and Tommy Johnson Jr. to reach his 59th final round.
“I worked a lot of years to get to this place and there were days I never thought I would get back here, but I never gave up and I thank the people that never gave up on me,” Tasca said. “I always knew if I could get the right car under me we could do great things. I woke up this morning and was as confident as I ever was, and when you make four runs in the 3.00s in very challenging conditions, there was no reason why we couldn’t have won. I’m glad we got it done.”
In Top Fuel, defending world champ and current points leader Torrence continued his dominant stretch, powering to his sixth win in the last seven races and 33rd in his career with a run of 3.832 at 323.27 in his Capco Contractors dragster to beat Pat Dakin’s 3.909 at 301.40. Torrence, who was nominated last week for Best Driver at the 2019 ESPY Awards, reached his seventh straight final round by beating Jordan Vandergriff, Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force, with the semifinal win giving Torrence his 300th career round win.
Dakin, who advanced to his first final round since 1998 and was looking for his first Top Fuel victory since 1973, reached the finals after beating Mike Salinas, Terry McMillen and Leah Pritchett.
“Some days you come out here and you just feel really on top of your game and some days you’re a little slower and today was one of those slow days,” said Torrence, who won for the second time in Norwalk. “But my guys had my back and we went down the track four laps in a row. This is completely a team sport and without those guys working on the car, it’s nothing. I’m just proud to drive it.”
Pro Stock’s McGaha picked up his first win of 2019 and eighth in his career with his winning run 
of 6.620 at 210.11 in his Harlow Sammons Chevrolet Camaro to beat Alex Laughlin’s 6.668 at 208.75. McGaha reached his 11th final round thanks to wins against Wally Stroupe, Greg Anderson and points leader Bo Butner.
Laughlin earned a berth in his fifth final round by topping Rodger Brogdon, Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin.
“We just kept taking the same car up there all four rounds,” McGaha said. “I had a bad light in the first round and in the second round, I was a little better on the tree. I botched the burnout really bad in the semifinals and I’m sure everybody thought we were done, but next thing you now we let it rip and won that round.”
Five-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ and points leader Hines rolled to his fifth win of 2019 and class-best 53rd in his career, going 6.895 at 196.99 in the final round on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to beat teammate Eddie Krawiec’s 6.967 at 196.64. It was the 26th time the standout teammates have met in the final round, with Hines winning for the 12th time.
Hines’ day started with round wins against Marc Ingwersen, Angelle Sampey and defending world champion Matt Smith. Krawiec reached the final 
round for the 83rd time by knocking off Michael Ray, John Hall and Scotty Pollacheck.
“We had different conditions today than the rest of the week, but for some reason my bike tends to work well on a greasy track,” said Hines, who won for the fifth time in Norwalk. “The competition is tough and you have to earn it each round. Our guys do a great job making sure we have phenomenal motorcycles. (Racing Krawiec) has brought out the best in both of us. That’s probably why we have as many wins as we have. We push each other to be that much better.”
The Mello Yello Drag Racing series continues at the NHRA New England Nationals, July 5-7 at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H.
SATURDAY - B. FORCE, CAPPS, KRAMER, KRAWIEC AND CASTELLANA SECURE NO. 1 QUALIFIERS AT NORWALK
Top Fuel driver Brittany Force will start race day at the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals as the No. 1 qualifier at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
Ron Capps (Funny Car), Deric Kramer (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also qualified No. 1 in their respective Mello Yello professional classes at the 12th of the 24 events of the 2019 NHRA Drag Racing Series season.
B. Force picked up her fourth No. 1 qualifier of the year in her Advance Auto Parts dragster when her run of 3.712-seconds at 328.38 mph from Friday night held up to seed her atop the Top Fuel category.
“I’m feeling confident going into this weekend,” B. Force said. “We stayed after in Bristol and we tested all day on Monday, hoping to find some things and figure it out before coming out to the last of this four in row. That second (qualifying) run was a beautiful run. Putting a 71 on the board was just awesome.”
Capps snagged his first No. 1 qualifier since the final event of 2018 in Pomona in his Pennzoil Synthetics/NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat when his 3.879 lap at 329.18 from Friday night held strong to place in front of the Funny Car division.
“It’s so much fun right now,” Capps said. “Obviously we don’t want to get overconfident, the Funny Car class is so tough right now. Right now, most Funny Cars you can count ten of them who are a couple runs away from standing in the winner’s circle and it’ll get tougher after the summer months, which makes this even more special right now. Everyone went up there to throw down and take the No. 1 spot. We’re just having fun right now.”
John Force, who is searching for his 150th career title, sits second with his 3.884 pass at 329.02 while Paul Lee is third with his career best lap of 3.914 at 326.08.
For the first time this season, Kramer picked up the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock when he drove his American Ethanol Chevy Camaro to a 6.559 at 210.18. Kramer is also the most recent Pro Stock winner on tour.
“We made a good run,” Kramer said. “We went back, we looked at it, we thought we could have been a little better. Ultimately, that’s our goal at the end of week, whether we qualify No. 1 or we qualify No. 16, we want to look at our runs and want to make sure they’re the best we can do. And tomorrow, I think we have the opportunity of going a couple of rounds and improving on what we’re doing.”
Right behind Kramer is Matt Hartford in second who also ran a 6.559 but at a slower speed of 209.59. Chris McGaha sits third.
Defending event winner Krawiec secured his third low qualifier of 2019 and third at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson with his lap of 6.843 at 197.45.
“I’ve got a great motorcycle currently right now,” said Krawiec, the defending event winner. “It just made a good clean run down the dragstrip at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. My run today, we kind of missed it a little. The track was a little tricky. It’s really important to have a good motorcycle on Saturday because then you kind of know what to expect Sunday. It’s nice to have a green (No. 1 qualifier) hat today, but, man, you want a yellow (winner) hat tomorrow.”
Reigning champion Matt Smith is second with his 6.848 lap while Andrew Hines, the points leader, is third with a lap of 6.852.
In the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Presented by J&A Service, Mike Castellana picked up the No. 1 spot with his 5.701 pass at 252.71 in his Al-Anabi Performance Camaro.
“From (not qualifying) earlier this season to qualifying well in Bristol and here, I couldn’t be happier,” Castellana said. “We don’t have any quit on our team and I know we’ve got the car to beat going into raceday tomorrow.”
The reigning Pro Mod champion Mike Janis is in second while Sidnei Frigo rounds out the top three.
Eliminations for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park.
Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the 12th 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. Brittany Force, 3.712 seconds, 328.38 mph vs. 16. Lex Joon, 4.030, 256.60; 2. Leah Pritchett, 3.714, 325.45 vs. 15. Luigi Novelli, 3.938, 292.71; 3. Mike Salinas, 3.720, 326.32 vs. 14. Pat Dakin, 3.782, 325.30; 4. Clay Millican, 3.723, 325.22 vs. 13. Doug Kalitta, 3.780, 323.50; 5. Steve Torrence, 3.725, 328.30 vs. 12. Jordan Vandergriff, 3.774, 320.28; 6. Terry McMillen, 3.739, 322.73 vs. 11. Austin Prock, 3.771, 326.63; 7. Antron Brown, 3.742, 326.00 vs. 10. Scott Palmer, 3.755, 323.66; 8. Richie Crampton, 3.743, 329.18 vs. 9. Billy Torrence, 3.743, 329.02.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Kyle Wurtzel, 4.066, 230.61; 18. Chris Karamesines, 4.402, 257.83; 19. Cameron Ferre, 11.204, 68.63.
Funny Car -- 1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.879, 329.18 vs. 16. Bob Bode, Ford Mustang, 4.099, 280.02; 2. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.884, 329.02 vs. 15. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.053, 303.84; 3. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.914, 326.08 vs. 14. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.030, 317.19; 4. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.915, 329.26 vs. 13. Jonnie Lindberg, Mustang, 4.024, 319.82; 5. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.921, 314.39 vs. 12. Shawn Langdon, Toyota Camry, 3.999, 315.71; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.923, 326.63 vs. 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.943, 325.85; 7. J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.927, 324.90 vs. 10. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.938, 297.81; 8. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.928, 326.40 vs. 9. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.935, 323.04.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Jim Campbell, 4.101, 309.56; 18. Terry Haddock, 4.196, 290.01; 19. Jeff Diehl, 4.231, 249.21; 20. Mike McIntire, 4.883, 160.77.
Pro Stock -- 1. Deric Kramer, Chevy Camaro, 6.559, 210.18 vs. 16. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.841, 201.70; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.559, 209.59 vs. 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.720, 206.20; 3. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.560, 211.00 vs. 14. Wally Stroupe, Camaro, 6.667, 208.20; 4. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.560, 210.57 vs. 13. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.600, 207.78; 5. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.560, 209.88 vs. 12. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.591, 209.04; 6. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.562, 209.26 vs. 11. Fernando Cuadra, Camaro, 6.584, 210.77; 7. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.571, 209.04 vs. 10. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.574, 210.14; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.572, 209.92 vs. 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.573, 207.18.
Did Not Qualify: 17. David Miller, 7.283, 155.06; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 11.750, 112.71.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.843, 197.45 vs. 16. Michael Ray, Buell, 7.041, 178.26; 2. Matt Smith, EBR, 6.848, 198.90 vs. 15. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.020, 191.43; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.852, 196.90 vs. 14. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 6.968, 192.41; 4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.868, 196.19 vs. 13. Joey Gladstone, EBR, 6.968, 193.21; 5. Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.881, 194.04 vs. 12. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.963, 194.97; 6. Angelle Sampey, Harley-Davidson, 6.887, 191.76 vs. 11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.923, 193.68; 7. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.888, 197.28 vs. 10. Cory Reed, EBR, 6.915, 194.13; 8. John Hall, Suzuki, 6.902, 195.76 vs. 9. Hector Arana, EBR, 6.905, 196.22.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Odolph Daniels, 7.292, 176.60.
FRIDAY - CAPPS, B. FORCE, KRAMER AND KRAWIEC CLAIM PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFIER SPOTS AT NORWALK
Ron Capps powered his Pennzoil Synthetics/NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to an impressive 3.879-second pass at 329.18 mph to land the Funny Car provisional No. 1 qualifier position on Friday at the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at the halfway point of 2019 NHRA season.
Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Deric Kramer (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective Mello Yello Drag Racing Series classes.
Behind Capps in the Funny Car field is John Force, who is chasing his 150th career win, in second while Jack Beckman is third.
“Conditions here are always good when the sun goes down,” Capps said. “(Rahn Tobler, crew chief) put the rear spoiler down and did things outside his box he normally does. It was kind of neat to see that we were either going to go to the pole or smoke the tires but he was going to try and that’s always fun.”
B. Force drove her way to a 3.712 pass at 328.38 to place her at the top of the Top Fuel category. Leah Pritchett is currently second with her 3.714 lap, while Mike Salinas, the most recent event winner, sits third.
Kramer currently sits first in Pro Stock after his run of 6.559 at 210.18 pushed him to the top of the heap. Matt Hartford and Chris McGaha round out the top three.
Krawiec landed atop the Pro Stock Motorcycle division with his lap of 6.844 at 197.08. Hot on his heels are his teammate Andrew Hines in second and the reigning world champion Matt Smith in third.
Qualifying continues Saturday at Summit Motorsports Park at 1:15 pm ET.
Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, 12th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Brittany Force, 3.712 seconds, 328.38 mph; 2. Leah Pritchett, 3.714, 325.45; 3. Mike Salinas, 3.720, 326.32; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.725, 328.30; 5. Terry McMillen, 3.739, 322.73; 6. Antron Brown, 3.742, 326.00; 7. Richie Crampton, 3.743, 329.18; 8. Billy Torrence, 3.743, 329.02; 9. Clay Millican, 3.760, 325.77; 10. Jordan Vandergriff, 3.774, 320.28; 11. Austin Prock, 3.776, 324.90; 12. Doug Kalitta, 3.783, 326.40; 13. Scott Palmer, 3.836, 319.52; 14. Pat Dakin, 3.888, 282.95; 15. Kyle Wurtzel, 4.066, 230.61; 16. Lex Joon, 4.929, 152.00.
Not Qualified: 17. Chris Karamesines, 5.769, 189.42; 18. Cameron Ferre, 11.204, 68.63; 19. Luigi Novelli, broke.
Funny Car -- 1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.879, 329.18; 2. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.884, 329.02; 3. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.915, 329.26; 4. Blake Alexander, Ford Mustang, 3.921, 314.39; 5. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 3.927, 324.90; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.928, 326.40; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.931, 324.44; 8. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.935, 323.04; 9. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.938, 297.81; 10. Paul Lee, Charger, 3.954, 324.51; 11. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.975, 325.22; 12. Shawn Langdon, Camry, 4.009, 317.05; 13. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.030, 317.19; 14. Bob Bode, Mustang, 4.099, 280.02; 15. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.108, 309.56; 16. Jeff Diehl, Camry, 4.231, 249.21.
Not Qualified: 17. Terry Haddock, 4.284, 290.01; 18. Jonnie Lindberg, 4.561, 184.90; 19. Cruz Pedregon, 8.462, 75.36; 20. Mike McIntire, 10.326, 82.12.
Pro Stock -- 1. Deric Kramer, Chevy Camaro, 6.559, 210.18; 2. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.559, 209.59; 3. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.560, 211.00; 4. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.560, 209.88; 5. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.562, 210.18; 6. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.562, 209.26; 7. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.571, 209.04; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.572, 209.92; 9. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.573, 207.18; 10. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.583, 210.44; 11. Fernando Cuadra, Camaro, 6.584, 210.77; 12. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.600, 207.78; 13. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.601, 210.18; 14. Wally Stroupe, Camaro, 6.676, 208.33; 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.720, 206.20; 16. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.841, 201.70.
Not Qualified: 17. David Miller, 7.283, 155.06; 18. Alan Prusiensky, 12.292, 112.71.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.844, 197.08; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.852, 196.90; 3. Matt Smith, EBR, 6.867, 198.12; 4. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.868, 196.19; 5. Scotty Pollacheck, EBR, 6.884, 195.05; 6. John Hall, Suzuki, 6.902, 195.76; 7. Angie Smith, EBR, 6.928, 196.13; 8. Angelle Sampey, Harley-Davidson, 6.935, 192.06; 9. Hector Arana, EBR, 6.940, 197.25; 10. Cory Reed, EBR, 6.952, 194.72; 11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.963, 194.97; 12. Joey Gladstone, EBR, 6.968, 193.21; 13. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.009, 193.29; 14. Marc Ingwersen, Buell, 7.017, 189.79; 15. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.023, 191.92; 16. Michael Ray, Buell, 7.171, 158.24.
Not Qualified: 17. Odolph Daniels, 7.292, 176.60.
FRIDAY SPORTSMAN QUALIFYING
TAD (Q-2)
1 4 A/FD Troy Coughlin Jr., Delaware OH, Hadman- 5.183 279.56 279.56
2 6 A/FD Jackie Fricke, Flemington NJ, McKinney- 5.206 274.22 276.92
3 7 A/FD Duane Shields, Boulder City NV, Hadman- 5.286 273.61 274.89
4 23 TA/D Josh Hart, Ocala FL, Page-BAE 5.328 270.00 270.00
5 176 A/FD Jeff Veale, Stoney Creek ON, Hadman-BAE 5.331 278.52 278.52
6 2030 A/FD Will Smith, Northport AL, McKinney-Chry 5.332 276.35 276.35
7 34 B/AD Brandon Greco, Roscoe PA, Monden-BAE 5.360 266.00 266.00
8 357 A/FD Mike Bucher, Columbia Station OH, McKin 5.363 257.87 257.87
9 238 TA/D Mick Steele, Kodak TN, Copeland-AJ 5.389 240.25 240.25
10 725K A/FD Krista Baldwin, Pittsboro IN, DSR-NRE 5.459 266.85 266.85
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RESULTS
TAFC (Q-2)
1 1 Sean Bellemeur, Placentia CA, '18 Camaro 5.452 268.92 268.92
2 32 Ray Drew, Hales Corners WI, '14 Mustang 5.477 265.12 266.85
3 562 Kris Hool, Evansville WY, '16 Camaro 5.511 265.33 265.33
4 33 Tyler Scott, Exeter ON, '17 Camaro 5.597 244.12 244.12
5 35 Chris Foster, Davenport IA, '16 Monte Carlo 5.603 259.36 259.36
6 333 Chip Beverett, Portage IN, '18 Camaro 5.617 262.28 262.28
7 556 Lance Van Hauen, Reinbeck IA, '18 Camaro 5.668 257.28 257.28
8 34 Tony Bogolo, Hamilton OH, '05 Camaro 5.712 252.95 252.95
9 2183 Aryan Rochon, Dade City FL, '18 Camaro 5.717 252.33 255.63
10 571 Bob McCosh, Columbia MO, '19 Camaro 6.221 193.93 193.93
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RESULTS
FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN (Q-1)
1 3361 Bo Butner, Floyds Knobs IN, '19 Mustang 7.925 175.02 175.02
2 3334 Chris Holbrook, Livonia MI, '19 Mustang 7.942 174.50 174.50
3 373 Bill Skillman, Greenwood IN, '14 Mustang 7.978 171.58 171.58
4 1991 Pete Gasko Jr., Monroe Twp NJ, '19 Camaro 7.988 173.05 173.05
5 3909 Drew Skillman, Greenwood IN, '18 Mustang 7.991 171.29 171.29
6 9 David Barton, Robesonia PA, '17 Camaro 7.992 172.34 172.34
7 2 Stephen Bell, Shreveport LA, '19 Camaro 8.033 171.34 171.34
8 597 David Kramer, Sterling CO, '19 Camaro 8.063 170.00 170.00
9 69 Joseph Welch, Long Boat Key FL, '15 Challenger 8.068 161.38 161.38
10 102R Robert Falcone, Pleasant Valley NY, '19 Camaro 8.080 168.68 168.68
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RESULTS
