NHRA: John Force earns record 142nd Funny Car win in Las Vegas, Crampton and Enders-Stevens also triumph - MotorSportsTalk

John Force said in an exclusive interview with MotorSportsTalk last week that he wasn’t worried about the slow start he has had in the 2015 season.

He came into this weekend’s SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals without a win and was ranked 13th in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series standings.

Not anymore.

The winningest driver in NHRA history, Force stormed to his record 142nd NHRA Funny Car national event victory on Sunday. In turn, he promptly jumped from 13th to 6th in the Funny Car standings, earned his fifth victory at The Strip and also recorded the first Funny Car win by a Chevrolet since 2003.

Force switched to Chevrolet for the 2015 season after a nearly two-decade run driving for Ford.

MORE: EXCLUSIVE: John Force’s life has changed dramatically in last year, but he’s still standing and fighting

Force defeated teammate and son-in-law Robert Hight in an all-John Force Racing final round at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Force’s winning run was 4.148 seconds at 312.35 mph, besting Hight’s pass of 4.154 seconds at 306.05 mph. Hight is also president of John Force Racing.

“Robert is my best team,” said Force, a record 16-time Funny Car season champion. “He’s hot on that Christmas tree so I really got to get after him.

“The win was good but all that we’ve been through, with financial change, my sponsors promised to keep me competitive, win championships and I could build safety. We were lucky today and I’ll take lucky any day because it buys us some time to learn.”

In Top Fuel, Richie Crampton (3.902 seconds at 301.33 mph) earned his third career win and first in Las Vegas, defeating Larry Dixon (4.466 seconds, 201.73 mph).

“It’s huge,” said Crampton, who was 2014 NHRA Top Fuel Rookie of the Year. “Obviously, we want to win right out of the gate but that hasn’t always been the case for Morgan Lucas Racing. To win at the fifth event and technically go to the final at the Four-Wide (two weeks ago at Charlotte), we’re gathering some good momentum and it’s a huge boost for our entire team. We got a great hot track race car.”

In Pro Stock, 2014 champ Erica Enders-Stevens notched her first win of the season and 13th of her career.

Enders-Stevens (6.674 seconds, 207.24 mph) got the jump at the start of the final round, which led her to victory over Vincent Nobile (6.674 seconds, 207.91 mph).

“My guys work so hard and continue to give me a consistent race car which has been a struggle to start this year,” Enders-Stevens said. “I think we got our hot rod back and I guess we can start saying Vegas is our lucky track.”

Enders-Stevens also won Saturday’s K&N Horsepower Challenge, a Pro Stock specialty race, on Saturday. By winning both races, she earned $75,000 and became the first driver to sweep both events in consecutive seasons since Bob Glidden did so in 1987 and 1988.

Las Vegas was the fifth of 24 races on the NHRA pro schedule. The next race is the O’Reilly Auto Parts SpringNationals, April 24-26, near Houston, Texas.

FINAL FINISHING ORDER:

TOP FUEL: 1. Richie Crampton; 2. Larry Dixon; 3. J.R. Todd; 4. Spencer Massey; 5. Steve Torrence; 6. Shawn Langdon; 7. Clay Millican; 8. Dom Lagana; 9. Doug Kalitta; 10. Tony Schumacher; 11. Brittany Force; 12. Antron Brown; 13. Steve Faria; 14. Dave Connolly; 15. Terry McMillen; 16. Troy Buff.

FUNNY CAR: 1. John Force; 2. Robert Hight; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr.; 4. Alexis DeJoria; 5. Matt Hagan; 6. Del Worsham; 7. Cruz Pedregon; 8. Tim Wilkerson; 9. Jack Beckman; 10. Ron Capps; 11. Courtney Force; 12. Tony Pedregon; 13. Gary Densham; 14. Jeff Arend; 15. John Hale; 16. Chad Head.

PRO STOCK: 1. Erica Enders-Stevens; 2. Vincent Nobile; 3. Greg Anderson; 4. Allen Johnson; 5. Jason Line; 6. Chris McGaha; 7. Jimmy Alund; 8. V. Gaines; 9. Rodger Brogdon; 10. Drew Skillman; 11. Shane Gray; 12. Deric Kramer; 13. Joey Grose; 14. Larry Morgan; 15. Jonathan Gray; 16. Matt Hartford.

FINAL RESULTS:

Top Fuel — Richie Crampton, 3.902 seconds, 301.33 mph def. Larry Dixon, 4.466 seconds, 201.73 mph.

Funny Car — John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.148, 312.35 def. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.154, 306.05.

Pro Stock — Erica Enders-Stevens, Chevy Camaro, 6.674, 207.24 def. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.674, 207.91.

FINAL ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS:

TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE — Richie Crampton, 3.821, 322.27 def. Troy Buff, 5.346, 128.58; Spencer Massey, 3.796, 328.78 def. Doug Kalitta, 3.807, 322.65; Larry Dixon, 3.795, 318.09 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.828, 319.29; J.R. Todd, 3.825, 320.81 def. Steve Faria, 3.957, 307.02; Steve Torrence, 3.837, 320.81 def. Terry McMillen, 4.022, 304.12; Shawn Langdon, 3.866, 305.84 def. Antron Brown, 3.901, 310.77; Clay Millican, 3.815, 315.12 def. Brittany Force, 3.846, 323.66; Dom Lagana, 3.866, 286.25 def. Dave Connolly, 4.004, 261.27; QUARTERFINALS — Todd, 3.916, 308.64 def. Lagana, 9.168, 73.27; Crampton, 3.838, 315.78 def. Torrence, 3.899, 301.81; Dixon, 3.889, 318.77 def. Millican, 3.984, 311.05; Massey, 3.858, 324.98 def. Langdon, 3.957, 304.74; SEMIFINALS — Dixon, 4.402, 247.93 def. Massey, 5.496, 126.23; Crampton, 3.828, 318.32 def. Todd, 3.837, 321.73; FINAL — Crampton, 3.902, 301.33 def. Dixon, 4.466, 201.73.

FUNNY CAR: ROUND ONE — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.114, 308.99 def. Jeff Arend, Charger, 4.439, 212.39; Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.106, 309.20 def. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala, 4.243, 299.53; Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 4.110, 312.71 def. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.211, 291.95; Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.093, 305.01 def. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.138, 299.00; Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.115, 301.40 def. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.165, 304.12; Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.080, 314.53 def. John Hale, Charger, 5.661, 124.28; Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.087, 312.50 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.156, 305.08; John Force, Camaro, 4.138, 312.57 def. Chad Head, Camry, DQ; QUARTERFINALS — J. Force, 4.158, 314.17 def. Hagan, 4.436, 296.89; DeJoria, 5.852, 239.06 def. Worsham, 5.885, 160.61; Hight, 4.102, 311.99 def. C. Pedregon, 8.806, 86.34; Johnson Jr., 4.093, 302.89 def. Wilkerson, DQ; SEMIFINALS — J. Force, 4.165, 312.35 def. DeJoria, 12.689, 70.85; Hight, 4.145, 310.34 def. Johnson Jr., 4.164, 305.56; FINAL — J. Force, 4.148, 312.35 def. Hight, 4.154, 306.05.

PRO STOCK: ROUND ONE — Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.699, 206.20 def. Drew Skillman, Chevy Camaro, 6.679, 206.99; Jimmy Alund, Pontiac GXP, 6.695, 206.42 def. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 12.972, 65.81; V. Gaines, Dart, 6.690, 207.18 def. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.687, 207.05; Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.677, 207.18 def. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.669, 207.53; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.650, 208.49 def. Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 21.940, 25.94; Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.656, 206.83 def. Deric Kramer, Dodge Avenger, 6.742, 205.35; Jason Line, Camaro, 6.672, 207.75 def. Joey Grose, Camaro, foul; Erica Enders-Stevens, Camaro, 6.654, 207.62 def. Matt Hartford, GXP, broke; QUARTERFINALS — Johnson, 6.716, 205.44 def. Line, foul; Nobile, 6.684, 206.73 def. McGaha, 6.686, 206.35; Enders-Stevens, 6.661, 207.27 def. Alund, 6.697, 206.70; Anderson, 6.655, 208.17 def. Gaines, 21.477, no speed; SEMIFINALS — Nobile, 6.695, 207.62 def. Johnson, 17.215, 68.60; Enders-Stevens, 6.673, 207.53 def. Anderson, 6.671, 208.71; FINAL — Enders-Stevens, 6.674, 207.24 def. Nobile, 6.674, 207.91.

POINTS STANDINGS:

Top Fuel: 1. Antron Brown, 385; 2. Tony Schumacher, 375; 3. Shawn Langdon, 370; 4. Spencer Massey, 358; 5. Richie Crampton, 349; 6. Steve Torrence, 273; 7. Doug Kalitta, 272; 8. Larry Dixon, 263; 9. J.R. Todd, 261; 10. Clay Millican, 241.

Funny Car: 1. Matt Hagan, 369; 2. Del Worsham, 360; 3. Robert Hight, 323; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., 316; 5. Ron Capps, 313; 6. John Force, 287; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 271; 8. Cruz Pedregon, 257; 9. John Hale, 256; 10. Jack Beckman, 249.

Pro Stock: 1. Jason Line, 426; 2. Erica Enders-Stevens, 391; 3. Greg Anderson, 379; 4. Rodger Brogdon, 352; 5. Chris McGaha, 338; 6. Drew Skillman, 300; 7. Vincent Nobile, 285; 8. Larry Morgan, 268; 9. Allen Johnson, 249; 10. Shane Gray, 233.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The first Indy 500 victory for Josef Newgarden also was the richest in race history from a record 2023 purse of just more than $17 million.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who continued his celebration Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earned $3.666 million for winning the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The purse and winner’s share both are the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Indy 500 purse set a record after the 2022 Indy 500 became the first to crack the $16 million mark (nearly doubling the 2021 purse that offered a purse of $8,854,565 after a crowd limited to 135,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $500,600 (exceeding last year’s average of $485,000).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, whose team also fields Newgarden’s No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, had made raising purses a priority since buying the track in 2020. But Penske but was unable to post big money purses until the race returned to full capacity grandstands last year.

The largest Indy 500 purse before this year was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500 won by Scott Dixon (whose share was $2,988,065). Ericsson’s haul made him the second Indy 500 winner to top $3 million (2009 winner Helio Castroneves won $3,048,005.

Runner-up Marcus Ericsson won $1.043 million after falling short by 0.0974 seconds in the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

The 107th Indy 500 drew a crowd of at least 330,000 that was the largest since the sellout for the 100th running in 2016, and the second-largest in more than two decades, according to track officials.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental Month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

Benjamin Pedersen was named the Indy 500 rookie of the year, earning a $50,000 bonus.

The race’s purse is determined through contingency and special awards from IMS and IndyCar. The awards were presented Monday night in the annual Indy 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

The payouts for the 107th Indy 500:

1. Josef Newgarden, $3,666,000
2. Marcus Ericsson, $1,043,000
3. Santino Ferrucci, $481,800
4. Alex Palou, $801,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $574,000
6. Scott Dixon, $582,000
7. Takuma Sato, $217,300
8. Conor Daly, $512,000
9. Colton Herta, $506,500
10. Rinus VeeKay, $556,500
11. Ryan Hunter‐Reay, $145,500
12. Callum Ilott, $495,500
13. Devlin DeFrancesco, $482,000
14. Scott McLaughlin, $485,000
15. Helio Castroneves, $481,500
16. Tony Kanaan, $105,000
17. Marco Andretti, $102,000
18. Jack Harvey, $472,000
19. Christian Lundgaard, $467,500
20. Ed Carpenter, $102,000
21. Benjamin Pedersen (R), $215,300
22. Graham Rahal, $565,500*
23. Will Power, $488,000
24. Pato O’Ward, $516,500
25. Simon Pagenaud, $465,500
26. Agustín Canapino (R), $156,300
27. Felix Rosenqvist, $278,300
28. Kyle Kirkwood, $465,500
29. David Malukas, $462,000
30. Romain Grosjean, $462,000
31. Sting Ray Robb (R), $463,000
32. RC Enerson (R), $103,000
33. Katherine Legge, $102,000

*–Broken down between two teams, $460,000 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $105,500 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports