Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Larry Morgan (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were the winners in Sunday’s final eliminations of the NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals in suburban Denver.
Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo., hosted the 14th race on the 24-race NHRA national event schedule, kicking off the yearly three-race “Western Swing,” which moves on to Sonoma (Calif.) next Sunday and suburban Seattle in two weeks.
Torrence (3.925 seconds at 319.37 mph) earned his first win in more than two years, defeating reigning Top Fuel champ and points leader Tony Schumacher (3.940 seconds/305.08 mph).
“We needed this win,” Torrence said. “Tony and I are friends, but when you run a (Don Schumacher Racing) car, you have to bring you’re A-game.
“To beat him on the mountain is unbelievable. It’s been way too long to get into the winner’s circle. It’s not representative of the team we have. I’m getting confidence in myself, and that’s a good thing.”
Schumacher maintains an 85-point lead in the Top Fuel standings over teammate Antron Brown.
In Funny Car, Beckman, who won the championship in 2012, lived up to his nickname of “Fast Jack” (4.190 seconds at 293.92 mph) by earning his fourth win of the season, his third at Bandimere and 19th of his career, defeating 16-time champion John Force.
Beckman is now 10th on the Funny Car all-time wins list.
“Last year, I was 0-6 against (John Force Racing, so I figured I had paid my dues,” Beckman said. “To do it in the final round today, when they really had the better car throughout the weekend — to beat the No. 1 qualifier, the winningest driver of all time, and at the Mopar race — this is just a perfect weekend.”
Beckman moved into second place in the Funny Car standings, while Force, who was seeking his seventh career win at Bandimere, moved up to third despite the final round loss.
In Pro Stock, Morgan (6.944 seconds at 199.02 mph) earned his second win of the season and 12th of his career. It not only was a great battle down the track, but also before the start light lit, as Allen Johnson and Morgan engaged in a 1 minute, 45 seconds battle of wits before Johnson finally staged.
“What a wonderful race!” said Morgan, who won his first Denver event in 1990. “This was probably my best win this year. The Four-Wide (event at Charlotte) was cool because I got to beat three guys at one time.
“Coming up here and racing Allen, though, I give those guys all the respect in the world for being in the final round nine straight years (at Denver, including wins in the previous three races).
“Nobody will ever do what he’s done up here, and I commend him for that. Those guys are still the ‘King of the Mountain.’ I just got lucky enough to keep it for one race. He still owns this place.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Krawiec (7.239 seconds at 185.51 mph) earned his 28th career win (7.239 seconds at 185.51 mph), defeating Hector Arana Jr.
The PSM points leader and three-time series champ, Krawiec finally notched his first win of the season, as well as his third career win at Bandimere.
“I really didn’t want the final to be that close, but I couldn’t ask for any better,” Krawiec said.
Arana is second in the points to Krawiec, trailing by just 36 points.
FINAL FINISHING ORDER:
TOP FUEL: 1. Steve Torrence; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Brittany Force; 4. Larry Dixon; 5. Clay Millican; 6. J.R. Todd; 7. Richie Crampton; 8. Shawn Langdon; 9. Spencer Massey; 10. Antron Brown; 11. Jenna Haddock; 12. Terry McMillen; 13. Doug Kalitta; 14. Scott Palmer; 15. Steven Chrisman; 16. Dave Connolly.
FUNNY CAR: 1. Jack Beckman; 2. John Force; 3. Alexis DeJoria; 4. Tony Pedregon; 5. Cruz Pedregon; 6. Matt Hagan; 7. Tim Wilkerson; 8. Tommy Johnson Jr.; 9. Ron Capps; 10. Del Worsham; 11. Courtney Force; 12. Robert Hight; 13. John Hale; 14. Chad Head; 15. Jeff Diehl; 16. Todd Simpson.
PRO STOCK: 1. Larry Morgan; 2. Allen Johnson; 3. Erica Enders; 4. Shane Gray; 5. Greg Anderson; 6. Jason Line; 7. Drew Skillman; 8. Jonathan Gray; 9. Chris McGaha; 10. Vincent Nobile; 11. V. Gaines; 12. Bo Butner; 13. Deric Kramer; 14. Matt Hartford; 15. Joey Grose.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. Eddie Krawiec; 2. Hector Arana Jr; 3. Andrew Hines; 4. Jim Underdahl; 5. Hector Arana; 6. Matt Smith; 7. Scotty Pollacheck; 8. Steve Johnson; 9. Jerry Savoie; 10. Shawn Gann; 11. Karen Stoffer; 12. Chaz Kennedy; 13. Freddie Camarena; 14. Chip Ellis; 15. LE Tonglet; 16. Angie Smith.
FINAL RESULTS:
TOP FUEL: Steve Torrence, 3.925 seconds, 319.37 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.940 seconds, 305.08 mph.
FUNNY CAR: Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.190, 293.92 def. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.291, 258.96.
PRO STOCK: Larry Morgan, Chevy Camaro, 6.944, 199.02 def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.930, 199.23.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.239, 185.51 def. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 7.230, 186.43.
FINAL ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS:
TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE — Steve Torrence, 3.891, 320.13 def. Jenna Haddock, 4.156, 284.93; Brittany Force, 3.974, 307.09 def. Terry McMillen, 4.182, 237.46; Larry Dixon, 4.352, 243.99 def. Scott Palmer, 4.408, 231.52; Tony Schumacher, 4.150, 227.69 def. Steven Chrisman, 5.546, 124.64; Richie Crampton, 4.193, 254.90 def. Doug Kalitta, 4.242, 256.70; Shawn Langdon, 3.906, 302.08 def. Spencer Massey, 3.920, 317.34; Clay Millican, 4.264, 229.43 def. Dave Connolly, 6.251, 88.18; J.R. Todd, 3.968, 305.56 def. Antron Brown, 3.991, 302.89; QUARTERFINALS — Schumacher, 3.933, 304.87 def. Millican, 3.963, 308.57; Dixon, 3.974, 300.86 def. Todd, 4.080, 259.26; Torrence, 3.946, 303.64 def. Crampton, 4.309, 235.97; Force, 3.932, 313.37 def. Langdon, 4.548, 208.42; SEMIFINALS — Torrence, 3.902, 318.09 def. Dixon, 3.948, 312.57; Schumacher, 3.896, 315.56 def. Force, 3.916, 315.71; FINAL — Torrence, 3.925, 319.37 def. Schumacher, 3.940, 305.08.
FUNNY CAR: ROUND ONE — John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.225, 300.26 def. John Hale, Dodge Charger, 4.632, 216.58; Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.596, 220.26 def. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Solara, 4.880, 179.52; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.587, 270.92 def. Todd Simpson, Camaro, 6.287, 114.09; Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.497, 246.39 def. Chad Head, Toyota Camry, 4.665, 118.18; Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.316, 281.36 def. Robert Hight, Chevrolet Camaro, 4.568, 212.63; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.235, 303.71 def. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.221, 292.39; Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.330, 271.52 def. Courtney Force, Camaro, foul; Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.157, 287.17 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.205, 299.93; QUARTERFINALS — T. Pedregon, 4.216, 279.56 def. Johnson Jr., 4.694, 190.83; Beckman, 4.124, 302.48 def. Hagan, 4.391, 228.11; J. Force, 4.224, 304.87 def. C. Pedregon, 4.272, 279.85; DeJoria, 4.248, 292.84 def. Wilkerson, 4.427, 254.23; SEMIFINALS — J. Force, 4.107, 310.70 def. T. Pedregon, 4.281, 267.00; Beckman, 4.184, 295.40 def. DeJoria, foul; FINAL — Beckman, 4.190, 293.92 def. J. Force, 4.291, 258.96.
PRO STOCK: ROUND ONE — Drew Skillman, Chevy Camaro, 6.944, 199.08 def. Bo Butner, Camaro, foul; Jason Line, Camaro, 6.915, 199.97 def. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.940, 198.50; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.925, 198.96 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.924, 199.91; Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.955, 199.55 def. V. Gaines, Dodge Dart, 6.952, 199.32; Jonathan Gray, Camaro, 6.968, 198.50 def. Deric Kramer, Dodge Avenger, 6.972, 198.76; Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.907, 199.49 was unopposed; Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.925, 199.43 def. Joey Grose, Camaro, foul; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.895, 199.97 def. Matt Hartford, Pontiac GXP, 6.996, 197.22; QUARTERFINALS — S. Gray, 6.915, 200.14 def. J. Gray, broke; Morgan, 6.918, 199.37 def. Line, 6.910, 200.00; Johnson, 6.905, 200.05 def. Skillman, 6.950, 198.23; Enders, 6.900, 199.91 def. Anderson, 6.904, 199.73; SEMIFINALS — Johnson, 6.930, 199.14 def. S. Gray, 6.948, 199.20; Morgan, 6.914, 199.32 def. Enders, 6.920, 199.26; FINAL — Morgan, 6.944, 199.02 def. Johnson, 6.930, 199.23.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: ROUND ONE — Matt Smith, 7.254, 183.69 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 7.268, 185.31; Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.266, 184.40 def. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, foul; Hector Arana, Buell, 7.417, 171.49 def. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.371, 183.02; Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 7.287, 183.82 def. Angie Smith, 7.555, 177.49; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.258, 184.57 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.321, 183.00; Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 7.208, 187.76 def. Freddie Camarena, Suzuki, 7.355, 183.59; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.208, 186.85 def. Chaz Kennedy, Buell, 7.339, 180.16; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.273, 180.84 def. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.277, 184.52; QUARTERFINALS — Underdahl, 7.240, 185.05 def. Arana, 7.262, 185.28; Hines, 7.256, 183.87 def. Pollacheck, 7.298, 183.92; Krawiec, 7.229, 184.72 def. M. Smith, 7.278, 183.87; Arana Jr, 7.212, 187.29 def. Johnson, broke; SEMIFINALS — Krawiec, 7.254, 184.35 def. Underdahl, 7.453, 160.81; Arana Jr, 7.245, 185.08 def. Hines, 7.277, 182.13; FINAL — Krawiec, 7.239, 185.51 def. Arana Jr, 7.230, 186.43.
UPDATED DRIVER STANDINGS:
Top Fuel: 1. Tony Schumacher, 1,126; 2. Antron Brown, 1,041; 3. Larry Dixon, 920; 4. Doug Kalitta, 880; 5. Richie Crampton, 848; 6. Spencer Massey, 788; 7. Brittany Force, 762; 8. Shawn Langdon, 748; 9. Steve Torrence, 728; 10. J.R. Todd, 703.
Funny Car: 1. Matt Hagan, 1,083; 2. Jack Beckman, 938; 3. John Force, 891; 4. Ron Capps, 879; 5. Del Worsham, 868; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 855; 7. (tie) Cruz Pedregon, 782; Tim Wilkerson, 782; 9. Alexis DeJoria, 731; 10. Robert Hight, 703.
Pro Stock: 1. Greg Anderson, 1,201; 2. Erica Enders, 1,164; 3. Jason Line, 988; 4. Chris McGaha, 925; 5. Allen Johnson, 845; 6. Larry Morgan, 842; 7. Drew Skillman, 779; 8. Shane Gray, 723; 9. Vincent Nobile, 681; 10. Jonathan Gray, 667.
Pro Stock Motorcycle: 1. Eddie Krawiec, 575; 2. Hector Arana Jr, 539; 3. Andrew Hines, 484; 4. Karen Stoffer, 413; 5. Jim Underdahl, 387; 6. Hector Arana, 383; 7. Matt Smith, 357; 8. Angelle Sampey, 336; 9. LE Tonglet, 334; 10. Jerry Savoie, 328.
Follow @JerryBonkowski
