MOHNTON, Pa. (AP) Tommy Johnson Jr. won the Funny Car division Sunday in the Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
Johnson powered his Dodge Charger R/T to a 3.895-second pass at 330.63 mph to beat teammate and points leader Ron Capps.
Johnson has raced to the final rounds in all three NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship events so far to move into second place in the standings, 25 points behind Capps with three races left. Johnson has two victories this season and 14th overall.
“You want to have a strong start in the Countdown. We knew that going into it,” Johnson said. “We went from seventh to fourth in Charlotte - a runner-up is good - then we went to St. Louis and got a another runner-up and went to second, and I said I’d be happy with four more runner-ups, but when you look in the other lane and it’s Capps, who’s leading the points, it’s a must-win. You’ve got to gain some ground.”
Antron Brown won in Top Fuel, Vincent Nobile in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Brown raced to a 3.721 at 317.34 to beat Brittany Force’s 3.721 at 324.67. Brown had a better reaction time and won on a holeshot. The defending season champion has six victories this year and 60 overall.
Nobile won for the first time this season, beating Greg Anderson with a 6.575 at 209.85 in a Chevrolet Camaro.
Krawiec had 6.818 at 193.88 on a Harley-Davidson to outlast Cory Reed. Krawiec has four victories this season and 35 overall. He’s second in the standings behind teammate Andrew Hines.