Ron Capps continued his quest toward his second consecutive NHRA Funny Car title, capturing his second straight win of 2017 in Sunday’s eliminations of the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
Other winners in the sixth of 24 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series national events this season were Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Chris McGaha (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
In Funny Car, Capps’ winning run (3.933 seconds at 322.65 mph) was the 52nd win of his NHRA career and his first in the 4-Wide Nationals.
“This is a fun race,” Capps said in a media release. “I’ve got a great racecar. To be in a car and to have it throw you back with that many g-force and realizing the temperature that track is and still feeling that six g’s and thinking ‘how on God’s earth are these two Goodyear’s (tires) sticking to that ground?’ It’s an amazing feeling.”
The win also moved Capps into the lead in the Funny Car standings, now holding a 43-point edge over second-ranked and teammate Matt Hagan.
In Top Fuel, Torrence earned his first win of the season and ninth of his career with a strong run of 3.783 seconds at 323.89 mph.
Ironically, one of the crewmen on Torrence’s team, Gary Pritchett, is married to Leah Pritchett, who maintains her lead in the Top Fuel point standings. Torrence defeated Pritchett in the first round of Sunday’s eliminations.
“This is the same as winning a race that you had to pedal it every round or you had to win it on holeshots,” Torrence said. “This is a driver’s race. We race 24 races a year and one of them we race four-wide. It’s completely different when you come in here; you’re mentally challenged.”
In Pro Stock, Chris McGaha earned his first win of the season and fifth of his career (6.591 seconds at 210.44 mph).
“Now it looks like we’ve got some momentum and it’s kind of hard to swallow,” McGaha said. “To me, I’ve always said you’ve got to have power to win in this game. You’ve got to have enough smoke to win. This one showed us we have a lot of power and that’s why we came here.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Tonglet also earned his first win of 2017 (and 10th of his career) with a winning ride was 6.864 seconds at 195.00 mph.
“It’s just unbelievable what we’ve come through this weekend alone,” Tonglet stated. “With the four-wides you just have to be prepared for anything. You just have to concentrate because if you lose your train of thought it’s going to be bad.”
The win is also Tonglet’s first since joining the White Alligator Racing headed by 2016 Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Jerry Savoie.
The NHRA now moves to Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Georgia, next weekend (May 5-7).
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FINAL FINISHING ORDER:
TOP FUEL: 1. Steve Torrence; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Leah Pritchett; 4. Terry McMillen; 5. Dom Lagana; 6. Doug Kalitta; 7. Clay Millican; 8. Antron Brown; 9. Scott Palmer; 10. Terry Haddock; 11. Ike Maier; 12. Shawn Langdon; 13. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 14. Pat Dakin; 15. Chris Karamesines.
FUNNY CAR: 1. Ron Capps; 2. Jack Beckman; 3. J.R. Todd; 4. Matt Hagan; 5. Robert Hight; 6. Jonnie Lindberg; 7. John Force; 8. Tim Wilkerson; 9. Tommy Johnson Jr.; 10. Chad Head; 11. Bob Bode; 12. Bob Tasca III; 13. Del Worsham; 14. Jim Campbell; 15. Cruz Pedregon; 16. Courtney Force.
PRO STOCK: 1. Chris McGaha; 2. Greg Anderson; 3. Shane Gray; 4. Drew Skillman; 5. Vincent Nobile; 6. Alex Laughlin; 7. Jason Line; 8. Tanner Gray; 9. Jeg Coughlin; 10. Allen Johnson; 11. Bo Butner; 12. Shane Tucker; 13. Deric Kramer; 14. Alan Prusiensky; 15. Erica Enders; 16. John Gaydosh Jr.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. LE Tonglet; 2. Eddie Krawiec; 3. Andrew Hines; 4. Scotty Pollacheck; 5. Joey Gladstone; 6. Angelle Sampey; 7. Matt Smith; 8. Karen Stoffer; 9. Jerry Savoie; 10. Angie Smith; 11. Shawn Gann; 12. Hector Arana; 13. Chip Ellis; 14. Steve Johnson; 15. Hector Arana Jr; 16. Cory Reed.
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FINAL RESULTS:
TOP FUEL: Steve Torrence, 3.783 seconds, 323.89 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.874 seconds, 309.13 mph and Leah Pritchett, 3.796 seconds, 318.84 mph and Terry McMillen, 4.650 seconds, 171.23 mph.
FUNNY CAR: Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.933, 322.65 def. Jack Beckman, Charger, 3.959, 320.05 and J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 4.103, 307.72 and Matt Hagan, Charger, 8.820, 93.67.
PRO STOCK: Chris McGaha, Chevy Camaro, 6.591, 210.44 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.614, 209.56 and Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.648, 209.33 and Drew Skillman, Camaro, foul.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.864, 195.00 def. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.821, 195.31 and Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.902, 194.16 and Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, broke.
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FINAL ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS:
TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE – Steve Torrence, 3.770, 326.56 and Dom Lagana, 3.859, 319.82 def. Scott Palmer, 3.873,323.35 and Troy Coughlin Jr., 10.347, 84.52; Leah Pritchett, 3.737, 316.23 and Clay Millican, 3.743, 320.97 def. Terry Haddock, 4.292, 218.51 and Shawn Langdon, 5.211, 145.67; Antron Brown, 3.763, 326.08 and Tony Schumacher, 4.374, 247.52 def. Ike Maier, 4.387, 185.82 and Pat Dakin, 11.899, 61.87; Doug Kalitta, 3.751, 324.44 and Terry McMillen, 4.346, 262.64 def. Brittany Force, 9.446, 80.41, Chris Karamesines, broke;
SEMIFINALS – Schumacher, 3.792, 327.74 and McMillen, 3.832, 316.52 def. Kalitta, 4.202, 230.37 and Brown, 6.933, 100.67; Pritchett, 3.756, 323.27 and Torrence, 3.774, 326.71 def. Lagana, 3.889,316.97 and Millican, 5.134, 145.30;
FINAL – Torrence, 3.783, 323.89 def. Schumacher, 3.874, 309.13, Pritchett, 3.796, 318.84 and McMillen, 4.650, 171.23.
FUNNY CAR: ROUND ONE – Jonnie Lindberg, Toyota Camry, 3.986, 322.65 and J.R. Todd, Camry, 7.767, 257.28 def. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 7.939, 118.58 and Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, DQ; Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.884, 327.66 and Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.025, 316.23 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.288, 314.31 and Jim Campbell, Charger, 6.712, 98.34; John Force, Camaro, 3.937, 309.20 and Ron Capps, Charger, 3.926, 322.65 def. Chad Head, Camry, 4.451, 280.54 and Del Worsham, Camry, 4.843, 189.90; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.930, 330.07 and Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.336, 267.59 def.Bob Bode, Charger, 4.530, 202.85 and Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 9.393, 87.27;
SEMIFINALS – Hagan, 3.983, 325.77 and Todd, 4.036, 281.54 def. Lindberg, 4.418, 267.69 and Wilkerson, 6.193, 108.07; Capps, 3.920, 323.43 and Beckman, 3.991, 316.38 def. Hight, 4.012, 318.39 and J. Force, 5.618, 128.54;
FINAL – Capps, 3.933, 322.65 def. Beckman, 3.959, 320.05, Todd, 4.103, 307.72 and Hagan, 8.820, 93.67.
PRO STOCK: ROUND ONE – Chris McGaha, Chevy Camaro, 6.601, 210.24 and Jason Line, Camaro, 6.594, 210.67 def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.612, 209.26 and Alan Prusiensky, Dart, 6.645, 209.39; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.598, 210.87 and Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.627, 209.23 def. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.617, 209.98 and Deric Kramer, Dart, 6.632, 209.33; Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.596, 210.28 and Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.650, 208.36 def. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.709, 204.98 and Erica Enders, Camaro, DQ; Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.612, 209.07 and Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.601, 210.77 def. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.568, 209.52 and John Gaydosh Jr, Chevrolet Camaro, broke;
SEMIFINALS – Anderson, 6.606, 210.60 and S. Gray, 6.618, 209.26 def. Laughlin, 6.631, 209.23 and T. Gray, 6.623, 209.65; McGaha, 6.586, 210.47 and Skillman, 6.612, 209.59 def. Nobile, 6.624,
209.39 and Line, 6.616, 209.49;
FINAL – McGaha, 6.591, 210.44 def. Anderson, 6.614, 209.56, S. Gray, 6.648, 209.33 and Skillman, foul.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: ROUND ONE – Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, 6.817, 195.99 and LE Tonglet, Suzuki GSXR, 6.829, 195.36 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki TL1000, 6.813, 195.62 and Steve Johnson, TL1000, 6.994, 190.89; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki TL1000R, 6.867, 193.85 and Joey Gladstone, GSXR, 6.888, 194.94 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.940, 194.55 and Chip Ellis, Buell XB9R, 6.888, 196.19; Andrew Hines, Harley V-Rod, 6.838,195.11 and Angelle Sampey, Victory, 6.959, 192.96 def. Hector Arana, XB9R, 7.271, 195.34 and Cory Reed, Victory, 10.037, 83.65; Eddie Krawiec, V-Rod, 6.792, 196.22 and Matt Smith, Victory Gunner, 6.924, 192.71 def. Shawn Gann, XB9R, 6.964, 192.14 and Hector Arana Jr, XB9R, 8.210, 113.57;
SEMIFINALS – Tonglet, 6.889, 192.74 and Pollacheck, 6.886, 192.96 def. Gladstone, 6.925, 193.63 and Stoffer, 6.914, 192.38; Hines, 6.868, 195.11 and Krawiec, 6.867, 195.28 def. Sampey, 6.944,193.46 and M. Smith, 6.892, 193.71;
FINAL – Tonglet, 6.864, 195.00 def. Krawiec, 6.821, 195.31, Hines, 6.902, 194.16 and Pollacheck, broke.
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UPDATED POINT STANDINGS:
TOP FUEL: 1. Leah Pritchett, 569; 2. Tony Schumacher, 535; 3. Antron Brown, 501; 4. Steve Torrence, 470; 5. Doug Kalitta, 417; 6. Clay Millican, 330; 7. Brittany Force, 316; 8. Terry McMillen, 267; 9. Troy Coughlin Jr., 264; 10. Scott Palmer, 212.
FUNNY CAR: 1. Ron Capps, 518; 2. Matt Hagan, 475; 3. John Force, 433; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., 390; 5. Jack Beckman, 375; 6. Robert Hight, 365; 7. Courtney Force, 343; 8. J.R. Todd, 295; 9. Jonnie Lindberg, 286; 10. Jim Campbell, 242.
PRO STOCK: 1. Greg Anderson, 554; 2. Bo Butner, 464; 3. Jason Line, 457; 4. Tanner Gray, 423; 5. Jeg Coughlin, 419; 6. Chris McGaha, 365; 7. Shane Gray, 350; 8. Drew Skillman, 300; 9. Erica Enders, 295; 10. Vincent Nobile, 288.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. Eddie Krawiec, 225; 2. Andrew Hines, 177; 3. LE Tonglet, 172; 4. Joey Gladstone, 135; 5. Scotty Pollacheck, 124; 6. Jerry Savoie, 108; 7. Steve Johnson, 105; 8. Matt Smith, 104; 9. Karen Stoffer, 83; 10. Angelle Sampey, 82.