NHRA NEWS: FUNNY CAR DRIVER C. FORCE VICTORIOUS AT O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NHRA WINTERNATIONALS; LANGDON, NOBILE ALSO WINNERS AT MELLO YELLO SEASON-OPENER

Photo credit Ron Lewis Photography

Courtney Force raced to victory in Funny Car Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) also were winners at the first of 24 events in the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Force powered her Traxxas Ford Mustang past NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger driver Ron Capps with a pass of 4.025 seconds at 317.12 mph to earn her second career victory.

“It was definitely unbelievable,” Force said. “My team, (crew chiefs) Ron Douglas and Dan Hood, thanks to them, they had given me great race car all weekend long. I just try to keep it straight down the center and they really made my job easy. I really owe it to those guys. It was kind of bittersweet finishing here (at the NHRA Finals in November) and not getting that win, then coming back and picking up where we left off and finishing our job. We got the win and I’m just proud of my team.”

In Top Fuel, Langdon drove his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to the win with his pass of 3.721 at 322.27, defeating seven-time champion Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army team. In front of a hometown crowd, Langdon said the second victory is so much sweeter than the first.

Photo credit Will Lester/Staff Photographer

 “Couldn’t have scripted it any better really,” Langdon said. “We struggled a little in qualifying. We didn’t really have the car that we thought we should have had, but we qualified seventh. We knew the things we learned in testing that we had a car capable of winning. It showed today.”

Photo credit Will Lester/Staff Photographer

“I am feeling good,” Brown said. “I’ve got some scrapes on my legs and my back is a little sore, but overall I feel good. The best feeling was seeing how quickly the NHRA Safety Safari got to my car after it stopped. The car did its job and we’ll be ready for Phoenix.”In the second round of eliminations, 2012 world champion Antron Brown’s Matco Tools dragster went out of control and crashed near the finish line. Brown emerged from the crashed car under his own power and was checked and released by NHRA emergency services officials. He received only very minor injuries in the incident.

Nobile claimed his sixth Pro Stock victory with a performance of 6.571 at 211.03 in his Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger, taking the automatic victory over Jeg Coughlin, who turned on the red light at the starting line and fouled out in his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger.

“It’s pretty awesome leaving here with the points lead,” said Nobile. “That’s every team’s goal. Now we just want to stay there, stay consistent and keep the wins coming.”

The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series rolls in to Phoenix Feb. 22-24 for the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway which will be aired on ESPN2HD. 

* * *

POMONA, Calif. -- Final finish order (1-16) at the 53rd annual O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.  The race is the first of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1.  Shawn Langdon; 2.  Tony Schumacher; 3.  Khalid alBalooshi; 4.  Antron Brown; 5.  Brandon Bernstein; 6.  Steve Torrence; 7.  Doug Kalitta; 8.  David Grubnic; 9.  Spencer Massey; 10.  Morgan Lucas; 11.  Bob Vandergriff; 12.  Clay Millican; 13.  Brittany Force; 14.  Sidnei Frigo; 15.  Leah Pruett; 16.  Larry Dixon.

FUNNY CAR:

1.  Courtney Force; 2.  Ron Capps; 3.  Johnny Gray; 4.  Bob Tasca III; 5.  Todd Lesenko; 6.  Cruz Pedregon; 7.  Matt Hagan; 8.  Gary Densham; 9.  John Force; 10.  Del Worsham; 11.  Tony Pedregon; 12.  Robert Hight; 13.  Jack Beckman; 14.  Alexis DeJoria; 15.  Phil Burkart; 16.  Tim Wilkerson.

PRO STOCK:

1.  Vincent Nobile; 2.  Jeg Coughlin; 3.  V. Gaines; 4.  Greg Stanfield; 5.  Allen Johnson; 6. Shane Gray; 7.  Kurt Johnson; 8.  Chris McGaha; 9.  Jason Line; 10.  Steve Kent; 11.  Deric Kramer; 12.  Greg Anderson; 13.  Erica Enders-Stevens; 14.  Matt Hartford; 15.  Mike Edwards; 16.  Rodger Brogdon.

* * *

POMONA, Calif. -- Sunday's final results from the 53rd annual O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The race is the first of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Shawn Langdon, 3.721 seconds, 322.27 mph  def. Tony Schumacher, 3.747 seconds, 324.12 mph.

Funny Car -- Courtney Force, Ford Mustang, 4.025, 317.12  def. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 6.090, 116.32.

Pro Stock -- Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.584, 210.05  def. Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, foul.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Jim Whiteley, 5.245, 273.39  def. Chris Demke, 5.271, 270.86.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- John Lombardo Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.555, 261.17  def. Jason Rupert, Monte Carlo, 5.653, 255.63.

Competition Eliminator -- Ross Wilson, Sunfire, 8.167, 165.50  def. Alan Ellis, '23-T Ford, 6.604, 204.54.

Super Stock -- Jimmy DeFrank, Cobalt, 9.316, 113.03  def. Mike Cotten, Barracuda, foul.

Stock Eliminator -- Jimmy DeFrank, Camaro, 10.372, 126.42  def. Michael Iacono, Camaro, 11.069, 115.53.

Super Comp -- Phil Dion, Dragster, 8.934, 168.14  def. Scott Taylor, Dragster, 9.123, 165.33.

Super Gas -- Rick Beckstrom, Grand Am, 9.904, 160.71  def. Peter Bothe, Porsche, 9.927, 148.09.

* * *

POMONA, Calif. -- Final round-by-round results from the 53rd annual O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the first of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Shawn Langdon, 3.803, 294.37 def. Clay Millican, 3.811, 321.42; Antron Brown, 3.855, 293.60 def. Larry Dixon, 3.881, 310.34; Brandon Bernstein, 3.785, 324.44 def. Brittany Force, 3.822, 323.43; Tony Schumacher, 3.756, 326.40 def. Sidnei Frigo, 3.849, 317.57; Doug Kalitta, 3.799, 326.71 def. Leah Pruett, 3.850, 309.56; David Grubnic, 3.741, 325.69 def. Morgan Lucas, 3.764, 328.14; Khalid alBalooshi, 3.769, 326.40 def. Bob Vandergriff, 3.810, 324.36; Steve Torrence, 3.787, 322.81 def. Spencer Massey, 3.763, 326.63;

QUARTERFINALS -- Langdon, 3.738, 327.43 def. Bernstein, 3.775, 323.89; alBalooshi, 3.782, 320.66 def. Kalitta, 3.800, 325.22; Brown, 3.848, 308.64 def. Grubnic, 4.976, 139.07; Schumacher, 3.756, 322.19 def. Torrence, 3.782, 324.28;

SEMIFINALS -- Schumacher, 6.465, 96.17 def. Brown, broke; Langdon, 3.749, 324.67 def. alBalooshi, 4.326, 195.25;

FINAL -- Langdon, 3.721, 322.27 def. Schumacher, 3.747, 324.12.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 5.165, 247.75 def. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 5.416, 201.04; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.137, 311.56 def. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.615, 234.21; Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.066, 316.97 def. Phil Burkart, Chevy Monte Carlo, 7.183, 88.37; Todd Lesenko, Dodge Charger, 5.013, 176.33 def. Jack Beckman, Charger, 5.457, 149.45; Gary Densham, Charger, 5.023, 173.21 def. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 5.071, 151.58; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.108, 313.58 def. John Force, Mustang, 4.119, 313.07; Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.056, 314.31 def. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 6.255, 107.43; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.346, 227.84 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, foul;

QUARTERFINALS -- Capps, 4.251, 241.84 def. Densham, 5.808, 105.41; Gray, 4.038, 307.72 def. Lesenko, 4.202, 307.30; C. Force, 4.070, 312.64 def. Hagan, 5.668, 140.31; Tasca III, 4.154, 311.20 def. C. Pedregon, 4.523, 189.15;

SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 4.036, 316.23 def. Gray, 4.056, 301.07; C. Force, 10.422, 49.91 def. Tasca III, foul;

FINAL -- C. Force, 4.025, 317.12 def. Capps, 6.090, 116.32.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Greg Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.599, 209.56 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.686, 208.88; Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.602, 211.10 def. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 13.918, 62.30; Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.572, 211.10 def. Steve Kent, Pontiac GXP, 6.600, 209.33; Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.596, 210.14 def. Erica Enders-Stevens, Chevy Cobalt, 8.682, 92.42; Chris McGaha, Avenger, 6.599, 210.31 def. Mike Edwards, Camaro, 12.362, 61.44; V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.557, 211.93 def. Deric Kramer, Avenger, 6.614, 209.04; Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.604, 209.88 def. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.570, 212.19; Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.580, 210.60 def. Matt Hartford, Avenger, 10.367, 88.35;

QUARTERFINALS -- Stanfield, 6.616, 208.68 def. McGaha, DQ; Nobile, 6.592, 210.01 def. Gray, 6.644, 209.33; Gaines, 6.566, 211.06 def. A. Johnson, 6.575, 210.77; Coughlin, 6.569, 210.47 def. K.

Johnson, 6.672, 207.75;

SEMIFINALS -- Nobile, 6.575, 210.34 def. Stanfield, 6.588, 209.75; Coughlin, 6.574, 208.42 def. Gaines, 6.538, 212.23;

FINAL -- Nobile, 6.584, 210.05 def. Coughlin, foul.

* * *

POMONA, Calif. -- Point standings (top 10) following the 53rd annual O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals presented by Super Start Batteries at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the first of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Shawn Langdon, 116; 2.  Tony Schumacher, 106; 3.  Khalid alBalooshi, 74; 4.  Antron Brown, 67; 5.  Brandon Bernstein, 60; 6.  Doug Kalitta, 59; 7.  David Grubnic, 55; 8.  Steve Torrence, 53; 9. Spencer Massey, 34; 10.  Clay Millican, 33.

Funny Car

1.  Courtney Force, 124; 2.  Ron Capps, 94; 3.  Johnny Gray, 76; 4.  Bob Tasca III, 71; 5.  Gary Densham, 60; 6.  Cruz Pedregon, 56; 7.  Matt Hagan, 52; 8.  Todd Lesenko, 51; 9.  Jack Beckman, 43; 10.  Del Worsham, 38.

Pro Stock

1.  Vincent Nobile, 118; 2.  Jeg Coughlin, 95; 3.  V. Gaines, 81; 4.  Greg Stanfield, 72; 5.  Allen Johnson, 52; 6.  (tie) Shane Gray, 51; Kurt Johnson, 51; Chris McGaha, 51; 9.  Mike Edwards, 45; 10.  Erica Enders-Stevens, 42.

BROWN, BECKMAN, ENDERS AND KRAWIEC WIN AAA INSURANCE NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS AT GATEWAY MOTORSPORTS PARK

Antron Brown raced to his sixth Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park and in the process increased his championship points lead.

Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners of the event, the first race for NHRA in the St. Louis area in more than two years.

Brown defeated championship rival Spencer Massey in the final round and moved 21 points ahead of the Texas driver as only three races remain in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Brown, who battled side-by-side with Massey all weekend, took the victory with a final round performance of 3.766 seconds at 325.22 mph in his Matco Tools/Aaron’s dragster, while Massey trailed with a 3.812 at 324.05 in his FRAM/Prestone dragster.

“Our team hit a grand slam here this weekend,” Brown said. “We qualified No. 1 and took it one round at a time. It was a great weekend, but it’s always a struggle. This class is very competitive, and these guys aren’t playing anymore. You have your struggles here and there, and you have to keep on overcoming them. I’m just so happy for our Aaron’s/Matco guys.”

Brown beat Bruce Litton, Steve Torrence and Brandon Bernstein in early rounds before unleashing his quickest run of the day in the final against Massey. 

“It was a stressful day where we matched up against some great competition,” Brown said. “Matching up against my teammate [Massey] in the final was big – we’ve been back and forth in the points.  It’s great to have six wins, but right now they’re all in the past.  We need to go back to the shop and get focused on these last three races. It’s just so competitive out here and this points race is going to go down to the last race.”

Beckman moved to within 30 points of Funny Car points leader Ron Capps by racing to his third victory of the season. He took the final round win in his Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger over Matt Hagan, who fouled at the start in his DieHard Dodge Charger.

“It’s nice to know that we have a car that can challenge for the championship,” said Beckman, who beat Alexis DeJoria, Jeff Arend and Tony Pedregon to advance to the final round. “This wasn’t do-or-die, but it’s getting pretty close. I’m not saying we counted points, but we had a tablet going with a lot of cross marks and updated math. Losing to Capps by four-thousandths in Dallas hurt a lot, but today went a long way towards healing that. It’s awesome to know that we have three races to go and are only 30 points back. All we want is a fighting chance going into Pomona."

Points leader Capps lost in the second round to Hagan, a non-Countdown performer and the defending world champ who has now advanced to back-to-back final rounds in the playoffs. Beckman was surprised when he saw Hagan blast away from the line so early in the final.

“From my perspective, you’re ready to go up there and squeeze the trigger if anything happens,” Beckman said. “I heard noise, saw the red light come on, and saw the big DieHard logo from Matt’s car. We have a big respect for that car. Over the last four races, it might be the best-running car on average.”

In Pro Stock, Enders earned her fourth victory of the season and first ever in the playoffs by using a reaction time advantage to defeat series points leader Allen Johnson in the final round. She powered her GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt to a 6.540 at 211.79 to finish just inches in front of Johnson’s Team Mopar Dodge Avenger, who posted a quicker, but losing run of 6.538 at 212.13.

“This is the win I wanted to get in Texas last week, but I’ll take it,” Enders said. “We were definitely consistent this weekend and that’s why we got to the final so I could race my bud [Allen Johnson] and get to the winner’s circle.”

Enders outran Shane Gray, teammate Dave Connolly and event top qualifier Jason Line to advance to her second straight Countdown final round appearance.

“It is a total team effort every week,” she said. “My team is the reason why I get to do this. They’re great. They helped me get down a tricky track when other guys were getting in pedal-fests. We were a little behind performance-wise in the final, but we made a good run and I did my job.”

With the runner-up finish and third straight final round appearance in the Countdown playoffs, Johnson increased his series lead to 109 over Line, while Enders moved to third in the standings, 126 back of Johnson.

Krawiec claimed his seventh Pro Stock Motorcycle victory of the season and increased his points lead to 33 over his final round opponent and teammate, Andrew Hines. Krawiec took his 18th career victory when Hines fouled on his identically-prepared Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

Krawiec took three of his round wins via red-light starts by his opponents, including his first round win over Steve Johnson and second round win over Chip Ellis. Krawiec used a strong performance on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson to outrun Hector Arana Sr.’s Lucas Oil Buell in the semifinals.

“Andrew and I were lucky to take out the Hectors in the semis and that really helped us in the points,” Krawiec said. “I lost in Dallas due to rider error. I had a .066 light which is unacceptable. This week I was good on the tree and had a good bike which is what it takes to win some rounds. Yes, I had three red-lights against me here but I did well and all my runs were good. I pushed it a little in the final but I know the potential of what he [Andrew] has. He crushed me in Charlotte.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs continues with round four of six, Oct. 4-7 with the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, Reading, Pa.

* * *

MADISON, Ill. -- Final finish order (1-16) at the Inaugural AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.  The race is the 20th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1.  Antron Brown; 2.  Spencer Massey; 3.  Brandon Bernstein; 4.  David Grubnic; 5.  Tony Schumacher; 6.  Khalid alBalooshi; 7.  Steve Torrence; 8.  Shawn Langdon; 9.  Doug Kalitta; 10. Bob Vandergriff; 11.  Larry Dixon; 12.  Clay Millican; 13.  Morgan Lucas; 14.  T.J. Zizzo; 15. Terry McMillen; 16.  Bruce Litton.

FUNNY CAR:

1.  Jack Beckman; 2.  Matt Hagan; 3.  Tim Wilkerson; 4.  Tony Pedregon; 5.  Ron Capps; 6.  Dale Creasy Jr.; 7.  Mike Neff; 8.  Jeff Arend; 9.  Johnny Gray; 10.  Jim Head; 11.  Alexis DeJoria; 12. Robert Hight; 13.  Cruz Pedregon; 14.  John Force; 15.  Bob Tasca III; 16.  Courtney Force.

PRO STOCK:

1.  Erica Enders; 2.  Allen Johnson; 3.  Vincent Nobile; 4.  Jason Line; 5.  Greg Anderson; 6. Buddy Perkinson; 7.  Dave Connolly; 8.  Mike Edwards; 9.  V. Gaines; 10.  Larry Morgan; 11.  Chris McGaha; 12.  Jeg Coughlin; 13.  Shane Gray; 14.  Greg Stanfield; 15.  Ron Krisher; 16.  Warren Johnson.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1.  Eddie Krawiec; 2.  Andrew Hines; 3.  Hector Arana; 4.  Hector Arana Jr; 5.  Karen Stoffer; 6. Chip Ellis; 7.  Scotty Pollacheck; 8.  Shawn Gann; 9.  Matt Smith; 10.  Michael Ray; 11.  John Hall; 12.  Jim Underdahl; 13.  Jerry Savoie; 14.  Mike Berry; 15.  LE Tonglet; 16.  Steve Johnson.

BROWN, TASCA, A. JOHNSON AND RAY EARN AAA TEXAS NHRA FALL NATIONALS VICTORIES AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX

Antron Brown raced to the Top Fuel victory Sunday at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the famed all-concrete Texas Motorplex near Dallas.

Bob Tasca (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Michael Ray (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the second of six playoff events in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship.

Brown claimed his fifth victory of the season and moved into a tie for the points lead with the driver he beat in the final round, teammate Spencer Massey. Brown powered his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.898 second run at 311.49 mph to hold off Massey’s FRAM dragster, which finished with a 3.945 at 300.60.

“This is definitely the way to rebound,” said Brown, the playoff top seed who dropped to fourth in the standings after a first round loss at the playoff-opener last weekend in Charlotte, N.C. “I have to give credit to my team for sticking together. We were winning in the first round in Charlotte when we broke an input shaft. It’s so easy to get down after something like that. We came here, and the car was throwing us fits by being overaggressive. Brian [Corradi] and Mark [Oswald, co-crew chiefs] kept backing it off until they got a good handle on it in the semis.”

Brown and Massey lead seven-time world champ Tony Schumacher by 24 points and the suddenly surging Shawn Langdon is 41 back as the playoff race in the 8,000-horsepower category gets intense.

“In that final, we had to give it everything we had against the FRAM car,” said Brown, who beat three Countdown contenders -- David Grubnic, Langdon and Morgan Lucas – in the first three rounds. “We edged them, and it felt really good to win and to tie them in the points lead. We have four races left, and it’s going to be a slugfest to the end. Everybody’s throwing haymakers. It’s an all-out battle royal right now.”

Funny Car featured a final round battle between two drivers who aren’t in the Countdown playoffs, as Tasca prevailed in a tire-smoking final round duel with defending world champ Matt Hagan. Both cars lost traction near mid-track, but Tasca was able to guide his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Ford Mustang to the finish line in front of Hagan’s Aaron’s/Mopar Dodge Charger.

“This weekend just kind of epitomized our whole season, just keep fighting,” Tasca said. “We went through three motors. The guys haven’t worked this hard all year, but to put Motorcraft and Ford in the winner’s circle where they belong, I tell you, is long overdue for our team. We just kept fighting. Marc [Denner] and Chris [Cunningham, crew chiefs] just pulled together and got this car back on track. It wasn’t pretty. Trust me, there was some driving that had to be done out there, but we got it done. We got a win, and hopefully this is the momentum we need to finish the year strong.”

Tasca outran Alexis DeJoria, top qualifier Courtney Force and defending event winner Cruz Pedregon to advance to the final round. Tasca was very proud of his team’s effort in taking out two top Countdown contenders and claiming the team’s first victory of the season and fourth of his career.

“We have as much fight now, and I think we’re more determined now than ever before,” Tasca said. “Not making the top 10 was a lot of heartache for the guys on this team. I said to my team, ‘This will be a defining six races because I want to see what we’re all made of, me included. Are we going to roll over and play dead these next six races, or are we going to come out with some fire in us and take this thing to Pomona and let everyone know that we may not be in this year but watch out next year.’ I think this weekend was a defining weekend for our team because we fought through some tough rounds, three motor changes in four rounds in this heat, and we put ourselves in a position to win. I did my job, and we’re leaving with the trophy.”

Series leader Ron Capps, who lost to Hagan in the semifinals, increased his Countdown playoff lead to 96 over second place Mike Neff, who lost in the second round to Pedregon. Saturday’s Traxxas Nitro Shootout winner, John Force, lost in the first round to Hagan.

Johnson earned his fifth Pro Stock victory of the season and first in the Countdown playoffs by outrunning local favorite Erica Enders in the final round. Johnson’s Team Mopar Dodge Avenger pulled away at the start and finished with a 6.598 at 210.93, while Enders’ GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt slowed to a 6.835 at 209.39.

“The Mopar Dodge Avenger was consistent,” Johnson said. “It was low in all four qualifying rounds, low in two of four rounds today, and got the job done. We’ve got a great crew that makes great decisions. We’ve got great power from Dad [Roy Johnson] and the guys at the engine shop. The driver, fortunately, did his job.”

Johnson outran the ‘Professor of Pro Stock’ Warren Johnson, Charlotte winner Dave Connolly and the ultra-quick Vincent Nobile in the first three rounds.  With the win, Johnson increased his points lead to 93 over defending world champ Jason Line.

“I looked at the elimination ladder last night and thought, ‘Oh, my, I’m going to have to work for this one,’” Johnson said. “We just took it one round at a time without getting ahead of ourselves. Somebody who’s won several championships called me before this thing ever started and told me, ‘Just enjoy it, and have fun.’ That advice was very important. I'm up for this challenge, and I'm enjoying it.”

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Texas native Ray claimed his first career victory, powering his Viper Motorcycle Company/GottSpeed Racing Buell to a performance of 6.920 at 192.77 to hold off Karen Stoffer’s GEICO Suzuki, which trailed with a 7.028 at 190.48.

“It’s really surreal, and I don’t think it’s really sank in yet that I’m getting to go home with the biggest thing that I’ve worked my whole life for,” Ray said.  “When we got here this weekend, we knew we had a great bike that could go out there and be competitive, coming off our performance in Charlotte. I just knew that as long as I just kept my cool and rode the bike consistently there’s not a better tuner out here when it’s hot than Matt Smith, and I think we showcased that today.”

Ray, who beat Scotty Pollacheck, Hector Arana Jr., and Andrew Hines to advance to his second career final round, moved from seventh to fourth in the standings with the victory. Points leader Eddie Krawiec increased his championship lead to 11 over second place Hines.

“I think there’s no better time than now to start a run at [the championship],” Ray said. “I don’t think there’s any better team on Sunday to be consistent than our bike. I think if I’m sitting here answering questions in Reading my response might be a little bit different, but right now I just want to go out and be consistent and then let the points shake out where they’re supposed to.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoffs continues with the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals, Sept. 28-30 at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

* * *

ENNIS, Texas -- Final finish order (1-16) at the 27th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex.  The race is the 19th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1.  Antron Brown; 2.  Spencer Massey; 3.  Morgan Lucas; 4.  Brandon Bernstein; 5.  J.R. Todd; 6. Khalid alBalooshi; 7.  Tony Schumacher; 8.  Shawn Langdon; 9.  Steve Torrence; 10.  Doug Kalitta; 11.  Bob Vandergriff; 12.  Scott Palmer; 13.  Bruce Litton; 14.  David Grubnic; 15.  Chris Karamesines; 16.  Terry McMillen.

FUNNY CAR:

1.  Bob Tasca III; 2.  Matt Hagan; 3.  Ron Capps; 4.  Cruz Pedregon; 5.  Mike Neff; 6.  Jack Beckman; 7.  Tim Wilkerson; 8.  Courtney Force; 9.  Blake Alexander; 10.  John Force; 11.  Tony Pedregon; 12.  Jeff Arend; 13.  Johnny Gray; 14.  Alexis DeJoria; 15.  Todd Lesenko; 16.  Robert Hight.

PRO STOCK:

1.  Allen Johnson; 2.  Erica Enders; 3.  Vincent Nobile; 4.  Richard Freeman; 5.  Greg Anderson; 6. Dave Connolly; 7.  Jeg Coughlin; 8.  Rodger Brogdon; 9.  Jason Line; 10.  V. Gaines; 11.  Warren Johnson; 12.  Ron Krisher; 13.  Larry Morgan; 14.  Chris McGaha; 15.  Greg Stanfield; 16.  Mike Edwards.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1.  Michael Ray; 2.  Karen Stoffer; 3.  Andrew Hines; 4.  Eddie Krawiec; 5.  LE Tonglet; 6.  Mike Berry; 7.  Redell Harris; 8.  Hector Arana Jr; 9.  Scotty Pollacheck; 10.  Matt Smith; 11.  Chip Ellis; 12.  Jerry Savoie; 13.  Steve Johnson; 14.  Matt Guidera; 15.  Shawn Gann; 16.  Hector Arana.

*  * *

ENNIS, Texas -- Sunday's final results from the 27th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex. The race is the 19th of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Antron Brown, 3.898 seconds, 311.49 mph  def. Spencer Massey, 3.945 seconds, 300.60 mph.

Funny Car -- Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.826, 197.59  def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 5.025, 188.15.

Pro Stock -- Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.598, 210.93  def. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.835, 209.39.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Michael Ray, Buell, 6.920, 192.77  def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.028, 190.48.

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Jim Whiteley, 5.275, 271.68  def. Chris Demke, 5.739, 263.77.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Clint Thompson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.591, 259.46  def. Tony Bartone, Ford Mustang, 5.685, 260.36.

Competition Eliminator -- David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 7.230, 182.75  def. Joey Tanksley, Dragster, 6.764, 197.36.

Super Stock -- Eric Pearson, AMX, 10.789, 108.58  def. David Latino, Chevy Cobalt, foul.

Stock Eliminator -- Terry Emmons, Camaro, 10.537, 117.36  def. Jacob Pitt, Plymouth Duster, 11.426, 112.00.

Super Comp -- Tommy Phillips, Dragster, 8.907, 160.46  def. Austin Williams, Dragster, 8.868, 157.19.

Super Gas -- Tommy Phillips, Chevy Corvette, 9.911, 149.08  def. Jimmy Lewis, Corvette, 9.921, 156.55.

Super Street -- Steven Wilson, Chevy II, 10.873, 131.22  def. Jeff Hefler, Chevy Vega, 10.864, 118.98.

Top Sportsman -- Jimmy Lewis, Pontiac GXP, 6.960, 201.61  def. Joe Pigford, GXP, 7.129, 193.63.

CAPPS DEFEATS J. FORCE, TAKES OVER POINTS LEAD; LUCAS, ENDERS AND KRAWIEC ALSO VICTORIOUS AT BRAINERD

Ron Capps raced to the Funny Car victory Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals and moved into the Full Throttle Series points lead for the first time this season with one race remaining before the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the penultimate regular season event in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Capps powered away from 15-time world champ John Force in the Funny Car final round to take his third win of the season, third at Brainerd International Raceway and 36th of his career. Capps cruised to a final round performance of 4.134 seconds at 304.05 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger, while Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang lost traction and finished in 6.633 at 116.35.

"I’m pretty excited to go to Indy with the points lead," said Capps, who now leads Robert Hight by 53 points. "Force is cagey. He’s good here. He could be having the worst year ever and still come here and win. I was doubtful that we were going to get a win. He’s been eking it out all day and getting on a roll. He knows how to take it to the next level. I looked over at about 800 feet and didn’t see him ahead of me, and we got the win light."

In Top Fuel, Lucas edged Antron Brown at the finish line for his third victory of the season and his third win at this event, sponsored by his family’s oil company. Lucas posted a 3.818 at 316.90 in his GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster to hold off Brown’s charging Matco Tools dragster, which trailed with a 3.831 at 313.80.

“Anytime you can win here for our family, especially for my dad who is so involved in this race, is a dream come true," Lucas said. "Hopefully, it’s a sign of good things to come for us. You can’t help but get a lot of confidence out of an outing like this. You never know with these cars. There is a lot of hard work put in that is starting to show on the track.”

With the runner-up finish, Brown moved into the series points lead, 58 ahead of Spencer Massey.

Enders continues to make Pro Stock history as she raced to her third victory of the season and second in a row.  She outran series points leader Allen Johnson in the final round with a performance of 6.649 at 208.26 in her GK Motorsports Chevy Cobalt. Johnson’s Team Mopar Dodge Avenger experienced tire shake at the start and slowed near mid-track. Enders is the first female to win at BIR since Shirley Muldowney won a Top Fuel title here in 1982.

“Beating AJ [Allen Johnson isn’t easy,” Enders said. “There are a lot of tough guys out there. To be able to run against the best out here shows that our hard work is finally paying off. We’ve been chasing them for a number of years.”

Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson rider Krawiec remained undefeated in Pro Stock Motorcycle, claiming his sixth victory of the season in as many finals and increasing his series points lead by defeating final round opponent Hector Arana Jr., who fouled at the start on his Lucas Oil Buell.

“He jumped out in front of me and at first I thought I was late but about 300 feet out, I looked up and saw that my win light was on,” Krawiec said. “I realized that he red-lighted.”

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues Aug. 29-Sept. 3 with the 58th Annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus in Indianapolis, the world’s most prestigious drag race.

BRAINERD, Minn. -- Final finish order (1-16) at the 31st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.  The race is the 16th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series: 

TOP FUEL:

1.  Morgan Lucas; 2.  Antron Brown; 3.  Tony Schumacher; 4.  Doug Kalitta; 5.  Khalid alBalooshi; 6.  David Grubnic; 7.  Bruce Litton; 8.  Cory McClenathan; 9.  Brandon Bernstein; 10.  Bob Vandergriff; 11.  Steve Torrence; 12.  Keith Murt; 13.  Shawn Langdon; 14.  Clay Millican; 15.Spencer Massey; 16.  Terry McMillen.

FUNNY CAR:

1.  Ron Capps; 2.  John Force; 3.  Matt Hagan; 4.  Tim Wilkerson; 5.  Johnny Gray; 6.  Cruz Pedregon; 7.  Jack Beckman; 8.  Mike Neff; 9.  Jeff Arend; 10.  Courtney Force; 11.  Robert Hight; 12.  Jim Head; 13.  Bob Tasca III; 14.  Dale Creasy Jr.; 15.  Tony Pedregon; 16.  Alexis DeJoria.

PRO STOCK: 

1.  Erica Enders; 2.  Allen Johnson; 3.  Ron Krisher; 4.  Larry Morgan; 5.  Jason Line; 6.  Mike Edwards; 7.  Jeg Coughlin; 8.  Mark Martino; 9.  V. Gaines; 10.  Vincent Nobile; 11.  Warren Johnson; 12.  Rodger Brogdon; 13.  Chris McGaha; 14.  Ronnie Humphrey; 15.  Shane Gray; 16.  Greg Anderson.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1.  Eddie Krawiec; 2.  Hector Arana Jr; 3.  Andrew Hines; 4.  John Hall; 5.  Karen Stoffer; 6.Scotty Pollacheck; 7.  Michael Phillips; 8.  LE Tonglet; 9.  Mike Berry; 10.  Matt Smith; 11. Michael Ray; 12.  Steve Johnson; 13.  Jim Underdahl; 14.  Chip Ellis; 15.  Shawn Gann; 16.  Hector Arana.