NHRA announces Mellow Yellow as title sponsor in 2013

The NHRA has announced today that a six-year agreement for Mello Yello to replace Full Throttle as its title sponsor, starting in 2013. The deal through 2018 will extend Coca-Cola's title-sponsor partnership with the NHRA Drag Racing Series to 17 years. 

Let the "Cole Trickle" jokes start here...

SCHUMACHER ENDS WINLESS DROUGHT, CAPPS, EDWARDS ALSO CLAIM VICTORIES AT FORD NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS PRESENTED BY TRI-CITIES AREA FORD DEALERS AT BRISTOL DRAGWAY

Seven-time Top Fuel world champ Tony Schumacher ended a 32-race winless streak with his win at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers Sunday at Bristol Dragway.

His DSR teammate Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also claimed victories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Schumacher’s U.S. Army dragster ran like a bracket car all during Sunday’s eliminations, with his slowest pass coming in the final round against long-time on track rival, Doug Kalitta. Schumacher did his job on the starting line, as his reaction time was four-hundredths better than Kalitta’s, leading to Schumacher’s slower, but winning E.T., 3.819-second pass at 324.28 mph.

“That’s one of those finals that you dream about,” Schumacher said. “Nobody wants that single in the final, as much as I’ve been joking about it. You want to go out and run Doug, and you want to go out and run your team [car] and win on those very close ones. It makes the whole weekend worth it.”

Schumacher earned his first win in almost two seasons the hard way, taking out Dom Lagana in round one, DSR teammate Spencer Massey in round two and local-favorite Clay Millican in the semifinal round to earn his fifth final round appearance of the season. Schumacher’s win is his 68th career win and fifth at Bristol Dragway and it secures him the sixth spot in the Traxxas Shootout, the Top Fuel bonus race at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

“I’ll tell you what it was a long time, a long, long time,” Schumacher said. “You get used to winning those races — you know, 15 races in a year — you know we’re just not used to that. We had a great car, and more often than not, we got beat by some incredibly talented teams in very close races, so it was tough for us to deal with but at the same time, it is what we do. We had the point lead two times early in the season without winning a race. We keep our chin up, we don’t fire people, we motivate and get through the adversity. We lead. That’s what we do, we lead them. We make them believe in themselves. I said it all along, ‘Have faith. We’re going to go out and win these things.’ I didn’t want to be the second guy to win a championship without winning a race. That’s not cool. It so much more fun to win and dominate. For a long time, we had a car that was a tenth of a second quicker than everybody, and it’s not out there anymore. It’s hard on any given day to have a car that outruns everyone four runs in a row. You’ve got to go out there and do your job. I’m just very thankful that Mike [Green, crew chief] and Neal [Strausbaugh, assistant crew chief] and all nine guys did a phenomenal job.”

In Funny Car, Capps earned his second win of the season in his sixth final round appearance in a row since adding veteran turner Rahn Tobler to the team by outrunning rookie driver Alexis DeJoria in the first final round appearance of her career. Capps’ 4.076 at 312.35 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger was just too much for DeJoria, whose Tequila Patron Toyota Camry lost traction at half-track.

“There was a lot of pressure coming in because of the media and fans kept asking for six finals and, ‘Are you going to get in a sixth final?’ Every race that we’ve gone to, it’s just getting stronger and stronger, the bond that I have with Rahn Tobler and this team,” Capps said. “Don Schumacher does everything to give us everything that we need, and it’s impressive that Rahn Tobler is able to do what he does with a car. He’s such a perfectionist.”

Capps had to beat two women during Sunday’s eliminations, as he beat both top rookie contenders DeJoria and Courtney Force. Capps also took out Tony Pedregon and his DSR teammate Johnny Gray en route to his win at Bristol Dragway. With the win, Capps tied “Big Daddy” Don Garlits on the all-time wins list with 35 victories.

Veteran Pro Stock driver and former world champion Mike Edwards claimed his fourth victory in a row at Bristol Dragway with his holeshot win over local favorite Allen Johnson in the final round. Edwards used his better reaction time with his 6.674 second pass at 206.16 mph behind the wheel of his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac to beat Johnson’s Team Mopar Dodge Avenger, which clocked a quicker but losing 6.661 second pass at 207.05 mph in an incredibly close final round.

“I don’t even know how you can describe something like [the final] in words,” Edwards said. “Four zeros for the margin of victory. I just can’t believe it. Sometimes we struggle just a little bit, and then we come to this place [Bristol] and we do well. Sixteen straight round wins is unbelievable. I tell you, I wish we raced them all here. My guys did an awesome job this weekend. We weren’t the fastest car, just the second fastest car, but we got the job done.”

“Hats off to Allen Johnson,” Edwards said. “They did an awesome job too, especially in front of their home crowd. It had to be hard for him to lose a race like that I can’t explain it, but we just run exceptionally good here. I wanted to win this race four in a row so bad that I came here right after Englishtown and tested for two days, and I’ve never done that at a track where we have our next race. I wanted it bad, real bad.”

Edwards raced to his second win of the season by beating Larry Morgan, four-time world champ Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the most successful female in Pro Stock, Erica Enders, before reaching his second final round of the season.

The next NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event is the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries, June 28-July 1 at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.

***

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Final finish order (1-16) at the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway.  The race is the 10th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL: 1.  Tony Schumacher; 2.  Doug Kalitta; 3.  Antron Brown; 4.  Clay Millican; 5.  Spencer Massey; 6. Shawn Langdon; 7.  Bruce Litton; 8.  Terry McMillen; 9.  Bob Vandergriff; 10.  Khalid alBalooshi; 11.  Steve Torrence; 12.  Dom Lagana; 13.  Cory McClenathan; 14.  Hillary Will; 15.  David Grubnic; 16.  Scott Palmer.

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

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

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Sunday's final results from the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway. The race is the 10th of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 3.819 seconds, 324.28 mph  def. Doug Kalitta, 3.802 seconds, no speed.

Funny Car -- Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.076, 312.35  def. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 5.232, 144.15.

Pro Stock -- Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.674, 206.16  def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.661, 207.05.

Pro Modified -- Rickie Smith, Chevy Camaro, 6.055, 241.24  def. Donald Walsh, ford Mustang, 7.393, 171.99.

Stock Eliminator -- Russell Johnson, Fairlane, 11.183, 117.23  def. Anthony Bertozzi, Camaro, foul.

Super Stock -- Peter Biondo, Firebird, 9.753, 129.18  def. Bobby Dennis, Calais, 10.905, 112.45.

Super Comp -- Tyler Caheely, Dragster, 8.894, 182.38  def. Edmond Richardson, Dragster, 8.893, 170.97.

Super Gas -- Emily Lewis, Corvette, 9.890, 166.72  def. Marvin Benoit Jr, Ford, 9.879, 154.76.

Top Dragster -- Steven Furr, Dragster, 7.196, 184.83  def. Marco Abruzzi, Dragster, foul.

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Final round-by-round results from the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the 10th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Shawn Langdon, 3.796, 318.54 def. Bob Vandergriff, 3.801, 324.90; Clay Millican, 3.881, 312.78 def. Steve Torrence, 3.889, 317.79; Terry McMillen, 3.872, 316.08 def. Cory McClenathan, 4.443, 184.83; Tony Schumacher, 3.799, 322.96 def. Dom Lagana, 3.931, 312.13; Antron Brown, 3.939, 311.49 def. Scott Palmer, broke; Doug Kalitta, 3.797, 323.97 def. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.861, 313.44; Bruce Litton, 4.692, 164.05 def. Hillary Will, 5.326, 165.94; Spencer Massey, 3.824, 324.98 def. David Grubnic, 6.331, 96.46; QUARTERFINALS -- Schumacher, 3.818, 323.66 def. Massey, 3.821, 317.12; Kalitta, 3.838, 322.19 def. Litton, 3.917, 307.93; Brown, 3.825, 323.35 def. Langdon, 3.847, 320.43; Millican, 3.860, 316.52 def. McMillen, 4.589, 178.97; SEMIFINALS -- Kalitta, 3.831, 320.51 def. Brown, 3.842, 322.88; Schumacher, 3.817, 324.98 def. Millican, 3.867, 311.41; FINAL -- Schumacher, 3.819, 324.28 def. Kalitta, 3.802, no speed.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.060, 310.48 def. Courtney Force, Ford Mustang, 4.376, 213.87; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.072, 313.66 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 5.213, 141.91; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.122, 311.77 def. Blake Alexander, Chevy Monte Carlo, 6.525, 99.80; Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 4.290, 231.99 def. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.425, 226.96; Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.542, 209.14 def. John Force, Mustang, 4.875, 159.85; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.134, 308.00 def. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.883, 162.12; Jeff Arend, Camry, 4.136, 302.82 def. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.908, 166.33; Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.091, 312.86 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 5.036, 155.60; QUARTERFINALS -- Beckman, 4.100, 310.70 def. Hagan, 4.140, 299.40; Capps, 4.109, 306.53 def. T. Pedregon, 4.172, 306.12; Gray, 4.225, 295.14 def. Tasca III, 6.245, 109.64; DeJoria, 4.172, 302.35 def. Arend, 4.182, 301.67; SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 4.093, 305.63 def. Gray, 4.107, 305.29; DeJoria, 4.159, 301.27 def. Beckman, 4.378, 293.28; FINAL -- Capps, 4.076, 312.35 def. DeJoria, 5.232, 144.15.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Ronnie Humphrey, Pontiac GXP, 6.711, 205.13 def. JR Carr, ford Mustang, 6.697, 204.20; Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.670, 206.51 def. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.682, 205.91; V. Gaines, Dodge Avenger, 6.699, 205.69 def. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.708, 206.10; Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.682, 205.69 def. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.696, 205.54; Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.689, 205.44 def. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, foul; Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.656, 206.99 def. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.716, 204.42; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.664, 206.57 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.701, 205.38; Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.684, 206.23 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.671, 205.91; QUARTERFINALS -- Line, 6.706, 205.82 def. Gaines, 6.710, 205.41; Enders, 6.677, 206.04 def. K. Johnson, 6.703, 205.82; Edwards, 6.669, 206.42 def. Coughlin, 6.695, 206.16; A. Johnson, 6.657, 207.24 def. Humphrey, 6.694, 205.44;

SEMIFINALS -- Edwards, 6.680, 206.54 def. Enders, 7.372, 143.46; A. Johnson, 6.659, 206.67 def.

Line, 6.677, 206.54;

FINAL -- Edwards, 6.674, 206.16 def. A. Johnson, 6.661, 207.05.

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Point standings (top 10) following the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the 10th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Tony Schumacher, 846; 2.  Spencer Massey, 806; 3.  Antron Brown, 756; 4.  Steve Torrence, 679; 5.  Morgan Lucas, 667; 6.  Doug Kalitta, 604; 7.  Shawn Langdon, 534; 8.  Brandon Bernstein, 503; 9.  David Grubnic, 469; 10.  Clay Millican, 455.

Funny Car

1.  Robert Hight, 892; 2.  Ron Capps, 819; 3.  Mike Neff, 654; 4.  Johnny Gray, 633; 5.  Jack Beckman, 621; 6.  Bob Tasca III, 514; 7.  Cruz Pedregon, 512; 8.  John Force, 472; 9.  Courtney Force, 462; 10.  Jeff Arend, 441.

Pro Stock

1.  Greg Anderson, 902; 2.  Jason Line, 848; 3.  Allen Johnson, 818; 4.  Mike Edwards, 707; 5. Vincent Nobile, 640; 6.  Erica Enders, 578; 7.  Ronnie Humphrey, 487; 8.  Rodger Brogdon, 406; 9. Shane Gray, 395; 10.  Ron Krisher, 367.

Nobile seeing red after another foul start

 In drag racing, there is a fine line between success and failure, and lately, Vincent Nobile has been on the wrong side of it. With most NHRA Pro Stock races decided by just a few thousandths of a second, starting line reaction time is critical for success, but the quest for a perfect light can also lead to a foul-start; something that Mountain View Racing driver Vincent Nobile is painfully aware of. Nobile’s chance to win this weekend’s Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway ended when he fouled out against round one opponent Kurt Johnson.

“I made a mistake, plain and simple,” said Nobile. “On the starting line, I rolled into the staging lights a little further than I wanted to and when I let the clutch out, I knew I had red-lighted. I was afraid that might happen and it did.  I feel horrible for the whole Mountain View team because they gave me a car that absolutely could have won this race and I threw it away.”

During qualifying, Nobile did indeed have one of the best cars in the field as he qualified the Nick Mitsos-tuned Mountain View Dodge Avenger to a 6.659 that was good for the No. 3 spot in the tight field. Nobile also managed to score six bonus points based on his four solid qualifying runs at the Bristol track, affectionately known at Thunder Valley.

“Earlier this year, our goal was to improve our qualifying performances and we’ve done that,” said Nobile. “We’ve worked hard to improve our car and [engine builders] Roy and Allen Johnson have been providing us with great power. Now, we need for the driver to be there and I plan on doing just that. I feel like a relief pitcher that’s just blown a save. I’m going to put this behind me, get my head on straight, and then come out at the next race and drive the way I know I can drive. This team is too good; we should be in contention for wins at just about every race.”

Despite the loss, Nobile did not leave Bristol empty-handed as his strong qualifying performance has all but assured that the Mountain View Dodge will be a part of the upcoming K&N Horsepower Challenge event in Norwalk, Ohio on July 7. The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a special $50,000 to win event that is open only to the top eight NHRA Pro Stock drivers based on their qualifying performances over the last 12-months. Nobile is currently ranked sixth in the field.

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing tour will now head to Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. For the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Route 66 Nationals, June 28-July 1. 

JFR OUT EARLY IN BRISTOL

Thunder Valley was unkind to John Force Racing at the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Ford Dealers as all four Mustang Funny Cars were ousted in the first round. This was the first time all four JFR Mustangs lost in the first round at the same event.

“It wasn’t a good day for John Force Racing. We are going to watch the competition to see if we get hurt (in the points). My Elvis/Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Mustang is showing some consistency. Someday it is not your day to win. I promise all our sponsors – Castrol, Ford, AAA, BrandSource, MacTools, Traxxas, and Freightliner - we will stay after it,” said Force.

“We all got spanked today. (Rival team owner Don) Schumacher got a Father’s Day gift from me when all my hot rods went out first round. That oil down was really brutal. NHRA Safety Safari did a great job and gave us back a good race track. At the end of the day Courtney, Robert, Neff and I are going to watch some NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing.”

“It matters a lot because I like to be part of the race,” said Force in response to not advancing a Funny Car to the second round. “I am going to go up (to the starting line) right now and watch the competition. I am going to take Courtney up there and keep teaching her.”

Rookie of the Year front-runner Courtney Force was in the first pair of Funny Cars racing one of the hottest drivers on the series, Ron Capps. Courtney had her Traxxas Mustang glued to the center of the groove but just past half-track she smoked the tires while Capps made the quickest run of the session, 4.060 seconds. Capps would go on to win his second race of the season in his sixth consecutive final round appearance.

Three pairs later Mike Neff was a victim of the biggest upset for John Force Racing when his Castrol GTX Mustang smoked the tires in the right lane. His opponent Alexis DeJoria picked up her second round win of the season and eventually reached her first final round after beating teammate Jeff Arend and Jack Beckman. It was a short day for Neff, the No. 2 qualifier, as a driver and crew chief but one that he can correct heading to Chicago.

“It was loose and it was just kind of slipping the tires the whole way. It got out there far enough and knocked them loose. I just couldn’t get the set up right. The track obviously pretty good but for whatever reason our set-up was too aggressive,” said Neff. “I was trying to run good and I thought it would go. I was too aggressive yesterday and I thought the track got good enough that it would be OK. I didn’t really change it and it just wasn’t quite right.”

Right behind Neff, the No. 5 qualifier, John Force, smoked the tires against former teammate Tony Pedregon. This was the 82nd meeting between these two world champions and Pedregon managed to pick up his first round win of the season against the winningest driver in NHRA history. Force was racing a commemorative Elvis 35th anniversary Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang which was the third Elvis Funny Car Force has raced in his illustrious career.

Robert Hight closed out the session versus Johnny Gray in a classic No. 9 versus No. 8 match-up. Hight and his Elvis AAA Insurance had to watch Johnny Gray pull away at about 700 feet when his Mustang struck the tires. Gray posted the third quickest time of the session, 4.091 seconds, advancing to the quarter-finals.

Bristol is third weekend to inspire McMillen

For the third time in as many races Terry McMillen’s Amalie Oil/UNOH Top Fuel team has set new career bests in performance.  The improvement is something McMillen is excited about.

“We’re finally getting our car to respond,” McMillen said. “It’s a good feeling to see the car not only get into the 80s, but into the low 80s.”

At the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals McMillen’s team was able to not only reset their personal best elapsed time (3.823 seconds), but also improve their career best qualifying effort to third. During Friday’s second round of qualifying McMillen was able to hold the top spot until the last two cars completed their pass, missing an opportunity to earn his first No. 1 by just 0.009 seconds.

McMillen acknowledges the performance improvement and now sets his sights on improving consistency after his second round loss to Clay Millican. “It felt good to get past first round,” McMillen acknowledged. “But to get back into the thick of things – to make a run at the countdown – we’ve got to be able to string about four consistent runs together on a Sunday. It’s the only way we’re going to get back in the hunt.”

Biggest part of Brogdon's weekend was honoring Tennessee soldiers

NHRA Pro Stock driver Roger Brogdon was consistent all weekend, but in the end it was not enough to get him past the first round of eliminations on Father's Day.

"We just came up a little short," Brogdon said. "Until I learn how to drive, we ain't gonna beat nobody. We made five good runs, but just came up a little short."

The driver of the MAVTV/Lucas Oil Pontiac GXP made five runs all within a few thousandths of a second of each other – 6.712, 6.678, 6.689, and 6.688, respectively, in qualifying, but it wasn't enough for the sixth seed at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals on Sunday at Bristol Dragway.

In what was the best race of the opening round, Brogdon was fastest off the start and made his pass in 6.682 seconds at 205.91 mph, but fell to Erica Enders, who made her run in 6.670 seconds at 206.51 mph.

"The guys did a good job with my car, but it just didn’t work out," Brogdon said.

But despite the early round loss, Brogdon had a good weekend in the car and at the track with the Hot Rod for Heroes program. All weekend, Brogdon carried nine photographs, taped to the dash inside his Pontiac, of Eastern Tennessee soldiers killed in combat.

"That was great," Brogdon said about having the Hot Rod for Heroes program with him at Bristol. "I was just real glad I was able to entertain all those people. It is such a great organization and what they are doing is amazing. I am always happy to be included in stuff like this."

Because of his solid runs, Brogdon will pack it up and get ready to head to Chicago for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, June 28-July 1, at Route 66 Raceway.

"We don’t have a whole lot to test right now," Brogdon said. "The cars are making good runs. (The crew) is going to stay and work on some tires and stuff. But, we are just going to keep doing what we are doing until they give us something else to work on."

After promising start, Pruett throttled by faulty throttle in Bristol

Leah Pruett and her ProCare Rx Pro Mod team had their swagger back at Bristol Dragway for the 12th annual running of the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, but a rare parts failure ended her weekend much sooner than expected.

Pruett qualified No. 8 with a pass of 6.005 seconds at 251.02 mph in her turbocharged Ford Mustang before falling in the first round with a broken throttle body.

"It's disappointing, for sure," Pruett said. "I was really working on my lights, cutting some .040s, and I felt like I was back in the game. I don't know, the stars aren't quite lining up like we'd like them to. We definitely need to take a more focused look on our inventory and make sure everything we have is completely spot-on and ready to go in the car. The guys do that already, but it was a five-minute fix that caused the problem.

"That happens to everybody, and it happened to us. But I have no doubt that both Roger (Burgess, team owner/driver) and my cars will be in top shape, and we'll be ready to take on everybody in Norwalk."

R2B2 Racing teammate Burgess qualified No. 11 before falling in a close matchup with Mike Castellana in the first round. Castellana went 6.009 at 239.02 mph to beat Burgess' 6.078 at 247.88 mph.

Pruett, meanwhile, came to Bristol off a No. 2 qualifier in Englishtown, hoping to continue the solid performance.

"We had some good momentum coming into this weekend," Pruett said. "We had some good juju and positive attitudes. The car was running well."

Pruett made her best qualifying pass in the heat of the day in Saturday's Q3.

"It definitely ran a good number in Q3 in the heat, and then we had some parts failure during that run," Pruett said. "The guys went into a thrash and got it ready for E1."

As they were about to head out for the first round of eliminations, the crew found a problem atop the engine.

"We found out right at the very last minute that the throttle body was broke, and that's why we were having idle problems," Pruett said. "We switched that out and were real late to the line, but we thought everything was ready to go."

The engine, however, wasn't running well.

"The car barely turns over and runs, and I'm doing everything I can to keep it alive with the throttle just to maintain the throttle," Pruett said. "From there on out, it just went downhill real fast. With the throttle body breaking, it starting closing all on its own, no matter how much throttle I gave it.

"I'm spooled up with the throttle all the way to the floor, but when I left, it was only at 30 percent compared to 100 percent, which is what we needed."

The balky throttle body caused Pruett to leave with a .310-second reaction time, but Lang smoke the tires down the track.

"I left, and it just fell on its face," Pruett said. "I didn't know what happened. Then I saw Knowles smoking the tires, and I think, 'Oh, we're going to get him. This turbocharged car is going to hunt it down.' Then it was like someone just tied a ton of bricks to the back of the car, and it just stopped. I couldn't even get it into third gear.

"By the time I got to half-track, the throttle just completely shut on its own, even though I've got it mashed to the floor."

With that, her day was done.

Pruett and the ProCare Rx team race next in the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio on July 6-8.

VETERAN RICKIE SMITH LEADS QUALIFYING AND ADVANCES TO QUARTER-FINALS IN PRO MOD SERIES AT FORD NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS PRESENTED BY TRI-CITIES AREA FORD DEALERS

Veteran Rickie Smith powered his IDG ’12 Camaro to No. 1 qualifying position and advanced past the No. 16 qualifier in the first round of eliminations in the NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx portion of the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers Saturday at Bristol Dragway.

Smith ran two mid 5.9-second range qualifying passes, but his 5.900 second pass at 240.85 mph Friday night earned him the qualifying lead heading into Saturday afternoon’s eliminations. Smith’s 5.966 second pass at 239.82 mph pass was too much for the No. 16 qualifier Doug Winters’ Chevy Bel Air’s 6.709 second pass at 163.24 mph. in the opening round of eliminations Saturday. Smith will face Mike Knowles in the second round Sunday afternoon and Smith will have lane choice.

The most recent Pro Mod winner and No. 2 qualifier Troy Coughlin, in his JEGS.com Chevy Camaro, outran Kenny Lang in a close opening round match-up, 6.079 seconds at 247.75 to Lang’s 6.164 seconds at 223.32 mph. The No. 3 qualifier Donald Martin and No. 5 qualifier and 2012 race winner Danny Rowe both were upset in the first round of eliminations Saturday.  

Pro Mod eliminations continue Sunday at approximately 3:30 p.m.

***

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- First round-by-round results from the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the fifth of ten events in the  NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx:

ROUND ONE -- Scott Ray, Chevy Corvette, 6.329, 226.70 def. Rick Stivers, Chevy Camaro, foul; Troy Coughlin, Camaro, 6.079, 247.75 def. Kenny Lang, Camaro, 6.164, 223.32; Mike Knowles, Camaro, 6.721, 227.80 def. Leah Pruett, Ford Mustang, 8.270, 116.28; Donald Walsh, ford Mustang, 5.977, 250.13 def. Donald Martin, Camaro, 11.901, 73.97; Mike Janis, Mustang, 6.019, 240.81 def. Pete Farber, Dodge Daytona, foul; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 6.009, 239.02 def. Roger Burgess, Corvette, 6.078, 247.88; Jay Payne, Camaro, 6.094, 238.72 def. Danny Rowe, Camaro, 13.984, 66.70; Rickie Smith, Camaro, 5.966, 239.82 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Bel Air, 6.709, 163.24;

NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by ProCare Rx final order after 3 rounds of qualifying at the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers:

Psn---Num-Driver, Home Town, Car Type---------------Qual-ET--Qual-Spd-Top Spd

  1   43 Rickie Smith, King NC, '12 Camaro               5.900  240.85  240.85

  2   24 Troy Coughlin, Delaware OH, t'68 Camaro         5.951  251.06  251.06

  3  770 Donald Martin, Lake Forest CA, *'68 Camaro      5.955  242.67  242.80

  4  213 Chip King, Southport NC, t'69 Daytona           5.967  246.89  246.89

  5    2 Danny Rowe, Laguna Hills CA, *'68 Camaro        5.971  242.28  242.28

  6 1794 Mike Castellana, Muttontown NY, '69 Camaro      5.974  238.01  239.19

  7 1456 Mike Janis, Lancaster NY, '10 Mustang           5.993  241.76  241.76

  8  777 Leah Pruett, Cherry Valley CA, t'12 Mustang     6.005  251.02  251.02

  9 5011 Mike Knowles, Grand Junction CO, *'68 Camaro    6.025  240.42  240.42

10 1518 Pete Farber, Baldwinville MA, *'69 Daytona      6.025  240.17  240.17

11  272 Roger Burgess, Duluth GA, '53 Corvette          6.050  247.38  247.38

12    9 Jay Payne, Ontario CA, '12 Camaro               6.093  238.60  238.60

13  314 Rick Stivers, Lexington KY, '69 Camaro          6.110  233.96  233.96

14 3382 Donald Walsh, Wixom MI, t'11 Mustang            6.119  247.20  247.20

15    4 Kenny Lang, Grande Pointe MB, '69 Camaro        6.167  236.67  236.67

16 2105 Doug Winters, Kernersville NC, '57 Bel Air      6.455  217.25  217.25

BROWN, TASCA AND JOHNSON QUALIFY NO. 1 AT FORD NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS PRESENTED BY TRI-CITIES AREA FORD DEALERS AT BRISTOL

Friday’s qualifying leaders, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca (Funny Car) and Tennessee native Allen Johnson (Pro Stock), secured the No. 1 qualifying spots Saturday at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway.

Brown set both ends of the Top Fuel track record in his Aaron’s dragster with a 3.814 second pass at 323.12 mph during his second qualifying attempt Friday night under the lights at Bristol Dragway. Brown posted one of the quickest runs of the day – a 3.843 second pass in Saturday’s hot conditions -- but no one was able to beat his Friday night run and he remained No. 1 for the second of the season and 31st of his career.

“That last session, the way the track temp was, that’s what we’re going to see a lot of tomorrow, so we felt real good to run well,” Brown said. “We were trying to run like an.86 first lap today. That didn’t work out, but we got it back together and got that Aaron’s Lucky Dog car down there. I was very, very pleased with the run. It gives you a lot of confidence for tomorrow. The car responded well. It lifted the front end up, hiked it up. It feels good when you go into tomorrow, race day, with the same conditions that you had in that last session, and it was a great run”

Brown will match up against Pat Dakin and his Mark Industries dragster, the No. 16 qualifier, in the opening round of eliminations Sunday.

The surprise of the day was when Morgan Lucas’ GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster failed to make the 16-car field during Saturday’s hot conditions. Lucas has been one of the hottest drivers this season thanks to two wins and four No. 1 qualifying positions, which has placed him fourth in the championship point standings. Lucas’ Morgan Lucas Racing teammate Brandon Bernstein, who has two wins at the track and who was the runner-up at the most recent Full Throttle event in Englishtown, also failed to qualify for Sunday’s eliminations.

“A lot of people don’t understand how tough this class is, how tough Top Fuel is right now,” Brown said. “This class is as tough as the class has ever been. You have to hit it right in the right spot to make these cars perform on this racetrack.”

Tasca’s Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Ford Mustang Friday night run of 4.063 seconds at 310.48 mph earned the provisional No. 1 spot heading into Saturday and no one was able to better Tasca’s effort during Saturday’s hot conditions. This is Tasca’s second consecutive No. 1 at Bristol, and third of his career.

“I’m an all-Ford kid, driving an all-Ford hot rod, qualified No. 1 at the all-Ford race, so that’s a cool deal, and hopefully we can win this thing for Ford,” Tasca said. “First round is going to be real good, then it’s going to warm up, and you’re going to have to learn how to pull the car back. We really wanted to go down that last run, but the data we have is good data. We know what we have to do to make it go A to B in the heat.”

Tasca will face rookie Blake Alexander and his Gates Chevy Monte Carlo in the opening round of eliminations Sunday.

The story was the same in Pro Stock as local favorite Allen Johnson’s track record 6.623 second pass at 207.75 mph from Friday night remained atop the qualifying order at the end of Saturday’s two qualifying sessions. This is Johnson’s third consecutive No. 1 at this event, fourth of the season and 22nd of his career.

“We feel like we’ve won the battle [by qualifying No. 1] and now we’ve got to win the war during Sunday’s eliminations,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a very, very consistent race car now with very good people making very good decisions. Now the driver just has to do his job tomorrow.”

Johnson will race Shane Gray and his brand new NTB Chevy Camaro Sunday morning in the first round of eliminations.

Sunday’s eliminations start at noon ET.

***

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 12th annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Tri-Cities Area Ford Dealers at Bristol Dragway, the tenth of

23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.  Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Antron Brown, 3.814 seconds, 323.12 mph  vs. 16. Scott Palmer, 4.045, 299.33; 2. Tony Schumacher, 3.822, 320.66  vs. 15. Dom Lagana, 4.019, 302.28; 3. Terry McMillen, 3.823, 315.27  vs. 14. Cory McClenathan, 3.927, 307.79; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.835, 321.81  vs. 13. Khalid alBalooshi, 3.920, 314.24; 5. Hillary Will, 3.837, 308.35  vs. 12. Bruce Litton, 3.881, 309.34; 6. Steve Torrence, 3.840, 318.02  vs. 11. Clay Millican, 3.870, 314.61; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.844, 321.58  vs. 10. David Grubnic, 3.856, 316.30; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 3.855, 319.07  vs. 9. Shawn Langdon, 3.855, 316.08. Did Not Qualify: 17. Pat Dakin, 4.160, 291.19; 18. Brandon Bernstein, 4.221, 298.93; 19. Chris Karamesines, 4.320, 245.27; 20. Morgan Lucas, 4.778, 303.78; 21. Ike Maier, 5.712, 173.25.

Funny Car -- 1. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 4.063, 310.48  vs. 16. Blake Alexander, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.188, 301.67; 2. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.072, 310.70  vs. 15. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 4.156, 304.53; 3. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.077, 310.13  vs. 14. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.131, 302.75; 4. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.091, 306.40  vs. 13. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.131, 304.60; 5. John Force, Mustang, 4.094, 312.71  vs. 12. Tony Pedregon, Camry, 4.130, 306.26; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.096, 307.79  vs. 11. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 4.128, 304.19; 7. Jeff Arend, Camry, 4.110, 309.63  vs. 10. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.128, 305.49; 8. Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.120, 309.56  vs. 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.124, 304.12. Did Not Qualify: 17. Todd Lesenko, 4.289, 282.78; 18. Bob Bode, 5.617, 290.76.

Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.623, 207.78  vs. 16. Shane Gray, Chevy Camaro, 6.746, 204.66; 2. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.641, 207.27  vs. 15. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.744, 205.22; 3. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.659, 207.43  vs. 14. Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.708, 205.26; 4. Jason Line, GXP, 6.662, 206.95  vs. 13. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.700, 205.47; 5. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.673, 206.26  vs. 12. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.698, 206.16; 6. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.678, 206.04  vs. 11. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.696, 206.23; 7. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.680, 206.32  vs. 10. Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.693, 206.16; 8. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.680, 206.01  vs. 9. JR Carr, ford Mustang, 6.692, 204.48. Did Not Qualify: 17. Grace Howell, 6.755, 203.40

Anderson Going Back to the Beginning in Bristol

Ten days after scoring his KB Racing team’s 100th NHRA national event win in Englishtown, N.J., Summit Racing Camaro pilot Greg Anderson will return to the site of another significant moment in his spectacular Pro Stock career, heading to Bristol Dragway for this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.  In 2001, the championship-winning crew chief turned aspiring race car driver came to the Volunteer State driving the back-up car for a team owned by Las Vegas businessmen George Marnell (who was the team’s established driver) and Ken Black. 

In only his 30th start he shocked both himself and his fellow competitors, starting from the ninth position and defeating established veterans Allen Johnson, V. Gaines and Mark Osborne in the early rounds before squaring off against two-time champion Jim Yates in the final.  Gaining the advantage at the starting line, the Minnesota native never looked back, using a 6.993-second, 196.85 mph pass to gain the hole shot victory over his much-heralded opponent and score his first national event win.

“Although I’m a little cloudy on the specifics of that particular day, I do remember I was not expected to win,” said Anderson.  “After all, I was driving an older Pontiac Firebird at a time when the top teams were running the smaller and more aerodynamic Chevrolet Cavaliers and Grand Ams and I was basically running to gather more data for George’s car. 

“Still, we were somehow able to pull off the win and I suddenly found myself in the winner’s circle with Fred Simmonds, who was the head of the drag racing program for General Motors at the time and the folks from Mac Tools, who were then the event sponsors.  I recall we were all looking at each other wondering exactly who everyone was, but it actually turned out to be the start of the program we have today with this Summit Racing team.  Mac Tools became one of my first sponsors, I established a relationship with a General Motors and Ken Black decided to start his own team.  The rest, as they say, is history.”

Eleven years later, Anderson returns to Thunder Valley as one of the top racers in the history of the “factory hot rods” with four championships and 74 national event wins to his credit, a total that includes two trips to the Bristol Dragway winner’s circle.  However, with his last Tennessee quarter-mile victory coming in 2004, he is more than ready to make a return appearance, a confidence bolstered by recent performances under similar tuning conditions.

“I will always love Bristol Dragway because it’s where I won my first national event,” stated Anderson.  “I am also extremely partial to Thunder Valley because of the facility and its tremendous history.  It’s a Bruton Smith-owned track that is very well run and promoted, making it a fun weekend for the racers and the fans.  However, for the last few years it has been the type of track that has been our Achilles’ heel, having a little bit of altitude where the cars don’t run that fast. 

“The good news is that I believe we’re finally turning the corner in that area based on our performance in Topeka where the atmospheric conditions are fairly similar to what we’ll see this weekend.  Based on that, I think our outlook for Bristol will be completely different this year.  I expect our Summit Racing Camaro is going to be fast with a good chance of winning the race.”

Finally, Anderson and his KB Racing crew are looking to build on the successful debut of their new Chevrolet Camaro. Despite reaching the winner’s circle in its inaugural race, the current Pro Stock championship points leader is quick to point out that they are still familiarizing themselves with their new mount.

“Although we certainly gave our Summit Racing Camaro a tremendous debut in Englishtown, I think we can make it run even better,” said Anderson.  “For example, we never set low elapsed time. It showed us that it wanted to run, and we kept working on it, making gains throughout the weekend, but never fully hit the nail on the head, so there’s still plenty of room left for improvement. 

“It’s a very nice car that seems to want to do everything right, but we’re still early in the learning process and even though it’s gone very well so far, we are just scratching the surface of its full potential.  Between ourselves, Chevrolet and (chassis builder) Rick Jones, I think we’ve built a good piece, and in Bristol we’ll have two with Jason bringing out his Camaro. Hopefully we can go there, get her closer to what she really wants and run even better than we did in our first race.  That’s our goal heading into the weekend.”

Greg Anderson & the Summit Racing Camaro crew

By the Numbers – Bristol Dragway edition:

1 - No. 1 qualifying performances by Anderson at Bristol Dragway, which came in 2004.

2 – Bristol Dragway wins by Anderson coming into this weekend.

4 – Final round appearances by Anderson in Thunder Valley, most recently in 2009.

4.64 – Average starting position for Greg in his previous 11 Bristol starts.

6 – Times Anderson has qualified in the top 5 positions in his previous 11 Thunder Valley starts.

207.94 – Bristol Dragway Pro Stock Top Speed Record, set by Anderson in 2009
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