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.

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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.

SEVEN DRIVERS EARN FULL THROTTLE COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP BERTHS AT NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS

Seven drivers clinched Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship playoff berths at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, bringing the number of drivers who have secured their invitations to the playoffs to 14.

Top Fuel racers Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher, along with Funny Car driver Ron Capps, and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Jr. all locked up their positions during NHRA Sonoma Nationals qualifying.

On Sunday, Pro Stock racers Mike Edwards and Vincent Nobile clinched by advancing to round two, and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Hector Arana Sr. clinched by advancing to the semifinals.

The NHRA Full Throttle Series regular season concludes Labor Day weekend at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Auto-Plus in Indianapolis. A six-race playoff series, the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, will lead to the crowning of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champs. The Countdown begins Sept. 14-16 at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, N.C.

COUNTDOWN FIELDS TO DATE

Top Fuel

1. Spencer Massey

2. Antron Brown

3. Tony Schumacher

Funny Car

1. Robert Hight

2. Ron Capps

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson

2. Jason Line

3. Allen Johnson

4. Mike Edwards

5. Vincent Nobile

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Eddie Krawiec

2. Andrew Hines

3. Hector Arana Jr.

4. Hector Arana Sr.

Deserving fan's story drives Nobile to victory at 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge

This past weekend’s K&N Horsepower Challenge proved to be a perfect showcase for the NHRA’s most competitive class.   Run as part of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, the 28th running of the specialty event pitted eight of Pro Stock’s best drivers in a three-round shootout with the winner taking home $50,000.  Despite blistering heat and drenching humidity, the capacity crowd was treated to a day of tremendous racing including numerous hole shots and several surprises.

“After I heard Peggy’s story, the money didn’t matter, the trophy didn’t matter – all I wanted to do was win for her, and I’m so glad I did,” said Nobile, driver of the MountainView Tire Dodge Avenger who also won the race on Sunday, collecting a $25,000 “double-up” bonus from the NHRA in the process.  “She lost almost everything last year in the tornados, so to be able to win that Toyota Tundra for her was absolutely awesome.

“I knew she was someone special from the moment I met her on Friday, and when I heard her story, it really touched me.  Even though I knew I had to win for her, I didn’t feel any extra pressure - it actually made things easier for me.  I’m so happy we were able to deliver for her, and want to thank the Mitsos family, my father and my entire Mountainview Dodge team for giving me such a great car to drive.

“I also want to thank everyone at K&N for putting on this tremendous event and for involving the fans through the sweepstakes, as well as Toyota for providing that gorgeous truck Peggy will soon be driving.  Finally, I want to thank Peggy Coleman for being such an inspiration – she was the real reason I was able to win.”

For Coleman, the trip to the Buckeye State was a welcome pause from over a year of recovery efforts following the devastating storms which wiped out most of their possessions.  Despite the tremendous loss, much like the majority of the Joplin community, she maintained a positive outlook, focusing instead on doing whatever was necessary to put their lives back together.  For example, with husband Gary’s pickup truck having been demolished, she entered the K&N sweepstakes, never thinking she would actually be the one to win the new Toyota.  In fact, when called about being selected as one the finalists, she was somewhat incredulous.  However, from the moment she was paired with the young driver from Dix Hills, N.Y., things just started to fall into place.

“As I told the other contestants, even if we hadn’t won the Toyota, it was great just to be able to get away from everything we’d been dealing with at home for a little while,” said Coleman.  “For the most part, everyone in our town shares our positive attitude and over the last year help has poured in from all over the country, which has been amazing.  So to be selected as one of the eight finalists and flown to Norwalk for the weekend put a big smile on our faces, and winning that beautiful pickup was just an added benefit that I could not believe.  We had an awesome time all weekend with everyone being so nice.

“When I met Vincent and saw his team color was purple I was thrilled because that’s my favorite color.  He was so humble and polite, and his entire family and team were so very nice.  After the first round I heard someone call my name and it was Vincent’s mother, who gave me a big hug and told me he was going to win the race for me.

“Every time I saw him, I kept telling Vincent he was going to do it, and even after he won on Saturday, I told him he was going to win again on Sunday and he did.  From here on out, I’ll be sure to watch the NHRA races on TV and root for Vincent to keep on winning.  On top of everything else that happened during the weekend, when Caitlin from K&N called me on Monday after the race and told me about everyone offering to pay the taxes, it just brought tears to my eyes all over again.  It was just like a wonderful dream, and I want to thank everyone at K&N for making it so special.”

As the story of the Coleman family spread throughout the Pro Stock pits at Summit Motorsports Park, the racing community responded, with several teams volunteering to pay any taxes pertaining to their winning the truck.   After acknowledging the teams’ generosity, the Toyota Motor Company added to their already substantial contribution by including the cost of the tariffs, assuring the Colemans would not have to pay anything for their new custom pickup.

“K&N’s involvement with the Horsepower Challenge has been a tremendous experience, but the circumstances surrounding this year’s event stand above the rest,” said Caitlin Clement, Series and Track Support Manager for K&N Engineering.  “We want to commend all eight drivers for putting on a great show under very difficult weather conditions and congratulate Vincent Nobile on his exciting win. 

“We are also thrilled to be able to present Peggy Coleman with her new K&N Horsepower Challenge Edition Toyota Tundra.  Her story of survival is just amazing, and we hope this new truck helps in some small way with her recovery efforts.  We appreciate all the teams who inquired about paying the Colemans’ taxes, and are grateful to Toyota for volunteering to cover the costs involved.  All in all, the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge was a tremendous event, and we are already working to make next year’s edition even better.”

K&N Engineering, Inc. is the world's leader in reusable air filters. K&N High flow reusable air filters, High performance air intake systems and premium oil filters are available at most retailers and directly from K&N. With headquarters in Riverside, Calif., K&N is heavily involved in nearly every form of motorsports from off-road and powersports to drag racing, stock cars and road racing. For more information about K&N Filters, please visit www.knfilters.com

MASSEY, NEFF, NOBILE, HINES CLAIM VICTORIES AT SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS IN NORWALK

Spencer Massey raced to his fourth Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. 

 

Mike Neff (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

 

Massey powered his FRAM/Prestone dragster to his first Norwalk win with a quicker reaction time at the start to hold off the quicker, but losing Capco Contractors dragster of final round opponent Steve Torrence. With the victory, Massey returns to the series points lead.

 

“I knew the final round was going to be huge," said Massey. "Steve was running awesome all day. He’s been running awesome all season, actually. I’m from Texas, he’s from Texas, and we both drove Top Alcohol Dragsters in Division 4. The weather here was even hot like it is in Texas."

 

In Funny Car, Neff claimed his second win of the season and second at this track by defeating Tim Wilkerson in the final round. Neff drove his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a performance of 4.217 seconds at 298.21 to hold off Wilkerson's Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang.

“I don’t know how it all works, but Norwalk has definitely been good to me," Neff said. "We’ve done fairly well on the hotter racetracks. We usually do pretty well on those. And sometimes it just seems like you go some places that you just always do well at, and then there are some tracks you go to and it just seems like you can never do any good no matter how you’ve been doing up to that point. Tim Wilkerson put up a heck of a run over there. It had to be very close at the finish line, so it was just our day.”

 

In Pro Stock, Nobile celebrated an NHRA Sweep in the winner’s circle after claiming his second win of the season. In the final round, he powered his Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger to a performance of 6.661 seconds at 208.01 mph to defeat the Summit Racing Chevy Camaro of defending world champ Jason Line. Nobile also defeated Line in the final of Saturday's K&N Horsepower Challenge.

 

With the victory, Nobile claimed more than $100,000 for the weekend, as he also won the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge race on Saturday, claimed $25,000 for the race win and another $25,000 for an NHRA Sweep Bonus for winning both events during the weekend. He also won here in 2011.

 

“I never thought in a million years that things would be going like this," said Nobile. "My team supplied me with the fastest car today, and I have to give them the credit. [The semifinal win over Allen Johnson] was the coolest round I ever won in my life. I saw Jason Line and Shane Gray get in a pedaling match in front of me, so I mentally prepared myself for that situation. Luckily, my dad [John] taught me how to drive and told me to find fifth gear as soon as possible if I ever had to lift and saw that the other guy wasn’t in front of me. I felt like Ron Capps in the car.

 

"The best part of the weekend was getting Peggy [Coleman], my partner in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, that Toyota Tundra. She was in a terrible situation where she lost her house, and it was great to give something back to her."

 

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, three-time world champ Hines claimed his third win of the season on  his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson with a performance of 6.929 at 193.43 in the final round against opponent Hector Arana Jr. , who rode his Lucas Oil Buell.  Hines is the first rider to win three times at Norwalk ( also 2009, 2007). It was Hines’ 28th career victory.

“It was a good weekend all around for our team, and we just treated it like we did in Joliet last weekend when I got the national event win,” said Hines, who remained in second place in the points standings. “We just slowly picked way at the tune-up. Conditions changed tremendously today. The air dried out a lot, and we struggled a little bit with my bike the first couple rounds, but we learned a lot against Eddie [Krawiec, teammate] in the semifinals, and luckily I was able to get the eight-thou win against Eddie in the semifinals and learned everything we possibly could and applied that to the final. That was our best speed of the weekend and our best e.t. of the weekend. It was a heck of a race with Hector Jr. I beat him on a holeshot in Houston, and that was huge, and to do it again is ‘ice cream’ on the cake.”

 

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues July 20-22 with the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Denver.

NORWALK, Ohio -- Sunday's final results from the Sixth annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the 12th of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

 

Top Fuel -- Spencer Massey, 3.916 seconds, 312.50 mph def. Steve Torrence, 3.894 seconds, 315.71 mph.

 

Funny Car -- Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.217, 298.21 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.244, 296.96.

 

Pro Stock -- Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.661, 208.01 def. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.705, 207.88.

 

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.929, 193.43 def. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.928, 191.84.

 

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Bill Reichert, 5.334, 264.70 def. Dan Page, 5.436, 266.06.

 

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Paul Gill, Ford Mustang, 5.639, 255.92 def. Cassie Simonton, Chevy Monte Carlo, 12.598, 93.17.

 

Competition Eliminator -- David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 7.303, 178.85 def. Bo Butner, Chevy
Cobalt, 8.541, 158.09.

 

Super Stock -- Chad Taylor, Chevy Camaro, 10.414, 124.80 def. Jeff Dona, Pontiac Firebird, foul.

 

Stock Eliminator -- Larry Hill, Plymouth Baracuda, 10.538, 114.02 def. Randy Wilkes, Pontiac
Firebird, 10.443, 129.29.

 

Super Comp -- Al Kenny, Dragster, 8.911, 163.69 def. Brad Plourd, Dragster, 8.876, 163.95.

 

Super Gas -- Nathan Vrooman, Chevy Beretta, 9.952, 156.10 def. Steve Theodor, '27-T Ford, 9.873, 155.10.

 

Top Dragster -- Mike Laws, Dragster, 6.729, 197.80 def. Robert Mandell, Dragster, 6.590, 202.39.

 

Top Sportsman -- Gary Wojnowski Sr., Olds Cutlass, 6.906, 202.36 def. Jeff Sexton, Chevy Cavalier, foul.

 

 

 

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.