70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals
NOTE: Click on the thumbnails to display the full-size images
Our coverage starts with Thursday's sportsman action. The event started on Wednesday with qualifying for the Sportsman categories, but our ace photographer, Dale Fackler was still enroute from his Colorado homebase. The second day of action started with Super Stock qualifying, before moving into Comp eliminator, then the fan favourites, the "Sox & Martin Hemi Challenge".
SUPER STOCK ELIMINATOR - Qualifying Session #2
The gigantic 149-car field had to be whittled down to "only" 128 advancing to eliminations for what would be a marathon seven rounds of competition.
(LEFT) Doug Duell in his FSS/E 2015 Challenger claimed the #21 spot with a strong 9.009 pass that was slightly more than one second under his index.
(RIGHT) Gary Stinnett in his GT/KA 1990 Camaro landed much further down the list in the #101 position, courtesy of a 10.158 pass.
(LEFT) Bobby Rashid in his GT/GA 2005 Cavalier ended the session in the upper half of the field in the #48 spot after a 9.484 pass.
(RIGHT) Making the long trek down from Kennewick, WA was Larry McLanahan in his FSS/B 2019 Mustang, and he grabbed the #65 spot with a very quick 8.324 effort.
Closing out the session was Todd Frantz in his GT/GA 2005 Pontiac G5. He ran 9.017 and took the #61 spot on the ladder.
COMPETITION ELIMINATOR - Qualifying Session #1
With a giant 60-car field, Comp(licated) Eliminator was sure to see some fast and close racing from a very wide variety of cars.
(LEFT) Doug Engels in his D/DA Prostart chassis powered to a 7.454 (.546 under the index) to land in the #6 spot.
(RIGHT) Defending World Champion, and well known TV personality, Bruno Massel in his CC/AT 2010 Cobalt slotted into #9 on the ladder with a 7.038 that was .522 below the index.
(LEFT) Ohio's John Frech in the Weddle chassisied F/Dragster took the #27 spot with a 8.093 effort that was nearly half a second under his index.
(RIGHT) Cali Neff, from Colorado pushed J/DA dragster to a 7.773, good for the #16 position. The pass was .507 below the index.
(LEFT) Adam Hickey ran a strong 6.886 in his Spitzer chassied B/DA, nearly five tenths below the index and good for the #21 spot in the show.
(RIGHT) Closing out our Comp coverage, Jason Coan ran the G/Econo Altered '32 Bantam to an 8.253 that put him in the #19 spot.
Sox & Martin HEMI Challenge - Qualifying Session #2
With 22 cars in the field, comprised of 6 Darts and 16 Barracudas, the battle for "Hemi Supremacy" was sure to be intense.
(LEFT) Charlie Westcott, driving the "Karolina Kuda" qualified #6 with an 8.525 - 157.36
(RIGHT) Louisiana's Ben Kimberley grabbed the #19 spot in the 22-car field with a 9.055 - 146.45
(LEFT) South Carolina's Anthony Rhodes pushed the "Kandy Kuda" to an excellent 8.491 - 157.48 to slot into the #4 spot in the field.
(RIGHT) Not running as well was the Cleve Stewart entry, as he landed near the bottom of the list with an offpace 9.492 - 142.75 effort.
(LEFT) From Fraser, Michigan it's Jerry Kassin, driving his '68 Dart to a 8.826 - 149.85 to qualify #16.
(RIGHT) It's Bucky Hess in his "Psycho Kuda" qualified #3 at 8.463 - 156.81.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1
The first really fast cars of the event made their first qualifying sessions, with the Funny Cars leading the way. Sadly there were only 12 cars in the field.
(LEFT) Making a strong statement with a very good 5.599 - 261.88 pass, Iowa's Chris Foster landed in the #2 spot at the end of the session.
(RIGHT) A familiar face on the national scene, Bob McCosh ran into some serious tire shake, forcing him to shut off and post a 7-second time.
Finishing the session, the "Killer B's" pirate ship, with Sean Bellemeur at the tiller, put down a decent run at 5.787 - 256.65. Decent in that he ran into tire shake, had to pedal, but still managed to get to the finish line as the 5th quickest car of the round.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #1
With 18 cars in the pits, and only 16 spots available in the field, there was at least a small amount of drama to see who was going to be racing in eliminations. As the cars rolled out of the staging lanes, the track temp was already at 125 (F) and corrected altitude reading over 3600 feet, not the best conditions for great performances.
(LEFT) First out of the lanes was the blower car of Brandon Greco, and he set the tone by laying down a good opening pass of 5.376 - 269.78.
(RIGHT) Less than a year into her driving career, Arizonan Shaundra Blinzler made a good opening pass of 5.452 - 269.19.
(LEFT) Not having a great start to his weekend, Maryland's Dan Dietrich in one of the five blown alcohol cars in the field, stuttered off the line and limped to a 19-second clocking.
(RIGHT) Coming all the way from the West Coast of Canada, perennial championship contender Shawn Cowie rattled the tires hard before the 330' mark and shut down to a 14-second clocking that left him outside the field at the end of the session.
(LEFT) One of the horde of A/Fuel cars in the field, the John Finke owned and tuned car of Jackie Fricke had no luck as the car lurched off the line in a haze of unburned fuel and idled down the track to a 12-second time.
(RIGHT) Having a better result was Pennsylvania's John Ausherman who didn't have a perfect run but managed to crank out a respectable 5.584 - 256.36 to grab the #10 spot on the ladder.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE - Qualifying Session #1
(LEFT) After missing the last four races, Ryan Oehler shook off the rust with a decent 7.097 - 188.28 pass to take the #10 position on the qualifying list.
(RIGHT) Getting some last minute coaching from teammate Matt Smith, the Scrappers Racing rider, Jianna Evaristo, became the first in the session to break into the 6-second zone with a 6.939 e.t. and very fast 198.15 mph. The speed held up as the fastest of the session and the e.t. put her in the #4 rung on the ladder.
PRO STOCK - Qualifying Session #1
Our Pro Stock coverage is rather skimpy as the hard working photographer had to take a break from the oppressive heat and humidity. He did manage to capture veteran Larry Morgan launching on his way to a 6.733 - 205.85 pass that left him outside the qualified field in the #18 slot.
FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1
As the sun dipped down and the lights came on, the staging lanes filled with Nitro Funny Cars, and their longer wheelbased brethren, Top Fuel Dragsters. As the flopper session commenced, the density altitude had dropped to 3300' and the air temp was down to 83 (F). And it would only get better as the session progressed.
(LEFT) Still working on the tuneup, the Chris King team made a huge leap forward with career best numbers of 4.079 - 302.21 on his first pass of the event. To put those numbers in perspective, his previous top speed was only 233 mph.
(RIGHT) Another team that's been working on their tuneup for the better part of two years, the Paul and Dave Richards car made a decent run to the 600' mark before shutting down to a 4.502 - 205.72 clocking.
(LEFT) Jumping to the top of the qualifying sheet with a great 3.901 - 325.53 run was Cruz Pedregon as he opened his account on a high note.
(RIGHT) Not quite matching some of the earlier runs, Paul Lee stopped the timers at 4.004 - 293.28. The numbers were a little less than expected, but he was off the throttle before the finish line.
(LEFT) Sporting a jungle themed "Jackal" wrap, Dan Wilkerson was a little slow early but finished strong with a 313.58 speed, coupled with a decent 4.026 elapsed time.
(RIGHT) Another new look was on the Ron Capps car, with their second annual Indy tribute to the legendary Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. Capps ran strong to the 800' mark before one of the chutes came out, slowing him to a 3.997 - 300.73 that placed him #8 on the list.
(LEFT) And the specialty wraps just kept coming as Matt Hagan had a total "Direct Connection" look on his car. Unfortunately it didn't run as good as it looked as he lost traction before the 660' timing blocks, causing him to lift and coast to a 4.837 - 164.59 that ultimately left him in the first alternate position at the end of the session.
(RIGHT) Closing out the session going side-by-side with points leader Austin Prock (not shown), Bob Tasca III ran strong until getting out of the throttle just past the 660' mark and coasting across the finish stripe with a 4.171 - 230.96 showing on the scoreboard.
TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #1
There were 20 cars in the lanes and only 16 spots available for the eliminations field. While it was important to put down a good pass under the evening conditions, there were four more qualifying sessions over the next two days to make up for a lack of performance in this first session. After seeing some very good numbers from the Funny Cars, the dragster teams were looking for some very quick and fast runs.
(LEFT) Making only his third appearance of the season, and first since Norwalk in June, Tripp Tatum III" made some great numbers in the first 330' but lost traction just after that point and shut off to a 4.473 at 174.21 mph.
(RIGHT) With similar attendance figures as Tatum, T.J. Zizzo prepared to make a major impression on the Indy fans and did so until just before the finish line. He lost the blower belt shortly after the 660' mark and stopped the timers with a 3.902 at only 266.32 mph.
(LEFT) Three pairs later, Brittany Force dropped a bomb on the field, rocketing to the top of the ladder with a 3.740 - 334.32. To underline those numbers, she was running 292.39 mph at the 660' and 3.017 seconds at that point. Very strong numbers.
(RIGHT) In the next pair, Top Fuel "rookie" Tony Stewart made a good opening run at 3.839 - 319.52 that placed him #8 on the qualifying list.
The day started ominously with a several hour rain delay, but after some hard work by the Safety Safari, the track was brought into racing condition, and the fast cars started running. In fact, the entire day was devoted to PRO and Pro Sportsman racing. Our photographer missed the second qualifying session for Top Fuel but got to the track in time for the second go-round for the Funny Cars.
FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #2
With track and air conditions better than last night, as the adjusted altitude was down to 2800', air temp at 77 (F) and track temp at 94 (F), expectations for some great performances were almost certain to happen.
(LEFT) It didn't take long for the big numbers to start showing up, as Bob Tasca III really lit up the scoreboard with a brilliant 3.871 - 336.23 that vaulted over Blake Alexander's low e.t. of the first session (3.890), and put Tasca at the top of the list.
(RIGHT) Going in the other direction on his second attempt was Dale "Peanut" Creasy Jr., as he left hard, started heading for the right side wall, and shut off to a 9-second time.
(LEFT) A close look at the windshield of Chris King's Dodge Charger will show a big hole in it, courtesy of a blower explosion on the burnout. It appeared that someone left the throttle stop disconnected and when the rpm's went sky-high, the blower and windshield suffered.
(RIGHT) Following up her first session 3.987 pass with an even better 3.911 - 323.50 allowed Alexis DeJoria to pick up three spots from #8 to #5 in the qualifying order.
(LEFT) Making a full - or almost full - run this time was Ron Capps as he kept the chutes inside their packs most of the way to the finish line. He picked up nearly a tenth in e.t. with a 3.901 - 313.37 showing up on the scoreboards and moved up five positions to #5, bumping DeJoria back a notch.
(RIGHT) Not missing a beat after four years out of a race car, Jack Beckman ran well at his season debut in Brainerd, and continued that here with a strong 3.877 - 329.10 to move up to the #3 rung on the ladder.
Leading the field after the first qualifying session, Blake Alexander had fallen to #4 by the time he came to the starting line for his second pass. The car ran well for the first 500' but was mixing up cylinders and moving around, forcing him to shut down to a 4.262 - 212.36 result. This run was also the first round of the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge, which he lost to opponent Chad Green (not shown).
TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #3
The air and track temps were up from the earlier session, with the track going up 25 degrees, from 94 to 119 (F), while the air only rose four degrees from 77 to 81 (F). Density altitude also rose nearly 300 ft to 3175 ft, but humidty dropped 4% to 77%. Good, but not great conditions for the fuel cars.
(LEFT) Coming into the session at the bottom of the list in the #20 spot, Josh Hart was feeling the pressure to produce on the big stage that is Indy. The Ron Douglas tuned entry did what it had to do, cranking out a solid 3.772 - 326.63 to grab the #12 spot on the ladder, bumping Doug Kalitta out of the field in the process.
(RIGHT) Safely qualified in the #11 spot, Billy "Captain Capco" Torrence didn't have much luck on this run, smoking the tires early and shutting off to a 5.236 - 187.18 result.
(LEFT) After making a great 3.707 pass in the earlier session, that lifted him all the way up to the #2 spot, Tony Stewart slowed down substantially in this go-round. He made a solid, but slower 3.793 - 327.98 pass to finish his day's work.
(RIGHT) Running in the final pair of the round, Justin Ashley was hoping to climb up the ladder from his #7 position. It wasn't to be though as he lost traction around the 600' mark and slowed to a 4.085 - 260.01 clocking. Besides being in the final pair of the session, Ashley won the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Challenge race over opponent Ida Zetterstrom (not shown). And that put a wrap on Top Fuel for the day, with two more chances to qualify or improve their positions tomorrow.
FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #3
As the afternoon went on, the track temperature kept climbing from 105 (F) in the previous session to 119 (F) when the 3rd qualifying session began.
(LEFT) After a good first session pass of 4.055 on Friday, Dale Creasy Jr. didn't run well in the earlier session today. He failed to improve on this attempt too, with the tires breaking loose just past the 330' mark, slowing him to a 6-second clocking as he remained in the #14 position on the ladder.
(RIGHT) Getting back to a consistently quick performance, Blake Alexander, laid down a very good 3.915 - 314.31 despite the blower belt breaking near the finish line in the Jim Head owned and tuned Mustang. That kept them in the #4 slot on the qualifying list.
(LEFT) Coming into the session on the bump spot, the Jim Dunn team, with Buddy Hull driving, picked up a few hundredths - but remained on the bubble - as a 4.093 - 313.51 flashed up on the scoreboard.
(RIGHT) Looking to repeat in the heat of the day, Matt Hagan nearly matched his earlier 3.918, good for #8 on the ladder, with a solid 3.951 - 326.32 timeslip.
(LEFT) Solidly in the field in the #7 spot, Alexis DeJoria was looking to repeat her earlier 3-second passes and did just that. She stopped the timers with a good for the conditions 3.969 - 322.96 pass that showed serious consistency in performance.
(RIGHT) Another racer that was looking to repeat his earlier best of 3.877, and stay in the #3 position on the qualifying sheet, was "Fast" Jack Beckman. He nearly matched that earlier effort with a great 3.895 - 327.74 that stood up as the best e.t. of the session.
(LEFT) Unable to move up on the qualifying list as he was already #1, Austin Prock nearly matched Beckman's low e.t. of the round, but fell just four thousandths short, with an excellent 3.899 - 328.46 that was the fastest speed of the session.
(RIGHT) Running in the final pair of the round, and simultaneously, the final round of the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Challenge, J.R. Todd was looking to take the challenge win and lay down a good number towards qualifying. He didn't improve on his earlier 3.918 best, but his 3.953 - 325.22 was consistent and quick enough to turn on the win light over opponent Chad Green (not shown).
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)
With just three qualifying sessions, there wasn't a lot of time for teams to dial-in a good qualifying tuneup. Coming into the final round of qualifying, some of the heavy hitters were on the outside, and hoping to get into the field. Included among them were the defending Indy champion, Madison Payne, and #5 in the 2023 national standings, Jackie Fricke.
(LEFT) Down to the last chance to improve, Jared Dreher got off the bump spot with a big improvement from an earlier best of 5.584 to a good 5.355 - 270.81 to jump all the way up the charts to the #5 position in the field.
(RIGHT) With a very good earlier effort of 5.325 that placed her #3 on the ladder, Angelle Sampey stepped up all the way to the top spot with a very quick 5.280 - 274.89 to show that she could run with the best cars in the class.
Running in the final pair of the session, Canada's Shawn Cowie wanted to improve on his #7 placing, based on his earlier best e.t. of 5.352. He did just that, dropping into the 5.20's with a great 5.295 - 273.77 to move into the top quarter of the ladder, in the #3 position.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #3 (FINAL)
With only 12 cars entered, everyone was qualified, but battling for position(s) was going to be the order of the day in the final qualifying session for the alky floppers.
(LEFT) Sitting at the bottom of the field with a "best" of 10.525, Annie Whiteley was determined to step up and she certainly did, pounding out a very good 5.560 - 264.18 to elevate her to the #4 spot in the field.
(RIGHT) Following his wife in the next pair was Jim Whiteley and he was in a similar situation to her, with a previous 8.957 leaving him at the bottom of the field as he moved into the stage beams. He launched hard but fought to keep the car going straight, pedaled it and finally got it under control to the tune of 5.895 - 249.90 to pick up one spot to #11 on the qualifying sheet.
(LEFT) Another of the heavy hitters having trouble in qualifying was Sean Bellemeur in the Bartone Bros. entry. He came into the final session in the #9
position with a 5.728 e.t. but quickly erased that mark with a good
(RIGHT) Running slower than usual, the Swedish Leander Bros. team, with Ulf Leanders driving was looking to improve on his earlier 5.685 best. He did that, but his 5.648 - 260.41 was only quick enough to hang on to the #9 spot in the order.
Saving the very best for last, the Victoria, BC, Sipos & Davenport entry, with Stan Sipos driving, and legendary Les Davenport tuning, was sitting in the #8 position with a 5.589 best. He not only improved on that but he became the first car into the 5.40's with an excellent 5.493 - 266.58 to claim the top spot in the field. A great way to close qualifying for the Top Alcohol cars.
TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #4
At the start of this penultimate qualifying session the density altitude was under 2700', the track temp was a manageable 119 (F) and the air temp was 81 (F). All of that was good enough for the fuel cars to run well and most likely the conditions they would be facing in eliminations tomorrow.
(LEFT) Down to her second to last chance to gain a berth in eliminations, Krista Baldwin needed to pick up at least half a tenth on her previous best of 3.863. She was looking good early in her run, but dropped cylinders past the 660' mark and slowed to a 3.875 - 269.46 to remain in the #18 position. Up to the point where the pipes went wet, she was almost certainly on her way into the qualified field.
(RIGHT) Already well qualified in the #8 spot with a 3.739, the Leatherwood Distilleries entry of Tony Schumacher slowed down substantially to a 3.947 - 314.31 to stay in #8. It certainly wasn't what they expected to run, but at least one cylinder dropped before the 660' mark.
(LEFT) Despite holding down the #5 rung on the ladder, Tripp Tatum III had only made one really good run in the first three sessions, which gave him a 3.729 e.t. He failed to come close to that number again, smoking the tires early and shutting down to a 5-second timeslip.
(RIGHT) Another failed attempt to improve, as Shawn Reed in the new look "Star Racer" wrap, smoked the tires - a recurring theme so far - and coasted to a 4.475 - 179.66 pass.
(LEFT) Stop me if you've read this before: more tire smoke, this time courtesy of Ida Zetterstrom as she broke traction and posted a 4.548 - 171.90. That left her safely qualified, but near the bottom of the field in the #14 spot going into the final qualifying session later in the day.
(RIGHT) In the near lane we have Clay Millican wearing his new Arby's wrap, while Jasmine Salinas (far lane) is sporting her usual Scrappers Racing look. On the launch, Millican's exhaust flames could be seen clearly in the afternoon light. He made it to the 660' mark before he lost traction and slowed to a 4.015 -236.38, while Salinas started smouldering the hides a few hundred feet earlier before stopping the clocks with a 4.787 - 153.20, leaving her in the precarious bump spot position with just one more chance to get solidly into the show on Monday.
(LEFT) Already solidly qualified in the #7 spot, Justin Ashley bucked the tire smoking trend and laid down the quickest pass of the session with a strong 3.778 - 327.52 that nearly matched his earlier best of 3.738. He was scheduled to face Lex Joon but the Nev'R Quit team decided to sit out the session and get ready for the final round of qualifying.
(RIGHT) Things got back to "normal" in the next pair, as Doug Kalitta (barely visible in the far lane) and Brittany Force both failed to get very far past the 330' mark before the tires lost their grip. Kalitta's performance left him in the #18 position and outside the field, while Force was on top of the heap with her earlier 3.693 best.
(LEFT) Two more swings... and two more misses, as both Dan Mercier (near lane) and Tony Stewart (far lane - barely visible), were... wait for it.... up in smoke well before the 330' timing blocks. Both were in good positions on the ladder, with Stewart #2 and Mercier in at #10.
(RIGHT) The last pair of the session rolled to the line and got a little further down track before losing traction, leaving T.J. Zizzo (near lane) and Josh Hart (far lane) wondering how so many cars could fail to navigate what was appearing to be a very tricky track surface.
With just one qualifying session left, the bump spot was held down by Jasmine Salinas at 3.814, closely followed by the Team Kalitta cars at 3.821 and 3.823. Not much further back were the third and fourth alternates, Krista Baldwin at 3.863 and Lex Joon at 3.927. All the racers were hoping for a lower track temps and better air density readings.
FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #5
No more chances after this session for the two racers on the outside of the field. With Chris King holding down the bump spot at 4.079, a number that should be achievable, but it's just a little quicker than first alternate Dave Richards's best of 4.105 and miles ahead of Justin Schriefer's 6-second effort.
(LEFT) Down to his final chance, midwest part-timer Justin Schriefer, with veteran fuel tuner Rip Reynolds serving as crew chief again failed to get down the track, shaking hard and shutting off just past the 100' mark. His best of the weekend, an earlier 6.80 fell far short of getting into eliminations.
(RIGHT) The only other racer that could bump out King was the Dave Richards entry, and he also failed. His previous 4.105 pass left him just a few hundredths short of qualifying, but in his final try he slowed to a 4.328 - 237.59 and that sealed the bump spot at King's 4.079. From here on for the rest of the final session it was going to simply be battles for position.
(LEFT) Not satisfied to be in the #13 spot on the ladder, and disappointed at being stuck in the 4-second zone, Chad Green was looking good in his final attempt until well past the 660' mark, but slowed to a 4.124- 239.57 as he failed to improve.
(RIGHT) Qualified in the fast half of the field, Matt Hagan wanted to stay or improve from his #8 position. He did improve, by a hundredth of a second over his earlier best. The clocks stopped at 3.908 - 327.66 but he remained in the #8 spot as his opponent in this session, Dan Wilkerson, (not shown) ran just a little quicker and leapfrogged ahead of Hagan.
(LEFT) Hoping to impress his ex-boss (Don Prudhomme), Ron Capps made a full pass this time, posting his best speed of the meet (his earlier best was only 313.37), with a good 325.92 mph blast, but the e.t. was nearly a tenth slower than his previous best of 3.918. On this run he stopped the clocks with a 3.996 to remain in the #7 slot.
(RIGHT) Slowing a little from his great earlier run, Jack Beckman put down a consistent 3.933 - 322.58 that ended up fifth quickest of the session. It looked like a solid tuneup run for tomorrow's eliminations.
(LEFT) Running alongside Austin Prock in the second to last pair of the session, Blake Alexander made another very good pass at 3.921 - 320.20. It wasn't an improvement on her earlier #4 qualifying 3.890, but it showed the consistency needed to go into eliminations.
(RIGHT) Running in the last pair and hoping to make enough of an improvement to overtake Prock for the top spot on the ladder, Bob Tasca III, in his Mustang-bodied "Dark Horse" entry didn't have the horses (sorry for the very bad pun) to do it, and slowed early to a 4.255 - 222.69 that left him in the #2 position in the field.
TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #5
The final session for the dragsters opened with the track temp at 114 (F), air density at 3100+ ft, and air temp at 82 (F). Not the greatest conditions, but far better than the first session on Friday and probably close to what tomorrow's later sessions of eliminations would be. All of the 20 cars entered were in the lanes and ready to do their best, some to simply qualify, some to solidify their qualifying positions, and some looking for a good race-day tuneup.
(LEFT) First to test the track was Krista Baldwin, who needed at least a 3.813, and realistically, something in the 3.70's to make the field. She looked good on the launch but started mixing up cylinders early and shut off to a non-qualifying 4.304 - 202.91 to end her weekend.
(RIGHT) Somewhat safely in the field in the #14 spot at 3.776, Ida Zetterstrom wanted to move up a rung or two on the ladder but couldn't quite do it as she posted a solid, but not improved, 3.790 - 324.67 clocking.
(LEFT) Another clean pass was in the cards for Clay Millican, but the scoreboard reading of 3.828 - 327.27 meant that he would start from the #13 position in the field.
(RIGHT) Quebec, Canada's Dan Mercier got a slight case of the "yips" at the starting line, double-stepping the throttle and leaving the line before the tree activated. The result was an NTR (no time recorded), as he remained in the #10 spot with his earlier 3.763 e.t.
(LEFT) Continuing the pattern of most of the racers before him in this session, Shawn Reed slowed from his earlier best of 3.755, stopping the timers with a respectable 3.837 - 322.04 as crew chief Rob Wendland worked at dialing in the car for eliminations.
(RIGHT) While he didn't run quicker than the 3.739 recorded earlier, Tony Schumacher did turn the quickest pass to this point in the session. A 3.777 - 325.06 lit up the scoreboards as he remained in the #8 qualifying position.
(LEFT) Running alongside his teammate and father (Billy Torrence - not shown), Steve Torrence nipped Schumacher's run as he set a new low e.t. and top speed of the final session with a very good 3.773 - 330.72 pass.
(RIGHT) And the hits just kept on coming, as part time runner Tripp Tatum pushed the "Capco clone" car to an even better e.t. than Torrence, with a 3.747 - 328.06 showing up on the timers. It was less than two hundredths slower than his #5 qualifying 3.729 from the 2nd qualifying session.
Closing out the session was #4 qualifier Antron Brown in the 45th anniversary Matco Tools wrapped dragster. He nipped Torrence for the second best run of the session, with a solid 3.771 - 320.66 pass.
After three days of varying weather conditions, including a rainy Friday, Monday morning dawned sunny and cool. The air temperature was down 20 degrees from qualifying, the track temp was down more than 30 degrees, and the density altitude was nearly 2000 ft lower. All very conducive to making BIG horsepower, with the track capable of handling it. For the 16 "survivors" entering eliminations it was time to go BIG or go home.
TOP FUEL - Eliminations Round ONE
(LEFT)The second pair of the round matched father and son, with Steve Torrence facing Billy Torrence. Steve got the party started with the second quickest run of the event, a very good 3.702 - 329.67 to easily handle an up-in-smoke Billy.
(RIGHT) Three pairs later, the newly wrapped "Direct Connection" retro look dragster of Tony Stewart faced Doug Foley. Coming out of qualifying in the highest starting position of his admittedly short Top Fuel career, Stewart cranked out a great 3.723 - 331.53 to take a close win by less than a car length.
(LEFT) With a very different appearance due to the "Arby's" wrap, Clay Millican charged hard off the line and stopped the timers with the quickest run of the round - so far - a 3.695 and top speed of the meet at 333.74 to eliminate Antron Brown who lost traction at half track and slowed.
(RIGHT) Coming into eliminations from the #12 starting spot, Josh Hart appeared to be in deep against #5 qualifier Tripp Tatum. He grabbed a big (.052 to .103) reaction time advantage, and pulled away quickly from Tatum, before hazing the tires and slowing to a 4.018 - 249.49. However, Tatum smoked the tires and was off the throttle before the 330' mark.
FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round ONE
(LEFT) Leading the way out of the lanes to start Funny Car eliminations, second-generation fuel flopper pilot, Dan Wilkerson faced another "young gun" in Bobby Bode Jr. After a strong launch, Wilkerson suffered a major engine explosion before half track, blowing the body into two pieces, but managed to wrestle the wreckage to a stop without hitting the wall. Bode made his best run of the weekend to escape the conflagration and advance to the quarter-final round.
(RIGHT) This what was left of the body as it went down the return road on a flatdeck truck. It was a sad end to an expensive weekend for Team Wilk as they had another major engine failure during qualifying.
(LEFT) With the top qualifier hat already in his wardrobe, Austin Prock absolutely obliterated the bump spot racer, Chris King. It was no contest as King was out of it early and Prock rocketed to low e.t. of the meet with a brilliant 3.850 - 334.15 timeslip.
(RIGHT) This is how they get some of the awesome overhead shots on the FOX network and NHRA.TV broadcasts. It's a quad-rotor drone with a 4K HD video camera.
(LEFT) Prock was followed by the #2 qualifier Bob Tasca III in what looked like a true David vs Goliath battle. Qualifying near the bottom of the field, Buddy Hull, in the Jim Dunn car was in deep but he pulled off the improbable upset as Tasca smoked the tires just past the 660' mark. It wasn't pretty but Hull scored the first round win of his Funny Car career with a 4.063 - 286.86 pass.
(RIGHT) Taking over the driving chores for the GOAT (John Force), former world champion "Fast" Jack Beckman was looking to start turning on some winlights after debuting in the car at Brainerd. He qualified third at 3.877 and bettered that with a new low e.t. of the event, 3.842 - 332.51 to get a leg up on teammate Austin Prock. In the other lane was long-time veteran Dale Creasy Jr. who made the quickest and fastest run of his career with an excellent 3.950 - 325.92 to give Beckman a good fight.
(LEFT) Needing at least one round win to guarantee a spot in the Countdown to The Championship, Blake Alexander turned on the horsepower to crank out a great 3.883 - 327.74. Winning the Brainerd event two weeks ago, qualifying #4 here and advancing to the second round with lane choice proved that the Jim Head car is a worthy championship contender. His first round opponent, Chad Green left first but lost traction early and slowed.
(RIGHT) It's been another tough season for Cruz Pedregon, but he worked hard to qualify in the top half of the field and earned a holeshot victory over Paul Lee. Pedregon's 3.923 - 323.58 was enough to take a car length win over Lee's hard running Charger. The loss put Lee's chance to gain a berth in the countdown in serious jeopardy.
(LEFT) Sporting another Don Prudhomme tribute paint scheme, Ron Capps hoped for a three-peat at Indy following victories in the two previous editions. He had a slight advantage over opponent J.R. Todd off the line, but fell back a little before Todd smoked the tires as Capps sailed on to a winning 3.946 - 333.33 and a ticket into the next round.
(RIGHT) The round closed with a pressure packed match between Alexis DeJoria and defending world champion Matt Hagan. The most pressure was on Paul Lee, who would be eliminated from the countdown if DeJoria won the round. She qualified just three thousandths slower than Hagan but crew chief Del Worsham turned up the wick and it resulted in a very good 3.886 - 327.98 win over a tire smoking Hagan.
TOP FUEL - Eliminations Round TWO
With the track temperature up nearly 25 degrees, air temp up 10, and the corrected altitude up 600 feet, conditions weren't quite as good as the opening round, but still better than four out of the five qualifying sessions. While it would be a safe bet that there wouldn't be any 3.60 runs, mid to low 3.70's were more than possible.
(LEFT) First up in the second round, and coming off a great run earlier, Tony Stewart faced a tough competitor in Justin Ashley. Stewart was two hundredths slower off the line but the race was over quickly in a cloud of smoke coming off Ashley's slicks, as Stewart ran away to a very convincing 3.747 - 330.88 victory.
(RIGHT) In only her second NHRA national event, Ida Zetterstrom was hoping to go into the semifinals again. She nearly did as she left on Steve Torrence and held the lead until after the 660' mark before dropping a cylinder and losing the race by a third of a car length. Her 3.797 - 317.12 was a very creditable performance, albeit in a losing cause.
Closing the round with a very good 3.753 - 332.18 run, Clay Millican advanced to the semifinals over a tire hazing Josh Hart. Millican's e.t. was only the third best of the round but it was good enough to earn lane choice over Brittany Force.
FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round TWO
(LEFT) Making another strong run, but having to win on a holeshot is not the usual route to victory for Austin Prock. His 3.879 - 331.61 run was excellent by any standard, but it took an .057 to .084 reaction time advantage to take the win over Alexis DeJoria's valiant, but losing, 3.876 - 327.90 pass.
(RIGHT) The other Force team member, Jack Beckman faced off against veteran Cruz Pedregon for the right to advance to the semifinals. "Fast Jack" slowed a little from his low e.t. in the first round, but a great 3.870 - 330.15 was more than enough to turn on the winlight and grab lane choice over Ron Capps in the semifinals.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Eliminations Round THREE
After setting low e.t. of the event (5.194) in the second round, Langley, BC Canada's Shawn Cowie looked to advance to his fourth final round at the U.S. Nationals. However, he was still looking for his first event win at the "Big Go". His opponent, Angelle Sampey, hadn't run as well as Shawn, but she left on him and took a holeshot win over Cowie's extremely good 5.205 - 277.54 effort.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round THREE
(LEFT) As the low qualiifer, Victoria, BC Canada's Stan Sipos earned the bye run in the semifinals. Partnered with ace tuner Les Davenport (Calgary, Alberta), the veteran team took it easy on this run, shutting off before half track and coasting to a winning 6.169 - 170.64 time that gifted lane choice to the winner of the next pair.
(RIGHT) In a great side-by-side race, Sean Bellemeur took a close win over Chris Foster, with an excellent 5.457 - 267.16 to hold lane choice and back up his low e.t. of the meet 5.423 from the previous round. That set things up for a great final round between two very experienced and successful teams.
TOP FUEL - Eliminations Round THREE
With 21 previous final round appearances at NHRA national events, but never at the U.S. Nationals, Clay Millican, in the Rick Ware Racing entry, was looking to take another winlight. Facing Brittany Force, Clay was ready for her and ran away to a very convincing victory when she smoked the tires almost instantly. The scoreboard read 3.750 - 332.18 as Millican advanced to the final.
FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round THREE
(LEFT) Hoping to make it an all-JFR final round, Austin Prock did his part with another consistent 3.80-range pass, a 3.887 - 332.34 to eliminate a tire-smoking Blake Alexander.
(RIGHT) It wasn't a successful conclusion for Jack Beckman as he smoked the tires early and could only watch Ron Capps run away to a win that ended with the tires breaking loose and the throttle closed. Capps' 4.315 - 252.52 wasn't anywhere near Prock's 3.887 effort, but it was still good enough to move into the final round.
FUNNY CAR - Eliminations FINAL ROUND
With only one racer, Ron Capps, standing between him and the winner'c circle, Austin Prock was primed for a great finish to an outstanding weekend. He stayed in the 3.8-zone with a great 3.885 - 327.98 to turn on the winlight. He left on Capps by nearly three hundredths, and ran half a tenth quicker than Ron's valiant 3.935 - 331.45 performance.
TOP FUEL - Eliminations FINAL ROUND
Then there was one - race that is - with Clay Millican, in his new Arby's livery, facing multi-time world champion Steve Torrence (not shown). Millican had lane choice, and had been quicker than Torrence in two of the three rounds leading up to the final. Although Torrence left first by a small margin, it was nearly a dead heat at the 330' point before he started hazing the tires and fell back. On the top end it was all Millican as he roared through the lights with a strong 3.792 - 327.82 winning time, while Torrence slowed and blew the engine before stopping the clocks at 4.317 - 192.30. Adding insult to injury, Torrence was fined 10 points for oiling the track, dropping him to #5 in the final "regular season" standings.
That's the complete report from the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals. It was a six-day tour de force of drag racing with great performances, challenging weather and track conditions, large crowds and nearly 1000 competitors. Best of all, we had a great photographer on site for the entire event, providing us with the images to go with the stories that made up our coverage of the most iconic event in drag racing.