The latest update as of February 13, 2022

PRO NITRO SPRING TRAINING - Day Three

Shooting from a very different vantage point in the braking area, BIG Bob Snyder has provided us with some great shots from the final day of the test session. Going into the final day of pre-season testing, the leaderboard had Mike Salinas on top with a great 3.677 - 296.31, followed closely by Steve Torrence at 3.693 - 328.78. On the Funny Car side, Ron Capps with a 3.874 - 325.14 was just a fraction in front of Robert Hight's very good 3.879 - 331.26, while John Force was very close behind the top two, clocking in at 3.888 - 321.88.

In total, after the two 3.60 runners in Top Fuel, the next nine drivers were all in the 3.70-zone, with two more trailing in the low 3.80's. On the Funny Car side, four cars were in the 3.80's and four more in the 3.90's going into the final day of testing.

(LEFT) It didn't take long for the best numbers from the first two days to be obliterated, as J.R. Todd blew through the lights with an awesome 3.866 - 334.32 clocking to start the ball rolling.

(RIGHT) Just a few minutes later, John Force blew away Todd's numbers with an even better 3.836 - 335.40 to show everyone that he was going to be competing hard from the start of the season.

(LEFT) The good numbers continued for Leah Pruett (back in her Power Brokers wrap), who broke into the 3-second zone, despite a very early shutoff, with a very good 3.911 - 237.05 timeslip.

(RIGHT) Continuing to make solid runs as he prepared for his second full season in Pro Stock, Mason McGaha put down a solid 5.542 - 177.74 to start his final day of pre-season testing.

(LEFT) More good runs for the naturally aspirated cars followed, as Matt Hartford turned his best times of the test session with a very good 5.506 - 180.57 on his first Saturday pass.

(RIGHT) Nearly matching Hartford's numbers, defending World Champion Greg Anderson stopped the clocks with a 5.508 - 177.74 on his second test pass, after sitting out the first two days.

The second run of the day for Robert Hight wasn't all smooth sailing as a head gasket expired on the top end, with smoke trailing the car through the braking area and leading to a visit from the Safety Safari to ensure everything was safely extinguished. The car did run strong before the incident, with the timeslip reading 4.185 - 226.20.

(LEFT) Making another solid run, Josh Hart came through the lights at 3.731 - 306.88 to just miss joining the top runners in the 3.60-zone.

(RIGHT) Slowing after a less than successful pass, Matt Hagan couldn't have been happy with the 8.681 - 80.88 reading on the scoreboards.

(LEFT) Continuing to make solid runs without going all the way to the finish line, Clay Millican stopped the timers with a good 3.831 - 272.89 on his first run of the final day.

(RIGHT) Still looking to see some good numbers come up on the scoreboard, Paul Lee's troubles continued as evidenced by the 6.810 - 92.23 reading from this pass.

(LEFT) Getting more laps under his belt, Top Fuel rookie, Scott Farley, shut off very early to a 5.56 e.t. on this attempt.

(RIGHT) Making only his second pass of the three-day test session, Tim Wilkerson backed up his earlier 3.929 - 294.69 with an almost as good 3.945 - 323.12 on this run.

(LEFT) The numbers don't really add up, but Chad Green stopped the clocks at 4.780 with a trap speed of only 62.21 mph. The incrementals must have been incredible before he shut off, but unfortunately, we don't have access to them.

(RIGHT) Making his first pass of the test session, Gary Densham (filling in for his "otherwise engaged" son Steven), didn't get very far under power, crawling to a 15-second e.t. on this run.

(LEFT) Running side-by-side with his teammate Doug Kalitta (not shown), Shawn Langdon clicked it a little early but still put up a very good number of 3.765 - 312.71 on his first run of the day. It was his best run of spring training to this point.

(RIGHT)

(LEFT) After several 3-second runs, Cruz Pedregon pushed the Snap-On car to his best of the test 3.920 - 322.18 as the team prepared to build on their successful 2021 season with a strong start at the Winternationals.

(RIGHT) The good runs continued for Chris McGaha as he posted a solid 5.524 - 190.67 to show he was ready to race next week.

(LEFT) Getting into the competitive zone with this 3.732 - 324.20 pass, Tony Schumacher started seeing some good results as the team worked hard to get the new car and crew members sorted out before the season opener in Pomona.

(RIGHT) Making his best run of the week - to this point - was Austin Prock who laid down a very good 3.734 - 327.59, but that was surpassed later in the day with a great 3.685 - 333.66 to finish his testing with two back-to-back great runs.

(LEFT) Slowing after putting down his best run of testing, Justin Ashley rang up a big number on the boards with a 3.691 - 330.07 displayed.

(RIGHT) Not doing quite so well was Antron Brown who needed an assist from the Safety Safari after shutting down early to a 10-second pass.

(LEFT) Making his ninth and final pass of the three-day test session, Shawn Langdon made his best run at 3.731 - 310.77 to show some good consistency as they prepared to head for the season opener in Pomona next week.

(RIGHT) Another solid run was on tap for Doug Kalitta as he stopped the clocks at 3.797 - 277.89 and showed the consistency that had been so sorely lacking in the 2021 season.

(LEFT) Continuing his careful series of test runs, Clay Millican cut the power early, leading to a 3.810 - 286.98 timeslip, but more good data for crew chief Mike Kloeber to work with as they prepared for the coming season.

(RIGHT) Making his sixth and final run over the 3-day session, Alex Miladinovich showed that there was still more work to do to get on top of the tuneup for his Hot 4 Teacher car. The numbers were his best of the week, but a "best" of 5.828 - 190.27 wasn't a good way to end the pre-season.

(LEFT) After his troubled run earlier in the day, with a bit of a fire at the finish line, Robert Hight kept everything in good order on this pass, clocking a 3.938 - 325.77 to get things back on track.

(RIGHT) A seldom seen sight of a Top Fuel car and a Funny Car running side-by-side featured the two members of the Tony Stewart Racing team in a matchup made for publicity photos. On the left, Matt Hagan stopped the timers with an early shutoff 3.954 - 284.45, crossing the finish line second, as teammate Leah Pruett made her best run of testing, a very good 3.706 - 330.47 to take the "win".

(LEFT) After a best of 4.16 yesterday, Chad Green didn't pick up enough to go into the 3's, but did cross the line at 4.231 - 242.06 on his final test pass.

(RIGHT) Gradually improving as he acclimates himself to a Top Fuel car, after a few years of running in Pro Mod, Scott Farley (in the Terry Haddock Racing) car, got closer to making a full pass, carding a 4.291 - 218.58 on this attempt.

(LEFT) Finishing up his second day of testing with a string of 5.50-runs, Chris McGaha stopped the timers with a 5.515 - 191.13 on this pass.

(RIGHT) Not too far back in the e.t. department, Camrie Caruso continued to show she was a quick learner, whipping her mount to a 5.540 - 176.95 on this outing. With more than a dozen passes over the three days, including several side-by-side passes she appeared more than ready for her debut at the Winternationals.

(LEFT) Making another foray into the 3-second zone, Bob Tasca III cut the power a little early, but still put up a solid 3.945 - 300.53 on the scoreboards. That made a total of three runs in the 3's of the seven passes he made during testing.

(RIGHT) With four out of seven runs under 4-seconds, Cruz Pedregon had to be happy with the test session. He finished with this run, slowing from his earlier in the day 3.92 effort, coming in with a 4.160 - 232.25 timeslip.

(LEFT) Winning the award for most runs in the 3-day test session was Matt Hartford, as this was the last of 16 passes he made during Spring Training. It was one of his best, as he laid down a very good 5.502 - 190.27 on this attempt, just a little slower than his best of the session 5.499 - 191.24 earlier in the day.

(RIGHT) Making her third 3-second pass in five attempts over the course of the 3-day session, Alexis DeJoria rang up a good 3.942 - 325.22 on this run.

(LEFT) Saving his best for last, Paul Lee's fourth pass in testing yielded a promising 4.393 - 200.74, after three troubled runs on earlier attempts.

(RIGHT) Making nine runs during the three days, Matt Hagan finally broke into the 3.80's with a very good 3.858 - 329.04 to close out his test week for the new Power Brokers team.

Closing the final day of pre-season testing, Doug Kalitta headed down track with the flames up, enroute to a good 3.723 - 319.14 as he finished the three days with his quickest pass of the 11 he made during the test session. All that testing looked like it could be a good lead-in to a much improved season in 2022.