The latest update as of October 17, 2023
NOTE: Click on the graphics to see larger (and easier to read) versions. Note that poss(ible) points totals in RED indicate that they are mathematically eliminated from championship consideration.
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
After a hard fought season, with ups and downs for all the contenders, the Top Alcohol Dragster World Championship was wrapped up in the semi-final round of eliminations at the Texas NHRA FallNationals. As the event started, seven racers still had at least a mathematical chance to take the title, but it didn't take long for them to start falling by the wayside. The first round of eliminations saw Matt Cummings, Jackie Fricke, Mike Coughlin and the defending champion, Joey Severance lose and fall out of the chase.
That left just two racers remaining to challenge the points leader, Julie Nataas, for the championship as the second round started. It was quickly reduced to one, as Tony Stewart fell to TAD debutante Angelle Sampey, while Nataas and Shawn Cowie advanced to the semi-final round. To catch Nataas, Cowie would have to get past her in that round, and either win the FallNationals, PLUS make consecutive final rounds at the final two races of the season. Very slim odds, and despite incredible back-to-back 5.12 elapsed times (5.121 and 5.126), Cowie fell one hundredth of a second short of turning on the winlight, and the championship went to the Randy Meyer Racing team driver Julie Nataas.
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Looking to finish his career on a high note with two consecutive championships, and three in four seasons, Doug Gordon wrapped up the title in the second round of eliminations on Saturday evening. While he didn't have to face arch-rival Sean Bellemeur during eliminations, he sat strapped into his car and watched Bellemeur lose in the pairing before him. All he had to do at that point was get past a very tough competitor in Matt Gill to take the crown.
The suspense ended before Gordon launched, as Gill redlighted and shut off, while Gordon ran his quickest pass of the event, at 5.408 - 269.40 to show that he wasn't taking it easy. After taking a lucky win over Christine Foster in the semifinal, despite a broken crankshaft, the Gordon team managed to put another engine in the car - with lots of help from all their competitors - and took the event win with another very quick, 5.414 - 271.12 pass.
With just two events left on the schedule, the battle for points has reached maximum intensity for the Countdown To The Championship racers. While this coming week's NHRA Nevada Nationals awards standard points, with a maximum of 130 available, the season finale at Pomona, the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals offers a maximum of 191 points. To earn those points, a racer would have to run low e.t. in all four qualifying sessions, be #1 qualifier, and win the race. The graphics below don't indicate which racers are already mathematically eliminated, and to this point, none of the nitro drivers are totally out of contention, but the bottom five racers in Pro Stock and the bottom seven in Pro Stock Motorcycle are already eliminated.
TOP FUEL
It's rapidly boiling down to a three-way race for the crown, with the season-long points leader, Justin ashley, steadily dropping from the top of the list to his current position at #4. He's 108 points behind the leader, Leah Pruett, and needs a big turnaround at Vegas, and some early round losses from Pruett, Doug Kalitta, and Steve Torrence to get back in the championship conversation. The aforementioned three at the top of table are less than one round win apart and every single point available at Vegas and Pomona is absolutely critical to their chances.
Other racers that might have an outside chance to challenge for the title, like Antron Brown, (110 points behind), and Mike Salinas, (131 points out), need to go deep into eliminations to have a chance. Below them, Clay Millican won at St. Louis and went to the semi-finals at Dallas, but he's 144 behind and running out of room to catch the leaders. And last year's champion, Brittany Force has won just two rounds in the last four races to fall to #8 on the list and 165 points behind Pruett. It would certainly take a miracle to see her repeat, based on the so-so season she's had, despite some great performances, but sorely lacking the consistency needed to win a championship.
FUNNY CAR
Starting the countdown at the top of the standings, defending champion Ron Capps has fallen to #4, nearly 100 points behind the current leader, Matt Hagan. Capps has a runnerup and semifinal finish during the countdown, but two first round losses have cost him dearly. On the other hand, Hagan has been on the rise, starting the playoffs with a semifinal finish, then a runnerup, and wins at the last two races to move into a 36-point lead over Bob Tasca III. Starting the countdown in #3 was Robert Hight and he started strongly with a win at Reading, and a final round showing at Charlotte before slipping to a second round loss at St. Louis, and a very early exit in the first round at Dallas. He's still in the third spot in the standings, just 69 points in arrears of Hagan.
Below the top four, #5 John Force is nearly 200 points out of the lead, despite being runnerup to Hagan at Dallas. Below Force, there's three racers, J.R. Todd, Chad Green, and Tim Wilkerson, all more than 200 points behind and nearly out of contention. Below them, the bottom three are so far behind that mathematical elimination will most likely take place at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
PRO STOCK
Starting the season as a five-time world champion, Erica Enders suffered through a six-race doldrum before breaking out with a win at the Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol), as the Elite Performance flag bearer slowly climbed up the standings. She entered the countdown in the #3 spot and parlayed three straight semi-final appearances into the points lead, as the season-long leader, Dallas Green, faltered slightly with two runnerups and two very costly first round losses. Other regular season standouts, like Matt Hartford and Troy Coughlin Jr. similarly stumbled, opening the door for Enders to take the top rung on the ladder going into the final races of the season.
Hartford started the countdown strongly, winning the first race (Reading), then notching just one round win in the last three events, to drop to #4 in the standings, 108 points behind Enders. Coughlin has racked up two semifinal finishes, but paired them with two first round losses to currently sit #6 and nearly 150 points out of first place. From that point down, Deric Kramer (#7) is more than 200 points out of the lead, and below him there's only mathemtical possibilities for a few racers, while the bottom five on the countdown list are already out of the championship chase.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
The domination that Gaige Herrara showed the class throughout the season, with six victories, and a runnerup in eight races, has simply continued during the countdown to the championship. Showing a slight weakness in the first race at Reading, by losing in the semifinals that gave the #1 spot to Matt Smith must have been a wakeup call to the Vance & Hines rider. Since that "low" point, he's been on a tear, ripping off three consecutive event wins to forge an almost insurmountable points lead. In second place is Eddie Krawiec who has come on strong with back-to-back final round appearances, but is still 156 points behind Herrara, and has to stop him early at Vegas to have any chance of overtaking him for the championship.
With the injuries suffered to Angie Smith (at Charlotte), and Chase Van Sant (at Dallas) removing them from competition for the balance of the year, there's only two other riders with any chance of catching Herrara. Sitting in third place is Matt Smith, who opened the countdown with a win at Reading, but is now 174 points out of the lead. Right behind Smith is Hector Arana Jr., who has had a solid comeback season, with one win in three final round appearances. However, he's nearly 180 points behind Herrara and is on the cusp of being removed from championship contention.