Past champions Robert Hight, Erica Enders score first wins of the season in Funny Car, Pro Stock
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series was back in its proper orbit this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Calif. The Winternationals returned to its traditional February slot, and the state of California loosened its COVID regulations—and the racers gave the fans plenty of excitement.
Tony Schumacher, the eight-time Top Fuel champion and 85-time class-leading winne, who’s back on track full time for the first time since 2018, said, “If there fans didn’t get their money’s worth on that, there’s just no price.” He was talking about his classic first-round match-up against Doug Kalitta, but his remark easily could have applied to the entire weekend.
Here are the highlights:
Robert Hight gave John Force Racing the win in Funny Car on Sunday.
NHRA/National Dragster
John Force Racing will be a threat in both nitro categories.
Robert Hight said his dramatic Funny Car victory didn’t amount to “a statement” to start the season. But the company president was quick to say, “This is a big day for John Force Racing.” It was a strong weekend. Hight defeated Ron Capps in a close final round after both rebounded from starting-line problems to claim the Funny Car trophy and the early points lead. (Capps experienced a clutch-system glitch as he was set to roll to the starting line. In the opposite lane, Hight patiently waited for Capps but when the crew lowered the body, it hooked the injector and the throttle opened for an instant. The car banged into crew member Trevor Huff, who wasn’t injured, and a flash fire singed the shirt of another crew member, Bobby Lane. Both teams recovered and gave the fans a close side-by-side race.)
Although John Force Racing couldn’t score a double-nitro victory Sunday, it had an outstanding showing. In the Top Fuel class, Brittany Force earned the No. 1 qualifying position, and Austin Prock was runner-up in his second straight appearance here. And John Force, Funny Car’s most successful driver, showed some fight when he lost to Capps in the opening round. “I drive race cars, ’cause I love drivin’ race cars. And I will fix it, because this is only going to make me tougher,” Force said emphatically.
Top Fuel winner Justin Ashley said the entire weekend was “really a win for NHRA.”
After edging Austin Prock in the final round (as Prock set the top speed of the meet at 333 mph), Ashley concluded that “winning is great, and we put on a show for the fans. All the close racing today was really a win in and of itself. I was really happy to see the attendance. The NHRA community is very, very strong. It was nice to see the fans engaged. Altogether, this was really a win for NHRA.”
Capps was the top qualifier and nearly a winner in his debut as an owner-driver.
NHRA/National Dragster
Ron Capps already has gotten the hang of balancing team-owner and driving responsibilities.
Ever since Capps announced his departure from Don Schumacher Racing to form his own team, his Funny Car colleagues encouraged him but warned how difficult wearing both hats would be. And he had no idea what to expect, either.
But John Force was correct when he predicted, “Capps is going to make it. He’s going to be fine.” He was No. 1 qualifier and reached the final round in his first race for Ron Capps Motorsports. “I’m trying to pretend I’m doing what I’ve always done,” he said. “It’s not easy to do, but today Guido [crew chief Dean Antonelli] and those guys made it easy . . . just pack my ’chute and do my thing.”
Top Fuel racer Austin Prock hasn’t lost anything after sitting out for the better part of two seasons.
He advanced to the final round – just like he did in his previous visit to Pomona. It was a final that pitted the two youngest drivers in the class and two of the three youngest in the NHRA pro ranks. It’s too early to claim that the NHRA is seeing a changing of the guard in its headliner class. But Prock, the youngest among the dragster drivers, brings his own brand of supreme confidence, while social-media-savvy Ashley helps add fresh energy to the sport.
Tony Stewart’s presence in drag racing already is paying off for the NHRA.
Stewart and fellow NASCAR Cup Series analyst Chris Myers talked about “Smoke’s” newly established team with Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett and three-time Funny Car champion Matt Hagan during Sunday’s Daytona 500 pre-race broadcast on FOX.
Myers complimented Stewart for fielding “a couple of really excellent drivers. It’s got to be fun for you.”
Stewart said, “Yeah, it’s been a lot of work this off season, but excited to get going with the Camping World Series with NHRA in Pomona this weekend. It’s been a tug-of-war. I was at Pomona Friday, then left yesterday morning to come here to Daytona and got to watch the qualifying rounds while we were on the plane and get to hang out with you today.”
Myers quipped that with Stewart and Pruett being husband and wife, “You got to be a team, anyway, to make a marriage work. How does that work as the owner and her the driver in a dragster?
“I don’t know. I’m getting ready to find out, though, trial by fire, I guess, but it’s going to be fun,” Stewart said. “I mean, having Leah, obviously driving the car, we are constantly communicating about the race team and talking about how we’re going to grow it and make it bigger and better. We’ve done a lot with the NASCAR team, but we take that model and bring it over to the NHRA side and try to help the drag race series. Having Leah and Matt, they’re two great teammates. They worked together for a long time. They feed off of each other. I’m in the learning process. I’m the one that has the most to learn at this point, but Leah’s a great teacher and she’s making this a lot of fun for both of us.”
Not everybody appreciated the results of the NHRA’s thorough track-surface renovation.
Most drivers applauded the NHRA for its complete re-do of the racing surface at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. But Greg Anderson was furious about his experience with it, especially after his car got out of the groove near the finish line and cost him the semifinal decision against eventual winner Erica Enders. However, Anderson managed during his rant against the sanctioning body to slip in his sponsor’s name.
Anderson said, “I completely lit the tires up at 1,000 feet, just like it did the last time. I don’t know what they’re doing with that racetrack the last 300 foot. Insufficient . . . Impassable—absolutely impassable. I’m just thinking about how lucky to still have a HendricksCars.com Chevy here. It should be upside down and tumbling in the weeds. It’s ridiculous.”
And the Results…
Sunday’s final results from the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. The race is the first of 22 in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel — Justin Ashley, 3.694 seconds, 314.53 mph def. Austin Prock, 3.713 seconds, 333.00 mph.
Funny Car — Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.861, 329.58 def. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.882, 333.82.
Pro Stock — Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.559, 210.31 def. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 13.250, 67.26.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Mike Coughlin, 5.237, 275.90 def. Joey Severance, 6.863, 133.18.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Shane Westerfield, Chevy Camaro, 5.482, 266.27 def. Nick Januik, Camaro, 5.628, 260.56.
Competition Eliminator — Cody Lane, Chevy Cavalier, 8.417, 152.11 def. Doug Lambeck, Pontiac Sunfire, 8.358, 146.61.
Super Stock — Ken Etter, Dodge Shadow, 10.178, 129.02 def. Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Cobalt, 8.936, 154.02.
Stock Eliminator — Leo Glasbrenner, Chevy Camaro, 9.470, 141.94 def. Jeff Lane, Camaro, 9.263, 145.00.
Super Comp — James Glenn, Dragster, 8.907, 172.28 def. Wade Archer, Dragster, 8.939, 170.75.
Super Gas — Ed Olpin, Chevy Camaro, 9.924, 167.99 def. Pete Bothe, Porsche, 9.893, 147.25.
Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers — Moe Trujillo, Dragster, 7.066, 188.41 def. Phil Dion, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.
Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers — Don Meziere, Chevy Cobalt, 6.776, 193.21 def. Jeff Gillette, Pontiac GTO, 6.932, 198.50.
Round-by-Round
Final round-by-round results from the 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, the first of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Antron Brown, 3.724, 327.66 def. Leah Pruett, 3.748, 328.86; Austin Prock, 3.725, 333.08 def. Clay Millican, 4.350, 170.08; Brittany Force, 3.699, 325.14 def. Ron August, 3.909, 319.07; Justin Ashley, 3.699, 330.39 def. Jim Maroney, 4.056, 234.09; Mike Salinas, 3.718, 325.45 def. Buddy Hull, 3.966, 269.24; Tony Schumacher, 3.726, 324.28 def. Doug Kalitta, 3.730, 327.11; Steve Torrence, 3.724, 328.06 def. Doug Foley, 6.629, 100.66; Josh Hart, 3.740, 327.82 def. Shawn Langdon, 3.920, 300.20;
QUARTERFINALS — Prock, 3.780, 329.10 def. Schumacher, 8.516, 74.03; Force, 3.726, 322.27 def. Hart, 3.728, 329.91; Ashley, 3.692, 333.33 def. Brown, 3.742, 326.00; Torrence, 3.718, 326.08 def. Salinas, 10.541, 76.35;
SEMIFINALS — Prock, 3.687, 331.36 def. Force, 3.700, 328.06; Ashley, 3.702, 329.42 def. Torrence, 3.731, 326.00;
FINAL — Ashley, 3.694, 314.53 def. Prock, 3.713, 333.00.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE — Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Supra, 3.917, 327.35 def. Jim Campbell, Dodge Charger, 4.093, 297.02; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.071, 260.31 def. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 4.124, 282.13; Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.890, 328.86 def. Jason Rupert, Mustang, Foul – Outer Boundary; Ron Capps, Charger, 3.920, 329.75 def. John Force, Camaro, 10.412, 76.53; Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.954, 323.43 def. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 6.011, 120.36; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.268, 215.10 def. Jeff Arend, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.038, 154.74; Tony Jurado, Mustang, 5.416, 136.33 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 5.972, 188.96; J.R. Todd, Supra, 3.957, 325.22 def. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.039, 290.94;
QUARTERFINALS — Pedregon, 3.962, 323.66 def. DeJoria, 3.981, 323.50; Hight, 3.893, 331.20 def. Jurado, 8.647, 84.98; Capps, 3.890, 324.05 def. Todd, 4.234, 220.58; Hagan, 3.885, 328.94 def. Tasca III, 3.984, 325.77;
SEMIFINALS — Capps, 3.881, 331.28 def. Pedregon, 3.918, 309.77; Hight, 3.861, 332.10 def. Hagan, 4.026, 317.64;
FINAL — Hight, 3.861, 329.58 def. Capps, 3.882, 333.82.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.577, 208.52 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.565, 209.33; Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.627, 208.23 def. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 6.988, 148.59; Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.576, 209.30 def. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.576, 207.98; Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.579, 209.65 def. John Cerbone, Camaro, 6.716, 181.57; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.531, 208.81 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.602, 209.56; Fernando Cuadra Jr., Ford Mustang, 6.607, 208.23 def. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, Broke; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.558, 210.05 def. Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, 6.581, 209.92; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.536, 209.49 def. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.569, 209.69;
QUARTERFINALS — Cuadra Jr., 6.626, 207.27 def. Butner, 12.430, 71.21; Enders, 6.565, 209.72 def. Glenn, 6.570, 207.66; Stanfield, 6.561, 209.07 def. Brogdon, 6.590, 208.23; Anderson, 6.561, 207.27 def. Kramer, 6.595, 208.97;
SEMIFINALS — Enders, 6.569, 209.43 def. Anderson, 6.797, 171.14; Stanfield, 6.567, 208.71 def. Cuadra Jr., 6.631, 207.78;
FINAL — Enders, 6.559, 210.31 def. Stanfield, 13.250, 67.26.
Updated Point Standings
Top Fuel
1. Justin Ashley, 124; 2. Austin Prock, 96; 3. Brittany Force, 82; 4. Steve Torrence, 74; 5. Mike Salinas, 61; 6. Antron Brown, 53; 7. (tie) Josh Hart, 52; Tony Schumacher, 52; 9. Doug Kalitta, 34; 10. (tie) Shawn Langdon, 33, Leah Pruett, 33.
Funny Car
1. Robert Hight, 122; 2. Ron Capps, 105; 3. Matt Hagan, 79; 4. Cruz Pedregon, 75; 5. Alexis DeJoria, 54; 6. J.R. Todd, 53; 7. Tony Jurado, 52; 8. Bob Tasca III, 51; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 34; 10. (tie) Jeff Arend, 32, Bobby Bode, 32, Jim Campbell, 32.
Pro Stock
1. Erica Enders, 125; 2. Aaron Stanfield, 103; 3. Greg Anderson, 79; 4. Fernando Cuadra Jr., 71; 5. (tie) Bo Butner, 54; Deric Kramer, 54; 7. Dallas Glenn, 53; 8. Rodger Brogdon, 52; 9. Kyle Koretsky, 37; 10. Camrie Caruso, 33.
Keyword: Justin Ashley Was One of Many Eye-Openers from NHRA Weekend at Pomona