The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals was a whirlwind of thrills, surprise and the inevitable high-octane action that comes with the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.
A few familiar faces flipped a win light, while one surprise driver sneaked into the semifinals for the first time during the series’ visit to the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in California last Sunday.
With an off-weekend between the Winternationals and upcoming NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, competitors will have a slim window to recharge and refocus their efforts to reach the winner’s circle.
Ashley & Hagan Are Two-For-Three
It’s shaping up to be a solid season for Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley and Funny Car’s Matt Hagan.
The two drivers have already collected two wins in their respective classes, with only three races in the books. While Hagan’s lengthy history in NHRA outweighs Ashley’s four-year Top Fuel résumé, the two drivers experienced a similar feeling of loss last year. Both came up short in their championship fights, but the two still finished within the top five in the standings.
Though it may be early in the season, Ashley hasn’t forgotten the turn of events that occurred last year, which resulted in Brittany Force earning her second Top Fuel title and Ashley finishing fourth.
“Goal No. 1 is the Countdown. Goal No. 2 is put yourself in a position to win the championship,” Ashley said. “Collecting those points is something that’s always in the back of our mind.”
His triumph at the Winternationals marked the seventh win of his career and the first time he’s notched back-to-back victories.
On the other hand, Hagan collected his seventh win at the Winternationals and 45th career victory.
The Tony Stewart Racing driver put on an impressive show, bouncing back from 10th in qualifying to defeat defending Funny Car champion Ron Capps in the final round.
“Funny Car is a dogfight. Every time I crawl in that race car and put my mouthpiece in, I feel like I’m going into battle. You have to be up, you have to be driving up on the wheel and there’s just no room for error,” said Hagan, who also won the season-opening Gatornationals.
Though he is content with his on-track performance this season, Hagan said the team is still working on the car combination, giving credit to crew chief Dickie Venables for leading the off-track effort.
“There’s still a lot that’s left on the car and on the race track that we haven’t even pushed really hard yet,” Hagan explained.
But with two out of three possible wins in his back pocket, one wonders what Hagan and the TSR crew can accomplish once they’re dialed in.
Haddock Benches Heavy Hitters, Climbs To Semifinals
Funny Car driver Terry Haddock captured attention when he stormed to the semifinals for the first time in his career.
The NHRA veteran, who has competed in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, has been a quiet force on the tour the past few seasons. While he has yet to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship, he narrowly missed out on the 11-car cutoff last year, finishing two spots out.
As owner and tuner of his Funny Car operation, Haddock had the opportunity to flex his abilities as a driver at the Winternationals. The 52-year-old enjoyed a brilliant day at the drag strip, defeating Robert Hight and Tim Wilkerson on his way to the semifinals.
Hagan, who was responsible for ending Haddock’s run up the ladder, commended Haddock during a post-race interview.
“The guy showed up for every round, put a lot of heavy hitters on the trailer and he was just racing his race,” Hagan said. “I was really proud of Terry, and I know those guys were really excited to go that many rounds this weekend.”
The Ones Who Came Close
After a first-round exit at the NHRA Arizona Nationals two weekends ago, Top Fuel driver Antron Brown made a significant rebound in Pomona. The Matco Tools team defeated Doug Kalitta and Mike Salinas early in eliminations, but lost to Ashley during the semifinals.
“We came out and qualified where we wanted to and that’s in the top five,” Brown said. “I’m super pumped and super happy with how the team is progressing.”
Flip the script and you have Pro Stock’s Camrie Caruso who scored her first career national event victory in Arizona. The second-year driver backed up her strong effort with a finish in the third round of eliminations, racing past Steven Graham and Troy Coughlin Jr. before being defeated by eventual winner Dallas Glenn.
“Our expectations were to win this race and go back-to-back,” Caruso said. “We have a consistent race car, a good team and a good combo … I wanted to win, but [Dallas Glenn] did great.”
Ouch!
After three races, reigning and five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Erica Enders is 10th in the standings.
In Top Fuel, eight-time champion Tony Schumacher also ranks 10th.
Meanwhile, in the Funny Car class, 16-time champion John Force, who suffered a hard crash at Pomona, ranks 13th, with two-time title winner Cruz Pedregon 11th.