NHRA Supernationals Recap From Englishtown

Words complied from press releases via NHRA Communications:

Spencer Massey raced to his second consecutive win of the season Sunday at the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Mike Neff (Funny Car), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won in their categories at the eighth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Massey drove his FRAM/Prestone dragster to a winning 3.821-second run at 319.07 mph to beat Top Fuel points leader Del Worsham on a holeshot. It was Massey’s second consecutive win of the season (Topeka) and fourth of his career.

“It’s awesome to beat the Alan Johnson/Al-Anabi/Del Worsham car in the final,” said Massey. “The Al-Anabi car has been on a roll and running killer numbers, so we knew we had to be on our  ‘A’  game, that the car had to run well and I had to be on my game. I even had a Full Throttle to amp myself up before I got in there.”

Worsham kept the points lead with his fourth final round appearance of the season, while teammate and defending event winner Larry Dixon moved around seven-time world champion Tony Schumacher to take over the second-place spot in the point standings after his semifinal round appearance.

In Funny Car, Neff held off No. 1 qualifer Cruz Pedregon to grab his second win of the season. Neff drove his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a 4.071 at 314.09 winning run after Pedregon posted a red light start. It was Neff’s third career win and fourth consecutive final round appearance for the season.

“I knew he red-lighted,” said Neff. “I was sitting there waiting for the Tree to come down, and I heard him leave and knew he red-lighted because the Tree hadn’t come down yet. I looked over and saw that his bulb was red, then I looked up and saw our win light on. By that time, I had already hit the gas and was taking off and saw our win light on. I wanted to see what it would run, then I was saying ‘Don’t drive over the centerline or something.’ Wouldn’t you lose if you did that? Yeah, maybe I should have lifted.”

The win strengthened Neff’s points lead over the Funny Car class, while Pedregon fell just seven points from moving up to the third spot in the point standings.

Pro Stock’s Allen Johnson held off rookie sensation Vincent Nobile to pick up his first win of the season. Johnson drove his Team Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Avenger to a 6.689 at 210.64 for the win after Nobile posted a red-light start in the final round. It was Johnson’s ninth win of his career.

“It was a dream to have an all-team final round and to have it happen this early in the season is a dream come true,” said Johnson, who provides engines for Nobile. “I’m very proud of our engine guys and Mark (Ingersoll, crew chief) who makes the tuning calls. Vincent is a fierce competitor and I’m sure we’re going to tangle a few more times before this is over.”

The win moved Johnson up to seventh in the point standings, while leader Jason Line kept control of his points lead over the category with his second round appearance.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Smith on his Al-Anabi Racing Buell held off points leader Karen Stoffer to grab his first win of the season. Smith’s run of 6.900 a 191.73 was enough to beat Stoffer on a holeshot and give the 2007 world champion his first win of the season and 13th win of his career.

“I won my first race here in 2006, so I’ve always liked racing at this track,” said Smith. “When I saw these (pewter 60th anniversary edition) Wally trophies I said to myself I wanted to win at least one this year so I’m glad I did.”

Danny Rowe raced to his first win of the season Sunday during the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Rowe powered his supercharged Sterling Bridge ’68 Camaro past runner-up Mike Janis, posting a winning run of 5.878-seconds at 245.99 mph. It was Rowe’s second final round appearance and second career win in the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

Points leader Khalid Balooshi lost in the first round, but kept his points lead after five races for the season. National record holder and No. 1 qualifier Melanie Troxel also lost first round, while New York native and local favorite Mike Castellana moved up to seventh in the point standings with his semifinal round appearance.

Saturday

Cruz Pedregon raced to the  No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car Saturday at the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Del Worsham (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also took the top spots in their respective categories at the eighth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Pedregon laid down an impressive run on a cool and overcast day during the third round of qualifying Saturday afternoon to take the top spot away from recent winner Robert Hight. Pedregon made a blistering 4.048-second run at 302.82 mph in his Snap-on Tools Toyota Camry to take his second No. 1 qualifier of the season, 41st of his career and fourth at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

“We have a good car, that’s for sure,” said Pedregon. “We’re fourth in points, so I’d say we’re definitely a top-four car. We’re in great company. Just to be able to make that statement is incredible given the talent and the budgets the Force and Schumacher teams have, and we’re just a little ol’ one-car team here. I’m just proud that we can make that kind of statement early in the season like this.”

Hight stayed second in the field while four-time Englishtown and defending world champion John Force sits fifth entering  Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.

In Top Fuel, Worsham was the only driver to keep the top spot from Friday night. Worsham’s run in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster of 3.785 at 322.34 gave the Top Fuel points leader his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and seventh of his career.

“It would be awesome to  win  this race in both classes,” said Worsham, a two-time Englishtown Funny Car winner. “The last time we qualified No. 1 was in Charlotte and it worked out for us. The team did a great job, and Sheik Khalid’s here this weekend so it would be great to go out there and do a good job for him tomorrow.”

Recent race winner Spencer Massey will start second in the field Sunday, while seven-time world champion and 2008 Englisthown winner Tony Schumacher will start third.

Pro Stock points leader Line took the No. 1 spot away from sophomore driver Shane Gray in the first session of Saturday qualifying. Line powered his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a run of 6.508 at 212.16 to give the 2006 Pro Stock world champion his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 19th of his career.

“We were looking for a safe run; we were too safe on all of them,” said Line. “I’ve got a really good hot rod right now but the truth is there were several cars that should have run 6.49 and they didn’t get all of it. We’ll see what we’ve got tomorrow. That’s what counts the most.”

Line’s 6.508-second run, along with New Jersey native Bob Benza’s 16th qualifying time of 6.571 makes it the quickest Pro Stock field in NHRA history.

Krawiec on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson held off rookie Jerry Savoie to grab the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Krawiec’s run of 6.819 at 195.62 gave the New Jersey native his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and seventh of his career.

“We stepped up today and more importantly, the wind died down,” said Krawiec. “That has a big impact on us (Pro Stock Motorcycle racers). Racing at Englishtown, I’m excited to be here with my friends and family. I just need to focus on race day and wrap it up. This is home but there is no more pressure on me; I’m not going to treat it any differently.”

Melanie Troxel’s national record-setting qualifying run was strong enough for a No. 1 qualifier, but not to get her past first round of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series eliminations for the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Troxel’s run of 5.772-seconds at 258.71 mph in her ProCare Rx ’53 Corvette set the national record for both time and speed and gave the driver her first No. 1 qualifier of the season and second of her Pro Mod Drag Racing career. Troxel lost her first round matchup however on a holeshot to Dennis Radford, while fellow teammate Brad Personett matched her national record setting time with his first round win over Rickie Smith.

“I’m disappointed with first round,” said Troxel. “Until Brad Personett’s run, we had the best car consistently through the weekend. I just need experience with the starting line procedure in the silver car. I’ve found through testing the way you launch this car is awkward, and it’s still awkward for me.”

Points leader Khalid Balooshi fell first round to teammate Mike Castellana, while Troxel’s team owner Roger Burgess held off Kenny Lang to advance to the second round.

Friday

Robert Hight raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday night at the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Del Worsham  (Top Fuel) , Shane Gray  (Pro Stock)  and Jerry Savoie  (Pro Stock Motorcycle)  also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the eighth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Hight, who is coming off his third win of the season two weeks ago in Topeka, drove his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a 4.090-second pass at 310.34 mph to become the provisional top qualifier in Funny Car. If it stands it would be his first No. 1 qualifier of the season, 39th of his career and second consecutive at Raceway Park.

“Jimmy Prock (crew chief) told me that we weren’t going to get crazy, but we were going to just try to get down the track because that’s what we’ve been lacking,” said Hight. “We haven’t been consistent until Sunday at Topeka. We’ve had some good luck here in qualifying but I’ve never won here, and this is one of them that you want to win. It’s as big as Gainesville and Indy because there’s so much history here.”

Points leader and Hight teammate Neff sits 14th while defending event winner Bob Tasca is third after two qualifying sessions.

In Top Fuel, Worsham drove his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to a 3.785 at 322.34 in the final qualifying session of the day to take the provisional No. 1 spot. If it stands, it would be Worsham’s second of the season and seventh of his career.

“When conditions like that come along, I’m glad that Alan Johnson is the tuner of my car because, man, what a job he and the team did,” said Worsham. “We smoked the tires the first run, and we smoked the tires the last run in Topeka, on E2, and you think they might be conservative, but a guy like Alan just went right out there for the throat. I the words of Alan, we went from the (outhouse) to the henhouse in one run.”

Defending event winner and world champion Larry Dixon will enter Saturday qualifying fourth in the field, while recent race winner Spencer Massey sits second.

In Pro Stock, Gray raced to the provisional top spot in his Service Central Pontiac GXP just one race after capturing his first win of the season. If his run of 6.510 at 212.46 stands it would be his first career No. 1 qualifier.

“Right now, I just think we are on a roll but it’s like a roller coaster and right now we’re on the top of the hill,” said Gray. “A lot of guys have it better than we do. We’re just trying to get better each day.”

Rookie Savoie rode his White Alligator Racing Suzuki to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.836 at 192.74. If it stands, it would be the first of his career.

“After our loss in Atlanta, we stumbled on a couple of things that were not exactly right with the Motorcycle,” said Savoie. “Mark (Peiser, crew chief) wanted to come to Englishtown and see what kind of progress we’ve made on the changes we’ve made. I feel very blessed to be here. This is my fourth race and they’ve all been good. I don’t know if it will hold up, but it’s good for now.”

Melanie Troxel set a national record en-route to the provisional No. 1 qualifying position Friday during the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.

Troxel drove her ProCare Rx ’53 Corvette to a record-setting run of 5.800-seconds at 258.71 mph to set the national record for both time and speed. If it stands, it would be Troxel’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season in the fifth event of the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series.

“The Corvette had itself figured out,” said Troxel. “Steve Petty (tuner) is doing a great job with that car. We’ve nicknamed it ‘The Silver Bullet.’ It’s just flying down there all on its own, in spite of anything I might be doing behind the wheel.”

Points leader Khalid Balooshi currently sits 13th in the field with a run of 6.030 at 240.04, while Troxel’s teammate and car owner, Roger Burgess, sits 19th with a run of 6.348 at 191.51.

About the author

Andrew Wolf

Andrew has been involved in motorsports from a very young age. Over the years, he has photographed several major auto racing events, sports, news journalism, portraiture, and everything in between. After working with the Power Automedia staff for some time on a freelance basis, Andrew joined the team in 2010.
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