Wilkerson, Brown, Line And Arana Race To NHRA Victories In Atlanta

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Tim Wilkerson raced to his first Funny Car victory since 2011 Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at the seventh of 24 events in the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season.

Wilkerson, who had not won since 2011 in Seattle, ran a 4.318-second pass at 260.31 mph in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang to better Ron Capps, who trailed with a 5.781 at 125.90 in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. This is Wilkerson’s 18th career win and first ever at Atlanta.

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Photos courtesy NHRA/National Dragster

“That 4.03 in the first round was pretty impressive,” said Wilkerson. “I was happy with that. As the track got hotter, I did a good job until the finals. I’m really unhappy about what it did in the final. I was trying to go about a .14, and the thing broke the tires loose.”

En route to the winner’s circle, Wilkerson raced past Del Worsham, Jack Beckman and John Force in the earlier rounds. Wilkerson, who qualified sixth, is now No. 8 in points standing.

Capps, the Gainesville and Houston winner, beat Alexis DeJoria, No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon and defending world champ Matt Hagan on his way to the final round. Capps retained the points lead in Funny Car.

112-AntronBrown-Sun-AtlantaIn Top Fuel, Brown pushed his Matco Tools dragster to a final-round performance of 3.887 at 310.48 mph to defeat Leah Pritchett’s 4.202 at 260.41 in her Dote Racing/Gumout dragster. Brown has 49 career wins and four at Atlanta Dragway, tying Larry Dixon for most in the category. His last win at this event was in 2013. Brown, the Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte winner, is the only Top Fuel driver to have won multiple races this season.

“It wasn’t just a good day, but a good weekend,” Brown said. “We’ve been aiming to start off with a good qualifying run. The first run out of the box on Sunday set the tone for the whole weekend. We started getting data in hot, cool, and middle track temperatures when we tested in Indy. You have to make some swings with the combination we run now. (Crew chiefs) Brian Corradi, Mark Oswald, and all the Matco boys have been putting the work in together. It definitely showed this weekend.”

Brown, the Top Fuel points leader, qualified first and defeated Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta and Terry McMillen before meeting Pritchett in the final.

Pritchett sprinted to her first career final round appearance by racing past Chris Karamesines, J.R. Todd and Larry Dixon. The third-year Top Fuel driver qualified third and currently sits 12th in the points standing.

In Pro Stock, Line raced his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro to a 6.606 at 211.33 performance to defeat teammate Greg Anderson’s 8.628 at 114.39 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. It was Line’s 37th career victory and second at Atlanta.

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“Today was a great day for Summit and KB Racing for sure,” said Line. “This is the way that you normally dream about it, but it usually doesn’t work out that way. Today, it did. I really thought the final was going to go the other way. I got a bit of luck. I wasn’t fast today. I was maybe mediocre. Greg had the car to beat. He was driving better than everyone else, and he should have won it. He wants to win more than anyone I’ve ever met, and that’s what makes him the best.”

Line earned his third consecutive No. 1 qualification this weekend and beat Alan Prusiensky, Larry Morgan and Rodger Brogdon in the early rounds. Line leads the Pro Stock category points standing.

118-HectorArana-Sun-AtlantaLine and Anderson met in a final round earlier this year at Gainesville, where Anderson was the victor. This was the 24th time the two Summit teammates have gone head-to-head in the final round and Anderson holds a 14-10 advantage.

Arana earned his first win in Pro Stock Motorcycle since 2009 and seventh overall with a 7.236 at 196.30 on his Lucas Oil Buell to beat 2014 event winner Eddie Krawiec, whose Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson slowed near mid-track.

“I knew I could keep winning, but I had to believe in myself,” Arana said. “In the final, the bike jumped like a bronco,” Arana said. “It pulled to the right, but I was not giving up unless he was way in front of me. As long as I had control of the bike, I was staying with it.”

Arana defeated defending world champ Andrew Hines, Jim Underdahl and son Hector Arana Jr. to make it to the final round. Arana was the seventh qualifier and holds the No. 3 spot in the points standing.

Kenny Lang raced to victory Sunday in the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing at Atlanta Dragway was presented by Pro Line Racing and the Real Pro Mod Association.

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In the final round, Lang powered his Summit Racing 1969 Camaro to a 6.061-second pass at 244.07 mph, defeating Troy Coughlin’s 7.392 at 142.94 in his JEGS Mail Order Corvette. It was Lang’s second career Pro Mod win and he now sits eighth in the points standings.  Lang was the No. 12 qualifier and defeated defending world champ Rickie Smith, Eric Latino and Houston winner Don Walsh on his way to the final.

Coughlin entered eliminations as the No. 10 qualifier. He defeated Gerry Capano, Mike Castellana and Danny Rowe on the way to the finals.

Sunday’s final results from the 35th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The race is the seventh of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel — Antron Brown, 3.887 seconds, 310.48 mph  def. Leah Pritchett, 4.202 seconds, 260.41 mph.

Funny Car — Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.318, 260.31  def. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 5.781, 125.90.

Pro Stock — Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.606, 211.33  def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 8.628, 114.39.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Hector Arana, Buell, 7.236, 162.47  def. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 10.107, 85.28.

Pro Modified — Kenny Lang, Chevy Camaro, 6.061, 244.07  def. Troy Coughlin, Chevy Corvette, 7.392, 142.94.

Super Stock — Greg Rowe, Pontiac Firebird, 10.833, 121.86  def. David Rampy, Chevy Camaro, 10.270, 125.52.

Stock Eliminator — Slate Cummings, Chevy Corvette, 10.661, 101.48  def. David Latino, Corvette, foul.

Super Comp — Ryan Richardson, Dragster, 8.901, 168.03  def. Sherman Adcock Jr, Dragster, 8.884, 175.98.

Super Gas — Tim Powell, Chevy Camaro, 9.919, 151.75  def. Steve Furr, Camaro, 9.934, 156.50.

Super Street — Matt Weston, Chevy Camaro, 10.946, 138.56  def. Brad Plourd, Chevy Nova, 10.942, 115.38.

Top Dragster — Lindsey Barker, Dragster, 6.815, 163.77  def. Richard Prince, Dragster, foul.

Top Sportsman — Sandy Wilkins, Chevy Camaro, 6.750, 205.10  def. Jeffrey Barker, Chevy Cobalt, 6.616, 198.88.

 

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