Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals Recap

Words compiled from press released via NHRA Communications.

Antron Brown held off his teammate Tony Schumacher as he raced to his second win of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Jack Beckman, Jason Line and LE Tonglet also won in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Brown drove his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.856-second run at 318.69 mph  to hold off teammate Tony Schumacher  and earn  his second win of the season, 27th of his career and fourth at Atlanta Dragway (two in Top Fuel, two in Pro Stock Motorcycle).

“It was tough all weekend,” said Brown. “Qualifying didn’t go like we wanted it to of course. But our boys just pulled together like they did in Vegas and when race day comes, the game face goes on. Any given Sunday anybody can win it. We came out here this weekend and just took it one round at a time.”

With the win Brown moved up to the second spot in the Top Fuel point standings, 70 points behind leader Del Worsham, who lost in the first round of eliminations to Shawn Langdon.

In Funny Car, fellow Don Schumacher Racing driver Beckman also collected his second win of the season. Beckman powered his Aaron’s/Valvoline Dodge Charger to a 4.111 at 311.05  to charge past points leader Mike Neff in the final round. The win  was the 11th of  Beckman’s career win and his second win at Atlanta Dragway.

“Any win is good,” said Beckman. “You take everybody serious. But beating a John Force car has kind of got a nice topping on that ice cream sundae if you know what I mean. They are at the top of their game.”

Beckman moved up to the second spot in the Funny Car points standings with the win, 20 points behind leader and runner up Neff.

Jason Line held off teammate Greg Anderson in an all Summit Racing  Pro Stock final to secure his third win of the season and first at his sponsor’s event. Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.600 at 208.42 to get his 23rd career win in Pro Stock.

“It was a good day, it really was,” said Line. “After the semis, Greg and I got down there and we were excited. We felt we needed a miracle to win because we didn’t feel like we performed like we should’ve. But somehow we got it. But Summit won today and that was the biggest thing.”

The final round matchup between Line and Anderson gave the two drivers the first and second place spot in the point standings, respectively.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Tonglet held off the fast-charging Karen Stoffer in the final round to collect his first win of the season and sixth of his career. Tonglet rode his Nitro Fish Suzuki to a 6.924 at 191.62 to get the win and move to fourth in the point standings.

“We’re really happy with the way that Nitro Fish Suzuki is running,” said Tonglet. “It’s really been a fun bike to ride. It’s so smooth and it’s just hauling butt. There is really nothing more we can do to it.”

With her runner-up finish, Stoffer secured the top spot in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, 15 points ahead of second-place Andrew Hines.

Ed Hoover raced to his first career NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series victory Sunday during eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Hoover, from Gilbert, S.C., defeated New York’s Mike Castellana in the final round of eliminations to claim the victory. Hoover powered his Trussell Racing ’68 Camaro to a winning run of 5.958 seconds at 240.51 mph, but he ultimately wouldn’t need the strong performance as Castellana fouled at the start in his Al-Anabi Racing ’68 Camaro.

Hoover’s car was consistent throughout eliminations as he posted victories over Raymond Commisso, top qualifier Khalid Balooshi and Rickie Smith in earlier rounds.

In his quarterfinal match with Balooshi, Hoover posted his best time of the weekend with a 5.948 second effort.

With the win, Hoover moves into second in the Get Screened America Pro Mod Series point standings, 88 behind series leader Balooshi.

Saturday

John Force tied NHRA Pro Stock Legend Warren Johnson for the most No. 1 qualifiers in NHRA history as qualifying came to an end Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Spencer Massey, Mike Edwards and LE Tonglet also earned the top spots in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Force tied Johnson at 138 No. 1 qualifiers after his impressive run Friday night of 4.072-seconds at 310.98 mph was strong enough to keep his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang in the top spot in Funny Car. It was also Force’s fourth consecutive No. 1 qualifier for the season.

“I’ve got a good race car,” said Force. “Dean Antonelli and Ron Douglas made that happen. Warren Johnson is the Babe Ruth of Pro Stock, and I’ve tied him. I’ve never raced him, but that’s pretty cool.”

Force will face Tim Wilkerson in the first round of eliminations, while defending winner and Force’s teammate, Robert Hight, will match-up against Cruz Pedregon in the first round.

In Top Fuel, Massey’s Friday night run in his Prestone/FRAM dragster of 3.825-seconds at 323.19 mph was strong enough to give him his second No. 1 qualifier of his career in the exact place where he earned his first in 2009.

“Two years ago when I raced here, I qualified No. 1, got to the final round and couldn’t seal the deal,” said Massey. “I’d like to make it back to the final round and seal the deal this time. It’s just an honor to be back out here racing again. Last year sitting out the whole year and then to be back this season with such a great team as Don Schumacher Racing is really an honor.”

Massey will face Pat Dakin in the first round of eliminations Sunday. Top Fuel points leader Del Worsham will face off against Shawn Langdon, while defending event winner Larry Dixon will face Winternationals winner Morgan Lucas.

Edwards held on to the top spot in Pro Stock with his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP. His Friday night run of 6.605 at 208.55 was strong enough to give Edwards his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career.

“It’s going to be a lot of thinking and adjusting tomorrow because conditions are going to be very, very different,” said Edwards, referring to the cooler temperatures forecasted for Commerce, Ga. on Sunday. “That’s what makes these engines run really well and make more power. Conditions will definitely be good for Pro Stock racing.”

Tonglet took the top spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle in the final round of qualifying Saturday. Tonglet rode his Nitro Fish Suzuki to a 6.904 at 192.93 run en route to his second consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season.

“After that run I was coasting and everyone was saying No. 1 off to the side and I was thinking it was Andrew (Hines),” said Tonglet, who was paired up with Hines during the final qualifying run. “I didn’t expect us to get two No. 1’s in a row. After I took my helmet off, it just kind of hit me that we have a really fast bike.”

Top qualifier Khalid Balooshi was among the winners Saturday in the first round of eliminations for the Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series portion of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Balooshi, who earned his second No. 1 qualifying position of the season earlier in the day, defeated Chuck Cheesman in the first round of eliminations. Balooshi powered his Speedtech ’68 Camaro to a winning run of 5.926 seconds at 240.89 mph, while Cheesman’s ’63 Corvette lost traction and finished in 6.803 at 153.04.

In other first round action, alternate Melanie Troxel upset No. 2 qualifier Mike Janis, Rickie Smith defeated Jay Payne, Kenny Lang beat Raymond Matos, Mike Castellana defeated Dennis Radford, Troy Coughlin beat Donald Martin, Ed Hoover beat Raymond Commisso and Scott Ray knocked off Roger Burgess.

Second round match-ups include Balooshi vs. Hoover; Smith vs. Ray; Coughlin vs. Troxel; Castellana vs. Lang.

Friday

John Force continued his domination of Atlanta Dragway as he took the provisional No. 1 qualifier Friday night at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals.

Spencer Massey, Mike Edwards and Eddie Krawiec also took the provisional top spots in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events  in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Force, who has a career record at Atlanta Dragway that includes seven wins, six runner-ups and seven No. 1 qualifiers, drove his Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to a 4.072-second pass at 310.98 mph to become the provisional top qualifier in Funny Car. If it stands it would be his fourth consecutive No. 1 qualifier of the season and 138th of his career, which would tie him for the most in NHRA history with Pro Stock driver and Buford, Ga. native Warren Johnson.

“The fans are just starting to like me in Atlanta, so why would I want to make them mad by taking it away from Warren Johnson, I know how they like him,” said Force. “I’ve never raced Warren Johnson. If you put me in a Pro Stocker I couldn’t even start it. So I don’t want to compare. It would be like comparing baseball to football. Any time you can put your name up with a guy like Warren Johnson, I’m proud, and it’s cool.”

Recent event winner Jeff Arend sits third in the field while points leader Mike Neff is currently eighth.

In Top Fuel, Massey drove his Prestone/FRAM dragster to a 3.825 at 323.19 in the final qualifying session of the day to take the provisional No. 1 spot. If it stands, it would be Massey’s first of the season and only second of his career.

“I knew we had a car that was very capable of running an 82 or possibly a 79 to go No. 1, but what was nerve racking was watching all the other cars go in front of us and smoke the tires,” said Massey. “But Todd (Okuhara, crew chief) and Phil (Shuler, crew chief), they run their program a little bit differently and I have total trust in what they do. They’re not the kind of guys that come back and make little changes because they saw the cars in front of them go up in smoke.”

Defending event winner and world champion Larry Dixon will enter Saturday qualifying not yet qualified for the field, while current points leader Del Worsham sits second in the field.

In Pro Stock, Edwards posted the quickest runs of both qualifying sessions and powered his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP to a 6.605 at 208.55. If it stands, it would be his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 36th of his career.

“If we get the cooler weather tomorrow, for sure that time won’t stand,” said Edwards. “But we made two good runs today and we’re real happy about that. We’ll just come out here tomorrow and hopefully make two more good ones.”

Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to the top of the field in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a run of 6.933 at 192.44. If it stands, it would be Krawiec’s first No. 1 qualifier of the season and seventh of his career.

“Something that we’ve struggled with all season has been having fast consistent motorcycles,” said Krawiec, who’s teammate Andrew Hines sits fourth in the field. “To go 105 at the 60 foot mark right off the track during the first run, for our team, that’s really a strong point, that’s where we’ve lacked. If you can make everything work together, it’s going to go that much faster.”

Khalid Balooshi continued his impressive start to the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Mod Drag Racing Series season by racing to the qualifying lead Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Balooshi, who has raced to two victories this season and leads the series point standings, powered his nitrous-injected Speedtech ’68 Camaro to a leading performance of 5.882 seconds at 243.37 mph.

Mike Janis was second with a 5.894 at 242.19 in his Eaton Ford Mustang, while Mike Castellana was third in his Al-Anabi Racing ’69 Camaro with a 5.914 at 241.11. Roger Burgess sits fourth in his turbocharged ProCare Rx ’53 Corvette with a 5.939 at 253.14.

Two other drivers posted runs in the five-second zone, including Kenny Lang with a 5.986 at 242.89 in his Summit Racing ’69 Camaro and Rickie Smith with a 5.994 at 239.74 in his ’68 Camaro.