Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Sunday News and Notes

News, notes, quotes, and photos from the final day of the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Updated throughout the day.

TOP FUEL ROUND ONE

The air and track temperatures are higher than they’ve been all weekend which presents a significant challenge for NHRA crew chiefs. That challenge was evident in the first pair where Ida Zetterström smoked the tires early in the right lane while Brittany Force made what many consider one of the best runs of the weekend with a 3.811 at 330 mph.

Tire smoke also bit Doug Kalitta, who smoked the tires in his Aflac dragster and sent Josh Hart into the quarterfinals. Hart dropped a cylinder and ran 4.026 to move into the second round for the fifth time this season.

Justin Ashley had his usual reaction time (.040) but didn’t need it after Antron Brown also smoked the tires in the right lane. Ashley would have been tough to beat regardless with a 3.783 which crew chief Mike Green said, “was better that we expected.”

Cody Krohn could not get his Paton Racing dragster to go forward after backing up from the burnout which sent Shawn Langdon on a single run. Langdon might have been vulnerable since his Kalitta Air Careers dragster went silent before the finish line and he slowed to a 3.922 at just 259-mph.

Clay Millican dodged a bullet when Shawn Reed smoked the tires early. Millican also slowed to just a 4.119, but at that point the race has long since been decided. The win was huge for Millican who won a round for the first time since he defeated Tony Stewart in the Pomona final.

Dan Mercier certainly deserved a better fate after he successfully navigated the right lane with a 3.983  but that was not enough to get past Steve Torrence, who ran 3.974 for the victory. 

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Justin Ashley vs. Brittany Force; Tony Stewart vs. BYE; Shawn Langdon vs. Josh Hart;  Steve Torrence vs. Clay Millican.

FUNNY CAR ROUND ONE

Daniel Wilkerson scored a big round win for the SCAG team with a 4.031 at 325.30 against Bob Tasca III, who left on time, but couldn’t navigate the challenging right lane. Afterwards, Tasca wryly noted “This is the last time that chassis will ever go down a race track. We’re gonna junk it. We’ve got a brand new Ford at the shop that we’re bringing to Richmond.”

The first upset of the day, and the first win from the right lane came when Dave Richards defeated No. 2 qualifier Alexis DeJoria. Richards and his Bluebird team did everything right with a .037 reaction time and a 4.098 that was enough to cover DeJoria’s 4.134. Richards has not gotten out of the first round in three of the last five events. 

As it turns out, the Richards vs. DeJoria upset was just a preview of the next pair where Buddy Hull took out championship leader Austin Prock. Hull’s run wasn’t pretty as his Mooneyes Dodge sputtered to a 4.692 but that was enough to get past Prock, who slowed to a 5.128. Afterwards, the Bristol fans got to see firsthand the frustration on the part of the Cornwell Tools team, after their second round one loss in two events. “I’m probably not Austin’s favorite guy right now,  but that’s okay. I still like him,” said Hull.

Ron Capps and Matt Hagan staged what most would consider a proper drag race with a margin of victory of just .010-second. Capps scored the win with a 4.050, but Hagan was not far behind at 4.068 in a battle of multi-time world champions.

The No. 1, 2, and 4 qualifiers did not make it to the second round after Julie Nataas scored her first pro round win in her first Funny Car start when she topped Jack Beckman. Nataas drove to a very competitive 4.053 for a huge win in her Airmine Toyota when Beckman broke the tires loose. “I’m used to going rounds in the alcohol car and that’s what I wanted in my Funny Car debut,” said Nataas, who also announced that sponsor Airmine would back her for a second event in Norwalk. 

Chad Green and Paul Lee, who won the first two races of the season, staged another competitive race with Lee making the best run of the round with a 4.024 against Green’s 4.026, the second best E.T. of the round. Lee will earn lane choice against Hull in round two.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Daniel Wilkerson vs. Julie Nataas; J.R. Todd vs. Ron Capps; Cruz Pedregon vs. Dave Richards; Paul Lee vs. Buddy Hull.

PRO STOCK ROUND ONE

The upsets continued in Pro Stock when Jeg Coughlin Jr. rattled the tires in his SCAG entry, sending Matt Latino into the quarterfinals. Latino might have been tough to beat anyway with a .015 light and a 6.689.  

Cristian Cuadra slapped a .001 light on his brother, David, but that’s where it ended. Cristian rattled the tires, sending his twin brother into the quarterfinals with a 6.671. The twin brothers are now even at one win apiece in Pro Stock eliminations.

Cory Reed had a scary moment when his new J&A Service Camaro got loose at half track. Reed managed to get the car pointed in the right direction, but could only watch as opponent Erica Enders continued her recent string of solid runs with a 6.692. 

When it comes to the Rookie of the Year battle, Cody Coughlin has entered the chat. Coughln, who was the top qualifier last week in Epping, chalked up his first round win with a strong 6.677 after Greg Stanfield red-lighted. 

It’s 998 round wins and counting for Greg Anderson after he defeated Kenny Delco in round one. Anderson, who could be the second driver to achieve that milestone (behind John Force), also lit up the scoreboard with a 6.650 in his HendrickCars.com Camaro.

It was business as usual for low qualifier Dallas Glenn with a 6.671 in his RAD Torque Systems Camaro in his win over Fernando Cuadra Jr. Glenn will have a tough battle in round two when he runs his KB Titan stablemate Erica Latino. 

Quarterfinal pairings (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Erica Enders; Deric Kramer vs. David Cuadra; Dallas Glenn vs. Matt Latino; Aaron Stanfield vs. Cody Coughlin.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND ONE

Jianna Evaristo gave up a slight lead to Marc Ingwersen but rallied to ride her Johnson’s Horsepowerd Garage Buell to a round win with a 6.982. Ingwersen, who has recently made several solid runs, slowed to a 7.701.

Angie Smith made her best run of the weekend with a 6.897 and needed most of it to beat Steve Johnson, who got off the starting line first by seven hundredths and rode to a 6.980. 

A red-light ended what might have been one of the best races of the round after Ryan Oehler left too soon, allowing Chase Van Sant to advance in a 6.960 to 6.969 battle. 

The price of poker went up when Gaige Herrera powered to a 6.857 in his win against Chris Bostick. Herrera qualified poorly (for him) when he was relegated to the No. 4 spot, but the Vance & Hines team clearly fixed a few issues in time for race day.

As he’s been known to do, Matt Smith was able to keep the Vance & Hines team honest with a 6.870 to take out teammate John Hall, who ran 6.969. 

With a quarterfinal bye run at stake, Richard Gadson ran with the leaders with a 6.869 on his RevZilla/Vance & Hines Suzuki to stop Charles Poskey. 

Bye runs generally aren’t too exciting but Brayden Davis might have provided the exception in round one. Davis, the low qualifier, made a move towards the left side retaining wall but never lifted and was rewarded with low elapsed time of the event at 6.831. Davis also did his part on the starting line with a .026 light leading many to believe he’s a favorite to win in just his second NHRA start.

Round two pairings (lane choice first): Matt Smith vs. Chase Van Sant; Brayden Davis vs. Jianna Evaristo; Gaige Herrera vs. Angie Smtih; Richard Gadson vs. BYE.

TOP FUEL ROUND TWO

Steve Torrence is headed to the semifinals after a 3.859 win against acknowledged Bristol master Clay Millican, who smoked the tires. Torrence last went to the semifinal round in Chicago, just two races ago. “We don’t have the race car we had during the dominant run of four championships but we’re working hard to get it back,” said Torrence. “We’re not trying to set records. We want to win races.”

A lot of tire smoke and a big boomer highlighted the battle between Shawn Langdon and Josh Hart. Langdon got the win, but it came at a price as he fireballed the supercharger in his Kalitta Air careers dragster. The final numbers favored Langdon with a 4.460 to Hart’s 5.086.

Justin Ashley did what he does best, cut a great light (.036) and then ran low E.T. of the round with a 3.836 to beat Brittany Force, and earn lane choice for his semifinal battle against E.T. racer extraordinaire Shawn Langdon. 

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Steve Torrence vs. Tony Stewart; Justin Ashley vs. Shawn Langdon.

FUNNY CAR ROUND TWO

Daniel Wilkerson ran a 4.058 in his win over rookie Julie Nataas, who smoked the tires. Wilkerson now has a chance to race in his third-career final, and second this season although he’s got a tough battle against Paul Lee ahead of him. Wilkerson’s father and crew chief, Tim, has long been considered one of the best tuners on a warm track and he’s proving it today. 

The odds of a first-time pro winner continued to improve after Dave Richards scored a second upset win against Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon left first with a .030 light but couldn’t hold the lead. Richards rallied from a tenth of a second down to win with a 4.136 to Pedregon’s 4.233. This event has already been a milestone for the SCAG team as their three nitro entries are all in the semifinals. 

Paul Lee ran a solid 4.030 in his win over Buddy Hull but after the finish line, all eyes turned to Hull’s Mooneyes Dodge when he took a high speed trip into the Bristol sand trap. Despite the high rate of speed, Hull quickly popped the roof hatch and climbed out of the car. “Just made we lost the round and we scratched our race car a bit,” said Hull. “I’m perfectly fine. We just don’t know what happened. The cables are pulled but the chutes didn’t come out.”

Following a lengthy delay, Ron Capps and J.R. Todd got down to business with Capps, a seven-time Bristol winner, running a 4.111 in the right lane to not only defeat the Epping winner, but also earn lane choice for his semifinal run against Dave Richards.

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Paul Lee vs. Daniel Wilkerson; Ron Capps vs. Dave Richards

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE ROUND TWO

Chase Van Sant did what he needed to do against Matt Smith with a .007 light and it was enough as he scored a huge holeshot win over the six-time champion, 6.951 to 6.881. 

Gaige Herrera, unbeaten in Bristol, punched his ticket to the semifinals with a 6.883 against Angie Smith’s 6.967. Herrera is going to the semifinals, but he won’t have lane choice and won’t be a favorite against his new teammate, Brayden Davis, who ran low E.T. of the round following a  red-light by Jianna Evaristo. 

Semifinal pairings (lane choice first) Brayden Davis vs. Gaige Herrera; Richard Gadson vs. Chase Van Sant.

PRO MOD UPDATE

Jordan Lazic’s first-round run was disqualified on Sunday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The fire pin was left in, making one of the safety systems not operable and resulting in a disqualification of run. Stevie Jackson will be reinstated and will race in the second round against J.R. Gray.

TOP FUEL SEMIFINALS

The semifinals produced perhaps the best side-by-side race of the day in Top Fuel as Steve Torrence ended Tony Stewart’s five-race final round streak by .0025-second with a narrow 3.857 to 3.861 victory. Torrence is now in the final for the 97th time in his career, and first since last September’s St. Louis event, where he lost to Tony Schumacher. Despite the loss, Stewart will carry the points lead into the next event in Richmond.

Justin Ashley will go to another Bristol final after a 3.858 in his win against Shawn Langdon, who smoked the tires. Ashley, headed to his fourth final of the season, had another great light with a .040, and will likely need another one in the final as he’ll surrender lane choice to Torrence by .001-second.

FUNNY CAR SEMIFINALS

Paul Lee is not only going to the final round, but he’s going with lane choice after an impressive 3.995 to 4.078 win against Daniel Wilkerson in the semifinals of Funny Car. 

Lee will be paired against Ron Capps, who beat a tire-smoking Dave Richards, but did so with a slowing 4.371. Crew chief Dean Antonelli admitted that he shut the car off early from the starting line after watching Capps drop cylinders. 

PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS

Move over John Force, you have company. Greg Anderson became the second NHRA driver to win 1,000 rounds of professional competition when he defeated David Cuadra in the semifinals in Bristol. Anderson will have a great shot to make it 1,001 since he’s got lane choice against his KB Titan teammate, Dallas Glenn, in the final round thanks to a 6.644.

Glenn won’t be a pushover after a solid 6.671 in the other half of the semifinals. Glenn got the win, and punched his tickets to his sixth final of the season after Aaron Stanfield rattled the tires.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS

The clock struck midnight for Bristol’s Cinderella story when Brayden Davis lost to reigning world champion Gaige Herrera in the semifinals. Davis has had the best bike for nearly all of the weekend, but his Powertrain Suzuki stalled on the starting line and he watched Herrera motor to a 6.895. “That was rider error. I double-clutched it. I get emotional and I shouldn’t but it sucks to lose like that. But, I’ve had a good day.”

Richard Gadson will have a shot to grab a long-overdue first Pro Stock Motorcycle win after defeating Chase Van Sant in the semifinals. Van Sant fouled, allowing Gadson to cruise to the win with a 6.911.