Winning a coveted world championship in NHRA’s pro classes – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle – is like winning a marathon.

Now, with the finish line approaching, several drivers in the Countdown to the Championship have emerged as championship contenders, while others are pretenders.

The Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock classes have three races left in their respective seasons. The NHRA Virginia Nationals Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Richmond, the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) and the Auto Club NHRA Finals (Nov. 12-15) at Pomona, Calif. The Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors, meanwhile, only have two events left at Las Vegas and Pomona.

Mathematically , the top 10 drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock categories have not been eliminated because none of them are 451 points out of first-place. At each race, a driver can earn a maximum of 150 points, 100 for winning the event, 10 for just showing up, 20 by maxing out qualifying points and 20 for setting a national record.

Actually, the only driver in any of the Pro classes who has been eliminated from championship contention is Pro Stock motorcycle racer Matt Guidera. Guidera qualified for the Countdown as the No. 7 finisher in the points chase, but he was suspended by the NHRA at the US Nationals  in September when he failed to comply with the NHRA’s drug testing policy within the required 24-hour time period.

The biggest change in this year’s six-race Countdown is the bonus points that are being awarded for each qualifying session, with the top qualifier getting three points, second two and third one.

The new format was announced by the NHRA at the US Nationals and implemented at the six Countdown races, beginning at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals. The possibility that drivers could gain as much 72 points during the Countdown qualify sessions has received mixed reviews.

“I think it sucks,” said Funny Car driver Jack Beckman, when asked what he thought about the bonus qualifying points. “I can’t make myself any more clear than that. I don’t know why the NHRA with the structure it has decided to a made such a dramatic change like this at midseason. If we would have been told in the offseason that the NHRA was going to add these bonus points beginning in the Countdown that would’ve been different. I know that part of the reason that the NHRA added these qualify bonus points is because teams said that they were testing things in qualifying and there was a lot of tire smoking. Now, though, I think you can see the same thing in qualifying because teams will go out there and try to hit a home run and miss and smoke the tires. I’m not whining about the Countdown, because it has had a positive effect for our team. I just think it’s unfair to the racers that the NHRA made this change in the middle of the year. To me, it would be like if the NBA announced that it was going to have a 4-point shot in the playoffs to make things more exciting.”

Beckman drives the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger for Don Schumacher Racing. Beckman is presently fourth in the points chase, 73 points behind leader Ashley Force Hood.

Actually in Funny Car, the drivers are bunched up in the standings.  Force Hood has a three-point lead over her teammate Robert Hight and she is only 26 points ahead of Tony Pedregon. Beckman is next, followed by his DSR teammate Ron Capps (88 points behind). Bob Tasca III (102), John Force (124) and Tim Wilkerson (127) are also still in the hunt.

“We will know after Pomona what impact the bonus points had,” said Capps, who pilots the NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger. “I don’t know that the timing of adding the bonus points was real good, but it’s what it’s. I think I have a car that can go out there and get three points every qualifying session and that’s what we’re going to try and do. I definitely think these bonus points have caused teams in the Countdown to change their outlooks for qualifying. We’ve still got a chance to win the championship, but the fact is that we need to go out and win rounds and get points and hope that the guys in front of us go out early. Plus any of the drivers in the top five who say they’re not looking at the points are lying.”

In the Top Fuel class, Tony Schumacher, who has won the last five world titles in row, is atop the points with a 2,369 total. Larry Dixon of Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing, is second just 54 points behind. Cory McClenathan (93 points back), Antron Brown (120 points behind) and Morgan Lucas (133 points behind) also are clinging to title hopes.

As for the Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock classes, drivers realistically need to be within 120-130 points of the respective leaders in their classes to have a chance to be the season champ.

That’s the case since drivers get 20 points for winning rounds at races, so to get 120 points, a driver would have to win at least six rounds at the final three events and hope that the drivers in front of them gained no ground.

Mike Edwards is leading the Pro Stock standings with 2,374 points and Jason Line and Greg Anderson are 78 and 81 points back. Defending world champion Jeg Coughlin (114 points back) is going to have to rally to finish on top this season.

Hector “The Hammer” Arana (2,420) and defending world champ Eddie Krawiec (2,392) are realistically the only two Pro Stock Motorcycle riders who have the best chance to become the series champ with only two races remaining.

Advertisement