With their wins on Sunday at the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, Cory McClenathan and Greg Anderson successfully began their respective quests to become the first driver(s) to sweep the Western Swing twice

The other winner at the 14th race in the 23-event NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series was Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), who also won at this event in 2009.

McClenathan faced off against Antron Brown – who swept the Western Swing in 2009 – in the Top Fuel final round and his 3.887 at 311.70 in the FRAM dragster was just good enough to outrun Brown’s 3.909 at 308.92 in the Matco Tools dragster.

Sunday's final results from the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways. The race is the 14th of 23 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, the 14th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Final round-by-round results from the 23rd annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, the 14th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Pro Stock drivers at the NHRA Northwest Nationals, convinced the NHRA had not properly prepared the track for their class, pulled out of the staging lanes and returned to the pits just two pairs into the first round of eliminations.

Their assessment was the shutdown area at Pacific Raceways in its present condition was unsafe for them to race their cars.

Clouds aren’t usually a good thing when it comes to racing in Seattle. As long as they’re white and block the heat of the sun, they can be an ally for a nitro racer.

Defending NHRA Funny Car champion Robert Hight was hoping for a little insulation from Mother Nature to knock off a few of the nearly 130 degrees reading on track temperature gauges, so he could step up from his 4.194 from Friday evening.

To run that quick headed into Sunday’s final eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals would have been huge for the driver of the AAA Ford Mustang. Close might only work in horseshoes and hand grenades, but for Hight running within .005 bodes well for his race day chances.

“It was a little hotter and a forecast of clouds, which never came,” said Hight, whose No. 1 qualifier represents his sixth of 2010 and the 37th of his career.

“We came close and you saw Del Worsham step up and run a 4.20. The top ten cars are so bunched up that anyone can win this deal. Being No. 1 is a big deal when it comes to earning points but on race day it means nothing. No matter what position you are in, you have a tough race.”

Mike Edwards left his Coweta, Okla., home and drove his Pro Stock team hauler 2,100 miles to the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways this week.

“It has 130,000 miles on it, and he has put every one of 'em on it!” wife Lisa interjected. However, it was the last half mile in his race car which made the long trip worthwhile.

Staring down a hot, tricky track with a third-place showing from Friday, Edwards needed to go back to what he knew would work at Pacific Raceway; what gave him one of his five victories last year on the way to his first Pro Stock series championship.

Doug Kalitta's 13-year drag-racing career is studded with a number of stellar achievements and precious few regrets.
 
But the 2006 NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif., has to rate as probably his most crushing disappointment. It was the race at which Tony Schumacher seized the series championship on the last run -- against Kalitta, taking the race and the glory from the Ann Arbor, Mich., driver who had led the standings following the previous 10 events.
 
Things unraveled a bit that weekend for Kalitta, and he never had led the Top Fuel qualifying field since -- until Saturday at the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.