LE Tonglet is making quite a case for Rookie of the Year. For the second straight event, the young rider has risen above Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors with years more experience, and at the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Charlotte, he definitely had the bike to beat as he earned the first No. 1 qualifying position of his career and rode it to his third victory and fourth final round in the first year of his professional journey.

Tonglet, fresh off of an incredible win at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indy, came to Charlotte with a ton of skill, a remarkable crew, an awesome bike, and the new found aid of Kenny Koretsky's Nitro Fish brand.

“This is unreal,” said Tonglet. “I never thought in a million years that I would be this close to a championship and be this competitive. We started at Gainesville just hoping to be No. 16, and now we came into Charlotte hoping to be No. 1 and we did it. I just can't believe it. We wouldn't be here without Kenny Koretsky and Nitro Fish.

It was about time.

Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson had not had much success at his home track zMax Dragway in Charlotte before the weekend of the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, and much of the year, Anderson has felt his efforts and his car were subpar. But everything came together in front of a plethora of friends and family as he piloted his Pontiac GXP to a third win of the season in his fourth final round.

“I got lucky today,' said Anderson. “I had the best hot rod of the Summit Racing bunch and probably the best hot rod on the grounds. I'm a lucky man, without a doubt. I've struggled with the Charlotte racetrack in the past, but no more. I now officially love it and want to race here 10 more times a year. Thank you, Bruton Smith and all the great people here; zMax Dragway is now my favorite racetrack.”

On the way to his 11th win in as many final round appearances, Larry Dixon dispatched the third, second and fourth place drivers (Schumacher, McClenathan, Kalitta) in the point standings, in that order.

This is the second time this year the Al-Anabi juggernaut has bested Kalitta. The two met earlier this year in Pomona to start the season. Dixon improved his record to 9-4 over Kalitta, with five of those wins coming this season.

Dixon's first victim in the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway, David Grubnic, was no slouch either. It's just that right now Dixon is like a train wreck to the rest of the competition. He is 11 for 11 in final round appearances in 2011, with 10 of those wins coming in the last 15 events. That's two-thirds of the races since Dixon left the Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway in March sitting fourth in the point standings.

“He didn't red light,” said car owner Don Schumacher, with confidence, when asked about Ron Capps run against teammate Jack Beckman in the first round.

In 685 previous runs in either a Top Fuel dragster or a Funny Car, Capps has only turned on the red light once. Now, according to the NHRA, in his 686th pass he's done it twice.

Capps, his car owner and others who have looked at the ESPN tapes disagree.

“Obviously it was frustrating first off to race our teammate first round,” said Capps. “It's inevitable, but it's not something you like doing."

Larry Dixon continued his incredible season in Top Fuel and is a perfect 11 for 11 in final rounds as he won the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway on Sunday.  
 
Also taking home wins at the event in their respective categories were Cruz Pedregon, Greg Anderson and LE Tonglet.
 
Dixon faced Doug Kalitta’s Rocky Boots Dragster in the finals and as he has done 11 times this season he was able to get the win light and take the victory.  Dixon and his Al-Anabi Racing dragster ran 3.858 at 316.60 mph to a losing pass of 3.901 at 309.20 mph by Kalitta.  Dixon also extends his lead in the points by 85 over second place racer Cory McClenathan.  This is also the third consecutive win for Dixon.

Melanie Troxel earned her place in history in more ways than one on Sunday at the NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals at zMax Dragway in Concord, NC.

The nitro veteran, who pulled double duty in a Pro Modified car this weekend, became the first female to win in the class which was first introduced to professional drag racing in 1990. She also became the first driver to win in three professional divisions, this after winning in the Top Alcohol Dragster division during the 1990s.

The NHRA first recognized the Get Screened America Pro Modified division as a professional series this year after nine years as an exhibition division. Shelly Payne won an event as an exhibition series.

“I really don’t focus on the female aspect of things, for me winning in four different categories was special,” admitted Troxel.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the Third annual  O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord, the 19th of 23 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -
 
Top Fuel
1.  Larry Dixon, 2,355; 2.  Cory McClenathan, 2,270; 3.  Tony Schumacher, 2,207; 4.  Doug Kalitta, 2,190; 5.  Brandon Bernstein, 2,172; 6.  Antron Brown, 2,146; 7.  Shawn Langdon, 2,134; 8.  Steve Torrence, 2,115; 9.  Morgan Lucas, 2,104; 10.  David Grubnic, 2,066.

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Jeremy Teasley made his NHRA debut at the O'Reilly Auto Parts Nationals at zMax Dragway, but looking beyond the fresh-faced newbie exterior, one will find an already well-established cycle rider.

Teasley, just 19 years old, enjoyed success in the AMA Dragbike Championship Series before it recently ceased operation due to financial difficulties. He is the possessor of the 2009 AMA Dragbike BST Real Street championship title claimed aboard the Adams Performance Kawasaki ZX14 and won the AMA Dragbike APE Real Street championship in 2008. Teasley holds the national record in the
series with a 7.934 at 188.33 mph.
 
In the MiRock Superbike Series, the Columbus, Ohio, resident is currently leading the HTP Performance Real Street points, a plentiful 238 markers ahead of the second-place competitor.

There is just something special about quilts.

The two quilts hanging in the GEICO Powersports pit of Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Karen Stoffer are extra special.

“We have two quilts which we will auction off sometime this year with the proceeds going to D.R.A.W.,” explained Stoffer as her team worked to prepare her Suzuki for first round qualifying for the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway.

“We've taken (t-shirts from) the past champions starting with Dave Schultz, John Meyers, Eddie Krawiec, Andrew Hines, Angele Sampey, Gino Scali,Hector Arana and Matt Smith. We have 20 years of champions on this one quilt. And, on the backside we also have a t-shirt of Elmer Trent. It's the only one that is signed and he actually signed it the day he passed in Indianapolis.