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ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FROM 2023 NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

Final round-by-round results from the 10th annual NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, the seventh of 21 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

 

RETIREMENT IS OVERRATED: MEDLEN FINDS HIS WAY BACK TO THE TRACK

 

Paul Lee became a successful businessman by understanding the industry’s workings. When he saw the efficiency of Cruz Pedregon’s team begin an upward trajectory by adding a retired crew chief as an advisor, he figured it would be worth a shot. 

Lee had John Medlen in his corner starting at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. 

Jason Bunker remains Lee’s crew chief, but with Medlen, the crew can grow to make the most of the investment the McLeod team has made in being competitive. 

ENDERS LEARNS THE INTRACACIES OF THE PENDULUM SWING

 

Erica Enders wasn’t aiming to have the quote of the day Friday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, but it just happened to work out that way. 

She emerged from her Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro as the provisional low qualifier following six races of sheer frustration. Without batting an eye, Enders proclaimed, “It sucks to suck.”

Friday night, her performance indeed didn’t suck as she drove to the top of the qualifying leaderboard with a 6.627 elapsed time at 205.88 miles per hour. Her run edged out teammate Cristian Cuadra, who stepped up in a fast Friday evening session with a 6.632. Defending event champion Aaron Stanfield’s 6.636 was the third quickest of the Elite Performance logjam.

HIGHT ADVANCES IN EPPING ELIMINATIONS, SECURES TENTATIVE FUNNY CAR SPOT FOR BRISTOL RACE

 

NHRA Funny Car racer Robert Hight acknowledged that he was concentrating less on what tune-up was in his Chevy Camaro on Friday at Bristol Dragway and more about which sponsor’s hat and shirt he was wearing and how he would weave that company’s name into his interviews.

Like almost every other nitro racer in the Camping World Drag Racing Series this weekend, the three-time champion from John Force Racing was trying to slog his way through the start of a unique twin bill that combined qualifying for the regularly scheduled Thunder Valley Nationals with the first round of eliminations for Sunday’s/Monday’s rain-plagued New England Nationals at Epping, N.H.

PRUETT OVERCOMES ROUGH START FRIDAY TO SWEEP TO TOP FUEL DOMINANCE

PRUETT, HIGHT, ENDERS & HERRERA EARN PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS

Leah Pruett raced to the Top Fuel qualifying lead on Friday at Bristol Dragway, taking the provisional No. 1 spot at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Robert Hight (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the eighth of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. The first round of eliminations in Top Fuel and Funny Car from the postponed NHRA New England Nationals also took place on Friday in Bristol.

MCCLENATHAN WITHDRAWS FROM NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS

 

Former Top Fuel superstar turned Nostalgia Funny Car has some sage advice for the rumormongers. Don’t believe everything you hear. 

The combination of his team owner Rick Akers being hospitalized to the team’s hauler breaking down in Arkansas is why they are not participating in this weekend’s Red Line Oil Legends Funny Car competition during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. 

“Everybody’s speculating a lot of stuff,” McClenathan said. “They’re speculating I got fired. None of that’s true. My biggest thing was, if you want to know the truth and know what’s going on, you got to call the owner.”

GAIGE HERRERA LOOKING VERY GLIDDEN/TORRENCE-ISH WITH UNDEFEATED RUN

There was Bob Glidden, who went a calendar year without a loss behind the wheel of his 1978 Ford Fairmont.

Then there was Steve Torrence, who made a clean sweep of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship.

Today, as Bristol Dragway launches the NHRA’s fourth stop for the Pro Stock Motorcycles, one racer who got his start racing outlaw bikes with nitrous oxide and no wheelie bars will be looking to continue his bid for perfection at the picturesque drag strip carved out from inside a valley in the mountains of Tennessee. 

AHDRA/AMA THUNDERS INTO THOMPSON, OHIO'S KUHNLE MOTORSPORTS PARK

 

AHDRA/AMA All-American motorcycle drag racing is set to deliver a fantastic show to motorcycle enthusiasts from today until June 11, 2023, in the upgraded Kuhnle Motorsports Park in Thompson, Ohio. It promises to be a thrilling event with the Advanced Sleeve All-Harley Nitro Buckeye Nationals showcasing AHDRA's Top Fuel heroes, gasoline studs, and pro and sportsman bikes that will race down the Kuhnle quarter mile.

VIDEO FEATURE: COMPETITION ELIMINATOR AND THE FINAL TIME AT HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK

Crank up the speakers, invite your friends over, and check out this high-intensity video on your television from the creative genius of Les Mayhew.

The Rooftec Competition Eliminator Bonus Fund has taken the complex Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series category to the next level. A class that was waning in participation and interest is now on an incredible upswing thanks to this outside-of-the-box program. This show is both educational and entertaining as the racers describe their different approaches to getting the promised land.

This show will deliver an incredible presentation from the NHRA Division 4 event at Houston Raceway Park, the last NHRA event there ever.

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