EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL SPORTSMAN RESULTS

QUALIFYING VIDEO RECAP FINAL EVENT VIDEO RECAP

 

 

MONDAY - S. TORRENCE, HIGHT AND HARTFORD EARN WINS AT RAIN-DELAYED AT MOPAR EXPRESS LANE NHRA SPRINGNATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL

Three-time defending Top Fuel world champ Steve Torrence finally conquered Houston Raceway Park, racing to the victory on Monday at the 34th annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park.  

Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) also won in their respective categories at the fifth race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Eliminations were postponed to Monday due to inclement weather on Sunday.

The Texas native Torrence pedaled to a 4.001-second pass at 260.06 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster to beat veteran Doug Kalitta in the final round, earning this third win this season and extending his points lead. He reached the final round with wins against Mitch King and Clay Millican, going an impressive 3.711 at 327.66 and 3.703 at 323.81 to reach the final. The victory is also the 43rd career win for Torrence, who had three final-round appearances in Houston, including one at the race last fall, before coming through with a winning performance on Monday.

“We’ve run well here in the past, but we get to the final round and something always seems to happen. We’ve been snake bit,” Torrence said. “I don’t know if I’ve had win repellant on me or what. The Kalitta boys did an awesome job. This is also the first race I’ve ever won on Monday other than Indy. I just think it’s unbelievable to have the success we’ve had this year and to win in Texas in front of our Capco crew and fans is even more special.”

Kalitta was denied his 50th career win by Torrence in the final round for the second time in 2021. He advanced to his 107th final round on the strength of round wins against Brittany Force, Antron Brown and teammate Shawn Langdon.

In their 70th career meeting in eliminations and ninth time in the final round, it was Hight who got the best of Ron Capps in a matchup of Funny Car heavyweights, with Hight going a stellar 3.916 at 327.19 in his 11,000-horsepower AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS. After struggling at the past two races, Hight and his team got on track in a major way in Houston, capturing his first win since 2019 and the 52nd in his standout career. Hight knocked off Bob Bode, Cruz Pedregon and points leader Bob Tasca III en route to the finals, going 3.909 at 328.78 in his semifinal victory. He followed it with a wire-to-wire win against Capps, giving John Force Racing its second straight Funny Car victory.

“The (Force) car has been the class of the field the last few races and they helped us on Monday after Charlotte,” said Hight, who picked up his fourth win at Houston. “That got us back on track, and (crew chief) Jimmy Prock and this Auto Club team just did their job. These races are hard to win and there’s a lot of good cars out here. This place has a special place in my heart — my first win came here — and after sitting out last year you wonder if you’re ever going to get another one of these.”

Capps advanced to his 127th career final round and second this season, beating Paul Lee, defending world champ and Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan and Tim Wilkerson. He went as quick as 3.894 at 327.51, which gave him the top run in the class during eliminations.

In the Pro Stock final, Hartford enjoyed some good fortune, picking up his first victory of the year in his Total Seal Chevrolet Camaro with a run of 7.660 at 145.11. Final-round opponent Deric Kramer had even more trouble, shaking the tires almost immediately to help hand the victory to Hartford. In reaching his 10th career final round, Hartford impressed in eliminations, beating Kenny Delco, defending world champ Erica Enders on a holeshot and Aaron Stanfield in the semifinals. It gives Hartford four career victories and he enjoyed his first fortuitous bounce of the season.

“We’ve had the power to win all year, but not the luck,” Hartford said. “Texas has been great to us and my lights were pretty decent for a change. We’ve got a great team and everyone has gelled together. KB Racing just creates incredible horsepower. Deric and I were in the finals and our cars were quick all day, so hats off to that engine program.”

Kramer reached the final round thanks to wins against Bruno Massel, points leader Greg Anderson and Kyle Koretsky. It was Kramer’s first final in 2021 and eighth in his career.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action June 11-13 with the TascaParts.com NHRA New England Nationals presented by Bandero Premium Tequila at New England Dragway.
 

 

SUNDAY - RAIN HALTS NHRA ELIMINATIONS AT HOUSTON, ACTION SET TO RESUME MONDAY 

Persistent rain at Baytown, Texas, has force the NHRA to postpone the remainder of Sunday’s Mopar Express Lane Nationals at Houston Raceway Park until Monday.

The scheduled restart of the fifth race on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour is 10 a.m. Monday.

Rain interrupted eliminations just before the final pairing in the Top Fuel class, as Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force were set to make their passes.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Bob Tasca III (Funny Car), and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) lead their fields.

Top Fuel winners Sunday were Shawn Langdon (over Josh Hart), Clay Millican (over Artie Allen), Billy Torrence (over Mike Salinas), Antron Brown (over Lee Callaway), Justin Ashley (over Leah Pruett), and Steve Torrence (over Mitch King).

SATURDAY - TASCA, S. TORRENCE AND GLENN GRAB NO. 1 SPOTS DURING RAIN-SHORTENED QUALIFYING AT HOUSTON

Funny Car points leader Bob Tasca III powered to the top spot right before the rain came, taking the No. 1 qualifying position in impressive fashion on Saturday during the 34th annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park.

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also qualified No. 1 in their respective categories at the fifth race of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Pro Stock completed Saturday’s two qualifying sessions, but only one session of Top Fuel was completed due to weather. Funny Car was interrupted midway through its second qualifier on Saturday.

By then, Tasca had vaulted to the top in Funny Car with his strong pass of 3.908-seconds at 331.53 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang, making one of the final runs of the second session before inclement weather wiped out the rest of qualifying. It gave Tasca his first No. 1 qualifier of 2021 and sixth overall. With two wins under his belt this year, Tasca will look to add another and win for the first time in Houston. He takes on Jim Campbell to open eliminations.

“We knew we were going to have an advantage going into that last session because we saw the radar,” Tasca said. “To get an opportunity to put this Motorcraft car on the pole, it’s always better starting No. 1 than No. 16. We lost our mojo a little bit in Charlotte, but it’s great to come out here, run 331 (mph) and qualify No. 1, and we’ll see what we can do Sunday.”

Alexis DeJoria continued her strong run over the last two weeks, qualifying second with a 3.912 at 307.44 in her ROKit Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Camry after a final-round appearance in Charlotte. Ron Capps took the third spot with a run of 3.941 at 315.42.

In Top Fuel, points leader and three-time defending world champ Torrence rocketed to his second No. 1 qualifier of the year, and the Texan also moved a step closer to claiming his first career victory in Houston. He made the most of his only run on the track on Saturday, going 3.727 at 326.48 in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. It is Torrence’s 29th career top spot and he’ll face off with Mitch King in the first round of eliminations. Torrence is trying to win for the third time this season and first at Houston Raceway Park.

“We’re just going to do the best we can,” said Torrence, who lost in the final round at Houston in 2020. “I’m going to try to get (winning at Houston) off my back this weekend. We’ll do the best we can. I’ve had an unbelievable career to this point and we’ve been in the final round a couple different times and just not been able to get it done. It’s not for lack of effort or lack of trying. We’ll just do the best we can, and we’ll have a good time and try to put on a good show for the fans.”

Leah Pruett made an impressive run of 3.733 at 312.86 in her Pennzoil dragster as she looks to win at her sponsor’s race, while Don Schumacher Racing teammate Antron Brown, who has advanced to three straight finals, was third with a 3.749 at 325.22.

Coming off his first career win in just his fourth career start, Pro Stock rookie Glenn followed it up by earning his first career No. 1 qualifier on Saturday, going 6.549 at 210.01 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevy Camaro. Glenn and his KB Racing teammate, points leader Greg Anderson, both ran 6.549 in the first session, but Glenn took the top spot with a faster run. It snapped Anderson’s string of four straight No. 1 qualifiers to open the 2021 season and continued Glenn’s incredible momentum early in his rookie campaign. Glenn also announced on Saturday he will be racing the full 2021 Pro Stock season.

“Momentum is helping out a lot,” Glenn said. “They got the car figured out for Sunday in Charlotte after all the changes we made and this right here shows how happy this car is right now. It couldn’t have made a nicer run. This car feels awesome and I can’t wait to take it into Sunday. I’m just so excited and I’m ready to race.”

Glenn will open eliminations against Cristian Cuadra. Anderson made the quickest run in the second qualifying session in his HendrickCars.com Camaro and is after his third win this season. KB Racing made it a clean sweep in the top three positions, as Kyle Koretsky followed after going 6.552 at 208.68.

Eliminations at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday.

Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 34th annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park powered by Pennzoil, the fifth of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel -- 1. Steve Torrence, 3.727 seconds, 326.48 mph vs. 14. Mitch King, 12.120, 75.09; 2. Leah Pruett, 3.733, 312.86 vs. 13. Justin Ashley, 8.329, 83.12; 3. Antron Brown, 3.749, 325.22 vs. 12. Lee Callaway, 7.030, 97.95; 4. Mike Salinas, 3.755, 326.32 vs. 11. Billy Torrence, 6.629, 132.19; 5. Clay Millican, 3.777, 302.89 vs. 10. Arthur Allen, 6.539, 96.31; 6. Brittany Force, 4.039, 215.96 vs. 9. Doug Kalitta, 4.548, 168.68; 7. Shawn Langdon, 4.407, 179.92 vs. 8. Josh Hart, 4.537, 170.26.

Funny Car -- 1. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.908, 331.53 vs. 16. Jim Campbell, Dodge Charger, 7.603, 83.55; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camry, 3.912, 307.44 vs. 15. Todd Simpson, Chevy Camaro, 5.712, 125.16; 3. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.941, 315.42 vs. 14. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.133, 250.13; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.943, 323.12 vs. 13. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.072, 312.21; 5. Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.954, 324.05 vs. 12. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.030, 313.58; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.961, 324.12 vs. 11. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.011, 323.81; 7. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.975, 319.07 vs. 10. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 4.009, 314.46; 8. J.R. Todd, Camry, 3.994, 322.58 vs. 9. John Force, Camaro, 4.000, 275.84.

Pro Stock -- 1. Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.549, 210.01 vs. 16. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.640, 208.52; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.549, 208.97 vs. 15. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Mustang, 6.621, 208.46; 3. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.552, 208.68 vs. 14. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.602, 209.26; 4. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.554, 210.14 vs. 13. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.595, 208.62; 5. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.566, 210.41 vs. 12. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.591, 204.88; 6. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.567, 209.69 vs. 11. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.580, 209.36; 7. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.570, 208.97 vs. 10. Bruno Massel, Camaro, 6.574, 209.69; 8. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.570, 208.84 vs. 9. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.571, 209.01.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Fernando Cuadra, 6.684, 207.53; 18. Shane Tucker, 6.788, 204.20; 19. John Callahan, 7.125, 197.88; 20. Alan Prusiensky, 7.304, 202.76.