2024 NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS - EVENT RESULTS
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SUNDAY FINAL - PROCK, S. TORRENCE, J. COUGHLIN JR. & VAN SANT SECURE WINS AT NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS
Home is where your heart is; for two of the NHRA’s top nitro racers, their hearts were in Seattle. Steve Torrence went back-to-back as NHRA Northwest Nationals champion, and for Funny Car rookie Austin Prock, he picked up another Seattle win.
Joining them in the Mission Foods Series winner’s circle were Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Chase Van Sant (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Funny Car points leader Austin Prock powered to his fourth win of the season for John Force Racing on Sunday at Pacific Raceways, defeating first-time finalist Paul Lee in the final round of the 35th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals.
For a driver who used to win Top Fuel races at will, the trip to Pacific Raceways was a somewhat painful reminder to the multi-time champion of how long it had been since he won a race. Even though he finished second in the 2023 championship chase, Torrence hadn’t won a national event since last year's Northwest Nationals.
Torrence, a four-time world champion, beat Shawn Langdon in the final round despite running an off-pace 3.963 at 279.79 in his Capco Contractors dragster in the finals against Shawn Langdon. Sunday's victory marked the 55th career win for Torrence.
Torrence ran the table on the field, qualifying No. 1 and then rolling through Ron Smith and defending world champion Doug Kalitta to reach the final round.
“I think we left pretty close to each other and I could hear him right there with me, and then I heard him start to go away. But you’re trying to hold it straight and you’re waiting on that light on the wall to come on and it took me forever to finally see it. We’ve been trying to win one of these for a long time,” Three-time Seattle winner Torrence said.
“Our car definitely has shown a lot of promise to go out there and throw down when it needs to go fast. We’ve had a difficult time managing the power, so I think this weekend was exemplary of what we can do and what we need to do.”
Langdon came into Sunday's eliminations with longshot odds after qualifying No. 15.He scored wins against Justin Ashley, Josh Hart and Clay Millican. Langdon is second in points while Kalitta stayed comfortably in the points lead.
Prock made history at Pacific Raceways by becoming only the fourth driver to win in both nitro classes. By stopping first-time nitro finalist Paul Lee in the final round, he joined an elite club of drivers Del Worsham, Ron Capps, and Tommy Johnson Jr.
Prock went 3.875 seconds at 334.57 mph to get past Lee, who smoked the tires early in the race. Prock picked up his eighth career win on the strength of four consecutive 3.8-second passes. He defeated Cruz Pedregon and J.R. Todd earlier in the day.
Prock remains the solo John Force Racing Funny Car in competition while team owner/teammate John Force recuperates from injuries sustained in an accident on June 23, 2024, outside of Richmond, Va.
“This whole Cornwell Tools team is just doing such a great job and given me an opportunity to go out and compete for wins every weekend, and we’ve been going a lot of rounds lately. I just hope we can keep it up throughout the rest of the year,” Prock said.
“I didn’t drive all that hot this weekend. I was consistent but consistently slow on the starting line, so they did an outstanding job and they really carried the team. They’ve been doing a great job of that this year, and it sure has been fun.”
In advancing to his first career final round, Lee got past Jeff Diehl, defending world champion Matt Hagan and Blake Alexander.
A 68-time professional winner, Pro Stock's Jeg Coughlin Jr., picked up his third win of 2024, stopping local favorite Dallas Glenn. He posted a run of 6.536 seconds at 209.95 to hand Elite Motorsports its fifth consecutive victory.
Coughlin beat Jerry Tucker, Eric Latino, and Chris McGaha to reach the final round.
“It feels fantastic. It’s just kind of a corny statement, but the team, as a whole, has obviously done very well,” Coughlin said. “We’ve won all but three of the events this year, which is a real testament to our stamina and our abilities.
“We’ve been struggling with some consistency and we really feel like we’ve turned the corner in multiple ways in the last two or three weeks, not because we’ve won the events, but because the cars have become more efficient, they’re accelerating better, and printing better time slips. So, you know, a real tip of the hat to our whole crew.”
Glenn remained the point leader and advanced to the finals at his home track for the sixth time this season and the 23rd time in his career.
Van Sant made history and also ended a historic run in Pro Stock Motorcycle on Sunday, picking up his first career victory with a run of 6.720 at 201.31 on his Trick Tools Suzuki over defending world champion Gaige Herrera in the final round. It snapped Herrera’s record-breaking run of 12 straight victories and 46 consecutive round wins, a string that dated back to last September.
Van Sant, though, was impressive throughout eliminations, taking down Brandon Litten, John Hall and Matt Smith. Van Sant left first on Herrera and led wire-to-wire in a rematch of the final round in Chicago this year. This time, though, Van Sant, the 2023 NHRA Rookie of the Year, got the best of Herrera, denying him any chance of an undefeated season and picking up a victory he won’t soon forget. Van Sant also moved to fourth in points with the win.
“I got down to the top end and saw my win light on, and I was just shaking my head,” Van Sant said. “We were down in the shutdown, and Gaige yelled something at me, and he pointed, and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know. Like is this real?’ I’ve gone up against Gaige five times and lost all five times, so to cut a light and get away early and outrun him just speaks volumes to how hard this team has been working kind of silently in the midst of all the drama in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
“Gaige and I have known each other for a while and every time we raced, it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed it. I was super happy for him to break all of those records, but I told him, “If I can end your streak, I will be the happiest person in the world.’”
Herrera maintained a dominant points lead, advancing to his seventh final this season and 19th in his career after defeating Eiji Kawakami and Jianna Evaristo.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action July 26-28 with the 36th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
In the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Maddi Gordon became the 100th different female winner in NHRA history, picking up her first career national event victory in Top Alcohol Funny Car. Gordon is in her rookie season in the Top Alcohol Funny Car ranks.
“This is amazing. It doesn’t get any better than this,” Gordon said. “This is a dream. I’m a brand new driver, and this is amazing. I couldn’t be more thankful, and it just feels great.”
SATURDAY QUALIFYING - LEADERBOARD REMAINS UNCHANGED FOR NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Prock, Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) remained atop their respective fields heading into Sunday’s final eliminations at the NHRA Northwest Nationals outside of Seattle, WA..
Torrence’s 3.688 elapsed time at a track-record 335.32 was untouchable on Saturday. He now has two No. 1 qualifiers this season and 39 for his career.
Torrence is the defending event champion, and the 2023 victory marks his last race win.
“I feel confident; that last run was a good, clean run down through there that we needed,” Torrence said. “We probably could have run quicker, but we needed to get good information to go A to B and set up for tomorrow because we’ll have some of these conditions that are very similar. We put ourselves in a good position as No. 1.”
Mission #2Fast2TastyChampion Ashley also qualified second with a 3.694 at 331.04, while Brittany Force took third with a 3.701 at 333.08.
Prock was the standard for Funny Car, as he delivered the quickest run in every qualifying session this weekend in Seattle.
Prock will head into Sunday’s eliminations at the site of his first professional victory, looking for his fourth win of 2024.
Enders remained the driver to beat in the final day of qualifying, thanks to her Friday 6.500 elapsed time at 209.98 miles per hour. For the six-time Pro Stock champion, this is her fifth No. 1 spot this season and 39th in her career. ,
“We knew we weren’t going to improve on our run from last night, so we were definitely working on a few other things with the race car, just preparing for the Countdown [to the Championship], just trying to get things in order,” Enders said. “That’s at the forefront of our minds, but the weather conditions were obviously not as conducive for great runs today as they were last night.
“We’ve had some really great success here in the past, so I’m hopeful that that trend continues and we can finally get that 50th [win] off our back. It’s a huge milestone for me and for women, but I just want to get back in the winner’s circle. That’s my main goal.”
Eric Latino took the second spot with Friday’s run of 6.518 at 209.82, while Mason McGaha’s 6.520 at 209.85 gave him the third spot.
Pro Stock Motorcycle dominator Herrera retained the No. 1 spot.
He again made four strong runs in qualifying; his Friday run of 6.734 seconds at 201.22 marked the 18th in his career. Herrera heads into Sunday looking to secure his 12th consecutive win and seventh this season.
“It was a little hot today for sure, so we were battling the track a little bit, but we made a few changes to the transmission to accommodate the heat, and it paid off,” Herrera said. “Tomorrow I think we’ll have to go at least another [6.]70 and it might even dip in the [6.]60s. It just depends on what the weather’s going to do. It’s an early start, so tomorrow is going to be good.”
Chase Van Sant secured second after going 6.742 at 199.44, and Matt Smith is third with a run of 6.755 at 201.43.
Eliminations for the NHRA Northwest Nationals begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Pacific Raceways.
Sunday's first-round pairings for eliminations for the 35th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, the 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Steve Torrence, 3.688 seconds, 335.32 mph vs. 14. Ron Smith, 4.349, 275.51; 2. Justin Ashley, 3.694, 331.04 vs. 13. Shawn Langdon, 4.146, 184.98; 3. Brittany Force, 3.701, 333.08 vs. 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.911, 317.79; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.710, 326.40 vs. 11. Billy Torrence, 3.872, 315.19; 5. Jasmine Salinas, 3.734, 332.43 vs. 10. Tony Stewart, 3.778, 319.90; 6. Shawn Reed, 3.736, 325.61 vs. 9. Clay Millican, 3.768, 319.60; 7. Antron Brown, 3.746, 329.42 vs. 8. Josh Hart, 3.748, 329.99.
Funny Car -- 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.838, 328.62 vs. Bye; 2. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.886, 331.53 vs. 15. Gary Densham, Ford Mustang, 5.114, 153.14; 3. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 3.917, 327.03 vs. 14. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.282, 244.21; 4. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.919, 326.48 vs. 13. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.076, 312.57; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.975, 319.52 vs. 12. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.072, 302.48; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.018, 318.32 vs. 11. Dave Richards, Camry, 4.072, 315.27; 7. Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 4.027, 318.99 vs. 10. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 4.069, 308.85; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.046, 311.27 vs. 9. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.050, 308.00.
Pro Stock -- 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.500, 209.98 vs. 16. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.610, 209.33; 2. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.518, 209.92 vs. 15. Sienna Wildgust, Camaro, 6.583, 209.85; 3. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.520, 210.18 vs. 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.573, 209.65; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.521, 210.93 vs. 13. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.556, 210.28; 5. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.527, 209.59 vs. 12. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.548, 211.06; 6. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.532, 211.13 vs. 11. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.537, 210.14; 7. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.532, 209.69 vs. 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.534, 209.69; 8. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.533, 209.82 vs. 9. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.534, 211.00.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Joey Grose, 6.657, 207.85.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.734, 201.22 vs. 12. Eiji Kawakami, Suzuki, 7.122, 185.59; 2. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.742, 199.94 vs. 11. Brandon Litten, EBR, 7.073, 184.77; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.755, 201.43 vs. 10. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.872, 199.02; 4. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.756, 199.88 vs. 9. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.812, 197.19; 5. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.765, 201.43 vs. 8. John Hall, Beull, 6.807, 199.73; 6. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.792, 197.33 vs. 7. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.802, 200.86.
FRIDAY QUALIFYING - PROCK, S. TORRENCE, ENDERS, HERRERA LEAD SEATTLE QUALIFYING UNDER THE LIGHTS
Well, that worked as planned.
For the first time in Pacific Raceways history, drag racing under the lights was expected to yield record-setting performances at the NHRA Northwest Nationals.
Four-time Fuel champion Steve Torrence thrilled the Seattle race fans with the fastest run in the track's history, which also helped him secure the provisional No. 1 qualifying position.
Four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence made the fastest run in Pacific Raceways history on Friday, powering to the provisional No. 1 position at the 35th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals.
Torrence was joined atop the leaderboard by Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) at the 11th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Torrence, the defending Seattle winner, turned in a 3.688-second at 335.32 mph performance. If the run holds, it would yield his second top qualifier of the season and 39th in his career. Ironically, the 2023 Seattle win was his last one on the tour.
"To go out and run 335 [mph], that's a stout run," Torrence said. "Tonight's a hero run for all of us and not really going to be relevant for anything tomorrow or race day, but you kind of get to pound your chest a little bit and say, 'Hey, we're low E.T., we're No. 1. I think that that'll stay safe for the rest of the weekend so we'll get ready for our race day tune-up now.
"It was really cool. There were are a lot of fans here and to race in front of at night was special. The people here at Pacific Raceway did a great job trying to put on a good show for the fans, and that's what it's about."
Justin Ashley is currently second after going 3.694 at 331.04, and Brittany Force is third with a 3.701 at 333.08.
Prock, the current point leader, continued his torrid pace as he set the pace for both Friday sessions, running a 3.838 elapsed time at 328.62. If the run holds, it would be his eighth No. 1 qualifier in the first 11 races of the season.
"It was another great day for this Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. These guys are just animals,” Prock said. “I know I keep saying that, but they impress me every weekend. They were making adjustments up until we fired the race car in the water box, just fine-tuning, reading the racetrack, reading the competition, and they obviously made a really good call. I believe it will hold [as No. 1] because it's going to be pretty hot tomorrow."
Ron Capps jumped to second with a 3.886 at 331.53, and Paul Lee sits third after going 3.917 at 327.03.
Running at the front of the pack in the Q2 session did little to slow the defending Pro Stock champion, as she stopped the timers at 6.500 seconds at 209.98 miles per hour. If the run holds, it will mark her fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 39th in her career.
"Our first run, by no means, was anything that we were proud of, and it was just super frustrating when something like that happens, but my team continues to prove over and over that really doesn't matter,” Enders said. “When their backs are against the wall when the pressure's on them, they always seem to do really great, so I'm very proud of them. They gave me a good race car and we threw a really nice number out there. It would have been cool to go a thousandth faster and be in the .40s, but we're just super happy to turn it around.”
The No. 2 and 3 qualifiers provided a measure of surprise as Eric Latino took the second spot after a run of 6.518 at 209.82, while Mason McGaha’s 6.520 at 209.85 puts him third.
Pro Stock Motorcycle debuted at Pacific Raceways a year ago. On Friday, Gaige Herrera continued to dominate at the facility, setting the track speed record and taking the provisional No. 1 spot with an impressive run of 6.734 at 201.22 on his RevZilla/Mission Foods/Vance & Hines Suzuki. Herrera has quickly taken a liking to the Pacific Northwest, making the quickest run of both sessions as he looks to pick up his fourth No. 1 qualifier in 2024 and 18th in his career.
Of course, Herrera is also undefeated in 2024 and has won his past 11 races, and he is looking to continue his dominant run this weekend at Pacific Raceways.
"I feel like me, and the bike is one at this point, so we came in there very confident on what we're going to run,” Herrera said. “If we didn't bog on the starting line in Q2, we probably would have run a .68. We just didn't accommodate for the track tightening up that quick as the sun went down; the track dropped quite a bit on the temperature. and it hurt us. Hopefully, we'll hold on to one spot, but there's a lot of good bikes out there.”
Chase Van Sant is currently second after going 6.742 at 199.44, and Richard Gadson is third with a run of 6.756 at 199.35.
Qualifying continues at 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday at the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
Friday's results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 35th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways, 11th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Steve Torrence, 3.688 seconds, 335.32 mph; 2. Justin Ashley, 3.694, 331.04; 3. Brittany Force, 3.701, 333.08; 4. Doug Kalitta, 3.710, 326.40; 5. Jasmine Salinas, 3.734, 332.43; 6. Shawn Reed, 3.736, 325.61; 7. Antron Brown, 3.746, 329.42; 8. Josh Hart, 3.748, 329.99; 9. Clay Millican, 3.768, 319.60; 10. Tony Stewart, 3.778, 319.90; 11. Billy Torrence, 3.872, 315.19; 12. Tony Schumacher, 4.389, 186.46; 13. Ron Smith, 5.184, 207.18; 14. Shawn Langdon, 6.734, 96.33.
Funny Car -- 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.838, 328.62; 2. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.886, 331.53; 3. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 3.917, 327.03; 4. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.919, 326.48; 5. Chad Green, Ford Mustang, 3.975, 319.52; 6. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.055, 312.42; 7. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 4.072, 315.27; 8. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.076, 312.57; 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.114, 247.16; 10. Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 4.429, 196.16; 11. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 4.553, 183.97; 12. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.572, 182.55; 13. Gary Densham, Mustang, 5.114, 153.14; 14. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 5.484, 128.89; 15. Jeff Diehl, Camry, broke.
Pro Stock -- 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.500, 209.98; 2. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.518, 209.92; 3. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.520, 209.85; 4. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.521, 210.93; 5. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.527, 209.59; 6. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.532, 211.13; 7. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.532, 209.69; 8. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.533, 209.82; 9. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.534, 211.00; 10. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.534, 209.69; 11. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.537, 210.14; 12. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.548, 211.06; 13. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.556, 210.28; 14. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.573, 209.65; 15. Sienna Wildgust, Camaro, 6.583, 209.85; 16. Val Smeland, Camaro, 6.610, 209.33.
Not Qualified: 17. Joey Grose, 6.790, 205.07.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.734, 201.22; 2. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.742, 199.94; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.756, 199.35; 4. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.804, 197.33; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.807, 199.73; 6. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.812, 197.19; 7. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.822, 200.56; 8. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.835, 199.52; 9. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.836, 200.62; 10. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.872, 199.02; 11. Brandon Litten, EBR, 7.073, 182.50; 12. Eiji Kawakami, Suzuki, 7.122, 183.44.
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