Camping World Drag Racing Series drivers recognize that the task at hand centers on this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. But that isn’t stopping them from talking about the following race, at Indianapolis, and the Countdown to the Championship that kicks off just after that. 

Right now, the strategy filters through this annual northern Minnesota event. And some intriguing match-ups are set for the first round of runoffs Sunday in the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes. 

In the Top Fuel class, Austin Prock is 10 points out of the top 10 (behind No. 10-ranked Antron Brown) and has a first-round meeting with Billy Torrence. But Prock also will be keeping eye on the Brown-Clay Millican race, because No. 11-ranked Millican represents one of the obstacles Prock needs to clear if he is to make it into the top 10 and qualify for the Countdown on his own merit and not by simply having attended every race and made the minimum two qualifying passes. 

Ironically, that inclusive ruling is sometimes called “The Billy Torrence Rule,” because it’s a reaction the fact that Torrence proved more than once that a driver can skip races and still qualify for the Countdown and even land among the top five in the final standings. So the sanctioning body gave a break to the racers who attend every event on the schedule. And here Prock must face Billy Torrence himself in his effort not to use “The Billy Torrence Rule.”  (By the way, Torrence is no fan of the Countdown at all, referring to it as the “Loser Appreciation Program,” because drivers’ points are wiped out after the U.S. Nationals and replaced with a rather socialistic point scale to manipulate the competition to make it closer.)

Prock, who drives the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Dragster, didn’t say simply that he’d like to have a good race day (which, incidentally, will be his 27th birthday). He said Saturday afternoon, “We made four consecutive competitive runs with no parts damage. We have all four runs to look at for tomorrow, and that’s the best position to be in. It's been a great weekend so far, and I would love to have a great points day tomorrow.” 

Third-place Justin Ashley is slightly more than 100 points in back of No. 2 Salinas, and he’ll have to eliminate his buddy Krista Baldwin if he’s to make up significant ground. Ashley and Baldwin have been friends and business associates since the days they made the transition from Nitro University to the Top Fuel class. 

But friends are for off the racetrack. Ashley said, “You start every season with one goal, and that is to win the Top Fuel championship. We picked up a win in the first race of the year and have continually improved our performance throughout the season. Going into Brainerd No. 3 in the point standings with a legitimate shot at gaining ground over the final two races of the regular season is a huge testament to the success of our program. Now that we are locked into the Countdown, we can simply focus on taking it one round at a time in Brainerd. 

Leah Pruett is sixth in the standings, Shawn Langdon seventh, and she has an 18-point advantage as they meet in Round 1 – in a rematch of the Denver final, which she won. (Her edge was 17 points entering the race, but she earned a single qualifying bonus point Friday night.)  

Another key pairing with playoff-seeding implications is the one between No. 2-ranked Mike Salinas and No. 4 Steve Torrence. 

The classic Tony Schumacher-Doug Kalitta race might resurrect those seemingly long-ago rivalries. But Schumacher has the chance to move up in the standings if he were to defeat Kalitta (who celebrated his 58th birthday Saturday) and reach the semifinal, as well.  

“This is one of those races that really, really matters, because Indy is next and that’s points-and-a-half,” Schumacher said. “So you need to be in the best position possible heading into Indy – because let me tell you, every point matters when you get into the playoffs. 

“Getting moved up a few spots to start the Countdown does matter. I’ve won championships and I’ve lost championships by less than one round. So don’t kid yourself into thinking that where you start the Countdown doesn’t matter.” 

Before the Countdown was established, Schumacher earned the 2006 championship by a mere 14 points over Doug Kalitta. Then, in the Countdown Era, Schumacher defeated Rod Fuller by 19 points to earn the title, and in 2009, he relegated Larry Dixon to runner-up by two points. On the flip side, Schumacher lost in 2012 to Antron Brown by seven points. That’s why he isn’t nonchalant about grabbing as many points as he can. 

On the Funny Car side of the Countdown, Robert Hight’s current lead isn’t really in jeopardy. But the monster match-up involves his teammate and boss, John Force, who’ll line up against Ron Capps in the first round. That sounds more like a final-round match, but they’re qualified fourth (Capps) and 13th (Force). 

Capps, ranked No. 3 in the standings, is trying to hold off No. 4 Force. Entering this event, they were separated by just six points. So the stakes are high Sunday when they square off against each other for the eighth time in 15 races this season. (They met in the first three races, and Sunday morning they will have raced one another three times in four events.) 

Jim Dunn Racing driver Jim Campbell, who expressed no qualms last year about participating in the Countdown via “The Billy Torrence Rule,” is qualified in the top 10 at the moment. He has a tough opponent in Round 1 in JR Todd, the No. 6-ranked racer who’s trying to pass No. 5 Bob Tasca while keeping No. 7 Cruz Pedregon at bay. 

Chad Green isn’t eligible to invoke the inclusion rule, as he hasn’t entered every race. So he’s going to try to beat quasi-teammate Tim Wilkerson in the first round Sunday and leapfrog No. 10 Campbell for that last Funny Car Countdown berth. But Wilkerson is No. 9 and wants to hold onto his spot. 

Blake Alexander is 22 points out of 10th place. If he could get past Alexis De Joria, he could move up. However, anyone who knows De Joria knows Alexander has a fight on his hands. Alexander’s boss, Jim Head, has said before that he’s not interested in the Countdown, but making the top 10 could give his marketing-partnership a boost, especially if the young shoe gets hot in the playoffs.  

Meanwhile, De Joria, the 2017 winner here, has her own plan. 

She said, “Our Bandero Toyota Supra team is currently sitting eighth in points but we’re only six points behind Cruz [Pedregon], and less than two rounds behind our Toyota teammate, JR Todd, who’s in sixth. The goal is to start the Countdown ranked as high as possible, so we need a good showing this weekend to put some more points on the board and put us in striking distance.” What’s more, she emboldened by her recent victory at the Night of Fire showcase at Norwalk, Ohio – and by the fact that she and her team are rested and ready for race day (“I’ve been in Brainerd since Tuesday and got to spend a much-needed rest-and-relaxation day with my team out on the lake”). On her side, too, is her history here. 

“Brainerd has been kind to me over the years. We won the race in 2017, and in 2014, I was actually the first Funny Car pilot to clock a sub-four-second run at BIR. We know that when the conditions are right, this track can hold big numbers, so hopefully the weather will hold up this weekend and we’ll be able to put on a good show for the fans,” De Joria said. 

Hight, who had to settle for the No. 2 starting slot this weekend when Matt Hagan swept in and took charge in Q4 Saturday, said, “It’s been a great weekend so far for this Auto Club Chevy team. These guys have been doing a great job, four really good runs down the racetrack. That last session, it just goes to show you how competitive this Funny Car class is this year. We know if we want to win another championship, we have to win at least two or three more races, and I really think today is proof of that. We have to stay consistent and keep it going, starting tomorrow in the first round.” He’ll take on Steven Densham. 

And no one is counting out Bob Tasca III, the No. 3 starter Sunday and opponent of Dale Creasy. 

As early as the Topeka race last weekend, Tasca was talking about the Countdown. Actually, he had it on his mind even before the Western Swing began – and before the Norwalk race that preceded it. He and FOX TV analyst/ former Funny car driver Tony Pedregon are the best of friends, and Pedregon gave Tasca a warning just before the Norwalk event. He told Tasca, who was mired in eighth place in the standings at the time, “You realize something? If you don’t get your s--- together, you ain’t going to be in the conversation.” 

Tasca said he understood that, as well, and Pedregon added, “The next few races are going to be a big deal.” 

They have been for Tasca. He said, “Four final rounds in the last five [races], two wins, two No. 1 qualifiers . . . I think we got our s--- in gear.” 

And in the final round against Force, the cagey 16-time champion ordered a lane swap at the last second. Tasca said, “Old Force, he pulled a little whoop-de-doop on us. He had us in the left lane, then he put us in the right lane at the last minute.” He said he told co-crew chief Jon Schaffer not to worry about lane assignment: “We’ll still kick his ass.” And Tasca did. 

So as race day at Brainerd unfolds Sunday and the U.S. Nationals cements the Countdown lineup, emotions are rich and motivations are strong.