Competition Plus’ Water-Cooler Topics From The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn.
1 –TORRENCE ON COMEBACK TRAIL? – Steve Torrence said he knows he and his Capco Contractors dragster team “don’t have the race car that we had in the dominant run of four championships, but we’re working on getting it back there.”
He took a mighty step Sunday, defeating Justin Ashley in the final round to claim his 56th Top Fuel victory, which pushed him past Doug Kalitta on the class’ all-time victories list. He became the fourth-winningest driver behind Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, and Larry Dixon. It was his first win since the Seattle race last July.
“This is way too much work to not enjoy it. Whether you make a living at it or not, it’s a lot of work,” Torrence said. “We just had to recenter, refocus, and kind of get our minds back on what we’re trying to do. And it’s not run (stunning elapsed times). It’s not set records. It’s win races, win rounds, and that’s sometimes … you get preoccupied with what you’re doing. Sometimes you just need to reassess and refocus. And that’s where we’re at. We got to remember how much fun we’re having.”
Torrence denied final-round opponent Ashley a first victory of the year. Ashley last enjoyed victory last October at Dallas.
2 – CAPPS BREAKS THROUGH WITH BRISTOL-BEST WIN – Funny Car’s Ron Capps needed a feel-good weekend, and Bristol was the perfect place for it. Capps defeated Paul Lee in the final round to become Bristol Dragway’s most successful NHRA racer with eight victories. This first triumph of the season – his first in 643 days, since the 2023 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis – broke a tie with Top Fuel’s Tony Schumacher. It was the 77th victory of his career in his 155th final.
2A – LEE CONTINUES TO AMASS A CAREER-BEST SEASON – Headed into Bristol, Paul Lee had been a boss in qualifying having qualified no lower than third in the first seven event event. A tricky track combined with complex conditions related him to his worst qualifying effort of the year in eighth.
Those details that provided such a challenge in qualifying worked in Lee’s favor as he reached his third final round of the season. Lee now has five final rounds in the last two season.
3 – ANDERSON SECOND ONLY TO JOHN FORCE IN ROUND WINS – On the way to his 110th Pro Stock victory, Greg Anderson recorded the 1,000th elimination-round victory. That makes him the second-most winning NHRA driver behind only John Force. The driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevy Camaro made it 1,001 with his victory over KB Titan teammate Dallas Glenn in their fifth final-round meeting of the season.
Anderson’s milestone achievement came in the semifinals against David Cuadra. However, Anderson said he wasn’t interested in resting on that accomplishment.
He said his car “left the starting line and carried the front end so nice and so smooth. We got it down through there on a beautiful run. Number 1,000 … that’s pretty damn cool. But I came for 1,001. I want 1,001 bad. If I don’t leave with it, I’m going to be a little bit disappointed. It’s obviously a huge accomplishment. The KB Titan team is just absolutely on target right now.”
Anderson wasn’t disappointed. He took advantage of Glenn’s red-light foul start to claim his 110th victory in his 188th final. The points leader became the first four-time winner this season in any pro class.
“Winning a race is what means everything to me,” Anderson said. “Big day at Bristol – magical place for me.”
4 – GADSON NOTCHES FIRST VICTORY – Richard Gadson added his name to the list of NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle winners, defeating two-time and reigning champion Gaige Herrera in the final round.
“He’s been diggin’ and busting butt. He’s worked hard, and now he’s holding a Wally,” crew chief Eddie Krawiec said.
“Wow. I can’t believe this is mine,” Gadson said, holding his first Wally trophy. “This is so much bigger than me.” He said it was for his family, friends, and supporters during his 20-year preparation for this moment. “This is the most exhausting thing I’ve done in my life.”
The Pro Stock Motorcycle winner was guaranteed to come from the Vance & Hines camp – the team had three semifinalists, including top qualifier Brayden Davis. But Davis double-clutched at the starting line in the third round and yielded the victory to Herrera. Gadson defeated Chase VanSant in the other semifinal.
5 – AGAIN?! AAAUGH! – For the second straight week, Funny Car points leader Austin Prock lost to Buddy Hull in the opening round of eliminations. Both times Prock was the No. 1 qualifier and Hull the 16th and final starter.
Prock climbed from his car at the end of the track, walked to his team’s tow vehicle, and punched it in frustration. When he composed himself, the John Force Racing driver said, “Just (the) tires stood up out there. And by the time I was ready to lift, the thing shut off, and I was just coasting down there. So frustrated. We got all these safety parameters on these things now because the rear ends explode, and that bit us there. So, really frustrated. I guess I could have caught it quicker and maybe we could have lived on, but definitely, definitely upset.
He later said, “These things are hard to catch when you blow the tires off. You’re making decisions in thousandths of a second.”
6 – HULL OF A ROLLER-COASTER RIDE – Funny Car first-round upset winner Buddy Hull said 91-year-old team owner “Big Jim” Dunn told him before his match against No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock, “We’ve never had a clutch like this, so be ready.” After scoring his second upset of Prock within a week’s time, Hull said, “I’m probably not Austin’s favorite guy right now, but we’ll be OK later. He’s a great guy. Austin and those guys, they’re incredible. There’s a reason why it says No. 1 on the side of their car.”
The underdog’s celebration was short-lived. In his next run, in a loss to Paul Lee, Hull’s car wound up in the catch net at the end of the sand trap when his parachutes failed to deploy. He was unhurt.
“I’m perfectly fine. I got the best safety gear that you can put on your body,” Hull said. “We just don’t know what happened.” Then, referring to actor John Schneider, who played Bo Duke in the TV series “The Dukes of Hazzard” and singer “God Bless America” in Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies, Hull said, “Bo Duke’s here. I didn’t want to take that kind of lesson from him, but you know what, that’s exactly what happened, because (the car was) completely airborne until I hit the net. If you’re listening, come and see me. We need to shake hands. I just pulled one of your moves, brother. But no, we’re all good. I feel terrible. (The crew has) got to fix this mess. You better believe we’ll be back out here.”
7 – NATAAS MAKES POSITIVE DEBUT – Julie Nataas, a Top Alcohol Dragster champion who had a one-time opportunity last fall at St. Louis in Scrappers Racing’s Top Fuel dragster, made her Funny Car debut in Del Worsham’s entry at Bristol.
She did it in style, upsetting No. 4 starter Jack Beckman in the opening round out of the No. 13 qualifying spot. She exited her car and revealed that sponsor Airmine has signed on for the June 26-29 race at Norwalk, Ohio. She recognized the victory was a milestone moment but said, “I’m used to going a round in the alcohol car, so I wanted nothing less for my Funny Car debut. I knew we needed just a clean A-to-B pass, because I knew people were going to be struggling. I was just hoping it was not going to be us. We did it.”
Nataas, a native of Norway whose father, Thomas Nataas, raced in Top Fuel, lost to Dan Wilkerson in the quarterfinals.
8 – PRO MOD SCRAMBLE – In Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series action, Jordan Lazic’s winning first-round run was disqualified because of a technical violation. The fire pin was left in, making one of the safety systems inoperable; thus the cause for the DQ. With that, Stevie Jackson was reinstated, and he lost to J.R. Gray in the second round. Gray set low elapsed time of the meet at 5.762 seconds as he captured the trophy.
9 – HAVING FUN, ENJOYING RESULTS – “My, what lovely, long, blonde locks you have.” … “The better to back you up with, my dear.” … It sounds like a silly drag-racing-themed fairy tale knockoff of Little Red Riding Hood, but it was just the Tony Stewart Racing camp having a bit of fun. Car chief Ryan McGilvry was absent Saturday at Bristol so he could attend son Rayce’s high school graduation back in Brownsburg, Ind. Leah Pruett stepped in and substituted for McGilvry on Saturday, and she helped her husband win the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and secure his first No. 1 qualifying position. McGilvry returned for Sunday eliminations – with a “new ‘do.’” As he backed up Stewart from the burnout, he donned a long-haired blonde wig, doing his best to impersonate Pruett. Stewart advanced to the semifinals – and earned another shot, in two weeks at Richmond, to compete in the bonus race. But Steve Torrence halted Stewart’s streak of five final-round appearances.
10 – SCRUM BEHIND STARTING LINE – Security personnel at Bristol Dragway broke up a scuffle at the base of the tower between members of the KB Titan Racing and Elite Motorsports Pro Stock teams. D.J. Winters, of Greg Anderson’s crew, and Chase Freeman, an Elite crew chief, admittedly were the first to antagonize each other, and the disagreement grew into a bit of a hostile scrum. Although animosity between the two factions certainly is nothing new, the trigger point in this latest conflict was the late Saturday disqualification of Erica Enders’ fourth and final qualifying pass. According to an NHRA statement, “The disqualification was due to the use of rear wheels that did not meet NHRA’s approved specifications for Pro Stock. NHRA is conducting further investigation.” Despite the loss of that run, a prior pass got Enders into the field, and she beat Cory Reed in the first round before being eliminated by Anderson in Round Two.
