Series Charlotte II final eliminations report

Hagan runs the table at zMax Dragway; Brown, Johnson, Krawiec also winners in Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. – Matt Hagan drove to his first win of the season and backed up his national record-setting run in the process as eliminations came to an end Sunday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Antron Brown, Kurt Johnson and Eddie Krawiec were also winners in their respective categories at the first of six races in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship, the six-race playoffs to determine the world championships.

Hagan began his week of domination Friday night when he became the first Funny Car driver in NHRA history to make a three-second run. After taking the No. 1 qualifier with a 3.995-second run, Hagan then backed up that pass with a first round win Sunday at 4.018 seconds to secure the national record and the 20 bonus points that come with it. Hagan then powered his Die Hard Dodge Charger past points leader Mike Neff in the final round with a run of 4.130 seconds at 301.07 mph to secure his fourth career win and move up to the second spot in the point standings, just 22 points behind Neff.

“It’s something else to sit in a race car when it has that kind of potential,” said Hagan. “This is the third national record we’ve set with this car and that’s phenomenal to me. To have a group of guys around you like (crew chief) Tommy DeLago, (assistant crew chief) Glen Huszar, and all the guys who beat this thing up and put it back together is phenomenal. It’s truly a fairy tale deal to go out there, set the record and win the race.”

Hagan’s Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman also set the new national record for speed this weekend with a pass at 318.99 mph, but lost to Hagan in the semifinal round. Countdown to the Championship contenders John Force, Robert Hight, Bob Tasca and Ron Capps all lost in the first round of eliminations.

In Top Fuel, Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner Brown continued his streak of success when he held off teammate Spencer Massey in the final round to secure his third race win in a row. Brown powered his Macto Tools dragster to a 3.784 at 325.14 to secure his fifth win of the season and take over the points lead for the first time this season.

“The radar is on us now, so we have to dig harder with all these guys gunning for us,” said Brown. “When we raced Tony Schumacher (in the semifinals), we had nothing to lose. He was running on a whole ‘nother level. Our Aaron’s Matco Tools guys threw the kitchen sink at it and threw the whole tractor-trailer with it. We threw our other tractor-trailer at it again for the final.”

Brown’s Don Schumacher Racing teammate Schumacher set the national record for speed when he drove his U.S. Army dragster to a 327.90 pass, while Brown’s other teammate and runner-up finisher Massey took over the second spot in the points standings, just 16 points behind Brown.

In Pro Stock, after over three years since his last race win, Johnson held off Jason Line to get the win. Johnson powered his Johnson Racing Chevy Cobalt to a 6.545 at 210.97 past points leader Line to get his 40th career win.

“It’s been a real battle and we finally figured out that maybe we needed a new car,” said Johnson. “I brought this car out in Bristol and didn’t qualify, but we’ve been adapting and it really started to thunder in Brainerd. It’s totally different than anything we’ve had since about 2003, but I think we know what to do with it now and it’s proved itself today.”

Antron Brown

Photo by: Glenn F. Katauskas

Krawiec kept his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson at the top of the pack all weekend when he picked up the No. 1 qualifier Saturday and raced to his third win of the season Sunday. Krawiec rode to a 6.870 at 196.42 past runner-up Karen Stoffer and strengthen his points lead over the competition.

“I came into the Countdown as the points leader, and my attitude changed,” said Krawiec. “I struggled a lot on the Tree this year and gave up a couple of race wins in my mind. I feel like I’ve been riding well but not racing well. When you have low e.t. and set national records but lose rounds because of bad riding, it wears on you. I shook it off coming into the Countdown and told myself, ‘You’re leading the points. You’re obviously a good rider and a good racer.’”

NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing will return to action next week at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 22-25 at Texas Motorplex in Dallas.

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Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the Fourth annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord. The race is the 17th of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL: 1. Antron Brown; 2. Spencer Massey; 3. Tony Schumacher; 4. Larry Dixon; 5. Brandon Bernstein; 6. Bob Vandergriff; 7. Doug Kalitta; 8. Rod Fuller; 9. Morgan Lucas; 10. Shawn Langdon; 11. Terry McMillen; 12. T.J. Zizzo; 13. Dom Lagana; 14. Del Worsham; 15. David Grubnic; 16. Clay Millican.

FUNNY CAR: 1. Matt Hagan; 2. Mike Neff; 3. Jack Beckman; 4. Johnny Gray; 5. Cruz Pedregon; 6. Tim Wilkerson; 7. Jeff Arend; 8. Jim Head; 9. Tony Pedregon; 10. Ron Capps; 11. Bob Tasca III; 12. John Force; 13. Melanie Troxel; 14. Robert Hight; 15. John Smith; 16. Paul Lee.

PRO STOCK: 1. Kurt Johnson; 2. Jason Line; 3. Steve Kent; 4. Vincent Nobile; 5. Erica Enders; 6. Shane Gray; 7. Greg Stanfield; 8. Mike Edwards; 9. Greg Anderson; 10. Ronnie Humphrey; 11. Buddy Perkinson; 12. Warren Johnson; 13. Rodger Brogdon; 14. Larry Morgan; 15. V. Gaines; 16. Allen Johnson.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. Eddie Krawiec; 2. Karen Stoffer; 3. Matt Smith; 4. Michael Ray; 5. Jim Underdahl; 6. Shawn Gann; 7. Andrew Hines; 8. Hector Arana Jr; 9. Justin Finley; 10. Angie Smith; 11. Jerry Savoie; 12. Chip Ellis; 13. LE Tonglet; 14. Steve Johnson; 15. Michael Phillips; 16. Hector Arana.

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Final round-by-round results from the Fourth annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord, the 17th of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Rod Fuller, 3.815, 324.67 def. Terry McMillen, 3.889, 315.86; Doug Kalitta, 3.868, 312.13 def. David Grubnic, 5.644, 114.19; Antron Brown, 3.824, 319.29 def. T.J. Zizzo, 3.908, 315.34; Larry Dixon, 3.790, 323.97 def. Shawn Langdon, 3.876, 318.62; Tony Schumacher, 3.775, 327.90 def. Morgan Lucas, 3.869, 314.90; Spencer Massey, 3.779, 327.74 def. Dom Lagana, 3.926, 309.13; Bob Vandergriff, 3.853, 320.28 def. Del Worsham, 4.231, 225.37; Brandon Bernstein, 3.815, 322.65 def. Clay Millican, 5.845, 108.63;

Kurt Johnson

Photo by: Ted Rossino

QUARTERFINALS -- Brown, 3.830, 320.66 def. Vandergriff, 3.862, 316.45; Dixon, 3.816, 322.96 def. Bernstein, 3.827, 322.65; Massey, 3.815, 316.60 def. Kalitta, 3.865, 315.93; Schumacher, 3.798, 323.43 def. Fuller, 4.238, 203.92;

SEMIFINALS -- Massey, 3.786, 324.05 def. Dixon, 3.816, 317.57; Brown, 3.795, 322.73 def. Schumacher, 3.802, 320.05;

FINAL -- Brown, 3.784, 325.14 def. Massey, 4.533, 155.08.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.092, 316.01 def. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 8.312, 79.30; Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.154, 295.46 def. Melanie Troxel, Solara, 5.877, 124.68; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.018, 322.27 def. John Smith, Chevy Monte Carlo, 6.564, 103.85; Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.490, 255.92 def. Tony Pedregon, Impala SS, 4.973, 224.58; Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.103, 311.77 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.999, 179.85; Johnny Gray, Charger, 4.354, 238.43 def. John Force, Mustang, 5.751, 122.49; Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.121, 306.88 def. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 5.171, 152.42; Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.329, 265.69 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 6.431, 104.66;

QUARTERFINALS -- Gray, 5.055, 255.82 def. Head, 5.238, 272.83; Hagan, 4.054, 316.38 def. C. Pedregon, 4.108, 305.98; Neff, 4.076, 312.35 def. Wilkerson, 4.133, 306.95; Beckman, 4.083, 318.99 def. Arend, 5.223, 146.54;

SEMIFINALS -- Neff, 4.080, 309.91 def. Gray, 4.118, 311.20; Hagan, 4.032, 318.69 def. Beckman, 4.090, 317.79;

FINAL -- Hagan, 4.130, 301.07 def. Neff, 4.431, 202.79.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.568, 210.80 def. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.617, 209.43; Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.558, 211.20 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.748, 180.65; Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.561, 210.21 def. Buddy Perkinson, Mustang, 6.608, 209.46; Shane Gray, GXP, 6.607, 209.01 def. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.571, 205.47; Jason Line, GXP, 6.524, 212.43 def. V. Gaines, Avenger, 11.339, 78.87; Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.592, 209.39 def. Allen Johnson, Avenger, 14.132, 61.39; Steve Kent, GXP, 6.569, 210.11 def. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.586, 210.67; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.585, 210.60 def. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.669, 209.75;

QUARTERFINALS -- Kent, 6.556, 210.14 def. Edwards, 6.895, 163.77; K. Johnson, 6.579, 209.82 def. Stanfield, 6.597, 209.01; Nobile, 6.575, 210.57 def. Gray, 6.594, 209.20; Line, 6.525, 212.09 def. Enders, foul;

SEMIFINALS -- K. Johnson, 6.550, 209.82 def. Nobile, 6.586, 210.87; Line, 6.521, 211.63 def. Kent, 6.559, 210.08;

FINAL -- K. Johnson, 6.545, 210.97 def. Line, foul.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.902, 192.25 def. Angie Smith, Buell, foul; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.911, 193.65 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.937, 188.60; Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.945, 193.07 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.094, 193.35; Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.918, 192.19 def. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.942, 191.65; Michael Ray, Buell, 6.922, 191.02 def. Hector Arana, Buell, broke; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.836, 196.33 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.983, 191.00; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.825, 195.79 def. Justin Finley, Suzuki, 6.911, 192.55; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.837, 193.05 def. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.953, 186.56;

QUARTERFINALS -- Ray, 6.974, 183.94 def. Gann, foul; M. Smith, 6.864, 191.89 def. Hines, foul; Krawiec, 6.810, 196.79 def. Arana Jr, broke; Stoffer, 6.830, 195.82 def. Underdahl, 6.924, 193.90;

SEMIFINALS -- Stoffer, 6.857, 194.83 def. M. Smith, 6.911, 189.52; Krawiec, 6.813, 196.76 def. Ray, 6.944, 189.95;

FINAL -- Krawiec, 6.870, 196.42 def. Stoffer, foul.

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Eddie Krawiec

Photo by: Ted Rossino

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the Fourth annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord, the 17th of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Antron Brown, 2,187; 2. Spencer Massey, 2,171; 3. Del Worsham, 2,149; 4. Larry Dixon, 2,142; 5. Tony Schumacher, 2,132; 6. Doug Kalitta, 2,095; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 2,084; 8. Shawn Langdon, 2,051; 9. Morgan Lucas, 2,036; 10. David Grubnic, 2,032.

Funny Car

1. Mike Neff, 2,209; 2. Matt Hagan, 2,187; 3. Jack Beckman, 2,156; 4. Cruz Pedregon, 2,113; 5. Robert Hight, 2,103; 6. Ron Capps, 2,082; 7. Jeff Arend, 2,064; 8. John Force, 2,063; 9. Bob Tasca III, 2,055; 10. Tim Wilkerson, 2,052.

Pro Stock

1. Jason Line, 2,186; 2. Greg Anderson, 2,155; 3. Vincent Nobile, 2,132; 4. Mike Edwards, 2,125; 5. Erica Enders, 2,103; 6. Allen Johnson, 2,080; 7. Greg Stanfield, 2,071; 8. Rodger Brogdon, 2,062; 9. Shane Gray, 2,061; 10. Ron Krisher, 2,010.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Eddie Krawiec, 2,237; 2. Karen Stoffer, 2,174; 3. Matt Smith, 2,121; 4. Andrew Hines, 2,113; 5. LE Tonglet, 2,111; 6. Hector Arana Jr, 2,103; 7. Hector Arana, 2,066; 8. Jim Underdahl, 2,055; 9. Jerry Savoie, 2,052; 10. Michael Phillips, 2,042.