Hight, B. Force, Line, Krawiec win in Texas

FUNNY CAR

Robert Hight raced to a 3.877-second pass at 332.34 mph in his AAA of Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS to defeat reigning world champion and category points leader Ron Capps’ 3.927 pass at 329.18 in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T in the Funny Car final. It is Hight’s fourth win of the season, 41st of his career, third at Texas Motorplex and second in the 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. He remains second in the points standings just 24 points behind Capps.

“This was huge. A round win is worth 20 points but truthfully that final round win for us was 40 points,” said Hight, who was also the No. 1 qualifier at the event. “We were 44 back going into the final round and had we lost that’s 64. Winning brought it back to 24 which is a little over a round with two races left. That was a 40-point swing for us. That was big. We needed that one. We would have been pretty bummed leaving here over three rounds back.”

On his way to victory, Hight defeated Jim Campbell, Alexis DeJoria, who announced her retirement following the 2017 season, and Tim Wilkerson. Capps took down Del Worsham, 16-time world champion John Force and teammate Jack Beckman. 

TOP FUEL

Brittany Force piloted her Monster Energy dragster to a Texas Motorplex elapsed-time record of 3.681 at 326.87 to defeat Shawn Langdon and his Global Electronic Technology dragster’s 3.693 pass at 326.56 in the Top Fuel finals. The victory, Brittany’s third of the season and sixth of her career, moves her into second in the points standings. 

“A lot needed to happen and it seemed to work in our favor,” Force said. “Really it was about us going rounds. We had Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence, the two people in front of us in the standings. Everyone has been struggling trying to take them down. They’ve been killing it.

“When we pulled up there I felt confident we were going to turn those win lights on. That’s what we needed to do, we were able to do it and then we were able to take down Langdon and won the thing.

“This is a huge win. It’s a Countdown race. And we’re still climbing that ladder.” 

PRO STOCK

Defending champion Jason Line found himself in the winner’s circle for the second time this season and 27th time of his career, after running a 6.548 pass at 211.20 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro to take down Drew Skillman who lost on a red-light start. 

“The truth is with the playoff format, now is what matters,” Line said. “We are picking up at the right time. I’m hopefully giving Greg Anderson, Bo Butner and everybody else something to think about for the next couple of weeks.

“For me it was do or die. If we didn’t win here this weekend the chances of winning the championship were going to be slim to none. And I was lucky enough to win. Really a nice feeling.”

Line raced past Alan Prusiensky, Texas native Alex Laughlin and Brian Self on the way to his third final round of the season. Skillman bested veteran Jeg Coughlin, Bo Butner and points leader Greg Anderson before losing to Line. Anderson maintains the points lead by 15 points over Butner who is trailed by Line. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Eddie Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 9.336 pass at 92.62 which was enough due to a red-light start from defending world champion Jerry Savoie. It is Krawiec’s sixth win of the season, 42nd of his career and second consecutive and third total at Texas Motorplex. 

Krawiec said: “You need to capitalize. For me, I had, I would say, a perfect weekend. I went out there got a lot of the little points in qualifying. I needed to capitalize, this was the opportunity for me to grab the ball and run with it. I think that was more of my drive for today. Lucky enough for me I had a great motorcycle under me.” 

Krawiec’s win puts him 107 points ahead of LE Tonglet who remains in second.

Finish order at 32nd annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex

TOP FUEL: 1. Brittany Force; 2. Shawn Langdon; 3. Antron Brown; 4. Steve Torrence; 5. Leah Pritchett; 6. Richie Crampton; 7. Doug Kalitta; 8. Terry Haddock; 9. Billy Torrence; 10. Terry McMillen; 11. Scott Palmer; 12. Shawn Reed; 13. Blake Alexander; 14. Tony Schumacher; 15. Clay Millican; 16. Kebin Kinsley. 
Final: Brittany Force, 3.681 seconds, 326.87 mph def. Shawn Langdon, 3.693 seconds, 326.56 mph. 

FUNNY CAR: 1. Robert Hight; 2. Ron Capps; 3. Tim Wilkerson; 4. Jack Beckman; 5. Alexis DeJoria; 6. Jonnie Lindberg; 7. John Force; 8. Daniel Wilkerson; 9. Jim Campbell; 10. Cruz Pedregon; 11. Bob Tasca III; 12. Tommy Johnson Jr.; 13. Del Worsham; 14. J.R. Todd; 15. Matt Hagan; 16. Courtney Force. 
Final: Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.877, 332.34 def. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.927, 329.18. 

PRO STOCK: 1. Jason Line; 2. Drew Skillman; 3. Greg Anderson; 4. Brian Self; 5. Alex Laughlin; 6. Erica Enders; 7. Tanner Gray; 8. Bo Butner; 9. Chris McGaha; 10. Larry Morgan; 11. Allen Johnson; 12. Deric Kramer; 13. Alan Prusiensky; 14. Jeg Coughlin; 15. Shane Tucker; 16. Kenny Delco. 
Final: Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.548, 211.20 def. Drew Skillman, Camaro, Foul - Red Light. 

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. Eddie Krawiec; 2. Jerry Savoie; 3. Scotty Pollacheck; 4. Matt Smith; 5. Andrew Hines; 6. Joey Gladstone; 7. Karen Stoffer; 8. Angie Smith; 9. Mike Berry; 10. Hector Arana Jr; 11. LE Tonglet; 12. Gunner Courtney; 13. Mark Paquette; 14. David Hope; 15. Steve Johnson; 16. Melissa Surber.
Final: Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 9.336, 92.62 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, Foul - Red Light. 

Point standings after 22 of 24 events in 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series

TOP FUEL: 1. Steve Torrence, 2,465; 2. Brittany Force, 2,408; 3. Doug Kalitta, 2,389; 4. Antron Brown, 2,360; 5. Leah Pritchett, 2,285; 6. Tony Schumacher, 2,273; 7. Clay Millican, 2,268; 8. Shawn Langdon, 2,193; 9. Terry McMillen, 2,147; 10. Scott Palmer, 2,137.

FUNNY CAR: 1. Ron Capps, 2,495; 2. Robert Hight, 2,471; 3. Courtney Force, 2,324; 4. Jack Beckman, 2,309; 5. Matt Hagan, 2,269; 6. John Force, 2,252; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., 2,224; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 2,206; 9. J.R. Todd, 2,199; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 2,128.

PRO STOCK: 1. Greg Anderson, 2,471; 2. Bo Butner, 2,456; 3. Jason Line, 2,441; 4. Tanner Gray, 2,360; 5. Drew Skillman, 2,301; 6. Erica Enders, 2,252; 7. Allen Johnson, 2,183; 8. Jeg Coughlin, 2,180; 9. Chris McGaha, 2,154; 10. Vincent Nobile, 2,052.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE: 1. Eddie Krawiec, 2,506; 2. LE Tonglet, 2,399; 3. Andrew Hines, 2,364; 4. Jerry Savoie, 2,360; 5. Scotty Pollacheck, 2,330; 6. Matt Smith, 2,313; 7. Hector Arana Jr, 2,297; 8. Karen Stoffer, 2,200; 9. Angie Smith, 2,174; 10. Joey Gladstone, 2,169.