Robert Hight (bottom) beat out Ron Capps, John Force, and Cruz Pedregon in the Funny Car finals in the Four-Wide NAtionals at zMax Dragway Sunday. Photo courtesy NHRA
The dominant start of the 2012 season continued for Funny Car racer Robert Hight as he scored his fourth win in five races as he won the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMax Dragway. Spencer Massey in Top Fuel and Greg Anderson in Pro Stock also secured wins at the fifth race of 2012 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Auto Club Ford Mustang driver, Hight, becomes just the fifth Funny Car racer to win four consecutive events in NHRA history and joins the ranks of Don Prudhomme, Kenny Bernstein, his team owner John Force and Cruz Pedregon, who he defeated in the finals, to accomplish the feat. Hight used a reaction time of .058 seconds at the start of his 4.076 second pass at 314.83 mph to secure his 27th career win.
“This is unbelievable. This class is so tough. Racing those three guys in the final, Cruz, Capps, Force, those guys are all hall of famers. They’re definitely guys that I grew up watching, and they all have more wins than me, so just to be out there racing those guys and to actually beat them is unbelievable,” said Hight. “To win one of these races is tough, and to have four in a row, it’s stuff that you don’t even dream about. I don’t see why we got to stop here, right? That was a 40-point swing for us in the final. That’s gaining 40 points on everybody but the runner-up. That’s big time. I want to keep this going. It’s not that easy to win out here, so you don’t want to give this up. You may never win another one.”
Spencer Massey scored his third Top Fuel win of 2012 Sunday. Photo courtesy NHRA
Massey is also enjoying a strong start to the season as he notched his third win of the early season. Massey and his Fram/Prestone dragster, has yet to lose in a final round appearance this year and his 3.802 second pass at 332.18 was able to defeat his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher in the U. S. Army Top Fuel dragster. Massey also set the national speed record with his speed of 332.18 mph and he takes over the points lead from teammate Antron Brown.
“It’s unbelievable. Starting out running 328 mph in qualifying and then coming up this morning and blistering a 330 and then just trying to go down the racetrack in the final and running 332; we were just trying to go A to B and make them beat us. When I went across the finish line I didn’t know who won until I made the turnoff and it wasn’t until they were giving me the trophy that they told me I’d run 332 mph. That’s unreal. It just shows you how awesome this Prestone and Fram team of Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara is running,” stated Massey. “The car always pulls hard on every run, and on that 332 it never let up. It pulled as hard at the finish line as it did at 330 feet. You know you’re on a good run when it does that. You just have to be focused on the starting line and have your head in the game. It’ll show you which driver knows what’s going on at the Four-Wide Nationals. I love it.”
Greg Anderson (second from bottom) out ran teammate Greg Anderson (bottom), along with Vincent Nobile, and Erica Enders for the Pro Stock victory. Photo courtesy NHRA
This was the second NHRA Four-Wide Nationals win for Anderson who calls Charlotte home for himself and his race team. The driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP held off a hard charging Erica Enders in her GK Racing Chevy Cobalt. Enders is working to become the first female winner in the NHRA Pro Stock category. The 6.540 second pass at 212.23 powered him to his 72nd career win and adds to his points lead in the category.
“I am off to a good start this year. I’ve been in three finals, and leading the points. I have a great race car and Jason has a great race car. The Summit team is on fire. These are two of the very best cars we’ve had,” said Anderson. “When you’re racing four wide, you always feel like an underdog. Even if you have the fastest car, you have guys who cut 00 lights every time and let’s face it, I’m not one of those guys. I’ve complained about this [four-wide] concept but I guess it’s time to embrace it.”
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to action on April 27-29 at Royal Purple Raceway in Houston.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
zMax Dragway – Concord, NC
Four Wide Nationals Finals – April 15, 2012
TOP FUEL: 1. Spencer Massey; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Antron Brown; 4. Doug Kalitta; 5. Brandon Bernstein; 6. Bob Vandergriff; 7. Steve Torrence; 8. David Grubnic; 9. Hillary Will; 10. Dom Lagana; 11. Clay Millican; 12. Terry McMillen; 13. Khalid alBalooshi; 14. Morgan Lucas; 15. Shawn Langdon; 16. Pat Dakin.
FUNNY CAR: 1. Robert Hight; 2. Cruz Pedregon; 3. Ron Capps; 4. John Force; 5. Bob Tasca III; 6. Mike Neff; 7. Jack Beckman; 8. Johnny Gray; 9. Courtney Force; 10. Blake Alexander; 11. Bob Bode; 12. Jeff Arend; 13. Alexis DeJoria; 14. Tony Pedregon; 15. Todd Lesenko; 16. Tim Wilkerson.
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PRO STOCK: 1. Greg Anderson; 2. Erica Enders; 3. Vincent Nobile; 4. Jason Line; 5. Jeg Coughlin; 6. Allen Johnson; 7. Mike Edwards; 8. Shane Gray; 9. Ronnie Humphrey; 10. Mark Martino; 11. Grace Howell; 12. Greg Stanfield; 13. Kurt Johnson; 14. Steve Kent; 15. Rodger Brogdon.
Final Results
Top Fuel — Spencer Massey, 3.802 seconds, 332.18 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.833 seconds, 320.81 mph and Antron Brown, 3.844 seconds, 322.34 mph and Doug Kalitta, 4.858 seconds, 185.92 mph
Funny Car — Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.076, 314.83 def. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.070, 316.75 and Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.085, 305.91 and John Force, Mustang, 6.814, 106.35
Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.540, 212.23 def. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.608, 210.93 and Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 14.008, 62.94 and Jason Line, GXP, foul
Round-By-Round
TOP FUEL: ROUND ONE — Tony Schumacher, 3.753, 330.23 and Doug Kalitta, 3.838, 322.42 def. Terry McMillen, 4.020, 274.05 and Shawn Langdon, 5.683, 96.30; Steve Torrence, 3.797, 322.50 and Bob Vandergriff, 3.795, 326.24 def. Clay Millican, 3.907, 310.70 and Pat Dakin, broke; David Grubnic, 3.812, 326.08 and Brandon Bernstein, 3.796, 325.53 def. Dom Lagana, 3.900, 315.42 and Khalid alBalooshi, 4.331, 225.18; Spencer Massey, 3.794, 330.55 and Antron Brown, 3.805, 324.51 def. Hillary Will, 3.869, 308.78 and Morgan Lucas, 4.376, 215.62; SEMIFINALS — Brown, 3.827, 324.44 and Massey, 3.834, 324.20 def. Bernstein, 3.825, 325.77 and Grubnic, 10.887, 64.87; Schumacher, 3.880, 302.21 and Kalitta, 3.911, 306.67 def. Vandergriff, 4.252, 220.48 and Torrence, 9.689, 76.59; FINAL — Massey, 3.802, 332.18 def. Schumacher, 3.833, 320.81, Brown, 3.844, 322.34 and Kalitta, 4.858, 185.92.
FUNNY CAR: ROUND ONE — Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.084, 314.02 and Johnny Gray, Dodge Charger, 4.210, 311.70 def. Blake Alexander, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.215, 294.43 and Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Camary, 4.359, 226.66; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.065, 315.64 and John Force, Mustang, 4.106, 315.42 def. Bob Bode, Chevy Impala, 4.253, 266.37 and Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.377, 259.21; Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.014, 320.81 and Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.079, 314.46 def. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 5.542, 147.41 and Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 8.939, 87.21; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.071, 318.62 and Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.085, 310.27 def. Courtney Force, Mustang, 4.191, 298.87 and Todd Lesenko, Monte Carlo, 6.767, 100.23; SEMIFINALS — Capps, 4.102, 313.58 and J. Force, 4.258, 269.35 def. Neff, 4.959, 160.69 and Gray, 5.527, 168.26; C. Pedregon, 4.142, 311.92 and Hight, 4.185, 273.00 def. Tasca III, 4.284, 268.44 and Beckman, 4.395, 239.44; FINAL — Hight, 4.076, 314.83 def. C. Pedregon, 4.070, 316.75, Capps, 4.085, 305.91 and J. Force, 6.814, 106.35.
PRO STOCK: ROUND ONE — Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.598, 209.59 and Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.592, 209.75 def. Grace Howell, Ford Mustang, 6.720, 207.05 and Steve Kent, GXP, 6.670, 208.17; Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.562, 210.80 and Shane Gray, GXP, 6.620, 208.97 def. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, DQ and Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.544, 212.19 and Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.551, 211.43 def. Mark Martino, GXP, 6.637, 208.62 and Kurt Johnson, GXP, 6.595, 209.30; Jason Line, GXP, 6.575, 211.89 and Jeg Coughlin, Avenger, 6.607, 210.57 def. Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.575, 211.39 and Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 7.387, 142.54; SEMIFINALS — Enders, 6.568, 210.70 and Line, 6.543, 212.46 def. Coughlin, 6.691, 209.92 and Edwards, 14.677, 54.22; Anderson, 6.550, 212.16 and Nobile, 6.565, 211.33 def. A. Johnson, 12.791, 68.08 and Gray, 15.101, 57.16; FINAL — Anderson, 6.540, 212.23 def. Enders, 6.608, 210.93, Nobile, 14.008, 62.94 and Line, foul.
Point Standings
Top Fuel 1. Spencer Massey, 465; 2. Tony Schumacher, 443; 3. Antron Brown, 438; 4. Morgan Lucas, 384; 5. Shawn Langdon, 294; 6. Doug Kalitta, 281; 7. Steve Torrence, 262; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 228; 9. Clay Millican, 227; 10. Brandon Bernstein, 207.
Funny Car 1. Robert Hight, 520; 2. Mike Neff, 375; 3. Jack Beckman, 333; 4. Johnny Gray, 301; 5. John Force, 292; 6. Cruz Pedregon, 278; 7. Ron Capps, 274; 8. Bob Tasca III, 262; 9. Courtney Force, 213; 10. Bob Bode, 198.
Pro Stock 1. Greg Anderson, 475; 2. Jason Line, 407; 3. Mike Edwards, 362; 4. Allen Johnson, 324; 5. Vincent Nobile, 318; 6. Erica Enders, 289; 7. Greg Stanfield, 237; 8. Rodger Brogdon, 223; 9. Ronnie Humphrey, 222; 10. Jeg Coughlin, 215.
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