Brittany Force Races To Top Fuel Victory At Brainerd

Brittany Force drove to the victory in Sunday’s Top Fuel finals at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Del Worsham (Funny Car), Drew Skillman (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victorious in their respective categories at the 17th event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. This is the penultimate event of the regular season.

Force powered her dragster to a 4.169-second pass at 180.21 mph to outrun reigning world champion Antron Brown’s 6.566 at 103.47. Brown rattled and lost traction early while Force’s dragster backfired and released the parachutes just a little farther down track than Brown and she coasted to the finish line in front.

Force claimed the third win of her career and her third in four final rounds in the 2016 season. She raced to her first career victory earlier this year at Gainesville, then became the first female to win in Nitro at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. Force outlasted Terry Haddock, three-time 2016 winner Doug Kalitta and two-time 2016 winner Shawn Langdon in the earlier rounds before defeating Brown in the final.

“It’s awesome to be able to win here,” said Force, who is fourth in the Top Fuel points standings. “I felt good coming in this weekend because we had some success last year and I’m pretty sure we did well the year before. We are exactly where we want to be as we go into the Countdown and our biggest race of the season in Indy. It feels so good to bring home another win.”

Brown, the 2011 Brainerd winner, sprinted past Chris Karamesines, Clay Millican and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher en route to his eighth final round of the season. The points leader has four wins so far this year and has clinched his spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

2014 top rookie Richie Crampton, from Adelaide, South Australia, secured his spot in the Countdown with a second round appearance.

In Funny Car, reigning world champ Worsham pushed to a 3.908 at 327.27 to outrun Matt Hagan’s 8.095 at 71.33 after Hagan smoked the tires.

“I’m very excited,” said Worsham, who moved to third in the points standings with the win. “I came in here with a lot of confidence, thinking we were going to do well and Friday came around and we couldn’t have made any better runs. Along came Saturday and we smoked the tires. We had to take a little step back today, but they put it together. Brainerd has always been a special place to me. Going back to 1991, my first No. 1 qualifier came here 25 years ago. I’m excited to be here. It’s a great place, great facility and the team did a great job. I’m happy to get the win, go to Indy and start the NHRA Mello Yello Series Countdown.”

Worsham, who won the world championship last season without a regular season win, tallied his first victory of 2016, 39th of his career and 31st of his Funny Car career. This was his first final round appearance at Brainerd. He outlasted Bob Bode, Tim Wilkerson, who clinched a spot in the playoff, and Courtney Force before beating Hagan in the final round.

Hagan, who has two wins in four final rounds this year, qualified No. 1 with a world record elapsed time pass of 3.822. The two-time Funny Car world champion sprinted past John Bojec, Robert Hight and five-time 2016 winner Ron Capps before falling to Worsham.

Capps secured his spot as the No. 1 seed in the Countdown to the Championship playoff after his semifinal round appearance.

Drew Skillman earned his first Pro Stock victory of the year and second of his career by posting a 6.648 at 208.97 in his Chevy Camaro to better seven-time 2016 event winner Jason Line’s 6.681 at 206.64. Skillman, the 2015 Rookie of the Year, won his first race since last year in St. Louis and clinched a spot in the Countdown after beating Dave River in the first round. Skillman also outran Bo Butner and No. 1 qualifier Vincent Nobile before racing Line in the final.

“When I heard the rule changes, I thought we were going to be on top or on the bottom,” said Skillman, who is sixth in points. “We were on the latter of that situation. My guys have been working very hard and this is for their hard work today. (The class) is getting much, much closer. I think by the end of the season we’ll be very tight and next year I think you will see a very competitive class across the board.”

Line, a two-time Pro Stock world champion, raced past Alan Prusiensky, Chris McGaha and two-time and reigning world champ Erica Enders in the earlier rounds. With the runner-up finish, Line maintained control of the points lead.

Andrew Hines posted a perfect .000 reaction time in the final round to defeat alligator farmer Jerry Savoie in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final round. Hines’ 6.866 at 194.94 with the perfect reaction time was enough for a holeshot victory against Savoie’s 6.863 at 194.88. This is Hines’ fourth win of the season, 46th of his career and third at Brainerd International Raceway. He rode past veteran Steve Johnson, Cory Reed and Hector Arana Jr. in the earlier rounds.

“I was definitely a little nervous because we came here with the intentions of preparing for the Countdown,” said Hines, the winningest Pro Stock Motorcycle racer in NHRA history. “We put brand new tires on the bike which turned out, in hindsight, to be a very bad decision because the track is so good here. We were battling with the tune up on Friday. We just pecked away at it all weekend. We took our chance at it in the final round, put an old tire back on it, and it went nice and straight. I was pressing it because I knew I needed an advantage over Jerry.”

Savoie, who has three runner-up finishes this season, rode past Scotty Pollacheck, No. 1 qualifier and Englishtown winner Angelle Sampey and Eddie Krawiec in the first three rounds.

The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will continue in Indianapolis, Aug. 31-Sept.5, with the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway for the final race of the regular season.

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
Brainerd International Raceway – Brainerd, MN
Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals – Aug. 21, 2016

Final Finish Order (1-16)

TOP FUEL
1. Brittany Force; 2. Antron Brown; 3. Shawn Langdon; 4. Tony Schumacher; 5. Doug Kalitta; 6. Terry McMillen; 7. J.R. Todd; 8. Clay Millican; 9. Steve Torrence; 10. Chris Karamesines; 11. Richie Crampton; 12. Terry Haddock; 13. Scott Palmer; 14. Luigi Novelli; 15. Morgan Lucas; 16. Leah Pritchett.

FUNNY CAR
1. Del Worsham; 2. Matt Hagan; 3. Ron Capps; 4. Courtney Force; 5. Tim Wilkerson; 6. Robert Hight; 7. Jack Beckman; 8. Tommy Johnson Jr.; 9. John Force; 10. John Bojec; 11. Cruz Pedregon; 12. Dale Creasy Jr.; 13. Chad Head; 14. John Hale; 15. Brian Stewart; 16. Bob Bode.

PRO STOCK
1. Drew Skillman; 2. Jason Line; 3. Erica Enders; 4. Vincent Nobile; 5. Greg Anderson; 6. Bo Butner; 7. Chris McGaha; 8. Allen Johnson; 9. Shane Gray; 10. Alex Laughlin; 11. Deric Kramer; 12. Jeg Coughlin; 13. Alan Prusiensky; 14. Mark Hogan; 15. Dave River.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
1. Andrew Hines; 2. Jerry Savoie; 3. Eddie Krawiec; 4. Hector Arana Jr; 5. Angelle Sampey; 6. Matt Smith; 7. Karen Stoffer; 8. Cory Reed; 9. Chip Ellis; 10. Scotty Pollacheck; 11. Hector Arana; 12. Michael Ray; 13. Steve Johnson; 14. Jim Underdahl; 15. Angie Smith; 16. LE Tonglet.

Sunday’s Final Results

Top Fuel — Brittany Force, 4.169 seconds, 180.21 mph def. Antron Brown, 6.566 seconds, 103.47 mph.

Funny Car — Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 3.908, 327.27 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 8.095, 71.33.

Pro Stock — Drew Skillman, Chevy Camaro, 6.648, 208.97 def. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.681, 206.64.
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Pro Stock Motorcycle — Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.866, 194.94 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.863, 194.88.

Final Round-By-Round Results

TOP FUEL

ROUND ONE — Clay Millican, 3.696, 326.32 def. Leah Pritchett, 10.748, 77.27; Doug Kalitta, 3.726, 322.73 def. Morgan Lucas, 5.879, 119.32; Brittany Force, 3.725, 324.75 def. Terry Haddock, 4.242, 212.66; Shawn Langdon, 4.206, 258.17 def. Luigi Novelli, 4.706, 162.31; Antron Brown, 3.730, 325.06 def. Chris Karamesines, 4.118, 222.91; Tony Schumacher, 3.748, 316.67 def. Scott Palmer, 4.299, 197.45; Terry McMillen, 3.793, 318.47 def. Steve Torrence, 3.855, 314.75; J.R. Todd, 3.736, 329.10 def. Richie Crampton, 4.165, 255.87;

QUARTERFINALS — Schumacher, 3.753, 322.34 def. McMillen, 4.221, 205.10; Brown, 3.735, 315.19 def. Millican, 6.190, 103.70; Langdon, 3.729, 330.96 def. Todd, 4.885, 156.68; Force, 3.711, 325.53 def. Kalitta, 3.939, 265.01;

SEMIFINALS — Brown, 3.726, 322.58 def. Schumacher, 3.754, 326.16; Force, 3.717, 324.36 def. Langdon, 3.736, 328.86;

FINAL — Force, 4.169, 180.21 def. Brown, 6.566, 103.47.

FUNNY CAR

ROUND ONE — Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 3.859, 330.15 def. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.838, 163.45; Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.390, 182.43 def. Dale Creasy Jr., Chevy Impala, 4.966, 165.13; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.899, 324.59 def. John Bojec, Toyota Solara, 4.368, 204.23; Del Worsham, Camry, 3.890, 329.26 def. Bob Bode, Solara, 9.320, 103.13; Ron Capps, Charger, 3.919, 322.42 def. John Hale, Charger, 6.435, 101.45; Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 3.878, 328.54 def. Brian Stewart, Ford Mustang, 8.074, 89.38; Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.923, 324.75 def. John Force, Camaro, 3.954, 288.39; Robert Hight, Camaro, 3.885, 330.96 def. Chad Head, Camry, 5.194, 162.45;

QUARTERFINALS — C. Force, 3.913, 327.19 def. Johnson Jr., 9.760, 86.82; Capps, 3.909, 305.56 def. Beckman, 4.087, 238.85; Hagan, 3.869, 332.34 def. Hight, 3.915, 321.35; Worsham, 3.904, 328.06 def. Wilkerson, Foul – Red Light;

SEMIFINALS — Worsham, 3.926, 324.20 def. C. Force, 7.129, 84.36; Hagan, 3.893, 331.20 def. Capps, 3.923, 319.29;

FINAL — Worsham, 3.908, 327.27 def. Hagan, 8.095, 71.33.

PRO STOCK

ROUND ONE — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.591, 209.56 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.616, 209.95; Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.629, 209.52 def. Deric Kramer, Dodge Dart, 6.622, 207.62; Erica Enders, Dart, 6.619, 207.94 def. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.593, 209.36; Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.625, 209.04 def. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.633, 208.10; Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.599, 208.68 def. Dave River, Chevy Cobalt, 7.259, 150.75; Jason Line, Camaro, 6.589, 209.49 def. Alan Prusiensky, Dart, 6.720, 205.26; Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.611, 209.52 was unopposed; Allen Johnson, Dart, 6.605, 208.97 def. Mark Hogan, Pontiac GXP, 6.776, 202.88;

QUARTERFINALS — Enders, 6.656, 207.40 def. Johnson, 6.732, 189.34; Skillman, 6.626, 209.46 def. Butner, 6.626, 209.07; Nobile, 6.625, 208.71 def. Anderson, 6.625, 208.97; Line, 6.592, 210.01 def. McGaha, 6.642, 209.07;

SEMIFINALS — Skillman, 6.613, 209.36 def. Nobile, 10.523, 83.36; Line, 6.595, 209.79 def. Enders, 6.644, 207.75;

FINAL — Skillman, 6.648, 208.97 def. Line, 6.681, 206.64.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

ROUND ONE — Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.817, 195.82 def. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 6.871, 193.52; Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.856, 195.19 def. Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.924, 192.66; Cory Reed, Buell, 6.835, 194.16 def. Michael Ray, Buell, 6.897, 193.85; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.820, 195.25 def. Chip Ellis, Buell, Foul – Red Light; Angelle Sampey, Buell, 6.804, 197.10 def. Angie Smith, 6.950, 191.16; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.929, 195.14 def. LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 18.101, 40.16; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.836, 195.25 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.898, 193.52; Matt Smith, 6.833, 196.07 def. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.885, 195.05;

QUARTERFINALS — Hines, 6.893, 193.60 def. Reed, 8.178, 113.22; Arana Jr, 6.871, 194.83 def. M. Smith, 6.920, 192.74; Krawiec, 6.911, 195.39 def. Stoffer, 7.622, 130.73; Savoie, 6.831, 196.82 def. Sampey, 6.829, 196.16;

SEMIFINALS — Savoie, 6.822, 195.93 def. Krawiec, 6.872, 194.83; Hines, 6.893, 194.27 def. Arana Jr, Foul – Red Light;

FINAL — Hines, 6.866, 194.94 def. Savoie, 6.863, 194.88.

Point Standings (Top 10)

Top Fuel
1. Antron Brown, 1,424*; 2. Doug Kalitta, 1,257*; 3. Steve Torrence, 1,216*; 4. Brittany Force, 1,161*; 5. Tony Schumacher, 1,117*; 6. J.R. Todd, 998*; 7. Shawn Langdon, 968*; 8. Richie Crampton, 840*; 9. Clay Millican, 822; 10. (tie) Terry McMillen, 637; Leah Pritchett, 637.

Funny Car
1. Ron Capps, 1,413**; 2. Courtney Force, 1,198*; 3. Del Worsham, 1,192*; 4. Jack Beckman, 1,146*; 5. Matt Hagan, 1,115*; 6. Robert Hight, 1,040*; 7. John Force, 1,003*; 8. Tommy Johnson Jr., 999*; 9. Tim Wilkerson, 915*; 10. Alexis DeJoria, 765.

Pro Stock
1. Jason Line, 1,761*; 2. Greg Anderson, 1,683*; 3. Bo Butner, 1,207*; 4. Allen Johnson, 1,054*; 5. Vincent Nobile, 1,004*; 6. Drew Skillman, 953*; 7. Shane Gray, 825; 8. Chris McGaha, 802; 9. Erica Enders, 742; 10. Jeg Coughlin, 729.

Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Eddie Krawiec, 898*; 2. Andrew Hines, 856*; 3. Angelle Sampey, 659*; 4. Jerry Savoie, 651*; 5. LE Tonglet, 522*; 6. Hector Arana, 459; 7. Chip Ellis, 454; 8. Matt Smith, 402; 9. Hector Arana Jr, 386; 10. Steve Johnson, 331.

* Clinched berth in NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship

** Clinched No. 1 spot in NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship