Antron Brown celebrates his victory in Top Fuel at Monday's U.S. Nationals finals at Indianapolis. Photo by Rhonda McCole
Antron Brown completed the weekend sweep with a victory over NHRA Full Throttle Drag Series Top Fuel points leader Del Worsham to score his second career US Nationals victory in Monday’s 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis, Ind.
Hector Arana III celebrated his first career NHRA win in Pro Stock Motorcycle, while Funny Car points leader Mike Neff and Pro Stock leader Greg Anderson took home victories in the final race of the season before the Countdown to the Championship begins.
In a matchup pitting two former US Nationals champions, Brown – a US Nationals winner in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in 2004 – defeated Worsham, the 2005 US Nationals Funny Car champion, to claim his 14th Top Fuel victory and 30th-career NHRA victory.
After winning the no. 1 qualifier spot on Sunday, Brown topped Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta and Larry Dixon to reach his third final round appearance in the last four races to take on Worsham, who knocked off Troy Buff, Terry McMillen and Brandon Bernstein to reach his eighth final of the year.
Facing each other for the first time in the finals, both drivers hit great lights to leave the starting line side by side, running dead even until Brown edged ahead in the final 400 feet to take the win with a run of 3.813 at 321.73 mph over Worsham, who ran 3.830, 320.43.
Brown’s win marked the first time since 1999 that the US Nationals Top Fuel winner wasn’t Larry Dixon or Tony Schumacher.
“Words cannot even describe how this feels,” said Brown. “To come here at Indy, where the biggest stage is set….and do what we did.
“We qualify no. 1, then to come out here on race day, race Larry Dixon, the champ, get past him and get Del Worsham, the other Al-Anabi car – if they don’t get you once, they got another one coming – and when you get two bullets shot at you like that, you got a slim chance at making it, but we made it. To get this win, it goes beyond words.”
Despite the loss, Worsham remains the Top Fuel points leader by 110 over Brown.
Mike Neff scored the Funny Car victory Monday afternoon. Photo by Rhonda McCole
Funny Car points leader Mike Neff moved into the Countdown with his fifth victory of the season after beating Bob Tasca III with a pass of 4.068 at 314.61 mph after Tasca lost power at the 600-foot mark.
Neff advanced to his first US Nationals final round after winning out over teammate Robert Hight, Jeff Arend and Matt Hagan to face Tasca, who bested John Force, Melanie Troxel and Ron Capps.
Neff, who spent 2010 as John Force’s crew chief before being tapped to sub for Ashley Force Hood in the John Force Racing Ford Mustang this season, enters the Countdown as the Funny Car points leader by 215 points over Jack Beckman.
“It’s huge to win here. It’s the big one, the one you dream about,” said Neff. “It probably hasn’t even sunk in yet because I was not very confident coming in here.
“We struggled the last three races, and weren’t really in the ballgame until this morning when we made some big changes. We were racing our teammate (Robert Hight) so we figured ‘we don’t have anything to lose so let’s just take a shot at it,’ and we got close and it just put us where we needed to be.”
A jubilent Greg Anderson celebrates his Pro Stock victory at Indianapolis. Photo by Rhonda McCole
Greg Anderson finally got the edge up on teammate Jason Line with his fifth Pro Stock win of the season, ending Line’s final round win streak at four.
Anderson, who just barely lost the no. 1 qualifier position to Line on the final run of Sunday’s qualifying session, topped Mark Martino, Rodger Brogdon and Mike Edwards to meet Line, who cruised to his fifth final round of the season with wins over Buddy Perkinson, Erica Enders and Allen Johnson.
After losing to Line in the finals three times previously this season, Anderson got the win with a holeshot victory, nailing a .033 light at the line and leading all the way with a 6.552 at 210.50 mph over Line, who went 6.538, 210.83 and finished up the regular season trailing Anderson by 53 points.
Pro Stock Motorcycle feature winner recorded his first career victory Monday. Photo by Rhonda McCole
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hector Arana III – the son of former series champion and Indy winner Hector Arana – ended Gerald Savoie’s Cinderella run, winning his first career NHRA nationals victory in just his 10th-career start.
Arana took out Angie Smith, defending Indy winner LE Tonglet and Chip Ellis to advance to his second straight final round, taking on fellow rookie Savoie.
Savoie, a 52-year old alligator farmer from Louisiana, pulled off holeshot victories over Karen Stoffer and Eddie Krawiec and then eliminated Jim Underdahl to reach his first career final round.
The final, Savoie got off the starting line first with a .006 light, but Arana trucked him down to post the win with a 6.867, 192.60 over Savoie’s 7.005, 189.36.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Arana III. “This is the biggest race of the year. I did it in my rookie year, and for all my family it’s a hometown event.
“At the final round at Brainerd, we slipped and we didn’t look at the weather and we got lost on our tuneup and it cost us the win, this time we made sure we stayed on top of the weather, and we picked up tremendously. We did good this time.”
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NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
O’Relly Raceway Park – Clermont, IN
Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Finals – Sept. 5, 2011
TOP FUEL
1. Antron Brown; 2. Del Worsham; 3. Brandon Bernstein; 4. Larry Dixon; 5. Bob Vandergriff; 6. Spencer Massey; 7. Terry McMillen; 8. Doug Kalitta; 9. T.J. Zizzo; 10. David Grubnic; 11. Shawn Langdon; 12. Troy Buff; 13. Brady Kalivoda; 14. Morgan Lucas; 15. Tony Schumacher; 16. Rod Fuller.
FUNNY CAR
1. Mike Neff; 2. Bob Tasca III; 3. Ron Capps; 4. Matt Hagan; 5. Jack Beckman; 6. Jeff Arend; 7. Melanie Troxel; 8. Daniel Wilkerson; 9. Cruz Pedregon; 10. Paul Lee; 11. Robert Hight; 12. Jim Head; 13. Bob Bode; 14. Johnny Gray; 15. Tim Wilkerson; 16. John Force.
PRO STOCK
1. Greg Anderson; 2. Jason Line; 3. Mike Edwards; 4. Allen Johnson; 5. Ronnie Humphrey; 6. Erica Enders; 7. Vincent Nobile; 8. Rodger Brogdon; 9. Kurt Johnson; 10. Mark Martino; 11. V. Gaines; 12. Greg Stanfield; 13. Shane Gray; 14. Ron Krisher; 15. Chris McGaha; 16. Buddy Perkinson.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
1. Hector Arana Jr; 2. Jerry Savoie; 3. Chip Ellis; 4. Jim Underdahl; 5. Eddie Krawiec; 6. LE Tonglet; 7. Hector Arana; 8. Shawn Gann; 9. Karen Stoffer; 10. Michael Phillips; 11. Angie Smith; 12. David Hope; 13. Steve Johnson; 14. Matt Smith; 15. Mike Berry; 16. Andrew Hines.
Final Round Results
Top Fuel — Antron Brown, 3.813 seconds, 321.73 mph def. Del Worsham, 3.830 seconds, 320.43 mph.
Funny Car — Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.068, 314.61 def. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.147, 278.00.
Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.552, 210.50 def. Jason Line, GXP, 6.538, 210.83.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.867, 192.60 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 7.005, 189.36.
Round-By-Round Results
TOP FUEL
ROUND ONE — Doug Kalitta, 3.929, 304.25 def. Morgan Lucas, 3.957, 296.18; Terry McMillen, DQ def. Rod Fuller, no time; Bob Vandergriff, 3.896, 314.90 def. Tony Schumacher, 6.684, 73.85; Larry Dixon, 3.850, 316.01 def. David Grubnic, 3.896, 311.70; Antron Brown, 3.829, 317.42 def. Shawn Langdon, 3.896, 312.86; Del Worsham, 3.825, 320.58 def. Troy Buff, 3.896, 303.57; Brandon Bernstein, 3.860, 314.39 def. T.J. Zizzo, 3.880, 313.22; Spencer Massey, 3.852, 318.39 def. Brady Kalivoda, 3.951, 307.51; QUARTERFINALS — Bernstein, 3.846, 317.49 def. Vandergriff, 3.841, 322.73; Dixon, 3.813, 322.27 def. Massey, 3.841, 321.12; Brown, 3.842, 318.99 def. Kalitta, DQ; Worsham, 3.813, 322.58 def. McMillen, 4.107, 228.42;
SEMIFINALS — Brown, 3.819, 322.65 def. Dixon, 10.651, 67.94; Worsham, 3.813, 323.04 def. Bernstein, 3.831, 318.77;
FINAL — Brown, 3.813, 321.73 def. Worsham, 3.830, 320.43.
FUNNY CAR
ROUND ONE — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.066, 308.14 def. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 7.944, 106.43; Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.124, 303.03 def. Johnny Gray, Charger, 7.782, 78.53; Melanie Troxel, Toyota Solara, 4.428, 215.17 def. Bob Bode, Solara, 7.225, 105.23; Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.139, 309.63 def. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.127, 291.13; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.118, 309.20 def. Jim Head, Solara, 4.227, 300.80; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.066, 315.19 def. Paul Lee, Chevy Impala SS, 4.164, 293.60; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.162, 302.75 def. John Force, Mustang, 11.698, 46.40; Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.086, 312.78 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.210, 295.85; QUARTERFINALS — R. Capps, 4.095, 309.91 def. D. Wilkerson, 11.342, 77.47; Hagan, 4.066, 315.05 def. Beckman, 4.112, 314.31; Neff, 4.062, 310.91 def. Arend, 4.503, 196.79; Tasca III, 4.181, 302.35 def. Troxel, 9.086, 43.19;
SEMIFINALS — Tasca III, 4.143, 308.14 def. R. Capps, 5.000, 162.53; Neff, 4.060, 313.66 def. Hagan, 9.778, 72.81;
FINAL — Neff, 4.068, 314.61 def. Tasca III, 4.147, 278.00.
PRO STOCK
ROUND ONE — Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.596, 209.26 def. Kurt Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.581, 209.04; Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.572, 208.23 def. V. Gaines, Dodge Avenger, 6.598, 209.23; Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.692, 191.13 def. Ron Krisher, GXP, 7.071, 160.06; Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.589, 209.39 def. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.623, 208.39; Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.547, 211.03 def. Mark Martino, GXP, 6.595, 207.78; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.555, 210.37 def. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.635, 207.78; Jason Line, GXP, 6.558, 210.73 def. Buddy Perkinson, Ford Mustang, foul; Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.583, 209.85 def. Chris McGaha, GXP, 13.099, 64.81; QUARTERFINALS — A. Johnson, 6.582, 209.79 def. Humphrey, 6.570, 210.70; Line, 6.583, 209.59 def. Enders, foul; Edwards, 6.568, 210.57 def. Nobile, foul; Anderson, 6.544, 210.93 def. Brogdon, 6.614, 209.30; SEMIFINALS — Line, 6.550, 210.08 def. A. Johnson, 6.612, 209.43; Anderson, 6.551, 210.24 def.
Edwards, 6.576, 210.47;
FINAL — Anderson, 6.552, 210.50 def. Line, 6.538, 210.83.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
ROUND ONE — Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.962, 190.24 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.959, 192.55; Hector Arana, Buell, 6.985, 188.46 def. Mike Berry, Buell, broke; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.974, 190.14 def. David Hope, Buell, 7.031, 182.33; Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.929, 190.35 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.967, 189.18; Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.984, 189.12 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, broke; LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.925, 189.44 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.252, 162.90; Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.940, 187.36 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.914, 192.66; Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.004, 188.15 def. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.346, 160.61; QUARTERFINALS — Underdahl, 6.962, 188.96 def. Arana, 6.982, 187.81; Ellis, 7.085, 169.53 def. Gann, foul; Arana Jr, 6.912, 191.10 def. L. Tonglet, 6.936, 189.42; Savoie, 6.931, 190.16 def. Krawiec, 6.912, 192.19;
SEMIFINALS — Savoie, 7.005, 188.23 def. Underdahl, 7.034, 191.05; Arana Jr, 6.929, 192.82 def. Ellis, 6.981, 189.68;
FINAL — Arana Jr, 6.867, 192.60 def. Savoie, 7.005, 189.36.
