ANDERSON RACES TO LANDMARK 50TH CAREER VICTORY AT FRAM-AUTOLITE NHRA NATIONALS
Schumacher, Force and Smith also win at Infineon Raceway
SONOMA, Calif. -- Greg Anderson recorded his landmark 50th Pro Stock victory Sunday to highlight a spectacular day of drag racing at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
Anderson became just the sixth professional and the 10th driver in history to win 50 NHRA races. He is the second quickest to the mark, winning No. 50 in his 189th career start. Legend Bob Glidden won 50 times in his first 139 races.
Anderson shared winner's circle with an emotional John Force, who defended fallen teammate Eric Medlen's Funny Car win here from a year ago. Top Fuel ace Tony Schumacher dropped Bob Vandergriff to 0-10 lifetime in final rounds. Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Matt Smith padded his series lead with his third victory of the season, this one over first-time finalist Eddie Krawiec.
The Pro Stock final was a wire-to-wire performance for Anderson, who left first on teammate Jason Line and slowly crept away to take the stripe with a 6.657 at 207.72 mph over Line's 6.688 at 204.08 mph run in his identical Summit Racing Pontiac GTO.
"It's quite an accomplishment (to reach 50 wins)," Anderson said. "I don't know how to explain it. It's fitting that we had a struggle between No. 49 and No. 50. Fifty should be tough to get. It should be hard. We were cruising right along but then we got slapped in the face this summer. It's a real reminder to never get too cocky."
The Pro Stock section of the Countdown to the Championship is more than halfway full after Line and Allen Johnson clinched positions, joining Anderson, Jeg Coughlin, and Dave Connolly in the field.
Force immediately dedicated his Funny Car win to Medlen, the Northern California native and defending event winner who died earlier this year in a testing accident. He also presented the winner's trophy to Medlen's father John, who serves as a roving crew chief for his three remaining teams.
Final-round opponent Del Worsham put up a valiant fight, running a 4.851
at 314.68 mph in his Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevrolet Impala SS, his best pass of the day, but Force's Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang was just a little bit quicker, posting his 124th career win with a 4.831 at 320.58 mph. It was Force's seventh win at Infineon Raceway in 11 finals.
"We had a team meeting this morning and I said that between me, Ashley, and Robert [Hight], one of us had to win this race for Eric," said Force, who moved to seventh in the Countdown standings. "I remember how happy he was when he won here last year because he's from this area. He had that goofy smile and was eating ice cream and just having a blast. We wanted to win and dedicate it to Eric."
After a terrible start to the year, Force has now been to three finals in the last four races, winning twice. His final-round record is now 124-74. Worsham's last win came 43 races ago at the 2005 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. His runner-up finish did lift him to ninth place in the points, 85 behind Jim Head.
Robert Hight joined Ron Capps in the Countdown to the Championship group. They are the only two Funny Car racers to qualify so far.
Schumacher may have started his own career with a 0-8 mark in final rounds before scoring his first win, but he showed the hapless Vandergriff little mercy in Sunday's Top Fuel final, powering his U.S. Army dragster past Vandergriff to win with a 4.534 at 329.42 mph in his U.S. Army dragster. Vandergriff trailed with a 4.597 at 305.84 mph in his UPS dragster. It was Schumacher's 39th career victory.
It was obvious that Schumacher had the car to beat as he ran low elapsed
time of every round -- running a 4.542, a 4.537, and a 4.558 -- before lowering the boom in the final with the quickest and fastest pass of the
entire weekend.
"Bob gave us a great race," Schumacher said. "He was next to us the whole way, we knew he would be, and we had to be prepared for that. He's been to 10 finals so he knows what he's doing and he'll win his before he's done, trust me. I told him he'll have his day and I believe that."
By moving into second place, Schumacher, along with Brandon Bernstein, Larry Dixon, and J.R. Todd, managed to clinch positions in the Countdown
to the Champion field Sunday, leaving just three open slots in the Top Fuel category.
Although he was a slight underdog in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final, Smith responded with a slightly quicker reaction time on his Torco Buell and then managed to hold off Kraweic's Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to win by a tenth of a second: 6.992 at 189.10 mph to Krawiec's 7.090 at 190.16 mph.
"Dad [former Pro Stock driver Rickie Smith] won his first race here (1993, Pro Stock) and I was in that picture so it's special to come back and win one for myself," Smith said. "This ended up being our day I guess. It's mind-blowing the season we're having."
Smith got some company in the Countdown to the Championship field when Sampey earned enough points to secure a position in the top eight. Krawiec's runner-up result moved him into 10th place in the standings, 29 markers behind the final Countdown spot.
The NHRA POWERade Series Countdown to the Championship continues with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Aug. 9-12 at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway.
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SONOMA, Calif. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 20th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. The race is the 15th of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL:
1. Tony Schumacher; 2. Bob Vandergriff; 3. Rod Fuller; 4. Doug Herbert; 5. Doug Kalitta; 6. Hillary Will; 7. Larry Dixon; 8. J.R. Todd; 9. Brandon Bernstein; 10. Cory McClenathan; 11. David Grubnic; 12. Melanie Troxel; 13. Whit Bazemore; 14. Morgan Lucas; 15. Clay Millican; 16. Mike Strasburg.
FUNNY CAR:
1. John Force, Ford Mustang; 2. Del Worsham, Chevy Impala; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Impala; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang; 5. Jeff Arend, Impala; 6. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Impala; 8. Gary Densham, Chevy MonteCarlo; 9. Jim Head, Toyota Solara; 10. Ashley Force, Mustang; 11. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger; 12. Gary Scelzi, Charger; 13. Mike Ashley, Charger; 14. Tony Pedregon, Impala; 15. Jack Beckman, Charger; 16. Kenny Bernstein, Charger.
PRO STOCK:
1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO; 2. Jason Line, GTO; 3. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt; 4. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus; 5. Jim Yates, GTO; 6. Warren Johnson, GTO; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt; 8. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 9. Max Naylor, Stratus; 10. Richie Stevens, Stratus; 11. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 12. Kenny Koretsky, Cobalt; 13. Bob Panella, Stratus; 14. Greg Stanfield, GTO; 15. V. Gaines, Stratus; 16. Larry Morgan, Stratus.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
1. Matt Smith; 2. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson; 3. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 4. Peggy Llewellyn; 5. Chip Ellis; 6. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 7. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 8. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 10. Michael Phillips, Suzuki; 11. Matt Guidera; 12. Geno Scali, Suzuki; 13. Chris Rivas; 14. Mike Berry, Suzuki; 15. Antron Brown, Suzuki; 16. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki.
SONOMA, Calif. -- Sunday's final results from the 20th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway. The race is the 15th of 23 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 4.534 seconds, 329.42 mph def. Bob
Vandergriff, 4.597 seconds, 305.84 mph.
Funny Car -- John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.831, 320.58 def. Del Worsham, Chevy Impala, 4.851, 314.68.
Pro Stock -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.657, 207.72 def. Jason
Line, GTO, 6.688, 204.08.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 6.992, 189.10 def. Eddie
Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.090, 190.16.
Top Alcohol Dragster -- Duane Shields, 5.346, 272.45 def. Brandon
Lewis, 5.429, 265.48.
Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Jay Payne, Ford Mustang, 5.583, 250.00 def. Jason Rupert, Chevy Camaro, 10.995, 72.23.
Competition Eliminator -- Tom Mettler, Dodge Dakota, 7.404, 182.28
def. Doug Lambeck, Pontiac Sunfire, 8.455, 158.63.
Super Stock -- Brad Plourd, Olds Calais, 9.239, 132.79 def. Jody Lang,
Chevy Malibu, 10.921, 118.36.
Stock Eliminator -- Peter Biondo, Chevy Camaro, 13.127, 67.07 def.
Jeff Lane, Chevy Corvette, foul.
Super Comp -- Justin Lamb, Dragster, 8.920, 171.69 def. Sheldon
Gecker, Dragster, 8.896, 172.36.
SONOMA, Calif. -- Final round-by-round results from the 20th annual
FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, the 15th of 23 events
in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE -- Larry Dixon, 4.951, 269.78 def. Mike Strasburg, 8.303, 102.86; J.R. Todd, 5.327, 240.68 def. Brandon Bernstein, 5.415, 174.05; Doug Kalitta, 5.242, 293.92 def. Clay Millican, 7.400, 111.02; Tony Schumacher, 4.542,
327.82 def. Cory McClenathan, 5.451, 196.67; Bob Vandergriff, 4.618, 320.51
def. Melanie Troxel, 6.134, 164.43; Doug Herbert, 4.725, 308.00 def. Morgan Lucas, 7.207, 112.80; Rod Fuller, 4.553, 325.92 def. David Grubnic, 5.788, 161.29; Hillary Will, 4.656, 321.58 def. Whit Bazemore, 6.533, 140.15;
QUARTERFINALS -- Herbert, 4.821, 288.70 def. Dixon, 5.251, 243.24; Vandergriff, 4.689, 314.61 def. Todd, foul; Fuller, 4.600, 325.53 def. Kalitta, 4.654, 320.43; Schumacher, 4.537, 327.43 def. Will, 4.688, 301.87;
SEMIFINALS -- Vandergriff, 4.626, 319.37 def. Fuller, 4.921, 317.94; Schumacher, 4.558, 321.73 def. Herbert, 6.603, 158.71;
FINAL -- Schumacher, 4.534, 329.42 def. Vandergriff, 4.597, 305.84.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.843, 315.86 def. Kenny Bernstein, Dodge Charger, 9.041, 93.42; Jeff Arend, Chevy Impala, 4.869,
320.97 def. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 6.896, 130.15; Tommy Johnson Jr., Impala, 4.913, 312.93 def. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.884, 311.63; Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.038, 253.85 def. Mike Ashley, Charger, 6.584, 147.28; Cruz Pedregon, Impala, 4.900, 301.67 def. Jack Beckman, Charger, 7.565, 112.25; Del Worsham, Impala, 4.899, 320.97 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.986, 292.46; Gary Densham, Chevy MonteCarlo, 4.959, 305.49 def. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 5.765, 205.72; John Force, Mustang, 4.793, 324.36 def. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.948, 291.38;
QUARTERFINALS-- Johnson Jr., 4.881, 316.23 def. Densham, 7.534, 125.06; Worsham, 4.929, 314.02 def. Arend, 4.912, 312.42; J. Force, 5.165, 308.35 def. C. Pedregon, 6.258, 163.77; Hight, 4.903, 311.85 def. Bartone, 4.916,
297.94;
SEMIFINALS -- Worsham, 4.898, 317.94 def. Hight, 12.593, 75.98; J. Force, 4.910, 295.14 def. Johnson Jr., 4.911, 305.42;
FINAL -- J. Force, 4.831, 320.58 def. Worsham, 4.851, 314.68.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE -- Jim Yates, Pontiac GTO, 6.680, 206.16 def. Kenny Koretsky, Chevy Cobalt, foul; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.663, 207.62 def. Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus, 6.645, 207.08; Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.663, 207.27 def. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.644, 206.70; Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.651, 206.99 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.663, 206.32; Jason Line, GTO, 6.641, 208.33 def. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.688, 207.27; Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.643, 207.24 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.792, 206.92; Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.631, 207.94 def. Bob Panella, Stratus, 6.679, 206.99; Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.643, 206.86 def. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.687, 206.92;
QUARTERFINALS -- Connolly, 6.657, 207.18 def. Coughlin, 6.682, 206.86; A. Johnson, 6.660, 206.86 def. K. Johnson, 6.722, 207.18; Line, 6.666, 207.85 def. W. Johnson, 6.681, 207.50; Anderson, 6.629, 208.55 def. Yates, 6.680, 207.24;
SEMIFINALS -- Line, 6.645, 208.07 def. A. Johnson, 6.659, 207.15; Anderson, 6.642, 207.78 def. Connolly, 6.657, 206.83;
FINAL -- Anderson, 6.657, 207.72 def. Line, 6.688, 204.08.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
ROUND ONE -- Matt Smith, Buell, 6.981, 188.36 def. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.049, 187.94; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.967, 190.86 def. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.077, 188.07; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.054, 189.04 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, foul; Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.954, 191.00 def. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.064, 187.73; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.902, 192.93 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.046, 189.31; Craig Treble, Suzuki, 6.984, 193.54 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.023, 192.49; Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.070, 189.58 def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, broke; Peggy Llewellyn, Buell, 6.936, 189.50 def. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.030, 186.98;
QUARTERFINALS -- Johnson, 7.035, 190.54 def. Treble, 7.084, 189.98; Smith, 6.973, 190.00 def. Gann, 7.055, 189.98; Llewellyn, 6.970, 190.59 def. Ellis, 7.008, 189.68; Krawiec, 6.946, 192.28 def. Hines, 7.044, 192.96;
SEMIFINALS -- Smith, 7.026, 187.55 def. Llewellyn, 7.431, 181.57; Krawiec, 7.014, 189.79 def. Johnson, 7.057, 188.52;
FINAL -- Smith, 6.992, 189.10 def. Krawiec, 7.090, 190.16.
SONOMA, Calif. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 20th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, the 15th of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -
Top Fuel
1. * Rod Fuller, 1,124; 2. * Tony Schumacher, 996; 3. * Brandon Bernstein, 947; 4. * Larry Dixon, 943; 5. * J.R. Todd, 915; 6. Bob Vandergriff, 792; 7. Whit Bazemore, 730; 8. David Grubnic, 703; 9. Melanie Troxel, 658 (-45); 10. Doug Herbert, 650 (-53).
Funny Car
1. * Ron Capps, 1,030; 2. * Robert Hight, 921; 3. Mike Ashley, 836; 4. Tony Pedregon, 807; 5. Jack Beckman, 800; 6. Gary Scelzi, 764; 7. John Force, 744; 8. Jim Head, 740; 9. Del Worsham, 655 (-85); 10. Cruz Pedregon, 639 (-101).
Pro Stock
1. * Greg Anderson, 1,253; 2. * Jeg Coughlin, 1,083; 3. * Dave Connolly, 1,078; 4. * Allen Johnson, 930; 5. * Jason Line, 877; 6. Kurt Johnson, 754; 7. Warren Johnson, 684; 8. Larry Morgan, 662; 9. V. Gaines, 647 (-15); 10. Richie Stevens, 646 (-16).
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. * Matt Smith, 847; 2. * Angelle Sampey, 668; 3. Andrew Hines, 602;
4. Karen Stoffer, 543; 5. Chip Ellis, 518; 6. Craig Treble, 481; 7. Steve Johnson, 444; 8. Peggy Llewellyn, 436; 9. Chris Rivas, 414 (-22); 10. Eddie Krawiec, 407 (-29).
* Signifies driver has clinched spot in Countdown to the Championship.
