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  • Capps, Pruett, Stanfield and Matt Smith win Pomona Nationals

    Capps, Pruett, Stanfield and Matt Smith win Pomona Nationals

    The famous NHRA WinterNationals held in Pomona, California, took place this past weekend thanks to some rescheduling done by NHRA officials and Los Angeles county. The originally scheduled date this past February was postponed due to COVID-19.

    When NHRA returned to Pomona, victory lane saw some familiar faces and saw some first-time 2021 winners. Both Don Schumacher Racing drivers, Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Leah Pruett (Top Fuel), grabbed their elusive victories in the finals Sunday afternoon. It was Capps’s 67th win and Pruett’s ninth victory of her career.

    Funny Car

    Ron Capps began his weekend earning his 29th No. 1 qualifier following the three rounds of qualifying Saturday night. The No. 1 qualifier was his third of the season and his second consecutive qualifier following Sonoma last weekend.

    With a run of 3.941 seconds and 321.35 mph, the NAPA Auto Parts driver was squared up with No. 16 qualifier Bobby Bode in the first round. Capps advanced running an ET of 4.020 seconds and 309.77 mph to face Funny Car Championship Points leader Bob Tasca in the second round.

    Capps won again over Tasca posting a time of 4.151 seconds and 296.50 mph that would see him in his 107th semi-final appearance racing against NHRA legend John Force. Both drivers got off the starting line, but the semi-final win went to Capps who would face Kalitta Motorsports driver, JR Todd.

    Todd had victories over Jeff Diehl, Robert Hight and Jim Campbell which set him up for a match-up with Capps.

    Todd got off the staging lane first before Capps in the finals, but Capps rallied ahead of Todd just barely for the victory as the cylinders began to go out on the NAPA Auto Parts/Gearwrench Dodge.

    “I was hoping a win was coming,” Capps said. “This team, time and time again, they’ve given me one of the coolest cars to drive and this (weekend) was one of the most extreme conditions we’ve ever had. To do it at Pomona in the summer, with all my friends and family here, I can’t even tell you how amazing it is. We’re going to have a blast (celebrating).”

    Todd’s runner-up finish was the 19th of his Funny Car career.

    “We didn’t run spectacular, but we ran good enough to get to the final,” said Todd. “We had a problem dropping cylinders today and that’s what cost us in the final. I’m just glad to get there. The Western Swing was a struggle until we got to Pomona and then the track was real tricky this weekend. So hats off to Todd Smith, Jon Oberhofer and all of the DHL Toyota guys who made it happen today. I just wish we could have gotten a win to finish off the Swing, but all in all, it was a good points day.”

    “We did ourselves some good today, so it definitely shows that we’re back in the hunt,” said Todd. “We just need to stay consistent in starts and qualifying, then go to the later rounds on race day. That’s where we’ve been lacking and today we made that up.”

    Funny Car Results

    1. Ron Capps
    2. J.R. Todd
    3. Jim Campbell
    4. John Force
    5. Robert Hight
    6. Bob Tasca III
    7. Cruz Pedregon
    8. Alexis DeJoria
    9. Matt Hagan
    10. Bobby Bode
    11. Blake Alexander
    12. Jeff Diehl
    13. Tim Wilkerosn
    14. Paul Lee
    15. Terry Haddock
    16. Jason Rupert

    Funny Car Championship Points Standings

    1. Ron Capps, 734 points
    2. Bob Tasca III, -5
    3. John Force, -36
    4. Robert Hight, -37
    5. Matt Hagan, -45
    6. J.R. Todd, -57
    7. Alexis DeJoria, -102
    8. Tim Wilkerson, -172
    9. Cruz Pedregon, -197
    10. Blake Alexander, -391

    Top Fuel

    In Top Fuel, the No. 1 qualifier wasn’t Leah Pruett but instead, it went to Brittany Force. Force qualified with a time of 3.714 seconds and 330.72 mph to put her John Force Racing dragster to the top spot. Pruett qualified second after going 3.780 seconds and 321.88 mph.

    Pruett faced Steve Chrisman in Round 1 and was victorious, defeating Chrisman with a time of 3.906 seconds and 311.77 mph. She then had a bye run in Round 2 which easily put her into a semi-final match-up with Mike Salinas. The Don Schumacher Racing driver won in the semi-final over Salinas with a time of 3.927 seconds and 311.05 mph. She was originally scheduled to race against Justin Ashley in the finals.

    Unfortunately for Ashley, he became ill and heat exhaustion took over prior to getting to the staging lane. Ashley made the decision to step out of his dragster and was unable to compete against Pruett in the finals.

    With Ashley out of the car, the finals gave Pruett another bye run and a simple victory that saw Pruett win her first race of the 2021 season.

    “This is about the perseverance of this team,” said Pruett, who moved to fourth in Top Fuel points on Sunday. “We’ve had a lot of dedication and to do this at our home track, it’s phenomenal. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with us and we dug deep. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Wally and today has just been incredible. We’re going to enjoy this.”

    Even though Ashley was unable to compete, he says he will be ready to go for Topeka in a couple of weeks.

    “These race cars are too powerful to drive if you aren’t 100 percent,” said Ashley, from his hauler after the event. “I was drinking water throughout the day but before the final round I just didn’t feel right. I talked with my crew chief Mike Green and my father (Mike Ashley) and they encouraged me to do what was in my personal best interest. There will be more races and I take this as a learning experience. I congratulate Leah and look forward to racing her in a final very soon.”

    “I want to thank the entire racing community and especially my sponsors Smart Sanitizer, Strutmasters.com, Auto Shocker and KATO Fastening Systems for the outpouring of support I received today,” added Ashley. “I especially want to thank Tony Stewart and Leah Pruett for their concern and interest in my health. I have known NHRA as my racing family for a long time but today it really showed how special our sport is and I thank everyone that stopped by, texted or posted well wishes on social media. I will be ready to go for Topeka.”

    Top Fuel Results

    1. Leah Pruett
    2. Justin Ashley
    3. Antron Brown
    4. Mike Salinas
    5. Clay Millican
    6. Brittany Force
    7. Shawn Langdon
    8. Doug Kalitta
    9. Steven Chrisman
    10. Steve Torrence
    11. Jim Maroney
    12. Brandon Welch
    13. Buddy Hull

    Top Fuel Championship Points Standings

    1. Steve Torrence, 1,014 points
    2. Antron Brown, -313
    3. Brittany Force, -389
    4. Leah Pruett, -435
    5. Shawn Langdon, -500
    6. Mike Salinas, -501
    7. Justin Ashley, -548
    8. Doug Kalitta, -560
    9. Billy Torrence, -566
    10. Clay Millican, -611

    Note – Steve Torrence has clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

    Pro Stock

    In the Pro Stock category, the finals saw a veteran facing a youngster who is making a name for himself.

    The final round match-up featured veteran and No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson going up against the young Aaron Stanfield. Anderson had a bye run in the first round with victories over Chris McGaha and Kyle Koretsky. Stanfield won against Kenny Delco, Matt Hartford and four-time champion Erica Enders that put him in the final round.

    The race was a dead heat, but the victory ultimately went to Stanfield who is now victorious three times against the legendary Anderson.

    “I’ve got some great guys working on my hot rod and if I can stay doing my job behind the wheel, I think we’ve got a great shot (to compete for a championship),” Stanfield said. “To win back-to-back races, I couldn’t have dreamed of this. It’s cool to race against Greg and that milestone he’s trying to accomplish, but I’m glad we got him stopped today.”

    Anderson had to settle for his 67th runner-up finish.

    I”t’s everybody that works on this KB Racing team and all the support we get from the folks at Hendrick, Summit and Chevy,” Anderson said about the runner-up finish. “Can’t thank them enough. I’ve got a great car, but I need to win more, no question about that. I’ve got an opportunity to win at every race I go to, and that’s something you don’t get every year. I expect I’ll have that the rest of the year, but I still have to make it pay off, I have to get the job done on Sunday. Even though I’ve had these No. 1 qualifiers, we’re talking about a half a hundredth (of a second) or a few thousandths; it’s not a huge gap. Anyone can win, and it all comes down to that starting line and how good a job the guys do with the car on Sunday. Out of the 16 cars, legitimately 14 to 16 of them can win, and every round is like the final round anymore, and anybody can beat anybody. So that’s great, the class is fantastic. It makes it hard to win. And I feel great that I’ve got a great car, but you have to have everything else perfect, too; the driver’s got to be perfect, the car’s got to be perfect, and the engine’s got to be perfect, too.”

    Pro Stock Results

    1. Aaron Stanfield
    2. Greg Anderson
    3. Erica Enders
    4. Kyle Koretsky
    5. Troy Coughlin Jr
    6. Aaron Strong
    7. Chris McGaha
    8. Matt Hartford
    9. Dallas Glenn
    10. Val Smeland
    11. Kenny Delco
    12. Alan Prusiensky
    13. Deric Kramer
    14. Rob Tucker
    15. Mason McGaha

    Pro Stock Championship Points Standings

    1. Greg Anderson, 832 points
    2. Aaron Stanfield, -147
    3. Erica Enders, -184
    4. Matt Hartford, -266
    5. Dallas Glenn, -308
    6. Kyle Koretsky, -311
    7. Mason McGaha, -314
    8. Troy Coughlin Jr, -344
    9. Deric Kramer, -345
    10. Chris McGaha, -475

    Note – Following today’s race, Greg Anderson clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

    Pro Stock Motorcycle

    Despite losing out last week in Sonoma in the second round, Matt Smith returned to victory lane for the fourth time this season in just eight races and the 30th of his career.

    Smith qualified No. 1 for the third time in 2021 and the 46th of his career by posting an ET of 6.760 seconds and 201.91 mph. He ended up having a bye run in Round 1 but wound up facing his wife Angie Smith in the second round. He was victorious there as he went 6.838 seconds and 199.82 mph to advance to the semi-finals.

    In the semi-finals, Smith faced Scotty Pollacheck and emerged to the finals after going 6.919 seconds and 197.31 mph to face Angelle Sampey.

    Sampey was set to face James Underdahl in the first round but had a bye run instead that easily put her in the second round. She won over Joey Gladstone in Round 2 and Eddie Krawiec in the semis for her 75th final round appearance.

    The victory went to Smith who posted an ET of 6.828 seconds and 199.52 mph over Sampey’s 6.911 seconds and 173.96 mph run.

    “It was hot out there and that was the biggest thing, just fighting the track with it being this hot,” said Smith, who now has 30 career wins. “But we got it done, qualified No. 1 and were almost low every round. I knew what we had to do in the final and we laid down a great run (in the final). I can’t say enough about the people who help us. We’ve got a great team.”

    Sampey finished second and was given her 32nd runner-up finish of her career.

    Note – Matt Smith is now in the Countdown to the Championship after clinching a spot following today’s event.

    Pro Stock Motorcycle Results

    1. Matt Smith
    2. Angelle Sampey
    3. Eddie Krawiec
    4. Scotty Pollacheck
    5. Angie Smith
    6. Jerry Savoie
    7. Joey Gladstone
    8. Freddie Camarena
    9. Karen Stoffer
    10. Ryan Oehler
    11. Steve Johnson
    12. Jianna Salinas
    13. Cory Reed
    14. Andrew Hines
    15. Jim Underdahl

    Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship Points Standings

    1. Matt Smith, 813 points
    2. Steve Johnson, -262
    3. Scotty Pollacheck, -322
    4. Angelle Sampey, -370
    5. Ryan Oehler, -372
    6. Angie Smith, -384
    7. Karen Stoffer, -385
    8. Eddie Krawiec, -404
    9. Joey Gladstone, -424
    10. Andrew Hines, -432

    Up Next: The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will take a week off before heading to Topeka, Kansas August 13-15 for the 32nd annual Heartland Menards Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park.

  • Hagan, Torrence and Matt Smith take victories in Mile High Nationals

    Hagan, Torrence and Matt Smith take victories in Mile High Nationals

    NHRA returned to action this past weekend at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado for the Mile High Nationals and we saw former champions in the winner circle following Sunday’s on-track action.

    Last year’s champions in Funny Car, Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle all claimed their respective class victories. Matt Hagan finally earned his elusive win of the season in Funny Car. Steve Torrence continued his Top Fuel dominance by scoring his fifth victory and Matt Smith collected his third Wally of 2021, his first since Atlanta.

    Funny Car

    Matt Hagan had not won yet this season through the first seven races after being dominant in the Funny Car category last year. The Don Schumacher Racing driver earned his 42nd No. 1 qualifier Saturday night after posting an E.T. of 3.966 and 319.22 mph during Friday’s session which paired him with No. 14 qualifier Chris King in the first round.

    King was a Funny Car newcomer but was eliminated by Hagan after Hagan won with a time of 4.045 seconds and 317.49 mph that helped him have a bye run in the second round. Hagan easily advanced to the semis facing his Don Schumacher teammate Ron Capps. Hagan roared to a time of 4.022 seconds and 314.53 mph to face Alexis DeJoria in the finals.

    The final for DeJoria was her first since returning to the sport a couple of years ago. DeJoria scored victories over Jack Wyatt, championship points leader Bob Tasca and a tire-smoking Tim Wilkerson in the semis to face off against Hagan.

    When the two fired off the starting line, it was Hagan who outraced DeJoria to his 37th career victory by setting the E.T. of 4.105 seconds and 305.70 mph.

    “This mountain has chewed me up and spit me out several years in a row. I’m just so glad to pull this win out,” said Hagan, who jumped to third in points. “I’ve been trying to get this trophy for so long. It’s an important race and it’s one of those things where we finally got it done. I just cannot say enough about my team. I’m so proud of each one of them and those guys love doing what they do. My heart was beating out of my chest there in the finals. 

    “It felt like I was running for a championship. When you see all these fans in the stands, it gives me chill bumps. We love Denver and we love the fans that are here. I’m glad we got it done in front of them. Every win that you can get, you’re grateful for and I’m just blessed here today.”

    For DeJoria, Sunday was solid for her, but the second-place finish would be her first runner-up of the season and the fourth runner-up of her career.

    “This is definitely the best race weekend I have ever had at Bandimere Speedway,” said DeJoria. “We qualified No. 2.  We had a pretty consistent car during eliminations and we made it to my team’s first final round since I came back into the sport last year. We are just so hungry. We have had so many semifinals leading up to this. We have had great success in qualifying. We were just missing those final rounds. Now that we have tasted it we are going to have more of these. It is just a matter of time and I know I keep saying that but it is true.”

    “In the final round we dropped cylinders right at the start,” said DeJoria. “My car was down on power. I saw Hagan move ahead and I was on his tail the whole way down. If he slipped up at all we had him. It is just one of those things. We are going to go to Sonoma with our heads held high.”

    Funny Car Results

    1. Matt Hagan
    2. Alexis DeJoria
    3. Ron Capps
    4. Tim Wilkerson
    5. John Force
    6. Bob Tasca III
    7. Paul Lee
    8. Jack Wyatt
    9. Terry Haddock
    10. Cruz Pedregon
    11. Robert Hight
    12. Jim Campbell
    13. Chris King
    14. J.R. Todd

    Funny Car Championship Point Standings

    1. Bob Tasca, 643 points
    2. John Force, 593
    3. Matt Hagan, 558
    4. J.R. Todd, 532
    5. Ron Capps, 529
    6. Robert Hight, 517
    7. Alexis DeJoria, 498
    8. Tim Wilkerson, 477
    9. Cruz Pedregon, 450
    10. Terry Haddock, 274

    Top Fuel

    Top Fuel was certainly the most interesting class of the afternoon. There were two “new” drivers in the category. Former Pro Stock driver Alex Laughlin was making his Top Fuel debut this weekend while Top Fuel and Funny Car nostalgia driver, Joey Haas, also made his debut.

    Meanwhile, Colorado local, Greg Carrillo, defeated Antron Brown in the first round going 3.860 seconds and 316.23 mph to win over Brown.

    However, when the action all was said and done, Steve Torrence was standing with his head held high for his fifth victory of the 2021 season.

    Torrence qualified second and faced Rob Passey in the first round. Torrence got the victory over Passey in Round 1, a bye run in the second and a semi-final win over Mike Salinas that propelled him to the finals.

    The debuting Joey Haas also was solid through his rounds with victories over Alex Laughlin and an upset over Leah Pruett in Round 2. He then coasted to a victory in the semis after Clay Millican’s car shut off leaving the staging lanes.

    As Torrence and Haas left the lanes, Steve Torrence easily won over Haas posting an E.T. of 3.860 seconds and 320.36 mph to win the 45th victory of his career.

    “I was pulling for him all day,” said the three-time reigning World Champion, “and I know there were a lot of people hoping he could get past us in the final. That’s a guy with a lot of heart and I hope I get to race him a lot more. I have complete respect for that whole (Terry) Totten team. It was fun to watch them.

    “But these Capco Boys are just so bad to the bone,” Torrence continued. “Those guys were having one of those races where it’s just your day and, after they got past Clay (Millican), I was a little concerned. But Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana, my whole team, they just did what they do and fortunately, I was able to do my job, too.”

    Top Fuel Results

    1. Steve Torrence
    2. Joey Haas
    3. Mike Salinas
    4. Clay Millican
    5. Brittany Force
    6. Greg Carrilo
    7. Leah Pruett
    8. Shawn Langdon
    9. Antron Brown
    10. Buddy Hull
    11. Rob Passey
    12. Doug Kalitta
    13. Alex Laughlin

    Top Fuel Championship Point Standings

    1. Steve Torrence, 858 points
    2. Antron Brown, 551
    3. Brittany Force, 505
    4. Billy Torrence, 448
    5. Shawn Langdon, 418
    6. Mike Salinas, 395
    7. Doug Kalitta, 367
    8. Leah Pruett, 362
    9. Justin Ashley, 337
    10. Clay Millican, 328

    Pro Stock Motorcycle

    No. 1 qualifier Matt Smith earned his third win and the 29th victory of his career Sunday afternoon after eliminating Eddie Krawiec. Matt Smith won with a time of 7.118 seconds and 189.04 mph in the final round to secure the victory.

    “This place is hard to run at, but I love this racetrack and I was successful here in the early part of my career,” said Smith, who made the quickest run in all three qualifying sessions and three of the four rounds of eliminations this weekend. “What an awesome facility and I’m so glad to get to come out here. My bike was fast all weekend and it was just super impressive. We’ve got a tough field, so it’s always going to be tough, but this bike is on kill right now.”

    It was an easy start for Smith as he had a bye run in the first round which got him to the second round. Smith then won over Cory Reed in the second round going 7.147 seconds and 189.26 mph. A victory over Andrew Hines in the semis got him to the finals.

    Krawiec qualified sixth with a time of 7.182 seconds and 189.18 mph and faced Jerry Savoie in the first round. He won with a time of 7.150 seconds and 185.15 mph. Krawiec then faced Charlotte winner Steve Johnson in the second round and won with a time of 7.166 seconds and 189.73 mph to advance to the semis.

    In the semis, Krawiec got a victory over Angie Smith after Smith fouled on the Christmas tree.

    When the two Pro Stock Motorcycles raced down the track, Krawiec obtained his first runner-up of the season with Matt Smith getting the win.

    Pro Stock Motorcycle Results

    1. Matt Smith
    2. Eddie Krawiec
    3. Andrew Hines
    4. Angie Smith
    5. Steve Johnson
    6. Cory Reed
    7. Angelle Sampey
    8. Karen Stoffer
    9. Joey Gladstone
    10. Scotty Pollacheck
    11. Jerry Savoie
    12. Ryan Oehler
    13. David Barron
    14. Jianna Salinas
    15. Jim Underdahl

    Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship Standings

    1. Matt Smith, 626 points
    2. Steve Johnson, 463
    3. Scotty Pollacheck, 381
    4. Ryan Oehler, 377
    5. Angelle Sampey, 318
    6. Angie Smith, 315
    7. Eddie Krawiec, 300
    8. Joey Gladstone, 288
    9. Karen Stoffer, 278
    10. Cory Reed, 270

    Up Next: The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will continue to head west to visit Sonoma Raceway on July 23-25, live on NHRA.TV (with a subscription) and FOX networks.

  • Ron Capps, Steve Torrence, Alex Laughlin, Matt Smith victorious in Gatornationals

    Ron Capps, Steve Torrence, Alex Laughlin, Matt Smith victorious in Gatornationals

    Sunday afternoon marked NHRA’s 51st Gatornationals located in Gainesville, Florida making up the postponed event from March due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

    Ron Capps in the Don Schumacher Racing NAPA Dodge Charger, Steve Torrence honoring the legendary Don Garlits paint scheme, Alex Laughlin in the Havoline Chevrolet and Matt Smith in the DENSO Auto Parts/Stockseth/MSR EBR machine were all celebrating in victory lane in their respective categories Sunday in Gainesville despite threatening skies in the background. Capps took the Funny Car win, while Torrence earned a win in Top Fuel, Laughlin in Pro Stock, and Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

    When Round 1 started, Capps was up against the No. 13 Qualifier John Smith’s Dodge Charger. The Round 1 meeting between Capps and Smith marked the first time in NHRA history the two would face each other. Capps beat Smith with a reaction time of .075 compared to Smith’s .089. From there, Capps won against Alexis Dejoria in Round 2 right before the semi-final. A scary moment, however, took place in the semi-final when Capps’s car exploded at the start/finish line and going sideways before Capps was able to park the car. Thankfully, Capps walked away without injuries and was able to advance to the finals against Tim Wilkerson. Despite the incident, Capps was able to put that behind him and beat Wilkerson with help of quicker reaction time than Wilkerson’s despite Wilkerson being quicker than Capps. The victory was Capps’ 66th of his Funny Car career.

    “We all knew it was Tobler’s birthday and we all secretly wanted to win on his birthday,” Capps said. “But to bring out a car that we had as a backup, that’s never made it to the finish line and it goes 3.93 in the final round of the Gatornationals is crazy. He’s had that car up in the trailer since last year when we ran it at ‘Night Under Fire’ at Norwalk (Ohio) and made a check-out run with it and then he put it away for these occasions. With live TV pushing us, we had every team member of Don Schumacher Racing over here working on the car. It was unbelievable. Team members you’re battling against in the championship are over here helping our guys and it was cool. I’m so happy for Tobler and (assistant crew chief) Dustin (Heim) because to go up there in the final round and beat someone like (Tim) Wilkerson in a final is always tough to do but to do it with a car that has never been to a finish line, that’s NAPA Know How.”

    “It was a crazy day today. There was a lot going on, probably more than a lot of fans realized. We’ve always got confidence that we can win a race. That NAPA Know How I brag about that (crew chief) Rahn Tobler has, I mean everybody’s got their favorite neighborhood mechanic at a NAPA AutoCare Center and Tobler to me is that guy. He’s the guy you can trust and the guy you can count on, and I’m confident we’ll do big things as we head into this final stretch.”

    Ron Capps enjoys Gatornationals victory, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

    In the Top Fuel category, it was father-son squaring off against each other. with Steve and Billy Torrence in the final round. Steve, however, with the help of his Don Garlits paint scheme defeated his father Bill by going 3.809 seconds and 322.11 mph. Billy only went 320.74 mph and 3.810 seconds. Torrence, who qualified second on Saturday defeated Tony Schumacher’s car in Round 1, Doug Foley in the second round, and Leah Pruett in the semi-finals to ultimately help Steve win the Gatornationals.

    By winning the Gatornationals, Steve took over the championship points lead from Doug Kalitta after Kalitta was eliminated in the first round by Terry McMillen. Kalitta had a 31 point advantage heading into the Gatornationals. Torrence now leads the standings by 22 points over Kalitta. The Top Fuel victory was Torrence’s third of the 2020 season and the 39th of his career.

    “Don, I just want to say thanks for giving us an opportunity to run your car and to just celebrate the greatness of Don Garlits,” Torrence gushed after winning his third race of the season. “I never won here at Gainesville before, never even been to a final.
    But today, we had magic. We were racing ‘Big Daddy’s’ car and we got a win for ole Dom (a reference to friend, and Capco crewman, Dom Lagana, who remains hospitalized with injuries suffered last month in a traffic accident.)”

    Steve Torrence drove a modern day facsimile of Don Garlits’ Swamp Rat 14 dragster into the winners’ circle Sunday in the 51st annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla.  Torrence beat his dad, Billy, in the Top Fuel final to win for the first time in Florida. Photo Courtesy of Mark Rebilas.

    For the Pro Stock division, Alex Laughlin, after qualifying fourth in his Camaro, won by defeating Aaron Stanfield in the final round. Laughlin in the Havoline Chevy won with a reaction time of .012, 7.068 seconds and 204.76 mph. Laughlin won in Round 1 after a close race against Bo Butner by 0.011 seconds, Kyle Koretsky in Round 2 and Jason Line in the semi-finals before advancing to the finals and facing Stanfield. The victory at Gainesville was Laughlin’s first after finishing runner-up last year to Butner.

    “After the first qualifier, I thought we were going to win the race this weekend,” Laughlin said. “This track has always been really good to me. I was amped (in the finals) and I just went nuts when I saw the win light come on. What a weekend. More than anything, I just needed that this year with how awful a year it’s been. We had a completely brand new crew this weekend and we were just trying to find a routine. Everything just paid off.”

    Alex Laughlin Gainesville Pro Stock Victory, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

    Finally, in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith scored his first victory of the 2020 NHRA season Sunday in Gainesville. Smith had to face Andrew Hines in the finals but won as he was quicker with times of 6.843 seconds and 196.99 mph. Smith was the No. 1 qualifier after Saturday afternoon earning the 40th of his NHRA career and his second of the season. 2020 hasn’t been too kind to Smith, who has come up short multiple times, especially at the three Indy races. Smith lost to Ryan Oehler in the first Indy race in the finals but made everything perfect this weekend.

    Smith scored victories over Kelly Clontz in Round 1, John Hall in the second round and eventually beating Indy winner Scotty Pollacheck in the semi-finals. Smith now has 25 career victories in his Pro Stock Motorcycle career. In addition, he takes the championship points lead as well.

    “I’ve tried since 2006 to win this race and I’ve never been able to do it,” said Smith, a three-time world champ. “I’ve watched my dad do it a couple times and it means a lot to win it. I’ve always wanted to win Gainesville and leave with the points lead, and I was able to do it. Right now, I think Team MSR has the best team out here and we have the power to win this thing. We’ve just to keep everything together, but we have the power to win races and win a championship.”

    Matt Smith Pro Stock Motorcycle Victory, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

    Updated Funny Car Standings

    1. Jack Beckman, 569 points
    2. Matt Hagan, -4
    3. Tommy Johnson Jr, -57
    4. Ron Capps, -83
    5. Tim Wilkerson, -121
    6. Bob Tasca III, -135
    7. J.R. Todd, -149
    8. Alexis Dejoria, -273
    9. Cruz Pedregon, -303
    10. Paul Lee, -311

    Updated Top Fuel Standings

    1. Steve Torrence, 548 points
    2. Doug Kalitta, -22
    3. Leah Pruett, -33
    4. Billy Torrence, -115
    5. Justin Ashley, -146
    6. Shawn Langdon, -165
    7. Terry McMillen, -171
    8. Antron Brown, -175
    9. Clay Millican, -211
    10. Doug Foley, -332

    Updated Pro Stock Standings

    1. Jason Line, 515 points
    2. Erica Enders, -2
    3. Jeg Coughlin, -34
    4. Alex Laughlin, -156
    5. Matt Hartford, -186
    6. Greg Anderson, -192
    7. Chris McGaha, -214
    8. Aaron Stanfield, -231
    9. Bo Butner, -234
    10. Deric Kramer, -235

    Updated Pro Stock Motorcycle Standings

    1. Matt Smith, 348 points
    2. Scotty Pollacheck, -21
    3. Andrew Hines, -28
    4. Angelle Sampey, -48
    5. Eddie Krawiec, -64
    6. Ryan Oehler, -111
    7. Angie Smith, -150
    8. Hector Arana Jr, -158
    9. Chris Bostick, -167
    10. Steve Johnson, -170

    Up Next: With the Gatornationals now complete, there are four NHRA races remaining in the 2020 season with the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri next up on the schedule, taking place from Friday, Oct. 2 to Sunday, Oct. 4.