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  • Steve Torrence, Pedregon, Glenn and S. Johnson claim victories at Vegas Nationals

    Steve Torrence, Pedregon, Glenn and S. Johnson claim victories at Vegas Nationals

    Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosted the 1,000th NHRA race in series history Sunday afternoon. Entering Vegas, the points situation was heating up with just two races left in the Countdown to the Championship.

    There was also history made as well. Steve Torrence captured his 50th career Top Fuel victory, while Cruz Pedregon eliminated Funny Car points leader Ron Capps in the final. Dallas Glenn won in Pro Stock after eliminating Erica Enders and Steve Johnson fought his way back with a victory in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

    Funny Car

    Don Schumacher Racing driver Ron Capps entered the Las Vegas Nationals with a one-point lead over his teammate Matt Hagan. Capps was looking to extend his lead and was well on his way in doing so before being halted by fourth-place contender Cruz Pedregon. Pedregon defeated the NAPA Auto Parts driver after Capps engine exploded in the right lane, giving Pedregon his second win of the season.

    “I dropped a couple of races due to holeshots and I feel like we had a better race car than what we’ve shown,” Pedregon said. “I drove well today and we were able to answer the bell today. The car was so steady today. We have a good car and this team has been plugging away. The car runs right with everyone and it’s an honor to win the 1,000th NHRA race. I’m just glad to be a part of it. After winning today, we’re back in (the championship hunt). We just had to keep our nose to the grindstone and things worked out for us.”

    Pedregon qualified in the seventh position following the three rounds and set the California native up with a first-round match with Tony Jurado. Pedregon was successful in his first-round win going 3.950 seconds and 329.58 mph to a quarterfinal round with Chris Morel. Morel advanced to the second round with an upset victory over John Force. The Snap-On driver won again with a 3.903 second and 324.20 mph pass to face Bob Tasca in the semis.

    Meanwhile, Capps, who qualified in the eighth position, had a picture-perfect day and kept the points lead with a Round 1 victory over Tim Wilkerson. He set the pace with a time of 3.915 seconds and 323.74 mph to advance. His closest competitor Matt Hagan was eliminated in the first round after being defeated by Chris Morel.

    From there, Capps scored victories over the No. 1 qualifier, Alexis DeJoria, in the quarterfinals and defeated John Force Racing’s Robert Hight in the semis to set up the final round match with Cruz Pedregon.

    When the two cars rocketed off the line, Capps kept up with Cruz, but his engine unfortunately exploded and he fell short of a victory. The runner-up finish was Capps’ third of the season and the 63rd of his career.

    “Being the Dodge//SRT Nationals Presented by Pennzoil, we were motivated to put this Pennzoil Dodge SRT Hellcat into the final round and winner’s circle,” Capps said. “You look at qualifying and look around and we didn’t qualify as well as we’d liked. It was one of our worst positions all season and we still had lane choice. That tells you how good this NAPA team has been all season. Then you have Tim Wilkerson first round. And we’re the last pair of Funny Cars, the 16th pair of nitro cars and we’re sitting there waiting and listening to so many of the other contenders fighting for a championship, (Matt) Hagan, J.R. (Todd), (John) Force, go out.

    “It’s Halloween, but you think ‘how strange of a day.’ And we had to wait and wait for our first-round match-up with Tim. He beat us in the final at Indy and that’s such a tough car and team. We got by a close one there in that first round and that was huge. Then we had Alexis (DeJoria), the No. 1 qualifier, then Robert Hight, a three-time world champion, and Cruz Pedregon, another champion. That’s a ‘murderer’s row’ on race day. We had to fight every round and this Pennzoil/NAPA car was just so fun to drive. We had a lot of friends and folks from NAPA headquarters in Atlanta and from GearWrench and family members here all weekend, and that was huge to go rounds in front of all of them.”

    “We’ll take any amount of points and Pomona is such an outlier with the points-and-a-half deal. There’s so many points up for grabs. I’m not even thinking about winning this thing. We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing and it was unfortunate in the final round, but it was two Dodges battling it out and that makes our friends in Auburn Hills, Mich. proud and I can’t wait for Pomona. Two weeks cannot come soon enough.”

    Funny Car Results

    1. Cruz Pedregon
    2. Ron Capps
    3. Robert Hight
    4. Bob Tasca III
    5. Chad Green
    6. Alexis DeJoria
    7. Chris Morel
    8. Paul Lee
    9. Tim Wilkerson
    10. Tony Jurado
    11. Steven Densham
    12. Bobby Bode
    13. Matt Hagan
    14. Jeff Diehl
    15. J.R. Todd
    16. John Force

    Funny Car Championship Points Standings

    1. Ron Capps, 2,585 points
    2. Matt Hagan, -58
    3. Cruz Pedregon, -83
    4. J.R. Todd, -138
    5. John Force, -155
    6. Bob Tasca III, -168
    7. Robert Hight, -173
    8. Alexis DeJoria, -205
    9. Tim Wilkerson, -303
    10. Blake Alexander, -461

    Top Fuel

    Steve Torrence and the CAPCO boys just keep on rolling. Torrence gained his 50th career Top Fuel victory by defeating Team Scrappers Mike Salinas in the finals. Torrence qualified in the No. 2 position and extended his points lead over second-place Brittany Force by 105 heading into the final race of the season at Pomona.

    “We’re not gonna do anything different,” he said of his approach,” Torrence said. “We’re just gonna go out there and try to win the race.

    “This is just awesome,” he said of Sunday’s success, which earned him a unique
    version of the NHRA Wally trophy celebrating the organization’s 1,000th race. “All the glory goes to God and to my momma (Capco Racing boss ‘Momma Kay’ Torrence). To win the 1,000th NHRA race with these Capco boys is just unbelievable for a kid that had a dream to drive a Top Fuel car just one time.”

    Torrence had a first-round match with Jim Maroney and won with a time of 3.751 seconds and 325.61 mph to face Tripp Tatum. Tatum had a major victory over Josh Hart in the first round. Meanwhile, Brittany Force faced Leah Pruett in the second and both drivers fouled on the tree but the win was given to Force as Pruett fouled first.

    In the second round, the Kilgore, Texas native Torrence won over Tatum going 3.736 seconds and 328.62 mph to face No. 3 qualifier, Justin Ashley. Ashley had victories over Cameron Ferre and Alex Laughlin to set him up with Torrence in the semis. Torrence eliminated Ashley after laying down a time of 3.688 seconds and 329.58 mph to advance to the finals.

    From there, Torrence was scheduled to face Mike Salinas, who was the previous Top Fuel winner back at Bristol a couple of weeks ago and it was at Bristol where both Torrence and Salinas faced each other as well. However, this time around, the victory went to the CAPCO driver for the 10th time in 2021.

    Photo Courtesy of Mark Rebilas

    The runner-up for Salinas was his third of the season and sixth of his Top Fuel career.

    Top Fuel Results

    1. Steve Torrence
    2. Mike Salinas
    3. Brittany Force
    4. Justin Ashley
    5. Billy Torrence
    6. Alex laughlin
    7. Tripp Tatum
    8. Leah Pruett
    9. Doug Kalitta
    10. Shawn Langdon
    11. Josh Hart
    12. Clay Millican
    13. Troy Buff
    14. Jim Maroney
    15. Antron Brown
    16. Cameron Ferre

    Top Fuel Championship Points Standings

    1. Steve Torrence, 2,694
    2. Brittany Force, -105
    3. Mike Salinas, -172
    4. Justin Ashley, -188
    5. Billy Torrence, -283
    6. Leah Pruett, -351
    7. Clay Millican, -392
    8. Antron Brown, -409
    9. Shawn Langdon, -434
    10. Doug Kalitta, -483

    Pro Stock

    Pro Stock returned to the races this weekend for a wild day of action. Dallas Glenn faced Erica Enders, who was second in points coming into Las Vegas. Glenn had a near-perfect reaction time of .001 compared to Enders’ .005 in the final round to claim the third win of his career, but the victory wasn’t easy.

    First off, current Pro Stock points leader Greg Anderson kept the ball rolling by picking up the No. 1 qualifier in qualifying Saturday afternoon. The all-time winningest Pro Stock driver was paired in a first-round with Troy Coughlin Jr. Unfortunately for Anderson, his day was done early as Coughlin Jr. won by .001 to advance to the quarterfinals.

    Glenn and Enders, eliminated Aaron Stanfield and Bo Butner, respectively, in the first round. In the second round, Glenn got a victory over Kenny Delco after Delco fouled which sent Glenn to face Mason McGaha in the semis. On Enders side of the coin, she got a victory over Matt Hartford and squared off with her teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in the semis. Enders defeated Coughlin Jr. with a time of 6.680 seconds and a 203.61 mph pass.

    “When I got by Aaron, I just relaxed and started clicking them off,” said Glenn, who posted a perfect .000 reaction time in a final round earlier this year. “I missed it a little in the semis against Mason and in the final, I was just trying to do everything I can. I had all the faith in this team and I knew the car was going to be good as long I did my job. I knew I was good on the tree, I hit all my shifts and I was just hoping the win light came on. It feels really good to go up there with a plan and then execute it.”

    Pro Stock Results

    1. Dallas Glenn
    2. Erica Enders
    3. Mason McGaha
    4. Troy Coughlin Jr
    5. Deric Kramer
    6. Matt Hartford
    7. Kenny Delco
    8. Cristian Cuadra
    9. Greg Anderson
    10. Aaron Stanfield
    11. Marty Robertson
    12. Bo Butner
    13. Alan Pruseinsky
    14. Richie Stevens
    15. Chris McGaha
    16. Kyle Koretsky

    Pro Stock Championship Standings

    1. Greg Anderson, 2,565 points
    2. Erica Enders, -32
    3. Dallas Glenn, -109
    4. Kyle Koretsky, -186
    5. Troy Coughlin Jr, -220
    6. Aaron Stanfield, -230
    7. Chris McGaha, -253
    8. Mason McGaha, -268
    9. Matt Hartford, -296
    10. Deric Kramer, -334

    Pro Stock Motorcycle

    After a disappointing first-round loss in Bristol to Ron Tornow, Johnson looked poised to bounce back at Vegas this weekend. He qualified in the second position with a time of 6.848 seconds and 196.24 mph for a first-round with No. 15 qualifier Charles Poskey.

    Johnson won after going 6.874 seconds and 194.44 mph to claim his 251st Round 1 win. With the victory, he went on to face Angie Smith in the second round. Smith advanced by eliminating Scotty Pollacheck. In the semis, Johnson ended up facing Bristol winner Angelle Sampey and was once again a winner after laying down an ET of 6.877 seconds and 194.88 mph which saw him face Karen Stoffer in the finals.

    During the final round match, Stoffer was able to leave first over Johnson but Stoffer went -.012 early and was eliminated in the finals, giving Johnson his third win of the year.

    “It is very, very special to win this event, but it’s really about the championship,” Johnson said. “It took us 17 years to win our first national event and I’m a sucker for this sport. I really want to bring home a championship. I’d love to be a part of that championship fraternity and to be able to try to do it in our hometown is going to be really, really special.”

    Stoffer had victories over Kelly Clontz, Jerry Savoie and the No. 1 qualifier Matt Smith.

    The second-place finish was Stoffer’s 16th of her career and the second this year.

    Pro Stock Motorcycle Results

    1. Steve Johnson
    2. Karen Stoffer
    3. Matt Smith
    4. Angelle Sampey
    5. Jerry Savoie
    6. Angie Smith
    7. Chris Bostick
    8. Eddie Krawiec
    9. Joey Gladstone
    10. Scotty Pollacheck
    11. Andrew Hines
    12. Kelly Clontz
    13. Ryan Oehler
    14. Freddie Camarena
    15. Charles Poskey
    16. Michael Phillips

    Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship Standings

    1. Matt Smith, 2,536 points
    2. Steve Johnson, -20
    3. Angelle Sampey, -30
    4. Eddie Krawiec, -142
    5. Karen Stoffer, -189
    6. Scotty Pollacheck, -212
    7. Angie Smith, -259
    8. Joey Gladstone, -269
    9. Andrew Hines, -327
    10. Ryan Oehler, -355

    Up Next: The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will take one week off before heading to the final race of the 2021 season at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California November 11-14.

  • Antron Brown, Matt Hagan, Angie Smith and Erica Enders win the Dodge Las Vegas Nationals, 2020 Champions crowned

    Antron Brown, Matt Hagan, Angie Smith and Erica Enders win the Dodge Las Vegas Nationals, 2020 Champions crowned

    On the final race day of the season, NHRA drivers, and teams took to the track for their 11th and final race of the year after a crazy chaotic season due to COVID-related issues.

    While there were race winners to be celebrated, champions in every class such as Funny Car, Top Fuel, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle were yet to be decided as well.

    Top Fuel

    Coming into the last race of the year, Steve Torrence was looking to end on a high note after claiming victories as of late. He also had an opponent to watch out for as well, and that included his rival Doug Kalitta who still had a mathematical shot as each elimination was awarded 30 additional points to the respective winner of their round.

    For Torrence, it was simple. All he had to do was just win and move on to the next round. The same can also be said for Kalitta. When the first round came, Torrence was already moving after getting the victory over Kebin Kinsley by going 3.736 seconds and 325.45 mph to advance to Round 2. Now, the Texan had to wait, and watch Kalitta do his job. Unfortunately for Kalitta, he was eliminated early after falling to Justin Ashley and ending his 2020 season early. With Kalitta out early, Torrence had the title wrapped up in his hands for the third time in his career and the second consecutive after winning last year.

    However, just because the championship was already decided, a race winner for the Top Fuel class wasn’t. Antron Brown earned a Round 1 victory over last week’s winner Tony Schumacher by going 3.720 seconds and 326.87 mph to advance. Brown would capitalize on that momentum by getting victories over Clay Millican in the second round and Steve’s dad, Billy Torrence, in the semifinals. Brown ended up racing the 2020 Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence in the final round of the season after Steve got victories over Troy Buff in Round 2 and Justin Ashley in the semifinal.

    When the final round came, it was a close drag race, as Antron Brown would get the hole shot victory over Torrence with the reaction time of .042 seconds. The Las Vegas victory was Brown’s first of the season and his first victory in over two years with his last victory coming at Seattle in 2018.

    “This feels so good. The last race of the year to go out with a win, Lord knows, all the glory goes to him, and at the end of the day we had so many people that stuck with us this season,” said Brown who closed out the year ranked fifth in the Top Fuel standings.

    “Getting (crew chief) Brian Corradi back in our stable and teaming up again with Mark Oswald and Brad Mason and the rest of this Matco team has been incredible. There are so many people who have stuck by us. The TRD support is amazing and Global Electronic Technology coming aboard this year, and Hangsterfer’s has been so loyal to us. Our supporters give us the motivation, and we beat the resistance with persistence. We have a great staff at DSR. We never gave up or quit. We put our heads down and Brian and Mark and the guys just kept marching forward. It feels so good to end the season with a win. We know we have our work cut out for us in ’21. We’re going to keep improving and working hard. We’ve got a great place to start next season. We can run with anybody out there. We just have to get better, be more consistent and do what we do and that’s win rounds. When you win rounds, you win races and when you win races you win championships.”

    Antron Brown Hoist the Wally for the First Time This Season, Photo Courtesy of Auto Imagery

    As Brown celebrated the victory, Torrence, the Kilgore, Texas native enjoyed the third Top Fuel championship of his career after being runner-up for the third time this season and the 22nd of his career.

    “I am excited to win our third championship” he acknowledged, “(but) I’m a big Doug Kalitta fan. I know what it takes to get here, what it takes to be in this position and how hard every one of those guys over there (at Kalitta Racing) work and how hard
    Doug’s worked. “The amount of time that he’s spent out here, to come up short, not just one time, but so many times, it’s a mixed emotion for me,” he said. “I know where his head’s at right now. I know how he feels. I’m happy for my team and myself, but I was saddened for Doug and that whole Mac Tools team. They fought so hard. They had a great car.”

    Torrence also gave credit to his team following his championship-winning victory and dedicated the title-winning effort to Dom Lagana (crew member for Torrence’s team) who was injured in a car accident following the U.S. Nationals event.

    “These (Capco boys) spend countless hours and days and weeks working on this race car and then they give it to me with the hopes that I’m going to go do my job,” Torrence said. “(The Nationals), after Dom’s accident, was extremely difficult. I never found myself in an emotionally motivated situation where you’re trying to do it for your brother (who’s) fighting for his life.

    “You want nothing more than to win that race for him (but) I went up there and lost on a holeshot (to Leah Pruett). I didn’t take it well,” he admitted. “I didn’t do my job that race but, fortunately, we were able to redirect our focus. “(Through) nothing short of a miracle and the grace of the Good Lord, Dom he said of the younger brother of car chief Bobby Lagana Jr. “He’s gonna be banged up, in bad shape, but we’re gonna do whatever we have to do to get him back out here with us.”

    By winning the Top Fuel championship for the third consecutive time, Torrence made history by tying legendary greats Tony Schumacher and Joe Amato as the only driver to win three Top Fuel Championships. Torrence ends the 2020 season with four victories, three runner-ups and three No. 1 qualifiers.

    Steve Torrence Wins His Third Top Fuel Championship, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

    Final Top Fuel Results

    1. Antron Brown
    2. Steve Torrence
    3. Justin Ashley
    4. Billy Torrence
    5. Leah Pruett
    6. Clay Millican
    7. Troy Buff
    8. Doug Kalitta
    9. Jim Maroney
    10. Kebin Kinsley
    11. Shawn Langdon
    12. Cameron Ferre
    13. Chris Karamesines
    14. Tony Schumacher

    Funny Car

    Three drivers had the chance to compete for the 2020 Funny Car Championship heading into the Las Vegas event. To no surprise of anyone, all three drivers running were all Don Schumacher Racing drivers with those being Matt Hagan, Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr. After leaving the SpringNationals event in Houston, those three drivers were separated by 43 points with Ron Capps having the slightest opportunity in fourth, but he would need a lot of help in order to make anything happen.

    When Saturday rolled around for qualifying, Capps qualified on the pole for the first time this season and the 25th of his career. Jack Beckman would qualify in the 10th position with Matt Hagan in second and Tommy Johnson Jr. good enough for fourth. As qualifying was completed, Hagan left the sessions with 900 overall points. Johnson Jr. trailed in second, 45 points behind, while Beckman was 52 points back in third. Another interesting item to note, if Hagan and Beckman won their respective rounds, they would end up facing each other.

    On Sunday, things took a quick turn for the worse. Hagan was able to accomplish his job and win over No. 16 qualifier Cruz Pedregon by going 3.901 seconds and 328.38 mph to advance to Round 2. Next was Jack Beckman who was squaring off against Paul Lee. In an upset, Lee ended Beckman’s championship chances by eliminating Beckman in the first round. However, Hagan still had to worry about Johnson Jr. who won over Jim Campbell and advanced into the second round.

    Hagan and Johnson Jr. continued their winning ways by winning in Round 2 as well as the semifinals. Capps on the other hand was also enjoying success by claiming victories over Chris Morel and J.R. Todd. The most intriguing matchup came in the semifinal as Capps was facing his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. Capps fired off a 3.906 seconds and 329.83 mph over Johnson Jr.’s 3.943 seconds and 324.20 mph to move on to the finals. Unfortunately for Johnson Jr., his championship hopes were dashed as well by being eliminated early.

    Meanwhile, in the semifinal for Hagan, he was able to clinch the Funny Car championship with a victory over Alexis Dejoria. This eventually set a final round match between the Don Schumacher cars of Hagan and Capps. As the Christmas tree lights went green, Hagan overcame Capps for the victory as Capps’ car blew up, going up in smoke. The victory was Hagan’s third of the season and the 36th of his career.

    “Dodge and the DSR fab shop, they’ve put a great race car underneath us. My crew chief Dickie Venables, I can’t say enough about the guy. He’s won me two world championships (2014, 2020) and we’ve runnered-up a few times. There’s a handful of guys on this team who haven’t won a championship before. I’m just so proud to give them that opportunity and I know how bad everybody wanted it. For us to have won three world championships now in this sport, it’s incredible.

    “It all comes back down to my guys and the car they put under me. It’s not just me. I try not to mess it up. This is one of the most humbling sports I’ve been involved in and it always seems to come down to the last race and that certainly doesn’t make me look any younger. Thank you to everyone who supports what we do and we hope we made you proud to be a part of this.”

    Matt Hagan Wins the 2020 Funny Car Championship, Photo Courtesy of Auto Imagery.

    Hagan, who celebrated for the third time in his career winning the Funny Car Championship, is now tied with drivers Raymond Beadle and Robert Hight.

    Capps had to settle for yet again another runner-up finish. The second-place finish was Capps’ 60th of his career.

    “What a weekend. It all came to plan. Especially getting the No. 1 qualifying spot and that Camping World hat. We did get a lucky break first round, but Rahn Tobler and the NAPA/Pennzoil guys did a great job turning it back around. It went almost to plan until the final round. The car was running great and I’m not sure what happened, but another one of those pretty big explosions. Thanks to Impact for great safety gear and everyone at the DSR fab shop for mounting a great Dodge body. Two wins this year, some finals, a pole, not a bad 2020 season for this NAPA team.”

    All four Don Schumacher Racing cars finished one through fourth in points. Hagan first, Johnson Jr. in second, Beckman in third and Capps in fourth. Schumacher also enjoyed a great season by winning all 11 races.

    Final Funny Car Results

    1. Matt Hagan
    2. Ron Capps
    3. Tommy Johnson Jr
    4. Alexis Dejoria
    5. Bob Tasca III
    6. Blake Alexander
    7. J.R. Todd
    8. Paul Lee
    9. Jack Beckman
    10. Cruz Pedregon
    11. Terry Haddock
    12. Tim Wilkerson
    13. Jim Campbell
    14. Steven Densham
    15. Dave Richards
    16. Chris Morel

    Pro Stock

    In the Pro Stock category, Erica Enders, the three-time Pro Stock Champion, was looking forward to defending her 2019 title. Enders entered the final round with a 55 point advantage over second-place Jason Line. Enders qualified her Chevrolet Camaro in the 12th position after going 6.652 seconds and 205.35 mph. Line qualified in the second position, going 6.635 seconds and 206.39 mph.

    Line was set to face Cristian Cuadra in Round 1 while Enders was going to square off against Alex Laughlin in her round. As the time came for Enders to face Laughlin, the Houston, Texas native locked up the Pro Stock title after winning over Laughlin by going 6.662 seconds and 205.47 mph. Line had a losing effort in Round 1 after falling to Cuadra.

    Despite winning the title early on, Enders was determined to win the race as well. She would move on to the finals after winning over Troy Coughlin Jr. in the second round and Greg Anderson in the semis to set herself up for a final round match with Kyle Koretsky. When those two met in the finals, it was Koretsky who ended up fouling in the left lane, automatically giving the victory to Enders for the fourth time this season and the 29th of her career. Enders is now a four-time champion after winning titles in 2014, 2015, and most recently, in 2019.

    “Being able to lock up our fourth world championship and becoming the winningest of all time for females. Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey mean a lot to me and I’m in good company with them. I’ve not had the best year, but this is a lesson that you dig deep, you fight and pray with all the heart, you have every single chase you get because you never know when it’s your last. Richard Freeman gave me this opportunity and I’m a blessed girl.”

    Erica Enders Celebrates Fourth NHRA Pro Stock Championship, Photo Courtesy of Chevy Racing.

    Laughlin finishes second in points, just 167 points back of Enders.

    Final Pro Stock Results

    1. Erica Enders
    2. Kyle Koretsky
    3. Greg Anderson
    4. Cristian Cuadra
    5. Aaron Stanfield
    6. Troy Coughlin Jr
    7. Bo Butner
    8. Matt Hartford
    9. Deric Kramer
    10. Jason Line
    11. Kenny Delco
    12. Jeg Coughlin
    13. Mason McGaha
    14. Chris McGaha
    15. Aaron Strong
    16. Alex Laughlin

    Pro Stock Motorcycle

    Last, and certainly not least, was the Pro Stock Motorcycle division. Matt Smith in his DENSO Auto Parts/Stockseth/MSR EBR Motorcycle had to worry about one competitor and that was Scotty Pollacheck, who entered the final event 58 points back from the top spot.

    On Saturday, Smith qualified in the second position with a time of 6.821 seconds and 198.38 mph while Pollacheck qualified fourth after setting a time of 6.900 seconds and 196.04 mph.

    In the first round on Sunday, Pollacheck won over David Barron by going 7.020 seconds and 191.62 mph. Smith got his victory in Round 1 after winning over two-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Angelle Sampey. The victory for Smith set up the second-round match against Andrew Hines, as Pollacheck was set to face Angie Smith. Pollacheck would end up being eliminated by Angie and was unable to move onto any more rounds following the loss.

    As for Smith, he got the victory over Hines by going 6.875 seconds and 196.13 mph to advance to the semifinals. By advancing, he would be set to face Steve Johnson in the semifinals. However, Smith would lose the round to Johnson, due to Smith’s bike not going off the starting line. Even though Smith could not race his way into the finals, the second-round win was enough for Smith to win his fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship.

    “This was a long hard deal today,” M. Smith said. “That [Vance & Hines] group played their cards right and I had to race them in the first and second rounds. If you want to be the champ you have to beat the champ and I just beat the champ [Hines] to win this, so we are the champions. I can’t thank Denso and Mark Stockseth enough for what they do for me.”

    Matt Smith Celebrates Winning the Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship, Photo Courtesy of NHRA.

    With winning the championship, Smith now has four titles to his credit and is right up there with names such as Andrew Hines, Dave Schulz and Eddie Krawiec who have four or more championships.

    In the final round, Angie Smith rocketed her bike over Steve Johnson to win her first race of the season in just eight starts.

    “You never know when you’re going to get back here and I’m so emotional,” A. Smith said. “I want to thank my team. They have built me up and have told me to never give up. This one’s for them.”

    Final Pro Stock Motorcycle Results

    1. Angie Smith
    2. Steve Johnson
    3. Hector Arana Jr
    4. Matt Smith
    5. Eddie Krawiec
    6. Andrew Hines
    7. Joey Gladstone
    8. Scotty Pollacheck
    9. Angelle Sampey
    10. Ryan Oehler
    11. Chris Bostick
    12. Katie Sullivan
    13. Kelly Clontz
    14. Cory Reed
    15. David Barron
    16. Freddie Camarena

    Final Top Fuel Championship Standings

    1. Steve Torrence, 1,015 points
    2. Doug Kalitta, -193
    3. Billy Torrence, -217
    4. Leah Pruett, -261
    5. Antron Brown, -306
    6. Shawn Langdon, -420
    7. Justin Ashley, -421
    8. Clay Millican, -522
    9. Tony Schumacher, -551
    10. Terry McMillen

    Final Funny Car Championship Standings

    1. Matt Hagan, 1,020 points
    2. Tommy Johnson Jr, -105
    3. Jack Beckman, -172
    4. Ron Capps, -192
    5. Bob Tasca III, -341
    6. J.R. Todd, -357
    7. Tim Wilkerson, -405
    8. Alexis Dejoria, -415
    9. Paul Lee, -556
    10. Cruz Pedregon, -584

    Final Pro Stock Championship Standings

    1. Erica Enders, 922 points
    2. Jason Line, -167
    3. Jeg Coughlin, -175
    4. Greg Anderson, -229
    5. Matt Hartford, -294
    6. Alex Laughlin, -340
    7. Aaron Stanfield, -359
    8. Chris McGaha, -435
    9. Bo Butner, -445
    10. Deric Kramer, -464

    Final Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship Standings

    1. Matt Smith, 703 points
    2. Eddie Krawiec, -110
    3. Scotty Pollacheck, -116
    4. Andrew Hines, -127
    5. Angie Smith, -189
    6. Angelle Sampey, -208
    7. Ryan Oehler, -255
    8. Steve Johnson, -258
    9. Hector Arana Jr, -269
    10. Jerry Savoie, -380

    Up Next: The NHRA 2020 season is now complete. The focus will now turn to the offseason and the 2021 season which is currently set to open up at the 52nd annual Gatornationals on March 12-14.