- Ron Capps replaces Matt Hagan as Funny Car points leader.
- Antron Brown coming on strong in Top Fuel.
- Mike Salinas clocks best elapsed time of event, third-fastest run in Top Fuel history.
- Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn rolls on.
A bit of a scramble in the NHRA Top Fuel standings behind leader Justin Ashley, with Antron Brown blazing to the victory over final-round foe Leah Pruett, and Funny Car winner Ron Capps knocking Matt Hagan from the points lead, Sunday’s Lucas Oil Nationals at Northern Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway had an impact on the Countdown to the Championship outlook.
The next race, the Labor Day weekend classic U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, marks the end of the regular season and sets the fields for the six-race playoffs. When the Countdown fields are set after that race, the sanctioning body will adjust the points and erase regular-season margins to bunch the contenders, separating them in 10-point increments. Top seeds will receive an extra 10 points for the start of the Countdown, and anyone earning points from the year-long Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge will add them to their respective totals.
Justin Ashley said Saturday evening, “We have to stay on the offense, because there’s people—like Steve (relentless No. 2-ranked Torrence)—that wherever there’s a window of opportunity, they’re going to try and slide right in there.”
Leah Pruett made the almost-unstoppable Ashley’s job a bit tougher Sunday afternoon, defeating him in the semifinal to make her 33 final-round appearance. He had a brief moment of bliss in the second round, when he received a bye run and closest contenders Torrence and Brittany Force both lost. But Pruett beat Ashley in the semifinal round, leaving the top three ranked drivers on the sidelines as Brown blazed to his second victory this year and 73rd overall.
“Every round on Sunday feels like a final round,” said Ashley. “You almost have to have four perfect rounds of racing to put yourself in a position to win so these races are super close. The margin for error is so small. You know when you have good cars going down the racetrack consistently and even the part-time cars who come to fill out the field legitimately can go out there and win rounds. It makes it difficult, but at the same time it really makes it that much more rewarding.”
Seeing Brown, the three-time champion who made a late-season surge to finish No. 2 last season, pass Force for third place didn’t feel all that rewarding. However, Ashley extended his lead over second-ranked Torrence to 101 points and leads Brown by 125 heading into the final race of the regular season.
Brown reached his 133rd career final past reaction-time ace Shawn Langdon, Torrence (the driver he’s chasing in the standing), Salinas (who had just recorded a monster run of 3.654 seconds at 338.26 mph), and finally Pruett, whose results all day had altered the standings.
“I was shakin’, butt-cheek-quivering . . . changed my drawers three times,” Brown quipped. “You got 12 cars that are no joke. Every race is a final round.” Then to the crowd, he asked, “Were you not entertained today?!”
Ron Capps celebrates his 75th win on Sunday at Brainerd.
No. 75 for Capps
Capps raced Hight for the 85th time in their careers and the 14th time in the final, and he claimed his 75th Wally trophy.
No. 1 qualifier Capps blew out the candles on nemesis Robert Hight’s birthday cake, then left Brainerd as the points leader, 21 points ahead of Hagan and with a slightly more comfortable advantage of 138 over Hight.
“First of all, 75 is crazy,” Capps said, staring at his trophy. He said he got his career break at Brainerd back in the 1990s, from a conversation with the late team owner John Mitchell, who was a mentor for many. Capps was a crew member for a Top Alcohol Dragster team, and Mitchell invited him to use his Montana Express Dragster to license in Top Fuel. The first of Capps’ 75 victories came at Seattle, in Roger Primm’s dragster in 1995.
Dallas Glenn Tops in Pro Stock
Pro Stock points leader Dallas Glenn joined Brown and Capps in the winners circle. Glenn beat KB Titan Racing teammate Kyle Koretsky in the final round for his fourth triumph of the season and eighth in all.
Glenn said the last time he took part in a race at Brainerd International Raceway, he was a mechanic for three-time champion and Brainerd favorite son Jason Line. “And we parked it in the winners circle then, too,” he said before preparing to drive the team hauler back the 20 hours back to the North Carolina shop.
Top Fuel Racer Mike Salinas Lights It Up
In his quarterfinal Top Fuel victory over Clay Millican, Mike Salinas rocketed his Valley Services Dragster to the third-fastest pass in class history at 328.26 mph. It is the fastest this entire year.
Salinas lost to eventual winner Antron Brown, who said Salinas “dropped a bomb in that last round” after advancing past Salinas into the final. Salinas’ top speed is third on the performance list behind two of Brittany Force’s late-2022 marks (338.94 at Pomona Finals last November and 338.43 last October at St. Louis). Eight Funny Car passes among four different drivers have been faster.
Salinas also set low elapsed time of the meet at 3.654 seconds on the 1,000-foot Brainerd International Raceway course.
Funny Car’s Bobby Bode emotional After Mishap
When his father, Bob Bode, earned his first and only Funny Car trophy, here in 2010, Bobby Bode was sitting in the stands, enjoying a blue sno-cone. And the young Arizona State University junior who inherited his dad’s Funny Car still laughs at the winners circle pictures from that day, when he smiled for the cameras with blue lips. And he said he’d love to follow in his father’s footsteps, win at Brainerd, and treat everyone to a blue sno-cone. But his opening-round results in eliminations Sunday but that idea on ice.
On his quickest pass of the season (3.929 seconds) at his career-best speed (322.50 mph), Bode fought to salvage his car after it made a hard move to the right. But it scraped the wall and tore a sizeable gash in the body.
After a few moments leaning against his car, visibly upset, Bode tearfully said, “We work so hard, then I go out there and do stupid stuff like that. It was going good. I flickered it. I thought I had a good light, and then it started hunting towards the right. I cranked the wheel as hard as I could, and it just never came back. I hope it didn’t get the chassis, because we’re done. We don’t have a back-up chassis. Thanks for all the fans. Great memories here, but this was not one of ’em.”
Tony Stewart Delivers ‘Sobering Reminder’ Following Young Driver Death
In a social-media post Friday, Tony Stewart – who qualified sixth and bowed out in the quarterfinals of Top Alcohol Dragster eliminations Saturday—shared a personal remembrance after the loss of one of his TQ Midget drivers in an Indiana traffic accident . . . and delivered a valuable public-service message.
Stewart mourned the passing of 24-year-old Greenfield, Ind., native Ashlea Albertson, who drove for Tony Stewart Racing. A passenger in an SUV that was involved in a apparent road-rage incident, she died from injuries in a crash on Interstate 65 Friday morning.
“Today, I lost a teammate,” Stewart wrote. “@AshDogRacing had an infectious personality and could light up any room. She was a great race car driver that was involved in a road rage accident and lost her life. In the past, I’ve also gotten caught up in road rage. I hope that we can honor Ashlea by controlling what we can control on the highway. Losing her is a sobering reminder of how precious life is. Please join me in keeping her family and friends in your prayers.”
Albertson, who last competed one week before (Aug. 11), was a passenger in a GMC Terrain. According to Indianapolis TV station WTHR, video from another nearby vehicle showed a Chevy Malibu and the Terrain both accelerating, with the drivers refusing to let each other pass. Investigators say the driver of the Malibu, identified as Austin Cooper, 22, of Austin, Ind., started to change lanes to cut off the Terrain, and the driver of the Terrain lost control. The SUV began to spin, and the vehicles collided.
The Terrain rolled over, ejecting Albertson. The Malibu flew from the road and into a field. Both Albertson and the driver of the Terrain, identified as Jacob Kelly, 31, of Indianapolis, were transported to the University of Louisville Hospital, where Albertson was pronounced dead. Others involved in the accident received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Results, Updated Points
Sunday’s final results from the 41st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. The race is the 14th of 21 in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel — Antron Brown, 3.715 seconds, 326.08 mph def. Leah Pruett, 3.757 seconds, 331.12 mph.
Funny Car — Ron Capps, Toyota Supra, 3.887, 332.75 def. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.900, 324.90.
Pro Stock — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.566, 207.56 def. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 11.229, 78.42.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Matthew Cummings, 5.237, 275.22 def. Mike Lewis, Foul – Red Light.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Doug Gordon, Chevy Camaro, 5.438, 267.85 def. Bob McCosh, Camaro, 5.489, 265.12.
Competition Eliminator — Bruno Massel, Toyota Solara, 6.957, 185.41 def. Brett Speer, ’23-T Ford, 7.218, 181.96.
Super Stock — Mike Mans, Pontiac Firebird, 8.728, 153.93 def. David Goldie, Ford Mustang, 11.477, 110.51.
Stock Eliminator — Ben Line, Ford Mustang, 10.268, 117.79 def. Scott Dugdale, Chevy Chevelle, 11.414, 115.28.
Super Comp — James Glenn, Dragster, 8.913, 163.12 def. Trene Cressonie, Dragster, 9.015, 149.17.
Super Gas — Donnie Durenberger, Chevy Nova, 9.935, 144.84 def. Don Westra, Chevy Corvette, 9.968, 157.89.
Top Sportsman — Steve Stockton, Chevy Malibu, 6.796, 198.67 def. Rob Meservier, Chevy Chevelle, 6.993, 194.46.
Top Dragster — Clinton Geise, Dragster, 6.607, 196.76 def. Bob Fuller, Dragster, 7.181, 185.95.
Pro Modified — Jason Lee, Chevy Camaro, 6.932, 117.17 def. Jason Scruggs, Camaro, Broke.
Pro Mod Snowmobile –– Mitchell Moeller, Proline, 5.062, 132.36 def. Courtney Moeller, Sidewinder, 5.141, 127.46.
Round By Round
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Mike Salinas, 3.726, 335.32 def. Austin Prock, 3.748, 325.30; Antron Brown, 3.689, 334.15 def. Shawn Langdon, 3.782, 323.97; Brittany Force, 3.694, 334.15 def. Josh Hart, 3.758, 331.85; Justin Ashley, 3.748, 332.51 def. Terry Totten, 3.977, 258.12; Clay Millican, 3.689, 331.04 def. Doug Kalitta, 3.720, 327.82; Steve Torrence, 3.691, 332.34 def. Kyle Wurtzel, Foul – Centerline; Leah Pruett, 3.820, 267.27 def. Tony Schumacher, 5.103, 144.92;
QUARTERFINALS — Ashley, 6.781, 86.00 was unopposed; Pruett, 3.750, 333.41 def. Force, 4.309, 262.49; Brown, 3.738, 330.63 def. Torrence, 3.716, 327.43; Salinas, 3.654, 338.26 def. Millican, 3.714, 319.52;
SEMIFINALS — Pruett, 3.733, 331.94 def. Ashley, 3.753, 322.73; Brown, 3.708, 332.75 def. Salinas, 3.710, 333.74;
FINAL — Brown, 3.715, 326.08 def. Pruett, 3.757, 331.12.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE — Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.884, 331.36 def. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.927, 325.37; Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.469, 234.98 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 8.022, 90.47; Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.038, 316.67 def. J.R. Todd, Toyota Supra, 4.045, 319.98; Ron Capps, Supra, 3.906, 330.23 def. Jim Campbell, Chevy Monte Carlo, Broke; Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.924, 327.74 def. Alex Laughlin, Charger, 4.062, 298.87; Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.881, 330.88 def. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.929, 322.50; John Force, Camaro, 3.959, 329.99 def. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.945, 325.30; Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.883, 331.69 def. Alexis DeJoria, Supra, 3.906, 331.28;
QUARTERFINALS — Capps, 3.892, 333.08 def. Wilkerson, 8.517, 107.19; Tasca III, 3.905, 331.12 def. Pedregon, 3.960, 322.96; Force, 3.900, 328.94 def. Creasy Jr., Foul – Outer Boundary; Hight, 3.913, 329.83 def. Richards, No Time Recorded;
SEMIFINALS — Hight, 3.918, 325.61 def. Force, 11.323, 76.73; Capps, 3.914, 327.66 def. Tasca III, 8.814, 88.17;
FINAL — Capps, 3.887, 332.75 def. Hight, 3.900, 324.90.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE — Kyle Koretsky, Chevy Camaro, 6.580, 207.21 def. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 6.584, 208.71; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.577, 207.91 def. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.593, 208.14; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.555, 206.86 def. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.692, 204.94; Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.546, 208.20 def. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.566, 208.75; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.557, 208.81 def. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Ford Mustang, 6.621, 206.76; Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.619, 208.33 def. Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, Foul – Red Light; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.562, 207.82 def. David Cuadra, Mustang, 6.638, 207.98; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.574, 209.04 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.612, 207.82;
QUARTERFINALS — Koretsky, 6.587, 208.14 def. Anderson, 6.582, 208.14; Stanfield, 6.581, 208.49 def. Hartford, 6.556, 209.04; Glenn, 6.561, 208.07 def. Enders, 6.648, 206.20; Kramer, 6.573, 208.01 def. C. McGaha, 6.626, 207.75;
SEMIFINALS — Koretsky, 6.586, 208.30 def. Kramer, 6.574, 208.49; Glenn, 6.555, 207.62 def. Stanfield, 6.578, 208.42;
FINAL — Glenn, 6.566, 207.56 def. Koretsky, 11.229, 78.42.
Updated Points
Top Fuel
1. Justin Ashley, 1,133; 2. Steve Torrence, 1,032; 3. Antron Brown, 907; 4. Brittany Force, 885; 5. Leah Pruett, 871; 6. Austin Prock, 789; 7. Mike Salinas, 761; 8. Doug Kalitta, 753; 9. Clay Millican, 716; 10. Josh Hart, 715.
Funny Car
1. Ron Capps, 1,073; 2. Matt Hagan, 1,052; 3. Robert Hight, 935; 4. Bob Tasca III, 896; 5. Chad Green, 862; 6. Alexis DeJoria, 840; 7. Tim Wilkerson, 820; 8. J.R. Todd, 790; 9. John Force, 746; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 627.
Pro Stock
1. Dallas Glenn, 1,032; 2. Matt Hartford, 748; 3. Deric Kramer, 732; 4. Troy Coughlin Jr., 712; 5. Erica Enders, 693; 6. Greg Anderson, 670; 7. Aaron Stanfield, 659; 8. Camrie Caruso, 577; 9. Kyle Koretsky, 552; 10. Cristian Cuadra, 506.
Contributing Editor
Susan Wade has lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, but motorsports is in the Indianapolis native’s DNA. She has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with nearly 30 seasons at the racetrack, focusing on the human-interest angle. She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times. She has contributed to Autoweek as a freelance writer since 2016.
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