Photo copyright 2011 Auto Imagery, Inc.
BAYTOWN, Texas --
 Worsham, Arend, Hines and Nobile |
Jeff Arend (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event near Houston.
With the victory, longtime Funny Car racer Worsham joined Mike Dunn as the only drivers to win this event in both nitro categories. Worsham powered away from Al-Anabi Racing teammate Larry Dixon to take his third win of the season and second in a row. He covered the distance in 3.880 seconds at 318.99 mph while defending world champ Dixon finished in 3.900 at 316.82.
After a sluggish qualifying effort, Worsham and his Brian Husen-tuned dragster got in the groove on race day and powered past Bob Vandergriff, David Grubnic and Doug Kalitta before slipping past Dixon in the final. With the victory Worsham increased his series lead to 95 over Dixon.
 Worsham vs. Dixon |
Arend took the Funny Car victory when final round opponent Mike Neff fouled at the starting line in his Ford Mustang. Arend's DHL machine crossed the finish line in 4.259 at 297.68 to take his first win of the season and third of his career.
Arend, who qualified 10th, claimed early round wins over Paul Lee, Tim Wilkerson and Bob Bode with his quickest winning time in the three rounds a 4.307. Meanwhile Neff had reeled off a string of low four teens to make the final. Arend was surprised to hear Neff hit the throttle twice in the opposite lane in the final and eventually leave before the tree turned green.
 Arend vs. Neff |
With the runner-up finish, Neff moved back into the series lead, 18 in front of teammate Robert Hight.
Rookie driver Vincent Nobile used a near-perfect reaction time of .007 of a second to earn his first Pro Stock victory. Nobile, 19, became the youngest driver to win in the history of NHRA's 41-year-old factory hot rod category when his Mountain View Dodge Avenger finished in 6.625 at 209.72 to edge local favorite Rodger Brogdon of nearby Tomball, who posted a quicker but losing 6.624 at 208.78 in his Racers Edge Pontiac GXP.
 Nobile vs. Brogdon |
Line regained the points lead in the 200 mph category with his quarterfinal finish and now holds a one point lead over Stanfield.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hines claimed his first win of the season and 24th of his career by holding off Michael Phillips in the final round. Hines rode his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 6.900 at 195.14 while Phillips trailed with a 6.946 at 195.25 on his Racers Edge Suzuki.
 Hines vs. Phillips |
"To come to Houston, a track that was our nemesis for 20 years, and get two wins in a row is pretty special," Hines said. "These pewter Wallys are really cool. Eddie (Krawiec, teammate) won his at Gainesville and I told him I didn't want to touch it until I got one of my own. I didn't expect to win mine this fast, but I am glad to get it. My brother Matt (Hines, crew chief) gave me a great motorcycle all weekend long and it was consistent and going perfectly straight down the track."
Krawiec kept the points lead in the two-wheel class with his semifinal finish, and sits 18 ahead of Hines.
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues May 13-15 with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.
Sunday's final results from the 24th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Royal Purple Raceway. The race is the fifth of 22 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel -- Del Worsham, 3.880 seconds, 318.99 mph def. Larry Dixon, 3.900 seconds, 316.82 mph.
Funny Car -- Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.266, 297.68 def. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, foul.
Pro Stock -- Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.625, 209.72 def. Rodger Brogdon, Pontiac GXP, 6.624, 208.78.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.900, 195.14 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.946, 195.25.
2011 NHRA Full Throttle Championship
Point Standings
Point Standings
Courtesy NHRA.com
Top Fuel
(Following event 5 of 22 events)
(Includes events through Houston, Texas)
| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Change | Make | |
| 1 | Del Worsham | 505 | -0 | - | Hadman | |
| 2 | Larry Dixon | 410 | -95 | - | Hadman | |
| 3 | Antron Brown | 363 | -142 | - | DSR | |
| 4 | Tony Schumacher | 353 | -152 | - | DSR | |
| 5 | Spencer Massey | 324 | -181 | - | DSR | |
| 6 | Doug Kalitta | 288 | -217 | - | Attac | |
| 7 | Morgan Lucas | 264 | -241 | - | Hadman | |
| 8 | Shawn Langdon | 249 | -256 | - | Hadman | |
| 9 | Brandon Bernstein | 244 | -261 | - | McKinney | |
| 10 | Steve Torrence | 202 | -303 | - | Hadman | |
| 11 | Dave Grubnic | 178 | -327 | - | Attac | |
| 12 | Terry McMillen | 176 | -329 | - | McKinney | |
| 13 | Bob Vandergriff Jr. | 145 | -360 | - | Hadman | |
| 14 | Douglas Foley | 118 | -387 | - | McKinney | |
| 15 | Troy Buff | 88 | -417 | - | Bill Miller | |
Funny Car
| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Change | Make | |
| 1 | Mike Neff | 399 | -0 | - |  | |
| 2 | Robert Hight | 381 | -18 | - | | |
| 3 | Jack Beckman | 363 | -36 | - |  | |
| 4 | Cruz Pedregon | 322 | -77 | - |  | |
| 5 | Jeff Arend | 299 | -100 | - | | |
| 6 | Matt Hagan | 296 | -103 | - | | |
| 7 | John Force | 281 | -118 | - | | |
| 8 | Bob Tasca III | 247 | -152 | - | | |
| 9 | Ron Capps | 244 | -155 | - | | |
| 10 | Johnny Gray | 234 | -165 | - | | |
| 11 | Tim Wilkerson | 230 | -169 | - | | |
| 12 | Jim Head | 220 | -179 | - | | |
| 13 | Tony Pedregon | 195 | -204 | - |  | |
| 14 | Bob Bode | 165 | -234 | - | | |
| 15 | Paul Lee | 159 | -240 | - | | |
Pro Stock
| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Change | Make | |
| 1 | Jason Line | 390 | -0 | - |  | |
| 2 | Greg Stanfield | 389 | -1 | - | | |
| 3 | Greg Anderson | 371 | -19 | - | | |
| 4 | Vincent Nobile | 367 | -23 | - | | |
| 5 | Mike Edwards | 342 | -48 | - | | |
| 6 | Rodger Brogdon | 316 | -74 | - | | |
| 7 | Erica Enders | 278 | -112 | - | ||
| 8 | Ron Krisher | 253 | -137 | - | | |
| 9 | Allen Johnson | 215 | -175 | - | | |
| 10 | Ronnie Humphrey | 213 | -177 | - | | |
| 11 | Shane Gray | 197 | -193 | - | | |
| 12 | Kurt Johnson | 179 | -211 | - | | |
| 13 | V. Gaines | 178 | -212 | - | | |
| 13 | Larry Morgan | 178 | -212 | - | | |
| 15 | Warren Johnson | 161 | -229 | - | | |
Pro Stock Motorcycle
| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Change | Make | |
| 1 | Ed Krawiec | 202 | -0 | - |  | |
| 2 | Andrew Hines | 184 | -18 | - | | |
| 3 | Karen Stoffer | 179 | -23 | - |  | |
| 4 | Hector Arana | 141 | -61 | - |  | |
| 5 | Louis Tonglet | 116 | -86 | - | | |
| 6 | Gerald Savoie | 107 | -95 | - | | |
| 6 | Michael Phillips | 107 | -95 | - | | |
| 8 | Shawn Gann | 105 | -97 | - | | |
| 9 | Matt Smith | 88 | -114 | - | | |
| 10 | Steve Johnson | 82 | -120 | - | | |
| 11 | David Hope | 64 | -138 | - | | |
| 11 | James Underdahl | 64 | -138 | - | | |
| 11 | Paul Ray Jr. | 64 | -138 | - | | |
| 14 | Angie Smith | 63 | -139 | - | | |
| 15 | Hector Arana Jr. | 63 | -139 | - | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment