 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Billy Torrence (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle) all won in their respective categories at the second of six races in the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs. It is also the 20th of 24 events during the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Todd, who is now fifth in points, picked up his 33rd final-round appearance with wins against Jack Beckman, No. 1 qualifier John Force and Robert Hight, who took over the points lead on Sunday. It was also the first all-Kalitta Motorsports final round in Funny Car since 2016, a matchup that included Del Worsham, who is the co-crew chief on Langdon's car. "What an incredible day," said Langdon, who climbed to seventh in the Funny Car standings. "Going through qualifying, we had a consistent car. We've got such a great group of guys and it was a pretty good day. Anytime you can get a win in this class, it builds momentum. We had to make some big changes coming into St. Louis and the car was flawless for me to drive. I love racing for (team owner) Connie (Kalitta). He just has so much passion. He's a great motivator and a great leader, and we just follow his vision. We all just work together."
S. Torrence reached the final round for the 52nd time in his career, as the defending world champ beat Scott Palmer, Pat Dakin and No. 1 qualifier Mike Salinas. The runner-up showing also pulled him to within two points of points leader Kalitta, but the final round belonged to his father, who moved to ninth in the standings with four playoff races remaining. "To get to race Steve in the final was the goal," B. Torrence said. "We watched how we qualified and we did a good job of staying on opposite sides of the ladder. It came out a little better for me in the end this time. It's tough to come out here. You're at the pinnacle of drag racing on this level, but I've got to have fun. It's just a blessing to get to be out here with my family. We've raced everything and it's just really fun. It's a family sport and we're right in the middle of it."
Hartford, who moved to fourth in points, beat Kenny Delco, points leader Jason Line and Bo Butner to reach his sixth career. final round. Both drivers had great reaction times in the final round, but Enders was able to chase down Hartford for her first victory of 2019. Stoffer and Enders' win also marked the first time in NHRA history that females won in both Pro Stock classes at the same race. It also marked the 148th and 149th win for females in NHRA history. "We just had to pick ourselves up and we redeemed ourselves after our poor performance in Reading," Enders said. "I'm ready for the remaining four races. I put my money on us. It's all come together at the right time. It feels like it's been eternity since we last won in 2018. We just continue to keep our heads down and working hard, and this definitely means a lot to our entire program. I knew every time we fired that bad boy up, we were going to go out and make a really great pass."
Stoffer reached the final round with wins against Ryan Oehler, defending world champ and No. 1 qualifier Matt Smith and Eddie Krawiec. Hines beat Michael Ray, Angie Smith and Steve Johnson to advance to his 95th final round, as Stoffer and Hines matched up in the finals for the first time in nine years. Stoffer was quicker off the line and rode her way to her first win since 2015. "I really don't feel the pressure out there because every team is phenomenal," Stoffer said. "I listened to the team and did what I had been doing. We had Matt, and then Eddie and then we had Andrew. Out of all the heavy hitters, those are it. We just went out and did our job. The Suzuki platform definitely went through some challenges and we're not one of those high-budget teams, but we have fun. It's been a long time (since her last win), and I wasn't even scheduled to race this year, and here we are in the top 10 and winning a race in the Countdown." The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continues Oct. 11-13 with the third of six races in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs, the NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. Sunday's final results from the eighth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the 20th of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series- Top Fuel -- Billy Torrence, 3.835 seconds, 319.67 mph def. Steve Torrence, 4.374 seconds, 195.93 mph. Funny Car -- Shawn Langdon, Toyota Camry, 4.068, 310.41 def. J.R. Todd, Camry, 4.276, 223.32. Pro Stock -- Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.598, 208.36 def. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.621, 207.30. Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.869, 197.74 def. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.876, 196.59. Competition Eliminator -- David Billingsley, Chevy Camaro, 8.123, 157.34 def. Travis Gusso, Chevy Cobalt, 8.637, 154.90. Super Stock -- Justin Jenkins, Chevy Cobalt, 9.561, 134.90 def. Brandon Bakies, Chevy Camaro, 9.696, 137.98. Stock Eliminator -- Brina Frank, Chevy Camaro, 9.306, 134.55 def. Chris Knudsen, Camaro, 10.585, 119.71. Super Comp -- Christopher Dodd, Dragster, 8.910, 180.84 def. Lynn Ellison, Dragster, Foul - Red Light. Super Gas -- Mark Buttrum, Olds Lumina, 9.920, 153.28 def. Veron Rowland, Olds Calais, 9.910, 157.93. Factory Stock Showdown -- David Kramer, Chevy Camaro, 8.022, 170.41 def. Arthur Kohn, Camaro, 8.013, 169.30. Top Sportsman presented by RacingRVs.com -- Mark McDonald, Ford Mustang, 6.641, 201.70 def. Allen Firestone, Chevy Camaro, 6.611, 210.34. Pro Modified -- Rickie Smith, Chevy Camaro, 5.768, 252.19 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 7.413, 113.99.
|
|
Ready to take your order at 1-800-230-3030 | Customer Service 1-800-517-1035