Thu, 17 Nov 2022, 12:45 PM
2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Champions Crowned at Annual Awards Ceremony
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Courtesy of NHRA Communications
Photo copyright 2022 NHRA/National Dragster
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TEMECULA, Calif. - Multi-time world champions Brittany Force, Ron Capps, Erica Enders and Matt
Smith were crowned Monday evening during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series awards
ceremony at the Pechanga Resort Casino in scenic Southern California Wine Country.
The four standout drivers were honored for their season-long achievements and presented with their
trophies for winning 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championships during a memorable
Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Brittany Force
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Force picked up her second Top Fuel championship and earned the top prize from NHRA and Camping World
following a banner season in the loaded category. She clinched the championship with her first-round
victory in Pomona, as the record-breaking driver of the 11,000-horsepower Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac
dragster picked up five wins and 10 No. 1 qualifiers - along with a plethora of track records and the
fastest run in Top Fuel history - during her banner 2022 campaign.
Ron Capps
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In his first year as a team owner, Capps became the first repeat Funny Car champion in 20 years,
outlasting Robert Hight on the final day in Pomona to claim his third career world championship. His
semifinal win, coupled with Hight's second-round loss at the NHRA Finals, secured the championship
for Capps in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra. In all, Capps picked up five wins
this season, earning his second straight NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship.
Erica Enders
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Enders was recognized for her Pro Stock dominance on Monday as well, as the star driver rolled to her
fifth career championship and third in the past four years. She clinched the title in Las Vegas,
winning four of the first five races in the Countdown to the Championship in her Melling
Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Enders also enjoyed her best season to date, picking
up 10 wins and advancing to 13 final rounds, with her Vegas win capping off a spectacular season.
Matt Smith
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Pro Stock Motorcycle's Matt Smith laid claim to his third straight world championship on his Denso
Auto Parts Buell, also earning his sixth career title. That ties him with Andrew Hines and Dave
Schultz for the most in class history, with Smith winning four of those crowns in the past five
years. This season, Smith picked up four wins and advanced to six finals, winning on both a Suzuki
and Buell over the course of the season.
Camrie Caruso
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Pro Stock's Camrie Caruso won the NHRA Rookie of the Year award after a standout debut season in her
Powerbuilt Tools Chevrolet Camaro. Caruso qualified at all 19 races and advanced to the Countdown to
the Championship playoffs, earning her first No. 1 qualifier in Houston. She also advanced to the
final round there, where she joined points leader Enders as part of the first all-female final round
in Pro Stock history. Top Fuel's Scott Farley and Funny Car's Jason Rupert were also nominated.
Don Schumacher
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The NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to legendary driver and team owner Don Schumacher.
Heralded as one of drag racing's pioneers, Schumacher has claimed more than 365 wins, as well as 19
world championships, as a team owner. As a driver, the fierce competitor won five races from 1970 to
1973, including the 1970 U.S. Nationals in Indy.
For the sixth straight season and an NHRA-record 27th time, Chevrolet was named the winner of the
NHRA's Manufacturers Cup. The award is given to the automaker whose current model year vehicles
accumulate the most points during the NHRA season. Among those who enjoyed banner seasons for
Chevrolet were Hight, Funny Car legend John Force, Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Greg Anderson and Troy
Coughlin Jr.
Drivers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series were also recognized as 2022 world champions,
including Jeremy Hancock (Top Dragster), Lance Abbot (Top Sportsman), Bob Locke (Super Gas), James
Glenn (Super Comp), Jimmy Hidalgo Jr. (Stock), Pete D'Agnolo (Super Stock), Ryan Priddy (Comp), Top
Alcohol Funny Car (Doug Gordon) and Joey Severance (Top Alcohol Dragster).
The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series awards ceremony will be available to fans worldwide
this week on www.NHRA.com and on the NHRA YouTube page.
The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season begins March 9-12 with the 54th annual Amalie
Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at historic Gainesville Raceway.
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