UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE DAY
We have the chance to crown the first Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world champ of the season in Doug Kalitta, and it could happen in the first round.
To clinch, Kalitta must go three rounds further than Justin Ashley (i.e., Ashley loses in the first round, Kalitta makes the final, or Ashley loses in the second round and Kalitta wins the race.
Kalitta also must go two rounds further than Shawn Langdon (Langdon loses in the first round, Kalitta makes semi’s; or Langdon loses in the second round, Kalitta makes the final round; or Langdon loses in semi’s and Kalitta wins the race.
In Funny Car, Austin Prock needs to win the race and have Matt Hagan lose in the first round, and Jack Beckman lose in the first or second round, and Ron Capps to lose in the first or second round or the semi’s. Pretty long odds.
Top Fuel Round 1
The first whisper of championship drama came in the second pair, where Justin Ashley escaped to keep his title hopes alive after both he and Josh Hart lost traction early and then both lost power, and Ashley coasted to the finish line at just 119 mph on a 5.66 winner. This means that Kalitta would have to win the race to win the championship, and that’s only if Ashley loses in round two.
Kalitta kept his part of the deal, beating Rob Passey with a 3.743, and will get a bye run in round two for the 13-car field. He could potentially race Ashley in the semifinals if Ashley wins round two against Shawn Langdon, who showcased his vast experience in winning a pedalfest with relative rookie Kelly Harper to keep his slim title hopes alive.
TLDR: Kalitta’s path to the championship now relies on Langdon beating Ashley in round two, then Kalitta beating Langdon in the semi’s, and then winning the race.
In non-championship-scenario rounds, Clay Millican beat Antron Brown for the first time in three races this season with a 3.75, sending the reigning world champ down to his ninth first-round loss in 19 events while Tony Schumacher continued his assault on 900 career round wins with No. 898 on a 3.79 run to beat Shawn Reed. Tony Stewart, who won his first career Top Fuel race here in the spring, has his eyes set on another Vegas jackpot after putting away Dan Mercier, whose perfect weekend of full runs ends with tire smoke against “Smoke.”
Brittany Force took a solo pass for the short field and clocked a 3.758, and will cede lane choice to Millican.
Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Clay Millican vs. Brittany Force; Tony Schumacher vs. Tony Stewart; Doug Kalitta vs. bye; Justin Ashley vs. Shawn Langdon
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Funny Car Round 1
Austin Prock does his part in the championship battle, pounding out a 3.895 to drive around Jason Rupert’s gutty two-hundredths holeshot, but Beckman follows suit with a 3.91 to drive his record against hard-luck Dave Richards to 6-0 this season.
But it’s Hagan who sends the championship drama to Pomona as his 3.927 victory over Cruz Pedregon (his sixth straight this season) assures a shootout at the season finale. Last year, Prock only needed to make a qualifying run in Pomona to clinch — how close will he get today by the time the day is over?
Ron Capps, meanwhile, dropped out of the championship battle with a tough 3.921 to 3.917 holeshot loss to Chad Green, who will have lane choice over Hagan.
Canadian hero Spencer Hyde, who was rocking a Toronto Blue Jays hat all weekend, got a little Maple Leaf flag revenge over L.A.-area native Del Worsham with a 3.95 to earn second-round lane choice against Bob Tasca III, who clocked a 4.059 in putting away Blake Alexander.
Daniel Wilkerson, still looking for a long-overdue first career win, advanced to round two with a cylinder-dropping 3.96 to even his season score with Paul Lee to 2-2, and the round ended with J.R. Todd delivering a solid 3.92 in the DHL Toyota to beat former Kalitta teammate Alexis DeJoria.
Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Austin Prock vs. J.R. Todd; Spencer Hyde vs. Bob Tasca III; Jack Beckman vs. Daniel Wilkerson; Chad Green vs. Matt Hagan
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Pro Stock Round 1
The race for the Pro Stock championship is essentially a two-horse race between Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of drama in the opening round in Las Vegas.
Title contenders Anderson and Glenn both advanced with Glenn surviving a tough battle against teammate and crew chief, Dave Connolly. Glenn did what he needed to do in a 6.587 to 6.613 victory. In his post-race interview, Glenn admitted that he’d never beaten Connolly before and that both drivers were caught off guard by a quick Tree.
Anderson kept pace and did it in a big way with a 6.572, to equal the quickest run of the weekend.
The first win of the day went to Matt Latino, who defeated Sonoma winner Greg Stanfield. Both drivers had identical .042 reaction times and both drivers shook the tires at the drop of the clutch but Latino was able to recover more quickly to win with a 6.704, keeping his Rookie of the Year hopes alive.
It’s hard to have a round of Pro Stock racing without a holeshot or two and Fernando Cuadra Jr. was happy to oblige with a 6.59 to 6.62 victory against Cory Reed.
It isn’t often that someone leaves on Jeg Coughlin Jr., but Eric Latino pulled that off with a .028 to .053 advantage. That’s where the good news ended for Latino as Coughlin made up the difference in his SCAG Camaro to win, 6.617 to 6.674.
Matt Hartford left first and finished first in his race against Deric Kramer. Hartford, who entered the event third in the standings, won with a 6.594 to Kramer’s 6.607, a run quick enough to win more rounds.
Erica Enders moved to sixth place in the standings following a slight holeshot win over David Cuadra, 6.615 to 6.611.
Second-round pairings (lane choice first): Greg Anderson vs. Matt Latino; Dallas Glenn vs. Erica Enders; Matt Hartford vs. Fernando Cuadra Jr.; Aaron Stanfield vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 1
Clayton Howey, who earned his first NHRA win in Dallas, picked up his second with a 6.90 win over Ryan Oehler. Howey, a standout E.T. bracket racer, also did his part on the starting line with a .012 light.
Both Matt and Angie Smith advanced on their Denso Buell entries. Angie took care of business against Fred Camarena while Matt stopped teammate Jianna Evaristo, who pulled in the clutch lever early. Matt would have been extremely tough to beat with a 6.848, his best run of the weekend. The Smiths will race each other in round two.
Steve Johnson had nothing but problems on Friday, but has recovered sufficiently to score a much-needed win against Chase Van Sant, 6.848 to 6.868.
Championship leader Richard Gadson was able to avoid a potential disaster when he rode to a 6.842 to beat Chris Bostick, who fouled. Gaige Herrera kept pace with teammate and rival Gadson with a win against Karen Stoffer, and he made a statement with a 6.809, the best run of the round.
Round-two pairings (lane choice first): Matt Smith vs. Angie Smith; Richard Gadson vs. John Hall; Brayden Davis vs. Steve Johnson; Gaige Herrera vs. Clayton Howey.
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Top Fuel Round 2
Shawn Langdon, whose championship dreams ended with a blown tire in the semifinals at last year’s fall event here, returned to the semifinals with a clutch win over Justin Ashley, moving to within one point of second-place Ashley with a 3.73 to 3.77 decision.
Langdon will face his teammate, Doug Kalitta, in the semifinals, where he needs to beat Kalitta to send the championship race to Pomona. if Kalitta should beat Langdon in the semifinals, he could win the championship with a final-round win.
Kalitta advanced to the final four on a 3.757 bye run, giving lane choice to Langdon.
In other races, Tony Stewart won the Battle of Tony S drivers over Tony Schumacher, 3.78 to 3.80, and low qualifier Brittany Force, looking for at least one more Wally in the final two events of her current driving career, moved to the semifinals with a strong 3.76 over Clay Millican.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Brittany Force vs. Tony Stewart; Shawn Langdon vs. Doug Kalitta
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Funny Car Round 2
Matt Hagan scored a clutch win over Chad Green with low e.t. of the meet, a 3.879, to show he’s not ready to concede the title, a run that was especially good considering that points leader Austin Prock could manage just a 3.922 pass in taking down J.R. Todd.
Prock will cede semifinal lane choice to Bob Tasca III, whose 3.921 over Spencer Hyde earned the right to pick by just .001-second.
Daniel Wilkerson, still hunting for that first win before the season closes, put a hurting on Jack Beckman’s championship hopes with a 3.93 to 3.90 holeshot victory. Wilkerson’s win moves him to within one point of fourth-place Ron Capps.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Bob Tasca III vs. Austin Prock; Matt Hagan vs. Daniel Wilkerson
Pro Stock Round 2
The stage is set for an epic battle in the semifinals as Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson both won their quarterfinal heats, meaning the KB Titan teammates will race in the next round in a battle that has huge title implications. Anderson, who has had the best car in Las Vegas by a wide margin, ran 6.599 to stop Matt Latino.
Glenn faced a tough battle against Erica Enders, who has had more success in Las Vegas than just about any other track on the tour. Enders picked up seven thousandths on the starting line, but it was not enough as Glenn motored to a 6.6598 to 6.630 victory.
In other action, Matt Hartford moved back around Aaron Stanfield for the third spot in the standings with a 6.623 in his win over Fernando Cuadra Jr., who fouled. Stanfield lost to Jeg Coughlin Jr. in a race where both drivers rattled the tires off the starting line.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Matt Hartford vs. Jeg Coughlin Jr.; Dallas Glenn vs. Greg Anderson.
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Pro Stock Motorcycle Round 2
Much like Pro Stock, the semifinals of Pro Stock Motorcycle will feature a titanic points battle with leaders Richard Gadson and Gaige Herrera scheduled to face each other. Gadson, the incoming leader, did his part with a 6.876 to 6.895 win against John Hall while Herrera overcame a .003 start by Clayton Howey to advance with a 6.820, the best run of the round.
Matt Smith’s slim title hopes evaporated in spectacular fashion with a -.008 red-light in the quarterfinals. The only consolation for Smith is that his wife, Angie, was the beneficiary.
The second pair produced another foul start with Steve Johnson dropping the clutch lever too soon, sending Rookie of the Year candidate Brayden Davis onto another semifinal.
Semifinal pairings (lane choice first): Gaige Herrera vs. Richard Gadson; Angie Smith vs. Brayden Davis
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Top Fuel Semifinals
Defending event champ Brittany Force ran her win streak at this event to seven rounds by defeating Toiny Stewart, repeating the outcome of her rematch of their final-round clash at the NHRA New England Nationals with a cylinder-dropping 3.82 to his tire-smoking 5.01.
The other round was just as consequential as Shawn Langdon defeated teammate Doug Kalitta, 3.72 to 3.75, to ensure that the title battle will go to Pomona. Langdon’s win moved him past Justin Ashley and into second place, and just 43 points behind Kalitta.
“The ladder definitely set up nicely for us starting the day, but Shawn made a really good run in the semis and got around us,” said Kalitta. “After a couple of race wins and halfway through this one, it’s been nice seeing those win lights come on. It was just one of those deals. My guys are really doing a hell of a job, and we had Mac Tools, Toyota Revchem, Dayco and all our friends from them out here so we had a lot of support – that’s definitely a big part of it. We have one more race to go, and we’ll go into it in a really good position. It’s definitely the best position I’ve ever been in going into Pomona, but we didn’t get enough points to clinch it here, so we still have some work to do.”
Langdon will have final-round lane choice.
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Funny Car Semifinals
Austin Prock rocketed to a 3.878, low e.t. of the meet, to leave no doubt that the Cornwell Tools team is eager for a second straight world championship. Bob Tasca III put up a good battle, but his 3.92 wasn’t enough. Prock, whose season-long reaction time average is .065, has been below that in all three rounds with a .057 and a pair of .053s.
Second-place Matt Hagan will hope to keep Prock honest in the final, getting to the title bout of his sponsor’s event with a 3.91 win over tractionless Daniel Wilkerson.
Prock, holding a solid 121-point lead, will have lane choice. If Prock wins, his lead over Hagan will be 141 points, and Jack Beckman will be eliminated from the championship battle. If Hagan wins, he’ll be 101 back of Prock, with Beckman at 178 back of Prock.
PRO STOCK SEMIFINALS
It’s not an exaggeration to suggest that the semifinal race between Greg Anderson and Dallas Glenn was the biggest race of the season in the Pro Stock class, and it lived up to the advance billing. Glenn drove to a 6.606 to 6.603 holeshot win over Anderson in a race decided by .004-second at the stripe. Glenn came into the race with a 52 point lead and extended that by 20 points with a shot to add 20 more in the final.
Matt Hartford gave up a .03-second advantage to Jeg Coughlin Jr., but made up the difference to win 6.603 to 6.664. Coughlin has had tremendous success in Las Vegas but didn’t have enough race car to get the job done this time.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE SEMIFINALS
The main event in Pro Stock Motorcycle was also worth the price of admission as Richard Gadson and Gaige Herrera put on an amazing show. Gadson cut a perfect .000 light, but didn’t gain much as Herrera was right there with a .005. At the finish line, Herrera rode to the win 6.825 to 6.857 to chop 20 points off of Gadson’s lead.
For the first time in a year, Angie Smith will race in a final round. Smith trailed Brayden Davis off the starting line and ran a 6.89, but that was more than enough as Davis encountered a problem and had to pull in the clutch lever at half track.
OTHER FINAL-ROUND RESULTS
TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER
Jon Bradford def. Madison Payne
TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR
Jim Whiteley def Stan Sipos
COMP
Scott Linder def. Brooke Heckel
SUPER STOCK
Trey Vetter def. Tommy Gaynor
STOCK
Bo Butner def. Chris Hall
SUPER COMP
Alec Bianco def. Mark Simmons
SUPER GAS
Eddie Plazier def. Val Torres
RIGHT TRAILERS TOP DRAGSTER
Ty Gaynor def. Moe Trujillo
CONGRUITY PRO MOD
J.R. Gray def. Billy Banaka
LEGENDS FUNNY CAR
Geoff Monise def. Nathan Sitko