FATHER BEATS SON IN FIRST GREEN FAMILY FUNNY CAR MATCHUP, CHAD GOES TO SEMIFINALS AS HUNTER QUALIFIES 3RD AT BRAINERD

BRAINERD, MN – The father-son Funny Car racing team of Chad and Hunter Green knew it was coming all along, and it finally happened in first round of eliminations Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

They raced against each other for the first time in their drag racing careers. And dad Chad came out the winner in that matchup.

It was a bit of surprise though as son Hunter had produced his best Funny Car qualifying performance with a third spot in the tough 16-car field at Brainerd. And the driver of the CGM Pronto Auto Services Dodge Hellcat Funny Car was the favorite in the first round with lane choice over Chad.

But the veteran racer’s machine produced a strong 3.952 seconds, and the son’s car smoked its rear tires right off the starting line. So, this round went to “dad.”

Despite the loss, Hunter Green’s “rookie” season has continued to be impressive with each race and with a race car, new crew and new experience in a nitro-burning monster.  Hunter came out quickly at Brainerd with 3.946 to rank second in the first round of qualifying Friday, and he improved to a 3.906 on Saturday.

“We have the Pronto car running well in qualifying and we just tried to go a little too strong against my dad in the first round Sunday,” said Hunter. “The cooler conditions made for a good track, and we thought the car could hold it. But the tires spun early, and my dad ran well with a 3.952. We are testing this week in Indianapolis, and we’ll continue to improve our car.”

For Chad, the first-round win in the BP Oil/Bond-Coat Ford Mustang over Hunter advanced him to the quarterfinals against Spencer Hyde, and a sensational “holeshot” victory moved Green to the semifinals at Brainerd. Chad had to go up against the reigning World Champion and eventual Brainerd race winner Austin Prock.

Green’s car lost traction against Prock in the semifinals, but the Midland, Texas, racer still had a good outing as he ranks 12th in the NHRA Mission Funny Car point standings entering to the biggest race of the year, the U.S. Nationals on Aug. 29-Sept. 1, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

“Actually, Hunter and I were very excited to race each other for the first time,” said dad Chad. “The track conditions were good, and Hunter’s car has been quick. So, we knew we had to have a good pass to beat him. Unfortunately, the race was over early with Hunter smoking the tires. But it was so much fun to compete against my son.

Then, in the second round, I cut a great light with 0.039 against Spencer and we nipped him at the line on a ‘holeshot.’ We really needed those round wins this weekend as we are fighting to get into the top ten for the ‘Countdown to the Championship.’ Against Prock, we threw everything at it and just spun the tires. Overall, it was a very good weekend for our team.”

The Chad Green Motorsports father-son duo will test at Indianapolis this week in preparation for the prestigious U.S. Nationals.

Nitro action for the upcoming NHRA U.S. Nationals begins on Friday, Aug. 29, with one qualifying round set for 7:30 p.m. EDT, followed by Saturday’s qualifying sessions at 12:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. EDT. Sunday’s qualifying begins with Top Fuel at 12 p.m. EDT followed by NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout eliminations at 12:45 p.m. and final qualifying 2:45 p.m. EDT

The final eliminations will begin on Monday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. EDT with the national telecast scheduled for 12 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1 and 2 p.m. EDT on the FOX Network.