Brown Takes Top Fuel Win, Hagan Runner-up in Funny Car

MADISON, IL – Antron Brown won his sixth NHRA Wally trophy of the year Sunday and his third straight in the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis but more importantly he and his Matco Tools Top Fuel team climbed back into the Countdown to the Championship battle at the midway point of the six-race playoff.

After losing in the first round the past three races, including the first two in the Countdown, the Matco Tools team broke out with its category-best sixth Mello Yello Drag Racing Series title that allowed it to move from eighth to fourth in points in the six-race Countdown, and cut its deficit to Don Schumacher Racing teammate and points leader Tony Schumacher from 153 to 80.

“This was a big day for us,” said Antron, the 2012 Top Fuel world champion. “We came to this race and knew our backs were against the wall. The last four races, we’ve been working hard but, no matter what we did, our car was just not cooperating with us. But we got it back. Now, our car, we’re close, we’re competitive and we pulled off this win today.”

In Funny Car, DSR’s Matt Hagan finished runner-up to Courtney Force at Gateway to hold third place in points but cut the deficit to leader John Force’s from 49 to 42 points.

Schumacher, the seven-time world champion with the U.S. Army team, held onto the points lead despite a first-round upset loss Sunday after qualifying third. Schumacher, who has won four titles this year, leads second-place driver Shawn Langdon by 57 points in the standings.

“Last week we went from being 50 points down to a 106-point lead in a matter of 24 hours, so naturally we came here with some huge momentum and planned to keep it going,” Schumacher said. “It’s not a good thing to take a huge lead like we came here with and go out and make a mistake. You can’t give points back like that.

“But, in all reality, I’ll take smoking the tires any day over being underpowered. I don’t mind being aggressive. It’s how you win championships.”

The Mello Yello Series and Countdown to the Championship playoffs moves east to Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., for the 22nd of 24 events beginning Friday to end a run of four events in four weeks. After a three-week break, the Series races Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the finale Nov. 13-16 at Pomona, Calif.
Runner-up finish for Hagan, Mopar Express Lane Funny Car team in Midwest Nationals narrows gap with points leader

– At the halfway point in the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs, Matt Hagan and the Mopar Express Lane team have an impressive record in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

The team led by crew chief Dickie Venables took the event title in the delayed NHRA Carolina Nationals last weekend at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas. And on Sunday, the Mopar Express Lane/Rocky Boots team was runner-up in the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

“All in all it was a very productive day, we stayed third (in points) which is tough to do with only three races left,” Matt said.

Matt is third, 42 points, behind points leader John Force with three races remaining in the Countdown.

The NHRA Mello Yello tour moves on to Reading, Pa., this weekend before taking a three-week hiatus prior to the final two events in Las Vegas and Pomona, Calif., respectively.

Matt didn’t waste any time shifting his focus on getting the job done next weekend at the Reading facility that has a history of producing world record elapsed times.

“We made some good moves, had some good rounds today and obviously we would’ve liked to gotten the win but it just didn’t happen today so we will move on to Reading and hopefully qualify well there and get the job done on race day.

“It’s usually fast there and if history repeats itself that’s where you go out and set world records. It’ll be fun to get there. I’m ready.”
Capps, NAPA team lose chance at big points gain at Gateway

– Ron Capps came close to reaching a goal he and NAPA AUTO PARTS Funny Car crew chief Rahn Tobler had set for Sunday’s championship eliminations of the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

After qualifying No. 8, they knew if they could get past Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman in the first round they could meet John Force, the points leader in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, in the quarterfinals with a chance to knock off the reigning Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car champ and gain enough points that would allow the NAPA Dodge Charger R/T team to move up from their fifth-place standing.

But Force produced a time of 4.111 seconds at 312.50 mph to top Ron’s 4.166 (308.92). Although Force lost in the next round he extended his lead over Capps.

“Saturday night after qualifying we were actually pretty enthusiastic about how the (eliminations) ladder ended up,” Ron said. “We had lane choice against Jack and we wanted to win that one so we could see Force early in the day and get the points leader out so we could gain ground.

“Tobler was trying to increase our speed at halftrack, but he had to tiptoe it after watching a couple cars run ahead of us have trouble.”

Ron didn’t gain ground on Force but took sole position of fifth place in the standings.

“We lost more ground to Force,” he said of falling from 94 to 126 points out of the lead. “You get to the point where you feel like you’re running out of time, but you’re still in it. We’ll have the same mentality going to Maple Grove that we had coming to St. Louis and that is to just win four rounds on Sunday.”

The Mello Yello Series and Countdown to the Championship playoff moves east to Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., for the 22nd of 24 events beginning Friday to end a run of four events in four weeks. After a three-week break, the Series races Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the finale Nov. 13-16 at Pomona, Calif.
Massey ousted in first round of NHRA Midwest Nationals competition, Red Fuel team hopes for better luck next weekend at Maple Grove

– Sunday’s NHRA Midwest Nationals couldn’t have been more picturesque when it came to weather conditions.
The cloudless blue sky and warm temperatures created a great environment for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series fans.

But that’s where the idyllic day ended for Don Schumacher Racing driver Spencer Massey and the Red Fuel Powered by Schumacher Top Fuel dragster team.

It wasn’t an ideal race day when the 10,000-horsepower dragster lost traction in the right lane at Gateway Motorsports Park and the team was unable to advance past the opening round of championship eliminations.

“This is really disappointing,” Spencer said. “Obviously we were hoping for a better race day than that but it just didn’t work out. We knew it was going to be a tough first round race (against Bob Vandergriff Jr.) and we had to give it all we had but it just didn’t make it.”

Since winning two Mello Yello events in a row earlier this season, the Red Fuel dragster has advanced past the second round only once in the past 12 events.

“It has not been a good second half of the season for us and we really want to get that turned around but we’ll have to wait another week. We’ve been struggling, had some bad luck along the way and just can’t seem to dig ourselves out of this hole that we are in.”

There are three NHRA events remaining in the 2014 Mello Yello season including next weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., where Spencer won in 2011 and was runner-up in 2009.

“We’ll take our stuff to Reading where we know we have had a good car in the past and try to change our luck there.”

Spencer fell to seventh in NHRA Top Fuel points standings following the third of six Countdown to the Championship playoff events.

Losing to DSR teammate in opening round at Gateway doesn’t soften blow for Beckman, Valvoline team

– The only races Jack Beckman believes are good ones are the ones he wins.

For fans Sunday in the first round of eliminations of the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, Jack’s race against Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps was a good one and close. Capps won by less than four-hundredths of a second; Jack completed his run in 4.153 seconds at 306.19 mph to Capps’ winning 4.122 (308.50).

“For the fans it was a good race, but as a racer calling it a good race is something you do when you win. When you lose there’s just not a silver lining to it,” Jack said.

Jack and his Valvoline Synpower/Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T last won an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series title at the St. Louis track two years ago en route to winning the Funny Car world championship.

The loss to Capps marked the fourth straight event when Jack’s eliminations day ended in the opening round. It didn’t help Jack’s effort that for the first time in the past four races he did not qualify in the top half of the 16-car field to earn lane choice for the opening round; he qualified ninth that gave Capps, who was seeded No. 8, his pick of lanes.

While Jack did not qualify for the six-event Countdown to the Championship, of which Gateway is the midway point, Capps is in the heat of the battle and winning was vital to him. But that didn’t provide Jack with any comfort.

“I don’t care who’s in the other lane even it it’s one of our other three cars that are in the Countdown,” Jack said.

“I understand the big picture and Capps and the NAPA car beating us might be a good thing for DSR. But right now I’m more concerned for this Valvoline/Infinite Hero team. I want a trophy and we’re running out of opportunities to get it and it’s frustrating.

“We’ll pick up and go to Maple Grove and hope data we gathered this weekend will help us on the next race day.”

The Mello Yello Series moves east to Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa., for the 22nd of 24 events beginning Friday to end a run of four events in four weeks. After a three-week break, the Series races Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the finale Nov. 13-16 at Pomona, Calif.