NHRA
JONATHAN GRAY EARNS SECOND CAREER E3 SPARK PLUGS NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES WIN WITH TRIUMPH AT INDY
INDIANAPOLIS – Jonathan Gray raced to his first career E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series victory since 2017 on Sunday as at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, slipping past Bo Butner in the final round as part of the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil.
The Pro Mod race, which was presented by Jerry Bickel Race Cars, was the second of the 2020 season in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service. Gray went 5.5850-seconds at 249.49 mph in his nitrous-powered Camaro to knock off Butner, who went 5.899 at 248.48 in the finals. It gave Gray his second career win in the class in a matchup that featured two standouts driving for the injured Rickie Smith, a multi-time champ in the class.
Prior to last month’s NHRA Pro Mod season-opener, Gray had not raced in the class for nearly three years. But he impressed on Sunday in Indy, reaching the final round with victories against Jeffrey Barker, No. 1 qualifier Khalid Albalooshi and former world champ Mike Janis.
CAPPS GETS FIRST INDY WIN, JOINS S. TORRENCE, J. COUGHLIN JR. AND SAMPEY IN WINNER’S CIRCLE AT DODGE NHRA INDY NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
INDIANAPOLIS – Ron Capps picked up his first career win at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, racing to the Funny Car victory on Sunday at the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil and also giving the longtime standout a win at every track on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit.
Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won in their respective categories at the fifth race of the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and third straight at Indy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Capps won for the first time in 2020 and 65th time in his career with a final-round run of 4.110-seconds at 294.63 mph in his 11,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to beat J.R. Todd in a battle of former world champs. It also gives Don Schumacher Racing its seventh straight Funny Car win and the organization its 349th overall win. Capps beat Tim Wilkerson, Blake Alexander and Bob Tasca III to reach his first final round of the year, leading to a memorable celebration after the first-time Indy win.
TOP FUEL’S MCMILLEN EARNS FIRST CAREER NO. 1, JOINED BY TOP QUALIFIERS JOHNSON JR., LINE AND M. SMITH AT DODGE NHRA INDY NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL
INDIANAPOLIS – Veteran Top Fuel driver Terry McMillen qualified No. 1 for the first time in his NHRA career on Saturday, powering to the top spot during the final qualifying session of the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the fifth race of the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and third straight at Indy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
McMillen, who has two career victories, jumped from 14th to the No. 1 position with a run of 3.807-seconds at 312.28 mph on his final pass of the day in his 11,000-horsepower AMALIE Motor Oil dragster. He will take on Lex Joon to open eliminations, looking for his first win of 2020.
AFTER ENTERTAINING START TO 2020, E3 SPARK PLUGS NHRA PRO MOD DRAG RACING SERIES WILL AWARD ITS FIRST WINNER OF SEASON AT INDY
INDIANAPOLIS – By advancing to the final round of the first race of the 2020 season in the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing 
Series presented by J&A Service, Jason Scruggs and Chad Green put themselves in position to win their first career race in the class.
But with the completion of that race postponed to the upcoming DENSO Auto Parts U.S. Nationals, the chance to grab that first victory now comes this weekend as part of the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil. Like the opener, which took place last month, this race also takes place at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, and Scruggs will again look to put together an impressive weekend in his blown Scruggs Farm Camaro from Jerry Bickel Race Cars.
In just his seventh career NHRA Pro Mod start, Scruggs, who has enjoy remarkable success in his doorslammer career, advanced to his first career final, making significant strides in the off-season.
“We were happy to go some rounds,” Scruggs said. “We knew we could run with everyone here, so I was glad we were able to prove that. At the end of the day, we’ve got a good car. Everything kind of fell into place and we won the close races, and that’s what you have to do at this level. We changed some stuff on the car and the way we were running the car, and it has responded well.”
NHRA TEAMS AMP UP FOR THIRD EVENT AT FAMED LUCAS OIL RACEWAY
INDIANAPOLIS – As NHRA continues its return to racing, the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series teams are gearing up for their third race at Lucas Oil Raceway for the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Aug. 6-9.
In the Top Fuel division, veteran driver Doug Kalitta leads the points thanks to his three final round appearances this season and one win at the season opener in Pomona. Kalitta won the prestigious U.S. Nationals last season in Indianapolis and went on to finish second in the championship standings. With a solid start to the 2020 season, he and his Kalitta Motorsports Mac Tools dragster team hope to carry their success through the rest of the year.
MENARDS NHRA HEARTLAND NATIONALS PRESENTED BY MINTIES POSTPONED UNTIL FALL DUE TO COUNTY RESTRICTIONS
GLENDORA, CA – NHRA announced today that the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties at Heartland Motorsports Park, scheduled for Aug. 21-23 in Topeka, Kan., has been postponed until the fall with an exact date to be determined, for pandemic-related reasons.
NHRA and Heartland Motorsports Park are working together with the Shawnee County Health Department to develop a plan to reschedule the event.
“Topeka is fortunate to have a county health department that sincerely cares about public safety and also understands the economic impact of one of Kansas’ largest events,” said Heartland Motorsports Park owner, Chris Payne. “It is after many conversations, the decision was made to postpone the event to the fall. Heartland Motorsports Park holds many milestone records. The cooler fall weather will not only be more comfortable for the spectators, but also brings favorable conditions, great racing, camping, and the chance of setting new records.”
DODGE, PENNZOIL TO SPONSOR NHRA INDY NATIONALS
GLENDORA, CA – NHRA announced today that Dodge will be the title rights sponsor of the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Aug. 6-9 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
The Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals will be the fifth race of the 2020 season and the third race of NHRA’s return to action after the four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
RAIN POSTPONES FINAL ROUNDS OF LUCAS OIL NHRA SUMMERNATIONALS AT INDIANAPOLIS
INDIANAPOLIS – The final rounds of the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Raceway have been delayed due to inclement weather. After a lengthy rain delay before the finals in Top Fuel and Funny Car, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series officials announced the fourth race of the 2020 season will be completed during the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals, which takes place Sept. 3-6 at Lucas Oil Raceway.
In Top Fuel, a first-time winner will be crowned as T.J. Zizzo and rookie Justin Ashley both advanced to the final round for the first time in their careers. After qualifying eighth in his 11,000-horsepower Rust-Oleum dragster, Zizzo reach the final with victories against Terry Totten, Todd Paton and Terry McMillen. Ashley continued to impress during his standout rookie season, advancing to his first final round in his Strustmasters.com/Menards dragster with victories against Shawn Langdon, points leader Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett. Zizzo or Ashley will also become the 109th different Top Fuel winner in NHRA history.
FUNNY CAR’S TASCA RETURNS TO ACTION, TAKES NO. 1 SPOT ALONGSIDE TOP FUEL’S MILLICAN AT LUCAS OIL NHRA SUMMERNATIONALS AT INDIANAPOLIS
INDIANAPOLIS – In his first race since February, Funny Car’s Bob Tasca III powered to the No. 1 qualifying spot on Saturday during the f
inal session of the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Top Fuel’s Clay Millican also qualified No. 1 at the fourth race of the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
Tasca missed the first race of the NHRA’s season restart last weekend while recovering from COVID-19, but was cleared by doctors to return to competition on Saturday. He followed by picking up his fifth career No. 1 qualifier with a run of 3.991-seconds at 319.07 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang, making the only three-second run in the class on Saturday. Tasca, who was outside the qualifying field heading into the final session, will race Alex Miladinovich the first round of eliminations as he seeks his first victory of 2020.
“That’s a welcome back to NHRA drag racing,” said Tasca, who has six career Funny Car wins. “Being the No. 17 qualifier going into that last session, I’ve just got so much confidence in (crew chief) Mike Neff and these guys. I’ve been in that position before and as a driver, you just don’t want to screw it up. Once it went by half track, that thing was singing.”
DENVER, BRAINERD NHRA EVENTS POSTPONED, THIRD INDIANAPOLIS DATE ADDED
GLENDORA, CA – NHRA announced today that the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil at Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Colo. (Aug. 7-9) and the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn. (Aug. 14-16) have been postponed until further notice, for pandemic-related reasons. NHRA also announced the new NHRA Indy Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Aug. 6-9. Qualifying for the new Indy event will air on FS1 and final eliminations will air on the FOX Broadcast Network. The NHRA Indy Nationals will feature an extravaganza of professional and sportsman racing over four days, with limited spectators per Indiana guidelines.
The Bandimere family, owners of Bandimere Speedway, home of the Dodge Mile-High Nationals, stated that, “Given our long-standing relationship with not only the NHRA and our Chrysler/Mopar/Dodge Mile-High Nationals sponsor but also all the racers, fans and additional sponsors who give our event its support, we are dedicated to finding a date for our event to work this year. We recognize that by postponing the event, we stand a much greater chance of having an event with more flexibility for everyone and we look forward to some amazing racing action.”
