Photo: NHRA
On a blisteringly hot weekend in the Pacific Northwest at the NHRA Flav-R-Pak Northwest Nationals, Tony Schumacher, who has not even cracked the top ten in the championship standings, piloted his Maynard Family dragster to victory over points leader Brittany Force posting a time of 3.977 secs 251.34 mph (404.49 kph).
Struggling all season through 12 events, Schumacher had won just five rounds. On Sunday, he seemingly came out of nowhere to win four beating Scott Palmer, Shawn Langdon, Justin Ashley, and Force in the final. The final was uneventful from a competitive standpoint with Force burning her tires at the start. However, there was a bit of drama when a sensor in Schumacher's dragster shut down the engine and deployed the parachute short of the finish line, leaving the car to coast across the line. Schumacher, not knowing what happened to Force could only hope to cross the line on top.
Force entered the weekend as the favorite, but the mistake cost her the opportunity to win on consecutive weekends and win in her Flav-R-Pak sponsor's backyard. She once again had a solid qualifying weekend only to come up short in the end and see her margin in the standings over second place Mike Salinas dwindle to 6 points.
In Pro Stock, Coughlin Jr. had been to three finals this year only to be left empty-handed. On Sunday, he was able to pilot his yellow and black JEGS Camaro from the number four qualifying position past Fernando Cuadra, rookie Camrie Caruso, and low qualifier Greg Anderson to meet Erica Enders in the final.
The final epitomized the excitement and parity of the NHRA with Coughlin Jr. beating championship points leader and favorite Enders by just a .0001 second margin, posting a 6.638 secs 208.68 mph (335.84 kph). Ender still leads the standings by 80 points over Aaron Stanfield.
In Funny Car, Robert Hight continued his dominance in the division by piloting his Jimmy Prock-tuned Auto Club Camaro by J.R. Todd’s DHL Toyota with a 3.975 secs 319.98 mph (514.96 kph). Hight leads second-place Matt Hagan in the championship race by 144 points who was eliminated by Hight's boss John Force in round one. Hight found himself in the final by getting by Ron Capps, Alexis Dejoria, and Force.
After a well-deserved week off, the season continues with the Menards NHRA National at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas, August 12th-14th.
Force entered the weekend as the favorite, but the mistake cost her the opportunity to win on consecutive weekends and win in her Flav-R-Pak sponsor's backyard. She once again had a solid qualifying weekend only to come up short in the end and see her margin in the standings over second place Mike Salinas dwindle to 6 points.
In Pro Stock, Coughlin Jr. had been to three finals this year only to be left empty-handed. On Sunday, he was able to pilot his yellow and black JEGS Camaro from the number four qualifying position past Fernando Cuadra, rookie Camrie Caruso, and low qualifier Greg Anderson to meet Erica Enders in the final.
The final epitomized the excitement and parity of the NHRA with Coughlin Jr. beating championship points leader and favorite Enders by just a .0001 second margin, posting a 6.638 secs 208.68 mph (335.84 kph). Ender still leads the standings by 80 points over Aaron Stanfield.
In Funny Car, Robert Hight continued his dominance in the division by piloting his Jimmy Prock-tuned Auto Club Camaro by J.R. Todd’s DHL Toyota with a 3.975 secs 319.98 mph (514.96 kph). Hight leads second-place Matt Hagan in the championship race by 144 points who was eliminated by Hight's boss John Force in round one. Hight found himself in the final by getting by Ron Capps, Alexis Dejoria, and Force.
After a well-deserved week off, the season continues with the Menards NHRA National at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas, August 12th-14th.
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