The second round of the National Hot Rod Association's Countdown to the Championship takes place this weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the Betway NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway. The first event last weekend to earn the coveted NHRA championship certainly lived up to all expectations with a rather big surprise.
Here is a recap of the inaugural Countdown event last weekend in the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals to get you ready for what is expected to be another exciting weekend in Charlotte.
Teams work all season through the first sixteen events to secure a spot in the Countdown. Sure, it is nice to get a win in any event but, the real focus is establishing consistency by getting to know your equipment and fine-tuning it to perform in the last six Countdown events.
In Round 1 at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals last weekend, nowhere was that more evident than in the camp of Austin Prock, who began the Countdown as the final qualifier in the Top Fuel class of 12 cars. He drove his Montana Brand Rocky Mountain Twist to a first-place finish in the Countdown's inaugural event by beating new points leader Justin Ashley in the final. His victory vaulted Prock from twelfth place to sixth place in the standings just 74 points out of the lead with five events remaining.
The big surprise of the weekend was the mechanical failure of points leader Brittany Force in Round 2 that knocked her out of the event in a fireball. Watch the stunning video below.
There were no such surprises in the Funny Car class as the dominance of Robert Hight once again reigned supreme. Hight won his seventh event of the season and is poised to capture his fourth NHRA world championship. He arrives with his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS in Charlotte with an 81-point lead over second-place Matt Hagan.
The Pro Stock class has been dominated by points leader and four-time world champion Erica Enders and nothing would indicate that will change anytime soon. It was her first win at Maple Grove and sent a message to the rest of the Pro Stock 14-car field that she remains the one to beat.
Reed Motorsports Suzuki Hayabusa rider Joey Gladstone bounced back from a bad outing at Indy to beat Matt and Angie Smith to reclaim the lead in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.
As has been mentioned before on autoevolution, all of the teams vying for the championship are legitimate contenders where one will ultimately win while others will play spoiler roles. As a testament to this high-speed sport, anything can happen at any given time, opening the door for others to blast through. Expect the unexpected again this weekend and look for Brittany Force to rebound from her Round 1 failure.
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