NHRA kicks off 2022 season with Winternationals, Ashley, Hight and Enders grab wins

by KyraSage 20 February, 2022, 7:52 pm 117 Views

Good afternoon race fans!

If you’re hearing from me on a Sunday afternoon that can only mean one thing, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is back and if the rest of the season is like this weekend, we are in for a great one!

One thing that we saw a lot of leading up to this weekend, and highlighted this weekend, is the emergence of the single car and new teams in the nitro categories and they kept everyone on their toes.

Starting in Top Fuel, on the left side of the ladder, we have a driver that I and many others are excited to welcome back to competition, Austin Prock. He’s back with John Force Racing and started his first race weekend of 2022 qualified 4th. In the first round he faced No. 13 qualified, the always tough, Clay Millican. It started off as a good race, but Clay ran into some problems, so with a 3.72 to a 4.35, Austin was into the second round. In the second round he took on someone else making their return to competition, Tony Schumacher. This was the first time the two of them have faced each other in competition and on paper it looked to be a fantastic race. In the end Tony ran into some problem pretty much immediately, eventually running an 8.51 while Austin went a to b with a 3.78. His semifinal matchup was against his teammate and very tough competitor, Brittany Force. This was an incredibly close race, that ended with them both banging the blowers are the end, but with a 3.68 to a 3.70, Austin and the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist team were into the finals. On the other side of the ladder. No 2 qualified Justin Ashley started his day by taking on No. 15 Jim Maroney. It was a decent race, but with a 3.69 to a 4.05, Justin was into the second round. In the second round Justin faced his longtime friend and the man his team has a technical and research and development alliance with, Antron Brown. This was a good and close race, but with a 3.69 to a 3.74, Justin was into the semifinals. In the semifinals he took on the defending Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence. This race was very close the entire time, but with a 3.70 to a 3.73, Justin and the Phillips Connect team were into the finals. This was the type of final we love to see, the young guns battling it out. Both Justin and Austin are great leavers, seen in their (.050) and (.049) reaction times, and they were close the whole way down the track, but in the end, with a 3.69 to a 3.71, Justin took home the Wally.

In the Funny Car ranks, defending Funny Car champion and new team owner, Ron Capps wasted no time in showing that he was here to defend his title. He qualified No. 1 and started his day by taking on the No. 16 qualified John Force, what a way to start the first race day of the year! John ran into problems almost immediately, eventually running a 10.41, while Ron went a to b with a 3.92. In the second round, Ron faced the always tough JR Todd. It started out as a good race, but JR ran into some problems, so with a 3.89 to a 4.23, Ron was into to semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against Cruz Pedregon. It was a really good race, and with a 3.88 to a 3.91, Ron and the NAPA Auto Parts team were into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, No. 2 qualified Robert Hight started his day by taking on No. 15 Jason Rupert. Jason had problems, resulting in him nudging the wall and being DQ’d while Robert went a to b with a 3.89. In the second round Robert faced Tony Jurado. Tony had problems almost immediately, eventually coasting to an 8.64, while Robert again, went a to b with a 3.89. Robert’s semifinal matchup was against the always tough Matt Hagan. It started out as a good race, but Hagan dropped some cylinders, and with a 3.86 to a 4.02, Robert and the AAA team were into the finals. If we see Funny Car finals this close all season, then we are going to be incredibly entertained. This was a great race from the get go, but in the end, with a 3.86 to a 3.88, Robert took the win and came away with the Wally.

The trend of the No. 1 qualifier having a good day continued. No. 1, Erica Enders started her day by taking on No. 16 qualified Cristian Cuadra. This was a good race, but with a 6.55 to a 6.58, Erica was into the second round. Erica’s second round matchup was against 2021 Rookie of the Year, Dallas Glenn. It was very close, but with a 6.56 to a 6.57, Erica was into the semifinals. In the semifinals Erica took on the defending Pro Stock champion, Greg Anderson. It started off as a good race, but Greg got loose, running a 6.79, while Erica went a to b with a 6.56, putting her and the Melling Performance/Elite team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder No. 2 qualified Aaron Stanfield started his day by taking on No. 15 qualified Troy Coughlin Jr. It was a good and close race, but with a 6.53 to a 6.56, Aaron was into the second round. In the second round he faced Rodger Brogdon. This is the first time they have faced each other in competition and it was a good race, but with a 6.56 to a 6.59, Aaron was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against Fernando Cuadra Jr. It was a decent race, Cuadra Jr had a slight starting line advantage, (.023) to (.031) but Stanfield was able to run him down and with a 6.56 to a 6.63, Aaron and the Janac Brothers Racing team were into the finals. On paper this should have been a great race, Stanfield had the starting line advantage, (.027) to (.050) but had immediate tire shake, eventually running a 13.25, while Erica ran a to b with a 6.55 and picked up the Wally.