NHRA heads to Ohio Salinas, Hight, Enders, Sampey scoop out wins

by KyraSage 26 June, 2022, 6:41 pm 162 Views

Good afternoon race fans!

This weekend the NHRA traveling circus landed in Norwalk, Ohio for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals and what an up and down race it was. The up was definitely the quality of racing we saw. The down was the lengthy rain delay that we had to wait out before we got to run the finals. The cool thing about Norwalk is the track is famous for their one pound of ice cream for one dollar, so the winners also get an ice cream scoop to signify their win.

Starting with the Top Fuel classes, on the left side of the ladder, No. 4 qualified Josh Hart started his day by taking on No. 13 Spencer Massey. Spencer went red by (-.229) giving Josh the win immediately and he went 3.75. In the second round he faced the tough Austin Prock. This was a very close race, Josh had the advantage off the line, (.038) to (.063) and that give him the hole shot and his 3.81 bested Austin’s 3.80. His semifinal matchup was against the very tough Brittany Force. This was another very good race, both runs were straight and true, a to b, but Josh was first off the line and never looked back. His 3.75 bested Brittany’s 3.78 putting him and the R & L Carriers team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, No. 3 qualified Mike Salinas started his day by taking on No. 14 Tony Schumacher. Tony had the lead until the 1/8 mile when his car decided to ditch the blower belt and Mike was able to drive around with a 3.75 to Tony’s 3.79. In the second round he faced the always tough Doug Kalitta. This was a perfect example of high level racing. Mike had the advantage off the line, (.049) to (.070), and never trailed. It ended up being incredibly close at the stripe, but Mike’s 3.771 bested Doug’s 3.776. His semifinal matchup was against Leah Pruett, who I feel has really turned a corner with her car, and that’s great to see. Leah went up in smoke almost immediately while Mike dropped cylinders down track, but won anyway with a 3.82 to her 6.06, putting him and the Scrappers Racing team into the finals. On paper this was going to be a very close race, but when it came down to it, Mike left first and kept that lead. Josh had engine issues that didn’t help him any and in the end it was Mike and his 3.70 to Josh’s 3.78 that gave him the win, the Wally and the ice cream scoop.

In the Funny Car ranks round one held a scary moment that thankfully turned out alright. Ron Capps faced off against Dale Creasy Jr. They both went up in smoke but Dale got really loose and and moved across the centerline and really close to Ron. Ron had gotten back on the throttle and there was no contact, but it was sketchy and the most important thing is that everyone is alright. On the left side of the ladder, No. 4 qualified Bob Tasca III started his day by taking on No. 13 Mike McIntire Jr. Mike went red by (-.128) giving Bob the win immediately and he went 3.92. In the second round he took on Matt Hagan who has been on an absolute roll recently. Matt went up in smoke at about the 300 foot mark, but Bob had been leading from the beginning, so he kept going and with a 3.99 to a 4.65, Bob was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against the aforementioned Ron Capps. It was a very close race, Ron had the advantage off the line, but Bob quickly caught up and didn’t look back. His 3.93 bested Ron’s 3.97, putting him and the Ford team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder No. 3 qualified Robert Hight started his day by taking on No. 14 Jim Campbell. This one was all Robert all the way, his 3.90 bested Jim’s 4.09 and he was moving on. In the second round he faced Alexis DeJoria. This again was Robert all the way, he had the advantage off the line and never looked back so with a 3.99 to a 4.65, he was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against the tough JR Todd. This was a good and close race, but with a 3.89 to a 3.91 Robert and the AAA team were into the finals. This was a very good final. Both drivers were on their game and it showed. In the end it was Robert that took the win with a 3.94 to Bob’s 3.96. Robert not only takes home the win, the Wally and the ice cream scoop but he also takes over the points lead.

In the Pro Stock ranks we saw what has become a pattern as of late. On the left side of the ladder No. 1 qualified Erica Enders started her day by taking on No. 16 Fernando Cuadra Jr. This was a decent race, but with a 6.59 to a 6.68 Erica was moving on. In the second round she face Matt Hartford. They were essentially even off the line, Matt had a very slight advantage, (.025) to (.027) but in the end it was Erica’s 6.63 that bested Matt’s 6.64. Her semifinal matchup was against Deric Kramer. This one was all Erica, she had the advantage off the line, (.025) to (.045) and never looked back with her 6.61 to his 6.65 putting her and the Melling Performance/Elite team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, and you can stop me if you’ve heard this before, No. 3 qualified Aaron Stanfield started his day by taking on No. 14 Troy Coughlin Jr. They were close off the line, but it was all Stanfield after that with his 6.64 besting Troy’s 6.68 and putting him into the second round. In the second round he faced Mason McGaha. Mason was away first, just slightly, but rattled the tires, while Aaron went a to b with a 6.68 to Mason’s eventual 6.87. His semifinal matchup was against Kyle Koretsky. Kyle went red by (-.015) giving Aaron the win immediately. Aaron had really aggressive tire shake so he pushed in the clutch and coasted to a winning 16.95, putting him and the Janac Bros Racing team into the finals. This was one of those races where you knew as soon as those lights dropped what was going to happen. Erica was (.018) on the tree to Aaron’s (.041) and she kept out front the entire time with her 6.62 besting Aaron’s 6.65, giving her the win, the Wally and the ice cream scoop.

In the world of Pro Stock Motorcycle, on the left side of the ladder No. 5 qualified Joey Gladstone started his day by taking on No. 12 Jimmy Underdahl. Jimmy had a near perfect light (.003), but had bike issues almost immediately while Joey went a to b with a 6.89 to Jimmy’s eventual 6.98. In the second round he faced the tough Karen Stoffer. Karen was way slow off the line with a (.135) with Joey pulled a (.018) and was able to hold her off and get the hole shot win with a 6.90 to a 6.85. His semifinal matchup was against Hector Arana Jr. Hector went red by (-.038) giving Joey the win immediately and he went 6.93, putting him and the Reed Motorsports team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder No. 2 qualified Angelle Sampey started her day by taking on No. 15 Ron Tornow. Ron went red by (-.014) giving Angelle the win immediately and she went 6.95. In the second round she faced the tough Matt Smith. This was a good race, Matt had the advantage off the line, (.054) to (.082) but Angelle caught up by half track and never looked back. Her 6.89 bested Matt’s 6.94 and she was moving on. Her semifinal matchup was against Jerry Savoie. This one was all Angelle. She had the advantage off the line, (.061) to (.127) and kept it the whole way down the track with her 6.85 besting Jerry’s 6.99 and putting her and the Vance and Hines/Mission Foods team into the finals. This was the first final after the rain delay and the track looked really good. But this was all Angelle all the way. She was away first and kept it that way, with her 6.86 besting Joey’s 6.92, giving her the win, the Wally and the ice cream scoop.