Photo courtesy of USA Today
Jason Line following up his 2011 Pro Stock championship with a runner-up finish in 2012, and Antron Brown becoming the first African-American to win a major U.S. auto racing title, are just two of the headlines from NHRA’s final Full Throttle event of the year this past weekend in Pomona, CA.
Allen Johnson continued the Pro Stock dominance he has demonstrated for much of the year, capturing another Wally Sunday to cap off his impressive championship season.
Antron Brown celebrates his first Top Fuel title.
In Top Fuel, Brown was eliminated in the first round, and was forced to watch as Tony Schumacher kept winning rounds and cutting into his points lead. Heading into the final round, a Schumacher victory over Brandon Bernstein would have handed Schumacher another Top Fuel championship.
Instead, Bernstein beat Schumacher on a photo-finish hole shot, earning Brown his spot in auto racing history.
“I feel so blessed to be in this moment right now and this is a big, huge moment,” Brown said in a post-race interview with NHRA. “I am just glad we could bring it home for Don Schumacher Racing. To win the world championship the way the competition has been this year in Top Fuel and to run and compete how we’ve been doing all season long is just phenomenal.”
Jack Beckman, whose car literally exploded in qualifying last week, won the Funny Car title by outlasting Ron Capps on Sunday.
The entire crew at OnAllCylinders wants to tip our collective cap to Jason Line and Greg Anderson. Let’s not forget these guys had the top two positions in the point standings locked down before retiring their Pontiac GXPs and unveiling their new Pro Stock Camaros mid-season.
Photo courtesy of NHRA.com
Line is the chief engine tuner for Anderson. And Anderson is the same for Line. And these guys just kept getting faster and faster as the season wore on.
Line actually set the Pomona track record yesterday on the pass in which he was eliminated by Vincent Nobile, who cut a .002 light.
We’re already looking forward to next season. A lot.
The 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series kicks off Feb. 14-17 at the NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Summary of Eliminations from NHRA Final in Pomona
Top Fuel — Brandon Bernstein, 3.762 seconds, 320.81 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.753 seconds, 325.53 mph.
Funny Car — Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Camry, 4.035, 306.12 def. Courtney Force, Ford Mustang, 7.878, 75.79.
Pro Stock — Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 6.528, 212.76 def. Vincent Nobile, Avenger, 6.533, 211.66.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.766, 198.29 def. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.805, 197.54.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Chris Demke, 5.236, 274.00 def. Jim Whiteley, 5.248, 275.84.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — John Lombardo Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.599, 261.02 def. Tony Bartone, Ford Mustang, 5.641, 263.62.
Competition Eliminator — Doug Lambeck, Pontiac Sunfire, 8.313, 160.90 def. Bo Butner, Chevy Cobalt, 8.285, 162.39.
Super Stock — Abe Loewen, Pontiac Grand Am, 9.698, 139.91 def. Jimmy DeFrank, Chevy Cobalt, 10.631, 89.49.
Stock Eliminator — Eric Waldo, Ford Mustang, 10.657, 125.24 def. Gary Waldo, Chevy Nova, foul.
Super Comp — Cameron Ferre, Dragster, 8.943, 167.93 def. Matt Constant, Dragster, 8.927, 174.68.
Super Gas — Ryan Herem, Chevy Corvette, 9.958, 147.17 def. Peter Bothe, Porsche, 9.868, 145.05.
Final NHRA Championship Points Standings
Top Fuel
1. Antron Brown, 2,555; 2. Tony Schumacher, 2,548; 3. Spencer Massey, 2,505; 4. Shawn Langdon, 2,450; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 2,450; 6. Doug Kalitta, 2,341; 7. Morgan Lucas, 2,338; 8. Bob Vandergriff, 2,336; 9. Steve Torrence, 2,300; 10. David Grubnic, 2,260.
Funny Car
1. Jack Beckman, 2,610; 2. Ron Capps, 2,608; 3. Mike Neff, 2,497; 4. Cruz Pedregon, 2,429; 5. Courtney Force, 2,383; 6. Johnny Gray, 2,357; 7. Robert Hight, 2,302; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 2,293; 9. John Force, 2,281; 10. Jeff Arend, 2,267.
Pro Stock
1. Allen Johnson, 2,756; 2. Jason Line, 2,571; 3. Vincent Nobile, 2,512; 4. Erica Enders, 2,507; 5. Greg Anderson, 2,365; 6. Mike Edwards, 2,347; 7. V. Gaines, 2,324; 8. Ron Krisher, 2,290; 9. Jeg Coughlin, 2,271; 10. Larry Morgan, 2,198.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Eddie Krawiec, 2,773; 2. Andrew Hines, 2,691; 3. Hector Arana Jr, 2,502; 4. Hector Arana, 2,432; 5. Karen Stoffer, 2,386; 6. Matt Smith, 2,370; 7. Scotty Pollacheck, 2,323; 8. Michael Ray, 2,316; 9. LE Tonglet, 2,292; 10. Shawn Gann, 2,239.
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