The 2022 NHRA season began at the Winternationals last February at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, and it came to a thrilling conclusion at the exact same track over the weekend. So let’s start with talking about the event winners before moving on to the overall champions in this 2022 season-ending OnAllCylinders NHRA Wrap-Up.
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2022 Auto Club NHRA Finals Pro Stock Results
To say that the Pro Stock Final was an emotional one would be a serious understatement.
It was announced earlier that longtime KB Racing team owner Ken Black would be retiring after the Pomona race—essentially ending a 20-year racing tenure with driver Greg Anderson. So it was a fitting conclusion to a long and successful partnership as Anderson grabbed the Wally with a holeshot win over eventual season champ Erica Enders on Sunday. (What a great way to begin retirement!)
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2022 Auto Club NHRA Finals Top Fuel Results
Both Austin Prock and Antron Brown followed similar story arcs during their 2022 NHRA campaigns. After relatively slow starts to the season, both picked up speed over the summer and the two faced off as the final pair of competitors on the 2022 NHRA calendar in Pomona. But it was Prock who would ultimately nab the Wally and close the book on NHRA drag racing for 2022.
Prock got to to the Final Round by knocking off Brittany Force in the Third Round—but that didn’t stop Force from grabbing the 2022 NHRA Top Fuel Season Champ honors after contender Justin Ashely got bounced after the first round of Eliminations. (Force, Brown, and Prock would eventually finish 1-2-3 in the standings.)
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2022 Auto Club NHRA Finals Funny Car Results
Paired up against eventual 2022 NHRA Funny Car Champ (and number one qualifier) Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon raced to victory with a 3.839 second, 335.65 mph effort. Interestingly, Capps had pretty much locked up the 2022 season title thanks to a solid qualifying performance in the previous rounds, yet needed one final, clean pass to make it official. Suffice it to say, both racers had grins on their faces after the run.
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2022 Auto Club NHRA Finals Pro Stock Motorcycle Results
Anyone watching the NHRA PSM ranks lately has heard the name Smith mentioned a lot. And though it was Matt Smith who locked up the 2022 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship, it was his wife Angie who hoisted the Wally on Sunday. She got a starting line advantage against competitor Joey Gladstone in the Finals, on her way to her third Wally of the year.
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2022 NHRA Season Champions
After over 20 National events, it was time to declare some NHRA Champions. While some racers had locked-up their titles early, a few others had to wait until the smoke cleared in Pomona before the celebrations began. Either way, our hats are off for their championship efforts, CONGRATULATIONS!
- 2022 NHRA Pro Stock Champion: Erica Enders
- 2022 NHRA Top Fuel Champion: Brittany Force
- 2022 NHRA Funny Car Champion: Ron Capps
- 2022 NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Champion: Matt Smith
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NHRA Drag Racing will return for the 2023 season at the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida March 9 – 12, 2023.
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Final 2022 NHRA Championship Points Standings
PRO STOCK
- Erica Enders, 2,823
- Greg Anderson, 2,581
- Aaron Stanfield, 2,575
- Troy Coughlin Jr., 2,538
- Kyle Koretsky, 2,459
- Matt Hartford, 2,397
- Dallas Glenn, 2,375
- Christian Cuadra, 2,295
- Bo Butner, 2,265
- Deric Kramer, 2,259
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TOP FUEL
- Brittany Force, 2,596
- Antron Brown, 2,534
- Austin Prock, 2,514
- Justin Ashley, 2,510
- Mike Salinas, 2,461
- Steve Torrence, 2,443
- Josh Hart, 2,419
- Clay Millican, 2,348
- Shawn Langdon, 2,339
- Doug Kalitta, 2,335
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FUNNY CAR
- Ron Capps, 2,682
- Robert Hight, 2,679
- Matt Hagan, 2,587
- Bob Tasca III, 2,504
- John Force, 2,490
- Cruz Pedregon, 2,410
- Alexis DeJoria, 2,372
- J.R. Todd, 2,344
- Tim Wilkerson, 2,343
- Blake Alexander, 2,199
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PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
- Matt Smith, 2,610
- Joey Gladstone, 2,528
- Angie Smith, 2.519
- Jerry Savoie, 2,432
- Steve Johnson, 2,407
- Angelle Sampey, 2,353
- Eddie Krawiec, 2,306
- Marc Ingwersen, 2,284
- Karen Stoffer, 2,253
- Ryan Oehler, 2,229
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