





On a side note, Matt Smith is awaiting delivery on one of the Arana’s slippery EBR bodies…the Arana’s have the money in hand (reportedly an eye-catching $25K), but how soon will they let one of these bodies get out of their hands?











Blake Alexander’s 4.011-second pass at 297.81 mph in his Pronto Auto Service dragster took down Terry McMillen and secured his first Top Fuel career victory. “It felt really good,” Alexander stated. “I got a little emotional because I’ve tried to do this my whole life. I’ve come close but have lost sponsors, thought I was never going to drive the car again and basically we have gone through everything to climb back to the top.”
Alexander qualified 12th for the event and defeated Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher and Leah Pritchett before entering his second career final round.

Matt Hagan powered to the Funny Car win with a run of 4.094 at 288.21 in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T to take down points leader Courtney Force in the finals. The two-time world champion locked-in his second victory of the season, and first since the season-opening event in Pomona. “We just had a good solid car all weekend,” Hagan said. “We qualified well and went down the race track pretty much every lap. It’s been a while since we turned on four win lights but it’s a nitro funny car; you never know what you’re going to get.”
Hagan qualified third for the event and defeated teammates Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jack Beckman along with J.R. Todd en route to victory.
Force secured her first runner-up finish of the season after qualifying in the No. 1 position. She defeated John Smith, Shawn Langdon and her father John Force on her way to the finals. “We were actually out ahead of Hagan on a good run in the final when it lost traction and he drove around me to get the win,” she said. “It was still a great race for the Advance Auto Parts Chevy Camaro and my team did another phenomenal job.”
Force, the winningest female in NHRA Funny Car history, set the record for women racers with her eighth No. 1 qualifying effort of the season to break the tie with three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champ Angelle Sampey. It was the 25th low qualifier honor of Force’s career and first in Norwalk.

Tanner Gray was able to take down two-time world champion Erica Enders in the final round for his eighth career victory and third of the season. He’s the only Pro Stock competitor to reach the winner’s circle three times in 2018.
Gray, the No. 6 qualifier, defeated Enders on a holeshot in their second final-round matchup in the past three weeks. Gray, who cut a .008 light, was clocked in 6.615 seconds at 209.62 mph in the Gray Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro SS. Enders, making her fifth final-round appearance of the season, had a pass of 6.608 seconds.
“She obviously just missed it right there,” Gray said about Enders’ .048 light. “I felt like I had not struggled but I was missing it for what I should have been the first three rounds. I was .026, .022 and .022 and I felt like there was more there. I think right there I finally stepped up because I think she and I step up against each other when we race. It’s definitely cool to beat somebody on a holeshot who is known for leaving the starting line, but at the end of the day I know in the back of my mind that she just missed it. The thing I’m most proud of is the race car we have right now.”
“This was definitely a huge accomplishment. We struggled a lot at the beginning of the season. We did a lot of testing and couldn’t really see where that hard work was because the results weren’t showing. It feels good to have finally turned a corner and see where all of the hard work has paid off.”
He took down Chris McGaha, Matt Hartford and Drew Skillman to bring home the win.
Enders now has four runner-up finishes on the year to along with a victory in Charlotte, as her five final rounds are the most in the class in 2018.
Eighth in points after six races, Tanner Gray didn’t envision sitting atop the Pro Stock standings at the halfway mark of the season. “Definitely not the way it started out. All the guys who work on this car dug down deep and have pulled out a very good race car for me. I couldn’t be more proud of them. This is all them. It’s cool knowing you’re leading the points but at the same time you know it’s early. We just have to keep the momentum rolling, and my goal is to be top three going into the Countdown.”


Sunday’s final results from the 12th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The race is the 12th of 24 in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.923, 195.05 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 7.071, 175.39.
Pro Modified — Rickie Smith, Chevy Camaro, 5.804, 249.30 def. Jeremy Ray, Chevy Corvette, 8.987, 101.12.
Top Fuel — Blake Alexander, 4.011 seconds, 297.81 mph def. Terry McMillen, 4.155 seconds, 289.20 mph.
Funny Car — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.094, 288.21 def. Courtney Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.220, 227.54.
Pro Stock — Tanner Gray, Chevy Camaro, 6.615, 209.62 def. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.608, 208.30.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Megan Meyer, 5.320, 277.94 def. Troy Coughlin Jr., 5.369, 275.67.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Ray Drew, Ford Mustang, 10.160, 84.56 def. Ulf Leanders, Chevy Camaro, Foul – Red Light.
Competition Eliminator — David Rampy, Bantam, 7.260, 172.32 def. Jim Primozic Jr., Cobalt, 7.377, 182.16.
Super Stock — John DiBartolomeo, Chevy Camaro, 9.402, 141.71 def. Bob Marshall, Dodge Coronet, 9.432, 136.76.
Stock Eliminator — Todd Hoven, Dodge Coronet, 10.085, 124.59 def. Dick Kincaid, Chevy II, 11.288, 114.28.
Super Comp — Dan Fletcher, Dragster, 9.440, 119.39 def. Brian Folk, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.
Super Gas — Tom Dimond, ’27-T Ford, 9.882, 159.32 def. Joey Shipp, Olds Cutlass, 9.876, 160.84.
Top Dragster presented by RacingRVs.com — John Biagi, Dragster, 6.383, 208.01 def. Bobby Ray McMahan, Dragster, 6.198, 223.88.
Top Sportsman presented by RacingRVs.com — Dusty Meyer, Chevy S-10, 6.977, 194.16 def. Mark McDonald, Ford Mustang, 6.630, 206.80.
Factory Stock Showdown — Joseph Welch, Dodge Challenger, 8.107, 168.07 def. Mark Pawuk, Challenger, 8.115, 168.58.
Final round-by-round results from the 12th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, the 12th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:
ROUND ONE — Angie Smith, Buell, 6.932, 192.17 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.993, 190.19; LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.907, 195.56 def. Mark Paquette, Buell, 6.932, 189.60; Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.906, 193.85 def. Cory Reed, Buell, 6.959, 192.11; Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.896,194.60 def. Hector Arana, Buell, Foul – Red Light; Angelle Sampey, Buell, 6.903, 193.29 def. Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 7.066, 189.71; Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.866, 195.39 def. Ryan Oehler, Buell, 6.964, 193.71; Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 6.926, 193.32 def. Matt Smith, 6.899, 195.48; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.953, 192.69 def. Scotty Pollacheck, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light;
QUARTERFINALS — A. Smith, 6.972, 191.10 def. Underdahl, 7.080, 188.73; Krawiec, 6.889, 193.46 def. Sampey, 6.922, 193.35; Savoie, 6.916, 193.13 def. Hines, 6.991, 192.25; Tonglet, 6.940, 194.58 def. Arana Jr, Foul – Red Light;
SEMIFINALS — Savoie, 7.187, 155.10 def. A. Smith, 7.627, 128.07; Krawiec, 6.865, 194.24 def. Tonglet, 6.898, 195.11;
FINAL — Krawiec, 6.923, 195.05 def. Savoie, 7.071, 175.39.
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Richie Crampton, 3.802, 321.81 def. Pat Dakin, 3.834, 318.24; Mike Salinas, 3.884,
268.38 def. Luigi Novelli, 14.101, 30.94; Terry McMillen, 3.816, 324.98 def. Brittany Force, 9.389, 79.86; Clay Millican, 3.759, 332.26 def. Dom Lagana, 3.837, 323.89; Steve Torrence, 3.800, 329.99 def. Chris Karamesines, 4.052, 300.06; Tony Schumacher, 3.807, 327.66 def. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.902, 306.74; Blake Alexander, 3.802, 319.75 def. Antron Brown, 3.808, 326.71; Leah Pritchett, 3.794, 328.94 def. Doug Kalitta, 3.805, 321.73;
QUARTERFINALS — Alexander, 3.798, 330.15 def. Schumacher, 3.779, 330.31; McMillen, 3.793, 327.11 def. Crampton, 3.810, 320.51; Pritchett, 3.788, 327.74 def. Millican, 3.817, 327.03; Torrence, 4.027, 269.89 def. Salinas, 4.001, 232.07;
SEMIFINALS — McMillen, 3.854, 317.57 def. Torrence, 3.929, 302.96; Alexander, 3.799, 329.91 def. Pritchett, 4.185, 254.28;
FINAL — Alexander, 4.011, 297.81 def. McMillen, 4.155, 289.20.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE — Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.998, 322.58 def. Dale Creasy Jr., Dodge Stratus, 4.338, 224.21; Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.994, 327.19 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.990, 323.27; Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.994, 324.51 def. John Smith, Toyota Camry, 4.373, 248.52; Ron Capps, Charger, 4.034, 315.05 def. Jeff Diehl, Camry, Foul – Red Light; John Force, Camaro, 4.066, 320.13 def. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.140, 311.49; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.047, 319.07 def. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 9.812, 93.13; J.R. Todd, Camry, 4.016, 316.01 def. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 5.438, 142.39; Shawn Langdon, Camry, 4.045, 318.77 def. Del Worsham, Camry, 4.847, 202.00;
QUARTERFINALS — Todd, 4.004, 321.27 def. Capps, 9.588, 81.56; J. Force, 4.085, 319.75 def. Hight, 4.116, 308.07; Hagan, 4.010, 322.27 def. Beckman, 4.022, 321.73; C. Force, 3.971, 325.37 def. Langdon, 4.025, 315.19;
SEMIFINALS — Hagan, 3.981, 320.58 def. Todd, 4.031, 321.50; C. Force, 4.007, 323.58 def. J. Force, 4.053, 321.27;
FINAL — Hagan, 4.094, 288.21 def. C. Force, 4.220, 227.54.
PRO STOCK:
ROUND ONE — Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.632, 208.26 def. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.614, 208.78; Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.607, 209.65 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.603, 209.07; Tanner Gray, Camaro, 6.608, 209.04 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.648, 208.55; Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.616,
208.23 def. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.632, 208.23; Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.626, 208.42 def. John Gaydosh Jr, Chevrolet Camaro, 6.765, 205.66; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.751, 207.40 def. Wally Stroupe, Camaro, 6.802, 203.52; Jason Line, Camaro, 6.599, 208.94 def. Kenny Delco, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.588, 208.88 def. Charlie Westcott Jr., Ford Mustang, 6.848, 201.85; QUARTERFINALS — Butner, 6.671, 207.85 def. Nobile, 7.216, 141.86; Gray, 6.600, 209.04 def.
Hartford, 15.697, 42.27; Skillman, 6.614, 209.14 def. Line, 6.625, 208.59; Enders, 6.634, 207.56 def. Coughlin, 6.737, 207.50; SEMIFINALS — Enders, 6.636, 207.59 def. Butner, 6.651, 208.42; Gray, 6.610, 209.30 def. Skillman, Foul – Red Light; FINAL — Gray, 6.615, 209.62 def. Enders, 6.608, 208.30.
story and photos by Tim Hailey with help from NHRA and team reports