Sunday afternoon marked the first time this season that the NHRA Camping World Drag Series opened up at the GatorNationals. 2021 was the 52nd time in GatorNationals history that NHRA competed on the historic drag strip and what an interesting Sunday it was.
Three champions from last year Erica Enders in Pro Stock, Don Schumacher’s Matt Hagan in Funny Car, and Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence were both eliminated early on in the rounds which created a unique twist as the rounds wore on.
Funny Car
Ron Capps who took home the No. 1 qualifier spot following the Saturday qualifying sessions was looking to keep his win streak alive after winning the GatorNationals last year over Tim Wilkerson. Capps faced No. 16 Jim Campbell and won by going 3.923 seconds and 323.74 mph to advance to the quarter final round.
Things were looking up for Capps, but his chances for a repeat quickly diminished in the second round. Capps was defeated by Bob Tasca and ended the 14 race winning streak for Don Schumacher Racing that started last year.
With Tasca advancing over Capps, Tasca would wind up facing returning John Force Racing driver Robert Hight in the semi-final. Meanwhile, JR Todd advanced to the semi-final by gaining victories over Bobby Bode in Round 1 and Team Owner John Force in Round 2.
In the semi-final, JR Todd defeated Cruz Pedregon and Hight won against Tasca to advance to the finals meaning Todd and Hight would face each other for the Wally.
As the two cars got to the staging lanes for the final round, both Todd and Hight had a small pedal fest with both drivers smoking the tires. Hight was unable to hang on and JR Todd went onto win for the 19th time of his NHRA Funny Car career. The Gainesville victory was Todd’s first of his career.
“It’s amazing to be among the legends who have won this race,” Todd said. “This is Don Garlits country down here in Gainesville. First off, I have to thank the legend Connie Kalitta for the opportunity to earn one of these trophies. Today was tough. No offense to all the other drivers out there, but in my opinion, Robert Hight is the best driver out here. That team sets the benchmark for the rest of us. Our DHL Toyota Camry went out there and blew the tires off and I thought, ‘Oh man, here we go.’ I just kind of rolled into the throttle, he never came by us and here we are holding another (Wally).”
By finishing second, Hight earned his 30th career runner-up finish.
Funny Car Results
- J.R. Todd
- Robert Hight
- Bob Tasca III
- Cruz Pedregon
- Tim Wilkerson
- Alexis DeJoria
- Ron Capps
- John Force
- Matt Hagan
- Paul Lee
- Bobby Bode
- Blake Alexander
- Dave Richards
- Chad Green
- John Smith
- Jim Campbell
Top Fuel
For Top Fuel, the 2020 and three-time champion Steve Torrence started out his weekend right by gaining the No. 1 qualifier spot and winning in round one over Joe Morrison. Torrence advanced to round two after 3.714 seconds and 328.06 mph and Morrison’s car could not get going.
With Torrence continuing his Top Fuel dominance, Top Fuel newcomer Josh Hart was the biggest story out of the weekend. Hart qualified eighth and was squared up against No. 9 Clay Millican for round one. Hart got his first round victory with an ET of 4.529 seconds and 169.57 mph. In round two, Hart continued to advance after upsetting Steve Torrence when Torrence went up in smoke on the left lane. Hart would be paired with 2020 Rookie of the Year Justin Ashley for his first semi-final apperance.
During the warm-up, Ashley’s car had a mechanical malfunction which saw his Strutmasters car not leave the staging lane. When the Christmas tree lights went green, Ashley’s car sat idle and Hart once again powered to a 3.811 and 325.14 mph to the final round where he faced veteran Shawn Langdon. Langdon advanced to the finals by winning over a tire hazing Antron Brown.
Hart ended up winning over the Team Kalitta entry of Langdon for his first ever Top Fuel victory in his first professional start. Hart’s ET was 3.826 and had an mph of 323.66 over Langdon’s 4.244 and 219.08 mph.
“Never in a million years would I have thought this was going to happen,” Hart said. “I’ve wanted to do this for a really long time and to do it in Top Fuel is just amazing. (Crew chief) Ron Douglas gave me an amazing car and the guys have worked their butts off. It’s just amazing. That thing was a monster going down the track.”
Top Fuel Results
- Josh Hart
- Shawn Langdon
- Antron Brown
- Justin Ashley
- Leah Pruett
- Billy Torrence
- Steve Torrence
- Doug Kalitta
- Brittany Force
- Mike Salinas
- Scott Palmer
- Doug Foley
- Clay Millican
- Arthur Allen
- Mike Bucher
- Joe Morrison
Pro Stock
On his 60th birthday, Greg Anderson picked up his fifth Gainesville win and the 95th victory of his career. The victory is his first since 2016. Anderson qualified his Summit Materials Camaro on the pole and was up against No. 16 Cristian Cuadra in round one. Anderson piloted to the second round after Anderson set an ET of 6.550 and 211.13 mph. In the second and third round, Anderson won over Alex Laughlin and Deric Kramer to advance to the final.
Meanwhile, Troy Coughlin Jr in the JEGS machine scored victories against Aaron Stanfield, Fernando Cuadra Jr, and Mason McGaha to set up a final round match up between him and Anderson. The final round would mark the 119th time in Anderson’s career that he would face someone named Coughlin.
However, the victory would go to Anderson who won by going 6.602 seconds and 209.33 mph.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve held one of those trophies, and I’ve said it a million times in my career, you always wonder if you’ll be able to do it again,” Anderson said. “I guess you’re not human if you don’t have doubts, and it’s a shame to have those thoughts, but I think it’s good in a way because it drives you to work harder every day. You just want to have that feeling again so bad. To finally get back to the winner’s circle a year and a half later, and to do it on my birthday, well that makes this a win that I’ll never forget.”
Four-time champion Erica Enders failed to make it out of the first round, as she was defeated by Fernando Cuadra Jr.
Pro Stock Results
- Greg Anderson
- Troy Coughlin Jr
- Deric Kramer
- Mason McGaha
- Kyle Koretsky
- Alex Laughlin
- Matt Hartford
- Fernando Cuadra Jr
- Kenny Delco
- Erica Enders
- Dallas Glenn
- Val Smeland
- Chris McGaha
- Bob Benza
- Aaron Stanfield
- Cristian Cuadra
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Pro Stock Motorcycle division also saw some unique twist this weekend. On Saturday afternoon during qualifying, four drivers Angie and Matt Smith, Angelle Sampey, and Hector Arana Jr all went over 200 mph.
The defending champion Matt Smith qualified second, while Sampey earned the No. 1 qualifier. Both drivers advanced to the second round with Sampey gaining a victory over Michael Phillips and Smith winning over James Underdahl. With the top two drivers in qualifying advancing to the next round, the running order wouldn’t stay that way for long. Sampey was bumped out by Scotty Pollacheck over a hole shot. Pollacheck’s reaction time was .002 while Sampey’s was .015. Smith moved on to the semi-final after defeating Hector Arana Jr.
Eventually, the final round match up would be set with Matt Smith going up against Ryan Oehler. Smith won for the 27th time of his career after hitting 200.65 mph and 6.785 seconds.
“I just have to go up there and race my lane,” said Smith, a four-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion. “This bike was on mean this weekend. We weren’t able to quite get the E.T. we needed, but this bike was running the speed.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle Results
- Matt Smith
- Ryan Oehler
- Steve Johnson
- Scotty Pollacheck
- Hector Arana Jr
- Angelle Sampey
- Karen Stoffer
- Chris Bostick
- Joey Gladstone
- Angie Smith
- Cory Reed
- Michael Phillips
- Kelly Clontz
- Jim Underdahl
- John Hall
- Jerry Savoie
Funny Car Championship Points
- J.R. Todd, 114
- Robert Hight, -19
- Cruz Pedregon, -41
- Bob Tasca III, -42
- Ron Capps, -50
- Alexis Dejoria, -54
- Tim Wilkerson, -57
- John Force, -58
- Matt Hagan, -80
- Chad Green, -82
- Paul Lee, -82
- Blake Alexander, -82
Top Fuel Championship Points
- Josh Hart, 113
- Shawn Langdon, -19
- Justin Ashley, -41
- Antron Brown, -41
- Steve Torrence, -49
- Billy Torrence, -51
- Leah Pruett, -56
- Doug Kalitta, -59
- Brittany Force, -78
- Mike Salinas, -79
Pro Stock Championship Standings
- Greg Anderson, 123
- Troy Coughlin Jr, -30
- Deric Kramer, -46
- Mason McGaha, -51
- Matt Hartford, -64
- Kyle Koretsky, -67
- Alex Laughlin, -71
- Fernando Cuadra Jr, -72
- Erica Enders, -79
- Kenny Delco, -89
Pro Stock Motorcycle Championship Standings
- Matt Smith, 119
- Ryan Oehler, -23
- Steve Johnson, -45
- Scotty Pollacheck, -46
- Angelle Sampey, -52
- Karen Stoffer, -64
- Hector Arana Jr, -65
- Chris Bostick, -68
- Joey Gladstone, -79
- Kelly Clontz, John Hall, Corey Reed, and Angie Smith tied for 10th.
Up Next: The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will take a brief hiatus before heading to their second race of the season, scheduled for April 9-11 for the Lucas Oil Winternationals in Pomona, California.
