(Photo Courtesy NHRA)
By Logan Morris
On Sunday, which at the 70th Anniversary of “The Big Go” is defined as ¨bump day¨, there was plenty of anticipation. Perhaps the most stunning development was that Top Fuel World Champion Doug Kalitta will miss the show on Monday after a difficult weekend. It may be surprising, but this weekend is historically known for triumphs and heartbreaks.
The biggest feel-good moment came in the form of Funny Car driver, Paul Lee, defeating Bob Tasca III in the Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout. The win serves as Lee’s first major win in a Funny Car. For Lee, the win serves as validation.
“I've been an NHRA member since 1979. I'm old and I've been driving Funny Cars since 1988. So, they say it's a 36-year overnight success kind of thing, and that's what our goals are. Our goal is to build this team. Eight-month-old team. We're looking to build it to be a top-five car. That's our goal. We want to compete for the Championships. We're not just out here participating, we're out here to learn, make laps, and we want to win races.”
The number one qualifier in Funny Car heading into Sunday is Austin Prock with a run of 3.855 ET at 328.38 MPH. Prock is looking to make his boss proud during the biggest drag race of the year.
“As sad as it is, it's become normal lately. It sucks, you know, we all miss John Force out here and we want him back out here but it's just the way life's working right now. It's a shame and I miss them out here each and every day but he keeps telling me every time I talk to him, ´hold the fort down for me, Prock.´ So that's what we're trying to do. When we have results like we did so far this weekend, for our car and as a whole, at John Force Racing, I know he's smiling and I know he's proud. Our focus right now is to get John Force wins and try to go for a championship.”
(Photo Courtesy NHRA)
In Top Fuel, Brittany Force goes into race day at the top of the board with a 3.693 ET at 333.08 MPH. I had a chance to ask her how she handles the pressure of her current tough position in the points standings.
“I feel like we do pretty well under pressure. There's been so many moments throughout my career for crew chiefs, the whole team, me as a driver, where we really step up. Then we've had moments where we've completely fallen on our face where it was me. I blame myself as a driver, crew chiefs have taken the blame, crew guys have taken the blame, so we've been on both sides of it. But overall, when it comes down to these really crucial moments, we seem to do pretty well”
(Photo Courtesy NHRA)
In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson is the number one qualifier, he ran a 6.575 ET at 207.88 MPH, and in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera is the number one qualifier. He ran a 6.809 ET at 197.71 ET.
Race day at the 70th annual Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals kicks off on Labor Day at 11am ET.
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