Sunday, May 15, 2011

BROWN GETS FOURTH ATLANTA DRAGWAY WIN; BECKMAN, LINE, TONGLET ALSO WINNERS IN ATLANTA

COMMERCE, Ga. – Antron Brown held off his teammate Tony Schumacher as he raced to his second win of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Jack Beckman, Jason Line and LE Tonglet also won in their respective categories at the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.


Brown drove his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.856-second run at 318.69 mph to hold off teammate Tony Schumacher and earn his second win of the season, 27th of his career and fourth at Atlanta Dragway (two in Top Fuel, two in Pro Stock Motorcycle).

“It was tough all weekend,” said Brown. “Qualifying didn’t go like we wanted it to of course. But our boys just pulled together like they did in Vegas and when race day comes, the game face goes on. Any given Sunday anybody can win it. We came out here this weekend and just took it one round at a time.”

With the win Brown moved up to the second spot in the Top Fuel point standings, 70 points behind leader Del Worsham, who lost in the first round of eliminations to Shawn Langdon.

In Funny Car, fellow Don Schumacher Racing driver Beckman also collected his second win of the season. Beckman powered his Aaron’s/Valvoline Dodge Charger to a 4.111 at 311.05 to charge past points leader Mike Neff in the final round. The win was the 11th of Beckman's career win and his second win at Atlanta Dragway.

“Any win is good,” said Beckman. “You take everybody serious. But beating a John Force car has kind of got a nice topping on that ice cream sundae if you know what I mean. They are at the top of their game.”

Beckman moved up to the second spot in the Funny Car points standings with the win, 20 points behind leader and runner up Neff.

Jason Line held off teammate Greg Anderson in an all Summit Racing Pro Stock final to secure his third win of the season and first at his sponsor’s event. Line drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.600 at 208.42 to get his 23rd career win in Pro Stock.

“It was a good day, it really was,” said Line. “After the semis, Greg and I got down there and we were excited. We felt we needed a miracle to win because we didn’t feel like we performed like we should’ve. But somehow we got it. But Summit won today and that was the biggest thing.”

The final round matchup between Line and Anderson gave the two drivers the first and second place spot in the point standings, respectively.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Tonglet held off the fast-charging Karen Stoffer in the final round to collect his first win of the season and sixth of his career. Tonglet rode his Nitro Fish Suzuki to a 6.924 at 191.62 to get the win and move to fourth in the point standings.

“We’re really happy with the way that Nitro Fish Suzuki is running,” said Tonglet. “It’s really been a fun bike to ride. It’s so smooth and it’s just hauling butt. There is really nothing more we can do to it.”

With her runner-up finish, Stoffer secured the top spot in the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings, 15 points ahead of second-place Andrew Hines.

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues May 20-22 with the 23rd annual NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas.

COMMERCE, Ga. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The race is the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Antron Brown; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Spencer Massey; 4. Terry McMillen; 5. Larry Dixon; 6. Doug Kalitta; 7. Bob Vandergriff; 8. Shawn Langdon; 9. Del Worsham; 10. Morgan Lucas; 11. Brandon Bernstein; 12. Ike Maier; 13. David Grubnic; 14. Doug Foley; 15. Pat Dakin; 16. Clay Millican.

FUNNY CAR:

1. Jack Beckman; 2. Mike Neff; 3. Cruz Pedregon; 4. Bob Tasca III; 5. Jeff Arend; 6. Tony Pedregon; 7. Matt Hagan; 8. John Force; 9. Jim Head; 10. Tim Wilkerson; 11. Ron Capps; 12. Robert Hight; 13. Jon Capps; 14. Paul Lee; 15. Melanie Troxel; 16. Johnny Gray.

PRO STOCK:

1. Jason Line; 2. Greg Anderson; 3. Allen Johnson; 4. Mike Edwards; 5. Erica Enders; 6. Rodger Brogdon; 7. Vincent Nobile; 8. Ronnie Humphrey; 9. Greg Stanfield; 10. Ron Krisher; 11. Larry Morgan; 12. V. Gaines; 13. Warren Johnson; 14. Shane Gray; 15. Robert Patrick; 16. Steve Kent.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. LE Tonglet; 2. Karen Stoffer; 3. Jim Underdahl; 4. Andrew Hines; 5. Gerald Savoie; 6. Matt Smith; 7. Hector Arana; 8. Hector Arana Jr; 9. Eddie Krawiec; 10. Michael Phillips; 11. Chip Ellis; 12. Steve Johnson; 13. Michael Ray; 14. Shawn Gann; 15. Angie Smith; 16. Mike Berry.

COMMERCE, Ga. -- Sunday's final results from the 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. The race is the sixth of 22 in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Antron Brown, 3.856 seconds, 318.69 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.905 seconds, 315.86 mph.

Funny Car -- Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.111, 311.05 def. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.119, 305.49.

Pro Stock -- Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 6.600, 208.42 def. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.610, 208.33.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.924, 191.62 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.970, 192.30.

Pro Modified -- Ed Hoover, Chevy Camaro, 5.958, 240.51 def. Mike Castellana, Camaro, foul.

Competition Eliminator -- Bruno Massel, Chevy Cobalt, 7.109, 183.17 def. David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 7.261, 179.42.

Top Sportsman -- Mark Pickens, Pontiac GTO, 7.821, 130.38 def. Billy Vaughn, Chevy Monte Carlo, foul.

Super Stock -- Mike Crutchfield, Pontiac G5, 8.919, 143.87 def. James Caro, Dodge Challenger, 10.044, 128.93.

Stock Eliminator -- Mickey Whaley, Chevy Camaro, 25.558, 54.06 was unopposed.

Super Comp -- Roger Warren, Dragster, 8.908, 173.65 def. Jeff Brooks, Dragster, 8.897, 172.96.

Super Gas -- Matt Cooke, Chevy Corvette, 11.944, 102.64 def. David Tatum, Chevy Cavalier, foul.

COMMERCE, Ga. -- Final round-by-round results from the 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Doug Kalitta, 3.878, 315.34 def. Doug Foley, 8.247, 81.45; Bob Vandergriff, 3.954, 308.43 def. Clay Millican, 9.265, 76.15; Tony Schumacher, 3.852, 319.67 def. Ike Maier, 3.992, 258.57; Larry Dixon, 3.861, 320.97 def. Morgan Lucas, 3.960, 301.47; Shawn Langdon, 3.853, 316.01 def. Del Worsham, 3.875, 315.49; Spencer Massey, 3.863, 317.79 def. Pat Dakin, 8.306, 71.86; Terry McMillen, 3.906, 313.00 def. Brandon Bernstein, 3.970, 309.56; Antron Brown, 3.923, 309.70 def. David Grubnic, 5.274, 123.86;

QUARTERFINALS -- McMillen, 3.924, 298.80 def. Vandergriff, 4.035, 257.33; Brown, 3.880, 314.09 def. Langdon, 5.852, 112.98; Massey, 3.903, 315.27 def. Kalitta, 3.919, 312.93; Schumacher, 3.886, 316.38 def. Dixon, 3.892, 316.38;

SEMIFINALS -- Schumacher, 3.880, 318.32 def. Massey, 3.890, 315.93; Brown, 3.880, 314.02 def. McMillen, 4.002, 300.13;

FINAL -- Brown, 3.856, 318.69 def. Schumacher, 3.905, 315.86.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.091, 303.57 def. Jon Capps, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 6.170, 108.97; Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala SS, 4.156, 304.25 def. Jim Head, Toyota Solara, 4.154, 301.94; John Force, Mustang, 4.168, 304.19 def. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.257, 286.86; Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.133, 305.49 def. Johnny Gray, Dodge Charger, DQ; Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.107, 301.81 def. Paul Lee, Impala SS, 6.968, 90.86; Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.518, 252.24 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.591, 224.85; Jeff Arend, Solara, 4.188, 300.86 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.262, 291.95; Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.083, 311.56 def. Melanie Troxel, Solara, 7.755, 98.98; QUARTERFINALS -- C. Pedregon, 4.152, 306.33 def. T. Pedregon, 4.408, 222.25; Tasca III, 4.121, 306.46 def. Arend, 4.214, 294.11; Neff, 4.126, 301.13 def. Hagan, 4.484, 212.39; Beckman, 4.107, 306.12 def. Force, 4.611, 192.63;

SEMIFINALS -- Neff, 4.560, 274.55 def. Tasca III, 6.744, 117.42; Beckman, 4.095, 306.88 def. C. Pedregon, 4.150, 301.74;

FINAL -- Beckman, 4.111, 311.05 def. Neff, 4.119, 305.49.

PRO STOCK:



ROUND ONE -- Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.607, 208.55 def. Steve Kent, Pontiac GXP, foul; Vincent Nobile, Dodge Avenger, 6.623, 208.81 def. V. Gaines, Avenger, 6.636, 207.94; Ronnie Humphrey, GXP, 6.627, 207.69 def. Ron Krisher, GXP, 6.627, 208.42; Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.618, 207.18 def. Warren Johnson, Cobalt, 6.650, 207.56; Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.611, 208.14 def. Larry Morgan, Ford Mustang, 6.631, 207.72; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.605, 209.04 def. Robert Patrick, Mustang, 6.721, 204.98; Jason Line, GXP, 6.611, 207.18 def. Shane Gray, GXP, 6.676, 207.18; Allen Johnson, Avenger, 6.605, 209.43 def. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.626, 208.46; QUARTERFINALS -- Line, 6.605, 208.17 def. Nobile, foul; Anderson, 6.622, 207.50 def. Brogdon, 6.625, 206.99; Edwards, 6.581, 209.20 def. Enders, 6.611, 208.81; A. Johnson, 6.618, 209.20 def. Humphrey, 9.535, 96.22;

SEMIFINALS -- Line, 6.607, 208.49 def. A. Johnson, 16.772, 48.01; Anderson, 6.627, 207.69 def.

Edwards, 18.949, 37.00;

FINAL -- Line, 6.600, 208.42 def. Anderson, 6.610, 208.33.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Gerald Savoie, Suzuki, 7.072, 184.93 def. Michael Ray, Buell, 7.036, 184.47; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.981, 186.85 def. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.004, 191.38; Hector Arana, Buell, 6.966, 187.42 def. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.007, 188.73; Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.973, 188.44 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.008, 189.39; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.983, 190.22 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.051, 182.95; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.972, 187.29 def. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.070, 182.58; LE Tonglet, Suzuki, 6.956, 190.73 def. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.045, 185.74; Jim Underdahl, Suzuki, 7.050, 189.26 def. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.997, 189.44; QUARTERFINALS -- Hines, 7.064, 191.95 def. Arana Jr, broke; Stoffer, 16.702, 39.71 def. M. Smith, foul; L. Tonglet, 6.917, 192.41 def. Savoie, 6.966, 191.08; Underdahl, 7.001, 190.89 def. Arana, 7.084, 182.35; SEMIFINALS -- Stoffer, 6.992, 190.48 def. Underdahl, 7.065, 187.76; L. Tonglet, 6.893, 192.71 def. Hines, 7.112, 191.16;

FINAL -- L. Tonglet, 6.924, 191.62 def. Stoffer, 6.970, 192.30.

COMMERCE, Ga. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 31st annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, the sixth of 22 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Del Worsham, 547; 2. Antron Brown, 477; 3. Larry Dixon, 468; 4. Tony Schumacher, 449; 5. Spencer Massey, 410; 6. Doug Kalitta, 342; 7. Shawn Langdon, 300; 8. Morgan Lucas, 295; 9. Brandon Bernstein, 284; 10. Terry McMillen, 247.

Funny Car

1. Mike Neff, 496; 2. Jack Beckman, 476; 3. Robert Hight, 412; 4. Cruz Pedregon, 399; 5. Matt Hagan, 356; 6. Jeff Arend, 353; 7. John Force, 345; 8. Bob Tasca III, 330; 9. Ron Capps, 276; 10. Johnny Gray, 265.

Pro Stock

1. Jason Line, 515; 2. Greg Anderson, 465; 3. Mike Edwards, 429; 4. (tie) Vincent Nobile, 420; Greg Stanfield, 420; 6. Rodger Brogdon, 374; 7. Erica Enders, 331; 8. Allen Johnson, 295; 9. Ron Krisher, 287; 10. Ronnie Humphrey, 265.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Karen Stoffer, 278; 2. Andrew Hines, 263; 3. Eddie Krawiec, 244; 4. LE Tonglet, 240; 5. Hector Arana, 197; 6. Gerald Savoie, 159; 7. Michael Phillips, 141; 8. Matt Smith, 140; 9. Shawn Gann, 136; 10. Jim Underdahl, 135.