GLENDORA, Calif. (Oct. 29, 2012) – While the champions of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series soon will be decided on the track, the winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Hard Working Crew Award of the Year will once again be determined through an online fan vote on NHRA.com.
Fan voting for the NHRA Full Throttle Hard Working Crew Award on NHRA.com begins Monday, Oct. 29th, following the Big O Tires NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, and concludes Monday, Nov. 12th, after the season-ending Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Fans are invited to visit NHRA.com to vote for the crews who are nominated in each Full Throttle Series category whose diligence and extra effort made the biggest impact during the season. Video highlights featuring each of the four nominated Hard Working Crews performances in each category will be included to help fans make their selections.
ESPN2’s NHRA broadcast team, led by race analyst Mike Dunn, determines the four finalists in each category. One hardest working crew from each category will be declared the best of the season and the winners as determined by overall fan vote will be honored in each of the four classes at the season-ending awards ceremony. Winners in Top Fuel and Funny Car will earn $25,000 each, while the Pro Stock winner will earn $15,000 and the Pro Stock Motorcycle winner will receive $5,000.
Below are the finalists for the award in each category.
2012 FULL THROTTLE HARD WORKING CREW FINALISTS
TOP FUEL
1) Morgan Lucas’ GEICO/Lucas Oil dragster crew at Gainesville for recording the third-quickest E.T. in history, setting a track record, posting their second No. 1 qualifying position of the season and racing to victory over Tony Schumacher.
2) Tony Schumacher’s U.S. Army dragster crew at Indianapolis for earning a record ninth Top Fuel victory at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, and advancing to a record 11th final round at the Big Go.
3) Shawn Langdon’s Al-Anabi Racing dragster crew at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Nationals at zMAX Dragway for earning the No. 1 qualifying position and racing to his first career victory in a Countdown to the Championship playoff event.
4) Antron Brown’s Matco Tools dragster team at Reading for setting a national record at 3.701 seconds and leaving the event with a 104-point lead in the Countdown to the Championship.
FUNNY CAR
1) Ron Capps’ NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger Funny Car crew at Englishtown for advancing to their fifth consecutive final round of the season and recording the quickest run in Funny Car history at 3.964 seconds.
2) Tim Wilkerson’s Levi Ray & Shoup Ford Mustang Funny Car crew at Norwalk for coming back from a fire on Saturday to advance to the final round on Sunday.
3) Courtney Force’s Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car crew at Seattle for helping the 24-year-old rookie driver earn her first career victory in only her 15th career start, after qualifying 14th from behind the wheel in the 8,000-horsepower category.
4) Jack Beckman’s Schumacher Electric Dodge Charger Funny Car crew at Reading for setting national elapsed time (3.986 seconds) and speed (320.58 mph) records and moving into the series points lead.
PRO STOCK
1) Greg Anderson’s Summit Racing crew at Englishtown for earning KB Racing’s 100th win at the same track where the team claimed its first victory.
2) Erica Enders’ GK Motorsports crew at Chicago for helping Enders earn her historic first career victory as the first female winner in Pro Stock.
3) Vincent Nobile’s Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger crew at Norwalk for helping Nobile to sweep the event, winning both the race on Sunday and the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge on Saturday.
4) Dave Connolly’s crew at Indianapolis for getting both his car and teammate Erica Enders’ car to the final round of the world’s most prestigious drag race; Connolly, who races a part-time schedule and serves as Enders’ crew chief, went on to win the Big Go.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
1) Eddie Kraweic’s Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson crew at Gainesville for setting a national E.T. record at 6.750 seconds and opening the season with a victory.
2) Michael Ray’s Viper Motorcycle Company Buell crew at Atlanta for beating three past champions en route to his first career final round appearance.
3) L.E. Tonglet’s Nitro Fish Suzuki crew at Chicago for advancing to three consecutive final rounds at the O’Reilly Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
4) Andrew Hines’ Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson crew at Reading for setting a national E.T. record at 6.728 seconds and advancing to the final round.
