Who Will Be Doing the Bristol Stomp the Weekend at Thunder Valley?
Anne Proffit
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The beauty of Bristol, Tennessee is beckoning NHRA’s Camping World Drag Racing Series, Lucas Oil Sportsman and Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown competitors to the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend. Held at the base of a bucolic canyon of greenery, Bristol is known for its acoustics, its surrounding beauty and the carnage it can afflict on race engines.
For the first time in NHRA history, the Thunder Valley Nationals - back on Father’s Day weekend after a pandemic-caused schedule shuffle - features all four professional Camping World categories racing this weekend. Fans can watch Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock cars and Pro Stock Motorcycle vie for the winner’s Wally trophy.
One racer who feels totally at home in Thunder Valley is Mike Salinas, who has taken over Top Fuel this year, crew chiefed by the estimable Rob Flynn. Salinas, standing second to Brittany Force in the standings by just 30 points, won the two most recent races held at Bristol Dragway and owns three Camping World victories in the young season, including the latest race at Epping, NH two weekends ago. This duo needs to check behind them, though, as four-time champ Steve Torrence in 99 points back, followed by Justin Ashley (-107) and Austin Prock (-243). The balance of the top 10 at this moment are Clay Millican, Josh Hart, Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher, with Antron Brown, Leah Pruett and Doug Foley knocking at the top 10 door.
Torrence hasn’t won since the season finale at Pomona last year, but he’s been racking up points with his usual elan in qualifying. That speed hasn’t translated to race day eliminations thus far in the first eight races of the season and Torrence, racing as a first-time father in this particular Father’s Day competition, is hoping daughter Haven Charli’s mojo might help him.
With the strong competition in Top Fuel this year and with every member of the current top-10 club on the entry list, it’s anyone’s bet as to who will be fast in three qualifying sessions - one at dusk on Friday, the other two on Saturday afternoon - before Sunday’s eliminations. Schumacher, who won in his most recent visit to Bristol Dragway in 2018, is hoping to add a seventh victory at the track. In addition to the regular cast of characters, look for Lex Joon, Spencer Massey and Cameron Ferre to try and shake up the standings.
When NHRA came to Bristol Dragway in 2021, Funny Car racer Alexis DeJoria ended her long winless streak at the track. Now driving a ROKiT Toyota GR Supra this year, DeJoria is hoping to return to the Winner’s Circle. Bristol has many good memories for the driver at this track: she made her first final round appearance here in 2012. “Bristol was my first final, so there’s just a good vibe there. I love the track, the fans, the acoustics and just everything about it,” DeJoria said.
There’s a heavyweight group of 14 challengers on the docket for the six-time Funny Car winner, led by three-time champion Matt Hagan, the most recent winner in his Dodge Power Brokers Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from Tony Stewart Racing. The Virginia cattle farmer equals Top Fuel’s Salinas with three wins in eight 2022 races, giving him a 41-point advantage on John Force Racing’s Robert Hight and the Californian’s Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS.
Reigning titleholder Ron Capps is third, 163 points behind his former teammate. Capps, a five-time Bristol winner, is still learning his NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra; he’d raced Dodge products throughout his stay at Don Schumacher Racing before starting his own team this year. Still, Capps has a nice advantage of 127 points on 16-time champ John Force and his PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS, while Cruz Pedregon’s Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat occupies fifth place in the standings. J.R. Todd (DHL Toyota GR Supra), Bob Tasca III (Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang), DeJoria, Chad Green (Bond Coat Ford Mustang) and Tim Wilkerson’s Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang comprise the top 10.
All of those drivers are headed for the Tennessee hills, joined by Jim Campbell in Jim Dunn’s DiPinto-Blaze-KGC-Dunn Racing Dodge, Jack Wyatt’s Dodge, Paul Lee’s Dodge, Terry Haddock in his Ford Mustang and Phil Burkart Jr.’s Monte Carlo-bodied Flopper.
Last year’s visit to Bristol didn’t include Pro Stock cars, but they’re back in 2022 with a stout contingent of racers. While the standings show some expected names and faces atop the standings, the depth of field in this class warrants extra looks, with a youth contingent barking its way to the top of the heap. While Erica Enders leads the standings in her Elite Motorsports Chevy Camaro - all top 10 drivers steer a Camaro - her teammate Aaron Stanfield is second (-108), KB Racing’s Kyle Koretsky holds third place (-187) and his teammate, 2021 Rookie of the Year Dallas Glenn is fourth place. Independent second-generation racer Mason McGaha holds down fifth place, 240 points behind four-time champ Enders.
Last year’s titleholder, five-time champion Greg Anderson is sixth, followed by rookie Camrie Caruso, 2017 champ Bo Butner (in an Elite Camaro), Deric Kramer and Troy Coughlin Jr.’s Elite Camaro. When the latter racer was 10 years old, he snuck up to the start line when his dad (Troy Coughlin Sr) was in the finals of the race at Bristol, getting to watch his dad win his first NHRA Pro Stock race. The third-generation straight-line door-slammer is hoping to turn the tables on his father with a win this weekend as it would be Troy Jr.’s first Pro Stock victory.
To make that scenario work, Coughlin Jr. would have to prevail in a stout 21-car field that contains all the top-10 racers and quite a few interlopers, like Shane Tucker’s Camaro, Larry Morgan’s Camaro, Alan Prusiensky’s Dodge Dart, John Gaydosh Jr. in a Camaro SS, Kenny Delco’s and Baron Troupe’s Camaro race cars and the three Ford Mustang Elite entries for Fernando Cuadra, sons Cristian and Fernando Jr.
Three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) champion Angelle Sampey took her Vance & Hines Suzuki to Bristol’s Winner’s Circle in 2021 and is back for more this year, albeit with only a single teammate, Eddie Krawiec. Six-time V&H PSM titleholder Andrew Hines has hung up his leathers and is leading tuning and development activities for the team’s brace of Suzuki bikes for Sampey and Eddie Krawiec, as well as V&H’s customers.
2021 was the first time Pro Stock Motorcycle raced in Bristol and, with Sampey and Karen Stoffer’s Suzukis in that final round, portended many more meet-ups between this duo. The class is currently ruled by 2021’s big turnaround rider, Steve Johnson, the veteran of this class, who is leading the standings on his Suzuki - he’s been a loyal Suzuki rider throughout his career - who is 50 points ahead of Karen Stoffer’s and Krawiec’s Suzuki bikes. Matt Smith, the reigning, five-time champion has been riding a Suzuki this year but has also worked magic on his Buell, and that of wife Angie Smith, is currently fifth in the standings.
Ever-improving Joey Gladstone is sixth, Sampey holds seventh place points, Jimmy Underdahl is eighth, all of them riding Suzuki bikes, while Marc Ingwersen is ninth on his Buell and Jerry Savoie and his Suzuki hold 10th place points. The standings for this category are much closer than the nitro classes, with only 235 points between first and tenth. Riders looking to shake that up that aren’t at the top of the rankings include Ryan Oehler (Buell), Jianna Evaristo’s and Chris Bostick’s Suzukis, Wesley Wells on a Suzuki, Malcolm Phillips Jr., LE Tonglet IV riding Kelly Clontz’s Suzuki and Ron Tornow’s Victory. That accounts for 17 motorcycles aiming for the Winner’s Circle.
With its topography, Bristol has a way of attracting weather systems and it might do so this weekend, as chancy weather is expected Friday afternoon and evening, when the initial qualifying session is scheduled. As a result, Bristol Dragway and NHRA have moved the first qualifying session up by two hours, starting at 5PM CDT rather than 7PM, and hoping to avoid extended precipitation. The balance of the weekend calls for mostly sunny conditions, highs around 80 and lows in the mid-50s, which is conducive to good results on both the 1,000-foot and quarter-mile drag strip.
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Steve Torrence with Haven Charli - credit Capco Contraactors Racing.
