Bristol Could Be THE Stomping Grounds for the NHRA Camping World Series
The 20th Thunder Valley Nationals are invading Bristol Dragway this weekend, after sitting out last year due to COVID, for the NHRA’s 18th Camping World Drag Racing Series event of the 2021 season, comprised of 20 total races. It’s also the fifth race in the seven-contest Countdown to the Championship playoff series. Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle will be on the Bristol grounds this weekend, while Pro Stock has the weekend off to prepare for the two final races in Las Vegas and at Pomona.
NHRA will return to its COVID-era schedule of one Friday evening qualifying, two attempts on Saturday, while racing in Thunder Valley begins at 11:30AM on Sunday, October 17th. Many racers stayed at Texas Motorplex for testing after last weekend’s Texas Fall Nationals before making their ways to the lush grounds of Bristol Dragway.
At this point, there are 18 Top Fuel cars on the entry list, all of them continuing to chase Steve Torrence, who appears to be barreling his way to a fourth consecutive dragster title. Although he didn’t win last weekend at one of his two hometown races (for now, anyway, before Houston goes away after next year’s contest), Torrence has added a few points to his spread over Brittany Force (-52), who went to the semifinals before losing to event winner Justin Ashley, the sophomore now 121 points behind Torrence.
Mike Salinas is fourth, after going to the quarterfinals last weekend (-168), followed by Billy Torrence, Leah Pruett (out in the first round), Antron Brown, Clay Millican, Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta. Kalitta’s season, while not living up to his own standards, is looking better despite losing to S. Torrence in the second round. He’s got a new crew chief in Aaron Brooks, who has the capable Kalitta looking better than he has of late. The crew, too, appears to be more committed with this change. Josh Hart, Joe Morrison, Lex Joon Pat Dakin, Buddy Hull, Cameron Ferre, Doug Foley and Scott Palmer will be looking to shake up the standings.
The battle to take this year’s Funny Car championship is exceptionally tight, now that Texas winner Ron Capps and his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat have edged closer to teammate Matt Hagan, just 33 points behind the driver who’s leaving Don Schumacher Racing for Tony Stewart Racing at the close of this season. With his semifinal result, Charger racer Cruz Pedregon is in third, 113 points back with 16-time champ John Force, fourth in his Chevrolet Camaro SS, just two points behind consistent Pedregon. J.R. Todd’s Toyota Camry, with a semifinal result, took him to fifth place, 134 points in arrears.
Bob Tasca III (Ford Mustang), Robert Hight (Camaro), Tim Wilkerson (Mustang), Alexis DeJoria (Camry) and Blake Alexander (-296 in Jim Head’s Mustang) round out the top 10, but are far enough outside Hagan and the balance of the top five to be eliminated from consideration for this year’s title. With only 15 Funny Car entries for this weekend’s race, everyone will be out of play, including Cory Lee in a Mustang, Paul Lee’s Charger, Terry Haddock’s Mustang and Jim Campbell’s Charger. Lee has been putting up some good numbers of late and Haddock can’t ever be counted out, so there could be some changes to the top 10 before the penultimate race at Las Vegas.
There are 18 Pro Stock Motorcycles on the entry list, but that grouping includes Cory Reed, who has a long period of recovery ahead of him after his huge crash in North Carolina. Due to his four-valve Suzuki motorcycle’s non-start in last weekend’s semifinals in Ennis, Steve Johnson is now in second place behind race winner Matt Smith, the four-time champion holding a minuscule eight-point lead on his Buell. With her quarterfinal result in Texas, Angelle Sampey’s four-valve Vance & Hines Suzuki is third (-53), while her V&H teammate Eddie Krawiec, riding the V&H-built Buell is fourth, lagging Smith by 101 points. Smith’s teammate Scotty Pollacheck holds fifth place points, but is a full 139 points behind Matt.
Joey Gladstone, riding the companion four-valve Suzuki motorcycle to Reed’s machine holds sixth place and is closing on Pollacheck, while Angie Smith (Buell), Karen Stoffer (2-valve Suzuki), Andrew Hines (V&H Buell) and Reed round out the top 10. With seven added motorcycles on the grounds, this listing is subject to change at the close of festivities Sunday evening, if Ryan Oehler (Buell), Chris Bostick (4-valve Suzuki) Charles Poskey (Buell) Ron Tornow (Victory), Kelly Clontz (4-valve Suzuki), Pablo Gonzalez (Suzuki), Lance Bonham (Buell) and Jianna Salinas (2-valve Suzuki) have good qualifying and elimination results.
Above are the “laundry lists” of who’s on-hand and who’s got opportunities to move up or slide down, but the stories inside these pits are all about the coming changes to the 2022 competition and what the landscape could be like once this season ends. Throughout these pits, everyone has something to prove and only three races remaining to show their hands.
How much everyone can show is up to the weather gods, who have been rather fickle of late. While the forecasts right now show relatively clear and warm skies on Friday when a single qualifying session is scheduled, Saturday does call for morning showers and a huge drop in temps, from the low 80s to mid-60s, getting even cooler for Sunday’s eliminations. Engines like cooler weather, but traction is always an issue. Track prep will play a huge part in this weekend’s competition (as it always does) and crew chiefs will have to double down to make sure their cars and motorcycles go down the track as expected. This is why they race.