Photos Courtesy of NHRA Media
As the stars of the NHRA Camping World Series made their way into the higher elevations of Denver, CO three former champions found a new definition of Mile-High. Like most races this season, the winningest driver in Top Fuel was back on top at this weekend’s Dodge/SRT Mile-High Nationals presented by Pennzoil. Despite Steve Torrence saying that Bandimere Speedway is one of the most difficult places to race, he would once again overcome the challenge in front of him after taking down Top Fuel rookie Joey Haas in Sunday’s final round. Along with Torrence, reigning Funny Car world champion Matt Hagan and his Don Schumacher Racing team finally broke through this season’s dry spell after dashing returning femme fatale Alexis DeJoria in this weekend’s final elimination round. Torrence and Hagan would not be the only former champions to once again find their way at the proverbial top of the Dodge/SRT Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Backing up his most recent win in Norwalk three weeks ago, Matt Hagan won for the third time this year when he topped Eddie Krawiec in the final round of the Dodge//SRT NHRA Mile-High Nationals.
Top Fuel
Before showing Top Fuel rookie Joey Haas the ropes in Sunday’s final Top Fuel elimination round, the king of Top Fuel took down Rob Passey in the opening round, which led to Torrence receiving a bye run in the quarterfinals due to the rather sparse field of competitors at this weekend’s Mile-High Nationals. Thanks to this break the Capco Contractors team was on fire during the tough battle against Mike Salinas and his Scrappers team. Thanks to a 3.843-second pass Torrence made his way to yet another final round. Although the speed demon would once again dominate Sunday’s elimination round with an impressive 3.860-second final pass, Torrence was quick to admit that his competitor, with only three races under his belt, was “borderline unbeatable”.
“Hats off to Joey Haas and those guys,” said Torrence. “I kept telling my crew that I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to race him because he was definitely impressive all weekend. He and his team did their job every lap and that is very hard to beat.”
Funny Car
Although Torrence Racing seems to have found the spark this season, this has definitely not been the case for Don Schumacher Racing. Entering the Dodge//SRT NHRA Mile-High Nationals with a 0-for-7 streak to start the season, this team found a glimmer of hope through Matt Hagan in Colorado. Following a string of 4.0s to start his Sunday, Hagan and his seemingly weighed down Mopar team seemed to find their spark as they rolled into the final elimination round against Alexis DeJoria. Despite DeJoria and her DC Motorsports team putting every effort into making her return to the Funny Car class, following a two-year layoff, a success, going up against Hagan and his final 4.105-second pass proved to be too much for the veteran driver.
After breaking his team’s winless streak this season, the now 37-time winner, said he has the largest sense of relief. “Well, my boss at SRT told me he’s had enough, and if we don’t win, he’s going to get a new driver, so I thought it was pretty important to win this one,” Hagan joked. “Honestly, I have been trying to get this trophy for so long. I cannot say enough about the guys who wrenched on this car this weekend; watching them sweat, watching them suck wind, I am so proud of each and every one of them. This has definitely become our favorite race.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Although Matt Hagan and his Don Schumacher Racing team have been struggling this season, Pro Stock Motorcycle phenom Matt Smith has been on fire over the last few weeks. Backing up his most recent win in Norwalk three weeks ago, Smith was back on top at the Dodge//SRT NHRA Mile-High Nationals. Smith ran the table in Denver by qualifying in the top spot, which led to an opening-round bye run. A pair of consistent 7.147 runs was more than enough to earn wins over Cory Reed and six-time world champion Andrew Hines before moving onto the final elimination round against rival Eddie Krawiec. The two rivals were even at the start, but Smith’s Denso Buell quickly established an advantage and stretched the lead to a sizable 7.118 to 7.175 margin at the finish line giving Smith yet another season win.
“I love this racetrack,” said Smith. “I was successful here in the early part of my career. In fact, I won the first two races I ran here. It is an awesome facility, and I am so glad we get to come out here. Thanks to Denso, Lucas Oil, Mark Stockseth, Greg Butcher Trucking, and World Wide Bearings for making this all possible.”
Smith now has 29-career wins and has accomplished almost everything he has ever wanted to do in Denver, including keeping his series points lead.
The 2021 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues its Western Swing with the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway (July 23-25). Stay tuned to RacingJunk.com for all your NHRA coverage!
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