{"id":19937,"date":"2015-11-02T10:47:59","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T18:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=19937"},"modified":"2015-11-02T10:47:59","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T18:47:59","slug":"brown-and-enders-hit-championship-jackpots-in-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/brown-and-enders-hit-championship-jackpots-in-las-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Brown and Enders Hit Championship Jackpots in Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NHRA<\/a><\/p>\n

Antron Brown in Top Fuel and Erica Enders in Pro Stock started the 2015 coronation of champions at the Toyota NHRA Nationals, both claiming their second NHRA world titles on Sunday on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.\u00a0 At the end of the day, it was Doug Kalitta winning his third race of the year against Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel finals.\u00a0 Robert Hight won over a super-quick Funny Car field, taking down a tire smoking Tommy Johnson, Jr. in his money round.<\/p>\n

Now a two-time Pro Stock champion, Enders defeated Bo Butner to continue her Las Vegas winning streak and Andrew Hines won over a red lighting, Jerry Savoie in the Pro Stock Motorcycles.<\/p>\n

TOP FUEL<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Doug<\/a><\/p>\n

For Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta, his crew chief, Jim Oberhofer didn\u2019t like the way his dragster was responding to changes and on Friday night decided to switch cars, going to a backup chassis proving instantly more consistent in Saturday\u2019s qualifying, and the change put them on the path to victory.<\/p>\n

It was Kalitta\u2019s third win of the season, his 38th<\/sup> of his career, beginning his race day defeating Steve Torrence first round, Richie Crampton in the quarterfinals, and repelled champ, Antron Brown in the semi-finals by .0005 of a second or a half inch margin of victory after Kalitta laid down a time of 3.774 seconds, 322.73 mph.\u00a0 It was his first third round appearance since Norwalk back in July.<\/p>\n

As the finals approached, Larry Dixon smoked the tires, almost immediately propelling Kalitta down the track.\u00a0 Near the finish line, Kalitta\u2019s car started dropping cylinders, blowing the injector sideways, but reaching the line first over Dixon for the win running a time of 4.239 seconds to Dixon\u2019s 8.100.<\/p>\n

\"Antron<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good day for us,\u201d said Kalitta, who moved from 10th to sixth in the points standings with the win. \u00a0\u201cAs we were going rounds, once we got past Antron, which was an incredibly close race, I was feeling good for the finals. \u00a0Not sure what happened there in the final. \u00a0It was a lucky win for us, but we\u2019ll take it. \u00a0It was the last race for the Mac Tools \u2018Wrenching for a Cure for Breast Cancer Awareness\u2019 paint scheme, making the win even more special.\u00a0 It\u2019s Vegas and anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalitta advanced in the standings less than one round from the top five. \u00a0Tony Schumacher is second while runner up, Dixon is now third.\u00a0 With only 56 points separating third to sixth right now with Richie Crampton in fourth, and Brittany Force in fifth, this is the where the battle remains in Top Fuel.<\/p>\n

For the champion, Brown, it\u2019s his second Top Fuel Mello Yello championship and was humbled by closing it out in Las Vegas with one race to go.<\/p>\n

\"Doug<\/a><\/p>\n

“When we got to Vegas the door was open and it feels good to shut the door on this 2015 season and get it over with,” said Brown, who won a career-best seven titles this year and the 14th<\/sup> World championship for Don Schumacher Racing.\u00a0 “It’s just so awesome to get it done and not be a nail-biter.\u00a0 This is the best story we have in our whole career.”<\/p>\n

FUNNY CAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n

While all eyes were on title contenders, Del Worsham and Jack Beckman, it would be Robert Hight stealing some of their thunder, winning the Funny Car portion of the Toyota Nationals over Tommy Johnson, Jr.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really a bummer to me to not be in the points chase this late in the year,\u201d said Hight, who is now a five-time winner at LVMS.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re not used to that. It drives you because you want to be there.\u00a0 It makes you dig deep so we\u2019re not in the same position next year.\u00a0 We got a win out of it.\u00a0 Del Worsham\u2019s a good friend of mine.\u00a0 I\u2019m pulling for him to win the championship, but Auto Club pays me to win races, and luckily, we got the job done today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hight marched through eliminations beating drivers, Gary Densham, points leader, Del Worsham, and Ron Capps before meeting Tommy Johnson, Jr. in the finals.\u00a0 Hight earned his second win of the season and 36th of his career, powering his Funny Car Chevy Camaro past top qualifier Tommy Johnson Jr.\u2019s Dodge. \u00a0Hight ran a time of 3.955 seconds at a speed of 323.97 mph after Johnson lost traction.<\/p>\n

With the win, Hight moved past Don \u201cThe Snake\u201d Prudhomme and Cruz Pedregon on NHRA\u2019s all-time Funny Car wins list. \u00a0He moved from eighth to sixth in Funny Car points.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to be in Las Vegas. \u00a0This hasn\u2019t been the season that we have been looking for with the Auto Club Chevy. \u00a0We have been working hard and it is coming together,\u201d said Hight from the Las Vegas winner\u2019s circle stage. \u00a0\u201cThis has been a tough week for John Force Racing. \u00a0Our Monster Energy rig crashed in Missouri on the way here. \u00a0The whole John Force Racing team pulled together and got that Monster rig here. \u00a0That was a big win. \u00a0This is just a bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car title is still up in the air with leader, Del Worsham holding a 38-point lead over Jack Beckman with now the showdown going to Pomona to decide just who will win Fuel Coupe class once and for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DHL team has continued to perform at the highest level; Robert just barely outran us there,\u201d said Worsham, the winner of three of the last four races.\u00a0 \u201cOur ultimate goal is still in our control.\u00a0 We plan on going to Pomona and working hard on achieving the title.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beckman won in 2012 by two points over Ron Capps, so going into Pomona with just two rounds behind is in a situation that he is familiar with knowing what it\u2019s going to take to make a comeback.<\/p>\n

“If there’s any silver lining it’s that Del lost that round,\u201d said Beckman.\u00a0 \u201cWe’re still two rounds out. \u00a0It’s real simple. \u00a0We need to out qualify him at Pomona, we need him on the same side of the ladder as us, and we need to beat him early.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/a><\/p>\n

“You want to talk about having to be perfect to win the championship and maybe that’s what the fans deserve to see. \u00a0We will do everything we can to go to Pomona and be perfect and as flawless as a nitro Funny Car team can be.”<\/p>\n

Worsham leaves Las Vegas with a 38-point advantage over Jack Beckman. \u00a0Tommy Johnson Jr. is 97 points behind.<\/p>\n

PRO STOCK<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Erica<\/a><\/p>\n

Elite Motorsports driver Erica Enders seems to be able to do anything she wants behind the wheel of a Pro Stock race car.<\/p>\n

Enders won her second consecutive NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship on Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, clinching the title in the second round, and then won the NHRA Toyota Nationals with a perfect reaction time in the final round.<\/p>\n

Enders became the 33rd driver in NHRA history to win multiple championships and the ninth in the Pro Stock class. \u00a0She’s also the first back-to-back champion in NHRA since 2011-12, when Eddie Krawiec won the Pro Stock Motorcycle title.<\/p>\n

Enders is the first to win consecutive Pro Stock titles since the legendary Jeg Coughlin Jr. accomplished the feat in 2007- 08.<\/p>\n

“It’s just an incredible day,” Enders said. \u00a0“I’m kind of speechless. \u00a0Vegas has always been really good to me, and it’s nice to keep our streak going with now 22 consecutive round-wins. \u00a0It’s mind-boggling.<\/p>\n

\"Erica<\/a><\/p>\n

“We came into the weekend and everyone was talking about the championship — what we have to do, crunching points and all that. \u00a0My crew chiefs (Rick and Rickie Jones, Mark Ingersoll, and Brian Self) and I decided we weren’t going to talk about that and just take things one round at a time. Our goal was to make it 22 [in a row]. \u00a0It’s an incredible thing to accomplish. \u00a0The streak we have here is incredible. \u00a0I’m excited to be part of such a great group like Elite Motorsports.”<\/p>\n

Enders has won the last four national events and the last two K&N Horsepower Challenge races in Las Vegas, running her consecutive round-win streak here to 22.<\/p>\n

Her 20th consecutive round-win clinched the championship. \u00a0Greg Anderson, Chris McGaha, and Drew Skillman were the only Pro Stock drivers with a chance to extend the points battle to the season-finale in Pomona, Calif., in two weeks, but Anderson lost to Vincent Nobile and McGaha fell to Bo Butner.<\/p>\n

Therefore, when Enders knocked out Shane Gray with a round-low pass of 6.596 seconds at 209.39 mph, Enders had the championship locked up.<\/p>\n

“After watching my teammate Vincent beat Greg second round, I got excited, of course, because I knew what could happen,” Enders said. \u00a0“Then I thought, ‘We have to win this round.’ I fire the car, pull into the waterbox, and all my guys are jumping around, clapping, and I’m just trying to get my composure and get my heart rate down.”<\/p>\n

Enders then beat teammate Skillman in the semifinals when Skillman left .004-second too soon, setting up a final-round match with Butner.<\/p>\n

“I knew it was going to be a tough race against a drive like Bo, who I know is hungry for his first win,” Enders said. \u00a0“To be able to cap the second championship off with another win in Vegas is just crazy.”<\/p>\n

\"Erica<\/a><\/p>\n

The victory was her ninth of the season and 21st of what is becoming a hall-of-fame career. \u00a0She has won 15 of the last 45 races she’s entered with the Richard Freeman-owned Elite team.<\/p>\n

“Finally I feel like I’m home with this group of guys,” Enders said. \u00a0“I couldn’t have dreamed up a better crew. \u00a0We truly get along, we have such great chemistry, and most importantly, we have fun together. \u00a0That’s why we’re so successful on the racetrack. \u00a0Horsepower doesn’t hurt, but we don’t have the biggest budget. \u00a0We get it done because of the people. \u00a0It’s been a long road, but I’m glad to be where I am. \u00a0I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.”<\/p>\n

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/a><\/p>\n

Andrew Hines earned his fourth Pro Stock Motorcycle victory of the season and third in the Countdown, powering his Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson past Jerry Savoie\u2019s Suzuki in a final round with major title implications. \u00a0With the win, Hines increased his series lead to 46 over the hard-charging Savoie. \u00a0The championship in the two-wheel class will be decided at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing was that final round battle between one and two in points,\u201d Hines said. \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve been running neck and neck all weekend long. \u00a0I was in damage control all day and I was lucky enough to turn on a few win lights. \u00a0That final might\u2019ve looked pressure packed, but I was calm and confident. \u00a0I knew I needed a good race. \u00a0The team was able to make the motorcycle go quicker in the final and we got the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Andrew<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship concludes Nov. 12-15 with the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Antron Brown and Erica Enders both took the championship titles in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":19949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3470,3399,22],"tags":[1461,906,82,3643,424,1974,604,79,433,511,1972,1120,3477,78,887,1258,1362,251,608,440,442,956,575],"class_list":["post-19937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nhra","category-event-coverage","tag-2015-nhra-mello-yello-drag-racing-series","tag-andrew-hines","tag-antron-brown","tag-bo-butner","tag-brittany-force","tag-chris-mcgaha","tag-cruz-pedregon","tag-del-worsham","tag-don-prudhomme","tag-doug-kalitta","tag-drew-skillman","tag-eddie-krawiec","tag-erica-enders","tag-gary-densham","tag-greg-anderson","tag-jack-beckman","tag-jerry-savoie","tag-larry-dixon","tag-richie-crampton","tag-robert-hight","tag-ron-capps","tag-tommy-johnson-jr","tag-tony-schumacher"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/featuredimage2.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-5bz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19937"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19950,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19937\/revisions\/19950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}