{"id":87352,"date":"2022-09-14T19:40:38","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T02:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=87352"},"modified":"2022-09-14T19:40:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T02:40:38","slug":"nhra-six-race-countdown-begins-in-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/nhra-six-race-countdown-begins-in-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"NHRA Six-Race Countdown Begins in Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

One week\u2019s hiatus between the historic 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals and this upcoming weekend\u2019s start of the Countdown to the Championship for NHRA\u2019s Camping World Drag Racing Series was likely just the pause most teams wanted. The U.S. Nationals are the biggest, baddest drag race in the country, taking up a full six days for Camping World Drag Racing Series, FuelTech Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown and Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competitors to strut their stuff.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time for the 37th Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, held at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Penn., just a stone\u2019s throw from Reading. There\u2019s a championship to be won and points to be accumulated. It\u2019ll be nice to be back to a three-day weekend, albeit one that will give fans even more excitement than normal, as the fastest man on two wheels, Larry McBride, together with Dave Vantine, strut their stuff on the quarter-mile. Bets are on as to whether McBride can break his own 268.38-mph record on the bike, since Maple Grove is known for its quick laps.<\/p>\n

This weekend will feature a single qualifying session on Friday and two for Saturday, with customary eliminations at 10:30AM on Sunday. Both competitors and fans are excited to see the myriad changes made to Maple Grove, now that it\u2019s owned by the Koretsky family, who reside in the general area and have a relationship with the track that goes back decades. Kyle Koretsky, son of Kenny, currently races a Chevrolet Camaro in Pro Stock for KB Racing.<\/p>\n

Among the nitro racers hoping to earn this year\u2019s largest Wally winner\u2019s trophy and the white hats that go with the championship, Top Fuel\u2019s Mike Salinas and Austin Prock and Funny Car two-time champ Cruz Pedregon made their way to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) for some testing, before heading Southeast to the woods of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s winners at this track were Billy Torrence in Top Fuel, Tommy Johnson Jr. (subbing for Matt Hagan) in Funny Car, now five-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, who finally took his 100th win at Indy and Steve Johnson, the veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle Suzuki rider still searching for his first category championship.<\/p>\n

\"Brittany
Brittany Force<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are 16 Top Fuel drivers on the Reading entry list, including everyone in the Top 10 for points. While Brittany Force definitely wasn\u2019t pleased to see her pre-Countdown lead evaporate, she heads in with a 20-point advantage to Mike Salinas, while everyone else in Countdown standings, has 10-point incrementals to make up over the weekend. Force turned the quickest 1,000-foot run in NHRA at Maple Grove in 2019, 3.623-seconds and is hoping to top it this year!<\/p>\n

\"Doug
Doug Kalitta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Justin Ashley is third, four-time champ Steve Torrence is fourth, Josh Hart holds on to fifth, followed by three-time champ and U.S. Nationals winner Antron Brown. Leah Pruett in seventh, Shawn Langdon holds eighth-place points, followed by teammate Doug Kalitta, Tony Schumacher, Clay Millican and Austin Prock, all eligible for the Countdown.<\/p>\n

Doug Kalitta is looking for his second Maple Grove victory and starting the Countdown with a different paint scheme, as he flies the colors of CMR Roofing. Teammate Langdon will have the familiar DHL colors on his Kalitta-made dragster. Although he\u2019s not in the Countdown, having missed a race here and there, Doug Foley has a new sports marketing affiliate in his corner, having enlisted New York Giants\u2019 running back Antonio Williams to help market his team in order to secure funding for a full season next year. Justin Ashley, the 27-year-old team owner, is third in the standings and was runner-up at Reading last year.<\/p>\n

With four event wins and holding second place in points, Salinas is planning to \u201ckeep our heads down, take it round by round and turn on win lights.\u201d With backing from Pep Boys this year, Salinas has been at the top of his game. Brown, who owns two victories since starting his own team for the 2022 season, testified before congress last week, urging them to pass the RPM Act, which allows citizens to continue their efforts turning street cars into race cars. It\u2019s how Brown got his start; he wants everyone to continue to have that opportunity. The New Jersey native – this is now his home track, since the demise of Englishtown – is looking for his third Reading dragster title this weekend; he won in consecutive years, 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The four racers in Top Fuel who will be trying their best to shake up the standings are Foley, Cameron Ferre in Terry Haddock\u2019s rail, Canadian Jeffrey Chatterson and Joe Morrison, from nearby Flemington, NJ.<\/p>\n

Eleven drivers qualified for the Countdown in Funny Car and all of them are on the entry list this weekend. As a six-time winner, John Force Racing\u2019s Robert Hight had his massive points lead taken away, but he\u2019s still got 20 on Indy winner and reigning titleholder Ron Capps. Hight\u2019s Chevrolet Camaro SS, prepped by Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham, and Ron Capps Motorsports \u2018Toyota GR Supra, the latter helmed by Dean \u201cGuido\u201d Antonelli and John Medlen, have been the strongest cars coming into this six-race playoffs, but both drivers have their eyes tuned to Matt Hagan\u2019s Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, which hasn\u2019t been quite as consistent as either Stewart, Hagan or crew chief Dickie Venables would like.<\/p>\n

Bob Tasca III has come on pretty darn strong in the second third of this 22-race season, and his Ford Mustang crew-chiefed by Mike Neff and Jon Shaffer should be tough to beat, while John Force\u2019s Chevy Camaro SS is in fifth place, 50 points behind his team president. Something we\u2019ve learned over the years – never count out John \u2018Brute\u201d Force, the 16-time class titleholder. J.R. Todd is sixth in the Kalitta Motorsports Toyota GR Supra, followed by fellow Toyota GR Supra driver Alexis DeJoria. Pedregon is eighth in his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, while Tim Wilkerson\u2019s Ford Shelby Mustang, Blake Alexander in Jim Head\u2019s Mustang and Jim Campbell, driving Jim Dunn\u2019s Dodge Charger round out the Countdown-eligible racers.<\/p>\n

Midland, Texas\u2019 Chad Green and Cory Lee from Vail, AZ have Ford Mustangs that are aiming to shake up the playoff-eligible racers, while Paul Lee has his Charger ready to run and Phil Burkart Jr. is on-site with a Chevy Monte Carlo.<\/p>\n

\"Erica
Erica Enders Indy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While it was Greg Anderson notching his long-awaited 100th victory at the U.S. Nationals, Erica Enders has been in complete control of the Pro Stock class for most of the season. Still, Anderson, who won at Reading last year en route to his fifth title, has three No. 1 qualifiers in his Chevrolet Camaro (most of the top teams run Camaros, with Elite Motorsports\u2019 Cuadra threesome in Ford Mustangs) at this track and is aiming to add more. Enders, of course, is hoping to stop him so that she can take her fifth title at Pomona in November.<\/p>\n

Enders has the 20-point regular-season winner\u2019s advantage right now, based on her six victories to date in eight final rounds, over Elite Motorsports teammate Aaron Stanfield, with the balance of those Countdown-eligible – there are 15! – lagging by 10 points each to the racer they\u2019re following. Anderson\u2019s in third, his teammates Kyle Koretsky and Dallas Glenn make up the top five, while double race winner Troy Coughlin Jr (Elite) is sixth, followed by Mason McGaha, rookie Camrie Caruso (adding JBC Excavation partnership for this race in her stellar first season), Denver winner Matt Hartford and Fernando Cuadra Jr.\u2019s Mustang.<\/p>\n

The balance of those Countdown-eligible are Elite\u2019s Bo Butner III, Deric Kramer from KB, Cristian Cuadra\u2019s Elite Mustang, Chris McGaha\u2019s Camaro and, finally, Fernando Cuadra\u2019s Mustang. It\u2019s a crowded field of door-slammers, with 20 entries listed for this 37th NHRA race at Maple Grove Raceway. In addition to the racers already named, expect to see Larry Morgan\u2019s Camaro, Alan Prusiensky in his Dodge Dart, Kenny Delco\u2019s Camaro, Brandon Miller in a Dodge and Chris Sweeney\u2019s Camaro. In a class where anything can happen, there\u2019s plenty of spoilers to shake up the standings.<\/p>\n

\"Matt
Matt Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two-wheeled set doesn\u2019t look too much different from how it\u2019s been the last few years: Matt Smith is your leader, entering the Countdown. The five-time and reigning champion started the season on a Suzuki but is still trying to get that motorcycle\u2019s clutch to where he\u2019s happy, so he\u2019ll stick with the Buell that brought the North Carolina native his U.S. Nationals victory two weeks ago, through the Countdown. Joey Gladstone\u2019s Reed Motorsports Suzuki has second-place points, thanks to his consistency and a couple of victories – his first in the class – and he\u2019s followed in these standings by Steve Johnson, whose Suzuki earned the win here last year. Angelle Sampey\u2019s and Eddie Krawiec\u2019s Vance & Hines Suzuki motorcycles are fourth and fifth.<\/p>\n

Behind this group – and there are exactly 10 motorcycles and riders qualified for the Countdown – lie Karen Stoffer, who claims this year aboard her Suzuki is her final season of competition (she\u2019s been riding extremely well, so hopefully that\u2019s not the case), Angie Smith\u2019s Buell, Jerry Savoie on his White Alligator Racing Suzuki, Marc Ingwersen\u2019s Buell and Ryan Oehler\u2019s Buell.<\/p>\n

There are 17 motorcycles entered for this race in Mohnton, with all the \u201cregulars\u201d joined by \u201cretired\u201d Scotty Pollacheck, Jianna Evaristo\u2019s Suzuki from Scrappers Racing (who had one of her best, quarterfinal results at Indy), Chris Bostick\u2019s Suzuki, Hector Arana Jr. on a Buell, Ron Tornow\u2019s Victory, Kelly Clontz riding her Suzuki and, finally, rookie Gaige Herrera on Jimmy Underdahl\u2019s Suzuki for the second race in a row.<\/p>\n

While they\u2019ve only owned Maple Grove Raceway for five months, the Koretsky family has been hard at work to bring the track up to more modern standards. They\u2019ve made a pile of improvements already and many more are on the way, according to Kyle Koretsky. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of history here,\u201d he said, \u201cand we want to make sure this track succeeds.\u201d With assistance from racers who\u2019ve offered to help them and with hard work, the Koretsky family have updated both the VIP suites and timing tower, and have completed the first phase of a new audio system for the track. They\u2019re putting in new LED lights throughout the facility and repaving the upper lot, the top-end turnoff and have widened that area to 35 feet. They\u2019ve also made improvements to the start line.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there are 11 new RV camping spots and plans exist to add 30 more for next season. They\u2019ve added new air conditioning, new fencing, fresh paint and recently renovated the restrooms. It\u2019s obvious the Koretsky family are making most of these changes to benefit the many fans that come to Mohnton to witness the fast and furious NHRA racers at work.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s doubtful Brittany Force\u2019s record will get broken this weekend, with hot temps on order, but you never know. Expect race day to be sunny with a high over 85 degrees, the warm-up starting with 80-degree temps on Friday afternoon. The good news is that Maple Grove Raceway is likely not to be a swamp, as it\u2019s been in the past. And that should make all the competitors and fans happy. What might also make them pleased is to have Tony \u201cSmoke\u201d Stewart back in the booth this week, reprising his U.S. Nationals workday. \u201cTony\u2019s work in the FOX NHRA booth for the U.S. Nationals was absolute nails,\u201d said Frank Wilson, FOX Sports VP of event and studio production. No doubt he\u2019ll be awesome again, as FOX broadcast coverage for eliminations takes place at either 2PM ET or 4:30PM ET, based on local NFL coverage areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One week\u2019s hiatus between the historic 68th annual Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals and this upcoming weekend\u2019s start of the Countdown to the Championship for NHRA\u2019s Camping World Drag Racing Series was likely just the pause most teams wanted.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":87355,"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":[3465,17,3470,5029,3399,22],"tags":[424,511,3477,80,41,7,1632,440],"class_list":["post-87352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drag-racing","category-guest-column","category-news","category-racing","category-nhra","category-event-coverage","tag-brittany-force","tag-doug-kalitta","tag-erica-enders","tag-matt-smith","tag-news","tag-nhra","tag-racing","tag-robert-hight"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Robert-Hight-Indy-e1663209493699.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-mIU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87352","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\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87359,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87352\/revisions\/87359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}