{"id":91008,"date":"2023-05-22T12:21:39","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T19:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=91008"},"modified":"2023-05-22T12:21:39","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T19:21:39","slug":"millican-wilkerson-glenn-herrera-win-in-windy-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/millican-wilkerson-glenn-herrera-win-in-windy-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Millican, Wilkerson, Glenn, Herrera win in Windy City"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Herrera, Glenn, Wilkerson and Millican celebrate their victories – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NHRA\u2019s return to Route 66 Raceway outside Chicago, IL was action-packed for the Camping World Drag Racing Series. After the track\u2019s last 2019 visit by the straight-line crowd, there were four years when the right date and sponsor couldn\u2019t be found, so when Gerber Collision & Glass stepped up to sponsor the race (and Top Fuel racer Mike Salinas), the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle and a host of Lucas Oil racers convened to aptly fill the grounds.<\/p>\n

Fan participation was good on the weekend and they certainly got their money\u2019s worth. Not only did the series engage in three rounds of qualifying and four action-packed elimination rounds, but they were also treated to the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle, together with the inaugural Pro Stock All-Star Callout, cacklefests, vintage runs and obligatory fireworks.<\/p>\n

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Camrie Caruso won the first Pro Stock All-Star Callout – Anne Proffit photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were plenty of surprises once Sunday\u2019s action began. On Saturday, 2022 Rookie of the Year Camrie Caruso prevailed in the eight-driver Pro Stock All-Star Callout, her KB Titan Racing Camaro beating the Elite Motorsports Camaro of Aaron Stanfield. Justin Ashley, driving the newly-reformulated MAR dragster earned his second Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, joined by Funny Car victor and reigning champion Ron Capps\u2019 Toyota GR Supra and the Pro Stock Motorcycle Suzuki of Gaige Herrera in this specialty event.<\/p>\n

No. 1 qualifiers in the nitro classes, Mike Salinas and Robert Hight, didn\u2019t make it to the Winner\u2019s Circle on Sunday, but No. 1s in Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle sure did: Dallas Glenn and Gaige Herrera in the two Pro Stock categories were victorious; Herrera doubled up on this weekend and is having the kind of season – his first riding for Vance & Hines – that looks like championship material. Of course, the season is still young; this is only the sixth of 21 contests in 2023, so change will occur. Or at least Herrera\u2019s competitors hope he won\u2019t sweep the year.<\/p>\n

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Clay Millican won Top Fuel for the first time in five years – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There were two drivers who earned victory at Joliet without having lifted a Wally winner\u2019s trophy in a long time. Clay Millican, who earned his first victory in five years – his most recent, in 2018 was also at this track – defeated Josh Hart in the finals by a scant .0106 seconds with a pass of 3.801\/328.94 in the finals. Hart\u2019s 3.808\/324.28 was no slouch for the Floridian, who\u2019s been building momentum throughout this year. For Millican, there was relief, of course. But most of all, throughout his drought, Millican has never lost his love for this sport. \u201cI still love my job. I\u2019ve been doing it a long time and I\u2019m not done yet!\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout these five years it’s been difficult: \u201cThis is huge for this team. We\u2019ve been struggling and it\u2019s been tough. We got all new parts and pieces from Rick Ware (who got his first NHRA win with Millican this week) and they believed in us. For a little while,\u00a0 <\/span>it looked like we were better with the old stuff, but I think we\u2019ve got it figured out and hopefully we can go out and get some more of these this year,\u201d Millican noted. \u201cMy very first [NHRA Top Fuel race] was at this racetrack, and 20 years later I won this race. Now 25 years later, we did it again. This group of people never quit and never stop, and they turned this car around flawlessly today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millican entered this race 12th in points and moved to a solid 11th behind Steve Torrence (despite his first round exit), Brittany Force, Austin Prock, Justin Ashley, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown, Josh Hart, Mike Salinas, Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta. Incredibly, only 164 points separate the top 11 drivers. It was a day when local T.J. Zizzo made it to the semifinals along with reigning Top Fuel champ Brittany Force, yet both got put down by Millican and Hart, respectively.<\/p>\n

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Fan Favorite Funny Car victor Tim Wilkerson – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Funny Car, Wilkerson gave the Maynard family its first victory of the year as he raced his Ford Mustang to a first win in 33 races. He earned his 23rd victory of a stellar, fan-favorite career and his first since the 2021 fall Charlotte race. To earn this Wally trophy, Will defeated Ron Capps in the final round after beating Blake Alexander\u2019s Jim head Mustang, Alex Laughlin in Jim Dunn\u2019s Funny Car and 16-time Funny Car champ John Force in the semifinal round. \u201cI was just thinking I didn\u2019t need to screw this up again,\u201d Wilkerson said afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made some nice runs all weekend long and my team did a great job,\u201d with Richard Hartman assisting the driver\/owner in tuning duties. \u201cI really can\u2019t complain about a thing. We\u2019re very excited about this team,\u201d that aligned with JCM Racing in the off-season. \u201cTo be this close to [his Springfield, IL] home, I have so many people out there, so this is very exciting,\u201d Wilkerson continued. \u201cI didn\u2019t have the best car – Capps had a better car than I did all day long – but it worked out better for us in the finals. I did a lot better job tuning than I did driving, but I was consistent, and that\u2019s what we needed to be able to win this race. The track was tricky!\u201d<\/p>\n

With points leader Matt Hagan, driving a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for Tony Stewart Racing, going out in the first round against Alex Laughlin, the tally tightened immensely from the fifth race. Hagan\u2019s got a 13-point advantage on former teammate Capps, while No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight, driving his John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro is third, followed by Alexis DeJoria\u2019s Toyota GR Supra. DeJoria had her first tough weekend of the year in Joliet and was out after the first round with a foul. Wilkerson is now fifth, followed by his technical partner Chad Green\u2019s Mustang, Bob Tasca III\u2019s Mustang, John Force\u2019s Camaro, Cruz Pedregon\u2019s Dodge Charger SRT hellcat and the Kalitta Motorsports Toyota GR Supra of J.R. Todd, who also left competition after the first round.<\/p>\n

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Dallas Glenn is having a huge Pro Stock season – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Winning on Saturday didn\u2019t compute for Caruso, who lost in the first round of Pro Stock on Sunday to Elite Motorsports\u2019 first-year entry for Jerry Tucker. It was another fine weekend for Dallas Glenn, who is showing his Rookie of the Year honors were no fluke (neither was Caruso\u2019s, for that matter). The KB Titan racer\u2019s Camaro has been on rails and he was able to defeat most recent winner Deric Kramer in the final round to earn his third event victory of the young season. In drag racing, of course, consistency in each round is what gets you to the finals and Glenn has been consistent all year. Kramer wasn\u2019t able to mount a final-round challenge, which allowed Glenn to romp to the Winner\u2019s Circle.<\/p>\n

By virtue of this win, Glenn now has a huge 168-point advantage on Matt Hartford, while Kramer is third, Troy Coughlin Jr. of Elite Motorsports is fourth, followed by his stablemate Aaron Stanfield. Caruso holds sixth place points, while KB Titan team leader and five-time cham greg Anderson is seventh, Elite\u2019s Bo Butner III eighth, followed by the Elite Mustang of Cristian Cuadra and KB Titan\u2019s Kyle Koretsky in 10th place. Reigning titleholder Erica Enders is mired in 14th; she was defeated by Stanfield in the first round. (If not otherwise stated, all cars are Camaros)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get a car this good, you just want to capitalize on it,\u201d Glenn confirmed. \u201cI definitely feel like I\u2019ve got a really good car. I didn\u2019t feel like I drove my best today, but luckily it was good enough. It feels good now, but it can change in a heartbeat in this class. We definitely need to step up and keep the hammer down,\u201d Glenn said, \u201cbut I\u2019m definitely enjoying this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only one with rampant enjoyment during 2023 NHRA racing. Herrera\u2019s perfect season continues since the start in Gainesville this March. He\u2019s won everything thus far in the year and has been No. 1 at each NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event, winning the Mission Challenge en route to Sunday victory. While he had good runs in the first two races of the season, they had nothing on his performance in Joliet, where he demolished the class record at 6.672, qualifying No. 1, taking the Mission Challenge and the win over Matt Smith Racing\u2019s Chip Ellis, riding a Buell. Ellis, who is a part-timer this season.<\/p>\n

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Herrera is tucked in nicely to his Vance & Hines Suzuki – NHRA photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Herrera marched past the Buells of Ron Tornow and Marc Ingwersen, then knocked off Vance & Hines teammate Eddie Krawiec to earn his third trip to the finals. This was Herrera\u2019s first appearance at his \u201chome\u201d track. \u201cIt gives me a whole lot of confidence having a bike like this.\u201d After making the second, third and fourth-quickest runs in class history in Joliet he said, \u201cThis whole Vance & Hines team has this bike on rails and it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders. To get a third straight win and do it front of these friends, it means a lot. I\u2019m so excited about this – you couldn\u2019t draw it up any better than this. We\u2019ve got a lot of friends and family here, and it\u2019s a special one. It\u2019s just a dream right now for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herrera\u2019s \u201cdream\u201d is a nightmare for the balance of the field, obviously. He leads teammate Krawiec by 169 points, six-time champ Matt Smith\u2019s Suzuki, rookie Chase Van Sant\u2019s Suzuki, Hector Arana Jr.\u2019s Buell, Joey Gladstone on a Suzuki, Angie Smith\u2019s Buell, Steve Johnson\u2019s and Jianna Evaristo\u2019s Suzukis and the Buell of Ellis, who is 247 points back.<\/p>\n

The seventh race of the year takes place June 2-4 with the 10th annual NHRA New England Nationals at new England Dragway in Epping, N.H.<\/p>\n

The competition excitement of the weekend was tempered by the news that Camping World has decided to leave series after the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

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