The 53rd NHRA Winternationals kicked off over the weekend and delivered some outstanding racing, surprises and chills all in a single weekend of racing.
Two was the magic number in the Top Fuel ranks as both Shawn Langdon and Courtney Force earned their second career wins. Langdon put his Al-Anabi dragster in the middle of the field at then number seven spot and beat the likes of Clay Millican, number two qualifier Brandon Bernstein and teammate K alBalooshi to line up with seven time champ Tony Schumacher who got a bi-run in the semis as Antron Brown couldn’t make the call after a devastating round two top end crash. In the finals, Langdon left on a .011 light to Schumacher’s .042 and never looked back to the tune of a 3.721 at 322 mph.
Courtney Force qualified number on in her Traxxas Mustang, set low ET and top speed as she went on to beat Phil Burkart, Mat Hagan and Bob Tasca before facing Ron Capps in the finals. In the finals, Capps got a few thousandths off the line on Force but encountered some tire spin and had to pedal. Force drifted toward the centerline but kept the flopper in the lane and clicked off a 4.025 at 317.12 mph.
Pro Stock was an all Mopar power final with Vincent Nobile pairing off against new teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. The cars qualified at number five and six with their Allen Johnson powerplants making consistent power all weekend. In the final round, Nobile’s car stalled and Coughlin waited for his to refire only to have his own car nearly fail to restart sending his crew into a frenzy to get it fired. As the starter walked over to wave off the run, the Dodge came to life but the scene must have thrown Coughlin off as he drew the red light and Nobile claimed his sixth career win.
The Mello Yello series continues in Phoenix in two weeks!
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