NHRA Archives – Page 7 of 17 – Horsepower & Heels

Pritchett racing in Charlotte

April 20, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA Top Fuel driver, Leah Pritchett, has just confirmed that she will be competing at the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, NC. She will take the seat driving the Nitro Ninja Top Fuel dragster owned by the Lagana family with backing from primary sponsor FireAde 2000.

Pritchett and her entire Bob Vandergriff Racing team were recently released after a retirement announcement by owner Bob Vandergriff, Jr. This left the recent event winning Top Fuel driver scrambling once again as a free-agent to continue her driving career in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Since the surprise announcement last Monday, Pritchett was able to coordinate a joint effort between her primary sponsor in FireAde 2000 and longtime partners Bonifante Friction, Aerodine Composites, and her friends in the Lagana family. Prtichett racing in Charlotte is, for now, a one-race commitment allowing Leah to continue accruing points, and maintaining visibility on the circuit while searching for a long-term opportunity.

It has been a whirlwind of a week, but continuation of my pursuit to compete in Top Fuel has been made possible by FireAde 2000, with joint efforts of longtime partners Boninfante Friction, Aerodine Composites, and of course the Lagana family. Having partners able to come in clutch at the last moment enables me to enter one more race at this time, and will help me stay relevant in the NHRA Mello Yello Series Championship Point standings,” said Pritchett. “This will also buy me a bit more time to work on sufficient funding for the rest of the season to compete with a readily available team.”

FireAde 2000 joined Pritchett at the beginning of the season as a multi-race sponsor on her BVR dragster for 2016. Although her run there ended prematurely, the fire safety company has stepped up to support Leah at the 4-Wide Nationals event with the Lagana team.

Just as the FireAde products continue to surpass industry standards, whether fighting blazing wildfires on the land, in the oil fields, or with a can of FireAde 2000 that should be in every garage or household, they continue to exceed my expectations. FireAde is helping me get through this high temperature of a time, and as a dedicated partner, I look forward to representing them as best I can for as long as am I able to.”

Ron Thames, CEO and Founder of FireAde is also excited about this weekend stating, “In a short time Leah has proved to be an incredible ambassador for our company, on and off the track, and we are pleased to be able to continue our partnership with her and support her efforts during this time”.

Pritchett is grateful for the opportunity, and welcomes being surrounded by friends in the Lagana family and even a few of her former crew members at BVR. Ironically, she will be driving the same dragster she competed against just a few weeks ago at the Gatornationals, driven by rookie Tripp Tatum. The Nitro Ninja dragster runs on a limited schedule, but are always competitive, headed by crew chief John Stewart.

Beyond working alongside and being close friends with the Laganas, I feel fortunate to bring the proper resources to their operation to compete at this event. Experiencing this portion of my journey with people I know, respect, and trust, makes this quick turnaround of a time, that much more rewarding. I will even have a couple of my former crew members from my BVR dragster driving down and working on the car with me this weekend.”

Qualifying sessions for the 7th Annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals presented by Lowes Food begin on Friday at 4:30PM and 7:30PM EST. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 with qualifying coverage on Saturday at 10 PM and eliminations Sunday at 4:30 PM EST.

Leah Pritchett free agent again

April 11, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

An announcement by Bob Vandergriff, Jr. delivered a shocking blow in the NHRA Top Fuel pits today – unfortunately leaving Leah Pritchett a free agent again.

Competition Plus reported today that the two-car Bob Vandergriff Racing Top Fuel operation has been shut down effective immediately. All employees, including Top Fuel driver, Leah Pritchett, were released.

Vandergriff sited a personal decision to retire immediately from NHRA Drag Racing to spend time with his family. The loss of his friend and primary supporter, C&J Energy’s Josh Comstock, influenced his departure and immediate retirement.

I’ve missed a lot of things in my children’s lives over the years and the desire to spend more time at home with my family has weighed on me greatly the last few years and when combined with the struggles the oil and gas industry has been facing over the last 12-18 months it seemed like now was the right time to retire,” said Bob Vandergriff, Jr. according to a statement. (Source: Competition Plus)

Speculation about the financial state of C&J Energy, BVR’s primary sponsor, preceded the announcement as annual financial records showed a plummeting loss in 2015 for the publicly traded C&J Energy Services (NYSE: CJES) of $872.3M. (Source: Market Watch)

Leah Pritchett Free Agent Again

No stranger to free-agent status, Pritchett also encountered the loss of a ride when Dote Racing announced it would not return to NHRA Top Fuel competition after their 2015 partial season. Hard work and hustle during the off season led her to a late PRI announcement that paired her with Quaker State, FireAde and teamed her with Bob Vandergriff Racing.

Leah Pritchett joined the BVR team at the beginning of the 2016 season. She earned her first professional victory in the Top Fuel class in just her second event with the team.

With no word on the details of the Quaker State or FireAde agreements, the sudden loss of her BVR team makes Leah Pritchett a free agent again.

It is beyond unfortunate, surprising, and a tip of a seahorse to say the least with the retirement news of Bob…

Posted by Leah Pritchett on Monday, April 11, 2016

Her back against the wall several times before, we are confident the smart and business-savy NHRA Top Fuel champion will be back soon.

Our best wishes to Leah Pritchett and the entire BVR team as they pursue other opportunities.

LODRS Runner up for Meyer

April 10, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Fresh off a final appearance at the NHRA Gatornationals event, A-Fuel driver Megan Meyer continued her winning momentum with another runner-up finish at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (LODRS) Division 4 South Central Region “Nitro on the Bayou” season opening event.

The event marked the first Top Alcohol Dragster regional race for the South Central Division at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana. Megan Meyer and her Racer’s Evolved sponsored team, led by father and renowned Top Alcohol tuner, Randy Meyer, had never raced at the facility previously.

“Racing in Belle Rose, LA is a first for myself and my father, so we were both excited to be racing somewhere new,” said Megan of her LODRS debut.

The weekend started a bit off-paced for Meyer and her Racer’s Evolved team. Qualifying attempts on both Friday and Saturday resulted in traction problems on the unfamiliar track surface. But the rookie driver showed poise and control, pedaling her Racer’s Evolved A/Fuel dragster down the track to a No. 7 final qualifying position with a 5.511 second at 270.48 mph effort.

“Two quick pedal jobs for me landed me with a 5.51 at 270, which isn’t that bad of a pass, but definitely not what I was wanting,” the ambitious young driver said.

LODRS Nitro on the Bayou Eliminations

Her first round opponent on Saturday evening would be fellow competitor and friend, No. 2 qualified David Brounkowski. Without a complete pass in qualifying for data on the new track, Meyer and her team made some small changes between qualifying and the start of eliminations and were optimistic that it would put them back on-target.

Those changes would pay off, as Megan quickly closed a small starting line gap to power onto the round win, with a 5.294/271.19 mph to Brounkowski’s 5.613/251.91 mph. She also captured low E.T. for Rd. 1 with this impressive improvement, and would earn lane choice in Rd. 2.

On Sunday, Meyer would take on the No. 6 qualified Monroe Guest in Round 2 of eliminations. Although Guest would take a slight advantage on the start, Megan would take the semi-final victory, improving yet again with a 5.280/272.45 mph effort. Guest ran into traction problems early, sending Megan into her second consecutive final round against the No. 1 qualified Gord Gingles.

Meyer would not have lane choice entering her second consecutive final, and Gingles as the top qualifier, had been the car to beat all weekend. The pair left with nearly identical reactions, and Meyer posted a 5.358/270.97 mph run. But it would be Gingles holding onto the win with his 5.319/269.29mph.

LODRS Runner up for Meyer | TAD

This was Megan Meyer’s third career TAD runner-up finish. In March, she made her way through the field to a runner up finish at the NHRA Gatornationals event. She had also earned another regional LODRS runner-up finish at her 2015 debut in St. Louis.

The LODRS Nitro on the Bayou event marked the first of six South Central divisional races, where drivers accumulate points towards regional and national championships.

Megan Meyer partners with Horsepower & Heels

This weekend also marked the start of a new partnership between Megan Meyers and Horsepower & Heels, an organization dedicated to celebrating, promoting and supporting women in motorsports.

We are truly excited to have Megan joining with us at Horsepower & Heels. Her competitive and enthusiastic spirit represents everything that Horsepower & Heels is passionate about, and we look forward to showcasing her career and helping to support and promote her efforts in NHRA Drag Racing,” says Erica Ortiz, Horsepower & Heels founder.

Horsepower & Heels publishes regular news, features and updates on women in a wide variety of motorsports – from drivers, crew personnel, motorsport industry professionals and other women involved in automotive and racing. In addition to promoting the careers of female motorsport participants, Horsepower & Heels continues to expand offerings to help women in the sport by offering specialized training, public relations and marketing programs, and helps to build a network of trusted partners for and with women in motorsports.

Readers can follow Megan Meyer and her rookie Top Alcohol Dragster season at www.horsepowerandheels.com.

Fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria in Vegas

April 4, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

After a slow start to the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing season, “lady luck” has once again found her way to the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team. Progress from chassis changes made in Gainesville finally paid off at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, landing a fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria.

DeJoria qualified No. 6 with a 3.947 second elapsed time, placing her against Tommy Johnson Jr. in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday with lane choice. She would take the win in the Rd. 1 match-up, running a 4.006, 313.00 mph against Johnson Jr.’s 4.073, 308.35 mph effort.

Round two, DeJoria would meet former Funny Car champion Robert Hight, taking the holeshot win in a spectacular side-by-side finish – a 4.005 second, 315.86 mph effort defeating Hight’s quicker, 4.004 second, 320.20 mph pass.

Alexis would move onto take on 16x Funny Car champion and defending event winner, John Force, in the semi-finals, running 4.012 at 316.97 mph to his 4.053 at 319.52 mph. The win here pushed Alexis DeJoria into her seventh career final round against Kalitta teammate, and former World Champ, Del Worsham.

Vegas has been lucky for Alexis since 2013, where she has finished in the semi-finals or better. This year, hoping for a repeat of her 2014 NHRA Vegas Spring National event win, Alexis squared off against her teammate in another tight race to the finish. Lady luck didn’t disappoint in another hard-fought win, 3.968 at 315.49 mph defeating Del’s 3.988 at 323.58mph.

This wally marked the fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria in Funny Car competition, and the third straight event win for women in the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Series.

“To be a part of that, it’s incredible. Three women in the last three races including myself have won. It’s an amazing time in NHRA Drag Racing. We’ve come so far.”

The win comes after a rough start to the 2016 NHRA season and a 2015 season that included more ‘downs’ than ‘ups.’ DeJoria suffered two first round losses and bottom-half qualifying efforts at the past two events in 2016. But as history would have it, the Tequila Patrón team would find success once they returned to the Vegas drag strip.

“Man, we just needed to catch one break. Lately, we couldn’t get down the track much in qualifying and then the first round, we would turn it around and do so well, but the other person would just do a little bit better so it was a lot of tough breaks,” said DeJoria, whose last win came at the 2014 U.S. Nationals.

Racing her teammate and mentor, Del Worsham in the final was a memorable occasion for DeJoria, marking the first all-Kalitta Motorsports final.

“It’s been a dream of mine to race Del in the finals, and going up against him, it’s no easy feat. I was pretty excited to race him in the final but man, I wanted to win so bad,” said DeJoria.

Sorting out some issues that had been plaguing the team, their hard work finally granted them the consistency that proved key this time, leading the team to a fourth career win for Alexis DeJoria.

“This fourth trophy was definitely a difficult one to come by. It took a lot of races to get here but we’ve been consistent all weekend. We made four good runs in qualifying and on race day as well. I don’t know the last time we’ve done that. We definitely didn’t do it at the last race, that’s for sure. It’s just been such a turnaround. The last race was heartbreaking because I knew we could do better and we definitely accomplished that this weekend,” said DeJoria.

DeJoria’s win moved her from ninth in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship points standings up to eighth with 233 points. The win also earned her a spot in the prestigious Traxxas Nitro Shootout.

“I’m just so proud of my team. My guys have worked so incredibly hard and really turned everything around. They’ve done such a good job and it’s just been an awesome weekend. To top it all off, the Patrón Spirits Company’s corporate office is here, and to be able to put our Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry in the Winners Circle once again in their backyard is just incredible.”

Relaxed pace for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Katie Sullivan

March 22, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Beside the big sea of semi-rigs and stacker trailers, a smaller grassroots-style gooseneck trailer sits at the end of the PRO pit row. The pit configuration is more fitting of the relaxed pace for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Katie Sullivan and her father-daughter team based out of Corning, California. Sullivan, who at age 18 was the youngest female to ever qualify for and NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event, has been a steady face in the class ever since, working hard to make her Pro Stock Motorcycle dream a reality.

She began in the Junior Dragster ranks at the age of nine, quickly falling in love with the sport and earning herself one track championship, one runner-up, and numerous event wins in the junior ranks. Around age 12, she fell in love watching motorcycles racing, and knew she belonged on a drag bike. That dream turned into a reality shortly after her 16th birthday. Her first year on a drag bike, she appeared in 5 finals and qualified number 1 at numerous events. But at the age of 17, she suffered a devastating knee injury while playing high school basketball, that sidelined her racing.

Determined to come back to her motorcycle, she spent hours in physical therapy with the goal to climb back on the bike and resume her racing career. Once she was able to overcome the injury, she quickly set her sights on becoming the youngest female to ever qualify in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle. At 18, just days after her high school graduation, Katie was able to accomplish her goal of qualifying for an NHRA national event. She became just the seventh female to do so in the class, and even earned her first round win against her childhood idol, Karen Stoffer in her first professional start.

In 2009, Katie and Charlie purchased their own Pro Stock Motorcycle, embarking on their own program which has allowed Katie the flexibility to finish her college education and handling her full-time responsibilities for her two own businesses: Kalifornia Katie’s Trailer Sales and Tough Girl Designs. Though she would love to be out on the tour full-time, the fun and family-focused relaxed pace for Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Katie Sullivan has been very rewarding for her personally. The duo spend their time together traveling on the road to races, and working on the bike during the evening hours when home. Though it may be a lot of hard work for the small team, and can be especially tiring when returning to a full-time job at home, Katie says her heart is in NHRA PSM racing, as evident by her persistent smile. At the track, she enjoys interacting with the fans in a more relaxed and friendly setting, and takes time to help inspire kids by allowing them to be up close to her PSM bike, even sitting them on the seat for photos.

2016 Gatornationals

Katie and her dad Charlie made the over 40 hour and 2,900 mile haul from their northern California home base to Gainesville, Florida for the 47th annual Amalie Motor Oils NHRA Gatornationals, the Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) class season opening event. Last season, they attended 5 events total – Charlotte, Denver, Sonoma, Las Vegas and Pomona – finishing 23rd out of 39 drivers in the class at the end of the year. They made a few changes over the off-season on her Suzuki PSM and were ready to get started in Katie’s eighth professional PSM season of racing in Gainesville.

But the family encountered some unexpected issues in qualifying. In the opening round, Katie made it about 400 feet out before having to abort, coasting to an 11.695 at 68.94 mph. Round two saw her launch stray towards the wall, resulting in another aborted run of 12.132 at 63.73 mph. In round three, she made her best pass of the weekend, running a 7.136 at 187.26 mph, moving her from the bottom of the ladder to the No. 23 position. Between rounds, the team had made some changes to the carburetors looking to improve, but something went wrong in the linkages after the burnout, and while trying to stage the bike for her final attempt to get into the field, the idle refused to come down. NHRA shut the bike down for safety, and Katie would not qualify for the Gatornationals this year, ending up in the No. 25 spot.

Undiscouraged, she plans to try again at the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte later in April. They will regroup and come up with a game plan to pick back up and improve their efforts. Always mindful of their limited resources, they arranged to house the bike with a fellow competitor on the east coast to avoid another pair of cross-country hauls. Though she has yet to earn her first event victory, she’s having fun and to her, that’s just as rewarding.

Best of luck to “Kalifornia” Katie Sullivan!

Mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey

March 22, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Angelle Sampey was fresh off a near-perfect test session with her brand new Star Racing Buell NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle entering the 47th annual AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle World Champion posted her career-best ET on the new bike in only the second pass of testing. As they arrived at Gainesville Raceway, the Star Racing team showed plenty of confidence in the new program. But mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey meant the team had plenty of hard work on their hands for the duration of the weekend. She made the field, but would not have the season opening event she had hoped for, exiting early in the first round of eliminations.

Mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey plague qualifying

The very first session, Angelle would launch hard, but something went amiss on the bike, and by half track she was coasting to an 8.629 at 98.03 mph effort. Star Racing team owner, George Bryce, took it back to the pits and discovered that the engine had expired in 4th gear. That left them swapping engines between rounds.

Round two, Angelle was able to get it down the track, and jumped up the ladder with a 6.854 second E.T. at 192.44 mph. It was good enough to get her the provisional No. 4 position, but the back-up engine also had issues at the lights.

Angelle made it to high gear before we tossed a pushrod out,” said Bryce after the run. “Still went 6.85, we where down 5 MPH, as she coasted through.”

This meant engine number three for Angelle, and the Star Racing team was back to work in the pits, preparing for the third round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Sampey, who had maintained the provisional No. 4 qualifying position entering the third round, would complete her burnout and begin to stage when the starter spotted fluid coming from the bike – an oil leak, and shut her down.

After taking care of the oil leak, Angelle and her Star team would have one last qualifying attempt to try and gain some data on the track and the swap to back up engine #3. Sitting at the back of staging awaiting her final qualifying pass, a few in front of her would bump her down the ladder a few spots. She would take the line in the No. 7 position, and would get down the track with a 6.847 at 195.70 mph pass, enough to push her up to the No. 5 final qualifying position. The pass was the third-quickest run of the round, giving her 1 additional bonus qualifying point.

Seeing Red in Eliminations

With a secure spot in the top half of the eliminations ladder, Sampey would face No. 12 Jim Underdahl in the opening round on Sunday. She had lane choice, and entered the round calm and confident on the bike. But unfortunately, the dreaded red light came on for Angelle by just -0.002 thousandths of a second, handing the win to Underdahl. She would post a 6.956-second pass at 197.19 mph.

The bike bogged at the launch,” said Sampey. “I have to tell you, I don’t know what else I could’ve done differently. I did everything like I usually do and I can’t believe it went red. After I launched, it bogged so bad it almost died. We’re thinking that contributed to why it went red.”

An early exit was a big disappointment to Angelle and the PSE/Star Racing team, but Sampey knows the team made a lot of progress, although they did not experience the successes they were hoping for.

George Bryce confirmed that the red light was due more to mechanical difficulties for Angelle Sampey and not driver error.

“We got beat and outrun,” said Bryce of the first round loss. “I missed the clutch tune up, the clutch did not slip at all. A Pro Stock motorcycle must have clutch slip at the launch. When Angelle popped the clutch the bike just reacted too quick AND the engine bogged 2800 RPM. I try to get it to 600 to 700 rpm bog. Of course all of that “helped” her go -.002 red light. She was very calm and confident and the starting line, 1st round but, when the engine almost choked off, it took so long to recover. The time for the quarter mile took too long, 6.95 instead of the time it should have run. Good news is she still ran over 197 MPH on that bogging run.”

Sampey didn’t let it keep her down long though. She knows that they are working out some early issues and is ready to get to the next event to pick back up and show the field what they are truly capable of doing in the class.

“I feel I was lucky to be No. 5 with all the trouble we had with the engines in qualifying. It’s the first race of the season and I’m riding a brand new motorcycle. It’s the first race back with two bikes and we’re trying to learn. It was a productive weekend even though it wasn’t a successful weekend by our standards.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors watch out, Angelle and the Star Racing team is coming for them. The next race for the Pro Stock Motorcycle class will be the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina April 22-24, 2016.

Narrow first round loss for Enders

March 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

Two-time reigning NHRA Pro Stock World Champion, Erica Enders has had a rough start to her 2016 season. The 47th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals ended in another narrow first round loss for Enders, ultimately losing by a hundredth of a second, her third straight first-round loss this year.

We’re getting so close to where we want to be, and we knew making the switch to Mopar would take some adjustments, but it’s still frustrating when you lose a drag race,” Enders said, “especially when you consider all of the success we’ve had the last two seasons.”

Enders went door-handle-to-door-handle with good friend and fellow competitor Allen Johnson in the opening round of eliminations, running a losing 6.639 at 208.65 mph to his 6.634 at 208.97 mph.

I could see ‘Brutus’ (Johnson) out of the corner of my eye the whole way down,” Enders said. “That’s one big advantage we have without the hood scoop any more — you can see everything. I just did my thing and tried to be perfect going through the gears, but we came up a fender short.”

Johnson left with a miniscule .006-second head start but was able to hold off Enders’ Elite Motorsports/Mopar Dodge Dart as the two streaked down Gainesville Raceway. The margin of victory at top speed was estimated to be about four feet.

I keep saying it but we’ve only had these Hemi motors for a month, so it’s new to all of us, but when Jake Hairston and Nick Ferri tell me there are big things to come, I believe them. The more and more runs we make and the more dyno time those two have, the better it will be.”

Enders and her Elite team have been wrestling with an entire new program – a new car, new NHRA mandated changes to EFI, no hood scoops, shorter wheelie bars, and the typical learning curve associated with that drastic of change.

I know we’ll be alright and the guys are upbeat and telling me not to get down, but I suppose I’ve gotten a little spoiled. At the same time, I know we have the best team, the best crew guys, the best tuners, the best engine builders in the world under this awning, so there’s no doubt we’ll be back to our winning ways very soon. We just have to be patient.”

The next stop on the NHRA tour is the 17th annual Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, April 1-3, at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, although Enders thinks she’ll be in the seat before that race begins.

I’d imagine the guys will want to test some more,” Enders said. “It’s easy for us to go to Keith Haney’s track in Tulsa (Okla.) because it’s close to the race shop and that track is so good it’s just like anything we see on the national tour. We’ll probably hit it hard when the truck gets back to Oklahoma.”

First final for Megan Meyer

March 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

NHRA A/Fuel rookie Megan Meyer made quite an entrance in her official rookie season debut at the 47^th Annual Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The event earned her team the Best Appearing car award in Gainesville, as well as marking the first final for Megan Meyer in the Top Alcohol Dragster class.

With the persistent rain in Gainesville over the course of Thursday – Saturday, it certainly didn’t look good for Top Alcohol Dragster class – limited to two qualifying sessions. In the first session, Megan lost traction and had to abort the run, coasting to an 11 second elapsed time and barely a spot on the 16 car ladder. They waited through to the late evening for their second round attempt, where Meyers was able to shoot up the ladder with a career-best qualifying time of 5.224 at 276.75 mph. She held the #1 position until she was bumped by Mia Tedesco to the No. 2 final qualifying spot entering Saturday eliminations – the first time two women held the top TAD qualifying spots since Brittany and Courtney Force qualified 1 and 2 in 2010.

This would place her against John Finke for the opening round of eliminations. She takes the lead at the tree, running straight down the the groove with a career-best ET of 5.203 at 278.00 mph to Finke’s losing 5.611 at 257.97 mph. She would face the other Finke car driven by Jackie in the second round on Sunday.

Meyer would carry lane choice into round two Sunday afternoon. At the hit, Jackie’s car would go up in smoke forcing her to abort the run, while Megan would take the advantage at the tree and continue down the track with a 5.611 at 274.83 mph, sailing onto the win and the semi-finals. She would face Jerry Powell, but would not have lane choice in the pairing. On the line, Megan would take the early advantage, never looking back with a 5.234 at 274.61 mph while Powell suffers traction issues and aborts the run. She earns the win, marking the first final for Megan Meyer in national event TAD competition.

On the other side of the ladder, Rich McPhillips would upset No. 1 qualified Mia Tedesco to face Megan. The ninth final for McPhillips, he held the advantage with three previous class victories going into the deciding round. This round, it was McPhillips who would strike first at the tree, outrunning Megan after a pedal-fest with a slower 5.567 at 266.95 mph to Megan’s 5.564 at 273.55mph, a hole-shot victory for McPhillip and a difference of 0.0101 seconds or four feet at the finish line.

AMAZING job to the McPhillips team and I’m so, so, so proud of the Randy Meyer Racing Team for all that they put into this hotrod all weekend long!! We accomplished many achievements in just a few days and I’m still speechless! A huge thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters around the world!!!!!”

Megan Meyer and team win best appearing car at the Gatornationals — Photo: NHRA.com

Megan narrowly misses her first win in Top Alcohol Dragster, and defending the her dad’s 2015 Gatornationals victory, but she and the team did win the Best Appearing Car/Crew in Gainesville, after they unveiled new Racers Evolved livery on their 2015 Copeland A/Fuel chassis.

DeJoria adapts to new chassis changes

March 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

The Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrón team had their work cut out for them entering the 47^th annual NHRA Gatornationals as NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria adapts to new chassis changes made between races.

Following the Phoenix race, Team Patrón decided to run teammate and 2015 Funny Car World Champion Del Worsham’s back-up chassis going forward. Despite the initial challenges, crew chief Tommy DeLago feels confident that the adjustment will pay off in the long haul and make Team Patrón that much more competitive as the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season labors on.

The Patron team struggled to make it down the track throughout most of qualifying during this weekend’s three-day history-rich event at Gainesville Raceway. The car failed to make a full pull until the fourth round, where a run of 4.041-seconds at 314.61-mph put them in the No. 12 qualifying spot going into round one of eliminations. Sunday morning, DeJoria found herself without the advantage of lane choice against opponent Matt Hagan.

DeJoria falls first round — Photo: Gary Nastase

DeJoria was able to make progress, powering her Patrón Toyota Camry down the drag strip in 3.992-secs in the opening session, her best run of the weekend. But it wasn’t enough to take the win, as the Patrón team came up short against Hagan’s 3.966-second run, ending their day early in Gainesville.

This weekend we started running Del’s back-up chassis,” said DeJoria, a three-time Funny Car winner, adding, “Our car that we started the year off with had a ton of runs on it so we wanted to try out a new chassis and see if making that change could get us back to where we want to be performance-wise. That being said, there are a lot of different things on the car that we all need to adapt to. Not only is the chassis different, taking different input from the crew chiefs, but as a driver, the steering wheel is different, the brake handle is different, the reverser is different, my seat belts are different; so it might take a race or two to get this thing handled. We’re chipping away at it, little by little, and once we figure everything out, I think we’re going to do really well. We made another full pass again today and we’re back in the three-second range again, so that’s a plus. We didn’t get the round win but we were really concerned about trying to make progress with this new setup that we have.”

DeJoria made it to Round 2 in the Pomona season opener, but also exited in the opening round in Phoenix. They are hoping the chassis changes will help them to regain ground in the Funny Car points chase, where she currently sits in the No. 9 position. The team is looking forward to the upcoming 17th Annual DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals on April 1-3 in Las Vegas, where Alexis earned her second Funny Car win previously.

“I think Vegas will be good- we’re looking forward to that race,” DeJoria said. “This chassis will prove to be much better than what we ran in the first two races.“

Brittany Force lands first career Top Fuel win

March 21, 2016 // by Horsepower & Heels

It was a magical day filled with smiles for NHRA Top Fuel driver, Brittany Force at the 47th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The third-year driver made it to her eighth career final in Top Fuel against Terry McMillen, the second consecutive final after a narrow defeat against Leah Pritchett in Phoenix. This time, Brittany Force lands first career Top Fuel win, capturing the lead in the championship points for the first time in her career as well.

The Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster was the car to beat all day long. Brittany posted the quickest passes in every round of eliminations, leading up to the final.

Gatornationals Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations

In the first round, she would face Morgan Lucas, a former 2012 Gatornational champ and an adversary she had not yet scored a victory against in their two prior meetings. But in round 1, she would leave first and never look back. Brittany defeated Morgan Lucas with a 3.739 second run at 319.45 mph over his losing 3.770 second, 316.75 mph effort.

Gatornationals Top Fuel Round 2 Eliminations

Brittany would face rookie Tripp Tatum – the 26th competitor she has faced in Top Fuel, and although the Monster Energy dragster dropped a cylinder at launch, Brittany would keep it in the groove through to the finish, running a 3.808 second, at 311.05 mph. Tatum would run a clean 3.890 at 320.05 mph, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

Gatornationals Top Fuel Round 3 Eliminations

Brittany Force, Terry McMillen, Dave Connolly and Clay Millican remained in the semi-finals, each vying for their first victory in NHRA Top Fuel competition. The first pair would see McMillen take the win after Millican smoked the tires at the start. Brittany proceeded to dispatch Connolly, running her best effort all weekend – a 3.729 second at 323.89 mph. This would give Force lane choice over McMillen in the final.

Gatornationals Top Fuel Final Eliminations

The final round would see the addition of a 102nd different winner in the history of Top Fuel to the books. McMillen was vying for his first at his longtime sponsor, Amalie Oil’s title event, while Brittany hoped to bring home the first Top Fuel win for John Force Racing. Brittany has appeared in eight previous finals, against six different opponents. But wait no more, as Brittany Force lands her first career Top Fuel win – running a 3.772 at 318.77 mph against McMillen’s 3.981 second, 266.90 fireball, engine expiring effort.

Brittany is sixth different driver that Alan Johnson has tuned to their first pro win after Blaine Johnson in 1995, Gary Scelzi in 1997, Bruce Sarver in 2000, Shawn Langdon in 2012 and Khalid alBalooshi, also in 2012. She is the ninth different woman to win in Top Fuel – joining Shirley Muldowney (1976), Lucille Lee (1982), Lori Johns (1990), Shelly Payne (1993), Christen Powell (1997), Melanie Troxel (2006), Hillary Will (2008), and Leah Pritchett (2016) in the record books. Her win coming after Pritchett’s inaugural wally in Phoenix, not only makes it the first time since 1982 that two different women have won a Top Fuel race in the same season, but also at consecutive races, after Shirley Muldowney won the 1982 Gatornationals and Lucille Lee also won the next race in Atlanta.

Photo: Gary Nastase

Last weekend was incredible and we almost made it there and I was definitely very bummed but very proud of my entire team because they worked so hard to get here. Today when we came out here, and driving out to the track and I was feeling good,” Force said from the winner’s circle. “As a driver I had that feeling, I had it in my stomach and just felt like we were going to go all the way. We finally did and I have been chasing this for so many years and this is a proud moment to be standing here today. I have to thank my entire team, my crew chiefs Brian Husen and Alan Johnson – thank you for getting us here. I love all my guys. Thank you to my family, especially my dad, for giving me this opportunity.”

Brittany leaves the Gatornationals event with the Top Fuel points lead heading into the next event, the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, April 1-4 in Las Vegas, NV.

Watch Brittany Force lands first career Top Fuel win

The first time is so so SWEET! Brittany Force wins her first Top Fuel Wally in Gainesville. Share to congratulate. #NHRA #AmalieGatornats

Posted by NHRA on Sunday, March 20, 2016