The Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals final rounds have been postponed because of inclement weather. NHRA officials divulged the Funny Car final round between Del Worsham and Ron Capps and the Top Fuel final round between Antron Brown and Steve Torrence will be concluded during the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd.
After several days of interrupting rain, the Pro Stock final between Washington’s Aaron Strong and Vincent Nobile will be ran at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals on August 31st through September 5th.
On a sunnier note, Del Worsham snapped the Funny Car elapsed-time national record not once but twice on Saturday. Furthermore, the high speeds achieved by Worsham allowed him to qualify in the top spot for the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals. The defending 2015 season champion, had a 3.841 second run at 330.15 miles per hour in the first round.
The run at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals was the quickest Funny Car pass in recorded history. In the second session, the seasoned veteran shot down the track with a 3.832 second pass at 330.88 miles per hour. The blazing run eclipsed the record he just set earlier that day.
“We brought this car out at Denver and this thing has just been on fire,” Worsham said. “The car ran great numbers at Denver. We went to Sonoma and qualified No. 1, and came here to the NHRA Northwest Nationals and ran record times. It’s coming together at the right time of the year, but tomorrow is when it counts.”
Del Worsham, the new national elapsed time record holder, out-dragged Tim Gibbons in the first round of eliminations. Robert Hight fell victim to Worsham in the second round and Matt Hagan in the third. Worsham will be squaring off in the finals against four-time 2016 season winner, Ron Capps.
Ron Capps defeated Brandon Welch in his first round of eliminations and Tommy Johnson Jr. in the second session. Capps then put the pedal to the metal in the semi-finals and blew past Jeff Diehl. Furthermore, Capps captured his eighth final round appearance of the season.
Reigning and defending world champion Antron Brown defeated T.J. Zizzo in the first round of eliminations. The points leader also sped past Clay Millican in the second round and Morgan Lucas in the third. This will be Brown’s sixth final round event of the season.
The number two qualifier Steve Torrence, out-dragged took Scott Palmer in his first round of competition. After a fairly easy run in the first leg, he out-raced Richie Crampton in the second round. As a result, Torrence was pitted against last years winner J.R. Todd in the final. This is the former champions fifth final round appearance of the 2016 Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series.
Racing in his home state, Aaron Strong dominated the early rounds of eliminations. He defeated the four-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson in his first run. Strong backed that performance up by out-racing the two-time defending world champion Erica Enders in the second.
Bo Butner also fell to the native son in the semi-final round. Amazingly, this was Strong’s first final round appearance of his career. Vincent Nobile will be facing Strong in the finals. Noble received a bye in the first round and went on to defeat Shane Gray in the second. As a result, Noble faces the six-time world champion Jason Line for a chance to claim his first win in 2016.
NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series will resume in Brainerd, Minnesota with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. The contest begins on August 18th-21st, at Brainerd International Raceway.
Current Point NHRA Mello Yellow Point Standings:
| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Builder | ||
| 1 | Antron Brown | 1301 | 0 | DSR | ||
| 2 | Doug Kalitta | 1201 | -100 | Kalitta | ||
| 3 | Steve Torrence | 1177 | -124 | MLR | ||
| 4 | Brittany Force | 1044 | -257 | Force | ||
| 5 | Tony Schumacher | 1036 | -265 | DSR | ||
| 6 | J.R. Todd | 960 | -341 | Kalitta | ||
| 7 | Shawn Langdon | 888 | -413 | DSR | ||
| 8 | Richie Crampton | 806 | -495 | MLR | ||
| 9 | Clay Millican | 770 | -531 | Hadman | ||
| 10 | Leah Pritchett | 604 | -697 | DSR | ||
| 11 | Terry Mc Millen | 585 | -716 | DSR | ||
| 12 | Scott Palmer | 384 | -917 | McKinney | ||
| 13 | Troy Buff | 278 | -1023 | Bill Miller | ||
| 14 | Terry Haddock | 259 | -1042 | Dragster | ||
| 15 | Chris Karamesines | 237 | -1064 | DSR | ||
| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Make | ||
| 1 | Ron Capps | 1313 | 0 |  |
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| 2 | Courtney Force | 1124 | -189 |  |
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| 3 | Jack Beckman | 1088 | -225 | |
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| 4 | Del Worsham | 1070 | -243 |  |
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| 5 | Matt Hagan | 1011 | -302 | |
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| 6 | Robert Hight | 988 | -325 | |
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| 7 | John Force | 970 | -343 | |
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| 8 | Tommy Johnson | 940 | -373 | |
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| 9 | Tim Wilkerson | 862 | -451 |  |
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| 10 | Alexis De Joria | 765 | -548 | |
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| 11 | Chad Head | 650 | -663 | |
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| 12 | Cruz Pedregon | 619 | -694 | |
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| 13 | John Hale | 520 | -793 | |
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| 14 | Jeffrey Diehl | 467 | -846 | |
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| 15 | James Campbell | 264 | -1049 | |
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| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Make | ||
| 1 | Jason Line | 1659 | 0 | |
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| 2 | Greg Anderson | 1629 | -30 | |
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| 3 | Bo Butner | 1149 | -510 | |
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| 4 | Allen Johnson | 993 | -666 | |
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| 5 | Vincent Nobile | 918 | -741 | |
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| 6 | Drew Skillman | 837 | -822 | |
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| 7 | Shane Gray | 791 | -868 | |
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| 8 | Chris McGaha | 749 | -910 | |
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| 9 | Jeg Coughlin | 697 | -962 | |
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| 10 | Erica Enders | 670 | -989 | |
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| 11 | Alex Laughlin | 661 | -998 | |
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| 12 | V Gaines | 374 | -1285 | |
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| 13 | Kenny Delco | 323 | -1336 | |
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| 14 | Deric Kramer | 307 | -1352 | |
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| 15 | Matthew Hartford | 263 | -1396 | |
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| Position | Driver | Points | PB | Make | ||
| 1 | Eddie Krawiec | 824 | 0 |  |
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| 2 | Andrew Hines | 735 | -89 | |
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| 3 | Angelle Sampey | 595 | -229 |  |
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| 4 | Gerald Savoie | 556 | -268 |  |
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| 5 | LE Tonglet IV | 484 | -340 | |
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| 6 | Hector Arana | 427 | -397 | |
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| 7 | Chip Ellis | 422 | -402 | |
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| 8 | Matt Smith | 344 | -480 |  |
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| 9 | Hector Arana Jr | 305 | -519 | |
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| 10 | Steve Johnson | 300 | -524 | |
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| 11 | Michael Ray | 294 | -530 | |
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| 12 | Karen Stoffer | 275 | -549 | |
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| 13 | Cory Reed | 249 | -575 | |
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| 14 | Scott Pollacheck | 234 | -590 | |
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| 15 | James Underdahl | 228 | -596 | |
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