Courtney Force drag raced her way to her first Funny Car victory of the 2016 season in the SpringNationals at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. This victory marked the fifth time in the young NHRA’s Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series season that an event has featured a woman as a winner.
Courtney Force posted a 3.913 second quarter mile at 327.90 mph in her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS defeating the number one qualifier Tim Wilkerson. Wilkerson powered his Levi Ray/Shoup Ford Shelby Mustang to a 3.943 at 323.81. This is Courtney Force’s eighth career triumph and her first win since seizing victory in 2014 at St. Louis. The female speedster now shares the Funny Car points lead with Wilkerson. Courtney Force outran Robert Bode, Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. in the previous rounds before facing Wilkerson in the final.
“It was a pretty amazing weekend for our Traxxas Chevy Camaro team,” Courtney Force said. “I was nervous going into the final against Wilkerson. I knew what kind of numbers he could put on the board and I knew I just had to be right there with him. We’ve been working really hard and I feel like this one felt even better than my first ever career win. We wanted it more than anything.”
In Top Fuel Drag Racing category, Doug Kalitta took the holeshot win in his third close race. The three time NHRA Top Fuel champion outraced Steve Torrence to claim the glory. Kalitta had eliminated Terry Haddock, Kebin Kinsley and Leah Pritchett on his way to the final.
Doug Kalitta earned his 39th career victory and the win tied him with Antron Brown and Kenny Bernstein for fourth on the Top Fuel all-time wins chart. The win moved Kalitta into second in points, just one point behind Brittany Force. Force, who has won twice in 2016, was eliminated early in the very first round. Brown is third and Steve Torrence is in the fourth position.
“I actually didn’t realize I had won until I had gotten to the end and turned around and came back,” Kalitta said. “I was real happy. It’s good to get a win and get the momentum going. It just charges everybody up. It was just a really good day for us.”
Perhaps what fans will remember the most was the incredibly huge explosion that kept Terry McMillen from advancing out of the first round against Tony Schumacher. McMillen was okay but it was quite the display for drag racing enthusiasts. As you can see in the photo to the left, the fireball filled up the whole left lane as only half the fuel had been burned through during the run.
In Pro Stock Division speedster Greg Anderson won his third event of the young season on another holeshot start, against Ken Black Racing teammate Jason Line. Anderson charged his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro to a 6.630 at 209.43 to defeat the point leader Line’s 6.597 at 209.95 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. Anderson has three career wins at the SpringNationals, and he was also the number one qualifier for this tournament.
The two teammates have combined to win the first six races of the 2016 season and share three triumphs each. Jason Line made his sixth straight Pro Stock final appearance of the 2016 season in Baytown, Texas. He qualified second with a 6.590/210.14 run, right behind teammate Greg Anderson. Line defeated Vince Gaines in Round One, and defeated KB Racing teammate Bo Butner in the semi-finals to reach the final round against Anderson.
“It was a tremendous day today. I was having a ball out there. I kept wondering when it was going to rain, and then kept saying please don’t, because I felt great,” said Anderson. “The car was just a dream to drive. Rob and the boys did a great job with the car and it was a blast to drive. When you can make it all the way to the finals with your teammate, then the gloves come off, you duke it out, you have fun, and you have bragging rights for two weeks. I felt a little bit bad for Jason—just a little bit, though.”
NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing Point Standings Update:
| Top Fuel | Driver | Points | PB | Builder | ||
| 1 | Brittany Force | 464 | 0 | Force | ||
| 2 | Doug Kalitta | 463 | -1 | Kalitta | ||
| 3 | Antron Brown | 445 | -19 | DSR | ||
| 4 | Steve Torrence | 417 | -47 | MLR | ||
| 5 | Clay Millican | 355 | -109 | Hadman | ||
| 6 | JR Todd | 316 | -148 | Kalitta | ||
| 7 | Tony Schumacher | 295 | -169 | DSR | ||
| 8 | Leah Pritchett | 291 | -173 | Hadman | ||
| 9 | Richie Crampton | 275 | -189 | MLR | ||
| 10 | Terry McMillan | 259 | -205 | DSR | ||
| 11 | Shawn Langdon | 219 | -245 | DSR | ||
| 12 | Dave Connolly | 217 | -247 | MLR | ||
| 13 | Troy Buff | 188 | -276 | Bill Miller | ||
| 14 | Scott Palmer | 176 | -288 | McKinney | ||
| 15 | Morgan Lucas | 84 | -380 | MLR | ||
| Funny Car | Driver | Points | PB | Make | ||
| 1 | Courtney Force | 439 | 0 |  |
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| 1 | Tim Wilkerson | 439 | 0 |  |
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| 3 | Ron Capps | 417 | -22 |  |
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| 4 | Robert Hight | 404 | -35 | |
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| 5 | John Force | 384 | -55 | |
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| 6 | Jack Beckman | 379 | -60 | |
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| 7 | Del Worsham | 376 | -63 |  |
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| 8 | Alexis De Joria | 339 | -100 | |
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| 9 | Chad Head | 303 | -136 | |
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| 10 | Matt Hagan | 280 | -159 | |
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| 11 | Tommy Johnson | 274 | -165 | |
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| 12 | Cruz Pedregon | 272 | -167 | |
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| 13 | Jon Hale | 188 | -251 | |
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| 14 | Jeffery Diehl | 144 | -295 | |
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| 15 | James Campell | 140 | -299 | |||
