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Driver of Matco's Tools for the Cause Top Fuel Dragster
Matco's Tools for the Cause to benefit the Fisher House Foundation
 

Qualified: No. 2 (3.715 E.T. at 328.14 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.736 E.T. at 327.11 MPH defeated Brittany Force 5.776 E.T. at 112.30 MPH
E2: 3.789 E.T. at 322.96 MPH defeated Jordan Vandergriff 3.805 E.T. at 318.54 MPH
E3: 6.050 E.T. at 89.27 MPH defeated by Steve Torrence 3.804 E.T. at 322.42 MPH

Race Recap:
Following a runner-up finish at the previous event in Richmond, Va., Antron Brown was looking to go one step further on Sunday at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals and pick up his first event win of the 2019 season.
 
His race day campaign started with a round-one meeting with No. 15 qualifier Brittany Force. Against the former world champion, Brown was machine-like, cutting a quick 0.057 reaction time to earn the holeshot advantage. His winning 3.736 E.T. awarded him with lane choice against rookie Jordan Vandergriff in round two. Once again, Brown was first on the throttle and first to cross the finish line. In the semifinals, he faced friend and reigning Top Fuel champion and current point leader Steve Torrence. Brown had a small starting line advantage but his engine gave way to a huge fireball shortly after launch and Torrence was able to drive away with the round win, ending the three-time world champion’s day at the semifinals.

Quotable:
“All in all, it was a good weekend. We qualified second, ran low E.T. of round one, second low of round two. The good part is, we’re getting to the place where we want to be. The car is performing well, and we’re getting back into our game. A win is right around the corner, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing. I feel really good about our guys, and where our whole team is at right now. We’re improving, and each week we’re getting one step closer to where we want to be. I feel like we’re going to go on that championship run this year and I just feel very blessed and fortunate to be with the group of guys I’m with.”

Driver of the Okuma Top Fuel Dragster
 

Qualified: No. 8 (3.776 E.T. at 327.82 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 4.736 E.T. at 137.39 MPH defeated by T.J. Zizzo 3.821 E.T. at 313.22 MPH

Race Recap:
The 2018 Route 66 NHRA Nationals Top Fuel runner-up qualified eighth for the 22nd running of team owner Don Schumacher’s hometown event. Decked out in her brand-new blue Okuma livery, Leah Pritchett faced another Chicago-area local, T.J. Zizzo, in round one. She was first out of the gate against her opponent but by the time she neared halftrack, the pipes went wet on her 11,000-horsepower machine and the engine let go with a massive explosion causing a rear tire to blow. Pritchett masterfully guided her car to a safe stop while her competitor drove to the round win.

Quotable:

“First and foremost, unfortunately, we did not get the win light, which is disappointing. But man, we were on one heck of a pass going for a low 3.70 before we had a part malfunction which led to a chain of events eventually resulting in all hell breaking loose and a cut tire among other things. We can repair parts. Every safety mechanism we had in place on the car did its job. I was able to get the car straight and stopped. Our crew chiefs and engineers are all working toward making sure a situation like that doesn’t happen again. We had the best-case scenario in a worst-case storm in regards to safety. Sometimes people lose sight of these cars and the fast show we put on that it could end a different way. I’m thankful for the team that I have and the guys back at the shop for developing a great chassis and parts. We’re keeping our sights on win lights, but for now, we’re focused on fixing this problem.”

 

JACK BECKMAN
Driver of the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
 

Qualified: No. 5 (3.899 E.T. at 331.28 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.930 E.T. at 329.18 MPH defeated Blake Alexander 4.250 E.T. at 222.77 MPH
E2: 3.962 E.T. at 329.75 MPH defeated Jeff Arend 4.028 E.T. at 317.49 MPH
E3: 4.352 E.T. at 206.86 MPH defeated by Robert Hight 4.105 E.T. at 239.40 MPH

Race Recap:
The 2012 Funny Car world champion drew Blake Alexander as his round-one opponent after qualifying in the No. 5 seed for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals. ‘Fast’ Jack Beckman lived up to his nickname when he unloaded with a 3.930-second at 329.18-mph run against the part-time racer, which held up to be the quickest and fastest of race day.
 
In round two, Beckman ripped off another impressive run – a winning 3.962-second E.T. against fellow Frank Hawley Drag Racing School instructor, Jeff Arend.

The semifinal round pitted Beckman against the current point leader, Robert Hight. Against Hight, Beckman suffered an uncharacteristic miscue when he stood on the throttle early and activated the red light, handing the round win to Hight.

Quotable:
“I feel about three inches tall right now. My job as a driver is to go up there and drive the car well, and I didn’t, and what makes it sting even worse is, we had the better car that round. Not to say we would’ve won the race but we certainly would’ve won that round and I gave it away with a red light. There’s no silver lining on that. I’m not going to beat myself up for two days because that doesn’t work. I’m going to go home and be dad for two days then get back on an airplane and head to Topeka. Our car is getting down the track consistently. I think staying on Monday at Richmond and testing probably helped us a bunch. I’m going to get back in the car five days from now in Topeka and get this out of my head. I’ll think positive thoughts, I’ll practice at home, I’ll visualize and if we’re holding the trophy Sunday at Topeka, that’s probably the best salve for this.”

RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA Brakes Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
 

Qualified: No. 3 (3.882 E.T. at 325.53 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.944 E.T. at 325.53 MPH defeated Bob Bode 4.349 E.T. at 215.51 MPH
E2: 4.018 E.T. at 298.47 MPH defeated by John Force 3.961 E.T. at 325.53 MPH

Race Recap:
Ron Capps entered the Route 66 NHRA Nationals with his sights set on a third consecutive victory behind the wheel of his NAPA Brakes Hellcat. After an impressive qualifying performance which earned him the No. 3 starting position, Capps looked prime for a three-peat. 
 
Sunday morning began with a first-round matchup against Bob Bode. Capps was first on the throttle and navigated his black-and-gold machine to a 3.944-second pass to defeat the popular hometown racer and setup a battle with John Force in round two. After nine consecutive round wins, the NAPA Brakes hot streak would come to an end at the Joliet quarterfinals when Capps was defeated by Force during the veterans’ 102nd head-to-head race day matchup.

Quotable:
“The car fell off a lot during round two, and Tobler and the guys are trying to figure out what happened. It looks like it lost a little bit of fuel pressure, but we’ll find out and see what’s going on.
 
“Our NAPA Brakes run has now come to an end, but I really want to thank our fans for their support of our car and the NAPA Brakes promotion. It was so much fun running the black-and-gold car these last few races. The good thing is, we have back-to-back race weekends. Four races in a row can be fun if you’re running good and have a great car like we do. I’m excited to get back to our signature blue NAPA livery in Topeka and continue climbing back up in the Mello Yello points.”
 

MATT HAGAN
Driver of the MOPAR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
 

Qualified: No. 7 (3.936 E.T. at 323.97 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.954 E.T. at 328.46 MPH defeated Bob Tasca III 4.014 E.T. at 320.28 MPH
E2: 4.071 E.T. at 274.16 MPH defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr. 3.941 E.T. at 323.81 MPH

Race Recap:
Matt Hagan used the final qualifying session on Saturday to jump his MOPAR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car into the top half of the field at No. 7, and he carried that momentum into Sunday with a winning 3.954 at 328.46-mph first-round pass against Bob Tasca III. The three-time Chicago event winner was trailing in a close battle with teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. in the quarterfinals when a dropped cylinder down track ended any hopes of yet another Route 66 Raceway victory by Hagan.

Quotable:
“We struggled a little bit in qualifying, but we found the problems and addressed those issues and ended up having a really good race car on race day. I got through round one and didn’t have lane choice. I just let it get a little inside, and it got sucked in and kind of pulled the tires loose. Once you get these things inside, it’s hard to get them back. Just a little combination of everything. This one falls on me this weekend, so I’ll have to do better in Topeka for my team. We’re looking forward to racing the next couple of weekends in a row. We’ve got a lot of data to accumulate and a lot of different racetracks to hit. Ready to do a little work at home, and then get back here and get busy again.”