News

Driver of the Matco Tools 'Tools for the Cause'/Global Electronic Technology/Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
 

Qualified: No. 3 (3.720 E.T. at 326.95 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.733 E.T. at 328.06 MPH defeated Justin Ashley 4.060 E.T. at 224.92 MPH
E2: 3.733 E.T. at 322.58 MPH defeated by Steve Torrence 3.710 E.T. at 326.08 MPH

Race Recap:
No other NHRA drag racer has been more successful at World Wide Technology Raceway than Antron Brown. With five St. Louis victories, Brown leads the NHRA pro classes in number of wins at the facility that sits in the shadows of the Gateway Arch. Brown, who debuted the ‘pinked out’ Matco Tools ‘Tools for the Cause’/Global Electronic Technology/Toyota dragster which he will run for the remainder of the season, entered the weekend looking extend his Midwest Nationals win count and breakthrough for his first win of the year. He seeded his 11,000-horsepower machine third for the second consecutive week and faced upstart Justin Ashley in the first round. Against Ashley, Brown took his machine straight down the groove for the win to set up a quarterfinal meeting with buddy Steve Torrence. Brown and Torrence were nearly even leaving the starting line, but Torrence took the early lead and never trailed for the win.

Quotable:
“It was a good race weekend for this Matco Tools team here at St. Louis. We qualified well again. We wanted to go more rounds. The positives are that we got the car leaving better, and it’s performing consistently. (Crew chiefs) Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) are getting things figured out. We had something break on us that second round. We’re picking at the tune-up, and we just came up short in a great drag race. We’ll get ready for Dallas in a few weeks. We want to qualify well again and stay consistent and go rounds.”

Qualified: No. 9 (4.310 E.T. at 249.07 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.676 E.T. at 328.38 MPH defeated Pat Dakin 11.187 E.T. at 70.73 MPH
E2: No time, broke. Defeated by Tony Schumacher 3.750 E.T. at 291.13 MPH

Race Recap:
Leah Pruett entered the NHRA Midwest Nationals ranked third and focused on gaining traction in the Top Fuel point standings. After advancing to the semifinals or better at the last four events, Pruett who returned to the familiar blue-and-white Mopar livery this weekend, had her sights set on the St. Louis trophy.

From the ninth seed, Pruett ran a blistering 3.676-second pass in the opening round of race day to easily defeat her opponent who struggled to get past the starting line. The run held up to be low E.T. of the event and she took her win light into the quarterfinals with lane choice over teammate Tony Schumacher. Her quest for a first St. Louis Top Fuel Wally was cut short in round two when halfway through the race, Pruett’s dragster broke in two and sent the speedster on a wild, airborne ride before coming to a stop. Pruett exited her vehicle unaided and unhurt, but understandably disappointed. She remains in third heading into the final three races of the season.

Quotable:
“That was the most intense round of competition I’ve ever had and the wildest ride I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. We’re still taking time to process and look at the parts and put a plan together for how to move forward. For me, my body is fine. My mind is fine. The DSR chassis and Impact safety equipment did everything it was supposed to. As a drag racer, this is what we do. There’s a risk. I think the quicker you can get back on the track, the better. Let’s not ever do that again. I thank the Lord, my team, the chassis shop, Don Schumacher, and everybody that helped. Not a great start to October and that was an early Halloween surprise. That’s for sure.”

Driver of the Okuma/Sandvik Coromant
Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
 

Qualified: No. 1 (3.680 E.T. at 332.92 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.754 E.T. at 316.67 MPH defeated Kebin Kinsley 7.943 E.T. at 82.24 MPH
E2: 3.750 E.T. at 291.13 MPH defeated Leah Pruett - No time, broke
E3: No time, broke on the burnout; defeated by Doug Kalitta

Race Recap:
Tony Schumacher rocketed the Okuma/Sandvik Coromant/Toyota dragster to a 3.680 second at 332.92 mph pass during Saturday’s lone qualifying session to reset the St. Louis Top Fuel speed record and earn the 88th No. 1 qualifier of his career. Starting from the pole position for the first time since the 2018 Richmond, Va. event, Schumacher was in prime position for a long day of going rounds as he sought to claim his first win since returning to the seat of a Top Fuel dragster back in July.
 
Schumacher, a two-time St. Louis champ, registered a winning 3.754 E.T. to dispatch his round-one opponent and earn a bid into round two to battle it out with Leah Pruett for a spot in the semifinals. Against Pruett, Schumacher took the early lead and never trailed for the win while his stablemate suffered a malfunction in the opposite lane which caused her machine to snap in the middle and become airborne before settling to a safe stop.

Quotable:
“It was unfortunate that we couldn’t take a shot at Doug Kalitta who is running for a championship as we have Leah (Pruett) out here as a team car that’s fighting for that championship too. We made a great showing this weekend for Sandvik and Okuma and all of the DSM partners. We had an awesome car getting the pole with that 3.68. In the semis, the throttle stuck on the burnout, and at that point, I pulled back two or three times, and as it’s motoring down the track and building speed, I just had to shut it off. That’s the responsible thing to do. The little gremlins are biting us. We don’t have a complete package just yet. Our guys are doing their best, but haven’t worked together very long. We’re doing the best we can with what we have. We’re thankful that Leah is safe, but you put it in perspective that, yeah, we got beat in the semis, but our team driver was protected because of all the great safety precautions we take at DSR with the chassis and canopy. We’ll go to Dallas, Texas, my home state, Toyota’s home state, in two weeks and get back after chasing a win.”

 

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

Qualified: No. 5 (4.750 E.T. at 185.03 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.885 E.T. at 332.10 MPH defeated Blake Alexander 6.630 E.T. at 95.37 MPH
E2: 3.890 E.T. at 329.50 MPH defeated Dan Wilkerson 3.976 E.T. at 314.97 MPH
E3: 3.903 E.T. at 330.80 MPH defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr. 3.896 E.T. at 327.98 MPH

Race Recap:
Starting from the fifth seed, Jack Beckman, a two-time 2020 event champion, kicked off his race day by speeding through the 1,000-foot timers in 3.885 seconds at 332.10 mph to clock low E.T. of round one and trailer his first opponent, Blake Alexander. Beckman then faced Dan Wilkerson in the second round and used the quickest run of the quarterfinals at 3.890 seconds to capture the victory. The round win set up a semifinal match between Doug Chandler’s ‘giving cars’ with Beckman set to square off against teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. Aboard the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge, Beckman made another stellar sub-four-second run, but his 3.903 E.T. couldn’t keep pace with Johnson’s 3.896-second pass, ending Beckman’s day.

After carrying the Funny Car point lead throughout six of the first seven events, Beckman ceded the top spot to teammate Matt Hagan on Sunday. Beckman occupies the No. 2 spot on the leaderboard and trails Hagan by 16 points.

Quotable:
“It’s not the way I thought the day would end. I really thought we had the car to beat. Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen tuned perfect for today’s conditions. We were low E.T., low E.T. and in the semis second-low E.T. The problem was the car we pulled up next to, Tommy Johnson, was low E.T. The silver lining is a DSR Dodge Funny Car wins for the 11th straight race for Don Schumacher. The upside for us is that we have three more chances to get trophies and the way our car is performing I wouldn’t put it past us.”

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RON CAPPS
Driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
 

Qualified: No. 14 (12.851 E.T. at 71.93 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.894 E.T. at 331.77 MPH defeated Cruz Pedregon 14.145 E.T. at 65.73 MPH
E2: 5.182 E.T. at 113.44 MPH defeated by Matt Hagan 4.085 E.T. at 249.58 MPH

Race Recap:
Ron Capps was armed with the utmost confidence upon entering the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Not only did he arrive at World Wide Technology Raceway fresh off of a win from the previous event, but the driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge has had tremendous success at the Madison, Ill. facility. With four St. Louis victories on his resume, Capps is the winningest Funny Car pilot in the venue’s history, and was looking to pick up his third win of the season on Sunday.
 
With only one run to make it in the show, Capps, like nearly all of his competitors, had to pedal his way to the finish line and eventually settled into the No. 14 spot. Against his first-round competitor, Cruz Pedregon, Capps navigated the NAPA Dodge to a stellar 3.894-second pass at 331.77 mph to defeat his tire-smoking opponent. The run earned Capps lane choice in round two versus teammate Matt Hagan, and held up to be the second-quickest of the round. In the battle of the DSR Dodges, Hagan came out on top despite running a slow 4.085 E.T. as Capps’ machine banged the blower near halftrack before giving way to a small explosion.

Quotable:
“I’m not sure what to say at this point. The NAPA guys are tearing the car apart to see what went wrong. That’s two pretty good boomers in two races. We have to figure out what the issue is. We have a great running car. We had lane choice. It hurts worse when you see your opponent go out and run 4.08 when you have an issue like that. It’s depressing when we have such a great car. The good thing is, I know they’ll dissect the problem and find out exactly what the issue was and we’ll have it fixed for Dallas in two weeks.”

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MATT HAGAN
Driver of the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
 

Qualified: No. 6 (5.105 E.T. at 148.15 MPH)

The Results:
E1: 3.959 E.T. at 319.98 MPH defeated Bob Bode 4.080 E.T. at 266.21 MPH
E2: 4.085 E.T. at 249.58 MPH defeated Ron Capps 5.182 E.T. at 113.44 MPH
E3: 3.935 E.T. at 328.62 MPH defeated Alexis DeJoria 8.043 E.T. at 87.47 MPH 
E4: 3.886 E.T. at 330.0 MPH defeated by Tommy Johnson Jr. 3.884 E.T. at 326.08 MPH

Race Recap:
Matt Hagan, a two-time 2020 event champion, had advanced to the semifinals or beyond in five of the first seven races of the season and knew a strong performance at the NHRA Midwest Nationals would yield him the opportunity to take over the Funny Car point lead.

Hagan began his weekend by qualifying the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat sixth to open up his elimination round march against Bob Bode. The Virginia native clocked a winning 3.959 E.T. to defeat his opponent and earn a spot in the quarterfinals where he was set to go toe-to-toe with teammate and fellow championship contender, Ron Capps. Against Capps, Hagan nabbed the starting line advantage and despite hazing the tires near the top end, held on for the win over his teammate who suffered a mechanical malfunction. In the semifinals, the two-time Funny Car world champion faced Alexis DeJoria where he clocked a 3.935 E.T. versus his opponent who rattled the tires early into her run. With the semifinal victory, Hagan moved into the points lead, surpassing Jack Beckman, who bowed out in the semifinals.

The final round featured an all-DSR Dodge showdown, and the chance to claim DSR’s 11th consecutive Funny Car victory. Hagan piloted his Mopar machine to an impressive 3.886-second at 333.0-mph pass, but Tommy Johnson Jr. captured the win with his 3.844 E.T. to deliver win No. 353 for Don Schumacher.

Hagan carries a 16-point lead over Beckman heading into the third-to-last race of the season. 

Quotable:
“As tough as it is to lose a close final like that, we gained ground and took the points lead. We had a good weekend and it’s hard to complain when you make a final round. That was the bad side of a really good drag race for our Mopar team. It’s a Mopar-sponsored event and we wanted to win for Mopar and Express Lane, but at least another DSR Dodge Hellcat won again with Tommy (Johnson). I just can’t say enough about my guy working so hard with no mistakes. (Crew chief) Dickie Venables is really tuning a mean race car. We’ve had such a fast car all season long. We’re making ground and that’s what matters. We’re used to this thing being tight and most of these championships are won on the final day of the season by one or two points. I’m extremely proud of my guys. It was a good day and weekend at St. Louis.”