NHRA kicks of 2023 season, Salinas, Hagan, Coughlin Jr and Herrera grab wins

Good Afternoon Race Fans,

We’re back! This weekend the NHRA kicked off the Camping World Drag Racing Series in style at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. Both the fans and the drivers/teams were raring to go as the staging lanes were full and the grandstands were sold out and let me tell you, they put on quite the show.

Starting in Top Fuel, on the left side of the ladder, No. 8 qualified Mike Salinas started his day by taking on No. 9 Justin Ashley. Justin was first off the line (.038) to (.087), but Mike had made up the difference by the 330 and with a 3.66 to a 3.75, drove around him. In the second round, Mike had a very tough opponent in Brittany Force. Mike left first (.080) to (.086) and never looked back, running a 3.69 to Brittany’s 3.75, his run was the quickest pass of round two. In the semifinals he faced the always tough Leah Pruett. Though Leah left first, she was up in smoke by the 330 and Mike was able to drive around and with a 3.72 to a 4.37, put himself and the Scrappers Racing team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, No. 2 qualified Steve Torrence started his day by taking on No. 15 Scott Palmer. Scott left first, (.055) to (.073) but by the time they are around the tree, Steve had made up the difference and with a 3.68 to a 3.87, he was moving on. In the second round he faced Tony Schumacher. Tony had a significant advantage off the starting line, (.039) to (.072), but quickly went up in smoke, so with a 3.74 to a 4.34, Steve was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against Doug Kalitta, who from testing to now, I’ve been impressed with, it seems like they have found some performance. Doug was actually late getting to the starting line and things seemed a little rushed, but he made it nonetheless. They had pretty much identical reaction times, (.058) for Doug and (.060) for Steve, but Doug had immediate tire smoke and Steve went a to b with a 3.77 to a 5.77, putting him and the Capco team into the finals. This was a really good final. Steve left first, (.043) to (.095) but Mike had made up the difference by the 330 and held on to get the win and the Wally (by 18 inches!), with a 3.70 to a 3.75.

Continuing on in the nitro ranks, we have Funny Car. Starting on the left side of the ladder, No. 5 qualified Matt Hagan started his day by taking on No. 12 Tim Wilkerson. Matt left first (.062) to (.103), but they were pretty even until Tim went up into tire smoke, while Matt continued down the groove, so with a 3.87 to a 4.23, Matt was moving on. In the second round he faced Bob Tasca III. This was a decent race, Matt left first and Bob kept up with him the entire time, but couldn’t get around him. So with a 3.88 to a 3.92, Matt was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against Alexis DeJoria and it was another close one. Alexis started to make up ground past the tree, but Matt was on a solid a to b run, and with a 3.89 to a 3.91, put himself and the Dodge Direct Connection team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, No. 6 qualified JR Todd started his day by taking on No. 11 Blake Alexander. Blake did leave first, (.064) to (.074) but by the 60 foot, JR had made it up and never looked back, advancing into the next round with a 3.89 to a 3.95. In the second round he faced the tough Robert Hight. The second Robert hit the throttle he was up in smoke while JR went a to b, so with a 3.91 to a 23.62, he was moving on. His semifinal matchup was against Chad Green. Chad left first, but JR quickly pulled him in and drove around, so with a 3.90 to a 3.96, JR and the DHL team were into the finals. This was one of those finals where you could tell that both teams and drivers were pushing. They had identical reaction times, (.054), but JR pulled a lead until the car started to move around, drove itself into some tire shake and boomed the engine, allowing Matt to drive around and get the win, for the second year in a row, and the Wally with a 3.92 to a 4.14.

Moving on, we have Pro Stock. I think the biggest news out of round one was Erica Enders. She was unable to get her car to fire, and was out before she could get started. On the left side of the ladder, No. 1 qualified Troy Coughlin Jr started his day by taking on No. 16 Larry Morgan. A fun fact for the racing history fans out there, this is race number 630 for Larry, which is 4th most among all Pro drivers. Larry’s first Pro Stock race at Gainesville was in 1987 and Troy was born in 1990. Back to this race, it was pretty close and stayed close the entire time, but with a 6.56 to a 6.59, Troy was moving on. In the second round he faced Deric Kramer. Troy is 5-0 against Deric and added to that today. He ran a solid a to b run and with a 6.56 to a 6.57, was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against the tough Dallas Glenn. Though it helps in all classes, cutting a good light in Pro Stock, really helps and matter. Troy left first (.015) to (.039) and though it was incredibly close, he got the hole shot win with a 6.58 to Dallas’ 6.57, putting him and the JEGS team into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, No. 3 qualified Mason McGaha started his day by taking on No. 14 Fernando Cuadra. Mason left first (.069) to (.106) and ended up getting the hole shot win with a 6.56 to Fernando’s 6.55. In the second round he faced Kyle Koretsky. Kyle went red by (-.017) giving Mason the win immediately and he ran a 6.59. His semifinal matchup was against the always tough Greg Anderson. Mason had a huge advantage off the line (.019) to (.066) and never looked back, running a 6.60 to Greg’s 6.61 and putting himself and the Harlow Sammons team into the finals. This is the first time Troy and Mason have met in a final. Troy left first (.022) to (.049) and was on an a to b run, while Mason slowed, so with a 6.63 to a 6.76, Troy took home the win and the Wally. It’s interesting to note that Troy was of course the No. 1 qualifier and at this race, the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock has gone on to win it 14 times.

And finally we have Pro Stock Motorcycle. On the left side of the ladder, No. 1 qualified Gaige Herrera started his day by taking on No. 16 Ron Tornow. Ron left first, (.025) to (.045) and has a bit of a history of spoiling the day for the No. 1 qualifier, but his bike bogged at the hit and Gaige was on a good run, so with a 6.70 to a 7.16, Gaige was moving on. In the second round he faced his teammate, the always tough Eddie Krawiec. This was a decent race, but Gaige left first and never looked back, so with a 6.70 to a 6.81, he was into the semifinals. His semifinal matchup was against Jianna Evaristo. They were essentially even off the line, but Gaige pulled ahead early and was able to keep that lead, so with a 6.74 to a 6.88, he and the Mission Foods/Vance and Hines team were into the finals. On the other side of the ladder, No. 7 qualified Angie Smith started her day by taking on No. 10 John Hall. John went red by (-.002) giving Angie the win immediately and she ran 6.79. In the second round she faced Joey Gladstone. Joey went red by (-.011) giving Angie the win immediately and she coasted to a 15.90. Her semifinal matchup was against Chase Van Sant. Angie was having a hard time keeping her bike running, she did her burnout and it died, but they restarted it and she was able to stage. Chase left first, (.022) to (.065), but Angie was able reel him in and with a 6.88 to a 6.96, putting her and the Denso team into the finals. This final was Gaige all the way. He left first, (.039) to (.075) and never looked back, getting the win and the Wally with a 6.70 to a 6.84. This is Gaige’s first career win in his first career final round appearance.

The next race will be the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Match 24th – 26th in Phoenix, Arizona.