New England-based Ford Motorcraft star racer making major move within NHRA season standings….
A third win in four races has vaulted Bob Tasca III to his highest echelon – so far — within points standings for NHRA’s coveted Camping World Drag Racing Series chase.
Tasca continued his incredible run this summer, winning his second straight race and third in the past four events. He was the only driver in both nitro categories to make clean runs on every pass Sunday, finishing it off with a stellar pass of 3.945 at 329.42 in his 11,000-horsepower Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang against defending world champ Ron Capps in the final round.
While most teams struggled during the second and third rounds, Tasca only seemed to get better, making four three-second runs during eliminations to knock off Dale Creasy Jr., Chad Green, and points leader Robert Hight to reach the final round.

Bob Tasca III has been the hottest FC driver within NHRA this summer – and proved that again last weekend at NHRA’s Lucas Oil Nationals.
Tasca, who has now advanced to the final round in five of the past six races, followed with another great performance against Capps to win for the first time in Brainerd. With the Countdown to the Championship approaching, Tasca and his team appear to be peaking at the perfect time.
“I’ve said this many times but what we’ve done lately has been amazing,” Tasca said. “We’ve not backed into any win and performed at a high level throughout. This is incredible execution by the team, and I mean every single person. This team has performed flawlessly. The package we have is unlike anything I’ve ever had in my driving career. (My team) always has an answer and when that happens, as a driver you just have to go out and do your job.”
Capps reached his 135th career final round by getting wins against longtime rival John Force, Bobby Bode, and Alexis DeJoria, staying third in points. Hight kept a comfortable points lead over Matt Hagan, while Tasca moved up to fourth in points with one race left in the regular season.
Four-time defending Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence drove to his first victory of the season, defending his event win at Brainerd International Raceway for the 40th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.
Facing off with eight-time world champ Tony Schumacher in the final round, Torrence picked up his 52nd career
victory – but first since last November at the Auto Club NHRA Finals – with a run of 3.866-seconds at 322.04 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster. He improved to 5-0 against Schumacher in eliminations this year, also picking up his first win in four final round appearances in 2022.
On a challenging day, Torrence took out a host of standouts, including Mike Salinas, Topeka winner Antron Brown and points leader Brittany Force before facing off with Schumacher. Torrence had to be on his game against Brown and Force, pedaling his dragster in both rounds to advance and ultimately pick up a much-needed and rewarding victory as he prepares to begin the hunt for a fifth straight world title.
“When you’ve had the success and the dominance we’ve had, it’s difficult to not have that. You just have to grit it and dig through it,” Torrence said. “(But) these Capco boys, they’re bad to the bone. We’ve shown it time and time again. We didn’t forget how to win but, dang, it sure felt like it. I have all the confidence and the faith in the world in this team because that car is always bad to the bone. Maybe we’re getting our stuff together at the right time because we’re charging for that (fifth world title).
Schumacher advanced to his second final in the past three races and the 156th in his standout career thanks to round wins against Doug Kalitta, Josh Hart, and Justin Ashley. Brittany Force maintained the points lead in the class and it now stands at 94 points over Salinas.
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action with the prestigious Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals on Aug. 31-Sept. 5 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Lucas Oil Lowdown
(Final Round Results Summary)

Canadian star TAD racer Shawn Cowie (Surrey BC) earned his first NHRA national event score of 2022 at BIR. Shawn’s final round time and speed was low ET and stop mph of the event.
Top Alcohol Dragster — Shawn Cowie, 5.218, 276.75 def. Matthew Cummings, 5.282, 267.27.
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Shane Westerfield, Chevy Camaro, 5.529, 265.53 def. Bob McCosh, Camaro, 6.117, 203.28.
Competition Eliminator — Brett Speer, ’23-T Ford, 7.272, 180.67 def. Bruno Massel, Cobalt, 7.023, 195.17.
Super Stock — Mike Mans, Pontiac Firebird, 8.807, 138.61 def. Wyatt Wagner, Chevy Camaro, 9.697, 133.50.
Stock Eliminator — Tracy Fairchild, AMX, 10.904, 110.79 def. Ron Feist, Ford Fairlane, Foul – Red Light.
Super Comp — Tony Leonard, Dragster, 8.903, 162.82 def. Craig Anderson, Dragster, 8.920, 188.12.
Super Gas — Trevor Larson, Chevy Camaro, 9.890, 164.69 def. Kevin Dyck, Chevy Chevy Corvette, 9.881, 171.34.
Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers — Brian Antony, DodgeAvenger, 6.904, 199.79 def. Michael Chitty, Chevy Cavalier, 6.702, 196.59.
Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers — Dylan Hough, Dragster, 6.823, 191.43 def. Anthony Bertozzi, Dragster, 7.197, 177.88.
Pro Modified — Rickie Smith, Ford Mustang, 5.791, 250.92 def. Doug Winters, Chevy Chevelle, 5.997, 240.34.
D-Wagon Pro Mod Shootout — Kris Thorne, Chevy Camaro, 5.762, 250.88 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, 6.864, 126.85.
Mountain Motor Pro Stock — JR Carr, Chevy Camaro, 6.345, 221.05 def. John DeFlorian Jr, Camaro, Broke.
Pro Mod Snowmobile — Robbie Lowe, Thunder Cat, 5.014, 134.52 def. Louie Wirbel, SRX,
Posted with files by NHRA Communications & Bruce Biegler
DragRaceCanada file photos by Bruce Biegler & Les Puchala