Season Opening Sell Out! « DragRaceCanada.com

Season Opening Sell Out!

by editor on Mar.17, 2023, under National News

NHRA’s Camping World Drag Racing Series season opens with a bang including rousing record attendance….

In a matchup of the last two Funny Car winners at the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, Matt Hagan drove past J.R. Todd in the final round to kick off the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, also giving Tony Stewart a second straight victory at Gainesville Raceway.

Mike Salinas (Top Fuel), Troy Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won at the first of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

Hagan powered to a run of 3.926-seconds at 329.34 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat, winning the Gatornationals for the second straight season. Both Hagan and Todd posted identical reaction times on the starting line, but Todd ran into trouble late in the run and Hagan claimed his 44th career win. He also defeated Tim Wilkerson, Bob Tasca III and Alexis DeJoria, making three straight runs in the 3.80s to reach the final round. After going his entire career without winning in Gainesville, Hagan, a three-time world champ, now has back-to-back wins at the historic race.

“For this team, we were just running strong, and to come out and win the first race of the season, it’s just amazing,” said Hagan, who is fourth all-time in Funny Car wins. “I’m just in awe of our team right now.

Matt Hagan powered by JR Todd in the fuel FC final as the season opening NHRA Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals.

“I knew it was going to be a good race and honestly J.R. poked out there in front of me, and then something happened over there to him and we drove around him and turn on the win light. This car is just running strong. It’s just it’s an honor to just even be in that caliber of drivers is incredible. it’s a huge honor for me to be able to be fourth all the time.”
Todd, who won in Gainesville to open the 2021 campaign, also impressed on Sunday, beating Blake Alexander, Robert Hight and Chad Green to reach his 42nd career final round.

In Top Fuel, Salinas won for the first time in Gainesville and the eighth time in his career, slipping past Steve Torrence in the final round with a 3.700 at 330.31 in his 11,000-horsepower Valley Services dragster. After winning a career-best four races last year, Salinas was determined to improve upon that in 2023. He impressed throughout eliminations, too, beating Justin Ashley, defending world champ Brittany Force and Leah Pruett to reach the final round, running as quick as 3.669 on raceday.

The Top Fuel winner was Mike Salinas who scored his 8th career NHRA title.

“I think we’re going to be really good all year long, but we’re fighting with the best in the world,” Salinas said. “The teams out here are no joke. You better bring your ‘A’ game every time, but everyone is beatable. It’s special what we have right now. These guys have taught me how to win and it’s a mindset. You appreciate wins like these because they’re so hard to come by.”

Torrence, the four-time world champ, reached the final round for the 82nd time in his career, knocking off Scott Palmer, Tony Schumacher and Doug Kalitta, who set the track E.T. record with a run of 3.646 earlier in the day.

The previous day (Saturday) saw Top Fuel’s Josh Hart pick up a victory in the added attraction Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, Hart (who is a local Ocala native) beat Mike Salinas in the final round to win the bonus event in front of a sellout crowd at Gainesville Raceway.

Hart, put together a run of 3.748-seconds at 331.53 in his 11,000-horsepower R&L Carriers dragster, knocking off Salinas who went up in smoke on the starting line in the specialty race. Hart beat Austin Prock and defending world champ Force to reach the final round. Two years ago, Hart won in Gainesville in his Top Fuel debut, following it up with Saturday’s impressive showing.

“First of all, I guess I’ll just say that nice guys don’t finish last,” Hart said. “The team gets all the credit. That consistency to get it done every time makes me so very, very proud of the team. It’s a huge, huge accomplishment for our team. To go out and win a specialty race right off the trailer is pretty awesome. But I’m just the jockey that gets to hit the gas.

“I don’t think I knew I was supposed to be nervous or knew that I was supposed to have butterflies two years ago but when you taste it, and then it gets taken away from you and your sophomore season you want to get back to that place. I think we found a little bit of magic and Gainesville has always been good to us. We’ll do our best to get this thing in the winner’s circle more often.”

Coughlin’s magical weekend in Pro Stock ended with his first Gatornationals victory, as he closed out the day with a run of 6.637 at 208.71 in his JEGS.com/White Castle/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to defeat Mason McGaha in the final round. It’s the third career win for Coughlin, who also qualified No. 1 and beat Larry Morgan, Deric Kramer and Dallas Glenn to set up the matchup with McGaha. Coughlin was excellent on the starting line and cemented his strong start to the 2023 campaign.

Troy Coughlin Jr won in the Pro Stock class – it was his 3rd career NHRA victory.

“I was a little fired up today,” Coughlin said. “At Elite Motorsports, it’s a little newer than the JEGS so-called legacy. It doesn’t date back to 1960, but it’s the same type of honor to me. You look at Erica (Enders), she’s a five-time world champion and you’re driving for a team that wins championships. They have that same demeanor when they drive through the gates. They expect to win and we’re one big family. That’s the coolest thing about it. When one car is out, we all work together.”
McGaha knocked off Fernando Cuadra, Kyle Koretsky and five-time world champ Greg Anderson to reach his second final round.

Herrera finished off a star-making weekend with one last dominant performance in the final round, going 6.706 at 202.15 on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki to beat Angie Smith and earn his first career NHRA victory. It was also Herrera’s first career race with Vance & Hines, and the young standout put together a marvelous performance, qualifying No. 1 and setting the track speed record in the process. He knocked off Ron Tornow, teammate Eddie Krawiec and Jianna Evaristo to reach the final round, making the quickest pass of each session before finishing the job in the finals.

Class newcomer Gaige Herrera won his first race for Pro Stock Motorcycle

“This is a dream,” Herrera said. “Vance & Hines is such an awesome team to work with. They help so much and it shows. I’m at a loss for words. I’m just out here having fun and I can’t believe I’m holding this Wally. To make this Vance & Hines team happy, it’s just an unbelievable feeling. To win out here and to do it in front of all these fans, it’s just amazing.”

Smith advanced to her second straight final round in Gainesville, going 6.845 at 181.84 in the championship round. She knocked off John Hall, Joey Gladstone and rookie Chase Van Zant earlier in the day.

Canadian Justin Bond opened the 2023 season in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series (presented by Type A Motorsports) winning — knocking off J.R. Gray in the final round at the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

Canadian racer Justin Bond won the FuelTech Pro Mod Series season opener.

The event was the first of 10 races during the 2023 season in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports. Bond went 5.732-seconds at 250.74 mph in his Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro to get past Gray and pick up his fourth career win.

Bond also knocked off Dwayne Wolfe, Doug Winters and defending world champ Kris Thorne to reach the final round, posting reaction times of .016 or better during the first three rounds. Bond followed with a fantastic run in the final round to start his 2023 season off on a high note.

Gray beat Paul Daigrepont, Mike Thielen and Mike Castellana in eliminations to reach his fourth career final round.

The first race of the NHRA season also included the first Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown event for 2023.

Joe Welch, driver of the Joe Welch Racing Dodge Drag Pak picked up 3rd career win in the division taking down opponent Chevrolet COPO Camaros and Ford Mustang Cobra Jets along the way.

The Joe Welch Racing Dodge Drag Pak won in Factory Stock Showdown class racing.

Welch would take the final round win from No. 1 qualifier Aaron Stanfield and his Janac Brothers Chevrolet COPO Camaro. Welch ran a 7.638-second pass at a Factory Stock Showdown speed record of 185.18 mph to defeat Stanfield’s 8.308 at 134.70 after he shut off early.

In addition to picking up the win and setting the speed record, Welch also won $1,000 for beating Stanfield thanks to the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program. Welch now has the $1,000 bounty on his back heading into the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, April 28-30.

“I am going to pay for my fuel which will be great. Golf great Greg Norman has a quote that I have always kept in the back of my head. ‘I would rather be the hunted than the hunter.’ I agree with that,” Welch said. “You know you are going to be at your best when your competitors give it their best. If you’re a real competitor, you want to win when they give it their best, and I agree with that.”

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action with the NHRA Arizona Finals on March 24-26, which is the final race at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Phoenix.

Lucas Oil Lowdown (Sportsman Final Round Results)