NHRA press release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 11, 2022) – Robert’s dominant start to the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season continued on Saturday, when the standout Funny Car took the No. 1 spot at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals .
Tripp Tatum (Top Fuel), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed the top finishes as part of an unprecedented day in the third of 22 races during the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.
The first round of the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout also took place on Saturday at Gainesville Raceway, with Steve Torrence, Brittany Force, Mike Salinas and Justin Ashley all earning wins. The final two rounds of the special event will be completed at the prestigious Dodge Power Brokers US Nationals Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in September.
In the only qualifying session of the weekend, Hight once again impressed with a 3.831-second run at 333.41 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS, notching his first No. 1 finish of the season and the 72 in his professional career. After earning wins in the first two races of the year, Hight will try to stay perfect on Sunday at Gainesville, opening the first round of eliminations against John Smith.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be No. 1,” Hight said. “We just needed to put in a good race, so we have a solid baseline for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll have to pick it up a bit, but when we do, it’ll work even better. This thing is unbelievable: 14 of 15 races have gone in the 3.80s. Good job to the Auto Club team, but really the one who deserves an ‘atta boy’ is NHRA. What they did after all the rain that got on this thing after all these days and the rubber coming off, and getting the track where you could run a 3.83 Funny Car is pretty amazing.”
Tim Wilkerson took second place with 3,891 at 328.22 and Cruz Pedregón is third after his run of 3,891 at 327.35.
At Top Fuel, Tatum earned his first career No. 1 finish in his 11,000-horsepower Tripp Tatum Racing dragster, making the fastest race in the track’s history with a stellar run of 3.674 at 331.53. It was an incredible display for Tatum, who earned the No. 1 spot in just his 12th career start. He opens the eliminations against Lex Joon with a chance to get his first win after setting a record at a historic facility.
“It definitely hasn’t been established yet,” Tatum said. “For me it’s just a whirlwind. The guys and I were talking about slowing down and just going down the track with the conditions the way they are and not really knowing the track.
“Safety Safari doing what they did is just amazing, and the race track ended up being a lot better than we thought it would be. In my mind, I thought we were just going to slide the car up there and try to get a top .70 and when I came off the starting line I was like, ‘This is working fine.’
Force broke the track speed record during his first-round win at the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, knocking out Antron Brown with a 3.684 run in 337.75 to also qualify for second.
By making the fastest race in the first round, Force will have his choice of opponent in the semi-finals of the special race. Torrence, who was the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout top seed, went 3.697 at 329.50 to take down Leah Pruett. The race also gave him third place in the standings. Justin Ashley’s 3.722 at 330.96 gave him the victory over Doug Kalitta to complete the first round winners.
In Pro Stock, Stanfield finished the record breaking day by running the fastest race in electronic fuel injection history in the class, posting a remarkable 6.468 at 211.66 in his Janac Brothers Chevrolet Camaro, also setting the track record.
It gave Stanfield, the points leader, his career No. 1 second-place finisher and another standout run in a year that already included a win and a pair of final rounds. He will open eliminations against Stefan Ernryd in search of a second consecutive victory.
“It was amazing,” Stanfield said. “I’m sure the crew chiefs were a bit nervous up there. We had some really good weather conditions and I had the whole conference in the world in my team.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle, which will debut the 2022 season at Gainesville, was unable to complete qualifying due to weather on Saturday. Eliminations will be based on points from last season and Smith, who is the defending world champion and won at Gainesville in 2021, will start race day from the No. 1 position.
Eliminations for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals are scheduled for Sunday at 11 am ET at Gainesville Raceway.
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for the eliminations of the 53rd annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 22 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. Matchups based on results in qualifying, which ended on Saturday. The DNQs listed below the pairings.
Top Fuel — 1. Tripp Tatum, 3.674 seconds, 331.53 mph vs. 16. Lex Joon, 4.060, 295.66; 2. Brittany Force, 3,684, 337.75 vs. 15. Clay Millican, 4,056, 248.52; 3. Steve Torrence, 3.697, 329.50 vs. 14. Tony Schumacher, 3.983, 266.32; 4. Mike Salinas, 3,709, 332.10 vs. 13. Krista Baldwin, 3,865, 297.55; 5. Doug Kalitta, 3,718, 330.47 vs. 12. Alex Laughlin, 3,858, 319.98; 6. Justin Ashley, 3,722, 330.96 vs. 11. Josh Hart, 3,783, 306.88; 7. Spencer Massey, 3,735, 324.12 vs. 10. Doug Foley, 3,775, 313.44; 8. Austin Prock, 3,761, 326.71 vs. 9. Billy Torrence, 3.763, 328.78.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Antron Brown, 5,056, 168.20; 18. Lea Pruett, 5.125, 227.34; 19. Ike Maier, 5.901, 202.67; 20. Arthur Allen, bankrupt; 21. Shawn Langdon, broke.
Fun Car — 1. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.831, 333.41 vs. 16. John Smith, Dodge Charger, 9.754, 102.99; 2. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 3,891, 328.22 vs. 15. John Force, Camaro, 8,924, 75.58; 3. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3,891, 327.35 vs. 14. Jim Campbell, Charger, 8.903, 68.36; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3,898, 320.13 to 13. Dave Richards, Mustang, 8,773, 85.61; 5. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota Supra, 3.907, 326.40 vs. 12. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 8.436, 87.67; 6. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.918, 319.98 vs. 11. JR Todd, Supra, 8.381, 86.92; 7. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.057, 249.63 vs. 10. Ron Capps, Charger, 7.487, 90.36; 8. Chad Green, Mustang, 4.075, 313.66 vs. 9. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.495, 200.44.
Pro Stock — 1. Aaron Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.468, 211.66 vs. 16. Stefan Emryd, Dodge Dart, 6.989, 188.86; 2. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.482, 212.06 vs. 15. Fernando Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.577, 210.24; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.510, 211.89 vs. 14. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.571, 209.92; 4. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.510, 210.31 vs. 13. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Mustang, 6.556, 210.11; 5. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.511, 211.63 vs. 12. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.549, 210.44; 6. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.511, 211.10 vs. 11. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.534, 210.31; 7. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 6.516, 210.70 vs. 10. Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, 6.528, 211.43; 8. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.524, 209.43 vs. 9. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.528, 211.93.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Val Smeland, 7.241, 202.88; 18. Chris McGaha, 9.387, 130.56; 19. Alan Prusiensky, 9532, 9936; 20. Larry Morgan, 12.341, 116.11.