The fourth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals will provide intense ground-pounding excitement in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series as drivers continue their quests for world championships Sept. 25-27 at Gateway Motorsports Park, which sits just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis.
The lucrative event, which is the second of six playoff races in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, will feature drivers trying to continue their momentum from the opening race of the Countdown, the NHRA Carolina Nationals.
This year’s edition of the famed event will feature intense side-by-side racing as drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle compete for their share of the $1.2 million purse and the vital Mello Yello Series points. Antron Brown (Top Fuel); Courtney Force (Funny Car); Dave Connolly (Pro Stock); and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event that will once again be televised on ESPN2.
Some of the biggest names in drag racing were victorious last season. Brown, the 2012 Top Fuel world champ and recent winner in Charlotte, has reigned supreme at St. Louis, winning the last three races in dominating fashion. Brown’s Matco Tools dragster is a top contender again in 2015, fighting with teammate Tony Schumacher. With this event moving to the second race of the Countdown this season, Brown will be counting on using his past history here to increase his narrow points lead.
Force claimed her first St. Louis win last season, launching her towards the top of the Funny Car championship battle. A fourth place season finish had many ready to crown her as the next major champion. This season has not gone according to plan. Force could not get her Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS into the Countdown, so she’ll play the role of Countdown spoiler, looking to salvage her season by racing to victory.
The Countdown to the Championship has provided numerous highlights since its debut in 2007 and has created increase excitement for fans and media as championships are decided during the final events of the season. With the second race of the Countdown taking place at the Gateway to the West, plenty of drama is promised when the 10,000-horsepower nitro machines thrill the standing room only crowd by blasting off to 330 mph runs with the Gateway Arch standing tall in the distance.
Other drivers to watch in Top Fuel include eight-time and defending world champ Schumacher, four-time season winner Richie Crampton, veteran racer and three-time world champ Larry Dixon and former Gateway winner Doug Kalitta. In Funny Car, the list is as long as ever for top contenders including Charlotte winner Del Worsham, Jack Beckman, 16-time world champ John Force, two-time season winner Tommy Johnson Jr., two-time and defending world champ Matt Hagan, and Ron Capps, among others.
Pro Stock will feature an intense lineup of championship contenders including defending world champ and points leader Erica Enders, four-time world champ Greg Anderson, 2014 event finalist Jason Line, two-time season winner Chris McGaha, and veteran racers Allen Johnson and Larry Morgan. Louisiana alligator farmer Jerry Savoie is the defending winner of this event in Pro Stock Motorcycle and will face stiff competition from four-time and defending world champ and points leader Andrew Hines, points leader Eddie Krawiec, two-time season winner Karen Stoffer, Hector Arana Jr., Jim Underdahl, Steve Johnson and three-time world champ Angelle Sampey.
Drivers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Series also will race hard in their quest to become winners of the thrilling event during the weekend.
