ntron Brown and Erica Enders won NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championship titles in their respective categories Sunday at the NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Brown claimed his second Top Fuel world championship when he advanced one round further than rival Tony Schumacher during eliminations. Enders secured her second straight world championship crown when she won in the quarterfinals and rival Greg Anderson lost in the same round. Enders then raced to victory, her ninth of the season and fourth in a row at LVMS. Brown lost in the semifinals.
In other racing, Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) earned event victories at the penultimate playoff race in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
“We were greedy. We really wanted to have the Toyota Wally [trophy] next to that big Wally, but, hey, we’ll take the big one any day,” said Brown, whose Don Schumacher Racing team pocketed $500,000 for the championship title. “I just lost a race to Doug Kalitta by five-ten-thousandths of a second. It’s probably the closest race of all year. That’s how competitive this class has gotten, and that’s what makes this so big and makes it worth it when you can go out there and win a championship like our team has.”Brown, who also won the championship in 2012, remains the only African-American to win a major U.S. auto racing championship title. He opened the playoffs with three consecutive wins to put his team in position to clinch the title early, with one race remaining. He nearly claimed his eighth victory of the season, but he lost a photo finish to Kalitta in the semi’s.
Enders joined Angelle Sampey as the only women in NHRA history who have successfully defended a world championship title. Sampey won three consecutive Pro Stock Motorcycle crowns from 2000 to 2002.
“My guys are so incredible,” said Enders, who earned $250,000, along with the series trophy. “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you get the right people around you. To do it in front of all my sponsors and family here this weekend it is incredible. To cap off a second world championship here at Vegas is just crazy.”
Kalitta took his third win of the season by outrunning Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. Dixon’s dragster lost traction early, and Kalitta’s machine roared by but then shut off early and coasted across the finish line for his 38th career victory.
“It was a good day for us,” Kalitta said. “As we were going rounds, once we got past Antron cause that was an incredibly close race, I was feeling good for the finals. Not sure what happened there in the final. It was a lucky win for us, but we’ll take it. It’s Vegas and anything can happen.”
In Funny Car, Hight earned his second win of the season and 36th of his career, powering his Chevy Camaro past runner-up Tommy Johnson Jr., also the event’s No. 1 qualifier. With the win, Hight moved past Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and Cruz Pedregon on NHRA’s all-time Funny Car wins list.
“It’s really a bummer to me to not be in the points chase this late in the year,” Hight said. “We’re not used to that. It drives you because you want to be there. It makes you dig deep so we’re not in the same position next year. We got a win out of it. Del Worsham’s a good friend of mine. I’m pulling for him to win the championship, but Auto Club pays me to win races, and luckily, we got the job done today.”
Johnson’s effort this weekend put him in the championship conversation, albeit 97 points back in third place behind leader Worsham and second-place Jack Beckman. Worsham and Beckman lost in the second round, and Worsham leads by 38 points heading to the season finale in Pomona.
Hines earned his fourth victory of the season and third in the Countdown, powering past Jerry Savoie in a final with major title implications. With the win, Hines increased his series lead to 46 over the hard-charging Savoie. The championship in the two-wheel class will be decided at the Auto Club NHRA Finals in two weeks.
“The biggest thing was that final-round battle between one and two in points,” Hines said. “We’ve been running neck and neck all weekend long. I was in damage control all day, and I was lucky enough to turn on a few win lights. That final might’ve looked pressure packed, but I was calm and confident. I knew I needed a good race. The team was able to make the motorcycle go quicker in the final, and we got the win.”
Troy Coughlin Sr. claimed his second NHRA J&A Service Pro Mod Drag Racing Series world championship title Sunday. This weekend’s Pro Mod racing was sponsored by Aeromotive.
Coughlin took the title in his yellow and pink JEGS.com Corvette after winning his quarterfinal matchup against Sidnei Frigo and his closest challenger, Bob Rahaim, lost in the same round. Mike Janis, who held the points lead coming into the event, was upset in the opening round of eliminations on Saturday evening. Janis finished second in points.
Coughlin earned $50,000 for winning the season-long title. He also won the championship in 2012.
“It seems like it just happened yesterday that we won the first title,” Coughlin said. “Boy, what a sweet deal. What can I say about all the guys on this JEGS.com car. It’s pretty exciting. To come back and do it again, that doesn’t happen very often. As tough as this class has gotten over the last couple years, it makes it that much sweeter, for sure.”
Former Pro Mod champ Khalid alBalooshi powered his Al-Anabi Racing ’69 Camaro to the event victory over Pete Farber. In the final, alBalooshi posted a 6.854-second run at 245.76 mph to finish in front of Farber’s ’69 Dodge Daytona, which trailed with a 6.942 at 244.43. In earlier rounds, he outran Rickie Smith, Steven Whiteley, and Rick Snavely. It was alBalooshi’s first win of the season and third of his Pro Mod career.
