Khalid alBalooshi won in Top Fuel, Mike Edwards in Pro Stock and Matt Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle
NORWALK, Ohio (AP) — Johnny Gray won his fourth Funny Car title of the year on Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
Gray and Ron Capps drove their Dodge Chargers to identical times of 4.103 seconds in the championship round. But Gray posted the quicker reaction time to get the victory. Gray’s Charger went 314.02 mph in the final round, compared to 314.09 for Capps in his 400th career start.
Khalid alBalooshi (Top Fuel), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
It was the seventh career victory for Gray, who has won each of his four finals this year. He beat Alexis DeJoria, Chad Head and defending Funny Car world champion Jack Beckman to reach the final round.
“Everybody said it was back-and-forth all the way down the track, and it was just a great drag race,” Gray said. “You just can’t say enough for what my crew does for me and (Sunday) was my day. We came to Norwalk and the car never missed a step. When I get a race car like this, it’s really hard to screw it up.”
AlBalooshi claimed his first victory of the season and second of his career, knocking off top qualifier Doug Kalitta in the final round. He covered the distance in 3.935 seconds at 271.30 mph while Kalitta’s numbers were 4.215 seconds and 268.54 mph.
Edwards, the current points leader in Pro Stock, grabbed his fourth win of the year by knocking off defending world champion Allen Johnson.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Smith claimed his first win since 2011, a span of 34 races. Smith went 6.594 at 192.44 on his Buell en route to the victory against Scotty Pollacheck, who had a final round time of 7.008 at 191.16.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
At Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
TOP FUEL
1, Khalid alBalooshi. 2, Doug Kalitta. 3, Shawn Langdon. 4, Clay Millican. 5, Chris Karamesines. 6, Steve Torrence. 7, Bob Vandergriff. 8, Spencer Massey. 9, J.R. Todd. 10, Larry Dixon. 11, Terry McMillen. 12, David Grubnic. 13, Troy Buff. 14, Antron Brown. 15, Tony Schumacher. 16, Morgan Lucas.
FUNNY CAR
1, Johnny Gray. 2, Ron Capps. 3, Courtney Force. 4, Jack Beckman. 5, Bob Tasca III. 6, Matt Hagan. 7, Chad Head. 8, John Force. 9, Tony Pedregon. 10, Tim Wilkerson. 11, Alexis DeJoria. 12, Blake Alexander. 13, Jeff Arend. 14, Cruz Pedregon. 15, Robert Hight. 16, Del Worsham.
PRO STOCK
1, Mike Edwards. 2, Allen Johnson. 3, Vincent Nobile. 4, Shane Gray. 5, Rickie Jones. 6, Jeg Coughlin. 7, Jason Line. 8, V. Gaines. 9, Greg Anderson. 10, Rodger Brogdon. 11, Larry Morgan. 12, Steve Spiess. 13, Steve Kent. 14, Kenny Delco. 15, Mark Hogan.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
1, Matt Smith. 2, Scotty Pollacheck. 3, Eddie Krawiec. 4, John Hall. 5, Michael Ray. 6, Steve Johnson. 7, Adam Arana. 8, Michael Phillips. 9, Hector Arana. 10, Andrew Hines. 11, Shawn Gann. 12, Jim Underdahl. 13, Angie Smith. 14, Mike Berry. 15, LE Tonglet. 16, Hector Arana Jr.
Final Results
Top Fuel — Khalid alBalooshi, 3.935 seconds, 271.30 mph def. Doug Kalitta, 4.215 seconds, 268.54 mph.
Funny Car — Johnny Gray, Dodge Charger, 4.103, 314.02 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.103, 314.09.
Pro Stock — Mike Edwards, Chevy Camaro, 6.616, 209.56 def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Avenger, 15.969, 52.46.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Matt Smith, Buell, 6.954, 192.44 def. Scotty Pollacheck, Buell, 7.008, 191.16.
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Article source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/motor/nhra/2013/07/07/johnny-gray-nhra-summit-racing-equipment-nationals/2497271/