Torrence, Capps, McGaha and Tonglet Four-Wide Champions
Ron Capps captured his first NHRA Four-Wide Nationals victory in Funny Car action on Sunday at zMAX Dragway; Steve Torrence edged Tony Schumacher and points leader Leah Pritchett for the win in Top Fuel
Chris McGaha claimed the win in Pro Stock, L.E. Tonglet won in Pro Stock Motorcycle and Mike Castellana scored the first four-wide win in Pro Mod history
CONCORD, N.C. (April 30, 2017) – Ron Capps entered Sunday's NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway with 51 NHRA victories but none in four-wide competition. Capps changed that in spectacular fashion when he captured his first four-wide victory in a thrilling conclusion to Funny Car's four-wide festival of 40,000 horsepower.
Capps' final pass at 3.933 seconds and 322.65 miles per hour held off Jack Beckman to give the veteran driver his first four-wide Wally and his second consecutive win.
"This is a fun event," said Capps, whose win gave him the Funny Car points lead. "It changes everything: your mentality, the way you approach each round. There's not that many times you see other drivers pop out of their cars with a smile on their faces, win or lose. It's an exciting race. … It's an amazing feeling (to win a four-wide race) and it's due to the crew chief (Rahn Tobler) crunching the numbers."
Top Fuel action saw Steve Torrence post a 3.783-second, 323.89-mph pass to beat Leah Pritchett to the line for Torrence's first triumph of the season and the ninth of his career.
"This is top of the list," Torrence said. "This is a driver's race. We run 24 races a year and one of them we race four-wide. … It's very gratifying to come here (and win). This is an awesome race.
"I was probably the most relaxed in the final round. I knew that we had a good race car."
MORE INFO: Chris McGaha leaned on a sizzling, 6.591-second, 210.44-mph pass to edge Greg Anderson for the victory in Pro Stock. McGaha's win was his first at zMAX Dragway.
L.E. Tonglet held off Eddie Krawiec with a 6.864-second,195-mph run to win his first four-wide Pro Stock Motorcycle event.
Mike Castellana closed out the only four-wide event in the NHRA when he made Pro Mod history with his 5.807-second, 249.35-mph run to win the Pro Mod class' first-ever four-wide race.
LANE DRIVER CLASS RT 60' 330' 660' 660' MPH ET MPH
1 Ron Capps WIN FC .061 .882 2.268 3.185 282.30 3.933 322.65
2 Matt Hagan 4TH FC .034 1.330 3.898 6.331 92.84 8.820 93.67
3 Jack Beckman RU FC .050 .900 2.290 3.208 280.72 3.959 320.05
4 J.R. Todd 3RD FC .085 .899 2.337 3.313 264.44 4.103 307.72
LANE DRIVER CLASS RT 60' 330' 660' 660' MPH ET MPH
1 Terry McMillen 4TH TF .066 .866 2.207 3.373 199.20 4.650 171.23
2 Tony Schumacher RU TF .040 .861 2.184 3.099 276.63 3.874 309.13
3 Leah Pritchett 3RD TF .125 .860 2.165 3.047 287.23 3.796 318.84
4 Steve Torrence WIN TF .050 .856 2.154 3.040 286.68 3.783 323.89
LANE DRIVER CLASS RT 60' 330' 660' 660' MPH 1000' ET MPH
1 LE Tonglet WIN PSM .071 1.051 2.852 4.379 160.77 5.717 6.864 195.00
2 Andrew Hines 3RD PSM .402 1.090 2.883 4.408 160.79 5.748 6.902 194.16
3 Eddie Krawiec RU PSM .317 1.064 2.840 4.352 161.90 5.678 6.821 195.31
4 Scott Pollacheck 4TH PSM
LANE DRIVER CLASS RT 60' 330' 660' 660' MPH 1000' ET MPH
1 Drew Skillman 4TH PRO -.003 .988 2.767 4.248 166.72 5.524 6.597 210.24
2 Chris McGaha WIN PRO .011 .994 2.768 4.245 166.85 5.520 6.591 210.44
3 Greg Anderson RU PRO .025 .999 2.779 4.262 166.21 5.539 6.614 209.56
4 Shane Gray 3RD PRO .025 1.018 2.808 4.294 165.88 5.573 6.648 209.33
LANE DRIVER CLASS RT 60' 330' 660' 660' MPH 1000' ET MPH
1 Jonathan Gray 4TH PM .098 .959 2.600 3.863 197.16 4.929 5.826 250.27
2 Mike Castellana WIN PM .049 .975 2.582 3.837 197.71 4.905 5.807 249.35
3 Michael Biehle II 4TH PM -.003 1.056 2.712 3.960 199.85 5.011 5.895 254.23
4 Troy Coughlin RU PM .064 1.006 2.648 3.889 200.14 4.943 5.849 238.55
"Antron is my brother, he just cooked in the oven a little bit longer" quipped Steve Torrence, speaking about how he teases and jokes with the Schumacher teams. "Don Schumacher told me 'you can't come out here and you can't do this on your own and be competitive with these multi-car teams. And I'll be honest with you – it pissed me off. This is an awesome race – I mean when you can beat two or three cars at a time and you can beat two of those Schumacher guys it's even better."
John Davison
Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.