Bartone wins Funny Car for 1st time at NHRA Nationals

KENT, Wash. — Tony Bartone raced to his first NHRA victory Sunday in Funny Car at the Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals after more than six years of professional racing.

After a shaky first half of the season that included six DNQs, Bartone defeated Ron Capps, who was also trying to break out of a winless streak that dates to 2007 at Richmond.

Bartone powered his Chevy Monte Carlo to a 4.454-second pass at 238.17 mph to get the long-awaited win, while Capps posted a 4.708 at 227.46 in his Dodge Charger R/T.

Tony Schumacher, in Top Fuel, and Jason Line, in Pro Stock, also were winners at scenic Pacific Raceways during the 14th of 24 events in the NHRA series.

Before beating Capps in the final, Bartone outran Gary Scelzi, Mike Neff and Tony Pedregon in earlier rounds.

A standout in the Lucas Oil Series, the developmental league for NHRA pros, Bartone won 25 events and one world championship title in Top Alcohol Funny Car in the 1990s.

“This is what you dream about,” he said. “This is what you wait your whole career to do, is win in the pro ranks. It’s the old adage — you never say die, you never give up, you keep plugging and things like this happen.”

Despite losing in the first round to No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight, Tim Wilkerson maintained his points lead and earned his spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

Schumacher won his third consecutive event at Pacific Raceways, and his fourth in five at the track. He had already qualified No. 1 with a solid performance Friday and handily won in the final round, driving his U.S. Army dragster to a 3.902 at 309.98 to Brandon Bernstein’s 4.056 at 291.19.

Schumacher is the first driver to clinch his position in the Countdown to the Championship in Denver last week. He could also become the sixth driver in NHRA history to sweep the Western Swing with a victory at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals next weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

Only Joe Amato, John Force, Cory McClenathan, Larry Dixon and Greg Anderson have accomplished the feat.

In Pro Stock, Line earned his second win of the season and the 15th of his career, charting a 6.659-second run at 208.10 mph in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to top Allen Johnson’s 6.664 at 207.78 mph in his Team Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus.

Sunday at Pacific Raceways, Kent, Wash.

Final Order

Top Fuel: 1. Tony Schumacher. 2. Brandon Bernstein. 3. Rod Fuller. 4. Doug Herbert. 5. Morgan Lucas. 6. David Grubnic. 7. Bob Vandergriff. 8. Cory McClenathan. 9. Troy Buff. 10. J.R. Todd. 11. Doug Kalitta. 12. Larry Dixon. 13. Hillary Will. 14. Antron Brown. 15. Steve Torrence. 16. Steven Chrisman.

Funny Car: 1. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo. 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger. 3. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala. 4. Tony Pedregon, Impala. 5. Jack Beckman, Charger. 6. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara. 7. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang. 8. Robert Hight, Mustang. 9. Bob Tasca III, Mustang. 10. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger. 11. Tim Wilkerson, Impala. 12. Melanie Troxel, Charger. 13. Ashley Force, Mustang. 14. Del Worsham, Impala. 15. Jerry Toliver, Charger. 16. Gary Scelzi, Charger.

Pro Stock: 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GXP. 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus. 3. V. Gaines, Stratus. 4. Greg Stanfield, GXP. 5. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt. 6. Mike Edwards, GXP. 7. Dave Connolly, Cobalt. 8. Jim Yates, GXP. 9. Greg Anderson, GXP. 10. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt. 11. Ron Krisher, Cobalt. 12. Justin Humphreys, Stratus. 13. Warren Johnson, GXP. 14. Ben Watson, Pontiac GTO. 15. Larry Morgan, Stratus. 16. Johnny Gray, Stratus.

Finals

Top Fuel: Tony Schumacher, 3.902 seconds, 309.98 mph., def. Brandon Bernstein, 4.056, 291.19.

Funny Car: Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.454, 238.17, def. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.708, 227.46.

Pro Stock: Jason Line, Pontiac GXP, 6.659, 208.10, def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.664, 207.78.

Top Alcohol Dragster: Mark Niver, 5.411, 260.81, def. Duane Shields, 6.118, 262.69.

Top Alcohol Funny Car: Brian Hough, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.728, 253.52, def. Steve Gasparrelli, Ford Mustang, 5.721, 252.19.

Competition Eliminator: Alan Freese, Pontiac Firebird, 7.489, 179.25, def. Rob Harrison, Chevy Cavalier, 7.821, 170.43.

Super Stock: Mark Faul, Pontiac Grand Am, 10.282, 126.34, def. Brad Plourd, Chevy Cavalier, 9.062, 149.80.

Stock Eliminator: Mike Lewis, Chevy Corvette, 10.509, 124.80, def. Toby Lang, Chevy Chevelle, 11.938, 108.35.

Super Comp: Don Sefton, Dragster, 8.916, 171.99, def. Dennis Kooker, Dragster, foul.

Super Gas: Curtis Geise, Pontiac Trans Am, 9.880, 161.50, def. Gene Heaton, ‘27-T Ford, 9.950, 146.30.

Super Street: Jeff Jackson, Ford Mustang, 10.955, 146.51, def. Wayne Linder Jr., Chevrolet, foul.

Top Fuel

1. Tony Schumacher, 1,297. 2. Antron Brown, 940. 3. Larry Dixon, 901. 4. Rod Fuller, 852. 5. Cory McClenathan, 840. 6. Brandon Bernstein, 834. 7. Hillary Will, 751. 8. Doug Herbert, 738. 9. David Grubnic, 617. 10. Doug Kalitta, 598.

Funny Car

1. Tim Wilkerson, 1,009. 2. Tony Pedregon, 822. 3. Robert Hight, 821. 4 (tie). Ashley Force and Cruz Pedregon, 772. 6. Ron Capps, 723. 7. John Force, 705. 8. Gary Densham, 704. 9. Mike Neff, 655. 10. Jack Beckman, 581.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 1,033. 2. Kurt Johnson, 954. 3. Jason Line, 944. 4. Jeg Coughlin, 851. 5. Allen Johnson, 803. 6. V. Gaines, 728. 7. Mike Edwards, 724. 8. Greg Stanfield, 698. 9. Ron Krisher, 696. 10. Warren Johnson, 596.