MORRISON, Colo. – Five-time POWERade Series world champion Tony Schumacher raced to his sixth win this season at the 29th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals.
Tim Wilkerson, Greg Anderson, and Matt Smith also won in their respective categories in the 13th of 24 events on the POWERade Series schedule.
This was the first NHRA event in history run at 1,000 feet for both Top Fuel and Funny Car.
Schumacher drove his U.S. Army dragster to a 4.007-second run at 304.05 mph to defeat runner-up Antron Brown to pick up his 47th win and pull within five of Joe Amato (52) for most Top Fuel wins all-time.
“It’s still a good race,” said Schumacher, referring to the change to 1,000 feet. “The key to this race was knowing it’s hot out, knowing that there’s water under the first 100 feet, and knowing that if you don’t get that car moving hard right there, you’re done, you’re not going to make it. And we knew that.”
In Funny Car, Wilkerson drove his Levi Ray &Shoup Chevy Impala SS to a 4.398 at 262.23 to defeat defending event winner Jack Beckman and pick up his third win in five races. It’s Wilkerson’s fourth win of the season, ninth of his career and first at Bandimere Speedway.
“We had a good car all weekend and went down the track every run,” said Wilkerson. “I’m pretty proud of my guys. They’re doing a great job. It was good racing all weekend.”
Greg Anderson drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to his third straight win and fifth overall for the season, posting a time of 7.024 at 196.39, which proved strong enough to get past runner-up and defending event winner Allen Johnson. It is Anderson’s 56th career win, and second in Denver.
“This track is so different than everything we do all year long,” said Anderson. “We just ended up having a great weekend. We adapted great and I’ve probably learned more this year than I’ve ever learned out here.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith was able to ride his NitroFish Wear Buell to a 7.326 at 180.74 past Steve Johnson to pick up his second consecutive win at Bandimere, second of the season, and eighth of his career.
“The track is awesome,” said Smith. “This cooling system in the track was consistent all week long. We performed and we had a good bike and I’m just glad to leave here with another win.”
29th annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. The race is the 13th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL
1. Tony Schumacher; 2. Antron Brown; 3. Larry Dixon; 4. Cory McClenathan; 5. Bob Vandergriff; 6. Doug Herbert; 7. Doug Kalitta; 8. Morgan Lucas; 9. Rod Fuller; 10. Bye; 11. Hillary Will; 12. Steven Chrisman; 13. J.R. Todd; 14. David Grubnic; 15. Brandon Bernstein; 16. Steve Torrence.
FUNNY CAR
1. Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Impala; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger; 3. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang; 4. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara; 5. Gary Densham, Impala; 6. Mike Neff, Mustang; 7. Gary Scelzi, Charger; 8. Ron Capps, Charger; 9. Melanie Troxel, Charger; 10. John Force, Mustang; 11. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger; 12. Bob Tasca III, Mustang; 13. Tony Pedregon, Impala; 14. Jerry Toliver, Charger; 15. Del Worsham, Impala; 16. Ashley Force, Mustang.
PRO STOCK.
1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP; 2. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus; 3. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt; 4. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 5. Larry Morgan, Stratus; 6. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt; 7. Johnny Gray, Stratus; 8. Jason Line, GXP; 9. Greg Stanfield, GXP; 10. Justin Humphreys, Stratus; 11. Dave Connolly, Cobalt; 12. Warren Johnson, GXP; 13. V. Gaines, Stratus; 14. Mike Edwards, GXP; 15. Jim Yates, GXP; 16. Rickie Jones, Stratus.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
1. Matt Smith; 2. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 3. Peggy Llewellyn, Buell; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson; 5. Chris Rivas, Buell; 6. Matt Guidera, Buell; 7. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 9. Chip Ellis, Suzuki; 10. Angelle Sampey, Buell; 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 12. Mike Berry, Buell; 13. David Hope, Buell; 14. Hector Arana, Buell; 15. Junior Pippin, Buell; 16. Ryan Schnitz, Kawasaki.
Top Fuel — Tony Schumacher, 4.007 seconds, 304.05 mph def. Antron Brown, 4.173 seconds, 276.97 mph.
Funny Car — Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Impala, 4.398, 262.23 def. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.661, 205.41.
Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 7.024, 196.39 def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 7.028, 195.79.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Matt Smith, Buell, 7.326, 180.74 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.340, 180.81.
Competition Eliminator — Lou Ficco Jr., Chevy Cavalier, 7.722, 173.72 def. Steve Holloway, Pontiac GTO, 7.030, 197.77.
Super Stock — Justin Jenkins, Olds Calais, 10.515, 124.09 def. Neal Rhodes, Ford Mustang, 10.842, 123.24.
Stock Eliminator — Brad Burton, Pontiac Formula, 11.529, 113.31 def. Jim Hughes, Chevy Nova, 11.596, 113.03.
Super Comp — Kyle Lawrence, Dragster, 9.522, 146.26 def. Terry Edwards, Dragster, 9.492, 164.79.
Top Fuel
1. Tony Schumacher, 1,179; 2. Antron Brown, 904; 3. Larry Dixon, 867; 4. Cory McClenathan, 788; 5. Rod Fuller, 777; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 737; 7. Hillary Will, 719; 8. Doug Herbert, 666; 9. Doug Kalitta, 566; 10. David Grubnic, 564.
Funny Car
1. Tim Wilkerson, 978; 2. Robert Hight, 763; 3. Tony Pedregon, 750; 4. Ashley Force, 739; 5. Cruz Pedregon, 720; 6. John Force, 695; 7. (tie) Ron Capps, 632; Gary Densham, 632; 9. Mike Neff, 600; 10. Jack Beckman, 530.
Pro Stock
1. Greg Anderson, 996; 2. Kurt Johnson, 900; 3. Jason Line, 828; 4. Jeg Coughlin, 819; 5. Allen Johnson, 711; 6. Mike Edwards, 671; 7. Ron Krisher, 662; 8. V. Gaines, 657; 9. Greg Stanfield, 627; 10. Warren Johnson, 565.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Andrew Hines, 668; 2. Matt Smith, 630; 3. Chip Ellis, 569; 4. Chris Rivas, 512; 5. Eddie Krawiec, 481; 6. Matt Guidera, 450; 7. Angelle Sampey, 424; 8. Craig Treble, 417; 9. Steve Johnson, 402; 10. Hector Arana, 376.
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