EPPING, N.H. — After last year’s New England Nationals eliminations were pushed to Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway the following week, NHRA fans in the northeast showed out in a big way as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series blasted the New England Dragway for three days of ground-pounding action.
As the sun set on a picturesque weekend at the classic dragway with three winners leaving with Wallys, there were plenty of takeaways.
• John Force scored win No. 157 in the Funny Car category after out-dueling teammate Austin Prock in the finals.
Promptly after their epic duel, 75-year-old Force dropped a potential bombshell during the FOX broadcast.
“I wanna say something that really does matter,” Force began during his television interview. “This kid (grabbing Prock’s arm), because I’m there, is gonna replace me.”
Force was later asked to clarify his comments during the post-race press conference.
“You’ll see me here, I’ll be here next year, and I’ll probably be in a Top Fuel car,” Force said with a smirk.
Regardless of when the 16-time champion decides to retire, he has a tremendous chance at a 17th title this season. Force is 22 points behind Prock who leads the standings.
• Eight-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher was stout in his second final-round appearance of the season.
It’s been tough sledding for Schumacher at times this year, however, he progressively improved with each pass during eliminations.
Initially qualifying 14th out of the 16-car field, Schumacher methodically climbed the ladder, knocking out two-time champ Brittany Force, Josh Hart and Clay Millican.
In the finals, Schumacher’s reaction time (0.055) was better than Doug Kalitta (0.072) however, a puff of the tires midway down the strip was his demise.
• A hard-charging Erica Enders still couldn’t derail Troy Coughlin Jr.’s winning afternoon.
It’s hard enough facing off against Enders in the finals. Adding in the fact that she’s won the event two times prior, and it’s a steep challenge.
However, Coughlin kept his poise, hanging his hat on a 0.13 reaction time compared to Enders’ 0.38 and held on to the holeshot win despite the six-time champ beating him at the line by 0.021 seconds.
• It was a packed house all weekend at New England Dragway.
From the time the gates opened on Friday afternoon to the last drag race of the afternoon on Sunday, fans clamored about the northeast facility.
A noticeable rise in fans in the stands (and media in the media center) rose to watch the Force vs. Prock battle on elimination day.
When Force’s winning time and speed lit up the timing board at the end of the strip, an immediate eruption was heard from the crowd as hands and arms waved in the air.
The crowd knew it was another memorable moment in Force’s legendary career.
