Kalitta, Scelzi, Ellis also victorious
By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
Back-to-back Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson became drag racing's single-season win leader with his 14th victory Sunday in the fourth annual ACDelco NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The Top Fuel final was emotional as Kalitta squared off with rookie Morgan Lucas, who replaced the late
This time it was veteran Kalitta getting the win, his fourth of the season, with a wire-to-wire job. He left with a hundredth of a second advantage, .045 to .055, and never relinquished the lead, taking the stripe with a 4.530 at 329.02 mph to Lucas' 4.612 at 306.40 mph.
Kalitta stayed in the mid-4.5 second range all day, driving the Mac Tools rail past Gary Ormsby Jr., Doug Herbert, and Rhonda Hartman-Smith to reach his eighth final of the year and 40th of his career.
Lucas' seventh race as a professional proved to be lucky as he reached the final round for the first time in his brief career. Starting the day mid-pack, the Lucas Oil/Keystone racer beat former champions Larry Dixon and Scott Kalitta before taking a one-thousandth-of-a-second holeshot victory over Andrew Cowin in the semifinals, the closest Pro race of the day. Top Fuel results
Scelzi's third win of the year came against the same final-round opponent as the first two, 113-time winner Force, who succumbed to a stellar .020-second start by Scelzi and lost with a quicker 4.754 to Scelzi's winning 4.790 at 326.32 mph.
The victory moved Scelzi into a tie with Del Worsham for second place in the category during a year that most observers are pointing to as the best in class history. Force was trying to cap his championship-clinching weekend with another victory but it wasn't meant to be. Instead, three-time Top Fuel champion Scelzi bagged his 29th Wally.
"A couple of weeks ago I stayed with Force at his house because we had this radio deal to do and he invited me to just stay with him," Scelzi said. "We had an absolute blast, going out to TGI Fridays and hanging with fans and then trying to cook back at his house later that night. When we got out at the top end just now he said, 'Scelzi, I left the light on for you and then you just put the lights out for me.' He's the champ and I love racing him. It's one of the big reasons I switched to Funny Car.
"A lot of people didn't look for us to be this high in the points but we did and this team is staying together next year so watch out. If we hadn't stumbled for a period earlier this year we would still be fighting with Force.
"I'm still carrying this pin of
A bit of a sleeper at the start of the day, Scelzi and his Hemi Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T emerged from the No. 5 position and powered by Tommy Johnson Jr.,
Championship trophy in hand, Force was having fun Sunday, beating Ron Capps and employees Eric Medlen and Gary Densham en route to his record 179th money round. The Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang has now carried the 13-time champ to 11 finals this year.
This was the fifth time that
When the lights flashed this time, the powerhouse Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac Grand Am would not be denied, carrying
Following their dream script, KB Racing teammates
Considering his resume of successes on other circuits, it wasn't a huge surprise to see Ellis win a race. Nor was it shocking to see him dominate the day, considering he was riding one of multiple championship-winning crew chief George Bryce's latest creations.
Looking cool as the savviest of racers, Ellis handled former Bryce standout and three-time series champion Angelle Savoie in the final with a 7.191 at 179.92 mph to Savoie's 7.255 at 177.49 mph. Savoie tried her best, leaving with a .032- to .059-second headstart, but Bryce's horsepower kicked in at the tope end and Ellis was able to ride around her for the win.
To get to the final, Ellis rode his G-Squared S&S Buell V-Twin past Chip Hunter, Antron Brown, and Shawn Gann for his first shot at an NHRA trophy.
Savoie continues to add to her legacy aboard the U.S. Army Suzuki, racing to her 54th career final in 119 starts by dismissing Michael Phillips, Mike Berry, and GT Tonglet.
The final POWERade championship yet to be decided will have to wait until