EPPING — The NHRA roared back into New England Dragway this weekend, and a mix of new and familiar faces claimed victory at the eighth annual New England Nationals.
John Force won the Funny Car division for his 153rd national event win, while Billy Torrence got his seventh career Top Fuel win, and Aaron Stanfield got his second win in Pro Stock.
The biggest winners were the fans on Sunday, as race after race came down to the wire, and Force’s legion of loyal fans erupted when he crossed the finish line to win in Funny Car, racing to a win over his teammate Robert Hight in the final round.
“It represents team effort,” Force said. “You have to look at both of these cars and all the people that take care of me. That’s what it’s all about.”
The brackets for each of the three professional categories are set by qualifying on Friday and Saturday, and early on Sunday those brackets went out the window like a Round 1 March Madness bracket. Early round upsets showed that race day would be anything but predictable.
When No. 2 Funny Car qualifier Ron Capps bowed out to No. 13 Terry Haddock in the first round, it set the stage for what was to come. Capps teammate Matt Hagan, who was looking for his fourth straight win at the New England Nationals, came into Sunday as the No. 1 seed, but he was sent home by No. 8 seed Tim Wilkerson in the second round of competition, setting the stage for a Funny Car final four that included the seed numbers three, eight, 10 and 13.
With each upset win, the packed house at New England Dragway let out another roar of appreciation, but the crowd was clearly behind Force, the highest seed among the final four cars, even when it came time for him to race his teammate.
“Robert helps me so much, trying to help me back in the driver’s seat where I don’t suck so bad," Force said. "Right now I’ve got a car and I won today. I did my job. I want to thank all the (fans) in Epping for coming back.”
The name Torrence has been common in victory lane at New England Dragway when the NHRA comes to town, as Steve Torrence won in Epping in 2018 and 2019.
This year, however, it was Steve’s father, Billy Torrence, who took the New England Nationals crown back to Kilgore, Texas.
“This whole place, I love this place," Torrence said. "The fans here are outstanding. Some of those lobstermen from Maine fed us last night; it had to be the lobster.”
Unlike the Funny Car category, the Top Fuel ladder went almost chalk, with the only exception being No. 10 qualifier Leah Pruett’s first-round win over No. 3 qualifier Justin Ashley. During Friday qualifying Billy Torrence and No. 2 qualifier Mike Salinas were the only drivers to successfully navigate the track on a day when cool temperatures and humid air wreaked havoc on the 11,000 horsepower race cars.
The two top qualifiers remained consistent throughout the weekend, and faced off in the final round. Torrence beat Salinas on a hole shot – which means Salinas actually got down the track faster, but Torrence took off from the green light more quickly so he got to the finish line first. When the dust settled, the final margin of the victory for Torrence was just 0.002 seconds.
“The elation is, I won me a trophy for my little bitty grandbaby who is no bigger than this trophy,” Torrence said. ”Steve’s been getting them for her, but the old man got her one now.”
Stanfield picked up what may have been the most surprising win of the Day. Greg Anderson has had the hottest hand in the Pro Stock ranks, racking up five No. 1 qualifiers in six races, and he already has two wins on the year. Stanfield, however, outran Anderson who was the fastest car in every round of qualifying and all but one round of eliminations prior to the final round.
“I’m just doing my best to do my job behind the wheel, and everything came together today,” Stanfield said. “Getting to race somebody who you grew up watching do really well over the years is cool, to get to race them and beat them, so we’re happy.”
In addition to preventing Anderson from picking up his third win of 2021, Stanfield’s victory kept Anderson one win behind the all-time Pro Stock win record held by Warren Johnson. Anderson came into the day looking for his 97th career win, which would have tied him with Johnson, but Stanfield had other ideas.
The Link LonkJune 14, 2021 at 11:46PM
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NHRA: Force wins Funny Car division at New England Nationals for 153rd victory - Seacoastonline.com
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