In his seventh final-round appearance, and first since Seattle 2015, NHRA driver Bo Butner earned the first Pro Stock win of his career at Royal Purple Raceway in the NHRA SpringNationals at Baytown, TX. Veteran driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. laid down a 6.557 pass at 210.70 mph on Friday as fast qualifier in his JEGS.com/Elite Performance Camaro. Before taking down Coughlin Jr. in the final round, Butner had eliminated Allen Johnson and Greg Anderson. On Sunday, Butner put up a 6.550 second run at 212.26 mph in his Jim Butner's Auto Chevrolet Camaro to claim the victory.
Funny Car Finals to Capps
Courtney Force looked to turn her season around at Baytown as the number one qualifier Saturday at 30th annual NHRA SpringNationals. But, fellow John Force Racing teammate Robert Hight eliminated Force on Sunday to meet defending NHRA Funny Car champion, Ron Capps in the final. Capps had taken out the legendary John Force and teammate Jack Beckham in earlier rounds before putting up a 4.004 pass at 284.33 mph in his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger. Hight was DQ'd when he crossed the center line after experiencing engine problems. Not to be out done, Capps' engine exploded at the finish line of the first victory of his 2017 season.
Pritchett Claims Third Win in Top Fuel
Leah Pritchett relied on a 3.781 pass at 321.96 mph to defeat Steve Torrence who ran a close 3.787 at 322.11 mph at Royal Purple Raceway. Torrence had eliminated number one qualifier Clay Millican to earn a spot in the final round of the fifth event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series. With her third win of the season at Baytown in the 30th annual SpringNationals, Pritchett stretched her Top Fuel points lead to 54 pts. over Antron Brown and to 56 pts. over veteran Tony Schumacher.
Next Up... the Four-Wide Nationals
Race teams and E3 Spark Plugs racing fans head east for one of drag racing's most unique events, the Eighth annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 28-30 at zMax Dragway in Concord, NC. Quickly becoming one of the most popular events on the NHRA calendar, the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the only event to feature four-wide racing as drivers leave the line with more than 40,000 horsepower hooking up with the North Carolina pavement.
