Saturday night at the Texas Motorplex outside Dallas the remaining NHRA events from the weather delayed NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis were getting prepped to make their semi-final elimination runs. Although some teams felt the two remaining classes should be re-run from the start of elimination rounds, other were still upset that the events were paused and not finished at World Wide Technology Raceway. As veteran Pro Stock racer Kenny Delco approached the finish line two weeks ago in Madison, Illinois, a wind gust turned his Camaro into the outside wall in a violent round-one crash. NHRA officials said the remaining rounds in both classes were postponed, because safety issues related to wind conditions, track surface chunking, and cold temperatures.
NOTE: The director of motorsports at JEGS complained that the problem at the St. Louis facility was created when the NHRA applied the traction compound to the racing surface at World Wide Technology Raceway but didn’t drag the lanes to ensure the compound adhered. Nonetheless, the NHRA canceled the remainder of elimination runs and said they would be finished at Texas Motorplex before the AAA Texas FallNationals in two weeks.
The Pro Stock field was midway through their class quarterfinals when racing was halted at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil. Erica Enders wasted no time in improving her chances of earning another title in 2020. The defending Pro Stock champion claimed her third victory of the season with a win over Greg Anderson and Jason Line during semi-final and final runs of Midwest Nationals that began at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis two weeks earlier… and ended on Saturday at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. It was the 28th overall Pro Stock Wally for Enders who regained the points lead over Line. When riders in Pro Stock Motorcycle left St. Louis, the class was down to the final four of Matt Smith, Steve Johnson, Scotty Pollacheck, and Andrew Hines. Matt Smith defeated his teammate Pollacheck by posting a 6.775 ET at 200.50 mph to claim his 27th career Wally.
Photo by Erica Enders Racing
