Steve Harker earned his sixth National NHRA event win with a Top Alcohol Funny Car victory at the AAA Texas FallNationals in Dallas over the weekend.
After qualifying second, Harker met 15th placed Lance Van Hauen in Round 1. Harker got the win with his quickest pass of the weekend until that point on a 5.563 at 259. 46 mph while Van Hauen crossed the centre line earning the DQ.
In Round 2 Harker went straight down the groove on an even quicker 5.557 at 262.28 mph against Tony Bartone who pedalled at the 200 feet marker and never threatened on a 5.992 at 201.43 mph
The semi final was much closer as Brian Hough got off the line first, staying in front to the 330 foot mark before Harker drove around him and into his 21st final on a 5.555 at 262.18 mph from Hough’s 5.634 at 257.78 mph.
Meeting for the first time in eliminations it was a similar story to the semi as Terry Ruckman left the line first to lead the first 330 feet before Harker reeled him in and drove away for his sixth National event Wally with a 5.560 at 261.62 mph over Ruckman’s 5.702 at 252.71 mph.
Congratulations to Steve Harker and the CAM2 Speed City Racing team on another win that puts the Aussie 44 points behind Dale Brand in second place of NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car Championship.
Top Fuel
Richie Crampton was certainly ready for Sunday’s elimination rounds at the 29th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals, peeling off a best-of-the-year .052-second reaction time against first-round opponent Spencer Massey. But the early lead soon evaporated when his huge rear tires lost traction in the tricky right-hand lane, allowing Massey by for a 3.831-second, 321.27-mph victory.
“It’s really hot out there and the track just didn’t want to hold what we gave it,” said Crampton, who crossed the timers with a resigned 4.755 at 161.67 mph.
“The car launched hard and I couldn’t see Spencer, so I knew we were ahead but then the tires started spinning. I grabbed the brake and pedaled as quickly as I could, and the car actually hooked back up, but Spencer was too far ahead at that point.
“Sometimes lane choice is critical, like today, and other times it’s not a factor at all,” Crampton said.
“And then you’ll have days where it varies back and forth depending on what happens along the way. It’s something we all deal with and you can’t complain because we should have just qualified a bit better.
Pro Stock
Auzmet Architectural Pro Stock driver Shane Tucker experienced a rare mistake, and it ended his AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals on Sunday before he could get started.
Trying for a stellar reaction time against eventual race winner Dave Connolly, the clutch on Tucker’s Chevrolet Camaro engaged before the Christmas tree started, and Tucker was out of the race.
“I guess it’s racing and stuff happens,” Tucker said. “It’s disappointing, but there’s always another drag race. I’ve got air in my lungs and my family loves me, so it can’t be all bad.”
Tucker qualified No. 10 for Dallas and was looking for continued improvement from his Camaro in eliminations after making gains in qualifying. He was also looking for improvement from himself.
“I’ve been average on the Tree; I haven’t been killer,” Tucker said. “A lot of things have to be right for you to be great on the starting line.”
But not everything was right.
“One thing I did was I changed my routine, which I don’t think I’ll ever do again,” Tucker said. “You try not to overcomplicate things, but that’s probably what I did a little bit.
“I was thinking about making sure my leg was leaning on my clutch too hard. When you do that, you tend to be late. In the same vein, when I put it on the rev limiter, I was a bit light on the clutch pedal and it flicked it straight off.”
Connolly would have been tough to beat, as he made a pass of 6.597 seconds at 210.57 mph, but the Queenslander would have preferred to at least make a race of it as he did on Friday.
Tucker’s 6.661 at 208.88 mph was edged out by Connolly’s 6.592 at 209.95 mph in the postponed elimination rounds from the NHRA Pep Boys Carolina Nationals on Friday.
On what’s next for the team, Tucker said he isn’t sure and it could depend on sponsorship.
“I haven’t really made a decision on that yet,” Tucker said. “We need to reassess this year and how I’ve been driving. Maybe I need to take a break.”