All month long, our racing guru David Scoggan is blogging LIVE from Lucas Oil Raceway! Check back here regularly for a dose of Dave’s wit and whimsy.
Brittany Force at Denver (photo by Gary Nastase, Auto Imagery)
Even though the Torrence family’s CAPCO Top Fuel Dragsters have dominated the category in 2019, with defending Mello Yello World Champion Steve Torrence currently sitting on 8 wins and his father Billy taking two of his own, look for this year’s NHRA Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals to have a strong field of contenders.
Four other two-car TF teams pose a serious threat to the aforementioned “Texas Tornados”: the John Force Racing pairing of Brittany Force and rookie Austin Prock, each with one win in 2019; Connie Kalitta’s crew of nephew Doug Kalitta (1 win) and Aussie export Richie Crampton (1 win); Don Schumacher Racing’s dynamic duo of Antron Brown and Leah Pritchett (incredibly, both are winless this season!); and the part-time, but dangerous Bob Vandergriff Racing lineup of young Jordan Vandergriff and Shawn Reed.
Add in the stout single-car entries of Mike Salinas (2 wins), Clay Millican, defending USN champ Terry McMillen, Scott Palmer, Pat Dakin, T.J. ZIzzo, and the probable debut of rookie Justin Ashley’s brand-new TF team, and the possibility exists that a 3.80 second ET might not be quick enough to qualify. The teams mentioned are all capable of those performances, we just need Mother Nature to cooperate — not too hot and go easy on the direct sunshine, please!
