Midwest Nats Winners in St. Louis
Written by Sheila Scarborough · May 6, 2007
Troxel, Capps, Connolly and Matt Smith take the Midwest Wallys.
Despite the soggy conditions during Friday qualifying, the drivers and teams stepped up to give the fans some exciting races in the shadow of the Gateway Arch.
NHRA.com Sunday recap.
Top Fuel’s Melanie Troxel brought home the first victory this season for her Evan Knoll POW/MIA tribute rail, beating Cory McClenathan with a 4.741 at 274.33 mph. It was payback for when Cory beat her in her first-ever final seven years ago, and it moved her to fifth in the points race.
“We knew it would take a little time to get a new team together and get to a point where we were running well,” Troxel said. “It’s certainly taken us a few races and even when we started running a little better we didn’t get any breaks. Today we weren’t the best car and we definitely got little breaks here and there along the way so it was nice to see things fall our way.
“Only having two qualifying rounds puts a lot of stress on the team. The first thing you have to do is make sure you qualify. Then we start racing and it was pretty good this morning in the first round but it heated up and there was just a lot of adjusting to do along the way. But the reality is it’ll be like this all summer so it’s good to get a handle on hot racetracks as quickly as you can.”
Bruce Litton took out Bud Prince Brandon Bernstein in Round One, and Clay Millican beat Tony Schumacher for another Round One upset.
In Funny Car, Ashley Force carried the torch for John Force Racing, since her teammates John Force and Robert Hight both went down before she did, but ultimately she lost to Ron Capps, the eventual winner.
Capps had his very first Funny Car win at St. Louis ten years ago; this is his third win this season and he leads Robert Hight by 121 digits in the points race. He beat Del Worsham with a 4.882 at 305.98 mph.
“I don’t know if the people watching on TV at home have any idea at all how brutal it was this weekend,” Capps said. “This is one of the toughest races I’ve ever been in and I can feel it now. It was tough being a driver; I can’t imagine what it was like to be a crew chief making the tuning calls.
“To run this thing with just two qualifying sessions is phenomenal. I have to give credit to NHRA and the Gateway people because this track really held together but it was still a handful to race. Thank God I have [crew chief] Ed McCulloch. You know, there are a lot of crew chiefs out here but not that many true racers tuning cars. Ed knows the difference and he’s a racer.”
Victor Cagnazzi Motorsports had a one-two in the Pro Stock finals between Jeg Coughlin and Dave Connolly. Ultimately, Connolly’s 6.663 at 206.99 mph carried him to the win.
“Victor has been working this program for so long and he’s put so much effort, time, and money into this deal,” Connolly said. “To give him his first win feels great, and the fact both his cars were in the final made it perfect. I was so happy to beat Jeg because he’s a guy I really respect and I knew I would have to earn it to get it.
“Everyone on this team is a part of this win. The guys that chase the sponsor money we need, the guys in the chassis shop, the guys building motors, and the crew guys here at the track, they’re all in this deal with me. They should be proud for both of us today.”
Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith has been to the final round three times so far this year, and he laid down a national record 6.901 at 191.78 mph to beat Angelle Sampey for the win and hold the points lead.
“I finally beat the girls and it feels so good,” Smith said. “I beat two of them today [Karen Stoffer and Angelle.] It was in my head a little, I have to admit. Credit this team with giving me a bike that has been running so sweet all year.
“We’ve worked very hard for this win so to go out and get it done is very satisfying. We ran a 6.917 in the semis and I didn’t change the tune-up one bit for the final. I couldn’t tell that it was a record run because the difference between a 6.94 and a 6.90 is almost impossible to tell. It’s cool that we got it though.”
Next up is scenic Thunder Valley at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee, May 18-20.
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