The NHRA world converges in the midwest this week for the sport’s biggest event.
Wednesday marks the beginning of the 67th Dodge SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals. This is the sport’s biggest event in so many ways but first and foremost prestige. Should you win this race in any class, you go down in history as a U.S. Nationals champion.
It’s the Daytona 500 or Knoxville Nationals of drag racing. Racers from all over the country head to Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Raceway with one goal in mind; win their class. Sportsman drivers will start qualifying on Wednesday in hopes of even making the show. The Camping World NHRA Drag Racing Series will start their qualifying on Friday night, then two qualifying sessions on Saturday before eliminations on Sunday.
Steve Torrence and Greg Anderson are former winners of this event and both are riding momentum in their respective title chases. Anderson going for his fifth Pro Stock title as his career starts winding down. Torrence is looking for his fourth straight Top Fuel crown. Both can do damage in Indy this weekend.
Funny Car and Pro Stock Motorcycle are probably the most wide open classes and the most wide open they have ever been. Looking at the Funny Car field their is about 12 drivers who can win this race. In the PSM field there is anyone who enters who has a shot.
One thing we do know is the fields will be full. After a couple weeks of low car counts there are 19 Top Fuel Dragsters and 19 Funny Cars scheduled to be on the property. In Pro Stock there will be 19 cars and 22 Pro Stock Bikes in Indy. Mix that with the hundreds to thousands of Sportsman drivers that will be there, it will be big.
Big Go Leads to Big Payoff
The ‘Big Go’ as it’s called, has that name for multiple reasons. The biggest being, it’s the final race in the NHRA regular season. Points will reset for the final few races of the season with only 10 drivers in each of the four professional classes going for a World Title. Another reason it has the name the Big Go is simply because of the magnitude of the event.
In the professional categories; Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle, drivers will go for the biggest Wally of their careers. 16-time Funny Car champion John Force and last year’s winner in Top Fuel Shawn Langdon are multiple time winners of the grand event. Force is tied with Ed McCollough for most wins at the race in Funny Car. Others like Ron Capps have never won this race. It’s an event that has eluded the legendary figure in the drag racing world.
To win this race puts you on a whole new level. Drivers will save their best stuff for this event and throw everything that have in the shop at the car to win this one race. A win here can boost a driver into the rest of the season and a possible championship.
JR Todd grabbed a win here in 2018 and it sent him on to a Funny Car Championship that year. Erica Enders grabbed a title in 2015 and rode the momentum from the race to her second straight Pro Stock championship. There are many drivers who are looking to turn their season around and this is the facility and the race that can do it.
Surprises and Prestige
Just like any sporting event, surprises can come from this race. Take Terry McMillen‘s win in 2018. Here is a driver who has struggled in his NHRA Top Fuel career but persevered and caught a few breaks during the day to win the US Nationals. In 2013, John Hall won a Pro Stock Motorcycle US Nationals Wally and did it in upset fashion. Go as far back as Jim White in 1991 winning the Funny Car race that year.
So many drivers enter this race with the hopes of holding the most prestigious trophy in their careers. From full-time NHRA professionals to the blue collar boys who loaded up and went to Indiana with one hope in mind. No other drag race in the world holds a candle to this one.
Storylines will be plentiful entering the 2021 edition of the US Nationals. Can Ron Capps get his first? Will John Force make a title resurgence and break his tie with the great McCollough for most Funny Car US Nationals wins at five? Does anyone have anything for Steve Torrence? Erica or Greg in Pro Stock and who wins the wide open PSM class?
No matter what this will be one of the biggest US Nationals in history and it’s bound to exceed expectations.
