Tasca won in the final against Jack Beckman, but his biggest win probably was in the semifinal when he denied John Force his 150th event win.  (Ron Lewis photo)

Bob Tasca III, who won for the first time in nearly seven years last weekend in Bristol, waited just seven days to pick up his next victory, making it two in a row by going 4.383 seconds at 245.09 mph in his Motorcraft/Tasca Parts Ford Shelby Mustang in the final round at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, OH. It is the sixth career win for Tasca, who reached his 14th career final round on Sunday with wins against Matt Hagan, Paul Lee and John Force to meet Jack Beckman in the final.

Torrence met No. 1 qualifier and arch-foe Brittany Force in the semifinal and collected his 300th career round win.

In Top Fuel, defending world champ and current points leader Torrence continued his dominant stretch, powering to his sixth win in the last seven races and 33rd in his career with a run of 3.832 at 323.27 in his Capco Contractors dragster to beat Pat Dakin’s 3.909 at 301.40. Torrence reached his seventh straight final round by beating Jordan Vandergriff, Doug Kalitta and Brittany Force.

Dakin, who advanced to his first final round since 1998 and was looking for his first Top Fuel victory since 1973, reached the finals after beating Mike Salinas, Terry McMillen and Leah Pritchett.

A hot, slippery track made traction difficult for all the teams.

Pro Stock’s Chris McGaha picked up his first win of 2019 and eighth in his career with his winning run of 6.620 at 210.11 in his Harlow Sammons Chevrolet Camaro to beat Alex Laughlin’s 6.668 at 208.75.

McGaha reached his 11th final round thanks to wins against Wally Stroupe, Greg Anderson and points leader Bo Butner. Laughlin earned a berth in his fifth final round by topping Rodger Brogdon, Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Five-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ and points leader Hines rolled to his fifth win of 2019 and class-best 53rd in his career, going 6.895 at 196.99 in the final round on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to beat Eddie Krawiec’s 6.967 at 196.64. It was the 26th time the teammates have met in the final round, with Hines winning for the 12th time.

Hines’ day started with round wins against Marc Ingwersen, Angelle Sampey and defending world champion Matt Smith. Krawiec reached the final round for the 83rd time by knocking off Michael Ray, John Hall and Scotty Pollacheck.  (Ron Lewis photos)  [06/24/19]

Former world champion Khalid alBalooshi raced to his first victory of the 2019 season during the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service at Norwalk. There were 24 racers trying to make the 16-car field.

In the final round against Jose Gonzalez, who won last weekend in Bristol, alBalooshi powered to a run of 5.765 seconds at 259.01 mph in his turbocharged Bahrain 1 Racing Camaro to beat Gonzalez’s 5.801 at 258.81. It marks the second win in Norwalk for alBalooshi, with his first coming in Top Fuel. The victory is also the fifth in alBalooshi’s Pro Mod career.

alBalooshi, who qualified at No. 9, picked up wins against Todd Tutterow, No. 1 qualifier Mike Castellana and three-time world champion Rickie Smith to reach the final round. Gonzalez beat Doug Winters, Brandon Snider and points leader Stevie “Fast” Jackson to reach his second straight final round and fifth in his career.   (Ron Lewis photo)  [06/24/19]

Erica Enders, who got into the Pro Mod field at Bristol after Marc Caruso crashed at the top end, was on the receiving end of the bad luck at Norwalk.

In the final qualifying round running with Justin Bond, she set the national Pro Mod record with a 5.787 at 261.22 mph. However, her Camaro’s engine let go just past the finish line and oiled the track. The team wasn’t able to return and this week Eric Latino got into the field as alternate; he lost in the first round.  (Ron Lewis photo)  [06/24/19]

Eight ScottRods AA Gassers got track time at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. Mike Kalinowski of Orchard Park, NY, drove his ’48 Austin to a 5.785/101.76 defeat of Ed Beaumont of Batavia, OH, whose ’63 Corvette turned in a 6.103 at 116.90.    (Ron Lewis photo)  [06/24/19]

The longtime nostalgia Funny Car team of Mike McIntire moved into the NHRA Big Show at Norwalk, making their debut with another “McAttack.” The Toyota did not qualify for the Fuel Funny Car field along with the cars driven by Jim Campbell, Terry Haddock and Jeff Diehl.  (Ron Lewis photo)   [06/24/19]

Mick Snyder and the Snyder Motorsports Team have had a strong start to their 2019 season, with multiple top qualifiers in the Mid-West Pro Mod Series and picking up the win with the Texas Outlaw Pro Mod Association.

The team ventured to their local track of Xtreme Raceway Park in Ferris, TX, for a heads-up Outlaw Pro Mod event over Father’s Day Weekend. The six-time season champs and their supercharged, Electronic Fuel Injected, Lencodrive-equipped Top Sportsman combination proved to be consistent and fast enough to land the Evolution Race Development-sponsored team in the Winner’s Circle.

During qualifying the Snyder Motorsports Camaro ran 3.91 seconds at 189 mph to put them second of the final qualifying sheet. Snyder took the win in the opening round of competition with a 3.91 at 189. In the second round, Snyder took the win again with a 3.90 at 189, which gave the team lane choice. In the finals, Snyder took the holeshot victory with a slower 3.96 at 186 for a .006 stripe.   [06/24/19]

On the first day of the 13th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Shane Tucker wrapped up a tough day of qualifying in his new Auzmet/StructGlass Chevrolet Camaro. The young Australian brought out a new Pro Stock race car and his team spent most of the day fine tuning his Camaro.

The first time down the track saw a run of 6.841 seconds at 201.70 mph, putting him in the field at No. 16. In the second session Tucker was looking to improve and move up in the qualifying standings. Tucker’s Camaro rolled up in the left lane. When the tree activated Tucker took off and the nose of his race car lurched up and continued to rise as he accelerated down the track.

Unfortunately, a trans ratio and weigh distribution issue created this situation and Tucker was forced to lift when the front end landed. The good news was Tucker recorded his quickest 60-foot time of the season, so the team knows they are moving in the right direction.

“That was a wild ride,” said Tucker. “The front end came up so much I was just looking at the sky and didn’t see the track for a bit. When it came down I had to lift. I don’t think we hurt anything on the car which is good. We can get the wheelie bar adjusted and we’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

Tucker stayed in the No. 16 spot through two more rounds of qualifying, meeting No. 1 qualifier Deric Kramer in the first round. Although Tucker and his team posted their best run of the weekend, 6.634 at 209.03 mph, Kramer was off the line first and held the lead to the finish line.

“We got the car from Drew Skillman but we put our motor under the hood and there was a considerable weight difference,” Kramer explained. “Our motor is heavier and we had to work all weekend to deal with the weigh transfer. That one element is so important on these race cars. We did have a good handle on it by this morning.”

There was some consolation, however, as Tucker’s Camaro – an original design by himself -- was named “Best Appearing Car” at the Norwalk event. Tucker will return for the three-race NHRA Western Swing beginning July 19-20 at Bandimere Speedway near Denver.  (Ron Lewis photo)   [06/24/19]

The 21st annual NMRA World Finals at Beech Bend Raceway over the weekend of Sept. 26-29 will have a special addition this year. The NMRA has joined with Holley to add in the Intergalactic Ford Festival to grow the biggest Ford drag race in the world into something that has never been seen before in the Ford market.

The NMRA World Finals + Holley Ford Festival will include an even bigger car show, multiple celebrity appearances, autocross, drifting exhibition, and more.

NMRA championship drag racing, QA1 Tree Street, and special Shootout eliminators will run on the quarter mile. Holley has increased payout across the board to create the biggest NMRA purse in history.   [06/24/19]