Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals
Event 7 of 24 (Atlanta)
Atlanta Dragway
Commerce, Ga.
May 3-5, 2019
DSR Atlanta Elimination Highlights:
- Ron Capps picked up his 61st Funny Car victory and first of the 2019 season on Sunday at the Arby’s NHRA Southern Nationals
- Capps accumulated 112 points to advance two spots in the Funny Car point standings
- Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to the semifinals for the third time in the first seven events and moved into the top five in the Funny Car rankings
- With her quarterfinal finish, Leah Pritchett (Top Fuel) bumped up two spots and leaves Atlanta Dragway ranked fourth
(EXCERPT)
Driver Information:
Funny Car
TOMMY JOHNSON JR.
Driver of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
Qualified: No. 7 (4.031 E.T. at 313.66 MPH)
The Results:
E1: 4.037 E.T. at 309.84 MPH defeated Matt Hagan 4.113 E.T. at 287.35 MPH
E2: 4.334 E.T. at 218.62 MPH defeated J.R. Todd 10.638 E.T. at 76.09 MPH
E3: 4.091 E.T. at 310.27 MPH defeated by Ron Capps 4.071 E.T. at 317.19 MPH
Race Recap:
Tommy Johnson, Jr. has been edging closer to capturing his first Wally of 2019 behind the wheel of the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car. He was in the hunt Sunday with his run to the semifinal after knocking out a pair of Funny Car champions. In the opening round, he avenged his first-round loss in Houston to teammate Matt Hagan with a run of 4.037 seconds and in round two, he defeated reigning Funny Car champion J.R. Todd with a smooth pass of 4.334 over Todd’s tire-smoking effort. In his second side-by-side semifinal run of 2019, it was another teammate, Ron Capps, on the opposite side of the staging tree. Capps took the advantage at the hit and Johnson, despite a solid run of 4.091, was never able to catch up.
Quotable:
“I thought we were going to be able to break our Atlanta curse today. We had a good running Dodge in hot conditions and just lost a close one. I’m excited because the summer races are coming and we are running well. It was a good points day, we moved up today. We need to maintain our consistency and stay in this thing and continue to do better. The hot races are coming and with the way we are running, I think our win is coming.”
NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
1. Steve Torrence – 579
2. Brittany Force – 483
3. Doug Kalitta – 464
4. Leah Pritchett – 433
5. Clay Millican – 427
6. Mike Salinas – 384
7. Antron Brown – 373
8. Richie Crampton – 329
9. Terry McMillen – 319
10. Austin Prock – 288
Funny Car
1. Robert Hight – 663
2. Matt Hagan – 472
3. John Force – 470
4. J.R. Todd – 456
5. Tommy Johnson Jr. – 445
6. Tim Wilkerson – 436
7. Ron Capps – 430
8. Jack Beckman – 425
9. Shawn Langdon – 365
10. Bob Tasca III – 338