{"id":4257,"date":"2016-06-17T23:48:25","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T04:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=4257"},"modified":"2016-06-24T11:01:24","modified_gmt":"2016-06-24T16:01:24","slug":"capps-torrence-and-line-race-to-qualifying-leads-friday-at-nhra-thunder-valley-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/17\/capps-torrence-and-line-race-to-qualifying-leads-friday-at-nhra-thunder-valley-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Capps, Torrence and Line race to qualifying leads Friday at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BRISTOL, Tenn.\u00a0 \u2013 <strong>Ron Capps<\/strong> raced to the Funny Car qualifying lead on Friday at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhra.com\">NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals<\/a> at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bristoldragway.com\">Bristol Dragway<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4261\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/17\/capps-torrence-and-line-race-to-qualifying-leads-friday-at-nhra-thunder-valley-nationals\/170-roncapps-friday-bristol\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=2200%2C1464\" data-orig-size=\"2200,1464\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D3S&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1466214410&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=640%2C426\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4261\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=300%2C200\" alt=\"170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=768%2C511 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=1024%2C681 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=284%2C190 284w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=99%2C66 99w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?w=2000 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 11th event of 24 on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.<\/p>\n<p>Capps powered his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R\/T to the provisional top spot with a track record 3.880-second pass at 323.66 mph. Capps is riding a wave of momentum after posting back-to-back victories as the No. 1 qualifier in both Epping, N.H., and Englishtown, N.J. He has 20 top qualifiers in his career and is a three-time NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals winner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been great, but let\u2019s not get carried away,\u201d said Capps, the Funny Car points leader, about possibly winning three consecutive races. \u201cYou\u2019re going to a different track and you hope that you can keep it up. As a driver, you hope that your crew and crew chief can keep it up because it\u2019s been so much fun. We had an issue in the first run today and it put us back a little bit. I shut it off a little early and it could\u2019ve been worse, but they bounced back. That (second run) was breathtaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Del Worsham is second with a 3.888 at a track record speed of 329.42 in his DHL Toyota Camry. Worsham, the defending Funny Car world champion, is a two-time Bristol winner. In third is Robert Hight, who won earlier this season in Gainesville, Fla. Hight powered to a 3.897 at 321.27 in his Auto Club Chevy Camaro SS.<\/p>\n<p>Hagan, who won back-to-back races before Epping, is fourth in his Mopar Express Lane \/ Rocky Boots Dodge Charger R\/T while Houston winner, Courtney Force, is fifth in her Traxxas Chevy Camaro SS.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4260\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/17\/capps-torrence-and-line-race-to-qualifying-leads-friday-at-nhra-thunder-valley-nationals\/169-stevetorrence-friday-bristol\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=2200%2C1402\" data-orig-size=\"2200,1402\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D3S&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1466218479&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;200&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=640%2C408\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4260\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=300%2C191\" alt=\"169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=300%2C191 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=768%2C489 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=1024%2C653 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/169-SteveTorrence-Friday-Bristol.jpg?w=2000 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Torrence, who has appeared in the last two final rounds and sprinted to victory last weekend in Englishtown, posted a 3.745 at 324.12 at the controls of his Capco Contractors \/ Torrence Racing dragster to take the Top Fuel qualifying lead. Torrence, who also qualified No. 1 last weekend, has five top qualifiers in 2016 and 10 in his career. The 2013 Bristol winner has two wins in four final round appearances this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe car has been exceptional and I say this week-in and week-out but my team has given me the best car that I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d said Torrence, who is third in points. \u201cWhen you get in the seat, you know that the thing is capable of outrunning anybody that you come up against. Setting low E.T. each session is a huge confidence boost for me as a driver and a testament to how hard these guys have worked. We\u2019ve made 16 laps in the last two weeks and they\u2019re still ready to go, energetic and full of drive. That\u2019s what it takes to have the caliber of a team that can go win a championship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta is second in his Mac Tools dragster with a 3.767 at 323.97. Kalitta, who won three consecutive races before Epping, is a three-time winner at Thunder Valley. Two-time 2016 event winner, Brittany Force, is second in her Monster Energy dragster with a 3.773 at 323.04.<\/p>\n<p>Defending world champion Antron Brown is fourth and is followed by Phoenix winner Leah Pritchett in fifth and Shawn Langdon in sixth.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4263\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/17\/capps-torrence-and-line-race-to-qualifying-leads-friday-at-nhra-thunder-valley-nationals\/171-jasonline-friday-bristol\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=2200%2C1488\" data-orig-size=\"2200,1488\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D3S&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1466197531&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;420&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0008&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=640%2C433\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4263\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=300%2C203\" alt=\"171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=300%2C203 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=768%2C519 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=1024%2C693 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?resize=99%2C66 99w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/171-JasonLine-Friday-Bristol.jpg?w=2000 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In Pro Stock, points leader Line sprinted to the lead with a 6.680 at 206.92 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. Line, who won in Bristol one decade ago, has raced to nine final rounds and tallied five victories this year. He has powered to the No. 1 qualifier at three consecutive races, has five top qualifiers so far this season and 46 in his career.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot as dominant tonight, obviously, and a lot of cars were fast tonight,\u201d said Line. \u201cFortunate enough to be fast enough to be up here so we feel good about that. I felt like we should\u2019ve gone quicker than that (in the second session) but we didn\u2019t make a great run. Neither one of our runs were really great but it was good enough. I\u2019m not going to whine about it \u2013 it was good enough to be No. 1.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Line is followed by his Summit Racing Equipment teammate Greg Anderson in the No. 2 spot. Anderson, who is second in points with five wins and two runner-up finishes this season, posted a 6.692 at 206.26 in his Chevy Camaro. Anderson is a two-time Bristol winner.<\/p>\n<p>Bo Butner is third in his Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro and is followed by Vincent Nobile in fourth and Epping, N.H., runner-up Allen Johnson in fifth.<\/p>\n<p>The final two qualifying sessions of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will be held on Saturday, June 18, at 1 and 3:30 p.m. and will set the field for Sunday\u2019s 11 a.m. eliminations at Bristol Dragway.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>BRISTOL, Tenn. &#8212; Friday&#8217;s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 16th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, 11th of 24 events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.\u00a0 Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday&#8217;s final eliminations.<\/p>\n<p>Top Fuel &#8212; 1. Steve Torrence, 3.745 seconds, 324.12 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 3.767, 323.97; 3. Brittany Force, 3.773, 323.04; 4. Antron Brown, 3.774, 317.34; 5. Leah Pritchett, 3.799, 323.35; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.802, 323.12; 7. Clay Millican, 3.805, 318.39; 8. J.R. Todd, 3.852, 315.64; 9. Pat Dakin, 3.867, 314.02; 10. Terry McMillen, 3.918, 299.66; 11. Scott Palmer, 4.082, 237.21; 12. Tony Schumacher, 4.091, 217.91.\u00a0 Not Qualified: 13. Richie Crampton, 4.305, 187.23; 14. Kyle Wurtzel, 4.318, 195.25; 15. Terry Haddock, 10.901, 35.79.<\/p>\n<p>Funny Car &#8212; 1. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.884, 323.66; 2. Del Worsham, Toyota Camry, 3.888, 329.42; 3. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.897, 321.27; 4. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.914, 327.51; 5. Courtney Force, Camaro, 3.938, 322.81;\u00a0 . Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 3.948, 320.51; 7. Chad Head, Camry, 3.955, 320.36; 8. John Force, Camaro, 3.956, 320.05; 9. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 4.016, 308.21; 10. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.068, 309.91; 11. Tim Wilkerson, Ford Mustang, 4.424, 202.24; 12. Cruz Pedregon, Camry, 5.817, 116.70.\u00a0 Not Qualified: 13. Dave Richards, broke; 14. Jim Campbell, broke; 15. John Hale, broke.<\/p>\n<p>Pro Stock &#8212; 1. Jason Line, Chevy Camaro, 6.680, 206.92; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.692, 206.26; 3. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.699, 205.51; 4. Vincent Nobile, Camaro, 6.700, 205.85; 5. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.708, 205.47; 6. Drew Skillman, Camaro, 6.710, 205.76; 7. Shane Gray, Camaro, 6.713, 205.51; 8. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.740, 204.82; 9. Alex Laughlin, Camaro, 6.741, 204.79; 10. Erica Enders, Dart, 6.749, 204.91; 11. Jeg Coughlin, Dart, 6.760, 203.55; 12. V. Gaines, Dart, 6.781, 204.17.\u00a0 Not Qualified: 13. Dave River, 6.816, 201.10; 14. John Gaydosh Jr, 6.838, 201.22.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Story and photos courtesy of the NHRA<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BRISTOL, Tenn.\u00a0 \u2013 Ron Capps raced to the Funny Car qualifying lead on Friday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) also were qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the 11th event of 24 on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4261,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[262,153,6,264,108,50],"class_list":["post-4257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhra","tag-bristol-dragway","tag-jason-line","tag-nhra","tag-nhra-thunder-valley-nationals","tag-ron-capps","tag-steve-torrence"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/170-RonCapps-Friday-Bristol.jpg?fit=2200%2C1464","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-16F","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4257"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4282,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4257\/revisions\/4282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}