91����

The 2016 Countdown to the Championship kicked off at zMAX Dragway at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, the first of six events to determine this season’s NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series champions. Although all four incoming top seeds held on to their top rankings, the spots below them got a reshuffling thanks to a stunning number of upset performances by non-Countdown drivers playing spoilers.

Here’s a class-by-class look at the changes:

TOP FUEL

Driver

Antron Brown

Doug Kalitta

Steve Torrence

Tony Schumacher

Brittany Force

J.R. Todd

Shawn Langdon

Clay Millican

Richie Crampton

Leah Pritchett

��
��

��

Winners: Points leader Antron Brown and second-place Doug Kalitta (pictured, far and near lanes, respectively) put some distance between them and the rest of the pack with their 1-2 finish as none of the eight drivers behind them reached the semifinals.

Losers: Third seed Steve Torrence was ousted in round two by Aussie visitor Wayne Newby, who also put out No. 7 Shawn Langdon in round one, and fourth seed Tony Schumacher was upset by Cameron Ferré, who made his class debut a memorable one by defeating the eight-time champ.

Breaking even: J.R. Todd, the No. 6 seed, was upset in round one by veteran Pat Dakin yet benefited from the collapse of those behind him to maintain his spot, as did Langdon and Torrence.

Key stat: Two of the four semifinalists – Newby and Dakin – were non-Countdown drivers.

FUNNY CAR

Driver

Ron Capps

Del Worsham

Matt Hagan

Courtney Force

Jack Beckman

Robert Hight

Tommy Johnson Jr.

John Force

Tim Wilkerson

Alexis DeJoria

Winners: John Force (pictured) collected career win No. 146 and his third of the season to jump from eighth place to third, the biggest move of any driver in the four classes. One of those he leapfrogged was runner-up Tommy Johnson Jr., who nonetheless scooted up three spots, from seventh to fourth.

��
Losers: Jack Beckman took the biggest tumble, from fifth to eighth, with his first-round loss, but to be fair to the former champ, he had a tough draw in reigning champ Del Worsham. Matt Hagan and Courtney Force, ranked third and fourth, respectively, coming into the event, both lost two spots, particularly frustrating to Hagan, who reached round two.

Breaking even: With their semifinal finishes, top seed Ron Capps and second-ranked Worsham held on to their spots, and Capps even put a little breathing room between him and Worsham with a better qualifying effort, his lead going from 30 points to 42.

Key stat: Seven of the 10 Countdown drivers advanced to round two; the lone spoiler was John Bojec, who beat No. 10 seed Alexis DeJoria in round one.

PRO STOCK

Driver

Jason Line

Greg Anderson

Bo Butner

Allen Johnson

Vincent Nobile

Drew Skillman

Chris McGaha

Shane Gray

Erica Enders

Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Winners: KB Racing’s dynamic duo, Jason Line and Greg Anderson (pictured, far and near lanes, respectively), began the season by monopolizing the final round and continued that trend as the “second season” kicked off at their home track. Line’s final-round win over his Summit teammate boosted his lead from 30 to 50 points while Anderson pulled 54 points clear of No. 3 driver Vincent Nobile, whose semifinal finish boosted him from fifth place to third.

Losers: Erica Enders’ tough transitional season got even rougher when the two-time and defending series champ failed to qualify, dropping her from ninth place to 10th. Drew Skillman took the biggest fall, from sixth to eighth, after losing in round one to Indy winner Chris McGaha.

Breaking even: Other than Line and Anderson, all eight other drivers in the top 10 had movement, with four going up and four going down.

Key stat: Enders’ DNQ was her first since the 2010 Auto Club 91���� Finals.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Rider

Andrew Hines

Eddie Krawiec

Angelle Sampey

Jerry Savoie

LE Tonglet

Chip Ellis

Hector Arana Jr.

Hector Arana Sr.

Matt Smith

Cory Reed

Winners: “Tater Chip” Ellis (pictured) scored his first win since the 2008 season and leaped from sixth place to second with his emotional score aboard Junior Pippin’s Buell. Points leader Andrew Hines fell to Ellis in the final but nonetheless increased his lead from 30 to 44 points after his teammate, Eddie Krawiec, the incoming No. 2 seed, was upset by non-Countdown rider Karen Stoffer.

Losers: Krawiec tumbled two spots, as did No. 4 seed Jerry Savoie, who also exited in round one.

Breaking even: Seven of the 10 Countdown riders stayed in the same points position in which they entered the event.

Key stat: Three non-Countdown riders – Stoffer, Steve Johnson, and Jim Underdahl – advanced to round two by knocking out championship hopefuls. Of them, Underdahl went the furthest, beating Stoffer in round two after besting Matt Smith in the opening frame.

AWARDS

Best run: John Force
Eventual Funny Car winner John Force ran 331.04 mph during qualifying, bettering the incoming track record (323.50) by more than seven mph; his speed was also faster than that of any Top Fueler on the grounds (Doug Kalitta, 320.20).

Best race:��Antron Brown vs. Brittany Force, Top Fuel round two
Top Fuel championship contenders Antron Brown and Brittany Force had a dynamite race in round two, which Brown won, 3.796 to 3.797. Those were the two best e.t.s of the round.

Marquee matchup:��John Force vs. Ron Capps, Funny Car semifinals
In Funny Car, it doesn’t get much bigger than John Force vs. Ron Capps, which happened in the semifinals. Had Capps beaten Force, it would have made a huge swing in points for the incoming top seed.

Driver of the race: Jason Line
Pro Stock winner Jason Line left on all four opponents Sunday and made four very consistent runs.

Upset(s) of the race
There were almost too many to choose from, but two that really stand out are class rookie Cameron Ferré (pictured) beating Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel and Karen Stoffer leaving on and then outrunning No. 2 seed Eddie Krawiec in round one of Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Weird stat: All four of the No. 4 seeds in the points went out in round one.
��