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SPEED IS TRULY FOR ALL

Julie Nataas, Ida Zetterström, Jasmine Salinas, and Jianna Salinas (Top Fuel's Brittany Force not shown)

Diversity within drag racing is the norm thanks to early trailblazers equipped with strong mind and spirit, but because it is unique in other forms of motorsports, there is much focus on milestones made by females in NHRA competition. In St. Louis, women proved once again that placing emphasis on gender is for the foolhardy as Julie Nataas joined the Top Fuel ranks and Alison Prose earned the 101st NHRA win for a female at the national event level. Nataas, campaigning a Scrappers Racing dragster with support from Airmine, notched her name in history as one of four women to make the tough Top Fuel field in St. Louis, joining Brittany Force, Jasmine Salinas, and Ida Zetterström in Sunday competition. Later in the day, Prose emerged victorious in Super Comp to hoist the first win of her career. Shirley Shahan was the first woman to win an NHRA national event, and she did it at the 1966 NHRA Winternationals; females in NHRA have been running at the front for a very, very long time.

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JIMMY PROCK’S TUNE-UP REMAINS FEARLESS

The first round of Funny Car opened with a solo for this season’s 12-time No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock and the AAA Chevrolet Camaro. Jaws, how they dropped as Prock powered to the quickest pass of the season to open the round with a cherry on Sunday’s sundae. The 3.814 at 330.96 mph (a new World Wide Technology Raceway track record for e.t., of course) was a stunner that showed that even without the benefit of seeing what cars before had run, Jimmy Prock, complemented by the skill of Nate Hildahl and Thomas Prock, form a terribly talented trio. “Prock Rocket,” indeed.

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TONY SHOE, EVER A THREAT

The most winning driver in the history of Top Fuel stood tall again on Sunday in St. Louis as Tony Schumacher claimed his second win of the season and 88th of his career. Battling for a ninth world title, Schumacher pedaled his way to a first-round win over Julie Nataas in her Top Fuel debut, then had the better dial than points leader Antron Brown to drive his Leatherwood Distillery dragster to the finish line first. Although Shawn Reed was on a tear, Schumacher ended his day decisively with a Phil Shuler/Mike Neff-tuned 3.724, and in the final, he matched his best run of the weekend, 3.718, to shut down championship contender Steve Torrence. Schumacher is 103 points back from the top spot, but if you remember “The Run” that he and then-tuner Alan Johnson made at the 91���� Finals in 2006 to win the championship, you know that this particular driver has experience turning the impossible into possible.

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COWBOY RIDES INTO THE OFFSEASON A CHAMPION��

There was no one on the property having the flush of emotion and validation that Mark Pawuk experienced on Sunday when he secured his first Flexjet 91���� Factory Stock Showdown championship and followed up with his second win of the season. Pawuk won the first race of the year to kick off his championship quest, driving the Empaco Dodge Drag Pak highlighted by a beautiful retro paint scheme honoring the late Don Schumacher. Sunday morning in St. Louis, with the championship in sight, Pawuk sent a prayer to his good friend Don as well as his father, and those prayers were answered. An NHRA championship has been a long time coming for Pawuk, who started as a bracket racer in the 1970s, won a Mid-America Pro Gas championship in the early 1980s, and then chased championships in NHRA in Super Gas, Pro Stock, and finally Factory Stock. Congratulations, Cowboy. May you ride for many seasons more.

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WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY FANS ARE WEATHERPROOF

The variable conditions in the St. Louis area mean that events at World Wide Technology Raceway just across the river in Madison, Ill., are subject to rain, snow, wind, obnoxious heat and humidity, and some of the most welcoming and beautiful blue-sky days in America. The forecast means nothing, and weather can turn on a dime. Friday was a complete washout, but the fans came in droves the remainder of the weekend, proving that they were willing to wait for the good stuff and knowing that World Wide Technology Raceway would provide.��