Robert Hight picked up his first win of the season at Brainerd International Raceway in Funny Car while Richie Crampton raced to his fourth victory of the season in Top Fuel and Erica Enders earned her fifth victory of the season in Pro Stock.

Here's how the day played out for each class.

Pro Stock

Erica Enders would go on to record her fifth win of the season, defeating Jason Line for the 15th time in her career and fourth time in the finals.

Enders had a rough Western Swing, making it to the semis in Denver but bouncing out in the second round in both Sonoma and Seattle. It was her first win since she beat the hot Chris McGaha at Bristol six races ago.

Enders beat Line in the finals with a holeshot win after winning the tree with a 0.014 reaction time compared to Line’s 0.043. That was all the advantage she needed as she ran a slower 6.552 at 210.34 mph compared to Line’s 6.541 at 211.06 mph.

To get to the finals, Enders, who qualified second, ended up starting with a round one match up with the 15th place qualifier Mark Hogan. She won the race off the line with a 0.002 reaction time and never looked back, running a 6.566 compared to Hogan’s 6.745. For the second round she was up against Bo Butner who gave her a run but it wasn’t enough as she ran a 6.561 compared to Butner’s 6.570.

In the semifinals it was against McGaha, who suffered a mechanical issue.

The win keeps Enders in second in points holding a 96 point lead over McGaha and 51 points behind Greg Anderson who fell out in the second round.

Funny Car

Robert Hight had a fast Auto Club Chevy Camaro all weekend and it really showed throughout the day on Sunday as he defeated recent winner Tommy Johnson Jr. in the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger for his first win since Denver of last year.

Johnson Jr. was looking for his first career back-to-back wins but just didn’t have enough for the John Force Racing team.

TJ won the race off the line posting a 0.047 reaction time compared to Hight’s 0.067, but it wasn’t enough as Hight caught him near the 330-foot mark and never looked back, posting a 3.956 at 323.58 mph compared to Johnson Jr.’s 4.130 at 316.52 mph.

It was TJ’s slowest pass of the day and the second slowest pass for Hight but still enough to record the win.

To get to the finals, Hight, who qualified sixth, was lined up to take on Ron Capps who was the eleventh place qualifier.

Both got off the line with an almost equal reaction time and both cars had a little trouble getting down the line, but Hight crossed it first running a 4.172 at 238.81 mph compared to Capps 4.373 at 208.62 mph.

In the second round it was Hight against Brian Stewart who upset third place qualifier Alexis DeJoria, but it would be no challenge for Hight as Stewart went up in smoke and Hight ran a 3.935 at 325.69 mph.

In the semifinals Tim Wilkerson would Hight’s next opponent; Wilkerson ran a respectable 4.005 at 313.88 mph but Hight brought it all to the table running a 3.928 at 324.59 mph, a new career record time.

The win locked Hight into the Traxxas Nitro Shootout at Indianapolis and moved him into a two-way tie for ninth place with DeJoria, but knocked out her fellow John Force Racing teammate Courtney Force from the top-ten in points for the race to the Countdown to the Championship. Courtney qualified once again in the top half of the field in fourth but spun her tires and lost to John Hale in the first round for the fifth consecutive race including twice to DeJoria who sits just ahead of her in points.

Top Fuel

Richie Crampton took home his fourth win of the year, defeating Brittany Force in her Monster Energy Dragster.

Crampton beat Force off the line posting a 0.064 reaction compared to a 0.100 and never looked back, posting a 3.695 at 325.30 mph compared to Force’s 3.771 at 293.79 mph. It was the quickest run of Crampton’s career and third-fastest time in Top Fuel history. Force had a clean pass but slowed near the line. Force was looking to become just the fifth driver to qualify in the bottom half the field and win the event along with capturing her first win of the 2015 season, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

To get to the finals, Crampton, who qualified in first, started off against the sixteenth-place qualifier Morgan Lucas. Crampton, who stayed in the three-second bracket all day, started off his day by running a 3.964 at 313.66 mph. Lucas beat him off the line posting a 0.074 reaction in comparison to a 0.130 posted time by Crampton.

In the second round, his opponent would be Larry Dixon who just proved to be a stepping stone in the way as Dixon went up in smoke and provided no challenge to the eventual winner. Crampton actually ran his slowest pass of the day in the second round with a still-respectable 3.937.

For the semifinals, his competition would be Shawn Langdon who had just ran the fastest ETA for the entire day at a 3.662 at 321.12. Crampton would have to bring his 'A' game and he did, posting a 3.719 at 317.79 mph passing Langdon who beat him off the line and only managed a 4.196 at 279.27 mph.

The win moved Crampton into fourth in points, passing Doug Kalitta who went out early in the second round. Force greatly helped her chances of making it into the Countdown to the Championship passing Steve Torrence for ninth in the points who also fell out of the event in the second round. She now holds a 119 point lead over Clay Millican who sits in the eleventh position.

Stay tuned to the NHRA section of VAVEL USA for continued coverage.

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About the author
Brandon Farris
Brandon Farris is a Seattle Correspondent helping cover the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers as a staff photographer and reporter.