On a sunny Sunday afternoon at Pacific Raceways in Seattle, Tommy Johnson Jr wrapped up his second win of the season in Funny Car along with J.R. Todd in Top Fuel dragsters and Chris McGaha in the Pro Stock category to conclude the 28th Annual NHRA Northwest Nationals.

PRO STOCK Recap

Chris McGaha took home his second consecutive win after getting his first career victory last weekend in Sonoma but it was no easy feat as McGaha would be taking on the legendary Jeg Coughlin Jr.

It took a heroic run as Coughlin beat McGaha off the line by .011 seconds, which in Pro Stock can make all the difference. McGaha peddled around Coughlin and ran a 6.507 run at 212.59 mph to secure the win. Coughlin ran a 6.532 at 212.63 mph.

To get to the winners' circle, McGaha, who ran the fastest time in qualifying, started off in round one against Joey Grose. On that run, McGaha set both the fastest time and speed at Pacific Raceways history. Then in round two, it was McGaha against Vincent Noble, who gave a valiant effort that just wasn’t enough. In the semifinals round he would be matched up with the number five qualifier Shane Gray, who proved to be McGaha’s next victim as Gray shook his tires and had nothing for the eventual event champion. The win propels McGaha up to third in the Pro Stock point standings.

FUNNY CAR Recap

Johnson Jr picked up his second win in the past four races while making his third appearance in the finals in that time, including a runner up last week to Jack Beckman, who was looking to complete the Western Swing Sweep.

Del Worsham, who had previously won in Seattle in both Funny Car and Top Fuel, would be Johnson Jr’s competition in the final. Johnson would beat Worsham off the line and actually run a slower eta, however the difference in time at the starting line proved to be all he needed to peddle to victory in the less preferred left land and Johnson Jr recorded the holeshot win with a .040 reaction time and got down in 4.073 at 308 mph. Worsham ran a 4.042 at 307.51mph with the slower .087 reaction time that proved to be the difference as the separation at the finish line was approximately just eight feet.

Johnson Jr becomes just the third driver to win in both Funny Car and Top Fuel classes at Pacific Raceways after Worsham and fellow Funny Car driver Ron Capps. His last and only other win in Seattle came all the way back in 1993 and was his first career victory. The driver before the race joked about how back in 1993 he struggled to find fans to celebrate and take pictures with him in victory lane, he didn’t have that issue to say the least as he powered the Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger to victory lane where a several hundred people hung around to celebrate with him and his Make-A-Wish team.

The road to the finals began in round one against Paul Lee. Lee beat TJ off the line, but the Make-A-Wish car just had too much under the hood and drove around the fellow Charger. In the second round it would be Chad Head who would fall victim to TJ when he spun the tires. The toughest round of the three would in fact be the semifinals when his opponent would be the hottest man in the Funny Car category right now looking for the Western Swing Sweep. “Fast” Jack Beckman, in the Infinite Hero’s Charger, TJ won the tree with a .075 reaction time compared to Beckman’s .088. Johnson Jr crossed the finish line first running a 4.070 at 310.41mph - Beckman’s 4.166 at 301.47 after he dropped a cylinder when he hit the gas at the starting line. In a way compared to the final, this semifinal was just as big if not bigger than the final. The win moves TJ up to third into the Funny Car point standings.

TOP FUEL Recap

J.R. Todd picked up his first win in just over a year and his first career win since joining Team Kalitta this season after beating Shawn Langdon.

Todd had the ever so slight advantage off the starting line posting a .071 reaction time compared to Langdon’s .072, but from there he would pull away down the track and proved to be too much for Langdon. Langdon’s run was a good one at 3.902 seconds at 307.51 mph while Todd’s was 3.824 at 323.04 mph to close out the weekend with a fast final race of the event.

To get to the finals Todd started off in round one against the eleventh fastest qualifier, Clay Millican. It took a great reaction time and fast run as Millican ran a 3.783 at 320.89 while Todd ran a 3.763 at 327.35 mph, the fastest speed of Sunday on his round one run. For the second round he was paired up with Terry McMillen, who gave it his all but fell just short of derailing Todd’s day. In the semifinals, however, he would be taking on one of the greats of top fuel, “The Sarge” Tony Schumacher. It ended up being Todd’s easiest run of the afternoon as Schumacher spun his tires at the starting line handing it easily to the Red Line Oil dragster. The win moved Todd up to sixth in the Top Fuel point standings.

Upcoming

The NHRA will next head off to Brainerd, Minnesota for the 34th Annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals on August 20th to the 23rd. VAVEL will bring you full event coverage that weekend. This will be a vital race as racers have just two races left to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship, the six race shootout at the end of the season to race for the Season title.

Also this week we will be bring exclusive interviews with 16 time Funny Car Champion John Force, Seattle winner Tommy Johnson Jr, Funny Car driver Courtney Force and Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria. We will also take a look at the current point standings and who is on the bubble of not making it into the countdown.

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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.