September 4, 2023 | By NHRA

Brown, Capps, Smith repeat as U.S. Nationals champs, Hartford earns first at Indy

Indianapolis, IN —  Antron Brown and Ron Capps swept the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals for the second straight year, winning in Top Fuel and Funny Car, respectively, on Sunday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 15th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Smith won for the second straight year as well, as the three standouts won the world’s biggest race in back-to-back seasons.

Brown, who qualified in the No. 15 spot, went 3.779-seconds at 328.54 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Matco Tools/Toyota dragster to defeat Steve Torrence in the final round, winning his second straight race this season and the 74th in his career. He beat Brittany Force, Clay Millican and points leader Justin Ashley to reach the finals before driving past Torrence.

Just getting to that point was a massive challenge, as Brown and his team struggled throughout qualifying. But the team persevered in the final qualifying session just to make the field and then took full advantage on Monday to get another incredible Indy win.

“It’s one of those weekends where we never quit and that’s what you have to do to win the U.S. Nationals,” Brown said. “We went through all the trials and tribulations and that’s what makes this win so special. We were coming off that win in Brainerd and we got thrown a curveball. But we got this one done and we’re going to remember this win for a long time.

“This is one that was a getting-dirty win. We went through all the pain, all the stuff all the way through qualifying and we found a way as a team. We never stopped believing. You’ve got to have faith. I love this team so much. They never quit, never stopped working and all the credit goes to this team. They worked so, so hard and to win this two years in a row, it’s amazing.”

Torrence, who was the No. 1 qualifier, defeated Will Smith, Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta to advance to the final round for the fourth time in 2023 and 85th time in his career. Ashley will open the Countdown to the Championship in the points lead.

In Funny Car, Capps won his second straight race this year as well, going 3.986 at 323.27 in his 11,000-horsepower Hot Wheels/NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra to get around J.R. Todd in the championship round. He defeated Dale Creasy Jr., Matt Hagan and Robert Hight to reach the finals, taking over the points lead in the process, before picking up his 76th career win and second straight at The Big Go.

Sporting a special Don Prudhomme Hot Wheels throwback this weekend, Capps reveled in the magical moment as Prudhomme was in attendance all weekend to witness the victory. Capps drove for the legendary Prudhomme early in his career and to honor one of the sport’s icons and end up in the winner’s circle at the world’s biggest drag race had a historic meaning for the back-to-back Funny Car world champion.

"You can't dream this big. I mean, you could hope and you can put all this stuff together and we did it to have some fun to do something cool for Indy,” Capps said. “This just doesn't happen. You just put this together and hope that it's going to have some success and you end up winning.

“This is an unbelievable thing. To win here, to win Indy with my brother Antron (Brown) again is massive. This whole week has just been a blast and we earned every bit of it today. It was very cool.”

"It’s just amazing," added Prudhomme. "When he first sent me the paint scheme it brought a tear to my eye. I thought 'This thing's beautiful.' It's just this is something I'm going to remember for a long time."

Todd reached his fourth final round in 2023 on the strength of round wins against Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca III and Cruz Pedregon. It’s also the 45th career final round for Todd.

Matt Hartford can now say he’s a U.S. Nationals winner in Pro Stock, finishing off a dominant weekend in style by going 6.624 at 206.57 in his Total Seal/GETTRX Chevrolet Camaro to defeat Fernando Cuadra Jr. in the championship round. Hartford was the driver to beat all weekend, qualifying No. 1 and ending up with his second win of the season and the seventh in his career. It’s the first time Hartford has won more than one race in a season and he’ll head into the playoffs second in points and a huge threat to win his first championship.

Hartford knocked off Mason McGaha, Camrie Caruso and defending world champion Erica Enders to reach the final round before rolling to the victory in a final round he will always remember.

“I let the clutch out, I pulled second gear and never saw him, put it in fifth gear and I'm still deaf from my crew chief screaming in my ear,” Hartford said. “When I got to the other end and realized I’d just won Indy, I just sat in the car for a few moments to take it all in.

“We came in here Friday night and our goal was to qualify No. 1 Friday night. If we could do that, we felt it could stick and we would have four really good test runs. What we ran in the final was what we tested in one of the qualifying runs. The track conditions became basically what that was, so being able to be on the pole and have that test data played a huge role in the final.”

Cuadra Jr. reached the final round for the first time in his career, getting past Bo Butner, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Kyle Koretsky. Dallas Glenn will take the points lead into the Countdown to the Championship.

A challenging year got a whole lot better for Matt Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle, as the defending world champion won for the second straight year at The Big Go, clinching the victory when Hector Arana Jr. went red. Smith put together a run of 6.864 at 198.20 on his Denso Auto Parts Suzuki, handing the veteran his first win this season and the 37th in his career. His raceday included victories against John Hall, rookie Chase Van Sant and points leader Gaige Herrera before his triumph in the final round, as Smith won the U.S. Nationals for the third time in his career.

It’s been a challenging year for Smith, but he’ll now enter the Countdown to the Championship second in points and with plenty of momentum as he looks for a record seventh Pro Stock Motorcycle championship and fourth in a row.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Smith said. “I’ve got good power. This is our second year with the Suzuki program and we’ve got great power. The problem is that I can’t figure out how to make the clutch work. I need the parts to test because we’re not getting our 60-foot times where we need them. I think a 1.09 was my best and that’s not good enough. I’ve always said you need to be good at the last six races to win a championship so now it’s time to turn it up.”

Arana Jr. knocked off Chris Bostick, Kelly Clontz and Angie Smith to reach the finals for the second time in 2023 and 32nd time overall. Herrera will open the playoffs as the points leader.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series opens its Countdown to the Championship playoffs with the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals on Sept. 14-17 at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Penn.

ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Final round-by-round results from the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the 15th of 21 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Shawn Langdon, 3.809, 315.71 def. Josh Hart, 3.968, 307.37; Clay Millican, 3.752, 333.58 def. T.J. Zizzo, 4.348, 183.59; Antron Brown, 3.749, 320.05 def. Brittany Force, 3.870, 244.21; Justin Ashley, 3.719, 333.41 def. Doug Foley, 3.763, 317.87; Doug Kalitta, 3.692, 336.49 def. Spencer Massey, 3.798, 326.95; Steve Torrence, 3.716, 333.08 def. Will Smith, 3.830, 309.42; Mike Salinas, 3.757, 308.92 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.770, 326.00; Leah Pruett, 3.747, 333.33 def. Austin Prock, 3.777, 319.29;

QUARTERFINALS -- Brown, 3.791, 326.79 def. Millican, 3.919, 275.96; Ashley, 3.753, 332.34 def. Pruett, 7.617, 92.86; Torrence, 4.086, 230.61 def. Langdon, 4.266, 297.55; Kalitta, 3.888, 313.73 def. Salinas, 6.574, 98.54;

SEMIFINALS -- Torrence, 4.158, 255.15 def. Kalitta, 8.290, 90.78; Brown, 4.924, 165.44 def. Ashley, 6.569, 141.71;

FINAL -- Brown, 3.779, 328.54 def. Torrence, 3.870, 327.43.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.899, 332.43 def. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.061, 300.80; Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.889, 331.61 def. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.187, 253.90; Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.889, 329.67 def. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 4.119, 258.81; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.914, 329.91 def. Alex Laughlin, Charger, 6.157, 108.84; Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.894, 326.87 def. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.605, 193.24; Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.962, 324.36 def. John Force, Camaro, 3.998, 318.69; J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 3.913, 304.19 def. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.972, 324.83; Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.913, 329.58 def. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.989, 328.94;

QUARTERFINALS -- Todd, 3.974, 327.66 def. Tasca III, 3.945, 327.11; Pedregon, 3.944, 325.30 def. DeJoria, 3.973, 326.48; Hight, 3.952, 318.99 def. Wilkerson, 5.032, 152.37; Capps, 4.582, 235.19 def. Hagan, 5.146, 184.50;

SEMIFINALS -- Todd, 4.007, 326.32 def. Pedregon, 5.557, 133.16; Capps, 4.029, 323.50 def. Hight, 5.580, 138.43;

FINAL -- Capps, 3.986, 323.27 def. Todd, 4.131, 288.09.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Camrie Caruso, Chevy Camaro, 6.630, 206.51 def. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, Broke; Fernando Cuadra Jr., Mustang, 6.652, 205.41 def. Bo Butner, Camaro, 18.956, 43.04; Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.639, 206.32 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.857, 179.14; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.631, 206.45 def. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.636, 206.20; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.613, 206.83 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 11.496, 77.08; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.618, 208.17 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.647, 208.01; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.613, 208.26 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.640, 206.57; Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.619, 207.59 def. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.671, 206.13;

QUARTERFINALS -- Cuadra Jr., 6.707, 205.26 def. Coughlin Jr., 14.854, 56.87; Enders, 6.644, 207.75 def. Glenn, 6.638, 205.82; Hartford, 6.643, 206.76 def. Caruso, 6.649, 206.80; Koretsky, 6.654, 206.20 def. Stanfield, 6.645, 207.62;

SEMIFINALS -- Cuadra Jr., 7.275, 201.79 def. Koretsky, 7.300, 202.06; Hartford, 6.648, 206.61 def. Enders, 6.676, 206.92;

FINAL -- Hartford, 6.624, 206.57 def. Cuadra Jr., 7.099, 178.87.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Ron Tornow, 7.005, 193.02 def. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 7.121, 167.05; Angie Smith, 6.913, 196.47 def. Marc Ingwersen, 6.931, 195.99; Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.453, 172.72 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 9.039, 97.53; Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.857, 197.33 def. Ryan Oehler, 7.044, 193.21; Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.888, 198.44 def. John Hall, 7.217, 192.66; Hector Arana Jr, 6.882, 200.29 def. Chris Bostick, 6.962, 190.14; Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.870, 198.50 def. Bud Yoder II, Buell, 7.028, 191.95; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.793, 198.58 def. Cory Reed, Suzuki, 7.091, 189.79;

QUARTERFINALS -- Arana Jr, 6.828, 199.79 def. Clontz, 6.956, 194.58; A. Smith, 6.932, 196.62 def. Krawiec, 7.059, 198.47; M. Smith, 6.866, 198.20 def. Van Sant, 6.894, 196.04; Herrera, 6.768, 199.29 def. Tornow, 6.991, 193.46;

SEMIFINALS -- Arana Jr, 6.896, 200.14 def. A. Smith, 6.925, 196.22; M. Smith, 6.876, 198.35 def. Herrera, 6.920, 197.97;

FINAL -- M. Smith, 6.864, 198.20 def. Arana Jr, Foul - Red Light.

LUCAS OIL DRAG RACING FINAL ROUND RESULTS

Top Alcohol Dragster -- Madison Payne, 10.073, 85.76 def. Julie Nataas, Foul - Red Light.

Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Sean Bellemeur, Chevy Camaro, 5.521, 263.82 def. Doug Gordon, Camaro, 5.537, 266.32.

Competition Eliminator -- Chase Williams, Dragster, 6.921, 190.38 def. Troy Galbraith, Dragster, 6.787, 189.71.

Super Stock -- Wyatt Wagner, Chevy Camaro, 9.763, 129.79 def. Frankie Morris, Camaro, Foul - Red Light.

Stock Eliminator -- Donnie Beeler, Chevy Camaro, 10.899, 122.93 def. Ross Ponville, Camaro, 10.105, 127.63.

Super Comp -- Devin Isenhower, Dragster, 8.897, 185.41 def. Jason Kenny, Dragster, 8.880, 166.17.

Super Gas -- Bo Butner, Chevy Corvette, 9.948, 163.28 def. George Meyer, Chevy Malibu, 9.987, 156.44.

Top Sportsman -- Chris Osborn, Chevy Camaro, 6.722, 205.63 def. Steve Jaeger, Chevy Monte Carlo, 6.739, 206.26.

Top Dragster -- Jeff Strickland, Dragster, 6.292, 201.55 def. Holden Laris, Dragster, 6.251, 215.96.

Pro Modified -- Kris Thorne, Chevy Camaro, 5.827, 248.07 def. Justin Bond, Camaro, 5.777, 246.89.

Factory Stock Showdown -- Jesse Alexandra, Chevy Camaro, 7.831, 175.05 def. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 7.811, 177.60.

Factory X -- Greg Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 7.254, 191.73 def. Chris Holbrook, Ford Mustand, 8.047, 173.09.

CURRENT STANDINGS HEADING INTO COUNTDOWN

INDIANAPOLIS -- Point standings (top 10) following the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the 15th of 21 events in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1. Justin Ashley, 1,250; 2. Steve Torrence, 1,186; 3. Antron Brown, 1,076; 4. Leah Pruett, 954; 5. Brittany Force, 943; 6. Doug Kalitta, 867; 7. Mike Salinas, 855; 8. Austin Prock, 838; 9. Clay Millican, 799; 10. Josh Hart, 768.

Funny Car

1. Ron Capps, 1,250; 2. Matt Hagan, 1,139; 3. Robert Hight, 1,068; 4. Bob Tasca III, 985; 5. J.R. Todd, 930; 6. Alexis DeJoria, 926; 7. Chad Green, 914; 8. Tim Wilkerson, 902; 9. John Force, 799; 10. Cruz Pedregon, 738.

Pro Stock

1. Dallas Glenn, 1,114; 2. Matt Hartford, 937; 3. Erica Enders, 816; 4. Troy Coughlin Jr., 801; 5. Deric Kramer, 782; 6. Aaron Stanfield, 745; 7. Greg Anderson, 725; 8. Kyle Koretsky, 668; 9. Camrie Caruso, 656; 10. Cristian Cuadra, 551.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Gaige Herrera, 1,055; 2. Matt Smith, 729; 3. Hector Arana Jr, 717; 4. Eddie Krawiec, 657; 5. Angie Smith, 617; 6. Steve Johnson, 535; 7. Chase Van Sant, 503; 8. Marc Ingwersen, 393; 9. Jianna Evaristo, 391; 10. Kelly Clontz, 373.

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KRIS THORNE CLAIMS FIRST CAREER FUELTECH NHRA PRO MOD SERIES VICTORY AT INDY AT RACE POWERED BY PROCHARGER

By NHRA (Indianapolis, IN) -- Defending world champion Kris Thorne won the world’s biggest drag race in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, knocking off Justin Bond in the final round at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park as part of this weekend’s 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.

The event, which was powered by ProCharger, was the eighth of 10 races during the 2023 season in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports. It was also second race in the category’s Road to the Championship.

Thorne delivered an epic performance in his Bahrain 1 Racing Chevrolet Camaro, going 5.827 at 248.07 in the final round against Bond. Last year’s champion had a .017 reaction time, which made all the difference in holding off Bond’s 5.777 at 246.89, sending Thorne into the points lead for the first time this season and also handing the standout his first career U.S. Nationals victory.

“There is no other race in the world I’d rather turn it around (than Indy),” Thorne said. “I’m super excited we were finally able to conquer this one. I’ve been upside down here, I’ve been on fire here, I’ve torn everything up I’ve owned here. This was emotional and great. If I went out today, this is the last race I would ever want to win – the U.S. Nationals, the biggest one.”

Thorne advance to the final round with wins over Jerico Balduf, Rickie Smith and Stan Shelton, while Bond advanced to the championship round for the thanks to victories against Mason Wright, Billy Banaka and Mike Castellana. With two races remaining in the season, Thorne holds a 12-point lead over Bond. Jason Lee is 49 points back of the defending world champion.

The FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports returns to action Sept. 29-Oct. 1 as part of the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis.

ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Final round-by-round results from the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the eighth of 10 events in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE -- Kris Thorne, Chevy Camaro, 5.811, 247.79 def. Jerico Balduf, Chevy Chevelle, Broke; Billy Banaka, Camaro, 5.871, 243.85 def. Jason Lee, Camaro, 5.867, 243.06; Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, 5.853, 244.52 def. Jason Scruggs, Camaro, 5.827, 247.79; Rickie Smith, Mustang, 5.789, 250.92 def. Sidnei Frigo, Camaro, 5.931, 240.00; Khalid alBalooshi, Camaro, 5.820, 246.84 def. Ken Quartuccio, Camaro, 5.856, 242.89; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.850, 232.99 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, Foul - Red Light; Dmitry Samorukov, Camaro, 5.888, 243.28 def. Manny Buginga, Camaro, 8.847, 105.79; Justin Bond, Camaro, 5.800, 246.26 def. Mason Wright, Camaro, 5.957, 240.81;

QUARTERFINALS -- Castellana, 5.807, 249.16 def. alBalooshi, 5.786, 248.20; Shelton, 5.838, 245.54 def. Samorukov, 5.827, 244.43; Bond, 5.766, 247.20 def. Banaka, Foul - Red Light; Thorne, 5.788, 249.03 def. Smith, 5.761, 251.91;

SEMIFINALS -- Thorne, 5.798, 247.70 def. Shelton, Foul - Red Light; Bond, 5.786, 246.35 def. Castellana, 5.806, 249.07;

FINAL -- Thorne, 5.827, 248.07 def. Bond, 5.777, 246.89.

CURRENT STANDINGS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Point standings (top 10) following the 69th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, the eighth of 10 events in the FuelTech NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Type A Motorsports.

Pro Modified

1. Kris Thorne, 966; 2. Justin Bond, 954; 3. Jason Lee, 917; 4. Mike Castellana, 895; 5. Stan Shelton, 875; 6. Dmitry Samorukov, 852; 7. Sidnei Frigo, 827; 8. Khalid alBalooshi, 822; 9. Manny Buginga, 809; 10. Jose Gonzalez, 807.