The NHRA Western Swing is finally ON! Officially it started last Friday with the opening passes at the 2019 Dodge NHRA Mile High Nationals and it continues this weekend in Sonoma, California with the second race of the three. The Mile-High Nationals are always a thrilling event. Why?
The track is insanely beautiful, the fans are among the most hardcore and knowledgeable in the sport, and the physical environment forces teams to make wholesale changes to their cars that only happen once a year, at that track. In short, there’s some pain that makes the pleasure of succeeding even more great. The fans battled through two days of 100-degree temperatures to get to the payoff of a cooler and dryer Sunday. It was a payoff because the racing on the track was spectacular. Holeshots, pedaling, you name it, this one had it.
Andrew Hines won pro stock bike atop his newly rebodied Harley-Davidson. Now sporting the FXDR bodywork, this thing proved itself quickly as a more fast and slippery machine than the Street Rod models the boys were on last year. In pro stock, Greg Anderson grabbed his second win in a row at Bandimere Speedway and his second win in two seasons. Wild stuff.
Nitro funny car saw Tommy Johnson Jr FINALLY win the Mile High Nationals. He had made 5 final round appearances at the event, starting in 1984 and in a myriad of classes but this was the first time he held the Wally at the top end. Steve Torrence won top fuel and continued to add accolades to a season that’s shaping up to be historic in its scope. With his victory, Torrence ties Don Garlits with 35 national event wins. He surpasses the 26 wins of Tony Schumacher in a three year span, making this the strongest three year span any top fuel team has had in history. 27 wins in that period of time.
It’s wine country for the NHRA Mello Yello drag racing series this weekend in Sonoma, California!
