2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season

The 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Season ran from February 11 to November 14, 2010. A variety of new safety rules were implemented following the conclusion of the investigation of the Scott Kalitta death in 2008. The NHRA had planned on returning Top Fuel and Funny Car classes to 1,320 ft (400 m) distances; however, racing in those classes remained at 1,000 ft (300 m) distance to contain costs with the United States economy still in recession, as well as to address ongoing safety concerns.

2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season
LeagueNHRA
SportDrag racing
ChampionsLarry Dixon (TF)
John Force (FC)
Greg Anderson (PS)
LE Tonglet (PSM)

There were 23 Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock car events, and 17 Pro Stock Motorcycle events.

Schedule

With the closure of the Memphis Motorsports Park as of 30 October 2009,[1] the Full Throttle Series is now slated for 23 events:[2] The Virginia NHRA Nationals has also been eliminated, as Virginia Motorsports Park chose to align with rival Kenneth Feld's International Hot Rod Association instead (many tracks changed sanctioning, owing to their sportsman classes). A second race at zMax Dragway, the Four Wide Nationals, was added.

2010 NHRA Full Throttle Schedule
Date Race Site Winners
Top Fuel Dragster Funny Car Pro Stock PS Motorcycle
February 11–14 50th Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals Pomona, California Larry Dixon John Force Mike Edwards N/A
February 19–22 Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals Chandler, Ariz. Cory McClenathan Jack Beckman N/A N/A
March 11–14 Tire Kingdom Gatornationals Gainesville, Fla Tony Schumacher Tim Wilkerson Mike Edwards 1
Jason Line		 Eddie Krawiec
March 25–28 Four Wide Nationals 2 Concord, NC Cory McClenathan John Force Mike Edwards Matt Smith
April 9–11 O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals Houston, Texas Larry Dixon Matt Hagan Jeg Coughlin Andrew Hines
April 16–18 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals Las Vegas, Nev. Larry Dixon John Force Mike Edwards N/A
April 30 – May 2 AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals Madison, Ill. Tony Schumacher Robert Hight Warren Johnson Michael Phillips
May 14–16 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals Atlanta, Ga. Larry Dixon Robert Hight Jeg Coughlin Andrew Hines
May 21–23 O'Reilly NHRA Summernationals Topeka, Kansas Tony Schumacher Robert Hight Mike Edwards N/A
June 3–6 United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals Chicago, Ill. Larry Dixon Matt Hagan Mike Edwards LE Tonglet
June 10–13 United Association NHRA SuperNationals Englishtown, N.J. Larry Dixon Bob Tasca III Mike Edwards Michael Phillips
June 18–20 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Bristol, Tenn. Tony Schumacher John Force Mike Edwards N/A
June 24–27 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Norwalk, Ohio Larry Dixon Tim Wilkerson Greg Anderson Matt Smith
July 9–11 NHRA Northwest Nationals Seattle, Wash. Cory McClenathan Tim Wilkerson Greg Anderson N/A
July 16–18 Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals Sonoma, Calif. Larry Dixon Ron Capps Jeg Coughlin Michael Phillips
July 23–25 Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Denver, Colo. Doug Kalitta Robert Hight Allen Johnson Andrew Hines
August 12–15 Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Brainerd, Minn. Larry Dixon Bob Bode Jeg Coughlin Andrew Hines
2010 Countdown to the Championship
September 1–6 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Indianapolis, Ind. Larry Dixon Ashley Force-Hood Greg Stanfield LE Tonglet
September 16–19 O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals Concord, N.C. Larry Dixon Cruz Pedregon Greg Anderson LE Tonglet
September 23–26 O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals Dallas, Texas Tony Schumacher Matt Hagan Greg Anderson LE Tonglet
October 7–10 Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals Reading, Pa. Larry Dixon Cruz Pedregon Dave Connolly Andrew Hines
October 28–31 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Las Vegas, Nev. Tony Schumacher John Force Greg Anderson LE Tonglet
November 11–14 Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals Pomona, Calif. Antron Brown John Force Shane Gray Eddie Krawiec

1 Saturday race. As the Arizona Pro Stock eliminations were abandoned after one round, the remaining rounds were conducted during Gainesville on Saturday.

2 The rules for the Four Wide Nationals differ from other races:

  • All cars will qualify on each lane as all four lanes will be used in qualifying.
  • Three rounds with cars using all four lanes.
  • In Rounds One and Two, the top two drivers (of four) will advance to the next round.
  • The pairings are set as follows:
    • Race One: 1, 8, 9, 16
    • Race Two: 4, 5, 12, 13
    • Race Three: 2, 7, 10, 15
    • Race Four: 3, 6, 11, 14
    • Semifinal One: Top two in Race One and Race Two
    • Semifinal Two: Top two in Race Three and Race Four
    • Finals: Top two in Semifinal One and Semifinal Two
  • Lane choice determined by times in previous round. In first round, lane choice determined by fastest times.
  • Drivers who advance in Rounds One and Two will receive 20 points for each round advancement.
  • In Round Three, the winner of the race will be declared the race winner and will collect 40 points. The runner-up will receive 20 points. Third and fourth place drivers will be credited as semifinal losers.

Point standings
Top Fuel[3]
Position Driver Points Points Back Chassis
1 Larry Dixon 2684 – Hadman
2 Tony Schumacher 2582 −102 Hadman
3 Cory McClenathan 2551 −133
4 Antron Brown 2460 −224 Hadman
5 Shawn Langdon 2431 −253 Hadman
6 Doug Kalitta 2371 −313 Attac
7 Brandon Bernstein 2366 −318 McKinney
8 Steve Torrence 2289 −395 Hadman
9 Dave Grubnic 2288 −396 Attac
10 Morgan Lucas 2252 −432 Hadman
Funny Car[3]
Position Driver Points Points Back Make
1 John Force 2621 – Ford
2 Matt Hagan 2579 −42 Dodge
3 Ashley Force Hood 2449 −172 Ford
4 Jack Beckman 2349 −182 Dodge
5 Bob Tasca III 2395 −226 Ford
6 Del Worsham 2307 −314 Toyota
7 Ron Capps 2284 −337 Dodge
8 Robert Hight 2277 −344 Ford
9 Tony Pedregon 2251 −370 Chevrolet
10 Tim Wilkerson 2242 −379 Ford
Pro Stock[3]
Position Driver Points Points Back Make
1 Greg Anderson 2591 – Pontiac
2 Greg Stanfield 2479 −112 Pontiac
3 Mike Edwards 2469 −122 Pontiac
4 Shane Gray 2439 −152 Pontiac
5 Jason Line 2438 −153 Pontiac
6 Allen Johnson 2421 −170 Dodge
7 Jeg Coughlin Jr. 2395 −196 Chevrolet
8 Ron Krisher 2272 −319 Chevrolet
9 Rodger Brogdon 2245 −346 Pontiac
10 Johnny Gray 2200 −391 Pontiac
Pro Stock Motorcycle[3]
Position Driver Points Points Back Make
1 LE Tonglet 2681 – Suzuki
2 Andrew Hines 2677 −4 Harley-Davidson
3 Ed Krawiec 2559 −122 Harley-Davidson
4 Matt Smith 2450 −231 Zypher
5 Hector Arana 2442 −239 Buell
6 Steve Johnson 2332 −349 Suzuki
7 Michael Phillips 2327 −354 Suzuki
8 Karen Stoffer 2290 −391 Suzuki
9 Craig Treble 2215 −466 Suzuki
10 David Hope 2176 −505 Buell

Notable events

After 47 years as a driver and owner, Don Prudhomme announced his retirement from the series.[4]

Funny car driver Mike Neff stepped down as driver to become co-crew chief for John Force, the other crew chief is Austin Coil.

In the first round at Arizona, Antron Brown lost a wheel and crashed into the wall. Although Brown was uninjured in the accident, the wheel struck a female spectator who was killed. Because of weather conditions, the Pro Stock event at the same meet was cancelled after one round. The eight first-round winners competed as part of second-round qualifying at the next round.[5]

Just two days after John Force won a record 15th Funny Car world championship, his crew chief, NHRA Hall of Fame member Austin Coil, resigned from John Force Racing.[6] In his announcement, Coil stated he wanted to take at least a year off, but left the door open to a return to racing in 2012.

References
  1. "DOVER MOTORSPORTS, INC. ANNOUNCES CLOSING OF MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK AND REALIGNMENT OF RACING DATES (press release)". 2009-10-30. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  2. "2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series schedule". Archived from the original on 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2009-11-01.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2010-11-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Prudhomme announces retirement from drag racing". nhra.com. National Hot Rod Association. 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  5. "Spectator Killed by Crash Debris at Arizona". Inside Line. Edmunds Inc. 2010-02-22. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  6. "Coil resigns from John Force Racing but eyes possible 2012 return to racing". nhra.com. National Hot Rod Association. 2010-11-16. Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
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