NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
23rd annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance
Route 66 / May 19-21, 2023
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Eliminations – Round 1
W – Marc Ingwersen / 0.002 / 6.849 / 196.1
L – Angie Smith / 0.069 / 6.845 / 198.79
Angie Smith is 14 – 3 in Rd. 1 since the start of last year. Marc Ingwersen is making his 29th start. Smith is 1 – 0 against Ingwersen in prior events. Ingwersen gets out of the gate first and holds off Smith to take the holeshot win.
W – Chip Ellis / 0.064 / 6.786 / 197.25
L – Chris Bostick / -0.013 / 8.505 / 107.99
Chip Ellis is #2 and the #2 PSM qualifier is 20 – 2 in Rd. 1 here. Chris Bostick is making his 40th start. This is the first time Bostick and Ellis have faced each other in eliminations. Bostick is a little too quick off of the line and he goes red. Ellis goes down the groove with a good pass to take the win.
W – Chase Van Sant / 0.004 / 6.805 / 200.23
L – Steve Johnson / 0.034 / 6.80 / 198.85
Chase Van Sant is the 103rd rider to face Johnson in eliminations. Steve Johnson is 13 – 37 in Rd. 1 when qualified #10. Van Sant gets the advantage off of the line and holds off Johnson to take the holeshot win.
W – Hector Arana Jr / 0.052 / 6.783 / 201.73
L – John Hall / -0.014 / 6.889 / 195.99
Arana Jr. is 115 – 48 (71%) in Rd. 1. Arana Jr is 8 – 0 against Hall in prior events. Hall takes a shot at the tree and goes red. Arana goes down the groove with a good pass to take the win.
W – Matt Smith / 0.02 / 6.849 / 199.52
L – Kelly Clontz / 0.102 / 6.837 / 197.59
Matt Smith wins 82% of his Rd. 1 races when he has lane choice. Smith is 7 – 0 against Clontz in prior events. Smith gets a big holeshot and holds off the quicker Clontz for the holeshot win.
W – Joey Gladstone / 0.035 / 6.752 / 198.79
L – Ryan Oehler / -0.15 / 6.852 / 197.97
Joey Gladstone is 38 – 39 in Rd. 1. Ryan Oehler is making his 73rd start. Gladstone and Oehler have each won 1 times against the other in prior events. Oehler leaves too soon and goes red giving the win to Gladstone. Gladstone goes down the groove with his quickest pass of the weekend to take the win.
W – Eddie Krawiec / 0.052 / 6.754 / 201.13
L – Jianna Evaristo 0.016 / 6.869 / 196.5
Krawiec is 2 – 1 against Evaristo in prior events. The #4 PSM qualifier hasn’t lost in Rd. 1 at this event since 2008. Evaristo gets the advantage off of the line, stays in front to the sixty foot mark, then Krawiec goes around her and pulls away for the win.
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.134 / 6.706 / 200.77
L – Ron Tornow
Gaige Herrera’s average E/T in eliminations this year is 6.740. The #1 PSM qualifier is 20 – 2 in Rd. 1 at this event. Tornow does not make a pass. Herrera goes down the groove with the quickest pass of the round. Herrera’s incremental times: 60ft-1.040 sec., 330ft-2.797, 660ft-4.289/164.05 mph, 1,000ft-5.592.
#2Fast2Tasty Pro Stock Motorcycle Challenge
Hererra probably couldn’t have had a better day, winning his sponsor’s event and running his string of 2023 win lights to nine as the winner of the Gatornationals and Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals won both of his rounds Saturday aboard the Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki to become the first Pro Stock winner in Mission Challenge history with a 6.672 to 6.785 final-round victory over class rookie Chase Van Sant on the Trick Tools entry.
Herrera’s pass was the second quickest in class history behind Karen Stoffer’s 6.665 national-record run in Gainesville in 2022. It also was pretty much a hometown race for Herrera, who lives just about an hour away from Route 66 Raceway in DeMotte, Ind.
“It means a lot, obviously,” said Herrera. “Mission is a big sponsor for us, and for Mission to put this on and to be part of it is just a big deal alone but to be able to get the win means a lot to the whole team and myself to be able to do that for Mission.
“We knew the conditions were there. I was more worried about the wind. We were all concerned about the wind because it was coming and going across the bleachers. I didn’t think I was going to go faster than my Q1 and Q2 passes because I was all over the bike. It was going left, it was going right so for it to be able to run that I was definitely surprised. But Andrew’s got that thing on rails and it’s the baddest bike out here. It’s showing. They’re flexing their horsepower, for sure.”
In the opening round of Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hererra defeated Jianna Evaristo in a repeat of their Gainesville semifinal, powering to a stunning 6.677 – the third-quickest pass in class history – to win easily after Evaristo had to roll back the throttle early to an 8.92. The other half of the semifinal battle flipped the results of the Gainesville outcome with Van Sant defeating Angie Smith, 6.80 to 6.83.
Eliminations – FINAL
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.052 / 6.672 / 200.32
L – Chase Van Sant / 0.023 / 6.785 / 199.29
Van Sant gets out of the gate first but Herrera pulls even by the time they reach the sixty-foot mark. Herrera continues to pull away and makes the quickest pass of the weekend to take the win. Gaige Herrera’s incremental times: 60ft-1.029 sec., 330ft-2.777, 660ft-4.261/165.11 mph, 1,000ft-5.557.
Eliminations – Round 1
W – Chase Van Sant / 0.027 / 6.807 / 199.17
L – Angie Smith / 0.081 / 6.832 / 197.25
Van Sant gets out of the gate first, gives a little back early, then pulls away and moves on to the final.
W – Gaige Herrera / 0.029 / 6.677 / 200.77
L – Jianna Evaristo / 0.067 / 12.222 / 62.92
Herrera gets out of the gate first and starts to pull away. Evaristo gets about 300 feet out and is off of the throttle, not sure why. Herrera will have lane choice over Van Sant in the final round.
Qualifying – Saturday
01 Gaige Herrera / 6.672 / 200.32
02 Chip Ellis / 6.756 / 200.68
03 Hector Arana Jr / 6.759 / 201.85
04 Eddie Krawiec / 6.770 / 198.52
05 Joey Gladstone / 6.774 / 198.20
06 Matt Smith / 6.781 / 198.44
07 Chase Van Sant / 6.785 / 199.29
08 Angie Smith / 6.800 / 201.43
09 Marc Ingwersen / 6.827 / 197.10
10 Steve Johnson / 6.834 / 196.59
11 Kelly Clontz / 6.858 / 196.07
12 Ryan Oehler / 6.863 / 196.42
13 Jianna Evaristo / 6.888 / 195.96
14 John Hall / 6.900 / 195.39
15 Chris Bostick / 6.915 / 194.63
16 Ron Tornow / 6.928 / 195.22
—–Not Qualified
17 Peggy Llewellyn / 6.959 / 190.32
18 Wesley Wells / 8.078 / 170.77
Qualifying – Friday
On a day filled with tracks records, Robert Hight set two in Funny Car, powering to the provisional No. 1 position on Friday as the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returned to Route 66 Raceway for the Gerber Collision & Glass NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK Performance.
Gaige Herrera laid waste to both ends of the Chicago track record while continuing his dominant season in Pro Stock Motorcycle, delivering a stunning run of 6.677 at 202.45 on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki.
After winning the season’s first two races, Herrera kept up his torrid pace on Friday, just missing out on the quickest run in class history. But he stayed on track for his third straight No. 1 qualifier with an unbelievable run to kick off qualifying.
“I live about an hour away from here, so this is my home track and it’s really cool to be back here in Joliet,” Herrera said. “I’ve got a lot of friends and family here, so to go out here and be No. 1 means a lot to me. I’ve been here many times to watch, but that was my first pass down the track, so do that on my first run was pretty cool. The people at the shop put in a lot of work and I’m just glad to be part of it.”
Chip Ellis is currently second with a 6.756 at 200.68 and Hector Arana Jr. took third after a run of 6.759 at 201.85. In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday, Herrera will take on Jianna Evaristo, while Angie Smith will race Chase Van Sant in the semifinal rematches from Gainesville.
1 Gaige Herrera / 6.677* / 202.45*
2 Chip Ellis / 6.756 / 200.68
3 Hector Arana Jr / 6.759 / 201.85
4 Matt Smith / 6.798 / 198.47
5 Angie Smith / 6.800 / 201.43
6 Chase Van Sant / 6.812 / 199.49
7 Marc Ingwersen / 6.866 / 193.99
8 Kelly Clontz / 6.885 / 190.89
9 Chris Bostick / 6.915 / 194.63
10 Joey Gladstone / 6.927 / 174.10
11 1138 Ron Tornow / 6.928 / 195.22
12 John Hall / 6.948 / 195.48
13 Peggy Llewellyn / 6.975 / 185.79
14 Steve Johnson / 7.073 / 191.65
15 Eddie Krawiec / 9.371 / 96.34
16 Wesley Wells / 10.537 / 166.56
—–Not Qualified
17 Jianna Evaristo / 11.754 / 67.29
18 Ryan Oehler / 5.052 / 51.74
* Track ET and MPH Record
Pro Stock Motorcycle Pre-Event Stats
MOST EVENT VICTORIES:
- Andrew Hines, 3
- LE Tonglet, 3
TRACK RECORDS
- 6.784 seconds by Matt Smith, June 2018
- 200.89 mph by Hector Arana Jr., June 2018
NATIONAL RECORDS
- 6.665 sec. by Karen Stoffer, March 2022, Gainesville, FL
- 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July 2021, Sonoma, CA
ABOUT NHRA
Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 22 national events featuring the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service, SAM Tech.edu Factory Stock Showdown and Mickey Thompson Tires Top Fuel Harley Series. Twice a year, NHRA hosts a ‘race-within-a-race,’ during the JEGS Allstars and Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle specialty competitions. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. With over 120 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing-related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates four racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
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