American drag racing legend John Force took his 140th NHRA Mello Yello Series event victory at Norwalk, taking the Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang to victory lane over Ron Capps.
Capps took the NAPA Auto Parts car to the final through eliminating Force’s daughter Courtney, then Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman, whilst Force saw off challenges from Tim Wilkerson, Chad Head and Cruz Pedregon.
In Top Fuel, Aussie Richie Crampton snuck into 15th position after qualifying, but was eliminated in the opening round by Doug Kalitta. Antron Brown went on to take the win for Matco Tools over the Al Anabi Racing car of Shawn Langdon.
Brown eliminated Clay Millican, Steve Torrence and Tony Schumacher in his path to the decider, whilst Langdon took out Terry McMillen, Brittany Force and Troy Buff.
In Pro Stock, the outstanding season for Erica Enders-Stevens continued, taking the win over team-mate Dave Connolly. She also took the quickest time of the weekend and best top speed, extending her lead in the Championship.
Australian Shane Tucker’s good speed continued in the Auzmet Architectural car, qualifying 12th quickest. The Queenslander – who has become a sensation in the NHRA ranks – was eliminated in the first round by front-runner, Vincent Nobile.
Andrew Hines won Pro Stock Motorcycle, defeating Hector Arana Sr.
The next NHRA Mello Yello Series event will be at Bandimere Dragway for the Mile High Nationals on the weekend of July 18-20.