WHEN A BACK SURGERY left “Tricky” Rickie Smith unable to wheel his nitrousassisted
Strutmasters Camaro at the NHRA Pro Mod season opener, he tapped
2017 NHRA Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner to fill in for him. Butner
qualified No. 10 with a 5.904-second pass, pairing him up with Jason Scruggs
first round. He was consistent with a 5.903 Sunday morning, but Scruggs
moved on with his 5.835.
“It’s really funny; everybody keeps asking me how it feels compared to a Pro
Stock car,” Butner said. “I tell them that at 1,000-foot I’m in the car giggling.
It’s unreal. It’s very fun, and I’m happy.”
WHEN BOB TASCA III tested positive for COVID-19 in the weeks leading up to
NHRA’s return, Jonnie Lindberg is the driver who Tasca called to take over his
seat for the weekend. The two-time Top Alcohol Funny Car world champion
steered Tasca’s Mustang to a series of high-3.90-second passes, including
a 3.987 that qualified him No. 2. The stout performance continued on race
day, but his 3.99 came up short to Tim Wilkerson’s 3.982 in the second round.
Tasca returned to race at the Summernationals, qualifying No. 1 and racing to
the semifinals in a comeback that would’ve garnered network-news headlines
had it occurred in any other major sport.
FIELDING HIS MUSI-
POWERED, nitrousassisted
Corvette
would’ve been enough of
an undertaking for Chad
Green, who was making
his return to NHRA Pro
Mod after recovering
from a brutal crash at the
U.S. Nationals in 2019.
Green went one step
further and also made his
Funny Car debut at the
Summernationals fielding
a car he purchased from
Tim Wilkerson. He plans
to rent out the car at
other races this season.
In Funny Car, Green
fell in the first round to
Jack Beckman. In Pro Mod,
though, Green streaked to
his first-ever final round.
“Our goal is always to
win, especially in Pro
Mod,” Green said. “In
Funny Car, my goal is
not to screw it up and
hopefully we can do as
well as possible.”
THE UNIQUE FORMAT of the two NHRA national events at Indy gave the area’s
young Jr. Dragster racers a rare opportunity to compete on the same stage
as the professional racers they admire. Sixty Jr. Dragster racers attempted to
qualify for the two 16-car fields. Like the Pros, the Jr. Dragster classes were
stopped due to rain after the semifinals. In Jr. Dragster Pro, AJ Leung will take
on Toby Mitchell. In Jr. Dragster Sportsman, Lane Fischer will face off with
Adler Brown (pictured here), the son of Top Fuel champion Antron Brown.
86 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated.com Issue 159