ANTRON BROWN nipped local favorite T.J. Zizzo on Sunday at Route 66 Raceway, and Josh Hart beat Justin Ashley by just.004 second at the stripe as NHRA pros opened racing after a pre-race ceremony that included the Seal Master track walk. Brown’s pass of 3.777 edged Zizzo’s 3.798, while Hart’s 3.785 held off Ashley’s 3.790 in one of the closest matchups of the day.
The round also produced another standout run from Tony Stewart, who posted a 3.742 in his best pass of the weekend before falling to Tony Schumacher at 3.785. Ashley’s SCAG entry then blew apart in the lights, with an engine explosion taking out the supercharger and fuel injector, a sharp reminder that even a race decided by thousandths can end in a flash of damage.
That same kind of margin shaped several other pairings. Will Smith won from the No. 14 qualifying spot with a 3.776 over Billy Torrence’s 3.795, after cutting a.049 reaction time. Shawn Langdon, meanwhile, ran a 3.739 to beat Shawn Reed and keep himself in the mix as the ladder tightened.
Sunday’s results at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals had the feel of a day built on small advantages and even smaller mistakes. Krista Baldwin gave Maddi Gordon trouble for the first half of the track before her dragster lost traction and Gordon advanced with a 3.813. Gordon later said she helped build the engine, a detail that fit the family-shop feel of her program and the learning curve she has taken on while working in her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car operation.
Now the focus shifts immediately to round two, where the matchups only get tougher. Tony Stewart is set to face Josh Hart, Antron Brown will meet Maddi Gordon, and Leah Pruett will line up against Will Smith. Doug Kalitta also picked up lane choice by.003 second for a round-two matchup with teammate Shawn Langdon, another narrow edge in a day defined by them. On Sunday at Route 66 Raceway, the difference between moving on and going home kept coming down to reaction time, lane position and the last few feet at the stripe.
