FUNNY CAR

(Steve Embling photo)

Mike Neff and the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang won for third time in six final round appearances this season taking the Wally trophy at the 5th annual NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. Neff defeated Ron Capps in a tight race to extend his points lead over Jack Beckman to 124 points. At the top end Neff’s Mustang recorded a time of 4.211 seconds just a half a car length in front of Capps’ NAPA Dodge Charger’s 4.259 seconds.

The win was the first for John Force Racing at Summit Raceway Park in three final round appearances. The team has match raced here for over a decade and has more track data than most teams. Today it came down to racing conditions and battling rising temperatures.

“This is the only national event track John Force has never won a race. I was surprised when I learned that. I was hoping he would have made the final again,” said Neff, who tuned Force to the final in 2010 along with Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly. “That would have been great for his team. They (Force) had a great car all weekend and today. Something went weird with it in the semis. We lost in the final here last year with John driving. To be able to get a win here feels great.”

Neff had a tough race in the semis versus two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon. They had met twice this season in final rounds with Neff coming out on top in both Gainesville and Englishtown but today Pedregon had lane choice and track conditions were tricky.

“There was a lot of pressure against Cruz. He is a great driver. His car has been running all year and even last year. That is one of the cars you have to keep your eye on. I felt fortunate to get past him into the final.”

“This was a tricky day out here. The track was pretty slick when you got on the asphalt. It was one of those places it was just hard to get a lot of confidence. Fortunately we hung in there and survived. It is a thrill to get this win. We love coming here. This is a great facility. We’ll be back August 13th for the Night Under Fire match race. It is just exciting to get another win. I just feel fortunate. I can’t thank my team enough,” added Neff.

In the final Neff chose the left lane for his final run of the day. As the team examined the lane a buzz went through the media center at Summit Raceway Park. Throughout the day every Funny Car that had lane choice had elected to run in the right lane.