2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season

2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season
2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season
League	NHRA
Sport	Drag racing
Champions	Del Worsham (Top Fuel); Matt Hagan (Fuel Funny Car); Jason Line (Pro Stock); Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
NHRA seasons
	← 2010 2012 →

Last updated September 27, 2022

The 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Season began on 24 February 2011 and concluded on 13 November. This race season marked the 60th anniversary of NHRA as an official motorsports sanctioning body.^[1]

Schedule

2011 NHRA Full Throttle Schedule
Date	Race	Site	Winners
Date	Race	Site	Top Fuel Dragster	Top Fuel Funny Car	Pro Stock	PS Motorcycle
24–27 February	51st Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals	Pomona, California	Morgan Lucas	Robert Hight (1)	Jason Line (1)	N/A
10–13 March	42nd Annual Tire Kingdom Gatornationals	Gainesville, Fla	Del Worsham (1)	Mike Neff (1)	Jason Line (2)	Eddie Krawiec (1)
1–3 April	12th Annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals	Las Vegas, Nev.	Antron Brown (1)	Robert Hight (2)	Mike Edwards (1)	N/A
14–17 April	2nd Annual VisitMyrtleBeach.com 4 Wide Nationals¹	Concord, N.C.	Del Worsham (2)	Jack Beckman (1)	Greg Anderson (1)	N/A
29 April – 1 May	24th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals	Houston, Texas	Del Worsham (3)	Jeff Arend	Vincent Nobile (1)	Andrew Hines (1)
13–15 May	Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals	Atlanta, Ga.	Antron Brown (2)	Jack Beckman (2)	Jason Line (3)	LE Tonglet (1)
20–22 May	NHRA Summer Nationals	Topeka, Kansas	Spencer Massey (1)	Robert Hight (3)	Shane Gray (1)	N/A
2–5 June	NHRA SuperNationals	Englishtown, N.J.	Spencer Massey (2)	Mike Neff (2)	Allen Johnson	Matt Smith
17–19 June	Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals	Bristol, Tenn.	Larry Dixon (1)	Robert Hight (4)	Mike Edwards (2)	N/A
23–26 June	Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals	Norwalk, Ohio	Del Worsham (4)	Mike Neff (3)	Vincent Nobile (2)	Eddie Krawiec (2)
7–10 July	O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals	Chicago, Ill.	Del Worsham (5)	Mike Neff (4)	Greg Anderson (2)	LE Tonglet (2)
22–24 July	Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals	Denver, Colo.	Spencer Massey (3)	John Force	Mike Edwards (3)	Karen Stoffer
29–31 July	Fram/Autolite NHRA Nationals	Sonoma, Calif.	Antron Brown (3)	Ron Capps (1)	Greg Anderson (3)	LE Tonglet (3)
5–7 August	O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals	Seattle, Wash.	Del Worsham (6)	Tim Wilkerson	Jason Line (4)	N/A
18–21 August	Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals	Brainerd, Minn.	Antron Brown (4)	Johnny Gray	Greg Anderson (4)	LE Tonglet (4)
31 Aug – 5 Sept	Mac Tools U.S. Nationals	Indianapolis, Ind.	Antron Brown (5)	Mike Neff (5)	Greg Anderson (5)	Hector Arana Jr. (1)
2011 Countdown to One
15–18 September	O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals	Concord, N.C.	Antron Brown (6)	Matt Hagan (1)	Kurt Johnson	Eddie Krawiec (3)
22–25 September	AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals	Dallas, Texas	Bob Vandergriff	Cruz Pedregon	Jason Line (5)	Michael Phillips
29 Sept – 2 Oct	Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals	Reading, Pa.	Spencer Massey (4)	Robert Hight (5)	Jason Line (6)	Hector Arana Jr. (2)
14–16 October	NHRA Arizona Nationals	Phoenix, Ariz.	Larry Dixon (2)	Jack Beckman (3)	Vincent Nobile (3)	Hector Arana Jr. (3)
27–30 October	Big O Tires NHRA Nationals	Las Vegas, Nev.	Del Worsham (7)	Ron Capps (2)	Mike Edwards (4)	Eddie Krawiec (4)
10–13 November	Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals	Pomona, Calif.	Del Worsham (8)	Matt Hagan (2)	Greg Stanfield	Andrew Hines (2)

NOTE: All races will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.

¹ The rules for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 4 Wide Nationals differ from other races:

All cars will qualify on each lane as all four lanes will be used in qualifying.
Three rounds with cars using all four lanes.
In Rounds One and Two, the top two drivers (of four) will advance to the next round.
The pairings are set as follows:
- Race One: 1, 8, 9, 16
- Race Two: 4, 5, 12, 13
- Race Three: 2, 7, 10, 15
- Race Four: 3, 6, 11, 14
- Semifinal One: Top two in Race One and Race Two
- Semifinal Two: Top two in Race Three and Race Four
- Finals: Top two in Semifinal One and Semifinal Two
Lane choice determined by times in previous round. In first round, lane choice determined by fastest times.
Drivers who advance in Rounds One and Two will receive 20 points for each round advancement.
In Round Three, the winner of the race will be declared the race winner and will collect 40 points. The runner-up will receive 20 points. Third and fourth place drivers will be credited as semifinal losers.

Notable events

Veteran Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. announced he is "stepping away" from the Pro Stock class for the 2011 season, electing to race instead in Sportsman classes. "We took most of 2006 off just to kind of have a break from it all," he said in his press release. "We did a lot of high-dollar bracket races and select Lucas Oil Sportsman Series events here and there with no particular schedule in mind. We kind of just raced when we wanted to and it was a lot of fun. That is the direction I am heading now." Coughlin expects to spend more time with his school-age son Jeg Coughlin III at golf tournaments.^[2]

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch (#22 Dodge Charger) obtained an NHRA Pro Stock license and debuted in competition at the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals in March, held during the NASCAR winter off-week.^[3]

Ashley Force Hood sat out the 2011 season, as she and husband Dan Hood were expecting their first child. John Force Racing mechanic Mike Neff, who raced from late 2007 after replacing the late Eric Medlen after his fatal crash until 2009, returned to drive the Ford Mustang. Neff won the 2009 Auto Club Finals in his last start before returning to tuning John Force's car.^[4]

At the Fram/Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, CA, John Force qualified at the top of the Funny Car ladder. This gave Force 139 No. 1 qualifications for major events, besting the previous record holder, Pro Stock driver Warren Johnson, who holds 138 No. 1 qualifications as of 31 June 2011.^[5]

Two days after the 2011 season ended, six-time champion Kenny Bernstein announced his retirement from drag racing.^[6] Just six days later, 2011 Top Fuel champion Del Worsham also retired, although he did win 8 races.^[7]

Related Research Articles

Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter, 1,000 ft distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.

John Harold Force is an American NHRA drag racer. He is a 16-time NHRA and 1 time AHRA Funny Car champion driver and a 21-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing (JFR). He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 155 career victories. He graduated from Bell Gardens High School and briefly attended Cerritos Junior College to play football. He is the father of drag racers Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force, and Courtney Force. His oldest daughter Adria Hight is the CFO of JFR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Force Hood</span> American NHRA drag racer

Ashley Force Hood is a former Top Fuel Funny Car (TF/FC) drag racer for John Force Racing. She is the daughter of 16-time NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car national champion John Force and Laurie Force. She is married to Daniel Hood, who works for John Force Racing. She was on hiatus from racing in 2011 as the couple expected their first child. Since their child's birth, Force Hood has announced her retirement from competitive racing.

Pro stock is a class of drag racing featuring "factory hot rods". The class is often described as "all motor", due to the cars not using any form of forced induction such as turbocharging or supercharging, or other enhancements, like nitrous oxide, along with regulations governing the modifications allowed to the engines and the types of bodies used.

Gary Scelzi is an American dragster racer and midget car owner who has won the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship on three occasions and the Funny Car title once. In 1997 he won the title in his first full year of competition, after replacing Blaine Johnson, who had been killed at the 1996 US Nationals, while leading the top fuel championship, in the Johnson family-owned car. He has not competed in NHRA competition since the 2008 season.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. is an American motorsports driver, competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock Division. He is a six-time world champion, winning the Pro Stock title five times and the Super Gas championship. He currently drives the Magneti Marelli offered by Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Dart for Elite Motorsports as a teammate to three-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders. He is the son of Jeg Coughlin Sr., the founder of Jegs High Performance.

The 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Season ran from February 11 to November 14, 2010. A variety of new safety rules were implemented following the conclusion of the investigation of the Scott Kalitta death in 2008. The NHRA had planned on returning Top Fuel and Funny Car classes to 1,320 ft (400 m) distances; however, racing in those classes remained at 1,000 ft (300 m) distance to contain costs with the United States economy still in recession, as well as to address ongoing safety concerns.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series is a drag racing series organized by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). It is the top competition series of the NHRA, comprising competition in four classes, including Top Fuel Dragster, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Del Worsham is an American NHRA Funny car driver who began his professional career as a driver in Pomona, California, in 1990. Worsham drives a Lucas Oil sponsored car Worsham Racing, a family team. Through the first five races of the 2011 season, he has amassed 33 career victories, eight in the Top Fuel Series and 25 in the Funny Car Series. In 1991, Worsham became the youngest driver to win a Funny Car event and went on to win the NHRA Rookie of the Year. His best finish in the Point Standings first came in 2011 when he won the NHRA Full Throttle Championship in Top Fuel. In 2015, Worsham won the NHRA Mello Yello Championship in Funny Car. He became the third driver to win championships in both Top Fuel and Funny Car, joining Kenny Bernstein and Gary Scelzi in this category.

The 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Season was announced on September 8, 2011. The schedule was revised on October 12, 2011, with the events at Maple Grove Raceway and Gateway International Raceway swapping dates.

The 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series was announced by the NHRA on August 12, 2012.

The 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on August 29, 2013.

The 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on August 25, 2014.

The 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on September 5, 2015.

The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on June 8, 2016.

The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on June 6, 2017.

The 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on July 25, 2018.

The 2020 NHRA Drag Racing Series was announced on May 14, 2019.

The 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season was announced on October 6, 2020.

The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season was announced on September 16, 2021.

References

↑ "NHRA announces Full Throttle Drag Racing Series 2011 schedule". 26 August 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
↑ "Coughlin to step away from Pro Stock class in 2011". 13 November 2010. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
↑ "(Kurt) Busch working with Allen Johnson for Potential Gator(nationals) Debut". 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
↑ "(Ashley) Force Hood expecting first child, will sit out 2011; (Mike) Neff back behind wheel". 25 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
↑ "FORCE SETS ALL-TIME No.1 QUAL RECORD AT SONOMA" . Retrieved 4 August 2011.
↑ "Kenny Bernstein retires from NHRA Drag Racing". 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
↑ "2011 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel Champion Del Worsham Retires". 21 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2011.

External links

Official website
Official NHRA Drag Racing Podcasts ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
Drag Race Central The Latest NHRA News and Analysis

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[1] "NHRA announces Full Throttle Drag Racing Series 2011 schedule". 26 August 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.

[2] "Coughlin to step away from Pro Stock class in 2011". 13 November 2010. Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.

[3] "(Kurt) Busch working with Allen Johnson for Potential Gator(nationals) Debut". 7 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.

[4] "(Ashley) Force Hood expecting first child, will sit out 2011; (Mike) Neff back behind wheel". 25 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.

[5] "FORCE SETS ALL-TIME No.1 QUAL RECORD AT SONOMA" . Retrieved 4 August 2011.

[6] "Kenny Bernstein retires from NHRA Drag Racing". 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.

[7] "2011 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel Champion Del Worsham Retires". 21 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2011.

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