 
by Don Martin
The AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals kick off this Friday at Gateway Motorsports Park.  The next 3 days you can expect over 70,000 spectators to witness the Mello Yello National Hot Rod Association.   Over 340 entries are on the property at Gateway this weekend with all the Kings of the Sport present including John Force, Tony Schumacher, Robert Hight, Courtney Force, Matt Hagan, Antron Brown, Del Worsham, and Ron Capps to name a few.   You can expect to see speeds over 330 MPH on the drag strip.
The actual weekend kicks off this evening at Ballpark village with show cars on hand, some drivers will be on hand for autographs, and prizes will be awarded as well.  The biggest name in the sport John Force will be there. Track owner Curtis Francois and General Manager Chris Blair have worked hard to bring the fans one of the best facilities and events of the year to St. Louis so come on out and support them this week.
Friday and Saturday consist of qualifying and Sunday eliminations kick off at 11 am for the pro classes. Fans Friday evening under the lights watching the headers and flames just flat out crazy don’t miss it.     Saturday 2 more rounds of qualifying and with eliminations in the other classes.  Championship Sunday everything is on the line one mistake and you are done !!
St. Louis is the second race of the countdown to the championship.  Last week at Charlotte Antron Brown, John Force, Jason Line, and Chip Ellis took home the Wally’s the most coveted trophy in drag racing.
Starting with Top Fuel Antron Brown comes into St. Louis with the point lead over Doug Kalitta, Steve Torrence, Brittany Force, and Tony Schumacher.   Antron has won 4 in a row at Gateway and 5 out of the last 6.  He is definitely the guy to beat.
Funny Car Ron Capps has a 40 point lead over last year champion Del Worsham.   Capps has never won the title and Worsham won the event at Gateway last year.   Those two will need to contend with last week’s winner and the best of all time John Force.  Tommy Johnson and Matt Hagan will be in the hunt as well driving for Don Schumacher.   Springfield, Illinois driver Tim Wilkerson will be present as well and maybe a little home cooking can turn his program around.
Pro Stock has been dominated this year by Jason Line and Greg Anderson.   The Summit team will be tough to beat but Gateway defending champ Drew Skillman in his Axalta Camaro is hoping to get his program back on track this weekend at a place he knows very well.  National Champion Erica Enders will also be there and currently sits 10th in the point standings.
Pro Stock Motorcycle has a familiar face on top of the standings Andrew Hines.  His Harley Davidson did not win last week as it was Chip Ellis taking home the victory on his Pippin Trucking Buell.  Ellis sits second in the points with Angelle Sampey rounding out the top three.
The most radical class is definitely the Pro Mods.  Several makes of different cars and engine variations make this the most extreme class on the property.  You will see a 69’Daytona to a current Camaro, the engines range from nitrous to turbo power.   The speeds are over 250 mph to boot, what a class and what a show !! Carolina Mountain man Rickie Smith is the current point leader over Robert Rahaim.  Troy Coughlin, Steve Matusek, and Von Smith round out the top five in the points, over 30 pro mods will be in the house trying to make the 16 car field including last year’s champ Mike Knowles.
In closing several other classes will be on hand and for a full schedule of events check out www.nhra.com and for tickets go to www.gatewaymsp.com