SEATTLE, Wash. — official release — NHRA photo — Tony Schumacher, Shane Gray, and Vincent Nobile locked up their berths in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship playoffs thanks to their efforts at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries.
Schumacher clinched as the result of his second-round victory; Gray and Nobile punched their tickets in qualifying.
Seventeen drivers have so far locked up their spots after the Seattle event, the 16th of 18 races that make up the series regular season. Only the top-10 finishers in each of the four Mello Yello classes – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle – can run for the championship in the season’s final six events.
Following the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Seattle, only the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd and the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis remain for drivers to lock up spots.
Guaranteed Spots in Countdown to the Championship
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta
2. Antron Brown
3. Shawn Langdon
4. Tony Schumacher
Funny Car
1. Robert Hight
2. John Force
Pro Stock
1. Erica Enders-Stevens
2. Allen Johnson
3. Jeg Coughlin Jr.
4. Jason Line
5. Dave Connolly
6. Shane Gray
7. Vincent Nobile
Pro Stock Motorcycle
1. Andrew Hines
2. Eddie Krawiec
3. Hector Arana Jr.
4. Hector Arana Sr.