It’s time for my annual nerd out! If you’ve read this column for any period of time, you know that I find the NHRA Lucas Oil Series points chase fascinating; and the intrigue really ratchets up this time of year.
Let me start out with a quick disclaimer. Originally, I started prepping for this column in late September, prior to the national event in St. Louis and the Division 7 Double header in Bakersfield, CA. In that single weekend, the points picture changed dramatically in multiple categories! This serves as a reminder that A.) things change quickly here late in the season, and B.) that what you’re about to read is likely outdated the instant that you read it. That’s fine, I won’t let it spoil my fun!
As of October 1, there are three national events remaining on the schedule (Dallas, Vegas, Pomona) and 7 ½ Lucas Oil Series events yet to be contested (the Division 4 event in Tulsa will be concluded in Dallas next week-that’s the 1/2). Here’s where we stand as of that date.
Lane Family Looking to Make History:
Jeff Lane is on pace to follow his son Cody’s 2024 championship season in Competition Eliminator with a title of his own. While the elder Lane is far from clinching the title, he looks to be in great shape, and how could he not be? Through eight events, Lane has lost just two rounds (and one of them was in a final round)!
Assuming that Lane holds on, it wouldn’t just mark the first world championship in his illustrious career. It would also put the Lane family among just a handful of father-son/daughter duos to each hoist NHRA national championship trophies. That truly elite list includes the likes of the Force family, Greg and Aaron Stanfield, Warren and Kurt Johnson, Brian and Ryan McClanahan, Brad and Randy Anderson and perhaps a few others I’m forgetting. Jeff and Cody Lane do stand to become the first father-son duo to earn national titles in the same category in consecutive seasons.
Can Darian Boesch Pull Off the Double Championship?
To date, just three drivers in NHRA history have earned multiple national championships in the same season. The late, great Scotty Richardson did it first in 1993 (Super Comp & Super Gas). Jeff Strickland duplicated the feat in 2016 (Top Dragster and Stock), and Justin Lamb immediately followed in 2017 (Stock & Super Stock). Darian Boesch could join that elite fraternity: he currently leads the Top Dragster standings and trails David Cook, Jr. by two rounds in Top Sportsman. Boesch’s hopes will hinge on his performance at the double divisional event in St. Louis, a track that he says is his favorite facility!
Since Top Dragster and Top Sportsman competitors began competing for a national title back in 2015, not only has no driver won a championship in both categories, only one driver has earned multiple titles in either category (Jeffrey Barker was the Top Sportsman champion in 2015 and 2017). If Boesch can claim even one of the two titles this season, he’d add that to his 2020 Top Sportsman crown to match Barker as a two-time champion. Win them both, and he becomes the undisputed king of the fast brackets!
One bold prediction:
My bold prediction is that this Super Stock title battle will be epic! Unlike several other Lucas Oil classes where the chase is still wide open, it looks to me like the battle for the Super Stock title is a 3-horse race. And the horses are thoroughbreds!
Reigning champion Jimmy Hidalgo, Jr. leads the charge with 656 points, and that’s a total that he’ll almost certainly improve. Five-time national champion Justin Lamb lurks three rounds behind Hidalgo; he’s also got several opportunities to bolster his score. Four-time national champion Kevin Helms just won in St. Louis, and he’s got several early losses to improve upon, with several races left to do it.
Just a year ago, Hidalgo and Joe Sorenson became the first two drivers to crest the 700-point plateau in the same class, in the same season – that was in Stock Eliminator, and with Sorenson narrowly edging Hidalgo for the title. My bold prediction is that it happens again this year, only in Super Stock. It would be wild if Hidalgo was a part of the only two championship races that saw a 700+ score finish second; and it almost feels fitting that this time around he comes out on top.
Super Gas = Drama
For three consecutive seasons now, the Super Gas national championship has not been settled until the final event of the season, the NHRA Finals in Pomona. In two of those three seasons, the national title rested on the outcome of the final round of the final event of the season! We may well be destined for another electric finish in the 9.90 category. Interestingly, a couple of contenders may find themselves in that Pomona pressure cooker for a second time!
While Phil Unruh is not currently leading the Super Gas standings, his win in St. Louis puts him squarely in the driver’s seat as the calendar turns to October. Unruh trails current leader JJ Brock by 34 points, and will earn 30 points as soon as he rolls into the stage beams for round one in Dallas. Unruh can still earn points at four more events.
Most avid sportsman fans remember Bob Locke’s moonshot at the 2022 NHRA Finals, the on-demand victory that catapulted him to an unlikely national championship. Fewer remember the driver that Locke overtook in that championship battle… Phil Unruh.
There are a number of talented Super gas drivers in contention for this season’s title. Brock, Keith Mayers, Nathan Prose, Charlie Kenopic, Jason Kenny, Trevor Larson, and more have a legitimate shot to deny Unruh once again. But the biggest threat to Phil Unruh may well be the reigning champion, Val Torres. Fresh on the heels of a victory at the Bakersfield LODRS, Torres’s box score is shaping up eerily similar to his title run of 2024. That title, as you may remember, was punctuated by perhaps the only year-end performance to Trump Bob Locke’s in terms of drama. Torres not only won the Finals a year ago to win the title in a tie-breaker, he literally took matters into his own hands, defeating the number two and number three finishers head-to-head en route to the victory!
Both Torres and Unruh will likely make their final claim of the season in Pomona. Even if they’re not the leaders coming into the event, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which they wouldn’t both come into the NHRA Finals with a shot to win the title. Let the fireworks begin!
Overdue Whitfield:
Admittedly, this one gets a little personal. Kris Whitfield is a buddy, and he’s one of my co-instructors within ThisIsBracketRacing Jr. (along with the aforementioned Justin Lamb). For several years, I’ve introduced Justin as a 5-time world champion, and introduced Kris as a future world champion – I’ve always just assumed it’s only a matter of time. Biased, sure; but I think Kris is the most talented current driver to not win a Lucas Oil Series title to date.
And early on, 2025 looked to be the year. In a six-day stretch in Las Vegas, Whitfield went 20-1 in Super Comp, picking up a win at the national event, a win at the divisional event, and another runner-up on the divisional side! He added several other late round finishes to amass what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Then summer came, and Whitfield went as cold as he had been hot: in a similar stretch in Brainerd (one national event and two divisionals), he was unable to turn on a single win light!
While Whitfield’s stranglehold on the Super Comp has weakened, he’s still in the best position as the season enters this home stretch. He sits at 623 points, and can still improve that score at three upcoming events. His biggest challengers are also no strangers to the rigors of the late season chase: Jason Kenny, Sherman Adcock, Jr., and Jeff Cheney.
One thing if for certain; the close to the NHRA Lucas Oil Series season will be fascinating! As usual, I’ll likely dedicate the next couple of Science of Winning entries to detailing how it all shakes down.
