ENNIS, Texas _ Ford Racing loyalist Bob Tasca III and a veteran crew he playfully has dubbed “The Outcasts” continue to shake-up NHRA’s Funny Car pecking order.
The current “Big Three” features three-time Funny Car world champions Ron Capps, Matt Hagan and Robert Hight, respectively representing OEMs Toyota, Dodge and Chevrolet. For the record, their combined nine titles still are overshadowed by drag racing icon John Force’s massive 16.
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Enter Tasca as surprise point-leader with his new-for-2023 crew chief tandem of Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks. Tasca blasted to the category’s quickest run in five years Friday night during opening qualifications for the 38th annual Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex. Tasca covered the 1,000-foot distance in 3.822-seconds at 335.55 mph in his Ford Mustang, breaking the track E.T. record en route to the provisional pole.
Tasca laid down the quickest run in both sessions down The Plex’s famed all-concrete surface to continue his Countdown to the Championship momentum, and move closer to his seventh No. 1 qualifier of the season.
This weekend’s race at International Drag Racing Hall of Famer Billy Meyer’s facility is the fourth of six in the Countdown, NHRA’s playoffs, and 19th of 21 events during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Friday also marked Day 8 of the third annual Stampede of Speed, 10 days of Texas-themed racing, music and cultural activities in an around Ellis County.
Joining Tasca as provisional pole-sitters Friday were native Texan Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Deric Kramer (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle). Round 3 of qualifying is scheduled for 1 p.m. (CDT) Saturday with the final round at 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for noon (CDT) Sunday. Television coverage includes qualifying highlights on FOX Sports 1 at noon (CDT) followed by three hours of eliminations starting at 2 p.m.
Tasca moved into the playoff point lead for the first time in his career after Round 3 of the Countdown at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., outside St. Louis. His torrid pace continued Friday night in the Dallas-Fort Worth market with the quickest run in the class since the opening race of the 2018 season. Bob III’s Friday pass also netted him the $15,000 “Friday Night Live” low-qualifier bonus.
“It was unbelievable. The car was dead-smooth,” said Tasca, who hopes to celebrate his 48th birthday Saturday by securing P1 at the conclusion of time trials. “When we got back to the pit I said, ‘Fellas, when you look at that run you’re going to say, ‘There’s more in it.’ The hardest part of that run was it hiked the front end up around 700 or 800-feet. It got a little bit to the inside and I had half-a-steering wheel turning it to the outside. It put the nose down and I was able to bring it back in. That was an exciting run.”
That run also backed-up the observation Tasca confidently made during a ZOOM conference earlier this week with national media previewing this event. “We’ve got a car that can run with the best of the best in any condition,” said Tasca, a native and resident of Hope, R.I. “And to win the championship, that’s what you need to have. You got to be fast on a hot track, you got to be fast on a cold track and everything in-between. Six No. 1 qualifiers, three wins _ obviously one in the Countdown _ and a couple of semifinals, that’s what it’s going to take to win this championship.
“And I think that’s what makes us a very dangerous team in this Countdown is that we can run low E.T. no matter what conditions we’re in. And I couldn’t say that my whole career. We’ve just put ourselves in a great position to be in contention for this championship.”
Tasca noted his crew proved its mettle during an engine change thrash in Round 2 of the Countdown at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. “The most agonizing time of my whole racing career, just being a bystander and not knowing if you’re going to even have a chance to compete,” Tasca said. “Just hats off to the team _ 22 minutes from an engine that was three-quarters assembled, torn out of the car, new engine put in and we go out there and win the race.
“Veteran group of guys. I joke a little bit _ I call us ‘The Outcasts’ because at this time last year, nobody wanted us. They were out of jobs, my crew chiefs left me and we all kinda regrouped and very fortunate to have been able to pair-up Todd Okuhara and Aaron Brooks. They’ve made an incredible, incredible team. Great chemistry. You can see it in our performance. All year long this car has been running at the top of the page.”
Tasca officially introduced Okuhara and Brooks tuners with a combined 31 years of NHRA experience _ on Feb. 13, scary late in the NHRA offseason. “I can tell you a lot of people and a lot of messages said I made a big mistake, that I made my decision too quick,” Tasca said. “All the Monday Morning quarterbacks. And truth be told I’ve raced with Todd Okuhara for many years. I just know the guy, I love his experience. And I knew Aaron Brooks from afar. I just loved how aggressive the guy was. He’d always go for the pole, he’d always be pushing.
“A lot of times in my career I didn’t have like two full complete crew chiefs. You had one who was the lead and the other kinda follows along. And in this example, I have two crew chiefs and they have spirited discussions and they always come out with what I believe is an outcome that’s better than they would have on their own.
“They both have like a tireless working ethic. Like, I cannot believe the effort they both put in. They’re part of the team actually turning the car in-between rounds. They’re working. Todd is adjusting the valves and Aaron is under the car looking at the bearings _ it really is different from anything I’ve experienced in my career. I couldn’t be happier.”
The 2023 season is Okuhara’s 30th in professional drag racing. He most recently worked at Don Schumacher Racing from 2005-2022. He served as DSR’s director of racing from 2013-22, while tuning for Leah Pruett (2016-21) and eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher (2022) in Top Fuel.
Brooks has been employed as a crew chief for Funny Car and Top Fuel teams since 2009. He spent the 2022 season tuning Doug Foley’s Top Fuel entry. Brooks got his start with drag racing icon Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s team and spent several years with Don Schumacher Racing as well.
“Listen, we’re a humble group,” Tasca said. “I mean, this sport is heartless. Hero-to-zero, zero-to-hero. We’re just focused on doing what we know we can do and run as hard as we can on that racetrack. Todd and Aaron, they don’t care what the cars are running next to us. They’re running the car as hard as they can in the conditions they have and that’s what I think has kinda separated us from the pack a little bit.
“So we’re going to stick to our plan. We got a great, great book of data right now, no matter what track surface we’re on. And we feel pretty confident if we can just run our race that we’ve got as good a chance as anyone to win this championship.”
Hagan, who entered the weekend 13 points behind Tasca, ran 3.848 at 319.24 to take second in his Dodge Charger//SRT Hellcat fielded by Tony Stewart Racing. Team-owner/driver Capps, the three-time/reigning world champion, ran 3.851 at 333.95 in his Toyota GR Supra to earn third.
Top Fuel standout Steve Torrence delivered the fifth-quickest run in NHRA history _ and the quickest lap in four years _ to power into the provisional pole at his home track.
Torrence covered the 1,000-foot distance in 3.636-seconds at 336.62 mph in his family-owned Toyota dragster, putting the Kilgore resident in line for his third pole of the season. The best run in the class since 2019 set a Motorplex E.T. record and stands as a career-best for Torrence, who entered the weekend third in points. Torrence’s night was capped by some cash courtesy of fellow-Texans and Motorplex co-owners Billy Meyer and Christie Meyer Johnson _ the $15,000 “Friday Night Live” low-qualifier bonus.
“I have so much history here at this racetrack. I grew up racing here,” Torrence said. “There are a lot of expectations when you come here. You want to go out and do well in front of the hometown fans. I take pride of being from Texas and these fans are unbelievable. (Crew chiefs) Richard Hogan, Bobby Lagana, every one of those guys put so much blood, sweat and tears into what they’re doing. It makes you be proud of the team and what’s going on.
“The track is unbelievable here. The whole Meyer Family and everyone behind the scenes has done a great job. This (Stampede of Speed) is an event. This is more than just a race and I’m really proud of everything that’s gone on here. To go out, to go low E.T., to run a career-best speed and E.T., it’s special. We need to carry that momentum into race day, we need to keep the car running well. But this is definitely a great place to start.”
Point-leader Doug Kalitta put down a lap in 3.642 at 334.70 to grab the second spot, while Torrence’s father, Billy, sits third after running 3.660 at 334.57 in his first start of the season. Justin Ashley, the two-time defending event champion, set the track speed record at 338.40 mph, which also is the third-fastest run in Top Fuel history. In all, 11 cars went into the 3.60s during an epic nitro qualifying session that included Funny Car.
Deric Kramer made the quickest run of the year in Pro Stock, delivering a stellar quarter-mile pass of 6.486-seconds at 209.50 mph in his Chevrolet Camaro SS. On-pace for his first No. 1 spot of the season and the seventh in his career, Kramer also pocketed the $7,500 “Friday Night Live” low-qualifier bonus.
Kramer enjoyed a strong run of consistency earlier this season, advancing to four straight Factory Hot Rod finals and moving up to second in points. But he since has dropped to seventh and hasn’t advanced to a final since May. Friday’s run momentarily has Kramer back in the hunt.
“I just kept grabbing gears and it felt good the whole way,” said Kramer. “I knew we had more to pick up from our first run, and I thought other people would be able to pick up a little bit so I didn’t think it would hold, to be perfectly honest. But I’m super-happy _ everything turned out really well, and night runs are my favorite.
“If you’re not in the hunt this race, you don’t have a chance the rest of the year. This is to still stay in it, and I think we all knew that coming into this week. We knew we wanted to make some headway this weekend. We want to try to finish the season strong.”
Point-leader and Houston native Erica Enders, the five-time/reigning world champ, went to second with a lap in 6.498 at 211.79. Erica is chasing a fourth straight playoffs pole in her Elite Motorsports Camaro SS. Aaron Stanfield currently is third at 6.498 and 210.62 in his Camaro.
