NHRA Carolina Nationals Sportsman Preview
2019 NHRA Carolina Nationals Lucas Oil Sportsman Preview
CHARLOTTE – As the NHRA season winds down, racers head to Charlotte for the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Lucas Oil sportsman racers will battle for points as they chase the national titles. We discuss several of the points chases in the sections below.
The Carolina Nationals will follow the three-day NHRA schedule which includes time trials and qualifying on Friday, three to four rounds on Saturday, the final two rounds on Sunday. The event also includes class racing on Friday for the Super Stock class.
The NHRA Carolina Nationals will showcase approximately 300 Lucas Oil sportsman racers competing in six different classes. The schedule includes Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.
2018 NHRA Carolina Nationals Champions
Competition Eliminator – Art Hodges
Super Stock – Herbie Null Jr.
Stock Eliminator – Terry Taylor
Super Comp – Corey Manuel
Super Gas – Joe Fisher
Top Sportsman – Ronnie Proctor
Top Dragster – Anthony Bertozzi
2019 NHRA Carolina Nationals Predictions
With each NHRA national event DragChamp’s sportsman preview includes an overview of each class. In addition, we select the DragChamp Picks to win the race. Here are this week’s picks.
Competition Eliminator – 23 Car Field
The Comp field should be extremely competitive this weekend as class hitters such as Frank Aragona, David Rampy, Randy Daniels, Bruno Massel, and Brad Plourd are on the entry list.
Tom Martino is making a rare appearance outside of Maple Grove Raceway. After winning two of the last three nationals at Maple Grove, we’ll see if he can bring that magic to zMax.
DragChamp pick to win:
Bad Brad Plourd – Talented racer is overdue for a win at the national level.
Super Stock – 61 Car Field
Herbie Null Jr. comes into the event as the defending champion and on a roll after winning at the Mopar Nationals recently. To repeat his 2018 performance, he’ll have to contend with 2019 outstanding performers including Anthony Bertozzi, Ricky Decker, and Monty Bogan, Jr.
DragChamp picks to win:
Dan Fletcher – Although he’s never won when we picked him, the year is winding down and Fletch has got to be hungry after a long dry spell.
Brian Martel – Coming in hot after an outstanding outing at the recent Fall Fling 500K.
Anthony Bertozzi – Started the season with multiple wins, could easily close the season in the same manner.
Stock Eliminator – 61 Car Field
Allison Doll comes into the event chasing the national title. She’s only 10 points out of first place and needs to go a few rounds to pass current leader Joe Santangelo. Doll’s recent performance landed her a spot on the Top 10 List.
DragChamp picks to win:
Jeff Strickland – Strick has been killer on the LODRS tour this season.
Daniel Young – Talented young racer is always a threat. See more on Daniel here.
Adam Davis – AD is always in the mix, should be a player this week too!
Super Comp – 61 Car Field
Ray Miller III, Kyle Bigley, and Jonathan Anderson roll into Charlotte chasing the national title. Ray Ray leads the field by 54 points but has not locked up the title just yet.
Bigley will need a late round finish to put himself in contention for the title. Anderson will need to win this week and at his next LODRS to have a shot.
DragChamp picks to win:
Jason Kenny – Division 1 player always performs well at zMAX.
John Labbous – 2019 has been good to him but I think he has more wins in him before the season ends.
Corey Manuel – 2018 event champ looks ready for a repeat after a $20K win at the Rock last week.
Super Gas – 61 Car Field
Charlie Kenopic comes into the event just 18 points behind national points leader Jeremy Mason. He’s replacing a second round loss so a few win lights this week could move him back into first place.
Ray Sawyer, the Thunder Valley Nationals champ, needs to win the race to move into first place.
Mason could put the title out of reach with a late round finish as he’s also replacing a second round loss.
DragChamp picks to win:
Jim Perry – Multi-time event winner knows how to get it done at zMAX.
Steve Furr – Fuzz is a player everywhere, especially at zMAX!
Sherman Adcock Jr. – The multi-time world champ is always a threat.
Top Dragster – 29 Car Field
Jeff Strickland comes into the event 22 points behind current points leader Danny Nelson. He’ll need a late round showing to pass the red-hot Nelson.
Brooke Foley is coming off a big win at the Division 1 LODRS event at Virginia Motorsports Park last week. She’ll try to ride that momentum to another big win this week.
DragChamp picks to win:
Aaron Stanfield – The Factory Stock crew chief is pretty deadly behind the wheel too!
Kevin Brannon – KB is one of the best there is, he should be in the mix come Sunday afternoon.
DragChamp is your source for NHRA Lucas Oil sportsman drag racing news and drag race results. Look for final round results on DragChamp as they are available. We’ll also post individual class recaps in the days following the event.
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