2021 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Preview

2021 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Sportsman Preview from Bristol, Tennessee

Cover photo courtesy of NHRA.tv

BRISTOL – The NHRA traveling motorsports circus heads to Bristol Dragway for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals this week. Hot off a two race event in Dallas where they completed the rain-delayed Houston national and the Dallas Fallnationals, racers head east to Tennessee. The Thunder Valley Nationals represents the last shot at glory for East Coast racers hoping to grab a Wally this season.

After correctly predicting at least one winner for seven straight races, we dropped the ball on the Midwest Nationals and the Texas Fallnationals. While we came up one win light short of correctly picking Jeromy Hefler to win Super Comp in Dallas, we did grab another winner with Jammin’ Jerry Emmons who won the Spring Nationals early last week.

The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals will showcase over 245 Lucas Oil sportsman racers competing in five different classes. The schedule includes Super Stock, Stock Eliminator, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Top Dragster.

Before we look ahead to the 2021 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, let’s look back at the 2019 event champions.

2019 NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Champions

Super Stock – Joe Santangelo

Stock Eliminator – Monty Bogan

Super Comp – Todd Ewing

Super Gas – Ray Sawyer

Top Sportsman – Johnny Brooks

2021 NHRA Thunder Valley 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.

Super Stock – 55 Car Field

The Super Stock field this week is heavily weighted to Division 1 and 2 racers with a smaller group of D3 and D4 racers looking to mix it up. Greg Stanfield enters the race chasing a 5th World title while Dan Fletcher looks to move into sole possession of 2nd place on the all-time NHRA win list.

DragChamp picks to win:

Anthony Bertozzi – I haven’t picked AB to win Super Stock in a while now, thinking he’s gonna show out this weekend.

Brett Candies – Division 4 hitter is a win waiting to happen. Look for him to break through at Bristol.

Stock Eliminator – 63 Car Field

The Stock Eliminator field is also heavily weighted to D1 and D2 competitors this week. A handful of D3 and D4 racers will be there to keep them honest. The pressure will be on this week as racers look to add to their season points total in the last national event east of the Mississippi River this year.

DragChamp picks to win:

Steve Foley – Dude has had a crazy good season, a national event Wally would cap it off in a big way.

Anthony Fetch – Coming into Bristol hot off a runner-up finish last week. Look for him to ride that momentum into Sunday at Bristol.

Super Comp – 47 Car Field

Where do we start with the 8.90 field this week? The field is loaded with talent and pretty much everyone on the entry list can win on Sunday. Ray Miller is always tough, Jonathan Anderson wins everywhere, Laureen Freer is sure to make some noise, and I could go on and on.

DragChamp picks to win:

Kris Whitfield – Dude had a killer outing two weeks ago in Bristol at the Fall Fling. Should give him confidence going into the nationals.

Billy Upton Jr. – D2 veteran is a threat to win everywhere he goes.

Super Gas – 58 Car Field

Some of the same hitters we mentioned in Super Comp are on the Super Gas entry list as well. Should make for some tough matchups throughout the week. We’ll see if Edmond Richardson can keep his SG win streak going this week. He won the first two races he attended in his new roadster.

DragChamp picks to win:

David Morris – Has been turning on a lot of win lights lately. That momentum could propel him to the winners circle on Sunday.

Edmond Richardson – I’m going with the King until someone stops him, lol.

Top Dragster – 24 Car Field

The Top Dragster class is smaller than expected this week but don’t let that fool you, there are some heavy hitters on the entry list. This includes the Laris family, Anthony Bertozzi, Aaron Stanfield, Brad Plourd, Jeff Strickland, and many more.

DragChamp pick to win:

Ross Laris – Coming off a huge win at Dallas, the motorsports insurance kingpin will be looking for a repeat performance in Bristol.

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