Taylor, Fuqua hoist trophies at NHRA Arizona Nationals

Jeff Taylor and Mike Fuqua both held trophies at the end of the day at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at the Firebird Motorsports Park.

CHANDLER, AZ – Jeff Taylor and Mike Fuqua both opened up the year on the west coast with some hardware at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at the Firebird Motorsports Park. Taylor visited the NHRA winner’s circle for his 51st time, while Fuqua found his way to a National Event Wally in his hand after an 18-year hiatus.

Joining them in the winner’s circle was Ryan McClanahan (SS), Justin Lamb (STK), Chad Webber (SC), and Roger Kato (SG).

Read the race recap below to learn more about the winners!

NHRA Arizona Nationals

Competition Eliminator

Jeff Taylor wheeled his B/DA to the winner’s circle and took home his 51st National event Wally after defeating Paul Mitsos in the final round. Mitsos had the starting line advantage, .009 to .051, but squared the tire at the hit. Taylor went right down broadway and ran a 6.912 at 159 mph for the trophy.

Clint Neff and Eric Bell were the semi-finalists.

Super Stock

Ryan McClanahan continued on his hot streak and picked up his 13th NHRA National event Wally after defeating Leo Glasbrenner in the final round. McClanahan was .022 and put together an .026 package for the win-light. Glasbrenner was .015, but broke out getting to the stripe.

Todd Rodenburg was the lone semi-finalist.

Stock Eliminator

Justin Lamb visited the winner’s circle for his 32nd time on the NHRA tour after defeating Jody Lang in the final round. Lamb had the starting line advantage, .009 to .034, and put together an .017 package to lock out Lang and hold the trophy. He ran a 9.618 at 135 mph on his 9.61 dial-in.

Jeff Adkinson was the lone semi-finalist, losing in a heads-up race to Lamb.

Super Comp

Chad Webber took home his third NHRA National event Wally after defeating Steve Williams in the final round. Webber had the starting line advantage, .004 to .033, and got to the stripe first running an 8.944 at 180 mph on the 8.90 index to shine the win-light.

Steve Stickelmyer and Gabe Torres were the semi-finalists.

Super Gas

Roger Kato visited the winner’s circle after defeating Jerry Denton in the final round to pick up his second NHRA Wally. Kato had the starting line advantage, .029 to .076, and turned it into a win-light running a 9.932 at 171 mph on the 9.90 index.

Brad Pierce was the lone semi-finalist.

Top Dragster

Mike Fuqua took home the trophy after defeating Mallory Reis in the final round for his third NHRA National event Wally. Fuqua had the starting line advantage, .014 to .055, and ran a 7.237 at 184 mph on his 7.21 dial-in to turn on the final win-light.

Dane Ward and Dylan Hough were the semi-finalists.

An avid racer herself, Megan Strassweg, 28, sees her two worlds collide with DragChamp – journalism and drag racing. Megan resides in Evansville, IN, and she pilots a 2015 American Dragster in the NHRA North Central Division 3 Super Comp series, along with some local bracket racing on the side. Her passion for racing began early, having grown up at the racetrack, and she remains committed to the sport.

You can reach Megan on Facebook or email at megan@dragchamp.com