On TOP at Route 66!
The Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals proved to be a very full, very entertaining affair for fans who had been waiting eagerly for the return of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. After a span of four years without drag racing at the impressive facility, Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock), and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were the competitors who had all the right pieces in place to claim particularly unforgettable wins.
Millican's Parts Plus/Rick Ware Racing Top Fuel dragster made massive progress in Chicago after a tought start to the season. Prior to winning the event, he hadn't won a single round of racing in the 2023 season of NHRA's Camping World Drag Racing Series, but on Sunday at Route 66 Raceway, his tuner, team, car, and driver were all in sync.
In the first round of eliminations where many struggled on the warming, sun-drenched racetrack, Millican made haste to the finish line stripe with the third-quickest run of the round, a 3.732, to claim his first round win of the season and get the ball rolling. Opponent Shawn Langdon launched with a tidy .029-second reaction time, but his day ended in a rash of tire smoke.
Clay Millican wins Top Fuel at 2023 Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Doug Kalitta's Mac Tools dragster had come to the event quick and fast, but Millican was better at the tree and smoother down the racetrack while Kalitta was up in smoke before reaching the 330-foot timer. His efficient pass against Kalitta gave him lane choice over Brittany Force in the semifinals, and with the powerful blows Force's crew chief, David Grubnic, is known to throw, Millican and crew chief Jim Oberfhofer knew they had to be on their game in every way.
Millican did his part and left the starting line first, .057 to a .082, and Oberhofer tuned the Parts Plus rail to a 3.778 at 329.58 mph to defeat a 3.881, 319.82. The victory gave him a ticket to the 19th final round of his NHRA career.
On the other side of the ladder, third-year competitor Josh Hart was eager to make more progress in the traditional two-wide format after going rounds at each of the last two races, both of which were four-wide. He survived a tire-smoking battle with Antron Brown in round one, then defeated Jacob McNeal in his Top Fuel debut, 3.793, 328.78 to 3.870, 317.27.
In the semifinals, Hart took on the role of heartbreaker as he claimed the win over hometown hero T.J. Zizzo. Hart's .043 reaction time was just .006 ahead of the Chicago-area native, but Zizzo's tire-smoking 11.446 was easy to beat with a 3.910 to earn a trip to the fifth final of his career.
The two closed out eliminations with a great side-by-side race. Millican left first, .049 to .052, and kept the lead for a 3.801 to 3.808 win.
"We've had so many changes," said Millican, now a four-time NHRA Top Fuel winner. "I'm so thankful for Doug and Whitney Stringer keeping us out there. Rick Ware wanted to go racing and bought our team and took over at the U.S. Nationals last year, and the next thing you know, it's new trailers, new racecars, new parts. You would think it would have been much easier, but it wasn't. We really struggled.
For Millican, the long-awaited win was particularly poignant. His most recent victory had been five years prior, and it happened at Route 66 Raceway, precisely 20 years after his very first race – which happened to be at the Chicago facility.
"Here we are, 25 years later, in the same place," said Millican. "That number 25 means something to me, and I almost lost it at the top end. I held it together, but what a day.
"But this is an awesome, unbelievable team, and I cannot wait to hand Rick and Lisa Ware that Wally. They've done so much to keep us out there. Jim O is a bad dude. He proved that today."