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The latest update as of October 17, 2022


TAD & TAFC Championship Points Standings

TAD Championship Points - October 17, 2022

Going into the Texas NHRA FallNationals, there were five drivers in contention for the National (World) Championship. Following the event, there are still five drivers in that championship battle. However, one of Joey Severance's perennial challengers, Shawn Cowie, lost in the first round of eliminations at Dallas, and saw his chances take a serious hit. Severance also lost in that opening round, but he still holds the high ground as #2 Matt Cummings only gained 11 points with his semi-final finish.

The big gainer was Jasmine Salinas, as she took the event win, her second of the season, and moved past Cowie into third place, tied with Cummings and both just 31 points behind Severance. Cowie's chances are getting very slim and he needs to advance to the final round at Las Vegas and Pomona to have any chance of taking that ever-elusive championship. For his part, Severance can wrap up the title if he can win Las Vegas next weekend.

TAFC Championship Points - October 17, 2022

There were five drivers in the Funny Car championship chase before the Dallas event, but just four coming out of Texas. Falling early in eliminations (second round loss) was Matt Gill, as he saw his hopes evaporate in the glow of a redlight start. All of points leader Shane Westerfield's pursuers did close the gap on him somewhat as Westerfield also redlit in that second round at Dallas.

Making the biggest gain, and advancing from third to second place in the standings, was defending champion Sean Bellemeur and the Killer B's team. After a slow start to the season, he won the Texas FallNationals, his fifth consecutive final round appearance at a national event this season. That win brought him to just 52 points in arrears of Westerfield, BUT he only has ONE event left to claim points. He has to win the Nevada Nationals (Las Vegas) AND the following week's regional event at The Strip to overtake Westerfield.

Currently in third place is D.J. Cox Jr., making his first really serious attempt at the championship, and he has the same daunting task as Bellemeur, namely, win two consecutive events. Cox has to win both Las Vegas and Pomona to have any chance of passing Westerfield though. In fourth place currently is 2020 champion Doug Gordon and he, surprisingly, has a better chance to take the championship than Bellemeur and Cox.

Gordon started the 2022 season strongly, with three consecutive national event wins (Vegas, Houston, and Norwalk), coupled with three straight regional victories (Vegas, Dallas, and St. Louis). That left him with the possibility of a "perfect" season (winning six national and four national events) going into Dallas. However, a second round loss at that event saw him lose ground in the points chase. One factor in Gordon's favour is that he has one first round loss and one second round loss at national events that he can waive if he can get to the later rounds at Vegas and Pomona. An additional bonus is that he has a second round loss at a regional event that is waiveable if he can get to the final round at the Las Vegas regional (the week after the national event).

All these possible scenarios will almost certainly make for a thrilling last three weeks in the NHRA season and some must-watch racing, on TV or the internet... or even better: in person at the races.