Why the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Weekend at Bristol Was So Explosive

Leah Pruett’s prediction was spot-on.

Pruett, an NHRA Top Fuel dragster pilot, said Saturday night that “race day is going to be astronomically fast. It’s actually going to be so tight and so fast in some of the most unique conditions we’ve seen all year.”

That was problematic for many, while some managed to set track records during the Sunday eliminations at the NHRA Caming World Drag Racing Series Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol, Tennessee.

In the first round of Top Fuel eliminations, five racers had engine explosions. Spencer Massey, Josh Hart, Billy Torrence, and in the same pairing Brittany Force and Lex Joon scattered parts and pieces about the 1,000-foot course.

“Clearly, this is some of the best weather we’ve seen all year,” three-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence said. “This first round’s taking a long time, because a lot of guys are blowing up and just missing it a little bit. When the air’s this good, these things are wanting to make all the power. Sometimes they just can’t stay together.

Veteran Funny Car crew chief John Medlen of Don Schumacher Racing explained the cause of the carnage.

“It’s cool, and it’s very, very tight. It’s something that we haven’t been on all year,” he said. “And it’s coupled with very good air. We’ve got some altitude, and it’s dry and it’s cool. These are conditions we don’t normally see. When you’ve got a greater load and the air quality that it is, it makes the fuel demand very critical. The window for air on the tune-up gets really small. As the track begins to heat up, it’s going to make it more like normal. So we’ll see the attrition rate get better as the day goes on.”

The track temperature started out at 81 degrees. By the time clean-up form the Top Fuel opening round was complete, the racing-surface temperature improved to near 90 degrees and by Round 2 was 100. And engines calmed down.

But the track itself continued to be tricky. Part of Bristol Dragway’s unique characteristics are bumps, blamed largely on the tunnels that connect the grandstands to the pits. Clearly, some racers didn’t care for the extra drama that brought.