LONE STAR
Millican Corrals 9th No. 1 Season Qualifier at Texas Before McMillen Outruns Parts Plus Dragster in Sunday Semis Showdown
ENNIS,
TEXAS, Oct. 8, 2018: No. 2 ranked Clay Millican entered the NHRA FallNationals
weekend at Texas Motorplex looking to continue the Parts Plus Top Fuel team’s
Wally-taking, record-breaking, stands-shaking, track-quaking season.
Millican proved to be quick on the draw from
the get-go, running a 3.846@320.66 mph to shoot to No. 1 and pick up
three bonus points in the process. Meanwhile, in the other lane, points leader
Steve Torrence clicked it off early.
Millican strengthened his grip on the top
spot in Q2, closing out his Friday qualifying efforts in a blaze of glory with a
blazin’ quick 3.726@328.54 mph.
Millican’s homerun incremental times: 60-ft.–0.829
sec.; 330-ft.–2.120; and 660-ft.–2.995@291.26 mph.
“Honestly, Grubby [crew chief David Grubnic] typically
has a great idea of what this Parts Plus car is going to run,” Millican says.
“But that has all gone out the window since the Countdown started—and I mean
that in a good way. I really didn’t think we were going to go .72 tonight. What
Grubby is doing right now is totally impressive, and the kids putting this
together are unbelievable. This team works hard and prepares every week we’re
out here—that makes my job a heck of a lot easier.”
Torrence had Millican in his sights on
Saturday, as the No. 1-ranked driver squared once more against the No. 1
qualifier in Q3. This time, Torrence’s car galloped a little quicker, but it
wasn’t enough to surpass the Parts Plus/Stringer Performance team for the top
qualifying spot.
Officially, Torrence ran a 3.743@327.82 mph, edging Millican’s 3.749@329.42,
good for the best and second-best times of the session, respectively.
Torrence's Q3 incremental times: 60-ft.–0.838 sec.; 330-ft.–2.130; and 660-ft.–3.008@289.57
mph. Millican’s incremental times: 60-ft.–0.838 sec.; 330-ft.-2.131; and
660-ft–3.017@288.33 mph.
In Q4, the top two drivers faced off in their
final weekend showdown in qualifying, with the Parts Plus Top Fuel dragster
outrunning Torrence for the quickest pass of the session with a 3.743@ 324.83 mph.
When the dust settled, Millican had lassoed his ninth No. 1
qualifier of the 2018 Mello Yello Series, the first driver to accomplish such a
feat in nine years. Unfortunately for Millican, this set up a first-round
matchup Sunday with Richie Crampton, who uncharacteristically struggled to make
the field but has managed to rebound in the past on race day.
In an interview Saturday afternoon with FOX Sports, a jubilant
Millican—holding his ninth green hat of the year—also credited Parts Plus and
their strategic partners with “giving me a car that is capable of running quick
enough to earn that No. 1 spot each and every week. Now, we just have to go out
there Sunday, turn on some win lights, gobble up more points, and close the gap
between Stevie (Torrence) and me.”
Grubby was very aware of how dangerous Crampton can be on race
day, so he had the Parts Plus dragster tuned to run a low 3.7. In a fantastic
side-by-side race, Crampton seized the starting-line advantage, but the Parts
Plus driver chased him down by the 60-ft mark and never looked back for the
win. Officially, Millican’s
3.744@328.54 mph topped Crampton’s 3.784@314.83 mph to advance the Parts Plus
team to second round.
Millican maintained the hot hand in round
two, eliminating Leah Pritchett to advance to the semis with a 3.783@321.50
mph. The popular Parts Plus driver would face off against his buddy Terry
McMillen in E3 for a crucial shot at the final, mostly like against Torrence.
In E3, the Parts Plus dragster launched hard
right and held the starting-line advantage until the car suddenly went quiet,
enabling McMillen to chase down Millican and hold off his buddy for the win in
a bit of a semis shocker.
Even worse news on an otherwise brilliant
weekend: Torrence went on to win his third-straight Countdown event, outlasting
McMillen in the finals. The Parts Plus team’s incredible performance did manage
to distance Millican from No. 3-ranked Tony Schumacher; however, the Tennessee
native is now 103 points behind Torrence, who won for the first time in his
home state.
Top-10
Point Standings
Following
the 33rd annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex, the 21st of 24
events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Top
Fuel
1. Steve Torrence, 2,468; 2. Clay Millican,
2,365; 3. Tony Schumacher, 2,303; 4. Leah Pritchett, 2,244; 5. Antron Brown,
2,221; 6. Terry McMillen, 2,189; 7. Doug Kalitta, 2,169; 8.Mike Salinas, 2,150;
9. Brittany Force, 2,140; 10. Scott Palmer, 2,117
NEXT
RACE
NHRA Carolina Nationals
zMax Dragway
10/12–10/14