The NHRA races are dwindling to a precious few. Now is the time for Justin Humphreys and the RaceRedi Dodge Pro Stock team to make a bold move if they want to be among 10 Pro Stock drivers advancing to NHRA’s Countdown to 1 championship showdown.
His individual countdown begins in the FRAM Autolite Nationals, Friday through Sunday, at Infineon Raceway. This is the 15th of 18 races in the Countdown to 10. The title fight will be contested over the season’s final six events.
Humphreys, of Monrovia, Md., has 527 points, putting him 69 out of 10th and 43 behind 11th place (570).
This race also is the last of three straight events. It began in the high altitude of Denver and moved to Seattle and sea level.
A first-round loss to Kurt Johnson Sunday disappointed Humphreys. He left the starting line first but Johnson ran the quickest time of eliminations, 6.617 seconds, to turn on the win light. Humphreys followed in 6.646 seconds.
“We’ll just go on to Sonoma,” he said. “We have the same amount of rounds to make up, but one less race to catch them. We definitely need to go some rounds. We can get back in contention if we get to the finals.”
Humphreys is one of many drivers who will be happy to finish this rugged three-race swing.
“These three races have different challenges. We have Denver in the high altitude and no air (atmosphere) and then we go to Seattle where you have very good conditions. Sonoma can be tough when it’s hot.”
He’s not dissing the three in a row, however.
“It’s still good to go back-to-back,” Humphreys said. “As a driver, it keeps things fresh in your mind. It’s always better as a driver to be in the car as much as possible.”
That includes making four runs in eliminations.
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