Justin Humphreys inserted himself into the fight for a Pro Stock berth in NHRA’s Countdown to 1 championship competition with an outstanding performance in the RaceRedi Dodge.
Humphreys, in his fourth race driving the Dodge, displayed the car’s potential in the first two rounds, knocking out reigning champion Jeg Coughlin, who was third in series points, on a hole-shot, and then Coughlin’s teammate, Dave Connolly, in the quarterfinals.
That victory was very important because Connolly is 11th in points, the driver just ahead of Humphreys in points, 480-462.
“This semifinal finish is definitely an achievement for us, ” said a happy Humphreys, who began the season in his Pontiac GXP and switched to the Dodge and Allen Johnson horsepower four races ago. “I think we can run with most drivers out here. It is a tough learning curve but we are still learning every time we go down the track.
“Jeg and Connolly have been beating up on us and it feels good to finally get a win on both those guys. Everyone out here is tough. Every round is huge. ”
Humphreys was ready for them. A. 010-second reaction time and a 6.721-second, 204.85-mph quarter-mile lap got the win light eight-thousandths of a second over Coughlin and a near-perfect. 002 reaction put him out in front of Connolly and onto an easy decision – 6.716 at 204.54 mph to 6.729 at 205.79.
Larry Morgan ended Humphreys’ race day with a 6.727 at 204.79 to a 6.787 at 204.48.
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