The Week That Was: April 4, 2022
Image via NHRA
Didn’t get to watch all of the action motorsports on two and four wheels that made it to TV this week? We’ve got you covered! Here’s a quick summary of everything that went down over the past few days:
Big NHRA Four-Wide Wins for Force, Capps, Enders in Las Vegas
The first of two four-wide races in the month of April for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series took drivers to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and it was a trio of past champions who would hit the jackpot on Sunday. Brittany Force would halt Steve Torrence’s streak of three consecutive four-wide victories in the Top Fuel final, posting a 3.718 to Torrence’s 3.756. In addition, Erica Enders erased the bitterness of her holeshot loss during her national record run at last month’s Gatornationals by taking down Cristian Cuadra as his engine expired in the Pro Stock final.
But it was Ron Capps who may have scored the most thrilling win of all in the Funny Car final. The four-car field of Capps, Matt Hagan, Robert Hight, and Alexis DeJoria were separated by just .04 seconds at the finish line, with Capps’ 3.914 enough to win the day. The Wally marked his first since forming Ron Capps Motorsports in the offseason to defend the 2021 title he won with Don Schumacher Racing.
Luke McMillin Earns SCORE San Felipe 250 Triumph
It was a closely fought battle between them, but Luke McMillin would outduel defending race winner Bryce Menzies as the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship kicked off with the 35th running of the San Felipe 250. The duo would trade the lead multiple times during the race, with Menzies recovering from a flat tire to pass McMillin while the latter was in the pits, only to suffer another flat later in the race. The final margin of victory was just two minutes and nine seconds.
Mike Walser completed the overall podium ahead of defending Trophy Truck champion Rob MacCachren, while Christopher Polvoorde would win in the TT Spec division. Wayne Matlock delivered the overall UTV victory in the Open class, outrunning Pro UTV Forced Induction winner Justin Lambert by just over four minutes.
Tuerck Kicks off Formula Drift Season With Long Beach Victory
For the first time since 2020, Ryan Tuerck took top honors at a Formula Drift event, kicking off the year with a win in Long Beach as the California event returned to its rightful spot at the beginning of the series calendary for the first time in three years. Tuerck’s win also marked the first triumph for the all-new Toyota GR Corolla in series competition.
Unfortunately for the fans on hand, the victory came by default; a wreck between Field and Fredric Aasbo in the semifinals that was found to be Aasbo’s fault brought an early end to the action. Aasbo was eliminated when Field was unable to fix the car, allowing Field to move on but giving Tuerck the win by default. As a result, Odi Bakchis, Tuerck’s semifinal opponent, would also complete the podium.