Drew Skillman Wins NHRA Pro Stock Class at Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Bandimere

28 Jul 2017

NHRA Pro Stock driver Drew Skillman holding up his trophy at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago, Illinois

Drew Skillman enjoys the spoils of his win during the Route 66 Nationals, two weeks before Bandimere

There was a time when the thought of an NHRA Pro Stock driver winning back-to-back races seemed impossible. Nine different NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series drivers have won races this season in the Pro Stock division. No one has won back-to-back races. Until now.

Drew Skillman won the NHRA Pro Stock event at the 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado, the first of the Western Swing that includes races in Sonoma, California and Seattle, Washington. “Right now we’re the king of the hill,” Skillman said after the races. “We still have Sonoma left, then Seattle. I feel confident going into it.”

Skillman won the Pro Stock event at Route 66 Raceway in Illinois and has five career NHRA wins in the Pro Stock division. When asked if he thought it was impossible to win two races in a row, let alone sweep the Western Swing, Skillman said, “I don’t think it’s impossible at all.” “I definitely think we have the momentum,” he said. “Momentum is huge in this sport. When everyone feels positive, when everyone knows they’re going to kick ass you move forward like you’re going to. We just got to be aggressive right out of the trailer. As long as we do that, we’re here. We can win.”

Robert Hights drove his AAA funny car to a win at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Bandimere

Skillman said the big difference in his team is attitude. The team has the equipment and the crew to succeed. They finally pulled it together in recent weeks. “Attitude in the camp,” Skillman said. “When you get up and your start doing well, it helps everybody around you. We’ve always had the same talent, had the same pieces, we’ve had the same horsepower. We’re finally just utilizing it all in the same way.” Skillman is in seventh place in the NHRA Pro Stock standings. Bo Butner, who Skillman beat in the final round at Bandimere, leads the Pro Stock standings.

Robert Hight had to battle illness on his way to winning his first event of the year. Hight won the NHRA Funny Car event, ending a 34-race race winless streak and giving him at least one win in his 13 seasons in the NHRA Drag Racing Series. “I don’t know if I ate something bad this morning or last night,” Hight said after the races. “I’ve been sick all day. Couldn’t keep anything down. This isn’t the place you want to have that happen up here on the mountain.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Eddie Krawiec too home a Wally for his effort at Bandimere Speedway

On top of feeling sick, Hight’s car had some hiccups. He said luck played a big role in winning at Bandimere. “In the second round and semis, kept dropping cylinders,” Hight said. “We’re lucky to get those wins. It really makes me proud to see our other teams coming in and helping (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) all working together to get this car in the winner's circle.”

Hight, who won his last event in 2016 at Gainesville, beat Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final at Bandimere. It was the 38th NHRA event win of his career. “You try to block that out, you try to put it behind you and not even think about it,” Hight said, when asked about ending his winless streak. “The TV, the media, they continuously remind you of it, It starts wearing on you a little bit. And you see the other guys winning. What’s really frustrating is our performance is there. We run really good. We qualify well, We just haven’t raced well on Sunday. And haven’t had any luck. Today we got some luck. We needed it.”

Eddie Krawiec won the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event. It was his second win of the season and the 38th of his career. “This is my favorite track,” Krawiec said. “I love coming to Bandimere. The reason why is there is something special about Denver. I don’t know what it is, it’s the scenery, everything, it’s just such a cool place to come.” Krawiec is second in the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle standings. LE Tonglet leads the Pro Stock Motorcycle standings. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals at Bandimere.

Along with Skillman, Krawiek, Hights, and Brown all took home a coveted Wally from Bandimere

Antron Brown won the Top Fuel class. It was his third career NHRA Top Fuel win at Bandimere. He won the race at Bandimere in 2009, the same year he completed the Western Swing sweep. It was also his third win of the season. He won the events at Las Vegas and Topeka, Kansas. But his win at Bandimere was far from easy. His crew continually made repairs on his car throughout the weekend and during the elimination rounds. “We were patching up every round,” Brown said. “Something was going wrong every time. Changed two different blocks. Didn’t really tear them up. The guys did incredible all day. Had the canopy off, had the whole body off. Fixing this, doing that, doing that.” Brown passed Leah Pritchett for second place in the NHRA Top Fuel standings. He beat Pritchett in the final round at Bandimere. Steve Torrance leads the Top Fuel standings.

The next NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event is the Toyota Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in California.

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