2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series
# 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series

The 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Season was announced on June 6, 2017.

It was the 63rd season of the National Hot Rod Association's top drag racing competition. There were 24 Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock events, and 16 Pro Stock Motorcycle events.

## Schedule

2018 NHRA Mello Yello Schedule :

| Date | Race | Site | TV | Winners | Winners | Winners | Winners |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Date | Race | Site | TV | Top Fuel Dragster | Funny Car | Pro Stock | PS Motorcycle |
| Feb 8–11 | Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com | Pomona, CA | FS1 | Doug Kalitta (1) | Matt Hagan (1) | Bo Butner (1) | N/A |
| Feb 23–25 | NHRA Arizona Nationals | Chandler, AZ | FS1* | Steve Torrence (1) | Courtney Force (1) | Chris McGaha (1) | N/A |
| Mar 15–18 | Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals | Gainesville, FL | FS1* | Richie Crampton (1) | Jack Beckman (1) | Tanner Gray (1) | Eddie Krawiec (1) |
| Apr 6–8 | DENSO Auto Parts NHRA Four-Wide Nationals $^{4Lanes}$ | Las Vegas, NV | FS1* | Steve Torrence (2) | J.R. Todd (1) | Vincent Nobile (1) | N/A |
| Apr 20–22 | NHRA SpringNationals | Baytown, TX | FS1 | Brittany Force (1) | J.R. Todd (2) | Matt Hartford (1) | N/A |
| Apr 27–29 | NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals $^{4Lanes}$ | Concord, NC | FS1* | Steve Torrence (3) | Cruz Pedregon (1) | Erica Enders-Stevens (1) | Jerry Savoie (1) |
| May 4–6 | NHRA Southern Nationals | Commerce, GA | FS1* | Leah Pritchett (1) | Courtney Force (2) | Vincent Nobile (2) | Eddie Krawiec (2) |
| May 18–21 | Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minties $^2$ | Topeka, KS | FS1 | Clay Millican (1) | Courtney Force (3) | Deric Kramer (1) | N/A |
| May 31 – Jun 3 | JEGS Route 66 NHRA Nationals | Joliet, IL | FS1* | Clay Millican (2) | Robert Hight (1) | Jeg Coughlin, Jr. (1) | Matt Smith (1) |
| Jun 8–10 | Virginia NHRA Nationals | Petersburg, VA | FS1* | Steve Torrence (4) | Courtney Force (4) | Tanner Gray (2) | L.E. Tonglet (1) |
| Jun 15–17 | Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals | Bristol, TN | FS1* | Tony Schumacher (1) | Ron Capps (1) | Jeg Coughlin, Jr. (2) | N/A |
| Jun 21–24 | Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals | Norwalk, OH | FS1* | Blake Alexander (1) | Matt Hagan (2) | Tanner Gray (3) | Eddie Krawiec (3) |
| Jul 6–8 | NHRA New England Nationals | Epping, NH | FS1 | Steve Torrence (5) | Matt Hagan (3) | Chris McGaha (2) | N/A |
| Jul 20–22 | Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals | Morrison, CO | Fox | Leah Pritchett (2) | John Force (1) | Greg Anderson (1) | Hector Arana, Jr. (1) |
| Jul 27–29 | Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals | Sonoma, CA | Fox | Blake Alexander (2) | Robert Hight (2) | Jeg Coughlin, Jr. (3) | L.E. Tonglet (2) |
| Aug 3–5 | CatSpot NHRA Northwest Nationals | Kent, WA | Fox | Antron Brown (1) | Ron Capps (2) | Tanner Gray (4) | N/A |
| Aug 16–19 | Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals | Brainerd, MN | FS1 | Billy Torrence (1) | Jack Beckman (2) | Deric Kramer (2) | Eddie Krawiec (4) |
| Aug 29 – Sep 3 | Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals $^{1.5}$ | Clermont, IN | Fox | Terry McMillen (1) | J.R. Todd (3) | Tanner Gray (5) | L.E. Tonglet (3) |
| Countdown to the Championship ||||||||
| Sep 13–16 | Dodge NHRA Nationals | Mohnton, PA | FS1* | Steve Torrence (6) | J.R. Todd (4) | Vincent Nobile (3) | Hector Arana, Jr. (2) |
| Sep 21–23 | AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals | Madison, IL | FS1 | Steve Torrence (7) | Robert Hight (3) | Tanner Gray (6) | Matt Smith (2) |
| Oct 4–7 | AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals | Ennis, TX | FS1 | Steve Torrence (8) | Robert Hight (4) | Tanner Gray (7) | L.E. Tonglet (4) |
| Oct 12–14 | NHRA Carolina Nationals presented by WIX Filters | Concord, NC | FS1 | Steve Torrence (9) | Ron Capps (3) | Jason Line (1) | Matt Smith (3) |
| Oct 25–28 | Toyota NHRA Nationals | Las Vegas, NV | FS1 | Steve Torrence (10) | J.R. Todd (5) | Bo Butner (2) | Hector Arana, Jr. (3) |
| Nov 8–11 | Auto Club NHRA Finals $^{1.5}$ | Pomona, CA | FS1 | Steve Torrence (11) | J.R. Todd (6) | Tanner Gray (8) | Matt Smith (4) |

* Finals televised on tape delay. Ennis, TX race broadcast schedule and channel changed from FS2 to FS1 because of 2018 National League Division Series presented by Doosan Game 3 start times.

### Additional Rules for Specially Marked Races

4 Lanes: The Four-Wide Nationals in both Las Vegas and Charlotte in the spring will compete with cars on four lanes.

* All cars will qualify on each lane as all four lanes will be used in qualifying.
* Three rounds with cars using all four lanes.
* In Rounds One and Two, the top two drivers (of four) will advance to the next round.
* The pairings are set as follows:
   * Race One: 1, 8, 9, 16
   * Race Two: 4, 5, 12, 13
   * Race Three: 2, 7, 10, 15
   * Race Four: 3, 6, 11, 14
   * Semifinal One: Top two in Race One and Race Two
   * Semifinal Two: Top two in Race Three and Race Four
   * Finals: Top two in Semifinal One and Semifinal Two
* Lane choice determined by times in previous round. In first round, lane choice determined by fastest times.
* Drivers who advance in Rounds One and Two will receive 20 points for each round advancement.
* In Round Three, the winner of the race will be declared the race winner and will collect 40 points. The runner-up will receive 20 points. Third and fourth place drivers will be credited as semifinal losers.

1.5: The U. S. Nationals and Auto Club Finals will have their race points increased by 50% . Drivers who qualify but are eliminated in the first round receive 30 points, and each round win is worth 30 points. The top four receive 10, 9, 8, and 7 points, respectively, for qualifying positions, with the 5–6 drivers receiving 6 points, 7–8 drivers receiving 5 points, 9–12 receiving 4 points, and 13–16 receiving 3 points. Also, the top four, not three, drivers after each session receive points for fastest times in each round (4-3-2-1).

### Event changes

On January 16, 2018, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey ceased all drag racing operations at the facility due to ongoing safety concerns as well as rising maintenance costs. Two weeks later, the NHRA Summernationals, already scheduled to take place there in June, was announced to be moved to Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, Virginia. The last NHRA professional event at VMP had taken place in 2009.

Because of a series of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series date changes, the NHRA changed the dates of numerous rounds to avoid conflicts. The race in Joliet was moved to early June, as the normal date had been reassigned to the NASCAR meeting at the nearby Chicagoland Speedway, and the Countdown dates in Reading and Charlotte were swapped since the Charlotte date would have been too close to the NASCAR road course playoff race.

2: Due to inclement weather throughout the day, Final Elimination Rounds at the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals in Topeka, Kansas did not start until around 7 PM CDT on May 20, 2018. After fog began settling in during the second round of pro racing, it was postponed until the following day at 10 AM CDT when the semifinal and final rounds were held.

## Final standings

Top Fuel :

| Pos. | Driver | Points | Points Back | Chassis |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Steve Torrence | 2900 | – | MLR |
| 2 | Tony Schumacher | 2596 | −304 | DSR (MG) |
| 3 | Clay Millican | 2573 | −327 | Hadman |
| 4 | Leah Pritchett | 2456 | −444 | DSR (MG) |
| 5 | Brittany Force | 2417 | −483 | Force |
| 6 | Antron Brown | 2378 | −522 | DSR (MG) |
| 7 | Mike Salinas | 2308 | −592 | Scrappers |
| 8 | Doug Kalitta | 2308 | −592 | Kalitta |
| 9 | Terry McMillen | 2301 | −599 | McMillen |
| 10 | Scott Palmer | 2231 | −669 | Thompson |

Funny Car :

| Pos. | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | J.R. Todd | 2726 | – | Toyota |
| 2 | Robert Hight | 2532 | −194 | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Tommy Johnson, Jr. | 2519 | −207 | Dodge |
| 4 | Ron Capps | 2510 | −216 | Dodge |
| 5 | Tim Wilkerson | 2418 | −308 | Ford |
| 6 | Courtney Force | 2409 | −317 | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Jack Beckman | 2405 | −321 | Dodge |
| 8 | Matt Hagan | 2371 | −355 | Dodge |
| 9 | John Force | 2356 | −370 | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Shawn Langdon | 2285 | −441 | Toyota |

Pro Stock :

| Pos. | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Tanner Gray | 2758 | – | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Jeg Coughlin, Jr. | 2571 | −187 | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Drew Skillman | 2559 | −199 | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Erica Enders-Stevens | 2525 | −233 | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Jason Line | 2472 | −286 | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Vincent Nobile | 2452 | −306 | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Greg Anderson | 2418 | −340 | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Bo Butner III | 2379 | −379 | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Deric Kramer | 2268 | −490 | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Chris McGaha | 2184 | −574 | Chevrolet |

Pro Stock Motorcycle :

| Pos. | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Matt Smith | 2666 | – | Buell |
| 2 | Eddie Krawiec | 2627 | −39 | Harley-Davidson |
| 3 | Hector Arana, Jr. | 2536 | −130 | Buell |
| 4 | L.E. Tonglet IV | 2532 | −134 | Suzuki |
| 5 | Gerald Savoie | 2464 | −202 | Suzuki |
| 6 | Andrew Hines | 2450 | −216 | Harley-Davidson |
| 7 | Angelle Sampey | 2349 | −317 | Buell |
| 8 | Angie Smith | 2303 | −363 | Buell |
| 9 | Steve Johnson | 2290 | −376 | Suzuki |
| 10 | Scotty Pollacheck | 2258 | −408 | Suzuki |
