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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' star trio of Marcel Carter, Troy Wilson and Todd Allen combined for an amazing six individual victories as Miike Nash's T-Birds rolled up 86 points on the way to the 1989 Class 5A team championship by an 18-point margin over Liberal.
Shawnee Heights, the 1989 Class 5A state champ, is No. 1 on the TSN Best of the Best boys track and field Top 10. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
That performance earned the T-Birds the No. 1 spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best boys track and field Top 10.
Carter, who went on to earn All-American honors at Florida, swept the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes, while former NFL player Wilson swept the shot put and discus titles and Allen won the 3,200 to key Shawnee Heights' championship run.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Robert Hight protected the top qualifying position in Funny Car over Saturday's final two qualifying rounds at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his 80th career No. 1 qualifier in the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Joining Hight as top qualifiers were Steve Torrence in Top Fuel and Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock leading into Sunday's elimination rounds, which will get under way at 10 a.m. after a slight schedule change. .
Hight’s strong Friday run of 3.948 seconds at 321.19 miles per hour in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS held up Saturday, handing the three-time world champ his third No. 1 qualifier of the 2023 season and the 80th over his standout career.
hree-time Funny Car champ Robert Hight earned the No. 1 qualifier position for Sunday's Menards NHRA Nationals eliminations. [File photo/TSN]
Hight, who will be looking for his third win of the 2023 season, will open eliminations on Sunday against Jack Wyatt.
“That 80 is a big number, it shows I've been doing it a long time, but it also shows I've had great (John Force Racing) teams behind me,” Hight said. “You're not No. 1 qualifier without a really good race car.
"This is a tribute to all the good people I've worked with. This is big for us. I think we're turning a corner with this new combination. It's starting to respond. Jimmy (Prock, crew chief) was happy.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In nearly 50 years of NHRA drag racing, John Force has seen multiple tracks come and go ... but this one will really hurt.
A 10-time Topeka winner, NHRA legend John Force watches the qualifying action Friday night during the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sixteen-time Funny Car world champ John Force takes part in Friday night qualifying during the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The 74-year-old Funny Car legend, who has a track-record 10 national-event wins at Heartland Motorsports Park (formerly Heartland Park Topeka) among his national-record 155 career victories, isn't quite ready to say he'll never race in Topeka again.
"Who knows what's going to happen? When they start tearing it down, that's when we'll know,'' Force said.
But in the wake of the NHRA's recent announcement that the HMP race, a staple on the national schedule since the Topeka track opened in 1989, will move to Odessa, Mo. in 2024, the drag racing GOAT is having trouble dealing with the news.
"It makes me sick, this is my life,'' Force said. "When you look at the big picture, I came (to this area) before Topeka was here. I raced at Kansas City. I stayed in Independence (Mo.) at the Ramada Inn. Then the AHRA went away and they built this track and I've been coming here every since.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence made the only run in the 3.70s on Friday night at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning the provisional No. 1 spot at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Four-time Top Fuel champ Steve Torrence talks to the media Friday night at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Torrence recorded a run of 3.764 seconds at 326.24 miles per hour in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster to close out Friday's lone round of qualifying in a side-by-side clash with points leader Justin Ashley.
If it holds through Saturday's final two qualifying rounds, Torrence, who is currently second in points behind Ashley, would notch his first No. 1 qualifier this season and No. 35 of his career.
“This is a huge confidence-booster, just for getting the momentum going early in the weekend and getting us set up to go into (Saturday) for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge,” Torrence said. “We needed to have a good qualifying run tonight to set us up to go into that race tomorrow with a competitive car and try to compete for those three points.
“That's going to be huge going into the Countdown, where we're able to kind of cut that lead down or see if we can cut it to nothing between now and then with Justin Ashley being so far ahead of us.
"These guys, we've been working hard. Everybody is putting in a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears in this thing.”
Clay Millican, who has a pair of wins this season, is currently second with his 3.813 at 316.15 and Ashley’s run of 3.818 at 322.88 puts him third. Ashley currently has five victories this season.
Top Fuel qualifying continues at 3 p.m. Saturday, with eliminations getting under way at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
MENARDS NHRA NATIONALS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2023 NHRA season hasn't been up to the success that Robert Hight and John Force Racing have grown accustomed to over the years.
But Hight gave himself and JFR a boost on Friday night, earning Funny Car's provisional No. 1 qualifying spot with a run of 3.948 seconds at 321.19 miles per hour in his Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS.
NHRA Funny Car star Robert Hight earned the provisional No. 1 spot Friday night in the first round of qualifying for the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
If that holds up through Saturday's final two qualifying runs, the three-time world champ would earn his third No. 1 qualifier this season and the 80th of his career.
Hight, currently fourth in points, enjoyed a strong start to the 2023 season, winning in both Phoenix and Charlotte, but hasn’t been past the semifinals since.
“This was definitely much-needed,” Hight said. “We kind of went off of last year when we ran 3.93 here in similar conditions. We've been struggling, and the car hasn't been cooperating with every adjustment Jimmy (Prock, crew chief) makes.
"He's really set on this new clutch combination, but he believes that he's the one that's been making the mistakes. He beats himself up pretty bad and it was just awesome to hear the excitement in his voice when he told me what it ran. We needed that run big time.''
With hot conditions expeccted again on Saturday, Hight would appear to be in an excellent position to nail down the No. 1 qualifier, but he said the goal it to put together a pair of solid runs.
“It's going to be pretty hot out there, and it's really setting yourself up for race day,'' Hight said. "It's not going to do us any good to make a good run here tonight and go out there tomorrow and smoke the tires or drop cylinders.
"We really need to make good, quality runs so we're set up for Sunday and get to where we can race this thing a little better.”
Defending and back-to-back world champ Ron Capps was No. 2 in qualifying following his run of 3.950 at 314.17 m.p.h. and defending event winner Bob Tasca III is third with a pass of 3.967 at 316.60.
Funny Car qualifying continues at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, with eliminations getting under way at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
MENARDS NHRA NATIONALS
