Class Ceiling
First quarter-season NHRA recap
By Tery Red ( Crew Chief for Mr. Mad /RigTech Motorsports)
May 14, 2018, 6:37 am
Fast Jack Beckman had a strong first quarter. NHRA.com
So what If the NHRA were the NFL? Yike,s that would be crazy. Based on the opening Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, February 8-11,2018, here is how the season recap would go:
So go long! That was the scene at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals /Pamona where Top Fuel Round 1 went more than an hour. Q.B Brittany Force of the Monster Energy JFR team met with unnecessary roughness as she crossed the center line of scrimmage right across the middle and hit the wall on both sides of the track. Safety Safari was all over it, with no Zebras in sight. No worries. Safety valve in place with family on starting line. Whew. Our girl is all right. Her Passer Rating has her returning with a vengeance.
Wide receiver Doug Kalitta blew a supercharger round one but takes the finals against The Sarge and he scores! He goes on to become the Top Fuel winner making this his 44th career win.
And what does Bo know? Defending Champion Bo Butner makes a real football move by winning the season opener making this his sixth win in Pro Stock putting him on an 8 round winning streak.
Touchdown! Matt Hagan lands on "snake eyes" as he brings home his second straight Winternationals Funny car title, against Robert Hight, (matching Don "The Snake" Prudhomme who won the Winternationals back to back 1976-1977)., in what was dubbed the quickest side-by-side Funny Car race in NHRA history.
Perfect segue to the second event of the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, (Feb 23-25, 2018)the 34th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park.
This is where Courtney Force, blitzes the Funny Car field as she was the No. 1 qualifier and goes on to keep control of the ball in her Chevy Camaro, with a 3.834, 337.16 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., in his Dodge Charger.
A Hail Mary in Pro Stock as Chris McGaha, in his Chevy Camaro, runs a 6.529, at 211.59 mph def. Jason Line, in his Camaro. McGaha is a one car team, a one man army and had to take down Tanner Gray, Erica Enders and Alex Laughlin for his first win this season.
In Top Fuel: Steve Torrence,takes down the Big Uglies Steve Chrisman, Blake Alexander and his father, Billy Torrence, on his way in to the red zone. In the finals he runs a 3.729 seconds, 330.72 mph , def. Scott Palmer.
Fast Forward to the Amalie NHRA Gatornationals Gridiron at Gainesville Raceway in Florida (March 15-18,2018)...Tailgating is in full effect and yes, there is some fumbling past the rumbling.
Welcome to the Gatornationals 2018 Where Any Given Sunday is March 18, the day of the underdog! It is the day the Play Makers Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Steve Torrence, Brittany Force and even Tony Schumacher were benched.
And the Wally goes to: In Top Fuel -- Richie Crampton. This player did not even have a car last year, and what an upset! He runs a 3.854 seconds, 314.90 mph def. Shawn Reed.
In Funny Car... I'd like to refer to fast Jack Beckman, and his teammates as The Option. Fast Jack gets his first Gainesville win in his Dodge Charger, 4.035, 323.58 defeating DSR mate Matt Hagan, in his Charger, Matt took one for the team!
And last but not least is Pro Stock: Young Tanner Gray, in his Chevy Camaro, ran 6.588, 210.18 def. Bo Butner, Camaro, making this Tanners first touchdown since last year in Charlotte.
What an Option: With team DSR, you have Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Tony Schumacher, Ron Capps, Matt Hagan, Tommy Johnson Jr, and Fast Jack Beckman.
As quick as the first half went by, that's what I call a no huddle offense!
For more Femmefanaticsports features from the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series - Checkout our other articles on SportsMap.com or reach out on twitter @red_tery.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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