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.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have 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!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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