# 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season

The 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Season ran from February 11 to November 14, 2010. A variety of new safety rules were implemented following the conclusion of the investigation of the Scott Kalitta death in 2008. The NHRA had planned on returning Top Fuel and Funny Car classes to 1,320 ft (400 m) distances; however, racing in those classes remained at 1,000 ft (300 m) distance to contain costs with the United States economy still in recession, as well as to address ongoing safety concerns.
There were 23 Top Fuel, Funny Car, and Pro Stock car events, and 17 Pro Stock Motorcycle events.

## Schedule

With the closure of the Memphis Motorsports Park as of 30 October 2009, the Full Throttle Series is now slated for 23 events: The Virginia NHRA Nationals has also been eliminated, as Virginia Motorsports Park chose to align with rival Kenneth Feld's International Hot Rod Association instead (many tracks changed sanctioning, owing to their sportsman classes). A second race at zMax Dragway, the Four Wide Nationals, was added.
2010 NHRA Full Throttle Schedule :
| Date | Race | Site | Winners | Winners | Winners | Winners |
| Date | Race | Site | Top Fuel Dragster | Funny Car | Pro Stock | PS Motorcycle |
| February 11–14 | 50th Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals | Pomona, California | Larry Dixon (1) | John Force (1) | Mike Edwards (1) | N/A |
| February 19–22 | Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals | Chandler, Ariz. | Cory McClenathan (1) | Jack Beckman (1) | Mike Edwards (2) | N/A |
| March 11–14 | Tire Kingdom Gatornationals | Gainesville, Fla | Tony Schumacher (1) | Tim Wilkerson (1) | Jason Line | Eddie Krawiec (1) |
| March 25–28 | Four Wide Nationals $^1$ | Concord, NC | Cory McClenathan (2) | John Force (2) | Mike Edwards (3) | Matt Smith (1) |
| April 9–11 | O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals | Houston, Texas | Larry Dixon (2) | Matt Hagan (1) | Jeg Coughlin (1) | Andrew Hines (1) |
| April 16–18 | SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals | Las Vegas, Nev. | Larry Dixon (3) | John Force (3) | Mike Edwards (4) | N/A |
| April 30 – May 2 | AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals | Madison, Ill. | Tony Schumacher (2) | Robert Hight (1) | Warren Johnson | Michael Phillips (1) |
| May 14–16 | Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals | Atlanta, Ga. | Larry Dixon (4) | Robert Hight (2) | Jeg Coughlin (2) | Andrew Hines (2) |
| May 21–23 | O'Reilly NHRA Summernationals | Topeka, Kansas | Tony Schumacher (3) | Robert Hight (3) | Mike Edwards (5) | N/A |
| June 3–6 | United Association Route 66 NHRA Nationals | Chicago, Ill. | Larry Dixon (5) | Matt Hagan (2) | Mike Edwards (6) | LE Tonglet (1) |
| June 10–13 | United Association NHRA SuperNationals | Englishtown, N.J. | Larry Dixon (6) | Bob Tasca III (1) | Mike Edwards (7) | Michael Phillips (2) |
| June 18–20 | NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals | Bristol, Tenn. | Tony Schumacher (4) | John Force (4) | Mike Edwards (8) | N/A |
| June 24–27 | Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals | Norwalk, Ohio | Larry Dixon (7) | Tim Wilkerson (2) | Greg Anderson (1) | Matt Smith (2) |
| July 9–11 | NHRA Northwest Nationals | Seattle, Wash. | Cory McClenathan (3) | Tim Wilkerson (3) | Greg Anderson (2) | N/A |
| July 16–18 | Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals | Sonoma, Calif. | Larry Dixon (8) | Ron Capps (1) | Jeg Coughlin (3) | Michael Phillips (3) |
| July 23–25 | Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals | Denver, Colo. | Doug Kalitta (1) | Robert Hight (4) | Allen Johnson (1) | Andrew Hines (3) |
| August 12–15 | Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals | Brainerd, Minn. | Larry Dixon (9) | Bob Bode (1) | Jeg Coughlin (4) | Andrew Hines (4) |
| 2010 Countdown to the Championship ||||||||
| September 1–6 | Mac Tools U.S. Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | Larry Dixon (10) | Ashley Force-Hood (1) | Greg Stanfield (1) | LE Tonglet (2) |
| September 16–19 | O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals | Concord, N.C. | Larry Dixon (11) | Cruz Pedregon (1) | Greg Anderson (3) | LE Tonglet (3) |
| September 23–26 | O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals | Dallas, Texas | Tony Schumacher (5) | Matt Hagan (3) | Greg Anderson (4) | LE Tonglet (4) |
| October 7–10 | Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals | Reading, Pa. | Larry Dixon (12) | Cruz Pedregon (2) | Dave Connolly (1) | Andrew Hines (5) |
| October 28–31 | NHRA Las Vegas Nationals | Las Vegas, Nev. | Tony Schumacher (6) | John Force (5) | Greg Anderson (5) | LE Tonglet (5) |
| November 11–14 | Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals | Pomona, Calif. | Antron Brown (1) | John Force (6) | Shane Gray (1) | Eddie Krawiec (2) |
| ↑ Pro Stock eliminations were postponed after the first round, the remaining rounds were conducted during Gainesville on Saturday. |||||||
$^1$ The rules for the Four Wide Nationals differ from other races:
* 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.

## Point standings

Top Fuel :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Chassis |
| 1 | Larry Dixon | 2684 | – | Hadman |
| 2 | Tony Schumacher | 2582 | −102 | Hadman |
| 3 | Cory McClenathan | 2551 | −133 | |
| 4 | Antron Brown | 2460 | −224 | Hadman |
| 5 | Shawn Langdon | 2431 | −253 | Hadman |
| 6 | Doug Kalitta | 2371 | −313 | Attac |
| 7 | Brandon Bernstein | 2366 | −318 | McKinney |
| 8 | Steve Torrence | 2289 | −395 | Hadman |
| 9 | Dave Grubnic | 2288 | −396 | Attac |
| 10 | Morgan Lucas | 2252 | −432 | Hadman |
Funny Car :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| 1 | John Force | 2621 | – | Ford |
| 2 | Matt Hagan | 2579 | −42 | Dodge |
| 3 | Ashley Force Hood | 2449 | −172 | Ford |
| 4 | Jack Beckman | 2349 | −182 | Dodge |
| 5 | Bob Tasca III | 2395 | −226 | Ford |
| 6 | Del Worsham | 2307 | −314 | Toyota |
| 7 | Ron Capps | 2284 | −337 | Dodge |
| 8 | Robert Hight | 2277 | −344 | Ford |
| 9 | Tony Pedregon | 2251 | −370 | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Tim Wilkerson | 2242 | −379 | Ford |
Pro Stock :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| 1 | Greg Anderson | 2591 | – | Pontiac |
| 2 | Greg Stanfield | 2479 | −112 | Pontiac |
| 3 | Mike Edwards | 2469 | −122 | Pontiac |
| 4 | Shane Gray | 2439 | −152 | Pontiac |
| 5 | Jason Line | 2438 | −153 | Pontiac |
| 6 | Allen Johnson | 2421 | −170 | Dodge |
| 7 | Jeg Coughlin Jr. | 2395 | −196 | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Ron Krisher | 2272 | −319 | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Rodger Brogdon | 2245 | −346 | Pontiac |
| 10 | Johnny Gray | 2200 | −391 | Pontiac |
Pro Stock Motorcycle :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| 1 | LE Tonglet | 2681 | – | Suzuki |
| 2 | Andrew Hines | 2677 | −4 | Harley-Davidson |
| 3 | Ed Krawiec | 2559 | −122 | Harley-Davidson |
| 4 | Matt Smith | 2450 | −231 | Zypher |
| 5 | Hector Arana | 2442 | −239 | Buell |
| 6 | Steve Johnson | 2332 | −349 | Suzuki |
| 7 | Michael Phillips | 2327 | −354 | Suzuki |
| 8 | Karen Stoffer | 2290 | −391 | Suzuki |
| 9 | Craig Treble | 2215 | −466 | Suzuki |
| 10 | David Hope | 2176 | −505 | Buell |

## Notable events

After 47 years as a driver and owner, Don Prudhomme announced his retirement from the series.
Funny car driver Mike Neff stepped down as driver to become co-crew chief for John Force, the other crew chief is Austin Coil.
In the first round at Arizona, Antron Brown lost a wheel and crashed into the wall. Although Brown was uninjured in the accident, the wheel struck a female spectator who was killed. Because of weather conditions, the Pro Stock event at the same meet was cancelled after one round. The eight first-round winners competed as part of second-round qualifying at the next round.
Just two days after John Force won a record 15th Funny Car world championship, his crew chief, NHRA Hall of Fame member Austin Coil, resigned from John Force Racing. In his announcement, Coil stated he wanted to take at least a year off, but left the door open to a return to racing in 2012.