Words by Jeff Burk
Photos by Tim Marshall and James Drew

All of the hitters were gone when the cars driven by Justin Humphreys and Johnny Gray came to the line to determine a winner. Out of the 13 Pro Stocks that qualified for the event, Humphreys and Gray qualified next to last and last. Despite their poor qualifying, the two teams made it to the finals due in part to the fact that many of the winners from round one pulled out of the lanes before the semi-final ran.

At the green Gray moved first and had the better RT by two-thousandths of a second with a .050 light to Humphreys’.052. But Gray’s mount went into severe tire shake almost immediately, and he shoved in the clutch while in the other lane Humphreys motored up the track recording a 6.974/204.05 lap for the win.

Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden (left) is working with Justin Humphreys (right). Later this year the team will get Roush Yates 500-inch Pro Stock engines. (James Drew photo)

Defending Pro Stock Champion Mike Edwards. (Tim Marshall photo)

Johnny Gray (near lane) and V Gaines. (James Drew photo)

This year’s Pro Stock
Showdown at the Strip saw 13 of the
NHRA’s very finest drivers and teams in attendance
including past NHRA World Champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. and
defending 2009 World Champ Mike Edwards. All of the teams and their drivers came to Vegas to get ready for the 2010 NHRA season this weekend.

The race was scheduled to race to completion last Saturday but the torrential rains that plagued the West Coast for a week moved into Vegas on Saturday and caused the race to be postponed until Super Bowl Sunday. Like the Super Bowl itself, the final results didn’t follow the experts’ picks. In fact, none of the top qualifiers were around for the Pro Stock Showdown final round, instead it was the “underdogs” that went to the pay window.