For the third race in a row Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown points leader Jonathan Allegrucci raced his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet into the Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals\u2019 winner\u2019s circle. Allegrucci raced a tough contingent of drivers throughout the day, culminating in a wild final round against No. 1 qualifier Raymond Nash. With the win Allegrucci has now joined 2018 world champion Leah Pruett as the only drivers to win three Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series races in row.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think two in a row was possible, and I honestly, I didn\u2019t come into this race thinking we could get three in a row,\u201d said Allegrucci, from the Flexjet winner\u2019s circle. \u201cI knew how hard this track is. This track is the reason I wanted to start drag racing. I would come to the circle track when I was younger. I drove across the back of the drag strip for parking, and I thought it\u2019d be cool to go drag racing. That was before we even had a car. This track means something to me just for that memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the offseason Bristol Dragway resurfaced their racetrack creating one of the smoothest racing surfaces on the NHRA tour. With the new surface came the unknown of new track conditions and a green racing surface. For Allegrucci\u2019s team the challenge was something they knew every team would be facing.
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\u201cI know how hard it is to make these cars work on this track,\u201d said Allegrucci. \u201cWe struggled with it. We have a big car, a heavy car and a little tire. Everyone said it was a one lane race track all day, and that right lane was no good. We knew what we had to do to make it go down. We still didn\u2019t know if it would work, but it did. I just couldn\u2019t be prouder of these guys in this team. We worked so hard.\u201d
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In the final Allegrucci was first off of the starting line with a .024 to .043 second reaction time advantage. Nash\u2019s Dodge Challenger carried the front end as he charged down track. When his racecar settled down in the left lane it immediately made a move to the centerline. Nash was unable to stay in his lane and was disqualified for crossing the centerline as Allegrucci raced smoothly to victory seeing the win light as he cross the finish line.
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\u201cThe first thing came to mind when I saw the win light was my wife,\u201d said an emotional Allegrucci. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t have to let me be here, but she does. She knows what it means to me and to our family. When that win light came on that\u2019s all I thought about. That\u2019s what makes it special.\u201d
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This was his fourth career final round and the win ensured the Flexjet bounty will roll over for the second consecutive race. At the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, the bounty will increase to $3,000 to the driver that beats Allegrucci.\u00a0
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\u201cIf the bounty is at eight grand at the end of the year, I\u2019m not going to complain,\u201d said Allegrucci.Nash had a single in the semifinals and made a nice smooth and quick run. His run was quick enough to give him lane choice over Allegrucci in the final round. Allegrucci took a win in the semifinals over rookie Matthew Hartman in a classic Ford versus Chevrolet race. Hartman\u2019s Chevrolet COPO Camaro spun the tires right off the starting line and Allegrucci in his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet cruised to his third consecutive final round. All the teams had to wait out a rain delay in the middle of the day. For the Flexjet drivers the delay was a test of their patience and mental fortitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew with the weather that today was going to go to whoever\u2019s team was mentally prepared.\u201d Said Allegrucci. \u201cWe were in and out of the trailer. We hung in there and it just came together one step at a time. You have to put everything else aside and just take on the task at hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the quarterfinals Nash\u2019s victory over Scott Libersher and his Chevrolet COPO Camaro was a two for one round win. His winning time of 7.839 seconds at 176.33 mph took the win when Libersher jumped the activation of the Christmas Tree resulting in a false start disqualification.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will be back in action at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, June 25-28, 2026.<\/p>\n
The post Jonathan Allegrucci Scores Third Consecutive Win of Season at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For the third race in a row Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown points leader Jonathan Allegrucci raced his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet into the Super Grip Thunder Valley Nationals\u2019 winner\u2019s circle. Allegrucci raced a tough contingent of drivers throughout the day, culminating in a wild final round against No. 1 qualifier Raymond Nash. With the win […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103954\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}