Local drag racer Doug Gordon finishes runner-up at nationals
The Gordons’ next stop will be St. Louis, Missouri Oct. 4-7
– Doug Gordon entered the U.S. Nationals on a three-race win streak and the points lead for the 2023 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series National Championship. Gordon has been on a tear this summer in his Beta Motorcycles Morro Bay Cabinets Top Alcohol Funny Car, winning three National events and qualifying number one at two national events. Gordon finished runner-up at the 69th annual 2023 Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, falling short by 0.0105 of a second to Sean Bellemeur. Gordon’s record against Bellemeur is now 2-1 in 2023.
Gordon’s crew made up of his parents, wife, and two daughters have put together one of the most consistent cars in the TAFC class. They have made twenty-five runs since July 1, 90% of which were sub-5.6 second runs. Their performance at the U.S. Nationals displayed the same consistency, the team’s seven runs at the event were as follows:
- Q1: 5.501, 267.85 MPH
- Q2: 5.494, 267.69 MPH
- Q3: 5.547, 265.69 MPH
- E1: 5.552, 262.85 MPH def. Phil Esz: 5.580, 259.21 MPH
- E2: 5.531, 264.86 MPH def. Brian Hough: 5.548, 262.79 MPH
- E3: 5.505, 266.27 MPH def. Jim Whiteley: red-light
- E4: 5.537, 266.32 MPH loss Sean Bellemeur: 5.521, 263.82 MPH
Gordon qualified number two in the 16-car TAFC field and worked his way through the bracket to race Bellemeur, the number one qualifier, in the final round on Monday. Bellemeur is currently second in points for the 2023 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series National Championship and will be a tough competitor for Gordon down the stretch. “Winning Indy this year would have been a dream but we gave it a good run and we are proud of the teams’ effort. Congratulations to the Killer-B team,” Gordon commented Monday evening after the final round.
Gordon is still in the lead for the championship points race but will have to carry the same dominance through the final four races on his 2023 schedule.
The goal for the Gordon family is to win one more Championship for Doug in 2023. Now a licensed TAFC driver, Maddi Gordon (Doug’s daughter) will take the wheel in 2024 making this Doug’s last chance to become champion once again.
The Gordons’ next stop will be St. Louis, Missouri for the LORDS Regional event held at World Wide Technologies Raceway Oct. 4-7. Their next National event will be in Dallas for the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex Oct. 12-15.
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