Randy Meyer Racing driver Julie Nataas capped off a stellar 2021 season with a final round appearance at the 56th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals after defeating Eric Chesleigh, Mitch Myers, and Jackie Fricke.

 

Julie came into raceday as the No. 3 qualifier with a 5.195-second pass at 273.05 mph in her OTG dragster. For the first time in eliminations, Julie staged up against competitor Eric Chesleigh and although Chesleigh had the starting line advantage, Nataas caught him just past the tree to show off the true power behind her Randy Meyer-tuned machine. Julie clocked in with her quickest pass of the weekend 5.175, 277.26 to take the win over Chesleigh’s troubled 5.749, 245.40.

 

Second round, it was a quick pedal job to print her ticket to the semifinals when she clocked in with a 5.295, 273.22 to take out Mitch Myers’ 8.492, 98.69.

 

In the semifinals against Jackie Fricke, .001 separated the two racers on the starting line. Julie crossed the finish line with a 5.283, 274.78 and turned on the win light against Fricke’s 5.315, 276.01.

 

For the first time in a final round, Julie took on Rich McPhillips. She powered to the finish line at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona with a stout 5.173, 276.58 but McPhillips’ head-turning 5.138, 278.81 would send him to the winner’s circle. 

 

You can catch the action on the FS2 broadcast Nov 25 at 8-9pm ET, with multiple re-airs on FS1 and FS2.