Hunter Green posted his first career semifinal appearance this weekend at the 37th annual Texas NHRA FallNationals after defeating Shawn Cowie and David Sheetz. Unfortunately, Hunter’s teammate Julie Nataas did not make the 16-car field with her best time of 5.381, 273mph.

Coming into raceday, Hunter Green qualified No. 15 in the uber-competitive field running a best of 5.332 at 265mph. From that No. 15 spot, he had a first round matchup against Shawn Cowie. Green had the starting line advantage at the hit over Cowie and took the win with his quickest run of the weekend 5.233, 275.62mph to Cowie’s tire-shaking 8.817, 101.34mph.

 

Second round, Hunter took on No. 10 qualifier David Sheetz. Hunter had a stellar .020-second reaction time at the starting line and drove all the way to the win as he bettered his weekend performance with a 5.220, 277.25mph to defeat Sheetz’s 5.258, 274.61mph. Hunter’s 5.220 ET was the quickest of the round and gave him lane choice for the semifinals on Sunday. 

 

“This was my fourth national event and the best we have done as a team with me behind the wheel. This is the fastest the car has been running all year and my reaction times were on point during elimination,” said Hunter.

After a rain delay Sunday morning, the track conditions changed. In the semifinals, Hunter continued to showcase his impressive starting line skills with a .005 reaction time against Jasmine Salinas. Unfortunately, Hunter lost traction right after passing the tree and coasted to a 7.111, 132.13mph; Salinas’ 5.212, 277.38mph advanced to the final round.

 

“Of Course we would love to win the whole race, but I can’t even begin to complain and I don’t feel let down at all that we lost in the semis because I have never even made it to the semi finals. This is the best I have performed and the farthest I’ve made it in a race, so for me it’s solid progress. I am continuing to learn small things every race that I can take with me so I can continue developing as a driver. As many people know I want to eventually make a jump to the Top Fuel ranks. The experience I am getting driving for the Randy Meyer race team is the best thing for that, and I am having a blast doing it.

 

I want to thank him and his team; Randy has put together such a great group of people, and they are so easy to work with. When we are racing, we are a team and I want to do my job as a driver and not let them down. I can’t wait for Vegas, where we can continue to carry this momentum! And I want to primarily thank my father and his company Bond-Coat for sponsoring me and giving me the opportunity to drive.”

 

You can catch the NHRA Sportsman Series air on Fox Sport 2 8-9pm ET on Thursday, October 27th, 2022. There will be multiple re-airs on FS2 followed by a showing on FS1 on November 11th.