SUNDAY EDITION - NOW THAT  WAS A COOL DRAG RACE!

Early Sunday morning Tony Schumacher’s crew chief, Mike Green, opined, “With the sun on the track like it is we’ll probably see ‘nineties early on, but when the clouds roll over later, we might be down into the three-seventies again.” He wasn’t quite right about the numbers, but the times definitely improved as the day moved along, and what a strange day it turned out to be.

Drivers who should have won didn’t, cars that rarely suffer engine failures did, drivers who never redlight fouled out and then the day ended with one of the coolest staging duels ever seen in a national event. Anyone who was there – and the Sunday crowd was very good – was treated to an incredible show, one they won’t soon forget. And neither will we.

Schumacher’s car blew up in the first round, but won against an even slower Steve Chrisman. After that he and Green used solid threes to get to the finale, but Steve Torrence was just too much for the Army in that one. Torrence’s 3.925 toppled Schumacher’s 3.940. As Torrence said at the top end, “We’ve sucked for the last two years. Maybe this will change things.”

Larry Dixon ran hard, as expected, but Torrence sent him packing in the semis as Schumacher was doing the same to Brittany Force. Dixon was there for the taking in the first round as he smoked the tires to a 4.352, but part-timer Scott Palmer was even slower with a four-forty.

 

In Fantasyland John Force wins every race – but not this time. Jack Beckman stopped him in 4.190 seconds as both drivers had identical 0.047 Reaction Times. Force was a full tenth behind at 4.291. But that’s the end of the story, so how about the beginning? That’s when Courtney redlighted, Tim Wilkerson sashayed down the track from edge to edge in a tire-smoker over Jeff Diehl and Cruz Pedregon upset Ron Capps. And that wasn’t all of the craziness. Courtney’d fouled against Alexis DeJoria, who turned around and bulbed against Beckman in the semis. Tony Pedregon, who’s clearly been searching for power, parts and money, surprised by going to the semifinals, where his dream turned into a nightmare against Mr. Force.

What’s not to like about Force. The man refused to get into Beckman’s finish line interview, even though Jack kept motioning him forward. Force has had plenty of days in the spotlight, so he’s gracious when it’s someone else’s turn. He’s a champion for the ages.

There were blown up motorcycle engines all over the pits by Sunday afternoon. The Arana gang had a couple, Steve Johnson had one and there were several others. When the smoke and raining parts finally settled it was Eddie Krawiec’s Harley V-Rod that won the race, stopping Hector Arana, Jr. in the finale.

 

 

Pro Stock was a screenwriter’s dream, with upsets, great racing and a killer burndown that lasted close to two full minutes. From the top, Bo Butner and Joey Grose fouled in the first round. Erica Enders-Stevens gave the fans reason to hope after she stopped Matt Hartford in the first round and Greg Anderson in the second, but alas, despite a great Reaction Time of 0.015 seconds against Larry Morgan in the semifinals, that was it for her.

You know who matched Morgan round-for-round, but we’ll say it anyway – the King of the Mountain, Allen Johnson. AJ got the first round single, then ran 200 MPH in downing Drew Skillman’s Camaro and then got a little break against Shane Gray when his 0.042 second Reaction Time and 6.930 second elapsed time were enough to stay ahead of the Chevrolet. Gray carded a 6.948 in the losing effort.

So, we’ve previously talked about Morgan’s testing at Bandimere two weeks ago, and how helpful that proved to be for everyone running a Gray Motorsports powerplant. But, coming into the finale Morgan knew he might need a little something extra, so he refused to stage after lighting the top light. Johnson sat right there next to him, his big Hemi idling. After about 30 seconds you could begin to hear the crowd cheering. After a full minute they were going nuts. When the clock neared two minutes the paramedics had to be called in to treat the emotionally overcome. Then Johnson rolled into the beam. Morgan waited almost long enough to be timed out, and then rolled in. Did it work? Just look at the numbers. Morgan had a very good 0.014 R.T. while Johnson was second out of the gate with an 0.035 R.T. That cost him dearly because he had the quicker elapsed time of 6.930 seconds, but Morgan won in 6.944 seconds.

Still inside his FireAde Camaro, Morgan said, laughing hysterically, “That was some crazy s*** up there, wasn’t it?” Uh, yeah, Larry, it was!

 

 

 

Was Allen Johnson mad? Only at himself. He failed to congratulate Morgan at the top end, but don’t chalk that up to anything personal, chalk it up to his own personal anger. As far as we know, he made a world record water bottle throw as an indication of his displeasure, because he knew, when you get right down to it, that he blew it just as much as Morgan won it. Regardless, it was a helluva show – at both ends of the track.

Seldom have we seen an event that produced such significant differences day-to-day. Friday’s cool weather and overcast skies resulted in every single professional track record being obliterated. Saturday’s higher temperatures forced the tuners to make massive changes in an effort to get down the track and on Sunday, what began as a hot day cooled slightly, forcing everyone to change things yet again. Maybe that’s why the top tuners command the salaries they do. They earn ‘em.

In all the years we’ve been doing this we can say with some authority that there are good races and bad, good facilities and some not so good. But in all the years we’ve been covering the Mopar Mile-High Nationals we can’t remember one single event after which we said, “That was awful.” It just doesn’t happen at Bandimere, and one reason is the passion of the fans, which is really apparent. The other reason is the track’s management team. You might find this just a bit surprising, but the racers want to perform for the Bandimeres – because they like and respect the entire family. We do too, and you bet we’ll be right back here next July.

PHOTO EXTRA

 

 

SATURDAY EDITION - TOO HOT BY HALF

Alas, it was obvious early on Saturday morning that we were unlikely to see a repeat of Friday’s stunning performances. Instead of gray, overcast skies and cool temperatures we awoke to bright sunny skies with nary a cloud in sight, with the thermometer pushing into the 90s. That is not weather conducive to super-fast times. What a bummer – but it didn’t hamper the spectator turnout one bit.

There was big news all over Bandimere Speedway, none more so than the announcement of the new Pro Stock rules. Be sure to catch Tracy Renck’s exceptionally detailed and accurate coverage of the entire situation elsewhere on CompetitionPlus.com. Renck is a very thorough reporter, as his stories plainly attest. Don’t miss it.

With 17 cars in Funny Car someone had to go home this evening, and that ignominious honor went to Terry Haddock, who couldn’t get his Toyota to run in the fours at all. Haddock may not be a front-runner, but he’s better than he showed on The Mountain.

We just talked about the weather, so you’re not even remotely surprised to learn that no one pressured John Force for the Number 1 spot. His 4.015 was solid all day long, as was Tim Wilkerson’s 4.026 from yesterday. Yes, there were some exciting runs by drivers like Matt Hagan and a few others, but this was one of those days when you just watched and enjoyed rather than instantly shifting your eyes to the finish line readouts, because there were no record-shattering numbers coming up.

We said yesterday that the winner is probably going to be one of the cars that ran in the ohs, and we’re standing by that. True, there are some very good cars than ran in the teens, but we still believe the winner will come out of the top half of the field.

 

Just as Force’s time was destined to stand in Funny Car, so was Larry Dixon’s in Top Fuel – but Tony Schumacher came amazingly close with a 3.796. Schumacher’s run is the result of the genius that is Mike Green. He and his driver put down a number in conditions that were far from ideal, and if nothing else has the other guys talking to themselves. When you see other tuners standing around the starting line in shock, you know you just witnessed a darn good run – and it was every bit of that and more.

Races like the Mile-High Nationals are incredibly tough on the teams, and it’s more than just making the tuning adjustments for the altitude. We raced late Friday evening, and well past eight o’clock tonight, but eliminations begin on Sunday promptly at eleven. This gives the hardest working men and women in drag racing (along with the Safety Safari) very little rest, and before someone out there starts going “Oh, you poor babies,” here’s the deal: Working on these race cars requires talent, skills and serious concentration. Fatigue results in mistakes, and it only takes what appears to be a little error to suddenly become a lost race. The front wheel bearing that wasn’t checked, the parachute release cable that has a kink in it and will pitch the ‘chute out on the starting line, the selection of the wrong carburetor jet – any or all of these things can cost more than money, they can cost races. So, the next time you’re at the track – and I am deadly serious here – when you’re standing at the ropes watching the guys working on Alexis’s car, or Beckman’s, or Greg Andersons, just make eye contact with one of ‘em and thank ‘em for all the hard work they do. Remember, it’s their work that makes your day better. And thus ends tonight’s lecture!

One more thing on Top Fuel. There were two more cars hiding in the pits, so tomorrow’s racing will include a full field. Jenna Haddock and Scott Palmer both made runs today and will race tomorrow.

 

The most action in qualifying was actually taking place on two wheels, because the motorcycle field was the deepest here, with 21 entries. Somewhat sadly, local rider Mike Berry, who suffered through a myriad of electrical problems until the fourth and final session, when he ran a 7.354, only to get unceremoniously dumped by Chaz Kennedy, will not race Sunday. But hey, that’s why it’s called racing and not something else. Perform or go home.

Eddie Krawiec is still up front, with Hector, Jr. now in the second spot after he ran a very impressive 7.182 late in the day. By having set Low E.T. of the day Arana and his gang are now busy working over the 500 Colorado Lottery Scratcher tickets they earned for doing so.

With 15 cars in Pro Stock Allen Johnson is going to get the first round single tomorrow, and to be brutally honest, we don’t see newcomer Joey Grose getting around Larry Morgan in the first round. Grose has a best of 7.110, while Morgan’s best is a very nice 6.878.

 

Yesterday we mentioned that Morgan had been testing at Bandimere a couple of weeks ago. Here’s the story behind that. He was “selected” as the Gray Racing Engines guinea pig, so he came up here and made 10 runs, reporting everything he learned back to the guys in the shop. That’s how successful teams approach things. Why spend the money to have four or five individual cars testing when you have someone with the experience of Morgan, who can not only make good runs, but can accurately report back on every little thing that he did to make improvements. Small wonder that Gray-powered cars are all in the top half of the field.

Sunday’s racing is going to be good, and yes, we know we often say that, but it’s true. The altitude alone is enough to separate the good racers from the middle-of-the-pack runners. To win this race you not only have to drive as if possessed (Allen Johnson must know a thing or two about that, based solely on the number of times he’s won up here), your tune-up must be razor sharp. There’s simply no room for error. By tomorrow at this time we’ll know who made the right calls – and who didn’t.

 

FRIDAY EDITION: LOYALTY – IT’S WHAT MAKES DRAG RACING WORK

Drag racing fans are loyal to the sport, of that we can be sure. But, there’s loyalty – and then there’s loyalty, and it’s something we’ve seen from track to track and year to year. Tracks create loyalty among their fans. They do this by providing superior customer service, always trying their best to deliver the promised show and by somehow letting the fans know that they’re all in this together.

There’s a reason we began with the reference to loyalty, because it’s relevant at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colo. This just has to be the only major event facility in the country that’s literally overlooking its downtown area (okay, Morrison is not Denver), but there are Denver’s skyscrapers, off in the distance to the east. But that’s irrelevant, while the loyalty factor isn’t.

Friday’s pro qualifying was set to begin at 5:00 PM, but rain in the area as well as at the track had that session beginning about two hours late. When the first Pro Stock Motorcycle rolled out from underneath the tower the grandstands (offering the finest view of drag racing on the entire Mello Yellow Series tour – and you can quote us on that) were about half full, but with each passing pair of motorcycles more and more fans were making their way down the concrete steps into the seats. By the time Pro Stock rolled out the place was jam-packed. Now that’s loyalty. It’s a fan base that knows the track isn’t going to let a little rain spoil the day. It’s a fan base that understands that if it’s raining just a bit, and they’re still miles away, stuck in downtown traffic, if they make it to Morrison they’re going to see the full show, and brother, did they ever.

Track records fell like the rain, and the fans reacted loudly to every single mark that was broken. And the Denver fans are smart, too. They understand the difficulty of running at a facility that measures out to 5,800 feet above sea level – and they don’t care that their track records might not be as quick and fast as are those from say, Maple Grove, or Pomona. No, they care about their track and their records – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eddie Krawiec slaughtered the track E.T. record with a terrific 7.169, while Hector Arana, Jr. took the speed mark at 185.89 MPH. Hector is fourth right now, with his dad ahead of him and the second Harley-Davidson ridden by Andrew Hines being second. Right now the bump is a thirty-three-two, but that could get much lower on Saturday.

Twenty-one bikes have run, so the field is full pretty much as it’s been all season long. This is how tough it is. Scotty Pollacheck was second in the first session and moved back to fifth in the second. He’ll have his hands full trying to move up past the Harley V-Rods in any event.

Alas, as full as the bike field is, that’s how empty the Pro Stock car and Top Fuel fields are. There are 15 cars in Pro Stock and just 14 in Top Fuel – and we don’t think there’s anyone hiding out in the pits. Saturday is going to be a very big day for Pro Stock, because at 11:00 AM a meeting will take place between the competitors and NHRA during which a set of new rules will be introduced. There’s no point in our speculating about that because you’ll have the complete story as soon as we have it. And we’ll have lots of driver and team owner comments. You can count on that.

Meanwhile, some guy in a Dodge is at the head of the pack in Pro Stock with yes, another track record. In all honesty – and we’re sure he’d admit this himself – Allen Johnson hasn’t had his best season this year, but he kills in Denver. Winning in Chicago two weeks may have set the stage for the man from Tennessee to steamroller the field – again. He’s just awesome at Bandimere. Oh! The number? 6.877 seconds and, just as it was in Motorcycle, someone else set the speed mark. That one went to Shane Gray’s 201.01 in the first session. He got the honor of being the first Pro Stock driver to top 200 MPH on The Mountain. Ffive other drivers also topped 200. Impressive.

Let’s face it, John Force is, well, over. He’s like, too old, he can’t drive and, just so you fully understand how completely out of things his team is, tuner Mike Neff just doesn’t have it any more. What? You say we’re wrong, and Force and Neff are still great? What makes you say that? Oh, yeah. That record thing again.

Wanna hear a thundering crowd reaction? Have John Force put down a big number and man, just stand back and take it all in. In 4.015 seconds Force obliterated the track record, and this is how dominant that performance was. Tim Wilkerson’s Ford is second, and he’s a ton back with a 4.026. When you write those things down the differences don’t seem that big, but out on the track 0.011 second is car lengths.

In all nine drivers carded four-oh time slips, and that’s strong. There are just 16 cars on the grounds so everyone’s going to run on Sunday, but the hard truth is that one of those four-oh runners is going to win this thing – and we can’t wait to find out which one it’ll be.

How could we end the night without more records? Larry Dixon set the Top Fuel mark with a 3.791, a number that would be darn good at any altitude, much less up here. Dixon is driving as he did during his championship years and if anyone deserves a giant “attaboy” it’s tuner Mike Guger, who’s making the calls all on his own for the first time.

A funny thing happened on the way to Recordland, just as it had in the other categories. Someone other than the elapsed time holder set the speed mark. Brittany Force sped to an impressive 326.95 and yes, that’s a speed that would be darned impressive at any altitude. So, we’re forced (please forgive the use of that word in this context) to ask: How soon will Ms. Force win?

Sadly, only 14 Top Fuel cars ran on Friday, but here’s the thing. It’s very difficult to run up here, so a lot of part-timers skip this race every year. It’s just too tough on a lot of them, so they save their parts and money for friendlier confines. We just wish that weren’t the case, because if ever there were fans deserving of a top notch qualifying show, it’s the thousands who turn out every year for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

If it’s cloudy and cool on Saturday more track records could fall, but even if they don’t, the running is going to be exceptional. It always is at Bandimere Speedway.