Mike Neff rode a wave of emotion to the finals of the Lucas Slick Mist NHRA
Nationals at Firebird International Raceway. Handling the majority of
the onsite crew chief duties for the Ford Drive One Mustang in the
absence of crew chief John Medlen, who was in Indianapolis recovering
from a heart procedure he received prior to the race, Neff reached his
fourth career final before a broken clutch linkage forced him to abort
his final round run versus red hot Ron Capps.

The thud you thought you heard on Sunday, about 6:04 E.S.T., was Jeg Coughlin Jr. body-slamming the monkey off his back.

Coughlin extended his edge over good friend Kurt Johnson to 31 wins and
27 losses by capturing the Pro Stock title at the NHRA Lucas Slick Mist
Nationals at Phoenix, Az. The win represented the first of the 2009
season for Coughlin.

In many circles of drag racing folklore, Ed "Ace" McCulloch carried a rather potent right hook.

That was then. This is now and he's channeled his aggression elsewhere.

The 22-time winner as a driver is having fun in racing again and his
run of good fortunes with a driver he describes as being as close to a
son as one can have, has everything to do with his renewed passion.

NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel point leader Antron Brown might have been scratching his head in January when Ashley removed
him from his Lee Beard comfort zone and delivered a pair of seasoned
Funny Car tuners in Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, but now in late
February he can't help but think the move was pure genius on his team
owner's behalf.

No disrespect towards anyone, but Brown wouldn't change a thing about his tuners.

The odds say that it was just as well that Mike Neff drove his broken race car to the finish line without backing up from the burnout.

Ron Capps would have been a monster to beat anyway.

Who said that? It wasn't Capps. Maybe it was “Fate” talking.

No disrespect intended towards Neff, but after a year of nothing going
right for Capps, he's suddenly faced with the prospect of doing no
wrong in 2009.

John Force Racing crew chief John Medlen, who missed the 25th annual
Lucas Slick Mist Nationals at Firebird International Raceway because of
health issues, followed the race from his room at Methodist Hospital in
Indianapolis where on Monday he will undergo cardiac ablation, a
non-surgical procedure designed to help regulate his heartbeat.

Ron
Capps raced to his second consecutive Funny Car victory of the season
Sunday at the Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals at Firebird
International Raceway.

Capps took a single pass to claim his 27th career victory after final
round opponent Mike Neff’s John Force Racing Ford Mustang broke on the
burnout. Capps powered his NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to an an
impressive performance of 4.048 at 306.81 anyway to win for the second
time at the Phoenix track.

Top 10 point standings for the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
following the 25th annual Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals at
Firebird International Raceway.

TOP FUEL: 1. Antron Brown, 206; 2. Brandon Bernstein, 164; 3.
Doug Kalitta, 163; 4. Tony Schumacher, 127; 5. Morgan Lucas, 124; 6.
Larry Dixon, 88; 7. Spencer Massey, 85; 8. Shawn Langdon, 83; 9. Cory
McClenathan, 82; 10t. David Baca, 62; 10t. Joe Hartley, 62.

Final round by round results Sunday for the 25th annual Lucas Oil Slick
Mist NHRA Nationals at Firebird International Raceway. It is the second
of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in 2009.

TOP FUEL

First round – Larry Dixon, 3.815, 313.73 def. Terry Haddock, 4.376,
270.92; Doug Kalitta, 3.845, 313.0 def. Cory McClenathan, foul; Spencer
Massey, 3.847, 309.42 def. Mike Strasburg, foul; Brandon Bernstein,
3.890, 306.33 def. Joe Hartley, 9.214, 82.49; Tony Schumacher, 7.997,
77.94 def. Troy Buff, foul; Shawn Langdon, 3.876, 312.93 def. Clay
Millican, 3.922, 305.29; Antron Brown, 3.977, 232.39 def. Del Cox Jr.
4.056, 283.55; Morgan Lucas, 4.287, 228.58 def. David Baca, 8.113, 94.31

Second round – Dixon, 3.802, 317.27 def. Kalitta, 3.883, 309.34;
Bernstein, 3.844, 310.05 def. Massey, 5.416, 130.53; Schumacher, 4.038,
262.08 def. Langdon, 7.779, 80.73; Brown, 3.885, 303.78 def. Lucas,
3.898, 302.55.

Semifinals – Brown, 3.819, 315.34 def. Schumacher, 3.852, 313.29; Bernstein, 3.844, 310.05 def. Massey, 5.416, 130.53.

Final – Brown, 3.846, 310.63 def. Bernstein, 5.173, 143.54.

Sunday’s final-round results for the professional categories for the
25th annual Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals at Firebird
International Raceway. It is the second of 24 events in the NHRA Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series in 2009.