Keep up with this weekend's NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. We bring you the stories behind the numbers and win-lights throughout the course of the weekend. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits.

 

		EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

 

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - NO ONE LEAVES NORWALK HUNGRY, DIXON MAKES THE MOST OF OPPORTUNITY WHILE BECKMAN MAKES THE MOST OF BIRTHDAY

THE CALORIE CAPITOL - If you haven't stood in line for at least an hour waiting your turn to purchase a pound of ice cream, then you haven't truly enjoyed the “Norwalk Experience”.

In its third year on the NHRA circuit, Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park (SREMP) located a few miles east of Norwalk, Ohio, has quickly become a “must do” destination for the drag racing fan. This past weekend the fans turned out to see hot action on the racetrack and to enjoy the carnival atmosphere surrounding nitro alley. And, no stop would be complete without the ice cream.

But, there is more than ice cream on the menu. You can find all the traditional carnival fare, with the exception of cotton candy. There didn't seem to be a single cotton candy stand on the premises. Corn dogs, elephants ear, funnel cakes, lemonade, sodas, steak sandwiches, philly cheese steak sandwiches, “western” style barbeque chicken and ribs, and for the truly daring a roast beef sundae. All of which wouldn't be complete without dessert – a pound of ice cream.

In time SREMP will establish itself as a premier stop on the NHRA tour. From the standpoint of offerings for the palate, SREMP is already a smorgasbord of delight for the race fan.

“I think it’s very important to have a large menu,” Bill Bader Jr., General Manager of SREMP said. “You got a large cross section of race fans and we try to provide something for everyone. I think it’s important because some like tacos and others prefer burgers.”

Sondra Rafferty, of Pennsylvania, was 45 minutes away from ordering her very first pound of ice cream on her third trip to SREMP.

“Yes, I am,” said Rafferty, when ask if she was willing to wait such a long time just for ice cream. Why? “Because everybody else is and I figured I should do it.”

Standing directly behind Rafferty was Judy, one of her friends. Judy comes for “just the ice cream” because it is after all, “only a dollar”.

Closer to the goal of getting his pound of ice cream was Joe Smith, possibly an alias, travelled from West Virginia because SREMP is just a “nice racetrack”.

“You bet,” joked Smith, when asked how important it was for a fan to buy a pound of ice cream. “Look at me. I didn't get this big not eating ice cream.”

Smith is one of those who just doesn't stop with the ice cream.

“They've got some good bbq turkey legs. Turkey leg, that's the best,” he said. “That's our Friday night tradition.”

Racing for Smith is about a little bit of nitro, a lot of food and a “little bit of beer”, he said laughing.

Off in another corner of the midway, Tonya, from St Clairsvile, Ohio, was salivating over her roast beef sundae.

“It looks like a heart attack in a bowl,” she said, answering the question about why one would buy such a concoction. “So, I had to have it. I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks delicious.”

Across from Tonya, at least 50 food critics were in line waiting for a serving of the “western” bbq, which, by the way, the cook wasn't sure what made the half chicken and slabs of ribs “western.”

Back under the grandstands, Shallone, from Michigan, was happily munching on her corn dog, sans any fixings, and sipping her lemonade.

Shallone happily passed over the ice cream, the bbq and the ice cream for the corndog. “The flavor” was the reason. Shallone was actually there for the races but she just “couldn't pass up a corn dog” and some lemonade.

Truly, SREMP offered up a culinary delight for all in attendance, but without a doubt, hands down, it was the ice cream which drew the longest lines, three to four times longer than even the beer lines.

For Bader, Jr., the ice cream brings back fond memories of his youth. Memories he can share with the dollar a pound special.

“My dad was a workaholic when I grew up,” Bader said, remembering his youth. “He would come home at 11 o’clock at night with a half gallon of ice cream, the old box. He would take a knife and would cut it in half. He’d eat half and I’d eat half. We’ve always been ice cream eaters.

“We were in a management meeting (one day) and the suggestion was made to sell a pound of ice cream for a dollar. Everyone in the meeting got to select their favorite flavor. It started out innocently with a scale at the ice cream bar.

“In 2007, when we completed the expansion [of the track] and opened for a divisional event, one race team didn’t bother to comment on the track. The driver, he sees the paved pits, the scoreboards, the suites and yet (all) he wanted to know (was) when ice cream was going to be open.

“Why that has become so popular, I haven’t a clue.”

SREMP, or Norwalk, because it’s easier to say, is fast becoming a fan and racer favorite because the facility is first class and the food, well, it’s to die for.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET THERE, WHY NOT WIN – When Larry Dixon makes it to the final round, Larry Dixon wins. Dixon drove his Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragster, owned by Alan Johnson, to his fourth win of the season in four final round appearances. Dixon has wins at Gainesville, Topeka, Englishtown and now Norwalk, and stands second in the points behind Tony Schumacher.

“Four win lights at the end of the day, that's what counts,” Dixon said. “There were certain rounds that were not pretty but at the same time we were the quickest car, so I am real thankful to get this win.”

Dixon path to the final round against Brandon Bernstein included what looked like easy wins over Steve Chrisman, Clay Millican and Antron Brown. Each time Dixon posted a solid run while his competition struggled to get down the track. Bernstein did the same in the final round, striking the tires before the 330-foot mark.

Bernstein actually beat Dixon off the line, .053 to .054, but once he struck the tires it was all Dixon all the way with a 3.981 second, 294.05 mph pass in the right lane.

Lane choice didn't appear to be a factor in any of the runs, although Dixon and company did their best to go with the right lane.

“I don't know,” said Dixon, when asked which of the four runs were the toughest. “Every one of them had it's moments. First round, I sat in that car for 35 minutes just waiting. Then I run against Antron, he's the point leader, and (Brandon) in the final. There wasn't a round where I felt comfortable. They are force you to be on your game.”

Over the past month, Dixon has won three out of four events, as the weather has gotten hotter and hotter. An late morning rain cooled the track surface into the low 90's however by the time the Top Fuel cars staged track temps were already hovering around the 130 mark.

“The track was hot. It was the hottest all weekend, it was in the 130's. That's hot for Fuel Cars, trying to make adjustments and not spin the tires. We almost got it perfect in the final.”

SHOWING THE LOVE – Alanna Dixon was determined to show her love by donating her hair to the Locks of Love program supported by Funny Car driver Tony Pedregon's wife and children. Despite the pleading of her mother and father, Alanna had her way.

“My daughter, she donated her hair at the Locks of Love and me and her mom about cried. She wanted to do it and we didn't want her to do and she did it. I am just very proud to be her dad.”

The Dixon family will spend Monday at Cedar Point where Alanna can stay cool with her new short hair.

NO GIMMIES THIS ROUND – A late morning rain shower tossed several Top Fuel teams a curve ball in the first round of eliminations of the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals. Doug Kalitta, Rod Fuller, Morgan Lucas and Scott Langdon were the notable names losing in the first round. Two of the four lost to stiff competition, Lucas to Tony Schumacher and Fuller to Cory McClenathan. Kalitta's loss to Clay Millican might have been a surprise earlier in the season, however at this stage Millican is clearly a threat to go rounds. Langdon's loss to Troy Buff was a clear upset fueled by Langdon's engine dropping cylinders.

BIRTHDAY BLISS – When it’s your birthday there are a few exceptions fate allows you to get away with, like a .001 reaction time behind the wheel of a Funny Car.

Jack Beckman pulled off the feat at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. The unfortunate victim of his chance encounter with near perfection was Bob Tasca III.

“Had to cut the final round reaction time to bring up the day’s average,” Beckman said, smiling. “I made a mistake and got away with it.”

Beckman’s second Funny Car victory of 2009 followed a trend that he’s remained close to in his seven prior national event victories. He flies under radar all weekend long and when once in the final round, he goes for the jugular.

“[Don] Prudhomme always used to he liked to rip their throats out by qualifying No. 1 and winning,” Beckman said. “Because of the way the track was you weren’t going to see that kind of a performance out of anyone. This was the hottest track we’ve raced on all year.”

The combination of a hot track [132-degrees] and green asphalt on the second half of the strip limited the Funny Cars to a 286.07 top speed throughout the weekend. The fastest Beckman ran all weekend was 277.

“It was slippery down there,” Beckman explained. “When you’re sitting in the car, strapped in to run, and I kept hearing about other drivers smoking the tires … I kept reminding myself to be ready to catch it.”

Beckman admittedly wasn’t himself all weekend as he fought the symptoms of a cold. He entered the event ranked sixth in points and rolled to the starting line having advanced to fifth. The victory vaulted him into fourth at the mid-point in the season.

A win is a win, whether a driver qualifies No. 1 or in Beckman’s case, sixth but running just good enough to win on Sunday.

“I’ve always said that there are no asterisks on trophies,” said Beckman. “There aren’t any on the checks we cash.”

TIPS FROM THE BEARD – Beckman's return to competitive form can be attributed to input from team manager Lee Beard, an accomplished nitro tuner who stepped in to look at how the team was using their data.

“We were trying some things,” Beckman explained. “You start heading in the direction you believe the car is telling you to go and it is easy to get out in left field. You think you are one or two runs away from fixing it but the problem is that it’s too hard to step back.”

Stepping back is counter intuitive for crew chiefs.

“Lee stepped in a few races ago and while he didn’t make any major changes he helped us to look at the data on the computer in a slightly different way,” Beckman said. ‘His perspective is unique and his experience has helped out a lot. He hasn’t told [crew chief] Johnny West which knobs to turn … he’s just made some suggestions. It looks like it’s paying off.”

DID YOU KNOW? – Beckman’s first Norwalk victory came on a day that John Force holds as sacred. On June 28, 1989 John Force scored his first career national event victory in Montreal, Quebec.

Beckman outran the fourteen-time champion in the semi-finals. 

DISTRACTIONS ON THE LINE – Bob Tasca admits the .001 light cut by Jack Beckman threw him off his rhythmn keeping him from a win he wanted not just for himself, but for Ford.

“We want to win, that’s why we come,” said Tasca. “Unfortunately, for us Jack guessed the tree, period. You can’t cut a .001 light.

“I heard him and it actually messed me up because I heard his car and didn’t see the light go on. I had a decent light but I was still confused. I hit the gas; I looked for the win light and didn’t see it on. So I said, ‘Either I was really late, but I knew I was late. We drove right into tire smoke.”

Even though Beckman was long gone, Tasca ran as if he still had a chance.

“People might watch it on TV and ask, ‘Why did you drive the race car when Jack was almost at the finish line?’ I took it as an opportunity to learn just how to pedal the car. I was able to crack the throttle and feel the car. I did probably one of the best pedal jobs I’ve ever done in a race car. I did it knowing that Jack had won the race but knowing that I had an opportunity on a national event prepped track to learn a little bit and tune my driving skills. I did what I wanted to do. Jack made a great run, it was his race to win.

For Ford and Motorcraft/Quick Lane and are whole program, we moved up in the points and put a lot of points on some other drivers.”

HE’S DRIVING ONE – Tim Wilkerson raced a Pontiac then switched to a Dodge before returning to a Chevrolet. This season he’s running a Ford for the first time in his career and he loves it.

“We’re Blue Oval all the way now,” Wilkerson admits. “The new chassis has given us a bit of problems but the body has been spectacular. It’s just really neat to be involved with a company that is as solid as Ford is … not taking any of the government funding and that makes me proud because I’m a little guy out here. Ford was started out by one guy and I have always thought that was neat. They still have people at Ford interested in running the business correctly.

“I’m proud to have a Mustang body on my car.”

Wilkerson is doing more than driving up and down the drag strips with a Mustang. He’s jumped in feet first to the Mustang experience by joining the local Mustang groups close to his Springfield, Ill., home.

“I’ve even become an honorary member of the local Mustang Club,” Wilkerson bragged. “Before I knew it they had made me an honorary member of the national club. I hadn’t even had my Mustang for one race and people were beating on my door wanting to see the car.”

NEW MUSTANG FUNNY CAR BODIES? – John Force Racing just took delivery of a truckload of 2010 Mustang Funny Car bodies. When they hit the strip remains a mystery.

“I don’t know yet,” Fourteen-time NHRA champion John Force admitted, suggesting that it would most likely be later in the season.

“It may be during the Countdown,” Force guessed. “We haven’t even looked at them other than a glimpse from the back of the trailer.”

The game plan is for all of the Ford teams, the four within the JFR stable along with Bob Tasca III and Tim Wilkerson to debut the aerodynamically improved bodies simultaneously.

“We’ll mount them in Indy at the Eric Medlen Project,” Force said. “Tasca will probably take his to Murf McKinney or Victory. We want to gear up our program to handle all of the Ford teams in the future, right now we just don’t have the manpower.”

Force believes the forthcoming bodies may be the best yet, a far cry from the initial version his then two-car team debuted in 1998.

“We went one direction with the aerodynamics that we felt was right and later learned that it was wrong,” Force admitted. “The first Mustang we had out there, the aero people told us we were better served to turn that body upside down and make it into a boat.”

Force told CompetitionPlus.com that his original bodies were built by Roush.

“I’m gonna be honest, I’d like to go back to Roush and keep the money in the Ford family,” Force admitted.

The new bodies are made by MetalCrafters in Fountain Valley, Ca.

Bob Tasca, along with Force, welcomes the new body into competition whenever it becomes race ready.

“The car has spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel,” Tasca explained. “You can only do so much with the modeling and the wind tunnel before the race track takes over. The NHRA has a lot of measures in place every step of the way.” 

The new car is an improvement over the last version and marks the third redesign of the Mustang since Force switched over from GM.

Tasca believes the 2010 Mustang will show marked improvement, but cautions that Ford has reached the limits of what is humanly possible with the design.

“I know you’re not going to put this body on the car and immediately pick up all of this speed,” Tasca added. “You’re already reaching the limits of what man can achieve in tires and aerodynamics.”

Even if the new design were to offer incredible performance advantages on the track, Tasca believes its greatest attribute can be found in its marketability.

“We’re excited about bringing out this car because of the buzz it will create. This is about winning on Sunday and selling on Monday. This car will play a bigger role of selling on Monday than it will in winning on Sunday. The bodies we have are fantastic but it’s about pushing the 2010 Mustang. It’s about generating excitement behind and American icon.

“I’m more excited about the 2010 on my showroom floor than the one that will be on my race car. The fans buy the one on the showroom floor.”

FORD DOMINATES FUNNY CAR FIRST ROUND, SECOND ROUND – Five Fords moved into the quarterfinals of Funny Car eliminations, followed by two Dodges and a single Toyota. Chevrolet was shut out with the elimination of Cruz and Tony Pedregon. Three of the five Fords moved forward into the semifinal round along with a single Dodge, that driven by Jack Beckman. The drawback to having so many Fords in the field is Fords take out Fords. John Force took out Robert Hight and Bob Tasca eliminated top qualifier Mike Neff.

A LOT ON THE LINE – Ashley Force Hood’s quarter-final win over Ron Capps represented more than just a win light. The winner of the match up was guaranteed to leapfrog past incoming point leader Tony Pedregon, who lost in the first round to Jim Head.

On the starting line, Capps staged and then Force Hood rolled in and lit both bulbs. She apologized to Capps at the finish line.

“I got screwed up with this whole staging thing … changing your [starting line] routine is not what you’re supposed to do,” she said. “I was so amped up for that race … that’s a great team and a great driver … I was so pumped up that I went in and lit both bulbs. I am just glad that I didn’t do anything real stupid like cross any barriers.”

Mrs. Force Hood promised to back off of the Full Throttles prior to the semis, where she lost a tough race to fellow Ford driver Bob Tasca.

SOMETHING  BORROWED, NOTHING BLUE – Jason Line needed a change. His Summit Racing Pontiac GXP wasn't getting the job done, so he borrowed teammate Greg's Anderson's ride from last year. It was a marriage made in heaven as Line led wire to wire to defeat Mike Edwards in the final.

The win couldn't have come at a better time. Line's sponsor, Summit Equipment is also the sponsor of the drag strip and the event.

“This is absolute the biggest win for me and this is a great time to do it,” admitted Line.  “We are tired of watching that yellow car win races and we need to get our share, too.”

The impetus for parking the car that just couldn't quite get the job done to a car that was a year old might have come from the team's truck driver.

“My truck driver, Sonny McCurdy He told me a couple weeks ago, he said 'keep doing what your doing and you'll keep getting what your getting'. And, so we said we gotta change something up here because we've just been terrible.”

Line has no intention of making another switch.

“I think we'd be pretty foolish to get off this winning horse. They would have to pry my hands off of it. We're going to just keep racing this car.”

In addition to changing cars, the team also spent time in Martin, Mi., testing during the week off between the Englishtown and Norwalk events. It was an important test.

“We tested up in Martin and those guys did a great job for us. We learned a lot. It was conditions similar to this in a lot of ways, so it was good for us. I would say it was probably one of the most productive test sessions we have had and it's not going to just help us now, but in two months it is going to help us more.”

Qualified third, Line got past Johnny Gray in the first round, Warren Johnson in the second and Ron Krisher in the semi's before going head to head with Edwards.

In the final round, Line's plan was no different than if he was facing any other driver.

“My plan was to snap the clutch as fast as possible,” said Line. “I felt if we could get a couple hundredths on him we had a shot to beat him. Unfortunately for him, he had some issues in the final and we made a pretty could run.”

EDWARDS IN THE WAY? Jason Line admits that Mike Edwards is making it difficult for him to spend time with his family.

“He's causing my wife and kids not to see me as much as they want to,” said Line, who said he was anxious to meet Edwards in the semi's before his teammate, Greg Stanfield had even run against Edwards in the semi.

“I didn't mean any disrespect to (Stanfield) because he's as good a driver as anybody out here. He might be the best driver out here. It's just Edwards is so tough that for anybody to beat him is a big feat.”

Despite the win, Line also admits it's not going to be any easier to spend time with his family.

“It's not going to be any easier, but they are going to come with me on the western swing.”

NOT THIS TIME – Jeg Coughlin has been a thorn in Mike Edwards side, until Norwalk. Each time the two drivers have met in competition, Coughlin has had the upper hand. When the two drivers met in the quarterfinals of the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, it was Coughlin with the hole shot on Edwards, .033 to .061. Coughlin led until his Chevrolet Cobalt shook the tires early in the run. Edwards turned in his typical consistent performance as he powered straight down the track to a 6.666 second, 207.15 mph win.

Coughlin admitted a strong run by Edwards in the first round caught their eye; that and the weather.

"We got a little too aggressive for what the track could hold and just shook the tires," Coughlin said. "You know Mike's going to be tough and he posted low elapsed time of the first round so we were getting after it. The track needed just a little more rubber and bite. Hat's off to Mike, though, he got it down through there."

WIN – WIN SITUATION – No matter how three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines figured his odds in the final round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, they all seemed to work in his favor.

If he lost, his team still won.

If he won, they still won.

If he tried to push the tree, he couldn’t go red.

That’s all the incentive Hines needed to beat teammate Eddie Krawiec in an all Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson final round where he laid down a .005 reaction and outran the world champion to the finish line.

“I wanted to see just how far I could push the tree and when I went a .008 reaction time I knew I could push it in the final round,” Hines admitted. “I threw everything at it.”

Krawiec was competing in his fifth consecutive final round.

“It was a win-win situation for us and I had to win because Eddie has been kicking my butt lately,” Hines said.

Hines lost to Krawiec in the semi-finals of the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago, so beating him served as a measure of friendly revenge. It also served as a relief for the slumping Hines who hadn’t won a national event since St. Louis last season.

Credit a semi-final bye run, when Matt Guidera couldn’t make the call, for setting the stage for the two team mates to meet in the final.

Hines has won two of the last three seasons in Norwalk.

This season’s victory was considerably different than the years prior because of the condition of the racing surface. Hines was consistently stout in the first 60-foot of the track but the latter part of the quarter-mile proved to be more than a challenge.

The important thing for Hines is that he proved that he could win on both a loose and tight track.  Regardless of the track’s condition, winning felt rewarding to Hines.

“It’s just gratifying to win,” Hines admitted. “It really feels good to win on a race track like this. I was worried about the repaving of the track. I was afraid it was going to be all bumpy but they did a great job on it.”

The win is Hines’ sixteenth career win.

RUM BUM OR BEACH BUM? – Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Shawn Gann, for the third time in 2009, put his Rum Bum-sponsored Buell into the sand when the brakes failed. Gann had just lost to Angie McBride when he ran off the end of the track for the second time in as many events. Gann was not injured.

“This bike has been eating up the brakes with every run,” Gann said over the P.A. system. “I didn’t have any on that run, nothing. It’s amazing that I can have everything in the world but brakes.”

 

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

VERY PREDICTABLE - Andrew Hines has become predictable in 2009. For the three time world champion, it’s either a No. 1 or No. 5 qualifier. This time, at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, it was his time to land in the top spot.

“It’s just a real weird statistic that I keep track of and it's been working for us so far,” Hines explained of the interesting nugget. 

Hines currently resides third in the NHRA point standings and has struggled to adjust to the recent NHRA weight adjustment to his Harley following the team’s win at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

“The Screaming Eagle bike hasn't been up to par the last couple of races, that's why we qualified fifth (in Englishtown),” Hines said. “The extra twenty pounds really hurt us and threw us for a curve. Now we're starting to get a handle on it, the tune-up is coming around with it. Matt's (Hines) got a handle on the sixty foot now. We were having trouble getting off the starting line the first three qualifiers and finally that last qualifier Matt hit it right in the head. We had our best sixty foot by a hundredth and half. That's where we got all our ET.”

Hines was next in line to run as his teammate Eddie Krawiec laid down an impressive 6.97 elapsed time during the final qualifying session.

“I thought 'oh man don't think I can touch that'. He went perfectly straight down the track,” Hines admitted. “Went I let the clutch go, it went a little bit left and I had to do a little bit of riding. I came around the corner and Eddie told me four and I thought he meant 04, I was like 'oh he got me' but it was 94.”

Qualifying concluded with the Harleys No. 1 and No. 3. Three hundredths separated Krawiec from the No. 4 Matt Guidera and two hundredths separated Hines from No. 2 Hector Arana.

Hines believes the class should be running faster by at least a few tenths of a second. 

“There is no reason the class should be going as slow as it's going,” Hines said. “It's been weird the last three races. Everybody has been off. Right now we are back on pace where we should be.”

Credit a strong hot weather tune-up courtesy of Matt Hines for their performance.

“Matt's really good at following what's going on with the weather,” Hines said. “He's always up on it. He knows what corrections he needs to make and he'll make a last minute correction right before we're pushing out of the trailer. I have a really good crew chief in my brother. Some people really underestimate him, but he does a really good job. I'd rather have nobody else turning the wrenches. He's a really good riding coach, too. I've been struggling in my riding all year. He's helped me get back in the zone.”

That help made all the difference between No. 1 and No. 5.

COUGHLIN CASHES IN – Jeg Coughlin added to his growing resume with a victory in the 25th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge.

"Any time you win a race that only invites the best of the best it's pretty darn special," Coughlin said. "It certainly sets a great tone for this weekend and continues the momentum we've built over the first part of the season. We're going for our 60th career national event win tomorrow so we could really make this one of the all-time weekends."

Spurred on by a partial home state crowd, Coughlin, of Delaware, Ohio, was an underdog all day but used exceptional driving to claim the special race-within-a-race, which invites the top eight qualifiers from the previous 12 months to battle for cash prizes.

"To do it here in Ohio makes it all the better," Coughlin said. "This race always used to be run in Englishtown, N.J., but they moved it here and that's okay by me. We have a bunch of family and friends here supporting us and it's really neat to give them something to get excited about. It's going to be wild winner's circle celebration."

In the final, Coughlin faced a familiar foe in Greg Anderson, but once again got an early jump -- .020 to .062 seconds -- and never looked back, screaming away to an easy win in 6.675 at 207.05 mph. Anderson encountered tire spin at the launch and couldn't recover enough to make a run at Coughlin, crossing with a resigned 7.322 at 161.69 mph.

"For us to run a 6.67 just now in the final round, in the heat of the day no less, is pretty stout," Coughlin said. "I'm not sure what happened to Greg but with the advantage we had at the start of the race I'm not sure he could have caught us any way."

This marked Coughlin's third K&N Horsepower Challenge win. He also claimed the trophy in 199 and 2000.

MOMENTUM - For No. 1 qualifier Mike Neff and his Ford Drive One Mustang team success has been building over the past four races. They have improved their qualifying position with each passing race finally grabbing their first No. 1 of the 2009 season in Norwalk. At the previous two NHRA national events here teammate Robert Hight held down the No. 1 spot going into eliminations.

“This (qualifying at the top of the field) is exactly what we need to be doing right now at this time of the year, in the position we are at in the points. Our Drive One Ford Mustang has been running great for really the last four races. We have been improving every weekend and that is a tribute to (crew chief) John Medlen and the crew. Now it is up to me to make sure I can do my job driving to make sure we can go some rounds. I am real pleased. I know Medlen feels good. It is important for Ford to keep those Mustangs at the top and it was great to see Robert up there as well be right behind us in the No. 2 spot,” said Neff, the driver with the most to gain in the first round tomorrow.

As conditions warmed up today at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, Neff’s John Medlen tuned Mustang made the best pass of the opening qualifying session. In the second session they were trying to find the competitive edge of what the track would hold but overshot it and smoked the tires on their last attempt.

“We absolutely learned a few things from our two passes today. It was actually hotter that second run and fortunately we made a good run in the first session today. We got a lot of information that will help us out for tomorrow,” said Neff. “Tonight’s run was just a little too aggressive and didn’t make it. We needed to learn our boundaries to know where we can’t go tomorrow. It was a real positive weekend. We made a good run in the good conditions last night and a good run when it was hot this morning so yeah we feel good so far.”

EXPLAIN THAT TO THE INSURANCE COMPANY – Train wrecks aren’t coordinated as well as the incident that transpired following the final Pro Stock qualifying session for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Two Pro Stockers incurred a measure of damage in an accident which involved three race cars and a golf cart.

According to eyewitness reports, a gust of wind suddenly thrust Rodger Brogdon’s parachute into Rickie Jones’ wheelie bars and caused Jones’ Mopar to run up on the wheelie bars of a parked Kurt Johnson whose Chevrolet Cobalt was forced into his team’s golf cart.

"It's only a little cosmetic damage," said Johnson crewmember Justin Belfance. "We'll clean it up, brush it with a coat of resin and then we'll put on a layer of carbon matting. Once that sets up and hardens, we'll flip it over, take off the duct tape on the outside, lightly grind it, put a finish coat on, that will straighten it right out. It should dry quickly today because of the heat so we're looking at about a two-hour job. We'll get it fixed and be ready for tomorrow."

LEFT, RIGHT, THEY DECIDE – When it comes to lane choice, top qualifier Larry Dixon, in the Al Alabi dragster, is out of the loop.

“You're asking a person who never gets lane choice, because the driver never gets lane choice,” said Dixon. “The owner, or the crew chief, anybody but the driver gets lane choice. It's nice to know if there is some kind of characteristic about the lane that you like or dislike, you have that option to run it, or not to. Plus, the fact that lane choice is given to the quicker car and having the quicker car is cool, too.”

Lane choice aside, Dixon was the only driver able to crack the three second barrier in conditions which got hotter as the day got longer. Dixon drove down the track to a 3.979 in the first session, less than a tenth shy of his 3.882 qualifying mark set Friday night.
 

NOT HIS KIND OF EXPERIENCE - Understandably the “Norwalk Experience” Bill Bader Jr. recently lived through is not the same experience race fans clamor for at the palatial facility.

In the days prior to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, the 12th stop on the Full Throttle Tour, the Bader's made some tough decisions.

“This week was probably one of the toughest of my career,” the second-generation track owner said. “We decided on Friday, late afternoon and early afternoon … the week before the national event that the best way to fix the track is to tear it out and start all over.”

Water seepage forced Bader and his team to create a new drainage system and rip out the existing asphalt and repave from the eighth-mile to the quarter-mile of the drag strip.

“Saturday morning we were here at 6:30 in the morning with milling machines and we milled the race track leaving the (sub-surface) exposed,” Bader explained. “We put in four-inch pipe and worked until 3:30 to 4:00 AM Sunday morning and they were back at 6:00 AM with paving equipment.”

By early evening the repaving job was completed.

Bader’s toughest challenge wasn't putting in the marathon hours.

“The anticipation of running cars down the track on Thursday and hoping the track will perform was the toughest,” Bader admitted. “The anxiety created many sleepless nights.”

Bader comes by the anxiety honestly. The tradition of paying attention to detail is something his father, Bill Sr., handed down a little over a decade ago when he handed over the leadership role to his son.

Funny Car driver Jim Head, a noted engineer who earns a living paving military runways, made the comment on Friday afternoon that the racing surface didn’t need paving. Bader decided to go above an beyond what was required.

“We wanted to remove any doubt,” Bader admitted. “We felt the lesser of the two evils was a green race track.”

On the Thursday evening of the event, Norwalk was hit with an inch and a half of rain. That kind of a downpour at last year’s event forced track officials to stop racing. They had to clean out a drainage ditch , making it deeper before racing could resume.  The decision to not only repave the race track but implement a new drainage system prevented a repeat of last year’s snafu which limited racing to only one day.

“We just didn’t want to risk a repeat of last year,” Bader said. “If you’re going to do it, do it right and remove any doubt.”

DO IT RIGHT – Bader wouldn’t mind having the financial wherewithal to invest in a race track that Bruton Smith has used to make his tracks among the finest on the tour.

“There are other things I’d love to do here,” Bader admitted. “If you’re going to do it, do it right or stay home. That’s always been our philosophy and our approach.”

The Baders actively subscribe to short term pain, long term gain.

“Anybody that’s in this business for the here and now whether it’s us or John Force … they are looking five years down the road. I don’t think in the short term and my personal goal is to take this sport and reach the same kind of a level of success that the NFL has attained. Whatever we do now, we reinvest with the payoff coming down the road.”

The near future will bring more seating for race fans, more showers on-site and easy access for the race fans to enter and exit. Everything the facility does, according to Bader, will be geared towards making the experience more enjoyable for the race fans.    

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING - The NHRA is leaving no room for Pro Stock rule improprieties during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. The sanctioning body has dispatched its tech officials to look over the cars of the eight drivers in the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a special $50K race within a race contested on Saturday.

“They [NHRA Tech Officials] have been living with us all weekend,” Roy Johnson, crew chief on the Pro Stock Dodge Stratus driven by his son, Allen Johnson.

Are the inspectors looking for anything in particular? According to the  drivers CompetitionPlus.com interviewed, the areas being checked range from wing angle to engine displacement and the largest infraction for a Pro Stocker, the use of nitrous oxide.

Johnson has seen his fair share of technical inspections over the decades and as the racers get more innovative so do those ensuring a level playing field.

“They get sharper and we do too,” Johnson said, pausing to laugh. “You have to stay in the gray area. I don’t think we’ve been in the gray area but sometimes they [NHRA Tech] think we are. We have to have issues every once in a while where they question us, sometimes. All of us do. We all know that. It ain’t cheating. We just take the rules and make the most out of them.”

Greg Anderson has no problem with the inspections. In fact, he welcomes them.

“We’ve been getting it every run and I suspect we’re not done,” Anderson said prior to Saturday’s first round of the K&N Challenge. “But that’s good. We don’t want anyone pulling anything but then again, I don’t think anyone is doing that anyway. I’m proud of the tech guys doing their jobs … it should be this way at every race.”

K&N Challenge No. 1 seed Mike Edwards was on the receiving end of the technical department adjustments both Friday and Saturday; whether it was justified remains to be seen.

NHRA officials measured the angle of his wing and instructed Edwards to make adjustments to which he obliged. Edwards contends he didn’t touch the wing angle and on Saturday, the tech inspectors once again made him adjust the wing to fit their measuring device.

Upon further inspection it was discovered the measuring level the NHRA had used was inconsistent, at least to Edwards it was.

“We went and got three others and the NHRA’s was different,” Edwards admitted. “But we set it the way the NHRA wanted it so there’s no issue.”

 

 

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - SO FAR SO GOOD ON A REPAVED RACING SURFACE

MISPENT MONEY? - Jim Head refuses to criticize the management of Summit Racing Equipment Raceway Park for repaving the second half of the drag strip. The noted engineer of military runways just believes the process was an unnecessary expense.

“I would not have done that and that’s just my opinion,” Head said of the track’s decision to undertake the major project a week before the NHRA Nationals. “There are no circumstances that would have forced me to put new asphalt on this track.”

SREMP reportedly spent six-figures to repair a racing surface that percolated water following rain storms. Head believes the drainage problem was one that needed rectifying, a problem the Bader family, owners of the facility, corrected before repaving from the eighth mile into the shutdown.

“God bless them for spending all of that money, I just think it was misspent,” Head said. “Him [Bill Bader] and Bruton [Smith] are the only two track owners that will spend a dime out here.”

Water rising to the surface was listed as the primary reason for the repaving of the racing surface but was observed during the day, a track worker was witnessed stepping onto the track and kneeling atop a towel to presumably wipe up seeping water. However, the seeping water, was the not from the area which was repaved but from the sawcuts from the existing concrete.

Head believes racing on asphalt that hasn’t had a long time to cure isn’t likely to present any problems . As Head puts it, “We’re not racing semis out here.”

Until the repaved section fully matures, the Funny Cars, which produces more downforce than the Top Fuel dragsters won’t perform up to the level their dragster brethren will over the course of the weekend. On a hot track the difference between the two is usually three-tenths of a second but after the first session, Top Fuel held a .37 advantage. The evening session narrowed the mark to three-tenths.

The top speed for the Funny Cars was 286 while Top Fuel was 305.01.

Head was alongside Bob Bode in the first pair of nitro cars to test the newly repaved racing surface. Bode ran 4.876 seconds, fast enough for sixth, while Head smoked the tires, lifted early and posted a 5.79 elapsed time.

The fact Funny Car teams struggled with the track was not entirely related to the new pavement. According to Head, “When the racing surface exceeds 126 degrees it ain’t good anywhere. It’s just reality that you can’t race well when the track is that hot.”

While Head didn’t even make it to the repaved portion, under full power, in the first session but improved to a 4.317, 255.92 in the evening session. He isn’t ready to write off this weekend’s racing surface as a bad race track.

“I don’t have that big of an issue with bad racetracks … meaning loose tracks,” Head explained. “I’m a drag racer. I’ll drag race down a gravel road.”

A LOVE STORY - Larry Dixon admits he’s past the courting stages in his new racing relationship. He's loving his 8,000 horsepower, Alan Johnson Racing Al Anabi Top Fuel dragster.

And, the more he drives her, the more he likes her.

“I got a new girlfriend,” Dixon explained Friday evening after qualifying No. 1 in Norwalk, Ohio with a 3.976 elapsed time. “It takes awhile to find out the personalities and all those things that take place; it's just a matter of everybody adjusting for it.” 

Dixon has found his comfort zone during the recent three week swing on the NHRA Full Throttle tour winning two of the three events.

“It's just been about getting into that comfort zone,” Dixon said. “They were working on the car and I was working on my driving. The big turnaround was a month ago, when we left Bristol and went to Atlanta and ran for a couple days. They really got to work on the motor and the clutch set up and hot lap the car in hot conditions like this. All the tracks we've gone to have been pretty warm so we've been able to work well on those set ups. We had a cool weather setup but not a warm one and the warm one is working right now.”

Should the provisional effort during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals holds, it will represent his third top qualifying effort of the season.

“The first run obviously went down the track. It ran decent,” Dixon said. “You're just trying to gauge it off the track temperature. That's the biggest thing everybody looks at. You can adjust for the weather with the engine, the clutch and all that, you just make adjustments for it. They hit it. They were going to run a high 3.90 and they did. For the second session, it's just a matter of how much the track temp comes around. That long delay in the middle of the session really helped us out to where they could do a little bit more adjustment, the track tightened up a little bit more. It probably dropped five or ten degrees just from the start to the finish of the session and we were able to sneak one in.”

When you’re in love, you’re able to sneak one in.

BACK IT DOWN - For once in 2009, not being the fastest car in the John Force Racing stable had its advantages.

A tricky track, some of the hottest temperatures the nitro racers have faced in 2009 and a team that has struggled to find last season’s groove worked perfectly for Mike Neff during the first day of qualifications for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Neff and his teammate Robert Hight finished one and two in Friday’s provisional qualifying.

Credit a track temperature that exceeded 130 degrees and a racing surface from the last 400 feet that featured fresh, but unproven asphalt.

“The track was tricky today, especially after that first session,” Neff said. “For Robert (Hight) to be number two, that's important too, because he and I are trying to fight our way back into this countdown. It would be great to qualifying number one here this weekend, because we haven't done it all year.”

Neff has had an up and down 2009 season in qualifying by placing as high as second in Englishtown and as low as twelfth at the season-opener in Pomona. He’s certainly not the weakest Mustang in the Force herd but he’s not the strongest either. Along with crew chief John Medlen they found a happy medium during the first day of qualifying.

Knowing how to work the track made all the difference.

“It was really hot today,” Neff said. “The first part of the track tonight is pretty good, but with brand new asphalt down there, it's going to smoke the tires and that's all there is to it. And, that is going to happen all weekend. You won't be able to build enough rubber there to see cars running over 300 like you usually see Funny Cars run on the night runs.”

Having an abundance of horsepower could be a detriment on the freshly repaved second half of the drag strip.

“Naturally less power will do you a favor when tracks conditions aren't that good,” Neff concluded.

SECOND SHOT AT GREATNESS – If at first you don’t succeed try again.

That phrase sums up the efforts of Pro Stock racer Allen Johnson during the first day of qualifying for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Johnson admittedly missed the combination in his first shot at the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park but made up for the miscue in his second shot at the famed race track.

Johnson gave a measure of credit to the improved atmospheric conditions that rolled in for the Friday evening session. Looking forward Johnson was not optimistic.

“I hope we see the conditions we had tonight but I think we're probably going to see more of what we had the first round, which we totally missed,” Johnson said of his participation in Saturday afternoon’s $50,000-to-win K&N Horsepower Challenger. “My crew adjusts really well and I think we have something for them in the K&N.”

If anything, Johnson hopes the track is a little better prepared come Saturday and Sunday.

“Right down between 330 [foot] and 660 [foot] there is a little bump in the left lane; right lane is really smooth. That's something they can massage a little bit and get it perfect. As far as the racing surface, the new pavement, it's awesome.”

Johnson believes as Saturday’s action progresses the performance of the Pro Stockers will benefit.

“Usually after the fuel cars run, they put a little more rubber downtrack and it gets a little better every run; that's our hopes for tomorrow,” Johnsons said. “We'll definitely base our run in the K&N first round off of that last run. Conditions probably won't be a lot different so we'll have something for them.”

Johnson won the 2008 K&N Horsepower Challenge by beating Greg Anderson in the final round.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Matt Guidera found Summit Racing Equipment Raceway Park in Norwalk, Ohio a fitting venue to complete some unfinished business.

The four-time national event winner felt like he had the No. 1 qualifying spot in Englishtown but ended up second. This time he left no doubt with a 7.001 elapsed time at 187.11 which served as a provisional No. 1 qualifying effort at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

“We’re on a little bit of a mini-streak right now,” Guidera said. “We'd like to keep it going and hopefully get a number one qualifying position; that would be just remarkable for our team.”

Guidera, who won the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, used data from his first qualifying attempt to reel in the top spot in the evening. A quicker run to the eighth-mile made a huge difference.

“We were able to get a little bit better hold of the starting line and that just put me through the first eighth mile a little quicker; a 4.44 opposed to a 4.48 earlier today,” Guidera explained. “That was all front half. The track is coming in a little bit better and that's good because it wasn't that great this morning. I anticipate the track getting a little bit better tomorrow and hopefully we can lower our time a little bit more with a good tune up tomorrow.”


 

BACK TO YESTERDAY - Two weekends ago Top Fuel racer Larry Dixon Jr. presented his dad with a present, a nice shiny trophy for winning the NHRA SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J.

Last weekend, Larry Dixon Sr. provided his son with an even better present, a good time.

The Dixons attended the NHRA Holley Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Ky., where the elder Dixon was a participant in Nostalgia Eliminator.

“We went down there and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a Father’s Day weekend,” Dixon pointed out.

Dixon said the weekend provided a good time for the generations.

“He raced hard back in his day,” Dixon said. “He’s retired and now has a hot rod that he goes out there and plays around with. It’s about fueling the thing up and firing up the barbeque grill. We take it pretty easy and that’s the way it should be.”

Dad worked the dragster and the grill while son packed a parachute and ate a burger or two. Eating the burgers was nothing new, but packing the parachutes was enlightening.

“I had never packed a parachute before for my dad,” Dixon admitted. “It was the whole experience and it was fun. I got to hang out with my dad … talk to the legends like Garlits. To me that was fun in itself.”

Dixon is a more than accomplished driver in the modern era, but does he ever wonder how he would have fared with the legends of yesteryear?

“What they did, how they raced and how the sport evolved, it’s hard to say,” Dixon responded. “I’d like to think in racing my dad, Garlits and James Warren that they all would have handed it to me. That’s the way you want your heroes to be.”
 

NEW OLD CAR FOR LINE - Jason Line and Greg Anderson run on the same team but have used distinctive paint schemes to differentiate their identically prepared Pontiac GXP Pro Stockers. In Norwalk, for this weekend’s NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, they will suit up as an army of one.

Line will trade in his tangerine-colored Pontiac for Anderson’s candy apple red entry used last season.

“There was nothing wrong with my Summit Racing GXP – after all, we won two races with it earlier in the year,” said Line.  “However, over the last few weeks it just wasn’t responding the way we wanted it to, so we made the decision to switch to the car Greg ran last year. It’s a proven piece that we feel gives us the best chance to win.”

Line is hoping the switch will propel his team to the success he achieved early in the season, when he recorded two wins.

There is also the motivation for both of Ken Black's entries to win in Summit's home state and at the track which also carries the Summit name.
 
“It’s a Summit race at Summit Motorsports Park, and if that wasn’t enough, we have the K&N Horsepower Challenge on Saturday,” said Anderson. “In other words, this is our biggest race of the year, so we put a lot of emphasis on being ready.  That’s why we switched Jason into my old car, and why we spent two days this week in Michigan testing in the heat.  So far this year, our Summit GXP team has been good, but we haven’t been great, and both Jason and I need to be great this weekend.” 

 

 

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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - 

REPAVED AND READY -This weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk will be contested as planned after an emergency repaving of the final eighth-mile of the racing surface.

"We're in great shape," said NHRA Senior Vice President-Racing Operations Graham Light. "The quality of the paving job that the contractor, Gerken Asphalt, did was excellent; it's a very nice, smooth, tightly packed surface. They and the track need to be commended for the job they did over the weekend getting the old asphalt off and the new asphalt on. They actually went two and a half inches deep instead of the originally planned inch and a half, but it was all laid by Sunday night."

The NHRA Safety Safari presented by AAA attacked the track first thing Monday and spent two days scrubbing the track with detergent to remove the excess oil, repeatedly scrubbing, washing, and rescrubbing the surface.

After letting it sit overnight Tuesday to analyze the progress, the Safari team did a final wash and began prepping the track, spraying traction compound and laying rosin on the new surface between applying rubber using NHRA's "tire machine."

They worked into the night Wednesday to get as much rubber on the surface as possible in preparation for Sportsman time trials that begin Thursday.

"It's going to be fine, and the weather looks like it's going to cooperate nicely," added Light. "The teams on hand have all inspected the surface and offered their comments of appreciation for the work that's gone on and to address and fix the problem before it might have become a problem during the event. They’ve told us they are convinced they can make whatever adjustments are necessary to put on a good race."

SEEKING REDEMPTION - With the summer just starting to show signs of heating up and the end of the regular season of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing series just seven races away, this weekend’s third annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio could be the turnaround point for many drivers struggling to gain ground before the Countdown to 1 playoffs.

A driver you wouldn’t expect to be looking for redemption in Norwalk is Pro Stock driver and three-time world champion, Greg Anderson. Though Anderson currently sits third in the point standings, a comfortable 365 points ahead of the 10th-place cutoff spot for the Countdown playoffs, Anderson has yet to pick up a win in 2009. Entering his primary sponsor’s event and also a spot where he is the defending event winner, Anderson hopes to turn that around this weekend.

“The competition has certainly gained on us a little bit, so it has been a challenge,” Anderson said. “I have struggled a little bit with my driving this year too. It all adds up to a bit of frustration. We know what we have to do and hopefully we can get it done this weekend.”

Another driver who looks to get it done this weekend is Funny Car rookie Matt Hagan. Hagan has kept his Shelor.com Dodge Charger R/T in the top 10 for most of the season, even posting a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. But four consecutive first-round losses dropped the Don Schumacher Racing driver from sixth to 10th in the point standings, only 8 points ahead of 11th-place driver Mike Neff.

“We’re really on a bad streak right now and we have to do something to change our luck and change things around,” Hagan said, following his first round loss to Del Worsham in Englishtown last week. “I’m very, very confident in this Don Schumacher Racing team and this whole organization. We have good guys and a smart crew chief and a lot of great knowledge around us. I know that these guys are going to turn it around for us.”

Other drivers hoping for successful runs to push them into the top 10 point standings include John Force Racing teammates, Neff and Robert Hight, who currently sit 11th and 12th respectively, Top Fuel pilot Joe Hartley, and Pro Stock legend Warren Johnson, who sits just 27 points ahead of 11th-place driver Johnny Gray.

DEFENDING HIS CROWN - Pro Stock racer Allen Johnson believes last season's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio was the most fun he's had in his drag racing career.

Johnson, of Greeneville, Tenn., has 50,000 reasons to back up his declaration.

Johnson defeated Greg Anderson with a perfect .000 reaction time off the tree to bank the $50,000 K&N Horsepower Challenge grand prize in 2008, but still walked away from his Norwalk visit with a nagging sense of unfinished business.  In last year’s main event, Johnson set low ET of the race yet was still knocked out in the quarterfinals on a holeshot loss to fellow Mopar HEMI®-powered driver Larry Morgan.

“That was probably the most fun weekend we had last year at Norwalk,” said Johnson, driver of the Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T. “But in the end, I had a horrible light on Sunday and lost in the second round when we still had the fastest car. I missed the chance to double up, so that’s the goal this year, to get it done and double up.”

Johnson enters the 2009 K&N Horsepower Challenge event ranked No. 3. The event features the top eight Pro Stock qualifiers dating back to the 2008 Norwalk event. Johnson’s J&J Racing team has constructed an amazingly consistent track record in qualifying, posting the Mopar/J&J Pro Stocker in the top half of the field in 10 of eleven events thus far and giving the squad another crack at a $50,000 payday.

“It speaks very well for the team,” said Johnson, whose father, Roy, acts as engine builder for J&J Racing. Mark Ingersoll and Jeff Perley serve as co-crew chiefs. “We’ve been in the bonus event for a few years straight now and have been seeded pretty high in each one. That tells you we’ve got the package, we’ve just got to get rid of the boo-boos on Sunday and I think the wins will start rolling up.”

Johnson has been hot as of late. He scored his sixth career Pro Stock win at the NHRA Topeka event in May, advanced to the semifinals at the most recent NHRA event in Englishtown, N.J., and is only two rounds away from his 175th career round win.

Just six events remain after Norwalk until the NHRA Countdown to 1 playoff cuts the field down to the top 10 drivers. Johnson qualified for the Countdown in the first two years of the playoff and is currently fifth in the point standings. The Greeneville, Tenn. native is well-placed to make the cut, but nevertheless said he is working hard to better his position come playoff time.

“I’d like to move up a couple more spots and I don’t think it’s out of the question,” said Johnson. “If we can just continue to do what we are doing I think we’ll move up at least one, maybe two positions.”

NEW CHASSIS FOR CAPPS - Ron Capps is ready to race following 10 days of revamping and regrouping before this weekend's NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. His NAPA Auto Parts team returns with a new chassis and a renewed determination to return to the winner's circle.

Capps, four-time titlist this season and points leader since the first event, slipped to third in the standings following his first-round exit in the last race in Englishtown, N.J., and is just 26 markers behind leader Tony Pedregon, and six points back of second-place Ashley Force Hood.

"Of course, it's been nice to have led the points," said Capps, who is still seeking his first Funny Car championship. "We've kind of been floating out there in first, and here and there it got a little bit close. But then, on a couple of occasions, at the next race we were able to extend the lead.

"It allowed us to do some testing and try some things. To be honest with you, now that we're in third, it kind of lights a little bit of a fire under us because we now have a reason to get back to our race mode and try to get the points lead back."

As for the new chassis, "The way these Funny Car chassis are built you get to a certain number of runs and they need to be replaced," Capps explained. "And we were at that point prior to the Topeka race, where we had three races in a row coming up, and Ace is always looking down the road trying to figure out a plan. At first, we were going to change it before we went to Topeka but we decided to run it and we ended up winning the race.

"The NAPA Dodge has been reacting a little bit differently as well, and we were past that number of runs and we thought it was time to go to a new chassis. We've run this car since the beginning of the year, so we decided with the break after Englishtown and before Norwalk to give the guys a chance to bring down the brand-new spare from the trailer.

"Right now the NAPA guys are putting that car together to make it exactly like the other car. And they'll take the other chassis and front-half it and have it completely race-ready. All we'll have to do is put head gaskets on it and put it on the track when and if we need to. And that's going to be exciting.

PRIORITIES IN ORDER - Antron Brown has his priorities in order headed into this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio where he will endeavor to reach his sixth final round and notch his third win, of the season.

The racing aside, Brown has a far simple reason for being excited about being in Norwalk.

“I'm ready for my pound of ice cream for a dollar,” Brown explained, speaking of the track’s unique promotion. “I know my kids are ready for that too.”

Due to a special arrangement with a local ice cream producer, the track sells ice cream by the pound for a dollar. Sales of the summer treat aren't measured in dollars, but in pounds and if the past is a fair barometer, sales should easily exceed one ton.

The ice cream aside, running in Norwalk means so much more to Brown.

“It's real close to Matco's (Tools) headquarters, so this is a very big race for us her at MAR,” Brown said. “The family is jazzed about hitting up Splash City and Cedar Point and we're ready to win us another race.”

Two weeks ago, Brown raced the Matco Tools dragster to his second straight final round and fifth of the season.

“We've been doing really well lately, but we're tired of being the bridesmaid,” Brown admitted. “We want another 'Wally' trophy. But the real goal is to stay atop the points standings."

Brown, a four-time Top Fuel winner, has yet to advance past the second round of eliminations in the Norwalk NHRA race. The Matco Tools flagship driver qualified sixth last June in his Top Fuel debut at Norwalk at 4.652 at 291.51. He fell in round two to 17-time winner Brandon Bernstein, 4.650 to 4.861. 

BIG TURNAROUND - A year ago, Top Fuel racer Morgan Lucas entered the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals fighting to get into the top 10. This time, a much-improved Lucas and his GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster team arrive in Northern Ohio just one round out of the coveted top five.

What a difference a year makes.

Under the guidance of crew chief Jimmy Walsh, Lucas, who at 25 years of age is the youngest racer in the nitro ranks, finds himself solidly in the running for the Countdown to 1 playoffs and a chance at the 2009 Full Throttle championship. His car is winning eliminations rounds at virtually every stop on tour and he even scored his first national event victory in Top Fuel earlier this season in
Atlanta.

"Clearly, we're having a much better season this year," Lucas said. "What's exciting to me is that even though we're in a lot better place than we were a year ago, I really feel as though we're not even close to reaching our potential.

"Once we get some solid consistency with the tune-up and reach a point where we can run down the track under full power every single pass, the sky is the limit. The best thing to happen to us this year is that we've proven to ourselves we can run with any team out there. That has all of us really pumped up."

The son of Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, the founders and owners of Lucas Oil Products, Morgan appreciates Summit Motorsports Park and the people that work at the facility for much more than it's smooth race track.

"The Bader family loves drag racing as much as my family does and that passion comes through in everything they do," Morgan said. "This is one of the finest independently-owned race tracks in the world. They take such good care of the racers when we're there and when you talk to the fans, they feel just as welcome. Heck, you don’t even need to be a race fan to enjoy the track with all the fireworks and other things they've got going on. That alone makes it a very special place to me.

"The are re-surfacing some of the track to make it even better than it was before, which should play right into our hands. It's awesome when you can go to a track and really pound on it because it's so well prepared. All we need to do is hope for good weather and we should be fine."

Lucas currently is sixth in the world rankings; just 20 points behind fifth place Cory McClenathan. His teammate, Shawn Langdon, is just one point behind Lucas in seventh place.  

KALITTA'S WEEKEND BACKER - Rocky, a manufacturer of premium outdoor, work, and Western footwear, has inked a deal with Kalitta

Motorsports to be a primary sponsor of Doug Kalitta’s No. 50 Top Fuel dragster at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk at Summit Motorsports Park June 25-28.

This exciting new partnership includes an original paint scheme for the race car, which will prominently feature the Rocky logo, as well as a name change to the Rocky Boots Top Fuel dragster for the event and activities around it.

“The Kalitta team has turned vehicle overhauls into an amazingly speedy science by living and breathing the same motto Rocky Work lives by: 'Work smarter not harder,' ” said Chris Lorenzo, marketing manager for Rocky Work. “Kalitta fans, people we want to reach, make that connection.”

Team owner and drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta added, “We’re excited about this partnership because everyone knows Rocky makes great work and hunting boots, and we want only the best for our team!”

Rocky and Team Kalitta have also teamed up to give a lucky race fan the Experience of a Lifetime. Rocky’s Experience of a Lifetime sweepstakes will award one winner an all-expense-paid trip to the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Oct. 29-Nov. 1. For information and to enter, log on to www.rockyboots.com.

The Rocky Boots Top Fuel dragster will be on display Wednesday, June 24, at Fin, Feather & Fur Outfitters in Ashland, Ohio, from 4 to 7 p.m. Doug Kalitta and the Rocky Boots team will be on hand to sign autographs and start the 500-cid engine of the nitro-fueled racing machine at 6:45 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Rocky Boots is the Official Footwear of Kalitta Motorsports. 

 

 

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Click to visit our sponsor's website

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