2009 NHRA MILE HIGH NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - 1,000 FOOT A YEAR LATER, BIG WINNERS IN THE PRO DIVISIONS
LOOKING BACK - Many fans have probably already forgotten what happened during the 29th Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere 
Speedway.
That event, however, is one of the most memorable of all time.
For the first time, the National Hot Rod Association had both the Top Fuel Dragster and Top Fuel Funny Cars race to 1000-feet, instead of the traditional quarter-mile (1,320 feet).
The two classes having been racing to 1,000 feet ever since.
NHRA's actions were brought about as a result of the on-track death of Scott Kalitta, a two-time NHRA world champion on June 21.
Kalitta's Funny Car, traveling about 300 mph, burst into flames and crashed at the end of the track during final qualifying for the Lucas Oil SuperNationals Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. Kalitta, 46, died a short time after being taken to the Old Bridge Division of Raritan Bay Medical Center in Englishtown, N.J.
A year later, drivers are applauding NHRA's 1,000-foot decision.
I like the 1,000 foot at the tracks that are shorter," said Jeff Arend, who replaced Kalitta in the DHL Toyota Funny Car. "There are some tracks like Pomona, Englishtown and Reading, at 1320, if you had an engine explosion and the chutes didn’t deploy, you almost for certain going off the end of the track. That’s really not fair. I wouldn’t mind racing quarter-mile on some of the longer tracks. Nothing really good happens in the last 320 feet and .7 of a second. That’s where you have your tire problems; you drop cylinders and hurt blocks. As a driver you can still hear them revving up at that point, and they would get on the rev-limiter and become hard to drive. I like it [1,000] because it brings the driver and his reaction times into play. There’s not a lot of room for the other guy to go around you.”
Bob Tasca III, who pilots the Motorcraft Quick Lane Ford Top Fuel Funny Car, concurred with Arend.
As far as I am concerned, we don’t ever need to return to the quarter-mile,” Tasca said. “The cars are bombs and how do you slow them when an A/Fuel Dragster runs 280 miles per hour with no blower on it. How do you slow down these cars with a blower on it the size of a small child. To me, in racing 1,000 feet, we’ve never had it more competitive. We have a better show."
Prior to Kalitta's death, Eric Medlen died while testing in March of 2007 at Gainesville.
Robert Hight, who was Medlen's teammate at John Force Racing, praised NHRA for changing the race distance.
“It’s unbelievable. You look at what Bandimere has done here and it’s incredible," said Hight, who upset his team owner John Force in the first round. I think its kinda the way it needs to be. Some of these race tracks are too short. There are two options … let us race to 1,000 feet or slow us down. You’re seeing lots of good side-by-side racing in 1,000 feet.”
Arend believes the two most significant safety contributions has been the automatic chute deployment and the fuel and ignition kill switch in case of an explosion. The second is the catch fences and the sand traps.
“That’s going to save a lot of people in the future, guaranteed,” Arend said. “You won’t be going nearly as fast when you do go off of the end of the track. We saw two people going into the net at E-town; Alexis DeJoria was flying when she went into it and she came out okay. She was out doing an interview five minutes later. I can’t help but think that what happened to Scott and what they have done in the shutdown area, has save lives and more will be saved in the future.”
Actually, Tasca thinks NHRA can do even more when it comes to safety.
“I still think there are things they can do to the motors to fix it," Tasca said. "That gets back to fuel volume. I think 1,000 foot was the right decision. I bet you if you ask 100 fans you wouldn’t find any that wouldn’t come back because it’s 1,000 foot. Norwalk to the quarter-mile wouldn’t have been a show. Cars couldn’t hook up going to 1,000 feet. I think the fans have accepted it and the stands look full to me. You’ll always have your traditionalists. But it has helped our budgets, it’s flat out safer as a driver when you can hit the gas and see the finish line.”
FIFTH TIME WAS A CHARM - Antron Brown came to the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals atop the top points standings.
And he lived up to his billing.
Brown ran a 3.944-second time at 295.21 mph to defeat Doug Kalitta in the finals Sunday at Bandimere Speedway. Kalitta's car had trouble right off the line and slowed to 11.363 seconds.
Brown has now won five national Top Fuel Dragster events, but this was the first time he won from the No. 1 qualifying position. He has eight Top Fuel Dragster pole positions. Brown's win came after a 90-minute rain delay.
"The monkey is off my back," said Brown, who pilots the Matco Tools entry for Mike Ashley Racing. "This is a tough track to race on and a tough track to win on because it throws you so many curveballs. The clouds go in, and go out and the track is hot and the track is cool. Then there's no air up here and you have to make the right amount of power. My crew chiefs, Mark (Oswald) and Brian (Corradi) just did a fantastic job out here to get that Matco Tools car down the track."
This was Brown's fifth appearance in the finals in the Mile-High Nationals and his inaugural win. Brown was in three finals at Bandimere in the Pro Stock Motorcycle Class and now twice in Top Fuel Dragster.
Brown lost to Tony Schumacher in the finals at Bandimere last year.
With his victory Sunday, Brown extended his points lead to 116 points over two-time champion Larry Dixon. Tony Schumacher is third at 938.
If the rain delay wasn't enough for Brown, Kalitta also switched lanes, to the right lane, moments before the race started.
"When you don't have lane choice, you just have to take it as it comes," Brown said. "Right now, our main goal is to go into the Countdown in the top 3. We would love to go in No. 1, but there still is a lot of racing left and a lot of great teams out there. This is definitely a good way to start the Western swing though."
The NHRA circuit continues July 17-19 at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle and the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals July 24-26 at Sonoma (Calif.).
CAPPS CRUISES - Ron Capps capped a dominating weekend Sunday by upending Ashley Force Hood in the Top Fuel Funny Car 
finals.
Capps clocked a 4.18-second time in his Don Schumacher Racing NAPA Dodge machine, while Force Hood came in at 4.231 seconds in her Castrol GTX/Auto Club Ford Mustang.
"We were testing both lanes today and during one of the rain delays, he (Ace McCulloch his crew chief) came back and peeked his head in with me and the crew guys and asked me what lane I wanted (in the final)," Capps said. He has never asked me that ever in my career. I told him we ran a track record (4.12) in the left and then I get strapped in the car and heard on the radio that we're taking the right lane. At least he asked. The car rattled the tires pretty good on that last run and I got ready to pedal it and then it cleared up and took off. I could hear her car over there somewhere. I just hoping we could get down there and we did."
This was Capps’ fifth win of the season and left him tied with Force Hood for first in the points chase at 965. Tony Pedregon is third at 911 points.
"We debuted our new car at Norwalk and got a few runs under it and look out West Coast swing," Capps said.
Don Schumacher now has 132 career NHRA wins as an owner, thanks to Capps' victory.
MOUNTAIN PROWESS - For the last three years, Allen Johnson has been stellar in the Pro 
Stock Class at the Mile-High Nationals.
Sunday was no different.
Johnson won his second title in three years at Bandimere, beating Jason Line in the finals with a holeshot.
Johnson ran a 7.004-second time, compared to Line's 7.001-second effort. Johnson won by virtue of his 0.29 reaction time, while Line had a 0.50 reaction time.
"I love Denver guys," said Johnson, who drives a Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus. "We got a combination here that's really hard to beat. We test our butts off here for Mother Mopar so we can come up here and do good. It just feels so awesome to come up here and develop a plan and work it and succeed at it. Plus, to be driving well and get the win on a holeshot feels very good."
Johnson and Line also met in the finals at Gainesville, and Line won by a holeshot. Line won the previous national event at Norwalk (Ohio).
Johnson said that his team came up to Bandimere the week before the Mile-High Nationals and made 15 to 16 testing runs.
"Through all the testing and hard work, we've found a combination that works and we've stuck with that and developed it and got better at," Johnson said. "This venue is so different that you have to test here a lot. It looked like Mike (Edwards) sort of found it this year to and we're probably lucky that he got beat early because he would've been a very tough opponent in the finals."
Edwards was eliminated when he registered a redlight against Jeg Coughlin Jr.
"Today, we knew we could out run everybody by two or three hundreds, so we brought the conservative set-up to race day and stuck with it all day," Johnson said.
HARLEY HEAVEN - Eddie Krawiec and Andrew Hines, Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates met in the finals 
Sunday at the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals.
Krawiec, who has now been in six finals in a row, collected his third win of the season when Hines collected a redlight off the starting line.
Krawiec avenged a loss he suffered to Hines in the last event at Norwalk.
"To have two Harleys in the finals at back-to-back races is making a pretty good statement," said Krawiec, the 2008 Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ. "It shows that our team is consistent. We go out there on race day and we have not had the best bike every single round, but we're doing our job as riders and that's what we need to do. Andrew and I are probably the most two competitive people in this entire park. Whether it's walking or cutting the grass, Andrew and I are trying to race each other doing it. I also think we feed off of each other. If I'm out there doing well, Andrew takes that positive energy and applies it to himself, just like I do.
Krawiec is atop the points standings with 739 points, followed by Hines (651) and Matt Smith (559). Hines was gracious in defeat.
"The thing I didn't want to do was redlight, but I was playing with fire all day," Hines said. "I was perfect in the second round and I was .04 in the semis. I just tried to hold down the clutch as long as I could, but it just came up red. It was nice to get back in the final in Denver, where I won in 2006. The last couple of years I kind of struggled here, but it was good to be back. We're really good up here on the mountain when we lived in Trinidad and we're still good coming back. This is a tribute to how good Matt (Hines) is as our crew chief."
Last year, Krawiec fell in the semifinals to Steve Johnson at Bandimere and Johnson beat Hines in the second round. Krawiec's bike never left the line against Johnson because his bike had throttle leakage.
"To put the Harley in the winner's circle for the 21st time is real cool opportunity," said Krawiec, who has three wins this season. I have been to six finals and that's something I never dreamed of. I'm just glad to do all this for my entire team." Vance & Hines' win at Bandimere Sunday shouldn't come as a surprise, considering the history the team has at the track.
Krawiec now has one win at the Mile-High Nationals and Andrew has one as well in 2006.
Matt Hines, Andrew's brother and his crew chief, won Pro Stock Motorcycle crowns at Bandimere in 1996, '97, '98 and 2002.
Matt benefitted from the fact that Byron Hines, Matt and Andrew's father, owned and operated the Freedom Motorsports shop in Trinidad from 1997-2004. Byron moved the shop to Brownsburg, Ind., in 2004 and the shop is now called Vance & Hines Motorsports. Trinidad is about three hours south of Bandimere Speedway. Byron Hines is the owner of the Harley-Davidson team.
"Our engine dyno was at 6,000 feet when we were in Trinidad, so we kind of knew what to do with the engine when we got here (to Bandimere)," Matt said. "Denver has treated us well over the years."
Andrew Hines made his Pro Stock Motorcycle debut at the Mile-High Nationals in 2002, losing in the first round to Reggie Showers.
That wasn't a sign of things to come.
Hines went on win three consecutive world titles from 2004-2006.
Matt Hines also has quite an impressive resume. He won 30 career Pro Stock Motorcycle races and he also snared three consecutive world championships from 1997-99.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOW - The Mile-High Nationals continue to be a nightmare for Top Fuel Dragster driver Brandon Bernstein.
Bernstein, the No. 8 qualifier, lost to No. 9 qualifier Morgan Lucas in the first round. Bernstein clocked a 4.137-second pass, but couldn't keep up with Lucas' 4.005-second effort.
This was the fifth-consecutive year that Bernstein has lost in the first round at the Mile-High Nationals.
A year ago, Bernstein, the No. 10 qualifier, lost to No. 7 qualifier Doug Herbert in the first round. Herbert clocked a 4.035-second run, while Bernstein slowed to 5.242 seconds.
In 2007, Bernstein lost to Hillary Will and in 2006 he was defeated by Bob Strasburg. In 2005, he had a first-round bye, but was disqualified when his dragster died after his burnout.
UNEXPECTED FIRE - Things got plenty heated for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Shawn Gann Sunday at the Mile-High Nationals.
During Gann's first-round match-up with Craig Treble, Gann did a burnout and then as he prepared to stage, he jumped off his Buell motorcycle. His crew took a look and his bike was on fire. The NHRA safety crew at the starting line quickly put out the fire.
Pro Stock Motorcyle rider David Hope also had his day end in the first round when he broke at the line against Doug Horne.
BIG UPSET - Facing the red-hot Larry Dixon is a daunting task, rookie Spencer Massey, however, didn't flinch in the second round.
Massey ran a 3.971-second time to out run Dixon, who clocked a 4.004-second effort.
The win was even more impressive considering what his Don Prudhomme Racing team went through in the 75 minutes before the round.
"We were trying to get the car to warm-up (in the pits) and the dang thing wouldn't start," Massey said. "We had to put another motor in and it was down to the last few minutes. I had to get in the car before we even left the trailer and get suited up and buckled in. It was a mad thrash and that's why we love drag racing."
Unfortunately, Massey's day ended when he lost in the semifinals to Antron Brown.
NO THREE-PEAT - Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor Matt Smith was aiming for a three-peat at the Mile-High Nationals, but that didn't happen.
Smith registered a redlight and was derailed by Andrew Hines, riding a Harley, in the second round.
In 2007 and 2008, Smith won at Bandimere riding a Buell and this season, his first with Don Schumacher Racing, he's piloting a Nitro Fish Suzuki.
FOUL PLAY - There have been 20 Pro Stock Motorcyle riders redlight during eliminations the last three years at the Mile-High Nationals.
Sunday, Jim Underdahl, Matt Guidera, Doug Horne, Matt Smith, Hector Arana and Andrew Hines (in the finals) joined this unwanted club.
POINTS SWING - Although it's just halfway through the NHRA season, this was still a big second round match-up in Pro Stock.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Mike Edwards, who came to Bandimere No. 1 and No. 2 in points, squared off in round two and Coughlin won when Edwards had a redlight off the line.
Greg Anderson, the defending Pro Stock champ at the Mile-High Nationals, also saw his chance of back-to-back titles vanish when he was upset by Jason Line in the second round.
Line ran a 7.026-second time to edge Anderson, who came in at 7.039 seconds.
TRIVIA QUESTION - Drag racing fans, here's a chance to stump your buddies.
How quick was the inaugural 1000-foot run in NHRA history during qualifying at the 2008 Mile-High Nationals? Bonus, who made the first official 1,000 foot nitro run?
ANSWER: 4.434; Tommy Johnson Jr. made the momentous 1000-foot run in NHRA history during qualifying while driving Kenny Bernstein’s Monster Energy Drink-sponsored Funny Car.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - DRAGSTER OF THE FUTURE REVEALED,
DRAGSTER OF THE FUTURE - This season is Lee Beard's 33rd in the NHRA, 32 of which he served as a crew chief for a variety of 
teams.
Presently, he is taking on a new role as a team manager in his second stint with Don Schumacher Racing. He's responsible for all five Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car teams under the DSR umbrella.
His main project right now for DSR is happening during the week.
“I tinker with stuff in the shop,” said Beard, who added that DSR is building their cars in-house. “I work real close with our fabricators on the design of the new dragster we are building in-house.”
Building the dragster of the future came about through talks with Brad Hadman.
"Basically, what we did was make an agreement with Brad (Hadman), from whom we have been buying our race cars, to duplicate his race car," Beard said. "And, what we're building is all of the tubing in-house. So, we built jigs and fixtures to basically copy Brad Hadman's tubing and then we're buying all the basic components from him, all the pedals, levers, nose, wings."
The deal has benefits for Hadman as well.
"In return to him, that gives him the ability to come to Indianapolis and use our DSR facility to put front halfs and back halfs on the rest of his customers who are in the Indianapolis area: the Al-Anabi team, Bernstein's team, Morgan Lucas' team, Antron Brown's team - they all have Hadman cars. They currently have to ship those cars to Seattle to get a front half or a back half on them. Since we now have a jig that duplicates Brad's car he can come to our facility, use the facility, and put a front half and a back half on those cars and save those teams a lot of money."
DSR has built their Funny Cars in-house for at least two seasons and this marks the first for the dragsters; the first one is slated to debut this season. "The first dragster is having the body mounted now," Beard said. "We hope to bring the car out after the western swing."
According to DSR officials, the driver of DSR's new dragster has yet-to-be determined.
Last year the DSR 1 chassis Funny Car debuted at Bandimere with Jack Beckman. Beckman registed a runner-up performance.
Beard has established himself as one of the top crew chiefs in the Top Fuel Dragster and Funny Car ranks.
In 1989, he led the late Gary Ormsby to the Top Fuel Dragster crown. He also was the team manager/crew chief for Larry Minor Motorsports when Cruz Pedregon snared the Top Fuel Funny Car crown in 1992.
"I’m certainly able to use my tuning experience to share with our five crew chiefs (at DSR),” Beard said. “It is a different role because I am not the guy who is making that last minute decision. In a way it is the same because I am the cement between all five teams. I’m the guy if a car is not running good and that crew chief wants me to come in and help him analyze his data and look at things a little differently, get his thought process working in a different way, get the car back on track and make it successful … it’s certainly a challenge because when you are a crew chief you know a car like the back of your hand. When you’re an advisor or counselor on five cars you really don’t know that car. You have to use your skills of analyzing data, looking at their records, and trying to steer them in the right direction to make the car successful.”
Prior to today's eliminations at the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, the DSR entries are having solid seasons. Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan are third and fifth in the Top Fuel Dragster standings. Funny Car drivers Ron Capps (third) and Jack Beckham (fourth) are squarely in competition to make the Chase.
Beard said the reason Schumacher hired him was to serve as a guy who could go from team to team, if one was in a struggle, and assist the ailing team without having to pull resources from another. In the past, DSR will pull tuners from their teams to help others.
“I think the concept was a home run,” Beard said. "I kind of look at things in reverse. When I was a crew chief, if I would have had a guy in my pits who had won 55 national events and had over 61 No. 1 qualifiers and a couple of world championships to be my sounding board … my counsel … I would have been head over heels.”
Actually, Bandimere is Beard's home track. He grew up Pueblo, which is two hours south of Morrison.
“I have a lot of experience racing up here,” said Beard, a 1971 graduate of Pueblo Central High School. “The reality of it is that all of the crew chiefs race here one time a year. Even though I had experience in growing up and racing here, that technology doesn’t apply anymore. The philosophy in how to run in high altitudes still applies.”
The last two seasons he was with David Powers Motorsports, he tuned Whit Bazemore and then Antron Brown to the final round. In 2007, both David Powers cars were in the final round. David Powers disbanded his team in the offseason.
Beard said the loss of CAT sponsorship from David Powers Motorsports — CAT was sponsoring Fuller's car — came as no surprise with the downturn in the economy. However, the acquisition of the Matco Tool team by a new team owner [Mike Ashley] came as a surprise to him.
That led to Beard landing his new job with DSR. Schumacher had approached Beard several times before he joined the team letting him know he was welcome back anytime. Beard was at DSR from 2001 through most of 2005, serving as the crew chief for Whit Bazemore, who was piloting a Top Fuel Funny Car.
Beard guided Bazemore to 12 national events with DSR.
“My relationship with Don has always been good and even when we parted ways in 2005, there was no animosity,” Beard said. “There were no hard feelings; it was strictly a business decision. During the time I was away he always made it clear to me that if I ever wanted to come back that all I had to do was pick up the phone and call. We are such a small industry so you never really want to burn a bridge. You never know what you will need to do to stay employed and active.”
Although Beard's career has spanned over three decades, he was able to pick out a couple of his most memorable moments.
Winning the championship with Ormsby as a virtual unknown and then capturing the Indy title in 2001 with Bazemore.
Beard had a big project with Reynard going on the weekend that Bazemore won. Bazemore had an unpainted carbon fiber body, with state of the art aero, and he ran the quickest and fastest run of Funny Car at the time.
“That was a very satisfying win because it was something we had planned, three or four months in advance of the race and I was working on it in another building,” Beard explained. “Our crew guys didn’t know, our p.r. people didn’t know … it was a high priority, top secret thing. To do that, have it come together and be successful, that really stands out.”
Beard, who turns 56 this coming Saturday, has no plans of leaving the sport.
“I love doing this and I still get excited driving to work,” Beard admits. “I get excited every race I go to. I can’t see myself doing anything else except a little fly fishing on the side.”
One aspect that Beard hasn't explore in the NHRA is being a team owner, and he's not ruling that out.
“If the opportunity presented itself with the proper financial package, I would like to be an owner,” Beard admits. “In today’s economy, that’s a pretty big dream.”
BROWN SETS THE PACE - Antron Brown came into the Mile-High Nationals leading the Top Fuel Dragster point standings.
And, he has lived up to his billing so far.
Brown won the pole in his Matco Tools entry with a track record time of 3.862 seconds during Saturday night's final qualifying session.
Cory McClenathan (3.882) and Tony Schumacher (3.895) were second and third in qualifying.
"I have to take my hat off to all the crew here at Bandimere Speedway," said Brown after winning his fifth pole of the season. "This is by far one of the best race tracks that I've ever driven on. Even though we're at the high-altitude, we were throwing the kitchen sink at it and our car is not spinning the tires. The only way you see a car shake the tires out there is because they're too weak for the race track, not because they're overpowering the track. When you go out there, it's kind of like Disneyland right now. I wish our race was (Sunday) night, but it's in the heat of the day and that will be another challenge."
Eliminations begin at noon Mountain Time today.
Brown said his team's approach to race weekends has been a key to its success.
"We're just out there having fun and when you have an all-star cast on our team like we have, everything just clicks and goes real easy," said Brown, who drives for Mike Ashley Racing. "The cool part about our (3.86) run was that the blower belt came off before the finish line, so the car actually slowed down. The car could've run a 3.85 and 320 mph. That could've been the first 320 mph speed that we've seen on the track and it would've been at the Mile High Nationals."
MAKING A STATEMENT - Usually at Bandimere, Top Fuel Funny Car and Dragster crew chiefs aren't as aggressive during day 
qualifying sessions.
That wasn't the case for Ron Capps and his crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch.
Ace tuned Capps NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger to a track record 4.121-second time to take the pole.
"This is an attribute to the full shop that Don (Schumacher) has put together, which is something out of the ordinary for a drag race team," Capps said. "We have in-house chassis builders now. It's kind of cool to say 'I want to thank the guys back at the shop,' like NASCAR guys do. But, we could be the 16th qualifer and I know I can show up Sunday morning and I know we can win the race. There's just something about Ace."
Capps believes Mother Nature will be the X-factor today.
"The weather is going to be the third crew chief overlooking all of these teams, and it will be the deciding factor," said Capps, who has qualified first three times this season.
Tony Pedregon (4.135) and Matt Hagan (4.152) are second and third in the qualifying ladder.
FAMILIAR POSITION - Mike Edwards is making a habit of capturing pole positions.
Edwards nabbed his seventh pole of the season with a track-record time of 6.957 seconds at Bandimere Saturday.
"It's very rewarding I can tell you that," said Edwards, who is second in the point standings behind Jeg Coughlin. "We have really turned our program around this year and it's paying off. We struggled here (Friday) really, really bad. We lost the handle on it a little bit and hat's off to my guys today. We had a complete turnaround today and made two really nice runs. I'm tickled and pleased for all of my guys."
Edwards knocked Allen Johnson off the pole. Johnson came in second at 6.964 seconds. Ron Krisher (6.986), Jason Line (6.990), Greg Anderson (6.993) and Roger Brogdon (6.995) qualified third, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Prior to this weekend, no Pro Stock driver have ever recorded a 6-second pass at the Mile-High Nationals.
"I feel bad in a way for AJ (Allen Johnson)," Edwards said. "It's a Mopar race and he had transmission trouble. I was hoping he could make a good run to see where he was at. That's a good team over there. I told everybody that when we went to the line that I think we could get second, but I didn't think we could get first. Mark Ingersoll, AJ's crew chief, is spectacular up here on the mountain. I call him the king of the hill."
HAMMER TIME- Hector Arana has been consistent all weekend at Bandimere Speedway. Saturday evening, the Miami native was at 
his best.
He clocked a 7.319 second track record time in his Lucas Oil Buell bike. This is the second pole of the season for him as he qualified first at Englishtown last month.
"This is just an awesome feeling," said Arana, who is seventh in the points. "I played it conservative (Friday) and today (Saturday) I got a little bit more aggressive and on this last hit I knew I had the opportunity. I wanted to be on the pole and that 31 was a blessing. I wasn't expecting a 31, but I will take anything I can get."
Arana, who won at Gainesville, also was making bold predictions for today.
"I don't know what the Harleys have left, but I'm not going to worry about their bikes," Arana said. "I'm just going to worry about my program and my goal is that I'm going to win."
Andrew Hines (7.342) and Craig Treble (7.358) qualified second and third, respectively. Hines' Harley teammate, Eddie Krawiec, the 2008 Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ, is fourth in the qualifying ladder at 7.363 seconds.
GETTING BACK ON TRACK - This season hasn't been what Robert Hight expected.
Hight the driver of the Auto Club Ford Mustang for John Force Racing, finds himself in 12th place in the Top Fuel Funny Car points standings after 12 of 24 races.
Hight will try and change his fortunes today during eliminations at the Mile-High Nationals. He knows that will not be easy though.
“What’s tough about this place (Bandimere) is getting the power right and then hitting the clutch right,” Hight explained.
If anybody can find power for Hight today it's his crew chief Jimmy Prock.
Prock tuned Joe Amato to Bandimere's Top Fuel Dragster E.T. record at 4.584 seconds in July 17, 1999. That quarter-mile record still stands.
Prock, then wrenched Hight to Bandimere's Top Funny Car E.T and speed record with a 4.796-second mark at 322.58 mph.
We’re headed in the right direction and the last few races, it has been going down the track," Hight said. "We’re right in the field of cars. I believe we are definitely getting better. Having three races in a row … it’s like boom, boom, boom … get some momentum.”
Hight made his debut with JFR in the Funny Car ranks in 2005 and he has finished second twice in the points, in 2006 and 2007. Hight has never finished worse than fifth in the final standings.
During the first round of qualifying Saturday in Top Fuel Dragster, Clay Millican gave the fans an unexpected fireworks show.
While racing against Tony Schumacher, Millican's LifeLock-sponsored dragster had its motor explode.
Fortunately, Millican wasn't hurt in the run. (Roger Richards Photo)
ADJUSTING TO THE CURVE - Making the transition to the Top Fuel Funny Car Class hasn't been easy for Matt Hagan, made even 
stressful considering he is driving for the vaunted Don Schumacher Racing organization.
“Last year I had my own deal and when you go out there and have a bad light or something … the expectations are high … but you don’t get down on yourself as much," the 26-year-old Hagan said. "Now, you have to perform for the team owner, crew chief, the crew, and everyone else. You want to do that anyway. You have to take more time now and make sure you are doing your job the correct way and be more professional out here.”
This weekend, Hagan's task is to try and tame the mountain at Bandimere Speedway.
“For me it’s a brand new race track and we are going to have a brand new deal, so it will be a new experience for me to come into a new experience like this," Hagan said. "I don’t know if getting used to the altitude is going to affect my driving. So far, so good."
Hagan is debuting a new car this weekend, the chassis was front-halved. “I have raced the back-half,” Hagan explained. “Brand new body, brand new paint scheme … everything is brand new. If it’s like the others [have been] … everything out here is cookie cutter.”
Hagan has had a solid season to date. He's tied for 10th in the points standings with Cruz Pedregon, last year's champion.
Hagan's crew chief, Tommy Delago is upbeat about what his driver can accomplish today.
“We were runner-up here last year,” said Delago, who tuned 2008 Denver runner-up Jack Beckman. “We’ve worked on our program so much in the last year and so much has changed so you can’t do exactly as you did last year. It gives you an estimated guess of what direction to go."
In terms of goals, Hagan is keeping everything in perspective.
“I definitely want to qualify in the top half as much as I can,” Hagan said. “I want to win some races but it’s awfully hard to win a championship if you can’t win races. We would like to get a couple of wins under our belt. The biggest thing I have in mind is gaining experience. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is the program. We have a really good head start in being associated with Don Schumacher. They [DSR] put the best around you and that really takes you a long way.”
When Hagan isn't racing, he's on the opposite end of the spectrum.
He has a 500-acre farm outside of Christiansburg, Va. He works with cows, horses and baling hay. He’s even helped to birth cows.
“It’s a pretty nice thing because out here your adrenalin is always going and you’re in intense situations.”
Delago didn't hestitate to poke fun at his driver's "other" job.
“He’s always said that driving my car is like driving a tractor,” Delago said.
Hagan countered with the following comment: “The tractor gets about six miles an hour,” Hagan said. “Drag racing’s totally different because it’s a release for me. It’s a polar opposite for me. Here it’s intense and at home it’s at your own pace.”
Hagan did admit that driving and farming has become a 24/7 combination.
“I don’t have time to plan much of a vacation when I am at the races because I am usually burning the candle at both ends," Hagan said. "I get home and do as much as I can and then I get here and do the same.”
Hagan is married and he his wife Rachel have a 2-year-old son. Rachel also is expecting a daughter in September, which they will name Penny.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – RACING CONCLUDES IN THE LATE HOUR AT BANDIMERE
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY - Everything was going according to plan for Friday's Professional qualifying at Bandimere before Mother
Nature intervened.
The rain started as sprinkles at 6:50 p.m. Mountain Time, and then the
rain became heavier. While the rain stopped momentarily, the action was
further delayed because of non-stop lightning around the track.
Three hours and 28 minutes later, qualifying resumed with McClenathan matching up against Spencer Massey in Top Fuel Dragster.
Cory Mac proceeded to post the fastest run at 4.002 in the first round of qualifying. Turns out he was just getting warmed up.
Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon squared off in the last qualify runs in
their Top Fuel Dragsters, which ended at 12:04 a.m. Mountain Time
Saturday morning.
HISTORIC RUN - Three drivers made history at Bandimere Speedway in the Pro Stock class.
Late Friday night, Allen Johnson set a track record in both elapsed time and speed - 6.94 seconds at 197.10 mph.
Greg Anderson and Mike Edwards are second and third in the qualifying order at 6.993 and 6.995-seconds. Before Friday, no Pro Stock car had ever clocked a run below seven seconds.
"We thought we would have conditions to go 6.98 or 6.99 at 8 p.m. and being that we ran so late, it got even better," said Johnson, who pilots a Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus. "Unless something changes, that will stand. I don't know if the Mopar folks are still here, but to do that in front of them and show off in front of them and give them something to hold their chest out a little bit about is what we're all about. They pay us big bucks to come out and do this stuff and we have to show them what we have got."
BIG MAC RUN - Cory McClenathan made a long night worthwhile when he clocked a track record time of 3.882 seconds to take the top spot in Top Fuel Dragster qualifying.
"They (Bandimere) do such a great job of preparing this race track and Phil (Shuler) and Todd (Okuhara) said that we were going to get after it and go for the No. 1 spot. I can't say I'm totally surprised because we have been creeping up on that area for a long time. The guys did a great job. We're trying some new stuff on the race car and it's definitely coming around."
Antron Brown is currently second in qualifying at 3.83 seconds, with a a track-record speed of 318.39 mph.
TONY TERRIFIC - Given the rain delays, not many people believed Funny Car qualifying would even take place, Tony Pedregon 
included.
Pedregon responded after the rain delay to take the No. 1 spot with a track record 4.170-second effort.
"One of the big concerns of all the racers is the dew point, but that was not the case here," said Pedregon. "I didn't think that there was any way we were going to run, but what we were looking at here on the race track, were about the best conditions we will see anywhere. The challenge for us is that we're at elevation. You still have a power issue and over the years we have really been able to make the difference up and make more power than we used to. We just were able to take full advantage of these optimum racing conditions."
Tim Wilkerson holds down the second spot with a 4.178 second run.
Jeff Arend set a new 1000-foot speed record at Bandimere at 295.72 mph. Arend is fifth in qualifying at 4.218 seconds.
TREBLE STANDS ALONE - With premium track conditions in the late 
night second-round qualifying session for the Pro Stock Motorcycle drivers, Craig Treble seized the moment.
Treble of New Orleans, came in with a 7.358-second run, which put his bike on top of the ladder.
Treble is fourth in the national points standings with 459 points.
"We're really satisfied," said Treble, who finished a career-best second in points in 2002. "The first pass we made (Friday) was a scrub pass. We just got the motor back from Vance & Hines. It was at a scheduled freshen up where it got a new crank, pistons and valves and you can't go out there and whoop on those things on the first hit. We went out there and had a very moderate setup on the first hit and got down the track okay."
Things got much better for Treble on his second pass.
"We put some carbon on the pistons and Byron (Hines) said turn it up and we turned it up and pow that motor is happy," Treble said of his Suzuki. "I would have never thought in a million years that we would be in front of any of those V-twins up here. That thing shot out there really good for the first 1/8th mile. I thought it was flat up on the top, but Byron said it was ripping and that it sounded very good. He knows better than I do. I just know how to pop the clutch and try not to break them."
Treble, who is vying for his first pole position this season, is trailed by Hector Arana's 7.363 second run.
SARGE'S IN CHARGE - The 3-hour-plus rain delay was worth the wait for Top Fuel dragster driver Tony Schumacher.
Schumacher clocked a 3.922-second, 312.28 mph run , which were both 1,000-foot track records at Bandimere at least for an hour or so until McClenathan broke them in the final qualifying session late Friday.
"When I stepped off the clutch in the pre-stage, the car wasn't moving and I was a little bit nervous there," said Schumacher, who has won five consecutive world championships. "I wanted to make sure the car was in forward. You hate to hit the throttle in one of these things going backwards. It did its job. It left great and moved a little inside, but this was a great run for the U.S. Army car."
Schumacher bettered his time in his last pass to 3.897 seconds, which put him third in the qualifying order.
SOLID EFFORT - Before the rain and lightning came, Ashley Force Hood made a strong opening statement in the first round of Top Fuel Funny Car qualifying.
Force Hood clocked a 4.287-second elapsed time at 283.49 mph, which placed her first in the field.
"That first lap, it was so nice to just get A to B," said Force Hood, who is atop the point standings with 872 points. "A lot of the teams were struggling and you never know you’re going to get the first run of any event and especially this event where there are a lot of changes with your tune-up because of the altitude. Things worked out for us and we have a good base and now (Saturday) we can build on that. I'm just really proud of my crew."
Force Hood's second qualifying run was a near disaster. Shortly after her Ford Mustang left the line it veered right and then left and then for a second was on two wheels.
Force Hood did a great job of driving and was able to get the car stopped safely.
Force Hood dropped to seventh in the qualifying ladder.
Before the rain and lightning came, Ashley Force Hood made a strong opening statement in the first round of Top Fuel Funny Car qualifying.
SAME OLD DENVER – Tim Wilkerson landed second in the Funny Car qualifying list on race that he admittedly left a little on the 
table. After a long day of fighting weather and the complex conditions which accompany racing at Bandimere, Wilkerson was satisfied with the first day’s effort.
"It actually dropped two holes down there, around 900 feet, and when it did that it chucked the blower belt off, so we left a little bit on the table," said Wilkerson, describing his second session qualifying attempt. "But I have no complaints with that run, at all. This was, literally, about a 14-hour day for the crew guys, the drivers, and the fans, and it really seemed like the middle of the night when we got to go back up there. I couldn't believe how many people were still in the stands, so I'm glad we got to give them a show and let them see the flames up over the roof of the car at night.”
The Bandimere experience is one that race fans clamor for, but for Wilkerson, he’s become accustomed to the challenge.
"We knew the track was good, and let's face it, that's about as good as you can have it up here on the mountain,” Wilkerson admitted. “You could just about lay the coals to it and feel like it was going to go for you, but the coals just don't burn as hot up here at 5,500 feet. Tomorrow, how much do you want to bet we get the same deal? Hot and sunny all day, then the showers come over the mountain at around 6:00. We get to where we expect it. Whatever the case, you'll see a pretty slow session when the sun is out, and if we get to run tomorrow night some teams will be going for it again. We'll just try to get ready for race day, and the first pass on Saturday will be the best one for that."
On his earlier pass, on a very hot track, Wilkerson posted a 4.728 that left him 7th after the run.
UP ON THE MOUNTAIN, ROOKIE VERSION – Racing at Bandimere Speedway provides one of those opportunities where Morgan 
Lucas’ tutelage comes in handy for rookie Top Fuel pilot Shawn Langdon.
Lucas educated his protégé on the nuances of racing nitro in the thin air of Denver.
"Morgan told me before my first run that the car would feel like a Top Alcohol Dragster instead of a Top Fuel dragster because the altitude slows them down so much," said Langdon, a leading candidate for rookie of the year. "But man, I never expected it to feel like that. It seemed like it took forever to get down the track. It's amazing how different it felt.
"Your instincts tell you it's slower than normal and you think something is wrong with the engine, so you feel like you should get off the accelerator so you don't blow it up. But Morgan had prepared me for what it would feel like so the whole way down I was thinking, 'it's okay, it's okay, stay after it.' It picked it up in Round 2 but still felt slow. But hey, we ended up doing pretty good so I guess it all worked out.”
Interestingly, the last vehicle Langdon drove at Bandimere before the weekend, was a junior dragster.
LOOKING FOR A THREE-PEAT: Some teams and drivers can never seem to get a handle on Bandimere Speedway.
The high altitude can cause major headaches for crew chiefs. Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor Matt Smith, however, is on the other end of the spectrum.
The King N.C., resident has won the past two Mile-High Nationals and wants nothing more than to make it a trifecta this weekend at the 30th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals. This is race No. 8 of 17 on the NHRA's Pro Stock Motorcycle circuit.
"Usually, we show up at tracks and want to win, but that's not the case this weekend," the 36-year-old Smith said. "I told Steve (Tartaglia) my crew chief that we're going to win this weekend. I want nothing more than to get a three-peat up here on this mountain."
In 2007 and 2008, Smith won at Bandimere riding a Buell and this season, his first with Don Schumacher Racing, he's piloting a Nitro Fish-sponsored Suzuki.
"I think the V-twins have a big advantage on the mountain, but I also know that we have a bike that can win here," Smith said. "The altitude at this track causes the most problems for Pro Stock cars and Pro Stock Motorcycles. The Nitro cars have superchargers and the Pro Stock cars and motorcycles have to run on the air that Denver gives us."
During the first round of qualifying Friday, Smith had a pedestrian 7.506-second run at 174.26 mph. That put him eighth in the field. Hector Arana was tops after the first qualifying session at 7.416 seconds at 179.21 mph.
Smith won the 2007 Pro Stock Motorcycle world title and last year he finished third in the points.
During 2007 and 2008, Smith won a total of eight races, four in each season.
This season, however, Smith is still chasing victory No. 1, having reached the final round once and the semifinals three times.
"I looking at Bandimere to be the turning point of our season," Smith said. "It been great to be a part of Don Schumacher Racing and our team has really come together. The problem we've had is that our bike hasn't been a team player. We've had no luck at all. It seems like we've had some new problem crop up at every race."
Smith is presently third in the points standings with 506 points. Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec (624) and Andrew Hines (554) are first and second in the point standings.
"I'm not worried where we're at in the points right now because I know we will be in the top 10," Smith said. "We just need to get a win here (at Bandimere) and get some momentum for Sonoma because Sonoma is a Suzuki track."
The 22nd annual Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals are July 24-26 at Sonoma.
Smith, who has been competing in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks since 2003, has no immediate plans of switching divisions.
"I'm a small guy and I really enjoy racing the bikes," said the 5-foot-11, 135-pound Smith, whose father Rickie competed in Pro Stock. "I've raced Pro Stock cars before and they were really no different than the Pro Stock Motorcycle. "If I drive something else, it will be either a Top Fuel Dragster or Top Fuel Funny Car. I want to step up and drive something that's a couple seconds quicker."
LOCAL ADVANTAGE: There's no question that the NHRA's Pro Stock Class is highly-competitive.
This weekend at the Mile-High Nationals, V. Gaines of Lakewood is hoping he can use his home track to his advantage.
At this time last year we were sixth in points," Gaines said. "But this year we're 16th. Last year after the Mile-High Nationals, we started to go downhill. But this time, we hope to start going uphill."
Last season Gaines finished a career-best ninth in the points chase. Gaines, who has been competing in Pro Stock since 1994, has won three national events, the last being at Phoenix a year ago.
Gaines was leasing engines from Larry Morgan for the first four races of this season, but then decided to go a different direction after the March 29th event in Houston. Gaines and his crew chose to embark on their own in-house motor program with Madcap Motors engines.
"We knew that no one has a title with leased engines," Gaines said. "We have taken our lumps and have stepped backward."
Gaines has struggled immensely this year, only qualifying for five of the 12 races so far and winning just one round.
"I didn't realize how complex racing was with the motors and it has been a new adjustment to get the car down the track. We have split duties now with the team and it has required an entirely different effort with our time."
HOMETOWN HERO: At every stop on the NHRA's 24-race circuit, Tony Schumacher, the driver of the U.S. Army Top Fuel Dragster, picks a hometown hero, playing host to that person throughout the event.
Sgt. Gregory S. "Scott" Ruske of the Army Reserve was chosen as the Hometown Hero at Bandimere.
Ruske was the fourth Army Reserve soldier to earn the Silver Star medal for heroic service in the global war on terror.
A third generation soldier and infantryman, Ruske was assigned to the Army Reserve's 5025th Garrison Support Unit in Colorado Springs when he deployed to serve with the 3rd Platoon, A Company, Task Force gladiator, Combined Joint Task Force 101 in Afghanistan. He was responsible for security and stability operations in NATO's Regional Command East.
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -
RUMORS OF A NEW TRACK - Once again, talk of a new motorsports complex being built in Denver or the surrounding area has resurfaced.
In late May, a group led by Colorado Springs developer Bill Schuck
announced its plans to build a new racetrack in northeast Aurora.
The proposed $200 million track would include a 1-mile oval speedway, a
4-mile road course and a go-kart facility. The track would seat
anywhere between 65,000-100,000 fans on 1,500 acres on the TransPort
property near Front Range Airport, east of E-470 and just north of
Interstate 70. Building of the private venture is supposed to begin
sometime in 2010.
Intially in the press release, it said that Schuck's group also was in
early talks with Bandimere Speedway about relocating its
dragstrip/complex to northeast Aurora.
According to Jeff Sipes, Bandimere Speedway's media relations director, that statement is just hot air.
"Those conversations never happened," said Sipes in an exclusive
interview with Competition Plus Monday. "We have not had any contact
with Bill Schuck or his group about relocating our track."
Bandimere Speedway, which has been operating for 51 years, is based in
Morrison, Colo., just outside of Denver. Bandimere is hosting the 30th
annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals Friday through Sunday.
The developers also said in their press release, that the decision to
build the track was influenced by the recent passage of Senate Bill
173, the Colorado Tourism Act, which could provide the group access to
up to $50 million in state sales-tax revenue to pay off construction
bonds over a 30-year period.
Talk of a new motorsports complex being built in the Denver area has been going on for nearly a decade.
Back in 2000, International Speedway Corporation was working on plans
to build a major race track in Aurora. The project, which would have
included a drag racing track owned by John Bandimere Jr., was voted
down by Arapahoe County residents. Bandimere Jr. remains the president
and CEO of Bandimere Speedway.
It was thought that ISC's Colorado facility would become a reality when
the Rocky Mountain Speedway Corp., a wholly-owned subsidary of ISC,
purchased the assests of Pikes Peak International Raceway and closed
the track on Oct. 31, 2005. PPIR, was a 1,200-acre site built in 1997
in Fountain just south of Colorado Springs.
And, frankly, if anybody is going to build a track in Denver, ISC would
be the likely candidate. ISC owns or operates 13 tracks, including
Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.)
Superspeedway.
During the last two-plus years, ISC officials have continued to say
they would like to build a track in the metro Denver area but nothing
has materialized.
"As I said, at this point we have had no talks recently with anybody
about moving our track, and not until someone breaks ground on a (new)
track would we listen to what they would have to say," Sipes said.
"Bandimere Speedway has been a fixture in the community and our sole
focus is to continue to improve the experience of our fans and drivers
at our track."
“This is a very exciting opportunity for our team to partner with a company that looks out for people by protecting them from identity theft,” said Millican. “And our car has a cool new look.”
Millican is 10th in Full Throttle Racing Series standings, 38 points out of ninth place. The top 10 drivers after 18 races qualify for the six-race Countdown to the Championship that begins in September.
“We are looking forward to our new partnership with LifeLock, NHRA and RBA Sports,” Pickens said. “We will do our best to present the LifeLock message to NHRA fans and teams, and encourage everyone to protect themselves and their families from the horrors of identity theft. LifeLock comes onboard just in time for the grueling Western Swing, and we can’t wait to give them an instant taste of success as we get closer and closer to the Countdown.”
LifeLock CEO Todd Davis said his company has “built a strong relationship with the racing industry and we are proud to partner with them in our efforts to spread awareness about identity theft. NHRA races draw some of the largest sporting audiences in the nation, and by working together, we have an opportunity to reach consumers young and old and help them form layers of protection to maintain their good names.”
Denver is the first of three consecutive Western Swing racing weekends, followed by stops in Seattle (July 17-19) and Sonoma, Calif. (July 24-26).
CONFIDENCE PAYS OFF - He was the long shot last year.
This year Eddie Krawiec shoots long.
Krawiec, rider for the Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Pro Stock
Motorcycle team, won the 2008 NHRA world championship ala Rob Bruins
style. He attained the feat exactly like the 1979 Top Fuel champion by
capturing the crown without having won a national event title during
the season.
He’s in more favorable territory this season when compared to his
status this time last year. Krawiec has won two national event titles
in five consecutive final rounds and holds a significant point lead as
the 24-race tour hits the mid-point.
Just to think, last year he was winless and ranked fifth. That kind of
a turnaround tends to provide a rider with a better outlook.
“I'm really confident,” Krawiec said. “I'm looking forward to actually
getting out there and getting on my motorcycle and going into race day.
“You know, for the way that it turned out last year, I was ecstatic. I
wouldn't change a thing. I think that's something that's going to be
etched in the history books for a really long time, and honestly, I
don't know if it will ever be broken again.”
Consider this, Krawiec has been in the finals in nine of the last 12 races he’s entered dating back to 2008.
“I just want to close my final round average a little better and take
that from 25 percent and bump that up to maybe 75 percent,” Krawiec
admitted. “I would like to win them all. But it's tough competition
out there and I'm just glad to be out here racing with everybody.”
So what has changed this season to make him an even more efficient drag racer?
“I'm not really doing anything different,” Krawiec responded. “I'm just
riding the bike with confidence. You know, (Screamin’ Eagle Vance
& Hines Harley-Davidson crew chief) Matt Hines has given me an
awesome motorcycle. A lot of people out there always compliment their
crew chiefs, but if you look at what Matt is doing, he is tuning two
bikes, two motorcycles and that adds extra pressure on you come race
day.
“As long as I think he gives us a good motorcycle and we are confident
that we have a great one under us, that it just makes it easier for the
driver to do their job.”
For Krawiec, nothing wins a championship like a rider with confidence in his bike, and confidence in himself, too.
HAGAN SEEING RED - NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year contender Matt Hagan will be seeing red this weekend, as Don Schumacher Racing introduces a bright-red design
on the shelor.com Dodge Funny Car he drives at the Mopar Mile-High
Nationals in Morrison, Colo. The scheme will also feature Gates Belts
and Hose prominently on the rear wing panel to show the team's
appreciation of the Denver-based company's longtime support of DSR in
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
Hagan, new to DSR this season, will race at the mile-high Bandimere
Speedway for the first time in his short rookie career as he looks to
move up in the standings. He's tied with Cruz Pedregon in 10th.
"I've never been to Bandimere before," said the 26-year-old Angus
Cattle farmer in Christiansburg, Va., "but we're going to treat it like
any other race and try to put this bright-red shelor.com Dodge in the
winner's circle, especially for Gates Belt and Hose, who have been so
supportive of this team for so long.
MOMENTUM WOULD BE JUST FINE - This time, last season, Tony Schumacher became the first NHRA professional driver to clinch a berth in the NHRA Countdown to the
Championship.
Schumacher won’t clinch this weekend at the NHRA Mile High Nationals in
Denver, Co., and while the performance-driven champion isn’t enthused
about the inability to repeat the phenomenal feat, he’d be more than
satisfied with securing a measure of momentum.
“It’s all about building momentum,” Schumacher said. “If you can have
success the next three weekends in Denver, Seattle and Sonoma (Calif.),
then you’re setting yourself up in a nice way for the Countdown to One
(playoffs).”
Last year, Schumacher took domination to the next level.
Schumacher peaked early in 2008 and never relinquished his iron fist of
dominance. In fact, Schumacher became only the seventh driver in NHRA
history and the fourth in Top Fuel to sweep the Western Swing. His
victory in Denver began an impressive stretch of seven straight wins
and 11 consecutive final rounds that ultimately led to another world
title.
“It’s pretty important you go a bunch of rounds during the Western Swing,” he added.
Schumacher currently holds third-place in the standings, three points
behind Larry Dixon in second and 56 points in back of the leader Antron
Brown.
The Chicago-area resident has not been to a final round since the Bristol, Tenn. event the middle of May.
“The funny thing is we’ve been running pretty well the last few races,
but the results just haven’t been there for us,” he said. “We’ll be all
right. Before too long, the final rounds and wins are going to come.”
If Schumacher’s record at Bandimere Speedway is any indication, a final
round appearance or victory may be right around the corner. He has two
wins and four other final rounds to his credit at the track situated in
the Rocky Mountains.
“Despite all the challenges with the altitude, we’ve managed to do
well,” he offered. “Hopefully, we can continue that trend this weekend.”
Experience doesn’t hurt, either.
Just ask Greg Anderson if you have any doubts.
The popular Pro Stock driver has two wins in his previous eight visits to Bandimere Speedway in Denver, Co., and there’s no doubt his familiarity of how to race and win in the thin air of the NHRA Mile High Nationals has contributed to that success.
“Denver is the one track where previous success plays a very important role,” said Anderson. “As different as the conditions are at Bandimere, if you haven’t won there before, you start to wonder if you even can. Having taken our Summit Racing Pontiac to the winner’s circle there twice gives us the extra confidence that we have what it takes and can do it again, and that confidence can be the difference between winning and losing.”
Experience comes in handy when a high altitude throws the entire class a four-tenths of a second curveball. Bandimere Speedway rests 5,860 feet above sea level.
“The set-up for this race is totally different, forcing us to make drastic changes from bumper to bumper,” detailed Anderson. “You lose 400 horsepower, which completely alters how the chassis works. If we had the luxury, we’d probably build a chassis just for Denver, because it would be happier with the reduced horsepower. Unfortunately, none of us are in a position to do that, so we make as many changes as we can to make up for it, doing the best with what we have.
“That is why it’s almost mandatory that you test there before the race. So many things change in the car and engine combination in a year’s time that you are just about starting over each time we go there. The first two or three runs are like you’ve never been there before in your life. If for nothing else, testing gives you the confidence that you’re going to be close for that first qualifying session, which is so important.”
Anderson was among a score of Pro Stock drivers who tested the week before the national event and his 7.00 elapsed time was third best among those who made runs. Only Allen Johnson and Mike Edwards, who both ran 6.99s, were quicker.
“I believe our test went fairly well,” Anderson admitted. “Our Summit Racing Pontiac ran quicker than we ever have up there, as did a couple of our competitors. I’m glad we went, and I think we have a couple of very good set-ups to go back with, so we can go in there with guns blazing. As far as I’m concerned, Bandimere Speedway would be a great place to get my first win of the year.
“We were able to test until nine o’clock one of the nights we were out there last week. This gave us a couple shots at the conditions in the time we’ll be running on Friday and Saturday nights, so our Summit Pontiacs should be in good shape, setting us up for a great weekend in Denver.”
Anderson is the defending Mile-High Nationals champion, having qualified No. 1 and defeated V. Gaines, Jeg Coughlin, Kurt Johnson and Allen Johnson for the 56th win of his career
DENVER ON KALITTA'S LIST - When the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series kicked off in
February, there were only six drag strips on the national event 
circuit
that 31-time Top Fuel winner Doug Kalitta had yet to make a visit to
the winner’s circle. He crossed Pomona (Calif.) off of that notorious
list by winning at the famed race track at the season-opening
Winternationals event. Kalitta, driver of the No. 50 Kalitta
Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, will have his pen ready to cross Denver
off the unrenowned register after this weekend’s, July 10-12, annual
running of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in
Morrison, Col., just a few miles west of the Denver city limits.
Kalitta, a 56-time Top Fuel finalist, has raced for the Denver title
three times in his career, with runner-up postings in 1999, 2001, and
2003. He is hopeful that his trip to the Rocky Mountains this year will
yield an overdue winning result.
“Yeah, we’ve been close a few times, but we just haven’t been able to
leave Denver with a trophy yet,” Kalitta, a 12-year NHRA veteran and
44-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “It’s a tricky place to
race with the heat and the altitude. I always enjoy going to Bandimere,
though. The facility is great and the scenery of the mountains is
really something.
“We’ve been struggling a bit at the past few races, so we’ve made some
pretty drastic changes to our dragster since Norwalk (Ohio, previous
event). We’re confident we’ve done the right things to get our
performance level back up where it needs to be. Hopefully that means we
will get a shot at winning Denver this weekend.”
The remaining race tracks on Kalitta’s “need to win” list are located in Norwalk, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Charlotte.
Kalitta’s trip to the winner’s circle in Pomona this year was his first win since the fall of 2007.
BLOCK PARTY IS THE BOMB - Pro Stock racer Allen Johnson knows how to have a good time. This
weekend as the NHRA Full Throttle tour rolls into 
Bandimere Speedway
for the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals there's a general consensus that
the real action doesn't start until Friday.
Johnson disagrees.
He believes the real action begins on Thursday night at the Mopar Big Block Party. Johnson says the “Official Starter” of the Mopar Mile-Highs, is scheduled for Thursday night, July 9, in downtown Golden, Colo., and it is the place to be.
Johnson, along with a large group of Mopar-powered NHRA drivers, will take part in a driver autograph session during the event.
“It’s more than fun taking part in the Big Block Party each year,” said Johnson. “It’s just a lot of camaraderie with a lot of true blue Mopar folks. It shows Mopar’s dedication to the sport. You get a huge crowd of fans and sportsman racers who come out to the event. It’s a great feeling, to know that I’m acting as one of the ambassadors for Mopar and helping to reach out to fans and enthusiasts.”
The outdoor gathering is fitting as Mopar®, Chrysler Group LLC’s Parts division, celebrates the longest continuous running sponsorship in the NHRA.
A CHAMPION RETURNS - Some memories are just too good to forget.
For Top Fuel rookie Shawn Langdon, rekindling the memory of the last
time he raced at Bandimere Speedway seems appropriate with this
weekend’s NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals.
He first became a champion at Bandimere.
Back then, Langdon was racing Junior Dragster and has since worked his
way to a nitro-guzzling, flame-belching Top Fuel dragster. Through the
years, he's never forgotten climbing to the top of the mountain.
"I have nothing but great memories of Bandimere," said Langdon, a
candidate for the NHRA’s Rookie of the Year award. "Winning that Junior
Dragster Championship back in 1997 was such a big deal for me. Here's
this 14-year-old kid from Southern California racing all the best
juniors in the country and I end up winning the title. If I hadn't
already been hooked on the sport, that weekend would have done it for
me. It was special, and I remember it like it was yesterday."
Langdon has since added a pair of NHRA Super Comp world championships
to his resume and while the only true nitro racing rookie faces a
tougher challenge this time around, he’s attacking the mountain head on.
He’s proven very adept at turning on win lights with five semifinal
finishes and a No. 1 qualifier with the season only half complete. The
only goal missing is that first Top Fuel win.
"Our car's been running good all year," Langdon said. "We're just
waiting for things to fall our way. A lot of teams went out and tested
after Norwalk but we feel like all we need to do is keep up what we're
doing and be patient. Our time will come; there's no doubt about that.”
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