2009 NHRA MIDSOUTH NATIONALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE
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MONDAY FINAL - AREND, TEAM KALITTA CELEBRATE EMOTIONAL WIN
Lucas, Line and Phillips claim wins at rain-delayed race; Ashley Force Hood assumes points lead in Funny Car
Jeff Arend and Funny Car team owner and NHRA icon Connie Kalitta celebrated an emotional, tearful victory Monday at the rain-delayed O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.
Joining Arend in the winner’s circle at the 21st of 24 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series were Morgan Lucas (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Michael Phillips (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
Arend, who replaced Connie’s late son Scott Kalitta in the DHL Toyota Solara, turned in a blistering 4.091 at 310.41 in the final round to easily outrun Tony Pedregon’s trailing 16.659 at 37.81 in the Quaker State Chevy Impala. The speed was the fifth fastest 1000-foot Funny Car speed recorded.
“Everyone had tears in their eyes at the end of the track, myself included,” said an emotional Arend, who won for only the second time in his career and first time since Reading, 1996. “I know how big this is for Connie (Kalitta, team owner) after continuing to run this Funny Car after going through the ultimate tragedy (his son Scott’s death at Englishtown, N.J. in June 2008). He did it, because what he and Scott wanted to do was to have a competitive Funny Car. I think we proved today that we have one now.”
Meanwhile, by reaching the semifinals, Ashley Force Hood ascended into first place in Funny Car at the halfway point of NHRA’s six-race playoff, the Countdown to 1. The 26-year old daughter of John Force is seeking to become the first woman in history to win a championship in NHRA’s ultra-competitive Funny Car division.
Force Hood leads teammate Robert Hight by three points and Pedregon by 26 points.
In Top Fuel, Lucas (5.133 at 251.44) claimed his third victory of the season – and third of his career after a five-year drought – in the GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster with his tire-spinning win over first-place Tony Schumacher (8.216 at 75.19) and the U.S. Army Team, which extended their points lead over Larry Dixon and the Al-Anabi team to 54; Lucas moved into fifth place (133 points behind Schumacher).
“It’s funny how wins happen,” said Lucas. “Sometimes the car is on; sometimes you’re on; sometimes you’re both on. I felt like everything was working today. The last thing I thought about in the final was the car shaking, smoking the tires, or doing anything stupid. When it did, it was awesome, because it got sideways, got out of it, and thought I was going to go over the centerline for a second. It’s so intense and emotional for only happening within a couple seconds.”
“The championship isn’t something I even considered at the beginning of the year, but we hope this is the momentum change that we needed,” Lucas said.
In Pro Stock, Line jumped from fifth place to second place with his 6.576 at 210.05 in his Summit Racing Pontiac against Ron Krisher, who red-lighted. Line trails points leader Mike Edwards and the A.R.T./Young Life Pontiac team by 78 points with three races to go and Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson is 81 points back.
“It was a lucky win in a lot of ways. We didn’t have the performance advantage by any means; Mike Edwards was crushing us. Greg (Anderson) and I still have a great shot at winning the championship. We need to be perfect from here on out, but it’s still possible.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Michael Phillips won for the first time in six years aboard the Phillips Racing Suzuki when he clipped defending Series champ Eddie Krawiec aboard the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, 6.935 at 193.54 to 6.948 at 192.22.
“I didn’t know I had so many fans, but they all came over and told me they like to cheer for the little guy. I won two divisionals here in Memphis, so this track has been good to me,” Phillips said.
The Countdown to 1 continues next weekend in Richmond with the fourth race in the six-race playoff, the NHRA Virginia Nationals, Oct. 9-11, at Virginia Motorsports Park.
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MONDAY UPDATE - WE WILL RACE TODAY, JUST A LITTLE LATE
UPDATED: 11:00 AM, CST: Racing began shortly with the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations. The first few pairs of dragsters have provided the promise that today's race will be quick. Under overcast skies, one of the best runs was laid down by Doug Kalitta as his 3.850 got the best of Brandon Bernstein. The teams are on an 65 minute turnaround.
9:40 AM - Final eliminations at the NHRA Midsouth Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., have been delayed.
Track prep was completed and just shy of the 10:00 CST planned start for the professional categories, a light mist began falling in the shutdown area.
Race officials had planned to open the day’s eliminations at 9:30 with sportsman action but track drying delays forced that competition until after the first round of pro competition. Overnight the Memphis area was saturated with rain that didn’t stop falling until after daybreak.
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SUNDAY UPDATE - RACING POSTPONED UNTIL MONDAY MORNING
Persistent rain showers forced the NHRA to postpone the Midsouth Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., until Monday morning at 10 AM.
Top Fuel No. 1 qualifer Larry Dixon said no one prefers to have an event rained out because it creates a hardship on both the teams and especially the race fans.
"For the teams, it changes your travel plans, but I feel bad for the fans," said Dixon, who races Clay Millican in thefirst round of eliminations. "A lot of people have to work on Monday, and they spent a lot of money to be here. We had two days of awesome weather, and it looked like we'd have some great racing today. We still have some great racing, but it'll have to be tomorrow."
The No. 1 qualifiers for the event are Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
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SATURDAY FINAL QUALIFYING - DIXON SCORES A THIRD CONSECUTIVE NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITION AT O’REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS
Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon took advantage of NHRA’s new qualifying bonus point system and earned the maximum 12 points for the second consecutive race during two days of qualifying at the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil.
Robert Hight, Mike Edwards and Hector Arana also claimed No. 1 qualifying positions in their categories leading into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which will be televised on ESPN2 HD and ESPN2 (7-10 p.m. ET).The race is the third of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.
Great weather and eager competition allowed previous track records to fall in the two days of qualifying at Memphis Motorsports Park. Dixon, Antron Brown, Hight, Edwards and Greg Anderson all set new track records at Memphis Motorsports Park during qualifying.
In Top Fuel, Al-Anabi Racing’s Dixon earned his seventh No. 1 of the season, 38th of his career and third consecutive in the playoffs, with his 3.810 at 318.99 mph performance. Per the new rule, the top three qualifiers in each pro category earn 3, 2, and 1 points respectively during each qualifying session. Dixon led all four sessions of qualifying earning him the maximum of 12 points.
“Obviously, it was nice to pick up all those bonus points this weekend,” said Dixon. “It's great for Al-Anabi. We’ll take ‘em however we can. Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to lay down four more good runs tomorrow.
“The drier air is the reason you see great performances in all four of the Pro classes. The number we ran in the final session is exactly what Alan [Johnson, team owner] and Jason [McCulloch, crew chief] were shooting for. We got a pole and a final last week, so I hope to do the same here.”
Dixon set a new track record for quickest run of 3.810 seconds, while Antron Brown set a new speed record of 312.50 mph at Memphis Motorsports Park. Dixon, the two-time world champ will face opening round opponent Clay Millican in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations on Sunday.
Hight set a new elapsed time and speed record for Funny Car at Memphis Motorsports Park with a run of 4.074 seconds at 310.70 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. This No. 1 qualifying position is Hight’s second consecutive in the playoffs, fourth of the season, and 32nd of his career.
“We made three good runs and one run where we smoked the tires because we were trying too hard,” said Hight. “I think that smoking the tires on one run was a good thing, because we found the limitations of what we can do on this track. I like all of the matchups on the ladder between drivers who are in the Countdown to 1 that will be taking each other out.
"Looking at the weather forecast, we should see great conditions tomorrow that will allow us to run fast. [Crew chief] Jimmy Prock usually does really well in those types of conditions. Being No. 1 also gives us the chance to sit back at the end of the pack and see what the other cars are doing."
Hight earned a total of six bonus points in the four rounds of qualifying. He will face Justin Schriefer in first round of Sunday’s eliminations.
Edwards held his lead and was quickest in his A.R.T. / Young Life Pontiac GXP, but it was his 6.552 second run at 220.18 mph from Friday that earned him the top spot and the track e.t. record.
“Anytime you can get points, it's crucial to grab them,” said Edwards, who earned eight bonus points during qualifying. “Everyone out here is trying to be the fastest each lap to get those three bonus points. I think we let a few slip away on the last run. Let’s hope tomorrow goes a lot smoother for us.
“I look at it like we’re racing the track and the conditions no matter who our opponent is. We’re going to try to turn everything we learned today into tomorrow’s tune-up.”
Edwards earned eight qualifying bonus points in Memphis. Greg Anderson qualified second and set the track speed record with a run of 6.555 at 210.97 mph.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Arana claimed his sixth top qualifying position of the season with his performance of 6.851 at 195.03 on his Lucas Oil Buell, the quickest in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle history.
“We really wanted to backup the record,” said Arana. Before the last session, we were thinking, ‘Wow. We can get it done and get 20 points,’ and it backfired. I was too aggressive early in the run when my gut told me to drop the two-step. I’d still like to set the record, but I’m more focused on winning rounds tomorrow.”
Arana is looking to back this time up this weekend with a 6.919 or quicker which would secure the NHRA national e.t. record and earn him a 20 points bonus.
“I wanted to run .80s yesterday and knew that we could do it. We tried so hard that we hurt the motor. We took everything apart and gave it to Larry Morgan. Larry grinded the valves and said the engine was good as new, and it went out and ran 6.85 this morning.”
Arana earned four qualifying bonus points for the weekend.
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First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 22nd annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park, the 21st of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.810 seconds, 318.99 mph vs. 16. Clay Millican, 4.866, 311.85; 2. Antron Brown, 3.836, 318.99 vs. 15. Tim Cullinan, 4.014, 301.87; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.857, 313.80 vs. 14. Terry Haddock, 3.970, 294.88; 4. Cory McClenathan, 3.862, 313.80 vs. 13. T.J. Zizzo, 3.939, 310.27; 5. Pat Dakin, 3.864, 303.57 vs. 12. Steve Torrence, 3.912, 307.37; 6. Spencer Massey, 3.869, 308.21 vs. 11. Bob Vandergriff, 3.905, 308.50; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 3.878, 312.50 vs. 10. Doug Kalitta, 3.898, 315.93; 8. Shawn Langdon, 3.883, 313.00 vs. 9. Morgan Lucas, 3.897, 308.57.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Chris Karamesines, 5.839, 134.77; 18. Todd Simpson, 23.726, 47.64; 19. Scott Palmer, broke.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.074, 310.70 vs. 16. Justin Schriefer, Chevy Camaro, 4.471, 244.12; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.101, 306.46 vs. 15. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.251, 298.07; 3. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.103, 308.00 vs. 14. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.191, 298.67; 4. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.105, 304.60 vs. 13. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.188, 302.55; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.109, 303.30 vs. 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.136, 304.05; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.115, 302.62 vs. 11. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.130, 300.40; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.116, 299.46 vs. 10. Jim Head, Solara, 4.123, 301.00; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.118, 302.01 vs. 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.121, 306.19.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Leif Helander, 4.813, 208.42; 18. Jerry Toliver, 6.970, 295.21.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.552, 210.77 vs. 16. Dave River, Chevy Cobalt, 6.794, 202.09; 2. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.555, 210.97 vs. 15. Mark Hogan, Pontiac GTO, 6.746, 206.01; 3. Jason Line, GXP, 6.568, 210.64 vs. 14. Steve Schmidt, Cobalt, 6.700, 206.04; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.574, 210.31 vs. 13. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.623, 209.07; 5. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.578, 210.11 vs. 12. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.621, 209.49; 6. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.594, 209.62 vs. 11. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.613, 209.33; 7. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.599, 209.36 vs. 10. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.608, 208.30; 8. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.601, 209.36 vs. 9. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.604, 209.33.
Did Not Qualify: 17. V. Gaines, 7.249, 207.62.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.851, 195.03 vs. 16. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.256, 188.89; 2. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.876, 194.30 vs. 15. Redell Harris, Buell, 7.139, 183.77; 3. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.886, 194.27 vs. 14. Bailey Whitaker, Buell, 7.083, 185.54; 4. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.894, 195.85 vs. 13. GT Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.055, 190.11; 5. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.919, 196.70 vs. 12. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.020, 193.21; 6. Douglas Horne, Buell, 6.942, 192.93 vs. 11. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.997, 190.59; 7. David Hope, Buell, 6.948, 191.46 vs. 10. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.985, 190.92; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.957, 192.11 vs. 9. Junior Pippin, Buell, 6.967, 189.68.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - HIGHT, DIXON, EDWARDS AND HINES LEAD QUALIFYING AT O’REILLY NHRA MID-SOUTH NATIONALS
Robert Hight raced to the Funny Car qualifying lead Friday at the O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals.
Larry Dixon, Mike Edwards and Andrew Hines also led their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Hight, who barely made it into the NHRA Full Throttle Series Countdown to 1, has again made the most of his opportunity and followed up his back to back wins in Dallas and Charlotte, N.C. by leading qualifying at the Memphis Motorsports Park at the third event in the six-race championship playoffs.
Hight powered his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a No. 1 effort of 4.074 seconds at 310.70 mph. If the performance holds through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions (11:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) it will be his fourth No.1 position of the season. Hight earned three bonus points in qualifying under NHRA's new qualifying bonus system, which awards the top three qualifiers in each pro category 3, 2 and 1 points per session.
“This Ford Mustang is so fun to drive right now. I love being in the position of being chased. It wasn't very long ago when I would get up in the morning thinking, 'Can we get into the top 10?’ It's definitely a different mindset."
Jack Beckman, was second in his Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger, Hight’s teammate Ashley Force Hood was third overall in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.
In Top Fuel, Dixon paced the field with a 3.810 at 318.99 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to hold down the top spot. He was quickest in both sessions and earned the maximum six-point bonus available in his category.
“We decided to change out of scuffed tires during the last oil down, so we went back to the pit and put on stickier tires,” said Dixon, who ran the third-fastest speed of the 1,000-foot era. “We got pretty rushed, and I even got to help change tires. I was suiting up as soon as we got back to the staging lanes. I don’t know if the tires made the difference, but it was a great run!"
Antron Brown was second in his Toyota/ Matco Tools dragster, while current points leader Tony Schumacher was third in his U.S. Army dragster.
Edwards again continued his impressive playoff performance and raced to the lead in Pro Stock with a 6.552 at 210.18 in his A.R.T.-Young Life Pontiac GXP. Edwards was quickest in both sessions, which netted him six bonus points.
“We always try to make the best run we can make, and those bonus points are valuable," said Edwards. “They can add up to a whole round of racing if you score all 12 bonus points and get the No. 1 qualifier points.”
Hines was quickest in Pro Stock Motorcycle, with a performance of 6.899 at 195.85 mph on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. He also earned a total of four bonus points for being third quickest in the first session and the quickest in the second session.
“I’ve struggled on the starting line lately, but I think it helps to have confidence from being in the No. 1 spot, said Hines.”
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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 22nd annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park, 21st of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.810 seconds, 318.99 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 3.836, 318.99; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.857, 313.80; 4. Cory McClenathan, 3.862, 313.80; 5. Pat Dakin, 3.864, 303.57; 6. Spencer Massey, 3.869, 308.21; 7. Shawn Langdon, 3.883, 313.00; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.895, 312.50; 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.898, 315.93; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.905, 303.84; 11. Steve Torrence, 3.917, 287.29; 12. T.J. Zizzo, 3.939, 310.27. Not Qualified: 13. Clay Millican, 3.957, 311.85; 14. Tim Cullinan, 3.991, 289.38; 15. Terry Haddock, 4.005, 294.88; 16. Morgan Lucas, 5.550, 119.32; 17. Chris Karamesines, 5.939, 118.53.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.074, 310.70; 2. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.101, 306.46; 3. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.103, 308.00; 4. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.105, 304.60; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.109, 303.30; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.115, 302.62; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.116, 295.92; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.118, 302.01; 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.121, 306.19; 10. Jim Head, Solara, 4.123, 301.00; 11. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.130, 300.40; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.136, 304.05. Not Qualified: 13. Mike Neff, 4.136, 302.55; 14. Jerry Toliver, 4.184, 295.21; 15. Del Worsham, 4.225, 296.05; 16. Jeff Arend, 4.282, 280.60.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.552, 210.77; 2. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cobalt, 6.578, 210.11; 3. Jason Line, GXP, 6.579, 210.64; 4. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.582, 210.54; 5. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.595, 210.31; 6. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.597, 209.49; 7. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.601, 209.07; 8. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.610, 209.36; 9. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.613, 209.33; 10. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.621, 209.26; 11. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.623, 208.97; 12. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.631, 208.10. Not Qualified: 13. Rodger Brogdon, 6.644, 208.30; 14. V. Gaines, 6.645, 207.62; 15. Steve Schmidt, 6.702, 206.04; 16. Mark Hogan, 6.776, 205.57; 17. Dave River, 7.113, 173.81.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.899, 195.85; 2. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.919, 196.70; 3. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.922, 194.16; 4. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.950, 193.93; 5. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.957, 192.11; 6. Shawn Gann, Buell, 6.985, 190.92; 7. David Hope, Buell, 7.000, 191.46; 8. Douglas Horne, Buell, 7.026, 192.44; 9. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.027, 193.21; 10. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.033, 191.27; 11. GT Tonglet, Suzuki, 7.061, 189.87; 12. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.073, 187.55. Not Qualified: 13. Karen Stoffer, 7.082, 189.79; 14. Bailey Whitaker, 7.092, 185.54; 15. Joe DeSantis, 7.118, 188.25; 16. Redell Harris, 7.133, 183.77.
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EVENT PREVIEW - COUNTDOWN'S THIRD EVENT SHOULD SHAKE OUT THE POINT RACES
In the sport of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing, every racer knows that in just a few seconds – less 
than the blink of an eye – a racer can go from being a hero to a zero, and vice versa.
Nobody knows that better than Robert Hight.
Highly touted as a pre-season favorite to win the Funny Car championship, many expected to see Hight visit every winner’s circle on the circuit. However, his Auto Club Ford Mustang team encountered one of the worst slumps in recent memory and had a horrible regular season performance. They barely squeaked into the Countdown to 1 playoffs in dramatic fashion at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
At the time, he said he believed if his team got in the Countdown they could win it. Now he’s proving it.
After winning the first two playoff events in Charlotte and Dallas, the team has regained its swagger, and is focusing on finishing the deal. They have moved from ninth to first in the standings and now hold a 13-point lead over second place Ashley Force Hood.
“The first two weeks of the Countdown couldn’t have been any better for us,” Hight said. “We won them and went from worst to first, so it’s very exciting for me. It’s something I never thought was going to happen. I never lost faith in my team. You dream big, but this is huge.”
Hight will try to extend his points lead and come even closer to winning his first NHRA season title with a strong performance at the 22nd annual O’Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Oct. 2-4 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car); Mike Edwards (Pro Stock); and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
After the season he’s had – which has included an uncharacteristic seven first round losses and two DNQs – the change in performance has given his team a powerful second wind that may just propel Hight to the podium at the awards ceremony.
The turning point came after his DNQ at Brainerd. In an unprecedented move, he switched cars and crew chiefs with team owner John Force for the race in Reading. After that brief experiment, the two drivers went back to their primary teams at Indy, and Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock responded with a No. 1 qualifying performance and a runner-up finish to make the playoffs.
“It’s been a crazy month,” Hight said. “With all the switching we did with me going to John’s car (team owner John Force) and vice versa. It has been crazy. But for whatever reason, it has worked out. John Force, he’s not a tuner, but he definitely knows how to shake things up and whatever he did, it’s worked.”
Now that Hight and Prock are in the zone that many expected for the regular season, they can transform their less than spectacular regular season effort into a playoff run that could become known as one of NHRA’s greatest championship comebacks.
“Robert’s car has been running great and my personal opinion is Robert Hight is the favorite to win the whole thing,” said teammate Mike Neff, who is in ninth place in the point standings. “It is all about hitting your stride at the right time. They hit their stride in Indy.”
Hight has been the top qualifier at Memphis Motorsports Park three times – in consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2007. He has yet to reach a final at the Tennessee track but hopes to change that statistic this weekend.
“This is probably the best race car I’ve ever had,” Hight said. “We’ve won races and been close to winning the championship, but we’ve never been this dominant, this consistent, this steady; it’s going down the racetrack every run.”
Among the top threats to Hight’s late-season surge are Funny Car regular season champ Tony Pedregon, championship challenger Ron Capps, who led the point standings for most of the regular season, and defending winner Wilkerson, also last year’s championship runner-up. All three drivers are past winners here. Hight’s teammate, Ashley Force Hood, may have the most consistent car in the category, as her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang has posted two victories in seven final rounds and raced to five No. 1 qualifying positions. And no one can count out John Force, a five-time winner at the Tennessee track, the most for any pro driver in any category.
In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher moved back into the series points lead with a win at Dallas, in a sizzling final round against rival Larry Dixon. Both drivers are past winners at Memphis Motorsports Park. Veteran driver Cory McClenathan held the series points lead for the first time in more than a decade after his emotional win in the first round of the playoffs. A two-time winner at Memphis, McClenathan has been a runner-up in his quest for the world championship crown four times and finished third in three other seasons. Others to watch in the 7,000-horsepower category include regular season champ Antron Brown, who will be driving a special red and white dragster with Toyota/Matco Tools sponsorship on the side. Brown won here on two wheels in 2004.
Defending Pro Stock winner Edwards comes to Memphis as the hottest driver in the category.
NHRA’s new 3-2-1 qualifying bonus points system has been a boost for his championship dreams. At Charlotte he scored 10 extra points during the four rounds of qualifying and went on to win the race, and at Dallas he netted the maxium 12 bonus points and finished with a 90 point total for the event. He currently leads Jeg Coughlin by 65 points. Four-time world champ Coughlin, a two-time Memphis winner, is hoping for a three-peat under the Countdown format. Other favorites in the 200-mph category include hard-charging Greg Stanfield, who posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at Indy and Charlotte, and past champions Greg Anderson and Jason Line, Summit Racing teammates who are both past winners at this track. Anderson earned his second victory of the season this past weekend in Dallas, and moved to third in the standings, 80 points behind Edwards.Hector Arana also benefitted from the new qualifying bonus system and powered his Lucas Oil Buell to wins in Charlotte and Dallas to open his series lead over defending world champ Eddie Krawiec. A runner-up finish here last year helped Krawiec win the championship title. Three-time world champ Andrew Hines, rookie Doug Horne and 2007 champ Matt Smith are the other favorites in the two-wheel category.
