2010 NHRA FRAM NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK
FUNNY CAR'S CAPPS TURNS INTO WORLD CONQUEROR - NHRA Funny Car driver Ron Capps, desperately seeking a victory for the first time in nearly a year after setting the class standard last season, said Sunday after winning the FRAM-Autolite Nationals, “I feel like I can conquer the world!”
Triumphant for the first time since last July at Denver, the NAPA Dodge Charge Funny Car driver said, “It's all confidence. And confidence is built on success.”
Capps had his own success Sunday at Infineon Raceway, defeating Don Schumacher Racing teammate Jack Beckman for the $50,000 payout and clinching a spot in the Countdown.
But the success to which he was alluding was not his own but that of Don Schumacher Racing teammate Matt Hagan and that came from the arrival of respected crew chief John Medlen from the legendary John Force Racing organization.
“We've been testing a lot of things all season long. And, obviously when John went over to Matt Hagan's car we saw what happened over there. Matt won two races, set the national record. And I've always wanted to work with John.”
He said having Medlen as his crew chief, in addition to all his mentoring by Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, “has been such a pleasure.”
He said his confidence springs from having faith in his car, yet it goes beyond that. “I now go up there without being afraid of the tree and worrying about the car. You start to doubt yourself sometimes,” he said.
Capps said Medlen “is calming until you stage the car and he beats on it. And he starts to walk away and turns around and beats on it again like a little kid. And he gets me so excited. I think, 'Man, he's having fun. I've got to have fun, too.' It carries over. It's just been nothing but smiles in our NAPA pit.
“His approach to racing is 'Let's win, but let's have fun.' I can't even tell you how exciting it's been for me. He's such an asset,” he said. “I feel like I can conquer the world in the car right now.”
He conquered Beckman on a day in which all three DSR Funny Car teams reached the semifinals. Bob Tasca was the lone Ford representative in the semifinals, and Beckman bested him in one of the closest races of the day.
And Capps, monumentally frustrated after his Seattle runner-up finish and determined to make his third final of the year pay off, took out the No. 1 qualifier with a pass of 4.169 seconds at 296.44 mph. Beckman, in the Valvoline / Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger, countered with a 4.210 / 298.93.
That gave Capps his first victory at Sonoma since 1997 and kept him from being ruinner-up at Infineon for a third time (as he came close in 2002 and 2005).
He improved from seventh to fifth this weekend in the standings.
Beckman was seeking his second victory of the season and his first since Phoenix in February and his first at Infineon Raceway. Despite the loss, he took over third place in the standings with just two races remaining before the Countdown fields are set.
The victory waqs special to Medlen, who said, “Ron Capps and I have been friends for years. He was a very close friend of Eric's.” Eric Medlen died in 2007 following a Funny Car testing accident.
“If anybody guided all this together, Eric did. He's pretty smart. He did a good job,” Medlen said before participating in the fourth annual Ice Cream Social in his son's honor.
And team owner Don Schumacher said the victory was “fantastic for Ron. This is a special, special race for the NAPA team, and it's a special race for John Medlen and Ed McCulloch. For them to pull this one off and get the car turned around at this point of the season, to start winning races, is fantastic. (I'm) looking forward to the Countdown.”
So is Capps, who would tell you Sunday he's ready to conquer it, too.
PHIILIPS CREDITS NASCAR CONNECTION AFTER WIN - There's no question, Michael Phillips gets lost in all the hype of the big-name Pro Stock Motorcycle riders like Hector Arana, Andrew Hines and Matt Smith.
Well, Phillips is proving he deserves to be in the spotlight as well.
Phillips knocked off some of the top riders in the class Sunday, the last being Andrew Hines in the final round to capture the title at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Sonoma, Calif.
Phillips clocked a 6.886-second time to beat Hines, who came in at 6.909 seconds.
On the road to his victory, Phillips also beat Karen Stoffer, Matt Smith and Eddie Krawiec. During his win over Krawiec, Phillips set a new national speed record for Pro Stock Motorcycles at 197.65 mph.
“That old bike I have is actually one of the best bikes in the wind tunnel, and it works out there on the race track,” Phillips said. “I wasn’t worried about the record, I was just trying to get the win.”
This is Phillips’ third win of the season on his Racers Edge-sponsored Suzuki. He also won at Madison and Englishtown.
“I’ve been working with some NASCAR guys on just playing with the carburetor, and that’s actually where my bike picked up,” Phillips said. “I started working with the guys last year at Memphis. Kevin Hamlin stepped up and he wanted to help me. There were a couple of other things we did to the bike that they looked over and found that should have been done to the bike. Ever since then, the bike has been running crazy mph.”
Hamlin has over 20-plus years experience as a NASCAR crew chief, including being a wrench boss for the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr.
“Kevin and I are real good friends,” Phillips said. “I met him through one of my sponsor guys, and Kevin said he wanted to help me out and we went over and did a few things at the shop.”
Phillips is in fourth place in the season point standings, but is just three points behind Hines and five points back of second-place Matt Smith. Hector Arana, the reigning Pro Stock Motorcyle world champ, is atop the points, 141 points in front of Smith.
“With the way my bike is performing right now, I can win the championship,” Phillips said. “I’m not trying to brag on it, but I have a real fast bike and I just have to stay on my game.”
Phillips’ victory over Hines was somewhat surprising since Hines had a 13-1 round record against him prior to the finals.
“The bike I’m riding is Andrew’s old bike and he had been whooping me pretty good,” said Phillips, who bought the bike from Hines in 2003. “That’s the first time I’ve beaten him on that bike. I just never could get him. He just kept beating me. I would holeshot him and he would find some way to get around me. Pomona last year, I got a holeshot on him and the carburetor jumped off my bike. I just finally got the monkey off my back with him.”
COUGHLIN'S NEW PRO STOCK APPROACH WORKS - Pro Stock's Jeg Coughlin might not have laid the foundation for winning the FRAM-Autolite Nationals in qualifying or in running low elapsed time and top speed in the first round, when all 16 qualifiers strive to shine their brightest.
His inspiration came from a heart-to-heart talk he had with his father, Jeg Coughlin Sr., in their mini-vacation at Lake Tahoe after the Seattle race.
“We both came up with how we would run the car. We put a good, solid game plan,” he said.
It paid off, for he used his 100th career final round to defeat Jason Line for the $25,000 victory, his third this year in four final rounds.
Coughlin drove the Victor Cagnazzi-owned JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to a 6.590-second elapsed time at 209.52 mph on the Infineon Raceway quarter-mile. Line challenged in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP with a 6.602-second effort at 209.39 mph.
Coughlin said his approach this weekend “was slightly more aggressive than we've been in past races. We'd usually become a little soft and by Q4, we're a gang of hell and ready to go on race day. We've had some queer luck, so this weekend, we just wanted to be a little more aggressive. That's probably the thing I'm most proud about.
“We made very few changes in the car throughout the whole weekend. That's what it's about: just taking what you've got and massaging it and making it better. We were able to be quickest in the couple of the sessions and the last man standing. So I guess we did good.”
He said the local conditions didn't dictate the change in attitude.
“It was just our own approach. We executed from Square One. We had the quickest car and were in the top two or three all day.
“We have as much data as you want to look at,” Coughlin said. “Sometimes you can make it awfully difficult. We just boil it down to a couple of variables we were going to look at and set the car up and go out and race have a good time, not make any mistakes in the pits. And that's what we did this weekend -- all eight runs.”
In denying Line a repeat victory here in California wine country, Coughlin said, “It was good race car, and that's what you need in Pro Stock. When you're separated by 10-thousandths of a second, there literally is no room for error. We've certainly had our races this year with errors.”
And Coughlin, the No. 3 qualifier, made no visible mistakes Sunday -- or all weekend.
He said that on race day he was supremely confident because “we had four clean runs to work with and we were able to get through some really, really tough competition.”
He outlasted Larry Morgan, Greg Anderson, Shane Gray, and finally Line to win for the second time at Sonoma.
“The KB cars are extremely tough, and Greg Anderson and Jason Line do an extremely efficient job at building horsepower and running the race operation,” he said. “Anytime you get by them is awesome, and to get by both of them in one day, that's a tough feat.”
Coughlin said he said he wasn't aware until after the race that he had hit that 100-final plateau.
“These Full Throttle races are prestigious to be part of, and we've had a great success at it,” he said.
But like any champion who never is satisfied with his level of performance, Coughlin couldn't help but think about his few shortcomings.
“I've had a couple of red-lights here lately, and that's a rare thing to do in Pro Stock,” he said. “I was a couple thousandths red last week in Seattle, and nothing more was my goal than to get here and focus on race day.
“When I got to the final round and let the clutch out, I thought to myself, 'Let's go!' It felt fantastic. It was the best the car felt. I could see the tree dropping from yellow to green, which means you're pretty good at the line,” Coughlin said. “When the win light went on, I was going nuts. And I don't get too excited that often. So it was a big win for us.”
While Coughlin can't go to Lake Tahoe to ponder strategy at every race, what he discovered there he expects to apply well beyond the Western Swing.
PERFECT WEEKEND FOR DIXON - Throughout the 2010 Top Fuel season, Larry Dixon has been dominant.This weekend at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals, things were no different.
Dixon qualified on the pole and then won the event in convincing fashion at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
In the finals, Dixon beat rival Tony Schumacher, clocking a 3.879-second pass at 317.12 mph. Schumacher came across in 4.006 seconds at 300.73 mph.
“I’m trying to beat whomever I’m lined up against,” said Dixon, who has beat Schumacher six of the nine times they have raced this season. “You’re racing a car (in Schumacher) that has won six championships in a row, and you better bring your ‘A’ game when you race them. They didn’t win that many races and championships by being lucky, they’ve been good. You go up there and race them and do the best job you can and hope that it is enough.”
With the win, Dixon remains in the season points lead with 1,444 points. Schumacher is now second at 1,233 followed by his Don Schumacher Racing teammate Cory McClenathan at 1,227.
After crunching the numbers from Sunday, it appears Dixon also has clinched the No. 1 seed for the Countdown to 1 playoffs. The 17-race regular season of the Countdown to the Championship runs through the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 12-15 in Brainerd, Minn.
“Our biggest thing right now is to get ourselves in position to lock up the No. 1 seed,” Dixon said. “That means you get 30 more points over second place, and I think I could have used 30 more points last year. For us that has been the biggest goal, and I believe we have done that now. There are only eight rounds of racing left (before the Countdown to 1 begins) and we have a 10 and a half round lead, so I like my chances.”
A year ago, Dixon lost the world title to Schumacher by a mere two points.
Dixon also improved to 8-0 in final rounds this year. Dixon’s other victories came at Pomona, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Englishtown, N.J., and Norwalk, Ohio.
“I think it is called balance,” said Dixon when asked about his unbeaten record in the finals this season. “I’ve probably had seasons where I went 0-8, and I think if you do it long enough hopefully it comes back to you. We’re obviously always racing good cars and you’re certainly not taking any chances. You go up there and race hard and hope to finish the deal, and so far this season, we have been able to do that.”
This weekend, Dixon and the Al-Anabi Racing dragster had no equal.
Crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Jason McCulloch made all the right calls as evident by the fact Dixon had the low elapsed time of the event at 3.839 seconds, which came in qualifying and he also registered the top speed of the weekend at 319.75 mph in his first round win over Steven Chrisman. In the win over Chrisman, Dixon also recorded the best reaction time for his class at Sonoma with a .060.
In addition to Chrisman, Dixon also defeated Steve Torrence and Cory McClenathan to set up his match-up with Schumacher.
“This was a great weekend all the way round,” Dixon said. “Give credit to Jason (McCulloch) and Alan (Johnson) both. They just had us set up. We made seven runs, and we never spun the tires. They were on their game.”
This was Dixon’s 56th career Top Fuel national event victory in 100 final-round appearances. Schumacher has the NHRA Top Fuel record for most final round appearances at 101, and Dixon is second. Joe Amato is third with 99 final-round appearances.
“When I hear 100 final rounds, it means I lost 44, that’s what I think about,” Dixon said. “Really that’s it. The final round number doesn’t really mean anything to me. Wins mean something to me. We will just try and enjoy ourselves tonight and Monday and then get ready for Denver.”
The Mopar Mile-High Nationals are Friday through Sunday at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, near Denver.
QUICK HITS - RACE REPORTING IN RAPID FASHION
RACERS RAISE MONEY IN HONOR OF MEDLEN - The 4th annual AutoTrader.com Eric Medlen Nitro Night Charity Dinner, which took place on Thursday night, raised a record amount of $27,500 for Speedway Children’s Charities.
The gala, which was held at Stone Tree Golf Club in Novato, was held in honor of Medlen, a native of Oakdale in the San Joaquin Valley. He succumbed in March, 2007, to injuries sustained from a testing accident. Medlen, who was a member of John Force Racing, considered Infineon Raceway his home track and won the Funny Car title there in 2006.
More than 140 people attended the gala, including top NHRA racers Ashley Force Hood (Castrol GTX® Mustang); Melanie Troxel (In-N-Out Dodge); Jack Beckman (Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge); Brandon Bernstein (Copart/Lucas Oil dragster); Morgan Lucas (GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster); Shawn Langdon (Lucas Oil/Speedco); and Karen Stoffer (GEICO Suzuki).
The total raised included $2,500 from a Texas Hold ‘Em Charity Poker Tournament held prior to dinner. River Rock Casino, a partner of the raceway’s and located in Geyserville, presented the check to Speedway Children’s Charities in the name of Morgan Lucas, who won the charity poker tournament.
TOP FUEL
déjà vu FOR STRASBURG - Mike Strasburg isn’t part of any powerhouse Top Fuel team. He has a family-owned team based out of Lehi, Utah.
Strasburg, who has been competing in Top Fuel since 2002, is taking a liking to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
For the second year in a row, Strasburg scored an upset win in the first round at Infineon.
Strasburg, the No. 14 qualifier, clocked a 3.982-second time at 307.44 mph to beat Hot Rod Fuller, the No. 3 qualifier. Fuller had his Don Schumacher Racing dragster get sideways shortly after he left the starting line and slowed to 4.448 seconds.
Strasburg’s time was his best of the weekend, as he beat Fuller for the first time in four tries.
A year ago, Strasburg qualified No. 15 at Sonoma and shocked Larry Dixon in the Al-Anabi dragster in the first round.
Not only did Strasburg beat Fuller, but he also got lane choice over Brandon Bernstein in the second round.
Bernstein clocked a 4.009-second time to defeat Troy Buff in round one.
His Copart team didn’t sulk over that defeat. Bernstein defeated Troy Buff and Mike Strasburg in consecutive rounds at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma.
Bernstein clocked a 3.928-second time to defeat Strasburg, who came in at 4.113 seconds.
“That was a great run by our Copart/Lucas Oil team because it’s tough out here,” Bernstein said. “It’s going to get hotter, but when the it (the dragster) runs on all eight (cylinders), it runs good.”
Bernstein faces Tony Schumacher in the semifinals. Schumacher beat McMillen in the second round when McMillen registered a redlight.
CORY MAC STAYS HOT - Cory McClenathan, who won the Northwest Nationals last week in Seattle, is making a run at another win Sunday at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals.
Cory Mac advanced into the semis by driving his Fram-sponsored Don Schumacher Racing dragster past Doug Kalitta in the second round.
Cory Mac registered a 3.997 second time, while Kalitta smoked the tires off the line and slowed to a 4.144 seconds.
“This is a Fram race and my guys are all here and it is huge to be going rounds here,” McClenathan said. “I got a little bit out of the groove, and started spinning the tires, but there is no way I was going to shut this Fram car off.”
Cory Mac, who is second in the point standings, meets point leader Larry Dixon in the semis. Dixon beat Steve Torrence in round two.
MCMILLEN COMES UP BIG - Terry McMillen is doing his best to compete against the powerful teams in Top Fuel.
Sunday morning, McMillen came out swinging against Antron Brown in the Don Schumacher Racing Matco Tools dragster, and he registered a knockout.
McMillen, the No. 15 qualifier, drove his Amalie Oil Dragster to the victory over Brown in the first round of eliminations at Sonoma.
Brown, the No. 2 qualifier, smoked the tires at 250 feet, and was doomed. McMillen, meanwhile, legged out the win with a 4.285-second time.
Up next for McMillen in round two is Tony Schumacher.
FUNNY CAR
"I think we should just call it a tie and we both get to go and run three-wide in the final," a humbled Beckman suggested.
That made for an all-Don Schumacher Racing final, as Ron Capps beat third DSR teammate Matt Hagan in the semifinals. (It was a stellar day for DSR, with Tony Schumacher reaching the Top Fuel final round against Larry Dixon, too.)
"No orders on Don Schumacher Racing," Beckman insisted. "His order is 'Drive your butt off, no matter which car you're in.' And to see the crew guys excited like this, that's when you know you're doing your job."
THEY'RE IN - With their first-round victories, Don Schumacher Racing drivers Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan clinched berths in the 10-driver Countdown to the Championship field
'SHOULDA' - After Auto Club Mustang driver Robert Hight posted a class-best 4.123-second elapsed time and 308.14-mph speed knocking out Ashley Force Hood in the opening round, he said, "This is what we should've run yesterday so we wouldn't have had to run our teammate." Hight was top qualifier Jack Beckman's quarterfinal victim.
SHE TATTOOED DENSHAM? - Melanie Troxel sported a bit of a fashion statement Sunday as she advanced past Gary Densham in a battle of part-time Funny Car racers: an In-N-Out Burger tattoo, advertising the sponsor of her Roger Burgess-owned Dodge Charger.
Troxel, who divides her time between the Funny Car and Pro Modified classes, said she would have liked to qualify higher in the field but had some troublesome mechanical issues during Friday night qualifying, when conditions were optimum.
She wasn't alone. Densham, too, had worse problems, although he took advantage of the mineshaft temperatures and qualified an eye-opening No. 2. His engine exploded and shattered the lone body he had with him. He sat out Saturday qualifying, waiting for son Steven to fetch one he had stored in Southern California.
So Densham, who had characterized his incident as "a little bit of pop in the blower," said he had run well in the heat Friday and figured he would have no problem. But Troxel, the No. 15 qualifier, hung on to beat Densham after he lost traction.
BECKMAN: CAR CAN TURN EVIL FAST - Top qualifier Jack Beckman advanced by beating No. 16 Jeff Diehl in the opening round. But as easy as his 4.257-second victory against Diehl's 4.853 might have appeared, Beckman had his hands full.
"If it went slow and it went straight, you'd go, 'This is boring.' But when it's pushing towards the wall that hard, it ain't boring and it’s going quicker than you want it to go," the Valvoline / Mail Terminal Services driver said. "I've got the wheel cranked all the way right ... and I'm noticing the wall. You know you're going to make it to the finish line, but these things can get so evil in a hurry. When you've got nitro in the tank, anything can happen. The Valvoline car got us a win light. We'll go get one more and one more and one more."
Beckman dispatched Robert Hight, who already had eliminated his own John Force Racing teammate, Ashley Force Hood. So by the end of the second round, Don Schumacher Racing had three cars still battling for the Wally, and JFR none. Bob Tasca, Beckman's next opponent, was the lone Ford representative still racing Sunday.
BIG BROTHER HELPS - Tony Pedregon came into Sonoma 10th in the standings, battling for the class' final position in the Countdown. On his heels, literally and figuratively, was Jeff Arend, who sat in line behind him, waiting to face Tony Pedregon's brother, Cruz. But the No. 14-qualified Tony Pedregon didn't have enough power to stop No. 3 John Force.
Cruz Pedregon, running out of the No. 4 slot, gave his brother some hope, beating Arend, 4.543 seconds to 4.737. Cruz Pedregon said, "Jeff almost drove by me there. I was disappointed about having to pedal it."
Even though his brother's victory wasn't pretty, Tony Pedregon was happy to see it. "It's nice to have a brother who can kick a little butt," he said. "We're a little down but not out. I hate to say we're 'underfunded,' because a lot of companies in America are. And we're just a racing team, and it doesn't seem like a big deal."
Force, the points leader, threw out an "I love ya, Tony" at the end of his top-end interview.
NO DO-OVERS, SO HAGAN PREPARED - No. 11 starter Matt Hagan, driver of the Die Hard Dodge Charger, drew No. 6 and always dangerous Del Worsham, who has qualified all over the map this season in the Al-Anabi Toyota. "I was nervous as hell," Hagan said afterward. Referring to his chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at last Thursday night's San Francisco Giants-New York Mets National League baseball game at AT&T Park, "I felt like I was throwing out that first pitch again."
Lucky for Hagan that, as he said, "I don't get paid to throw a baseball. I get paid to drive a race car." At the ballpark, he bounced his pitch in front of home plate. "I'll stick with driving the race car," he said. "At first there was a big 'Awwww' from the fans, then a huge round of applause. Maybe in the future I'll get to do it over again."
He knows he doesn't get do-overs in drag racing, and he was prepared against John Force in Sunday's quarterfinals. He eliminated the No. 3 qualifier and points leader to set up a meeting with Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps.
"How awesome is that?!" Hagan said after knocking out Force. "He's a tough competitor. He's made this sport what it is."
DIRTY DRAWERS - After Ron Capps, runner-up at last Sunday's Seattle race, reached the semifinal round with a victory over Melanie Troxel, he blurted out, "I'm wearing the same ugly underwear I wore in Seattle. Didn't wash 'em. Sorry."
PRO STOCK
SHANE GRAY SHINES - Veteran racer Johnny Gray and son Shane Gray, who's vying for rookie-of-the-year honors, faced each other for the first time in the semifinal round at Englishtown in June. Shane Gray won that race and advanced to his first final round. And they found themselves paired once again in Sunday's opening round.
"I know that I'm going to have to be on my game and do my best," Shane Gray said after qualifying ended Saturday. "From there we'll just see how the cards fall."
Shane Gray qualified 10th and drew an ace. He repeated his feat, upsetting his No. 7-seeded dad in a close race. He used an .040-second reaction time to his father's .076 and won with a 6.619-second E.T. at 208.33 mph in the Big O Tires Pontiac GXP, while Johnny Gray ran a quicker and faster 6.604 / 209.52 in his NTB entry.
"We didn't really want to race each other today, but you got to do what you got to do," Shane Gray said. "This is his car, as well, so I know he'd want me to try my best."
Johnny Gray said, "I've done this for a long time" - 38 years to be exact. "And it's all about Shane this year." On Saturday he said, "It'll be a lot of fun to run Shane. The exciting part is we're going to have one of our cars, either the NTB car or the Big O Tires car in the second round. And that's good for us and for our sponsors. If I can go out and do my job, we'll send the kid to the house. If I don't, the kid will send me home."
Dad got the early pass home - and the son got a trip to the semifinals, taking advantage of class star Mike Edwards' tire shake early in their quarterfinal run. It was Gray's first victory in three meetings with Edwards.
A LITTLE TOO AMPED - Greg Stanfield defeated first-round opponent Ron Krisher on a holeshot for the upset. Stanfield's 6.623-second elapsed time at 207.78 mph topped the quicker, faster Krisher (6.615/208.62). But Stanfield was a bit too eager in the next round -- by five-thousandths of a second - handing the quarterfinal victory to Jason Line.
TOUGH BREAK FOR TOP DOG - No. 1 qualifier Allen Johnson was in an outstanding position to capture his first victory of the season in the Team Mopar / J & J Dodge Avenger. But it went poof, along with his engine, in the second round Sunday. With that, Kurt Johnson advanced to his second straight semifinal - after a string of four first-round exits. Kurt Johnson failed to qualify at two events this year and made it to the second round only twice (at Atlanta and Topeka). It came on the heels of Edwards' loss, meaning the top two qualifiers were gone by the semifinals. No. 3 qualifier Jeg Coughlin already had beaten Greg Anderson on a holeshot and became the highest-qualified Pro Stock driver still in the hunt at Infineon Raceway.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
RIVALRY HEATS UP - Over the years, Pro Stock Motorcycle drivers Matt Smith and Michael Phillips have developed an intense rivalry.
In the second round Sunday at Sonoma, their rivalry heated up again.
Smith and Phillips got into a staging battle. Smith staged first and the two drivers left the line with nearly identical reaction times. Smith was at .025 seconds and Phillips was at .024. Phillips, however, had a faster bike, clocking a 6.893-second time, while Smith was at 6.949 seconds.
“We’re out here just trying to go rounds,” said Phillips, who pilots the Racers Edge Suzuki-sponsored Suzuki.
HARLEY POWER - Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec, both advanced to the semifinals at the Fram-Autolite Nationals Sunday.
However, the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley Davidson teammates both advanced to the semifinals at the Fram-Autolite Nationals in different fashion.
Hines beat David Hope in the second round with a holeshot. Hines clocked a 6.930-second time at 195.08 mph, while Hope was quicker at 6.919 seconds.
Hines’ .024 reaction time was the difference. Hope left the line with a .053 reaction time.
Krawiec, meanwhile, chased down and beat Steve Johnson after getting left on. Krawiec had a 6.896-second run, while Johnson came in at 7.023 seconds.
Hines meets Hector Arana, the reigning champ and points leader, in the semis. Krawiec faces Michael Phillips in the semis.
The biggest surprise came when Jim Underdahl beat rookie-of-year candidate LE Tonglet.
Underdahl clocked 6.957-second time at 192.17 mph, to beat Tonglet, who has a faster 6.952-second time. The difference was at the starting line. Underdahl had a .032 reaction time, compared to a .052 reaction time by Tonglet.
HUSBAND DEFEATS WIFE - Matt Smith and his wife Angie Smith met up in round one and Matt was the victor. Matt ran 6.931 seconds, compared to Angie’s 6.971 second effort.
This is the third time in three races that Matt has upended his wife in eliminations.
MATT SMITH HAPPY WITH BAD-DOG - This weekend, the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals has been plenty busy for Matt Smith.
Not only is Smith driving his Al-Anabi Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle, he also is tuning his wife, Angie Smith’s V-Twin entry and is the wrench boss on a new bike GT Tonglet attempted to qualify.
Matt qualified third and Angie was 14th on the ladder on her Coffman Tank Trucks Buell. Tonglet missed the show with a 7.190-second time. Mike Berry was the final qualifier at 7.079 seconds.
Tonglet was riding a new V-Twin Buell motorcycle in its inaugural NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event. The bike has a Bad-Dog chassis, built by Pro Stock competitor Johnny Gray and Michael Furick, who has the nickname “Dog.”
The bike was built entirely in-house at the Gray Motorsports Shop in Denver, N.C.
According to Matt, Angie’s new bike was bought by JD Coffman, her sponsor, and team owner Karl Klement.
“This is a very good piece, it’s a very, very light bike,” Matt said. “That’s what we need out there for bigger people to come into the motorcycle class.”
Gray said Sunday morning, he’s hoping to finalize a deal on Monday to build a motorcycle for David Hope.
“We felt like building a chassis for Pro Stock Motorcycles was another avenue we could explore,” Gray said.
Matt Smith says the plan is for Angie to make her debut on the Bad-Dog chassis Buell at the 56th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.
“I was going to ride that new bike for a couple of races to get it ready,” Matt said. “Coming off my win at Norwalk, I just hated to get off a bike that is running good, so we just asked GT if he wanted to ride it (at Sonoma), and he said yes. We might also run that bike in Denver, it just depends on how many bikes show up in Denver. Right now, there are only 15 or 16 bikes on the entry list for Denver. If there are not enough bikes (at Denver), we might just put him out there and let him make a pass or two and put GT in the show there. We do not want our field to have a low bike count. We’ve seen Top Fuel and Funny Car have 15 cars at some of the races, and we don’t need our class to be like that. So, if I can help out in any way and put somebody on a bike to have a full field, that’s what we need to do.”
The Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals are July 23-25 at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison just outside of Denver.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -
FULLER'S NEW ROLE: HE'S NO LONGER THE CHAMP'S FOIL - Top Fuel star Tony Schumacher is surrounded by many of his NHRA 
rivals, with Antron Brown and Cory McClenathan among his new teammates. And this week he has been reminded of his newest teammate, the one who has been spreading the drag-racing gospel in the Middle East but is home in the United States to race at this weekend's FRAM-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
But this Hot Rod Fuller is not the same under-funded, over-revved Hot Rod Fuller who battled Schumacher to the end, spicing the 2008 season.
While Fuller's status as the key player in the development of drag racing at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit signals exciting, global opportunities for him -- including some behind the wheel of a dragster -- it appears to have taken the starch from the two contenders' sassy repartee.
“I have tried for 14 years in Top Fuel to not say squat and just do what I do. This is really the first opportunity where I'm going to be able to poke a little. We'll see," Schumacher said. "There's certain times people say stuff where they just make it too easy and you’ve got to throw one out there. We'll see how it holds up. It will be cool to have him over there.”
In general, the U.S. Army Dragster drivers' mantra is “I'll never give 'em any ammo.” He said, “the amusement factor could suck him in just a little bit.
Schumacher said he has asked himself of the sniping, “Is it going to make the world a better place if I pick on Hot Rod? I don't know. Will it make it more fun? Probably. I have a bag of things I can throw at him that I've been saving up for a bunch of years, so might get some good ammo for the next couple weeks.”
Maybe he should have lobbed some of those clever verbal grenades earlier, for now it might be a monologue. Fuller really isn't participating.
He said he wouldn't be all that ruffled if Schumacher gives him a few soft jabs, for old times' sake.
“You know, honestly, he can. I haven't even been a race car driver for the last year and a half. He's the world champ,” Fuller said. “Heck, I feel honored that he even remembers what my name is. I haven't got much to bring back. I've been sitting on the sidelines. It's hard for me to say anything and do anything when I don't have nothin' to back it up with.
“I can tell you that he's still the No. 1 target on my list,” Fuller said. “It'll always be that way. No matter what's, he's the guy I want to beat the most. I love Antron [Brown]. I love Larry Dixon. I love Cory McClenathan. I love all those guys. But when I race Tony, my blood pressure and everything else gets up a little bit more for him.”
But Fuller said he's comfortable and content with his new role in the sport: “Sometimes in America we're not the big show. But drag racing over there is the big show. They love it. The people embrace it. It's almost like I made a step up in the hierarchy of the racing world.”
The rivalry that has faded for the fans represents a measure of achievement for Fuller.
“I was this pesky little unsponsored, half-the-time car, nipping at his heels all the time and beating him a lot. And I think that bothered him a little bit. I know it bothered Alan a little bit. In those years of our going head-to-head, I accomplished a lot. There's no one on this property that can say they were the last person to beat the most dominant team -- in my mind -- in the history of drag racing,” Fuller said while preparing to qualify his Abu Dhabi / Yas Marina Dragster. “And when I beat them at Pomona in 2008 -- that was his and Alan's last race together -- everybody was chalking him up for the win and I go out there and beat him on a holeshot. It was kind of like my last parting shot.”
But he's back and will race also at Denver, Indianapolis, and Charlotte.
“This car has no disadvantage at Denver. Denver's a crapshoot. We can show up there and we don't have to do a lot. We don't have a lot of tune-ups and set-ups, but at Denver no one does,” Fuller said. “The reason we're not going to any more is that's when part of our racing seasons starts over there. We also have the F1 race that is facility-wide, and everybody needs to help get ready for that.
“The goal for next year,” he said, “is to increase it to maybe 10-12 races (stateside) and maybe 2012 or '13 run fulltime.”
Tuned by his longtime colleague Lee Beard, Fuller qualified eighth in the first session with a 3.977-second pass at 293.98 mph. The 10 p.m. curfew robbed the Top Fuel class of its second session Friday. Fuller moved up to seventh early Saturday (at 3.942/299.93), cementing his place in the field.
“These guys are racing every week. I've been sitting in an office behind a desk. It's a big, big, big, big difference,” Fuller said. “It's like getting back on the bike -- but it's like getting back on the bike and having a 1,000-pound lion chasing you. I can get back on the bike, but that big lion coming right behind you is pretty scary. You've got to make sure you don't make mistakes.”
Peter Rae, director of communications for NHRA-sanctioned Yas Marina Circuit, could vouch for Fuller's competence. The United Arab Emirates facility, by all accounts gleaming-new and state-of-the-art, had no structure, no drag-racing history. But Fuller, who teamed with fellow veteran driver Tommy Johnson Jr. to introduce the UAE to drag racing earlier this year, had experience. He had ideas. He had the personality and desire to relocate halfway around the world, embrace the mission, and teach newcomers to the sport.
“The intention is to use the academy to teach drivers how to driver Super Comp,” Rae said. “There's a lot of interest out there but in the smaller classes. Rod's plan is to tap into that and bring NHRA disciplines into drag racing in the region.”
Fuller said that when he settled into the Yas Marina and Abu Dhabi culture, “The dragstrip itself was brand-new. They had no infrastructure. So there was a lot to do. We've got five Super Comp cars coming from Kurt Damron at Undercover Chassis in Florida. He built us five beautiful cars. We tested them a month ago at Gainesville. I had to write a curriculum for the school classes. I had to come up with budgets. All that stuff's pretty much done.”
The process hasn't been without its minor problems. “Some of the local drivers were feeling that our restrictions were a little bit tough,” Rae said. “They'd never been scrutinized at that level before. And George Case (former Maple Grove Raceway and Palm Beach International Raceway operator) is over there, saying, 'This is how it has to be done.' I think there initially was some surprise, maybe some resentment, maybe a slow understanding, but this is the way it has to go.”
They found that out at the Yas Drag Festival at Yas Marina Circuit in March. And, Rae said, “The expectation is that at the next event, in December, people will be more ready for the tech inspections they have to go through.”
A respectable 110 cars entered the March festival, which sold out both nights. Rae said a capacity crowd of 5,000 in the grandstands were mesmerized.
“We wanted the audience to experience drag racing properly. Certainly most had never seen Top Fuel before,” he said. “You could hear this roar of 'Wow!' coming from 5,000 people. And we have quite a strong motorcycle interest.”
The December reprise will be open to racers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and any other nations.
Fuller returns to the Full Throttle Drag Racing tour not as interloper, not as a hot shoe on a shoestring. He returns as role model. In Denver he'll host Faisal Ali Al Shamsi, Yas Marina's first scholarship candidate for the drag-racing academy.
“We take him on and help him enhance his talent,” Rae said. “He won his class in the festival in March, and Rod's ambition is to see if he can ultimately see if he can get him into competition here next year in Super Comp. If possible we'll get him out to another race this year. The intention is to do this with many other drivers. Rod has had lots of interest from local drivers saying, 'How can I get better and compete internationally?' There's a lot of interest out there but in the smaller classes.”
Said Fuller, “Emiratis want to see what you've done and they want to see it themselves. All those wins and championships and stuff . . . It doesn't mean nothin' to Faisal. He wants to see it. So we'll go prove it to him that I'm the guy to be his mentor and teacher.”
Fuller has earned NHRA victories in the Top Fuel, Super Comp, and Super Gas classes and has seven career Top Fuel triumphs in 18 final-round appearances.
Mused Fuller about Faisal Ali Al Shamsi, “We picked probably the one kid (for whom) drag racing's not the most killer thing to him. He's a military pilot. Wouldn't you imagine? We picked a kid who's got the only job cooler than driving a Top Fuel car.”
It's still a cool job for Fuller, and Abu Dhabi quickly has become his adopted home.
“I love it. It's home. I had no idea I'd like it as much as I have. Love the weather, love the people. Its just like Vegas, without all the gambling. And I don't gamble, so that makes it nice,” he said.
But, Rae said, “He's thrilled to come back here,” -- especially to Infineon Raceway. “He said how it kind of all started for him here. He looked at where the privateers were all camped out. He's genuinely happy to be here.”
Fuller could become an international television personality, as well.
“We're shooting a six-part TV series about his return to the U.S.,” Rae said. “We're hoping we'll show it all over the world. None of that has been negotiated or set up yet. What we're trying to do is promote the sport, really, but Rod is the focal point because he's our driver.”
And that's a whole lot more gratifying than being Tony Schumacher's foil.
“I was struggling at the line yesterday,” the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion said, thinking about closing Friday's two sessions with a sixth-place showing.
He said he knew if he could leave well, he would have a shot at toppling provisional leader Matt Smith.
He did.
Lined up against LE Tonglet, Arana's .091-second reaction time didn't top Tonglet's .013, but he got a satisfactory jump to blast to a track-record 6.876-second elapsed time at 192.69 mph.
Arana grabbed his class-best fourth top spot of the season. And with some help from Steve Johnson, who improved three places from Friday, he left Smith in the position to square off against his own wife, Angie Smith, the No. 14 qualifier, for the second time this season.
“The bike left good,” Arana said of his Lucas Oil Buell. “I knew I was on a good run. It drifted a little bit to the left, and I corrected it -- and to my surprise it was an 87. So I was pleased and happy with it.
“It sure didn't feel like an .87,” he said. “It felt slow to me. It seemed like I was in slow motion.”
The Pro Stock Bikes have had five different winners in eight events this season. Andrew Hines, Michael Phillips, and Matt Smith have two victories each, but Arana is seeking his first since last fall's race at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas.
Arana will face Mike Berry in the first round of Sunday eliminations which begin at 11 a.m. (PT).
“You can't take anything for granted,” Arana said. “Anybody can surprise you.”
He should know.
SWEET SATURDAY PUTS JOHNSON IN SUPER SHAPE FOR SUNDAY - Allen Johnson bit into the apple -- ate the whole thing, actually.
Then he puckered up his face and shook his head. "Whew -- that was sour!" he declared.
What a shame that a sour moment followed such a sweet one Saturday for the Greeneville, Tenn., NHRA racer who held onto his No. 1 qualifying position for Sundays' elimination in the FRAM-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
And how distasteful for Johnson that in the opening round he'll have to put his Team Mopar / J & J Racing Dodge Avenger against No. 16 qualifier Vinnie Deceglie, his engine customer.
He'll slough off both annoyances, surely, armed with security from his track-record elapsed time (6.545 seconds) and speed (210.77 mph) and a decent idea of what the track can hold.
"I think the conditions this afternoon are going to be what they start off with tomorrow," Johnson said. "I think it's going to get even a little warmer tomorrow."
His Saturday runs didn't produce the same excitement of his Friday performance, but he said he's ready to go for his first victory of the season. He has had three final-round appearances, and he said he's ready to get that monkey off his back.
"We didn't do too good a job that last run, doin' it for tomorrow," he said, referring to his aborted run because of tire shake." But we got a good car. We've got a veteran team.
"Unfortunately, somebody moved around and we've got to run our other motor in Vinny's car first round. But for the most part, we've had a good weekend up to this point."
Johnson withstood a Saturday charge by Mike Edwards, for whom Infineon Raceway must be an Achilles' heel. Edwards improved from an uncharacteristic fifth place Friday to second Saturday with a 6.549. With that he missed his 11th top spot in 15 events this season. Infineon Raceway was the track at which he last qualified lower than No. 2, so he continued that streak.
Jeg Coughlin and Ron Krisher remained in the top five, which Jason Line anchored by jumping Saturday morning from 12th place to fifth.
Johnson indicated he was secure in his Friday showing enough to experiment a little Saturday. And he tried a race-day tune-up in his fourth and final run.
"The final run we did. This morning we just didn't make a good run," he said.
"But the last run, we were really just trying to see how far we can push the envelope for tomorrow, and we pushed it a little too far," Johnson said. "We had just a little bit too much wheel speed and shook the tires when I pulled second gear."
But the low-key Johnson was just that Saturday evening, confident in his tune-up and preparation for Sunday's rounds.
"We feel like we'll hit it right on the head tomorrow," he said. "We'll go out there and try to get a win this race."
This is the 10th time in his career that he will lead the Pro Stock field.
BECKMAN SETS TRACK RECORD WINNING POLE - Not only did Jack Beckman capture the pole position at the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals, he did it in track record-setting fashion at 4.063 seconds at 311.56 mph at Infineon Raceway.
Beckman’s blistering record run came on Friday night right before the track’s strict 10 pm curfew.
“It’s always cool the next year to see your name with the track records,” Beckman said. “I didn’t even know we had set those track records until about an hour later when I came up in the press room, and that was just icing on the cake. I had no idea those were the quickest and fastest times, but I have no complaints.”
This was Beckman’s first pole of the season and third of his career. Beckman, who pilots the Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge for Don Schumacher Racing, meets No. 16 qualifier Jeff Diehl in the first round of eliminations Sunday.
On his first qualifying pass Saturday, Beckman slowed to 6.410 seconds and then bounced back with a 4.192-second time in his final qualifying run.
“The fortunate thing about running good on Friday is that you can test on Saturday,” Beckman said. “For the first run Saturday we were able to try some things in the clutch that may or may not help us later in the season. Though it showed some promise on our third qualifying run, we went up in smoke. So, we went back to our stock stuff and tried that for the fourth session and it ran great. Not only are we happy, but we’re pretty enthusiastic going into Sunday.”
Beckman, who is fourth in the point standings, says there’s no real secret formula for success Sunday.
“We just have to race the track,” Beckman said. “I think that is always the deal in nitro racing. We’re No. 1 and we’re racing No. 16, but if we don’t race the race track we could get upset in the first round. You would think if you have somebody covered by two tenths, you can just turn that big knob down a couple of notches and make a safe run, but you can’t do that because it is such a fine line. If you take too much out of it, the car is just going to go out there and shake and go into tire smoke. We have to just race the race track.”
That’s because the second round of Top Fuel qualifying was cancelled by NHRA officials because they didn’t believe the round could be completed before the 10 pm strict curfew at Infineon Raceway.
Well, Larry Dixon’s lone run Friday of 3.839 seconds at 317.79 mph in his Al-Anabi dragster was the best in the class for the weekend and won him his fifth pole of the season.
“It was nice to get this pole,” said Dixon, whose 317.79 mph on that pass also was a track record. “I think all of the Top Fuel drivers certainly would have liked to have had a shot at the Friday night session to improve their numbers. But, having two more sessions during the day and getting more of a realistic feel of what race day will be like is better for your Sunday racing.”
On Saturday, Dixon, who is the season points leader, made qualifying passes of 3.950 seconds and 3.887 seconds. Antron Brown’s 3.863-second run Friday kept him in second on the qualifying ladder. Hot Rod Fuller had the best run Saturday at 3.873 seconds, which secured the third spot for him.
“I thought our car ran good Saturday,” said Dixon. “It was fourth quick in the first session and second quick in the second session, so all-in-all it was a good day and it has been a good weekend so far.”
A year ago, Dixon qualified No. 2 at Infineon, but was upset in the first round by Mike Strasburg. Dixon’s last win at Sonoma came back in 2003.
“We just need to make good runs Sunday,” said Dixon, who is coming off a second round loss to Shawn Langdon last Sunday in Seattle. “We need to see what the conditions are for the track itself and how it is prepped and hopefully we can make four good runs. I know everybody on the Al-Anabi team feels good about the day (Saturday) and we’re just getting ready for race day Sunday.”
When Dixon has advanced to the final round, he has been perfect winning all seven times.
Dixon has advanced to at least the semifinals in 10 of the 14 events so far this season, and he also has qualified in the top three at 13 of the 14 races.
TROXEL LOOKING TO BE MORE IN THAN OUT ON SUNDAY - Melanie Troxel drove her In-N-Out Burger Dodge Charger Funny Car to the 15th qualifying position at this weekend’s 23rd annual Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
Troxel said she would have liked to qualify higher in the field but unfortunately during the Friday night session, when the low numbers are usually ran, the In-N-Out Burger team had some mechanical issues.
“You want to go out there on Friday night run, that’s the hero session,” Troxel said. “You want to lay that big number down. Unfortunately the throttle cable came unhooked that session or we think we have run a better number to move us up there in the field. The good news is you can win from any position in the field.”
She managed to get down the track all three daytime passes, and improve with each pass. Troxel’s best lap of the weekend was a 4.304 seconds at 289.94 mph.
Running the R2B2 Racing machine well in the heat of the day is particularly important considering those conditions are the closest to those on race day.
“We’ve struggled with some mechanical failures and problems on Friday so today (Saturday) to come out in the heat of the day to make it down the track on two runs,” Troxel said. “We’re not qualified as well as we would have liked, we’re pretty happy that we have a car that goes down the track, and on a lot of the times on Sundays that’s what you need -- a good consistent car.”
The team has been working hard to get a consistent racecar and being a part-time team makes that a little bit more of a challenge. Troxel said the team has a game plan on how to get back to being the consistent racecar it had earlier in the season.
“When we started out the beginning of the season, we were going down the track almost every pass,” she said. “We seemed to have gotten away from that. Lance (Larsen, crew chief) did a lot of pouring over data to figure out when that changed and what changes we have made on the car over the season.”
Troxel faces Gary Densham in round No. 1 Sunday. The No. 2 qualifier ran a 4.103 at 300.26 mph in without doubt the most spectacular run of the evening, blowing the body off into about 20 pieces right after he passed through the lights.
Troxel has especially high hopes for her team this weekend because In-N-Out started in California and the team has a lot of support in Northern California.
“Any weekend you go out, the team is trying to win the race every weekend out,” Troxel said. “But for us it is particularly important to win here in In-N-Out country with Lynsi Martinez (In-N-Out Burger chief) and so many people here from the local In-N-Out stores. We’re working hard to put on a good show for them tomorrow”
CURFEW CUTS TOP FUEL SECOND ROUND QUALIFYING - When NHRA officials were forced to cancel the second round of Top Fuel qualifying Friday night at the Fram-Autolite Nationals, it didn’t sit well with some competitors.
The NHRA called off the second round of qualifying because the sanctioning body didn’t believe it could complete the session by the 10 pm. curfew at Infineon Raceway.
“I think they (NHRA) had to cancel a Top Fuel qualifying session back in 2007 or 2008 at Sonoma,” said Jim Oberhofer, crew chief for Doug Kalitta. “You think they would have learned from that. They have a strict 10 pm. curfew and our (Kalitta Motorsports) Funny Car didn’t make its first lap until 5:31 pm., (which) is what is says on our time slip.
“I do not know how the heck they got so behind. I think it is a bull**** deal. I think whoever the hell makes the schedule here for this race, needs to either be fired or learn how to make a schedule. We constantly have this problem here every time we run here. The problem with this place is that the air changes so much that you end up having problems running your car. The chances of blowing stuff up are much greater here because of these huge air swings.”
According to Larry Dixon, who won Top Fuel’s provisional pole Friday with a 3.839-second pass, it took 45 minutes to run the first round of Top Fuel qualifying.
“There wasn’t 45 minutes left to the night if 10 p.m. is it (the curfew),” Dixon said. “I’m not sure what time it was when they (NHRA) called it, it was around 9:40 pm. This curfew has happened to Top Fuel teams here before.”
Kalitta was third fastest in the first round of qualifying at 3.899 seconds, but Oberhofer believes that could have changed if the second session would have taken place.
“It is really disappointing that we didn’t get to run the second round of qualifying,” Oberhofer said. “They had a great crowd here, and if I were the fans, I would be pissed, and I would want to know who the hell made this schedule, and I want to have a piece of their (rear), if it was me. It is really a shame. I didn’t see any empty seats anywhere, and I know when they (NHRA) announced they weren’t running Top Fuel, they (the fans) were booing. They were pretty pissed and they have every right to be pissed.”
The first round of Funny Car and Top Fuel qualifying was slated for 4:45 pm. Pacific Time Friday and the second round was supposed to be on tap at 7:15.
“The sessions here need to be at 3 and 6 o’clock,” Oberhofer said. “They’re flirting with disaster because there is no give on the curfew here. It’s 10 p.m., and that’s what it is. You can’t pay a fine or anything. I heard (Kenny) Bernstein had like 1,000 Copart people here and they’re all out here wanting to see their race car run. You have all these people here wanting to see their cars run, then they can’t run.
“I do not know why they were so behind. The first session of Funny Car started late. It was supposed to start at 4:45 pm, and our Funny Car was up at the front of the pack, and we didn’t make our first lap until 5:31 pm. They were already 45 minutes behind at that point. Somebody need to take a real hard look at how they lay the schedule out for this race because it is really screwed up.”
Veteran Cory McClenathan, who won at Seattle last Sunday, also was trying Friday night to come to grips with the NHRA’s decision. McClenathan drives the Fram dragster for Don Schumacher Racing, but failed to qualify with a 6.338-second run.
“I have two thoughts on it, and it is kind of rough because I’ve been in both situations,” McClenathan said. “I’ve been in the car here (at Sonoma), at this track, with this curfew, in the water box and been told I can’t run. Then, I have been in a situation like (Friday night), where you are the third pair and you know, you’re going to make the cut to make a run, but then they realize they’re not going to be able to get the whole session in, so they call it. I applaud NHRA for not starting a session they couldn’t finish, but at the same time they probably should have started everything earlier to make sure everybody has enough time to get in and make their runs.
“It does kind of ring the same bell because we have had this happen more than a couple of times. After a while, you think maybe you should have started this earlier because it is not only hard for us, but it is also hard for the fans. They’ve been waiting all day to see this show. We need to allow for time for these (qualifying sessions). Plus, when this is your sponsor’s race, you really do not want this happen.”
McClenathan will have two more chances on Saturday to get his FRAM dragster into the field; however it is unlikely conditions will be ripe enough for McClenathan to have a shot at winning the pole.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -
IN THIS CORNER WEIGHING IN AT - Warren Johnson spoke out last Sunday at Seattle about the NHRA's track-prep performance in an effort to defend not only the honor of the Pro Stock class but to force the sanctioning body to make drag racing safer.
In the process, he offended Funny Car drivers Jim Head and Bob Tasca, who returned fire and challenged Johnson to drive a flopper -- blindfolded, even. While Johnson conceded that he “probably got a little overzealous last weekend,” he held fast to his convictions that prompted the war of words.
As for whether he'll take up Head and Tasca on their dare, Johnson said, “You never know. I've driven just about everything, but at this point I've got other fish to fry.
“This is just big-time auto wrestling,” Johnson said Friday while preparing to qualify his K&N Pontiac GXP at the National Hot Rod Association's FRAM-Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway.
He referred to Tasca and Head as “laptop cowboys” who “didn't really listen to what I said -- they didn't hear what I said. I said it didn't take much talent to drive those cars down the racetrack, because everything is pretty much taken care of. I didn't say they didn't have any talent.”
He said of Tasca's reaction, “That's the case of a spoiled brat.”
Then he said, “I have nothing against Bob (Tasca) or any of the guys out there,” he said. “But they've got to start looking at it like we're not the only people out there. They're not the whole show.”
His contention, he said, was that the racetracks need to accommodate the needs of every racer, “not for the less than one-tenth of a percent of the race cars that are out there.” He said, “Maybe we need to help NHRA get this situation fixed. I was speaking for every car that's not a fuel car. I don't want to see anybody hurt out there.”
On a light-hearted note, Johnson got a kick out of Head's remark about this feud being “one senile old man to another.”
While Head and Tasca both complained that Johnson could have made his point without insulting the nitro-class drivers, Tasca moved the argument to another plane. The Mustang driver, in volunteering to swap cars for a grudge match, prefaced his remark by saying, “I've never driven a hunk of s--- GM in my life, but I'll drive one … “
Did Johnson take offense at Tasca's shot at the K&N car's manufacturer?
“Absolutely -- because I think the same thing about them damn Fords,” he said. “You know what 'Ford' stands for. You're standing in front of the mirror in the morning. You're shaving. You got your Ford T-shirt on. You look at it. D-R-O-F. Oh yeah -- driver returning on foot.”
Should the sport revive the brand-loyalty rivalries?
“Those days have gone by,” Johnson said, “and you can relate this to the COT (Car of Tomorrow) in NASCAR. It's the same car with different decals on it. They've lost that identity with Ford, GM, and Chrysler. To me, that's not healthy.
“There's a lot of people who bought Oldsmobiles when I was racing Oldsmobiles. And when I went to Pontiac, there were a lot of people who switched from those Oldsmobiles to Pontiacs,” he said. “So there's a lot of identity of product with a competitor that the spectators take to heart. At Daytona, they use to have the GM section, the Ford section, and the Chrysler section, because they'd get in fights if they were seated among each other.”
He said that scenario isn't likely to recur -- “not when they homogenize the race cars. Pro Stock's a lot better off than Funny Car, as far as vehicle identity, but it's still not what it was 15 years ago.” Furthermore he said that if one brand dominates “year after year after year, the sport goes away.”
He said he hadn't spoken with either Head or Tasca since the verbal skirmish escalated.
“We're not going to waste the time talking to each other. We're going to work on our race cars,” he said. “At least Jim's paying attention. We've got a problem that needs to be addressed and addressed quickly before we have any other fatalities.
“We're going to have to get them [nitro-class drivers] and NHRA mad enough -- and the public mad enough -- to get this problem fixed,” Johnson said. “And that's my mission. I'd known Mark for 30 years. That hurt me.
“We're all involved in it. I think the fuel cars have the most say-so in it, because they are the ones that really propagated this problem because of the fact they shortened the racetrack. Not the fuel cars that did it -- it was the NHRA that came up with this quick fix. Well, this quick fix has been in effect for two years, and unfortunately we've killed more than Scott Kalitta. We're in the multiples now.”
Among the drivers lost are Top Alcohol Funny Car drivers Bobby Martindale (at Atlanta, 2008) and Neal Parker (at Englishtown, June 2010) and Top Alcohol Dragster driver Mark Niver (at Seattle, last week).
“I don't have anything against the fuel guys, but we've gotten into a situation because of a problem that they had. Now we need to address how we're going to correct this disaster we've got going on now so everybody benefits,” Johnson said.
“I want to make the spectators happy, first and foremost, but I want to be safe doing it. We're trying to salvage a sport -- these spectators are down 30 to 50 percent. Let's forget about ourselves and let's look at the sport,” he said. “It's up to the NHRA to make damn sure that everybody in the stands -- they're their only customer -- is entertained. The racers and the sanctioning body can both be replaced. Obviously the ADRL and 'Pinks!' have proved that, because they'll have twice the crowd we have out here on any given event they have -- and there isn't a damn fuel car on the property.”
He said if Head walked over to his pit, he would ask him, “What are we going to do about this?”
Johnson said he is not a design engineer but called for “an energy-absorbing device of some sort. They're using a net that was designed to stop something 10 times heavier than a race car. We're talking about significantly different types of cars that have run into (the sand). How can they say we really need only one type of containment? All I know is that it has to be an energy-absorbing device of some sort that progressively slows down a car.”
Drivers, already confronted with split-second choices when they anticipate trouble stopping, sometimes consider hitting the guard wall to scrub off speed and minimize damage to themselves and the car when they hit the sand or gravel pit.
“That's the very point we're trying to get at: Why should you be faced with a choice like that?” Johnson asked.
The problem is a domino-effect situation, as Johnson sees it. “We had one unfortunate tragedy with Scott Kalitta, so their immediate reaction was to shorten the racetrack. Well, when they shortened the racetrack, they kept gluing it. They started losing tires. So then they stopped gluing it. Now we've got this problem. One thing leads to another,” he said. “We've got to fix the whole problem.”
Pacific Raceways, he said, contributed to the problem. “If they had left that track alone, Mark Niver would still be here. The cars are going too fast. So what do they do? They shorten the track, I think, 480 feet.” He said the cars used to turn off on the road course. “if that had been left alone, Mark Niver would still be here.”
Top-end materials and grooming, he said, are at the heart of the dilemma. “(The NHRA) took the asphalt out of there and putting gravel -- which they groomed incorrectly to start with -- and then put two nets up there that are designed to stop a 26,000-pound airplane, not a 2,000-pound dragster,” he said. “I think that's NHRA's (fault), because NHRA's the one that mandated shortening that race track and moving up those nets 480 feet. That gravel was leveled off -- it's like skipping stones on water. This is not an 80,000-pound truck that's going across there. They won't penetrate into that gravel. They'll just glide across it.”
Johnson suggested that the NHRA work with engineering experts at the University of Nebraska or elsewhere to come up with improved top-end protection: “They need to bring in people who are involved in that aspect of motorsports. We don't need any novices designing something based on a knee-jerk reaction that got us in this problem in the first place.”
He said he doesn't think the cars, like IndyCar series machines, can be built to come apart to disperse energy. “That'd be more like bringing Evel Knievel.”
Graham Light, NHRA senior vice-president of racing operations, said, “There's a long-standing mechanism in place to address issues such as Warren's, and that's PRO (Professional Racers Organization). Warren's a board member. He has been a board member for years, so he understands the process. And he knows there are open lines of communication that exist. He knows the channels to pursue to get resolution.
“As in the past, NHRA will investigate the most recent incidents and makes changes to make the sport safer,” Light said. “Working with the University of Nebraska has led to today's top end layout, and we will continue to seek guidance and counsel from this group and the racing community to improve upon the current system in place.”
BECKMAN TO THE TOP IN NEAR PERFECT CONDITIONS - Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson predicted that with the program dragging on Friday night with clean-up delays -- meaning cooler and better conditions -- that Infineon Raceway fans just might see the fastest run of the year so far in qualifying for the FRAM-Autolite Nationals.
His guess was amazingly close when it came to elapsed time, although he was a bit off on the speed. And he probably was less disappointed in missing the forecast as he was that the track E.T. and speed records belong not to him but to Jack Beckman.
Beckman made a bid for his first No. 1 qualifying position since last fall's Richmond race, posting a 4.063-second pass at 311.56 mph in his Don Schumacher-owned Valvoline/Mail Terminals Dodge Charger.
Racing a curfew that cost the Top Fuel class a second qualifying session as much as his competitors, he erased teammate Matt Hagan's records (4.068/307.51) from last July.
Although he carries the nickname "Fast Jack," Beckman would own just the third top-qualifying spot of his career.
He had said leaving Seattle, the first leg of this Western Swing, that he has "raced in Sonoma so many times that I'm very comfortable there, and this new car is starting to feel really good. We've gone rounds every single race since Chicago with this new chassis (registering three semifinal efforts).
"I love the Bruton Smith facilities. There are just no questions and [the same] with the NHRA track prep crew. It's nice to have that sort of confidence. They didn't do their normal scrape/drag. You can tell they knew they were up against the clock. And all of a sudden cars are firing up, I had to get my gear on and get in there," Beckman said.
"And 250 feet into the run -- you know when it's going to be a good run -- when the timing and the clutch start coming in, if it's trying to shove you out the back of the car, it's on a good run.
"It ran good," he said. "I threw the 'chute down there and said, 'Well, that ought to be OK, and they came on the radio and said, '4.06,' I said, 'Cool.'
"And then when you get out of the car you realize there's still five really good pairs of cars behind us. And all 10 of them, or at least a couple of them, are probably going to go under that 4.06. And, in fact," Beckman said, "it's almost like we tipped the hand of what the car could handle with that 4.06. Now people can dive in and adjust their clutch and timing management systems."
But Gary Densham, who sits No. 2 in the lineup overnight, had a surprise for everybody -- not just with his 4.103-second E.T. in a finance-shortened schedule, but with his spectacular explosion that put the rest of his weekend in doubt.
"Densham is the next car out and blows the body off, and I'm at the top end and watched that. I was concerned that he was OK, and he was. And then that little delay, you start wondering, 'Does the track get better or does the track get worse?' "
Beckman said he violated his own rule about not becoming emotionally attached to what's happening on track and about his role in it. But he couldn't help himself.
"It's interesting. I even told the crew guys -- I try never to get emotionally wrapped up in this deal -- but, man, wouldn't it be cool if everybody else smoked the tires and we ended up No. 1?!
"I was very surprised that we outlasted those 10 cars out there," he said. "I think tomorrow is going to be extremely difficult for somebody to get in under that. I'm not saying it's not possible. I'm saying that's a big hill to climb."
In Friday's opening qualifying session, Beckman ran a 4.238-second lap at 289.57 mph, ending up 10th.
"We just wanted to get down the track," he said, "but it kind of put us up towards the front (of the second session). We knew the track would probably get a little bit better as we went out there."
PERFECT CONDITIONS EQUAL POLE FOR JOHNSON - Allen Johnson took advantage of mineshaft conditions Friday night and under the Infineon Raceway lights, he did more than make a bid for Pro Stock's No. 1 qualifying position for the FRAM-Autolite Nationals.
He rewrote both the track elapsed-time and speed records with a 6.545-second blast at 210.77 mph in his Team Mopar / J&J Dodge Avenger. They wiped out Jason Line's year-old marks.
The Greeneville, Tenn., native, on target in his native Southeast, was No. 1 qualifier at Atlanta and Bristol. So this would be the third top spot of the year and 10th of his career.
"Conditions at 300 feet -- best conditions we've had in awhile. Humidity rolls in and it slows us down on miles per hour. But track's awesome. Air's awesome," Johnson said. "We had a decent run."
He corrected himself.
"It's pretty much an above-average run," he said.
"These conditions you don't see very much at 300 foot above sea level. Englishtown on the Friday night passes got really good like that. And at Richmond last year. But it's hard to beat those conditions."
Friday night he found himself once again paired with reigning champion Mike Edwards, who has qualified No. 1 at 10 of the first 15 races. "Anytime you can go out there and outrun Mike E.T.-wise, you've done something, " Johnson said.
He and Jason Line both topped Edwards in the preliminary order Friday at the previous race, at Seattle, a rare feat. But Edwards stormed back Saturday and regained his dominance.
But Johnson said he was confident his 6.545 will hold up as low E.T.
"Normally on Friday night here we stretch it out here and run pretty late about every year. A bunch of stuff happens. But as late as it was, as cool as it was, tomorrow I believe it'll be tough to take that away," he said.
"The [Saturday] morning session normally is the best session here, but will it get better than this? I don't know -- it'd have to get pretty good."
Only twice has Johnson qualified lower than fourth (sixth at Charlotte and 13th at Englishtown).
With three runner-up finishes this season (at Houston, Norwalk, and Topeka), Johnson joked, "We can't seal the deal, can we?
"We've had a great year, just one little step away here and there. Hopefully we're saving all our luck for the Countdown," he said.
Earlier in the decade, Greg Anderson seemed to run away with nearly every qualifying session, elimination round, and race. For a season and a half, Edwards has been the man to beat. When does Johnson think he'll have his time in the spotlight?
"I think we're there now," he said. "We've got to make perfect runs every run and have a little luck here and there. And we could win five in a row. We haven't done that. So maybe we're getting ready to start."
Who could argue? Since the April 11 Houston race -- 10 events ago -- he has remained second in the standings, an improvement of only one place, at that, in one of the NHRA's most competitive classes.
He'll have to tough out two Saturday qualifying sessions.
SMITH ON TOP IN PRO BIKES - This weekend, the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals figured to be hectic for Matt Smith.
Not only is Smith driving his Al-Anabi Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle, he also is tuning his wife, Angie Smith’s V-Twin entry, as well as being the wrench boss on a new bike GT Tonglet is riding.
To Matt Smith’s credit, he never lost his focus Friday.
Smith took the provisional pole in qualifying with a 6.912-second time at 191.32 mph at the Infineon Raceway track. Smith just edged Craig Treble for the top spot. Treble came in at 6.919 seconds at 192.58 mph.
“When we came up at first, I thought we could run a 91 or 92, and the track kept getting tighter and tighter and the air kept getting colder and colder and I thought we were going to be too lean,” Smith said. “I really didn’t want to come back and put a percent of fuel in it. Maybe we could have and we could have run a 90 or 89, possibly. Right now, I’m happy our Al-Anabi V-Twin is running awesome and I can’t say enough for it.”
Smith is second in the point standings, trailing reigning champion Hector Arana. Arana qualified sixth at 6.936 seconds.
For a variety of reasons, the second round of Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying started late, but that didn’t bother Smith.
“I have got my hands full running three bikes this weekend,” Smith said. “But all in all, I’m happy with the way things went. GT had a problem that time (on his second run), but we will be all right. I think tomorrow morning will be a fast session because normally in the morning, we really have a tail wind and that really helps the motorcycles. If we have a tail wind in the morning and the air is this good, you will see some 88s, 87s, if not an 86.”
Angie Smith qualified 11th Friday at 7.030 seconds and Tonglet had the 14th best run at 7.097 seconds.
The Pro Stock Motorcycles qualifying at 11:45 a.m. Pacific Time Saturday and then have their final qualifying session at 2 p.m.
Smith knows keeping the pole Saturday is no easy task.
“You have about three guys I will have to be looking out for,” Smith said. “I think Hector (Arana) and Andrew (Hines) will be my biggest threats because they make good power, and Michael Phillips runs really good on the top end and if he can get a hold of the track at 60 foot, he will run quick.”
Phillips is qualified third at 6.926 seconds and Hines is ninth at 6.994 seconds.
Smith has won two races this year, including the last Pro Stock Motorcycle national event at Norwalk in June.
UP, UP AND AWAY - With fire exiting the engine, Gary Densham's Funny Car body, with the exception of the nose piece, is blown apart and high into the cool night air of Sonoma, California.
CURFEW LOCKS DIXON INTO TOP SPOT IN TOP FUEL - All season, Larry Dixon has been a favorite to win qualifying pole positions.
Friday at the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals it was no different and Dixon lived up to his billing.
Dixon took the provisional pole with a 3.839-second time at 317.79 mph. Dixon’s run was the last run of the first round of qualifying and it held up when the second round of Top Fuel qualifying was cancelled by NHRA officials because they didn’t believe the second round of qualifying could be completed in time to meet the 10 pm curfew at Infineon Raceway.
“We made a nice run in that first session,” said Dixon, who is aiming to capture his fifth No. 1 qualifying spot this season. “As more cars ran, it gave Jason (McCulloch) and Alan (Johnson) an opportunity to gauge what they thought the track would hold. They went up there and made a very good run. It was just a great job by everybody on the Al-Anabi team.”
The run proved to be even more vital when the second round of Top Fuel qualifying was waved off. Antron Brown was second in the qualifying ladder at 3.863 seconds at 315.86 mph.
“Obviously that run ended up being very important,” Dixon said. “You do not know what the conditions are going to be like tomorrow, whether you can or can’t run quicker. But for Friday, it was a great run by the team. I think all 19 Top Fuel cars would have loved to take a crack at it (the second round of qualifying) and go for the pole. As the day went on, all the sessions were running late for the schedule and a few cars had oil downs and it just drug out. They would have had the opportunity to run a few Top Fuel cars, but to make it fair for everybody, NHRA made the call that no Top Fuel cars would run. Bummer on the side of the fact we didn’t get to run the session, but at the same time you have to applaud NHRA for trying to make it fair for everybody in Top Fuel. I absolutely thought the curfew was going to be an issue, it has happened here before.”
Dixon remains upbeat about Saturday’s qualifying sessions, which are scheduled for 12:30 and 3 p.m. Pacific Time.
“We just need to try and run well in whatever conditions we get,” Dixon said. “I don’t worry about it too much, that’s what we have got Alan (Johnson) and Jason (McCulloch) for. I just go up there and try and do the best job I can driving the car, whatever car they give me.”
80 AND GOING STRONG - There’s a very short list of people in the world that can say they have drag raced for over 60 years, especially considering NHRA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2001. Ora Vasquez, a member of that elite club, will celebrate his 80th birthday this Friday.
Vasquez, who many know as one of the top tuners/innovators in the alcohol classes, cut his teeth driving before moving to the ‘Crew Chief’ role. He started racing street cars in 1949, working his way up through the ranks eventually to the Pro Comp category, where he made his final pass as a driver in 1975, running a best elapsed time of 7.17 seconds at 198.67 mph. He continued to campaign his own car with his son Mark driving until 1990.
As storied as his tenure as a driver and car owner was, the list of drivers he worked for as a Crew Chief and Consultant from 1988 to present is a who’s who of stars in both the alcohol and fuel ranks. Among those were Bucky Austin, Cory McClenathan(TAD), Blaine Johnson (TAD & TF), Pat Austin, Tiffany Hyland, Russ Parker, Lee Callaway, Artie Allen and Dennis Taylor to name a few. Along the way he has been named Division 6 Crew Chief of the year twice and once in Division 7.
In addition to working with many teams, even more teams utilize many of the specialty tools built and designed by his company Ora’s Tools, which he still operates today.
“Dad has made so many friends all over the world during his racing career, and I am sure that they have many stories of their adventures together,” said his son, Mark. “I am so privileged to to have shared a part of his storied career, to directly experience his passion for racing and his commitment the people involved.”
Friends are welcome to send him a birthday email at oravasquez@gmail.com
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -
HAGAN TOSSES OUT FIRST PITCH AT GIANTS GAME - Matt Hagan, who admits he's better at racing the DieHard Dodge Charger Funny Car in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series than he is pitching baseballs, threw his inaugural "first pitch" at the San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets game at AT&T Park in San Francisco Thursday night.He made a valiant attempt in the single pitch offered him, after saying he had practiced with his dad David and wife Rachel back home on the 500-acre Angus Cattle farm he manages in Christiansburg, Va., but fell just inches short of a perfect strike.
"It was a great opportunity," said Hagan, 27, who was presented with an official Giants jacket and cap. "It was so exciting because I got to walk through the tunnel right onto the field like the Major League players do. It was just an awesome experience, something I'll remember for the rest of my life.
"I would have loved to have thrown a great strike but I bounced it in front of home plate. Hey, that's just how it goes. I don't get paid to throw a baseball, I get paid to drive a race car. I'll stick with driving the race car.
"At first there was a big 'awwww' from the fans, then a huge round of applause. Maybe in the future I'll get to do it over again.
"Thanks to the Giants and Valerie McGuire (Director of Special Events for the Giants) for the opportunity," added Hagan, who is competing in the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals this weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. "My racing buddies and teammates and I got to sit behind the Mets' dugout to watch the game and we all had a good time. I'm glad the Giants won."
Link to Photos from San Francisco Giants Stadium
BROWN LOOKS TO DEFEND HIS SONOMA CROWN - Antron Brown just missed out reaching the winner’s circle last Sunday when he lost a close final to Cory McClenathan, his Don Schumacher Racing teammate, at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.That performance helped put Brown in fourth place in the season point chase, 296 back of leader Larry Dixon.
Up next for Brown is the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals in Sonoma, Calif., this weekend. A year ago, Brown beat Cory Mac in the finals at Sonoma to give himself a sweep of the Western Swing, which includes Denver and Seattle.
Brown also holds the Infineon Raceway Top Fuel elapsed time and mph record. He clocked a 3.805-second time and registered a 316.45 mph mark back in July of 2008 at Sonoma.
"I'm so excited to get back to racing at Sonoma. Last year we had an awesome weekend winning the race and sweeping the Western Swing,” Brown said. “I still have to sometimes pinch myself to believe that our Matco team accomplished that. We can't sweep the swing again, but we're way overdue to win a race. We're tired of playing bridesmaid after six runner-ups. Our Matco Tools dragster is running great and it's our time and hopefully Sonoma is the place."
Brian Corradi, a crew chief on the Matco Tools dragster, concurred with Brown.
"Our goal is to always qualify well and take things one round at a time and go some rounds on race day and we've been doing that,” Corradi said. “We've been to the final round at the last two races and our car has been consistent and Antron (Brown) has been on his ‘A’ game. We've got a great team and we're ready to get back to the winner's circle."
Brown has six final-round appearances this season at Gainesville, Charlotte 1, Houston, Englishtown, Norwalk and Seattle and four No. 1 qualifying positions at Gainesville, Las Vegas 1, Topeka and Bristol. Last year, Brown had 10 finals and seven poles. His average qualifying position in 14 races this year is 4.9.
DIXON LOOKS TO REBOUND AT SONOMA - This season, Larry Dixon has been stellar. Yet, at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash., Dixon’s Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragster had its weekend end uncharacteristically early when he lost a close race to Shawn Langdon Sunday in the second round.
Despite the defeat, Dixon is still leading the season point chase by 172 points over Cory McClenathan who won the NHRA Northwest Nationals.
Dixon and his team return to action for the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals this weekend in Sonoma, Calif.
“The consolation prize for the weekend in Seattle is that the Al-Anabi team held its ground in points; we lost in the second round, but we only lost a few points off our lead,” said Dixon, who has won all seven final rounds he has been in this season. “We have three races and 12 rounds of racing left in the regular season; we have almost a nine-round lead. Over the next three races, at a minimum, we want to defend our position and go into the Countdown as the No. 1 seed. In the last few weeks, you’re in the middle of four in a row, and your busy racing trying to win rounds and races. Then you have a week off, you stick your head up and see where you are. The Al-Anabi team did well points wise through that four-week stretch by winning 13 of a possible 16 rounds. So after that stretch you look at where you stand, reset and get back out there to get some more points.”
With a Western Swing sweep out of the question, Dixon is focused on what’s ahead.
“Our chance to sweep the Western Swing is gone, but you still want to try and do well at the next race,” Dixon said. “If we can win at Sonoma, that means there’s no sweep. Everyone except Cory (McClenathan) is trying to work on their own setups to try and keep him from sweeping. It’s nothing personal, we just want our own teams to rebound and do well for ourselves.”
Dixon also says competing at Infineon Raceway is special for his team.
“It’s always nice to come back to the West Coast,” Dixon said. “Sonoma is about as close as we get to Alan’s (Johnson) place (Santa Maria, Calif.) until the end of the year. He’ll have friends, family and employees at the track so you want to make for a happy time for everybody by doing well.”
Dixon has advanced to at least the semifinals in 10 of the 14 events so far this season, and he also has qualified in the top three at 13 of the 14 races.
WORSHAM’S OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SONOMA - Although Del Worsham’s Al-Anabi Toyota lost in the second round of eliminations to Matt Hagan at the Northwest Nationals, he wasn't discouraged about his team’s effort.“Seattle was another solid outing for the Al-Anabi Toyota, so we have four in a row,” Worsham said. “We lost second round at Seattle, but we made great runs all weekend. In the three races before Seattle, we had two semifinals and a final so we have four good races in a row now. Our Al-Anabi car is a fast race car; we’ve had the top speed three straight races, and we are all happy with how the car continues to improve.”
Worsham enters the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals in ninth place in the NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car point standings. He trails eighth-place Bob Tasca by 26 points and leads 10th-place Tony Pedregon by 134. However, Worsham is closer to third place than ninth place. He trails third-place Matt Hagan by 120 points.
“We’re three races from the Countdown, and we’re doing our best to prepare the Al-Anabi team,” Worsham said. “We’re not locked into the Countdown yet, but we feel confident we will be. We want to start peaking when the Countdown begins at Indianapolis so we have three more races to get our team where it needs to be. We’re getting to the point now where I feel confident about not just making the Countdown but making a run at the Full Throttle championship; the competition in Funny Car is so intense and close that we are in ninth place in points, but we’re closer to third place than we are to 10th place. That’s tight, but it means we can move up a lot in a hurry.”
Worsham has 25 wins in his Funny Car career, but has yet to win this season.
TASCA AIMS TO REGROUP AT SONOMA - Bob Taca III came to the NHRA Northwest Nationals with an eye on winning, instead he stumbled losing in the first round to eventual winner Tim Wilkerson in the opening round Sunday.
Tasca and his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team have no time to fret about what happened in Kent, Wash., as they return to the track for the Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Sonoma, Calif.
Tasca qualified sixth at the Northwest Nationals, but he was doomed by an ignition malfunction against Wilkerson in the first round.
“We were third quick in both Friday and Saturday night sessions in Seattle, so we did a lot of good things in qualifying,” Tasca said. “Unfortunately, we had that ignition malfunction in the first round. On the positive side, we have a lot of good data in the heat and know what caused the problem on Sunday. So, we’ll fix that ignition problem, take some of the Seattle day runs, move down to Sonoma and improve in qualifying and eliminations.”
Tasca, a born and bred East Coast businessman and racer, always looks forward to racing in the wine country of Sonoma and northern California.
“Infineon Raceway is a great facility and I can’t say enough about the California fans,” Tasca said. “The track conditions play a huge role in running big numbers in Sonoma. The race track is at sea level, so the air is typically tremendous.”
Now accustomed to the summer heat, Tasca and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team are prepared to handle the hot track conditions that will likely be present at Sonoma
“Even though it’s real hot, that Friday night session is a run I look forward to and so do the fans,” Tasca said. “Obviously, on Saturday you need to be good in the heat because those are the conditions we’ll see on Sunday. We’ve really put a lot of work into our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang and we’re looking forward to running there this weekend in Sonoma.”
STOFFER HAS HIGH HOPES FOR SONOMA - Karen Stoffer’s 2010 Pro Stock Motorcycle season has run the full spectrum of emotions.
At the season-opening Pro Stock Motorcycle event at Gainesville, Fla., in March, Stoffer set a new national record with a 6.847-second quarter-mile pass on her Geico Powersports Suzuki.
Since then, however, Stoffer’s team has struggled and she sits 10th in the point standings. She’s hoping to move up that list this weekend at the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals at Sonoma, Calif.
"Infineon Raceway is usually a very fast track and Gary (Stoffer, husband and crew chief) always does well when we're at the faster tracks," Karen said. "We set the national record in Gainesville when the conditions were really good and if it sets up right in Sonoma we'll probably see all the top teams taking shots at another record. We should be right there with them. We'll just have to see how good it gets."
Stoffer is rested and ready for a second-half surge on her yellow and black machine, and now that all the Suzuki riders in the class have had half a season to adjust to the larger powerplants they've been afforded by the NHRA rule makers, she expects to close the gap on the category-leading Buells and Harley-Davidsons.
"It's time to make a move," she said. "I think we're very close to having this thing figured out. After our quick start we were on top of the world but we've fallen into an adjustment period since Gainesville. We definitely want to step it up across the board."
A resident of Minden, Nev., Stoffer says the friendly and familiar confines of the Wine Country have her excited about this event.
"It's about a four-hour drive to Infineon so it's pretty much a second home track for us," Stoffer said. "When we're there it really feels like a nice blend of Nevada and California, the two states Gary and I are from, so we're as comfortable there as we are at home. Growing up and racing in Division 7 we know everyone at the track and we know most of the racers in the pro and the sportsman pits. Then you add in the fact we always seem to do well in Sonoma and you have a track where I really like to ride."
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