EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK GSA PRO MODS POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND  FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -

HIS FIRST WIN - A hiccup could have changed the outcome. Sunday afternoon, second-generation Pro Stock driver Vincent Nobile was glad he didn’t have a case of them.

Instead, the rookie, who raced like a veteran, calmly drove his way to his first national event victory in a race decided by a single thousandth of a second and inches. After twice before reaching the final round, Nobile broke off the scheid in a big way with a race the diehards will likely reference for some time during the Pro Stock final round at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals outside of Houston.

Nobile was .002 quicker off of the line with a .007 reaction time, fell behind and regained the lead right at the stripe for a 6.625 to 6.624 victory. The margin of victory was .001, or the equivalent of six inches.

Not a bad victory for a kid who hadn’t driven a clutch-equipped car in his life before licensing in a Pro Stocker. Even then, during license procurement, he posted a .004 reaction according to his proud father and former IHRA Pro Stock champion John Nobile.

Nobile [.007 reaction] and Brogdon [.009] left together with the lead changing at least twice during the course of the run.

At the stripe, the 19-year old Nobile scored the victory with a 6.625 elapsed time to fend off Brogdon’s quicker 6.624.

“We are definitely living on a high right now,” said Nobile, who was named the driver of Nick Mitso’s Mountain Valley Tire-sponsored entry during the off-season. “We are just having the time of our lives right now. I cannot thank the Mitsos family enough for giving me this opportunity.”

Nobile entered eliminations fifth quickest and used a combination of quick reaction and strong elapsed times to beat Kurt Johnson, Jason Line and Greg Stanfield.

“I cannot believe I am holding this trophy in my hands,” Nobile admitted. “My father went to ten finals before he grabbed his first trophy. This is so surreal right now.”

Tomorrow, the Nobiles will catch an early flight home so the freshman college student can make his morning class on New York’s Long Island. As an addendum, he carries a 3.95 grade point average.

Then a proud father will let down his hair and his emotions.

“That kid has made me and his mother so proud,” said John. “I am so proud of him. I was crying up there on the starting line. They say we are tough guys from New York but I can cry right now.”

And making his dad proud was even bigger than winning, just ask the kid.

HIS TIME TO SHINE IN HOUSTON - When talking about NHRA’s star Funny Car drivers, Jeff Arend’s name gets lost in the shuffle.

Not this time.

Arend was center stage as he won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Houston.

Arend clocked a 4.266-second elapsed time at 297.68 mph to beat Mike Neff who left early and registered a redlight at Royal Purple Raceway.

“We went up there and Zippy had a great car all day,” said Arend, who drives the DHL Toyota for legendary owner Connie Kalitta. “He went like 4.13 (in the semifinals) and we went like 30. We knew we needed a little bit of help and we went out there and Nick (Boninfante) and Jon (Oberhofer) had been making some great calls this weekend. They were making the car go down the track and do what it needed to do. The right lane was a little tough, but they did a great job. I was up there and he pre-staged and I pre-staged and he staged and I staged. Then, it was a long light and I kind of heard it (Neff’s car) go burp-burp, and I went, ‘I can’t believe it.’ I was going down the track thinking I probably should shut it off, but it was just too much fun.”

This was Arenda’s third career NHRA nitro Funny Car victory and first since Memphis in 2009. Arend’s memorable day moved him up six places in the season point standings to fifth. Arend, who has been in seven career final rounds, made his NHRA debut in 1995 at Gainesville. Arend captured his inaugural NHRA win in 1996 in Reading, Pa.

Arend, who was the No. 10 qualifier, dispatched Paul Lee, Tim Wilkerson and Bob Bode before taking care of Neff in the finals.

Houston also was the site of the late Scott Kalitta’s only career Funny Car win in 1989, which wasn’t lost on Arend.

Scott Kalitta, Connie’s son, and a two-time NHRA world champion, died on June 21, 2008, from injuries he suffered when he crashed during final qualifying for the Lucas Oil SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J. Scott was 46.

“We went to the finals here (at Houston) last year and it was on all of our minds with Scott winning in 1989,” Arend, 48, said. “In round two, we kind of had a mulligan in golf terms and you never know what it is going to happen in drag racing. To win and dedicate it to Scott is huge.”

STILL ROLLING - Larry Dixon has 905 elimination rounds in his ledger as part of his three-championship, 60-victory legacy. He's the first NHRA professional racer to win 12 times in 12 final rounds in a single season. He leads the all-time Top Fuel final round appearances list at 106.
 
But he's stuck in neutral, having a hard time getting past one pesky competitor, teammate Del Worsham. Dixon helped Worsham refresh his skills this season in a return to the class after a 15-year Funny Car journey and even bequeathed Worsham the Al-Anabi Dragster which was flawless all last season.
 
So far this season, Worsham is every bit as dominant as Dixon was last season. With his victory in Sunday's O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway in a face-off of Al-Anabi Toyota Dragsters, Worsham has won all three of his final rounds this year and the season is just five events old.
 
He retained his points lead and denied Dixon his first triumph of the season and a repeat victory at Royal Purple Raceway.
 
Worsham won with a 3.880-second pass at 318.99 mph on the 1,000-foot Baytown, Texas, course, edging Dixon's 3.900 / 316.82.
 
The Alan Johnson Racing organization raked in all $77,000 of the final-round loot. Worsham, the No. 6 qualifier, accounted for the $50,000 winner's share, and No. 4 starter Dixon made $22,000.
 
Worsham leads Dixon by 95 points, heading into the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway two weeks from now.
 
The Chino Hills, Calif., driver beat Bob Vandergriff and the Kalitta Motorsports tandem of Dave Grubnic and Doug Kalitta to reach the final round.
 
"It's surreal the way the day unfolded. We had some close races and obviously the race with Larry. He's the champion and we're all shooting for him, really, in the end," Worsham said. "I have to thank the entire A-Anabi Racing organization. They work together. I'm a small part of this team, in reality. I'm just the lucky guy who gets to stand here right now."
 
Going against Dixon, who like Worsham is a seasoned and unflappable veteran racer, imposed no pressure, he said.
 
"He's a competitor and it's a drag race, and the first guy to the stripe wins, no matter if it's two wide or four wide or 10 wide. You're looking for that light on the wall. When I saw that light, I thought, 'This is just another unreal day,' " he said.
 
Worsham says he's not at all concerned Dixon will want to trade him cars and get his trusty dragster back. He said the car isn't really the key to the equation, that team manager Alan Johnson, crew chiefs Brian Husen and Jason McCulloch, veteran crewman Ronnie Thompson, and all the mechanics are. The people are.
 
"A lot of it's timing," Worsham said. "It just so happened that in that particular run in the final round Brian and Alan pulled it together. They won the race. The cars are nearly evenly matched. It's just a matter of  who's hot at that given second."
 
As for the car itself, which has a 15-for-15 final round record, Worsham said, "We have Larry's chassis. We don't have his engines. We don't have his clutches. We don't have any of that stuff. All these parts are new to Alan. He's very good at managing his parts.
 
"I watched him in qualifying. The guy never gets excited," he said. "He just seems to know where he is. He pushed a little bit yesterday. I'm assuming today he knew: Don't push that far! He knew exactly what to do with it."
 
Dixon, who lives in Avon, Ind., near the shop in Brownsburg, beat six-time IHRA champion Clay Millican, Las Vegas winner Antron Brown, and seven-time series champion and No. 1 qualifier Tony Schumacher to advance.
 
Worsham said this victory is extra-special, because he has spent the weekend camping in the motor coach with his twin nine-year-old daughters, Madelyn and Katelyn, while wife Connie remained in Southern California, celebrating her birthday.
 
"Luckily, I have two daughters who are very, very, very manageable," Worsham said. But the last two nights, he said, he has insisted they take relaxing baths and read a book "just to get their pulse rate down to some manageable level. They've been running this track crazy."
 
His own pulse rate, meanwhile, spiked with this 28th victory in 42 final-round appearances that made him and Mike Dunn the only ones to win here in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.
 
"I'm on Full Throttle right now," Worsham said.
 
Make that Full Throttle and full throttle.

FINALLY, A PEWTER ONE - Andrew Hines said he wasn't going to touch it.
 
He said he had wanted to earn the NHRA's specially designed 60th Anniversary trophy, like Pro Stock Motorcycle teammate Eddie Krawiec had done at the class-opening Gatornationals.
 
"Those pewter Wallys are pretty cool," the three-time series champion said Sunday after winning the O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Baytown, Texas. "I was admiring all the ones I saw on TV. I saw Eddie's from Gainesville. I said, 'I'm not touching it. It's a jinx.' I didn't expect to win mine this fast, but I told him I wasn't going to touch a pewter Wally until I had one of my own."
 
He finally has gotten to touch the statue, hold it, can take it home, and show it off to everyone at the Vance & Hines Motorsports shop in Brownsburg, Ind.,

With a 6.900-second pass at 195.14 mph on the Royal Purple Raceway quarter-mile aboard his Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson, he defeated Michael Phillips, who offered a 6.946-seconds, 195.25-mph challenge on his Racer's Edge Suzuki.
 
The $10,000 victory left him trailing Krawiec by 18 points as the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series tour heads to Atlanta Dragway for the Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals on the weekend of May 13-15.
 
As the No. 3 qualifier, he advanced with close victories over Chip Ellis, Jerry Savoie, and Karen Stoffer.
 
Phillips, of Baton Rouge, La., claimed the $4,000 runner-up payout. The No. 5 qualifier eliminated David Hope, Hector Arana III, and Krawiec.
 
"We're kicking off 2011 like we kicked off 2010," Hines said. "Eddie won Gainesville, and he repeated. I won here and repeated," Hines said. "If we could finish the year unlike we did last year (when rookie LE Tonglet steamrolled the class to win the championship), that would be really stellar.
 
"But to come to Houston, a track that was our nemesis for nearly 20 years, and get two wins in a row, that's pretty special," he said, proud to help erase his family organization's unfortunate luck at this racetrack."
 
He said brother Matt Hines, his crew chief and a three-time champion, as well, "gave me a great motorcycle all weekend long. We hurt a motor Friday and we put a brand-new bullet in for Saturday, and that thing was consistent as heck.
 
"The whole motorcycle itself was going perfectly straight down the track. I probably haven't strung that many perfect runs together in my whole career," Hines said. "I mean, it was chalk-line from the start line to the finish line. Didn't have to make a single correction from yesterday on. That's how you get E.T. Quickest way down a quarter-mile is a straight line."
 
The bike class schedule makes for long layoffs, and Hines said, "It's like a whole other off-season. The other pros, their off-season's only 10 weeks. We had a whole six weeks off between Gainesville and here."
 
However, he and his team used the extra time wisely, and that has led to their strategy of consistency.
 
"We had a chance to go back to the shop and regroup," he said. "We just kind of fixed up our parts, put in some fresh engines in the bike when we came here, and we're just plain consistency right now. We're not going to shoot ourselves sin the foot and go out there and try a bunch of stuff."
 
He said what changes they settled on in the off-season have proven, in preseason testing and these two early races, to work.
 
"My bike is nothing like I've ever had in my entire career," Hines said. "It picks the front wheel up, goes nice and straight, and it is a complete and utter joy to ride."
 
He said he especially valued his team Sunday, considering they had a few sick and banged-up crew members and even dad Byron Hines rolled up his sleeves and turned wrenches to make this 24th overall victory a reality.
 
"My team, I couldn't do without them," he said. "This was a tough weekend, because our truck driver, Ray, hurt his hip and his back's hurting from setting up on Thursday. My mechanic, Scott, had the flu on Friday and Saturday and he was holed up in the motor home. I actually had to dust my dad off and get him out there, wrenching on the bike.
 
"So that was good. It felt like old times," Hines said. "In '04, me and my dad were mechanics on my motorcycle. Everybody in the whole Pro Stock Motorcycle class thought it was really cool to se my dad working on the motorcycle again."
 
Maybe it felt like old times. But it's a new year, a new Wally trophy, and a new outlook about regaining the championship. If he can dethrone Tonglet, who happens to be fifth in the standings behind Stoffer and Hector Arana, maybe then it really will feel like old times for Andrew Hines.

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SUNDAY: QUICK HITS RACE REPORT

TOP FUEL

ROUND ONE

UGLY BUT EFFECTIVE  - Top qualifier Tony Schumacher had predicted a lot of pedal-fests during eliminations, and Morgan Lucas and Terry McMillen began Round 1 with a crazy, tire-smoking, ugly race between the two Hoosier drivers. Lucas won on an unlikely 5.624-second holeshot.

"I wouldn't say I loved it," Lucas said afterward. "This team has been working really hard. A lot of times they carry me, and sometimes I get a chance to actually show I can do something. That was a horrible pedal job on my part. Got sideways and that's it."
 
ZIZZO NOT ZZZZING - T.J. Zizzo was eager to get his day started and he had the chance with the second pairing of eliminations, but  was a little too eager. He red-lit, giving his race to Doug Kalitta, who had problems of his own, most visibly the early deployment of his parachutes.

"I saw him go red," Kalitta said. "I got half-track, my car threw the 'chutes out and it smoked the tires. And I thought, 'Oh, man , this is definitely not going to be a good run.' But we were fortunate he red-lit and we got the win."

Kalitta advanced to meet Spencer Massey in the quarterfinals.
 
'PRETTY DANG EASY' - Del Worsham got no challenge from opponent Bob Vandergriff, who struck the tires right away. Worsham, a two-time Funny Car winner here at Royal Purple Raceway, posted what turned out to be the second-quickest pass of the round at 3.874 seconds. That E.T. was identical to his qualifying time, which netted him only sixth place in the lineup.

Worsham gave the credit to Al-Anabi crew chiefs Brian Husen, Jason McCulloch, and Ronnie Thompson and "the amount of data we get."

Shawn Langdon, watching from the sidelines following his DNQ, said, "Del makes it look pretty dang easy. That's a stellar run right there."
 
TEACHER GETS LESSON - Antron Brown said he wasn't taking first-round foe Doug Foley lightly, even though Foley competes on a part-time basis. "He's a teacher, man. I want him to teach me someday," Brown said, referring to Foley's North Carolina-based drag-racing school.

"He's a top contender, man," Brown said, after winning with a 3.925-second, 317. 27 mph pass which was third-fastest of the round. "I remember beating him first round my first race here by thousandths of a second. You can't take teams like that lightly. We got past that round. We'll see what we can do this next one."
 
LANE CHOICE? ME? REALLY? - Little did Tony Schumacher know  his tire-smoking 4.887-second run - one which was especially messy, consider that opponent Troy Buff had fouled out with a red light - would earn him lane choice in the quarterfinals. But his next target was Morgan Lucas, who had outlasted Terry McMillen with an even more unspectacular 5.624-second victory in the opening pairing.
 
His E.T. might not have been quick, but his thinking was. He said he was trying to get the U.S. Army Dragster across the line at least quicker than Lucas' five-second clocking.
 
"He goes out and red-lights. I smoke the tires," Schumacher said, adding that he didn't want to mess up the track for the sake of trying to get lane choice. He said he thought, "There's no reason to pedal it and lose 10 points and oil the track down. So I threw the fuel shutoff to lean it out a little bit. I saw Morgan ran a five-something. I knew I was far enough down there to be in the fours. That's exactly what it was. Perfect. We don't have any freebies and we don't want to oil the track down for the fans."
 
FAMILIAR FOE - When No. 2 qualifier Spencer Massey lined up against No. 15 Steve Torrence in the first round, neither had any mystery about the other. "Steve and I, we go way back, running Top Alcohol Dragster and back to Super Comp cars," Massey said. "We used to work with Scott Palmer's Top Fuel car in 2001. We'd all sit back and hang out and he'd help clean the oil pans. We get to come out now and race fellow Texas out here in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. It's awesome."
 
Track announcer Alan Reinhart asked the FRAM/Prestone Dragster driver who's the better Super Comp driver. Replied Masey, "I don't know, maybe we should line up and find out."

FIRST PAIR, LAST PAIR, WHO CARES? - Dave Grubnic won the eighth and final match-up of the first round (against Brandon Bernstein) and said waiting to run has its advantages. He said he isn't fussy about where in the order he lands, only that "we're looking forward to going some rounds."

Said Grubnic, "I don't think it really matters. I think it's a little bit easy. Crew chiefs get a chance to see what the conditions are like and what happens with the pairs in front of them. It's got to be better than first pair. Anyway, we're up there. I'll take anything we can get."


QUARTER-FINALS

HARD WORK - Schumacher, saying he was "trying to nurse it on down through there," won easily against Morgan Lucas, who lost traction. "It's starting to play out like the  '09 season," he said, adding, "By the end of the day, whoever gets the trophy is going to have earned it."

HIM AGAIN?! - Larry Dixon eliminated Antron Brown for a 12-3 dominance over the Matco Tools/Aaron's Dragster driver and another faceoff with Tony Schumacher.

"I've heard of him. I've read about him," Dixon teased about his all-too-familiar on-track nemesis in the U.S. Army Dragster. "We'll give it our best and see what we can do," he said.

Dixon acknowledged his car is performing well in tricky track conditions. Great car - Jason McCulloch ... Alan Johnson ...  the Al-Anabi Toyota crew is doing a great job. We weren't great yesterday, but we weren't racing yesterday. So, glad Sunday's here."

AL-ANABI ROLLING - Worsham called his second-round defeat of Dave Grubnic  "another great run fo the Al-Anabi team." Said Worsham, "I watched Larry right in front of me crank out that 3.86 (against Antron Brown). Right behind him we got a 3.89 - we got the win. Looking very forward to the semifinals."

NOT BIG ON CELEBRATING - Doug Kalitta, the word-conserving Calvin Coolidge of Top Fuel drag racing, was workmanlike after defeating the strong Spencer Massey and his FRAM/Prestone Dragster to become the only bottom-half qualifier to reach the semifinals. "That was good run for us. Go to another round. We're just happy to be here," Kalitta said.

SAD ENDING - T.J. Zizzo, who red-lit against Doug Kalitta earlier in the day, will have until after July 4 to stew about his mistake. His next race will be the July 7-10 O'Reilly Route 66 Nationals at his home track in Joliet, Ill.
 
"I really feel like I let our team down and our sponsor down," Zizzo said. "We had some guests in our pit this morning from Old World Industries (the parent company of sponsor  PEAK) and it was really great hanging out with them. That made it all the harder to red-light it.
 
"We beat Doug on a holeshot last year, and that's where my mind was," he said. "I knew the track was going to be challenging and that we were going to need every advantage we could get. I jumped the gun, and now we're going home."

 SEMI-FINALS

FINALS-BOUND AGAIN - In his first eliminations meeting with Doug Kalitta, Del Worsham earned his third Top Fuel trip to the final round with a 3.896-second pass at 315.42 mph. It might have seemed improbable, considering his snoozy .086-second reaction time. However, Kalitta was downright late with a 0.154 light and lost traction early in the run. Kalitta could only counter with a 5.055-second E.T. that was only slightly better than his 5.417-second free pass in the first round.
 
QUEST FOR FIRST VICTORY - Both Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher have to go back a ways to remember a year in which they've waited longer to record their first victories. Each has been seeking his first win of 2011 and battling to get one of the NHRA's 60th Anniversary pewter Wally trophies.

Schumacher will have to try again at the May 13-15 Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway. Dixon kept his chances alive with a winning 3.889-second E.T. at 317.27 mph. Schumacher lost traction and finished his day with a disappointing 5.432 at 137 mph. For those keeping track, the two have evenly split their 72 career meetings. Dixon not only evened his mark against Schumacher, but he also set up a rematch of the Charlotte final round, which Worsham won.

FINAL

A WIN-WIN SITUATION – It’s a good feeling when you’re gambling with house money and as Al-Anabi’s Alan Johnson sat on a stool in the starters box, his dragsters launched at the green light.

Del Worsham continued his hot streak as the former Funny Car racer ran a 3.880, 318.99 to score his third Top Fuel victory of the season by defeating teammate and defending series champion Larry Dixon, who lost with a 3.900.

 

FUNNY CAR

ROUND ONE

BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL – John Force didn’t have to run hard to secure the victory over Brian Thiel in the first round but did so anyway, scoring low elapsed time of the session. Thiel was timed out for failing to stage within the prescribed seven seconds once Force had staged.

“I was trying to get in there, some of the guys say I’m old and slow. “I didn’t see what was happening with his tree and I had to focus on mine.”

Thiel would have likely been disqualified anyway since a crewman touched the car once it had pre-staged. A substantial tail-wind has been blowing all morning and blew the escape hatch open on Thiel’s flopper. The well-meaning crewman ran over to latch the opened hatch as the foul light came on.

MIND GAMES – Almost 100 feet into the race course has been a trouble spot for the nitro racers leaving even the more seasoned tuners scratching their heads. This is why it worked well for Tim Wilkerson to be in the first pair out.

“There’s a lot of thinking going on up there too,” said Wilkerson. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the place, just so different than anything we’ve faced this year. You just have a little queer spot between 70 and 150 feet. You really have to clutch it to get it through there.”

Drivers have complained the rubber is coming up at this section of the track. Wilkerson ran a 4.208 to get by an upset-minded Jon Capps.

WHAT’S GOING ON? – Spotters aren’t the norm in drag racing but this didn’t stop Jeff Arend from wishing he had one. Arend beat Paul Lee whose flopper gave up at the hit. However, unaware of Lee’s plight, Arend pedaled and stayed with his Toyota flopper to the stripe.

“It was just lightly spinning the tires and I didn’t see him,” Arend said. “I gave it a few good shots for good measure. The track conditions are pretty tough.”

Arend reached the finals last year in Houston, losing to Matt Hagan.

BODE CELEBRATES ROUND WIN – Bob Bode defeated a tire-smoking Cruz Pedregon to score his first round win of eliminations in 2011. By his reaction, the jubilant Bode acted as if he’d won the race title.

“This is like winning the Super Bowl for us!” Bode explained. “I love Cruz to death and here we are next to him.”

Bode paused to fist-pump and express his elation.

“Call this car the Bulldozer … it just goes down there.”  

Bode has one national event win to his credit, last season’s NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.

TUNER DRIVER HAS ITS ADVANTAGES – When you’re a tuner and driver, there’s little chance the car is going to do something unexpected. Mike Neff scored his first round win over Tony Pedregon with a full understanding of what the car would do in the first round.

“The 4.13 is exactly what I expected it to run,” Neff confirmed. “I felt better about it when I saw John run the 4.11. The track is okay, you just have to negotiate it just right. As far as the driver’s performance, he kept it between the lines and that’s all you can ask for.”

THE FIRST ROUND CAN BE THE TOUGHEST – For the first time in nearly a month, Matt Hagan didn’t go home a first round runner-up. Hagan secured his first round win since Las Vegas by knocking off two-time 2011 winner Robert Hight in the first round.

“We’re still getting our fight back underneath us, we’ve been out in the first round two races in a row. We’re kinda shy out there. Hopefully Tommy can flex his muscles out there and we can step up.”

As a reward for defeating Hight, Hagan meets Mike Neff in the second round. He could potentially meet John Force in the semis.

A FIRST ROUND K.O. - Tommy Delago, one of many drag racers and tuners joining Ron Capps in the driver’s coach watching last evening’s UFC fight, let the driver know that even though he didn’t have lane choice in the first round, the team was going to be good.

DeLago’s words proved prophetic even though the past actions of the weekend didn’t truly support the proclamation. Capps, whose tuning duties are shared this weekend by Delago, Rahn Tobleer and newly assigned tuner Tim Richards, made the field on his last qualifying attempt.

HE’S A LUCKY DOG – Jack Beckman, looking for his second consecutive national event win this season, nearly went home early. With fire belching from the pipes, Beckman beat fellow four-wide finalist Jim Head.

“The fuel shut-off started going closed on the run and we are probably lucky it didn’t lean out and blow the supercharger,” explained Beckman. “I could feel it nose over in the last hundred foot.”

QUARTER-FINALS

UNLIKELY SUSPECTS – Jeff Arend and Bob Bode become the first pair of unlikely Funny Car semi-finalists. Arend advanced to his second consecutive Houston semi-final round by getting the best of Tim Wilkerson.

Bode’s last semi-final was last August during his magical Brainerd run.

To this point in the race, Bode has crossed the finish line essentially unopposed.

“Someone is shining down on me from above!” exclaimed the jubilant Bode. “I never see a car over there. I’m not complaining either.”

DOWN GOES FORCE [ON A HOLESHOT] – Holeshots aren’t usually Jack Beckman’s modus operandi but every once in a while, as he puts it, “Stuff happens”.

Beckman left on low qualifier John Force and scored the 4.183 to 4.177 win.

“That doesn’t happen very often for me,” Beckman confirmed.

NEFF IS LAST MAN STANDING – Mike Neff isn’t one to give away trade secrets or so it seemed during his second round interview following the victory over Matt Hagan.

“This is a great car, we build it ourselves … with great parts. We build those ourselves. The track is not bad, bad. So everything has to be just right. Luckily for us, everything is working just right.”

Something has to be said about a driver who says a lot without saying anything at all.

Almost reminds us of the epic Eric Medlen line, “You have to be good because … that’s just good.”

SEMI-FINALS
 

MAGIC MAN – Scott Kalitta won here in 1989. Jeff Arend nearly did it last year.

For the second time in a row, Arend will have the opportunity to race for the win.  He is a three-time national event winner on the NHRA tour.

Arend repelled the Cinderella bid of Bob Bode, 4.307 to 4.352.

“I don’t know what it is but I’m liking it,” said Arend.

SILENT THUNDER – Mike Neff has thundered his way through eliminations. He defeated Jack Beckman with a 4.133, 308.43, for the opportunity to race for his second crown of the 2011 season.

He will have lane choice by a bunch in the final round.

FINAL

CARRYING ON THE TRADITION – Twenty-two years ago Scott Kalitta drove to the Funny Car title at Houston Raceway Park, now known as Royal Purple Raceway. Today, his successor ensured his name alongside as Jeff Arend topped Mike Neff in the final round.

In an odd scenario, Neff apparently double-clutched the car on the starting line and drew the foul while Arend, left with a -.021 reaction but was declared the winner on the first or worst basis.

Arend won with a 4.266, 297.68 pass.

 

PRO STOCK

ROUND ONE

STANFIELD CONTINUES HOUSTON MAGIC – It’s not a wise bet to bet against Greg Stanfield in Houston. The talented Pro Stock racer is a three-time winner at Royal Purple Raceway in three different sportsman divisions.

Stanfield continued his success with a 6.650 to beat out Ron Krisher, who lifted early with handling issues.

DON’T LEAN ON THE LOCALS – Both of Houston’s Pro Stock drivers won big in the first round. Erica Enders used a 6.629, 208.97 to beat Mopar runner Allen Johnson. Rodger Brogdon used a 6.633 to get around Warren Johnson.

The victories paired the Victor Cagnazzi horsepower teammates against one another in the second round.

THEY HAVE NOTHING ON FREY – The Madden curse, the Sports Illustrated Jinx … well, they have nothing on NHRA announce Bob Frey. Just ask Greg Anderson.

For the first time since October 8, the defending series champion fouled in a race.

Frey had proclaimed, as Anderson and opponent Larry Morgan fired their cars, how the former had beaten the latter 23 consecutive times.

Then Anderson went red.

NOBILE WINS FOR THE TOP HALF - In a day particularly unkind to top half racers, Vincent Nobile scored the first victory for the top-half racers during eliminations. Nobile ran a 6.643, 209.62 to beat Kurt Johnson in a battle of second-gen Pro Stock

At the point in eliminations, the 9th, 10th and 11th qualifiers had advanced in succession.

FIRST TIMERS – In a battle of first-timers, first-time low qualifier Ronnie Humphrey beat first time qualifier Steve Kent, 6.636 to 6.664.

QUARTER-FINALS

ONCE IS AN ACCIDENT, TWICE IS A TREND … - They don’t do it often but when they do, it’s never good. The last time Greg Anderson fouled in a race was October 2008. The last time both Jason Line and Anderson fouled in a race was May of 2008. This was the case until the quarters at Houston.

Jason Line turned on the red bulb to advance Mopar runner Vincent Nobile.

Anderson and Line’s teammate Ronnie Humphrey also bowed out in the same round, losing to Greg Stanfield.

Although most would have been happy at knocking off the No. 1 seed, thus was not the case with Stanfield who promptly proclaimed, “The driver is going to have to get his head out of his rear if he wants to win today.”

HOMETOWN BATTLE – Rodger Brogdon beat Erica Enders in a battle of Houstonians. Brogdon scored the victory with a 6.642, 208.97 in a race he led from start to finish. However, the finish line could have presented safety issues.

A steady tailwind forced Brogdon’s deployed parachute into the wheelie bars causing a mess.

“It looks like a Rubik’s cube or something, wrapped all up into the wheelie bars,” Brogdon said in amazement. “I know he turned on the air bottles because I watched him do it.”

THE FIRST WIN – Maybe Mike Edwards has waxed nostalgic but his successful run at Houston’s Royal Purple Raceway keeps getting quicker and quicker. For the second time in eliminations, Edwards scored the quickest elapsed time of an elimination round with a 6.620 to beat Larry Morgan.

"That 1996 race still seems like yesterday. I still see them handing me my first Pro Stock Wally and just thinking that nothing can get better than that moment," Edwards recalled. "I don't know why I do well at Houston. It might have something to do with the ideal conditions that we normally get, the great fan base we have in the Houston area, or just my comfort with everything about the event, but I always feel relaxed. I think that goes a long ways in producing good results."

Last year, Edwards made a bit more history at the track, when he became the first driver in Pro Stock to eclipse the 212 mph barrier in a semifinal run. "I was just lucky that I made a good run at the right time to be able to reach that plateau. That is such a great feeling to be able to do that."

SEMI-FINALS

THE KID IS HOT – Vincent Nobile, for the third consecutive time in 2011, will race in a final round. The 19-year old rookie upended Greg Stanfield on both ends of the track to score a 6.636 to 6.646 victory.

“My crew is doing their jobs, I just have to do mine,” said Nobile. “They are making me look really good.”

The kid has made a living on the starting line for those last three races but will have his work cut out for him when he faces the local favorite Brogdon.

Brogdon used an incredible .002 reaction to win by a 6.641 to 6.643 margin.

“Any final round is great regardless of where you’re racing,” Brogdon said. “But, racing in the finals … now, that’s special.”

Nobile has lane choice in the finals.

FINAL

NOW THAT WAS A RACE! – In one lane staged a rookie driver, winless after two consecutive final rounds. In the other, a hometown favorite, also looking for his first win.

What first year Pro Stock driver Vincent Nobile and Rodger Brogdon delivered was arguably one of the best drag races ever. Nobile [.007 reaction] and Brogdon [.009] left together with the lead changing at least twice during the course of the run.

At the stripe, the 19-year old Nobile scored the victory with a 6.625 elapsed time to fend off Brogdon’s quicker 6.624. The winning margin was .001 and six inches.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

ROUND ONE

SAVOIE-FAIRE - Rookie Jerry Savoie has "WAR" emblazoned on his Suzuki, but he didn't have any real battle at all from Matt Smith in the first round. Smith fouled out, by .029 of a second. Actually "WAR" stands for "White Alligator Racing," for Savoie is a alligator farmer in Cut Off, La., when he isn't at the racetrack.

Crew chief Mark Peiser, who worked with this equipment at Don Schumacher Racing when Antron Brown and Angelle Sampey raced for DSR under the U.S. Army banner, helped him crank out a 6.977-second pass at 188.92 mph.  

Savoie named his team and gave it the motto "Racing to Save Our Wetlands" to bring awareness to Louisiana's sensitive coastal environment. He's concerned about coastal erosion. But after he moved past Smith, he had to concern himself with Andrew Hines, who followed with the quickest pass of the round at 6.902 seconds at 196.59 mph in narrowly beating Chip Ellis.
 
SON PREVAILS - As Lucas Oil Pro Stock Motorcycle headliner and champion Hector Arana waited to take the stage for driver introductions, he said his plan for their historic first-round match-up was to show his rookie son who's boss. Dad might be boss at home. But Hector Arana III took advantage of his dad's early bobble and sailed on to a 6.999-second, 189.73 victory. The elder Arana closed his day with a 9.553 / 102.20 effort in the class' first battle between father and son.
 
RED LIGHT, RED-FACED - Sophomore rider and reigning champion LE Tonglet learned the hard way Sunday that being top qualifier gives a racer no advantage at all in eliminations. Although his Nitro Fish Suzuki led the field with a 6.849-second elapsed time, Tonglet jumped the gun by .017 of a second and was disqualified. Steve Johnson, the No. 16 qualifier, benefited as he posted a 6.953-second pass at 194.02 mph, his quickest and fastest of the weekend.    
 
ALMOST PERFECT - Michael Phillips had a nearly perfect reaction time (.005 of a second, compared to a .000) in defeating David Hope
 
RUNS UP COUNT - Karen Stoffer overcame Angie Smith's better reaction time and took the victory with the quickest pass of the round (at 6.880 seconds) to run her record against Smith to 4-0.

QUARTER-FINALS

INCREASES ADVANTAGE - With his 6.971-second, 193.54-mph victory over Steve Johnson, Eddie Krawiec has won two-thirds of his meetings with the veteran racer. But his numbers weren't enough to earn lane choice against Michel Phillips in the semifinals.
 
FAIRY TALE BLUNTED - Michael Phillips ended Hector Arana III's storybook tale in the quarterfinals, sending to the sidelines the rookie who had been energized by beating his father in his career-first start. Phillips did it with a 6.898-second E.T., his best so far of the weekend.
 
WILD SWING - Shawn Gann, who beat Michael Ray in the first round by only about four feet, fell to Karen Stoffer in the second round by nearly 20 feet.
 
NO SUCH THING AS FREE LAUNCH - Just as when teammate Eddie Krawiec beat Jim Underdahl in the first round and again when he defeated Steve Johnson, the Harley-Davidson proved it can run down any bike on the Royal Purple Raceway grounds.

Who knew Hines would have to come from behind with his sparkling .007-second reaction time? But Savoie launched in .001 seconds -- one-thousandth of a tick shy of perfect -- and lost. Savoie's planning to race at Atlanta as part of his full-season program, and Hines went on to appear in the semifinals against Karen Stoffer in a showdown between the Nos. 2 and 3 qualifiers.
 

SEMI-FINALS

DOING SOMETHING LOVELY - After defeating Eddie Krawiec for the right to face another Harley-Davidson in the final round, Michael Phillips said, "We're going to go out there with this Racer's Edge Pro Stock Suzuki and see if we can do something lovely this weekend."

Phillips, who set the track speed record in qualifying with a 197.39-mph clocking, advanced with a victory margin of about four feet. He ran a 6.955, 196.53 to Krawiec's 6.990, 193.24.
 
QUICK WHEN IT COUNTS - Andrew Hines pretty much flew under the radar during qualifying. Although he started No. 3, he had to take a back seat to leader LE Tonglet and No. 2 qualifier Karen Stoffer. But in his semifinal against Stoffer, Hines simply was flying on his Harley-Davidson. He moved into the final round, using a 6.888-second run at 196.70 mph - his quickest and fastest of the weekend - to beat her by about 20 feet.
 
LOOK FOR MORE - Hector Arana III has whetted his appetite for more Pro Stock Motorcycle competition on the Lucas Oil Buell, despite a short day. And his own father, his first-round victim, is happy to let him have at it.
 
Knowing that he made his dad's day even shorter, the 22-year-old said, "I'm sorry I beat my dad. But I guess the best man won this time. In the second round, I gave it everything I had. We just didn't have the performance."  He called the experience "great," adding, "I had a blast. It was good to finally race."
 
"I want to thank Forrest and Charlotte Lucas for giving me this opportunity to race. I also can't say enough about my dad," he said. "I'm addicted now, and I can't wait to get back on the track."
 
Dad Hector said he has learned his son doesn't need as much supervision as he might have thought.
 
"I devoted a lot of my time this weekend to making sure he was safe," Arana said. "He did an excellent job. He's picked up and getting more comfortable. I'm very proud of him. Now I see with my own eyes that he can handle the bike and knows what to do. This will allow me to start focusing on my own program. I need him to let go and let him make more of his own calls on his bike. That will let my focus shift to what I need to do to pick up my performance."
 
FINAL

HINES WINS AGAIN – Andrew Hines scored his first national event win of the season by stopping Michael Phillips. The Harley-Davidson rider won both ends of the track, scoring the win on the strength of a 6.900 elapsed time at 195.14 miles per hour.

For his part, Phillips ran strong with a 6.946, 195.25.

 

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - LEADERS REMAIN THE SAME IN DAY TWO

EXPERIENCE COMES IN HANDY - John Force admits he hears a voice and it’s not through the headset inside of his helmet. The fifteen-time NHRA Funny car champion believes his car speaks to him.

Three decades of driving floppers, Force believes, will make a driver hear what their car is telling them. Force said his car did a lot of talking when passing through a temperamental mid-track racing surface at Royal Purple Raceway. More times than not, Force’s fellow competitors lost traction at this point during the final day of qualifications at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals.

“This track is edgy at 200, 300 feet,” Force pointed out. “I still drive my car with the brake handle and my foot, so when the crew chief says to me, ‘Go’, I still get excited. You look at some of the drivers who made it into the show, they are match racers. A big high-horsepower car is not what you need.”

Force drove his way to a third consecutive No. 1 qualifier on the strength of Friday’s 4.097 second pass at 310.27 miles per hour. On his final pass durng Saturday’s qualifying, Force was on a strong lap, possibly the best of the day, when a parachute inexplicably deployed short of the finish line.

“You can call this a match racers race and the big dogs might step up if a cold front comes through. This could be anyone’s race, even the low buck guy who doesn’t have lots of horsepower. We match race to keep sharp. The car talks to you. That’s what I am trying to teach [daughter] Courtney. I knew the parachutes had come out on my car because there’s only one thing that brings a motor down like that and makes that kind of a sound. The parachute does that.”

Force wasn’t angered by what transpired, in his assessment, “stuff happens”. You have to be willing to accept a safety malfunction every once in a while.

“Guido asked me if I was mad and I said, no, for one mistake out of every 50 runs and when you do have one, that’s something to save you. I’ll take that any day. It was just a malfunction.”

Force enters Sunday’s final eliminations with the opportunity to score his team’s 200th NHRA national event since 1989. Force won the 1989 NHRA Molson Grandnationals in Montreal, Quebec.

As historic as a Sunday win could be, if Force has his druthers, John Force Racing will win its 200th with one of the younger drivers.

“As much as I would like to win, I’d be just as happy with Mike Neff or Robert Hight winning,” admitted Force. “It doesn’t have to be me, I’ve won plenty. I’m still trained to fight, like an old monkey.”

I WANT MY PEWTER - It has been bugging Tony Schumacher that his U.S. Army Dragster has performed admirably and that he hasn't had any glaring driver miscues  yet he hasn't snagged one of those NHRA 60th Anniversary, special-edition pewter Wally trophies.
 
He's hoping Sunday at Royal Purple Raceway, in the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, he'll join two-time winner and points leader Del Worsham, Morgan Lucas, and Antron Brown in the Top Fuel winners column in 2011.
 
He knows better than to bank on the No. 1 qualifying position he secured Saturday at the Baytown, Texas, track on the strength of Friday night's cool-weather 3.817-second blast at 323.81 mph on the 1,000-foot course.
 
Still, with the communication he has developed with crew chief Mike Green and his U.S. Army Dragster crew, Schumacher was confident on the eve of eliminations.
 
"That was a great run," he said of Friday's performance. "The conditions were so much better than they were today. I was expecting it to be hot out, and all of a sudden there were these clouds."
 
However, he said, "Today was a better example of the conditions we're going to race in than yesterday (was)."
 
He said, "Every day is testing of some sort. You look at the conditions. We all have the same racetrack. If one guy figures it out before the other, he has a good chance of winning that race. It's our job and our crew chiefs' job to step up and use all the technology my dad (team owner Don Schumacher) provides -- (he) allows them to have the best of everything. So there's no excuses -- go out there and just try to race."
 
Why does he have such confidence in the face of quirky weather and the twists of fate that have beset him so far this year?
 
"Over the years I've built up incredible faith in my team," he said. Furthermore, he said, "This track's been very good to me."
 
He's going for his third victory here since 2005 and second in three years.
 
What he said he's expecting Sunday are "battles -- awesome battles. Drivers are going to have to sit up in the seat."
 
He said he isn't expecting many holeshot victories among the dragster drivers but won't be at all surprised if the crowd watches more than a random few pedal jobs.
 
"That's the best. I think that's the coolest," Schumacher said. "So long as they both do it, it's game on. If one car goes down there and motors on down there because it got seven cylinders out and the one guy smokes the tires, that's not cool to watch. But two guys blowing 'em off at the tree, man, pretty cool."
 
Will it be a tuner's race or a drivers' race?
 
"If a good tuner can get the car to slide through there, you're going to win. If the tuner makes a mistake it's all driver," he said. "Tomorrow it's going to be wheels down and slide through there. We're just trying to get a trophy."
 
Schumacher said he isn't concerned that he spun the tires Saturday.
 
"We smoked the tires so much," he said, adding that Green, assistant crew chief Neal Strasbaugh, and the team was back in the pits, looking at why that was the case.
 
"They'll get it figured out. I'll say it like I say it every time -- there's no other car that I'd rather drive than that car right now. The U.S. Army (team) is a just a dynamite team, and I can't wait to get up in the morning and do battle with them," Schumacher said.
 
He has really clicked with Green.
 
"I'd rather have a guy go, 'Ah! No big deal. I've got it!" than walk back and say, "I don't have clue, dude. Good luck tomorrow. You know, buckle up.' This guy knows what he's doing. I'm happy to drive that car," he said.
 
This second top-qualifying spot of the season (and second here at this racetrack) pushed Schumacher's career total to 63.
 
"I'm just trying to keep my wins ahead of my No. 1 qualifiers. With 67 wins, we've got to keep moving those wins out there. I don't want the No. 1 qualifiers to be way out there and the wins be just a regular old normal 67," Schumacher joked.
 
"Kidding aside, we've had some great race cars this year, but we need to take the Wally home. Those pewter ones looking cool on everyone else's shelf. But I've got a shelf, too, and I need to fill it again."
 
He and Green earned their first victory together here at Baytown, so he's looking for another jump-start Sunday. He'll face Troy Buff and the BME/Okuna Dragster in the first round.

 

 

HUMPHREY GETS HIS FIRST - Ronnie Humphrey didn’t really want to admit it, but being a novice at Pro Stock low qualifier press conferences, it didn’t take a lot to prod him into revealing a secret from the night before.

“Okay, I’ll admit it, I must have made 50 runs in my king sized bed last night,” Humphrey said with a smile.

The question was how he slept on the eve before securing his first career NHRA Full Throttle Pro Stock pole position. During Friday’s qualifying, the third driver on the Summit-sponsored KB Racing team ran a 6.571 at 211.16 to secure the mark.

The admission actually goes against the game plan Humphrey used this season. But, when you’re No. 1 provisionally, you tend to fly by the seat of your pants.

“My plan was to quit thinking,” Humphrey explained. “These first four races – I put a lot of pressure on myself. I was trying to make those perfect runs when [teammate] Jason Line told me to not think about it – just do it.”

Humphrey said his shift points have been perfect all four rounds of qualifying.

“Now we just have to get the lights and make the runs on Sunday,” said Humphrey. “

The run held up through both of Saturday’s sessions at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals hosted by Royal Purple Raceway located outside of Houston.

“We made two good runs yesterday and today was just testing,” Humphrey said. “We’ll head into race day and make things happen.”

Humphrey, who has never led any class headed into race day, believes the magnitude of the accomplishment hasn’t hit him yet and he really has no idea when it will either.

“This is a dream come true,” Humphrey said. “This doesn’t happen  too often and I just want to capitalize on it. My goal is just to come out here and qualify, go rounds. Reality hasn’t hit me yet.

“When I turned 51, I created a bucket list and this wasn’t on there. I want to live life like every day is my last.”

And on Sunday, he will live life as the first – qualifier - that is.

Humphrey races rookie Pro Stock driver Steve Kent, who qualified for his first career Pro Stock event, in the first round.


“This is a new day for me and a dream come true,” said Humphrey. “Pro Stock is an extremely tough class and is a team effort. My company motto has always been, ‘together everyone achieves more.”

OLD CLUTCH IN THE CLUTCH - The thermometer and barometer were key instruments Saturday for LE Tonglet, just as critical as wrenches and ratchets, as he tried to protect his No. 1 place in the Pro Stock Motorcycle order for the O'Reilly Spring Nationals.
 
With a eye on the weather patterns, Tonglet plodded through two more qualifying sessions on the Royal Purple Raceway quarter-mile at Baytown, Texas, and emerged with his first No. 1 start of the season and second of his young and stunningly successful career.
 
"The weather got pretty hot today. That's the main factor for us with the bikes normally aspirated. We were really rich the first two runs," the current series champion said following qualifying.
 
He and his NitroFish Suzuki will lead the field of 16 with his track-record 6.849 from Friday's second session.
 
"We were trying to get that new clutch all working like we wanted it to. Each round it comes around a little bit more, and we're just learning a lot with that. It seems to be less crucial if you miss the set-up. We're really liking this new clutch," Tonglet said. "Hopefully we can get it all worked out for tomorrow, too."
 
He'll meet fellow Suzuki rider Steve Johnson in the opening round of eliminations Sunday.
 
"We're just going to go up there (to the starting line) and do our normal deal and hopefully we'll get the win light," Tonglet said. We don't look at who's in the other lane, unless it's a Harley."
 
Referring to the Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson tandem of Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec, he said, "They're flying out there. They ran pretty quick today. They were low for today. That's a hard team to beat over there."
 
While LE Tonglet was shining, older brother GT was struggling with a misbehaving but potentially wicked-quick bike. GT Tonglet ended qualifying 23rd among 26 entrants. However, LE said when his brother and dad get the bugs worked out of it, the bike designed by California-based Track Dynamics could be the trendsetter for the class.
 
"It's the only Pro Stock aluminum bike that I know of. There's a few Pro Mod ones.
 
Right now it's got an electrical miss when he pops the clutch. So it's just dying off the line right now. We're going to try to get that all worked out for Atlanta," LE Tonglet said.
 
"It went 7.08 (-second E.T.) yesterday, but it had that miss. But once we get that miss out of it, it should fly," he said. "GT says it's a lot smoother than the chromoly stuff. That could be what our new bikes are going to is aluminum."
 
Joking, he said, "GT is (the groundbreaker), not me. I'm on the same old bike. I get the old junk. He gets the new stuff."

The "old junk" seems to be working quite well.

FUNNY CAR 101 WITH TOBLER – Veteran nitro tuner Rahn Tobler had the chance to help a close friend during the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals.

Tobler, who tuned the iconic Shirley Muldowney and later Cruz Pedregon to championships, was the professor of Funny Car 101 for another tuning legend – Tim Richards.

Tobler spent the better part of Friday and much of Saturday bringing newly signed DSR crew chief Tim Richards up to speed with the nuances of tuning a nitro-burning Funny Car. Richards hadn’t tuned a flopper since 2000 when he worked with Whit Bazemore. Richards is in his first weekend as tuner of the Ron Capps-driven NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car.

He’s all too happy for the opportunity to assist Richards.

“It makes me feel great,” said Tobler, who added their close personal friendship makes the opportunity even better. “I can understand his position because he hasn’t been around a Funny Car for a while. Tommy Delago is going to help on this project as well. I look forward to it and I’m excited.”

Tobler understands the challenges of transition. It wasn’t too long ago after he left dragster tuning gigs with Kalitta Motorsports and briefly Morgan Lucas Racing that he ended up with Cruz Pedregon. A resourceful Tobler jumped into the new challenge feet first and within a season had tuned Pedregon to a championship.

“When you go into all of the new places like I have since Shirley [Muldowney], you go in and learn new things. There have been people who have helped me. When I came here [to DSR], John Collins, my assistant crew chief helped me tremendously. Had it not have been for him it wouldn’t have looked as easy as it has some times. We look forward to doing that with Tim and helping him to get going and hopefully improve the performance of that NAPA car.”

Tobler’s tuning style mirrors the tendencies of Richards in they both subscribe to the method of bending but not breaking.

“We’re rarely going to set low elapsed time in qualifying,” Tobler said. “We just try to go down the track and make runs, win first round. It’s all about getting set up for the latter part of the year.”   


IT’S A HOME GAME – Home games might have their merits for stick and ball athletes but for drag racers, a local event can be more challenging.

Rodger Brogdon, the No. 2 qualifier in Pro Stock who lives in nearby Tomball, Texas, says the experience can be both challenging and rewarding.

Brogdon estimates between he and teammate Steve Kent, who is making his Pro Stock debut, there are 75 guests daily.

“It’s very hard to race,” Brogdon admits. “You have people in and out. You get those you haven’t seen. ‘Hey, how are you? How have you been? Got an extra ticket?”

“We don’t mind that. It just a part of it. You try to get everything as organized as you can and hope everyone has a good time. We like it but then there’s a part of us where we dread it.”

When you have lots of fans, you are have an abundance of volunteer help. Volunteers are not conducive to running a Pro Stock operation of the magnitude Brogdon and Kent field.

“You get those well-meaning people who want to help,” Brogdon explained. “They want to try and help but of course, they can’t. In Comp, whoever wanted to help, we let them. Pro Stock is a different deal. Each crew man has an assignment.”

The one assignment Brogdon has reserved for his guests is to have fun.

“We’re going to have fun,” said Brogdon, who confirmed he purchased 35 cases of beer for his hospitality in anticipation of many guests. “That ought to last us for 2 days. If not, somebody will be making a beer run.”

HISTORY AWAITS US - They knew it was going to happen, but who knew it would happen the first time? Hector Arana III will make his first Full Throttle Drag Racing Series start Sunday aboard one of the two Lucas Oil Buells. But he'll race in the first round against his champion father and the other Lucas Oil Buell.

And that will be a history-making run. It marks the first time in the class' history that a father and son have squared off in eliminations.

"Of course this would happen to me," the younger Arana said. "What can you do? May the best man win. I just feel so happy that I qualified. I feel so much better on the bike, and it's awesome being out here racing, whoever I have to race."

The son qualified 13th with a best lap of 6.991 seconds at 191.46 mph, and the father used a 6.903 / 193.82 effort to secure the No. 4 position.

Arana III said his dad "pulled up next to me down there (at top end after the final session) and said, 'You did a good job. You ran another (6).99.' So I knew that meant I stayed 13th and that we would race each other in the first round. I said, 'Well, I guess it's on,' and we just started laughing."

Arana the Elder said he didn't expect to face his rookie son so soon.

"You know that some time you are going to have to race each other, but I wouldn't have minded if it wasn't the first round of his first race," he said. "Oh well. I look at it now that it's good because for sure one of the Aranas on one of the Lucas Oil bikes will make it to the second round, no matter what.

"I'm really happy and relieved to see him make the field," Dad Hector said. "He's getting better every run, and that's what you want to see. He looks smooth and in control, which is helping his confidence. We've worked a lot of hours on that bike, a lot of hours, and it's starting to respond. Our work is showing."

MEDLEN’S NEWEST ROLE – John Medlen knows his role at R2B2 and he’s not shy about clarifying it. He’s an advisor and the crew chief role on the In-N-Out-sponsored Funny Car is filled by Aaron Brooks. He joined the team this week following his resignation from Don Schumacher Racing.

“I think the objective is to take a look at the parts and pieces, because this crew and Aaron are very much capable of tuning this car,” Medlen explained. “My job is to get the mechanical aspect in a more tunable fashion.”

Medlen, at this point in his career, would rather work in this capacity than as a named crew chief.

“My real love is in research and development,” Medlen explained. “I like making the parts and seeing the effects it has on them. I like seeing the young guns out here like Aaron who has a lifetime and a career ahead of him. It makes me feel good to be able to help him. Giving them the components to make their job easier is really what I like best.”

Even though the ink is barely dry on his newly signed contract with R2B2, Medlen is quickly settling into a comfort zone.

“I’m very comfortable,” Medlen said. “I wish the car was running a bit better. We’ll keep working on it. When you make these changes, you need to learn how to adapt to them. We think we are headed in the right direction.”

Unfortunately, with a spot in the field during the third session Troxel was bumped from the field when she failed to improve in the final attempt.

BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH – It’s been a tumultuous two weeks for the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car team and could have been worse. If not for a final session 4.209, 299.53 during the last session the weekend could have been worse.

In the days leading up to Easter weekend, tuner John Medlen tendered his resignation from the Don Schumacher Racing-owned team. On the Thursday before the event, DSR named Tim Richards as the tuner.
For three sessions, driver Ron Capps failed to make the field. The one last shot was enough to secure the 11th spot.

"All the guys did a great job; I can't say enough about how everyone chipped in - Tommy DeLago and his guys, Rahn Tobler, Tim Richards - and of course the NAPA crew to get this car into the field,” Capps said.

Capps faces Bob Tasca III in the first round of eliminations.

"And I am very confident about tomorrow,” he continued. “There was a lot more left in the car than we used in the run. I'm excited about what lies ahead.

"I didn't want to not qualify at the beginning of NAPA's Ultimate Tune-Up month. NAPA deserved this."

And thanks to their relentless pursuit, the NAPA team delivered it to their sponsor.

BERRY'S PROGRESS STALLS - Mike Berry thought he had discovered the secret to Pro Stock Motorcycle success: don't be overly analytical.

Frustrated with several issues -- a new bike not being delivered in time for either the class-opening Gatornationals or these O'Reilly Spring Nationals, a balking Buell, two years of lost time adjusting to constantly changing weight rules with his former Suzuki mount -- Berry decided he would try a more relaxed approach. While it might have spared the Littleton, Colo., racer some angst, it didn’t help him make the show this weekend. He came within .036 of a second of squeezing into the field of 16 but went home 18th after four qualifying sessions.

"I think a lot of people who try to be really analytical are probably going to struggle longer than the people who say, 'Hey, that's what made it go fast.' We don't care why. We just say, 'Well, this is what we did when it went fast. We need to do more of that' and not not to analyze it.

"Naturally, we're trying to solve problems," Berry said. "Sometimes people throw a bunch of parts at it. But there's a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense. Part of why you’re struggling is you’re trying to make some sense of it and it doesn't make any sense."

Maybe that's still the best way to attack the season. Berry said he still has confidence that he'll get on the right path.

"I think we're going to be a player this year," he said. "I predict we'll easily be in the top 10."

HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU - If the NHRA presented an award for the driver with the most loyal crew member and fans, T.J. Zizzo would have to win it. Ricky Dale, cylinder head specialist for Zizzo's PEAK/Herculiner Dragster, commutes to the races from Costa Rica.

"My company sends me all over the world. That's part of what I do in between racing," the Abbott Labs engineer said. "This actually is my vacation. This is my relaxing time."

Abbott Labs is building a facility in the Central America nation that sits between Nicaragua and Panama, and Dale's job is to "make sure the facility is ready to turn over to the client. From the design phase all the way through the end of construction, I'm involved with everything."

His devotion to Zizzo's operation amazes even the Lincolnshire, Ill., racer. "He's in Costa Rica all week long, working. He flies in for the weekend,. But not only is he spending a little time with his family but he also spends time in our shop, working on the race car," the racer said.

Dale has been a crew member for three years. Before that he was track manager at Great Lakes Dragway at Union Grove, Wis. He said he has known the Zizzo family since team owner Tony Zizzo, T.J.'s father, drove in the alcohol ranks.

Kyle Keck is part of the team from the sidelines. The Tulsa, Okla., high-school senior, who will graduate in a few weeks, chose to wear a Zizzo team uniform shirt for his yearbook photo.

Last year at this race, Keck got his wish to ride in the team's tow vehicle to the end of the track. Zizzo said he was startled that that's all Keck wanted to see, asking if being up close and personal at the starting line might be far more exciting. But Keck said he simply wanted to see Zizzo and his emotions after climbing from the race car.

Zizzo clearly was proud of Keck's loyalty. He beamed as he showed off a framed print of Keck's senior picture -- autographed by Keck, who had written on it that he was T.J. Zizzo's No. 1 fan.

UNDER THE RADAR? - While Tony Schumacher was hogging the spotlight both Friday and Saturday, Larry Dixon quietly qualified No. 4 (best among the five Toyota-sponsored dragsters). Although he slipped one position in the lineup Saturday, Dixon picked up bonus points in Friday's two qualifying sessions to earn three altogether this weekend. He has earned 29 bonus points in qualifying already this season, a factor that could make a huge difference at the end of the year. Al-Anabi teammate and points leader Del Worsham, mired in 13th at the start of Saturday's qualifying, rose to sixth place on the list.

ANGIE SMITH THANKFUL - Angie Smith and her Coffman Tank Trucks Buell never made it into the top half of the field during qualifying this weekend, but she said just the same that she's grateful to be racing in eliminations. As the No. 15 rider, she'll face No. 2 Karen Stoffer, who has been on a roll, in the opening round Sunday.

“I am just glad to be in the show at this point,” Smith said. “It is always hard heading into Saturday not qualified, but we kept our heads high and ran the best we could. I am glad the bumps in the road are gone, and I am ready to go out and do the best I can tomorrow.”

She's 10th in the standings. Her husband, Matt Smith, will start No. 11, and if both can win two rounds, they could meet in the semifinals. 

NEW ASSOCIATE SPONSOR FOR KB RACING - KB Racing team announced the signing of PGT Trucking as an associate sponsor.  Beginning with this weekend’s NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston, TX, Anderson’s Summit Racing Pro Stock Pontiac will carry the PGT Trucking logo for the next four races, including a toll-free number for over-the-road drivers to call should they be interested in a career with PGT, with driver application cards also available at the KB Racing pit area at NHRA national events.

“We are proud to welcome PGT Trucking to the KB Racing team,” said Anderson.  “PGT is one of the top five flatbed carriers in the country, and with the ever-increasing demand for qualified drivers they are looking to use their involvement with our team and the Full Throttle Drag Racing Series to reach out to potential drivers and owner/operators.  This initial agreement is only for the next four races, but if all goes well, they may expand their program to include all the East Coast races, so I invite everyone to either stop by our pits or call PGT at 1-800-821-2419 to check it out.”

STOFFER CONSISTENT - GEICO Suzuki rider Karen Stoffer had a message Saturday for her husband, Gary: "This race has been the best one I've had in a long time -- just two really good days so far." That was especially comforting to him, because he's also her crew chief, and that means that together they're finding a combination for consistency -- even when conditions aren't consistent.

"We're really pleased," Stoffer said. "One of our primary goals is to be consistent, even when the weather changes. It was really good yesterday and then hot and humid today. We had issues in (Saturday's) first (session) and didn't get down the track -- never a good thing -- but rebounded right away and made a great pass in Round 4, considering the conditions, so that was encouraging.

"I feel comfortable and relaxed on the bike. Now we need to carry this into race day, keep having fun, and win some rounds," Stoffer, who's second in the order and third in the standings, said.

Her quickest pass of the weekend was a 6.868 seconds in the quarter-mile at 195.28 mph. She'll begin eliminations Sunday No. 15 qualifier and Buell rider Angie Smith, who made the field at 7.028 / 186.85.

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT-OFF

AN EDGY SCHUMACHER - Tony Schumacher grinned that mischievous smile of his Friday evening at Royal Purple Raceway and reminded, "I put on a firesuit. I don't put on a sweatsuit. I have a roll cage, not a go-fast cage."
 
The Top Fuel record-setter loves that element of peril, that edgy risk-taking while remaining on the tightrope.
 
And he had all that working for him in the second qualifying session of the O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Baytown, Texas as he took the early Top Fuel lead with an impressive 3.817-second elapsed time at a class-best 323.81 mph in the U.S. Army Dragster.
 
Schumacher shaved .128 seconds from his opening-session time and jumped from the No. 5 spot with two Saturday sessions scheduled for 11:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.
 
"That was a pretty good run," low-key crew chief Mike Green said immediately afterward.
 
"It kept getting cooler. The track kept getting better. And Tony kept it straight," he said.
 
"The conditions were perfect," Schumacher said. "That's exactly the car you want to drive. We've had, in my opinion, the best car for the first four races, and we haven't won a Wally. And that happens. Things happen. You get beat in different little ways. When it gets turned around, we're going to be a great car. We're way better than the numbers are showing."
 
Meshing better and better with Green every day, every race is showing, too.
 
"He knows I like to drive a car when it's a little over the edge, front end in the air, and a little scary. He likes to tune it that that way, but I'm not sure he's comfortable telling everybody that," Schumacher said.
 
Although Green doesn't become terribly animated, Schumacher said, "I'm sure he's smiling ear to ear inside. Mike and I really get along. And he's getting better every day, because he knows I just like to drive a car a little different than people he's had in the past. I like when the front ends up and it’s real loose and real fast. And he's getting more comfortable with that. I don't think it's easy to drive when it’s stuck to the ground. I like it when it's moving around and crazy. It's more fun."
 
He said with the way the class has performed this season he was bit surprised that someone behind him didn't trump his numbers.
 
"The staging has been pretty cool. If you look since the beginning of the year, usually (it's) four cars almost identical, within a thousandth here and a thousandth there. So I was assuming that there'd be four guys at the top, just right there," Schumacher said. "I sat back and watched . . . and they didn't do it."
 
They didn't. They all have two more chances Saturday. But at least for about 12 hours overnight, Schumacher's aggressive style reaped the rewards.

 

 

A CHANGE OF LUCK WOULD BE NICE - You know it’s bad when even the sanctioning body president can’t bring you a measure of luck.
 
John Force laughs at the notion of NHRA President Tom Compton traveling to national events he might have otherwise skipped in order to be there when the drag racing icon scores his 200^th career national event victory since 1989.
 
While Force stands on the cusp of his third pole position in a row, his first win during this title defense season might as well be a million miles away. The 15-time Funny Car champion leads provisional Funny Car qualifying at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals with a 4.097 second pass at 310.27 miles per hour.
 
“Compton said he came to all of those races trying to get me that win and bought them plane tickets and I didn’t win,” Force explained with a smile.
 
Force admits while the records are nice, it’s the love of the sport which inspires him. The youthful nature of his crew jumping around in the shutdown area inspires him.
 
“I’m excited and hope I can get to 200,” Force, who currently has 199 9 wins, admitted.
 
Force is racing this year with the crew and car used by Ashley last season. Thus far, he’s been a terror in qualifying but on race day, a non-factor. The cagey veteran believes it’s only a matter of time before the talents of this crew break through to the winner’s circle.
 
“Dean Antonelli was taught by the best, Austin Coil, and he reminds me of him in his thinking,” Force explained. “Teaming up with Ron Douglas, they get the job done. It’s a young team but it’s my daughter [Ashley’s] hot rod. She always let me know that. I’m getting to drive it now and who knows I might end up back with Mike Neff. I don’t know where I’ll go.”
 
Force's Mustang leads a three-way Ford logjam at the top of the class. Matt Hagan is fourth while another Mustang racer Bob Tasca III is fifth. Two-time 2011 winner Robert Hight is unqualified.

ANTSY TONGLET TO THE TOP - Hey, he's just a kid still.
 
So it makes sense L.E. Tonglet, the reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, would hit the beach in Florida for spring break. He became bored in his New Orleans suburb of Metairie, La., got antsy while waiting for the class schedule to resume after the Gatornationals.
 
"It felt like a really long time off," he said at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas. "Staying in New Orleans sucked."
 
While he might have had that youthful urge to have some fun in the sun, Friday afternoon he rode his NitroFish Suzuki like a battle-hardened veteran.
 
Tonglet satisfied his urge to get back on the bike with a track-record 6.849-second elapsed time (at 195.45 mph). He took the provisional No. 1 qualifying position for the O'Reilly Spring Nationals from Karen Stoffer by .019 of second, as they were the only two riders in the 6.8-second range.

Tentative No. 3 Andrew Hines was close behind on his Harley-Davidson at 6.901 / 195.99.
 
Michael Phillips, who'll start Saturday's two final qualifying sessions rewrote the track speed record at 197.39 mph on his Suzuki.
 
Chip Ellis is on the bump overnight with a 7.033-second E.T.
 
Tonglet said after he slid into the No. 4 slot in the opening session, the team "went back to the trailer and fooled around with the clutch a little bit" -- changed the cutch and the jet in the carburetor. That helped him leapfrog Phillips, Hector Arana, and initial top qualifier Hines on the second try.
 
"It seems like we've got a little bit left in it," he said. He qualified his remark, saying, "A little bit, but not that much."

He said with Saturday's forecast calling for warmer temperatures, "We probably won't see the big numbers. We'll see a difference in the middle part of the track, but it won't show up on the scoreboard. The only time we'll see much of a difference is if the temperatures go up or down 10 to 15 degrees."

Whatever happens Saturday, Tonglet indicated he's strategizing for Sunday.
 
"We hate to lose the first round," he said, "so we have to stay on our game."
 
He was ready and on his game Friday.

A TALE OF TWO FIRSTS - Following Friday’s opening session at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals, a pair of Pro Stock drivers clung to a couple of firsts.

Ronnie Humphrey, teammate to the high profile factory hot rod tandem of Greg Anderson and Jason Line, was the early No. 1 qualifier and Steve Kent; well … he was just in the show. Kent is racing for the first time as a Pro Stock racer.

Humphrey has never been a No. 1 qualifier in his drag racing career, ever.

“It was a perfect run,” Humphrey said with a smile. “I want to thank KB Racing, Jason and Greg. For the first time in my drag racing career, I can say I was the No. 1 qualifier even if it doesn’t hold. I’m having fun and that’s what it’s all about.”

Kent makes no bones about his purpose for racing Pro Stock – to have fun.

“I hope to move up the ladder,” Kent added. “It felt like a fast Comp car. The high gear rush is so much faster in this car than the B/Altered car I am accustomed to running. The part I need to get used to is the back half of the track. I put it into perspective and realize I am just coming out here to have fun and that’s it.

Kent was eventually bumped from the provisional field while Humphrey held on the top spot.

RICHARDS SETTLES BACK INTO THE GAME - Just when I thought I was out ... they pull me back in.

If the aforementioned line sounds familiar, it was uttered by Al Pacino’s fictional character Michael Corleone in the movie Godfather III.

This might be best known as a Pacino line but for veteran nitro tuner Tim Richards, the statement seems to be a recurring one since his “retirement” at the end of the 2008. For the second time, Richards, accompanied by his assistant tuner Kim Richards, has been pulled back in.

On Thursday, Richards was named as the tuner for the Don Schumacher Racing, NAPA Auto Parts-sponsored Funny Car replacing John Medlen, who was reassigned within the team and subsequently tendered his resignation.

“This sport is very infectious,” admitted Richards. “It’s something you don’t get away from easily. It’s burned into your soul. When this is your life’s work, you don’t get away from it. I know people who are a lot older than I am who can’t get away from it.”

Not that Richards is an old dog, but he has learned a lot of new tricks in the last year. Prior to his hiring at DSR, he and Kim worked for eight races as assistant tuners for Pro Extreme racer Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani on the ADRL tour. His return to Funny Car marks the first time he’s tuned a nitro flopper since 2000.

“Funny Cars are an interesting project,” said Richards. “They definitely require a lot more finesse in the years that I worked on them. The Funny Cars back then were a lot simpler compared to today’s. The technology has really changed on them. I believe there have been more changes to the Funny Cars than the dragsters.”

Richards spent the better part of Friday morning during the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals in Baytown, Texas in Funny Car tuning orientation with Rahn Tobler, tuner of the Aaron’s/Valvoline Funny Car.

“That’s a good place to start,” Richards confirmed with a smile. “[Rahn] and I have been good friends for some time. He’s my teacher for now.”

And as for retirement, how’s that working out for him?

“I’ve been off for about two and a half years and I believe my batteries are recharged pretty good,” Richards said. “I think there’s some left in the tank. You go out on the boat every two or three days, you sit around with really nothing to do. But coming out here, there’s nothing you can compare it to. This is a different kind of thing.”

And for Richards, it just keeps sucking him back in.

 

 

THE OTHER CAPPS IS IN THE BIG SHOW - At least for one session, Jon Capps was eight spots better than his older and more famous Funny Car driving brother. In fact, the Las Vegas-based driver was quicker than approximately 13 other big show drivers.

Capps, who is five years younger than Ron Capps, ran a conservative 4.262 second run at 286.56 miles per hour to land fifth quickest following the first session in Friday qualifying at the NHRA O’Reilly Spring Nationals outside of Houston, Tex.

Capps is driving for independent Funny Car legend Paul Smith this weekend. His battle to earn a berth in the big show has been one of constant struggle. The struggle has been overwhelming at times but Capps, despite a tendency to give up on his dream, keeps forging ahead.

“There have been times that I’ve wanted to quit,” admitted Capps. “I have a seven year old daughter at home and felt that it was time to spend some time at home. There were times I had decided driving the Jungle Jim Nostalgia Funny car was enough for me.”

Capps laughs when he reveals the reason which keeps him coming back to the big show.

“Beating (my brother) and the fact I’ve wanted to do this since childhood keeps me coming back,” said Capps. “Driving a nitro car is an addictive feeling and one that’s difficult to let go of.”

Capps believes he had the bigger dream of driving a nitro car when compared to Ron. He can only wonder “what if” when looking back to his decision to join the U.S. Navy instead of pursuing a drag racing career. When Capps returned, Ron was already wrenching on a Top Alcohol car and later ended up becoming the first of the two to drive a drag car.

“I did drive a go-kart first,” Capps beamed.

But today, Capps was careful to take in every sight and sound of the experience. As he’s found out, each time out could be his last.

“They let the body down and I said, ‘oh crap, I can see,” Capps said. “I’m not used to having that much vision in my nostalgia Funny Car. The engine is in the way and the a-pillars are as well. I went out there and went down the track. I got the run out of my system and now I can concentrate on the rest of the weekend.”

And concentrate on beating his sibling.

“He’s had a great career and been given lots of opportunities,” said Capps. “He’s done very well with them. Hopefully I can parlay what we do into something long term out here.”

Capps ended the first day of qualifying in the top 12 as the 11th quickest. Brother Ron was outside of the provisional field at 16th.

 

 

FRONT-ROW SEAT FOR TORNADO - U.S. Army Top Fuel team crew members Joe Veyette and Tyler Clouser were familiar with the power of a 7,000-horsepower Top Fuel engine. But they got a first-hand view of the power of nature Wednesday as they drove the team hauler down I-55 through Mississippi en route to Royal Purple Raceway. And if they have a choice, they want it to be their last.
 
They knew they might run into some severe weather during their trip to Baytown, Texas, from the Don Schumacher Racing shop in Brownsburg, Ind. But they had no idea they would see a tornado -- and a vicious one, at that.
 
Veyette and Clouser saw the skies suddenly turn dark and threatening, and Veyette said, "We knew from the radio reports it was going to be bad.
 
"But, to be honest, we weren't prepared to come face-to-face with a tornado. Frankly, it was pretty scary. You always hear about how unpredictable funnel clouds can be, so we really didn't know what we should do – it all happened so fast."
 
They decided to follow the lead of their fellow motorists and stopped their truck on the highway. They even were prepared to jump out and dive into a ditch. But the swirling funnel cloud whished by in an eye blink.
 
According to Clouser, "It was just a matter of seconds. As the tornado went in front of us, we were able to see the debris field circulating around the cloud. It was unbelievable – there were tree limbs, shingles and other things we couldn't identify."
 
After the reached Baytown, they learned of the deadly devastation the tornado spawned in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

"It's just incredible," Clouser said. "Having now gotten that close to a tornado, I don't think I want to experience that ever again."

 

FINALLY, SOMETHING GOOD - Positive things are starting to happen for Scott Palmer. In making his first NHRA appearance since he and girlfriend Ashley lost almost all of their possessions in a late-January house fire, the Missouri resident used a 6.961-second pass to make the field at No. 13 in the first qualifying session.
 
The couple was in West Palm Beach, helping Dom Lagana test the car he and brother Bobby Lagana share in NHRA and IHRA competition. Palmer said fire investigators know the blaze started in the carport of the home but have not determined whether it was the result of arson. Whatever the cause, they're starting the next phase of their lives.
 
"The house burned and we've kind of relocated and moved our race-car shop to Marck Industries headquarters at Roaring Rivers, Missouri. We're going to try to find us a house on the lake. Everything but the race-car stuff is gone. The race-car shop was in a different location, luckily. We didn't have any insurance on the contents, so it's like starting over.
 
"One of our sponsors has built a 40,000-square-foot shop for us," he said. "We were planning to move the race-car shop anyway. But moving was such a hassle I put it off for a year."
 
Said Palmer, "Kent Longley owns Marck Industries, a recycling company. They recycle cardboard paper and sell it to paper mills. Kent's a good friend of mine. He's not just a sponsor; he's a friend. When this happened, we immediately relocated. We were planning to go to Pomona and start the year off early."
 
Six races into the season, Palmer is back on track, literally and figuratively.

NEW PHENOMENON - Steve Johnson escaped the devastating tornadoes that battered his adopted home of Birmingham, Ala., this week, but he said he understands the power of nature. Even so, the native Californian said that "it's hard to get a grasp on" the notion of destructive wind.
 
"I'm from California. We deal with shock and awe all the time. We just don’t get any notice," Johnson said. "When you live in the South, the sirens go off and everybody yells, 'Get in the basement!' "
 
He was in Houston, appearing with Funny Car drivers Bob Tasca III and Robert Hight at a Ford promotional function, at the time storms basted through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham with deadly force. But he got word from his friends via cell phone.
 
"All of a sudden my phone starts blowing up: 'There's a storm!' . . . 'Things are going crazy!'
 
"Nothing happened to the race shop, I absolutely don't know about the house yet," he said.
 
Team General Manager Tim Kulungian's home sustained some damage. "Tim's house, the roof pretty much tore off of it," Johnson said.
 
Kulungian and wife Christal just were starting to see improvement in the condition of daughter Lilly, who was diagnosed as an infant with the bone disease osteopetrosis. Now faced with repairs from the tornado damage, he said, "I feel like I've been in a restaurant and the waitress is pouring me a cup of coffee, and she just keeps pouring it and pouring it and it's overflowing." But he said he and his family will keep slogging on with all of the challenges.
 
Johnson, acknowledging the devastation and heartbreak this storm brought, said, "On the serious side, it's a big deal. It is a scary situation."
 
But he couldn't repress his trademark sense of humor, although he in no way wanted to make light of the tornado victims' plight. "Tuscaloosa is about 50 miles away, and they're saying stuff is flying from 50 miles away into Birmingham," Johnson said, flabbergasted. He heard reports of a couch that was claimed in the Birmingham area by a Tuscaloosa-area resident.
 
"I need a coffee table. I've got two cats, a big-screen TV, and a couch," he said.
 
Johnson said he has a friend who was a Boy Scout and has sons who are in scouting. And he said he took up their motto -- "Be prepared" -- and has at home a kit with flashlight and other emergency essentials.

 

 

 

ANDERSON: PEACEFUL WEEKS ARE WELCOMED - What four-time champion Greg Anderson wouldn’t do for a quiet week.

A week without fires burning something down, or the agony of losing a first round race the weekend before, he could do without.

“I need no more excitement in my life,” Anderson admitted. “I just hope for those cool, calm weeks.”

Anderson admittedly had one of those following the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, where he scored his 66^th career national event victory moving him to within one race of fifth on the all-time wins list.

Last season, Anderson won his fourth championship despite enduring the health issues of team owner Ken Black and two significant fires, one which destroyed his home prior to the start of the season and the other which destroyed the team’s hauler following the championship.

Winning when you’ve had a run of misfortune is more gratifying than one where you can do no wrong. Lately there’s been more of the former than the latter.

“It’s just an absolute, knock-down drag out brawl every time you race out here,” Anderson said. “Nowadays you have fourteen to sixteen cars who should win at every race. It’s a lot like NASCAR. You have to have a perfect, flawless race from the car and the engine.”

And as Anderson pauses, he adds, “The driver, too.”

The demands of perfect gnaws at a driver, he contends. A robot, he believes, might feel the pressure to perform – it’s that tough.

“The stress of perfection tears a driver up,” he continued. “Without perfection, you’re not going to win out here. It tears us up even though we work as hard as we can at it. But then again, that can be a double-edged sword. You have to find your happy place and not try too hard. You have to find mind-control.”

Get in trouble or off of your game, Anderson adds, and a driver falls into “quicksand”.

“You will sink quick and the harder you paddle, the more you fall.”

Right now, Anderson believes his head is above the proverbial water.

This weekend’s event in Houston should be a lot more peaceful considering the race is of the traditional nature. Converting from four-wide competition to side-by-side two car racing requires an adjustment period.

“When you’re racing four-wide you just completely change everything you do,” Anderson explained. “After a run or two, you go back to the racing you were accustomed to. The first run is always different.”

The peaceful feeling was short-lived as Anderson lost an engine following the first session.

 

 

 

 

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