EVENT RESULTS (sun) EVENT NOTEBOOK (sun) POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS SPORTSMAN RESULTS

THURS. GALLERY (posted) FRI. GALLERY (posted) SAT. GALLERY (posted) SUN. GALLERY (posted) VIDEO FEATURES

 

SUNDAY

WILKERSON DUMPS HIS OLD GIRL FOR A YOUNGER ONE FOLLOWING WIN - Tim Wilkerson understands the scenario makes him sound very sexist.

He's trading in Bessie for Jamie because she's younger, got better equipment and is fifty pounds lighter.

In reality, he's trading in a heavier race car for a newer one. He's also trading in a winning one, as he claimed the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals Funny Car title over John Force, a driver he claims has flogged him a lot lately.

Wilkerson can thank Bessie, who clearly stood by her man to ensure he beat the "garbage man" driving a Chevrolet. In their seven final round meetings, Wilkerson now holds a 4-3 advantage.

The thought of sticking with the hot hand with his proven car while he brings the new Murf McKinney piece up to speed is prevalent, but his gut tells him to make the change.

"It's the latest and trickest thing Murf has to offer," Wilkerson explained. "There's a lot of teams that help me out when I'm out here racing from Force to DSR, and they keep me from doing buffoon things. Every one of them tells me this new car will make me really tough. It may take some transition time and hopefully we can carry some momentum over."

Wilkerson was a picture of consistency all day, running in the three-second zone in three of his four round wins. He opened with a win over Chad Head, took out Pomona winner Ron Capps and then Robert Hight to reach the final round.

"We are very proud of that," Wilkerson said. "I got a little greedy in the second round against Ron Capps, and believed the track would hold what we put in it. That run really established the parameters that I needed to stay within. I'm really fortunate to be here now. There's no way earlier I would have believed a 3.99 would have gotten me in the finals."

Phoenix was nothing short of a three-fest event, with ten cars qualifying with three second runs in the 16-car field. Of the ten, Wilkerson was ninth quickest.

And to back up Wilkerson's point, Alexis DeJoria lost despite running a 3.96 elapsed time.

"The track was trickier today than it was Saturday and that helped us to get by," Wilkerson admitted.

The victory marks the earliest win in the season for Wilkerson, who rarely tests before the season. This year he participated in the NHRA's Nitro Spring Training event at Wild Horse Motorsports Park the week before the season opener in Pomona.

Because Wilkerson wears many hats as driver and tuner, the opportunity to second-guess himself is prevalent. His "other" woman, his wife Krista, overrules both Bessie and Jamie.

"I was taking counterweight on the car and taking it off after the second round and second-guessing myself," admitted Wilkerson. "My wife set me straight, and she's clearly my biggest advocate and supporter. She reminded me, 'your first hunch is always the best. Stop thinking you are not doing the right thing because you are."

Wilkerson only hopes Jamie and Krista will get along. Bobby Bennett

PRITCHETT CLAIMS FIRST TF WIN IN ALL-FEMALE FINAL - History was made in the Top Fuel class at the Carquest Auto Parts Nationals at Wild Horse Motorsports Park in Phoenix.

Leah Pritchett  won her first career Top Fuel national event, defeating Brittany Force on a holeshot in the finals.

Pritchett clocked a 3.775-second lap at 323.12 mph to edge Force’s quicker 3.774-second run. The difference was at the starting line as Pritchett had an .046 reaction time compared to Force’s .067 reaction time.

“There’s no words to describe it, this is the happiest day of my life obviously besides getting married,” said Pritchett, who drives the Quaker State-sponsored dragster for Bob Vandergriff Racing. “This is what dreams are made of. The smile I think is going to take a really long time to come off my face. This is a day I’m going to relive in my mind every single day as long as I can.”

The Gatornationals March 17-20 in Gainesville, Fla., is the next stop on the NHRA Mello Yello circuit.

Pritchett, however, wasn’t talking about Gainesville in the media center - she was living in the moment.

“I feel like I just won the Super Bowl,” Pritchett said. “Even though it is only the second race and it is not the U.S. Nationals, for me it is an incredible personal, and professional victory to be able to compete with the team I’m with and because of the teams I have been with before. I feel like I’m on top of a mountain, but when you’re a climber you get on top of a mountain and see the next one that is even higher. I’m a climber and I’m always going to be looking for what’s next. When I was a kid, I wrote down my goals and it was to race a full season in the NHRA Mello Yello series and the next line item was to win a race and the next line item was to win a championship. Those seem like far out goals, but that’s what I’m putting into words whatever you want to do in life it can be possible and (Sunday) I’m living the reality of that possibility.”

This was only second all-female Top Fuel final round in NHRA history. The first came when the legendary Shirley Muldowney beat Lucille Lee in the finals of the Spring Nationals June 13, 1982 in Columbus, Ohio.

“I didn’t know that,” said Pritchett about her place in NHRA history. “That’s a very elite status to have. That is incredible. I will always remember now that I’m the second one to do that (win an all-female final in Top Fuel). That’s phenomenal. I take great pride in the heritage of our series and the sport and being able to do that and continue that on. I really could not of dreamed up a more epic final.”

Pritchett defeated J.R. Todd, a red-lighting Antron Brown, Clay Millican and Force in her memorable victory march. Not only was this Pritchett’s first Top Fuel Wally, it also was her co-crew chief Mike Guger’s first national event win as a crew chief. Guger is a co-chief with Joe Barlam.

Pritchett’s only other Top Fuel final round appearance was at the Southern Nationals May 17, 2015, when she lost to Antron Brown while driving for Dote Racing.

This was Pritchett’s 49th career Top Fuel race, and came after she lost in the first round to Millican in the first round of the season-opening Winternationals Feb. 14 in Pomona, Calif. Pritchett also does have three career NHRA Pro Mod national event victories.

Brittany Force is now 0-7 in career Top Fuel final rounds, but her record was the last thing on Pritchett’s mind, especially since Brian Husen and renowned Alan Johnson are now tuning her dragster.

“Brian Husen and I are great friends,” Pritchett said. “When he was the crew chief for Shawn (Langdon) last year he knew some of my driving weaknesses because that’s what we talk about as friends. He had gone in and told Shawn, you know she hates losing to you. Of course I would hate losing in the final round to Brittany. Looking over there, you would think it would kind of cloud up some confidence of mine, but it did not at all because of the confidence that Joe and I have. It’s very cool and incredible.”

This season at Bob Vandergriff Racing, Pritchett replaced three-time world champion Larry Dixon, who finished fourth in the points last season highlighted by six runner-up finishes.

“The journey that we had to get there,” Pritchett said about her victory. “We all know what happened in Pomona and we’ve done a lot of carnage and damage on the track, but us testing here (Wild Horse Motorsports Park) a couple of weeks ago, really did help (Sunday) put the win light on and get my first.”

Pritchett said she and Brittany Force could easily become the next great rivalry in drag racing.

“I absolutely think so,” Pritchett said. “Why not? I think we are totally separate individuals and people. She is a very gorgeous person on the inside and out. I wouldn’t want to make anything up by any means, but why not (be rivals)? Battle of the weaves is what we were saying over there in our pit. We could play something up if there is something to be played up. Now, we are on an even playing level. They have a bad hot rod and so do I, so let’s play some ball. Good ball. Not dirty ball. If anybody comes up with some cool angle for Brittany and I to be the next Snake and Mongoose that would be absolutely incredible. I do want to point out Don Prudhomme and I, I consider us pretty good friends, he has been a supporter of mine for a little while and I actually talk to him about driving quite a bit. He gave me some mental pointers after Pomona and I implemented them. So Don, thank you.”

Pritchett acknowledged in her live post-race celebration on Fox Sports 1 that this weekend did have some tough times. Gary Pritchett, her husband and clutch specialist for fellow Top Fuel driver Steve Torrence, suffered some second and third-degree burns recently and had a setback Friday and was put in the hospital.

“It was pretty tough,” Pritchett said about driving this weekend. “I like to put on some thick leather skin and people who know me, know that I can do that sometimes pretty well. But, it doesn’t get any harder than that, knowing that the one that you love that does share your passion and competitiveness can’t be here and is hurting. I actually got to flex my focus ability and I’m hired with the best of the best to do a job no matter what goes on in my life and I was able to do that with an incredible crew and crew chiefs, and team owners and sponsors.”

Pritchett did point on her husband’s team – led by driver Steve Torrence - won and the Winternationals and now she won the second race at Phoenix.

“The two Wallys in Top Fuel so far belong in the Pritchett household,” Leah said. “I don’t know how long we can keep that going.” Tracy Renck

LINE WINS PRO STOCK IN PHOENIX - When NHRA announced wholesale changes to the Pro Stock class in July at the Mile-High Nationals, the Ken Black Racing team drivers Greg Anderson and Jason Line weren’t happy.

As of Jan. 1, 2016, NHRA required all Pro Stock teams to equip their cars with electronically-controlled throttle body fuel injection systems, making engines more relevant from a technology standpoint. In order to reduce and control costs for the race teams, an NHRA-controlled 10,500 rev limiter will be added to the fuel injection systems.

It’s hard to believe KB Racing was upset about the changes, considering how well they have started the 2016 season.

Anderson beat Line in the finals at the season-opening Winternationals.

Then on Sunday, Line made it two wins in a row for his team as he upended Chris McGaha in the finals at the Carquest Nationals at Wildhorse Motorsports Park in Phoenix.

Line clocked a 6.666-lap at 205.16 mph to defeat McGaha’s 6.671-second run.

“We did the least worst, but there’s a long ways to go,” said Line, who pilots the Summit Racing Chevy Camaro. “We are in our infancy as far as learning about fuel injection and how to really tune this. I don’t know if we did the greatest job (Sunday), but it was good enough to win. It was just a fun day and a great way to start the year.”

This was Line’s 38th career national event win, and he now has the points lead, heading into the next event – the Gatornationals March 17-20 in Gainesville, Fla. Line finished eighth in the points, highlighted by his win at the Winternationals and Southern Nationals.

That was Line’s worst finish in the point standings since debut season in Pro Stock in 2003 when he competed in four races and placed 27th in the points.

“For me (2015) was a dismal year and not that enjoyable,” Line said. “It’s off to a much better start this year and I think everybody is kind of refocused and we are on a mission.”

Line beat Matt Hartford, Jeg Coughlin, and Anderson before ousting McGaha in the finals.

“It’s good, it really is,” Line said about his team’s performance. “I know (people) say I whine a lot and I do at times. It’s always because we are striving to be better and we want to be faster. That’s what racing is all about. It’s not about being equal, it’s about being better than everybody else, and that’s our goal. So far we are off to a good start and it has been fun. These other guys they are going to work hard as well and they are going to catch up there’s no question about it and we have to keep digging and we have a good start and we have to keep working.”

Line acknowledged racing against Anderson is never easy.

“I knew against him I had to dig deep because he wants to win more than anybody I met in my life,” Line said. “You’re not going to go up there and be 40 and 50 and leave on him, that’s for sure. I was able to do it (Sunday) and don’t ask me why or how. Again, I’m not known as the sport’s greatest leaver by any means, but (Sunday) I had a good day.” Tracy Renck

RACE DAY NOTEBOOK – RANDOM ITEMS OF INTEREST ON RACEDAY

TOP FUEL 101 – When Brittany Force beat Doug Kalitta in the semifinals, she ensured the 101st winner in the Top Fuel division. The odds were stacked against the repeat winners in the quarterfinals as five of the eight quarterfinalists had never won an event. Only Kalitta lasted until the final four where Force beat him by .003.

The final round between Pritchett and Force marked the first time for an all-female Top Fuel final since 1982.

PERSONAL MILESTONE - Doug Kalitta earned a personal milestone after a second round victory over Dave Connolly. With the win, he took over the points lead for the first time since 2014.

Kalitta ranks twelfth all-time amongst all NHRA pro drivers and third overall exclusively in the Top Fuel class.

I LOVE IT LOUD - The CARQUEST NHRA Nationals has been a major escape route from many of the Major League Baseball players in the Phoenix area participating in spring training. Los Angeles Dodgers Enrique Hernandez had some sage advice for other stick and ball players taking in the drags. “I’d advise them to invest a lot of money in ear plugs.”

BY THE NUMBERS – When John Force beat daughter Courtney in the semifinals to reach career final round No. 242.

THAT’S JUST COLD – Leave it to NHRA announcer Alan Rinehart to say what many are thinking. When Randi Lynn Shipp won the Stock Eliminator title, it opened the door for Rinehart to needle her fiancée Bo Butner, who qualified No. 1 but lost in the semis on a holeshot.

“If Bo wants a trophy this weekend, he will have to go look at Randi’s,” he said.

BEWARE OF THE GATOR – Alligators can be dangerous, and for the second race in a row, a front-runner in the Top Fuel ranks was taken down by a rogue reptile on the side of a dragster.

Terry McMillen, who has nicknamed his dragster the Xtermigator, took a bite out of Pomona winner Steve Torrence in the first round.

McMillen’s triumph was no lucky feat as there was no tire smoke, or engine failure to make the victory an easy one. He beat Torrence on both ends of the track, winning by a 3.84 to 3.85 margin.

His day would end a round later, but for him, a major accomplishment was once again achieved.

“We’re starting to weed our way through some areas that I think we struggled in and hopefully we can turn this program around,” McMillen said. “Winning one round and then going 5 races and not winning or not even qualifying sometimes is disheartening when you spend as much time and effort as all these guys put in to make that happen.  I certainly want to go out there and deliver that, we all do.  We’re lining ourselves up to do that and I think we’re probably in the best position that we’ve been in in a long time and hopefully we can go out there and make that statement.”

Two races into the season and McMillen has two round wins, a third of all he earned last season. He’s also one round win away from tying 2014’s total.

PUNCH IN THE GUT – Steve Torrence has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows in consecutive events. The loss in Phoenix was at the lower end of the spectrum.

“That was a punch in the gut,” Torrence said.  “Terry and those guys struggled in qualifying but they stepped it up against us.  Hats off to them but we know our hot rod is bad to the bone heading to Gainesville.  This was just a little hiccup.  We’ll be back.”

REUNION - For the first time since he was "loaned" out to Don Schumacher did Shawn Langdon face his former employer Alan Johnson, now a consultant for John Force Racing's Top Fuel dragster driven by Brittany Force.

Ms. Force took the win with a 3.72 to 3.77 decision.

MEMORIES OF THE INDYCARS - The Verizon IndyCar Series was in Phoenix the same weekend as the CARQUEST Nationals and for Funny Car driver Chad Head, he remembered all to well his days with the roundy-round cars.

Head left a job working as a track prep specialist for the NHRA to accept a position with the IndyCar series.

"I was one miserable S.O.B, there’s no question about it," Head recalled of his time away from drag racing. "I was treated unbelievable by the George family and Brian Earnhardt so I’ll never take that back, it was a great move and I’m glad I did it but after about six months I was pretty eaten up.  I was having a hard time [being away from the drag strip] but I knew someday I was going to try to get back."

One might believe his job would have been easier because then he wouldn' have been on opposite sides of the fence with his father, who has the ability to be opinionated at times.

"It was tough," Head said of the interactions with his father when an NHRA employee.  "Dinners were always a little exciting.  We’d talk about my company, 'you guys this and you guys that' but that’s just part of it.  He doesn’t mean any harm, he just runs his mouth that’s all."

Little Head never set his father straight, if only for his own well-being.

"There were several times that I wanted to put him in his place but you don’t put Jim Head in his place," admitted Head. "That’s like saying you’re putting Connie Kalitta in his place, that just doesn’t happen.  They’re their own men and they do what they want to do and you just kind of watch it all go by. Then you pick up the pieces after it’s done and just move on."

DIFFERENT STORY - Pomona was not the kind of outing for Bob Vandergriff Jr. to brag about. Both drivers, Dave Connolly and Leah Pritchett, were out in the first round.

Phoenix was a different story as Connolly took out Richie Crampton and Pritchett smoked and pedaled her way past JR Todd.

Leah double stepped in Pomona, this time Antron had the miscue.

TIMES ARE A CHANGIN' - Remember when three-second runs were a luxury in the fuel Funny Car division? This weekend in Phoenix there were ten of the three-second floppers headed into Sunday. With this kind of watering down of the three-second pool, it should come as little surprise a driver could run 3.96 and lose. The unfortunate honor belonged to Alexis DeJoria, whose 3.964 was left in the dust by Jack Beckman's 3.939.

“I had a good light, got him off the tree and we ran our best time of the weekend, so you can’t be too upset about that,” said DeJoria. Unfortunately, Beckman’s car was just a little bit faster at the end.”

“I can leave today knowing that we have the package on race day. We just have to get those consistent runs down during qualifying to give us that momentum and starting position advantage going into race day. We’ll be looking forward to Florida in a few weeks."
 
CHAMP O FOR 2 - Two hundred was not a good number for Erica Enders today.

Enders' 200th career Pro Stock race didn't go as she wanted, but the two-time defending Pro Stock champion did show she hasn't lost her touch.
 
Enders still managed to post the best reaction time of the day, a .005, in a losing effort opposite of teammate Drew Skillman. Her pass of 6.705 seconds at 207.53 mph wasn't enough to hold off Skillman's 6.633 at 208.33 mph.
 
"Cutting a .005 light made me happy but it was short-lived," Enders said. "I unclutched it, and I thought, 'Dang, Drew is probably in trouble because that felt pretty good.' But our car has been extremely unhappy all weekend, and we're trying to get her settled down and back to our real race car.
 
"It stinks that we are out early in Phoenix, but that round was certainly a step in the right direction. It gives us a little positive breath of air throughout all of this interesting learning curve. It's easy to get frustrated, especially coming off two successful years like we have had, but my crew continues to dig deep and have positive attitudes, and that's what I feel champions are made of."
 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK

FEEL THE BURN – One of the NHRA's leading nitro racers admitted to seeing a groundswell of positive energy shared by both drag racers and fans headed into this season.

"It feels good, especially where I’m at in my career right now," Top Fuel standout Antron Brown said. "This is our livelihood, all the crew guys, crew chiefs, myself and everyone else this is our livelihood and to be in the prime of your career and to see this sport go to that next step, not declining but inclining, and growing doing the necessary things and everybody’s together not just the sanctioning body."

Brown admits he felt an enthusiasm at the season opener at Pomona, and while he wouldn't say it was missing in years past, he would wholeheartedly say it was unparalleled in previous seasons.   

"All the teams and the owners are trying to make it go and that’s what it’s going to take to make it go especially the way things are," Brown continued. "That live TV package is the closest thing that we have to being here in person."

Brown said when stick and ball players, who play in front of tens of thousands of fans on a daily basis, come forth and tell you the incredible property drag racing has, we should be proud.

"We’ve got professional baseball players here today and they came up to me saying, 'Brother, this is crazy! It’s like it touches you like nothing else.

"And now we’re going to capture that and bring it to you live.  If we can do that it’s going to be like the Super Bowl every time we’re here."

Brown said the unified enthusiasm takes him back in time, to the 1980s, when he believes NHRA enjoyed some of its finest years. They were also the most influential in his budding career.

"Those were the golden years, the late 1980s to the early 1990s were where our sport soared and really roared, and it’s getting like it used to be," Brown said. "I think we’re going to see it grow with new teams, new people and you’re seeing them starting to grow.  As we get those new people established, we can get more established, and that’s what’s going to take our sport to the next level."

The first weekend with FoxSports1, and while it might have had its flaws in production, also brought about an increase in viewership. According to the Nielsen Media Research. the 5 PM live airing from Pomona scored 640,000 viewers, a 5% increase over the 2/8/15 delivery on ESPN2 last year (608,000). Even more encouraging was an increase in viewership amongst the 18 - 49 age group at 23-percent, 157,000 vs. 128,000. These numbers are expected to increase when factoring in repeat airings.

TOP FUEL

GOOD DAY IN THE OFFICE - Doug Kalitta powered his Mac Tools dragster to a 3.741 at 320.74 in the final qualifying session to earn his 44th No. 1 and his fourth at the Phoenix track, holding off rival Antron Brown, whose improved time of 3.760 at 322.65 in his Matco Tools dragster wasn’t enough as he sits in the second spot.
 
“We’re pretty excited to be here,” Kalitta said, “It’s always great running out in the desert and it seems to take to [crew chief] Jim [Oberhofer]’s tune up here. He’s doing a heck of a job, he and Troy [Fasching, assistant crew chief] and all the guys on the Mac Tools Redline Toyota car.
 
“We’re all excited and just happy things are going down the track and it’s driving good. So far so good.”

THORN IN THE SIDE - What does a first-time Top Fuel points leader do in the days following their momentous accomplishment?

Steve Torrence said he made the most of the experience.

"I flew home Sunday night from Pomona, and we were back at work on Monday morning at Capco," said Torrence, the season-opening Pomona winner. "You have to work harder to stay in that position."

Torrence is quick to keep his status in perspective.

Yes, he's confident, but not cocky.

"Big difference," Torrence adds.

Torrence is also a realist.

"Having the points lead after the first race really doesn’t mean a lot," he said. "It meant that we did a really good job at Pomona and we’ve got to continue to keep the bar at that level."

And what is that level?

The level of competition, in which Torrence alludes to, is where his Richard Hogan-tuned, Alan Johnson-consulted dragster becomes a thorn in the side of the last two champions in the class - Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher.

"Whether it’s me or anyone else out here, it’s good to have new blood in the sport and not the same ole guys getting all the recognition," Torrence said. "We have a lot of fans out here that support us, we’re a family team and we have a different outlook on things.  

"This is a family funded, family sponsored, family company and that’s just the aura that we carry.  We have a good time doing it.  We’re competitive and work our tails off to be the best but you never know what you might get out of us over here, what we may say, what we may do, but it’s always heartfelt and real- not rehearsed.  

"We’re racing for the win, just like when I go hunting.  I don’t go hunting just to have fun, I go for the trophy and the experience and to be the best, which is what we’re trying to be.  We’re finally at the point where I feel like we can be a legitimate contender for the championship, and we’re doing everything that we can to tighten our grip on it."

First, Torrence must unclench the grip Brown and Schumacher have had on the winner's circle in Phoenix the last four seasons. One of the two has won the last four events the NHRA has hosted in Phoenix.

Friday evening's CARQUEST NHRA Nationals provisional low qualifier Brown stands undefeated against Torrence, career-wise. The champion understands the law of averages are making his advantages diminish.

"Torrence is not playing around," Brown said. "He's always been a thorn in my side. And he's going to get even tougher now that he knows my record against him. He's had us a time or two, and just messed up. I know my success is numbered. The time is coming when he's going to clean our clocks. We will give him the best we've got every time because he's got an exceptional team."

Torrence isn't intentionally trying to be a thorn in anyone’s side, but he doesn't mind playing the role.

"Tony Schumacher has dominated this sport for quite a while and Antron is like kryptonite to me, so yeah I would love to be a thorn in their side," said Torrence. "I feel like the car is doing well and I’m getting more confident in how we’re running it every time we go down the track.  The way things are going, confidence is at an all-time high, and we stand the chance to be a thorn in a lot of people’s sides right now, not just Tony and Antron.  

"This is a rough sport and you’ve got to fight for your way every time you go down the track, you’ve got to be perfect to win one of these races.  I know we’re a small team but we’re here to stand our ground and I think we’ve made a pretty big leap in the right direction to let everybody know that we’re here and we mean business."

DIFFERENT KIND OF HITTER - Jake Arrieta earned Major League Baseball's Cy Young Award by being a fierce pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.

With all due respect, Arrieta never faced a Top Fuel dragster before.

Arrieta was 22-6 last season against the best of baseball's hitters but after Friday's Q-1 session, while standing on the starting line, he was 0-1 against the sensory overload of the 10,000 horsepower dragster.

"I have jumped out of an airplane and would consider my first time on the starting line similar," Arrieta explained. "It's an extreme adrenaline rush, kind of a huge punch in the chest. The noise, the senses, the smell, and the heat. I wasn't really prepared for this but glad I got to experience it."

SUPPORTING CAST

 

Clay Millican returned to familiar surroundings during the off-weekend from the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

After spending consecutive weekends behind the wheel of his Parts Plus dragster in testing and then the opening season, Millican decided to become a spectator to another kind of motorsport.

Millican took in a Monster Jam event in St. Louis, joined by his wife Donna.

"I had a blast and had fun watching those guys," said Millican. "I even got to see Spencer Massey, and it was nice seeing him there.  It’s been just a busy but relaxing week off."

The visit had a measure of emotion, as it was the first time the Millicans had been to a Monster Jam event since their son Dalton, a former driver on the tour, was killed in a non-racing motorcycle accident.

"The worst part for me and I actually left was the opening of the show," said Millican. "Monster Jam has the most incredible, exciting opening of the show.  It’s just the opening of the show that’s the hard part then it’s unbelievable to watch them."

Would Millican entertain the thought of driving one?

"One of these days I can certainly see myself maybe hopping in one, of course it would have to be the Blue Thunder [the truck Dalton drove] but who knows.  Yes, I would love to do it ... just because."

Shawn Langdon had a good test session earlier this month but at Phoenix in four qualifying sessions, the evidence was not there.

Langdon will enter Sunday's final eliminations as the No. 12 ranked driver but he's hoping those testing laps will yield insight into positive results on Sunday.

"We definitely had some struggles in qualifying," Shawn said. "We just had some issues getting the car to do what we wanted it to do. We think we have it all figured out for race day. It's tough out here but we had a really strong test session here earlier this month so we still feel pretty confident going into race day.

"Conditions for first round tomorrow will be the best we've seen all weekend so we just need to pull all of our data from our test and from Pomona to get this dragster down the track."

Langdon's best elapsed time through four qualifying passes at Wild Horse near Phoenix was 3.922 seconds at 317 mph that came on his last run.

FUNNY CAR

ALL KINDS OF TURNED ON - Ron Capps won the season-opener two weeks ago and today he earned the No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix.

Those two accomplishments by the Don Schumacher Racing team with crew chief Rahn Tobler and assistant Eric Lane might not be the most memorable event for Capps years down the road when he reflects on this season. It likely will be when his son Caden, 13, earned his competition license to race one-half scale NHRA Jr. Dragsters a week ago.

But Saturday night Capps was focused on Sunday's championship eliminations at Wild Horse.

Capps set a track record on his last of four qualifying runs with a time of 3.925 seconds at 320.89 mph for the top seed when championship eliminations begin at 11 a.m. (MT) Sunday.

"I've been doing this awhile and you certainly don't want to get cocky," said Capps, who has won 46 NHRA titles including 45 in Funny Car. "We're not so naïve to think this is going to keep up. The competition is just too great out here.

"We'll take the win and this was a great No. 1 qualifier, but everyone starts even on Sunday.

"I'm so turned on as a driver the way Tobler was able to step it up when he wanted to at Pomona and here."

CH-CH-CHANGES - Two years ago Alexis DeJoria won her first nitro race here in Phoenix. So, when the NHRA moved their preseason testing to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, the venue suited the Patron-sponsored driver well.
 
“Off-season testing is very important,” said DeJoria, who went winless in 2015. “We will never skip another winter test session again. We didn’t test prior to the season in 2015 and I honestly feel like last year, I was trying to play catch up to all the changes that were made on the car that made it react differently. That’s not the case this year. We came out very strong.”
 
The new power created by the laid back headers has forced DeJoria to adjust her driving style a bit.
 
“I’ve acclimated to the changes that were made at the end of last season,” DeJoria said. “The way we have our Patrón Toyota Camry set up now, it wants to take you out of the groove more so than it ever did. The thrust is a lot heavier with the new headers and various other changes. Now with 100 professional Funny Car races under my belt, I feel more solid and more comfortable in my Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry.”

IN HIS HAPPY PLACE - When John Force is happy, everyone is happy. Well, besides the competition and their fans.

In the final session John Force did step up in the PEAK Antifreeze/Republic Services Chevrolet Camaro with a 3.938 second run that has him qualified third going into race day. It was the second quickest run of the final session and added two qualifying bonus points for the eight-time CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals winner.

“What can I say? We ran 3.93 but we want to be low and get that No. 1 qualifier. I am here with Republic Services along with PEAK and we want to give them a good race car. We have four good race cars now and we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

Force posted qualifying runs today of 3.989 and 3.938 seconds to go along with two more three second runs from Friday of 3.973 and 3.99 seconds. The consistency for Force gives the winningest driver in NHRA history a strong hot rod going into race day against John Hale.

“I am most excited about feeling like we have turned the corner. Our hot rods will run with all the teams now. We still aren’t the quickest but we are excited about the direction we are going. That Monster Energy dragster is going down the track every run and being 2-3-4 in Funny Car. I have no complaints. I wanted to sweep the place with a 1-2-3-4 start since we are representing Republic Services but they are sweeping your streets so we will have to settle for that,” joked Force.
 
NOT FOR SALE - Imagine if you will the voice of NFL Films John Facenda reciting football's famous The Autumn Wind poem except with a drag racing twist.

The hand shield is a Raider.

Cruz Pedregon plans to redefine the purpose of the fuel Funny Car hand shield within his Snap-on Tools Toyota Funny Car.

"I hope this inspires more drivers to paint theirs to suit their personality," said Pedregon, a two-time NHRA Funny Car champion, and avid Oakland Raiders fan.

The hand shield was originally fabricated as a safety product intended to protect the driver in major engine explosions when the body is ejected from the chassis.

"I don't think it has to be sports, it can be music or whatever," Pedregon said. "I think it just lets the fans relate more to the drivers because it's essentially, in my case, a part of the car which is not for sale.

"I hope it starts a trend because it's in a really cool spot."

Pedregon's banner is the artwork of his brother and Fox analyst Tony Pedregon.

"I just let him do his thing, and this is how great it turned out," said Pedregon. "It's adding a bit more personality to these cars."

BETTER THAN THE CANNONBALL RUN - Del Worsham admitted the experience was like old times.

For the first time, the defending NHRA Funny Champion believes, in 17 years, he drove a race hauler to the race track.

The special occasion? There was an open spot in the Top Fuel field, and Worsham and his father Chuck decided to bring out their spare Top Fuel car which is driven by veteran Steve Chrisman.

"It wasn’t going to be a full field and I think the fans deserve a full field," explained Worsham.

Since the Worsham's were already committed to bringing one rig to the event, this shortage left the Funny Car champion with no other choice but to drive the rig.

Depending on whom you might ask, Worsham either talked or conned his wife Connie into joining him on the journey.

"She had not been in the big rig in a long time, probably since before we were married, 17 years," Worsham admitted. "We hopped in it and started driving on the old Hwy 91 eastbound."

No sooner than Worsham began to stretch his legs while behind the wheel than they reached stopped traffic, where they sat in stop and go travel for two-and-a-half hours. Then once the Worshams began to make good time, they were required to pull off the highway at the scales. Twenty-five minutes later the rig, the former blue CSK unit when he owned a two-car Funny Car team, blew a tire. Changing out the tire took another two-and-a-half hours.

 "At 3:30 AM I was pulling into my hotel room," Worsham said.

There are few opportunities to experience road rage behind the wheel of a Funny Car.

How many people did Worsham flip off along the way?

"Not many, because everybody has a gun except for me," Worsham admitted.  

Fortunately the Funny Car experience was better as he qualified No. 5 with a 3.959 elapsed time at 319.60 mph. He also earned three bonus points over two days of qualifying.

Matt Hagan finally found his mojo, kinda-sorta.

Hagan posted his best elapsed time of the weekend in the fourth and final qualifying session on Saturday afternoon with a 3.990-second pass at 321 mph to earn the 10th qualifying position. Sunday's eliminations will air live on Fox Sports 1 from 5-8 p.m. (ET).

"We're behind the eight-ball, there's no doubt about that," Hagan said. "Obviously we want to run better than a 3.99 out here. The track is better than that and we're better than that but it is what it is. You have to adapt to it and tomorrow is a different day. I know Dickie will have a plan for things and all in all everything will be good.

"We started last year so strong but you have to remind yourself that it's a new year and things change. It's easy to get down and be hard on yourself out here but I'd much rather be dominant at the end of the season and in the Countdown to the Championship than here at the start. We'll get it figured out and be in that fight at the finish."

It'll be a tough first round match-up for the Mopar/Rocky Boots team when they line up against Don Schumacher Racing stablemate Tommy Johnson Jr. and the Make-A-Wish team.

"That's obviously not what you want to see when you look at the ladder for Sunday," Hagan said. "That's a tough draw, for sure. They have everything we have which is the best parts and pieces, the best data, the best minds out here. We're going to have to step it up for sure."

PRO STOCK

BO KNOWS NO. 1 NOW - Bo Butner claimed his first career No. 1 qualifying position in Pro Stock with his pass of 6.618 at 208.88 in his Jim Butner Auto Sales Chevy Camaro from Friday. Butner teammates Jason Line and Greg Anderson qualified second and third in their Summit Racing Camaros with a 6.622 at 208.17 and a 6.623 at 207.40, respectively.
 
“To be honest I’m kind of surprised I’m sitting in this seat because our boss Greg [Anderson] really threw it at us and made a good run,” Butner said. “It’s an honor, and it’s cool; it’s cool to have a green hat [for qualifying No. 1].”
 
In the 14-car ladder, Butner will face V. Gaines, who qualified 14th with a 6.778 at 207.27 in his Kendall Oil Dodge Dart.
 
“I’d like to get past V. and I’d like to get to the final and win,” Butner said. “That’s our goal and that’s why we leave the house.”
 
THE LEADERS OF THE PACK - Points leader Greg Anderson moved to third in the qualifying order with Saturday’s quickest run, the 6.623-second effort in the heat of the day. He will meet former teammate Vincent Nobile in the first round. Meanwhile, Jason Line will race Phoenix-based driver Matt Hartford in the opener.

BOW-TIE BRIGADE - In eight qualifying session, only a Chevrolet has paced the Pro Stock qualifying.

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK

TOP FUEL

AB GOES A TO B - Antron Brown went from driving the slowest car in Friday's first qualifying session to ending the day as the Top Fuel provisional No. 1 qualifier at Wild Horse Motorsports Park in the second event of the 2016 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Brown, the reigning and two-time Top Fuel world champion with crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald with the Matco Tools/U.S. Army team, led NHRA a year ago with seven wins and seven poles.

The winner of 54 NHRA event titles got off to a sluggish start two weeks ago in Southern California with a second-round loss to start the season. He remained confident and it paid off on the last of two runs Friday with a leading effort of 3.765 seconds at 319.45 mph.

"Even though it was still hot out there the sun was going down quick," Brown said of the sunny desert day. For some reason on the first run the car was too aggressive again. Brian, Mark and our Matco crew guys put their heads together because this car was acting different.

"We've been working on some different things with our Matco/Army car. At Pomona, we didn't qualify where we wanted (seventh) but we were competitive on race day.

"On our last run today we backed it off a little for the first 60 feet and it went right down there and did what we wanted it to do. We'll just keep building on that."

AH LEAH - Long-range thinking is never a luxury when you race on a part-time schedule with a limited budget.

For the first time in her relatively short nitro racing career, Leah Pritchett is focused on more than just a few races.  

“Mentally, this is new territory for me,” said Pritchett. “I’ve never had an on-track standpoint where I’m thinking about Indy and the Countdown, and things like that.”

Runs mattered in her part-time days, but for a different reason than they do today. Now, she’s counting points because there’s a legitimate chance to contend for a title.
 
“Every single race matters for qualifying and points,” Pritchett explained. “It’s something new and it weighs heavily on your mind. I put more pressure on myself than anybody, but I’m embracing it. I keep reminding myself this is happening and this is what the plan has been for a long time, and it’s all about maximizing the opportunity.”
 
Pritchett has displayed her talents on a limited basis in previous years, advancing to her first career final round a year ago in Atlanta. It continued a noticeable progression in her short time behind the wheel, and Pritchett, has three career semifinal appearances.

BEEN STREAKIN’ - Defending NHRA champion Antron Brown and teammate Tony Schumacher have been streaking at Wild Horse Pass the last four seasons. Between the two, they have won the last four events here.
 
And the chance for a fifth bodes well for Schumacher, as he posted the quickest run during the NHRA’s Nitro Spring Training earlier this month. He posted a pair of runs during the test – 3.683 seconds at 325.37 mph and 3.718 seconds at 320.58 mph – that were quicker than his official career-best elapsed time of 3.719 seconds.

The unofficial personal mark came within three-thousandths of a second of Brown’s official national elapsed-time record of 3.680 seconds set last August at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway.
 
“We certainly would like to have the same results as we did last year," said Schumacher. "Honestly, last year’s victory was made possible by my guys. I didn’t feel like I was on my game, but they kept putting such a great car under me that it did its job better than everyone else we raced. I’d like to improve on my role this weekend and yes, have the same outcome."

This track has always held a soft spot in Brown's heart.

"It’s a great racetrack and we always seem to be right there on Sundays," Brown said. "It’s been really good to us. You look at us getting two wins in the last four years and the other two times we’ve made runs to the semifinals and ended up watching our Army teammate come out on top.

"Past performances don’t guarantee anything, but there is just something about that track that brings out our best. We’d sure like to make it a fourth time to the winner’s circle Sunday.”

JFR-O3 MAKING PROGRESS - The third time is the charm.

Brittany Force is racing the third dragster built in-house at John Force Racing, and just three outings into its tour of duty the car is starting to show strong signs of promise.

Force lost early in Pomona despite a quicker elapsed time, the unfortunate byproduct of a slow reaction time.

“The biggest thing for me is consistency and learning this new dragster," Force explained. "So much was changed inside the race car over the off-season that I am still getting comfortable. Two weeks ago in Pomona, it was great to come out and make quick runs and get some qualifying bonus points. All those points add up and we are in the Top Ten after the first race because of our qualifying success.”

Force has six final round appearances and is still in the hunt for her first national event victory.

TRADING PLACES - Shawn Langdon traded in his fireproof driving gloves for a baseball mitt on Wednesday when he joined the Chicago Cubs for a day of spring training activities.

Langdon was invited by his friend and Cubs pitcher, Clayton Richard, to join the team for a day and live out his dream of pitching in Major League Baseball and then Richard joined Langdon for a day at this weekend's NHRA Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park near Phoenix.

"This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for me," Langdon said. "I'm a huge fan of baseball and to have had an opportunity to hang out with the team, with the pitchers and participate in practice was incredible. He's been out to the NHRA events before so to go to his playground for the day and see what he does was really cool for me."

"Anytime I can host someone like Clayton at the drags is great," Langdon said. "We'll get some nitro in his system and see how fast he can throw after that."

FUNNY CAR

THE FASTEST NAME IN FUNNY CAR RACING - Courtney Force thundered to the No. 1 position with a 3.930 ET at 323.97 mph. Not only did it hold through two qualifying sessions, but it was a track elapsed time record for the Funny Car category at Wild Horse Pass Motorsport Park.

“It’s definitely what we hoped for. When we came out here and tested a few weeks back, we were running pretty consistently. We stumbled a little bit at first and then kind of got the car figured out and started running pretty consistent in the 3.0s so I was excited to come back to this track. I was hoping we could carry it over to Pomona, but I was really excited to get back here because we felt comfortable here, we made good runs and the track heated up quite a little bit, but it was definitely a run we were looking for so I’m really excited,” said the fourth year Funny Car driver.

In the second session, Force did not have the opportunity to improve. Her Traxxas Chevy had a cylinder out and she shut it off, but luckily she didn’t need to improve. She kept a solid hold on the No. 1 position going into Saturday’s two additional qualifying sessions.

“In Q2, that’s not what we were looking to do,” said Force. “It dropped a hole and I had to get out of it pretty early, but I’m just excited that our Traxxas car, The Fastest Name in Radio Control, was able to hold onto that top spot for the time being. I know a lot of the other drivers were creeping up there. I hope we get another shot tomorrow to push this car even harder and see what kind of numbers we can put on the board.”

“I hope it holds, but honestly I think a lot of these drivers, especially after the two runs today and a couple of them that stepped up, I think you’ll see some faster runs tomorrow. Our game plan is stepping our own Chevy up and getting it in the top even after those guys run good numbers. We’ll do the best we can. I’m just excited to be out here and back in Phoenix. It’s a good track and I’m ready to put on a good show for the fans out here,” said Force.

If Force’s time holds through tomorrow, this will be her tenth No. 1 qualifier. Despite narrowly missing the Countdown to the Championship in 2015, Force kept a firm hold on the record for most Funny Car wins in a season by a female (four) and most Funny Car wins overall for a female Funny Car driver with seven career tour victories.

 

OF PAST AND PRESENT - Ron Capps appreciates the fact he can talk Funny Car with his boss Don Schumacher. As a kid, the driver of the NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car, winner of the season-opener two weeks ago in Pomona, used to travel to Beeline Dragway in nearby Scottsdale before the dragstrip closed in 1975 to watch his future boss.

"I went to Beeline with my dad when I was really young, so I don't remember much about the track, but I know its history," Capps said, "and I know Don was very successful there. I would love to have raced him there."

Capps has had a measure of success as of late, advancing to at least the semis in the last five events.

"[Crew chief[ Rahn Tobler spent a good part of the winter working with our DSR chassis guys and our Dodge engineers on the aerodynamics to help me drive the car better," said Capps. "You can set it up for a record run, but if I can't drive it and keep between the cones then you won't get a time slip (for completing the run.)"

Capps picked up eight time slips at Pomona, and they made an impressive collection en route to winning his 45th Funny Car race and extend his hold on being the second winningest driver in the category.

In winning Pomona, all but one run was in the three-second zone, with the slowest win of the day at 4.009 seconds.

"I don't know that I could have kept our car as straight as I did at Pomona a couple weeks ago had all that work not been done to improve the handling during the offseason," explained Capps. "The consistency of all our runs is what turns me on as a racer.

"But you would have to be naïve to think that Pomona will carry us through the next few races. It will be just the opposite because a lot of our competitors, especially my DSR teammates (Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr.) are going to step up their game when they race us."

NEW TRICKS FOR THE OLD DOG - Three weekends ago, when nitro testing was at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, John Force taped one of his strongest videos ever - a video feature titled Unbreakable, where the 16-time champion had one too many Monster Energy Drinks and a lot of stuff to get off his chest.

One thing Force learned from a challenging 2015 season, both in racing performance and marketing challenges, is that one must learn to reinvent themselves over and over.

“Bryan Emrich, the Chief Marketing Officer for PEAK, told me when we started working with PEAK that we were going to market differently. Boy, has he proven it since B to B is what it is all about. Seeing my Funny Car emblazoned with Republic Services on the side is exciting. I am from the old world.

“I have done everything from selling shoes to working at Taco Bell and Denny’s. I drive a race car now but I have delivered money all over downtown LA with Garrett Freight Liners that came from the mint in Denver. I have never driven a trash truck and I am hoping to get the opportunity to ride along or drive a Republic Services truck when we are in Phoenix.”

For Force working with sponsors comes as naturally as turning on win lights. He has seven wins in eight seasons at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park from 1994 through 2001. In addition to those wins Force also has five additional runner-up finishes most recently in 2010 the year he won his 15th Mello Yello Funny Car championship.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD - Matt Hagan is running the same car this weekend he used to win four events in 2015.

"We had some issues in testing and in Pomona so Dickie (Venables) made the decision to get the old car back out for the time being," Hagan said. "It's proven, we have a ton of notes on it and we know we can go out and turn win lights on with it. We'll take some time to go over the new car, makes some changes and pull that back out when he's comfortable with it.

"That's the thing about DSR, we have so many resources that if we feel something isn't right, we go back to the shop and we figure out how to make it better and that's what we'll do. We've got the best people and the best parts and we know that we'll be a team to beat."

Hagan is the defending event champion here, and holds the official NHRA track record elapsed time of 3.975 seconds and speed of 324.83.

Hagan landed a spot in the field at tenth with a 4.030, but only after a shut-off before staging the car in Q-1, when the car rolled to the burnout sputtering and skipping like an early-testing version of an EFI Pro Stock. 

"There was an issue with the Electri-motion device, a wire was apparently pulled out," said Hagan. "It's one of those things which doesn't usually go bad, but in this case it had an impact on the ignition. It wasn't there when I stood on the pedal. We changed it out and all was good.

PERFECT TIMING - Cruz Pedregon believes he's exactly where he needs to be now.

After 15 runs on a new car, ten here during testing earlier this month and five in Pomona, the new Snap-on Tools Toyota is sorted out.

"We really didn't try to reinvent the wheel, just wanted to make things better," said Pedregon.

Additionally, Pedregon also purchased a new hauler from Competition Trailers, and while making laps was key in figuring out the new car testing time was also used to become accustomed to the new home for the car and tools.

"Moving into that is in many ways like moving into a house," Pedregon explained. "You spend some time trying to get into a routine of learning where everything goes."

Pedregon spent a bit of time in the preseason testing bring new crewmembers up to speed.

"You bring in some, and lose some ... that's just part of the business," Pedregon said. "It's sort of like the salary cap in football; you can only do the best you can do. We have new guys along with our core guys."

Not only sorting out the car Pedregon also sorted himself physically over the offseason.

"Been working out trying to get myself in shape," said Pedregon.

"Every year you are always trying to improve from the previous year. And now, we are just trying to get the car back to where it is a regular at the top of the charts."

GETTING FOCUSED - The only thing Robert Hight enjoys as much as driving his nitro Funny Car is taking in a little action on the diamond.

Hight, who was here three weeks ago as part of the NHRA's Nitro Spring Training, opted to take in more spring training, but this time as a spectator. He spent Wednesday afternoon with friend and Dodgers player Justin Turner. The diversion helps Hight get focused on his job this weekend.

He believes excursions such as this inevitably make him better at his craft.

“You have to be focused to race NASCAR or play in MLB but I think the focus you have to have on the starting line is so important now in NHRA. Races are being decided by thousandths of a second and that all comes down to driver reaction time and driving skill. I am always looking to get better and talking with NASCAR drivers or baseball player or John Force definitely helps."

PRO STOCK

BO KNOWS IT AGAIN - Bo knows Friday domination.

For the second event in row, Bo Butner was quickest in Pro Stock on Friday, clocking a 6.618 at 208.88 in his Jim Butner Auto Sales Camaro that held up through two rounds, holding off Greg Anderson by 0.06 seconds. He was also the top qualifier after Friday at the Winternationals in Pomona.

“Just like last race, I don’t think we’ll hold up [Saturday],” Butner said. “I’ve got a couple guys with me that are pretty mean and they know what they’re doing, it’s our whole team. We just want to be one two and three and however we end up is great.”

Since the season opener Butner and his team have taken the time to really work on the car and he hopes to secure his first career No. 1 qualifying position in only his 19th Pro Stock start.

“The guys worked on some motor stuff and it shows,” Butner said. “I think there's a whole lot left for us and there’s a whole lot left in the whole class. We‘re going to keep chipping away at it and try to widen the gap.”

 

HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG? - It's hard to believe the young lady who starred in a Disney movie as a Junior Dragster racer has raced in 200 national events as a Pro Stock driver, dating back to her debut in Pomona in February 2005.
 
Over that span, Enders won the 2014 and 2015 Pro Stock championships and 21 NHRA national events.
 
"It's hard to believe in one sense," Enders said. "In another sense, it's like, 'Are you sure it's not 200,000 races?' I feel like I've been out there forever.
 
"It's definitely a cool milestone. I'm excited to have accomplished that. It means we've been out there for quite some time. With God's grace, I'll get 200 more races. We'll see how it goes."
 
In 199 career races in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock class, Enders has 21 wins, 14 runner-up finishes, 58 semifinal appearances, 18 No. 1 qualifiers, and a 217-128 win-loss round record.
 
Enders in the last two seasons has won 15 races alone. Her nine victories last year broke Angelle Sampey's single-season mark of victories by a woman (seven) set in 2001, and Enders remains second to Sampey (41) in career wins by a woman.

PLAYING CATCH UP - Jeggie Coughlin believes the long hours the team at Elite Motorsports' engine shop has been putting in since they received parts for the new EFI combination should begin paying off this weekend.
 
"Nick Ferri, Jake Hairston, 'Lump' (Brain Self), Mark Ingersol, and Rick and Rickie Jones, I'd match that group up against any brain trust in the history of our class," Coughlin said. "They've been itching to get these Hemis on the dyno and work their magic, and they finally got the chance after Pomona. We didn't have to ask them to stay late; it was more like we couldn't get them to leave.
 
"We had an OK start to the season, but the Hemi motors we used there had literally just been assembled. There was simply no time left to test or dyno anything, so the guys put in their best effort and we did the best we could under the circumstances. Now we've had the time to make several pulls on the dyno, which has allowed them to really zero in on what we need to be on top."
 
Adding complexity to the new engine configuration was the added challenge of switching manufacturers from Chevrolet to Mopar.
 
"Switching manufacturers is tough to do under ideal circumstances," Coughlin said. "To try and do that while also dealing with arguably the biggest change in Pro Stock history was monumental. Most people don't know our deal with Mopar wasn't inked until really late in the season, so it's been a real scramble for our guys. My hat's off to them."

GLOOM, DESPAIR - The EFI has nothing to do with it, and Vincent Nobile knows it.

However, since the change over from carburetors to electric fuel injection, the second-generation driver cannot seem to catch a break.

"If we didn't have bad luck, we'd have no luck at all," admitted Nobile. 

During Sunday's eliminations at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Ca. his car made an abrupt right-hand turn into the retaining wall during final eliminations.

The damage was fixed during the week off between events. However, the thought was still in the back of his mind when it came time for Q-1 session.

"Naturally, there were a few butterflies before the first run," admitted Nobile. "I was a bit nervous, and honestly I am still scratching my head about what happened. Had I have clutched it sooner, it might not have happened. I really didn't do anything on that run that I haven't done many times before."

There were no handling issues on Friday, as Nobile was shutoff twice prior to staging with engine issues. Luckily for him, there are only 14 cars on the property to qualify for 16-car field.