2016 NHRA LUCAS OIL NATIONALS - BRAINERD NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK
BRITTANY FORCE WINS TOP FUEL AT BRAINERD - This breakout season for Top Fuel driver Brittany Force picked up more momentum Sunday.
Force won her third race of the season as she took home the title at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn.
Force clocked a 4.169-second run at 180.21 mph to defeat Antron Brown, who slowed to 6.566 seconds.
“It’s just awesome to be able to win here,” said Force, who had a runner-up effort at Brainerd in 2015. “I felt good coming into this weekend just because we had some success last year and I’m pretty sure we did OK the year before. So, to be able to come out here, we’ve been struggling a little bit, so to come out here and get the win it is exactly where we want to be. We go into our biggest race of our season at Indy (Aug. 31-Sept. 5), so we’re exactly where we want to be.”
Force, who drives the Monster Energy dragster for her father’s John Force Racing team, also has wins at Gainesville, Fla. (March 20), Charlotte, N.C. (April 24) and a runner-up performance at Phoenix (Feb. 28). Force’s victory parade consisted of wins over Terry Haddock, Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon and Brown.
“I have to say thank you to my entire Monster Energy team for all of their hard work and it feels so good to bring home another win,” Force said. “I definitely think this makes it a very special one (because of the people she beat). I mean all those guys we took down to get to the winner’s circle, none of them are easy. They’re some of the best drivers out here. So, to be lined up against them and turn the win light on, I think it makes the entire team proud.”
The victory Sunday by Force came on the heels of her not getting past the second round at Chicago, Denver, Sonoma, Calif., and Seattle. Force arrived at Brainerd International Raceway fourth in the points.
“We’re hoping we turn everything around and just keep heading up,” she said. “Sometimes you push the car and you want to try new things and you struggle because of it and you don’t turn those win lights on. But, this weekend, we got all four of them on.”
Force acknowledged losing in the 2015 Brainerd finals to Richie Crampton was fresh in her mind in her return trip.
“Being able to come here and go to the finals last year and not quite get it, we just wanted to completely finish it this weekend,” Force said. “It feels good to do that and actually this is kind of a new track to me. I I’ve been just to about every track on the circuit as a kid coming out to watch my dad, but this actually a new track for me in 2013 (her rookie year), so to be able to win here is pretty awesome.”
In the finals, Force was just trying to get the finish line one way or another.
“If we’re going to blow everything up at least get a win light, and we did that,” Force said. “I didn’t see Antron next to me and I had no clue where he was or what he was doing and I was going to keep my foot in it and then I just felt it blow up and felt the tug and as long as we could hang on until we get through the 1,000-foot stripe and it did and I saw the win light on, and I jumped out of the car and the thing was on fire, but we are in the winner’s circle.”
When the engine blew, Force felt like time was standing still.
“It feels almost like it is in slow motion,” Force said. “It has happened to me before. I’ve done that many times and you see the 1,000-foot and you’re just trying to get to it and you see someone come around you, and that’s happened to me a few times. There’s no worse way than losing like that when you can’t do anything and your just hoping your car is going to coast to the finish line first and it worked.” Tracy Renck
WORSHAM GOES ONE-FOR-TWO IN BRAINERD, COLLECTS FIRST WIN OF SEASON - It’s not very often in professional sports that a person gets a second chance at success.
There’s no redo after a missed shot. There’s no best two-out-of-three in an elimination game. But for Del Worsham, that rare opportunity at redemption gave way to a big win at the 35th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
“It felt like a mulligan. It was unreal,” said Worsham, who was winless in three previous finals this season. “It’s not often you get a chance to run two finals in two days. It felt like, alright, we’ve got a shot at this, let’s see what we can do.”
After failing to secure a victory on Saturday in the rain-delayed final from Seattle two weeks prior, Worsham went four rounds on Sunday and, this time, he didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.
Going up against No. 1 qualifier and new national record holder Matt Hagan in Sunday’s final, Worsham rocketed past the Don Schumacher Racing driver to pick up his first win of the year and 39th of his career. The defending Funny Car world champ ran a 3.908 at 327.27 mph in the final while Hagan, a two-time winner this season, lost traction just past the 200-foot mark.
Ironically, it was exactly how Worsham lost the day prior as his car went up in smoke in the Seattle final against Ron Capps. And it was that tire-smoking run on Saturday that may have given way to Worsham’s breakthrough win.
“I felt pretty confident going into yesterday. The car was running well, we had those great qualifying runs and then to have it go out and smoke the tires like it did, it was definitely a wakeup call,” Worsham said. “We were all concerned, but we kind of blew it off due to some other circumstance. When we went out in Q4 and did the same crap again, I thought it’s going to help us in the end. We did a different job tuning, we went in a different direction, and it worked out.”
Worsham began eliminations from the second spot on the ladder in the DHL Toyota Camry looking to make his first career final at the Minnesota-based track. Despite earning his first-ever No. 1 at Brainerd way back in 1991, he had never visited a final at the facility in six previous semi-final tries.
“Brainerd is a pretty special place for me. Going all the way back to 1991, I have always wanted to win this race,” Worsham said. “My first-ever number one qualifier in Funny Car came here 25 years ago, so to finally get a win here is special. I damn near won this race in 2000 and John Force picked me off on a big holeshot in the semifinal.
“I’m glad to get the monkey off our back, get a win, go to Indy and start this NHRA Mello Yello Countdown.”
After losing traction and smoking the tires in both of his passes on Saturday, including in the make-up final against Capps in Q3, three of Worsham’s four opponents on Sunday lost in similar fashion. Hagan, Bob Bode and semifinal opponent Courtney Force all lost traction during their runs, while Tim Wilkerson in round two went red against the defending champ.
That string of luck, plus four solid passes of his own, allowed Worsham to finally visit his first winner’s circle of the season.
“The track giveth and the track taketh away,” Worsham said with a laugh. “I feel for Hagan. We came in here with a lot of confidence thinking we were going to do well. We had the final round coming up, Friday couldn’t have gone any better, our car was just making great runs and along came Saturday in the final and the thing just smokes the tires at the starting line.
“The entire team, Jon (Oberhofer) and Nicky (Boninfante) had to make some decisions, make some changes, along with Tommy (DeLago) and Jim (Oberhofer), they all came together for today.”
With the win, Worsham improves from fourth to third in the standings and will take that momentum into the final race before the Countdown to the Championship cutoff. Last year Worsham didn’t win his first race until the start of the Countdown en route to claiming the title, so a win going into the playoffs definitely doesn’t hurt according to the champ.
“I think, obviously, we are running better. We’ve won a race, we are higher in points, so, yeah, I do feel like we are ahead of the game,” Worsham said. “We are going to go back, regroup and get ready after all these races in a row and prepare ourselves for Indianapolis and the Countdown.” Larry Crum
SKILLMAN EARNS SECOND CAREER WIN AT LUCAS OIL NATS - 2015 was a big year for Drew Skillman.
During his rookie campaign in Pro Stock, the longtime NHRA Lucas Oil Series competitor had a breakout season, recording one win, three No. 1 qualifiers and four total finals en route to a fifth place finish in the NHRA Mello Yello Series Countdown standings.
But that was last year. And in 2016, Skillman faced the same challenges as the rest of the Pro Stock field - a massive change to the cars and the competition. But after having to endure 16 races this season with no finals, no top qualifier awards and half of the round wins, Skillman finally made his way back to the top in thrilling fashion, winning for only the second time in his career at the 35th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
“When I heard about the rule changes, I thought we are either going to be on top, or we are going to be at the bottom. We were just on the latter of that situation,” said Skillman, driver of the Ray Skillman Chevrolet Camaro. “We worked very hard, both teams. I was with Elite (Motorsports) and then I switched to the Grays halfway through the season and they have been working extremely hard. This is proof of their work today.”
Skillman went four big rounds on Sunday, defeating three of the top five qualifiers culminating with a victory over the winningest man in Pro Stock this season and current points leader Jason Line. Having faced Line once before in a final with a loss, Skillman surprised the driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro as Line got the jump at the starting line and held the lead well past half-track when Skillman began to inch around the seven-time winner in 2016 and take the win.
Skillman finished with a 6.648 at 208.97 mph in picking up his second career Pro Stock Wally. Line crossed the stripe with a 6.681 at 206.64 mph, just a few feet behind the second-year driver.
“We are all getting much, much closer,” Skillman said. “We are all picking at the same parts and pieces and we are all getting closer. I think by the end of the season, we are going to be very tight. And next year I think you are going to see a real competitive class across the board.
“I’m glad I got to race (one of the KB Racing cars) in the final. It kind of solidifies our efforts for the whole season. It doesn’t mean I just beat another guy that happened to get lucky. Don’t get me wrong, we got lucky there, but we are here to win and we finally did it.”
Skillman added wins over No. 1 qualifier Vincent Nobile, Bo Butner and Dave River on his way to his first final since St. Louis in 2015. After losing in the first round in three of the last four races, Skillman recorded an easy win over River and Nobile, who had to click it off early in the run, while adding a holeshot victory over Butner in the second round to advance. The pair recorded identical 6.626 elapsed times, with Skillmans .025 reaction time earning him the round win.
“Every season is different. You can be the best in the world one year and come out the next year and be horrible,” Skillman said. “This is a game of consistency and putting trust in your guys. You have to keep moving forward and that is what we’ve done. The proof is in the pudding today.”
After watching KB Racing win the first 13 races of the season, new winners have emerged in two of the last three races, showing a clear shrinking in the performance gap from the beginning of the season to now. And Skillman hopes that trend will continue entering the Countdown to the Championship in just a few weeks.
“They outworked us. Period. They out-engineered us and they outworked us,” said Skillman, talking about that performance gap. “And it’s now our turn to pull up the rope. It wasn’t an overnight thing catching up to them because they already did that legwork. We were just a little bit behind the eight ball to start and now we are back.
“I have a new crew. They are all young guys and I brought over Tomi (Laine) our crew chief. He’s really showed his colors here this weekend. I am blessed to have all of the people I have around me.” Larry Crum
HINES TAKES PSM CROWN AT BRAINERD - Andrew Hines delivered perfection when it was needed most.
Hines, who pilots the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson, cut a perfect light to beat Jerry Savoie on a holeshot to capture the title at the Lucas Oil Nationals Sunday in Brainerd, Minn.
Hines clocked a 6.866-second elapsed time at 194.94 mph to defeat Savoie’s quicker 6.863-second time at 194.88 mph. The difference was Hines’ .000 reaction time compared to Savoie’s .069 reaction time.
“I don’t know if I would say comfortable (coming into race day),” said Hines, who qualified No. 2. “I was definitely a little bit nervous because we came here with the intentions of preparing for the Countdown and we put brand new tires on the bikes, which in hindsight turned out to be a very bad decision because the track was so good here all weekend long. We definitely did not need a new tire. We were battling with the tune-up on Friday and the bikes wouldn’t put the mph up on the scoreboard and that’s partly due to the new tire, but mostly due to being off.”
This is Hines fourth win of the season as he also has victories at Charlotte (April 24), Chicago (July 10), and Denver (July 24). He also has two runner-up finishes at Norwalk, Ohio (June 26), and Sonoma, Calif. (July 31).
Hines, who has won PSM world championships in 2004-2006, and 2014-15, now has 46 career wins, the most all-time in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class. Hines now also has three wins at Brainerd (2007, 2010 and 2016). Antron Brown is the career leader in Pro Stock Motorcycle wins at Brainerd with four (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006).
Hines beat Steve Johnson, Cory Reed, Hector Arana Jr., and then Savoie to snare the Wally.
“We just pecked away at it all weekend and we got Eddie’s bike to run some good speed (195.16) in Q4 and just kind of played off that for (Sunday),” Hine said. “First round looked like we were OK and then throughout the second round and third round, it was a struggle. Jerry and Angelle (Sampey) were leading the class by far and we just took our chance at it in the final round. We put an old tire back on, so it had a little rolling resistance and wasn’t quite as sticky. The 60 foot was little bit better in the final than it did in the semi and it still went nice and straight. That’s the big thing about changing tires, you never quite know on a motorcycle which way it is going to make you go. It still went nice and straight down the track and I tucked it as hard as I could and I knew when I threw the clutch away I had a little bit of an advantage. I didn’t want to be triple (.000) by any means, but I was pressing it because I knew I needed any advantage I could get on Jerry because he had been on kill all day long and we knew what he was capable of, I just decided to go out there and keep my head clear and that was pretty easy to do with my team making sure we had flawless equipment going up for the final round. When that win light came on, I almost couldn’t believe it. I told Jerry to not beat me up too bad before the final round and just notch another one up for Harley-Davidson. It was a hard fought weekend for us.” Tracy Renck
SATURDAY NOTEBOOK – EMOTIONS, RAIN AND FAST RUNS DOMINATE FINAL QUALIFYING
PRIMETIME PLAYER - Matt Hagan knew the conditions were prime to lay down a blistering elapsed time. His intuitions were correct.
Hagan rocketed to a 3.822-second pass at 333.82 mph to set the elapsed time world record and claim his third No. 1 spot of the season, also the 24th of his career.
“I have (crew chief) Dickie Venables in my corner and that guy is so bright and so brilliant,” said Hagan. “He said, ‘Hey kid, it’s going to go really fast or nowhere at all.’ It’s cool to know that you can hang on to a racecar that does that and has the capability to do that. Dickie is smart enough to make it all work. It really comes down to my guys, so when I get to crawl into a racecar, it’s a blessing. We have potential to be out here in a championship hunt again this year. One step at a time.”
ANTICLIMACTIC - Ron Capps appreciated the irony, the weirdness, of it all: rain, final-round postponements, even more rain, winning, bringing a trophy back to the fans who had to watch “their” finals take place at another track hundreds of miles away.
So his “Seattle” victory was a bit of deja-vu. The finish of the rain-postponed Aug. 8 Protect The Harvest NHRA Nationals at Seattle came during Saturday’s third overall qualifying session of the Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn.
Capps had won the 2014 “Brainerd” trophy at Indianapolis. And this time he beat Del Worsham easily at Brainerd International Raceway to win the “Seattle” final. Capps said his winning 4.014-second elapsed time at 322.42 mph on the 1,000-foot course was “anticlimactic,” for Worsham smoked the tires on his DHL Toyota Camry and conceded defeat early.
"It's really ironic after we couldn't run for the trophy two years ago at Brainerd that we get to go back now with a chance to win two trophies,” the NAPA Dodge driver for Don Schumacher Racing said even before he and Top Fuel’s Antron Brown combined to bring DSR its 57th overall nitro-class double and fifth this season. (Brown defeated Steve Torrence moments later in the Top Fuel showdown.)
Capps had three victories in five final-round chances in the previous seven races. Worsham was bidding for his third consecutive No. 1 starting spot and had stretched his streak of consecutive 3.8-second passes from six to eight this weekend. - Susan Wade
WHAT CAN BROWN DO? – Antron Brown saved his best for last with a 3.679, 328.30 to take the Top Fuel lead in the final qualifying session. The run secured his 46th career No. 1 qualifier and second of his season
Brown has sprinted to four victories so far this season and won this event in 2011. He will go up against the ageless Chris Karamesines in the first round.
“My car went right down Broadway and it was ripping,” said reigning world champ Brown. “I felt the car up on the tire and it stayed on the tire and went right down the track nice and smooth. I’m so proud and stoked for my boys. Tomorrow is going to bring a whole new race day and we’re going in with a good foot forward but it is a brand new day. We have our work cut out for us.”
Earlier in the day, Brown defeated Steve Torrence in the delayed Seattle final round that took place in the third qualifying session with a run of 3.747 at 320.13. The victory was Brown’s fourth of the season in seven final round appearances. The victory extended his series points lead.
HEAVY HEART - Angelle Sampey needed something positive to happen this weekend, and in consecutive days her wish came true.
Sampey, who lives in Matthews, La., an hour's drive from Baton Rouge, shares in the grief of family and friends displaced by flooding. As many as 40,000 homes are estimated to have experienced some measure of damage from flooding.
Tears began to flow for Sampey Friday as she rode to the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. She secured the top spot in Saturday’s final session with a 6.830, 196.64.
"I wanted so badly, to talk to everyone back home," Sampey said. "I knew I was gonna start crying. I tried the best I could to talk, even though I knew that they couldn't even see me. None of them have a TV anymore. They’re all gone.
"They’ve completely lost everything. I really just wanted them to know how much I love them and how much I love my state. And I’m so proud of the way they’ve responded to this."
Sampey's husband, Seth Drago, whose brother lives in Denim Springs, La., an area 90-percent flooded, joined in with members of the self-proclaimed Cajun Navy in going house to house to rescue those stranded in the flood.
The Cajun Navy is made up of local hunters, fishermen, and boaters, who have turned their personal vessels into a rescue fleet.
"Seth rescued a bunch of people on (last) Saturday, and he could barely talk to me (last) Saturday night," Sampey explained. "When I called him, his voice was trembling, his heart was breaking because he was picking up elderly people, people with babies, and they had nothing, nowhere to go, they didn’t know what to do. He was taking them from houses that were completely under water, and dropping them off on the highway, where other people were in their own cars and picking strangers up and bringing them to wherever they could bring them.
"It got to a point where nobody knew where even to go. They had some people that were stuck on I-10 in their cars for 48 hours. They couldn’t move. They had nothing to eat, nowhere to go. I mean, it was the most devastation I’ve seen in our state in a long time, other than Katrina.
Sampey is leaning on the drag racing community for help with those displaced.
"I just know that the devastation is beyond belief. I pray because that’s the most I can do for them right now," Sampey said. "I’m trying to collect donations for my family, my family personally, because they’ve lost everything. My husband’s family. I want to win this race, dedicate it to them, and hopefully make them smile a little bit."
Sampey's message about the plight of those back home has inspired support from the drag racing community with megateam owner Don Schumacher and her own team owner George Bryce headlining a group of donations.
"We’re going to get them some clothes, some cleaning supplies, and stuff that they need so they can start working on their homes," Sampey explained. "We can give them the money, but there’s nothing in the stores. The shelves are completely empty everywhere.
"It's going to take a lot of help from the country to get these people back on their feet. I can vouch for the people of Louisiana. I promise you that they are one of the first states to jump up and send money, send help, go to volunteer. I just hope that the rest of the country returns the favor to them."
WHY IS LEAH’S DRAGSTER GOLD? – Gold and black are not the signature colors for the Papa John’s Pizza brand. However, for company President and CEO John Schnatter, another gold and black car paved the way for his first foray in NHRA drag racing sponsorship.
Schnatter owned a gold and black 1971 Z-28 Camaro, a car he bought as a 15 year old, for $1,600 by washing dishes at Rocky’s Sub Pub. Six years later when the family fell on hard financial times he sold the car for $2,800 to get his father out of bankruptcy.
"We were broke," Schnatter said. "We were just out of money."
The rest is history as Schnatter went on to create his Papa John's Pizza empire. He would eventually buy the car back, as a millionaire, for $274,000.
Pritchett, a driver who lost her ride three races into the season, and through a relentless persistence to remain in the top ten of points earners, caught the eye of the successful pizza executive. He immediately felt a connection.
"When I met Leah, she had muffler burns on her arm," Schnatter said. "I knew the look. Back when I started, I had oven burns on my arms. So I can relate to somebody that has had to turn a wrench to get by, or has to bake the pizza."
Schnatter wonders aloud how a driver with the complete package of Pritchett was allowed to float along in a sea of broken dreams for so long.
"When you start out broke, and I was broke, and you watch somebody hustle the way she hustles, it's an incredible inspiration," Schnatter said.
CLOSING IN ON KB - Vincent Nobile recorded his second consecutive No. 1 qualifying effort with a 6.597, 209.17. This is the first time in his career he has gone No. 1 at back-to-back events..
“We made a pretty good run and as you can see, we took the No. 1 spot,” said Nobile, who clinched his spot in the Countdown with his category best performance. “I’m really proud of my guys. Two weekends (as No. 1) in a row – it’s incredible. I’ve never had such a good racecar. We’ve won races before but we have never been No. 1 like this. This is a pretty incredible feeling.”
Nobile raced to the final round as the No. 1 qualifier two weekends ago in Seattle at the Protect the Harvest NHRA Northwest Nationals presented by Lucas Oil before the event was postponed due to rain. The Seattle Pro Stock final round between Nobile and Aaron Strong will be decided at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
BACK IN THE FOLD - Lee Beard can relate to Michael Corleone. Corleone, the main character, and protagonist in The Godfather film series uttered a famous quote which suits Beard these days.
"Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in," said Corleone.
"Actually, I had retired from being a full-time crew chief on the NHRA tour, but I never quit racing or being a consultant to race teams," explained Beard. "I was fortunate enough to go to Australia and race cars for the Rapisarda's over there, with Larry Dixon driving, and had great success winning a Winternationals and setting a national record."
In some settings, Beard would be considered a lurker. At the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., he returned to help a longtime friend. Beard was assisting Cruz Pedregon in getting his troubled Snap-On Tools Funny Car back on the right track.
"Cruz has had a very trying season," said Beard. "Not the type of performance that he expected, or the rest of us expected out of this car. He called me up and asked if I’d mind coming and looking over their shoulders and seeing if there was anything that a new set of eyes could pick up. That would maybe be able to get the car back on track. And that’s basically why I’m here."
Drag racing is a bit like the Godfather, or the popular Eagles hit song Hotel California, which suggests you can check out but never truly leave.
"When you’re a competitor in this sport, you become obsessed with it," Beard said. "There was a time in my life where that’s the only thing that I did. I ate, slept, drag racing 24/7. As I grow older now, I enjoy other things in life. Obviously, I have a passion for fly fishing and have done a lot of that. But, I must say, when I’m standing in the river all by myself, and even though I’m surrounded by nature and all the beauty of it, I still think about drag racing."
WORSHAM GETS 500 - Del Worsham admits he wasn't much of a forward thinker as a 19-year old, rookie nitro racer.
"I thought about one race and just making it to the Winston Finals, in 1990," admitted Worsham.
Thus was the mindset of the two-time NHRA nitro champion Worsham, as his Friday-evening 3.856-second elapsed time during Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals qualifying ensured start No. 500 for a driver who has never raced any kind of vehicle but a nitro-burning race car.
"When you have so many races every year, at 20 races a year you just race and let the milestones fall where they fall," Worsham admitted. "We just wanted to make our way through a full season when I started so just qualifying for 500 races was beyond the realm of imagination."
Worsham, now 46, is no longer a wide-eyed teenager and has a few wrinkles of experience. The best experience going for Worsham is perseverance.
"I think the biggest thing I learned, is just stay with it," Worsham explained. "There were some really tough years, where things weren’t so great. Always just stuck with it."
In addition to persistence, decreasing stress has been a key element in attaining success.
"You bring enough stress and pressure on yourself in just racing, that you don't need any extra pressure from the outside or other things that come along with racing," Worsham said. "500 races in, it is nice to come to a race and know that I'm driving for the best team, that’s financed, and I have great crew chiefs and friends around me."
Worsham said he is most proud, after 500 starts, the drag racing community sees him as a hands-on racer, and clearly not afraid to get dirt underneath his fingernails.
"I never just showed up to the track in time to drive the car, then took off after the race," said Worsham. "It was never my style. I’ve always liked to be involved with the set-up and tuning of the car, or just have some role in it. I think I would have been a great Funny Car racer in the 1970s."
And if he did drive then, he'd be knocking on the door of 1,000 starts.
Worsham qualified second with a 3.856 at 326.71 in his DHL Toyota Camry.
STREAK CONTINUES - Shane Gray's streak of top-half qualifying efforts was pushed to 11 straight races Saturday.
"Qualifying well is very satisfying, no doubt, and it points to consistency, which I always have said is one of the top ingredients you need to win races out here," said Gray, who posted a best of 6.622 at 208.42 mph to earn the No. 6 slot. "But this qualifying streak has yet to translate to four winning rounds on Sunday, so we're still pushing hard to take that final step. No complaints, by any means; we're just hungry for a bit more."
Gray has raced through to the semifinals on five occasions this year, putting him a breath away from a chance to win a fifth NHRA Wally trophy, but he just hasn't been able to punch through and get to the winner's circle.
"I'd sure love to see us get that done, and this weekend here in Brainerd would be as good a place as any to do it," Gray said. "It's something you share when you get to the top level of the sport. Those wins, for me, I get just as big a kick out of seeing the crew guys and my family enjoying it all than anything else.
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – FAST FRIDAY IN THE LAND OF 10,000 LAKES
LET US PUT A TIGER IN YOUR TANK - NHRA Tech Department told Pro Stock car teams to come to the staging lanes for their first day qualifying runs with empty fuel cells. Sources have indicated that there has been an outcry citing fuel improprieties over the course of the last few races, prompting NHRA to put fuel check under more scrutiny than ever.
SURVEY SAYS - Last week CompetitionPlus.com selected the drivers they enjoyed seeing win the most as well as enjoyed seeing not win.
Tim Wilkerson was an overwhelming winner in the popularity contest.
"That’s just the small team underdog scenario that everyone enjoys, right?" Wilkerson asked. "I appreciate that, readers of CompetitionPlus.com. Thank you very much. We’re always happy to win too, believe me. We’ve been letting you down here the last six or eight races, but we’re going to try and get our consistency back and get into the Countdown and do a better job. This helps a lot, believe me."
Wilkerson understands the blue-collar, hardhat, and lunchpail-carrying persona carries a lot of weight with the average drag racing fan who relates to him as a working class guy.
"I don't know if I can buy a cup of coffee with this win that I just made here with you guys, but it still makes me feel great," Wilkerson said. "It gives the idea that you're doing the right thing out here, anyway, right, because people love you."
Tony Schumacher, along with John Force, appeared in both polls.
"It feels like I’m thought about a hundred percent of the time," Schumacher said with a smile. "I’ve been racing a long, long time. And you’re going to have fans on both sides. What I don’t think I have are fans that dislike me for my personality.
"You know, John Force, I’ve never seen him really be anything but nice to people, yet he’s still got haters too. It is what it is. I’d rather be thought about than be all the other guys that weren’t mentioned on either side."
Greg Anderson understands he didn't win the popularity contest, but he takes comfort in knowing it's because he wins too much.
"I don’t believe, I guess, in my own heart, maybe I’m wrong, but I guess I don’t believe in my own heart I’m hated because I’m such a bad guy," Anderson said. "I believe it’s more hatred just because of the too many wins, I guess. So, I try to act as good as I can at the races. But, if that’s all their mad at me for is winning too much, I’m good with that. That’s the goal."
THE LAID BACK ERA - Let the record reflect, the cat came out of the bag kicking and screaming last year in Brainerd.
The cat we refer to was the practice of using laid back headers as a performance tool for the nitro burning Funny Cars. It started with Jack Beckman, then spread through the Don Schumacher Funny Car stable before teams outside of the inner circle began capitalizing on what was considered an inexpensive performance boost.
The trick is now the norm.
Matt Hagan, the driver of the Rocky Boots/Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, became the first driver to record a 3.8-second pass in a Funny Car last year at Brainerd International Raceway.
"Last year when we did that, we looked like heroes," Hagan said. "Now that's what you have to bring to the line to win. There have been races this year when a 3.8 didn't even get you lane choice. It's incredible how much the class has improved and changed in a year, and I'm so proud of Dickie (Venables) that we were the first ones to do it."
"It's a wonderful show for the fans," added Beckman. "Everybody is getting their money's worth. As a driver, I love it because you have to hold on - these things are light in the frontend and hard to drive. As I fan, I just love seeing those big numbers pop up."
Beckman said the headers have had a profound on the advancement of Funny Car performance.
"Now that we're cycling back to all the tracks where they've already seen laid back headers with the Funny Car, I thought we'd only see three or four hundredths of a second shaved off the track ET (elapsed time) record but Del (Worsham, Kalitta Motorsports) knocked .08 off Seattle's record that at the time was the quickest round in history," added Beckman.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN - George Bryce speculated in an article with CompetitionPlus.com earlier this week that Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson riders Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec and their wins ought to have an asterisk in the media guide, and be noted they won on a brand of motorcycle no other racer in NHRA can attain.
Jerry Savoie, a front-running Suzuki Pro Stock Bike rider as well as Vance & Hines customer, went to Krawiec with a plan to answer the challenge.
"I told Eddie, he could ride my bike to prove a point," Savoie said. "It's here if he wants it."
Krawiec said he appreciated the sentiment from Savoie, but contractual obligations would preclude a match race on another manufacturer's bike. He said he's had plenty of other offers as well.
"It cannot happen," Krawiec admitted. "We really don't have anything to prove to anyone."
THAT'S GONNA LEAVE A MARK - Top Sportsman racer Michael Freischel, of Cottage Grove, MN., took a ride on the wild side during Friday qualifying at the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd. He was uninjured.
Freischel's Pontiac launched hard, spun the tires and turned sharply left into the tree. Racing was delayed by 45 minutes.
CompetitionPlus.com's Roger Richards captured the action.
WHO NEEDS THE ZOO? - Funny Car racer Chad Head has plenty of memories from Brainerd International Raceway and none include the famed "Zoo" camping area.
Head had a way of finding trouble on his own without the assistance of drunken race fans.
Status provided no element of conservatism.
Head, during his time as a race official with NHRA, admitted in the after hours he partook in a Suzuki pit bike test. Peer pressure inspired Head to set up a ramp made of plywood and a nitro drum and then do his best Evel Knievel impersonation.
How did the stunt work out for Head? Not so good, he admitted.
"I was wearing Ron Capps' helmet, doing donuts and jumping the ramp," Head admitted.
Head hit the ramp in perfect form. The landing? Well, he's had better experiences.
"I crashed right into the side of a black van," Head recalled. "It happened to be Ed McCulloch's, and I thought he was going to kill me."
Brainerd was also a place where Head came of age, behind the wheel of a race car, of course.
"That's where I learned how to drive," Head proclaimed of the 1985 incident. "The boys were out a little late one night, and we came out of the bar, and nobody could drive. So I was deemed the designated driver at 13 years old. So, I learned how to drive here in an Oldsmobile station wagon."
The Zoo might have been tamer.
THIS IS FOR YOU - The irony of the situation isn't lost on Funny Car driver Ron Capps.
Last season, Capps fought his way to the final round here in Brainerd, only to have rain force completion of the event two weeks later in Indianapolis. The rain washed out a chance to celebrate a possible victory with hundreds of loyal NAPA Auto Parts fans in northern Minnesota
Capps shipped the NHRA Wally trophy to Minnesota for a tour of NAPA Auto Parts stores around Brainerd.
This weekend, Capps gets two chances to raise an NHRA Wally trophy accompanied by a throng of NAPA fans. Rain on Aug. 5 delayed the Seattle Funny Car final round between Capps and Del Worsham to Saturday's first qualifying session.
"Everybody here, nothing against the fans here, but this is for the Brainerd fans," he said after winning two years ago in the postponed final at Indy. "This win really is for Brainerd and the amazing fans there. I could smell cheese (curds) cooking in the North Forty.
"This (trophy) is going to every NAPA store in Minnesota so you can touch it, you can pour stuff on it, you can do whatever you want with it in your local NAPA store and then it's going to go up to track owners Christie and Jed (Copham) in Brainerd and it's going to get put out in the 'zoo' (campgrounds) somehow."
Capps holds a commanding lead in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car standings, with a category-best four event titles this year through 16 races and is coming off career-best performances with a best elapsed time of 3.843 seconds and 330.23 mph at Seattle.
"It's really ironic after we couldn't run for the trophy two years ago at Brainerd that we get to go back now with a chance to win two trophies," Capps said.
IT’S STURGIS BABY! - Matt and Angie Smith, Pro Stock Motorcycle's first couple of drag racing, spent last week at the Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota, where Victory Motorcycles and Indian Motorcycles (another Polaris brand) had huge displays.
"It was a great week over there and a lot of fun to be around so many hard-core motorcycle people," Angie said. "When you go someplace where half a million people all have something in common, it's just a blast.
"Just like we do at the drag races, Sturgis gave us a great chance to show people what Victory has to offer. Victory Motorcycles are a lot like drag racing: Once you try them, you are immediately sold.
BACK AND BLUE - Funny Car Courtney Force got into a fight with the Pacific Raceway's retaining wall two weeks ago, and lost the battle. The youngest daughter of 16-time champion John Force was transported to the hospital after sufffering knee and elbow injuries in an impact where she actually knocked two sections of the retaining wall loose, breaking one.
“I am excited to get back in the seat," said Force, who ended Friday qualifying No. 5 with a 3.89. "After how I last left the track (in Seattle) I am definitely ready to get back in the car and go down the race track. I have been going through physical therapy every day. I have been working with Dr. Ortmeyer who is the same doctor that worked with my dad after his crash. I see huge progress every day with my knee,” explained Force the Wednesday before the race.
“I have gone from being on crutches the first couple of days to getting comfortable walking on it to being able to bend it all the way now. I definitely felt good enough to be back in the race car. That’s my throttle leg, and I have been pounding it today.”
Force is racing a brand new look Funny Car this weekend and in Indy.
“It is kind of an electric blue with lightning bolts running through it," Force explained. "It is a nice change from the multi-colored Funny Cars which I also loved. It gets people talking about what is coming next,”
