EVENT RESULTS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS SPORTSMAN RESULTS

FRI. GALLERY (Posted) SAT. GALLERY (Posted) SUN GALLERY (Posted)

 

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

LANGDON TAKES ST. LOUIS TOP FUEL CROWN - Sometimes it seems Shawn Langdon gets lost in the Don Schumacher Racing Top Fuel stable which also consists of Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett and of course Tony Schumacher.

Well, Langdon was the one basking in the spotlight at the Midwest Nationals Sunday in St. Louis.

The 2013 Top Fuel world champion claimed the victory with a holeshot win over Schumacher in the finals at Gateway Motorsports Park.

Langdon clocked a 3.798-second run at 323.66 mph while Schumacher had a quicker 3.782-second lap at 317.49 mph.

The difference was at the starting line as Langdon had a .032 reaction time compared to Schumacher’s .064 light.

“Sarge had probably one of the best cars of the weekend,” Langdon said about Schumacher. “He was making good runs. He .045 on the last two lights and I felt like we were at a little disadvantage going in, maybe a little bit of an underdog going into the final. We took a chance at it and we got put over in the left lane and we just trusted each other and what we wanted to do, and we were able to get a great team victory.”

This was Langdon’s third win of the season to go along with his back-to-back victories at Bristol, Tenn., (June 19) and Norwalk, Ohio, (June 26) and the 14th NHRA Top Fuel win of his career. Langdon also won at St. Louis for the first time in his career.

The victory also put Langdon back in the hunt for another championship as he moved up from seventh to fourth in the points in his Sandvik Coromant-sponsored dragster.

The win didn’t come easy for Langdon as he knocked off stars and points leader Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and No. 1 qualifier Richie Crampton in consecutive rounds before finally upending Schumacher.

“We fell back after Charlotte,” said Langdon, who lost in the first round to Wayne Newby at Charlotte. “In order to get back up in the mix we had to take those guys out early. Obviously, it it’s not ideal running our DSR teammate first round with Antron, but it’s how it played out, so we just had to take the chips how they fell and we just did the best that could.”

Langdon acknowledged the Sunday’s success was a team effort.

“We has a couple of setbacks (Sunday), we had the ignition problem going into (the semifinals), but all in all the Sandvik/Red Fuel team just did a great job giving me a great race car,” Langdon said. “I just tried to hit the gas on time and do my part, but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys fighting back and digging deep to get that victory. That means a lot. We got the job done here in St. Louis and more importantly we have four more races and we have a shot at the championship. That’s all we can ask is to give ourselves a shot at the championship.” Tracy Renck

BECKMAN TAKES WIN DURING EVENTFUL AFTERNOON IN ST. LOUIS - Jack Beckman couldn’t have made the road to victory any harder for himself in St. Louis.

Three rocky rounds of qualifying, a narrow escape to a smaller, independent team in round one, a paper-thin .0012 margin of victory to the most recent event winner in round two, and a couple of close calls against his teammates in typical Beckman fashion, all added up to the second win of the year and 24th of his career for the boisterous driver of the Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car.

“Every win is special for one reason or another, but this one will go down as our team is in a slump and what we did was incredibly difficult with the way our car was acting,” said Beckman, who snapped a streak of six consecutive races failing to advance past the second round. “I had some pretty mediocre outings as a driver the last few races and you want to be there with your driving in case the car is not dead-on and vice versa. And, frankly, we were struggling on both ends of it.

“The car was smoking the tires and I think that my confidence got down and I’m not quite sure what changed. I think I had a good outing as a driver today and I’ve had my share of those that don’t end up in the winners circle. Today was just a perfect deal. The guys tuned smart, I did my job as a driver, and we turned on the win light every time.”

Riding two-straight first-round exits, Beckman entered the second race of the Countdown to the Championship looking for a turnaround as the 2012 champion slipped from second in the standings just three months ago to eighth following last week’s round-one exit in Charlotte.

But after a rocky start to the weekend with only one productive pass during qualifying, Beckman responded profoundly with four big round wins on Sunday culminating with a win over Tommy Johnson Jr. in the final of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.

In the deciding round, Beckman got away first and stayed ahead as Johnson’s Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger slowed just past the 330-foot mark and Beckman cruised to win number 24 with a 3.928-second pass at 324.51 mph. Johnson crossed the stripe with a 4.185 at 231.40 mph in his third runner-up finish of the year.

Beckman also added a big win over points leader Ron Capps in the semifinals to rocket from eighth to third in the Countdown to the Championship. Beckman again got away cleanly at the hit and watched his narrow reaction time advantage blossom as Capps began to drop cylinders off the line. Beckman ran a 3.954 at 319.60 mph to advance to his fourth final of the year. Capps had a 4.112 at 285.71.

“When we left Charlotte, we knew that our chances of winning the championship were predicated on other teams stumbling,” Beckman said. “You want to think that you can control your own destiny and win championships by winning rounds, but eventually there comes a time where you can’t win enough rounds and somebody else has to lose.

“When we saw the way the ladder lined up, having Capps third round, nobody had to say anything, but we pretty well knew that was going to be it for the championship. Let’s be realistic, the way that NAPA car is running, they are not going to go into a slump. We are going to have to find a way to outperform them.

“Yes we are leaving with the trophy, but there is still cause for concern with the Infinite Hero Mopar. We have to figure out what to do with this car to make it consistent. Then we can turn it up a little bit and make it quick again.”

Of course, Beckman’s championship-altering round wins almost never happened following two early round nail-biters. In round one, Beckman lost a spark plug 100 feet into his run against Dale Creasy Jr. and narrowly escaped with a 4.042 to a 4.076. In round two, Beckman and 16-time champion John Force locked up in one of the closest races of the year as Beckman pulled out a holeshot win by .0012 as Force ran quicker and faster to the stripe. Beckman won with a slower 3.978 at 318.17 mph to Force’s 3.961 at 324.83 mph.

“To the average fan, they don’t necessarily get reaction times and ETs. For me, I want to race smart and try to preserve lane choice for the team which means you stage shallow and it gives you the worst possible reaction times,” Beckman said. “You really have to be up on your toes and leave on time and to win on a holeshot that way is extra gratifying. Let’s face it, to beat Babe Ruth, that is never a bad thing.

“Then against Dale Creasy, he runs his career best ET and barely lost to us. To think we could have just as easily been done first round is amazing. But that is the great thing about racing in Funny Car in particular, an independent team can take one of the killer cars out first round.

“We dodged a bullet first round and then, fortunately, we figured out a way to start firing our own bullets for the next three rounds.”

With the win, Beckman sweeps the state of Illinois with his other win this season coming at Chicago back in July. Beckman now sits third, 70 points back of leader Capps, and 22 points behind Johnson.

“It is easy to drive well when the car is running well and it is easy to make excuses when the car is not running well,” Beckman said. “I am here to do well no matter how the car is running. But this certainly doesn’t hurt.” Larry Crum

LAUGHLIN COLLECTS FIRST CAREER WIN IN ST. LOUIS - The story of how Alex Laughlin collected his first career win in Pro Stock is one that will be remembered for years to come.

Because, quite frankly, it wasn’t supposed to happen yet.

Hastily throwing together a team midway through last season, Laughlin entered the 2016 season seeking, not just his first career win, but his first-ever round win when the teams unloaded at Pomona back in February. But not long after, that first round win came in race three in Gainesville. And then another. And then a number one qualifier in Denver. And then his first semifinal finish in Charlotte last week.

And then, finally, victory.

Laughlin raced past another surprise first-time winner in Aaron Strong, Vincent Nobile, Shane Gray and Bo Butner to earn his first career win in his first-ever final at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals Sunday at Gateway Motorsports Park.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s not even real at this point,” an overwhelmed Laughlin said after defeating Butner in the final. “I was riding back on the golf cart with the trophy just thinking this has got to be a dream. This whole day has been a blur. I just tried to take it one round at a time.”

Facing Butner, another driver looking for his first-ever NHRA Pro Stock Wally, Laughlin blasted off the line with an impressive .009 reaction time and held that advantage all the way to the finish line, recording a 6.611-second pass at 208.68 mph in the Gas Monkey Garage Chevrolet Camaro. Butner, who was 0-for-5 coming into Sunday, kept his losing streak alive with a 6.637 at 209.26 mph.

“Coming up for the final I was a little bit nervous. But I took a couple of deep breaths and I told myself it is just like any other round,” Laughlin said. “I told myself I just have to go up there, do your deal, stage the car well, and as soon as I let the clutch out I knew that our crew chief put a really good, solid tune-up in the car.

“I have a different routine every time I stage. Sometimes I like to go in first, sometimes I like to go in second. This time, I was going to let Bo go in first. I sat there in neutral until I saw his bulb come on. I was going to sit there and let this thing burn to the ground if that’s what it took. When he finally lit his bulb, I lit mine, the light flashed and I let my foot off the clutch.

“Once I got it into third gear and it wasn’t shaking or moving around I knew we had made it. I plugged it into high gear, looked over and saw Bo wasn’t there, and thought that as long as I wasn’t red, we’ve got it. When I crossed the finish line and saw the win light, that is when I really started to get excited.”

But Laughlin did not have an easy road to his first final. He defeated another surprise first-time winner in Strong in round one and then took out Nobile in round two. In the semifinals, Laughlin faced teammate Shane Gray for a shot at the final and used an .017 reaction time to collect a hole-shot victory over the driver of the Valvoline/Nova Services Chevrolet with a 6.634 at 208.75 to Gray’s quicker and faster 6.623 at 209.10 mph.

“Unfortunately I had to race my teammate in the semifinals and I certainly would have rather taken out one of the other Countdown cars,” Laughlin said. “But at the end of the day, we came out to do our best regardless of who it is. We did what we had to do.”

Amazingly, Laughlin’s victory came by chance. After hurrying together a team midway through 2015, Laughlin had only nine career round wins entering this weekend’s race in St. Louis, having only made it out of the second round once in his career. In addition, Laughlin just missed out on the spot in the Countdown to the Championship just a few weeks earlier, leaving the team without this race on their calendar to finish the year.

“This race wasn’t originally on our schedule after not making the Countdown to save money for next year,” Laughlin said. “But at the end of the day, I only have maybe 150 laps in this car, so any seat time I will take. They kept saying I am the spoiler. These guys didn’t take it easy on me when I first came out here, so even though they are in the Countdown and I’m not, I’m certainly not going to take it easy on them.”

Pro Stock points leader Jason Line reached the semifinals Sunday in St. Louis, falling to Butner on a hole-shot. The performance keeps the driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Chevy firmly atop the standings, 63 points ahead of teammate Greg Anderson. Butner, off the strength of his fifth final of 2016, moved up one spot to third.

Despite missing the playoffs, Laughlin recognizes that his success to close out the year will only help his team in preparing for a Countdown campaign in 2017.

“I had these stepping stones of what I would like to accomplish throughout the year. First, it was win a round. Then, I would like to be No. 1 qualifier. Then, because of the timeline, I said I would like to make the Countdown,” Laughlin said. “Even though we missed the Countdown by two points, and I thought how everything is all messed up now, now we’ve got the race win. Now we will get the Countdown next year.” Larry Crum

SAVIOE CLAIMS PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE GLORY IN ST. LOUIS - Jerry Savoie is a veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle racer who can’t be overlooked in the six-race Countdown to the Championship.

The Cutoff, La., resident proved that Sunday with an emotional win.

Savoie won the Midwest Nationals when his final-round opponent Angelle Sampey recorded a redlight in the finals at Gateway Motorsports Park.

“This is great,” said Savoie, who pilots his Savoie’s Alligator Farm Suzuki. “Our hometown girl (Sampey) from down in the Bayou and all the Cajun people watching and cheering for both of us. I know they are torn between the two of us, but this is very big. I want to share one thing, my mother is home with breast cancer, I love you mom.”

This was Savoie’s fifth career NHRA national event win and his first since he beat Jim Underdahl in the finals at Englishtown, N.J., in June of 2015. He also was 0-3 in final rounds this season losing to Eddie Krawiec at Atlanta, Andrew Hines at Atlanta and Sampey in Englishtown, N.J.

“Out here, the competition is so strong and it takes a little bit of luck and (Sunday) we had a little bit of luck in the finals, and that’s a good thing,” said Savoie, who finished a career-best third in the points a year ago. “These things are hurdles (the final-round losses). I went to church this morning and I listened to the deacon and he was talking about pain and it kind of relates to what I was telling my son who is racing junior dragsters. Pain is a symbol from God. If you feel no pain, you don’t know whether you’re going forward or going backwards. Losing hurts so bad, but winning feels so good and I try and instill that in him. The harder you work, the more you’re repaid. My team is a great team and today was our day.”

The win for Savoie also was special since he had an 0-4 career record against Sampey, a three-time world champ (2000-2002), in final rounds.

“We have been struggling against that gal, she’s a h*ll of a racer and I have a lot of respect for her,” Savoie said. “(Sunday) was my day. We were a little bit late on the light on this one and what a lot of people don’t know is we blew up, so we had some luck today. This track was really good to me, the fans were great and I got my first win (of his career) two years ago here (in St. Louis) and here we are today.”

Savoie also moved up from sixth to fourth in the point standings – 42 behind leader Andrew Hines.

On Sunday, Savoie won consecutive rounds over Steve Johnson, Matt Smith, Cory Reed and Sampey.

“As a rider, you have to be completely focused because you’re not playing with a bunch of chumps up here,” Savoie said. “These guys are drag racers and people think it’s easy and I would be the first to tell you it’s not easy.” Tracy Renck

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK – FIELDS ARE SET FOR EXCITING FINAL ELIMINATIONS

ABOUT TO CHECK OUT - Robert Hight's most impressive run might have been the one that didn't make it to the finish line under fire. The Funny Car No. 1 qualifier stood on his Friday evening 3.893 at 328.38, but it was the 3.910, 298.87 which proved more impressive.

The Auto Club of Southern California-sponsored Funny Car slung the blower belt off shy of the finish line.

"I don’t know how close we were to the edge because I haven’t looked at the data," Hight admitted. "But here’s the truth. It was going to run in the 80’s again. It shut off at 3.5 seconds because the belt came off. So, it was running right with our .89 last night. I believe if it had just finished, it didn’t have any cylinders out."

Hight earned his first top qualifier of the season and 48th of his career. The Gainesville, Fla., event winner will go up against John Hale to open eliminations.

HOLDING ONTO NO. 1 - Richie Crampton used his Friday night performance of 3.733-seconds at 323.50 mph in his Lucas Oil dragster to earn his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and fifth of his career. Crampton, from Adelaide, South Australia, posted a runner-up finish earlier this year in Sonoma, Calif., but has not yet won an event in 2016. He will look to improve on his 10th place points standing as he opens eliminations against Kebin Kinsley Sunday morning.
 
“We were trying to get down the racetrack today and it just didn’t work out, but to get a good run on the board Friday night is really important,” said Crampton, a seven-time event winner. “It was a good run yesterday and I’m sure we left a little bit on the table today. We were just a little underpowered today in both sessions and maybe just treaded a little bit too lightly.”

NO. 1 ONE SHADE OF GRAY - Shane Gray earned his second No. 1 qualifier of the season in Pro Stock with a 6.604 at 209.42 in his Gray Motorsports Chevy Camaro. Gray, who raced to the top spot in Chicago, has seven No. 1 qualifiers in his career and is seventh in points. He will race David River in the opening round of Sunday’s eliminations.
 
“I’m real confident with the car for tomorrow,” said Gray, who has never won at St. Louis. “The way I see it now is the only person that can screw this up is me. We’ve got a good car and it’s making good runs. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

EDDIE CRUISES TO NO. 1 - Eddie Krawiec rode his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to a 6.819 at 197.02 to earn his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season and 33rd of his career. The two-time St. Louis winner and three-time world champion is currently fourth in points after a first round loss last weekend in Charlotte. He will open eliminations against Joe DeSantis.
 
“We didn’t think we were going to run that number but we were picking away at it a little bit at a time,” said Krawiec, who has two career top qualifiers at Gateway Motorsports Park. “This last session, it was drying out a little more. That definitely helped aspirate the motorcycle. We didn’t think it was going to run that fast, but all the stars aligned. We know we have a great motorcycle, it’s just up to us to tune it right and it’s easier said than done.”

WINNING FOR JUNIOR - NHRA Carolina Nationals Pro Stock Bike champion Chip Ellis said team owner Junior Pippin was more concerned with making sure his team had enough equipment to compete in the next five races than celebrating their first victory.

Ellis admits he wasn't surprised by the reaction; this is just how Pippin operates.

"The first thing he said was, 'How many motors do we have in the truck?" Ellis recalled.

The response, as Ellis explained, didn't mean he wasn't proud.

"He's just all about racing," Ellis said. "I was going to drive the Wally [NHRA trophy] down to him from North Carolina to Georgia, and he said, 'Nope. Don’t bring it. Stay at the shop. Let’s just keep working."

Pippin loves his team, and he's dedicated to their success. Being a winning team owner means less to him than seeing his rider and team enjoy the fruits of their success and hard work.

"He's dedicated to this team, and of course he wants the Wally, but he wants to see us get more of them," Ellis explained.  

Throughout his lengthy career, Pippin had failed to experience a national event victory. A year after Ellis started riding for Pippin, he delivered an NHRA trophy for his team owner.

Cancer has been brutal on Pippin and his family, starting in 2012 when he left the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series to support his wife Lisa who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Three years later, he would face the deadly disease himself when diagnosed with an inoperable nasal cancer.

Pippin went through 35 radiation treatments and eight rounds of chemotherapy to eradicate the disease. Recently doctors found a spot on Pippin's lung and believe they can remove without radiation or chemo.

Cancer might have slowed Pippin physically but has done little to deter his spirit of helping his fellow man.

Ellis admitted he's met various individuals whom Pippin has helped in times of need.

Pippin is scheduled to undergo the procedure to his lung on September 28, and doctors advised him to stay close to home in the days leading up to his surgery.

Pippin was at the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals this weekend but not to oversee his his team. He was there to help a fellow racer in need.

"I'm not surprised he's here; that's just the person he is," Ellis explained. "[NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle racer] Hector Arana called and asked if there was someone who had a motorhome he could rent for the weekend. I called Junior, and he said yes, and I was going to drive one and Hector to drive the other."

Pippin had other ideas and shortly after the phone conversation ended, called to tell Ellis he was on his way to zMax Dragway to pick up Arana's trailer and haul it to St. Louis.

"That’s why I enjoy racing with this guy so much," Ellis admitted. "He is the real deal. You look up "good human being" in the dictionary, and there’s a picture of Junior Pippin right there."

The Charlotte victory vaulted Ellis as high as second in the championship point standings two rounds out of first place. The idea of winning a championship for Pippin is something he admits has crossed his mind.

"I’d love to tell you that I haven’t thought about it, because I just want to race one round at a time," Pippin said. "I really don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about it. But, to win this thing for him, man ... that would go beyond awesome. If there's anyone who deserves it."

Ellis qualified third with a 6.850 at 196.53 and is paired with Jim Underdahl to open eliminations.

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS - They live in the shadows of their famous cousins, and they are okay with it.

Top Sportsman racers Jack Robison and Dylan Stott are two of NHRA Division II's premiere Top Sportsman racers, and for them, they are just carrying on a family tradition.

Robison's cousin is Scotty Cannon, the six-time Pro Modified champion, and an iconic figure in the early years of the volatile division.

Stott has two cousins with a strong reputation intertwined in Pro Modified's history. He's the cousin of Quain and Mitch Stott, the first brothers to score Pro Modified world championships.

"They definitely paved the way for all of us," Stott admitted. "Definitely got some big shoes to fill."

"I do every day, and I learned a lot from him growing up, watching," added Robison. "Got an education of what to do and what not to do."

Robison has certainly earned his stripes racing successfully around the Upstate of South Carolina behind the wheel of a former Pro Modified 1966 Chevy II formerly owned by Bill Neri, and used to beat his cousin Cannon.

"It beat him once," Robison said with a smile.

Stott has worked his way up the drag racing ladder, first as a Junior Dragster racer and later by winning the 2013 Jeg's All-Star crown as a Top Sportsman racer.

Stott never got the chance to race against his famous cousins, but this hasn't prevented him from wondering what the experience would be like.

"Now that would have been a good time," Stott said. "The three of us ... man, oh man. That’d be pretty awesome."

Robison said he doesn't have to wonder, as he and Cannon raced long before Cannon became one of the most prolific Pro Modified racers ever.

"I was running with second-hand junk, and I could say probably one of the few things few people around our neighborhood could say, I have beat Scotty Cannon," Robison said with a smile. One time, but I beat him."

 "I guess it isn't so bad living in their shadows," Stott admitted. "But, you know, it’s still pretty neat."  

BO-JEC CITY - Suppose you own a multi-national company that manufactures racing parts. You need a way to test said parts prior to sale. What do you do?

If you're John Bojec, you put those parts in your nitro Funny Car, of course.

John Bojec runs Speed City during the week and races his Nitro Funny Car on the weekend as a way to not only research and develop parts, but also as a way to promote his company.

“We have a location in Brisbane, Australia, we have one in Riverside, California, and one in Cleveland, Ohio, and we’ve seen the capabilities of the pro categories in NHRA of how that could help our business,” Bojec explained. “We’re already into racing, we already drove Funny Cars so we said let’s get into pro, we think it will help out our business and I’m telling you, it’s unbelievable how much being out here with this car does for our business. It brings a lot of people to our website.”

Bojec, a former motocross racer, tractor puller, and NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car Nationals winner, knows it can be difficult to compete with teams owning massive budgets, but he doesn't allow this to bother him much.

“Not really because we know where we’re positioned at,” Bojec said. “We know the Forces, the Schumachers, the Kalittas; they have major businesses out here, and you have to identify that and know where you fit. We may not have big, big budgets. We’re surely not for lack of any parts, equipment or staffing, but we’re just limited to how many events we can do.”

Friday evening, Bojec earned his way into the provisional field with a 4.037 elapsed time at 293.22 mph, despite lifting 800 feet into the run.  This monumental performance was the first time he'd ever made it in the field overnight since he began racing nitro last season.

Last weekend in Charlotte, Bojec snagged another milestone in running 300 miles per hour to beat Alexis DeJoria in the first round. This is pretty impressive for a car, he says, has not reached the finish line under power yet.

“This car is starting to run good now,” Bojec said. “We’re running early numbers that are right with those guys. So once we can get to the finish line you probably shouldn’t see a lot of errors.”

 

ANOTHER FIRST TIME WOULD BE FINE - Matt Hagan had never won the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals before breaking through this season. He'd like to get another first and do it this weekend at the AAA NHRA Midwest Nationals.
 
Hagan dropped to fifth in points following a second-round loss last weekend in Charlotte.  
 
“Charlotte was tough,” said Hagan. “When we won the U.S. Nationals we couldn’t do anything wrong. Last weekend we couldn’t do anything right. That’s drag racing. I still don’t think Charlotte defines the way this race car runs and how good this team is. We just struggled from the word go.”
 
Hagan sits 72 points behind leader and Don Schumacher Racing teammate Ron Capps, who has five wins this season, meaning a championship is still well within reach. In Hagan’s march to a title in 2014, the 21-time event winner came back from an 80-point deficit, and a win in St. Louis would go a long way in closing the current gap.
 
“There’s still a lot of racing left to play out and see what happens,” Hagan said. “You just have to put yourself in the right situations and then capitalize. The biggest thing is not missing when you have a chance to capitalize. When those opportunities come, you have to take advantage. A champion is someone who gets excited for these moments.”

 

STAND BY YOUR MAN - Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie Smith hasn't had the year she's wanted on her Victory Motorcycles Gunner, but understands a strategic finish to the season could help her husband and teammate Matt Smith claim a third world championship.
 
"If I can get into the eliminations field and maybe knock out a few people he's battling in the points, then I would be super happy," Angie said. "It would certainly make me feel better about the year as a whole. Drag racing is such a humbling sport, but it's amazing how quickly things can turn around.
 
"The thing that keeps me going is to see how hard Matt works on both of our bikes and how much effort our crew puts into every round with no complaining or whining. These guys are pros, and that motivates me, even more, to ride hard."
 
"I just want to help the cause. I'm ready for St. Louis. I'm going to take this one race at a time and do all I can to help Matt."

AUSSIE MAKING STRONG RECOVERY - Phil Lamattina went for the ride of his life June 6, 2015. Unfortunately for the veteran Australian Top Fuel driver, it was also the last time he's driven his 300-mile per hour Top Fuel dragster.

Lamattina crashed during qualifying at the Australian National Drag Racing Association's Winter Nationals at Willowbank Raceway, and the impact appeared almost a carbon copy of the same one Larry Dixon experienced last season at the NHRA Gatornationals.

Lamattina crushed the L3 vertebra, which was replaced. Doctors implanted two rods to support the newly replaced area. He also experienced a fracture of the T6, which is between the shoulder blades.

Lamattina was in the Rapisarda International team's pits at the AAA NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis supporting fellow Aussie driver Wayne Newby.

"I’m feeling okay," said Lamattina. "If I don’t overdo it, I’m fine. You know if you do something a little bit silly, I just, I classify myself as I’ve just got a bit of a sore back. I’ve just got to look after it. Apart from that, I’m okay."

Lamattina admits he rarely thinks about the accident and doesn't totally rule out a return to driving one day.

"If I stick around here, I think I might," Lamattina admitted. "But if I stay away I think I should be fine. Being here yesterday and today has sort of ignited it."

Lamattina understands drag racing is an addiction which never truly leaves the heart of a drag racer.

"Yeah, you could say that," Lamattina said. "I think what ends up happening is you’re not distracted by something else, filling that time, you’ll always continue to think about it. But I’ve sort of kept myself busy with the family and doing the other sporting stuff back at home. And sort of that’s filled the void. Yeah, sort of like coming back here now, that’s what opens that book back up again."

BEARD HONORED - Lee Beard, an NHRA world championship crew chief and team manager, can now add another line to his ever-impressive resume.

Beard, a native of Pueblo, Colo., will be inducted into the Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame Oct. 12. The ceremony will take place at the Vehicle Vault in Parker, Colo.

Also being inducted in the 2016 Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame are Chris “Spiffy” Leaf, Clarence Krieger, Darrell Smith, Davey Durelle, Don Hackenberg, Harold “HJ” Evans, Jerry Robertson, Odie Robertson, and Scott Backman.

Beard, a graduate of Pueblo (Colo.) Central High School, was introduced to the sport of drag racing from his former industrial arts teacher at Central, Ed Renck.

Renck won over 45 races all over the country from 1967-83. He won NHRA’s Division V Top Fuel Championship in 1970 and was second in Division V in the same class in 1972 and 1978.

Additionally, Renck qualified No. 1 at NHRA’s 1972 World Finals at Ontario, Calif., in Top Fuel.

Using that tutelage as a springboard, Beard went on to carve his own path in NHRA as a crew chief and he became one of the best in the business. During his decorated career he has amassed 55 NHRA national event wins with 12 different drivers in Top Fuel and Funny Car. Beard tuned the late Gary Ormsby to a Top Fuel title in 1989.

Beard guided his 13th different driver to a win when he tuned Larry Dixon to a Top Fuel victory this past June at the City of Ipswich Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway in Australia, the final stop on the inaugural Thunder 400 tour.

In 1992, Beard won a world championship as team manager when Cruz Pedregon captured the nitro Funny Car title while driving for Larry Minor. He also was the team manager at Don Schumacher Racing when Tony Schumacher was the Top Fuel champ in 2009.

Beard retired as a crew chief on Oct. 6, 2013, following a short stint guiding Steve Torrence’s Top Fuel team. His last win as an NHRA crew chief came with Torrence at Bristol, Tenn., in 2013.

In 2014, Beard and his firm Lee Beard Racing Inc. was used as an outside consulting firm for the NHRA.

Beard did come out of retirement this year, first at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., in August assisting Cruz Pedregon in getting his troubled Snap-On Tools Funny Car back on the right track. Then, he served as a consultant for Bruce Litton on the Top Fuel dragster Litton drove at the U.S. Nationals earlier this month in Indianapolis.

 

 

 

THE KB WATCH - Greg Anderson qualified third with a 6.605 at 209.07 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. The seven-time 2016 event winner will go heads up with Alan Prusiensky in the first round.

Bo Butner, who has four runner-up finishes this season in his Jim Butner Auto Chevy Camaro, is second with a 6.605 at 209.17. Butner is fourth in points and will meet Mark Hogan Sunday morning.

Pro Stock points leader Jason Line is qualified sixth and will go heads-up with back-to-back and reigning world champion Erica Enders.

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT UNDER THE ARCH

HOW HIGHT FOUND HIS GROOVE - When you have a crew chief with the calm demeanor of Mike Neff, throwing a wrench or helmet, or a first-class temper-tantrum isn't the most advised action to deal with frustration.

Don't think the frustration hadn't reached that point for Robert Hight, but for the 2009 NHRA champion his faith in Neff far outweighed his frustration with an engine more inconsistent than a weatherman.

"We changed everything on that car but the driver," Hight admitted, an hour after he drove his Auto Club of Southern California-sponsored Camaro Funny Car to the provisional low qualifying position Friday at the AAA NHRA Midwest Nationals.

"You see Courtney’s car out there doing so well, and basically it’s got the same tune-up as mine, you know it’s kind of puzzling, but yet you know it’s there," Hight said. "You don’t give up, you keep digging, keep working, and you get it. But I think it also proves that you can’t make three Funny Cars the same. They’re all different, different drivers, everything’s different. It’s pretty hard to make three cars really even."

Those changes came after the NHRA U.S. Nationals engine explosion which turned one of the two new Camaro bodies into carbon fiber confetti. The damage to the body was the least of the issues the fiery incident caused.

From that point, Hight couldn't get his engine to repeat.

Hight and Neff spent the Monday after the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway making lap after lap in an effort to make the car's engine combination to repeat. For instance, Hight could have run a 3.91, and then smoked the tires twice, only to return with another 3.91.

When Hight made three consecutive competitive runs, He and the team loaded up the car in the hauler and headed for St. Louis.

The crew rolled the temperamental car out of the hauler, and it immediately went to the top in Q-1 with a 3.941, 325.61. He returned in the final session of the day and maintained the top spot with a 3.893 elapsed time at 328.38 miles per hour.

What was the problem? The new chassis they built before Charlotte? The body? Neither. Without giving the intimate details, Hight confirmed the problem was one of horsepower.

"This was a big day for us," Hight said. "It’s only one day. But, you know, when you test on Monday, and it was only us and John, it’s hard to judge your performance and gauge where you are because you don’t have other cars there. You don’t really know until you go to the next race, and you’ve got other cars. To go out there and be No. 1 two runs in a row today with all that we’ve changed on this car, it just shows how good my team is. Those guys have worked their butts off."

Don't think for a moment Hight was alone in his frustration.

"I guess it was kind of a deal where Mike Neff just realized that it’s do or die," Hight said. "We kinda dug ourselves a hole in Charlotte. We need to come out here and really perform and try to get right back in this thing. And the six points today, that will definitely help."

LEARNING THE LESSON - You would have thought the Top Fuel teams would have paid attention to what happened in the Funny Car championship chase last season. Flying largely under the radar, the DHL Funny Car driven by Del Worsham ran the table in the Countdown and drove his way to a championship.

Richie Crampton is hoping for a measure of the same magic.

Friday evening in St. Louis, he provided an object lesson of how the Lucas Oil team can sneak up on the competition as he drove to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 3.733 elapsed time at 323.50 MPH.

Crampton would like to think he could pull a Worsham this season.

"I think the Top Fuel field knows what Aaron Brooks and my team are capable of, but we’ve stumbled a lot this year," Crampton said. "I think they take us a little lighter than they did last year, when we finished number three in the championship and won five races. We’ve only been to one final round this year, so I think if we get our race car back like we know Aaron Brooks can run one, we might catch a lot of them by surprise. And no better time to do it than these last five races."

The largest issue plaguing the team? That's anybody's guess, at least this is how Crampton sees it.

"We haven’t been able to put our finger on it," Crampton admitted. "We’re using a new tire this year, but ironically, we tested that tire in Indy last year, so we’ve never had any problem with it. I’m sure that’s not the problem. But that’s the only change that we can figure we have this year in 2016. So, we’ve been through everything from clutch parts, clutch discs, the way we run our motor. I mean Aaron, I think he’s got grayer by the week this year. It’s just making everyone tear their hair out."

Don't let Charlotte's early exit fool you; Crampton believes this team got their mulligan out of the way early.

"We know we’re a good team," Crampton said. "We know we’re a contender. But it just didn’t go our way. That’s kind of what we said after Charlotte. We had an unfortunate mishap there and it cost us first round, but that’s going to happen from time to time. It’s just every round that we run from here on out is just so much more important to us.

"We’re just trying to keep our focus, and that falls in line with knowing we have the confidence in ourselves to be able to go out and win races.

THE KB ROPE-A-DOPE CONTINUES - Greg Anderson took the qualifying lead in Pro Stock with a 6.607 at 209.30 in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevy Camaro. Anderson, second in points, has six No. 1 qualifiers this year and 86 in his career. He posted a runner-up finish last weekend in Charlotte to open the Countdown and has notched seven wins this season. Anderson is a four-time Pro Stock world champion.
 
“We were right on the money and then we got the big weather swing tonight when the sun was hiding behind the clouds,” said Anderson, who won this event in 2004. “We hadn’t run a nice session like this for quite a while so we were ready to come on up here and make some minor changes from the first run today and then we got the delay and that changed everything. You’ve got to race the conditions you have and I know this isn’t going to matter for Sunday, but that position on the ladder might matter come Sunday. The good news is we’ve got a great set up for both a hot track and for when the sun goes down.”

NO COINCIDENCE - In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Chip Ellis rode his Pirana Z / Pippin Motorsports Buell to a 6.850 at 196.53 to earn the qualifying lead. Ellis, who won last weekend in Charlotte and moved up to second in points, has 16 No. 1 qualifiers in his career and is two sessions away from his first in 2016. Ellis won this event in 2006 and finished a career-high third in points in 2007.
 
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Ellis. “This last week, we’ve just kept pinching ourselves to see if this has really happened. To come and do as well as we have so far and go low both rounds today, I’m just excited for our team. For me, it’s exciting, but for our team, I’m really excited for these guys. We work really hard, and we’re a small team.”

PAYNE CRASHES - Jay Payne, Claremont, Calif., a racer in the J&A Service NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series was involved in an incident during round two of qualifying for their portion of the AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals. Payne’s Camaro went out of control near the finish line and made contact retaining wall before coming to a stop.

Payne was alert, exited the car on his own power and responsive to commands from the NHRA Safety Safari.

THE KEY TO WINNING IT ALL - Robert Hight won the NHRA Funny Car title in 2009 as the tenth seeded driver, winning the opening race in Countdown and adding two more despite losing in the first round at St. Louis. Hight bowed out of competition last weekend in the second round.

“I think if you can average semifinal finishes throughout the Countdown you should be in a position to have a shot at the championship when we roll into Pomona for the Auto Club Finals,"We tested on Monday (in Charlotte) and made some really quick runs in the heat and cooler conditions."

Hight has one win to his credit this season, capturing the title at the NHRA Gatornationals. He also raced to the final round of the lucrative $100,000 to win Traxxas Nitro Shootout.

“We turned a corner I think around the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals," Hight explained. "We ran well in the Traxxas Shootout and lost a close race to Courtney (Force). We made it to the second round of the race the next day before losing to (Matt) Hagan and he went on to win the race. We just need to string together some good runs on Friday of qualifying so we start at the top of the field and then we need to string together four good runs on Sunday. I know we can do it and we can start in St Louis."

UNCHARTED TERRITORY - With five races left in the season Hight is also looking to maintain an unprecedented streak of winning at least two races every year since 2005. No professional driver has started their career with a level of success and winning consistency like that. For Hight, though the wins don’t mean a lot without the championship.

“I have said it before but I want to have a dominant race car," Hight explained. "I worked on John Force’s Funny Cars in the 90s and you won’t see that kind of sustained performance dominance again but I think you can get it right and win a lot of races. There are five races left in this Countdown and we need to start getting round wins so we can get that second championship and 19th for John Force Racing. Everyone in this pit is just focusing on that."

 

SHIFTING THE SCHEDULE - NHRA officials were forced to adjust the Friday evening schedule when the Pro Modified crash wreaked havoc on the original timetable. With live television coming up at 7 PM, the Pro Stock classes were pushed back and Q2 opened with Funny Car followed by Top Fuel. The Pro Stock divisions, four wheel and two wheel, concluded under the lights.
 

 

 

 

NO REST - Jason Line won last weekend's NHRA Carolina Nationals and Greg Anderson was runner-up after qualifying No. 1. On Monday morning, the victory was forgotten as the KB Racing team rolled out their cars for an extensive test session.
 
“We have three races in a row and not a lot of time to test," Line said.  "That was a golden opportunity since we live there. It’s close, convenient and we won’t have a chance after two or three races to get testing in,” said Greg Anderson“The competition right now is really close. We’re hoping to gain a performance edge going into St. Louis.”
 
Line has eight wins this season and Anderson has seven. With only five races left, both drivers want to finish strong and win the NHRA Pro Stock Championship.
 
“We have run well all year and the first part of the season we were faster than the other cars," Line said. "To not win the championship would certainly hurt. This is a team effort. I want to win and I’ll be happy if Greg or Bo (Butner) wins.”

CHALLENGES A PLENTY - Brandon Welch made his NHRA Funny Car debut at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last fall. Since then, things have been a little challenging.

“I think the competition in Funny Car has been a gut check for us,” Welch admitted. “Never before has there been more amazing competition in this class. I mean, you have guys that are part-timers that are running 3s consistently.

“So, I think what we realized is that where we have to grow is with the data and making runs in the car. But every lap down the track we learn something and we get better.”

The grandson of former Top Alcohol national event winner Chuck Beal, Welch said he has every intention of eventually racing Funny Cars full time. The San Diego native looks at one of this weekend’s hometown racers as an inspiration.

“We want to be a professional team,” Welch said. “I would like to be a team on caliber with Tim Wilkerson. You know, that only took him 15 to 20 years to get to that point. But he’s as good as anybody out here and he’s a single car team, and he does an amazing job. So, our goal over time is to do that.”

With any occupation, it’s all about experience. Beal Racing has only been to five NHRA events this season, including this weekend’s race at Gateway, but the data they have received from their car is good and provides a solid foundation.

“The tune-up is more consistent which comes with data, and all of that comes with laps,” he said. “So, we don’t know if that’s going to be a two or three-year process to get full-time, or if we’re going to be able to do that in one or two years.”

Welch credits his education, including an MBA in Business, with creating an environment within the team of success, especially with sponsors.

“I think that has been my number-one strength,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any reason why a sponsor of the caliber of Auto Anything signs with a team that really hasn’t been competing in years that wants to go part-time to start unless there’s a pretty compelling person out front.

“That’s exciting for sponsors, but to get that in a package of a racer, that I believe, having worked on the race car for 15 years, and I believe I’m authentic as a mechanical racer as well. So, all of that contributes to the package. It’s all just tools in the tool box.”

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A SEASON MAKES - Erica Enders says there is no quit in her pits following a non-qualifying performance last week in Charlotte. Last year Enders was in the midst of a championship defense and drove her way to a runner-up finish at this race.

This year, not so much as Enders team limped into St. Louis following the subpar end result.
 
"Same engine builders, same crew, same owner, just different results," Enders said. "It's been frustrating but at the same time, we've learned a lot about ourselves as a group. The last few years we always said, 'Teamwork makes the dream work,' and it was so appropriate for the way things were going at the time.
 
"This year, as it's gone along and we haven't found the success we were expecting, our little saying has turned into, 'No quit in this pit,' and once again it's absolutely true. You find out what people are really made of when things aren't perfect. When you're winning, it's easy to jump on board. This year, character has been revealed, and this team of guys has more than any group I've ever come across."
 
There are many reasons for excuses considering the team got a late start on developing their electronic fuel injection as well as a switch of manufacturers.
 
"Just like there's no quit in this pit, there are no excuses either," Enders said. "Other teams have figured out the fuel injection better than we have, so it can be done. We'll get there ourselves; it's just taking longer than we thought.
 
"Most of the guys on the team, aside from really important family stuff, haven't taken a day off this whole year. No one is happy with our performance, but no one has complained or quit the team to go somewhere else. I think I'm more proud of these guys this year than I have been the two years we won the championships. That's saying a lot."
 
MONEY TALKS - Kyle Wurtzel knows the oldest joke in racing, all too well.

How do you make a small fortune at the track?

Answer: Start with a large one.

Wurtzel, a financial planner in his “real” life, pilots a Top Fueler dragster when he’s not crunching numbers at Northwestern Financial. He’s been racing about 12 years now and recognizes that maybe he should’ve started smaller when he entered the sport.

“Built a Nostalgia Nitro Funny Car,” Wurtzel said. “Kinda screwed myself from the beginning, because I started with nitro. We wanted to run faster and eventually move up, so that’s kinda what we worked towards. And, just enjoy it.”

Wurtzel’s enjoying it at Gateway this weekend, laying down a strong 3.89-second pass in Friday’s evening session. The pass, on a hot, grimy track, is a foundation for this weekend, his fourth NHRA race of the season.

Their first event of the year was Atlanta, which started off strong. The following race at Bristol? Not so much.

“Went to Atlanta and ran our personal best with a 3.85,” Wurtzel said. “And then all the parts looked beautiful, and we went to the next race and some gremlin snuck in the motor and hurt us a little bit in Bristol.

“We’ve kinda regrouped since then with Chicago. Chicago parts looked good again, and we ran a .86, so we’re hoping for good results this weekend.”

Racers want speed and speed is obtained with cool temps and cloud cover. Neither of those things are in the forecast for this weekend. However, a slick race track evens the field for drivers like Wurtzel, who don’t have the budget several of his opponents boast.

“You look at weather in Charlotte last weekend, that was an ideal event for guys like (Pat) Dakin going rounds,” Wurtzel said. “This weekend looks to be the same weather-wise, so we’re hoping it is. Because we think we can still go out there and run a low .80, and these guys gotta try to back it down enough to do that. So, that’s their challenge.”

Races may be, for the most part, won by the team with the deepest coffers; but the sport is built on the backs of independent racers like Wurtzel, who knows exactly what they’re getting into.

“I mean, we know what we’re getting ourselves into, and we know that we’re here to play with the big boys,” he said. “So, our goal is just do the best we can. We’re working on trying to get a .78, .79 car. We’ll go up there and try to run what we can run, and where the chips fall, the chips fall.”

WELCOME BACK - Sidnei Frigo is racing his third NHRA Pro Mod event since his return from a vicious crash earlier this year at Houston, sidelining him nearly five months. Fields of 30-plus entries have been key in preventing the Brazillian drag racing veteran from reaching the elimination rounds, but this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park could be a different story.

Frigo brought his new Jerry Bickel Corvette to Gateway in August for a quick shakedown at PSCA’s Street Car Super Nationals event here. Three weekends of racing, in addition to having made passes at this track recently, gives him cause to believe he can make the field of 16.

“I think it’s helped a lot,” he said of his racing at Gateway a month ago. “Now I know how the track works, and my crew chief knows a lot about the track, and it’s helped me a lot.

“We’ve had a lot of problems with the car,” Frigo continued. “I found the problem last week, and now I’m having the problem here, but now I think we’re going to be great. It’s very good.”

A hot weekend paired with a slippery track means Frigo is depowering his new ride in an effort to make strong A-to-B passes.

The mental aspect of returning to the driver’s seat after his wreck has also been an issue. While there was no doubt Frigo would race, there are some new steps when preparing to head to the line post-Houston.

“Now, I have more respect for the car,” he said. “Before that crash, I had never wrecked before. Twenty-two years of drag racing and I’d never crashed at all. After the crash, you’re more concerned about everything.” Brandon Mudd

SKILLMAN, A YEAR LATER - Drew Skillman’s first career victory came in St. Louis a season ago in his impressive rookie campaign, also notching wins each of the last two years at the track in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series sportsman ranks. Following a first-round loss during the first race of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, returning to St. Louis could provide just the spark Skillman needs with five races left.
 
“I love that racetrack, and it’s definitely one of my favorites,” said Skillman, who dropped to eighth in Pro Stock points. “We’ve always done really well there, and we’ve been there a bunch, so I’m familiar with it. I know what I’m expecting when I show up there, but we have to have a good next couple races. We have to come out swinging.”
 
Skillman won his second career race recently in Brainerd but has since fallen into a slump at the worst possible time in his Ray Skillman Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro, falling in the first round at back-to-back races.
 
“We’ve gone through everything, picked away at some things, and we’re feeling pretty good," Skillman said. "We’re coming out swinging, and we’ll see what happens. We’re behind the 8-ball a little bit, but it’s time to get after it. We’re going to keep working at it and see how we can finish this thing up.”
 
Skillman joined the Gray Motorsports team midway through the 2016 campaign, making impressive strides capped off by the Brainerd win. But to take a step forward from last season’s finish Skillman knows he has to put together something impressive over the final five races, starting this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park.
 
“It’s been working really well with the Grays,” Skillman said. “We’re going to try to finish strong, test a bunch this winter and be ready to go next year. But it’s better for everything to end the year strong, prove to everyone we still have what it takes.”

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR - Tommy Johnson Jr. made a late-season charge for the NHRA Funny Car title last season but the valiant effort was a day late and a dollar short.

Last year at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis, Johnson and his team, led by crew chief John Collins and assistant Rip Reynolds, qualified fifth but were upset in the opening round.

"Last year, this is the race that cost us the championship," Johnson admitted. "During the Countdown, you cannot have a bad race, and this was one that we had a bad weekend and lost first round."

Last week, Johnson opened with a runner-up finish in Charlotte, a carbon-copy of 2015. Now he's hoping St. Louis presents a different variable in the test.

"I'm very determined to change that result this year," Johnson said. "I know how important one race can be and especially this one. All focus will be set on making sure we continue the momentum that we have. Our goal this weekend is to have a better outcome that last year and to also maintain our shot at a championship."

The margin for error is slim, and Johnson believes there's no room for error.

"We put ourselves in position to make a run for the championship," Johnson said. "We need to make sure all the focus is put forth on doing that this weekend. Another strong performance this weekend in St. Louis would really help our chances toward the championship."

"To have a good weekend in St. Louis would definitely separate the field. There will be a top group and a bottom group. You want to make sure you're in the top group and maintain your status. We want to keep making that charge forward."

RIGHT FOOT FORWARD - Antron Brown has learned the key to winning a Top Fuel championship; win early and win often.

Brown won last weekend at the NHRA Carolina Nationals, successfully defending his event championship. In fact, Brown went on to win the first three races of the 2015 Countdown.

Brown's history at this weekend does not bode well for the competition as he has won the event four times in a row.

"Nobody can relax right now," Brown said. "There’s still five races to go and we have to fight. This Countdown puts a lot of pressure on a lot of teams and a lot of teams step up. You can’t take anybody lightly.”
 
The impetus for Brown's current motivational run was a loss in the U.S. Nationals final round to Tony Schumacher.

“It made all my guys take a look in the mirror,” said Brown. “We said, ‘The Countdown is coming, and all of these races are just like the U.S. Nationals. We’ve got six of them in a row and how do you want to finish the season?’ We put extra effort in and go to work. We put the work in (at Charlotte) and we were fortunate enough to get a win. When the pressure comes you have to push.”