NHRA U.S. NATIONALS - TOP FUEL NOTEBOOK
Keep up with this weekend's Top Fuel action in Indianapolis by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com publisher/editor Bobby Bennett will bring you the stories behind the numbers and win-lights throughout the course of the weekend. Tune in daily for the latest news from the pits.
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MONDAY NOTEBOOK - IT'S INDY THAT'S WHY, THE AJ FACTOR, FULLER'S TOUGH DAY AND A V-6 TOP FUELER
THE INDY PROVING GROUND - Tony Schumacher’s victory represented his sixth Indy win in the last eight years. With today’s triumph, he interestingly moved to tenth on the all-time victories list alongside of Larry Dixon, the driver he beat in the final round.
“I have a great crew chief and teammates that rely on one another,” Schumacher said. “When we get to Indy, there is not fighting or tension. They suck is up when the have to and they get it done.”
Schumacher ran evenly with Dixon until the eighth-mile mark (3.119 to 3.129 elapsed times) before a combination of Alan Johnson horsepower and his opponent’s engine exploded.
THE COUNTDOWN FACTOR – Schumacher now leads the NHRA POWERade points for the first time this season. He’s ahead of Dixon and previous leader Rod Fuller.
“I’m a fan but at the beginning of the season, I probably wasn’t” Schumacher admitted. “So long as at the end of the year they hand me the trophy because you’ve earned it. I don’t want it to be a gift.
“Today was not a gift. It was a hard-earned victory. The trophy means a lot. No matter at the end of the season, if you pull off the victory, and they hand you the trophy – that’s outstanding.”
Schumacher wouldn’t say his personal experience in Reading was a gift, but clearly the format worked in his favor.
“I got spanked first round, went home to test and gained 180 points and moved up some spots,” Schumacher said. “I don’t get it. It’s a strange deal but I understand it. The fans are going to love it.
“It’s not like I came in a said I had an idea to change the system. We didn’t know what we were going to do. If we would have been 180 points behind on the old system, we might not have been trying new things and getting superchargers ready. We would have been trying to win every race.
“At the end of the season, I hope the person who gets it – earns it.”
THE A.J. FACTOR – No one tuner has mastered Indy like Alan Johnson.
“I don’t really think about the importance of Indy,” Johnson said. “I just tune on a race-by-race basis. It’s just a big race to win.”
With all due respect, A.J. cannot expect the readers of Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com to believe this is just another race on the schedule.
“The biggest race is Indy and the more times you win that, the more you prove yourself,” said Johnson. “I guess I do go off to the side when no one is watching and secretly pump my fist and say, ‘Yes!”
Schumacher said he’s amazed with Johnson. He said nothing surprises him any more when it comes to his master tuner.
“He’s unbelievable,” Schumacher said. “He snickers a little bit but he’s very quiet. I know it was serious today for us when he didn’t have golf on the television all day long. He watches that all the time. But with this being Indy, the TV was off. All I could say is ‘wow!”
Schumacher said this event brings out the best in him like Johnson. He said his game plan centers around total focus.
“I had some friends come in and they wanted me to join them downtown for dinner,” Schumacher said. “I took a pass because I’m not here to be a spectator. I am here to win the event.”
Schumacher said at that point, he ate a small meal in his bus and retired for the evening.
“It’s discipline,” Schumacher said. “I just can’t believe it. It’s like betting in Vegas and it keeps on coming up red and sooner or later you know it’s going to be black. But, the red just keep coming. You can’t win this much here. Whatever it is, I wish I could bottle it up and sell it.”
Here’s a tidbit. Either Schumacher or Dixon has won the event for the last eight years.
FOR 400-FEET – Dixon said the car launched hard but after 400-feet his V-8 quickly reduced to a V-6..
“The tires began to break loose then,” Dixon said. “That was just enough for the engine to drop two cylinders. It went down there running on six. This car doesn’t like running on six.”
THE FULLER FACTOR – Hot Rod Fuller entered Reading with a point lead exceeding 180-points. Headed into Indy, that lead dwindled to ten. Today’s semi-final loss to Dixon left him in third trailing Schumacher by three points.
In all three of Fuller’s elimination rounds, he raced a Countdown to the Championship contestant. That’s the way he preferred to do battle.
“I like controlling my own destiny,” Fuller said. “I’d rather do that than worry about someone else having to win a race for us. The best person to take care of our dirty work is us.”
After qualifying sixth for the first time this season with a 4.524-second blast on Friday evening under the lights at O.R.P., the Las Vegas racer edged Doug Herbert and Bob Vandergriff, Jr., to reach the semifinals.
SMART RACING – Melanie Troxel enjoyed a great day of racing with a semi-final finish.
“I think we made some really smart runs today,” said Troxel. “We didn’t’ go up there trying to run an unreasonable number against Schumacher. There was not anyway we could have run that quickly in the right lane and we still gave them a pretty good race. It did spin the tires hard further down the track, but we would have been there if something had happened to their car. We made a race out of it and we didn’t smoke the tires at the hit of the throttle. I think our crew did a great job at this race. It’s still disappointing because we all wanted to win Indy. We had a good car today and in a few hours, I think we will all agree it was a good weekend for us. It’s still too close after the round, so it still stings a little bit. We’re happy and feeling confident ready to head to Memphis.”
Troxel moved up to ninth in the NHRA POWERade points standings with her additional three rounds of Monday racing in accumulating the sum of 841 points.
RE-UPPING – Doug Kuch will return in 2008 as crew chief for the Foley & Lewis Top Fuel dragster.
“Having already announced our plans to run the entire NHRA POWERade tour in 2008, it was our purpose to assure our team stay together,” driver Doug Foley said. “We owe a lot of our success to them as a whole and Doug Kuch is a big reason for that.”
Kuch has proven a perfect fit for the team and tuning Foley to a career best elapsed time of 4.527-seconds.
“All of our guys have done a great job this year. Doug (Kuch) has been our crew chief since we started in Top Fuel in 2004 and both Doug (Foley) and I are happy to have him back for another year,” said team co-owner Tim Lewis said. “It will definitely allow us to continue on the course we’re on, with our goal being a part of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship in 2008.”
FENDING
OFF AN ARMY - Clay
Millican was able to hold off all non-qualified Top Fuel dragsters to keep his
No. 16 starting berth for Monday’s Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, but he was unable
to hold off the charge of Tony Schumacher and the Army dragster in the first
round.
Millican left the starting line first – .036-seconds to .078 – but Schumacher
ran him down with a winning elapsed time of 4.546 seconds at 324.59 mph to the
RATT – Back for More Tour’s 4.643 at 325.77.
“We had a great race car all weekend – even with all the changes we made,” said
Millican. “Usually you want to take baby steps when you make the kind of
changes we did, but Johnny (West, team crew chief) took giant leaps. Now we can
begin taking small steps again.
“We ran well and our slowest mile an hour in five laps was 324.67 mph, even in
the heat of the day.”
The other speeds were 327.74, 326.95, 326.56 and 325.77 mph.
“We’re happy and look forward to going home – and racing at home,” added
Millican, who resides in Drummonds, Tenn., not far from Memphis Motorsports
Park, site of the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals, Sept. 12-14.
LAST IN, FIRST OUT – Doug Herbert’s march to earn a berth in the Countdown to the Championship field was heroic. The Snap-on Tools-sponsored driver earned the final spot by winning the last round of the last race.
Herbert got to be the first today. He was the first to lose a head-to-head battle amongst the Countdown runners.
“We haven’t figured out how to make it down the track on all eight cylinders,” said Herbert. “We will have it figured out by the time we head to Memphis.
“Once we do that, there is no stopping us. We want to win the championship.”
SMOKIN’ – David Grubnic fell to Brandon Bernstein in the first round.
Grubnic grabbed a slight .004-second advantage on the starting line, but by 100 feet Bernstein began pulling away when the big rear tires on the Zantrex-3 machine started losing valuable traction and started emitting the ever-dreaded tire smoke. Bernstein established low elapsed time of the round with a 4.525 elapsed time at 324.90 mph.
“I really did not expect that,” Grubnic said. “Our car has been running really well and the last thing I expected it to do today was smoke the tires. The track evidently was not quite as good as we thought.
“I’m really encouraged with the way our car has been performing lately, so we’ll just get everything together and try to go win in Memphis (next event).”
NOT BAD AT ALL – T.J. Zizzo entered Indy from deep in left field. While that may seem like an odd analogy, he said that was the best way to describe his transition from an IHRA 90% nitro percentage to the NHRA’s mandated 85%.
The fact Zizzo qualified represented a major personal victory. That eased the sting of a first round foul start.
"I knew I went red and clicked it a little early," Zizzo said. "That was maybe a .63 run and I knew I needed to push the tree a little. As it turns out it looks like I would have needed a perfect tree to have a shot at it (the round win).""It was a good weekend," Zizzo continued. "We learned a lot. The last time we came to Indy flying the Peak banner we ran over every engine part we had. This time we made six passes and didn't hurt a thing and made a good showing for Peak, O'Reilly, Herculiner, Race News Magazine, HTP and Champion Packaging." Zizzo Racing was also honored at the race when they received the "Best Appearing Crew" award.
"Thank God for my dad (team owner Tony Zizzo)," TJ said. "He could have easily quit this a long time ago."
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - TWO OUT OF EIGHT DNQ; LAHAIE'S INTERUPTED RETIREMENT; MORGAN LUCAS WEIGHS IN AND CORY MAC'S DOUBLE EDGED SWORD
DON'T COUNT THEM OUT - Tony Schumacher concluded Top Fuel qualifying on top thanks to his rapid effort during the Friday evening session.
With the point totals reset for the second phase of the Countdown to the Championship, Schumacher’s 184-point deficit was reduced to 10. By landing five spots in the qualifying order ahead of leader Rod Fuller, that number is reduced to 5 points.
Two of the top eight 2007 point earners failed to make the cut -- (#5) J.R. Todd and (#7) Whit Bazemore.
Schumacher said the DNQ is not likely put a burden on their championship aspirations.
“This season has been so weird that I would hesitate to say that,” Schumacher said. “In years past, I might have said yes. This year every single Funny Car in the top eight missed the cut at least once. It has almost been that way in Top Fuel.
“There will be some drivers in that top eight that will go out tomorrow in the first round.”
Two of the six Countdown qualifiers – Fuller and Doug Herbert – meet in the first round of eliminations.
THE LAHAIE FACTOR – Dick LaHaie said wrenching a Top Fueler isn’t nearly as fun as being retired but he’s going to see his mission with Team Kalitta through until the ship is righted.
“It’s a lot of work,” LaHaie said. “I look for things being wrong. When you have four cars you are looking over, it’s a never-ending battle. It’s a lot bigger task than it used to be.
“2005 was the last year I wanted to do this. There are a lot of friendships involved with the Kalittas. I want to see them run well and then maybe I can step away.”
LaHaie said finding the problems that took the once championship team out of the hunt is a difficult proposition. He said time will be the key to getting everything in order.“It’s something that took a little bit of time to get off key,” LaHaie said. “To get it back on base is going to take a little while. It’s starting to show some promise.”
LaHaie wouldn’t pinpoint the problems related to the Kalitta Top Fuelers citing a wide range of potential problems.
“It wasn’t any one particular problem,” LaHaie said. “There are a lot of little things. Things change as they go along. The human nature says to do the same thing and make it right. When the same thing doesn’t work, then you need to change things. The biggest thing is making changes.
“You change the clutch and then you have to change three other things. Then you start changing other things and come to find out those were not the things you needed to change. It snowballs. It’s a never-ending battle.”
SKYTEL MIGHT BE THE LIMIT? – You never get a second chance to leave a first impression. For Larry Dixon, scoring a personal best elapsed time in a new car has a lasting impression.
“It’s more critical in a Funny Car because of the balance of things,” Dixon said. “It’s important from left to right, front to back. You can drive these cars when it bends and when the front tire gets knocked off of them. They are pretty forgiving as long as the wing is straight.
“We have six races to get this done and we don’t want to leave anything on the table.”
Dixon said his future in the sport is clouded at this moment with the uncertainty surrounding Skytel’s involvement beyond the 2007 season.
“I have no idea on that stuff but Snake says we will be just fine,” Dixon said. “My contract option runs out October 1, so I am sure I will find out soon. Thirty-days from now I will know what my plan is for the future.”
Dixon confirmed the Skytel sponsorship was a one-year deal.
We asked Dixon if he felt Prudhomme would run the car without a sponsor in 2008 as was speculated for 2007 prior to the announcement of Skytel.
“Would you run a website with no sponsors?” he asked.
“Don Prudhomme has been in business for a long time and we saw him sit out in 1986. When his Funny Car program went from two to one, he didn’t run a Funny Car just for the sake of running one. He runs his business no different that John Force or Kenny Bernstein. This is his business and not a hobby. I understand that and I wouldn’t expect it any different. He’s worked to hard in his life and has gotten some fine things and I wouldn’t want to see him just blow it all for the sake of doing it.”
Dixon has already prepared for his future by investing in real estate in Brownsburg, Indiana, the site of many of today’s nitro teams.
“I had an opportunity to purchase some property,” Dixon said. “I’ve worked in enough shops in the area that I could do something for people that wanted to move in the area that word really well in the area. It has been so far, so good.”
“I see myself not driving a Top Fuel car for the rest of my life and at sometime just want to be able to support my family without having to drive a race car.”
MORGAN LUCAS WEIGHS IN – Morgan Lucas confirmed that he will be driving a Top Fuel dragster for his parents but the second car sponsored by Evan Knoll is up in the air.
“We owe it to the great sponsors like Evan Knoll and Dixie Chopper to keep things going and give them a great season instead of the crappy one we’ve had,” Lucas said. “We’ll chase the points and do it the right way. We have two teams that could actually pursue and finish in the Countdown. We can contend for the championship. That’s a big statement to make, but I think we that have that. I think we have shown that in the last few races. Right now, I can say that I am as excited as I have ever been and having stability is important.
“I am the kind of person that hates not knowing what is going on. My dad is finally starting to come along because of the ups and downs we’ve had. It has been hard for him because of the money he’s got invested. He’s finally stepped in and got more involved. It has shown a difference lately. The more he’s involved means the better this is going to get. The more excited he gets is going to mean the better it is for everyone in the long run.”
Earlier in the weekend, Lucas received a gut-punch with the announcement of teammate Melanie Troxel’s defection to the Funny Car ranks to drive for Mike Ashley’s expanding team.
“Melanie is a big name to replace,” Lucas said. “She is a great driver and she has many positives working in her favor. She has a great attitude.”
So who would be at the top of his wish list as a replacement for the vacated seat? Lucas said he has some candidates in mind but it all depends on the involvement of sponsor Evan Knoll.
“My buddy J.R. Todd isn’t sure what he’s doing. I’d like to be able to help him,” Lucas said. “There are guys like Spencer Massey, Sean Langdon and lots of other racers who want to improve themselves and would be a good fit for the situation. There are some real marketable people out there. There are some talented female racers out there too.
“Evan is the one that will have to make that decision. It’s his money going into that car and we need to represent that Vietnam Veterans/POW-MIA car the best we can. I think there are a lot of ways to do that. I just think we need to sit down and hash it all out. I’m sure there will be a lot of resumes coming my way.”
Lucas said he may compete in the Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster division, but he can’t help but evaluate talent because of his role as a team manager.
“You always have to keep your eyes open,” Lucas said. “I have been lax in a lot of areas and I plan on doing a lot of revamping for next year. Things can really get hectic and crazy if you don’t have the right personnel. You have to build a good support system just like anything else. It’s like a family, you have to have a great and supportive spouse and in my case, supportive parents. You have to approach it like a big family. I have a lot of great people. There’s a lot of areas that could use some help. We’re going to make that a priority this winter.”
Lucas said that managing the team was a major undertaking for him. He said his limited business experience made it like a sink or swim scenario.
“I knew going into the deal that I was going to be over my head,” said Lucas. “I didn’t have a lot of business experience. There were a few of the negative keyboard crew chiefs that never had many positive things to say. I always did my best to look past what those people say.
“I’m learning and making steps in the right direction with my personal life and how to be stern in decision-making. The perfect example is Latrell Preston, C.F.O. of Torco Race Fuels and how he handles things. He’s a busy guy but he still gets the job done. He treats people with great respect and class. You just have to make the tough decisions and live with them.
“Some things have been right and some things have been wrong. Those things are in the past and we are looking toward the future and moving on.”
Lucas said the recent Reading situation was a stressful one for him.
“From a team owner’s standpoint, stepping aside was the smart business move we needed to make,” Lucas said. “There were a lot of things on the table and I spoke with the crew chiefs and put it on the table. I tried to give my crew a heads-up about what might happen. I talked to them and they said they wanted a heads-up race. They both agreed that if they couldn’t win, they didn’t deserve to be there. It was a situation where I was damned if I do or damned if I don’t.”
Lucas said he made the final decision based on what he felt his fallen friend Eric Medlen would have done. Medlen was killed in a testing accident in March.
“I have always tried to adopt the spirit of Eric Medlen and what would he do in a situation like that,” Lucas said. “You want to talk about a guy that was always honest and straight up when it came to doing the right thing. It was him. The more I can live like him, the better I will be. One day I will be in Heaven with God and Eric.
“That’s a great statement to make and I’m not there yet, but I am working on it. One of these days I can be half the person he was.”
Lucas said that he’s using his experience in day-to-day life to find a better baseline. He said he’s taking advice to remain calm in high stress situations. For him, keeping his mind at an idle – or 500 rpm as he says – is what works for him.
“You know we have all kinds of advisors on the race cars, but one of the things I cherish the most is my spiritual advisor that brings me Bible verses and explains things in a simple sense to me,” Lucas said. “It just enables me to keep my head in check when it gets tough out there. I am blessed to have a great support system.”
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN – Cory McClenathan said he knows a coin has two sides. He’s discovered both of them as a veteran driver and fledgling team owner.
McClenathan said he’s experienced both sides of the frustration starting with a driving miscue during Friday qualifying in Indy. For him, accidentally shutting off the car was the tip of the hat in what has been an extremely stressful month.
McClenathan’s temper redlined after the incident. He said he chewed the man most responsible for the snafu – the man in the mirror.
“It’s difficult, frustrating and at the same time very good because at least I know what my destiny is,” McClenathan said. “The thing I find myself doing is remaining so busy with the other tasks that I make mistakes. Friday was a perfect example. You’re here in Indy. Best air … best conditions, the one you have looked forward to all night all year. What do I do? I go up there and as I backing up, I go to reset the clutch and accidentally hit the trigger switch. There was no one to blame but myself.
“All I could do is sit there and question myself and my actions. I was just being clumsy. It was one switch that I reached over to hit and accidentally hit one next to it. I feel bad for the guys, the sponsors and Keith Adams and Tony Shortall – for all of the work they put into the car. It’s very hard.”
McClenathan said he went back to the trailer and didn’t want to eat and remained angry at himself.
“I am my worst critic,” McClenathan said. “I came in the next morning and I was embarrassed.”
McClenathan called a team meeting and he said that he apologized to everyone for his shortcomings.
“We are a team and we did that because we are a team,” McClenathan said. “That part of it makes me understand why I am where I am today. I haven’t had that all year long or the year before. I actually have guys that care about what goes on here. They appreciate the way that I treat them. That’s what makes this a good team.”
SACRIFICING HIS FUTURE? - McClenathan is quickly discovering the nuances of financing a competitive Top Fuel operation. He abandoned the Scott Griffin Motorsports operation to branch out on his own following Sonoma.
“Doing a lease program is definitely a harder way to go,” McClenathan said. “I am hoping that changes with the future. I can grow as a part of DSR as well as myself as a team owner. You almost feel like you’re in a lease-to-buy situation like with a house.”
McClenathan said he tends to make more of his decisions with the wallet than the foot.
“I am still driving with my pocketbook and I am careful with what I do and how I drive it. Everyone tells me I have to get away from that. Believe me when it comes to Sunday morning and we have to stand on the gas, I have always been one of the guys who says to never lift. That’s how I am going to do it.
“I do find myself being thrifty in certain areas where I wouldn’t have normally been if it was somebody else’s and I wasn’t running the deal. As far as the future it looks bright.”
McClenathan said he’s working on a two-year extension with primary sponsor Fram as well as his other associate backers.
“Everybody that came with me has been awesome,” McClenathan said. “My biggest regret in the whole deal was in losing Torco Race Fuels in the process because of things happening prior to this. Evan Knoll and Latrell Preston were always great to me. We still talk and it’s not like we have a bad relationship. I would to try and bring them back in the future.
“I think Evan Knoll is a big part of the future of drag racing. He wants to be here and he enjoys the people. I enjoyed having him on our car. Part of the nature of this sport is that people come and go, but I know Evan is going to be here a long time. I know that things that happened in the early part of the season is why he isn’t here now.
“That is the only part of the puzzle that I haven’t been able to fix. I am one of those people that like taking care of those who took care of me and Evan took care of me throughout the last few years. I want to rectify that situation.”
One has to give McClenathan an “A” for honesty when admitting he has a problem with micromanaging in his new role.
“I enjoy working with the sponsors but I will admit more micromanaging than I did in the past,” McClenathan said. ‘I do have the right people in place to take care of that. I will be able to separate myself from that and get back to looking for sponsors and taking car of those on there now.”
McClenathan said he’s careful of the future financial quality of his life in maintaining his drag racing driving career.
“I think we have to operate on the margin of caution,” McClenathan said. “I don’t want to overspend, not do I want to under-spend. I have to find a happy medium in there somewhere.”
McClenathan said that he’s one major associate away from being where he’d like to be in the budget.
“That would put me over that hump where I could buy the best of everything, every time,” McClenathan said. “That’s not to say I don’t have the best of everything now, I just don’t have as much. When I get to that point, I can go out there and drive it a little hard and even tune it a little harder.
“My crew chiefs can try new things. Right now we have everything at our hands as far as testing – a clutch dyno, a testing dyno and I am able to utilize things I haven’t had before. It’s just being up in that top five that opens up the opportunities.”
WE MADE IT! – Please excuse Clay Millican if he takes the time to exhale. He had the kind of week that would make an average man puzzled.
Those who know Millican find it believable that he survived by rolling with the punches.
Team owner Evan Knoll released nearly decade-long Millican crew chief Mike Kloeber in the weekend leading up to Indy and assigned the position to longtime journeyman Johnny West.
West and Millican haven’t missed a beat despite trying circumstances.
“I am really surprised and happy where we are at now,” Millican said.
Millican said they made wholesale changes to the combination previous established by Kloeber.
“We had to put a whole new fuel system on the car,” Millican said. “We had no testing under our belts headed into the weekend and for as many changes as we had made to the car and to get in, I am just as happy as I can be. The car ran nice and clean.”
Millican ran 327.74 miles per hour on Friday evening. He also laid down a 4.595 elapsed time on Saturday evening to earn a provisional spot in the field.
“We want to find some ET, but for all that has gone on with out car this past week, I was very happy for what the team did with the car,” said Millican. “The biggest change we made was in the slide valve. That is basically the carburetor of superchargers.
“We took a Pete Jackson slide valve off and added an AFT. That Jackson was what Mike had always worked with. We changed it to an AFT and for a shot in the dark I thought it was pretty good.”
Working without Kloeber, his crew chief of many years presented an unusual experience for Millican.
“It was really strange,” Millican said. “What we did together may never be topped. I absolutely love the guy. I have no problem saying It was a whole different situation without Mike there pointing me to stage. Our team came together Friday night and made it happen.
“I will forever have a special place for Mike and we had a great run at it. I have not spoken to Mike since, for no other reason than to let things calm down. I know he will show up at one of these teams soon and he’ll be kicking butt. Sometimes I think you get to a spot where you try really hard and I think he was trying too hard. The team just made a change.
“I have nothing but the utmost of respect for Mike and I will never say anything bad about him. What we did together was incredible.”
Millican qualified 16th for Monday’s eliminations and will race Tony Schumacher in the first round.
MORE CLAY ON TV – Racing reality show fans check your TV Guide. Millican is coming back with another television show with Pink’s producer Rich Christenson.
“I’m going to be doing another drag racing related reality show on Speed Channel,” Millican said. “All of the details are worked out, but we will begin filming towards the end of the season. Rich Christenson and the Speed Channel keep moving forward to promote drag racing. It’s really awesome.”
Just so you know, Millican won’t be blowing anything up this time.
“This is a whole different idea, just drag racing related,” Millican said. “It will feature a well-known drag racing icon.”
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - SCHUMACHER'S PLAN, FULLER NOT A COUNTDOWN FAN, BREAKFAST AT SHIRLEY'S
SHOE STILL TOPS – Tony Schumacher’s Friday night 4.477, 333.66 run remained on top of the
qualifying ladder Saturday. If not for a deep-staging snafu, his 4.494 second
qualifying run today could have been a duplicate of his Friday night pass.
“This run impresses me more than any other,” Schumacher said. “The runs that are closest to what we are going to get on Sunday are what mean the most to me.”
SCHUMACHER’S SCHTICK – Stop us if you’ve heard the story before. Schumacher goes out and struggles in the first part of the season only to come on like gangbusters at the finish.
If you’re wondering what Schumacher’s problem is, he doesn’t have one. He’s following Alan Johnson’s game plan.
“I’d be afraid to see what the points would be if he ran like he knows how to daily,” Schumacher said. “We are always testing stuff. That’s just the way it is. We get down at the end of the year and we use everything we’ve learned in testing. That’s how we do it and it’s a great plan.
“I think if we had one year where we just went out there and raced every race, I don’t know what it would be like. It would be great but the next year would be the tough spot. The key is to stay ahead. The points system – regardless of which format we use, old or new, it’s to your advantage.
“You can win the next season too. We’re not always trying to catch up. We are trying to get ahead for the following year.”
Schumacher said he couldn’t help but notice the new format plays right into the AJ game plan. He even pulled off the feat with the old system in edging Doug Kalitta on the final run.
“I couldn’t have written a better script,” Schumacher said. “It is crunch time and we are good at that.”
“You know this year will be the same. We have proven time and time again that we can work under those conditions. The NHRA has given us those conditions three times in a season. Thank you.”
So what is AJ’s cut-off time?
“It’s different every year,” Schumacher said. “Last year we had a problem with tires. It took us a long time to figure that out. We didn’t have that problem this year. We had other situations we were trying to advance. Every year is different and we have to look at the situation.
“We look at the parts and pieces we are using and what Alan has come up with in developments at his shop. The guy is brilliant. The guys [on the crew] are flawless when they do their job. That makes it easy for Alan to go out and do his job.”
PLAYING TO THE COUNTDOWN – Schumacher heads into the Countdown to Four ranked
second. We asked him if ego presses a driver to go for the top spot when
anywhere in the top eight gets him in the next phase.
“I don’t think so. We’ve talked about it and always want to go in first. That’s especially the case next year. I don’t want to start with a ten-point deficit. I want the ten-point lead. It’s not a game, it is our business. We want to win this championship for the Army and all of the sponsors on that car. We are a great team because we wake up in the morning and it’s not the metal on the shelf, it’s how we get there.
“We understand that. It’s about the pride of earning a championship. That’s why we are going to go out there and give it our best. There are great teams that are going to try and stop us. We wouldn’t want it any other way. We don’t want a give-me. We want it to be hardcore and earned. It will be a great championship trophy.”
THE AJ RUMOR MILL – The rumor mill has been churning overtime lately when it comes to Johnson’s employment with Schumacher for 2008. Does he find himself getting paranoid with all of this banter?
“Not in a million years,” Schumacher said. “Alan is with our team next year and we don’t have any questions about that. That’s just the way it is. And to be honest, I don’t think he’d want to go anywhere else. Every day you get rumors. I could start rumors every day that I am on the radio. If you print it then it’s a rumor.
“It’s one of those things where other teams would love to say that he’s coming over there. But, he’s not. He’s staying right here. This is the best team that he’s ever worked with or been a part of. He loves it. It’s a great place to be. He gets to develop his own stuff and no one bothers him.
“If he goes on someday in the future and does something else, the greatest time in my life has still been in working with him.”
FULLER NOT ENTHUSED WITH COUNTDOWN – “Hot Rod” Fuller has many reasons to dislike the new Countdown to the Championship format. In fact, he’s got 174 of them.
That’s how many points Fuller surrendered when the points were readjusted for the second phase of the championship.
Timing is everything for Fuller and earlier this week, the current point leader announced a marketing partnership for 2008 with CAT. In a sport where marketing value ensures survival of a team, Fuller sees a greater value under the former system.
“You look at a guy like me that has been the No. 1 car all year long and the top car should get the top exposure,” Fuller said. “I didn’t get a lot of exposure because they were concentrating on the six through twelve cars. Now that we are down to eight, the focus is on the Countdown itself.
“There’s a lot of things I like about the Countdown and a lot of things I don’t. They could at least spread it out a bit and talk about the points leader and the guys who are winning races. I’ll be waiting to see how all of this pans out and to see what kind of exposure we get. To see how this second cut-off deal is. I’m not a big fan of this second cut-off deal. I don’t think a championship should be decided on two races.”
Fuller said he sees the Countdown promotions as being more self-serving towards the NHRA more so than the drivers they are entrusted to promote.
“I haven’t seen anything about Hot Rod Fuller leading the Countdown,” Fuller said. “So I lead 17 races? I don’t have much to show for it.”
Fuller said to lose a championship after leading the points for much of the season based on the outcome of two races is not only a tough pill to swallow, but equally difficult to explain to a sponsor.
“The tough part is these are Top Fuel dragsters and they have mechanical parts,” said Fuller. “You have a magneto blow out … lose a spark plug …or have a leak. You can imagine lose a championship over that and that’s a hard thing to take.
“I’m for drag racing and I’m for the fans. If that’s what the drag racing fans want, we’ll win it whatever way they want it.”
BREAKFAST WITH SHIRLEY – Shirley Muldowney admitted an embarrassing
shortcoming on Saturday morning during a breakfast gathering for drag racing’s
female drivers.
“People come up to me and speak and I should know who they are but I don’t,” Muldowney said. “So, I just wing it. I’d smile and then I’d walk away and say, ‘Who was that?”
That happened one too many times for Muldowney. A chance conversation with journalist Susan Wade brought up Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Karen Stoffer’s name.
“I’d really like to meet her,” Muldowney said. “I’m not sure I know too many of the other ladies out here racing. I’m kind of afraid to go up in their pits.”
That’s when Muldowney and Wade planned a breakfast gathering with a few of those members of the female driving community. Muldowney planned to pick up the tab for 10 or so.
However, that ten expanded to twenty, twenty doubled to forty and when the totals reached sixty, that’s when she need a new plan.
Enter Mike Lewis and Don Schumacher Racing. They stepped in and offered to host the breakfast gathering for Muldowney.
The cooks at DSR began preparing the breakfast at 5 AM. The gathering was a total success.
“It went from danish and coffee to strawberry waffles, bacon, eggs, fruit,” said Muldowney as she addressed the group. “You all have a few more pounds on your bike and in your race car today.”
Those in attendance included Stoffer, Angelle Sampey, Ashley Force and Peggy Llewellyn just to name a few.
A legend in her own right, Carol “Bunny” Burkett said she wouldn’t have missed the gathering. Burkett, the self-proclaimed Second Lady of Drag Racing, has raced 42 years and never missed a season despite cancer treatment and surgery. She spoke today.
“It’s my lifeline,” Burkett said of her days in drag racing. “But I could never, ever match what Shirley Muldowney has done and is still doing. She mowed down the trees for all of us.”
Sampey also honored Muldowney.
“You are a very intimidating person,” said Sampey. “We’ve all wanted to meet you just as bad as you’ve wanted to meet us. But for so many years, most of us may have been afraid to approach you. I was really scared to death to meet you because of all the stuff that you have done. You’re so awesome, and we all look up to you.
“But when I saw that you are a regular person like I am, of course we became friends. You’ve got to be the most awesome person I’ve ever met and one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met, as well. Thank you for everything you have done to lead the way because it hasn’t been an easy road for all of us, just like it wasn’t for you. But you did make it easier for us. You are my inspiration my whole life. I wanted to be the next Shirley Muldowney of motorcycles. I hope that I have done you proud, because you are definitely my role model. God bless you and I love you.”
HONORING THE TROOPS – When Hillary Will was notified that her team owner
Ken Black and Evan Knoll had combined for a 
tribute to today’s military
personnel and their families, she said she welcomed the program to express her
gratitude for those who unselfishly give of themselves.
“This feels really good and it’s the least we can do for them,” Will said. “I am very thankful for what our troops do and they work very hard to maintain our freedom, so we can be out here doing what we do. I don’t think I can ever do enough to show my appreciation for what they do for us.
“I am honored to be the driver and spokesperson for this car,” Will said. “I love the way it looks and I think it will look even better once we get it in the winner’s circle. Ken Black and Evan Knoll came together for this. I’m thankful for everything they have done for our sport. That is an added honor for them to be a part of a car the two of them have collaborated on.”
Will said that one doesn’t have to look far to see the extreme challenges before our military and their families.
“I don’t know anyone who is over there but you can help but see everything that is going on,” Will said. “You can’t express enough just how thankful you are for their sacrifice. I sometimes think I have had a day at the race track and my days are not bad days compared to theirs.
BOLD CHANGES – Clay Millican’s crew chief Johnny West made a couple bold changes and that landed Millican a provisional berth in the 16-car Top Fuel field.
"We made changes this weekend that we've ordinarily couldn't do with testing it on non-racing days," said Millican, following his 4.595-second run at 327.74 mph Saturday evening. The time pushed him up into the 16th spot.
"He replaced the entire fuel system and made changes to the clutch and got the results. We're not jumping up and down because we are 16th, but we are happy with the results. We'll be trying to run better tomorrow to get off the bump spot."
90% to 85% –
TJ Zizzo came into the U.S. Nationals with two strikes against him.
Zizzo runs primarily on the IHRA tour where the rules allow a 90% nitro percentage. This weekend he’s had to adjust the combination down to the NHRA’s specs.
“It’s difficult to come into the U.S. Nationals and running 85% when you’ve run 90% all season long,” Zizzo said. “We had to change everything and the engine is different. Without having a chance to go out and do testing prior, it made for a difficult task to bring everything up to speed.”
Dave Settles, Zizzo’s crew chief, said that he is running the blower approximately 10% faster and changed the compression ratio as well as the magneto.
“You have a lot of changes to make in such a short period of time,” Settles said. “We have our work cut out for us.”
Many of the crossover teams run 85% to avoid the problems Zizzo’s Peak Antifreeze-sponsored entry has experienced. Settles said the 90% works best for them.
“It’s a lot easier on parts,” Settles said. “We don’t have a lot of them to go around. We primarily run the IHRA, so we go with what the rules are.”
HELP ME RHONDA – Rhonda Hartman-Smith used to travel ORP in an 8,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragster. Today she makes the rounds in a considerably slower gas-powered golf cart.
“I’m still looking for something to put me back out here to race,” Hartman-Smith said. “Our marketing team is still working on some things. In the meantime [husband] John is out here working and keeping up with the latest things.”
Hartman-Smith has kept busy running nostalgia Funny Car with her dad Virgil Hartman.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Hartman-Smith. “Driving them is different. I haven’t been in one since I was 17. I was so accustomed to fitting in the dragsters and going to a Funny Car is certainly different. Everything is different about it including the way you see out of it.”
Hartman-Smith, now a mother of two (daughter – Megan (9) and son Dylan (2), made the decision to step away from driving almost three seasons ago.
Hartman-Smith said the many demands of motherhood make that role tougher than that of a Top Fuel driver.
“I don’t even know how I did it when Megan was growing up,” Hartman-Smith said. “It would be tough to do it now, but if the right opportunity came around I’d do it.”
Hartman-Smith said she’s won more as a mother than as a driver.
“I think it’s more rewarding to see them grow up,” Hartman-Smith said. “Seeing them go through changes and watching them learn and growing up … there’s nothing like it.”
Hartman-Smith said she’s ready to drive on the tour again but wouldn’t balk at the opportunity to serve as a test driver.
“I don’t mind in what capacity,” said Hartman-Smith. “I love the sport and would love to be back in one way or another. I love driving and wouldn’t mind getting back in a car so I could keep my license current.”
GET WELL ADAM - David Powers Motorsports is accepting donations for fallen crew member Adam Hiller. Hiller was seriously injured in a pit accident Thursday during tech inspections.
Donations for the Adam Hiller Recovery Fund are being accepted at the David Powers Motorsports hospitality area between the Matco Tools and MacAllister CAT teams. The Harley-Davidson display in the Manufacturer’s Midway also is collecting donations to help offset the rising medical costs.
Hiller, 29, from Lincoln, Neb., is in his first season as a crew member on the NHRA team. He joined the Matco Tools team last winter. The former Wyotech student services superchargers on Whit Bazemore’s Matco Tools dragster and currently resides in Brownsburg, Ind. Hiller is scheduled to be released from Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis on Saturday.
“It’s going to take more than facial reconstruction surgery to keep me away from drag racing,” Hiller joked from Methodist Hospital.
Matco Tools kicked off the recovery efforts with a $1,000 donation and NHRA fans at the U.S. Nationals have flocked to both locations to aid in the recover effort. For every dollar raised, Powers has committed to match that amount.
“Adam (Hiller) is a terrific kid and we’ll do everything we can to help in his recovery process,” Powers said. “He is a very important part of our race team and we want to ensure he makes a full recovery and he’ll be welcomed back to the team with open arms. The outpouring of donations and support from the NHRA community and fans has been overwhelming and we thank everyone for their support.”
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - SCHUMACHER TRUCKS AND ERASES POINTS, TROXEL SAYS
ADIOS AND THE UNSINKABLE SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY
AN ARMY OF NUMBER ONE – Tony Schumacher left no doubt of his intentions for the second phase of the NHRA’s championship countdown. The US Army-sponsored driver fired a hot lap salvo with a 4.477 elapsed time at 333.36 miles per hour to secure the provisional No. 1 as well as a speed track record.
“That was for all of the U.S. Army soldiers in the stands,” Schumacher said. “It took us a long time to win last year from the No. 1 spot and we did it here last year. It’s not over yet and we have an awful lot of racing left. That may hold and it may not.”
One couldn’t help but notice the incredible 333.36 that illuminated the ORP scoreboards.
“The second part of this race track is absolutely fantastic,” Schumacher said. “This thing was planted and trucking along.”
From this point on in the weekend, Schumacher plans to focus on improving his qualifying efforts during the sessions that better resemble Monday’s conditions. Believe it or not, Schumacher said it was a blessing to lose early in Reading.
“That enabled me to get out here in Indy and test in the hot conditions,” Schumacher said. “If you want to get beat, that was the perfect time. The qualifying session that will be the most important to us will be the one that best resembles what we are going to have on Monday.”
QUANTUM LEAP – Schumacher said the Countdown to the Championship provided him with the quickest opportunity in his career to make up for lost points.
“We’ve qualified No. 1, set the record and won the race and never made up as many points as we did on that race,” said Schumacher. “I love it.”
Schumacher erased a 184-point deficit with the readjustment of the championship points.
MAKING IT OFFICIAL – David Powers Motorsports (DPM) made it official today before the U.S. Nationals media that CAT will be their major sponsor for 2007.
Caterpillar Inc., its dealers, and DPM reached an agreement in principle for the 2008 racing season earlier this weekend as the title sponsor of the Top Fuel dragster driven by point leader "Hot Rod" Fuller. The partnership follows a successful technician-recruiting pilot program begun this season by Caterpillar, many of its dealers, DPM, and NHRA.
The agreement benefits Caterpillar and its participating dealers by providing an innovative recruiting approach to find new dealer service technicians. Many Cat dealers are experiencing a shortage of service technicians, and NHRA Championship Drag Racing offers a rich recruiting environment of qualified candidates with experienced mechanical backgrounds.
DPM has already worked with Mustang Cat (Houston), Fabick Cat (St. Louis), Wagner Cat (Denver), Peterson Cat (San Francisco), and Ransome Cat (Philadelphia) and will next partner with MacAllister Cat. The Cat dragster will sport the classic yellow and black colors and the MacAllister Cat logo during the upcoming 53rd annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
"We are always looking at innovative recruiting ideas because people are our most valuable asset and crucial to the future of both Caterpillar and our dealers," Caterpillar Senior Marketing Manager Todd Goins said. "Partnering with such a respected and ambitious team like David Powers Motorsports to find these hot rod and engine enthusiasts is a great investment for Caterpillar."
“It's an absolute honor to be the party that brings Caterpillar and its network of dealers to the NHRA venue,” team owner Powers said. “The program has shown to be an excellent development ground for technician recruiting that will help meet an important need for the dealer network. We will carry the Caterpillar name with pride.”
TROXEL SAYS BYE-BYE – Melanie Troxel officially resigned from Top Fuel racing effective at the end of the 2007 season. She announced her plans today in a press conference with team owner Mike Ashley to join Gotham City Racing as team driver for a 23-race tour.
Troxel has already begun the crossover licensing process and hopes to complete the process soon.
“I went to about half-track in testing last week, and it felt really good,” Troxel, whose husband Tommy Johnson, Jr. also competes in the Funny car division. “I wanted to be sure that the things I remembered from my Alcohol Funny Car days were still the same, and the feeling was still the same.
“I’ve always had interest in Funny Cars. I grew up around dragsters, so I knew dragsters. The first opportunity I had to drive a short wheelbase car was in Competition eliminator. I noticed a difference in the way the car handled and the way you got feedback from the car, and I liked it. That’s what originally struck my interest in Funny Cars.”
Ashley said his plan is for at least one Funny Car to contend for a world championship.
“Melanie was my first choice from the moment I asked Evan about running a second car,” Ashley said. “When I told him my choice was Melanie, he went from being happy to ecstatic. When I spoke to Melanie, she was excited. It was something we have been batting around for a while and we felt this was the best time to go forward and do it.”
Ashley, a successful mortgage banker from Long Island, NY, chose his driver utilizing the same management style that he runs his successful business principles with.
“In building a world-class organization, you want to study carefully every piece,” Ashley said. “You look at our crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald to all of the crew guys on our team. They are all first class. I wouldn’t add anyone to this team that doesn’t fit our culture.
“We have a special kind of culture that I am fiercely protective of. I believe this an integral part of our long term success. I wouldn’t put just any driver or crew chief into the mix.”
SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY – Shirley Muldowney has experienced a plethora of positive experiences throughout her drag racing career, but one in particular makes her smile more than ever. She isn’t shy about flaunting it either.
Muldowney once had a personalized tag on her auto that read, “IWONINDY” and even carries an email address that references it.
The 4-time champion said the victory holds a dear place in her heart, but with all the demands of business and other things, she simply forgot this weekend marked the 25th anniversary of her monumental triumph.
“I really didn’t put the years together until Sheila Kopchick mentioned it to me,” Muldowney said. “That’s a long time ago but I can remember everything like it was yesterday. We blew [Connie]Kalitta off in the final.”
Muldowney said she left on him although he gained on her. Her pink dragster passed and pulled away en route to the winner’s circle.
“I think about that and it was the thrill of my racing career,” Muldowney said. “I still have all of the media from that day and now that I have some time, I am going to put all of that together. When I do see the actual film of that final round, I can remember him looking over at me. I can remember him looking over from the right lane and turning his head back right when I cleaned out the motor.”
Muldowney said what Kalitta did was a big “no-no.”
“You don’t ever take your eyes off of the starting line,” Muldowney said. “You don’t look around.”
Muldowney said watching Bob Devour’s reaction on the tapes was what touched her the most.
“He was standing behind the car with what seemed like thousands of people,” Muldowney said. “You could watch his reaction as we lit the stage and pre-stage beams. He couldn’t look. He just put his head down and looked at the ground. But, we delivered the goods for him.”
ONCE UPON A TIME … - It seems like a fairy tale today but there was a day when Top Fuel contested a 32-car field at Indy.
“It was a lot of work and you didn’t just show up with your boarding pass and a helmet,” Muldowney said. “It was every man for himself. There were a lot of people out there that did it on their own and found their way in the sport. Without them, we wouldn’t have a sport as successful as we have today.”
Muldowney is saddened there aren’t as many active Top Fuel cars remaining.
“I’d like to see 64-car fields,” Muldowney said. “Maybe we need Bill Doner back out here promoting the class. I’d like to see as many cars and drivers out there as possible. I feel better knowing the cars are a lot safer today than they were back then.
“The cars are faster and easier to drive. That doesn’t hurt my feelings one bit. That’s what it is all about.”
SHIRLEY’S TEAM – Muldowney said she’s moving forward with her plans for owning a Top Fuel team and if things work out right, it could happen in the near future.
Muldowney said she recently entertained a potential sponsor during an NHRA POWERade event. She’s tight-lipped about who it is.
One thing Muldowney isn’t remaining quiet about is who she’s chosen to drive – NHRA Lucas Oil Division 1 Top Alcohol Dragster driver Sheila Kopchick.
Muldowney said Kopchick worked for her closely during her last years of her career.
“I think she is the only lady that ever got close to me as she did,” Muldowney said. “I shared everything with her. It was a smart move on my part. If there is ever going to be another Shirley in every sense of the word, it’s Sheila – especially on the race track.”
Muldowney said she also considered former Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Stephanie Reaves.
“It would be nice to have two cars out there,” Muldowney said.
BRADSHAW MOVING ON – Alan Bradshaw will have a new gig for the 2008 season.
Team owner Bill Miller confirmed the former Top Alcohol Dragster champion turned Top Fuel driver Bradshaw tendered his resignation last week.
Bradshaw will drive for Dexter Tuttle next season and replace JR Todd.
“He called me last week and was nervous about telling me,” Miller said. “He told me that he was going to drive for Dexter Tuttle next year and I congratulated him. I had no problems with that, nor should I have. As a matter of fact, I told Dexter that it was a compliment to my car, my team, my crew and the whole environment that we took Bradshaw from a blown alcohol race to an honest-to-God Top Fuel pilot.
“I don’t have a problem with that. I only race 15 – 16 times a year. He wants to be world champion and he ain’t gonna do it here – not unless I can win every race and take ten of them off – which ain’t going to happen. I wish him the best of luck.
“We all chase that dream and shoot for that star, and that’s what he wants to do. I want him to get after it.”
Bradshaw declined to comment on the matter.
Miller has selected Troy Buff as Bradshaw’s replacement for 2008.
Miller said he could debut as early as the NHRA Finals in Pomona, Ca.
AGGRAVATION - Cory McClenathan accepted full blame for his FRAM team's inability to make its first qualifying run Friday night.
"There are three buttons in the car. One is for the parachute, another is to reset the clutch and the other is to shut off the engine," explained McClenathan. "As I was finishing backing up from the burnout, I reached out to reset the clutch and accidentally pushed the button to kill the engine on what may be the best session of the weekend.
"All the guys on the crew did a great job preparing the car and (crew chief) Keith Adams and (assistant crew chief) Tony Shortall had the engine sounding very good . . . and I just didn't do my job. We felt we had a car capable of running in the low 4.50s (seconds) or the high 4.40s and I made a big mistake.
"I want to apologize to the team and our fans."
MOO-VING EXPERIENCE – Bruce Litton said his favorite part of the car was the fuel tank vent. It reads, “Moo!”
Litton is running a one-off paint scheme during the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in honor of his sponsors Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and their cattle ranch.
Litton’s car is not completely sold out on the bovine theme. It has a few spots in carbon fiber, here and there. Beware, there’s a dozen small cows hidden in strategic positions throughout the car.
“There were twelve guys in the paint shop and each one got to do a cow in whatever theme they wanted to,” Litton said. “One has a goatee, another a smiley face and everyone was created in the painter’s image.”
Litton said he plans to run the car this weekend and next in Cayuga, Ontario, during the IHRA event.
REAL HOME TRACK ADVANTAGE – Bruce Litton’s shop is located directly across the street from ORP. During the pre-event test session, he admitted to towing his car across the street, making a run and then towing back to the shop.
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - FULLER REACTS TO RESETTING POINTS, SCHUMACHER READY TO GO AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE
FUN WHILE IT LASTED – Following the first
session of qualifying, Rod Fuller’s points lead drops to 10-points thanks to
the NHRA’s new championship format. Ask him how that’s working out?
“I’m coming into the U.S. Nationals with a chip on my shoulder. To
be honest with you, I was excited about the Countdown, but knowing we’d have a
great shot to be the champion, it’s not fun seeing 174 points go bye-bye. I
can’t let that bother us and we just need to go in and try to win Indy. Winning
Indy would be huge. A lot of people would rather win Indy than the
championship, it’s that important of a race.”
Two
weeks ago in
Fuller
will lead the eight-car field into the Countdown to Four beginning at the U.S.
Nationals. Through the first 17 races, He and his Rob Flynn-led team amassed
1,255 points and led second-place driver Tony Schumacher by 184 points. Fuller
was atop the standings following 14 of 17 races this season and has not ranked
lower than third (
Last
year, Fuller qualified fourth at O’Reilly Raceway Park with a pass of 4.509 at 329.67
mph. He advanced to the semifinals before losing a close match with Schumacher.
The
Fuller
will race his yellow-and-black Caterpillar dragster for the seventh time this
season with support from MacAllister CAT. Fuller raced his Wagner CAT car to
the win at
BIG GO TIME – With the points totals reset, Tony Schumacher realizes this is his best opportunity to make up for lost domination early in the season. Indy provides the perfect opportunity for a new momentum roll.
A five-time Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner, Schumacher is hoping his Indianapolis magic will carry over to 2007 so he can start the Countdown in strong fashion.
“We need to kick it off with a good effort,” said the Chicago native. “You don’t want to get behind the eight ball right off the bat with an early round loss. We want to be in victory lane come Monday afternoon.”
Early round losses have been something of an annoyance for the U.S. Army team for much of the season to date. In fact, over 17 races, Schumacher has totaled nine first round departures.
“We better stop doing that immediately or we’re going to dig ourselves a hole that we may not climb out of,” he added. “As I’ve stated for weeks, there will be no room for error once the playoffs begin.”
Schumacher, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth straight Top Fuel world title, will go into the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals holding second-place in the standings, 10 points behind leader Rod Fuller.
“We definitely want to win a fourth consecutive championship for our soldiers,” he said. “They work so hard every day to allow us to do what we do. We want to make them happy in any way we can.”
DOUBLE CHECKING – JR Todd and his crew took a pass on the tradition PRO pre-Indy test session for a good reason. They wanted to put the car under a microscope and double-check everything.
“We needed to go through everything to be ready for the race at Indy,” added Todd. “We definitely had a good car at Reading. It was unfortunate we had the parts problem, but we’ll put that behind us. Indy historically is a fast place in the night sessions. We can go back to the notes we had from the track when we tested a few months ago. If we can find that low 4.50 combination we should be in good shape.”
Yes, winning Indy means that much to the former Junior Dragster champion.
“We want to get qualified solidly,” said Todd. “If there’s one place I want to win all year long, this is the place. It’s a good time for us, starting off the first race of the Countdown.”
THOSE ROLLING STONES - Brandon Bernstein learned the hard way just how costly a kidney stone can be.
The second-generation driver missed Reading due to emergency kidney stone surgery and because of that will start in Indy from the fourth position, 30 points out of the lead as points are reset for the Countdown.
“Had this kidney stone problem arisen after I had made one qualifying attempt in Reading, we would have remained second in the points and there would only have been 10 points difference beginning in Indy,” Bernstein said. “Rit Pustari jumped in and qualified the car in Reading and then competed on race day. Because points stay with the driver, not the team, we didn’t earn any points at Reading. That being said, if this kidney stone problem had to happen, at least we were better off dealing with the issue at Reading. We were guaranteed a spot in the Countdown to Eight. If it had happened in Indy, the first race of the Countdown to 4, it would have been far more serious in the championship overview.”
To date this year, the Kenny Bernstein-owned team has won five events: Las Vegas, Atlanta, Bristol, Tenn., Topeka, Kan., and Brainerd, Minn. They were runner-up at the season-opener in Pomona, Calif., and Seattle. Five event wins is a career season-best for Bernstein. Bernstein has a total of 17 career wins since his rookie debut in 2003.
HONORING THE KING - Bernstein will debut a commemorative Elvis paint scheme this weekend to celebrate the 30th Anniversary Elvis Week.Bernstein recently joined Budweiser Racing stablemate Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the lawn of Elvis’ Graceland mansion in Memphis, where they hosted the first night of the “Music & Movies” series.
“I have become a big fan of the ‘King’ this year,” said Bernstein. “I was at Graceland in April for the Elvis Harley Ride and again a couple of weeks ago. I have a lot of respect for Elvis’ accomplishments, showmanship, and talent.
“We’re going to throw a little Elvis style into our firesuit for the Indy event, and of course we couldn’t call the ensemble complete without some special Oakley 'blue suede' driving shoes! We expect to unveil the car on Friday afternoon at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
“If you’re an Elvis fan and you’re coming to Indy, you’ll have to come by the pit area and take some photos. If you’re not coming to Indy, check our website. We’ll have some photos for you to check out.”
SO CLOSE – David Grubnic was so close to a place in the top eight that he could taste it.
The Aussie-born Grubnic finished the first segment of the season as the ninth place point earner. Some might say a season is over at that point. Grubnic refuses to quit.
Grubnic and his team have set new goals for finishing the rest of this season and a new attitude has already started to surface within the ranks of the team’s nitro warriors.
“Sure, it’s a big letdown not to make the Countdown, but we still have some races to win,” Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “We sure would love to start a winning streak at Indy this weekend. Our team has kept their heads held high through this whole thing, and I commend them for that. I think a great way to repay that is for us to go out and win in Indy.
“Indy is like a new start for us. We are putting all of the negative things behind us and we’re only thinking positively now. That’s all we can do. This is a great team with a great group of guys and I am very proud of them all. No matter what happens, we will go do our best and have fun. That’s what drag racing is all about anyway.”
100,000-TO-1 ODDS – Doug Herbert had an outside shot of making the top eighth headed into Reading. He provided a valuable lesson at that event – sometimes long shots win.
Having secured a spot in the Countdown to Four with his dramatic win in Reading, Herbert enters Indy in the No. 8 position, a mere 70 points behind the current leader.
“Not many people thought we even had a chance to make the Countdown,” said Herbert, “and that really got us going. We knew we could do it, and we did. There is no other team out there as motivated as the Snap-on Tools team, and I can promise you we want nothing more than to take home the championship.
“I’ve been to the finals here at Indy twice before, once in ’92 with Ed McCulloch and then in ’93 with Pat Austin. Second place won’t get it this year! How great would it be to start out the Countdown to Four by winning the biggest race in drag racing? Hopefully we will find out on Monday.”
DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT – Nothing puts an exclamation on a birthday like driving a Top Fueler at the US Nationals.
Friday will be Melanie Troxel’s birthday.
"It's the biggest event of the year," said Troxel. "I would say short of winning a championship, that's the biggest achievement you can have for your season. I hope that we're at a place where both cars are running strong enough to be serious contenders.
"I've been coming to this race since I was a kid. It's my birthday weekend and I remember always celebrating it at the Nationals. We never really had a birthday dinner or anything like that, but just celebrated in the pits at this event. I have many memories of this race and now I live here. It actually makes the race so much more enjoyable with the fact that we're home for the next two to three weeks. It definitely takes the stress off of being on the road."
One of Troxel's fondest Labor Day race memories was in 1987 when her father, Mike, won the classic in the Top Alcohol dragster division.
"I never went to a race my dad won," Troxel remembers forlornly. "The first National event my dad ever won was Indy and it was special that his first win just so happened to be the biggest race of the year. I remember being at home and the family calling saying they had won. Of course, I thought they were joking and teasing me with the news. That was the beginning of his success in Top Alcohol dragster."
IT LOOKED GOOD ON PAPER, BUT … - Cory McClenathan started the season with high expectations and fully expected to have a berth in the Top Fuel playoffs.
Things have a way of changing in seventeen races.
That was two owners, one crew chief, and some mettle-testing times ago. But the sometimes fiery, always competitive McClenathan didn’t give up. He fought not to just stay competitive, but to have a team, period. And when the 17th event came and went, he was 56 points short of meeting his goal.
McClenathan’s new objective is concentrating on the performance of his new Mac Motorsports Fram Top Fuel team. While others are vying for the 2007 crown, he is launching his 2008 pre-season test mode when the 53rd U.S. Nationals begins Friday.
“It was disappointing not to be in the top eight,” said McClenathan. “But at the same time, I am excited with the potential our new team has shown in just a relatively short period of time. We tied for low e.t. in the first round at Maple Grove (4.526 seconds, at Reading, Pa., Aug. 19).” He also had an impressive .011-second reaction time in defeating Larry Dixon, 4.526 to 4.702 seconds.
McClenathan, who has U.S. Nationals victories in 1996 and 1999, is in his 16th full season of Top Fuel racing. He also has an impressive string of 15 consecutive top 10 POWERade Series appearances, including four in second place. He’s 11th with 736 points going into Indy, 30 out of 10th and 53 out of ninth.
“Our incentive for the rest of the season is to work on a tune-up that will help us run with the leaders next year,” McClenathan said. “We’ve had our ups and downs this year, but that is all behind us now.
“We want to be a thorn in the side of every Top Fuel car out here for the rest of the year.”
BACK IN THE GAME - From their recent back-to-back semi-final round appearances in Brainerd and Reading, Morgan Lucas could quickly become a spoiler in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
"We're running great," said a pleased Lucas. "It's all about having fun and to be dedicated to the length of time it takes to maintain a competitive team, you had better be enjoying yourself. That's one of the reasons I'm so excited about the upcoming Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. We have a great team going into this race and we can really make our year by winning the race. It would be the best to get my first win there in Indiana."
YOU ARE ENTERING THE TWILIGHT ZONE - Bobby Lagana, Jr. has been a staple on the IHRA tour throughout the 2007 season. That experience has been somewhat of a roller coaster year complete with an aluminum-sacrificing run that ultimately got them qualified for the first race. Following that was a runner-up performance and a few more parts eating races and then ultimately another ironman at the most recent stop on the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam series.
Now the team finds themselves in a very different position then ever, the team will be heading to Indy for the U.S. Nationals. Lagana is not new to the Indy mystique, but he’s never raced a family car there.
“My Dad raced at Indy in 1966 but that was with an A-gas car called the American Challenge, this will be the first time a Twilight Zone nitro car will be run at Indy.”
You might wonder why Lagana will venture to NHRA for the toughest race of the year, in the middle of the closest IHRA points battle in his career.
“It’s pretty simple Evan Knoll and Torco Race Fuels have asked us to go, to be honest with you just the phone call was one of the biggest honors in my racing career. I know qualifying will be tough, but we have some new parts and a renewed feeling of confidence. Our goal for the weekend is to make sure we look professional for Evan and also for representing the IHRA, then to go out and run to the best of our ability. For one of the first times in my racing career we have the parts to back up our goals. And lastly I want all my family, crew, sponsors, and all who help make this car go put a smile on their face because we are at Indy. I really want to thank Evan and the entire Torco gang for supporting us, and also to all my long time supporters.”
Indy will be the second stop
for Lagana on the NHRA series, the team also is planning on running the Torco
Race Fuels sponsored race in Dinwiddie,
VA, and potentially one more NHRA
race. Other than that Lagana will be
concentrating on bringing home another Ironman on the Knoll Gas Nitro Jam
Series.
TOP FUEL TESTBED – Bill Miller has found an excellent way to use his Top Fuel dragster as a tax write-off. The longtime parts manufacturer has found a way to use his BME Okuma dragster as a test bed for technology and parts development for his company.
One of his focuses this season, along with driver Alan Bradshaw, has been in developing a better supercharger for fuel racing. However, he’s learned that building a better product doesn’t always jibe with the supporting components in the engine.
"Our tests have shown that the Gibson-Miller Supercharger moves more air, and consequently it requires more power to turn it," Miller said. "Last season we used a 14mm pitch helical blower belt with good success. But with the improvements we've made in the supercharger, that belt had reached its limit. We switched to a stronger 11mm straight-cut belt at the Atlanta race, and the engine stopped throwing off blower belts. But eliminating the belt slippage meant the tune-up was off because the engine was getting more air. Consequently we missed qualifying by 21 thousandths of a second in Atlanta, but knew we'd solved the problem."
Being a part-time team in a full-time class definitely has its setbacks as Miller has found out.
"It's tough for a part-time team like ours because we're usually one of the first cars out on the track after it's been sprayed and scraped," Miller noted. "It's difficult to gauge a fresh track, but that's just the way it is when you don't run the full schedule.
Despite the setbacks they’ve encountered during the 2007 season, Miller remains optimistic about the season.
"So far in 2007, we fought a blower belt problem and finally fixed it," he noted. "Then we fought the fuel volume problem, and eventually figured that out. Bradshaw is doing a great job as a driver and an ambassador for the team with our sponsors and fans.
"At the end of the day,
the BME dragster is still an R&D vehicle for Bill Miller Engineering,"
he said. "We're in the business of making connecting rods, pistons, pins
and superchargers. What better place to test these parts than on your own
vehicle?"
NO PRESSURE – TJ Zizzo has a solid game plan for Indy. Have fun and don’t sweat the petty stuff.
Labor Day will mark the return of Zizzo Racing to the NHRA POWERade schedule for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at O'Reilly Raceway Park. The Indianapolis event is considered to be the most prestigious drag race in the world and Zizzo and his crew are looking forward to being a part of the action.
"We're going there to have some fun," Zizzo said. "There's a lot of pressure on those teams in the Countdown to the Championship. We just want to come over here and mix it up a little. The only pressure we have is to help Peak Antifreeze celebrate their 60th anniversary."
Peak will celebrate their 60th anniversary by featuring a commemorative dragster that will be driven by T.J. at the U.S Nationals. The dragster will also be featured in special point-of-sale displays at O'Reilly Auto Parts stores throughout September.
Zizzo's first professional round win was during the 2004 running of the U.S. Nationals.
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