NHRA CSK NATIONALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE
NHRA’s annual duel in the desert has been a Southwest fixture since 1985, when it joined the tour in a late fall slot. Since 1990, it’s been the second stop on the tour’s westward march and a place for teams to redeem mistakes made at the opener. Charlie Allen, a former Funny Car racer, constructed a track that makes people forget it sits at 1,100 feet above sea level.
SUNDAY FINAL - DIXON PICKS UP FIRST WIN OF 2008 AT SITE OF FIRST CAREER WIN; BECKMAN, GAINES ALSO WINNERS AT CHECKER SCHUCK’S KRAGEN NHRA NATIONALS
Jack Beckman and V Gaines also were winners at the second NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event of the 2008 season.
Dixon drove his U.S. Smokeless Tobacco dragster to a 4.532 second, 327.19 mph victory over runner-up Dave Grubnic, to pick up his first win of the season, second at Firebird, and 42nd of his career. The win ties him with Tony Schumacher for 9th on the NHRA all time wins list and second overall in Top Fuel.
“Any time you get a win it’s special,” Dixon said. “Donnie Bender (crew chief) has been on our team since 1999 and he’s never been on a car that’s won here. When you think about that, it would be nice to get that one out of the way. I’m dedicating this win to him.”
Still recovering from a bad case of the flu, Beckman drove his Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger R/T to a 4.868 second run at 320.20 mph past runner-up Robert Hight, collecting his first win in Phoenix and fourth career win.
“I guess the flu this year is immune to (flu shots),” Beckman said. “You get up in the morning and you just feel bad and you look at the back of the cold medicine and it says do not operate heavy machinery and I’m not sure if that counts as a nitro Funny Car, so I didn’t want to take anything, but after the second round I finally had to take some Tylenol.”
V Gaines grabbed his first win in seven years, driving his Kendall Dodge Stratus to a 6.702 at 205.38 run past 2006 POWERade Series world champion Jason Line. Gaines’ last win came against Tom Hammonds in Dallas in 2001.
“It’s been a long dry spell,” Gaines said. “They said when I beat Greg Anderson (in the semifinals) that this was the first time I’d beat him since 2001, so that’s bitter sweet.”
Though he lost in the second
round to Gaines, three-time world champion Greg Anderson kept his point lead in
Pro Stock heading into Gainesville.
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Sunday's final results from the 24th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals presented by Castrol at Firebird International Raceway. The race is the second of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - WILKERSON COLLECTS SECOND CONSECUTIVE NO. 1 OF 2008; BERNSTEIN, JOHNSON ALSO NO. 1 AT CHECKER SCHUCK’S KRAGEN NHRA NATIONALS
Brandon Bernstein and Allen Johnson also were the No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the second NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event of the 2008 season.
Wilkerson drove his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS to a 4.775 second run at 327.03 mph to secure the No. 1 spot in Funny Car, after rain on Friday shortened the qualifying sessions from four to two.
“With only two runs, it was anybodies ball game there,” Wilkerson said. “If we’d had more runs you’d probably see somebody else No. 1, but that’s ok. We’re happy and we’ll take our No. 1.”
Defending event and world champion Tony Pedregon qualified 10th for the event, while 14-time world champion and 8-time event winner John Force qualified third. Force’s daughter and teammate, Ashley, and Funny Car rookie Melanie Troxel were among those who did not qualify for the event.
“You never forget your first, you just don’t,” Bernstein said, referring to his win in ’03 over Larry Dixon. “It was a great run. Right when I pulled the chutes I knew that was real good and pretty quick.”
Defending world champion Tony Schumacher drove his U.S. Army dragster to the fourth spot in the field, while two-time defending event winner Rod Fuller will start from the 11th spot in the field on Sunday.
Allen Johnson drove his J&J Racing/Mopar Dodge Stratus to the No. 1 position on the last qualifying run of the day. Johnson’s track record-setting run of 6.631 at 208.55 was more than just a fast number for Johnson.
Final eliminations for the Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals begin Sunday at 11 a.m.
First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 24th annual Checker Schuck's Kragen NHRA Nationals presented by Castrol at Firebird International Raceway, the second of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Brandon Bernstein, 4.515 seconds, 330.31 mph vs. 16. Steven Chrisman, 4.873, 300.86; 2. David Grubnic, 4.524, 327.66 vs. 15. Troy Buff, 4.796, 241.24; 3. Hillary Will, 4.532, 334.32 vs. 14. Mike Strasburg, 4.784, 282.19; 4. Tony Schumacher, 4.536, 329.34 vs. 13. Doug Kalitta, 4.713, 298.47; 5. Antron Brown, 4.538, 324.90 vs. 12. Doug Herbert, 4.665, 312.06; 6. J.R. Todd, 4.543, 329.99 vs. 11. Rod Fuller, 4.601, 319.07; 7. Bob Vandergriff, 4.546, 329.50 vs. 10. Cory McClenathan, 4.586, 318.24; 8. Larry Dixon, 4.549, 319.29 vs. 9. Morgan Lucas, 4.566, 326.00.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Alan Bradshaw, 6.175, 297.81.
Funny Car -- 1. Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Impala, 4.775, 327.03 vs. 16. Bob Bode, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.106, 246.21; 2. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.798, 322.73 vs. 15. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 5.031, 314.61; 3. John Force, Mustang, 4.808, 325.06 vs. 14. Scott Kalitta, Toyota Solara, 4.874, 321.50; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.815, 318.99 vs. 13. Jerry Toliver, Charger, 4.865, 286.07; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Impala, 4.829, 320.05 vs. 12. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.853, 314.83; 6. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.829, 315.71 vs. 11. Jim Head, Solara, 4.852, 323.89; 7. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.840, 320.89 vs. 10. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.849, 318.47; 8. Gary Densham, Impala, 4.844, 319.07 vs. 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.844, 304.74.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Bob Tasca III, 5.165, 308.85; 18. Melanie Troxel, 5.731, 259.11; 19. Del Worsham, 5.867, 240.25; 20. Ashley Force, 6.070, 306.40; 21. Terry Haddock, 8.750, 105.07.
Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.631, 208.01 vs. 16. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.701, 205.60; 2. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 6.635, 208.55 vs. 15. Kenny Koretsky, Chevy Cobalt, 6.697, 206.35; 3. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GTO, 6.638, 208.42 vs. 14. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.687, 206.23; 4. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.641, 208.14 vs. 13. Matt Hartford, Stratus, 6.679, 205.98; 5.Jason Line, GTO, 6.642, 207.53 vs. 12. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.677, 205.85; 6. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.650, 207.72 vs. 11. Justin Humphreys, GTO, 6.674, 207.50; 7. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.664, 207.37 vs. 10. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.673, 206.42; 8. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.665, 208.14 vs. 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.669, 206.42.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Jim Yates, 6.713, 204.79; 18. Bill Glidden, 6.736, 205.79; 19. Larry Morgan, 6.741, 204.57; 20. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.745, 204.57; 21. Gordie Rivera, 6.752, 204.57; 22. Ben Watson, 6.763, 203.40.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - FRIDAY QUALIFYING RAINED OUT FOR THE CHECKER SCHUCK’S KRAGEN NHRA NATIONALS
Friday's racing action at Firebird International Raceway has been cancelled due to persistent rain showers.
Professional qualifying for the Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals will continue on Saturday, with the sessions scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (MT).
Eliminations
will start at 11:00 a.m. Sunday.
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EVENT PREVIEW - NHRA POWERADE TOUR HEATS UP IN PHOENIX
Heat shows up in a
variety of ways. For some, heat means pressure – a mental game. For
Tony Pedregon, heat was something he could feel.
“I’m anxious at this stage to get back to the track,” said
Pedregon, who sustained only minor burns to one hand. “I think the
couple of days home will do me some good. In the office there’s a lot
to catch up on. I’m already looking forward to making it to the track
and getting back to the car. I know the team is evaluating everything
and it seems we were able to locate what the problem was. There will be
some efforts made to address that, with the hopes of not allowing that
again, and some other precautions taken, but outside of (the glove)
everything did its job.”
Pedregon takes some solace in the fact that the next time he suits up he’ll be in
The 24th annual Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals
presented by Castrol, Feb. 22-24, is the second of 24 events in the
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship. The
race will be televised on ESPN2 HD.
“We’ve got good data (on
“I used to feel safe knowing that I’d get qualified,” Hight
said. “I wouldn’t get nervous until race day. Now I have two hurdles
every race. The first hurdle is just getting qualified and then you
have to go four tough rounds on Sunday.”
Pomona’s drama unfolded in a positive way for Hight and the
four-car Funny Car team of John Force Racing, where after months of
therapy team patriarch John Force made his first start since his own
spectacular crash in Dallas last fall. In fact, it looked like it would
be an all-Force final, with three of JFR’s drivers - John, his daughter
Ashley and Hight - in the semifinals. In the end Hight faced Cruz
Pedregon in the finals, with the win light going to Hight and a
relieved Force Racing team.
“We are still adapting to our new set-up and a lot of the changes to the chassis but the good news is I am heading into
There’s no better leader to follow to
Tony Schumacher leads the Top Fuel field with three trips to
the winner’s circle in Phoenix (2005, ’02, ’00) and holds the track
record for speed there (4.430, set in 2007), but last season it was Rod
Fuller who earned the race title with a final-round win over Melanie
Troxel at Firebird.
Brown made a move of his own this season – from Pro Stock
Motorcycle to Top Fuel - where he rocketed his Matco Tools dragster to
a No. 1 qualifying spot and advanced to the second round on race day
before his dragster lost traction in Round 3, allowing Cory McClenathan
to advance.
“I can’t wait to get to
If there was any doubt that Greg Anderson would launch an all-out
attack on reigning Pro Stock world champion Jeg Coughlin in 2008, those
questions were quickly answered.
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