Route 66 Raceway, which opened in 1998, has regularly been the site of astounding performances, including Doug Kalitta’s all-time Top Fuel best of 4.420 seconds in 2004. The event is the site of the Jegs Allstars, which pits the best Sportsman racers from across the country in individual and team competition.

 

 

		EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

 

SUNDAY - TWO TONY'S WIN IN CHICAGO: PEDREGON, SCHUMACHER, KURT JOHNSON AND RIVAS RACE TO WINNER'S CIRCLE AT ROUTE 66

One day after his second explosion fit for the highlight reels this season, Tony Pedregon powered his Q Horsepower Chevy Impala SS to a trip to the winner's circle at the 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals.

Another Tony - Chicago's own Tony Schumacher - took center stage in Top Fuel with an event-best time and speed in the final round, while Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle) drove away with event titles as well.

Pedregon was uninjured in an accident during qualifying Saturday. This win was his third at Route 66 Raceway, his second of the year and the 38th of his career. He turned in a 4.818-second run at 319.75 mph to deny Scott Kalitta his first Funny Car win since 1989.

"Someone reminded me about 24 hours ago I was on fire," Pedregon said. "This is a very competitive business, and that little incident last night, it just took me back to the beginning of the year (to the season-opener in Pomona, Calif.). And it really started out to just be a run that everything was going good. We jumped on it to try to get low E.T. and it just pushed a head gasket out. We'd had a lot of them...I thought it would go out. As soon as the black smoke started coming in, I've been in enough of these things that I hit the (fire) bottles. At least in Pomona I knew I had my hands full right away. This just started, it seemed like kind of a routine, and then it just gradually got worse."

Kalitta last made a final round appearance when he was still behind the wheel of a Top Fuel dragster, at this track in 2005 - his most current win.

"I just felt good (today)," Pedregon said. "I didn't feel concerned. We had a new chassis. There's always a little question mark if it's going to drive like the other one. We had zero runs on it. It was brand new. Fortunately my guys had it ready and after that first round, I kind of had that confidence that I haven't had in a while.

"I just feel, when I look at that roll cage and I look at what I'm surrounded by, and I actually feel some sense of security in the car...I know what's at stake and I know the risks, but we do take a lot of precautions. Hey, I'm competitive. This is what I do. I'm no different from any athlete that takes a hit or falls on the turf and twists his knee. We get back up, and this is what we do."

Schumacher earned his fourth win of the year in his fourth final-round appearance in five races. He now has third career victories in front of his hometown crowd. Sunday he piloted his U.S. Army dragster to a 4.499 at 329.83 against Rod Fuller's 5.259 at 223.14 in his Caterpillar dragster.

"I think five years ago (crew chief) Alan Johnson flew into this track, and the last time we had met we raced each other, so it was kind of cool that we go out and qualify No. 1, win the race, and since then we've won four championships, I think today is 38 wins together," Schumacher said. "It's just an outstanding team. The coolest part is I think we have five or six of the guys on the team from the first day. That's a lot of guys. A lot of great people that stayed together. Not through the 38 wins, but through the 356 points back we were a couple of years ago. All of those things. That's what makes a great team. Guys that can not fire, not point fingers, not blame, don't yell."

Kurt Johnson jumped into the points lead with second win of the year and the 38th of his career when he drove his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt to a 6.733 at 205.22, while Jeg Coughlin settled for a runner-up finish at 19.755 at 72.78 when his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt suffered issues shortly after launch. It was Johnson's third win at Route 66 Raceway.

"It's such a highly-competitive class," Johnson said. "We thought we should have run better in qualifying and we didn't. We kind of stepped up and made a decent run yesterday afternoon, but we were still off from where we've been with the ACDelco Cobalt. I just call that thing 'Big Blue' today because that thing was just...it saved me a couple of times, running Greg (Anderson) second round and dad (Warren Johnson, in the semifinals).

"This place is just awesome. It's kind of a tuners' facility. You know you're going to go A to B and learn from this place."

Chris Rivas earned his first win at his 49th career race with a 7.051 at 185.43 on his G-Squared/S&S Racing Buell, while Craig Treble earned a second-place finish at 7.134 at 185.38 on his Team Tigue Suzuki.

"I've been waiting for this for such a long time," Rivas said. "I felt like I was so past due to getting it. I really just felt like I had the skills in my riding ability to do it. It just felt like we needed to get a bike under me that had the potential to do what I had the potential to do as a rider, and it finally just all came together."

 

 

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Sunday's final results from the 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.  The  race is the tenth of 24 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SATURDAY FINAL QUALIFYING - TROXEL BEATS FORCE TO FIRST NO. 1 QUALIFIER; SCHUMACHER, COUGHLIN, RIVAS TOP FIELDS AT ROUTE 66 

After Friday it looked like Ashley Force would become the first woman in NHRA history to qualify No. 1 in Funny Car. Only Melanie Troxel – the only other woman currently competing in the category - could beat her. On her last chance, Troxel did it.

Troxel and her ProCare Rx Dodge Charger team would need an almost heroic effort to pull it off, and the run itself was no less dramatic. High temperatures and humidity early in the day produced a string of strong thunderstorms and at least one powerful tornado near Route 66 Raceway, delaying the final round of qualifying for Funny Car at the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals until evening. What the track conditions would yield would be anyone’s guess, and while Troxel crossed the finish line at 4.752-seconds at 327.27 mph, Tony Pedregon’s Q Horsepower ride suffered a spectacular explosion in the lane next to her. Pedregon was uninjured.

“You come into any given race and it’s such a tight field, you know it’s going to be a struggle just to qualify,” Troxel said. “We got down the track on Friday but not in the nighttime session and came into today not even in the field, so that’s always a stressful way to start out the weekend. We laid a good number down out there in the third qualifying session, especially for the heat of the day, and we were pretty happy with that, but to be honest with you I thought we’re coming up to try a few different things, get down the track.

 

“Honestly, I’d never run a .70 before, so I wasn’t really anticipating that we were going to take that No. 1 spot away. But I knew the second I hit the throttle the car was on seriously good run, and it was quite a handful out there. At the same time that I’m trying to wrestle it and keep it in the center of my lane, I see Tony (Pedregon) in the other lane going up in a ball of flames. It was a pretty wild ride.”

Troxel, who grew up with NHRA drag racing under the tutelage of her father, appreciates the historical significance of being the first woman to qualify No. 1 in Funny Car, but would rather celebrate her accomplishments with a focus on her driving career, not her gender.

“I think for any driver it is definitely the goal, you want to be the No. 1 qualifier,” Troxel said. “You want to win races…The female aspect of it really isn’t that important to me. I understand it’s noteworthy and I don’t have a problem with it, but personally for me, as far as goals I set out, I’m not trying to measure up to the other females in the sport, I’m trying to measure up to everybody out there.”

Five-time and defending NHRA POWERade Series world champion Tony Schumacher used his Friday night performance of 4.513 at 331.69 to grab the No. 1 spot heading into Sunday’s race, electing not to run in the final qualifying round after the strong storms moved through the area.

“They called for hail, and I think my crew chief took off,” said Schumacher with a laugh. “You know, either way, if we go down the race track – we know how to go down the race track. If we stay number one, we run into No. 16. And if someone bumps us, we run into 15, 14, 13 or 12. They’re going to have to cowboy up in the morning, go down the race track. It’s not going to be like this; it’s going to be hot. We just want to win this race. We have a lot of friends, a lot of family. This would be one of those great ones to win. We have excellent momentum. We’ve done extremely well early in the season and we want to continue that.”

 

In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin usurped Friday’s top performer, Warren Johnson, to earn his first No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 13th of his career.

“The conditions were great,” Coughlin said. “The clouds came in, which makes the track a little bit tighter, where the crew chiefs can get out there a little bit more. That dropped the times down a little bit more than what we expected in (the final qualifying round)…It was exciting qualifying for us. It’s the most consistent we’ve been since the drop of the throttle back in February. The guys have been working hard to get a consistency in the car. We didn’t have any bad luck, so that’s very exciting.”

After 48 races, Chris Rivas earned his first career No. 1 with a 7.027 at 187.29 on his G-Squared/S&S Racing Buell.

“I’m glad it’s official,” Rivas said. “I’m really glad it happened at this event in Chicago, here, for the whole crew at S&S. The headquarters for Drag Specialties is just down the road, and this is kind of their home event too, so we’re kind of back home for all of the main sponsors on our bike, so it’s a really good thing for them…Obviously for me, it’s a really good thing. It’s the best I’ve ever qualified in my whole career, so I’m excited.”
First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, the tenth 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. Tony Schumacher, 4.513 seconds, 331.69 mph  vs. 16. Bob Vandergriff, 4.789, 307.51; 2. Antron Brown, 4.516, 331.53  vs. 15. T.J. Zizzo, 4.756, 318.62; 3. Larry Dixon, 4.525, 325.61  vs. 14. Troy Buff, 4.631, 307.09; 4. J.R. Todd, 4.555, 328.14  vs. 13. Doug Herbert, 4.622, 318.62; 5. David Grubnic, 4.565, 317.87  vs. 12. Brandon Bernstein, 4.616, 325.30; 6. Alan Bradshaw, 4.571, 319.14  vs. 11. Morgan Lucas, 4.613, 317.57; 7. Doug Kalitta, 4.574, 319.52  vs. 10. Rod Fuller, 4.602, 319.60; 8. Hillary Will, 4.594, 324.67  vs. 9. Cory McClenathan, 4.598, 324.75. Did Not Qualify: 17. Luigi Novelli, 9.850, 210.44.

Funny Car -- 1. Melanie Troxel, Dodge Charger, 4.752, 327.27  vs. 16. Gary Densham, Chevy Impala, 4.854, 315.86; 2. Mark Oswald, Charger, 4.757, 328.46  vs. 15. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.849, 320.81; 3. Ashley Force, Ford Mustang, 4.759, 329.10  vs. 14. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.847, 293.54; 4. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.777, 322.11  vs. 13. Scott Kalitta, Toyota Solara, 4.825, 319.82; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.780, 324.51  vs. 12. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.820, 320.05; 6. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.781, 320.89  vs. 11. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.815, 322.11; 7. Jerry Toliver, Charger, 4.783, 325.77  vs. 10. Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.797, 323.43; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.783, 322.58  vs. 9. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.788, 319.37. Did Not Qualify: 17. Del Worsham, 4.869, 311.41; 18. Bob Bode, 4.870, 312.13; 19. Jim Head, 4.926, 313.88; 20. Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.949, 314.61; 21. Tony Bartone, 9.339, 81.02.

Pro Stock -- 1. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.705, 205.10  vs. 16. Rickie Jones, Dodge Stratus, 6.754, 203.92; 2. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.707, 206.95  vs. 15. John Nobile, Stratus, 6.741, 204.48; 3. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.721, 205.10  vs. 14. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.741, 205.01; 4. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.722, 205.41  vs. 13. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.739, 204.57; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.727, 204.70  vs. 12. Justin Humphreys, Stratus, 6.737, 204.17; 6. Kurt
Johnson, Cobalt, 6.728, 205.19  vs. 11. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.737, 204.73; 7. Jim Yates, GXP, 6.728, 204.08  vs. 10. Steve Schmidt, Cobalt, 6.733, 204.82; 8. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.731, 204.79  vs. 9. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.732, 204.26.
Did Not Qualify: 17. Todd Hoerner, 6.763, 204.01; 18. Tom Hammonds, 6.763, 203.86; 19. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.763, 203.46; 20. Max Naylor, 6.763, 203.22; 21. V. Gaines, 6.769, 203.52; 22. Dave Northrop, 6.770, 204.01; 23. Johnny Gray, 6.776, 203.74; 24. Steve Spiess, 6.787, 203.22; 25. Bob Yonke, 6.794, 202.33; 26. Kevin Lawrence, 6.844, 202.21.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.027, 188.46  vs. 16. Wes Wells, Suzuki, 7.209, 184.93; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.028, 189.90  vs. 15. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.200, 181.40; 3. Chip Ellis, Suzuki, 7.039, 186.92  vs. 14. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.154, 186.41; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.061, 187.42  vs. 13. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.153, 185.41; 5. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 7.088, 183.29  vs. 12. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.145, 186.48; 6. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.098, 184.85 vs. 11. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.132, 186.15; 7. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.106, 187.21  vs. 10. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.129, 185.87; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.108, 187.76  vs. 9. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.113, 188.15.
Did Not Qualify: 17. David Hope, 7.212, 181.32; 18. Junior Pippin, 7.293, 174.12; 19. Redell Harris, 7.370, 181.67; 20. Mike Kovacevich, 7.372, 180.16; 21. Ryan Schnitz, 7.404, 177.42; 22. Angie McBride, 7.622, 165.78; 23. Buddy Robinson, 15.551, 45.64.
 

 

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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - ASHLEY FORCE, SCHUMACHER, WARREN JOHNSON AND CHRIS RIVAS TOP QUALIFIERS AFTER DAY ONE AT ROUTE 66

It may seem that, after earning her first career win as a professional driver more than a month ago, a No. 1 qualifier would be somewhat anticlimactic for Ashley Force.

But when she drove her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a 4.759-second pass at 329.10 mph during the second round of qualifying at the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals on Friday, those numbers stood for more. They proved her young team, in only its second year together, is becoming the kind of consistent and comfortable team that posts competitive, winning numbers, like her career-best speed.

"That’s definitely the most exciting part for our team, even over that No. 1 qualifier and E.T., is that speed, because we’re racers and we love the quick speeds in drag racing," Force said. "It doesn’t seem like four miles per hour is a lot different, but from 325 to 329, we’re pretty pumped up."

Qualifying concludes with two rounds on Saturday at Route 66 Raceway near Chicago. If Force’s performance stands, she will be the first woman to earn a No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car. Eliminations for the event, the halfway point of the regular season in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, are on Sunday.

The biggest difference between her first season and her second, she said, was with her team.

"Definitely just consistency (is better), a lot less mistakes for all of us," Force said. "The driver; my team. Working on the car. When you get all the kinks worked out things go so much smoother that you’re able to build on things and go rounds and that gives you confidence. That makes a big difference as well, when you can get in these cars or prepare these cars and know that you know what to do, even against people who have been doing it over 30 years. We’re a new team, so to have that kind of confidence from round wins definitely makes us better."

Five-time and defending NHRA POWERade Series world champion Tony Schumacher was the Top Fuel qualifying leader after two rounds, piloting his U.S. Army dragster to a 4.513 at 331.69 in front of his hometown crowd near Chicago. This would mark his third No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 50th of his career.

"The track is outstanding, and the conditions were just great tonight," Schumacher said. "It was just perfect. It was kind of what drivers dream of. The cross breeze – it’s a pretty good cross breeze out there. I was watched Cory (McClenathan) and I didn’t know why, but he was right in front of me, and he got over and had to shut it off…(our car) made just a little shimmy out there, but it was fine."

Warren Johnson drove his GM Performance Parts Pontiac GXP to a 6.711 at 206.35 on his way to what his team hopes will be his third No. 1 qualifier of the year and a stunning 139th of his career.

"We had two pretty good runs out there," Johnson said. "Everybody goes out there on the first session not wanting to step over the boundaries and make a bad run, so everybody’s just a little cautious, not knowing what the track will handle, and it pretty much looked like that on the second session. Everybody picked up incrementally. I think a few cars shuffled as far as position, but there wasn’t a whole lot of changes other than about a 2-hundreths decrease in E.T."

Chris Rivas rode his G-Squared/S&S Racing Buell through a strong crosswind all the way to his first provisional No. 1 qualifier. He posted a 7.027 at 187.29 to lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

"The wind is really deceiving," Rivas said. "At the starting line there’s not too much wind, but when you get out just a little bit, and especially when you get out past the grandstands, there’s a lot of wind. In the bikes, it really moves you around a lot…but we can adjust the chassis. We got the thing dialed in real good. Had to drive it around just a little bit, but at least we stayed enough in the groove that we could make a pretty decent lap. It’s thanks to (my team) that we got all this stuff done."

 

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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of  qualifying for the 11th annual Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, tenth of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.  Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.513 seconds, 331.69 mph; 2. Antron Brown, 4.516, 331.53; 3. Larry Dixon, 4.525, 325.61; 4. J.R. Todd, 4.555, 328.14; 5. Alan Bradshaw, 4.571, 319.14; 6. Hillary Will, 4.594, 324.67; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 4.616, 325.30; 8. Morgan Lucas, 4.637, 317.57; 9. Troy Buff, 4.673, 307.09; 10. Doug Herbert, 4.711, 293.92; 11. Doug Kalitta, 4.748, 271.08; 12. Bob Vandergriff, 4.879, 261.17.  Not Qualified: 13. Cory McClenathan, 4.984, 199.46; 14. Rod Fuller, 5.235, 317.12; 15. Luigi Novelli, 5.585, 210.44; 16. David Grubnic, 9.688, 91.35.

Funny Car -- 1. Ashley Force, Ford Mustang, 4.759, 329.10; 2. Cruz Pedregon, Toyota Solara, 4.780, 324.51; 3. Jerry Toliver, Dodge Charger, 4.783, 325.77; 4. Mark Oswald, Charger, 4.783, 324.67; 5. John Force, Mustang, 4.783, 319.22; 6. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.797, 323.43; 7. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.799, 320.89; 8. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.820, 320.05; 9. Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.843, 314.02; 10. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.844, 316.82; 11. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.850, 293.54; 12. Jack Beckman, Charger, 4.851, 315.19.  Not Qualified: 13. Gary Densham, 4.852, 315.86; 14. Melanie Troxel, 4.859, 326.16; 15. Scott Kalitta, 4.876, 290.76; 16. Jim Head, 4.889, 313.88; 17. Del Worsham, 4.900, 311.41; 18. Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.903, 314.61; 19. Mike Neff, 5.267, 205.44; 20. Bob Bode, 6.045, 157.65; 21. Tony Bartone, broke.

Pro Stock -- 1. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GXP, 6.711, 206.35; 2. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.726, 205.10; 3. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.726, 205.10; 4. Jim Yates, GXP, 6.728, 204.08; 5. Jason Line, GXP, 6.730, 204.70; 6. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.732, 204.26; 7. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.734, 205.41; 8. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.735, 205.19; 9. Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.737, 204.73; 10. Justin Humphreys, Dodge Stratus, 6.737, 204.14; 11. John Nobile, Stratus, 6.741, 204.48; 12. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.742, 204.73.  Not Qualified: 13. Larry Morgan, 6.743, 204.57; 14. Allen Johnson, 6.748, 204.45; 15. Steve Schmidt, 6.750, 204.60; 16. Dave Northrop, 6.750, 203.89; 17. Johnny Gray, 6.751, 203.74; 18. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.756, 203.46; 19. Rickie Jones, 6.758, 203.58; 20. V. Gaines, 6.768, 203.37; 21. Todd Hoerner, 6.777, 203.92; 22. Tom Hammonds, 6.783, 203.55; 23. Max Naylor, 6.791, 202.79; 24. Steve Spiess, 6.805, 203.03; 25. Bob Yonke, 6.823, 202.30; 26. Kevin Lawrence, 6.853, 201.70.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.027, 187.29; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.028, 189.90; 3. Chip Ellis, Suzuki, 7.039, 186.92; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.089, 187.42; 5. Angelle Sampey, Buell, 7.093, 183.29; 6. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.106, 187.21; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.113, 188.15; 8. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.129, 185.87; 9. Hector Arana, Buell, 7.132, 186.15; 10. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.191, 184.80; 11. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.200, 181.40; 12. David Hope, Buell, 7.212, 181.32.  Not Qualified: 13. Wes Wells, 7.215, 183.87; 14. Shawn Gann, 7.239, 184.52; 15. Karen Stoffer, 7.245, 185.36; 16. Buddy Robinson, 7.286, 181.06; 17. Craig Treble, 7.297, 179.11; 18. Redell Harris, 7.340, 181.67; 19. Ryan Schnitz, 7.402, 177.42; 20. Mike Kovacevich, 7.405, 180.16; 21. Junior Pippin, 7.496, 171.42; 22. Angie McBride, 7.812, 165.78; 23. Joe DeSantis, 13.964, 54.51.

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EVENT PREVIEW - CHICAGO PROMISES TO BE FAST SHOW

Plenty of drivers stepped up as early-season favorites this year - new names and old.

In Top Fuel, Chicago’s Tony Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson continue to tighten their grip on Top Fuel while drivers like teammates Antron Brown and Rod Fuller stand in their way. Fan-favorite Ashley Force has proven herself a serious contender for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Series world championship title in Funny Car – and although the moniker means less to her than the trophy, she would be the first woman to earn it.

But that can change all too fast.

Now that the NHRA POWERade Series has reached the halfway point in its regular season, another challenge for teams and drivers begins: Who will survive the summer heat?

The NHRA POWERade Series comes to Route 66 Raceway for the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals June 5-8. The event is the 10th of 18 in the Countdown to the Championship regular season, making it the beginning of the second half of the scramble to make the playoffs.

The Countdown to the Championship features two tiers – the first 18 races, where drivers attempt to qualify for the playoffs, and the final six events that determine the world champions.

As crew chiefs will tell you, the difference between preparing for a cool-weather race and a hot one are many and intricate. And there’s little time to figure them out with four races in the month of June alone. Soon teams will find out just how prepared they are for the grueling summer months ahead.

Air temperature, altitude and dew point all play factors in preparation for NHRA POWERade Series teams. Some feel prepared for the summer stretch, including Funny Car’s Cruz Pedregon, who announced a switch to a Toyota Solara body before Topeka. He’s confident that his Advance Auto Parts team will adapt to the new body and make it not only work, but be successful this year.

“With the way (crew chief Rahn Tobler) runs this car and from what we’ve determined we’ll get out of the Solara body, we’re really excited about the summer and running on hotter racetracks,” Pedregon said. “We just seem to perform better when the track temperatures get above 120 degrees and we won’t change our usual strategy this year.”

Of the four categories, the Funny Car and Pro Stock categories have produced the most riveting race-to-race competition this year with only one repeat winner in each field: Springfield, Illinois’ Tim Wilkerson in Funny Car and Greg Anderson in Pro Stock. The two categories are arguably the most competitive right now – two drivers who have won events this year, Jack Beckman and Melanie Troxel, aren’t even in the Top 10 in the points. Dave Connolly, who earned a trip to the Pro Stock winner’s circle in Bristol after missing the first five events of the year, has yet to crack the Top 10, but after a runner-up at St. Louis, the win at Bristol and a No. 1 qualifying performance in Topeka, most expect he will.

Greg Anderson has made his bid to reclaim the NHRA POWERade Series Pro Stock title he held from 2003-’05 a serious one with two wins so far in 2008. Meanwhile Jeg Coughlin, the defending NHRA POWERade Series world champion, would rather hold on to it – and he’s happy that hot-weather racing is coming up.

“I look forward to the summer months for two reasons: One, the schedule tightens up and it seems we are racing almost every week, and two, the air and track conditions change more frequently and I believe that makes the teams think more and take chances,” said Coughlin, driver of the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt. “I have the confidence in my team in these conditions and have had great success through the summer months.”

In Top Fuel, Schumacher had already won three of nine events– and no one believes that the U.S. Army locomotive will be losing any power soon. So, it’s up to the rest of the field, like Brown, Fuller, Larry Dixon, Brandon Bernstein, Cory McClenathan, and Topeka winner Hillary Will, to stop him.

“Mike Green and the guys have a great set-up for hot-weather tracks, so I’m actually looking forward to (the warm weather),” said McClenathan, who drove his FRAM dragster to a win in Las Vegas. “The hotter the better right now. We’re looking forward to getting away from the cool weather until we can get that figured out.”

Said Bernstein, driver of the Budweiser/Lucas Oil Top Fuel dragster, “During the summer months the tracks are hot and sticky, so as a driver you have to be on your toes and be ready to pedal the car. Our crew chief, Tim Richards, does have a pretty good combination for warm weather and in most cases, he can make the car slip down the track.”

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, a battle is brewing between former POWERade Series Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Andrew Hines and reigning world champion Matt Smith – between Hines’ Harley-Davidson and Smith’s Buell. It’s not yet clear how those camps will do as compared to the Suzukis ridden by Chip Ellis, Karen Stoffer and Shawn Gann, who were all in the Top 10 before Topeka.

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