2008 NHRA U.S. NATIONALS - FUNNY CAR NOTEBOOK
Keep up with this weekend's Funny Car action in Indianapolis by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. CompetitionPlus.com 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 - HIGHT RACES WITH INSPIRATION, TROXEL'S NEW CHAPTER AND EXAMINING BODE'S WILD RIDE
INSPIRATION - Robert Hight doesn’t need motivation when the mission is racing the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
For the 39-year old driver from Yorba Linda, Ca, the inspiration came while visiting his friend Eric Medlen at the cemetery on Monday morning.
Hight stopped on his way into the cemetery as he saw John Medlen on his way out.
“He stopped and rolled the window down and he couldn't even talk,” Hight recalled. “His eyes were filled with tears. It's so tough to see what this guy has to go through every day. All I could say was let's go get them today. He drove off and I went and saw Eric. After I beat Mike Neff [Medlen’s driver] in the second round he came up to me and said, 'did you make a deal with Eric today?' I said 'whatever it takes. Yes.”
John Force Racing has a team base in Brownsburg, Ind., making the event a home venue for his team. A constant reminder of Medlen stands in front of the shop in the form of a statue, arm raised into the air in celebration of his final victory at Sonoma.
“I want to take my trophy back there and hopefully I will be as proud holding it as he was holding his,” Hight added.
The final round marked the third consecutive for him at Indy, as he scored the win over an upset-minded Jack Beckman. For Hight, two out of three isn’t a bad record.
With John Force unqualified, and all of the JFR teams eliminated in the second round, the pressure was on. Nothing says pressure like iconic crew chief Austin Coil peeking in to reassure a driver.
“You've got Austin Coil and Bernie Fedderly up there every run,” Hight said. “Austin, I love him, but he comes underneath the car every run while I'm strapped in there and he says, 'no pressure.' He thinks that motivates but what is does is scare me to death. You don't want to go up there and just screw up.”
One cannot forget his father-in-law John Force either. Here’s a tip. Force does not make a good spectator.
“Force, when he came down there at the other end he said, 'you saved me.'
“It's tough, because he is not a good spectator and I can't even imagine the day that he decides he is going to retire. He gets up there and he wants to be in one of those cars so bad. It's like he's driving them from the starting line. He can see the mistakes we make or if we do good. He's the best, he really is. I feel bad when he is not out there because it kills him.”
Hight drove his way to pedal-fest victories over Frank Hawley and Tim Wilkerson in the third round. His closest race came in the second round against teammate Neff.
“This is not one of our prettiest wins, but I'm definitely not giving it back to anybody,” Hight said. “It's unbelievable. A weird, weird weekend. We started out real good with my car on Friday and went to the number spot. We then proceeded to go five runs in a row that it smoked the tires in about the same spot and that's including first round. After first round I wouldn't have bet on my team for nothing. Different things kept biting us and we would smoke the tires for different reasons. They kept giving us chances and when you give Jimmy Prock enough chances he's going to fix it.”
Hight enjoyed the kind of weekend that most drivers dream of. Earlier in the week he met major league baseball icon Tommy Lasorda and days later won Indy.
Even the meeting with Lasorda ranks up there with winning Indy.
Hight shared the experience with Force.
“I went home and was bragging to John about (the pictures Lasorda had on his wall) and John said, 'I got those kinds of pictures in my shop' and I said 'yea John, but he was with these people!”
A NEW START – UP AND DOWN SEASON – Melanie Troxel isn’t ready to return to Top Fuel racing any time soon.
The first year Funny Car driver has explored both ends of the emotional spectrum in 2008.
She’s won races and she’s failed to qualify.
“There are definitely aspects of the dragsters that I miss, but we're having a lot of fun over here,” said Troxel. “Certainly making the switch over here is a new challenge so I am not bored by any means. People keep wanting to ask me which I like better, I don't think, it's like trying to pick between your kids, I don't think you can pick. They definitely each have their own personality; they are both an adrenaline rush and both a lot of fun.”
Troxel entered the 2008 season with four career Top Fuel victories to her credit. While driving a dragster is largely a finesse technique, she’s quickly discovered the Funny Car to have a different personality.
“It might be kind of like the problem child, who's having a temper tantrum at times,” Troxel admitted, with a smile. “The dragster is probably easier to get along with most of the time. It's a lot of fun, but sometimes the most rewarding feelings come from a challenge which this car is.”
The NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis started a new chapter for Troxel. She began the season as a driver for Gotham City Racing when defending event champion Mike Ashley teamed with Roger Burgess after her longtime sponsor Torco Race Fuels suspended their sponsorships.
A lot has changed since the season-opener and Ashley is now out of the game, leaving Burgess as the sole team owner.
The team was rebranded as R2B2 Motorsports and came to Indy with a totally new image. Troxel admitted the new look and feel has made those Funny Car temper tantrums easier to deal with.
“We kinda fell into a little slump in the middle year,” Troxel said. “To be honest we had a slump at the beginning of the year, ran good for a little while there and then ran into another slump. We kind of feel like the performance of the car, we're on to something, we're making progress. It happens to be at the same time we changed everything over, uniforms, cars, trailers, changed the name of the team and I think that is probably a really good new start for us. We're starting with a clean slate, all new stuff and see if we can't build something from this.”
A semi-final finish at the largest drag racing event in the world is a good start.
END OF AN ERA – This weekend’s NHRA U.S. Nationals will mark the final opportunity for Del Worsham to drive a CSK-sponsored Funny Car at the prestigious event.
The 12-year relationship between Worsham Racing and CSK Auto will come to an end at the conclusion of the 2008 NHRA season, bringing to a close the third-longest running primary sponsorship in professional drag racing, in terms of consistent branding on the same car. The joint announcement, made by Worsham Racing and O'Reilly Auto Parts, comes after the Springfield, Mo.-based retailer, which recently acquired CSK and its Checker, Schuck's, Kragen, and Murray's brands, opted to let the sponsorship agreement expire at the end of the current term. Del Worsham and the Worsham Racing Funny Car team have every intention of securing new sponsorship and competing on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing tour in 2009.
"It's been a tough year, waiting through the acquisition and wondering which direction this would all go, but just having the final word on it helps us immensely in the search for new partners," said Del Worsham, the owner/driver of the CSK Impala Funny Car. "We had hoped that O'Reilly might break with their tradition of not sponsoring cars, and everyone we worked with there was great to us, interested in us, and willing to consider the option. But, in the end, they have a marketing method that works for them, and it doesn't include car sponsorships, so we have to respect that and understand it.
"This is really the end of an era, because we've been with Checker, Schuck's, and Kragen for a long time. The Budweiser and Castrol deals are the only ones that have been in place for a longer period, with the same sponsor names on the same car, so I'm very proud of our entire organization, and all the people who have been a part of it, for making this such a valuable asset for CSK over the last 12 years. It's been a real relationship, not just a sponsorship, and we know the success of the program makes a very strong statement on our resume'. We wish the people at O'Reilly all the best, and we plan to do what we've done multiple times in the past, by winning a few more of the races they sponsor."
Del Worsham and the Worsham Racing organization are working to secure a new marketing partnership for the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle season, and aim to compete at every race on the schedule while flying new colors. The team's in-house marketing staff has been preparing for this news throughout much of the year, and has been talking to potential new sponsors about the '09 season, and beyond.
"We held out some hope that O'Reilly might make a shift in their marketing efforts to pick us up, but we also knew this was the most likely end to the process, so we've been pushing hard and introducing ourselves to as many potential partners as possible, since early in the season," Worsham said. "In the best of times, these programs take a while to come together and become official, and the challenge is greater in a difficult economy, but we're thrilled with the response we've been getting, and the progress we've made. We're talking to a number of companies that are household names, and our record both on and off the track has been well received, so that's very promising.
"Our first goal, of course, is to secure the sort of partnership that will allow us to run as hard as we need to, for the 2009 Full Throttle Funny Car championship, but on top of that our secondary goal is to bring a significant new corporate presence to the sport. We're doing all we can to put a deal together, and in the end I feel very confident that we'll be out there. If we can bring along a company that hasn't had a major NHRA presence, that would be even better, for us and for the sport of drag racing."
For the remainder of the 2008 NHRA season, the Worsham team will maintain its current Checker, Schuck's, Kragen design and sponsorship.
THAT WAS A RIDE – If the drag racing doesn’t work out, Bob Bode has a future as a stunt show driver.
This comes after his display of driving prowess during Saturday evening when a fuel line came loose on his Funny Car engulfing the car in flames.
Bode was in trouble five feet after his ride left the starting line.
Bode crossed from the left lane into the right and appeared headed directly for the retaining wall. A last minute correction saved Bode from hitting the wall violently.
So what caused all of this chaos?
“The fuel line just separated,” Bode explained. “It was tight on the car; nobody did anything wrong, and what happened is it was pressed together, an Aeroquip-type fitting that just pulled the fuel line apart.”
Bode said the line was in the front of the motor by the control box. The fuel started pumping out at the hit of the throttle and got under the tires.
“The car turned sideways,” Bode recalled. “It [the fuel] must have hit the headers and ignited. Then all of a sudden we got fire, it was pointed towards the wall. I got it off the wall the first spin around and the fuel switch wasn't working because it burned the air line off, so it wouldn't shut off. The thing's running and it's still spinning the tires, I reached over and when I hit the fuel shut off it zipped the tire even more because it leaned the motor down.”
All of this happened before Bode made contact with the wall
“I was standing on the brake, finally I ran out of gas and I could get out of the darn thing,” Bode said. “It was a handful.”
While the car was rolling and burning, Bode attempted an escape. That was a bad idea.
“I had to wait until the thing ran out of gas. I'm standing up there pushing on the brake with my foot, and I actually pushed on the brake so hard, one of the brake lines pulled right out of the fitting, squirting brake fluid, we had that flying all over too. So it was a real nightmare.”
After this experience one might think Bode’s weekend was complete. The determined racer who competes on a limited budget was back for the next round of competition.
“The body got hurt so we went to our spare body,” Bode said. “The chassis, the one tire had just glanced the wall so the tire took all of the impact, didn't hurt the chassis or the rear end or anything. So, [the fire] burned all the lines off the car, the radios, the control systems; we had spares of everything.”
TACKLING INDY – Matt Hagan has the physical stature of a linebacker and a heart to match.
The former Pro Modified racer turned Nitro Funny Car rookie tackled the toughest assignment of his budding career by graduating to the nitro ranks.
Hagan, from Christianburg, Va., validated the move by qualifying at the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals.
“To be able to have the potential to come over here and run with these guys, I'm still blown away,” Hagan said. “I was sitting in the car last night and I was looking at all the crowd and I said ‘Man, you've got all these names on this entry list and I'm racing on Sunday.”
“This is Indianapolis, everybody in the world is here and to think that a little dealership from Christiansburg, VA can come out here and run with these guys, that just was pretty awesome. I was just sitting and thinking that I can't believe this is happening. Once I get past the awe factor I think we'll be fine.”
That’s where the Smith family’s influence comes in.
John is the crew chief, but the large factor behind the scenes is the influence of budget racing Funny Car icon Paul Smith.
The inclusion of Smith, by precedent, provides Hagan a factor he’s yet to experience in the first months of his career.
“It was tough,” Hagan admitted, discussing his learning months. “We were a new team and with a new crew. Everybody was learning at the same time and they say you have to pay your dues and I think we put in a good deposit anyway.”
Hagan has been making more than his share of withdrawals lately.
“You know this thing it runs up and down the race track whether it’s hot, cold, it doesn't matter, they’ve got a good tune up for it,” Hagan said, talking about his Shelor.com Toyota Solara Funny Car. “There no pressure this weekend, we're just having a lot of fun. I'm still in awe right now.”
“All I've got to do is just pull it on the high side and the next thing is the end, so it makes my job really easy.”
Hagan might have described the experience is easy, but the real factor he wanted to convey was confidence. A consistent car will generate a sense of security for even the most seasoned veteran.
That’s where Hagan desires to be.
“I know it's going to go to the end and it's not going to hurt itself,” Hagan said. “You can get in the car and be aggressive driving it and it makes such the difference when you get in there and you're not thinking about everything else. You can focus on getting in there and staying really shallow [staging].”
“It's been really good for us to get the data that we need to go over next weekend and play with the guys over there [in IHRA] and hopefully we'll do well in Epping, [because] that's where it counts for us right now.”
Hagan is one of three IHRA Funny Car drivers still in contention for the 2008 IHRA Funny Car title. He’s currently 51 points out of the lead, slotted behind Terry Haddock and Paul Lee.
A large motivational factor for his recent foray into NHRA competition has been mass speculation the IHRA won’t field the class in 2009. A source close to the IHRA says nothing is final at this point and time.
“We had to see if we could come over here and mess around with these guys and I think, we're real close,” Hagan said. “If we look at the list of the people we bumped out it's still a pretty tough list. Just being able to know that we can come up here and compete and run closely with the competition means a lot to us. If we just tweak a few things here and there, because this is still a new car and new set up, we will do just fine. I think the opportunity to make more laps and more testing over the winter and we can contend.
“It's real encouraging for us and it makes me feel better that we're out here and able to compete. The car has been running clean and I can't ask for a much better weekend than that.”
The challenge is something he looks forward to.
GOING TO SCHOOL – The combination of John and Paul Smith adds a monetary-friendly dimension to Hagan's approach.
“They treat this stuff like it's theirs and they're not out here leaning on it,” Hagan said. “They get upset when it scuffs a piston. They take their time and try to make it right – that’s what counts. And it helps us as far as financially, they're not out here just trashing blocks and stuff like that. Not to taking any away from the guy that was helping us before because he's a good guy, it just didn't work out.”
“John's real hands on and he's teaching the guys what they need to do. John's overseeing the whole deal. That's what this team needed in order to step up to the next level.
Hagan has heard the stories of a hard-nosed Paul Smith and rumors that he can be tough on a driver who makes a mistake. Maybe in a different time and setting, Hagan conveys. He says he’s had nothing but good experiences.
“You hear all these bad stories about Paul, but he's been really great,” Hagan said. “Don't get me wrong, Paul will let you know if you're messing up and so will John, but they've been great to work with. I can't ask for anything better than that. They've really been trying to teach me things here and there about keeping the car in the groove and stuff like that. Every bit of information helps and I want to be a sponge.”
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SUNDAY - T-PED STILL THE MAN, HEAD'S TRIBUTE
FINAL SESSION FEELS GOOD TO TONY – Beaten by older brother Cruz Pedregon in their Skoal Showdown match up, Tony 
Pedregon found solace in the heat of the day during his final qualifying run.
“That last run that we just made in the heat, we're going to have similar conditions tomorrow, that's encouraging to me,” Pedregon admitted after watching Cruz win the Skoal Showdown over Tim Wilkerson. “To run low ET in the evening when the conditions are there is one thing, but we're not going to be racing in that, so I feel good.”
Out of the Showdown, in the field and secure in the Chase, Tony's thoughts have turned to maintain his current points position as the schedule moves to the final six events of the year.
“Our approach in that session was we wanted to get down the track. We really didn't have a lot to lose coming into this race because we're in the Countdown. We know at worst we are going to be third, but we really want to hold onto that second spot going into Charlotte.”
WILKERSON THE DRIVER, NOT ACCOUNTANT - Upon scoring a final round in the U.S. Smokeless Funny Car Showdown, Tim Wilkerson showed his emotion and figuring talents to top-end announcer Alan Reinhart.
"That's about $10 a foot," Wilkerson beamed, as he discussed the $100,000 payout for the race-within-a-race.
A quick-witted Reinhart seized upon the opportunity.
"Can I have the change?" Reinhart asked.
TRY THAT ONE AT THE BANK - Reinhart wasn't finished there.
Following the skydiver's delivery of the $100,000 prize, Reinhart surprised the winner Cruz Pedregon with the following request.
"Can I see some ID?" Reinhart asked.
A stunned Pedregon responded, "Uh, this Advance Auto Parts across my chest will be my ID and my name here."
We'll keep that in mind Cruz.
FORCE APOLOGIZES - For the second year in a row the winningest driver in NHRA history will be on the sidelines at the biggest race of the season as John Force missed qualifying for the race by less than four hundredths of a second. At the top end of the race track a dejected Force was apologetic to the fans but also reminded them that there is more than one Force to be reckoned with in the NHRA.
“John Force personally isn’t racing but my name is out there with Ashley. That is why I have a multi-car team. Robert Hight is out there and so is Mike Neff so I will be racing as an owner just not a driver. I was given every opportunity by the NHRA and POWERade that they give you to come here to the greatest show on Earth,” said a visibly upset driver. “I hurt inside and for my sponsors but we’ll move on tomorrow. At the end of the day I feel that I have let the fans down. I think that is what hurts the most. John Force, he ain’t dead yet.”
Force’s focus will shift to cheerleading for his three Next Generation drivers and making a run at his 15th Funny Car POWERade championship.
“We are in the Countdown. We didn’t win the Shootout. I’ll be going here to new race track out east of here…where in the hell is it…Charlotte. I’m just a little bit on the tires,” said Force. “Thank you to the fans that love us. I know we have a few out there. Don’t forget the Force name is going to be out there a long time because Brittany and Courtney are coming right behind Ashley.”
HONORING THE LEGENDS -
THE ARTFUL DODGER – For a while last month, Robert Hight couldn’t seem to get away from publicity associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Harry Lasorda, who is the brother of legendary Dodgers skipper, was at the NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals and asked Hight for a business card. Hight obliged and didn’t think much of the request.
Last week Hight celebrated his birthday by attending a Dodgers game. He was on the way to the game when Harry called and asked him to take down Tommy’s cell phone and give him a call.
Yes, Tommy Lasorda wanted Hight to call him. The baseball icon wanted to meet the drag racing superstar.
“I got to go into his office and kinda told me some stories about the pictures on his wall -- Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan and all these famous people,” Hight said. “His office overlooks all of Dodger Stadium so he can see the games.”
Hight conveyed that Tommy Lasorda is a huge drag racing fan.
“He's interested in our sport and we're going to try to get him out to Pomona to the World Finals,” Hight said. “So that was like a real honor, quite a birthday present. We're going to be running the Dodger car the last race of the year maybe we can get him out there. It would be fun.”
He’s not exactly buddy-buddy with Tommy Lasorda yet.
“I wouldn't say buddy-buddy,” Hight said. “But, I tell you what, he's a real personable guy. He fell in love with my daughter. She got to take pictures with him and he was giving my daughter things. It was just a fun time.”
This experience is actually what Hight labels as a dream come true.
“I wrote to him when I was ten years old,” Hight recalled. “I told him how cool it was for a ten year old to get a letter, a reply, from him. So, to get to meet him at Dodger Stadium and hopefully to have him come out and watch our sport and learn about NHRA drag racing and run the Dodger car; I still can't believe that I am getting to do what I do; to drive Funny Cars and meet people like Tommy Lasorda.”
SENDING A MESSAGE? - Struggling through the final rounds of qualifying for the prestigious U.S. Nationals, four-time NHRA
champion Gary Scelzi missed qualifying for the Funny Car field today, driving the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car."You know, I wanted to be one of those guys who can win [here] in Top Fuel and win in Funny Car and it's not meant to be. And, I tell you what, it didn't really hit me until I just made this corner," said a disappointed Scelzi after exiting the car at the top end. "It's pretty upsetting. This is a big race. If you can't win the championship you want to win the U.S. Nationals and we're not going to do it."
A dejected Scelzi was asked by top-end announcer Alan Reinhart whether this was his last opportunity to win an Indy Funny Car title.
“Could be,” Scelzi responded, fueling speculation about his future.
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SATURDAY -IS THE CONCERT OVER FOR THE ROCKSTAR?
That’s how the defending NHRA Funny Car champion described his jump to the top of the Funny Car list during Saturday qualifying.
“We knew the conditions were very good,” Pedregon said. “We’ve been too conservative for the last, really, dozen races. We figured it would go and smoke the tires and it went.”
THE LIFE OF A ROCK STAR – Jerry Toliver admits his buddy
Johnson announced on Saturday in Indianapolis that he plans to leave Don Schumacher Racing to field his own nitro team in partnership with Al-Anabi Motorsports. The new team will have a dragster and a Funny Car.
“You never know, we’ll see what happens over there,” Toliver said. “Knowing Alan, it’s going to be a great running organization and I think he’ll have a good time.”
Toliver isn’t sure if there’s an opportunity for him with Johnson at this point and time.
“We’ll see, we haven’t talked about it much,” Toliver added.
Toliver confirmed his status with Don Schumacher Racing is uncertain at this time.
Sources have told CompetitionPlus.com that Rockstar (Energy Drink) will not return in 2009. Reportedly, this decision weighed heavily on the NHRA’s reluctance to enable the team to activate their marketing programs at the NHRA event.
“Everything is kind of in the mix,” Toliver said. “We’ll find out more next week.”
Toliver didn’t say whether the promotional restrictions the NHRA has handed down attributed to the uncertainty.
“It limits what we can do activation-wise,” Toliver said. “That is certainly one of the reasons why ROCKSTAR is here. It doesn’t help us and we’ll just have to see if ROCKSTAR wants to go forward from here.”
Toliver told CompetitionPlus.com that wherever he goes he can take the Rockstar deal with him and is not prevented from switching teams.
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FRIDAY -HIGHT PLEASANTLY SURPRISED; NO MORE FUNNY CAR SHOWDOWN?
SURPRISE, SURPRISE – Robert Hight likes a pleasant surprise as much as the next person. Friday night’s pace-setting 4.114
“What is funny was when I did my top end interview I didn’t know I was number one. When you shut off at 1,000 feet now you can see the scoreboard and I thought I ran a 4.14 but it was 4.114. I just saw the last two digits,” said Hight. “I was still happy with that. (Jack) Beckman had run a 4.13 in front of us and then when (Tim) Wilkerson ran a 4.13 behind us I thought we are in good shape in the number three spot. My guys said we held onto number one and I looked at the time slip and I was like wow we ran 4.11. It was kind of a surprise.”
The former crewman for team owner John Force is already getting into the racing groove and handling the pressure of being on the biggest drag racing stage.
“You still get the same kind of nerves that I had the year before when I won the race. This is Indy. Even (teammate and rookie) Mike Neff said he felt the pressure. You don’t really understand it until you are sitting in the car and driving it. This is big. When you are actually here everybody is different,” said Hight. “The announcers sound more excited. Everybody is excited. This year is cool. I am glad they moved the countdown away from the Indy race. We can get through this race. There is enough going on at Indy anyway.”
BETTER ENJOY IT – An era may be over, or at least it seems that way.
Andy Hoefer, Director of Marketing for United States Smokeless Tobacco, confirmed that currently there are no plans for his company to return as sponsor for the $100,000-to-win United States Smokeless Showdown in 2009.
“We are considering a new program and looking at all options,” Hoefer said. “We are trying to come up with a program that benefits the NHRA and United States Smokeless. We look forward to figuring that out. We’ll talk about it and decide what to do at a later date.”
Unsubstantiated rumors suggested Skoal approached the NHRA about an increased payout of upwards in the $1 Million range for the special race-within-a-race based on qualifying.
“There is nothing that I am aware of,” Hoefer responded when asked.
IN SECURELY -
SCOTT WOULD’VE BEEN PROUD – Jeff Arend’s 4.193 elapsed time was only good enough to put him in the seventh spot in
provisional qualifying, but the lap was as good as the top spot in his heart.
Arend made his debut as the driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car, the same ride Scott Kalitta made famous.
The experience left Arend feeling both apprehensive and cautious in the same token.
“There were a lot of emotions involved,” Arend said. “I never tried to fill his footsteps, and as I sat in his lounge – I felt kind of awkward. It’s a big honor to drive for the Kalitta family. Now that we’ve made a few laps, and the pressure is off, you really see just how great of a group of people they are. I’ve never met such a friendly and professional group.”
Arend admits he walked gingerly through the first part of the association. A part of him wanted to celebrate his appointment and a large part wanted to be respectful of how he attained the position.
“I just understand I have a job to do and we’ll have more fun once things get to rolling,” Arend added. “You can see the emotions changing from sorrow to excitement about racing. This is how you heal.”
A major step in the healing process would be to win a race this year. Winning a race is something Arend believes is within the realm of reality.
“You can see the excitement in Connie’s eyes and up until now, I hadn’t talked to him a lot,” Arend admitted. “He’s excited about it and that’s great to see.”
Arend’s paths had actually passed with Scott Kalitta before this weekend’s debut.
The same chassis that Kalitta used to win his first national event in 1989 was the same one that Arend used to win Reading in 1989.
Arend believes this team is capable of winning in 2008 and it’s not a matter of if they will when but rather when they will win.
“I think that we have a great team and it wouldn’t surprise me,” Arend said. “I think we have more than enough to win with.”
NEW FACE
YEAH, SCHOOL'S BACK IN – Some things a driver never forgets and for Frank Hawley, he’s well schooled on the value of the
It’s been a long time since Hawley raced a Funny Car at this event, nearly a quarter of a century. Back then, the accomplished drag racing school owner drove the Chi-Town Hustler Funny Car tuned by Austin Coil.
So what brings him back? The opportunity to drive a competitive race car – the Rite Aid Pharmacy Dodge Charger R/T for the new multi-car R2B2 Racing team – lured him from his full time job as the proprietor of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School.
Even though he’s only entered four races this season, Hawley and the Brownsburg, Ind.-based team displayed their competitive mettle with a strong runner-up finish at Reading, Pa. (Aug. 17). It marked Hawley’s first Funny Car final since 1984 and his first final round since 1991, when he was a Top Fuel driver.
“When I think about the U.S. Nationals, I think about winning the first Big Bud Shootout (1982, now the U.S. Smokeless Showdown) in Funny Car,” Hawley said. “And I was runner-up to Joe Amato in Top Fuel (1990) when I was driving Darrell Gwynn’s car.
“I’ve never won that race ... and it would be very, very exciting do it this year. Whoever wins it will have earned it because the Funny Car category is very competitive.”
Coming off a runner-up finish two weekends ago in Reading, Hawley and his team is pumped. Not a bad return for a team that had been idle for two months.
“When the car runs good, people say the crew chief or the driver did a good job,” Hawley commented, “but at Reading every guy on this team, no matter what his job, did it perfectly, or we would’ve had problems. I was really pleased with the performance of our car.
“Aaron Brooks is our crew chief and he obviously made the right tune-up calls and Rob Centorbi is the assistant crew chief and the rest of the guys – Cameron Moore, Ryan Pethel, Thom Whybrew, Todd Veney, Tyler Doyle and Nate Archambault – deserve all the credit. They did a fantastic job.”
Hawley is presently 18th headed into Saturday's qualifying.
NOT TICKLED PINK -
DESIGNING WOMAN - Ashley Force knows all about getting from point A to B on the race track. The 2007 rookie of the
year is one of the most consistent drivers on the track and one of the busiest spokespersons away from it.
The soon to be newlywed will be telling viewers on behalf of sponsor
Sanyo about getting to the finish line when it comes to installing the
ultimate home theater for a special holiday edition of the Designing
Spaces television program.
Force wrapped up filming for Designing Spaces, a 30 minutes show that
inspires viewers to make every space count and enjoy the space they
live in, the Tuesday before the 54th annual Mac Tools US Nationals from
the production studios in Florida. The self proclaimed “shy Force” was
at ease in front of the camera talking about a topic that the
California home-body is very excited about.
“I watch all the home improvement shows like Designing Spaces. I am not
a big clothes shopper. I’d rather go to BrandSource and look at gadgets
or TVs. That sort of technology is interesting to me,” said Force.
“Danny (fiancé Danny Hood) and I are getting married in December and
we’ll be moving into a house together. That can be overwhelming so
watching do it yourself shows like Designing Spaces help a lot to give
us ideas.”
The graduate of Cal State-Fullerton who has a degree in Broadcasting
and Communications remembers studying about today’s technology years
ago as a college student.
“There is so much technical stuff involved with the new televisions.
Danny usually can do all that stuff. There is always something new
which is exciting because it makes the television watching experience
so much better. I remember studying HD in college,” added Force.
The goal of Designing Spaces is to show viewers how to achieve their
fantasy style with advice from renowned leaders in the design,
hardware, architecture, houseware, and real estate industry. Force’s
holiday segment focused on helping viewers pick the right Sanyo HDTV
and talking about the benefits of Sanyo HDTVs.
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THURSDAY -SCELZI SEZ, "I NEED TO WIN INDY"
In looking at his stat sheet, Gary Scelzi appears to have earned more than his fair share of drag racing accolades.
Consider this. The Four-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series champion
holds an impressive list of accomplishments which includes 37 national
events in 58 final rounds, was the first Funny Car driver to break the
330-mph barrier, won his first Top Fuel crown as a rookie, and is the
only NHRA driver to have won in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol
Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car.
Yet there’s one simple tidbit that sticks in his craw.
Scelzi has not won the prestigious U.S. Nationals in the Funny Car
class. His solo victory at this event came in Top Fuel, in 1998.
"It's time," Scelzi admitted.
Scelzi is out of the hunt for a fifth championship this season, having
missed a berth in the Countdown to 1 playoffs, but he's ready to "wreak
havoc" on the rest of his competitors in the class as he prepares for
this weekend's 54th annual U.S. Nationals with a new crew chief on
board, stepping in for ailing tuner Todd Okuhara, and high hopes.
"We've got Richard Hogan tuning the car, who has been in the shop for a
week, going through, refining, trying to find a combination that he
will be comfortable with," says Scelzi. "He's working with Todd, he's
working with Phil (Shuler, tuner of Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge), John
Collins, our assistant crew chief, and everybody on the Don Schumacher
Racing team.
"Everybody seems to be upbeat and going in a good direction. It's risky
doing this before the U.S. Nationals. It's great that you've got an
extra qualifying session (five in all), but you’ve also got a bunch of
cars coming and everyone is trying to be a hero, and so are we.
"We know we can't win the POWERade championship so our plan now is to try to salvage the year by winning the U.S. Nationals.
"There's been a lot of changes, a lot of things going on. Hopefully we
can get a handle on it all and cause havoc on all these guys who are
going to be in the Countdown.
SAM I AM - Sam Millard, a six-year-old from Texas, saw his winning JDRF design on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby 
Mustang for the first time today, as his “Imagine a Cure” theme was unveiled in front of a lunchtime crowd in downtown Indianapolis.
Millard, a resident of Greenville, Texas, and member of the Greater Dallas JDRF Chapter, helped unveil his car with Al Giombetti from Ford Customer Service Division, at Monument Circle. His design for the JDRF-themed Funny Car was applied to the Shelby Mustang of Bob Tasca III for the NHRA U.S. Nationals to be held this weekend in Indianapolis.
“Sometimes when mommy and daddy check if my blood sugar is high or low, I can feel my heart beating in my finger,” said Millard on what inspired his car design. “I don’t want to feel that anymore, so I want JDRF to win and find a cure.”
On hand at the event were Giombetti, executive director, Ford Customer Service Division; Nancy Lonsinger, JDRF board president, Indiana state; Bob Tasca III, driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang which will carry Millard’s paint scheme; and Millard’s parents, Bart and Shannon.
“We’re thrilled we’ve been able to help Sam’s design come alive on our Mustang Funny Car,” said Giombetti. “To have the kind of response we got from JDRF kids around the country, and to be able to raise more than $84,000 with this contest… well, it’s just amazing.
“All of us at Ford Motor Company are proud we are the largest corporate supporter of JDRF, and we’re also proud to be able to offer unique ways to help JDRF raise funds to find a cure. “
Millard was one of 307 child designers from around the country whose paint schemes raised $84,542 for research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. Millard himself raised $6,801.
“To have Sam see his design on our racecar for the first time today was just really special,” said Tasca. “I am so proud to be a part of this great contest with Ford and JDRF, and look forward to putting Sam’s design in the winner’s circle this weekend.”
"I just want to thank the Ford Motor Company for what they did for JDRF through this design contest,” said Lonsinger. “JDRF is very proud to have the support of Ford, and are thrilled to see the end result of this contest with Sam’s design on the race car.”
As the winner of the design contest, Millard will spend Friday at the track with the Tasca Racing team as an honorary crew member, and he and his family will get to see his car design run during qualifications for the U.S. Nationals.
CAPPS ON 1,000 FEET - The IHRA has plans to incorporate 1,000-foot drag racing into a mix of eighth-mile and traditional quarter-mile venues in
2009. The NHRA has yet to reveal whether 1000 foot racing will continue beyond 2008.
The NHRA announced a temporary scale back to 1,000 foot drag racing for
the nitro division through the 2008 season following the tragic death
of Funny Car racer Scott Kalitta during the NHRA Supernationals in
Englishtown, NJ.
Veteran nitro Funny Car racer Ron Capps, a drag racing purist by his
own admission, wouldn’t mind seeing the NHRA run quarter-mile at
certain venues while scaling back to 1,000-foot on those tracks with
shorter shutdown areas.
“I’ve been waffling a little bit, which I try not to do,” Capps
explained. “As a historian, I didn’t want to veer too far away from the
quarter mile. It’s kind of what the foundation was built on. It’s what
(NHRA founder Wally) Parks built everything on. But I’ve got to tell
you, you can ask most drivers, and the majority of them are going to
tell you we’re pretty happy with things the way they are right now.
There were a few more explosions and such in Reading, and we kind of
had a feeling because of the conditions, the weather, the atmosphere
conditions were good there. So guys were really leaning on their stuff
to run better. But I think just finding a good way to mark the 1,000
foot for the Funny Car guys and gals is important because you kind of
get lost when the clutch comes in, and it’s hard to find a thousand
foot sometimes.
“But I’ve got to tell you I’m pretty happy with it. And more than that,
the fans are probably the best beneficiary. Because they’re allowed to
go in the grandstands, take one drink in their hand, and sit through
the whole session and not have oil downs take a half an hour here and
there. And they’re able to go back in the pits and watch their favorite
drivers and crews do their work. It’s a win win thing right now. But I
think containing these cars at the finish line will be the key. We’ll
see what happens next year. But that’s not our call.”
What Capps doesn't want to see is a return to quarter-mile racing that
includes the sanctioning body alter the current chassis/engine
combination.
“Del Worsham and I were talking the other day and I would rather run
our cars the way they are, full tilt, get your attention,” Capps
admitted. “That adrenaline rush that we get and running like that to
1,000 foot, than to have a governor put on these things that they only
run 300 miles per hour to the finish line. That’s my personal opinion.
They become slot cars at that point. We went to Denver, and 1,000 foot
was good. And the weather conditions there being the mile high the cars
always seem to run slower anyway. So those two put together (meant
slower cars).
“We left Denver, but when we got to Seattle and that first lap in
Seattle, I looked at every other driver and said, ‘Man, this is what
it’s all about.’ You step on the gas and this thing makes your eyes the
size of a half dollar, it’s, you know, there is nothing that replaces
that. So my personal opinion is I’d rather run them like they are to
1,000 foot, than to have them slowed way down to a quarter mile.”
PRETTY IN PINK - The special-edition Castrol GTX Ford Mustang in which Ashley Force this week will try to become the first woman to win a Funny 
Car
title at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the world's oldest, largest, and
most prestigious drag racing event, definitely is pretty in pink.
Nevertheless, rivals aren't likely to be fooled by the distinctive
paint that celebrates the 25-year-old's 2007 rookie-of-the-year season.
That's because they know that beneath the feminine facade beats the
mechanical heart of one of the world's most potent race cars, one in
which Force not only became the first woman in drag racing history to
win an NHRA Funny Car race, but also the first to reach a final round,
the first to lead the points, and the first to earn a starting berth in
NHRA's Countdown to 1.
The graduate of Cal State, Fullerton picked the color for the car. For
her, it recalls an era of empowerment for women in drag racing, an era
in which Shirley Muldowney's hot pink Top Fuel dragster shook the very
foundation of the sport.
"This is my first specialty car," she said, "and I love the color pink.
I asked my team about having a pink car since it's their rookie of the
year car as much as it is mine, but they were fine with it. They
actually thought it would be intimidating since, while they will never
admit it, most guys don't want to lose to a girl much less a girl in a
pink race car.
"There will never be another rookie-of-the-year car for me, and I'll
only race it one time, so that will be doubly special," she said.
As a youngster, Force was inspired by Muldowney, who, after becoming
the first woman licensed to drive in Top Fuel, won world championships
in 1977, 1980, and 1982.
"When we went to the races with my mom, we always wanted Dad to win,
but I used to cheer for Shirley and the other girls in racing, too.
They were an inspiration just like I hope I can be to girls from this
generation."
In her second season, Force has begun to come into her own, and that
has led to a not-so-subtle change in perception among race fans.
Whereas she once was identified solely as "John Force's daughter," more
often, people who gather around the John Force Racing compound point to
the elder Force signing autographs next door and identify him as
"Ashley's dad."
John characterizes it as "a changing of the guard." At 59, the 14-time
world champion acknowledges that he is in the twilight of his career.
Nevertheless, he has said he will continue to race vicariously through
Ashley and her younger sisters, Brittany, 22, and Courtney, 20, who
also are competing at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, though not
in Funny Car.
"Our car has been running good," Force said of her Dean Antonelli- and
Ron Douglas-prepared Ford. "It just hasn't happened for us on race day,
at least not lately. We just have to keep doing what we're doing. If we
stay consistent like we've been, it'll come back around."
A winner in April in Atlanta, where she beat her famous father in the
final round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals,
Froce was runner-up at two races and started from the No. 1 qualifying
position at two of the last three races.
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