NHRA LAS VEGAS NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
Keep up with this weekend's NHRA Summernationals by reading our behind-the-scenes event notebook. We 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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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - CRUZ CONTROLS FUNNY CAR; THE SCHUMACHER RODEO, RIVAS REELS IN COMPETITION AND JEGGIE RULES PRO STOCK COUNTDOWN
CRUZING TO THE TOP - It’s been 14 years since Cruz Pedregon has won back-to-back Funny Car races.
It’s been even longer since he’s entered the final race of the season leading the points standings.
Pedregon pulled off the feat in the final round of Las Vegas as he knocked off the No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight en route to unseating previous leader Tim Wilkerson, who suffered a first round loss.
Pedregon used a quicker reaction time and led Hight to the stripe with a 4.100 elapsed time at 304.67 miles per hour. For his part, Hight turned in a game 4.111 second run.
Pedregon aided his championship hopes by eliminating Jack Beckman in the first round, Gary Densham in the second, preventing an all John Force Racing final round by eliminating John Force in the semis.
He believes he’s a different driver today than he was back in the day when he won the 1992 championship driving a McDonald’s sponsored Funny Car for team owner Larry Minor.
“I handle the pressure a lot better now; back in 1992 I was on autopilot,” Pedregon said. “I was really in awe of everything that was coming at me. I think I was just going off of adrenaline, I didn’t really understand anything. I didn’t understand what I needed to do outside of the car to be successful like I have this time around. I learned a lot of tough lessons; I want to be good and to keep driving. I want to be real good, but I have had to learn through the school of hard knocks to be able to be a more effective driver. This means more to me because I’ve been a more effective driver, in spite of the pressure I think I can do what I have to do and not worry about Championships. If it comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Besides the largest difference is this championship run in on his dime – an opportunity he wondered whether would happen or not.
“I thought maybe I’m just going to suck at this the rest of my life and I was just the luckiest guy in the world to drive some cars that were good,” Pedregon admitted. “As competitive as I am, I thought I was desperate to be a catch on fire guy, which would really never do anything except for driving some good cars. Through hard work, dedication and hiring good people I’ve managed to put myself in a position again where I’m very proud of what we’ve done. I’m able to answer the bell as a driver; I’m just going to live in the moment. This win means so much to me.”
Pedregon leads Wilkerson by 12 points and runner-up Hight by 39 with one final event left to go.
GOTTA HAVE FAITH - For a man of faith, Chris Rivas didn’t have much confidence in his chances of contending for a 
championship after his bike failed to start in the first round of the NHRA Carolinas Nationals in Concord, N.C., the first race in the 2008 Countdown to the Championship.
Then he won the next national event.
He kept on winning and in Las Vegas, scored his third national victory of 2008 – effectively pulling him within 39 points of point leader Matt Smith.
“Charlotte was so disappointing,” Rivas recalled. “That’s why we had that turn of events in Dallas. It was so disappointing in Charlotte, that’s when we really thought we were out of it. I told them the only way we’re going to do this is if we make drastic changes. We have to start winning events back to back and we have to keep winning events. I don’t know if I can answer why we have been able to do this but I just feel like my season has been blessed. I just feel blessed; I don’t know how to explain it I just feel like God has had his hand on me.
“I’m blessed for the season I have had because it’s not anything extraordinary we haven’t put a lot of time or effort into our bike or our own program. The team is based out of Georgia and I’m living in California. I have a business that I’m running and my own shop in Fresno. It’s 12 hour days long days, the past three weeks I was able to get to get my shop in order.”
Rivas was quicker than final round opponent Eddie Krawiec on both ends of the Strip at the Las Vegas quarter-mile. He pulled within one round of Krawiec with the victory.
Had Rivas lost, Krawiec would be the point leader.
Rivas actually helped Matt Smith by winning the round and in an ironic twist the victory opened up a potential showdown with Smith, who unceremoniously fired Rivas mid-race in last season’s NHRA Championship finale in Pomona, Ca.
Rivas holds no ill-will towards Smith. Instead, he credits the experience for opening up what he considers to be the opportunity of a lifetime in riding the G-Squared Buell for George Smith and George Bryce.
“I didn’t feel like I was treated right in those days and I didn’t really say anything about it but the past is the past and today I’ve really been given a better opportunity and I really believe that,” Rivas said. “Whatever I did with Matt Smith’s team, I learned some things and it was a necessary step in life to go through to get to where I’m at today. Because if I would have still been with the Mohegan Sun team and not ventured out to the Torco deal I wouldn’t have been able to do the thing with G2 that I was at the end of that season. I think it was very uncomfortable for me at the time, that’s a situation where hindsight’s always 20/20 or better and looking back at it that was definitely the turning point of my career where I was blessed enough to be available for this team and build a fantastic relationship with George Smith.”
MESS WITH THE BULL - Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.
Newly christened NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher granted defending event champion and hometown favorite Hot Rod Fuller his wish in the final round, well – part of it.
Fuller emphatically stated he wanted to race Schumacher one more time before his tuner Alan Johnson departs to begin his own team. He didn’t want Fuller to run off to the Funny Car division without an opportunity for them to race.
Schumacher told the media he isn’t planning to run Funny Car anymore.
Maybe it’s the lure of beating drivers like Fuller on a regular basis that encourages him to remain. He’s reached the final round in eleven straight races.
“I get it because I’d want to race us too. When you win the race and beat the guy whose best, that’s great, that’s what it’s all about,” Schumacher said of Fuller’s challenge. “He’s just had some bad circumstances because we’ve beat him so many times it makes him look bad, most people would say not to ask for it then. He keeps asking and we’ll keep giving to him I guess, I guess. It will be a different world next year, we’ll have a different crew chief, different team, all new people and we’ll get back to our old self. But right now if I had to race against the Army car myself, I wouldn’t be looking forward to it.
“Whether we’ve been the best at every race or not, we’ve won them and that’s what counts. If you want to win you want to beat everyone else. You are going to have to race against us if you want to win the championship you are going to have to beat us. I don’t think he’d answer the same way if he had to make that answer again.”
Schumacher quickly overcame a Fuller holeshot to score an unprecedented 15th Top Fuel national event win during the 2008 season. Las Vegas marked the 18th final round he’s reached in 2008.
Incredibly Schumacher has won every first round this season and the streak of good fortune dates back to Richmond of 2007.
Many times Schumacher has emphasized the difficulty in winning first round but when quizzed which has more meaning, the consecutive opening round triumphs or his 15 national wins to date – the 15 victories win hands down.
“The first round wins are absolutely incredible, to go out there and suck it up when you haven’t seen the track and haven’t had a chance to get the tune up for the day,” Schumacher said. “But the amount of wins and the way we’ve won them, they haven’t been by two car lengths; they’ve been the close battles. That’s impressive that we know the exact time to go out there and cut a very good light and tune up the car and make it work like that over and over again. It just builds because people take shots at you every time. There are a lot of good cars it’s not like there is just one good car and everyone is trailing back. We have one that’s winning races but everyone else has been excellent as well. We’ve qualified number one eight times. That leaves a lot of other number one qualifiers that have outrun us.
“In many first rounds we got outrun, in a lot of the races we were. There were a lot of the races where we didn’t even get low ET for the event. You just have to win the race and beat the guy that you’re racing against. That’s what it is all about. Back in the old days the old AJ, was going to smoke the tires or run low ET. He’s a different guy right now, the guy’s figured out how to run the race car down the race track and beat the guys we have to beat. Never thought five years ago you’d hear me say that, but there are a lot of races where he’s said we had to be careful there.” He’s doing a good job and it’s unfortunate that I’m going to have to race against him next year.”
Schumacher is now two rounds away from tying Pro Stock racer Greg Anderson’s 2004 record of 76 round wins.
COUNTDOWN DOMINATION - Jeg Coughlin Jr. likes the idea of being the only Pro Stock driver to ever win every NHRA 
Countdown to the Championship program contested.
Coughlin defeated a red-lighting Greg Stanfield to score his 41st career national event victory and third of the season
“I think our team has prepared strategically for the two countdown years,” said Coughlin. “Without question one thing is the addition of Jeg Sr., he has been to every race since the countdown started. That’s the agreement that we made since I made the run last year. I said, ‘What are you going to do next year?
“He said I’ll definitely be at the last races because we didn’t know what would be the format this year. He’s an ace in the hole for the Cagnazzi team.”
Coughlin needs only to qualify in Pomona to secure his fourth career NHRA Pro Stock championship. In the event he should DNQ, No. 2 ranked Greg Anderson would have to not only win the race but establish a new elapsed time record to remain in contention.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING - Robert Hight had never won a round of eliminations at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals in his previous three attempts but made up for lost time racing into the final round versus Cruz Pedregon. In a race that could have moved him into second place Hight narrowly missed getting the win when his Auto Club/Los Angeles Dodgers Ford Mustang came up just short at the finish line 4.111 seconds to Pedregon’s 4.10.
“I’m a little bummed that we didn’t win. Our car fell off a little and Cruz murdered the tree. I don’t know how you do that. Realistically we picked up three rounds today. I’m greedy I would have liked to have picked up four but there is always a bright side. The biggest thing for me is we have a shot at Pomona this year. We didn’t really have a shot last year without setting a national record or having Tony Pedregon not qualify,” said Hight.
Heading into the final race of the Countdown to 1 Hight is in third place 39 points behind new points leader Cruz Pedregon and 27 points behind former points leader Tim Wilkerson. The points margin is not insurmountable by any stretch of the imagination for Hight considering he closed his points gap today by 53 points and his new gap is less than two rounds of racing.
“Basically (Tim) Wilkerson or Cruz (Pedregon) could go to the semis, lose and I win the race; I’d be the champion. As long as they don’t out qualify me too much. The way our car qualifies we’ll be alright. The biggest bright side for me is from a performance standpoint. This is the best we have run all year. Hands down, not even close. This Ford Mustang performed great. We had six runs in a row that were all in the ohs. It doesn’t get any better than that. We are peaking at the right time,” said Hight.
Hight was given a huge helping hand by teammate Mike Neff and the Old Spice team who trailered Tim Wilkerson in the first round. Neff, the hands down favorite for the 2008 Rookie of the Year, award defeated Wilkerson for the first time in six attempts. It was a crowning achievement for the former world champion crew chief and new member of the JFR team.
“That was huge. I thought, ‘Finally! Things were finally going our way for once.’ I knew Neff could do it. He is a tough dude,” concluded Hight.
THE DREAM IS OVER - Dave Connolly's remarkable run into contention for the NHRA POWERade Series Pro Stock championship officially ended when he lost to Cagnazzi Racing teammate and reigning class champion Jeg Coughlin in the quarterfinals.
Connolly entered the event in third place, 79 points behind Coughlin, knowing Coughlin needed to lose early. Connolly qualified ninth and defeated Warren Johnson in the first round while Coughlin ousted Rickie Jones to set up the confrontation.
"We put ourselves in that position by struggling through qualifying," said a disappointed Connolly, "and we just went up against the wrong guy. In all reality, that was the situation we wanted to be in. We wanted to have control over the situation. We just didn't do a good enough job. He did a better job and he deserved to win. We'll cheer him on in the next couple of rounds and go to Pomona and try to win that race."
Connolly's team didn't know if it could qualify for the six-race playoffs, much less be a title contender, when they began competing five races into the season. But he went to the finals in seven of the next 13 races and finished sixth. He won once in the first five Countdown to 1 races.
"It's been a real good year, especially where we started from," Connolly said. "Now we are going to try and finish as high as we can. If things go right, Jeg and I will finish one and two."
SAFETY EQUIPMENT TESTING - Ron Capps suffered a supercharger explosion and the misfortune enabled the veteran Funny Car driver an opportunity to test NHRA's newly-mandated Electrimotion Safety Shutoff Controller.
"It was so quick. It struck the tires and then exploded the supercharger right after that. If there is a bright side, we have the new shutoff controller on it, so when an explosion happens like that it shuts the fuel off and puts the parachute out.
"As soon as it blew up, I reached down to shut the fuel off, because you're trained to do that as a driver, and it was already off. So the ‘chute was out and everything did its job. If something like that happens and you get knocked out or something goes very wrong with the car, having that system is a good thing. It worked.”
MR. 400 - Jim Yates describes 400 races as an amazing run.
“We’ve been here for 18 years, almost 19 years straight running NHRA Pro Stock,” Yates said. “We’ve attempted to qualify every race in a Pontiac car. No one has ever done that; no one has ever done that with one professional car. To try and stay in one class and try and qualify one brand of car for 400 years is unbelievable. That’s a pretty amazing thing.”
Yates, of Alexandria, Va., is a two-time NHRA Pro Stock champion with 25 career national event victories to his credit.
“I have to give the credit to Pontiac,” Yates said. “They’ve been able to stay competitive for all of these years. They were competitive in the mid-90s, they are competitive in 2000, and they are competitive still today. We’re not the fastest Pontiac out there but we’re still out there competing. That’s just a credit to the engineers and all those people at Pontiac for all of their hard work over the years. It’s just great to be a part of it and I’m pretty sure they have contributed greatly to our success over the years.”
In the interest of full disclosure, Yates drove a Ford Pro Stocker in the late-1980s but once he made the conversion he’s never looked back.
“I have had an allegiance to them; they’ve been great to me over the years. I’m not talking about money; I’m talking moral support and just all around backing,” Yates admitted. “Being there for you, being fair and square and treating me right and that’s what they’ve always done. That’s a big part of it, that’s where you build your allegiance. They build a great car because they listen to us, we listen to them.”
That’s why amidst rumored major cutbacks at GM, Yates says he’s sticking with the manufacturer, support or no support.
“I believe Pontiac has the best car out here,” Yates said. “If I wasn’t getting any money from anybody, I would be racing a Pontiac because I think it’s the best car right now. You have to think of it this way, things may change things may slow down next year, GM will comeback. We’d like to be there when they come back. There’s something to be said about supporting someone consistently over the years. You’ve got to do that in the sport. I’ve been around a long time, I’ve seen many people and things come and go. I’ve also seen a lot of drivers turn their back on a sponsor or a part when they weren’t the best in one week. Then the next year that part is the best then you have to go back. I think you’re better off just sitting back and maintaining a consistent relationship with a familiar product. Take what you can and know that they will come back. You can’t just jump from car manufacturer to car manufacturer and from part manufacturer to part manufacturer or from tire manufacturer to tire manufacturer.”
ADDED HELP – Pro Stock veteran Tom Martino will be a fixture in the Yates camp at least through Pomona.
Martino is filling the role of Jamie Yates, who is back at home spending time with his newborn son and Jim’s first grandson. The absence is something the team had planned for earlier in the season.
“I think Jamie has his head in the right spot and Tommy’s come in and helped us,” Yates explained. “Tommy helped us in Budd’s Creek for the race over there. He understands exactly what our program is and he knows what to bring to the party. I hope we can afford to keep him on the team; it’s really a financial issue right now.”
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - SCHUMACHER AND AJ CLINCH TITLE; THE NEW FORD ALLIANCE AND COBRA JET MUSTANG - DRIVE ONE
FACING THE FACTS – Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher said his chances of driving a Funny Car in 2009 are incredibly slim 
after his soon to be departed tuner, Alan Johnson, said he's not going to drive his own Top Fuel dragster next year.
Nothing kills the silly season banter like the facts.
“The chances are very slim,” Schumacher said, rating his chances of switching nitro classes in 2009. “It’s a legitimate question and a legitimate decision. I’ve thought about it and as interesting as it is, there’s so much more to it.
“I’m a dragster driver right now. We’ve set some records and we have a new crew and crew chief coming in and I see that as a challenge. The Army expects to win and we are out here doing our job. To tell them we are going to have a learning curve year after the season we’ve had, I don’t think that’s fair.”
Johnson won’t announce his driver until the season is over, but he will set the record straight on one thing.
“I’m not driving, you can definitely scratch that one off,” Johnson said. “I gave up driving in the Eighties. I enjoy seeing the success of the car from the outside.”
If Schumacher did drive a Funny Car Johnson is confident the six-time Top Fuel champion would stand up to the challenge.
“He’s a good driver,” Johnson said. “People say a monkey can drive one of these [dragsters] but you don’t win five championships in a row if you are. You have to be able to get it done and he’d be just as good. He’s got the competitive spirit.
“Sometimes he thinks too much. He’s trying to make himself better. That’s what it takes.”
Schumacher, who won 14 races this season, clinched the championship after the final qualifying session.
IT'S A CLINCH - Tony Schumacher pocketed his sixth career NHRA POWERade Top Fuel world championship on Saturday after 
qualifying number one for tomorrow’s ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
While Schumacher came into the weekend having only to make the 16-car field to capture his fifth consecutive crown, he went on to take his eighth pole of the season and the 55th of his career.
“That’s the way the U.S. Army team does things,” said the Chicago-area resident. “We wanted to get the pole and win the championship in the proper way. We didn’t want to merely slide into the bottom half of the order. Now, we can go out and celebrate a little bit.”
Schumacher’s celebration will be mild at best since he has to compete in the 23rd event of the year on Sunday. He’ll take on 16th-place qualifier, Joe Hartley, in the first round of eliminations beginning at 11 a.m. PT.
“We’ll gather as a team tonight to reflect on what’s been a great season, but then we have to get some rest for what we hope will be another long day,” he added. “Our job is to win races and we’ve got two more left on the table.”
Over the next couple of weeks, Schumacher will be attempting to set records for most wins in a single season and most round wins in a single season.
“Our Soldiers operate on a high level and that’s what we strive to do as well,” he offered. “There’s no question that we’re going to take our best shot at those records.”
Prior to clinching his sixth title, Schumacher, in recognition of his outstanding support to the U.S. Army, was promoted to Honorary Staff Sergeant by his long-time sponsor.
Presiding over the promotion ceremony was the Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army, Kenneth Preston.
“For sure, that means a lot to me,” he said. “It’s no secret that I love the association that we have with the U.S. Army. I wouldn’t trade the relationship I have with our Soldiers for anything in the world.”
COMINGS AND GOINGS - Reportedly Doug Herbert fired crew chief Kevin Poynter while Tony Shortall is helping Lee Beard this weekend on the Matco Tools car. Tom Martino is helping Jim Yates for at least the rest of the season while crew chief Jamie Yates spends time at him with his newborn son.
WILKERSON DRIVING ONE NEXT YEAR - The Ford Funny Car fraternity just increased by one.
Current Funny Car point leader Tim Wilkerson and Ford icon Bob Tasca III announced an alliance for the 2009 season and beyond during a Saturday press conference in Las Vegas. The two teams will merge their resources while maintaining their unique identities.
As part of the deal, Wilkerson will leave the GM operation and campaign a Ford-bodied entry in 2009.
Wilkerson will continue to campaign with the Levi, Ray and Shoup backing on his new Ford Mustang.
“This is an exciting time for us,” Wilkerson said. “With the state of this economy, I am encouraged that anyone would want to be involved in drag racing. That makes me feel good.”
The idea of an alliance began to materialize as early as Gainesville this year.
“This is a deal that has been going on for a while,” Tasca said. “This wasn’t a deal where you write something down on a napkin, shake hands and then you have a two car team. It comes down to finding the right people and money. We had the same attitude and going in the right direction. That’s what we feel will lead to a championship caliber program. Tim and I at the owner level really hit it off.”
Wilkerson is enthused about the potential of this program.
“I think that you will see some great things because Bob has some great things to bring to the table,” Wilkerson added. “He’s a great businessman with a lot of contacts. We needed that. Hopefully that will elevate the Levi, Ray & Shoup program to a new level. We have enough money to do what we need to do and Bob has an extensive testing program that we may get involved in. I see lots of good things from this point forward.”
Tasca warns the fact they have a two-car team doesn’t guarantee automatic success. That’s the reason they’ve taken the time to develop this alliance slowly.
“Sometimes two cars can mean twice the headaches,” Tasca admitted. “We really sat down in the beginning with two sheets of paper and listed the pros and the cons. The pros well outweighed any of the cons that we could think of. It was a really good fit for our programs.
“I describe what we do as trying to find a needle in a haystack. It’s that small of a margin and when you are doing it as a small team, it’s like trying to find that needle in the dark. Two cars going in the same direction isn’t instant pudding but at least you can find that needle with a flashlight.
“If Tim is lost, I’m the flash light. If I’m lost, he’s the flashlight.”
The two will maintain their respective home bases but will share data from Tasca’s new Concord, N.C.-based shop which will be equipped with a blower dyno, with clutch and fuel flow.
“Being able to leverage the synergies between two programs is huge,” Tasca added. “For me, I am so impressed with what Tim has done as a single-car team. His season could go down in history as one of the greatest championship runs in the modern day multi-car team era. We are going to hit it hard. We plan to start testing three days after Pomona.
“I believe the two of us together will be a major force in this class.
TRICK OR TREAT - On the day after Halloween Robert Hight gave his boss and father-in-law John Force the ultimate trick and 
treat. After an agonizingly long delay due to an Antron Brown oil down at the conclusion of the final Top Fuel qualifying session the entire Funny Car class started their last session nearly an hour and a half after the estimated start time. Hight, in the next to last pair of Funny Cars racing his sister-in-law Ashley Force, was then forced to wait again after their burnouts when a quick rain shower halted the racing action. Both Ford Mustangs shut off and then had to restart forcing both teams to double and triple check their starting line procedures.
“That last run was probably the craziest run I have ever made. Having to do the burn out and then stop because it was raining. I saw the side windows had water on them and I got back past the tree and Rick Stewart was shutting me off. I have seen lots of guys do that before; shut them off and restart them then stage but you never know. There are so many things that are going on. I was on the radio with my crew guys making sure that we do everything right. This kind of scenario just throws everything off,” said Hight.
When Hight crossed the finish line he knew he had made a good run but thanks to a radio malfunction he did not know how well until he got out of his Los Angeles Dodgers themed Mustang at the top end. The avid baseball fan was excited to have raced to the top spot considering the team needs every point possible to win their first championship even if it means denying his racing hero John Force the number one spot.
“We have to be perfect. My radio didn’t work so I had no idea what it ran. I was pretty sure it ran pretty good. I love baseball and getting to run the Dodgers car the last two races is a dream for me. I am glad I wasn’t good enough to play baseball or I wouldn’t be able to be out here driving this Ford Mustang for John Force. It would be the most perfect way to end the season with winning a championship running a Dodgers car and we are still in this ball game and we can do it.”
“For this Auto Club Ford team we have to make every point count. We could be perfect from here on out and still not win this championship. No. 1 qualifier here that is behind us and we need to win this race, go to Pomona be No.1 and then win. That still might not be enough. We know we have to do everything perfectly,” added the two time championship runner-up.
In the first round Hight will square off against No. 16 qualifier and nemesis Tony Bartone. It was two years ago at the ACDelco Nationals when Hight was the No. 1 qualifier and Bartone was No. 16 and Hight’s Mustang had a mechanical failure on the burn out effectively ending his bid for his first championship. Hight is hoping there is not a repeat in 2008.
“We have been number one here a lot and lost first round too. In fact two years ago I was in the championship hunt against John (Force) and (Ron) Capps. We had a killer car and my car died on the burn out.”
WHAT BULLSEYE? - Jeg Coughlin Jr. apparently has no problem with a bull's-eye on his back as the current NHRA Pro Stock points leader held on 
to the top spot after final qualifying for eliminations at the 8th annual ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Coughlin drove the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt to a track-record elapsed time of 6.703 seconds at 205.47 mph for his third No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 15th of his career.
"We've had a great start thus far," Coughlin said. "Our first two shots yesterday with our JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt were 6.70s both times and we were No. 1 qualifier. We got a little aggressive in the left lane this morning. We thought maybe we could tickle a .60 out of this thing but just didn't get away with it and had to abort the run. But we came back and ran a nice 6.73 and tied Jason Line for low of the round. The momentum we were looking for and the consistency we were looking for is exactly what we accomplished. We didn't plan on aborting that run this morning, but we've got that behind us and really feel confident going into race day. My father, Jeg Sr., and Roy Simmons, my crew chief, are doing an excellent job putting this car to the track and I'm having a ball driving it."
Coughlin holds a 74-point lead over second-place Kurt Johnson with two races remaining (Las Vegas, Pomona) in this year's Countdown to the Championship as the 38-year-old defending NHRA POWERade champion looks for his fourth career Pro Stock title (2000, 2002, 2007). He will face the Dodge of Rickie Jones in tomorrow's first round of eliminations.
"Typically here at Las Vegas, The Strip is known for having two very competitive lanes," Coughlin said. "We ran a great 6.73 down that right lane, and we thought we could get away with something better this morning down the better of the two lanes, the left, and we didn't. I don't think lane choice is going to play a big factor. The sun can play more havoc on the Christmas Tree itself for the drivers if we have some sun tomorrow. It should be a little bit cooler with maybe some overcast, so we could see performances even get a little better. One thing's for sure and that's in Pro Stock, you're going to see some door-handle-to-door-handle racing, and that's exciting for the fans. For the drivers, that makes us pull our hair out, but we love it as well."
COME ON WIND – When Angelle Sampey left the media center on Friday evening after scoring the provisional No. 1, she was 
bound and determined to return on Saturday to seal the deal.
At least that’s what she hoped to do.
“After the first round today I was praying for a 20 mile per hour headwind because I wanted to keep the top spot,” Sampey said.
Turns out that she didn’t need the help from Mother Nature, evidently she’d seen Sampey’s plight in adjusting the Buell.
Sampey converted her riding style of years on a high horse Suzuki to a torque-filled Buell.
“The weather conditions worsened all day long and I believe the air got up to 3,900 and went to 4,200 feet by the final session,” Sampey said. “I felt I was pretty safe.”
Sampey’s Rush Racing crew also put on a new tire in preparation of Sunday’s final eliminations.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on top of qualifying, I’ll have to prepare my speech for in the morning,” Sampey said. “I’m excited about this for my sponsor because they’ve been so supportive of me and no matter what has happened they’ve been there to support us and pat us on the back.”
The last No. 1 for Sampey was the 2007 Toyo Tires Nationals in Reading, Pa.
SCHUMACHER HONORED - In recognition of his outstanding support to the U.S. Army, NHRA Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher was promoted today to Honorary Staff Sergeant by his long-time sponsor.
Presiding over the promotion ceremony was the Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army, Kenneth Preston.
“For sure, this means a lot to me,” said Schumacher who is about to clinch his fifth consecutive world championship following final qualifying for the ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “I love the association I have with the U.S. Army. I wouldn’t trade the relationship I have with our soldiers for anything in the world.”
FISHING FOR DOLLARS - Top Fuel driver Clay Millican has done more than his share of fishing in the last few months. However, the pole he’s had in the water isn’t down at the local lake.
He’s fishing for a major sponsorship for team owner Mark Pickens Enterprises. The Drummond, Tenn.-based Millican says he’s had a few nibbles lately.
“I’ve done a whole lot more the past couple of months than I’ve done since Pete Lehman owned this team,” Millican admitted. “It’s a crazy, crazy business world out there right now and we’re certainly finding that you have to do crazy, crazy things just to get a sponsor to talk to you nowadays. I’m not a fisherman but we sure do have a lot of hooks in the water right now. We just need to find our way into landing one.
“We have a bunch of very promising proposals and presentations going for us right now. It’s kind of fun but at the same time aggravating because a lot of these things take so much time and when you’re not a good fisherman these things don’t really work because I’m not patient. You have to be patient to land these big sponsors.”
Millican said Pickens is committed to fielding a team next year regardless of the outcome.
“Mark has got a nice business plan in place here and I need to go out and find a business partner to go with him,” Millican said. “He’s got so many great companies to work with, he’s very businesslike. He owns many very good businesses – two very large businesses. But Mark and his family are just genuinely good people and we’ll be out here racing.”
Millican said his survival in the sport has been largely in part connected to his ability to work the sponsorship angles, something he adds, he’s never had any formal training for.
“I guess I’ve done that my whole life, I just didn’t know it,” Millican said. “I wouldn’t be out here driving one of these race cars if I wasn’t some kind of fisherman. I’ve been very lucky to survive this whole very crazy business we’re in. We just have to prepare for rain, plant our seeds and prepare for rain.”
FAST FORWARD - Del Worsham is adamant that he can wait until next year.
The veteran driver of the CSK Auto Parts Funny Car was named driver of Alan Johnson’s Al-Anabi Funny Car last month beginning in 2009. He contends that wait isn’t overwhelming and while he works towards next year’s program, he’s firmly entrenched in fulfilling his obligations for 2008.
“We’re building cars and getting ready for next season,” Worsham said, admitting the reality of the opportunity hasn’t fully sunk in yet.
“I don’t think I’ve hit that point yet. I don’t think until the last run at Pomona will I realize that I need to start thinking about next season.”
Next season will mark the first time in fifteen years that Worsham has been a hired driver. In 1993 and 1994, Worsham drove Roger Primm’s Top Fuel dragster.
He’s changed a lot since then.
“I was young then, I was just full of energy and craziness,” Worsham said. “This time around it will be different, but I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Worsham is adamant that being a team owner wasn’t a bad experience but he’s cautious to discover what being a hired driver will bring in this modern era.
“Being a team owner wasn’t that bad, especially when you’re doing well and having success,” Worsham said. “This was a good group of guys that I worked with. But who knows what kind of pressures and headaches this will bring up. It’s going to be fine and it will be a new challenge with a new outlook.”
DEALER DELIVERED STOCKER – What do you get when you cross a venomous snake, a wild horse and a jet?
The answer is something that makes the Director Ford Racing Technology Brian Wolfe smile.
Wolfe along with a score of Ford Racing executives unveiled the new Cobra Jet racing package to be introduced to AA/Stock or Super Stock/D if they convert.
This 5.4 liter (331 cid, 425 horse) will tip the scales at a little under 3,300 pounds and is expected to run in the neighborhood of 10.00 elapsed times.
As delivered to the customer it comes with the 6-point chrome roll bar in it.
The actual project, CompetitionPlus.com learned, took six months to complete.
“It has everything you need to take that car straight to NHRA Tech and tech out at a 10-flat,” Wolfe explained, voice beaming with pride. “We have Bogart wheels on it, Goodyear drag slicks.
“This is where the racers and enthusiasts come in. What if we engrave Cobra Jet on the wheels? Because that would be something important to the racers and the guys that want to hang on to these things. Also put the Cobra Jet emblem on the head rests. Let’s put the Cobra Jet on the tack as well.
“So we’re trying to do things that not only mean something to racers but can also mean something to those who collect these things. It also has parts of memories in there that people who really follow Fords, it will bring up many memories for them.”
Wolfe has visions of seeing this Cobra Jet package end up on the Barrett-Jackson auction fetching large bids.
“Yeah, we definitely do,” Wolfe said. “It’s just a really cool thing and it’s our way of reaching out to the NHRA and the sportsman guys so they know we’re making things for them.”
Wolfe said this Cobra Jet package is just one of several he hopes to bring to the high-performance community.
“I don’t just want this to be a 2008 car and I don’t want the next one to be a 2048 either,” Wolfe said. “I want to make this an every year thing so that we can have cars coming out every one, two model years to put out there as turn-key race cars.”
The Cobra Jet is actually the fourth turn-key race car package from Ford, according to Wolfe.
“NHRA racers may not know about the FR-500 GT, the FR-500 Competition C, and the FR-500 S,” Wolfe explained. “Those were also turn key race cars set up for many different types of racing. This year one our Competition C’s won the driver’s championship, manufacturer’s championship and the racing championship. The Mustang won over in Europe where the Porsches and everything runs. The guys have really done a great job of keeping this thing going. We’re excited about the Cobra Jet too.”
If your appetite is whetted and need one of these special edition vehicles, only 50 of these cars will be available in 2009.
“The dealers have already basically bought the ones we have made but if you’re interested, go to your Ford dealer that’s a WD like Tasca and tell them you heard there was a 2010 one coming out and they’ll get you the information you need to purchase one.”
The 2009 Cobra Jet Shelby Mustang will be officially unveiled to the industry this week at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The following weekend, a pair of the Cobra Jet Mustangs driven by Bob and Billy Glidden, will stage a best two out of three match race during the PSCA Streetcar Nationals in Las Vegas.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – HALLOWEEN TRICKIN’ AND TREATING; CHAMPIONSHIP CLINCHING ON HALLOWEEN
THE BEST COSTUME OF ALL – John Force came to the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals sporting the best costume of all. He
Force drove his way to the provisional No. 1 spot with a 4.062 elapsed time at 307.37 miles per hour.
A man who this time last year could only stand for a limited amount of time with the help of a walker took the stairs to the second floor press room.
“I’m in the gym every day and I am religious about that,” Force said of the exercise regimen that made today’s top performance possible. “I’m building muscle and I even have a belly. I’m building a lot of muscle in the gym.”
While the muscle in the gym made Friday’s incredible performance possible, Force hasn't yet convinced crew chief Austin Coil to unleash some of the muscle his Castrol GTX Ford possesses.
Force admits that since the Dallas accident, Coil has been reserved in tuning the 14-time champion to the max out of fear another accident could transpire.
“The doctor already said I couldn’t take another hit like the one in Dallas because I’m too old,” Force admitted. “I think that holds him back at crunch time but he’s starting to loosen up. I told him tonight I wanted to go for it or we might as well go home.
“He asked me, ‘What if I hurt you? I told him then we ought to quit now. Austin is a very emotional guy and we have focused mainly on safety. I’ve let the other cars on the team do the running. By next year I will be back to win the game.”
The last two seasons has provided Force with an experience unlike any in fourteen previous years. He learned how to ride the roller coaster up and down.
“I was on fire a lot of times in the early days and I tried tuning and I really got on fire,” Force said. “Then we started riding the wave of success and winning. Now I’ve been smacked down. My drive now is mentally stronger.
“When you get on top like we did, we used to get tired of doing the winner’s circles. Coil and I were guilty of that. It got old week after week, but when I ended up in the hospital in Dallas I knew it had been taken away from me. I thought I was going to win it last year. That’s how I thought.
“You never realize how much something means to you until it is taken away.”
The last time Force qualified on the pole was Indy 2006.
GIVE ME A RAH-RAH – Had Angelle Sampey known a cheerleader outfit would factor into vaulting her to the top of the
qualifying list she might have donned the Halloween outfit back in March.Sampey, who described Halloween as her second favorite holiday next to Christmas, rode her way to her first provisional No. 1 qualifying of the season and first on a Buell. If her track record 6.993 elapsed time holds, she’ll collect her 45th career low qualifying effort.
It just so happens Sampey deems the fall Vegas event as her favorite stop on the tour. The Pro Stock Motorcycles only run the second Vegas event.
“We were cracking jokes about how we wanted to come up in our Halloween costumes for the final session,” Sampey said. “It’s hard for me to be in a cheerleader outfit and change into my leathers. My team told me that I had to make a really good run in the first session so I could be in the back for the second session. That’s why I was really focused in the first session.”
Sampey, by her own admission, suffered ill-fortunes at the first to middle part of the season. She believes now the Rush Racing Buell team has found their groove.
“Our sponsors have been great and they know we can do better,” Sampey added. “There have been glitches here and there for us. We are thankful we are as high in the points as we are.”
She was thankful that her great performance coincided with trick-or-treat evening.
Sampey was joined in her Halloween celebration by a score of her Pro Stock Motorcycle comrades. She accepts responsibility for inspiring the festive atmosphere.
“I wanted to show all the people in the stands that the Pro Stock Motorcycle class can be really cool,” Sampey admitted. “We’re all really good friends in the class. Unfortunately many of the spectators had started to leave the grandstands when we came up and they saw our costumes on the sidelines, they stopped and watched.”
Sampey’s outfit was a nice rendition of an NHRA cheerleader outfit, not to be confused with the ill-conceived POWERade cheerleader concept of the 2000 season.
Why not a costume bearing the name of her sponsor?
“I thought what I should do, Rush or NHRA, but I figured the NHRA might like me more in their outfit and I might get on television,” Sampey admitted. “If you can’t win a race, you have to do what you can to get on television. I didn’t feel like crashing or catching on fire so this is what I had to do.”
ANTICLIMACTIC - All Tony Schumacher needed to do in order to clinch a sixth NHRA Top Fuel world championship was to
qualify. Friday evening he left little room for error as he thundered to the top spot with a 3.781 elapsed time at 316.60 miles per hour.“After Antron [Brown] went out and ran that 3.81, I told the Sergeant Major of the Army who was here that the car was either going to smoke the tires or run really fast,” Schumacher said. “The car went out there and it shook and then went into warp speed. I think it burned a few pistons because it stopped pulling at the finish line.”
When you win 14 races in a season, qualifying becomes anti-climactic when it’s the only thing that stands between a driver and a championship.
“The last few races have come down to the last run of the year and to not even have to go to the last one is a little different,” Schumacher admitted. “Believe me, I’m happy.”
The Chicago-area resident is gunning for his eighth pole of the season and the 55th of his career.
Schumacher also needs two more wins to break Greg Anderson’s single season record of 15 victories. Additionally, if he claims six more round wins, he’ll break Anderson’s single season record of 76 round victories.
“For sure, we want those marks,” he said. “We’ve had a dream season so far, so why not add to it. I can’t tell you how blessed I’ve been to experience such a year. I look forward to taking those championship photos with my team tomorrow.”
KING OF THE HILL - Pro Stock leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. let the persistent pack of racers trying to track him down in the
championship points know they better be ready for a fight by running the two quickest passes of Friday's action, including a Las Vegas Motor Speedway track record 6.703-second run at 205.47 mph.Coughlin opened with a 6.706 at 205.29 mph, which put him well ahead of his peers. He then returned in the evening session and uncorked his record run after several top guns took their best shots at him and his JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt.
"Everyone's got their best foot forward, doing everything they can to get us," Coughlin said. "We know that. The championship is on the line in these last two races and I know this JEGS.com race team is doing everything it can to win this deal for our team owner, Victor Cagnazzi. We tested earlier this week in Tucson and fixed a few things that needed fixing. We're as ready as we can be.
"We'd love to keep this hot rod on the pole. It's time to dig down right now. The guys all know it. They want to give me a perfect car and I want to be as flawless as possible in the racecar."
Entering this race 74 points ahead of Kurt Johnson, 77 up on Dave Connolly, and 82 in front of Greg Anderson, Coughlin knows every bonus point he can gain in qualifying could ultimately be the difference in a successful title defense. Coughlin already has won Pro Stock titles in 2000, 2002, and 2007.
"The conditions today were fantastic," he said. "We got some heat but the cloud cover kept the racetrack tight. Then the first fuel session had a few long oildowns so it pushed all the action back and by the time we got up there for Round 2 it was really good.
"We'll work some more on the tune-up tomorrow and get ready for Sunday. I'm pumped up about racing. I can't wait to get started."
STILL HOPING – Alan Bradshaw has big plans for 2009 and should they come to pass, he’ll be back behind the wheel of a Top Fuel dragster with some innovative marketing scenarios.
“At this point we are looking to bring in sponsorship to two or three teams,” Bradshaw explained. “If we get the right synergy between the companies we might put those together and compete for a 24-race schedule. If we have to we might look at a three-quarter schedule.”
Bradshaw has been on the sidelines since June when he resigned as the driver for Dexter Tuttle’s Top Fuel dragster. He’s missed the time driving but the off-time enabled him to catch up on other avenues.
“I’ve just been cracking some backs and trying to make others feel better,” said Bradshaw, a chiropractor from Odessa, Texas. “I’ve had a little time to do some bracket racing with my dragster and half of the fun is seeing how fast you can make it go.”
Bradshaw said he’s run some 5.30 eighth-mile laps at a little over 120 miles per hour.
“Compared to running Top Fuel, it’s nothing,” Bradshaw said. “It keeps me in a car and keeps me in my element. It keeps me sharp and I’m having fun with it.”
ASHLEY FORCE ENTERTAINS DRUMMER NIGEL OLSSON
SPECIAL GIFT - Only a few things can bring all sides of drag racing together to support a great cause. Rarely do bitter rivals
on the track become team members, such as Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac drivers joining together, business competitors such as Jeg’s Mail Order and Applied Racing Technology. But in 2008, these racers and businesses put that competitive nature toward a good cause as the combined efforts in the “Team on a Mission” program that is led by Mike Edwards raised more than $50,000 that will be donated to the Young Life’s “Sending A Kid To Camp.”“Right now, I could not be more proud of the racing family in what they have done for this program,” said Edwards. “Each weekend, we battle so hard to make sure we get to the finish line first, but so many understand the bigger pictures and helping the kids is something so easy to get behind.
“My team races to help these kids and we know what we do every weekend is only a small contribution,” he continued. “But with the racing community getting involved as they did in such a worthwhile endeavor, it will make a lasting impact on a larger group of kids in not only building a better tomorrow, but an even stronger connection to motorsports.”
Edwards presented a check in the amount of $50,000, to Young Life President Denny Rydberg, prior to the start of the ACDelco NHRA Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev., the amount included money raised through the first 22 events of the season.
“I’m so thankful for the effort the Mike and Lisa Edwards, his entire team, and all the other drivers and companies that have stepped up with this program,” added Rydberg. “We have 50,000 kids each year who go to our camps all over the country and Canada and for many of them it is hard for them to get enough money to pay for the trip. So this gift is amazing as it allows 140 kids the chance to go be part of one our camps. Things like this are just a huge boost to what we are trying to do at Young Life and are really grateful for Mike and Lisa and everybody that helps. These kinds of things you cannot put a figure on how much it will mean to our future.”
As part of "A Team on a Mission," an individual can make a single donation, a set amount per event, or for every round of competition that each individual driver wins during the NHRA POWERade schedule donate in the amount needed to send a kid to a Young Life camp, or match what Edwards accomplishes on the track.
In 2008, Edwards is joined by a group from the racing public who made a contribution to the "A Team on a Mission" program, which includes NHRA Pro Stock drivers Jeg Coughlin, V. Gaines, and Johnny Gray, as well as corporate support from Jeg's Mail Order, Applied Racing Technologies (A.R.T.), and Roger and Ann Stull.
BOBSLEDDING JEGS STYLE - The fourth annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge will have distinct yellow and black markings this year as industry giant JEGS Mail Order steps in as one of the main sponsors of the charity event. Reigning world champion Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. used this weekend's drag race in Las Vegas to announce the support and unveil his own JEGS.com sled that he will drive in the upcoming race, which is slated for Jan. 2-4, 2009, on Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y.
During last year's race, which marked Coughlin's first time to ever pilot a bobsled, the four-time world champion came in third overall and recorded a quarterfinal finish in a separate NASCAR versus NHRA tilt.
During the unveiling of the JEGS.com sled Friday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this year's NHRA team was announced with Coughlin being joined by Morgan Lucas, J.R. Todd, and Bob Vandergriff, all who raced in last year's event.
"Of all the things I've been fortunate enough to do in my life, I think driving those bobsleds ranks right up there at the top," Coughlin said. "It's a real thrill and quite an honor to be selected to race against our NASCAR brothers and raise a bunch of money for the men and women of the U.S. Olympic team, many of whom we met last year when they helped us learn how to drive these sleds.
"As a company, I can tell you that all 350 JEGS Mail Order employees are very excited to be helping our Olympic athletes reach their goals in Vancouver in 2010. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project has obviously made a tremendous difference and certainly is worthy of our support."
The Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge benefits the U.S. Olympic bobsled team and the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which designs and makes sleds for U.S. athletes. Since the U.S. team put Bo-Dyn sled into service in 1994 it has skyrocketed up the world rankings, winning four medals in the past two Olympic Games and 17 medals in World Cup competition. A competition bobsled costs $50,000. Prior to the formation of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, U.S. athletes raced in hand-me-down sleds from other countries.
"Geoff had a vision to put U.S. Olympians in sleds that were 'Made in the USA' and to make them the best sleds that racing technology could produce," Coughlin said. "Now the team has access to NASCAR technology that has allowed them to become a real force on the worldwide stage. It's a perfect scenario and to be able to help them reach their goals is very satisfying."
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