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VIDEO NOTEBOOK  WED GALLERY  THURS. GALLERY  FRI. GALLERY  SAT. GALLERY  SUN GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK – LEE CHANNELS HIS INNER MONGOOSE FOR REMARKABLE VICTORY

1 – PAUL LEE WINS IT ALL – In a day and age when drag racing has an abundance of Goliaths, it’s good to know a David can still sling a rock. Paul Lee got into the specialty race as an alternate for John Force.

Lee grabbed a .03-second advantage out of the gate, but as Bob Tasca III appeared to catch him, he smoked the tires and drifted to the centerline. The resourceful Lee drove around Tasca just as his engine went silent, and the two coasted across the stripe. The FTI/McLeod driver picked up $80,000 for the victory.  

“The money is great, but the pride of our team means the most,” Lee said. “Everybody said they have the best team, this and that, John Medlen and Jonnie Lindberg, the guys and the girls, it’s unbelievable.”

Lee’s road to the final round opened with a victory over Ron Capps, and then he nipped Matt Hagan by 6/1,000ths of a second before facing Tasca.   

A magical feel surrounded Lee, an avowed Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen fan. Lee’s day was, in some ways, like a 1978 U.S. Nationals, when McEwen upset the seemingly unbeatable Prudhomme. 

And, for the record, Lee won from the left lane just like “The ‘Goose.” 

“He was like my father figure,” Lee said. “He was like my mentor. Thanks, Mongoose, for believing in me.”

3 – THE MEDLEN FACTOR – When John Medlen relinquished his role as crew chief for Ron Capps, he had every intention of enjoying a retirement with an occasional drag race sprinkled in.

Shortly into his downtime, Medlen hankered to pay it forward by sharing his knowledge of making nitro-burning race cars blister the asphalt. 

Enter Funny Car driver-owner Paul Lee, who coaxed the veteran tuner to join his team in much the same capacity as a Mr. Miyagi of nitro racing. Lee also convinced past Top Alcohol champion Jonnie Lindberg to give the crew chief role a shot. 

Sunday’s Pep Boys All-Star Callout title validates Lee’s vision for his team, Medlen’s ability to mentor, and Lindberg’s talent for learning everything.

For Medlen, the first lesson he taught Lindberg was how to make the most with the least.

“We want to run quicker and faster than anybody,” Medlen said. “It’s a process to get all the stuff right and what we know up here, how to turn the knobs and what to give it and what not to get it. We are about learning to balance that with nothing detrimental to anybody but the quality of the parts that you have to deal with. 

“We’re not blessed with 10 blowers and 20 blocks and 20 cylinder heads and five bodies, so we’ve got what we’ve got. We learned to make what we have as best as possibly can be done. You just got to run the car down the racetrack and learn what those parts give you, and then learn what to do to make it do what you want it to do.”

From Day One, Medlen admitted that he knew Lindberg would be an ace student. Lindberg knew from the start that being a sponge would be in his best interests. 

“[Jonnie] still learns every run we make,” Medlen said. “That’s what I do. I learn a lot, keep as many notes as possible, and learn from my mistakes and what to do next. I think these cars are mysterious beasts, so it’s hard to make the right call, but today, I guess we did. We were lucky there in the final, but we will take a win however we can get one.”

 

4 – GETTING NO. 17 FOR FORCE – If the reality hasn’t set in for Jack Beckman, starting in Reading that he’s racing with the mission of getting John Force a 17th championship.

“I’ve never raced two races and qualified for the Countdown,” Beckman admitted. “It is all about John [Force]. It’s an odd deal running only eight races, but we will take those eight races. I’m getting comfortable in John’s PEAK Camaro. What’s everybody say? It’s one race at a time, it’s one round at a time. 

“This is a car that can win races. I have to do my job. If we win races, the points are coming. You got some tough cars out there. I know it sounds cliche. It’s just humbling to be out here. Can you imagine getting a call to come and drive and then they say, ‘Oh, by the way, it’s the best one out there.”  

By the way, the last time Beckman raced at Indy, four years ago, he left with the Funny Car trophy. 

5 – UMMM, WE’VE GOT A JOB GOR YOU – Austin Prock grew up around racing and learned early on that while the driver may pack his own parachutes, their primary job is to race and win. When not in the car, they spent time with the fans, signing autographs and making appearances. 

Prock has been making an appearance all weekend for sure – at the supercharger prep table. 

John Force Racing crewman and supercharger specialist Joe D’azio had an incident on Saturday that prevented him from swinging a hammer, rendering him unable to perform his duties.  

“I was filling in today and I’ll be filling in all day tomorrow,” Prock said. “I’m running back, trying to keep my interviews nice, sweet, and short, and get back there and go to work with the boys. It’s been fun. I love working on the race cars, and I guarantee you not very many people can say they qualified No. 1 at the U.S. Nationals and then went back and serviced a supercharger, and if we can get the win like that tomorrow, that’ll be really special.”   

6 – WHAT THE SNAKE DETESTS  – There were some things Don “The Snake” Prudhomme detested during his time as a championship-winning driver and team owner. He hated laziness, despised losing, and one other thing that became the final nail in his racing career.   

Virtually every driver loses more than he or she wins in their career, and in the end the letdowns proved more than Prudhomme could bear. He got another sour taste of disappointment watching Ron Capps lose in the first round of the Pep Boys All-Star Callout.   

“When I’m standing behind that car and it smokes the tires out there, I have the same disappointments that when I was doing it myself or owning the team,” Prudhomme said. “It’s just something that when it happens, your day is over. And so I just, through my later years, the disappointments were too much.”   

For Prudhomme, a four-time NHRA Funny Car champion (1975-78) as a driver, winning was everything. He was intense to the point he might even “sweep the leg,” Karate Kid-style, on a grandma to win.

“Yeah, I would,” Prudhomme said with his trademark smile.

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7 – HOPING FOR HISTORY – The last few seasons have not been a joy for defending Indy Funny Car champion Ron Capps. In fact, they’ve been completely forgettable.

Race day … now, that’s been a memorable experience.

“Yeah, kind of the same thing (as last year),” Capps explained. “We lost in the first round of the (Pep Boys All-Star) Callout. Indy is Indy, man. It seems like we’ve been here a month already. To see ‘Snake’ (Don Prudhomme) up there. He gave the red pants an approval finally today as he thought they were really cool – thanks to my guys for doing that. They’ve been swamped but loving every bit of it, and that’s why we did it (throwback scheme) and the reason NAPA did it. The fans, the history of the sport and this race, just so cool, so thank you, NAPA, and especially Toyota. It’s been a lot of fun doing this this weekend.”

8 – CLINCHED THEIR SPOTS—John Force (via Jack Beckman), Alexis DeJoria, Chad Green, Daniel Wilkerson, Buddy Hull, and Dave Richard all clinched their berths into the Mission Foods Countdown to the Championship by qualifying for Monday’s eliminations.     

9 – WHERE THERE’S A WILL … –  Necessity is the mother of all inventions, and for Chris King, his Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car team didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. They just needed to create a windshield.

Things went awry in the Q2 session when the car came to the burnout box without a throttle stop. This miscue resulted in a high-winding engine that suffered damage, and the ensuing explosion damaged the Dodge Charger body. 

King’s team left IRP and drove back to Chicago, where they met with a business at 2 a.m. who cut a new window for the Funny Car. King and his crew returned to Indianapolis, where they spent the better part of Sunday morning installing one of the two windshields they had procured.   

King ran the Q4 session with a healthy 4.131 elapsed time. He elected to skip the final session, where he entered as the No. 16 qualifier and only Justin Shriefer and Dave Richards with the ability to bump him out. They couldn’t. 

“I am so happy, excited, and ecstatic for my guys,” King said. “We are the little guys. I have no budget. We are here on the biggest stage of the circuit – the U.S. Nationals. We’re racing Indy, baby! Wooooo!”

9 – MISSING THE CUT – Dave Richards and Justin Shriefer are the Funny Car alternates after missing the cut in last-ditch qualifying attempts.  

“We are disappointed, but it is not for lack of effort,” Richards said. “Our whole team busted their butts and gave it their best to make the show. It just didn’t go our way. We will be back. Maybe we will test on Tuesday. We are going to get better. This team has a no-quit attitude.”

All was not lost for Richards because he clinched a spot in the Mission Foods Countdown to the Championship. 

10 – QUOTABLES – “Holy s***.” – Drag racing legend and Funny Car color commentator Don “The Snake” Prudhomme after watching Justin Shriefer explode the supercharger at the hit in Q3. 

“Right before I got ready to make my first run in Norwalk, John Force told me, ‘You got nothing to prove.’ Then he closed the call with, ‘Go out there and prove yourself.’” – Jack Beckman, in his conversation with John Force before he made his first runs.  

“There’s something about this place. Indy is magic.” – J.R. Todd after winning the first round of the Pep Boys All-Star Callout. 

“[The car] looks like Evel Knievel; all I need is a jump at the finish line.” – Matt Hagan after winning the first round of the Pep Boys All-Star Callout.   

“We’ve just had gremlins. Hagan made a good run beside us. I gotta get on my kid’s butt, see what light is flashing on the scoreboard? Hagan got there first.” – Tim Wilkerson said with a smile, picking on his son despite his having qualified No. 5 for eliminations.

 

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK – PROCK GETS THE TOP SPOT AS THE CALLOUTS ARE DETERMINED

1 – THE SO-CALLED ROOKIE STRIKES AGAIN – His nameplate says rookie. His actions speak otherwise. 

Austin Prock, the Top Fuel driver turned Funny Car pilot, continued his reign of terror on the program, scoring another No. 1 provisionally thanks to a 3.855-second lap at 328.38 mph. If that holds through Sunday’s final two qualifying sessions, Prock will pick up his 10th No. 1 qualifier of the season in the first 14 races of the 2024 season.

“It’s been an outstanding weekend so far,” Prock said moments after securing the overall Mission #2Fast2Tasty series championship. “I felt like I had a good attitude going into today. It’s been an exciting weekend so far to lock up that Mission #2Fast2Tasty Championship. It says a lot about this race team and how consistent this race car is with the job that they’re doing. Very proud of that.”

Prock picked up 23 points toward his Countdown total thanks to the #2Fast2Tasty success. 

With accomplishments like that, there’s little with which to intimidate a driver. 

“I think that through life you have your ups and downs, but after last weekend, I feel like I got a brand-new attitude coming into this race weekend and a new mindset that can’t be shaken,” Prock said. “Just been annihilating the Christmas tree so far this weekend, which makes me feel really good, and the hard work that I’ve been putting in is paying off. The race car’s running good, and I feel like I’m driving pretty good. I’ve made three really straight, beautiful runs, and I don’t think I’ve been able to say that all year long.”

2 – TODD COMES OUT ON THE WINNING END OF THE BATTLE – J.R. Todd was about as downtrodden as a driver could get in Brainerd. He’d decimated his No. 1 race car/chassis, and exploding a second engine didn’t do the back-up car any good. Saturday at Indy provided a much better battlefield and result.

Austin Prock won the war for the Mission, but on this day, Todd clearly won the battle. He stopped Chad Green in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. It marked his third win in the specialty series in 2024. 

“Those bonus points definitely come in handy when the Countdown comes around,” Todd said. “We’re already spotting Prock over a full round with all the points that he’s racked up, so it’s nice to add to our reset after Monday. Hopefully we can put ourselves in good position to maybe finish second in the regular season going into the Countdown and see where we stack up.”

Todd, whose roots in nitro racing go back almost 25 years when he licensed behind the wheel of a dragster fielded by Bruce Litton, believes if there’s a major plus for the Mission Foods Challenge it’s the extra runs for the participants. 

“Any runs down the track’s going to make you a better driver,” Todd said. “Hopefully, we can get three cracks at the track (Sunday) with the Pep Boys Callout and have that much more information going into Monday.”

4 – GETTING NO. 17 FOR FORCE – If the reality hasn’t set in for Jack Beckman, starting in Reading that he’s racing with the mission of getting John Force a 17th championship.

“I’ve never raced two races and qualified for the Countdown,” Beckman admitted. “It is all about John [Force]. It’s an odd deal running only eight races, but we will take those eight races. I’m getting comfortable in John’s PEAK Camaro. What’s everybody say? It’s one race at a time, it’s one round at a time. 

“This is a car that can win races. I have to do my job. If we win races, the points are coming. You got some tough cars out there. I know it sounds cliche. It’s just humbling to be out here. Can you imagine getting a call to come and drive and then they say, ‘Oh, by the way, it’s the best one out there.”  

By the way, the last time Beckman raced at Indy, four years ago, he left with the Funny Car trophy. 

5 – UMMM, YOU’RE DOING CYLINDER HEADS – Austin Prock grew up around racing and learned early on that while the driver may pack his own parachutes, their primary job is to race and win. When not in the car, they spent time with the fans, signing autographs and making appearances. 

Prock has been making an appearance all weekend for sure – at the supercharger prep table. 

John Force Racing crewman and supercharger specialist Joe D’azio had an incident on Saturday that prevented him from swinging a hammer, rendering him unable to perform his duties.  

“I was filling in today and I’ll be filling in all day tomorrow,” Prock said. “I’m running back, trying to keep my interviews nice, sweet, and short, and get back there and go to work with the boys. It’s been fun. I love working on the race cars, and I guarantee you not very many people can say they qualified No. 1 at the U.S. Nationals and then went back and serviced a supercharger, and if we can get the win like that tomorrow, that’ll be really special.”   

6 – WHAT THE SNAKE DETESTS  – There were some things Don “The Snake” Prudhomme detested during his time as a championship-winning driver and team owner. He hated laziness, despised losing, and one other thing that became the final nail in his racing career.   

Virtually every driver loses more than he or she wins in their career, and in the end the letdowns proved more than Prudhomme could bear. He got another sour taste of disappointment watching Ron Capps lose in the first round of the Pep Boys All-Star Callout.   

“When I’m standing behind that car and it smokes the tires out there, I have the same disappointments that when I was doing it myself or owning the team,” Prudhomme said. “It’s just something that when it happens, your day is over. And so I just, through my later years, the disappointments were too much.”   

For Prudhomme, a four-time NHRA Funny Car champion (1975-78) as a driver, winning was everything. He was intense to the point he might even “sweep the leg,” Karate Kid-style, on a grandma to win.

“Yeah, I would,” Prudhomme said with his trademark smile.

3 – OF CELEBRATING, AND WINNING RACES, BLAKE ALEXANDER STYLE – There’s no doubt the Brainerd victory was good timing for Jim Head Racing. At the race earlier in the summer in Sonoma, the vibes were as bad as they could be with two damaged race cars. 

And even though the winning weekend was one where everything fell into place, Alexander spent little time dwelling on his success.

“I would say we celebrated that one less time than any of them, and we had fun that night and really did have fun,” Alexander said. “Went back out to The Zoo, but in the morning, we didn’t even really talk about it. If you understand Jim [Head], you understand that’s status quo.”

Alexander understands the challenges of winning behind the wheel of a car that burns nitro better than most. After all, he’s one of the few who have NHRA national-event wins in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.   

“That’s more than just the nature of being an independent team is when you get your wins it’s not going to come easy,” Alexander said. “Honestly, still rebuilding stuff [from Sonoma] right here at Indy.”

Alexander is quick to point out he wears his emotions on his sleeve. 

“I know we’re an independent team that we really do not want for very much, but in that moment in time, we could feel the depths of basically blowing up everything in our trailer … part of it being my fault, part of it being Jim’s fault, and sometimes these guys are along for the ride that the crew chief and the driver put them through,” Alexander said. 

Who determines who is at fault? Head, of course. 

“He says everything like it is, and that’s helpful sometimes and sometimes it’s abrasive, but it’s very helpful that we always know where we stand,” Alexander explained. “I think that him and I don’t ever have to worry about mincing words to each other.” 

3 – BECKMAN ENJOYING THE RIDE—Jack Beckman was on the Peak Antifreeze side, interacting with race fans and team guests. He patiently answered every question. 

Beckman is well aware his time as a substitute driver for John Force Racing, at least now, is a limited engagement. That’s why he’s taking the time to soak in the experience with no detail left unstudied. 

Beckman is not counting down, nor is he lamenting, how many days he might have left in his current role. For now, the former NHRA champion is savoring every moment. 

“I am too freaking busy to linger on this topic, and I’m glad that I am,” Beckman said. “My most stressful thing that I’m dealing with right now is packing my stuff up and moving again. I have got enough stuff on my plate to keep me occupied. And a buddy of mine at the Frank Hawley School used to always say, ‘It is what it is.’    

“I’ve come to embrace the term, it is that there’s nothing I can do about that. That is just my life right now. It is what it is. So I’m going to try to see the positive side of it. The positive side is I’m not going to stress out about driving the race car right now. I got enough stuff that I need to get done. And then when I hop on a plane and go to the races, I’m going to leave all that stuff in southern California and I’m going to go into race-car driver mode.”

Beckman has retained his job at the elevator repair shop even though he’s racing full-time … until otherwise notified.    

6 – LEE GETS CALLED OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME – There was a time from the moment NHRA announced the Pep Boys All-Star Callout that Paul Lee wanted in on the action. 

Lee’s revamped team is tuned by former Top Alcohol Funny Car standout Jonnie Lindberg with former championship tuner John Medlen assisting the rookie as he learns the ropes of a nitro engine. Lee ran a 3.931 in Saturday’s Q3 session immediately showing he’s got the goods to race with the big dogs. 

The McLeod Racing-sponsored driver has seen the rewards of his investments. 

“One of the things this year is we’ve been qualifying in the top five, in top half of the field a lot, so that really helped this year boost the points as opposed to last year when we weren’t really qualifying that good,” said Lee, who is 10th headed into Sunday’s final two rounds of qualifying. “This year, our program took a big step forward with Johnny Lindberg. We were qualifying pretty solidly, and we’re not even one full year with this new team, and we’re already showing great results, so it’s pretty exciting.”

In the first round, Lee faces Ron Capps, a driver whose car wrap this weekend is promoting a drag racing legend whose advice is worth heeding: “Don Prudhomme once said you can’t win the Kentucky Derby on a donkey,” Lee noted.

7 – HERO ONE DAY, NOT SO MUCH THE NEXT –  Chris King made his best run on Friday night, when he had the wheels up for much of the pass down the IRP dragstrip. He made the comment that he was prepared to ruin some racers’ days.

As it turned out, Saturday’s main problem was King’s engine, which exploded when he hit the throttle for a burnout.   

“I’m guessing the throttle stop,” a sad King offered. “It sounded like it revved up, and I tried to catch it. I was a little too slow. I was trying to catch up and banged the blower. We have a little bit of damage. Hopefully we can get a spare because I don’t have one.”

8 – GOOD TIME TO CELEBRATE – Alexis DeJoria is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her 2014 U.S. Nationals triumph – the day that she won the 60th running of the legendary Indianapolis event.

“We’re debuting a new paint scheme this weekend to celebrate the release of Bandero’s new premium coffee tequila,” she said. “It’s been an absolute winner, and I can’t wait for the fans to see our new car on the track.”

9 – DADDIO DELIVERS – In between the Brainerd Nationals and Indy, Buddy Hull and his wife Madi welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Maverick. Having a son only motivates Hull even more to create a racing legacy for his family.

“Becoming a dad is the biggest blessing I have ever experienced,” said Hull. “I may be biased, but he’s already the coolest little dude I know. He’s growing so fast and taking in the world. He has no concept yet of what drag racing is, but I still want to make him proud. I’m not going to force him into racing, but if he shows any interest, I will support him 100%, and I want the Hull family legacy to be ready for him. To have the potential for us to be a multi-generational drag racing family makes me so excited.”

Hull is on the bubble with two sessions left with a best run so far of 4.093.

10 – WHAT THEY SAID TODAY – “Apparently you don’t have to do burnouts because the track is good here in Indy.” – Crew chief Jonnie Lindberg on the team’s Funny Car, driven by Paul Lee, failing to do a proper burnout in Q2.

“These conditions stay the same, I believe they will bring a bigger bat out.” – Bob Tasca III after the run on which he went to the provisional No. 1 in Q2.

“There’s no quit in these guys.” – J.R. Todd speaking about his crew in getting the DHL Toyota back on the track.

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – ALEXANDER SHINES AGAIN; IT’S A DAY OF HISTORICAL REFLECTION

1 – FUNNY CAR LOW Q – As Blake Alexander rolled into the staging beams on Friday at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals, lightning bolts were flashing in the distance of the Indianapolis track. He managed to capture lightning in a bottle again.

For the second race in a row, Alexander landed the quickest run of the first day, with a 3.890-second elapsed time at 327.80 mph.

“I think we thought that it was going to be a little slower out there at first,” Alexander said. “Then we got up there and quite frankly, I think we saw Cruz [Pedregon] just run 3.90 and then we opened it up a little bit.

Even though Alexander is enjoying his best season of the year, he’s not often included in the talk when it comes to the front-runners. In fact, on the PlayNHRA betting odds, he came in with +2940 odds. He couldn’t care less, as he was focused on the positives that clearly flowed all around him. 

“I’m trying to zone all that out and not have that be a factor in my life at all, to be honest with you, because it doesn’t help you drive a race car,” Alexander said. “I like that my life is robust, and I think it’ll bode well for me later down the road, but the good energy and excitement is more other people. I have no energy. I’m tired.”

2 – IT WORKED WELL LAST TIME – Ron Capps has what many consider the complete package, and does a good job of selling the challenging programs. But when it came to honoring Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, it might have been the easiest sell of his career. 

While Capps gets credit for the concept, it is designer Ron Merrick whom the two-time champion believes should get a good measure of credit. 

“People kept telling me, ‘You can’t top that. You can’t even come close,’” Capps said. “Dave Merrick sent me a couple drawings on my phone of this car, the Army car. And then he also sent one with NAPA in the same lettering. And if you squinted your eyes, you’d swear it was the Army car.”

What Merrick was throwing down, Capps was picking up. 

“It started the brain turning,” Capps said. “He kept bugging me about May. Then, he sent it again about June, and he just kept going. I flew to Indy for a TV thing, and Snake happened to be doing the same thing. He flew in and we were right in the airport at four in the morning going back home. And I had the latest drawing, and I just held my phone out to him, and he grabbed my phone and just stared at it.”

Selling Prudhomme is one thing, but the sponsor is another. 

Capps sent a note to Katherine Wooten, his boss at NAPA Auto Parts, explaining this year’s concept. He explained the car’s history and dominance in the 1970s.

“I sent her pictures of the old car and Dave’s rendering, and she was like, ‘Love it. Let me get back to you,’” Capps said.

A day later, NAPA gave its blessings. 

Truth be told, Prudhomme longed for a red, white, and blue theme. 

“I loved that car, but I knew that Hot Wheels car was going to be a hard act to follow,” Prudhomme admitted. 

3 – THE HARDEST ACT TO FOLLOW – For Capps, getting just the right hues of red, white, and blue was more of a challenge than anything. 

“Well, it really wasn’t too bad,” Prudhomme admitted. “Nelson Carter did most of our painting and was the greatest. Kenny Youngblood, of course, did the design work. It was pretty cool. Back in those days, it was paint. In today’s world, they’re all wrapped.”

Prudhomme’s heritage as a car painter ensured he was on all paint like a hawk.

“I kind of stand over him the whole time,” Prudhomme admitted. “He used to drive me crazy, but I was just a fanatic, making sure my cars looked really cool. As I said, Kenny Youngblood did the design work, and the red, white and blue snake [logo] was really special.”

Capps said the throwback wrap was the handiwork of Brandon Baker, the designer of last year’s Hot Wheels wrap. 

“He’s the best,” Capps said. “He got the color perfect for the Hot Wheels car and did it again here. But if you don’t get one shade right on the blue or the red. … I mean, people have done it. But it’s not the same if you’re just off a little bit. But the key is the same exact color. And for somebody to have that details down, it’s hard to do with a wrap like that. Think about it.”

As Capps said, he nailed it once again. 

4 – THE FORCE IS IN THE FUNNY CARS — John Force Racing Funny Cars occupied the third and fourth positions in the provisional order Friday.

In his second tour appearance in relief of Force, Jack Beckman put the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro in the No. 3 spot with a solid 3.903, 322.81 performance.

“We got some bonus points out of it,” Beckman said. “The numbers all look good. We have a backup supercharger on the car so we know it goes back into our inventory. If we need to go back to it during the Countdown, we know we have good data on it.

“(It) dropped a cylinder at 700 feet, or it would have been a lot quicker,” said the 2016 world champion, “but, again, we’re starting to figure out what the car wants with my driving style and the added weight in there, and we’re picking away at it and looking great.”

Funny Car point leader Austin Prock, who already has clinched the No. 1 starting spot in the Countdown, was just behind Beckman in the order. He stopped the timers in 3.926 seconds at 320.36 mph in the Cornwell Tools Camaro, which he has qualified No. 1 nine times this season.

“Not a bad start to the weekend,” Prock said. “Obviously, we wanted a little more than that, but the car ran on seven cylinders for most of the run. But it’s a good start, and it’s good to be back in this Cornwell Tools Camaro. Happy to be at ‘The Big Go’ and looking forward to an awesome and consistent weekend.”

5 – WACO WILLY, THE INDY SENSATION – Billy Meyer was in town for the 70th running of the NHRA U.S. Nationals. The 1982 Funny Car champion still remembers the one that got away, the 1974 version where he beat Don Schumacher in the semis only to get beat by the seemingly unstoppable Proudhomme in the finals. 

“I’m happy to talk about 1982 instead of 1974,” Meyer said. “I had bad memories. I smoked the tires against Prudhomme and lost. I probably should have gone over and thanked him. I didn’t do that back then. We did really well back in 1982, the season we were running nitrous.”

6 – THE KING OF THE RACES WITHIN RACES – Long before NHRA Funny Car drivers were calling out one another, there was an original big-bucks shootout at Indy known as the Big Bud Shootout. The event first launched in 1982 and ran up until 2001.

Don Prudhomme remembers the days of those specialty races where he reached two final rounds, winning one. 

“They’re real exciting because it was a big payday,” Prudhomme said. “The race was on Sunday, and you won that sucker. It was damn near the same money as winning the U.S. Nationals.”

Prudhomme’s memorable moment came in 1989 when he won both the Big Bud Shootout and the race the next day. 

One of the most iconic Funny Car racers of the day was Al Segrini, who enjoyed racing the Big Bud Shootout when the opportunity presented itself. 

“When you got in there, you were truly one of the eight best in the country,” Segrini recalled. “You didn’t have any leakers. So whoever you drew, you were going to throw off somebody pretty bad right away. So it was good. So it was an accomplishment. You run Snake and Bernstein, Billy Meyer, Dale Pulde. It could go on and on. They’re all good cars, good drivers.”

John Force was the event’s most successful racer. He qualified for 18 of them and won five of nine final rounds. 

 

7 – HAGAN’S THROWBACK – Indy is the race where drivers and sponsors deliver their new looks and catchy designs. Few looked better and were as catchy as the Matt Hagan Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car sporting the 50th anniversary livery of Dodge’s Direct Connection brand. 

Direct Connection was first launched in 1974 when Dodge ad man Joe Schulte came up with the idea. The move changed the way factory performance parts were marketed to street enthusiasts and grassroots bracket racers.

“Being able to fly the Dodge banner for almost 15 years and win four championships with them is really special,” Hagan said. “All of my 51 career wins have been with them. Hopefully people can look back down the road and say ‘Wow, they made history.’ It’s really cool to be able to commemorate Direct Connection’s 50th anniversary. Their whole group is great and we love having Mark Whitney at the track. 

“We’re really excited to be able to fly a new scheme for them. We always have a great time doing it, and they make it fun for us. Hopefully, the new scheme is fast.”

If only the good looks yielded fast results, as Hagan missed Friday night’s cut. 

J.R. Todd’s DHL Toyota had a rough outing in Brainerd’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, damaging two race cars in a weekend that ended with a semifinal finish.

The team took the main car, severely damaged in the Friday night explosion, to PBRC (Precision Built Race Cars) in Indianapoils for repairs, which included a front-half replacement. The repaired ride was then shipped back to Michigan, where the team completed the necessary work in time for a weekend off before Indy. 

The rest paid dividends as Todd is fifth provisionally with a 3.969, 320.28. 

9 – SIMPLY HIS BEST – It wasn’t the quickest or the fastest run of Friday’s lone session, but it was the best run firefighter Chris King had ever made in his short drag racing career. 

The Chicago-based firefighter, who drives the Howards Cams/Competition Products Funny Car, thundered down the Indianapolis Raceway Park 1,000-foot course to a 4.079 elapsed time at 302.21 miles per hour.

As impressive as the run was, the driving job he displayed — nearly a full track with the wheels hovering off the ground — made the moment complete.

“We’ve been creeping up on this thing since we brought in Bob Peck as the tuner,” King said. “This is very refreshing and very motivating for us that this car is finally performing. It’s doing everything we’ve asked it to.”

10 – QUOTABLE – “You don’t have to squint your eyes, that’s Ron Prudhomme.” – NHRA Fox analyst Brian Lohnes announcing Friday-night qualifying.

 “One thing I know for sure is that my brother can still drive a Funny Car.” – Dale Creasy Jr. crew chief Steve Creasy following the opening run in Friday’s Funny Car qualifying.

“Other than it is hotter than love, that’s a good pass right there.” –  Cruz Pedregon said following his 3.901, 325.53 pass to land his Snap-on Tools Funny Car in the second spot.

“We are looking to ruin somebody’s day on Monday.” – Chris King said after running a career-best run Friday.

“This is Indy. This is hallowed ground. It’s everything.” – J.R. Todd