Jon Asher, the seasoned Senior Editor for CompetitionPlus.com, will bring you his four decades worth of insight to the NHRA Mopar Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway outside of Denver, Co. Follow along daily with the seasoned journalist as he brings you this weekend’s race from a different angle – HIS!
FINAL INSIDER – SURPRISING – AND NOT SO SURPRISING
Her day is coming, of that there can be no doubt.Brittany Force is going to win her first race this year, and that’s not even a bold prediction. She did not win in Denver. She may not win in Sonoma, or even Seattle. But she is going to win. She has the talent and the tuner (Todd Smith). She has an extensive support team, from her father to her sisters and her mom (all were present at Bandimere). What she needs now is that bit of fortuitous moment that will put her over the top.
J.R. Todd defeated her in the finale, proving that Connie Kalitta’s decision to replace David Grubnic was the right call. The only unfortunate aspect of Todd’s win was the fact that this was one of the few races Kalitta has missed in years. But, as Todd indicated at the finish line, the cell phone towers between Colorado and Michigan were almost overloaded with the back-and-forth between Conrad and the team.
It could have been all-Force-all-the-time in the winner’s circle, but Brittany’s dad lost a close one to his son-in-law, Robert Hight, and then, well, Todd beat Brittany. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that at some race this year the Forces will win it all.
J.R. Todd delivered for an absent team owner. The Optima Batteries ride was high voltage all day.
Yes, that’s Jenna Haddock, fresh off her first-ever round win, back to the line to help her husband with his Funny Car.
John Bandimere, Jr was down-track to congratulate Allen Johnson on his very impressive victory.
Allen Johnson once again rose to the occasion in Denver.Worth mentioning is that both of Bob Vandergriff’s cars made it to the semis, and although he and Larry Dixon lost, just getting there was impressive.
Also worth mentioning? Jenna Haddock’s stunning defeat of Number 1 qualifier Tony Schumacher in the first round. Yes, “Baby Shoe” smoked the tires while Ms. Haddock was scoring her best-ever elapsed time (4.276), but all that counts in drag racing is the win light, and she got it. You’ve heard that old saying, And the crowd goes wild? They did! And it was a very good crowd for a hot Sunday in Colorado.
About that “best-ever” elapsed time for Haddock. She bettered it with a second round 4.166, but that wasn’t good enough against Ms. Force’s 3.990. Haddock is brand new to Top Fuel, so her reaction times were as expected – slow. We are not picking on her because she’ll do better with more experience, and we’re hoping she gets it. We have no inside information here, and we’re just guessing, but we expect to see her at Indy for the U.S. Nationals. She’d be crazy to miss it because the car has already demonstrated it’s capable of elapsed times that are considerably better than several drivers with a lot more experience.
Heated words were reportedly exchanged between members of the Force camp and NHRA after John cocked a 4.08-something in the semifinal round, an elapsed time the organization tossed as being unlikely. Their reasoning was that a slow 60-foot time indicated that something might have been dragged through the timers. Hey, what do we know? We loved the 4.08, and so did the fans, but what the heck, they bounced it, so Force lost lane choice against Hight in the finale, and then smoked the tires. Small wonder they questioned the call about dumping that E.T.
Robert Hight is an exceptional driver in a very fast car.
Credit Hight for skills. His 0.027 second Reaction Time in the finale was the quickest among all Funny Car runners by a very wide margin. And Force was no sleeper with a 0.045 R.T. of his own. He had an even better 0.054 against Matt Hagan in the second round and needed it, as Hagan’s light was an equally impressive 0.057.
We’ve said it before, but there’s no questioning the interest of Colorado fans in NHRA Mello Yello drag racing. The crowd was once again excellent, but that’s not the real indicator. The indicator is how many of them stuck around after a brief rain shower delayed the finals just a bit. At other venues the fans desert the grandstands as if a plague of locusts is descending if there’s even a hint of rain.
Since this was the Mopar Mile-High Nationals we should also mention that a three-year extension of the title rights sponsorship was announced on Sunday afternoon, news that brought forth another big reaction from the very appreciative crowd.
Speaking of Mopar, something must be done about Allen Johnson. Johnson dominates this race because he drives like a man possessed, and his father’s horsepower is unmatched. How can we tell? ‘Cause the car in the other lane in the finale was engine teammate Jeg Coughlin.
Andrew Hines downed Steve Johnson in the semis, and then Michael Ray for the money.
Bob Tasca III’s Mustang looked good in its one-off livery.
In yesterday’s report we said that Jason Line’s being the Number 1 qualifier didn’t make him the favorite to win, and it appears we were correct (for the first time since 1987). Line went to the semis, where Johnson ‘Treed him with an other incredible .002 Reaction Time. Line’s 0.017 would have been good enough against most mere mortals, but not against the unstoppable Johnson. His 6.952 eclipsed Line’s 6.924, and that had to hurt.
Just how good was AJ? In the first round he came within a whisker of becoming the first Pro Stock driver to top 200 MPH on The Mountain when he defeated Tommy Lee at 199.23. Yes, the crowd went wild. Again.
Can you answer this one? How can you win when your vehicle never moves off the starting line? Answer: When the other guy redlights. Steve Johnson’s Suzuki recorded an “exceptional” Reaction Time of 5.920 seconds (we are not making that up) after the machine had lost fire while staged. But, nobody told Adam Arana, so he bulbed. That’s one of those deals where we hope the Arana family has Adam on suicide watch, at least for a day or two, until he gets over it.
Despite the starting line drama (with Johnson jumping up and down, clicking his heels together as if he’d won the Powerball), he also ran pretty well (7.258), downing Eddie Krawiec in the second round before bowing out to eventual winner Andrew Hines in the semis.
Had his Star Racing Buell not given up on him in the finale Michael Ray might have defeated Hines, as his R.T. was a terrific .005 – but coupled to a nine second time slip, well, he had no chance against the Harley’s 7.246.
This was another in a long line of artistically and spectator-successful Mile-High Nationals, and there’s a reason for it that goes beyond the competitors. It takes more than good racing to make an event worthy of attending. It takes the whole show, from Friday’s jet cars and fireworks through Sunday’s crowd-friendly winner’s circle. Bandimere Speedway delivers these things, and delivers them year after year. There are some other facilities on the NHRA trail who should be sending their management teams to Denver to see how it can and should be done. And they should also be visiting that track in Ohio for the same reasons. If these two first rate facilities can do it, every track can.
Four races remain until the Countdown qualifiers are finally determined. Any mistakes between here and Indy could prove costly to those hoping to make the big show. From here on out things are going to get tighter and tighter, and ever more interesting. And CompetitionPlus.com will be there.
SATURDAY EDITION – ALL LINED UP
We have it on good authority that when it comes to Dodge Funny Cars, no one is more popular with the Mopar brass than Matt Hagan.The Mopar Mile-High National are supposed to be owned by Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson. From his stellar qualifying efforts (he’s usually led the parade) to his outstanding final round appearance record (it’s something like seven straight), this should be Johnson’s race – and it still might be. We’ll know in about 20 hours from the time this is being written. But nevertheless, for the first time in a long time of Mile-Highs a chink appeared in Johnson’s armor when, in the final qualifying session, Jason Line eclipsed Johnson’s best with a 6.924.
Even more surprising were Line’s comments at the top end when he said “I have to thank Mike Edwards for this.” Since Edwards’ last appearance at an NHRA Mello Yello Series event was last November at the Finals in California he’s sold all of his hardware and has been under the knife to fix his badly injured shoulder. In other words, to the drag racing world at large Edwards has been listed among the missing.
Shortly after qualifying ended we reached out to Edwards, only to find that he’s here in Colorado this weekend. But, rather than being at Bandimere Speedway, Edwards is heading deep into the mountains with his wife, Lisa, for some much needed R&R with a fishing pole at long time backer Roger Stull’s place.
He was as surprised as anyone at hearing that Line had publicly acknowledged his assistance, and confirmed that it’s been an on-going situation. Edwards said they’ve discussed a wide variety of subjects, from car setup to some engine and clutch settings. Further, Edwards said that his informal consultations have only been with Line, not with racing partner Greg Anderson. That’s not to say Line hasn’t passed things along to Anderson, nor did Edwards indicate in any manner that his relationship with Anderson isn’t solid.
Tony Schumacher made his Top Fuel start in the Peek Bros. fuel car. Mike Peek has returned to Top Dragster with his daughter, Betsy, at the controls. John Abbott and his family are also racing in T/D with a car remarkably similar to their last fueler.
Terry McMillen and his gang warmed ‘er up and then ran a 3.887 for the seventh spot.
About to live the dream.If nothing else this scenario proves that quality, championship-winning racers like Line are smart enough to know they don’t know everything, and when you can tap a mind as fertile as Edwards, you do it when the opportunity presents itself.
Now, does qualifying mean that Line is Sunday’s favorite? It does not. In our view Johnson is still the man to beat in Pro Stock. Further, it would be a grievous error to simply ignore competitors like Jeg Coughlin, Jr., Enders-Stevens, Vincent Nobile and three or four others. This can and will be a race won through exceptional driving along with a certain modicum of luck.
One thing that made Line’s run so surprising were the conditions, which weren’t nearly as good as they were Friday. At one point on Saturday the corrected altitude was over 9,000 feet, and that’s anything but good racing conditions. In some respects conditions like those favored the competitors on the grounds, where there were just enough cars to fill the pro fields (okay, there were 17 in Top Fuel). What we mean by that is making Sunday’s eliminations took nothing more than going from A to B without hitting something. Examples of that abound. Jenna Haddock is at the bottom of the Top Fuel list, some 0.384 seconds behind Steve Chrisman in 15th. It’s the same situation in Funny Car, with Jeff Diehl 0.634 second behind Todd Simpson’s 4.645 – which is no barn-burner in its own right. In Pro Stock Steve Kalkowsi is 0.186 seconds behind fifteenth placed Tommy Lee.
In simpler terms, there’s a wide disparity in performances between those at the top of the lists, and those at the bottom.
Larry Dixon’s car belched smoke and parts, but then returned to qualify third.
Who else but Clay Millican can wave to the photographers and then come back to get into the show in the last session?
Antron Brown’s been on a tear lately, and shouldn’t be counted out.
Number 1 qualifier Hector Arana, Jr.
The crowd – and it was another very good one, packed for the first session, less so for the second – saw a good show despite the low car count. While there were some tire-smokers in the fuel ranks, most of the cars got down the track in pretty good fashion. Fans want to see cars going down the track, and that’s probably more important than the elapsed times and speeds recorded – until track records begin to fall. No worries about that on Saturday, though. The conditions prevented that, leaving the new marks set on Friday in place as qualifying ended.
Mr. Force remains in the top spot in Funny Car, still followed by Robert Hight, Tim Wilkerson and Cruz Pedregon. Wilkerson got crossed up in Saturday’s first session and took out the timing blocks as he crossed the center line. Mr. Schumacher is still The One in Top Fuel, closely followed by Steve Torrence. However, the two cars behind them are both out of Bob Vandergriff Racing, with Larry Dixon third (3.848) and Vandergriff fourth (3.861).
Sunday will be Dixon’s last outing for a while, as his car will head back home while the boss competes in Sonoma and Seattle. Dixon will be back for the 60th Anniversary U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend.
Hector, Jr. has his hands around the necks of his fellow Pro Stock Motorcycle runners, but the Harleys of Hines and Krawiec are now breathing down his neck. Hines carded a 7.198, so he’ll be tough to handle on Sunday. Only two riders are headed home early, Freddie Camarena and James Surber, and somehow, that’s unfortunate. We know this will be misunderstood, but regardless, we wish there were a half dozen cars and motorcycles being loaded up for the trip home in every category. That would indicate healthy car counts and an outstanding qualifying show in which every run was all-important. Yes, the qualifying show was good – but more cars might have made it great.
Tomorrow’s weather forecast is for temperatures in the low 90s with a chance of isolated thunderstorms. If it’s that hot the tuners will have their hands full balancing the need for speed with the need to keep the Goodyears hooked. And we’ll have the whole story for you early tomorrow evening.
These guys have it figured. You can see all of the action from the back of the staging lanes.
Dave Connolly wasn’t happy after having to abort his first session run.
Michael Ray is fifth aboard George Bryce’s Star Racing Buell.
FRIDAY EDITION – RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN
Ever notice how the biggest and toughest appearing guys go all mushy when faced with a pretty young girl? But Brittany never missed a beat, and signed his chest, er, shirt.Today’s title may be a cliché (what the heck, it is, okay?), but regardless of how you view it, it’s a true statement. Two weeks ago in Norwalk records fell like leaves in October, and it’s the same scenario – even more so – here at Bandimere Speedway, home of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.
The weekend kicked off with the annual Mopar Block Party in downtown Golden on Thursday, a mere stone’s throw from the track, with the event drawing a staggeringly large crowd, all eager to obtain autographs from Mopar’s leading drivers. The excitement continued at the strip on Friday, with track records shattered in all four pro categories.
The only thing we can say about the spectator turnout was that it was huge – but then again, we can’t recall a Friday night during the Mile-Highs when the facility hasn’t been jammed. Chalk that up to a combination of factors, including a very knowledgeable fan base, excellent promotions and superior weather conditions.
We said “knowledgeable,” and these fans are definitely that – and more. As at every venue, they have their favorites, but there’s something else going on here, and that’s their vocal appreciation for local or regional competitors. For example – and we mean no insult by this – Pro Stock racer V. Gaines isn’t likely to hear cheering after he runs at, say, the Gatornationals, but here they go mad when his Kendall Dodge puts down a good number. Of course, they also cheer for Allen Johnson, so maybe it’s a Mopar thing, but we doubt it. We think it’s more about the fact that Gaines is not only a successful local entrepreneur, one of his ventures is Madcap Racing Engines, and there are a lot of Bandimere regulars who are running Madcap powerplants.
Now, after that buildup you’re probably expecting us to say that Gaines (or Johnson) broke the track Pro Stock records, but alas, that was the class in which the elapsed time mark remains safe – at least until Saturday. Gaines was the early leader, but it’s Johnson who sits top the list with a strong 6.928, and oh, by the way, he broke the speed record with a 198.90. There has never been a 200 mile per hour Pro Stock speed run at this altitude (5,800 feet actual, with weather conditions changing that on an almost hourly basis).
Still the one, Tony Schumacher.
TJ, Jr. getting ready to go.
The local favorite, V. Gaines.
Car counts have been the subject of considerable discussion this year, and that became an issue again in Denver. There are just 16 cars in Pro Stock, 15 in Funny Car and just 16 in Top Fuel. There are 18 motorcycles, but overall there are less than 300 cars in competition. This is a national event that has always attracted a number of West Coast Sportsman racers, but for some reason there’s a Division 7 points meet running opposite this national event. We’ve also heard from a very reliable source that multiple national event winner Dan Fletcher’s Sportsman entry was rejected because he missed the filing deadline by 38 minutes. When you already have a shortage of sportsman cars, why reject a slightly late entry from one of the best competitors ever, and no, we can’t answer that either.
Erica Enders-Stevens dominated at Norwalk, but this time around she’s third behind Johnson and the Summit blue Camaro driven by Jason Line. Eleven cars are in the six-nineties, and even though Nebraskan Steve Kalkowski only stopped the clocks in 7.201 seconds, he’ll race on Sunday due to the low car count.
Buell rider Hector Arana, Jr. owns both ends of the track records with a 7.178/185.97, eclipsing the best Andrew Hines could muster from his Harley-Davidson by two hundredths. Doesn’t sound like much, but it is. This is a tough place to race. Matt Smith couldn’t get his bike fired for the first session, and then Angie’s machine failed in the second go. There are Gremlins living on the mountain.
Stop racing for a while and the fans will forget you like you were never there. We know that’s a wild exaggeration, but this afternoon we watched Laurie Force and Ashley Force-Hood walking through the pits with the kids, and not a single fan seemed to know who they were. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing. We just threw it in there because we’ve been instructed by the Force PR team to mention every family member whenever possible and receive a large reward for doing so (that is an outright lie because our ethical standards preclude our accepting gratuities of any kind, dammit, unless they’re like, really substantial).
Take our word for it, here’s your 2014 Rookie of the Year, Richie Crampton.
Ron Capps at speed.
Allen Johnson’s The Man at Bandimere. He’s a ten-time finalist at this race.
If you ignore the retired on the still active, then you’re a Force fan, and there are three of ‘em still competing. Well, four if you count Force’s son-in-law, Robert Hight. The gang had a very good day. The senior member of the clan – the “elder” Force, if you prefer, mashed the records flat with a 4.049/318.39. Then, after he climbed out at the top end he delivered a lucid, calm interview. Obviously, he didn’t but nobody cared. They never do. The fans just love everything Force, and who can blame them?
Robert ended up second with a 4.055. In all there were five cars in the ohs, with Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon and Ron Capps filling out the group. Tony P will make the field despite his troubled 8.494 – and we expect a lot more from him on Saturday and maybe Sunday as well. It might be a reach now, but this is the kind of race either Pedregon could win simply because this track throws wicked curve balls, exploding sliders and even knuckleballs, whereas most other facilities simply dig down and throw their best fastballs – that the better racers can hit out of the park – or into the winner’s circle.
Flat black is the new candy apple red, and while it might looked wicked-fast on a street car, race cars in flat black just don’t have the kind of visual appeal that this endeavor has been known for since Day One. Alexis DeJoria’s Tequila Patron Toyota was stunning in green black last year, not so much in flat black in 2014. The same can be said for Jonathan Gray’s Pro Stock Camaro. The blue on the doors helps, but the rest of it appears – and we hesitate to say this – unfinished.
Fast Jack’s one-off Dodge paint scheme looked good under the lights.
This guy got into the restricted photo area without a vest or a credential.
A pensive Angie Smith before her bike’s failure.
Now, to be fair we must admit that marketing considerations sometimes come into play when it comes to color selections, and while that may certainly be the case with Ms. DeJoria, there’s no visible sponsorship involvement with Gray’s Pro Stock operation. And maybe, just maybe, we’re too old to appreciate the flat black look, but what got us really thinking about it was a short conversation with a major player in NHRA Drag Racing (not an NHRA official), who, upon seeing a long line of flat-black Sportsman cars in the lanes, decried their appearance.
Tony Schumacher and tuner Mike Green lead the Top Fuel parade with another track mark, this one set in 3.823 seconds. Steve Torrence broke both ends of the record in the first session, but Torrence’s Richard Hogan-applied tune-up ended up a millisecond too slow (3.831) at the end of the evening. Torrence retained the speed record of 322.96 MPH, though. At the other end of the list is Clay Millican with a shut-off 5.380. He’ll do better on Saturday.
Fireworks and jet cars finished off the evening’s doings, and to our knowledge, no one went home disappointed. These fans are loyal, and most of them will be back on Saturday. If you study the NHRA Drag Racing Mello Yello Series trail two tracks stand head shoulders above the rest, and that’s Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park (Norwalk) and Bandimere Speedway in Denver (technically, Morrison, Colo.) Why other operators aren’t studying how these facilities operate escapes logic, but then again, what do we know?
Spencer Massey’s ride may be the best looking Top Fuel car of 2014.
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