ASHER'S INDY INSIDER - FINAL EDITION
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FINAL INSIDER - DREAMS SHATTERED AND REALIZED
Despite all of the lead-ins in our previous reports about how important and big Indy is, the reality of that doesn’t often sink in until Labor Day Monday. That’s when it hits, and as strange as this may sound, it actually begins to sink in before you reach the track. The closer you get to the facility the more race rigs you see – going the other way, and then you know: These are the people who have lost and are heading home. For them the Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals are over. You can’t help wondering what they’re thinking as they head down the Interstate. Are they bitter? Crushed? Disappointed, or determined not to repeat the scenario next time?
If there’s one constant about the Nationals it’s that nothing will go the way you think it will. Number 1 qualifiers have only one advantage. Well, actually two. They can not only select the lane they want, they can decide which pair they want to be in. That’s it, the sum total of the goodies they’ve earned for being the quickest in their class (not including the green top dog ball cap). Maybe that’s why no one is really surprised when that top man or woman is sent packing in an early round. And maybe that’s why few are really stunned when a low qualifier emerges with the trophy at the end of the day.
After Clay Millican ran a 3.69-something in qualifying, a number no one came close to, many figured this would be his breakthrough race. After all, he’s a six-time IHRA World Champ and won a ton of races over there, but he’s never scored in NHRA. Well, he didn’t at Indy, either. His car smoked the tires in the second round and it was “Adios, Clay!”
The Number 1 qualifier in Pro Stock, Bob Butner, had his Camaro yank him through the lights in the first round for an early foul. Bye-bye Bo, hello heartbreak.
The Number 1 qualifier on two wheels, Angele Sampey, fouled out against teammate Cory Reed in the second round. Ouch, that hurt. Sorry, Angelle, that’s life in the big city.
Troy Coughlin, the Number 1 qualifier in Pro Mod, actually made it to the finale – where Number 2 qualifier, Von Smith, cleaned his clock. Back to Ohio, Mr. Mail Order!
And then there was Matt Hagan, the top runner in Funny Car, the guy with the big grin, the big muscles and the big, albeit somewhat quiet at times, personality. He was the one who won it all, stopping Del Worsham in the finale. How together is Hagan? As he headed for a ride back to the starting line for a TV interview he turned to big Mike Adams, the Mello Yello rep, and yelled, “Where’s my check?” Then, as he turned away he added, “Hey, man, I was only kiddin’!”
Hagan was so together than he not only praised Kalitta Motorsports and Worsham, he acknowledged that he should have won the Traxxas Shootout on Sunday. “We missed that one,” he said. “But this is the one that really counts.”
And then there was the guy who did double up, Top Fuel winner Tony Schumacher. Think about this for a second. Schumacher has now won Indy 10 times. His total Top Fuel career spans 20 years, and he’s won the year’s biggest race in half of those years? That’s an astonishing record, and sure, he didn’t do it alone. Guys like Alan Johnson and a few others helped, and certainly Mike Green has been a major factor. Green has previously acknowledged that Indy somehow gets everyone on the team pumped up, and the way they deliver is truly impressive.
As important and fun-to-witness as the two Traxxas Shootout races were, it’s very clear from the comments made by the participating drivers that it’s the U.S. Nationals itself that really counts. There are more points up for grabs, the final spots in the Countdown are hanging out there, teasing those who are close and frustrating those who know going in they can’t make it, and there’s nothing like winning the Big Go. Tears are commonplace at the finish line. Just ask Pro Mod winner Von Smith, who climbed out of his car all smiles, stood for an interview, and then the enormity of the situation hit him and he began shedding tears. Indy is simply that important. Legacies are at stake, and if you don’t believe that, just ask a driver who’s won Indy – or lost here in a final round. Some of them never get over it.
Schumacher faced Steve Torrence for the money, and the only thing we can say is that poor Stevie just can’t catch a break. His car flies, he drives exceptionally well, and even had a very nice 0.045 light in the last round. Trouble was, Schumacher had an even better 0.036 coupled up to a 3.806. Torrence clocked a 3.803. The way the clutch and fuel delivery systems work in these cars is such that Reaction Times this quick are, shall we say, somewhat other worldly. The average “leave” is something in the ‘seventies, so there you are.
Andrew Hines won Pro Stock bike on his factory-backed Harley-Davidson for Vance & Hines. This is a very professional operation for whom we have the utmost admiration. We just wish they were playing on a level field with everyone else. Hines downed Hector Arana, Jr. in the finale, who bulbed. Hector waved his fist in frustration just off the starting line, and almost fell off his machine doing so. That’s what Indy can do to you.
It looked like it was going to be the Chevrolet Show in Pro Stock – until Allen Johnson barged his way in with his Marathon Petroleum Mopar. He drove like a man possessed, with stunning lights – until the last round. AJ had a ‘twelve in the first round, an oh-nine in the second an another ‘twelve in the semis, but then he slowed to a forty-four against Chris McGaha, who had a better ‘twenty and a 6.688/207.15 to go with it as Johnson trailed with a 6.715/207.08.
McGaha had no easy path to the finale, downing Matt Hartford, Curt Steinbach and Vincent Nobile to get there. He was yet one more driver who used the word “legacy” in his finish line interview and, like Von Smith before him, suddenly stopped and began to realize what he’d just accomplished. For him the Indy win could be a career-maker.
There were a number of Countdown things going on, as you know. For some, like Terry McMillen, it was heartbreak, because even though Leah Pritchett also lost in the first round, she had the tiebreaker, so that’s that. In Pro Stock Jeggie got in and Alex Laughlin didn’t. Alexis DeJoria sat out two races due to injury and still made it. She earned it, and that’s all there is to say.
So now the Countdown to 1 begins. Six races remain on the schedule. Forty drivers are going to go through emotional hell in the weeks to come, others will emerge with big smiles. Someone’s going to go on a tear like Del Worsham did last year. Someone else, who came in hot, is going to stumble and fall. That’s what drag racing is all about. It isn’t easy. If it was anyone and everyone could do it. Yes, we know that everyone can drag race, and we love that about the endeavor. But not everyone can be a Tony Schumacher or a Matt Hagan or, for that matter, a Bob Glidden. This is a gut check of the first order. It’s time to man up.
SUNDAY INSIDER: TURNABOUT’S FAIR PLAY
Yesterday Don Schumacher Racing dominated the Traxxas Shootout for Top Fuel. Today John Force Racing dominated the Traxxas Shootout for Funny Car, proving, if nothing else, that these two teams are the dominant forces (pardon the use of that word, because it’s not meant as some sort of little inside salute to JFR) in fuel racing today. Despite the yeoman efforts made by other teams, such as Kalitta Motorsports and a few others, DSR and JFR really are at the top of the performance heap.
Indy was once again almost weather-perfect, although it did get a little warmer again today. That stifled performances in some categories, while not impacting others. And yes, the crowd was once again very good. However, the true test of the U.S. Nationals drawing power comes on Labor Day Monday. If the house is almost full, this will be a major league home run for the National Hot Rod Association, and an indicator that Indy remains a super-strong event – as does drag racing.
The first round of the Shootout produced a heart-stopping incident when the parachutes on Ron Capps’ NAPA Dodge failed to deploy properly. Capps tried to keep the car under control, but when it got into the sand trap it tipped over, trapping him inside. It was evident from his finish line interview that he was shaken by the experience. Not going off the end of the track, and not tipping over. It was being trapped inside that bothered him. It was also apparent that he was holding himself in check when he spoke, because he plainly mentioned the Safety Safari member who was standing in front of the sand trap, directing cars off the track. His position seemed to make Capps move from his straight-line approach to the sand, and when veered to the left, it was to avoid that individual, and the off kilter entrance into the sand is what caused the car to tip over. Not a pretty sight.
NHRA rules regarding this kind of thing are pretty clear. A competitor can “replace” a car any time during qualifying, but once eliminations begin you’re married to what you started with, so it was no surprise when the NAPA group announced they wouldn’t return for the second round as they prepped their back-up car for the last qualifying shot and Monday’s eliminations.
Capps had run a 3.901 in defeating John Force in that first round, but his inability to come back gave Robert Hight a single into the finale, this after he’d defeated Tommy Johnson, Jr. in the first go. Matt Hagan, he of the 3.858 Number 1 qualifying effort, stomped Tim Wilkerson flat in the first round with the Shootout’s quickest elapsed time, a 3.886. At that point it actually looked like the DSR bunch might double up on the special races, but Hagan’s Dickie Venables-tuned machine “slowed” to a 3.941 against Courtney Force, and suddenly it was an all JFR finale.
The senior Force, suddenly up on the emotional tires as he’s been so often in the past, gave a classic starting line interview during which he dropped an S-bomb that brought the house down, and prompted announcer Alan Reinhart to intone, “They’re gonna fine you fifty grand for that.” No, they aren’t. Just trust us on that, because if it actually happened we can easily foresee a handful of drivers dropping verbal bombs in their interviews, just to point out how ridiculous a fine for language would be. It’s the 21st Century, and anyone who doesn’t understand that we’ve moved beyond “heck” and “darn” obviously hasn’t spoken to a teenager in 30 years.
Anyone anticipating astounding performances in the Traxxas finale had to be disappointed by a pair of four second runs, but here’s the thing. It’s the racing that counts, often much more than do the numbers. Fans like competition, whether it’s in three seconds or ten, and Courtney and Robert provided it. But the re-lettered John Force body (more about that in a moment) on Hight’s chassis came across the finish line second to Courtney’s fresh ride effort of 4.018 seconds as she felt the blower belt shredding at the finish line. “I kept waiting for Robert to go by,” she later said.
About that new body. Late last night Hight suffered a major explosion, and with the team short on new Camaro bodies they dragged Force’s spare out, scrapped off the lettering and re-liveried it in Southern California Auto Club logos as best they could. Yes, it looked fine.
Despite Hagan’s 3.88 in the first round of the Shootout, the conditions were such that there was little movement on the qualifying list. He remained first, with the same duo behind him that was there a while back – Fast Jack Beckman and then Capps. The surprise DNQ was Cruz Pedregon, who will join Justin Schriefer and Tim Gibbons on the sidelines. Gibbons, incidentally, did an 800-foot burnout last night. We don’t know whether that was an accident or planned, but regardless, the fans loved it, even if it paled in comparison to what Pat Minick used to do in the Chi-Town Hustler.
Chad Head finally got his Toyota untracked and carded a 3.953 late Sunday afternoon. Prior to that last session he was riding up and down the return road on his motorcycle, “Just cruisin’,” he said. Nice to be relaxed, isn’t it?
Terry McMillan experienced the nail biter in Top Fuel, when he didn’t get in until the final session. It was do or die for the Amalie Oil machine, because not making the cut would have meant Leah Pritchett would make the Countdown in his place. They’ll now settle it on the track. If he goes one more round than she does, he’s in, and she’s out. Conversely, if she goes that additional round… Well, you get the idea.
If you’re confused it’s because McMillan’s ‘seventy-nine last night wasn’t in the Top 12, and therefore wasn’t “protected,” so he had to start from scratch today.
Yes, Clay Millican remained at the top of the list, as no one was going to run a three-sixty-anything out there on Sunday. Three-seventies yes, ‘sixties, no way.
Many days ago – or so it seems – we said Indy was a marathon, not a sprint. Think of it from a competitor’s perspective. A guy like Pat Dakin made four runs and wasn’t in the show. Then, when it counted the most, he ripped off a 3.799 to get in. That’s a pressure cooker.
But here’s the thing. There were 20 Top Fuel cars trying to make the field, and more than enough cars in the other pro categories too. Every single one of those drivers and teams has a story to tell, some of them smile-inducing and others gut-wrenching enough to make a grown man cry. That’s just how it is in professional drag racing, and particularly Indy.
Bo Butner took the top spot in Pro Stock with a 6.571, with Curt Steinbach on the bump with a 6.674. In between are the sport’s best, along with a few surprises. Deric Kramer’s Dodge is suddenly coming on strong, and so is Alex Laughlin’s Camaro (as we predicted in our Mile-High Nationals coverage back in July). The men and women who race these machines are obviously dedicated to their craft, but sadly, the class continues to lack the visceral excitement that’s provided by Pro Modified.
Pro Mod qualifying was pretty darned impressive. What’s not to like about a field that demands a 5.892 for entry? And yes, these cars definitely are viscerally exciting! They ran their first round late Sunday, with almost every higher qualified car winning, but it’s a long way from Round 1 to the finale, which we’ll see on Monday.
A tenth of a second separates the top of the motorcycle list from the bottom, with Angelle Sampey remaining up front with a 6.812. In between there were some good stories, like Steve Johnson’s Suzuki finally putting down a good one for the ninth spot (6.872) and both Karen Stoffer and Melissa Surber finally making the field. Anthony Vanetti, who was pushed ignominiously off the line on Friday and then ran off the track on Saturday, did not make the field in his Indy debut. Surprisingly, neither did Angie Smith. When things are just “wrong,” they sometimes remain so, as her husband, Matt, will race, and she’ll watch.
So one very special race remains. What “special race,” you’re asking? Well, duh, it’s the Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals itself. It might not seem like it, but everything else has been just a preliminary. Now we’re down to the real action, when Countdown positions are secured or lost, when tough-as-nails drivers will break down in tears and almost unknowns could become superstars. We’re counting the hours.
SATURDAY INSIDER - HALF WAY HOME
Let’s open with some basics. First, the weather was again excellent, but slightly warmer, a situation that didn’t stop several Pro Stock cars from joining Vincent Nobile in the six-fifty-nine range. Second, the crowd was excellent, the best Saturday turnout we’ve seen at Indy in many moons, but someone’s got to explain this: Lucas Oil Raceway (sorry, but it’s always going to be IRP to us!) was packed for the first session of Top Fuel and the first round of the Traxxas Shootout, but by the time the dragsters finished and Funny Car began at least a third of the crowd had disappeared into the pits. Are we to judge from this that the Indy fans are Top Fuel mavens first and foremost, and that Funny Car no longer counts with them? Just wait until we check in again on Sunday evening, and we’ll let you know what our highly technical and scientific study reveals.
The Traxxas Shootout can best be described as the DSR Show. Four cars out of the Schumacher stable ran in the second round, this after they’d dispatched Steve Torrence, Brittany Force, Terry McMillan and Doug Kalitta in the first round. While for some the appearance of four cars from the same team might have been a problem, that wasn’t the case here, as these fans appeared to have little interest in the owner, but plenty in the likes of Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon and Leah Pritchett. As the winner, Tony Schumacher would say after it was all over, “When you’re racing your teammates you really have to be on top of things, because you know they all have the best parts and all of the tuners are excellent – and they’re all great drivers, too.”
Let’s put it this way: If you couldn’t run in the three-seventies you weren’t going to win the hundred grand from Traxxas, it was that simple. There is something about Indy that wakes up tuner Mike Green and Tony Schumacher. They love this place. In fact, if Schumacher had his way the entire Mello Yello Series would take place right here! He and Green were definitely on their game in the Shootout. Tony had a killer 0.027 light against Antron Brown, and coupled it to the event’s second quickest elapsed time of 3.727 seconds. A twenty-seven light in Top Fuel is exceptional, really.
Meanwhile, Pritchett dropped a 3.749 on Shawn Langdon to set up an interesting finale, which was watched by Papa John’s owner John Schnatter from the comfort of his helicopter about a thousand feet above the action. He was obviously looking for Pritchett’s first win driving in his colors, but it wasn’t to be, as Tony had an even better elapsed time than he’d had in the previous round in 3.717 seconds, a thirty-five light and the win. Pritchett’s car flamed out (literally), but still carded a 3.738. Tony was effusive in his praise of his team and the Traxxas folks, but it was obvious from his comments that what really matters to him is winning again on Monday.
The new – and probably permanent – leader in Top Fuel is Clay Millican, who drove his David Grubnic-prepared PartsPlus/Great Clips to his first ever three-sixty elapsed time, stopping the clocks in 3.692 seconds, yet another new track record. Millican was, of course, subdued and quiet at the finish line because he’s, well, a little shy. Aha, another lie from your intrepid reporter! Yeah, he was over the top, just as you’d expect.
But when it came to post-run comments, Terry McMillens’ was the best after he ran a 3.796. “Not bad for an old fat man driving a used car!” he said. T.J Zizzo has the 12th spot with a 3.772, and it’s a shame Rust-Oleum, who backs the car for limited outings, doesn’t seem to grasp the potential of this race team. They are winners waiting to happen, just as is Millican, and that’s something we wouldn’t necessarily say about some other teams out here.
So, the Top 12 is spread from Millican to Zizzo, with the usual suspects jammed in between – and they’re all in the three-seventies. Right now Morgan Lucas is solidly in the field, but he stuffed his car into the wall when he missed an early turn-off on an aborted run, and as of our deadline we weren’t sure about the extent of the damage to the car, so we’ll just have to wait and see on Sunday.
Matt Hagan continues to sit atop the Funny Car list with his 3.858, with all of the Top 12 solidly in the threes. There wasn’t as much movement in Funny Car as there was in Top Fuel and Pro Stock, but when you see the likes of Chad Head and Cruz Pedregon uncharacteristically struggling, you know that things might change on Sunday. The Cruzer has yet to break out of the sevens, while Head’s best is weak 4.449 – and his car is capable of so much more. Among that Top 12 is Alexis DeJoria, who had to endure some Internet trolls during her absence. People, there’s no call to spread vitriol from the safety of your mom’s basement where you’re living. Get a life.
It’s a long story that we won’t bother telling, but the third Pro Stock qualifying session also included the finale of the Seattle race, a mini Big Go between rookie Aaron Strong and Number 1 qualifier Nobile, both with Elite Motorsports power. While Strong had won a national event in Comp back in 2014, this was obviously his first finale in Pro Stock, since he debuted in Seattle, and when Nobile bulbed by a thousandth of a second, Strong had his second Wally. The shame of it for Nobile was that his elapsed time of 6.585 seconds would have easily defeated Strong’s 6.634. Oh well, that’s why they race instead of flipping coins.
Allen Johnson has the fastest Dodge, but he’s back in seventh. The other Mopar runners, Deric Kramer, Erica Enders-Stevens and Jeg Coughlin, Jr., are considerably behind him, although Kramer and EES are in the Top 12, with Jeggie one slot behind them. The cars in the ‘fifties along with Nobile are Shane Gray, Greg Anderson and Bo Butner. If the weather stays like it was on Saturday, there could be another half dozen cars in the six-fifties by the time qualifying ends.
Troy Coughlin and Von Smith remain atop the Pro Mod list, with every single qualifier running in the five-eighties. This is an excellent field putting on a killer show in front of very appreciative fans. If there’s something to dislike about Pro Modified, we can’t figure out what it might be. These guys are really worth watching.
Jerry Savoie is still the king of the two wheeled set, with popular Angelle Sampey coming home right behind him with a 6.851 aboard her Star Racing Buell. The Harleys are behind her, but unlike some categories, this one’s all over the place, with riders that one might expect to be in still on the outside. This must be some kind of chauvinistic situation, because of the five women competing, only Angelle has made the cut thus far. Karen Stoffer, Melissa Surber, Angie Smith and Kristen Ashby remain on the outside, looking in.
Sunday brings with it the Traxxas Shootout for Funny Cars and the last two qualifying sessions. There is no way of predicting what’s going to happen because so much depends on the atmospheric conditions. But, if hell freezes over between now and about, oh, maybe five o’clock tomorrow afternoon, you might see some racers qualifying that you would have bet your life savings wouldn’t have made it. And as we said earlier, that’s why they race instead of flipping coins or cutting cards.
FRIDAY INSIDER - THIS IS THE REALLY BIG GO!
Back in the day they called this race the Big Go. That term may have gone out of style, but there’s no doubt about it, this really is the biggest race of the year. It’s not the number of days (too many!), and it’s no longer the number of entries – which regularly topped 1,200 and sometimes more – it’s simply the most important race of the season. Ask any racer how important Indy is, and the response is going to be something along the lines of “At the end of the year people are only going to remember two things. Who won Indy, and who won the championships.”
We couldn’t agree more. Every racer, from Stock to Top Fuel, wants to win this race more than any other. It can be a career-maker – and sometimes a career-breaker. Ask someone like Tony Schumacher, who’s won it nine times, what he thinks, and he’ll quickly tell you that after 20 years of Top fuel racing, nothing he’s ever accomplished can top his Indy victories and his titles. This is not meant to downplay his many other wins, but, in reality, they pale in comparison to the importance that is the NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Forget pre-season testing, because we all know what that’s about, and now consider pre-Indy testing. It’s critically important to many race teams, and not just those housed just down the road in Brownsburg. And what? You think these guys aren’t racing enough or working hard enough? They’ve just come of the West Coast Swing, which is a grind, and then they raced at Brainerd. Did they need more days of running? Well, if they didn’t, why did so many teams roll out to test? They did it because of the importance of these four days of official professional racing.
And there’s a lot more at stake here than a U.S. Nationals trophy. For a handful of runners this is their last opportunity to qualify for the Countdown to the Championship. Every man or woman with a chance to make that Top 10 knows exactly what they must do, and anyone who tells you “Oh, I’m not even thinking about that right now” is a damn liar – and not even a good one. For example, in Top Fuel Terry McMillan and Leah Pritchett are locked in a death match for the last spot, but the formula for McMillan couldn’t possibly be simpler. “No matter what happens,” he says. “We just have to go one more round than she does. It’s as simple as that.”
Speaking of Ms. Pritchett, her tenure with Don Schumacher Racing is paying off, big time. With the reported help of former Funny Car and Top Fuel driver Whit Bazemore, Pritchett and Schumacher have put together a program with Papa John’s Pizza that is going to be big for drag racing in the coming years. Don’t hold us to this, but it appears that you might be buying Papa John’s at every national event venue next season.
Pritchett’s 3.792 has her 10th, but more importantly than the spot is the fact that she’s now in a protected position and will run Monday no matter what happens between now and then. McMillan, meanwhile, ran a 3.852 that has him 14th, so it’s obvious what he must do – coax more power out of the Amalie Oil-backed machine.
The weather conditions on Friday were ideal, and the numbers that came up on the boards backed that up. Track records fell like wheat before a John Deere combine. It seemed as if the announcers were touting a new standard with each pair of cars that reached the finish line. If the weather holds (it appears as if it will) we could be talking new records every day.
Steve Torrence continues to be the King of Top Fuel Qualifying, leading the way in his Richard Hogan-prepped machine with a 3.702. Expect to see a three-sixty-something on Saturday evening, and maybe from more than one car, the conditions are that good. But, 24-hours can bring a lot of changes, so bear that in mind.
Torrence had the fastest speed at 328.06 mph, and while that is definitely marching, no less than five Funny Cars ran faster, four of them topping 330. The appropriately nicknamed Fast Jack Beckman topped the list at 333.08 mph, but he came home second behind Matt Hagan’s 3.858 with a 3.859, and yes, Hagan was another guy over 330.
So why are the Funny Cars faster than the dragsters? Some talented tuners with far more knowledge than we possess have suggested that the different aero packages on the dragsters have their engines hitting the mandated rev limiters, while the Funny Car are powering through the lights at full throttle.
It’s no coincidence that three DSR cars lead the field, from Hagan through Beckman to Ron Capps. Then come two JFR cars, first Force at 3.872 and then teammate Robert Hight at 3.881. Courtney Force had problems and shut off.
Only 16 Funny Car ran tonight, but there are more on the grounds, and while 18 ran in Top Fuel, there are also a couple of others that didn’t come out, including Chris Karamesines. It is Indy after all, so there are plenty of cars in Pro Stock as well, at least enough to make qualifying somewhat interesting for the fans. Ya know how Ving Rames yells “Arbys has the meats” in those obnoxious television ads? Well, the Pro Mod guys could be doing pretty much the same thing, just altering it to say “Pro Mod has the cars!” Like, double the number of available spots. For the math-challenged, that means 32 entries for 16 starting spots.
Everyone in the field thus far is into the five second zone, from Troy Coughlin’s stunning 5.773 to Jim Whiteley’ “pathetic” 5.968. Now that’s a field!
What do we like about Pro Mod? Let us count the ways. A wide variety of body styles and years. Three choices of powerplant configurations. Those wheelstands (are you listening Pro Stock? Probably not…). Those burnouts, those all-over-the-track runs. Yes, kiddies these car are cool.
Interesting side note: While Whiteley is at the back of the Pro Mod field, his wife is atop the Alcohol Funny Car ranks with a killer 5.474, just a tick ahead of Californian John Lombardo, Jr, who lost an engine in the first session and couldn’t make the call for the second.
As expected, the two Harleys are one and two in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Oh, wait, we got that wrong. The Number 1 qualifier is Suzuki runner Jerry Savoie with a 6.848. Now that was a surprise, as he left Eddie Krawiec second (6.852) and Andrew Hines third (6.867). If the Harley Davidsons are so good, why isn’t anyone else running one? Ask the National Hot Rod Association, or check George Bryce’s rant about them in an earlier edition of CompetitionPlus.com. We’ve said it before, and are happy to say it here again: We have tremendous respect for the entire Vance & Hines operation. It’s the way things have been set up for them that we will continue objecting to for as long as the situation exists. Drag racing is supposed to be about fair competition between similarly prepared vehicles, but that isn’t happening in motorcycle, and won’t until someone stops thinking with their wallets instead of their brains.
Vincent Nobile leads Pro Stock with a very impressive 6.582. He’s the only one to dip below 6.60, and the other 11 cars in the protected spots are spread from six flat to 6.668. Not to belittle anyone, but the reality is that the top 12 cars are all full time touring competitors, while the six others who will try and get in are all part-timers, including Australian Shane Tucker, who is making one of his too infrequent visits to the States.
Friday’s “special attraction” was the Hemi Challenge, and like everything else about Indy, it was indeed “special.” In truth Bucky Hess, who was the Number 1 qualifier, was expected to be the winner, but he crashed in the semifinals against Stephen Hebert – who then redlighted against James Daniels’ Dart, dropping a cool fifteen grand in the process. Still a great show after all these years.
We’ve said this before, but it remains true. Indy’s a marathon, not a sprint, and there are three full days left. By Monday afternoon there will be tears of joy as well as tears of frustration. But before that happens we’ll have the two Traxxas races, one for Top Fuel and the other for Funny Car. Every day at Indy is a special day, and if you’ve never witnessed this insanity in person you can’t really call yourself a real drag racing fan. At some point in every fan’s life a visit to the Nationals is a must, so stop reading this, get in your car, drive out here and we’ll see you tomorrow!
