John Force once said he lied to Eric Medlen when he counseled him about the merits of a race car versus the female gender.

"A woman will hurt you, but this car -- she'll never hurt you," Force said.

Force
could never shake the guilt of those words following Medlen's death
during a test session. It affected everything about him. His
personality,driving performance and inevitably his team.

Sunday's Bristol triumph finally allowed Force to let go.

A TRANSITION IS IN EFFECT

The change in demeanor for Force was different that some actually believed the body snatchers returned their Force. And
he was just like the old guy the media grew to love and to quote –
quite often.

What happened? Force got ticked off and in usual fashion – apologized.
It must have been the spirit of Eric Medlen that got the old truck
driver straightened out. This marked the first Force victory since
Medlen’s death.

“It feels good because I really rode my guys hard this weekend,” Force
said. “Everyone from all of our teams jumped in and made this hot rod
good today. I was a jerk towards them yesterday and when we got
together today for the driver’s meeting, I asked them to forgive me for
being a jerk because that ain’t how a leader leads. It’s really easy to
lead when you’re on top. When you’re in the trash, it is sometimes
tough to find your way out.

“I think Eric reached down and slapped me upside the head and said go
out there and be who you used to be. It might not win me any races, but
it will make my guys love me again.”

One had to sense divine intervention when Force came to the line with a
smokeless burnout in the first round. It was so ugly that Coil had to
turn his back on him.

“We get a bone thrown our way every once in a while,” Force said. “It’s
mass confusion up there and the glue box is extremely slippery. They
need to take that tire machine up there. I heard they lost their driver
and won’t be able to take it to Denver. I’ll be the first to volunteer
to drive it.

Bristol Dragway’s storied his history has been captured in the pages of a new
book compiled by
one of the Tri-Cities area’s finest photojournalists.

David McGee has followed drag-racing on the hallowed grounds
of Thunder Valley since its inception in the mid-sixties. He worked for many
years with the Bristol Herald-Courier as a reporter and photographer before
moving on to serve for four years as editor of the IHRA’s Drag Review
publication.

In that time, McGee grew even closer to the aura Bristol
Dragway presented. Two decades later, he’s invoking memories for many, including
himself.

Point standings (top
10) for NHRA professional categories following the Seventh annual
O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q at Bristol
Dragway, the 12th of 23 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

Top Fuel

1.  Rod Fuller, 861; 2.  Brandon Bernstein, 787; 3.  Larry Dixon, 761; 4.  J.R. Todd, 730; 5.  Tony Schumacher, 693; 6.  Bob Vandergriff, 615; 7.  David Grubnic, 584; 8.  Melanie Troxel, 551; 9.  Whit Bazemore, 549; 10.  Cory McClenathan, 539.

Funny Car

1.  Ron Capps, 873; 2.  Robert Hight, 753; 3.  Mike Ashley, 690; 4.  Tony Pedregon, 669; 5.  (tie) Jim Head, 647; Gary Scelzi, 647; 7.  Cruz Pedregon, 547; 8.  Jack Beckman, 530; 9.  Ashley Force, 510; 10.  Tommy Johnson Jr., 495.

Pro Stock

1.  Greg Anderson, 1,029; 2.  Jeg Coughlin, 943; 3.  Dave Connolly, 851; 4.  Jason Line, 717; 5.  Allen Johnson, 638; 6.  Kurt Johnson, 571; 7.  Larry Morgan, 564; 8.  V. Gaines, 552; 9.  Richie Stevens, 524; 10.  Warren Johnson, 507.

Final round-by-round
results from the Seventh annual O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
presented by Q at Bristol Dragway, the 12th of 23 events in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Sunday's final results from the Seventh annual O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q at Bristol Dragway.  The  race is the 12th of 23 in the  NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel -- Brandon Bernstein, 4.648 seconds, 317.57 mph  def. Bob Vandergriff, 9.236 seconds, 100.08 mph.

John Force said following his Bristol victory that the fourth team
will return and the assembly is already being addressed.

“John Medlen told me that he’s
ready to bring the fourth team back,” Force said. “We are addressing it and we
don’t exactly know where we are with drivers. We are talking to a few young
kids and we are just happy to be here.”

Torco's CompetitionPlus.com will have more on this story as it develops. 

MCMILLEN CLAIMS FIRST CAREER
KNOLL-GAS NITRO JAM
VICTORY

Veteran racer Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., defeated first-time Top Fuel
competitor Jeff O’Neill during the CARS RV
& Marine & Motorsport Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by Torco Racing
Fuels. Both competitors came to Castrol Raceway seeking their first career
Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam event wins.

Other professional winners included Terry Haddock (Nitro Funny Car),
Ed Hoover (Pro Modified), Mark Thomas (Alcohol Funny Car) and Robert Patrick
(Pro Stock). Sportsman eliminations are still underway after a short
rain-delay.

McMillen, who entered Knoll Gas Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Top Fuel
eliminations qualified No. 7, ran a 4.953 in round one to take out Mike
Strasburg. His semifinal opponent was teammate Doug Foley, who had just
dispatched Bruce Litton. Foley was No. 1 qualifier and had event low ET of
4.581. However, in round two, Foley shook the tires at half-track and McMillen
took the stripe to advance to the finals.

O’Neill had a tough road to the finals as well. He took out points
leader T.J. Zizzo in round one with a 4.678, then Scotty Cannon with a 4.951,
both times clocking impressive reaction times.

Gilbertson Claims Top Nitro Funny Car
Spot

Bob Gilbertson,
Charlotte, N.C., earned the Knoll Gas Torco Racing Fuels Pro Nitro Funny Car top
qualifying honors before a standing-room only crowd at Castrol Raceway, the site
of this weekend’s CARS RV
& Marine & Motorsport Rocky Mountain Nationals presented by Torco Racing
Fuels. As the last of the fans packed into the Knoll-Gas Nitro Jam™ event, after
backing up traffic for miles in both directions all day long, Gilbertson used a
track record-setting 4.831 elapsed time at 312.13 mph to jump to No. 1 and claim
the Last Man Standing bonus points.

Two first-time event winners visited the Motor Mile Dragway winner's
circle Saturday night at the conclusion of the ADRL.us Independence
Drags, although one of them had previously won the biggest title the
Flowmaster American Drag Racing League has
to offer.

Bubba Stanton (Pro Extreme) and Doug Riesterer (Pro Nitrous) won their
respective classes to cap an exciting day of racing Saturday in front
of another sold out ADRL venue. For Stanton, the event win was his
first in an ADRL points-earning event, although his other ADRL victory
- the Battle for the Belts world championship eliminator last fall -
made him the 2006 ADRL Pro Extreme world champion.

With his win Saturday night, Stanton jumped to the top of the
AlphaTrade Battle for the Belts points standings, leaping over Joshua
Hernandez (who did not attend) and Huntsville winner Jason Scruggs (who
recorded a surprising DNQ). Stanton's 1,544 points now leads Hernandez
by the rough equivalent of three round-wins.

After qualifying No. 7 with a 4.018 best, Stanton simply got better
with each eliminations pass he made. He opened with a 4.032 to oust
Dwayne Watkins, then followed with three consecutive 3-second runs:
3.997 to edge Michael Neal's 4.03; 3.990 to take a dramatic holeshot
win over Frankie Taylor's 3.971; and, in the final, a 3.971 to score an
easy win over Travis Swearingen, who shook and could not recover.

Reigning champion Tony Schumacher will try to become the first Top Fuel driver
this season to win a race from the No. 1 qualifying position after racing his
U.S. Army dragster to the top of the field Saturday at the seventh annual
O'Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals presented by Q.

Schumacher, Funny Car
leader Tim Wilkerson, and hard-charging Pro Stock racer Jeg Coughlin all
finished the day on top of their respective ladders at historic Bristol Dragway
at the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event. Coughlin's run to the top was the
most impressive as he went from out-of-contention to race favorite in 6.765
seconds. Like Schumacher, Wilkerson relied on his Friday night run to earn low
qualifier honors.

This
was Schumacher's sixth low qualifying effort of the season, which he secured
with his Round 2 pass of 4.544 at 321.12 mph. He then backed it up with
Saturday's quickest pass, a 4.585 at 322.58 mph in his U.S. Army dragster to
prove he has a car capable of winning its third trophy of the year.