2009 NHRA FALL NATIONALS - SAME DAY COVERAGE
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SUNDAY FINALS - HIGHT, SCHUMACHER, ANDERSON AND ARANA WIN NHRA FALL NATIONALS 
Robert Hight continued his impressive post-season performance by racing to the Funny Car victory 
Sunday at the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec.
Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel); Greg Anderson (Pro Stock); and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners in their respective categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Hight, who barely advanced to the Countdown to 1, has now won the first two of the six championship playoff events. He defeated Jack Beckman in the final-round at the Texas Motorplex, after outrunning Leif Helander, Tim Wilkerson and Ashley Force Hood in earlier rounds. Last weekend he beat Matt Hagan in the final-round to win the NHRA Carolinas Nationals near Charlotte, N.C.
“The first two weeks of the Countdown couldn’t have been any better for us,” said Hight, who posted a 4.218 second run at 296.44 mph in his Auto Club Ford Mustang, to hold off Beckman’s Valvoline/Mail Terminal Services Dodge Charger in the final, which finished in 4.271 at 292.58. “We won them and went from worst to first, so it’s very exciting for me. It’s something I never thought was going to happen. I never lost faith in my team. You dream big, but this is huge.”
With the win, Hight moved into the series lead for the first time this season. Entering the final race of the regular season, Hight was 12th in the point standings and in jeopardy of not making the playoffs.
“This is probably the best race car I’ve ever had,” Hight said. “We’ve won races and been close to winning the championship, but we’ve never been this dominant, this consistent, this steady; it’s going down the racetrack every run.”
Schumacher defeated rival Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. Schumacher finished in 3.944 at 312.86 in his U.S. Army dragster for his fifth win of the season and 61st of his career, while top qualifier Dixon trailed with a 4.232 at 225.18 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster. With the victory, Schumacher, who has won the last five Top Fuel season titles and six overall, moved back into the points lead.
“This was huge,” said Schumacher, who advanced to the final by outrunning T.J. Zizzo, Antron Brown and Spencer Massey in the first three rounds. “Beating Larry Dixon and Alan Johnson and my old team is just special; if you can’t rise to the occasion against guys like that who you know are great like that, you don't belong in here racing cars.”
Anderson claimed his first playoff victory and second win of the season in Pro Stock by driving his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to a 6.684 at 207.11 to hold off former Funny Car racer Johnny Gray, 
who earned his second runner-up finish this season with a 6.713 at 206.64 in his Johnny Gray Racing Dodge Stratus.
Anderson qualified fifth and beat former employer Warren Johnson, Allen Johnson and top qualifier and series points leader Mike Edwards in a critical semifinal round.
“I can't remember stealing one like we did today,” said Anderson of his 59th career victory. “I didn't exactly wake up this morning brimming with confidence because Mike Edwards is making us all look bad. We like to be the performance leader and we're not, and it's driving us nuts. It certainly wouldn't have been a big shock to exit early today. We just fought and clawed and found a way to win all four rounds and, honestly, if we had another first-round loss today we probably would have been done for the Countdown.”
Despite beating Edwards in the semis, Anderson only earned 26 points on the leader since Edwards earned the 12 maximum bonus points during qualifying, giving him 90 points for the weekend in his A.R.T. / Young Life GXP.
“We found a way to win today and bought ourselves a little time to try to find some performance in this car and get to where Mike Edwards is, or get closer to him,” Anderson said. “It feels good to win the race because, even though you can't win the Countdown in the first race or two, you certainly can lose it.”
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Arana raced to his third consecutive victory and fifth of the season with a final-round performance of 6.979 at 190.67 on his Lucas Oil Buell to hold off championship rival and defending world champ Eddie Krawiec, who finished in 7.005 at 190.43 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. With the win, Arana increased his series lead to 27 over Krawiec.
“I’m really pleased with the performance of the bike and this S&S motor,” said Arana, who defeated Joe DeSantis, David Hope and three-time world champ Andrew Hines in the first three rounds. “It's a helluva piece, and (Pro Stock driver) Larry Morgan's guys are working hard to keep me winning rounds and races and the title, something we've always dreamed of. My team never slowed down, even in 90 degrees of heat. They just worked so hard. I have to thank Lucas Oil for sticking with me and believing in me, and allowing me to grow with them. It's amazing how everything has turned around for me to win five races this season; now I just need to win three more and I'll be good. I really don't want to focus on the championship, just about getting the motor ready and going to Memphis.”
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series championship playoffs continue next weekend (Oct. 2-4) with the O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park.
THACKER, LOMBARDO MAKE A TRIP TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX
NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster pilot Marty Thacker scored his first national event win of the season this weekend at Texas Motorplex’s O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals. The Robinson, Ill., racer joined John Lombardo Jr., Brea, Calif., in the winner’s circle after Lombardo earned his first ever NHRA national event win in Top Alcohol Funny Car.
Thacker started eliminations from the No. 9 qualifying spot and made his best runs of the weekend in the semifinal and final rounds – identical 5.372-second laps. In the final he squared off against Delta, B.C., resident Shawn Cowie who ran 5.418 seconds at 265.74 mph. This was Cowie’s first final-round appearance at a national event this year but he has notched wins at each of the six divisional races he has attended.
Lombardo made his best eliminations run in the Top Alcohol Funny Car final. He took on Alexis De Joria of Bronson, Fla., and laid down a 5.691-second, 252.61 mph run. De Joria actually made her worst run of eliminations in the final when she slowed to a 5.861-second, 242.54 mph effort.
Comp Eliminator racer Bruno Massel, Woodbridge, Ill., cushioned his lead in the Comp Eliminator point standing by scoring a win at the Motorplex. He faced off in his ’08 Cobalt against Tom Schmidt, Lindstrom, Minn., who was in his ’03 S-10 truck. Massel also won the national event at Heartland Park Topeka and was runner-up at Brainerd Int’l Raceway.
Claremore, Okla., resident Bryan Chaney wheeled his ’92 Camaro Super Stocker to the win over veteran racer Bobby Dennis of Shorter, Ala., who was driving his ’90 Calais. In Stock Eliminator, Monty Bogan, Centerville, Va., ousted former NHRA national champion Kevin Helms, Shriever, La., in the final, while Baytown, Texas’s Lloyd Parfait scored the win in Super Comp. Parfait knocked out Mark Powers, Buda, Texas, in the final. The win in Super Gas went to Kemp, Texas, racer David Jones, who wheeled his ’86 Firebird to the win over Roger Warren, Jacksonville, Texas, in his ’97 Cutlass.
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SATURDAY QUALIFYING - EDWARDS SCORES MAXIMUM QUALIFYING BONUS POINTS AT O’REILLY SUPER START BATTERIES NHRA FALL NATIONALS
Dixon, Hight and Krawiec also claim No. 1 qualifying positions at Texas Motorplex
Pro Stock racer Mike Edwards took advantage of NHRA’s new qualifying bonus point system and earned the maximum 12 points during two days of qualifying at the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals. For his efforts, the Oklahoma racer earned his category-leading 12th No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Texas Motorplex.
Larry Dixon, Robert Hight and Eddie Krawiec also claimed No. 1 qualifying positions in their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event. The race is the second of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs.
Edwards was quickest in both sessions for the day in his A.R.T. / Young Life Pontiac GXP, but it was his 6.597 second run at 209.88 mph from Friday that earned him the top spot. He will face V. Gaines in Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations.
Per the new rule, the top three qualifiers in each pro category earn 3, 2, and 1 points respectively during each qualifying session. Edwards’ total increased his series lead over defending champ Jeg Coughlin, who earned 5 qualifying bonus points.
“Hat’s off to all my guys, they were making some really good judgments for this last qualifying run,” Edwards said. “We had like 122 track temp, and I just made a phenomenal run. Moved around just a little bit down low, but boy, it was really nice. Hopefully we can make good decisions tomorrow. I’m really happy with my team and the car and my performance and everything. But tomorrow is another day, so we’ll see what happens. We’re all out here trying to win rounds so every round you can win you try to do all you can. If we could win this race here, it would really help us a lot, but there are 15 other guys who are trying to do the same thing. It’s going to be a tough job, but I think we’re capable.”
In Top Fuel, Al-Anabi Racing’s Dixon earned his sixth No. 1 of the season, 37th of his career and second consecutive in the playoffs, with his 3.833 at 312.93 mph performance from Friday. Brandon Bernstein and Spencer Massey were quickest of the day.
“Yesterday was a lot more fun than today,” Dixon said. “Conditions were obviously pretty warm. We went out there and tried a few things on the first run, then we went back to a normal set-up and still got the tires loose, so we’ll calm her down a little more. It’s going to be hotter tomorrow, so we’ve got to make sure we get our car down the racetrack.”
The two-time world champ will face opening round opponent Mike Bowers, who is making his first career start in Top Fuel. Dixon says with warm conditions forecast for Sunday, anything can happen.
“The first couple of rounds probably won’t be too bad, but if we’re fortunate enough to get to the semifinals, we’re going to be running around 3 o’clock, and that’s the hottest part of the day,” Dixon said. “We measured 127 [degrees track temperature on the second run], so it was pretty hot. But when you’re sitting in that car ready to run and the last thing you see is Alan Johnson stick his hands in their and turn the knobs, you don’t worry about anything; it’s a good feeling.”
Hight took his third No. 1 position of the season and 31st of his career in Funny Car with his Friday run of 4.109 at 305.56 in his Auto Club Ford Mustang. Ashley Force Hood and Bob Tasca III posted the quickest runs of the day.
“We knew that with today’s weather that we were definitely going to stay No. 1; nobody was going to run a .10,” Hight said. “But we only got down the track once today and I’d feel better going into race day if we’d done better in the heat. It dropped a cylinder on that last run and if that hadn’t happened it probably would have run near what the quick guys were running.”
Hight will face first-time NHRA Funny Car racer Leif Helander in the opening round as he tries to keep his recent hot streak going.
“We’re racing a guy from Sweden and you know he’s got to be hungry,” Hight said. “There are no easy ones. You know he’s going out there trying to get his first national event round-win, so we’re going to have to do our job tomorrow. Looking at the ladder, there are a lot of first-round match-ups of the Countdown cars, so a lot of those guys are going to be gone early and if we can do what we did in Charlotte we can keep this thing rolling. But it won’t be easy. It’s going to be hotter tomorrow and we’ve got to go down the track to win.”
The three marquee Countdown to 1 first-round pairings Hight was referring to include Tim Wilkerson vs. Ron Capps; Force Hood vs. Del Worsham; and Tasca III vs. Tony Pedregon.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Krawiec claimed his second top qualifying position of the season with his Friday performance of 6.908 at 192.55 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. Krawiec earned eight qualifying bonus points for the weekend, but Saturday’s quickest riders were Krawiec teammate Andrew Hines and series leader Hector Arana.
“Like I said yesterday, I really didn’t think my run was going to hold up for the session this morning,” said Krawiec, who will face Redell Harris in the first round. “I was fortunate that it got a little hotter and the humidity went up. The weather conditions weren’t quite as good I was able to maintain the No. 1 position. I think on any race day, it doesn’t matter where you qualify or where you are in the field. Bottom line is, as long as you qualify, you have a shot. I don’t take any competitor out here lightly. They all have fast motorcycles they all just have to get tuned into the track conditions and weather conditions. I think anybody out there can possibly shine tomorrow. I’m just going to go out there and race my own race.”
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First-round pairings for Sunday's professional eliminations Sunday at the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, the 20th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, and the second of six events in the Countdown to 1, NHRA's championship playoffs. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.833 seconds, 312.93 mph vs. 16. Mike Bowers, 4.018, 296.50; 2. Morgan Lucas, 3.859, 313.58 vs. 15. Mike Strasburg, 4.017, 304.05; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.860, 312.78 vs. 14. T.J. Zizzo, 3.992, 307.16; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.872, 311.56 vs. 13. Clay Millican, 3.984, 306.88; 5. Cory McClenathan, 3.878, 315.86 vs. 12. Doug Kalitta, 3.979, 308.28; 6. Antron Brown, 3.878, 314.61 vs. 11. Terry Haddock, 3.954, 304.46; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.879, 307.16 vs. 10. Bob Vandergriff, 3.931, 307.93; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.889, 313.44 vs. 9. Steve Torrence, 3.901, 310.20. Did Not Qualify: 17. Urs Erbacher, 4.102, 294.18; 18. Scott Palmer, 4.154, 270.05; 19. Todd Simpson, 4.731, 209.33.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.109, 305.56 vs. 16. Leif Helander, Chevy Camaro, 10.185, 89.49; 2. John Force, Mustang, 4.149, 302.41 vs. 15. Grant Downing, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.374, 255.63; 3. Jerry Toliver, Monte Carlo, 4.163, 302.55 vs. 14. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.256, 292.27; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.173, 295.79 vs. 13. Del Worsham, Solara, 4.246, 294.05; 5. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.181, 298.40 vs. 12. Cruz Pedregon, Solara, 4.234, 294.43; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.188, 294.56 vs. 11. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.228, 291.95; 7. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.194, 296.44 vs. 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.207, 294.75; 8. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.204, 294.95 vs. 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.207, 295.27.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.597, 209.88 vs. 16. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.700, 206.10; 2. Jason Line, GXP, 6.611, 209.33 vs. 15. Matt Hartford, Stratus, 6.697, 206.99; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.614, 209.33 vs. 14. Steve Spiess, Cobalt, 6.695, 207.15; 4. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.620, 208.17 vs. 13. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.688, 207.94; 5. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.628, 208.97 vs. 12. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.660, 208.68; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.639, 208.52 vs. 11. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.655, 207.94; 7. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.639, 208.10 vs. 10. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.653, 207.72; 8. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.643, 208.49 vs. 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.645, 208.17. Did Not Qualify: 17. Mark Buehring, 8.928, 202.15.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.908, 192.55 vs. 16. Redell Harris, Buell, 7.179, 183.24; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.912, 193.07 vs. 15. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.127, 188.81; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.930, 191.95 vs. 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.113, 183.72; 4. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 6.944, 192.14 vs. 13. Junior Pippin, Buell, 7.094, 188.89; 5. Douglas Horne, Buell, 6.966, 190.75 vs. 12. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.092, 186.56; 6. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.976, 194.60 vs. 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.074, 187.50; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 6.997, 190.75 vs. 10. David Hope, Buell, 7.068, 185.28; 8. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.014, 190.62 vs. 9. Angie McBride, Buell, 7.049, 186.56. Did Not Qualify: 17. Bailey Whitaker, 7.256, 183.34; 18. Blaine Hale, 7.279, 184.40.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING - HIGHT, DIXON, EDWARDS AND KRAWIEC LEAD QUALIFYING AT O’REILLY SUPER START BATTERIES NHRA FALL NATIONALS
Robert Hight raced to the Funny Car qualifying lead Friday at the O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec.
Larry Dixon, Mike Edwards and Eddie Krawiec also led their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.
Hight, who barely made it into the NHRA Full Throttle Series Countdown to 1, has made the most of his opportunity and followed up his win last weekend in Charlotte, N.C. by leading qualifying at the Texas Motorplex at the second event in the six-race championship playoffs.
Hight powered his Auto Club Ford Mustang to a No. 1 effort of 4.109 seconds at 305.56 mph. If the performance holds through Saturday’s two qualifying sessions (11:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) it will be his third No.1 position of the season. Hight earned three bonus points in qualifying under NHRA's new qualifying bonus system, announced prior to the start of the Countdown to 1, which awards the top three qualifiers in each pro category 3, 2 and 1 points per session.
“It’s a good way to start the weekend,” Hight said. “We’ve kind of gotten on a roll here. People have been joking with me saying we sandbagged all year, and that’s not the approach we took, trust me. We would loved to have had this a lot sooner, but we’re definitely going to take it now that we’ve got it. The trick now is to keep running with, keep doing this. We tried too hard the first run, so we definitely needed to go down the track tonight, and to put a 4.10 on the board is pretty gutsy. But it stuck and it looked like there was more room. Tomorrow we’re going to have to run in the heat and practice for Sunday because it’s going to be hot out there.”
Hight’s Team owner, John Force, was second in his Castrol GTX High-Mileage Mustang, while veteran Jerry Toliver was third overall in his Canidae Chevy Monte Carlo. 
In Top Fuel, Dixon paced the field with a 3.833 at 312.93 in his Al-Anabi Racing dragster to hold down the top spot. He was quickest in both sessions and earned the maximum six-point bonus available in his category.
“Before, being in the top three or four was okay,” Dixon said. “Now, you want to be low every session. We came into the race 21 points out, then after the first session it was 18 and now it’s 15. Even if we don’t get any points tomorrow, we’ve did okay. Those points can absolutely make a difference. That [3.94 in the first session] was a good baseline run for us. It was very safe, and I know it's going to be warm tomorrow, and that will allow us to press a little harder to see what we can get away with on Sunday. We know we can run a 3.94, so if we can run a 3.90 or 3.88 or something like that, then obviously that kind of information will help.”
Morgan Lucas was second in his GEICO Powersports/Lucas Oil dragster, while Tony Schumacher was third in his U.S. Army dragster. Charlotte winner and points leader Cory McClenathan was fifth overall in his FRAM Tough Guard dragster.
Edwards continued his impressive playoff performance and raced to the lead in Pro Stock with a 6.597 at 209.88 in his A.R.T./Young Life Pontiac GXP. Edwards was quickest in both sessions, which netted him six bonus points.
“The conditions are good enough to run .50s,” said Edwards, who is looking to claim his 12th No. 1 qualifying position of the season if the performance holds through Saturday. “I think the track was real tricky the first run and then tonight we got a little bit more weather in here as far as humidity and it really affects these aspirated engines. I think that might have slowed some of us down a little bit. We actually went pretty hard left that time so I feel like we ran pretty good for the e.t. we got. I think we could have run just a little bit better maybe. But overall, my guys made great decisions and I’m happy with the results.”
Krawiec was quickest in Pro Stock Motorcycle, with a performance of 6.908 at 192.36 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. He also earned six bonus points for being quickest in both sessions.
“It’s great to be back up here again,” said Krawiec, who earned his only No. 1 qualifying position 
this season at Sonoma in July. “For awhile I didn’t know if my Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson would make it back in the No. 1 spot, but the confidence in my whole team and everybody out there, it’s been working. We did some work in between the last race and this race, got here a few days early, pulled out the Matco Tools and got to work on the bike. We couldn’t be any more excited with the results. [Getting the] six bonus points, that’s huge. We count every point that there is and with that new scoring system and points it gives you an opportunity to hopefully get 20 points by the end of the weekend if you’re the No. 1 guy. I got the first half of that, now let’s just hope I can get the second. The track is great, it’s working well and hooking really good for us. The weather conditions are almost second to none. There are a lot of times when you go to these and you don’t know what you’re going to get."
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Results Friday after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 24th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec at Texas Motorplex, 20th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the second of six in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 3.833 seconds, 312.93 mph; 2. Morgan Lucas, 3.859, 313.58; 3. Tony Schumacher, 3.860, 312.78; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.872, 311.56; 5. Cory McClenathan, 3.878, 315.86; 6. Antron Brown, 3.878, 314.61; 7. Spencer Massey, 3.879, 306.53; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 3.902, 311.85; 9. Bob Vandergriff, 3.931, 307.93; 10. Steve Torrence, 3.954, 289.57; 11. Mike Strasburg, 4.017, 302.89; 12. Mike Bowers, 4.018, 296.50. Not Qualified: 13. T.J. Zizzo, 4.067, 296.44; 14. Todd Simpson, 4.339, 209.33; 15. Doug Kalitta, 5.248, 142.52; 16. Clay Millican, 6.372, 94.14; 17. Scott Palmer, 6.410, 105.30; 18. Urs Erbacher, 6.781, 85.65; 19. Terry Haddock, broke.
Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.109, 305.56; 2. John Force, Mustang, 4.149, 302.41; 3. Jerry Toliver, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.163, 302.55; 4. Ashley Force Hood, Mustang, 4.173, 293.92; 5. Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.181, 298.40; 6. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 4.188, 291.26; 7. Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.194, 296.44; 8. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.204, 294.95; 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.207, 295.27; 10. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.207, 294.75; 11. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Impala, 4.228, 290.76; 12. Jeff Arend, Toyota Solara, 4.256, 292.27. Not Qualified: 13. Grant Downing, 4.322, 236.09; 14. Cruz Pedregon, 4.541, 273.44; 15. Del Worsham, 4.688, 214.69; 16. Leif Helander, 5.547, 131.81.
Pro Stock -- 1. Mike Edwards, Pontiac GXP, 6.597, 209.88; 2. Jason Line, GXP, 6.611, 209.33; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Chevy Cobalt, 6.614, 209.33; 4. Tom Hammonds, Cobalt, 6.620, 208.17; 5. Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.628, 208.97; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.639, 208.42; 7. Johnny Gray, Dodge Stratus, 6.639, 208.10; 8. Greg Stanfield, GXP, 6.643, 208.49; 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.645, 207.82; 10. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.653, 207.72; 11. Rodger Brogdon, GXP, 6.655, 207.94; 12. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.660, 208.68. Not Qualified: 13. Steve Spiess, 6.666, 207.15; 14. Allen Johnson, 6.675, 207.94; 15. V. Gaines, 6.690, 206.10; 16. Matt Hartford, 6.696, 206.99; 17. Mark Buehring, 6.798, 202.15.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 6.908, 192.36; 2. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.912, 191.81; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 6.948, 191.95; 4. Douglas Horne, Buell, 6.966, 190.75; 5. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 6.976, 194.60; 6. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.003, 190.11; 7. Shawn Gann, Buell, 7.014, 190.62; 8. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.026, 186.85; 9. David Hope, Buell, 7.068, 185.28; 10. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.074, 187.50; 11. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.092, 184.67; 12. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.127, 188.81. Not Qualified: 13. Junior Pippin, 7.129, 188.89; 14. Steve Johnson, 7.129, 182.18; 15. Bailey Whitaker, 7.182, 183.34; 16. Angie McBride, 7.273, 183.12; 17. Blaine Hale, 7.287, 180.33; 18. Redell Harris, 7.299, 182.77.
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EVENT PREVIEW - TEXAS MOTORPLEX LEAVES SCHUMACHER WITH SENTIMENTAL FEELINGS
feeling must sweep over his body.All of the great drivers vividly remember their first time.
For Schumacher, his first career NHRA victory came at the sport’s first super track, during a wild and wacky 1999 season. After four runner-up finishes in ’99, and four straight runner-up finishes spread out over the three previous seasons, Schumacher must’ve been wondering if he was ever going to break through and finally get the job done.
But that lone victory in ’99, a gritty win over two-time Top Fuel world champ Scott Kalitta, provided all the momentum that the second-generation racer needed to go on and close the doors on his first series championship crown.
He had one race victory and one world championship trophy. Life was good.
At the time, he probably didn’t realize that his ’99 season was actually the launching pad for what has turned out to be a very special drag racing career. Since then, his trophy collection has grown. A lot.
As he prepares for the 24th annual O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec, Sept. 24-27 at the legendary dragstrip located just south of metropolitan Dallas, Schumacher is in position to earn another victory and continue to build upon his legacy as the greatest Top Fuel driver in the history of the sport.
The six-time world champ recently put the finishing touches on his 60th career victory, which just happened to be his record eighth title at the prestigious Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. After winning the last five world championships in a variety of ways, including a couple at the last instant in dramatic fashion, Schumacher is ready for another epic run in the Countdown to 1, NHRA’s championship playoffs. The race is the second of six events in the playoffs and the 20th of 24 events in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
With competitors like regular season winner Antron Brown and two-time world champ Larry Dixon -- both of whom earned five victories during the season -- in the hunt for the championship, along with Charlotte winner and new points leader Cory McCleanthan, and a few hungry young racers like Brandon Bernstein, Morgan Lucas, Charlotte runner-up Shawn Langdon and Spencer Massey pressing hard as well, Schumacher knows that he’s in for a fight like no other.
“We are in the middle of a phenomenal battle that at the end of the year, whoever wins the championship is going to be able to stand there with a trophy and know that they earned it,” Schumacher said, “because it is truly going to be a battle.”
Schumacher, who drives the U.S. Army dragster, considers himself to be battle-tested. Over the years he has thrilled drag racing fans by pulling off amazing last-second performances to win races and championships. His recent Indy win showcased a little bit of that magic. For Schumacher, the actual winning is secondary to the thrill of the chase.
“I think the championship, all the accolades and the great stuff you get, there’s nothing that compares to just being able to enjoy those big moments, because if you can’t even recognize them, it’s hard to win them,” said Schumacher, who is currently tied for second in the point standings after a semifinal finish at the playoff opener. “And as Antron and all of these guys will have to figure out, you have to understand that it’s a big moment and you have to prepare for it. We are down to some immensely huge races and just a number of big moments coming up.”
With a new crew chief in Mike Green and a whole new cast of teammates tuning his dragster, Schumacher, who was written off early in the season by many who believed without tuning wizard Alan Johnson in his stable he would be a back-of-the-pack contender, feels like he has something to prove this postseason.
“It’s a matter of being able to suck it up, dig deep at the right time and smile while you do it,” Schumacher said. “There’s nothing like those big moments. I have been fortunate to have so many huge bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, full-count moments. Some of the guys are going to be able to handle the weight of the world on them… and some of them aren’t.”
In Funny Car the favorites include Tony Pedregon, who opened the playoffs as the top seed and continues to lead after Charlotte, followed by season-wins leader Ron Capps and Mac Tools U.S. Nationals winner Ashley Force Hood. Funny Car icon John Force has won seven times at the Motorplex in his career and has to be considered one of the drivers to beat. Of the remaining Countdown to 1 participants, Del Worsham, Charlotte winner Robert Hight and Wilkerson are all past winners at the Motorplex.
Jeg Coughlin started the playoffs as the top seed in Pro Stock in his JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt, and his only Motorplex win came in 2002. However, Mike Edwards quickly claimed the series lead with a victory in Charlotte, aided by a solid performance in qualifying at that race which, by taking advantage of NHRA’s new qualifying bonus point system, increased his lead to 56 over second place Coughlin. Others to watch in the 200 mph category include the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP team of Jason Line and Greg Anderson. Defending Dallas winner Stanfield has posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals and NHRA Carolinas Nationals.
There will be a new Motorplex winner in Pro Stock Motorcycle. As this press release is issued, none of the past two-wheel category winners are entered in the event. Those riders who have the best chance of pulling it off include regular season champ and defending world champ Eddie Krawiec and his teammate Andrew Hines, a three-time world champ. Together the Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates held down the top two spots in the final regular season standings. Charlotte winner Hector Arana, who won three races during the regular season, and two-time winner Craig Treble, also will be riders to watch in the playoffs.
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