LVMS PRO STOCK SHOWDOWN
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK – NOT YOUR PROTOTYPICAL RACE DAY
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST – Justin Humphreys reached the quarters and the finals with a first round win at the Las Vegas Pro Stock Showdown.
On a day where team after team withdrew from competition either in the first round or after it, Humphreys beat Johnny Gray in the final round because they were the only two participants to return for the second round.
A win is a win for Humphreys.
“We just wanted to go out there and make four runs down the drag strip,” said Humphreys, who is racing under the guidance of drag racing veteran Bob Glidden. “A lot of people were having issues out there. We were out here testing and have a long way to go. We haven’t been out here for a while. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Om a day where the track could have been appropriately categorized as marginal, Humphreys credited crew chief Frank Gugliotta with making the right calls in the clutch can.
“We call it [the car] ‘the digger’ because it will go down any track, good or bad, the same every time,” Humphreys explained. “It repeats.”
ONE OF THOSE DAYS - First, a sportsman car broke a transmission, resulting in an hour’s worth of clean up.
Then the live video/audio feed went down.
And, one by one, Pro Stock teams pulled out of the lanes and headed back to their pits. Five of the thirteen teams that qualified were no shows and four of those six first round winners didn’t show for the second round.
That’s the kind of day the Las Vegas Pro Stock Showdown turned out to be.
No. 1 qualifier Mike Edwards pulled out of the lanes prior to the first round of eliminations.
“We were in the lanes but it was too cold and we have to race in Pomona in 3 days and it is not worth breaking something,” Mike Edwards’ crew chief Terry Adams told Attitude’s CompetitionPlus.com. “We will continue to test tomorrow if it gets warm enough but we are through for the day.”
SUNDAY ELIMINATIONS
SATURDAY - RAIN PUSHES ACTION TO SUNDAY
Saturday's races have been postponed due to rain. The show will resume Sunday at 8 a.m. with first round of eliminations at 10 a.m.
Defending NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion Mike Edwards of Coweta, Okla., earned No. 1 Qualifier status today for the Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Pro Stock and Supreme Sportsman Series eliminations will begin Sunday at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
Final order after 4 rounds of qualifying in Pro Stock at the Las Vegas Pro Stock Showdown:
1 Mike Edwards, Coweta Okla., 6.681/206.95.
2 Allen Johnson, Greeneville Tenn., 6.684/206.73.
3 Ron Krisher, Warren Ohio, 6.685/206.32.
4 Vinnie Deceglie, Rancho Cucamonga Calif., 6.709/205.47.
5 Jeg Coughlin, Delaware Ohio, 6.712/206.70.
6 Greg Stanfield, Bossier City La., 6.715/205.66.
7 Rodger Brogdon, Houston Tex., 6.742/204.60.
8 Bob Yonke, Burleson Tex., 6.758/204.54.
9 V. Gaines, Lakewood Colo., 6.769/203.74.
10 Rickie Jones, Galesburg Ill., 6.771/203.86.
11 Shane Gray, Artesia New Mex., 6.774/204.39.
12 Justin Humphreys, Monrovia Md., 6.786/204.11.
13 Johnny Gray, Artesia New Mex., 6.897/201.70.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - MOTHER NATURE CALLS IT A DAY
IT STARTED OUT AS A DRY RAIN - A West Coast “Dry” rain suspended Pro Stock Showdown and Supreme Sportsman Series activities at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway today. Track workers had just finished prepping the track when showers moved in, forcing officials to move all activities to Sunday. We'll have an official statement shortly.
SO HUMBLE HE’S THE KING - Mike Edwards is a humble man, a humble champion and a dedicated racer.
The 2009 NHRA Pro Stock Champion refused to count his chickens before they hatched last year, but now, with the 2010 season just around the corner, Edwards' face beams with joy when someone says, 'hey champ'.
“That sounds good doesn't it?” he says in response to the accolade.
Good enough to sustain him over the winter as the team faced the daily possibility of not being able to defend their title.
“It feels good,” admitted Edwards, when asked how it felt to be in Las Vegas at the Pro Stock Showdown. “These things, it take a lot of money to get them out here and make them run the way we try to run. We were real fortunate over the winter to have some great companies step up to help us.”
Over the winter, Penhall and Interstate Batteries both stepped up, giving the team a big boost. Contemporary Corvette stepped up their involvement with the team after joining the team late in the year last year. Additionally, A. R. T., a company that has a long history with Edwards, continues to provide support.
Winning the championship is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Edwards. Defending it, means the dream continues.
“It's awesome,” said Edwards. “To win in this class, with this competition we have today, makes me have to take a double take when I look at that car and it has the number 1 on it. It still feels awful good. It is just real humbling and I am thankful to get a chance to do it again.”
Edwards is sincere when he speaks of being humbled. This is a guy who doesn't even put his name on the car. His is a team, with no I in it. The team won a championship, not just the driver.
“It was a tremendous effort by all these guys. They just worked as hard as me. Harder sometimes. They just put the effort out to make it happen. We were fortunate. We had some breaks. We ran so good. I mean, 16 number one qualifiers, that's pretty good.”
Can the team repeat in 2010?
“We'll go to Pomona and see where we stack up,” said Edwards. “Whatever happens there, we'll try to get better after that. It's a long season. We'd like to get off to a good start and see what happens.”
What ever happens this year, Mike Edwards will still be the same humble individual, surrounded by a strong team, putting out their best effort.
NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS? - To say that Shane Gray was caught unaware when he slid behind the wheel of his 2010 Pontiac GXP would be 
unfair. To say he might have underestimated the challenge, might be more accurate.
“I ran Comp (Eliminator) for 2 years in a B/Altered and thought it would be somewhat of an easy step but it is not,” admitted Gray after two days of testing, licensing and qualifying for the Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “It’s very tough, but I have a lot of support. My mother and my father have supplied me with the best that we can get our hands on and we’re working on it. My wife has supported me 100% and we’re just going to make the best of it and try to improve as the season goes on and just go from there and see how we do.”
Gray struggled on Thursday, as he went through the licensing procedure.
“When I got here yesterday I was very nervous and it showed,” said Gray. “Today was a much better day. I knew what to expect when I got into the car today and kind of how things were going to be and how things were going to feel. Today was a much better day.”
Gray qualified 11th, ahead of Justin Humphreys and his own father, Johnny Gray with a 6.774 second pass at 204.39 miles per hour. By comparison, Mike Edwards took the pole with a 6.681, or less than a tenth of a second faster. Unfortunately, in the Pro Stock world one tenth of a second is an eternity. One tenth of second slower could be enough to send a driver home from an event a day early.
To his credit, Shane understands how close the field can be and how that might affect his year as a rookie driver.
“My first year, I am prepared for a lot of disappointments,” Gray said. “Qualifying will be goal and something I will be proud of. I have to crawl and then walk and then hopefully in a season or so I’ll be up and running. ”
Pragmatic in his approach, Shane allows himself to dream from time to time. And in those dreams is a place in the Countdown.
“I would be thrilled,” he responded when asked what if would mean if he did make the Countdown. “If I could just go out and compete with the guys in the Pro Stock field, because to me they are some of the best drivers in the world that do this, would be a great season. It is just an honor for me to get to mingle with them and line up beside them and try to do what I can do with them.”
The path to a Pro Stock career for Shane was carefully planned out and executed.
“That’s what we did,” Shane explained, also admitting he was the one who broached the subject of Pro Stock racing. “We laid out a plan. I had a 1967 Chevy II Nova from Don Ness and we ran outlaw 10.5 with and that is where I started getting prepared for this deal. From there I went to a B/Altered Comp car and ran it for a season and a half actually. And, here we are today.”
If being a rookie isn't enough, both he and his father are driving brand new cars in 2010.
“My father’s team over there is a seasoned bunch of guys you know and they’ll adapt a lot better. But this team over here we are all pretty young and we got a new car, new motor, new team and new driver. So like I say if we can just get qualified then I’m thrilled to death.”
NOT JUST LIKE A BICYCLE - It's been sixteen months since Melanie Troxel strapped into a Funny Car and it's not like riding a bicycle – you don't just 
jump on and ride.
“Oh it’s a little a nerve wracking going out there after that long kind of like starting over,” Troxel said, adding, “especially after spending you know the last six months driving a different type of car.”
Troxel drove a Pro Mod in 2009 while awaiting for the right opportunity to get back into a Funny Car. She will continue to drive the Pro Mod in 2010 while running eight events in the Funny Car, both for R2B2 and both backed by IN-N-OUT Burger.
The starting line procedures for both cars are very different.
“You definitely notice when you’re backing it up,” said Troxel of the difference between the two types of cars. “(The Funny Car) steers different. I tried to go over the starting line procedure in my head a lot just because everything about these two cars is different.
“It was good to just get that out-of-the-way, though. I know we were all anxious.
Anytime you bring out new stuff like this it's good to shake the cobwebs out. We got out there and didn’t get very far down the track but in reality we got a lot of stuff done today. We got the computer checked and the bodies checked.”
While the equipment is the same equipment the team used in 2008, the faces are quite different. It is as important to be able to work together at the track as it is to get the car through tech. There is so much work to be done prior to even making a first run.
“It started,” said Troxel. “It went to the starting line, did the burn out, so are set to go if the weather will hold out tomorrow I think we’re ready to start doing some laps.”
For all the intensity of getting back into a Funny Car, all the butterflies in the stomach, Troxel admitted there was a pleasant side to the experience. There was a sense of settling into a favorite chair.
“Ya, I mean, it’s funny when I first got in that car, with all my gear on, and was getting strapped in - it’s like your nervous about everything but I had a definite sense of home that kind of came over me. Once I sat in it’s like this feels right so ya it was nice to get back in there. It doesn’t mean there weren’t still little nerves backing up through the burn out and doing all the stuff.
“It's like I said, it’s good to get one launch out-of-the-way; just kind of refresh all those memories. To get that feeling of yes, I’ve done this before I remember all this.”
“The reason we're doing this is to try to speed up the process because we have big lines and what not and it's new technology,” remarked Gracia on Friday morning at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Obviously we're still trying to get the bugs out, that's why it's not painted or powder coated. It used to take us 45 minutes to do a car.”
Once his inspectors become more familiar with the operation of the device, Gracia estimates it will take between 15-20 minutes to certify a body, including the time needed for individual templates.
Roger Brogdon's '09 Pontiac GXP was the first car through the device, referred to as “the referee”, and the process took about one hour as inspectors cross checked the system with the old system.
Every Pro Stock body has at least a dozen RFID chips embedded so that NHRA inspectors only need to certify a body once a year, rather than every event. Even then, random testing will occur. And, any car involved in a wreck would have to go through the process before hitting the strip. Additionally, a car would have to go through the process if a driver were to set a national record, either ET or speed.
Most everybody appeared happy with the process and Gracia was quick to point out the device would be refined over time to ensure the most exacting measurements possible.
“One thing we are gonna do,” said Gracia, “We're gonna put some levels on these to make sure that they are level, because it's a perception that you're not giving an advantage to anyone. To satisfy everybody, we'll make them level.
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING NOTEBOOK - QUALIFYING IS IN THE BOOKS
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FRIDAY QUALIFYING RECAP - EDWARDS JUMPS TO THE TOP OF THE LIST
Defending NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series champion Mike Edwards of Coweta, Okla., earned No. 1 Qualifier status today for the Pro Stock Showdown at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Pro Stock and Supreme Sportsman Series eliminations will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
Final order after 4 rounds of qualifying in Pro Stock at the Las Vegas Pro Stock Showdown:
1 Mike Edwards, Coweta Okla., 6.681/206.95.
2 Allen Johnson, Greeneville Tenn., 6.684/206.73.
3 Ron Krisher, Warren Ohio, 6.685/206.32.
4 Vinnie Deceglie, Rancho Cucamonga Calif., 6.709/205.47.
5 Jeg Coughlin, Delaware Ohio, 6.712/206.70.
6 Greg Stanfield, Bossier City La., 6.715/205.66.
7 Rodger Brogdon, Houston Tex., 6.742/204.60.
8 Bob Yonke, Burleson Tex., 6.758/204.54.
9 V. Gaines, Lakewood Colo., 6.769/203.74.
10 Rickie Jones, Galesburg Ill., 6.771/203.86.
11 Shane Gray, Artesia New Mex., 6.774/204.39.
12 Justin Humphreys, Monrovia Md., 6.786/204.11.
13 Johnny Gray, Artesia New Mex., 6.897/201.70.
Schedule (subject to change):
Saturday, Feb. 6 – Pro Stock Showdown and Supreme Sportsman eliminations
7 a.m. – Credential sales and pit parking.
8 a.m. – .5 Full Tree Run-for-the-Money (and more).
Open to all Non-Electronic .5 Full Tree.
.4 Pro Tree Run-for-the-Money (and more).
Open to all cars running .4 Pro Tree.
.5 Full Tree Electronics Run-for-the-Money – open to all Electronics .5 Full Tree.
10 a.m. – First round of Pro Stock Showdown (16 cars), Stock/Super Stock Combo, Super Comp, Super Pro Bracket, Super Gas.
2 p.m. – Second round of Pro Stock Showdown (8 cars).
First round of Pro Bracket, Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, continue Sportsman eliminations.
2 p.m. – Third round of Pro Stock Showdown (4 cars).
4 p.m. – Pro Stock Showdown finals.
5:45 p.m. – All Supreme Sportsman finals.
8 p.m. – 2009 LVMS drag strip awards banquet (infield of Superspeedway).
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - SHAKING IT DOWN FOR THE WEEKEND, THE SEASON
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