EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK GSA PRO MODS POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND  FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -

A MEMORABLE 50TH - Sometimes national event victories can get lost in the memory bank of a veteran NHRA driver.

It’s safe to say, however, Larry Dixon will never forget his win at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals.

Dixon won a pedal fest against Antron Brown, clocking a 4.541-second time compared to Brown’s 4.638 effort Sunday at Houston Raceway Park.

It was a milestone victory for Dixon as it was his 50th national event win, since begginning his racing career in 1995.

“It was really exciting and it will take longer than four seconds to explain it,” said Dixon, who pilots the Al-Anabi Racing Team dragster. “The car just went out there and it spun the tires pretty early. I kind of didn’t want to lift on the thing and it wasn’t going anywhere, so I backed out off the throttle and rolled back on. Antron took off and he was way too far out there, and then all of a sudden I noticed he was sideways. I’m like hell, I can catch him or I’m going to try. The thing hooked up enough and probably was putting holes out and it was revving up and it blew up before the finish line, but I got enough of a run on him that I was able to coast through and take the win light.”

Dixon has definitely won his share of races, but he didn’t remember one ending in this fashion, at 1,000-feet.

Following the on-track death of Scott Kalitta, a two-time NHRA world champion on June 21, 2008 at Englistown, N.J., the NHRA has had both Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars race to 1000-feet, instead of the traditional quarter-mile (1,320 feet).

“That’s probably the first time I’ve really won a tire smoking contest at 1,000 feet,” Dixon said. “The track is so short you just can’t turn and win those races. In a quarter-mile, you have a better shot because you have some distance to get the car going. That one was cool to get No. 50. I can’t believe I got one. I can still remember my first one (at Phoenix in 1995). What a weekend, I didn’t even think about it (No. 50) that much until they talked about it down there (at the end of the track). That’s more than I ever thought I would do in my lifetime, and I’m not done living yet.”

Dixon dedicated his milestone win to his 3-year-old son Darien.

“My son is in the hospital with a bacterial infection,” Dixon said. “I didn’t even get here (to Houston) until Friday morning because he (Darien) was in surgery Thursday night. He’s only three years old, and I didn’t want to leave because that is your boy. He wanted us to win the race for him and we got to do it and that’s as good as we could ask for, for a weekend. He’s doing better, and the surgery went good, but he’s still on IV and everything and they are not going to release him until they know the infection is gone for sure. Hopefully, in the next day or two, he will be heading home. He’s only three and it’s tough. He’s a tough kid and we’re going to bring this trophy home to him.”

The elder Dixon also did his best to separate his emotions when he was competing in Houston.

“You know it’s up in there, but when they pull the wires, you only have to think about racing for about a minute and a half,” Dixon said. “He was definitely on my mind all weekend long. I was texting with my wife (Allison) how he’s doing because she’s not near the internet. She’s camped out at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital there in Indy. I gave her the good news we won, and hopefully she will give me some good news that he (Darien) is going home.”  

HAGAN WINS HIS FIRST - Matt Hagan paused for a moment before he spoke to the assembled media at the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Tex., moments after defeating Jeff Arend in the final round.

This marked Hagan's first victory in three career final rounds in his two full seasons on the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit, and moved him into second in the class point standings. He's now 70 points behind leader John Force, who was eliminated in the first round.

“You just can’t put your emotions into words,” said Hagan. “Other than my wife and kids, this is the best feeling in the world. This was such a big weekend for us because everyone ahead of us went out early.”

While the victory might come as a surprise to some, Hagan always believed in his DieHard-sponsored, Don Schumacher Racing team.

“I have always felt we had a good car capable of winning … even believed we could win last year,” said Hagan. “It has been just a matter of putting together four wins in a row. And, you have to have some luck too.

“We have a winning car … a championship car … it’s just a matter of everything falling into place.”

Hagan defeated Melanie Troxel with a 4.217, 302.48 then Cruz Pedregon with a 4.18, 303.78. In his semifinal win over Tony Pedregon he pedaled the DieHard car to triumph, posting a 4.632, 220.29.

Hagan never worried about the final round, and instead used the moments before the final round contemplating his actions mentally. The memories of past races played in his mind as well including the Concord qualifying explosion. In the semis, Hagan had to pedal his way to victory.

“The track was tricky and we had to pedal the car in the third round and after the blow up in Charlotte, there’s a tendency to draw up when you get into those kinds of situations. When you look over and the guy’s not beside you – you have to stay after it. You have to do what it takes to get that win.”

The victory not only marks Hagan’s first, but John Medlen’s as well with DSR. Medlen joined the team two races ago and along with Tommy Delago has helped Hagan into back-to-back finals.

“From the first day, he got here, his fingerprints were on the team,” Hagan said of Medlen. “He and Tommy hit it right off. He was getting a lot of stuff bounced off of him that first weekend. Medlen lets Tommy do his own thing and is just there. Those are some smart guys and my assistant crew chief Glenn [Huzar] is in there too.

“I have three smart guys in there and provides me with a lot of confidence. This is a team sport, and I am holding this trophy because of my guys.”

Hagan’s triumph represented No. 141 for DSR since 1998.

COUGHLIN DELIVERS AGAIN - This is the type of high performance Jeg Coughlin is used to delivering.

Coughlin’s Jegs.com Chevrolet Cobalt was consistent all weekend, culminating with him using a holeshot to defeat Allen Johnson Sunday in the Pro Stock finals at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

Coughlin clocked a 6.599-second time at 210.77 mph, while Johnson ran a quicker 6.596-second run at an identical 210.77 mph. The difference was at the starting line as Coughlin cut a .024 light compared to a .045 reaction time for Johnson.

The national event win was Coughlin’s 49th and tied him for eighth place with Don Prudhomme on the NHRA’s all-time professional series victories list.

“Snake man, how about that,” said the 39-year-old Coughlin. “That’s cool. We have been doing this a long time as well, and the sport has been fantastic to the whole Coughlin family and everybody at Jegs. To get our 49th Pro Stock win and I think our 62nd national event win is awesome. This was the site of my first Pro Stock win back in 1997. This is a special place to me.”

Although Coughlin won Pro Stock world titles in 2007 and 2008, the past several races, dating back to last season, have been an emotional roller-coaster for his team.

“The way it seems like the last 10 or 12 races have gone for us to break through and have a great win here, I couldn’t think of a better place to do it at,” Coughlin said. “We have been showing some brilliance the last couple of weeks and then we have just been bowing out early on race day. That’s has been very disheartening for us. We have been working hard and meeting quite a bit, quite honestly over the telephone with Victor Cagnazzi and Todd Bevis, our chassis builder, my father Jeg, and crew chief Roy Simmons. We’re just trying to feed off what we have been doing well and see if we couldn’t improve and do a little better on Sundays. Today is a great answer to our efforts, and hopefully just the start of a great remainder of the spring and go into the summer strong and see if we can’t come down to the Countdown to 1 in good health and make a great run for a Full Throttle championship.”

The younger Coughlin believes this win will be a springboard for the future, and exorcise the demons that have been haunting his team recently.

“This is all nuts and bolts and personalities that work on these things, and I think we’ve worked through the issues we have had with our car,” Coughlin said. “We had almost national record type speed (212.23 mph) in qualifying and that’s something in my career in Pro Stock that has been short on my list. We set the national record one time, but we seem like we’re right toward the front of the pack, but never at the front as the leading car. We’ve got a car and proven it to ourselves. The engine development over the winter has definitely improved, and it looks like our at-race setups are starting to improve. I think we can challenge these guys week-in, and week out.”

BACK UP FRONT AGAIN - Andrew Hines knew the odds were stacked in his favor headed into the final round of the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Texas.

Actually, there were two factors which shined favorably on the three-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion from Brownsburg, Ind., headed into the final round. His V-Rod was consistently leaving with a green-light and his opponent was defending world champion Hector Arana.

Hines rattled Arana’s cage once again to claim his first national event victory of 2010 and 20th career. Arana left the line way too early with a .108 foul start.

“We have a deal going on with us,” Hines said. “Hector has been out here a long time. He’s really hungry and won the championship last year. He knows that we are going to be up near the front every time and it must rattle him every time to see our V-Rod in the other lane.”

Hines is quick to point out his utmost respect for the rider who carries the No. 1 plate in 2010.

“He’s a great competitor and always wishing you the best,” Hines explained. “He never talks bad about anybody. We just try to go out there and race our lane. Luckily I was able to race mine better.”

As it turned out, Hines admits a measure of good luck in the final round. He understands before the next Pro Stock Motorcycle stop at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, Mo., a test session is in order.

“We were there for the taking, no doubt,” Hines said. “The bike bogged off of the starting line. We’ve got to go do some testing to get our V-Rods off of the starting line,” Hines explained. “I’ve been working on my racing program and not my riding program trying to figure out what I needed to do on the starting line to get a green light. Since Charlotte, I have had green lights every run. I was more than pleased with my riding this weekend.”

Hines believes for the first time he can race without fear of repercussions from the NHRA rulemakers for running too quick. He was complimentary of the NHRA’s efforts to gain parity for the three brands in the class.

“It is where it has needed to be for a long time,” said Hines, of the NHRA efforts to generate parity amongst the brands. “The NHRA did well in giving the Suzuki’s a little more edge. We had Craig Treble go a 6.874, we ran a 6.870 and Hector ran a 6.85. Karen Stoffer has the national record. The parity is where it needed to be for the last few years.

“I beat three brands today, that’s a pretty good weekend.”
 
ALMOST - Jeff Arend posted a season-high runner-up finish during Sunday’s eliminations of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.
 
In the final round of eliminations, Arend paired up against Matt Hagan. On the hottest racing surface the NHRA has raced on so far this year (track temperature of 118 degrees), both flopper pilots struggled to get their machines to maintain traction, but it was Hagan who crossed the finish line first, 4.714 seconds, 231.20 mph to 4.390 sec., 247.57 mph, to get the win.
 
Arend, the No. 6 qualifier (4.095 seconds, 309.98 mph), defeated Jim Head, Robert Hight, and Del Worsham in his march through eliminations to the final round match-up with Hagan. The trip to the “money” round was the fourth of Arend’s 16-year Funny Car driving career and his first final since getting an emotional first win with Kalitta Motorsports at the Memphis event last fall.
 
Arend took over the driving duties of the DHL Funny Car in 2008 after the tragic death of drag racing legend Scott Kalitta, who died in a racing accident at an event in New Jersey in June of that year. Kalitta, who was a two-time NHRA World Champion in the Top Fuel class (1994-’95), got his one and only win in the Funny Car ranks at the Houston event in 1989.
 
“Man, it would’ve been great to get a win today for DHL and Team Kalitta and for Scott here in Houston,” Arend, a native Canadian and 47-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. “Still though, we had a great breakout weekend for our team. We hadn’t even won a round this year, so to get three in one day was a big boost for everyone on our team, to say the least. I can’t say enough about how hard our DHL team works week in and week out. I’m really proud of all of our crew guys for keeping their heads up when we’ve been struggling. I can’t wait to get another win for those guys.”
 
Arend’s final round run today marks the fourth final-round appearance in five events for Kalitta Motorsports so far in the 2010 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

TRAILING IN THE FINAL, ARANA STILL LEADS - Defending world champion Hector Arana rode his Lucas Oil Buell V-Twin to his 11th career final round Sunday, padding his lead in the Full Throttle points to 40, or the equivalent of two full rounds of racing.

Arana's result at the 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park came at the expense of Steve Johnson, Jim Underdahl, and past series champion Matt Smith. Arana eliminated himself in the final by leaving before the green light, handing the trophy to Andrew Hines, who posted a beatable 6.998 at 196.02 mph.

"I did the best I could until the end," said Arana, visably upset with his -.102 second red light start in the final. "I just blew it; lost it.

"I was thinking about (his previous reaction times of .064 and .070 seconds) before the final round and I knew I wanted to improve a little bit. I just tried to relax and take the tree. I was very focused and I know I saw the (green) light. I guess I cut it too close.

"I'm going from one extreme to the other. I just haven't found my happy medium yet, but I will. It's still early in the year. We'll take this, go work on the bike to find more power, and go to the next race."


QUICK HITS – RACE DAY REPORTING IN RAPID FASHION

TOP FUEL

SCHUMACHER UPSET IN FIRST ROUND - For the first time in 19 races, Tony Schumacher lost in the first round.

Schumacher, who had qualified third, smoked the tires on his U.S. Army dragster just after hitting the throttle in his match up with Brandon Bernstein. The last time he had such an early exit was at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill. last June.

“Obviously, we’re very disappointed,” said the seven-time world champion. “We hadn’t done that in a real long time. I’m not sure -- something may have malfunctioned. We’ll have to take a look at the computer and see what took place.”

BETTER LUCKY THAN GOOD - Morgan Lucas recorded his second semifinal finish of the year by beating Steve Torrence and Brandon Bernstein.

After two days of agreeable cool weather, things heated up at HRP once eliminations started, causing fits for many of the high-powered nitro teams. Even so, Lucas managed to beat an out-of-shape Torrence and a broken Bernstein to reach the final four. The Bernstein race was over before it started when Bernstein couldn't back up from his prerace burnout.

"Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," said Lucas, who went on to lose in the semifinals to point leader Antron Brown by a 3.873 to 4.006 margin.

"At least we kept Antron honest getting it down that right lane. We're going through a process of elimination, trying to find a way to make the tuning window a little bigger. We made some changes in the bell housing and they seem to be working. We may have gotten onto it a little late this weekend but we think we know what to do moving forward."

HIS BEST WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH - Terry McMillen piloted his Amalie Oil Top Fuel dragster to his most consistent outing of the 2010 Full Throttle Drag Racing season. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for the Elkhart, Ind. based team to earn its first round win.
 
"My guys did such a great job this weekend," McMillen said of his team. "The Amalie dragster was running like a bracket car all weekend. Losing first round this weekend hurt more than most." A broken blower snout would cause the car to lose a cylinder early in the run, eventually pushing out the head gasket.
 
For the fourth time in five races, McMillen's team set new career bests during qualifying, earning him a new personal best 1000 foot speed  (313.73 mph) and his best qualifying position, eighth. Neither would be enough to overcome David Grubnic's best pass of the weekend in round one.


FUNNY CAR

NO MUSTANGS IN THE FINALS - For the first time in the Full Throttle Drag Racing 2010 season there wasn’t a Ford Mustang in the final. John Force reached the final round in Pomona, Phoenix and Charlotte grabbing two wins (Pomona and Charlotte). In Gainesville at the NHRA Gatornationals it was Tim Wilkerson carrying the Ford Mustang banner to the winner’s circle.

Regardless of the outcome today John Force will leave Houston with the Full Throttle Funny Car points lead.

THE BOSS DEBUT – Bob Tasca III’s crew chief Chris Cunningham knows the BOSS 500 platform will make the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang even more competitive as the season progresses. This weekend ended with a first round loss.

“We had all the BOSS 500 parts available to us after Charlotte and we intended to test in Charlotte, but testing became unavailable,” said crew chief Chris Cunningham.  “We went back to our shop and dynoed some of their blowers and ours and found a baseline. We were confident enough to come to Houston and still be competitive because our ultimate goal is to win for Motorcraft, Quick Lane and Ford.”

“We started to run Force’s blower and injector combination on Friday and it performed well,” continued Cunningham.  “The clutch program showed a lot of promise in our two Saturday runs.  We gained the right information and felt confident to go into eliminations on Sunday with it.  Unfortunately, we had a couple of setbacks and our Mustang didn’t run exactly as planned.  We’ll take this information, run with it and go to Las Vegas and improve.”

A MEASURE OF PAYBACK – Defending event runner-up Ashley Force Hood qualified No. 2 with two excellent passes on Saturday. If only she could have gotten two on Sunday.

On Sunday morning she defeated Jeff Diehl in the first round but fell short against Del Worsham.

In 2008 Worsham defeated Force Hood in the final at Houston Raceway Park but the next eight times the two racers met Force Hood had the upper hand. That streak ended today as both Funny Cars smoked the tires and as Del and Ashley pedaled their 8,000 horsepower Funny Cars to the finish line it was Worsham who got the win light. The time slips read Worsham, 4.596 and Force Hood 4.635 seconds.

“The pain of this loss is lessened by the fact that this is just a really tricky track. We didn’t get lane choice which is just another hurdle we had to jump over. I pedaled the car and it actually hooked back up. I am happy about that. Even though we did not come out the winner I am getting better at pedaling this Mustang. Come summer that is probably going to be a part of just about every race. I think the thing that bit us was that lane. Del also got into trouble and we both recovered but when I recovered we were at a tricky spot on the track. It was at the wrong spot at the wrong time. It is unfortunate that dad and Robert also went out. We were all running so strong qualifying 1-2-3 this weekend. That is a part of racing,” said Force Hood.

PRO STOCK

CRUISIN’ – Allen Johnson and Ronnie Humphrey staged probably one of the most absurd races in NHRA Pro Stock history. Both cars launched and seemed to die just shy of the sixty-foot mark. The end result was a 12.133 second victory for Johnson.

“It just shook its you know what off,” Johnson said. “We were the first out and it didn’t seem like the track was going to hold much. I got out there and didn’t hear him, so I am trying to cram it in gear and then crew chief Mark [Ingersoll] was yelling in my ear ‘go-go-go”

“I finally got it in gear and tromped it … and went down there. Thankfully I was able to get it started again. It was ugly.”

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

ON THE JOB TRAINING - Karen Stoffer went two rounds on her national-record-setting Suzuki to remain in the lead pack in her class. She got a free pass in Round 1 when opponent LE Tonglet fouled before losing to Andrew Hines.

"We found a major problem since Gainesville, corrected it, and we've now gone down the track four times in a row, which we couldn't do before," Stoffer said. "If I can perfect my riding now we'll be in great shape. We're getting there.

"Some riders start in the prone position and then go into their tuck. Others start in the tuck and just stay there, which is what I did for years. I had an issue with being too quick at the tree and red-lighting so I changed the way I ride and now I start in the prone position and then come down.

"What I'm learning is that if you don't come down exactly straight you can throw off the balance of the chassis. Or if there is something else going on then that problem will be compounded by the way you come down. I just need to get myself straight and we'll be fine."

SEEING RED - Craig Treble fouled against Matt Smith in the second round, ending his chances for a repeat..

Despite the red light (Smith recorded a .008 reaction time) Smith's 7.004/188.75 would have defeated Treble's 7.048/186.10.

"The Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki fell way off and I did something ridiculously stupid on the tree,” said Treble. “I don't know why I went -.068 red because I was double-o and teen, nothing but, in qualifying. In the first round, I was a little nervous about red-lighting so I squeezed real hard on the clutch lever and came up with a .072, but it was weird.

"I know when I was staging the bike against Matt I flickered the bulb a little bit and I bumped it in just a little bit extra to make sure I was in, but not -.068 red.

"That was just a weird deal. I red-lit, I screwed up, I'll take the heat this time.”

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HINES DRIVING PRO STOCK CAR - No one can say Andrew Hines doesn’t like taking chances.

Hines, who won Pro Stock Motorcycle world championships from 2004-2006, is going to try his hand at piloting a Pro Stock car.

The 26-year-old Hines will attempt to gain his Pro Stock license when he makes runs in the John Gaydosh Performance Pontiac GTO on May 24, the day after the scheduled completion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan.

“It will be fun,” Hines said at Houston Raceway Park. “John Gaydosh gave me the opportunity to license in his car, and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to for awhile. Hopefully, we will get one of the other Pro Stock guys to hang around (at Topeka) and give me a few pointers and hopefully I will be able sign off on a license Monday afternoon (May 24).”

Hines and Gaydosh struck up a friendship when they met at Reading, Pa., last August. At that time, Hines told Gaydosh he would eventually like to drive a Pro Stock car one day.

Gaydosh, of Baltimore Md., a second generation drag racer, stated in a press release, that he would like “to pay it forward out of respect for the Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson driver.”

Actually, entering the Pro Stock world is something that has been on Hines’ mind for some time.

“I’ve been talking to all these Pro Stock guys for years, and I’ve become decent friends with Jason Line, he’s always telling me that he has a car for sale,” Hines said. “If I go out there and get a license, hopefully I will be able to pursue that some day. Right now bikes are my main focus and I’m not going to take anything away from that. I just want to go out there and have some fun and see if I can do it.”

It’s still hard to believe Hines would entertain Pro Stock driving, considering the storied history of his family in the Pro Stock Motorcycle ranks. Byron Hines, Andrew’s father, is the most renowned owner/crew chief in Pro Stock Motorcycle history and Matt, Andrew’s brother and crew chief, is a three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion.

“My original thought process before I even wanted to ride a motorcycle was to drive a Pro Stock truck,” Andrew said. “Unfortunately, that class went by the wayside, and I think NHRA could have done some cool stuff with that class. Maybe that could have been the first fuel-injected class with the small block motors. When the trucks went away, my bike was a fall back. I have had great success over here in my career and I can’t take anything for granted. It has been a great ride. I will always love motorcycles, but I would like to give a car a try.”

Although Hines has never driven a Pro Stock car he’s not worried about the transition. Hines has done bracket racing with street cars the past several years.

“I think I should have a pretty good shot at,” Hines said. “I have a little bit of history of driving some stuff, but nothing that has been real fast. It’s so tight in that (Pro Stock) category and that is what I really like, it really appeals to me. Having the whole field separated by 5, 6-hundredths of a second and you don’t know if you’re going to be No. 2 or No. 13 at the end of the end of the day. That’s something that’s really cool. It all about the driver on the starting line and you have to get the reaction time. I’m pretty good on a bike with it, so if I can get in a car and do some damage there, that would be pretty cool. I just have to see if I can do it first. I have watched enough runs, standing on the starting line, and you know the timing of gear pulls. I have also watched in-car cameras of Jeg (Coughlin) and Jason (Line) and all of those guys, so I kind of have a feel of what goes on down the track. As long as the thing goes nice and straight, I do not think I will have any issues. I will get
into the driving situations later.”   

Hines did get a small taste of being a Pro Stock driver this weekend at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Houston.

“I got to warm-up the car three times this weekend and it was a great time,” Hines said. “I got to run it through the gears and see what the warm-up procedure is like and get used to it. I also got to get used to flipping all the switches and see what the engine feels like and see how it revs, and messing with line-lock, all the stuff that bikes do not have. I was joking with the guys this weekend, the line-lock button is by the left thumb on the steering wheel and I told them that when I see the shift light, I’m probably going to push the line-lock button on the first run, instead of pulling the gear because we shift the bike with our left thumb on the handlebars, they got a kick out of that.”

One thing Andrew doesn’t see in his future is driving a nitro car.

“I don’t know about that,” Andrew said. “I hate the smell of it and I admire what those guys do, but I think Pro Stock is the toughest category out here, tougher than Pro Stock Bike, and that’s my ambition.”  

HE’S GOT THE LOOK - John Medlen knows the look and sees it when he looks into Matt Hagan’s eyes.

“Ojo de la Tigre,” Medlen conveys.  

In case your Spanish is a little rusty Ojo de la Tigre means Eye of the Tiger.

It’s been almost a month since Medlen, a longtime tuner with John Force Racing shocked the drag racing world with the news he was not only leaving the team but also joining the Don Schumacher Racing operation.

Don Schumacher, who has proven capable over the last decade of matching the right personnel, assigned his new free agent acquisition with the youngest member of the six-car nitro team – Matt Hagan.

The youthful Hagan, a 28 year old cattle farmer from Christiansburg, Va., has been non-stop in learning the many life’s lessons Medlen has to offer. His experience isn’t limited to being a better person as Hagan conveys, Medlen knows a thing or two about racing.

“He has so much to offer, the guy’s a computer,” Hagan explained. “You just have to sit down and talk to him, and every time he and I have a chance to chat I learn something new. Especially about the safety stuff, he brings a lot to the table with the Medlen Project. His concern is for the safety of the drivers and safety for the crew and everybody. I think that’s going to benefit our team a lot but, the guy is so knowledgeable and he’s very open to working with Tommy, and Tommy’s open to working with him. I just think it’s going to be a great fit for our team over here at DSR. He’s doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes with the R&D stuff.”

Luckily for Medlen, Hagan becomes a sponge around the master.

“I see a very encouraged, very eager and very hungry young man that’s driving himself really hard physically and mentally to do a great job,” Medlen said. “He is, he’s doing a great job. The applications he has are showing in the everyday race car. Come back after a horrific explosion and sit back in that car like nothing ever happened. He’s a fine rising star.”

Medlen’s energy is contagious for the team which has scored a quarter-final, semi-final and final round appearance in the three events since his appointment.

“I don’t know how old Medlen is but he sure is a lively guy,” Hagan said. “He’s always got a lot of positive comments and whenever you bring a positive person into your team it’s going to carry throughout everybody. You lead by example and I think that he does that. He’s a very positive guy even when the chips are down … he’s always got some good comment to say. I really feel that we’re going to have a very successful season this year. It’s one of those things where we’ve proven we can run fast and Tommy’s got a good handle on his race car and with Mr. Medlen over here hopefully he can bring some consistency to our program.”

The two connected at first introduction, and somewhere along the line it could be said Medlen sees a lot of Eric Medlen in Hagan.

Hagan, who looks like more of a football linebacker than a Funny Car driver, isn’t offended in the least if Medlen sees his son Eric in him.

Eric Medlen was killed in a testing accident in March 2007.
 
“I don’t think you can be out here with a lot of young drivers and not think back,” said Hagan. “It wouldn’t bother me at all if he felt that way. I’m just a big piece of clay waiting to be molded. I’m going to pay attention to anybody. With a guy that has his experience and reputation when he speaks you listen. That’s what I’m trying to do is just take in everything that he says and if he says it it’s for a reason.”

Medlen believes Hagan and Eric are comparable in many areas, especially in willingness to learn and dedication to achieving success. Hagan was driving a Pro Modified at the time the second-generation Medlen died.

“He wants to do well so bad that he continues to strive every day. He comes here every race and weights himself to make sure he’s continuing to lose weight. That’s a subject a lot of drivers would say, ‘oh well.”

“He is driven to improve day by day. A measure of an individual is how willing he is to make a personal sacrifice. Sometimes the comfort level takes precedence over what you really need to do. In that case what I see, I see the eye of the tiger like I saw in Eric. It gives me chills to talk about it because that’s huge. I think a lot of it comes from, in Eric’s case as well as Matt’s case they’ve viewed this from afar for so many years that their desire kept building and building until one day that seat becomes available all that waiting and anticipation comes to a focus and comes to reality.”

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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

FORCE SETTLES FOR NO. 1 QUALIFYING EFFORT - This wasn’t the record-setting performance John Force wanted, but the legend settled for the alternative.

Thanks to his provisional world-record time of 4.021 seconds Friday, Force took the Funny Car’s No. 1 qualifying spot at the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Texas.

“We have that Ford Boss 500 motor, that we would like to really prove, and there will be two shots to set that record tomorrow,” Force said. “First round, when it is the coolest and I have to get to the final to get two shots. I had two shots today and couldn’t make it.”

This is the 133rd pole position for Force in his decorated career in which he has won 14 world championships. Force has had a revival this season and is presently atop the point standings.

Saturday, Force never could match his effort from Friday as he had 6.327 and 5.324-second times in his two qualifying runs. The final run was dashed when Force smoked the tires.

“The first run (Saturday) wasn’t there, and it got too warm it was 99, 100 degrees on the track,” Force said. “This one (his second run) had it and I thought I had it. We weren’t trying to run .02, we were trying to run .05 and I thought I made it and at 300 feet it blew them off.”

Up next for Force is eliminations at 11 am and he meets his former teammate Tony Pedregon, a two-time world champ.

“We have to focus on Tony because he knows how to race and I have to just run good,” Force said. “We will have to see how far we can push it, and if the conditions are right, we will go for the record first round.”

The cagey Force also knows to clock a coveted three second, 1,000-foot Funny Car pass everything must come together at that moment at Houston Raceway Park.

“That condition (Saturday night) was the best of the weekend and it’s out there,” Force said. “When we ran the .02, it was soft. Everything went right, but it wasn’t hopped up. There’s a three out there. We have a real good race car and the kids really prepare it good. If I can’t do it, all Robert (Hight) has to do is step it up and you could see Jimmy (Prock) definitely trying. This is Auto Club land for us and we’re trying as well. “

Force’s daughter Ashley Force Hood and Hight are second and third in the qualifying ladder at 4.042 and 4.051 seconds, respectively. Ashley’s superb time came just prior to her dad making his final run, but John’s crew chief, Mike Neff, didn’t change his plans.

“He (Neff) had already made up his mind where he was going and he knew right where he was at,” John said. “I really think, maybe when we get back, we will look at the wheelie bar. The front end got awful high and when it sat down, it hiked the front end up once and then it went out and hiked it again. I think I might of have had the wheels a little crooked. It sat and it turned and blew them off. You need to keep that front end on the ground. We will learn from it. I’ve never really had a car that carries the front end, and this car, she’s an animal. She’s a good ol’ race car and I’m proud to drive it.”

The elder Force said the cars driven by his daughter and Hight are identical to his.

“We build them the same, and that’s Ford’s plan,” John said. “They can’t afford to spend millions on engineering studies and data and give it to just one team. We’re going to sell our motor, our box, our heads, our supercharger, all that stuff to the people that want to buy. Right now, the focus is on the Ford teams and it started with (Bob) Tasca. He’s struggling with it right now, but he ran that .12, and he’s starting to come around and (Tim) Wilkerson if he wishes to go. We will just see what happens. We’re trying to really cut costs because I think the economy may not get better for a while, it may just level off.”

Tasca qualified 10th at 4.124 seconds and he clashes with No. 7 qualifier Del Worsham in the opening round.

“Tasca is a different race team, and a lot people question that he’s one of ours,” John said. “He has his own contract and he’s Motorcraft and I’m Castrol, two oil companies. We’re all Ford and we will race tomorrow if we run into each other. He (Tasca) is the one who introduced me to Ford, so if I ever felt an obligation or in my heart to do something for someone, Tasca would be my first pick and he was. They’re a plenty sharp team and he was ahead of me points last year, so maybe I will be buying from him.”

When asked if he had in changes in mind for Sunday Force had one of his ever clever answers.

“Just my underwear,” he quipped. “I told a dirty joke there.”

LARRY DIXON: ALAN WENT INTO THE MAGIC BOX - Larry Dixon has been racing Top Fuel long enough to know when his tuner goes into the electrical box, and the conditions are good, he’s getting ready to make a huge pass.

He gets no special instruction other than what was ingrained in his mind a long time ago, “Shallow stage, cut a good light and drive straight and get the win light.”

“[Former crewchief] Dick LaHaie used to tell me the same thing, so I had a lot of training,” added Dixon.

Dixon ran within .001 of the current NHRA Top Fuel world record with a 3.772 elapsed time during the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Tex., to claim his 41st career No. 1 qualifying effort. In the opposite lane, Antron Brown qualified second with a 3.777. Their run represents the quickest side-by-side Top Fuel run in the 1,000-foot era.

“Great job by everyone on the Al-Anabi team, as we sat there … the track tightened up,” Dixon said. “Alan went into his magic box and turned a few knobs, man it stuck and it was pulling before 300 feet. I was hoping it would hold on, and it did. It was a great run by the whole team.”

“The conditions were great. Great track, great conditions … it was just enough to get on the pole.”

Although Johnson has settled into an overseer role, Dixon confirmed Jason McCulloch is still very much the crew chief for the Al Anabi dragster.

“He and Jason work together,” Dixon explained. “Jason is on the clutch. Alan is on the motor and they work together on the timing and clutch mapping. I think Alan just saw something with the track and made a last minute adjustment.”

Having the AJ-McCulloch combination leaves Dixon, a veteran driver himself, brimming with confidence.

“To be honest if the day got washed out, I would be confident running off of Friday’s data,” Dixon admitted. “As a driver, you don’t think about much other than getting the win light. I have all the faith in the world from safety to set ups.”

Dixon believes one more day of qualifying could have led to even more performance than Saturday showcased.

“If we had another day of qualifying, you might see guys run even quicker,” he concluded.

NO. 1 SUITS HECTOR - Being atop the Pro Stock Motorcycle ladder fits Hector Arana just fine.

The reigning world champion took the No. 1 qualifying spot with his 6.856-second pass during Friday’s qualifying session at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals.

It’s not as if that run was a fluke either as Arana had the top qualifying pass Saturday at 6.858 seconds at Houston Raceway Park.

“We’re really working on it hard and paying attention, and I have to give credit to my crew guys,” Arana said. “They’re the ones who go and check the staging lanes hours before we get to run so we can make the proper call on the tuneup. They’re doing an awesome job.”

This is  Arana’s 10th career pole, and ninth since the start of the 2009 season. Arana faces Steve Johnson in the first-round of eliminations, which begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Arana’s final run of 6.858 run was quite impressive because of the rainy, humid, weather conditions Saturday.

“On one hand the weather didn’t really bother me because if something would have happened, I still would have stayed on the pole,” said Arana, who won a career-high five races last year en route to his inaugural world title. “It turned out to be a great day and I had some spectacular runs and I’m really pleased.”

Arana, who leads the season points chase by 15 points over both Ed Krawiec and Matt Smith, knows staying ahead of the pack is a job in itself.

“As you do well and make more runs, I seem to be more busy,” said the 52-year-old Arana, who resides in Milltown, Ind. “I have less time to sign a lot of autographs. I told the fans to please not to get mad because I’m going to sign as many as I can and I need to get back to my motorcycle, and I know they (the fans) want me to qualify on the pole and do well and win. They’ve been very supportive and I can’t ask for more.”

Although Arana’s qualifying runs Friday and Saturday appeared effortless, they weren’t.

“I will not say they were a breeze,” said Arana, who is searching for his first win this season. “Larry Morgan touched up the cylinders and we had new rings in there. All I can is that I’ve been blessed and we have not got lost yet.”

With the changes in weather from Friday to Saturday, Arana did pour over past data to try and find the right combination for the track.

“Yeah I did and I want to know why I slowed down with this last run,” Arana said with a laugh. “I’m really pleased and I hoping for the best tomorrow. I carry two years (of tuning logs) with me and I also look back to what I’ve done and I pay close attention to the weather. All that data I written down does come in handy, and I will be ready for tomorrow.”

A FORCE IN TOP FUEL – John Force had just qualified No. 1 in Houston with the second quickest 1,000-foot pass in NHRA Drag Racing history. Any other time, the 14-time champion would have made a beeline for the press center to discuss his accomplishment.

This time he rode his scooter to the starting line, parked and watched a few pairs of Top Fuel make qualifying runs.

“People ask me why I am out there on the starting line when Top Fuel runs, and I tell them jokingly that I am trying to unprogram myself of the blue lights,” Force joked.

Force clearly knows the average drag racing reporter can read through his charade and comes clean.

“Well my baby girl wants a dragster and I’ve always been Funny Car people,” Force explained. “If my kid wants to do, I want to be there to help her. I’m not saying I will ever drive one for a championship, but I bet you’ll see me drive one in the next year.”

Force, a dyed-in-the-wool Funny Car driver for his near four decade career, understands the inherent difference in the two nitro burners.
A dragster is a finesse vehicle, while his Funny Car is a manhandling experience.

“I want to drive one because I want to know what she’s thinking out there,” Force said. “I’m really curious. I might crash the first time out. I’ll have to put the motor out front to see where I am going. You know, you do drive between the flames. I have driven between the flames and right into the wall before.”

He’s not taking any chances with Courtney in preparing her for racing a nitro car. For now, he’s preparing her for a Funny Car.

“We’ve been training her in a Funny Car,” Force said. “We had her for 13 days, behind the wheel, towing her around the parking lot at the shop. We’ve been pulling her around in the rolling chassis, no body, until her hands are sore. She kept asking for gloves and I tell her that she’s going to learn to drive with her hands.

“I want her to know the feel and see all the views. Then after five, six or seven days of without the body – we get ready to put the body on it. It was like the first time I played high school football, I could see out of the helmet when everyone else couldn’t. I was ahead of the game because I was used to the helmet. Going out and driving it around the parking lot was like wearing the helmet in Pop Warner football. You’re learning how to see.”

Force said Courtney was excited with her progress after three days. Her older sister Ashley Force-Hood, a multiple national event winning Funny Car driver, offered her candid opinion when asked.

Force said Ashley was brutally honest, “Nope, but you’re ready to tow.”

“I really feel like right now she is learning the basics of steering and braking,” Force said. “I want her to learn. I was taking her through a course and then I’d make a hard right or left. I was trying to catch her not paying attention … waving to the crowd. She’s going to learn the basics before we start the motor.”

Force confirmed he has a car at the shop already prepared for Courtney.

PEDREGON REBOUNDS - On Friday night, the prognosis for Tony Pedregon at the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals was bleak.

During the second session of qualifying Friday night, the engine exploded in Pedregon’s Chevy Impala with a big fireball and the body ripped off and went flying into the air at Houston Raceway Park.

With his car in flames, it went across the track and smacked into the right wall and changed course and hit the left wall before coming to a stop.

“I feel very fortunate that I’m physically OK from yesterday’s incident,” Pedregon said. “We had a good crowd out here and I’m glad the weather didn’t scare all of them away. I’m sorry about all the delays. These cars just by nature, we’re leaning on them pretty hard. We’re all competitors and you want to be smart about it.”

Pedregon’s crew worked until 3 a.m. Saturday morning to get his car repaired and their tireless effort was rewarded when Pedregon made the show as the No. 16 qualifier with a 4.296-second elapsed time at 260.16 mph. He was temporarily bumped out of the show by his brother Cruz Pedregon before clocking his 4.296-second pass.

“I’m sure Johnny West is going to look at the data, and come up with a good game plan for tomorrow,” Tony said. “We can’t race a car when it hurts parts. We’ve done it before and we just need to get our minds together and do it again.”

BACK FROM THE ASHES - Angie Smith experienced her trial by fire on Friday, literally.

One day after a broken fuel line ignited a major fire on her Klement Racing Buell, she returned to qualifying.

“We did very well, the bike went straight and I hit my shift points,” a smiling McBride said after the run.  “It was what we needed after what we had to do.”

The crew – Matt Smith, her husband/team owner/tuner, Robbie East, Jason Beaver and Matt’s sister Melissa – worked until 1 a.m. Saturday preparing the bike.

“We had to strip it down to the last bolt and then put it back together,” Angie Smith continued.  “They are a wonderful team and they worked really hard to get my bike ready to race.  The only bad thing is that I have to race my husband in the first round.

“I am every ecstatic to be qualified . . . and now one of our new goals is to qualify better so we don’t have to race each other in the first round.

On her first run following the rebuild, the bike got out of the groove, but Smith held on to get through the quarter-mile in 7.235 seconds and it put her 16th.  Plus, it provided Matt Smith with the needed tuning data to improve her performance and secure a spot in eliminations.

PERSONAL BEST FOR TREBLE - Craig Treble rode the Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki into the No. 4 spot in qualifying. His 6.874-second elapsed time (at 192.28 mph) in the final session was the quickest of his career, bettering the 6.885 he set last year here when he won the event.

His other attempts in two days of qualifying were a 6.965/191.43 (No. 7), a 6.982/192.91 (No. 10) and a 7.061/191.00.

"Obviously, I'm thrilled to death," said Treble, who returned to Don Schumacher Racing for the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series after a short stint with the team in 2008. "That's my career quickest ever. And there's more in this thing. We've been chasing this Valvoline Motorcycle Oils Suzuki and it's been a struggle out here.

"I don't know what Steve (Tartaglia, crew chief) did to it but it's the right direction, I can promise you that. That thing pinned my little butt in the seat when I popped the clutch.

"Man, it was a nice easy ride and we've been waiting for that pass all weekend. I wish we had made that run right off the trailer; we'd be in better shape right now than we are.

STANDING BY HIS DECISION – Steve Spiess is a man who thrives on the challenges of life, as well as those behind the wheel of his Billet Specialties-sponsored Chevrolet Cobalt Pro Stocker.

Armed with major sponsorship from the custom wheel manufacturer, Spiess decided to upgrade to a full-time pursuit of the NHRA Full Throttle championship.

Five races into the 23-race schedule, Spiess has two first round losses and two DNQs. A year after producing a strong part-time effort, the former IHRA mountain motor Pro Stock champion has experienced one shortcoming after another, yet he remains confident better days are ahead of him this season.

“We’re having our times right now,” Spiess admitted. “This is Pro Stock racing. We are gaining on it. I think we should be fine from this point forward.”

Last season Spiess competed in a partial schedule and while last year might have been considered his learning season, those were important lessons which have carried over into 2010.

“Last season was our transition year,” said Spiess. “Every outing for us presents a new lesson. Each run teaches you something new and for us, we still have a lot to learn.”

Many predicted this season would be one of transition for the Pro Stock division and even though Spiess gained what some would consider a measure of a head start from 2009, he didn’t hold any thoughts the races from last season would put him ahead of the competition.

“I knew we had our work cut out for us,” said Spiess. “It’s tougher this year … there’s a lot more competitive cars here this year. There’s no gimmies this year. Besides, there are probably more cars here this year.”

Spiess is quick to point out the slower pace of the 500 inch Pro Stocker doesn’t necessarily constitute less of a challenge than the 800-inch mountain motor cars he piloted for over a decade.

“I really believe the cars are harder to handle over here in 500-inch Pro Stock racing,” Spiess explained. “You have to be really precise on your shift points. The mountain motor stuff was actually more fun. I have no regrets in making the move over to 500-inch Pro Stock racing. I love competition and believe me, we have it here.”

Maybe this season’s full tour is a trial for the future but for now Spiess isn’t quick to determine his future at this point.

“I don’t know what our future is beyond this season,” Spiess said. “I’m going through money more than I should plus business isn’t all that great. We are just going to make our decisions on a year to year basis.”

“There’s no way I can say we're within budget. The last race we were in was Charlotte – we went testing in Bradenton and I dropped a valve. That’s a $20,000-plus hit. It did some damage. How do you budget for that?”

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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

JOHN FORCE: OF OLD DOGS, YOUNG PUPS AND SHAKING ORANGE TREES - Austin Coil smiled when longtime driver John Force thundered to the second quickest elapsed time in 1,000-foot drag racing history during qualifying for the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Tex.

Then he barked as only an old dog with a renewed bite could

“There was a couple of old dogs on the porch and didn’t want to get off, me and Bernie, and then when the young pup came in barking and running around,” Coil proclaimed. “When he started grabbing our food, it made us old guys get up. He made us realize we still had some fire left in us.”

And their lead dog, Force, at 60 years old, that’s 420 in dog years, stands on the cusp of his 133rd No. 1 qualifier thanks largely in part to a provisional world record at 4.021.

“Coil and Bernie really opened their arms to Neff,” said Force. “I knew the chemistry would be there. I trusted Austin for it to be there. Coil told me that we can tend to get in a rut and sometimes you need change. I didn’t make as radical of change as Obama did without getting into politics.

“My dad used to tell me, ‘if there are no oranges on the ground, then shake the tree, and you’ll get lots of them. I kept shaking the tree and moving people around. Robert won the championship and Ashley always had a good car.

“Then I shook our tree and so far, so good. We’ve seen this happen. You get hot and then you get slow. We’re not in the hot season, let’s see how these two old dogs and the puppy run in the heat of summer. That’s gonna be critical.”

Force credits Funny Car legend Tom McEwen for shaking up his orange tree.

“I was a pretty good race car driver for a lot of years,” Force admitted. “Even when I was terrible, I still thought I was great until Tom McEwen told me I didn’t know how bad I looked. I was in the cellar of the points and he pointed out that I let a girl outrun me. He told me I owed the fans and I screamed out that I was doing all I could.

“He looked at me and said, ‘No you’re not.”

“He pointed out that I had lost my focus and the old buzzard was looking over the chicks – Robert and Ashley. Took an old master to wake me up again. He told me at the last race of the season and I came out swinging in Pomona. When I can’t do it anymore, I will get out of the seat, and you’ll have to drag me out of the seat.”

In the end, the pup gave the old driving dog Force his assurance the Funny Car would make a full pull, the kind of pull capable of making an old dog look youthful.

“Neff told me he’d give me eight cylinders and a smooth clutch transition,” Force said. “He told me to keep it in the groove, which I know how to do. I haven’t forgotten everything.”

Force certainly hasn’t forgotten how to bite as the competition learned Friday night.

NO. 1 GETS BROWN STOKED - So far this season, things have not gone according to script for Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.

Brown, who finished third in the final points chase last year, just 49 points behind champion Tony Schumacher, has had a rocky start to 2010.

Brown, trying to reverse his fortunes, took a step toward doing just that by grabbing the top qualifying spot Friday at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals with a 3.803-second elapsed time at Houston Raceway Park.

“We went out there earlier in the day in the right lane and we were just a little bit early fast,” Brown said. “We went to the left lane after Brian (Corradi) and Mark (Oswald) saw (John) Force run that 4.02, that was pretty sporty. We were in that lane and we were like two pairs behind him (Force), so they wanted to step it up. When we took off, the car lifted the front wheels higher than they’ve ever lifted them up and carried them far out there. I knew I was on a ride right there. The car held on really good and we got back to look at the computer and that thing was on the edge all the way to the 330-mark. That’s about as much as it is going to hold for a dragster, unless someone runs out the back door better than we did.”

The numbers Brown posted were a much-need jolt for his Matco Tools dragster, which is part of the Don Schumacher Racing team.

“We’re stoked and happy with that run,” Brown said. “That was a good arm pump booster. We have fallen short the last couple of races and we want to make up for it. We want to get one of those race wins this year.”

The final Top Fuel qualifying sessions are scheduled for 12:15 and 3 pm Saturday.

“I feel like you can get some high 70s out there if you get everything dialed in perfect,” Brown said. “These conditions just make us smile. The tires are looking beautiful at the end of the race track where the track got just enough traction, but not too much where it’s trying to rip those Goodyear’s apart.”

A year ago, Brown led all Top Fuel drivers with six wins and 10 final-round appearances. This season, however, Brown took a step back on Feb. 21 at the second event of the season at the Arizona Nationals. The left rear wheel and tire became detached from Brown’s dragster during first-round eliminations, and it had tragic consequences.

A woman, struck by debris from Brown’s crash, died on Feb. 21 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix. Brown was not injured in the crash, but the incident did have an emotional impact on him.

During Brown’s run, his dragster experienced severe tire shake, and the circumstances that led to the tragedy are still being investigated by the NHRA and Don Schumacher Racing.

“I don’t think we’re going out there with something to prove, we just plan on running the way we performed last year,” Brown said. “Last year, our team in my eyes was one of the best teams in Top Fuel and we performed very well. We joined up with DSR and we had better resources and we had all these neat, cool gadgets and more stuff to work with, and Brian and Mark wanted to settle down and go back to basics. We came out with a new race car and when that deal happened in Phoenix, that’s right at the point where we were turning everything around. The accident set us back again and we came out at Gainesville and basically started over from ground zero.”

Now, Brown knows his team, which is fifth in the points chase, has to turn things up a notch.

“We have a lot of ground to catch up,” Brown said. “We want to be poised and take it one round at a time and get as many rounds as we can and we’re hungry for a race win.”

Brown also is optimistic his Matco Tools team can learn from just missing out on winning the 2009 world crown after fading slightly at the end of the season.

“Our team was phenomenal out there on the West Coast right before the Countdown started,” Brown said. “I don’t want to say that we peaked too soon, I think we were just on a string and we kept it going. We just had a couple of things that got us in the Countdown. We just missed it in the first two races of the Countdown with a gremlin problem, and then we had one bad race. We’re going to go into the Countdown this year with all of our Ts crossed and gone over. Also, DSR strategically plans out their setups and has everything laid out for the Countdown. We’re building that inventory right now, so when the Countdown comes, you’re going to see three DSR cars out there charging for it (the championship) for sure.”

EDWARDS ON PACE - There was no surprises in Pro Stock qualifying Friday in the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

 Mike Edwards, the reigning world champ of the class, once again set the pace, capturing the top qualifying spot with a 6.539-second run.

“Conditions here (at Houston) are not quite as good as they were at Charlotte a couple of weeks ago, but the track got really, really good tonight,” said Edwards, who also had the top pass of the second qualifying session at 6.550 seconds. “We left a little bit out there on the track because it definitely got better for us. Tomorrow is another day and it looks like it might be a little more humid, but we will see. I’m just real happy with my guys. They did a great job and we made two nice runs tonight. We will come out tomorrow and hopefully we can race the track and improve.”

The final two Pro Stock qualifying sessions are scheduled for 11:30 and 3 pm on Saturday.

Edwards leads the points standings, thanks to winning three of the four nationals events so far this season.

If Edwards can hold down his spot atop the ladder Saturday, it would be his 20th No. 1 qualifying position since the start of the 2009 season.

Edwards, who pilots a Penhall/Young Life Pontiac GXP, says he had no plans of being conservative with today’s laps.

“We go as hard as we can go on every run, especially in qualifying on the night runs,” Edwards said. “We feel like we might have left a little bit out there tonight, but we try to get after it as much as we possibly can.”

Although Edwards won the inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at the last event on March 29, he did enjoy the return to traditional two-lane racing at Houston.

“I was liking it (today),” the 53-year-old Edwards said. “It was very confusing for me over there (at Charlotte), and we were very fortunate to win that race. You feel like you have a little bit more of a feeling of what is going to happen up there now (with two-lane racing). If the fans like that deal (four wide racing), I like it. That’s what it is all about is the fans. Us racers just have to try to figure something else out if that’s what we want to do.”

Despite his dominance since 2009, Edwards is not taking anything for granted.

“We’re testing and working as hard as we can,” said Edwards, who won five races a year ago. “I feel like these guys are catching us some. Several teams are actually closing the gap on us, so we have to work twice as hard now. We’re still running good, but if you stop for a little bit and look around, they will run straight by you.”

WEATHER AT SEVEN - If the Pro Stock Bike gig doesn’t work out for Hector Arana, there’s a good chance being a meteorologist might make for suitable alternative work.

The defending world champion from Milltown, Ind., rode his way to the top of the qualifying list during first day qualifying at the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, Tex.

Arana credits his incessant study of this weekend’s weather reports as a key element for his Friday evening performance.

“These conditions are awesome,” said Arana. “The humidity is low, the water grains are low and I’ve been paying close attention to these conditions.”

Arana had been tracking the Baytown conditions for the last four days.

“I was watching the trends,” Arana explained. “I was looking to see what the weather was going to do for the next few days. I knew what to expect by the time I got here. While I was traveling, I was making phone calls and getting on The Weather Channel to check the weather forecast.”

Friday’s weather sparked a sense of urgency for Arana.

“There’s a lot of times that I know the weather is what it is and I have no control over it,” Arana said. “I know the weather I get is the same as everyone else. I just like to be prepared and know what I need to do.

“Houston can be nice and sunny one minute and the next moment, you can get a strong wind,” Arana explained. “I have to pay attention to that and study it all.”

Arana opened qualifying earlier in the day with a 6.880 elapsed time and returned for the second session with a 6.856 at 193.49. If the run holds through Saturday qualifying, it will be his first pole of 2010 and tenth overall.

Arana is so encouraged by Friday’s success that he’s thinking about a record over the course of the weekend.

“There’s a great opportunity to reset the world record this weekend,” said Arana. “The track seems to be hooking up and we just freshened the motor up and it just has two runs on those pistons and rings. Plus, we are running some of the new break-in oil from Lucas.

“I’m impressed with the 6.85, now we’ll study the data and see where we can improve.”

HOT LEGS SMITH - Driving a Pro Stock Motorcycle is exhilarating enough without this happening.

Angie Smith was in the midst of qualify run Friday afternoon at Houston Raceway Park when her Coffman Tank Trucks Buell bike caught fire.

“My lower left leg, right by my ankle, was on fire and I used my right shoe and patted it out,” the 30-year-old Smith. “I’m not burned or anything, but my motorcycle is messed up and that hurt my feelings more than anything.”

When Smith took off from the starting line, she didn’t feel or notice any problems, at least initially.

“The bike was on a good run and I actually had the best 60-foot (time) in the session and I felt it go away right into third gear,” Smith said. “I looked down and when I did, there was fuel coming up between the body. Then, I looked down again and there were flames everywhere and I got the bike stopped as fast as I could and got off of it.”

When Smith did stop her bike, her wild ride nearly took another turn as she almost flew over the handle bars. The source of the scary ride for Smith was a leaking fuel line.

“One of the fittings on one of the fuel lines had vibrated loose,” Smith said. “We have so much fuel pressure in our motorcycles. We have somewhere over 85 pounds of fuel pressure, so you can imagine when a fuel line comes loose, it’s going everywhere and that’s what happened. I did almost go over the handle bars because I was trying to get my feet on one side of the peg, so if I needed to bail, I could bail. I wanted to stop the bike as fast as I could because the flames kept getting bigger and bigger. I wanted to get away from it as fast as I could, so I got my body on one side of the bike and I got it stopped.”

It’s not uncommon for Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers to finish runs with their cars in flames, and that isn’t lost on Smith. However, she never has liked the idea of testing her skills while here motorcycle was on fire.

“I think one of my fears is fire, but I think I handled it really well,” Smith said. “With all the adrenaline and the emotion and everything, I didn’t want to bail off my bike because I knew it would hurt it even more. I got it stopped really fast, and I was still holding on to it when they were putting the fire out. I just have a bond with my motorcycle and I didn’t want to leave it.”

Now Smith and her crew are working frantically to get her motorcycle ready for Saturday’s first qualifying session at 11:30 a.m. The final bike qualifying runs are slated for 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

“The guys are working really hard, and they will get it fixed for tomorrow’s (first) session,” Smith said.

ZIZZO, THE PROMISE KEEPER - When the NHRA was making history at the inaugural Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, N.C., late last month, T.J. Zizzo was busy.

The 34-year-old Top Fuel driver was delivering on a promise he made to his wife, Jen, 15 years earlier.

“The whole situation boiled down to my wife quitting smoking 15 year ago,” Zizzo said Friday. “I told her back then if she quit smoking, I would take her to Spain. Needless to say, as a good husband usually does, we’re always a little bit behind on our promises, but last October I told my wife that she deserved to go to Spain because she had quit smoking many, many years ago.”

Zizzo and his wife, who teaches Spanish at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., made the trip to Barcelona during the week of March 22.

“We went there, I fulfilled my promise, and we just fell in love with the city,” Zizzo said. “I had been to Europe before to visit my grandma who lived in Sicily, so I had been through Europe and Italy and that area, but Barcelona was just so much fun. As the Four-Wide Nationals were going on in the United States, I was in Spain, checking out the sites of Barcelona. The funny thing is I heard so many things about how the Four-Wide National went, and I don’t know anything about it. I thought ESPN2 would be in Barcelona, but I couldn’t find it.”

Now, Zizzo is back on American soil and he’s making his season debut in his Peak/Herculiner sponsored dragster at the 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston Raceway Park Friday through Sunday.

Zizzo’s team is owned by his father Tony and it is based in Lincolnshire, a northern suburb of Chicago.

“Our test pass (for this season) will be my first round of qualifying today,” said Zizzo, who is in his 19th year of racing. “That will be our test session. I feel like an egg out here and I want to be cracked and see how well we do.”

Zizzo’s team obviously would never get mistaken for the high-dollar operation of Don Schumacher Racing, but T.J. is more optimistic than ever about what his team can accomplish in 2010 and next season, racing a limited seven-race schedule.

“We have a two-year contract that we just came up with Old World Industries, which owns Peak antifreeze,” Zizzo said. “We have a two-year contract to go to seven races a season. So, this year we will go to Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Pomona. These are all pretty much new tracks to us, other than Chicago and Houston. Signing a two-year deal is neat for us because now we can plan our expenses for the next two years, not just year-by-year and that will help us out tremendously. Old World Industries is not new to drag racing. I think they sponsored Jim Yates back in the 1990s. Then, they kind of pulled themselves away from marketing and motorsports and drag racing. We got back affiliated with them (Old World Industries) with one of our marketing partners (Champion packaging) who packages for Old World. Now, we’ve kind of grown over the last six or seven seasons with Old World Industries to get to this point we are now. With more cash flow, we’re able to do bigger and better things because they (Old World Industries) have stepped up to the plate.”

Even with his new deal in place, Zizzo is realistic about his team’s chances.

“I’m stacked against the world over here,” Zizzo said. “Some of the members on our team have been with us for 19 years, and I have confidence in our team. I have confidence in our abilities, but we don’t have the resources teams like Don Schumacher Racing have. With the resources teams like that have, I need to be lucky. That’s just how this works and how this sport is and it’s OK to be lucky. In drag racing, you have a 50-50 chance of winning when you go to stage your car and those are pretty good odds. I’m happy with that. We do not come to races unprepared. We do a lot of homework at home. Do we have the technology and the fancy parts the rest of the guys have, absolutely not. We’re a couple of years behind in our technology, but at the same time, I know we’re going to go out there and put on a good show and we’re going to make good, clean respectable passes. If we go to first round and we luck out, I’m the happiest guy in the world.”

HADDOCK GAINS PENALTY BOX REPRIEVE - Terry Haddock has good reason to wonder just how conservative he is going to have to be to keep NHRA officials happy. Once he figures it out, then he’ll be able to better describe the manner in which plans to race this weekend at the NHRA Springnationals at Houston Raceway Park.

Haddock suffered two catastrophic engine explosions in the first two events this season forcing NHRA officials to banish him from the series with the added requirement of clean testing passes in a supervised environment before he could return. On the same weekend of the NHRA’s 4-Wide Nationals, the veteran independent nitro racer made six consecutive clean passes ranging from a 4.22 elapsed time to 4.32.

At $5,000 per run, Haddock has paid his tribute to the NHRA for a return.

“We’re back out here for now and hopefully we’ll do our best to stay out here,” said Haddock. “It was nice of the Houston Raceway Park family to let us come down here and test on a bracket weekend. We understand that this is their [NHRA’s] playground, so we have to do our best to make sure nothing stupid happens, so we can come back racing (past this weekend).”

Haddock wouldn’t say he returned to the basics to find where he got lost considering his test session was conducted in conditions diametrically opposite to what he’d see at an NHRA event.

“We had the car backed down for bracket racing conditions … it was backed down to go down the track,” Haddock said. “It wasn’t fast but it went down the track. Everyone seems to forget the last run this car made was a 3.95 elapsed time at 300 miles per hour.”

The testing behind him, Haddock admits, he’s still unsure where his team went wrong.

“I don’t know if the issue was with the car or me because of the stuff with the Funny Car,” Haddock said. “The dragster has run well since the first time we brought it out here. Last year it made 66 clean runs and 4 bad ones. If you look at the overall picture, it’s not so bad. I am going to do what it takes to keep the NHRA happy.”

Haddock knows what’s on the line this weekend.

“I guess I am on triple-secret, big quadruple – don’t do anything stupid probation,” Haddock admitted. “I’m on like scared-to-death to step on the throttle probation. This is how we make a living and when we can’t come to the races, we can’t eat.”

That’s why Haddock isn’t gambling on the first day of qualifying.

“The first run, I plan to run 300 – 400 feet to make everyone happy,” Haddock said. “Tonight we will try to step it up if everything looks good. I have to be careful because this is how I take care of my family.”

BENDER’S NEW GIG – Donnie Bender is officially a part of Kenny Bernstein racing this weekend.

Bender, most recently crew chief for Don Prudhomme Racing, leaves a legend to join a legend with Bernstein. He’s joining former DPR co-tuner Todd Smith, who was appointed as crew chief after the release of Rob Flynn.

Getting his hands dirty with the tuning challenges pleases Bender.

“I’m real excited to be here,” Bender said. “I’m a racer and want to be out racing. I was down to selling parts over there. When the opportunity came along to come over here I jumped on it. I knew Todd real well. He and I will work good together.”

Bender had a test run two weekends ago in Concord, NC, when he served as an adviser.

“I didn’t know what I was advising,” said Bender. “I was over there just to make sure I could get along with everybody. It worked out good for me.”

Bender follows a line-up of former legendary tuning legends Dale Armstrong, Lee Beard and the husband/wife duo of Tim and Kim Richards. He understands following those iconic figures puts a challenge directly on his shoulders.

“It’s a big challenge to follow those legends, but I’ve worked with a few legends as well, like Dick LaHaie,” Bender said.

TASCA AND THE BOSS - One race after announcing his alliance with John Force Racing, Bob Tasca III enters this weekend’s NHRA Springnationals in Houston, utilizing elements of the JFR-developed BOSS 500 engine platform.

Ford Racing announced two weeks ago in Concord, NC., their “One Ford’ approach.  The ‘One Ford’ approach focuses on all Ford sponsored teams having the same availability to the Ford engineered technology and equipment, which will in turn make all Ford Mustang Funny Car teams more competitive.

“After the recent ‘One Ford’ announcement with John Force and his team, I spent the better part of last week at the Force camp getting a lot of the BOSS 500 engine pieces lined up for our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Shelby Mustang,” said Tasca.  “Houston will be the first race for us with elements of the BOSS 500 technology in our race car.  It would be a great place for us to get our first win of the season. We hope to have the full BOSS 500 package in our Mustang hopefully by the St. Louis race.  This is a big step for our team.”

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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - 

DON'T WRITE ME OFF YET - For all those so-called drag racing experts who officially wrote John Force off as an NHRA dominator in the Funny Car class, and said his world championship total is finished at 14 titles, it’s time to eat a little crow.

Who could blame Force if he feels just a little bit of sweet satisfaction right about now?

After enduring a tough stretch of seasons marred by tragedy, turmoil, crashes and mediocrity, NHRA legend John Force has finally emerged from all the chaos and regained his swagger.

 He got it back through hard work, sweat, dedication and an incredible desire. It is the same desire that led him from a middle of the pack performer in the late ‘80s to the bigger-than-life 14-time world champ throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s.

However, this time around, he needs to show the world that last season’s dismal performance – his worst on record since 1984 – was not the true John Force. He wants to prove that he’s still got what it takes to overcome incredible odds and win races and championships once again in the highly-volatile 7,000-horsepower world of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

 “I have always been the kind of guy when somebody tears me down, it builds my strength,” Force said last week during a teleconference with national media. “If a driver gets after me, it makes me work harder. I was like that as a kid playing Pop Warner football. I never had a lot of talent, but I stayed after it, and I lived it.”

The 60-year-old Force, who has won twice in three final round appearances in the first four races of the 23-event 2010 season, will try to keep his hot start going as the tour heads to Texas for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Ron Krisher (Pro Stock) and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event which will be televised on ESPN2 HD.

“I’m on a real big high right now and just excited,” said Force, who opened the season with an emotional win at the 50th Kragen O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winernationals in Southern California and last week made history by winning the much-anticipated inaugural NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in the racing hotbed of Charlotte, N.C.

Entering the event in Houston, Force holds an 89-point advantage over a strong group of rivals, including second place driver Ron Capps, talented Jack Beckman, defending world champ Robert Hight and daughter Force Hood, the defending event winner. Sure, there’s still a lot of races left in the season before the official talk of championship contenders begins, but Force certainly likes his current situation. And, he’s proven that he’s ready to work even harder to get back what he’s lost over the years.

“It feels real good because I’m not getting any younger, but I do live in the gym,” Force said. “And as long as I can do the game and react at the starting line like Robert Hight, Ashley or Bob Tasca or any of them, a lot of great young drivers out there, I will do it.”

During his career, seven of Force’s NHRA-record 128 career victories have come at HRP, his last in 2002. The track’s near sea level elevation makes it an ideal place for NHRA teams to produce jaw-dropping performances. No doubt his newly aligned crew chief tandem of Mike Neff and Austin Coil will be anxious to put a quick tune-up on Force’s Castrol GTX High-Mileage Ford Mustang.

“I like Texas,” Force said. “It’s fun to go there and you can really run good if the conditions are right. I think I got my hundredth win there. We’ve been pretty consistent there over the years…and we’re just looking forward to getting back there.”

STILL IN THE MIX - In Top Fuel, seven-time world champ Schumacher, winner of the last six season titles, is once again in the championship mix in his U.S. Army dragster. This season he is getting tough competition from teammate and veteran driver Cory McClenathan, a two-time winner this season who is chasing his long-overdue first world championship title and currently leads the point standings. Schumacher’s longtime rival Larry Dixon, driver of the Al-Anabi Racing dragster and a two-time winner at HRP, and biker turned nitro driver Antron Brown, who has been solid in his Matco Tools dragster since leaving the Pro Stock Motorcycle class in 2007, are also in the championship hunt. A resurgent Doug Kalitta, driver of the Technicoat dragster, has advanced to three final rounds and is a win waiting to happen.

EDWARDS ATOP PRO STOCK MOUNTAIN - Defending world champ Mike Edwards is once again leading the Pro Stock contingent in his Penhall/Interstate Batteries Pontiac GXP. A three-time HRP winner, the Oklahoma native has recorded three victories this season and one runner-up finish in four races and holds a commanding 181-point lead over second place Jason Line, who has one win and one runner-up finish this season in his Summit Racing GXP. Team Mopar’s Allen Johnson and three-time world champ Greg Anderson also are among the pre-race favorites, along with Greg Stanfield and Phoenix runner-up Bob Yonke.

BATTLE OF THE CHAMPIONS - Past world champions Eddie Krawiec and Matt Smith have each earned victories this season in Pro Stock Motorcycle competition, but defending series titlist Hector Arana sits atop the point standings on his Lucas Oil Buell. Shawn Gann, Steve Johnson, Andrew Hines and two-time HRP winners Karen Stoffer and Craig Treble will be working hard at this event to improve their standing in the Full Throttle Series top 10.

READY FOR NORMAL - Top Fuel sophomore Shawn Langdon is excited about his return to the Lone Star State and what he describes as "normal drag racing".

A drag racer for more than half of his 27 years, the three-time world champion is referring to the first-ever four-wide drag racing experiment the NHRA tried at the last tour stop in Charlotte. A purist at heart, Langdon prefers a traditional drag race where two cars go head-to-head with one driver advancing and the other being eliminated.

"We've been progressing really well with the Lucas Oil/Speedco dragster this year and I'd like to get back to the way we were running in Gainesville (Fla.)," he said. "We were in the low 3.8s there, posting 3.82s and 3.83s, which is real close to where we want to be with the tune-up.

"The four-wide thing was fun but I'm glad to be past that and back to what we all know. Now we can drag race again."

Langdon won his first drag racing title in 1997 in the 14-year-old bracket of Junior Dragster. Ten years later in 2007-2008, he won back-to-back world championships in Super Comp, considered by many to be the toughest eliminator class in drag racing.

Along the way, Langdon won two races at Houston Raceway Park, taking the Super Gas hardware in 2005 and the Super Comp trophy in 2008.

"I really like HRP," he said. "It's one of my favorite tracks and we've always had good success there. (General manager) Seth Angel and his uncles put a lot into the facility and the track always is very well prepared. Galveston Bay is close and the track surface is just a few feet above sea level so if the air is good, you can fly.

ALL ABOUT THE LANE CHOICE - Funny Car driver Ron Capps believes the key to mastering Houston Raceway Park begins with lane choice.

"Houston has been very, very tricky in the past. We've had some bumps and some dips in the race track surface that really caused the crew chiefs to be even more on their games as the drivers had to be able to navigate around some of the tricky spots on the track.

"In the last two years, lane choice was so important that qualifying well was a premium. You had to make sure you qualified in the top half of the field. Right now I feel our NAPA Dodge is very capable of not only that but of being No. 1 qualifier.

"We always talk about what the weather could and should bring and I think a lot depends on that in Houston. The weather can change so quickly there. The cream always rises to the top, for sure, especially with crew chiefs, and I believe that, going to a track as tricky as Houston, it will be really good to have a crew chief like Ed 'Ace' McCulloch."

As a driver, McCulloch was the 1993 Top Fuel champion at Houston Raceway Park.

STILL LEARNING - Pro Stock veteran Larry Morgan is quickly closing in on his 500th national event start. He figured at this point in his career he'd pretty much seen it all. But as the NHRA tour heads to Houston Raceway Park for this weekend's 23rd annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals, Morgan realizes there are still things to learn.

This past off-season, Morgan took on the Herculean task of making a Ford-powered racecar competitive in a class dominated by other brands for the last 25 years. He knew he'd have no usable data to work with and that he'd have to start from scratch, but with the support of Ford Motor Company and longtime sponsor Lucas Oil, he decided to take a chance.

"It's kind of like reinventing the wheel," Morgan said from his award-winning engine shop in central Ohio. "We started with a basic engine block and have just built these motors from the ground up. It's been fun but very taxing also.

"As a racer and an engine builder, you want to think everything you do is going to be just perfect, but this sport has a way of humbling you. We've been humbled."

On the surface, Morgan's red, white, and blue Lucas Oil Ford Mustang is a thing of beauty, one that has fans of the blue oval rushing to his support. Yet the heart of his mount, the 500-inch BOSS motor, has proven tough to tame at times, although Morgan already has one final four finish on his 2010 resume.

"We're making enough horsepower, that's not an issue," he said. "It's just these engines want something different. The people that supply the other components we need haven't caught on to what we're doing just yet so we're educating them as we go along.

"In the meantime, we're hurting motors because we can't seem to get the recipe right. That's on me. I'm the one tuning these things and ultimately the buck stops here. We need to keep checking things off the list until we solve our issues. It's going to be really exciting when we get it straight. I can't wait."

THE SCHUMACHER-GREEN LAUNCH PAD - Tony Schumacher is heading to a track where he’s had success before. The multi-time champion has two wins to his credit at Houston Raceway Park, the most recent of which came last season.

“The win last year was pretty special,” he said. “It was the first victory with what was at the time my new team and crew chief (Mike Green). Of course, we went on to score four more wins and the world championship. But, it was the race at HRP that kick started everything.”

Schumacher knows if the weather is right he might deal with one fast drag strip come Sunday. Sitting just east of downtown Houston, HRP has been known as a site for record-setting performances due to its close proximity to Trinity Bay which typically pushes in cool air.

“If the conditions are there, we’ll all be hauling the mail for sure,” he said. “As usual, it’s going to be a real dogfight. We’re going to have to be extremely focused to get the job done. The competition in Top Fuel is fierce right now. But, like our Army Strong Soldiers, we’ll be totally prepared. We’ll always put the mission first and never quit, I will guarantee you that.”

 

 

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