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SATURDAY RECAP - HIGHT, KALITTA TOP SATURDAY TESTING

The final day of the PRO Winter Warm-up hosted by Palm Beach International Raceway ended with a pair of veteran atop the list of testing runs. Robert Hight paced the Funny Car contingent while Doug Kalitta jumped out ahead of the Top Fuel division.

Hight’s 4.034-second run at 316.67 miles per hour represented the quickest and fastest run of the weeklong testing both private and public.

“I know we have at least one more day, but I’m hoping maybe two more days that we can play around. We’re really learning a lot. We’ve got Ron Armstrong here helping us; kind of a new addition to our brain trust and when you’re not tuning a car, you look at things a little differently. He really looked at some things and brought them to Jimmy’s (Prock, Crew Chief) attention and man, it’s fixed this thing, so along with some of the new things that we haven’t run yet, I’m excited,” said Robert Hight. “And no matter what anybody out here tells you, you know, this is still a race. Okay, yeah, there isn’t a trophy and there’s no money, but you still want to beat those guys. Right now pretty much everybody’s done testing and we’re leaving here with low ET (elapsed time, at 4.034) and top speed (316.67 mph) and that goes a long way for our confidence moving into Pomona.”

Johnny Gray was second quickest during Saturday testing with a 4.085 followed by the 4.092 of Ron Capps.

Team Kalitta, largely left out of the top runs this week, nailed the best run on Saturday when Doug ran a 3.789, 322.96. Running second quickest on Saturday was Spencer Massey with a 3.792.

Tony Schumacher, whose 3.761 was the quickest of testing, was third quickest on Saturday with a 3.800.

The PRO Winter Warm-up concluded on Saturday but a few teams will hang around for additional testing on Sunday and beyond.

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

SCHUMACHER URGES CANOPY APPROVAL - Tony Schumacher has had an opponent's car spin around and crash into his. "His nose came around and my blower belt came off or he's in my cockpit," the U.S. Army Dragster driver remembered.
 
Another time an opponent had a mishap, and according to Schumacher, "his mags were bouncing over my tire."
 
As if that weren't enough, Schumacher said, "I've hit two birds" while blasting down the dragstrip.
 
So a bulletproof, carbon fiber / Kevlar canopy is a truly real help from the dangerously odd and possibly lethal foreign objects that could find their way into his driver compartment. He clearly thinks this new iteration of the allowed-then-disallowed canopy over his dragster cockpit is the answer -- "It's the smartest thing you can put on a car until we figure out something smarter," he said.
 
So he's urging the NHRA to stop considering the canopy, or shroud, as an aerodynamic advantage and start recognizing it as a legitimate and logical safety feature for the sport's headliner class of cars.
 
"The capsule's not going to make me win a race. It's going to extend my life. That's what that thing's for," Schumacher said.
 
"A few years back, we were all uncomfortable -- when they were going to the quarter-mile still, cars were breaking in half for no apparent reason. You couldn't get in the car and not feel uncomfortable. I sit in this car," he said, pointing to his U.S. Army Dragster as  assistant crew chief Neal Strausbaugh hovered over the cockpit during preseason testing at Jupiter, Fla., "and I have a level of comfort I have not had in a long time. Every driver should have that. I lost some good friends [to racing accidents] --  don't want to lose any more."
 
While the NHRA alleged last fall that at least one team owner presented performance-enhancing aspects of the innovative piece that cost Don Schumacher Racing a small fortune in research and development, Tony Schumacher adamantly denied the charge -- then and now.
 
"It [makes the car] 25 pounds heavier," Schumacher said. "We've got to do a lot of things to make the car go faster. We've added weight -- and added safety in every way."
 
Singling out the shroud, he said, "That is not for speed. It's not for decoration. It's for safety."
 
He said DSR invited all racers to come and see it and ask questions, even welcomed them to sit in the car and simulate how it would feel if it were mounted on their own race cars.
 
"[Connie] Kalitta wanted two right away. [Steve] Torrence wants it. [John] Force and Joe Amato came and looked at it. Everyone said this is the coolest thing out there," Schumacher said. "I don't care even if it looks ugly. The fact is I feel safer."
 
He said he finds it laughable that people remark that "Big Daddy" Don Garlits improvised something like that years ago. But, the seven-time champion said, "Yes. So did Darrell Gwynn. They showed up at the same race with it. But it was just a piece of Fiberglass, a piece of Plexiglas. This is a whole pod. This things comes off in one section."
 
He deflected criticism about fire, too.
 
"People say, 'What if you're on fire?' It's a high-pressure area. It's not low-pressure. Air come sup the front. you’re pushing air through it. Fire should not be able to push up inside of it. I have a three-pound fire extinguisher system in it, like the Funny Cars have. IF I'm upside down and IF I'm on fire and IF it won’t open and IF I'm knocked out and IF Safety Safari takes the weekend off and If my fire bottles don't work, I might get hot," Schumacher said.
 
"But guess what. There's always a way," he said.
 
He said the shroud isn't perfect, especially from a cosmetic standpoint. I like the look, but I don't like the fact you can't see my helmet anymore. And you can't see the look in someone's eyes before he runs," Schumacher said. "But it's not about that. It's about keeping me safe."
 
He emphasized that "this car goes 330 miles an hour. I put on a firesuit. I get in a roll cage and wear a seat belt -- NOT because it's the safest machine in the world but because it's a very fast race car and there's a risk. I understand that.
 
"I've broken cars in half, and I don't want to be on fire," Schumacher said. "But I trust in my safety equipment. It's SO much better than it used to be, and I watch Funny Car drivers climb from their fires all the time."
 
And he had some stern advice: "Put on the right equipment. Buckle up correctly. Wear the right devices around your neck. Wear the right helmet. And play ball. That's it. If you don't want to do this, play ping pong. Man, there are other jobs."
 
But it's clear that even though he realizes drag racing has its inherent dangers, he doesn't think it's too much to ask for the NHRA to allow his and other teams to protect the drivers as much as possible.       
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR! - For all his earnest effort in the Copart Dragster last season and after the grim news at the end of the year that his father was retiring and disbanding the team, Brandon Bernstein received a stocking full of stress this past Christmas. Then Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and their son Morgan Lucas played Santa Claus for the younger Bernstein, signing him to a driving contract for their team's second dragster. The decision came after the first of the year, and both sides said they're thrilled.
 
"They've opened their arms and been generous in having me," a grateful and relieved Brandon Bernstein said. "I'm excited to be here. This is going to be a great place. I thought maybe this wasn't going to be. It was a stressful Christmas, not knowing if I was going to have a job." With a laugh he said, "I was going to have to get a real job somewhere."
 
According to new boss Morgan Lucas, this is the perfect job for Bernstein -- and the perfect fit for the Brownsburg, Ind.-headquartered team.   
 
"He has always had a nice, wholesome demeanor when it comes to being a team player. We've been able to talk and communicate and encourage each other, and that's what you want from a teammate. That's what I think my dad needs from a representative for MAV TV and Lucas Oil. He needs somebody who is going to be professional, who's going to hold up their end of the bargain and just be a well-rounded person."
 
Although the two have been closer friends -- joining Ashley Force [Hood] and the late Eric Medlen in what they nicknamed years ago "The Gen2Cru" in tech-savvy, Rat Pack-like fashion -- Lucas said he had to be cautious not to let their friendship skew a business decision.
 
"When it comes to business, sometimes you just have to take the friendship hat off and bring in the business hat," Lucas said. "That's where I got the best of both worlds. It was a no-brainer for us. My dad just wanted to make sure it was right. They looked at everybody who was available. They had to do it, just so thy knew they were playing fair. But they knew Brandon was the choice from the get-go. I think he's got what it takes. I know he's got what it takes.
 
"This week here in testing, his lights have been great. His car has been going straight. He has been making smart decisions about driving the car, not getting over center with it. Sometimes in testing, you have to nock the cobwebs off, and he doesn't seem to have any," he said.
 
"Being this is the first time he has raced without his dad, I hope he feels comfortable. And I hope he feels like he can enjoy himself. He doesn't have to worry about as many things as he had to worry about before. He was in a management position, as well. Now he's a PR / media outlet. It could take some pressure from his shoulders. He knows how to interact with media. He knows how to interact with fans. He does a good job in the seat. "  
 
Besides, Lucas said, "Being real about it, the sport can't lose a fan-favorite personality like Brandon."
 
"It's nice to be wanted like that," Bernstein said. "I'm just going to try to do the best I can this year. Hopefully we get a bunch of wins this year at Morgan Lucas Racing."
 
But Bernstein acknowledged that "its' going to take a little bit of adjusting, just in my head, just to be part of a different team. I've never been in this position before, never been just a hired driver and that's all my responsibilities are. I've never been out here without my dad as owner.
 
However he said, 'I think we're going to have fun this year. Morgan said, 'Man, I'm looking forward to getting the season started so we can have some fun together.' I think it's a great fit."
 
Rick Fischer, whose Fischer Honda is an associate sponsor for the Kalitta Motorsports team cars, told Lucas, "I think you're going to see a whole new side to the Prince of Speed this year."
 
Anyone who knows Bernstein can see he suddenly has become much happier. And anyone who has watched him race knows that he's extremely likely to be in the winners circle again soon.
 
MISSING DIXON - Although 26 nitro-class headliners have assembled here and have entertained South Florida fans with some impressive elapsed times and speeds for two nights, one person getting plenty of attention is someone who isn't here. Several

Top Fuel drivers have said they miss Larry Dixon.
 
Among them is his chief on-track rival, Tony Schumacher.
 
Said the seven-time champion of the three-time king, "I like Larry," adding that Dixon's return to competition -- a question mark today after his mutually agreed departure from Al-Anabi Racing --  would not be an aggravation for him "It's competitiveness. It makes me better. It makes me stronger.
 
"He doesn't need [just] to be out here," Schumacher said. "He needs to be out here in a great car. With his talent, he needs to be in the right car, so that when you race him it's not beating someone in an also-ran car. He needs the right person to step up, because he's a great rival. He's another champion."
 
Spencer Massey, who ironically won the International Hot Rod Association Top Fuel championship in the car that carried Dixon to one of his two championships on behalf of Don Prudhomme's Snake Racing, was another hoping for Dixon's return.  
 
"It's Larry," Massey said, as if his respects name guarantees a driving gig. "He's going to survive. He'll be back out here before it's said and done."
 
HEY, HOW ABOUT ME?! - With Larry Dixon apparently set at least to start the 2012 season on the sidelines and reigning champion Del Worsham retired and working as Funny Car rookie Alexis De Joria's crew chief, Tony Schumacher remarked that he's the lone active Top Fuel champion.
 
But his spunky DSR teammate and FRAM-Prestone Dragster driver Spencer Massey challenged him.
 
"Hold on! Hold on!" Massey exclaimed. Pointing to himself with both hands as if flaunting the obvious, he said, "I-H-R-A Top Fuel champion!"
 
And he's correct. While Schumacher is the only active NHRA Top Fuel champion, Massey actually heads a list of champions from other drag-racing series. They include six-time IHRA champion Clay Millican, along with part-timers Bruce Litton, Bobby Lagana, and Doug Herbert.
 
Two others have championship credentials in other series. K.A. Balooshi, a Top Fuel rookie with Al-Anabi Racing, has Pro Modified championship credentials on two continents, winning in both the U.S. and Qatar. Doug Kalitta was the USAC Sprint Car National Champion.
 
Massey was a myth-buster during preseason testing, saying, "Last year, people kept talking about the pressure, that I've never been in this position before, going after a championship. Well, I kind of was.
 
"In IHRA, trust me, in my mind -- even though the IHRA isn't as big [as the NHRA], wasn't as much competition -- it still was for everything you built up for," he said. "It's still the same amount of pressure. you’re still driving an animal. A Top Fuel dragster has 8,000 horsepower. you’re going 300 miles an hour. And you're doing what you -- what I -- set my life out to do . . . and that's win a Top Fuel championship.
 
"We had the pressure on the line and we ended up prevailing," Massey said.
 
"I approached [last year's Coundown] the same way I approached the IHRA [title fight]. I acted like it wasn't a championship: get up there and go down the racetrack and have fun and act like I'm a bracket racer."     
 
THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE GEICO INSURANCE - To understand why Morgan Lucas broke a crankshaft in his GEICO / Lucas Oil Dragster Thursday but wasn't utterly frustrated about it, one has to put it in perspective. He called the situation "just a dumb parts malfunction."
 
He was quick to add, "Believe me, it was hardly discouraging, considering the amount of quality runs we've gotten in this test. I think I made more 3.80 (-second) runs in this four-day span of testing than I did all last year. Maybe not, but it feels like it.
 
Buoyed by what he saw before leaving Thursday's private-testing session, Lucas said, "This car, it's as good as I've ever had a car be. I know it's just testing, but it gives you a lot of confidence."
 
Lucas is set to return to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, where -- after what he recalled as a "hit-and-miss test session" here -- he won the season-opening Winternationals last February.
 
Despite the grand start to his 2011 season, Lucas said, "Last year was so disappointing. Then we were so blessed to have GEICO sign back on with us and give us that second chance to redeem ourselves. It's a great company to be partners with."
 
The 28-year-old team owner also thanked dad Forrest Lucas and "everyone who works with his company, to have patience with us and stick it out with our second car.
 
"That's a lot of plusses," he said, "but it puts the weight on our shoulders to perform. Just because we run 3.70s here and go to Pomona doesn't mean we're going to run 3.70s there. But it does mean we have a car that has the potential to run 3.70s."
 
Nevertheless, Lucas said, "My mind's at ease, knowing we have a car that, given enough time, we're going to have a lot of success."  
 
GRUBNIC'S TIDBIT OF WISDOM - "The learning curve is exponential in this game," Kalitta Motorsports racer Dave Grubnic said. "You make a lot of runs [and] you get pretty smart. You gain a lot of experience and knowledge. In this game, there's no right or wrong decision. It's what you learn from those decisions and you apply it to future runs."
 
ERIC REMEMBERED - This March will mark five years since the passing of popular Funny Car driver Eric Medlen, but rookie Courtney Force said he certainly is not forgotten and that she regards him as an inspiration every day.
 
"I can't believe it has been five years," she said this weekend while waiting to make a test pass in anticipation of her professional debut at Pomona, Calif.
 
"We miss him every day," she said of the entire John Force Racing organization. "He's still a part of this team. I definitely miss seeing his smile all the time. He always made everyone laugh. He always found the positives of everything. That's the one key thing we need to remember: Eric taught us to come out here and have fun. The whole point is having fun in these cars and learning every time we get in them."
 
Force said she keeps Medlen in her heart, especially when she straps into her Traxxas Funny Car.
 
"I pray to him and God every time I'm in the car. They keep me safe," she said.

 

FRIDAY TESTING RECAP - DSR CARS SEND CLEAR MESSAGE

It may be drag racing’s version of Spring Training but in five days of private testing, Don Schumacher racing has already proven proficient at hitting the long ball.

Two DSR entries lead testing during the 2012 PRO Winter Warm-up presented by Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla. Antron Brown and Jack Beckman recorded the best runs on Friday.

Brown drove his way to the top of the testing list. On the strength of a 3.794-second pass Brown edged out Tony Schumacher’s 3.810. Spencer Massey was third with a 3.812.

"We did fairly well and we're sneaking up on it," Brown said. "We'll get to to after it a little stronger (Saturday night) and I think we can drop it down. I'm pretty stoked."

Schumacher was the quickest of the private test portion as he drove his U.S. Army-sponsored, enclosed cockpit dragster to a 3.761 to edge Shawn Langdon’s 3.784 and David Grubnic’s 3.786.

Beckman, driving the Valvoline NextGen Dodge Charger, produced a stunning 4.037-second, 312.35-mph run which not only paced the Funny car contingent but also represented a personal best for the championship contender.  

"My job is to not screw up Rahn's tune-up," said Beckman, who was runner-up to Hagan in last year's NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series standings.

"If I do everything right the number that comes up on the scoreboard is a Tobler number not a Beckman number. But, there's always a little pride and ego in this sport, and you always remember a career best."

What impressed crew chief Rahn Tobler more than the 4.037 were Friday's earlier test runs when the Dodge performed consistently in warm afternoon conditions similar to what the team will often season when the 2012 season opens Feb. 9-12 at Pomona, Calif.

"I'm happier with how we've run in the daytime," Tobler said. "But it's all good.

"Putting a good number like that on the board is what this sport's all about. It was great for the crew guys and everyone back at the shop who haven't stopped working since the last race at Pomona."

Not to be overshadowed in the DSR domination, John Force Racing’s Mike Neff was the quickest in pre-Friday testing with a 4.058.
 
Testing resumes Saturday with sessions at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. - Bobby Bennett

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

 

 

RIVALRY? NOT REALLY - Some might think Dave Grubnic, of Kalitta Motorsports, is developing a Top Fuel rivalry with Terry McMillen. After all, Grubnic edged McMillen from Countdown contention the past two seasons -- and the two even raced side by side in Friday night's second session of the PRO Winter Warm-up. (McMillen outshone him there, posting a 4.129-second, 226.70-mph pass with an early shut-off.)

But the Australian said he's not at all concerned about such a competition.

"That's not Terry's fault. That's our own fault," he said of the Countdown battles with the Amalie Oil / UNOH/ Hoosier Thunder Motorsports owner-driver. "We need to work on our own performance."

Grubnic said his approach to drag racing in general is short-term thinking.

"Right now we're just worried about testing, what we can achieve and learn here and how we can take that to Pomona," he said. "We've come here in the past and run (3.)70s, as we did here this week -- we went .78 -- and we've gone to Pomona and not qualified. We're very short-term thinkers. We're just worried about the current situation and what's happening."

For the record, Grubnic's 3.786-second run at 319.07 mph put him third in the overall order during the private test session.

"If we play our cards right and achieve all of our short-term goals," Grubnic said, "we won't be in the position we were in. We didn't achieve our short-term goals and didn't go rounds -- and that's what we're working at here. We need consistency.

"We can't worry about the Countdown right now. We have to worry about Pomona. That's the saying in drag racing, right?: you’re only as good as your last E.T. We've got to focus on the situation at hand," he said. "And hopefully, when we do get in the Countdown, we'll be in the top five instead of the bottom five.

"This sport is very dynamic. You have to adjust to conditions," Grubnic said. "You can have the best parts money can buy. You can line up 10 engines. You can line up a whole bunch of brand-new stuff. But if you put orangutans behind it, it's useless. So you still have to have quality people in place. And you've got to have experience and be track-savvy, know the atmospheric conditions, and know what you can get by with. All the ingredients have to go into this pot."

Grubnic said he divided his time between his home in Ennis, Montana and the shop at Ypsilanti, Mich. "I had some family come over from Australia to enjoy a white Christmas. So they were in Montana for a little bit, and we went to Yellowstone [National Park]. They experienced zero-degree temperatures, and they said, 'That's enough. Can we go now?'

He said he's ready to go -- to Pomona for the Feb. 9-12 start of the season.

HEAD- START - Owner-driver Jim Head's best pass in his Toyota during the private testing session resulted in a 4.195-second E.T. at 264.80 mph.

He finished his visit here to South Florida Thursday evening and said, "I've been here since Monday -- and I am wore out."

This was the first time the Columbus, Ohio, privateer has tested in four years, he said.

"Back in the '80s, I tested more than anyone ever. In the '90s, I tested a lot. In the 2000s, I've cut down to practically nothing," Head said.

The reason for his change of heart about testing, Head said, was "DNQing at Las Vegas and Pomona [in the final two events of 2011]. We started out performing well and we had a couple of shining moments. But those two DNQs, they really took the wind out of my sails.

"We changed the whole combination at Reading, and it worked really well," he said. "Then I got to Phoenix and qualified No. 2. Then we went to Vegas and Pomona."

Head said, "We're making so much power. We just needed to slow it down. We got it sorted out. We feel a lot more comfortable than we were after Pomona. We had some issues and we got past 'em. We're comfortable."

So does that mean Head is done with testing for another four years?

"That'd suit me," he said. "We're not crazy about testing. It's very difficult to replicate national-event conditions." However, his son, Chad Head, by all accounts, gave his dad and the other racers a well-prepped track for the private sessions.

Head said his 2012 schedule will be about the same as last year's, "give or take a race."

GRAY IS GOLDEN - Johnny Gray likes to say, "It's all good." And he certainly had reason Friday, for his test sessions here have been productive.

"We've got out back-up car out and played with it a couple of days and got it kind of dialed in, ran a 4.08 with it -- nice, easy. The thing looks like it's a good back-up car," Gray said.

"Of course, we're real fond of this one," he said, nodding toward his primary Service Central Dodge Charger. "It was running good at the end of the year. We got our favorite car back out and we've been testing some different clutch levers," among other parts.

That car carried him to his first Funny Car victory at Brainerd last August, a No. 1 qualifying position at Reading, and three straight final rounds during the Countdown (which he barely missed on his way to an 11th-place finish).

This time last year, Gray was returning to the Funny Car class after a five-year hiatus that included some time in the Pro Stock category.

His son Shane has been testing his Pro Stock Service Central Pontiac GXP at Bradenton, Fla., and setting a baseline for new crew chief Justin Elkes, who worked with Pro Stock champions Greg Anderson and Jason Line and guided new Top Fuel driver Khalid Al Balooshi in Pro Modified debut.

"He's a really sharp kid," Johnny Gray said of Elkes. "We feel very fortunate to have him come on board."

Elkes has some issues to deal with, Johnny Gray said: "We're struggling in the engine department. We're struggling with the chassis."

COURTNEY FORCE WATCH - Courtney Force is getting closer to her professional debut. And her famous father, 15-time Funny Car champion John Force, said by the time she gets home in Southern California for the Winternationals she'll have close to 100 passes on her Traxxas Ford Mustang.

"She made two runs yesterday. She shut it off, because it's all brand-new, at about 300-400 foot. The second run it went down and shook it real hard. She said, 'How do you know it'll go [on a full pass]?' " John Force said. He replied, "On some tracks it'll go. Some tracks it won't. The trick is to be safe."

In her next pass, Courtney Force -- her father said -- "In the last run she put it to about 600 foot and it put out a cylinder. She's learning. This is a new sponsor, Traxxas, that we're excited about. But they understand that this girl's in a learning curve and so is the car."

"Taking it slow" is how a patient and thrilled Courtney Force put it. "I just did what my crew chief [Ron Douglas] told me."

She said, "It's definitely been a long way, growing up and wanting to be like my dad. Now I'm getting that opportunity. It's still going to take a lot of work. I'm not where I need to be yet, but I'm learning every time I get in the car.

"Dad's teaching me, and so are my team and Robert [Hight] and Mike Neff and [sister] Ashley," Courtney Force said. "So it’s great to have such an amazing group of guys and girls to be my teachers."

"We've got Ron Douglas running this car. He puts his life into it, like Guido [his own crew chief, Dean "Guido" Antonelli]," John Force said. "And that's all you can ask for. Got a young, fresh team, lot of new kids." He said he's looking for some successes "once they jell."

As for Ashley Force Hood, who's taking off a second season to be a mother to son Jacob and to apply herself as President of John Force Entertainment, Courtney said, "I know she misses it. But I think she's definitely enjoying being my mentor. And I appreciate having her. I call her up after every run and tell her how it is and see if she can help me out at all. It was nice all of last season having her around at some of the racetracks. She knows about the transition from the alcohol dragster to the Funny Car."

She ran a 4.341-second pass at 306.60 mph in Friday night's first PRO Winter Warm-up. In the second round, she ran opposite Mike Neff and got out of the groove to settle for a 9.390-second E.T. (Neff turned in a 4.088 / 310.34.)

AN ENCOURAGING WORD - One of Courtney Force's non-JFR colleagues had some encouragement for her.

Remembering his own Funny Car debut (after several years in the Top Alcohol Funny Car division)," Bob Tasca III said, "I don't ever want to start Day One ever again. It's exciting and wonderful, but it's overwhelming. But she's got some great people around her. I'll give her whatever advice I can give her. It's not an easy thing to drive one of these cars.

"I know she'll do great," he said. "She's got a lot of experience in the A-Fuel Dragster. She's got a lot of experience testing in this Funny Car. There's no better place to debut than in that John Force camp, that's for sure. She'll have great resources. I'm sure she'll make mistakes -- heck, we all have. You learn from them and just keep going. It'll be great to see her out there.

"She'll do great -- no different than Ashley. They've grown up in it," Tasca said. "She'll do great out there. It's great to see a new sponsor in the sport. It was a nightmare competitive field last year. It's certainly not getting any less competitive. With Alexis [DeJoria] being out there fulltime . . . it's going to an exciting season for the teams and the fans and the driver and the sponsors."

WATCH FOR MURT - Keith Murt, the mechanical contracting business owner from Kentucky, plans to be back in a big way this coming season -- with some quality equipment in team owner Mitch King's dragster from stem to stern.

Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey, a close friend of King's, said Friday the Galveston, Texas, dragster and Funny Car owner snapped up "a majority of parts" from Kenny Bernstein's going-out-of-business sale. King's plan is to fill his own two dragsters with parts from Bernstein's Copart car.

Bernstein, who'll be inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame this May at Talladega, Ala., retired at the close of the 2011 NHRA season.

According to Massey, King bought "motors, blowers, clutches, all the good stuff."

Said Massey, "The car ran well, but now it's going to have that much better equipment. It's going to have that much newer stuff. Now they have new crew chiefs -- Paul Smith is not back with them. They have Jim Dupuy and Scotty French. So now they're in charge of the operation. So that's another car we're going to have at a lot of races next year."

Massey said King "is not sure when he's going to start. It's probably going to be Gainesville or Houston. He's looking forward to getting back out here and getting to a bunch of races."

Massey, also a Texan (from Fort Worth), did some wheeling and dealing with King, too.

"I sold him an old travel trailer I went to a bunch of races in. We're partnering up -- he's going to a bunch of races I'm going to, and I always drive my motor home. And he'll be driving his. So we get to go down the road together, in a caravan, just like the old times. So it's going to be a fun year for our team and for Mitch King's."

Murt, 55, "is really into it now," Massey said, "and he's wanting to not hold back. He told Mitch, 'Let's go buy whatever it takes. Let's get to the racetrack. We want to be just like them. Let's go for a race win.'

"Mitch has been around here for a long time. I raced with him in 2008 to the IHRA championship and am still very good friends with him now. He just got married. I went to his wedding."

In typical racer fashion he added, "Got to check out all the [race car] parts." 

 

 

 OOPS - The NHRA might not be aware of the name Mike Thornton, but Friday afternoon he helped saved drag racing. He certainly spared Funny Car icon and mega team owner John Force a lot of pain. Force, cruising around the racetrack property on his scooter, sailed right on over to the circle track, which was hosting a Ferrari challenge session. The cars were racing, but they were on a section of track that Force couldn't see. Thornton, a member of the Palm Beach International Raceway Fire-Rescue squad, was sitting in his truck and was startled to see Force zip past him onto the "hot" track. Thornton, who said, "He scared the [starch] out of me!" honked his horn and screamed at Force to turn around before he became involved in an accident, with an ultra-exotic and expensive race car, to boot.

"You know, I did the same thing last year," Force said. "I just got off the phone with Ford, and I'm driving around, thinking. I thought, "I'll just cut out through there.' He [Thornton] come out and got me. I just got a lot on my plate right now, and we got a lot of stuff going on."

SEEN -- Top Fuel legend Joe Amato visited Tony Schumacher in his pit Friday, viewing and asking questions about Don Schumacher Racing's latest version of the still-to-be-approved canopy. Chatting with Jim Head in his trailer Thursday was longtime dragster driver Chris Karamesines. Seen not at the racetrack but on television as one of the bidders at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in suburban Phoenix was three-time Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon, according to racer Spencer Massey. "They didn't say his name or anything. We just said, 'That's Larry!!' " Massey said, excited.

 

THURSDAY NOTEBOOK - GETTING UP TO SPEED IN TESTING

LANGDON BLOSSOMING - Shawn Langdon has adjusted well to his new silver-toned Al-Anabi Dragster, registering a 3.784-second elapsed time that is second so far only to Tony Schumacher's 3.761, 324.28 pass.

"I love it over here," he said of his new home in the pits with team manager Alan Johnson and the team that won the 2011 Top Fuel championship.

"Everyone has been very welcoming. These guys do such a good job over here. They've proven themselves from the past, winning the last two championships. Just for me to be a part of the team, to be considered for the ride, is very humbling. I'm just enjoying the experience. I'm learning a lot," he said.

"I kind of keep my mouth shut, and I keep my ears open. I just listen and learn," Langdon said. "All these guys over here are very intelligent, and they're dedicated to winning. You can see that in their work and their performance.

Asked what he sees in his crew members that makes him believe they're the sport's best, Langdon said. "The attention to detail is one thing that I've noticed. These guys, it seems like they don't really talk in whole numbers over here. It's always 'half-turn,' 'quarter-inch,' 'thousandths of a second.' Every little thing counts these days in racing.

"These guys are looking at every little aspect of every inch of the car, always trying to improve things, designing new things, trying to come up with ways to make parts stronger, ways to make the parts better, trying to keep the performance advantage over here," he said.

"This Al-Anabi team really sets the bar, and to be with a team like this, it's an experience for me. I'm very honored to get that phone call from Sheikh Khalid and from Alan Johnson and to have Brian Husen as my crew chief, who won the championship last year, in the same car that Del won with last year."

Langdon said he has yet to meet Sheikh Khalid Al-Thani and that he barely knew the well-decorated Johnson before Johnson hired him.

"I know that Alan had worked with Morgan [Lucas] when Morgan was tuning his car, giving him advice. I didn't know Alan all that well. I knew him from the races and stopping by and saying hi to one another. I attended one of his golf tournaments he has at the end of every year. But it was never anything more than you're at the racetrack and 'Hey, how you doin'?' type of thing." Langdon said. "I was very lucky for him to take notice and for Sheikh Khalid to take notice, as well, of hopefully what I can do in the race car and hopefully bring them a little bit more at the starting line."

He said he sometimes it's startling to think that he is an elite drag racer, because he still considers himself a fan.

"I'm very excited. It's very, very humbling for me, I still kind of feel like I'm the little kid who's racing Jr. Dragsters and I just got a break. I still come out here and I'm a big fan," he said. "I'm a big fan of Alan Johnson and what he's done throughout the years. I'm just very fortunate to be in the position I'm in and get to race for this team. And it's exciting to race for a country, the country of Qatar, and for Sheikh Khalid." 

 

 JFR DRAGSTER COMING - Brittany Force might make her first passes in her new Brand Source Dragster as early as Monday at PBIR. Crew chief Dickie Venables is heading up John Force Racing's first Top Fuel project, prepping the car while the organization's Funny Car contingent makes test runs in anticipation of the season-opening Winternationals Feb. 9-12 at Pomona, Calif. Brittany Force will arrive in South Florida Saturday, along with mom Laurie, sister Ashley Force Hood and son Jacob Hood.

 

 

 

STAYING BALANCED - Funny Car racer Bob Tasca III said he "felt so bad for Mike Neff" last season as his Ford Racing collegue dominated in the 2011 regular season then saw his championship hopes crumble in the six-race Countdown. He might not have felt all that sorry for Neff Thursday, as the Castrol Ford Mustang driver from John Force Racing posted their class' best elapsed time of the day: a 4.058-second blast.

Just the same, Tasca said he learned from Neff's advice.

"I have so much respect for Mike Neff. I've worked closely with this One Ford alliance, and he's become a real close friend of mine. We worked together on a lot of the Ford engineering. You can't not but get to know people," Tasca said. "He said it best of everyone: 'The highs are high and the lows are low, and I hope I can ride this high long enough.' "

Said Tasca, "Unfortunately he fell apart there. He had a few bumps in the road at the end of the season. Truthfully, all the Fords did. Robert [Hight] and Neff pretty much dominated through the bulk of the season, but when the championship came around, [Matt] Hagan did what he needed to do. And hat's off to Tommy [Hagan's Dodge Charger crew chief Delago] and Matt.

"This sport evolves, the tune-ups evolve, the clutch discs evolve," Tasca said. "And just because you ran good at Pomona doesn't mean you're going to run good at Pomona this year and vice versa -- if you didn't run good, you have everything in your favor to run good. So it'll be a very, very competitive year. You have confidence in your people and you know what you can do behind the wheel and let the chips fall where they may."

He said he is approaching this season in an unemotional manner.

"I'm pretty even-keel going into this year," he said. "I know what we need to do, and I know we're going to have some hot streaks and some cold streaks. We've just got to keep it together and be ready when the championship comes."

 

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

 

 

 

TUESDAY NOTEBOOK -

 

 

 

MONDAY - SHAKING OFF THE COBWEBS

Nitro testing is underway at Palm Beach International Raceway and rookie Top Fuel pilot Khalid alBalooshi was the first driver to make a hit.

alBalooshi, driving the Alan Johnson-managed Al-Anabi Top Fuel dragster lifted early on a 3.849-second, 290.44 mph pass. 

Currently joining the Al-Anabi Racing team are four cars of Team Kalitta, Morgan Lucas Racing and Steve Torrence. Don Schumacher Racing and the John Force camp are all en route.

Stay tuned as we provide periodic updates.