EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

QUIET KALITTA TRIGGERS NOISY PARTY ON TOP FUEL STARTING LINE - The contrasts were so stark.

Quiet, bespectacled Doug Kalitta didn’t exactly look the cowboy part in his custom-fitted, branded 10-gallon symbol of Texas that each pro winner receives at the Texas Motorplex.

No one probably got Sunday’s low-key Top Fuel winner to cut loose with a “Yippee!!” or a “Yeehaw!!” But he was plenty excited to defeat Shawn Langdon at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, end his own 71-race drought, and lasso a share of the points lead.

Kalitta also cut a lone figure at the top end of the track after his winning 3.842-second, 320.43-mph blast in the Mac Tools Dragster saddle, while the entire Kalitta Motorsports crew members pig-piled on one another in a raucous punching, tackling, and wrestling scrum on the starting line.

But Doug Kalitta didn’t care. In fact, he indicated he was glad he was a quarter-mile away. “There’s nobody brave enough to get too close to that pile,” he said.

No, Kalitta was satisfied. He had broken that jinx, winning for the first time since the June 2010 Denver race. He heads to St. Louis for this weekend’s third Countdown event in a tie with Al-Anabi Racing’s Shawn Langdon, his final-round victim Sunday.

He had won 33 times before, but this victory at Ennis, south of Dallas, might be his most memorable. He beat Larry Dixon, Brittany Force, and Spencer Massey, then holding off Langdon with his 3.896-second elapsed time at 291.31 mph on the 1,000-foot course.

“It is huge,” Kalitta said. “The competition in the Top Fuel class is huge. We feel real fortunate we happened to get by those guys.

“It’s definitely going to be a momentum-builder for us the rest of the year. It will be a great confidence-builder for me and for all my guys. After awhile, you start wondering if you can win again with one of these things,” he said.

“We’ve been qualifying good and going rounds. I was just trying to make sure I didn’t screw it up,” Kalitta said.

Kalitta has been steady all season, among the top pack of drivers, and has been fourth in the standings since the July 7 completion of the Norwalk, Ohio, event. That’s when he was runner-up to Khalid alBalooshi in his only other final-round appearance this year.

His victory Sunday leaves Clay Millican as the only top-10 racer without a victory this season.

But he was hungry for this victory. When he defeated Massey, the runner-up here the past two years, Massey shook his hand and said, “Go get ’em!” But, Kalitta said at the time, “We don’t need much encouragement.”

Afterward, he said, “We’re running good, with what we’ve got going on out here, with competition so tough. You’ve got to feel fortunate when you get an opportunity to win one of these.

“We’re real excited to keep going with this thing. We’ll just keep our heads down and keep trying to qualify good and see what we can do.”

As for crew chief Jim Oberhofer, Kalitta said, “I haven’t seen him yet. I hope he’s all right. He’s probably limping around with a broken rib or something.”

Of the rowdy celebration, Kalitta said, “That’s the tradition. We’re going to have to toughen them up. Hopefully that’s a precursor of what’s to come with these next four opportunities.”

Overall, he said, “It’s just great to see the excitement with everybody on my team and my sponsors – and my daughter.”

Avery Kalitta, thanks to her outstanding grades, earned the right to take a day off school at their Ann Arbor, Mich., home to attend this race with her dad.

“She’s been encouraging me all day. If I didn’t say I was GOING to win, she was right there to remind me, ‘There’s no ‘hoping’ to win. You’re going to win.’ I’ve got to thank her for that,” Kalitta said.

Langdon was seeking a sixth victory this season and seventh overall. He has led the standings on four separate occasions this year and lost his points lead to Massey a week ago at Charlotte, a double blow after losing there in the first round.

He said all day he was “just praying the win light’s going to be on in my lane in every run. I was able to see it all four runs, too, trust me. I was looking for that thing hard.

“After the first couple of rounds, I didn’t have the greatest of lights,” he said, adding that he thanked his team for giving him two extra chances Sunday. “I redeemed myself, hopefully, the last couple of rounds.”

He did. And he said, “I ended up with a real nice cowboy hat.”

But he ended up with a 10-gallon hatful of advances and achievements, as well.


CRUZ CONTROLS FUNNY CAR IN DALLAS - Cruz Pedregon is a nitro Funny Car driver his competitors can never take lightly.

The two-time world champion proved again why Sunday.

Pedregon, in is his Snap-on Tools Toyota, mowed down the competition at the Texas Motorplex culminating with his final round win over John Force.

Pedregon clocked a 4.106-second elapsed time at 312.06 mph to beat Force’s 4.220-second lap.

“A couple of months back I thought we do have a good car and we perform well in Dallas for whatever reason, and I thought it would be cool to sweep the Texas races and low and behold we are here,” Pedregon, 50, said. “This was an uphill battle. I really wasn’t feeling like our motor was really running right. I just feel like every round we got better and we made the right adjustments. In the final, I have to be honest that was probably an 05 because I had the top light out. To run a 4.10 at 312 (mph) which was our best speed of the weekend really was a way to put an exclamation point on this event.”

This was Pedregon’s fourth win of the season and 34th of his career. Pedregon also has 2013 wins at Las Vegas, Denver, and Houston.

“We were taking (John) Force serious as we all should,” Pedregon said. “I’m just glad I didn’t see his fender out there at all. John is still a feared man and my heart rate was up a mile a minute because I was racing John Force. I have a lot of respect for John. He is a great champion and glad we beat him. It was great for our team. We were just kind of hanging around and hanging around and we kind of just gained momentum as the race came about.”

More importantly, Pedregon moved up from eighth to second in the point standings 51 points in back of Matt Hagan. Pedregon won world titles in 1992 and 2008. Hagan lost in the second round to Jack Beckman, his Don Schumacher Racing teammate and the reigning world champ.

“I wasn’t looking at it that way,” said Pedregon when asked about moving up in the points after Hagan was defeated. “Pick your poison, Beckman or Hagan. Hagan has had a little bit more success this year, but we were so busy in our pit area I didn’t really have too much time to think about who we were racing. We put two motors in (Sunday). From my ownership and tuning perspective I took a little hit there. Outside looking in, it looked like we just had a great day, but internally we were working and the team answered the bell every run. We were a little late pulling up there against Beckman. I thought we had an oil pressure problem. I almost gave it away. I had a really horrible light there against Beckman. It turns out we lost oil pressure, but the motor stayed together until the finish line.”

Although Pedregon is second in points, he isn’t making any bold predictions for the final four races of the season.

“There is such a long way to go right now,” Pedregon said. “I really feel like OK what are we going to do at St. Louis (Sept. 27-29)? I’m already thinking about St. Louis. I just want to enjoy this win and we will figure out what we will do in St. Louis. For anybody, including myself, to start looking championship, it is way too early for that.”


LINE SHINES IN PRO STOCK IN DALLAS - Progress doesn’t always take a straight line.

Sunday it did for veteran NHRA world championship Pro Stock driver Jason Line.

Line edged Shane Gray to win the Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex at Ennis, Texas, near Dallas.

Line clocked a 6.590-second lap at 211.16 mph to defeat Gray’s 6.595-second run at 210.44 mph.

“I wanted the cowboy hat (given to the winners),” said Line, who drives the Summit Racing Camaro for Ken Black. “We were a little bit lucky (Sunday), especially in the final. That was the oddest final of my life, there’s no question. I do not know what happened to the tree, to the bulbs. When I went to roll in, I rolled in and all the bulbs came on at once. Then, the top bulb, in my mind anyway, I haven’t seen the replay, but the top bulb was flickering in and out. I was not in deep. I was just rolling in just like I normally do. I didn’t have a plan to be first or last, I was just doing my thing. So, I panicked because my bulb was going on and off and I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know what to do and I was definitely thrown for a loop and obviously Shane was as well. You don’t necessarily want to win that way, but it is what it is.”

Line had a .067 reaction time and Gray had a .074 reaction time.

This is Line’s second win of the season – he also was victorious at Houston – and 31st of his career.

Line defeated Rodger Brogdon, reigning world champ Allen Johnson, and V. Gaines before ousting Gray.

With the victory, Line moved up from third to first in the point standings, eight points in front of Jeg Coughlin Jr. Line won Pro Stock world titles in 2006 and 2011.

“It’s a big deal,” Line said about being in the points lead. “From where we were two months ago to be up here as the point leader, I’m going to say is a small miracle for sure. It is a testament to all of our guys, all of the Summit folks. We have worked harder than we have in a long, long, long time that’s for sure. After a while you start to think you are never going to get up here again (the winners circle). We will be working to get an advantage, and that is not going to stop.”

There are only four races left in the Countdown to the Playoffs. The drivers will return to action this Friday through Sunday at the Midwest Nationals in St. Louis.

“There are a lot of good cars right now,” Line said. “If you look at qualifying it is insane how close everybody is. We are going to try and do whatever we can to separate ourselves from everybody else, but there are some really good cars.”


BIKER KRAWIEC UNDEGOES ’TEX-ORCISM,’ MASTERS MOTORPLEX - This AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals was the one race last year that somebody from the Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson didn’t win the Pro Stock Motorcycle trophy.

This season, it represents Harley-Davidson rider Eddie Krawiec’s only victory.

Competitor Matt Smith owned up publicly this past winter to his wish that the Vance & Hines team would go winless in 2013, just so they’d know how it feels to be shut out. He made no secret that he liked the new NHRA rules that set the Vance & Hines team back for several long, nose-to-the-grindstone months rebuilding their engines.

For 18 races he and the rest of the class had their wish. But in each of the first two Countdown races, the victories have gone to the Vance & Hines riders, Andrew Hines at Charlotte and Krawiec here at the Texas Motorplex, south of Dallas.

Krawiec did it Sunday at Smith’s expense, winning on a holeshot. Krawiec ran a 6.951-second elapsed time at 191.87 mph on the Ennis, Texas, quarter-mile against Smith’s quicker, faster 6.913, 194.55 on the Matt Smith Racing / Viper Motorcycle Company Buell.

“It’s huge,” reigning champion Krawiec said after his first victory since he won last October at Las Vegas, also against Smith.

This season certainly was a contrast to the 2012 campaign, when Krawiec won nine events to run his career total to 20. But the New Jersey native who lives in Avon, Ind., knows how to excel without winning a single race.

That was the case when he won the first of his three Pro Stock Motorcycle series championships, as the only NHRA pro racer besides Top Fuel’s Rob Bruins to win a title without triumphing at any individual events.

 “I was riding great but I wasn’t racing good,” Krawiec said of his performance all weekend. However, he said, “We’ve had great 60-foots, great front-half numbers. Now we’ve just got to work on the horsepower and get our back-halves there.

“If we can continue to keep the pace we’re going and improve on the back half, I think you’re going to see our Harleys sitting up front,” he said.

“Coming into the season with the rule change and having to get an engine package competitive out here was our first feat to conquer. And we did,” Krawiec said.

He said he believes the Vance & Hines organization “won the big fight. Now we’ve got to fight the little one. The little one is racing rounds and getting competitive throughout the year. And that’s the hard one.”

Krawiec admitted that when Hector Arana Sr. reeled off a 6.846-second pass at 195.42 mph to lead the class in qualifying, it deflated his and his team’s hopes for a bit.

“I’m going to be honest. We saw that run and we were like, ‘Well, let’s just race for second,’ ” Krawiec said. “There’s no reason to even let that get in your head. Honestly, I think it does do that to some teams. We looked at it and said, ‘We can’t run that. So let’s just run our own race.’ ”

That seemed to work – despite the fact he said, “We have sucked at this track every time.”

Call it a “Tex-orcism.”

Now Krawiec has a new lease on life in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class. He’s fourth in the standings with four more races remaining in the playoffs.

Before they left the team shop at Brownsburg, Ind., for the Charlotte race and the start of the Countdown, Krawiec told Hines, “I feel really confident. We’re winning at least two of the next four.”

His prediction was spot-on. Hines said, “I hope you’re right. But, Krawiec said, “I’m hoping I’m wrong, that we’re going to win four of the next four. I don’t want to sound greedy. We’re just confident. You’ve got to have that confidence in you.”     

That’s exactly what the rest of the class suspected they might hear but were hoping they wouldn’t.        


SMITHS ON VERGE OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES - Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith is entrenched in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship, but he has an eye on the future – for himself and his father.

He said Pro Mod points leader Rickie Smith will be retiring from driving but has an agreement in place to tune a foreign driver in that class. As for himself, Matt Smith indicated he might turn up in surprising places.   

When he won in June at Bristol, Rickie Smith, a legend in the sport with experience in several classes, talked about stepping outside the car. His son echoed that at Charlotte.

“He’s retiring, he tells me, if he wins the championship,” Matt Smith said. “I’d like to see him go out on top.

“He signed a pretty good deal – I can’t say with who – to crew chief the next two years. It’ll be a new guy to come over here and play in the NHRA next year. I can’t say a name but he’s from overseas,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty awesome. I think y’all are going to see some pretty big stuff out of him being a crew chief and running a team.”

Just for fun, he mused, “Maybe he’ll put me in a car and I’ll just start working on the bikes a little bit and have my bike team but not be on it.”

For even juicier conversation, Matt Smith threw an intriguing idea out in public: He would be interested in joining the Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson team. Yes, he meant that team, the one whose 2012 dominance he spoke against freely. He said he readily would join the team he was glad to see yield some of its glory this year in the wake of NHRA rules changes.

“Andrew [Hines], he talks about he wants to go drive a car. I told him, ‘If you want to go drive a car, I’ll come over and ride the bike and help tune it and get the teams tricked out,’ ” Smith said.

“I would do it, because it’s a struggle sometimes,” the Matt Smith Racing / Viper Motorcycle Company Buell owner-rider said. “I mean, we’ve got a great sponsor behind us now, but anything can happen at any minute and it’d be gone. So to know that you got Vance & Hines behind you . . . they’re not going nowhere.

“It’s one of them deals . . . You want to better yourself. It’d make my workload a lot easier, by far. I’d still keep my own team – which is why they’d never allow it. But it’s a fun story,” Smith said.

His sponsor became concerned when he heard such talk. Colton Seagraves, vice-president of marketing for Viper Motorcycles, asked him, “If Don Schumacher offered you a Funny Car, would you do it?”

“I said, ‘Well, yeah – why wouldn’t I?’ ” Smith said.

Seagraves asked, “So you would leave the team?”

Said Smith, “If he told me I could drive a Funny Car or Top Fuel [dragster] and had a three-year deal, I would go in a heartbeat. I would drop everything I had, because I want to make myself better. 

“I’ve done everything I wanted to do on motorcycles,” he said. “I’ve won races. I’ve won a championship. I’ve had other people on my team win races.

“I’m ready to go to the next step. I want to go faster. That’s why I get in a Pro Mod car every chance I get,” Smith said. “I drove a Pro Mod car last weekend. I went 3.62 in the eighth-mile at 211 [mph].”

Because some of those scenarios for Matt Smith are unlikely to happen, the bike class might see him return in 2014. If that’s the case, his rivals might want to beware that he will not let up in his pursuit of excellence.

“I love to play the game,” Smith said with glee.

“The whole game thing, growing up and watching my dad, that was huge in the IHRA days,” he said. “People don’t like doing it now, because the starter comes in and messes with them. But me and Hector [Arana Sr.] have played the game before. We got backed out [of line] at Gainesville last year. I was the best bike at Indy. I love to play the game.

“As for every competitor: Come mess with me and I will play the game,” he said. “Everybody can talk all they want. I will play the game with anybody.”

Was he messing with the Lucas Oil Buell team of Hector Arana Sr. this summer at the Englishtown, N.J., race? They engaged in some verbal sparring that ended with the NHRA fining Arana crew member Dan Gonzalez for allegedly turning the fight physical.  

“I didn’t do that to get them off their game. He [Gonzalez] did that and got his whole team off their game,” Smith said. “I didn’t do anything to provoke anything with the seat deal. I made a different seat. It didn’t look the same. I made something different for our riding style. I went to the wind tunnel. It was better. He got mad. It ended up messing his whole deal up, because Hector Jr. never really caught back up until Sonoma, running good.”

While he said he wasn’t trying to wind up the Arana camp, he would stir them up if that’s what the situation called for.

“If that’s what it takes, we’ll get ‘em out of their game, if they want. They want to bring out anther seat, we’ll build another one,” Smith said.

At Charlotte, Smith said, “We’ve rattled them this weekend by being low every round. That’s getting under their skin. So they might be trying a little harder just to want to go faster.

“The thing is,” he said, “once you get under somebody’s skin, you get to them and they have a tendency to mess up more.”

No matter where he ends up, Matt Smith is ready to play the game – and to win.


WHOAEEE, JOEY! SEVERANCE HAS WILD RIDE - Joey Severance missed out on a berth in the Top Alcohol Dragster final round Sunday at the AAA Texas Nationals at Ennis, south of Dallas.
 
But the driver, who’s co-owner of Oregon’s Woodburn Dragstrip, had a much wilder ride than semifinal opponent Jim Whiteley.
 
Severance’s car began the pass cleanly enough but skated from the right lane and straddled the center line -- on the two left wheels -- for about 300 feet before setting itself back down, right-side up, in his own lane. He didn’t make any contact with Whitely, but the front end of the car skewered a timing cone.
 
The electronic timing system clocked Severance at 180 mph at half-track.
 
Severance was not injured, although the one kebab-style cone was replaced.
 
Whitely advanced to a final-round match-up with Bill Reichert.

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK

SPORTSMAN SCARE – Top Alcohol Funny Car’s Dan Pomponio, of Belrin, N.J., gave the Texas Motorplex crowd both a scare and a display of controlled driving at the same time Saturday afternoon. He started his qualifying run in the left lane and swerved into the right, alongside Steve Burck, of Corpus Christi, Texas. Amazingly, Pomponio didn’t hit Burck’s Camaro and didn’t touch any timing cones, managing to weave his Monte Carlo in between them as he drove across the center line, then back into his own lane. Pomponio was ninth in the final lineup and Burck 14th.
 
TOP FUEL

FOR TOP FUEL NO. 1 QUALIFIER LANGDON, STRATEGY IS SIMPLE - It’s really not all that hard to war-game for Shawn Langdon.

The National Hot Rod Association’s Countdown to the Championship just isn’t that complicated in theory.

That doesn’t mean winning his first Top Fuel series crown – which would go with his two national titles in the sportsman-level Super Comp class – was going to be easy. But the Al-Anabi Racing driver isn’t over-thinking his strategy.

After he qualified No. 1 Saturday afternoon at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Ennis, south of Dallas, Langdon stayed on message – the same message he shared at Indianapolis and Charlotte and even during the later weeks of the so-called “regular season” as he led the standings.

“We didn’t want to beat ourselves.”

“We felt confident with what we had.”

“We have a great team. We have a great car. And we have a great team owner. Sheikh Khalid has all the faith in the world in us.”

“We want everything in our own hands.”

“We don’t want to leave anything up to anybody else to take out so-and-so to help us out.”

“We just want to do what we can do and do the best job that we can.”

If it sounds like a broken record, Langdon is making no apologies. That’s the truth. That’s the way team manager Alan Johnson works. That’s the way Al-Anabi Racing is geared. The team is rooted in reality and simplicity, key elements to winning races and championships. And who would argue with that? It has worked.

So Langdon did what he could do. He and crew chief Brian Husen did the best they could do. Methodically they’re taking the mathematics of the six-race playoff into their own hands. They’re not imagining scenarios in which they might have to cheer on another racer to bring them luck. He didn’t beat himself, and he’s firmly confident in the resources he has, the ones he represents on the racetrack.

Langdon’s 3.819-second elapsed time at a class-best 321.04 mph on the Texas Motorplex 1,000-foot course in Saturday’s first session was not only enough to salve his first-round loss last Sunday at Charlotte, but it was plenty to lead the field and sufficient to cut Spencer Massey’s new lead to 18 points heading into eliminations Sunday.

“It was huge to come out here and make that strong of a run on the first session. That was our goal,” Langdon said.

“Our biggest goal going into eliminations was to get that deficit behind Spencer Massey to under one round. We were able to accomplish that,” he said.

On the practical side, his task Sunday is first to get past tricky No. 16 racer T.J. Zizzo. But overall, it’s just as practical

“Our focus for the race is if we can win the race, we can leave with the points lead,” Langdon said. At the end of the day, that’s what you’re here for.”

So there it is, as matter-of-fact as all the mundane exercises in Langdon’s life: brushing his teeth after meals, tying his shoes, fixing his meals, clicking on the remote control to watch TV. It’s what you do. Approaching the Countdown as a series of logical, unemotional, calculated chess-like moves is what Shawn Langdon does.

His Charlotte results are way back in his rear-view mirror.

“We just didn’t have that race-day luck,” Langdon said, his fifth top-qualifying position of the season and 11th of his 112-race career making it easier to shrug off his recent disappointment. “It’s not beating our confidence down as a team. You win and lose by those thousandths of a second.”

He took the same approach when considering he plight of Al-Anabi teammate Khalid alBalooshi, who, like reigning champion Antron Brown last week, failed to qualify.

“It’s drag racing,” Langdon said. “You have weekends when you can’t do anything wrong, and you have weekends when you can’t do anything right.”

He said alBalooshi “was making a strong run.” And he said his Jason McCulloch-led crew will be fine.

“It’s tough out here,” Langdon said, “There are a lot of good cars. You have to be absolutely perfect. If you just barely miss it, like Antron [current champion Antron Brown] last week, it’s tough. It’s just unfortunate. But they’ll bounce back. They have a great team over there. And Balooshi’s doing a great job as a driver.  

“They’ll be in contention come Pomona,” he said, referring to the November season finale.

PUBLIC NUISANCE - Scott Palmer took a moment in his pit Saturday to remember – and laugh about – the time in 2002 he and pal Spencer Massey decided to invest in a Top Fuel dragster.

“He moved to Missouri, and we buy a Top Fuel car. We don’t even know how to start the thing!” Palmer said. “Now we sit around and think about it and say, ‘Oh, my gosh – what were we doing?!’

“Here’s my definition of “not right in the head,” Palmer said. “When you’re sitting around drinking at night, you have these ideas. Most people, the next morning when they wake up, they realize that wasn’t a good idea. In our case, when we’re sitting around drinking, by the next day, those ideas still sound good. That’s why we’re in the mess we’re in. We’ve got to stop drinking.”   

On the other hand, that kind of led to his latest sponsorship.

Emblazoned on his dragster are two curious words: “Public Nuisance.” It’s not a court-ordered punishment, but that’s not too far off the real story about how Palmer became the spokesman for the “Public Nuisance” clothing line that Pro Mod chassis builder Larry Jeffers owns. Jeffers launched his marketing campaign with Palmer, saying the journeyman racer is the perfect spokesman for the brand.

“That’s me. That’s our whole team,” Palmer said, owning the distinction proudly. “I figure that’s a perfect fit for us.”

The alliance came about at a Pro Modified race at Tulsa.

“We were at a Pro Mod race, testing the fuel car, and we were up kind of late and the music was up kind of loud. We had a Pro Mod guy complain the music was too loud, so we turned it up. And we were drinking warm milk and eating cookies that night. And Larry came over at 2 o’clock in the morning and said, “I’ve got this clothing line I’ve never done anything with. I’m going to start promoting it. I think I’ve found the way I want to promote it – because you are a public nuisance.”

Underrated for his storytelling abilities, Palmer said his ultimate goal “is to have the best stories in the nursing home. I just hope I can remember them when I get there. Can you imagine how big my stories are going to be by the time I get there? But they are true – that’s the worst part! I can’t even make them up.”

Palmer didn’t have to make anything up when he told people he qualified 14th in the field of 16 in Saturday’s first session – while Khalid alBalooshi, Larry Dixon, T.J. Zizzo, and Terry McMillen were on the outside, desperately needing that final chance.

Dixon landed the No. 15 spot (and a meeting with No. 2 Doug Kalitta). Zizzo took the last spot in the order and must run against top qualifier Shawn Langdon. But Palmer ended up on the sidelines for Sunday eliminations, along with alBalooshi, McMillen, and Troy Buff.

After admittedly “getting lost, making the wrong decisions” earlier in the season, Palmer said he used match races at Paducah, Ky. (at Keith Murt’s eighth-mile dragstrip), San Antonio, and Cayuga, Ont., to sort out things.

“We got to get back on track, get our feet under us,” he said. “We got carried away. We got some new blowers and stuff. But we were trying to go too far too fast. But everything’s going good.”

Crew chief Ashley Fye, his girlfriend, has a company, “Bolts & Bling,” that contributes to racing expenses, and crew member “Big Mark” Rutledge’s Texas-based heating and air-conditioning business, “Momentum Mechanical,” is a sponsor this weekend.

The team also gets considerable help from Kalitta Motorsports’ Rick Fisher, Funny Car crew chief Nicky Boninfante, and Doug Kalitta crew chiefs Jim Oberhofer and Troy Fasching. “It’s unbelievable what they do for us. They hold my hand. I’m proud to have that ‘K’ [Kaitta logo] on the car. To me, that’s like, ‘Wow – they’re not embarrassed for us to have that on there,’ Palmer said.

“When you’re a little team, you have to tread lightly, just so they won’t know you’re there,” he said. “Usually when they know you’re here you did something stupid. We say we’re the ‘Kalitta Z-car.’ They have so many cars over there: the A-car, the B-car . . . We’re the Z-car. We’re way down the list. We’re lucky those guys help us. They get nothing out of it. They do it because they love racing.

“Everybody’s realized we’re not leaving. So they might as well help,” he said.  

Palmer has promised to sing the University of Oklahoma fight song “Boomer Sooner” in the media room when he wins his first race. “When we win a race, everybody needs to fly in for the Sunday night festival. It will be ugly-good,” he said. “We’ll definitely have to have a Tylenol sponsor after that.”    

Palmer’s dragster was sporting “Twilight Zone” stickers in honor of Bobby Lagana Sr., who passed away recently in New York State following heart surgery. The gesture was a surprise to Bobby Lagana Jr. and brother Dom Lagana, who are members of Billy Torrence’s Top Fuel team.    

HIGHLY QUALIFIED HELP - Jimmy Walsh and Tony Shortall are serving as crew chiefs this weekend for Larry Dixon as he helps team owner Dexter Tuttle shake down his updated Brad Hadman-built dragster this weekend. But helping them out, while working with the Jim and Chad Head Funny Car entry, is fellow veteran tuner Richard Hogan. He’s keeping a close eye on the performance of the six-disc clutch the Tuttle team has installed. Hogan said he helped longtime pal Doug Kuch, the Dote Racing crew chief, install a six-disc clutch system in the dragster Leah Pruett drives as they tested at Charlotte this past Monday. “We gave them all the numbers we had from testing with Leah,” he said. Tuttle’s dragster, which he’s planning to press into service next season, has new engines from the Don Schumacher racing shop. Hogan said he’s promised out to Head racing for this weekend and the final two Countdown races at Las Vegas and Pomona.


LIFE’S GOOD BUT HERE’S HOW IT COULD BE BETTER - Billy Torrence, in only the third race of his Top Fuel career, continues to make an impact. He was fifth in the order after the first qualifying opportunity, two places behind son Steve. He did make the top half of the field, at No. 8, setting him up for an opening-round match-up with Bob Vandergriff. Steve Torrence captured the No. 4 position and will race No. 13 Tony Schumacher.

“We’re ecstatic. We’ve been able to help him some already,” Billy Torrence said. He also said he’s happy that the team has attracted some potential sponsors. The longtime sportsman racer said, “We’ve got a few people who have stepped up and they think they’re interested” in becoming marketing partners with the Torrence Family Racing / Capco Contractors Dragster operation. “It’s got to be a fit for us, because we’re out here racing as a family. We’ve been out here for 20 years. I’ve raised a kid out here. My best friends/family are out here. I couldn’t think of a better place to be. That’s what makes me come back.”

Even with twin dragsters competing and succeeding, Torrence said, “We’re the smallest kid on the block. We’re racing against Corporate America and one Middle Eastern country here.”      

Like all drag racers, he’s battling perceptions in the business world about what this sport is all about, even a bit of disrespect on occasion from NHRA broadcast partner ESPN.

“As a sport, we’re being downplayed,” Torrence said. “I think somebody needs to get out here and look at all these fans and say, ‘Hey, we may be missing the boat here.’ There’ll be thousandths of people out there this weekend, even with the weather like it is – braving this stuff, participating.”

He said each team is stretched already on time “but as far as somebody marketing at NHRA that needs to be done, because we seem to be slipping backwards. When we were racing in sportsman classes, you would have to have a high grade point – meaning that you had attended multiple races – even to get into this race. I doubt that there is one sportsman class at this place that’s full, not only here but almost everywhere you go. If you don’t love it, you won’t be here.”

 He said, “I’d really like to see this Mello Yello Series back off of several races, get to be a 15-, 18-race venue, make more money. I think that would entice more people to get into it. It’s very difficult to make the races, and we’re in four in a row. The inventory we have to carry – because we can’t go back to the shop and pick up stuff [is cumbersome]. It’s very expensive just to maintain the schedule. If they would back off the schedule like that, I think it would pay dividends. I think that they would be better served [making his suggested changes], but I’m not the marketing guy.”

While Torrence called it “a blessing” to race alongside his son, he said Kay, his wife of 34 years, is essential to the operation that functions long-distance between Kilgore, Texas, and Brownsburg, Ind. “If not for Kay, we couldn’t do it. She’s over all the bill-paying and insurances. She helps Steve. This is a pretty good-sized business.” As for how she feels watching both her husband and son in 300-mph-plus dragsters, he said, “She’s “double-nervous.”

INTERIOR DECORATING - For the past two years, the prettiest Top Fuel pit on the property belongs to T.J. Zizzo. Thanks to Cathie Gallo, the workbench always has a floral arrangement on display among the tools and equipment.

TEXAS WELL REPRESENTED - Four native Texans – Brandon Bernstein, Steve Torrence, Billy Torrence, and Spencer Massey -- raced into the top half of the field early Saturday. The top eight also included two more Texas-company-sponsored drivers: Bob Vandergriff and J.R. Todd – in a first session that featured, in announcer Alan Reinhart’s words, “no time-outs, no oildowns, no problems.” Moreover, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was hanging out in the Robert Hight Funny Car hospitality area.


BROWN NO LONGER BLUE - Antron Brown, left out of last weekend’s eliminations at Charlotte, knew he had two fewer chances this weekend to get in the show, thanks to Friday’s two sessions being rained out. Despite the extra time to prepare the Matco Tools Dragster, Brown wound up 15th tentatively in the first session after a pedal job. “We know what we’ve got to do,” Brown said after the run. “We wanted to make sure we got in. We need to make the right moves.” He and crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald did make at least some right moves, and Brown will open eliminations from the No. 14 spot. He’ll meet No. 3 Brandon Bernstein in the first round.


MILLICAN LEADS TRIO - At No. 4, Clay Millican was the highest-qualified of the three Bob Vandergriff Racing drivers. The boss was ninth and part-time third driver JR Todd was two more places behind, at 11th.

FUNNY CAR

HIGHT KEEPS MOMENTUM GOING BY CAPTURING DALLAS POLE - Momentum can be a dangerous thing.

Veteran NHRA nitro Funny Car driver Robert Hight has plenty of it right now.

Hight, who has won two races in a row, made a statement Saturday at the Texas Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas by winning the pole position with a track-record run of 4.052 seconds at 311.85 mph.

“Going up there I was thinking it might run 4.09 or something, but Mike Neff (Hight’s crew chief) is not one of these guys who goes up there and throws down the Hail Mary,” said Hight, who drives the Auto Club Ford Mustang for John Force Racing. “He just does not do that. We think the left lane is better here than the right. So, we were in the right lane and we made the quickest run in the right lane (in the first session) and that put us fourth. In the second run, it was only a few degrees cooler and luckily it helped us being at the back of the pack. I figured it would run 4.07 to 4.09 if it made it and it just really ran through the middle and that 4.05 was pretty awesome. Mike Neff is not a guy who just goes up there and just sees what he can get away with. He really believes in the way he sets the car up and it is showing.”

Back in 2009, Hight barely qualified for the Countdown in the No. 10 spot and then proceeded to win the world championship, thanks to winning three races in the Countdown Playoffs.

Hight began the 2013 Countdown playoffs No. 9 in the point standings and he moved up to third in the points by winning the first race of the playoffs – the NHRA Carlyle Tools Carolina Nationals at the zMAX Dragway at Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 15.

This was Hight’s second pole position this season and 45th of his career.

“It is a lot of fun right now and it couldn’t be at a better time than at our sponsor’s race, but qualifying is over,” Hight said. “It was shortened to begin with so you always feel fortunate to be able to go down the track twice when you only get two runs. (Sunday) is a new day and it is the Countdown and it would be devastating to lose first round. Matt Hagan is still way out there on us. We have to make the most of this and Del Worsham is a tough opponent. He wouldn’t be the guy who I would pick in the 16 out there (Sunday) that I wanted to race first round. We have stay focused and make another real good run first round to have a chance at going on.”

Hight has two career wins at Texas Motorplex in 2006 and 2009, but that was with Jimmy Prock as his crew chief.

“Now, I’m with Mike Neff,” Hight said. “Sometimes you look at history and how well people do at different races and it doesn’t mean it should make any sense why 10 years later you still do good at a race because everything changes so much. But, somehow history does repeat itself and history is really repeating itself for me right now. But, it is not just going to do it on its own. We have to go out there and make it happen and get the round wins to get the job done.” 


TIME TO GET BACK ON THE HORSE - A holeshot loss for a driver can be a bitter pill to swallow. One week after losing to Robert Hight on a holeshot, Matt Hagan chooses to accentuate the positives.

"We're starting off with some good momentum going into Dallas," said Hagan, who won at Dallas in 2010. "One thing about Dickie [crew chief Venables] is he has his stuff together. He proved that the other day."

Venable's counsel has proven valuable to the youthful past champion.

"I came into Charlotte and I asked him if he was ready to go and he said 'Don't you worry about me, worry about yourself' and I said 'all right.' Maybe I needed to worry about myself a little bit more since I lost the final on a holeshot but at the end of the day. I know what I did wrong," Hagan admitted. "It was a great race for us, and we're ready to move forward. I'm just going to go up there and do my thing like I have been doing all year long. It's a tough Funny Car class out there right now.

This weekend Hagan is running a special Freightliner scheme, honoring the longtime Don Schumacher Racing paint scheme. By reaching last weekend's final, Hagan was able to extend his points lead by more than four rounds of racing (82 points) over DSR teammate and second place Ron Capps.

Hagan qualified No. 3 at 4.093 seconds and he meets Jeff Arend in the first round.


FORCE VS. FORCE – Courtney Force and her legendary father John Force will meet in the first round Sunday at the Fall Nationals near Dallas.

That is the case because Courtney qualified No. 5 at 4.115 seconds and John, the 15-time world champ, came in at No. 12 with a 4.174-second lap.

This will be the sixth time the father/daughter combo have raced each other in the 25-year-old’s short two-season career. Courtney has had a total of four wins over the veteran driver and has suffered only two losses beside him.

“It is unfortunate that I have to run my dad (Sunday), but I think it was bound to happen and we’re going to do the best we can. We have lane choice over him and I think we have a good shot at winning. Hopefully tomorrow we can go some rounds and move up in points,” Courtney said.


BECKMAN’S DRAMA ENDS WITH HIM IN FIELD - Jack Beckman really isn't a drama queen but it sure looks like it sometimes.



The last thing that Beckman's MTS Mail for Wounded Warriors/Valvoline Funny Car team and others in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series want was to lose Friday's two qualifying sessions, but that's what happened to start this weekend's AAA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex near Dallas.



And making matters worse was when Beckman went out on Saturday's first run and struggled to a time of 4.471 seconds at a slowing 196.10 mph. That left the reigning world champions ranked 11th for Sunday's 16-car championship eliminations.



But by the time Beckman and his Dodge Charger R/T went to the starting line for his last try at qualifying, he was out of the field.



But crew chief Todd Smith and assistant Terry Snyder were able to produce a solid race car that ran a time of 4.122 seconds (306.12) that will have them seeded sixth for the opening round, which begins at 11 a.m. (CT).



"You have to do everything the right way. It's so much pressure and potential stress when you go up there on the last run and aren't qualified," Beckman said. "That's why when it rains out qualifying on Friday it's nail-biting time for everybody. The crew chief bites his nails until the car leaves the starting line, and the driver starts biting his nails after it leaves the starting line.



"By the time we get back to the pits, Todd, Terry and I don't have any fingernails or hair.

"

Fortunately, Beckman could only bite his fire-retardant gloves and all three will return Sunday with full heads of hair.



"When I was in the staging lanes all I did was think about everything that could happen on that last run and how I'd react to it," said Beckman, who is looking for his first title of the season and first at the Texas Motorplex.



"The bump spot (No. 16) was like a 4.40 and you know if the car starts to lose traction you can pedal (the throttle) and try to get it to recover. If that time was like a 4.10 there's nothing you can do if it starts to smoke the tires.



"Fortunately I didn't have to worry about it. Todd and Terry put a great tune-up in our Dodge and the guys were flawless in getting it ready.

"

Beckman will start Sunday ranked fourth in the second of six events in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff, and trails Don Schumacher Racing teammate and points leader Matt Hagan by 96 points.


PARTY LIKE IT'S 2009 - The similarities are strikingly similar.

Four seasons ago, after clinching one of the last available playoff berths during the final regular season event, Robert Hight went on to win at the Carolina NHRA Nationals. He also followed the triumph with a win the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals and eventually his first Mello Yello Funny Car championship.

This weekend's race is far from completed, but if he could walk away with a win, Hight wouldn't be disappointed.

“I have confidence in this Auto Club team but we are not overconfident," said Hight. "Last week was a big win for us but we didn’t make up a ton of ground on Matt Hagan who is the points leader. That final round was a 40 point swing for us. If we lose that race we are 120 points back instead of 80. It was big for everyone in Funny Car to get that win."

Winning his second event last week in Charlotte enabled Hight to extend a career long streak. He has won at least two events per season since 2005.

“I look back at 2009 and think about how we got hot in the Countdown. Last year we got hot in the first part of the season and won four in a row before I lost the next 35 races. So far we have three finals this season and we have won the last two races. I am going to have to win some more races if we want to have a shot at this Mello Yello Funny Car championship and I have three of the next five races sponsored by my primary sponsor AAA,” said Hight.


DALLAS HAS GOT WILK – Veteran nitro Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson knew he had two qualifying runs to work with, after Friday's rain-out in Dallas, and like all tuners and drivers he wanted to make the first one count in order to take the pressure off. Instead, his Levi, Ray & Shoup Ford spun the hoops at around the 330 mark, and despite the fact he valiantly pedaled the car once to lower his time he still sat 13th halfway through the day, with a 4.593.

With 19 Funny Cars on the property, there were a number of ways Wilk could've been knocked out of the field if he didn't step up himself, and for those keeping score at home he had slipped to the 15th spot by the time he ran, but he softened his LRS Shelby Mustang's tune-up and drove it right down the middle for a solid 4.154, which eventually landed him in the No. 9 spot for race day. He will face Johnny Gray in round one on Sunday.

Wilk also swapped bodies before the second run, preferring to go with his older LRS Shelby Mustang (the one with standard side windows.)

"I have no idea if the vent things mess us up when the sun is on the track and it heats up out there, but so far this body has sure had a tendency to get a little loose when the track is hot," Wilk said. "It clearly doesn't have a problem on a cool track, because we reset our career bests when the conditions got great in Charlotte, but other than that it's been kind of dodgy for me. If we would've had four qualifying sessions here, I might have left it on to try to see what it wants and hear what it's trying to tell me, but with only two and with us needing a solid run I decided to just eliminate the variable and make sure we got in the show.

"It was soft, but it was straight and it went right on down there. I wish we could have been one tick quicker or faster, because that would've put us in eighth and Johnny in ninth, but the lanes seem pretty even to me and after they prep it again in the morning I'm sure we'll have good lanes to race in. Maybe we can win some rounds and have some fun."

Gray and Wilk ran identical 4.154 times in the second session but Gray gets the nod for the ninth spot based on speed. He ran 304.39 mph to Wilk's 302.41 mph.


A SPECIAL GIFT - On Sunday prior to eliminations, the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, on behalf of Pitch Energy, Gray and wife Terry, and Johnny's sister Terry Chandler, are donating a custom power wheelchair to nine-year-old Kyson Brannon of Euless, Texas. This presentation will be in honor of their father, the late John R. Gray.

"It's very special that we are able to do this and bring awareness to the Darrell Gwynn Foundation and the work that they do," said Gray. "Every time we have the opportunity to be part of something like this, it just touches our hearts. Hey, if we can put a smile on a young kid's face this weekend, we've done pretty good. If we can win the race and put the Pitch Energy/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Dodge in the winners circle to bring even more awareness to this great foundation and others like it, it would be even better."


LOOKING BACK TO CHARLOTTE WHILE FORGING AHEAD - Alexis DeJoria and her team have struggled at times during this season in missing the Countdown. Tuner Tommy DeLago is confident that a win before the end of the season is not out of reach.

“Our last two runs in Indy were very good- both were third quickest of their session," DeLago explained. "Then this past weekend we ran that 4.027 in Q2, which probably should’ve been a 4.01 but we dropped a cylinder towards the end of the run which slowed the car. This is all very promising and indicative of the direction we’re headed in. 


Of course, we hoped to be at this point a little earlier in the season, but you can’t cry over spilled milk.

"Earlier this year, we struggled with consistency. Then the car became more consistent, but we struggled to produce the speeds we needed to be competitive. Now we’re getting to a place where we have both consistency and speed- and that’s what you need to win races. I’m looking forward to playing spoiler and really messing with the teams that are in the hunt for the Championship over these last few races.”

DeJoria qualified No. 11 at 4.166 seconds and she faces reigning NHRA world champion Jack Beckman in the first round. Beckman clocked a 4.122-second elapsed time to qualify No. 6.


OUTSIDE LOOKING IN - John Hale, Todd Simpson and Terry Haddock all failed to qualify for the Fall Nationals.

Del Worsham, who made the Countdown Playoffs in the No. 10 spot, qualified No. 16 at 4.262 seconds.

Hale, who was No. 17 on the ladder at 4.430 seconds.

Since 1988, Hale had dreamed about racing at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, just outside of Dallas.

Hale realized his dream by driving a 2009 Chevrolet Impala for Steve Plueger Racing. Unfortunately he just missed making the show.

Making the highly-competitive 16-car field wasn’t made any easier since Friday’s two qualifying runs were rained out leaving just two qualifying runs to try and get in the field.

PRO STOCK

ENDERS-STEVENS SNARES PRO STOCK POLE - This season has been an emotional roller-coaster for NHRA Pro Stock driver Erica Enders-Stevens.

The championship contender sat out six of the 18 regular season national event races because of a lack of sponsorship.

Despite being on the sidelines, Enders-Stevens qualified for the Countdown to the Championship Playoffs and now she is trying to move up in the point standings.

Enders-Stevens, who arrived at the Texas Fall Nationals seventh in the points, did her best to make up some ground by winning the pole position with a 6.557-second elapsed time at 210.93 mph in her Husky Liners Camaro.

“It is definitely a great feeling, that is for sure, especially to be home here in Texas,” Enders-Stevens said about being the No. 1 qualifier. “That is really important for our morale and team confidence and stuff of that nature. I’m really proud of my guys and it stuck. We only had two qualifiers and Sunday will be a little bit more peace of mind, but we certainly have our work cut out for us. No. 1 qualifier does not mean anything on Sunday.”

This was Enders-Stevens first No. 1 qualifying spot this season and sixth of her career.

Enders-Stevens will face No. 16 qualifier Chris McGaha in round one. Enders-Stevens returned to the national circuit last weekend, competing at Charlotte, N.C., the first race of the six-race Countdown. Enders-Stevens lost in the semifinals to Jason Line at Charlotte.

“This isn’t an ideal situation,” said Enders-Stevens about missing six races in the regular season and returning for the Countdown Playoffs. “It was really tough to sit at home and watch. We missed out on testing and seat time for me as a driver, so the guys definitely have that edge on us as far as more runs and more test time because we didn’t have the budget to do so.

“To be back out here with Husky Liners, they came onboard at the very last minute going into Charlotte, the first race of the Countdown. Honestly, I just feel really blessed to have the opportunity to be out here. It really gives you time to think when you are at home watching instead of out here competing, knowing you have a great team standing behind you. We have great horsepower and we just needed the money and Bob Tyler from Husky Liners stepped up and I’m happy to be here whether we are No. 1 or No. 16. We are going to give it our all you have got my word on that. Bob Tyler and the guys at Husky Liners saw the opportunity and hopefully we please them this year and it can extend into something in the future.”

Enders-Stevens also no doubt her team can still make a run at a world title.

“We are for sure, I don’t even have to hesitate to answer that,” Enders-Stevens said when asked if her team is championship-caliber. “I have the best guys in the business and they have stood behind me from day one as I have for them. We are a great team.”


LOSING NOT AN OPTION - The competition is as close as they have been to him in the last six months.

For Mike Edwards, the regular season champion whose 2013 accolades included six wins in seven finals and impressive 13 No. 1 qualifiers, his once commanding 221 point lead with the Countdown points reset and last week's semifinal loss in Charlotte, now holds on to a 10 point advantage.

"We've had a solid race car all season, and know the only way to take advantage of the next five races in the Countdown is to win events and collect NHRA Wallys," Edwards said. "The first race in Charlotte, we did a good job, but just never found the speed we were looking for in a few areas and lost in the final four.

"Moving forward, we understand that the only way to control our destiny and the championship is we have to win races, and winning is the only way you can make sure nobody can chase you down. We do not want to leave anything to chance and rest our hopes on other people."

This weekend Edwards understands being fast is not an option, it's mandatory.

"If the conditions are right, Texas Motorplex has all the pieces in place that will let the Pro Stock field light up the scoreboard with some big numbers," Edwards said. The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-80s throughout the weekend. "Going in we know the entire field will be able to make good runs at any moment, so we have to make every time we let out the clutch count and try to be near the top."

Edwards has a solid track record at the Texas Motorplex, winning first round nine of the 15 events in which he qualified. He has one win dating back to 1998 and been to the finals three times since 1999.

"If we make good runs and I do my job on the starting line, we have a good chance of collecting another Wally and helping our cause," he said. "We just have to stay focused on the task at hand, and if the good Lord is willing, we will have a great weekend."


PERFECT POSITIONING - The victory in Charlotte put Jeg Coughlin Jr. exactly where he wanted to be -- within striking distance. He trails Edwards by a scant ten points.

"We had a very good game plan for Charlotte in regards to how we wanted to set up the car and I had a good plan for what I needed to do behind the wheel," Coughlin said. "It all came together for us. The crew guys executed their jobs to perfection, I was mostly pleased with how I drove and we got the trophy.

"Winning Charlotte certainly was the perfect start to the Countdown."

Coughlin won all four rounds with a combination of a superior race car and quicker reaction times. The game plan for Dallas is more of the same.

"We won't be changing our mindset at all," Coughlin said. "We're going to race Dallas as if it was the first race in the playoffs because even though we got off to a great start, there's still a long way to go. There are a lot of extremely talented and hungry drivers in the mix and we can't let up at all.

"The format we'll be following has been established. Now we need to stick with the plan and execute again. I know there's a few things with my driving I want to fine tune so that's where my focus will be this weekend."

Coughlin is a four-time finalist at the Texas Motorplex.


BACK IN THE HUNT - Jason Line started the season in eleventh place in the Pro Stock points, and with the combination of the resetting of the points and a runner-up last weekend in Charlotte, he's now 47 points (or, a little over two rounds) out of first place.

Line is happy with scoring a final round appearance but laments the loss to rival Jeg Coughlin Jr.

"We had a great weekend in Charlotte, but it could have been better for the Summit Racing team," said Line. "We aren't really satisfied with second-best, so this weekend we plan to put one of our Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaros in the winners circle. We tested on Monday, and the KB Racing shop was humming this week before the trucks left for Dallas. It's been a busy few days, and we feel like we are in a good position to keep climbing in the points."

Line can look to the past to draw upon for potential success. The current track record holder at this weekend's venue, the Texas Motorplex, he won from the No. 1 qualifying position in 2011.

"There is a lot at stake right now, and we're going to do whatever it takes to try to win this thing. Team Summit is rejuvenated, and it feels good to have a competitive car again."


IT’S A WHOLE LOT OF FUN - Louisiana-based NHRA Pro Stock racer Steve Kent knows a thing or two about having fun.

Whether his entertainment is hanging out with friends at the track or conjuring up a brew of Cajun food in a cauldron, the Dottie, La. native rarely has a dull moment.

With this said, he believes his Super Stock/B 1966 Corvette is some of the most fun he's had this year.

"Definitely one of the most fun cars I've ever driven," said Kent, who also has a SS/AH Hemi car in his arsenal of professional and sportsman vehicles.

Kent bought the car from teammate and race team partner Rodger Brogdon, who originally had the car built 15 years ago from a wrecked shell.

"It's a lot of fun when I can jump in it between runs in the Pro Stocker," said Kent.

More fun than his Hemi car?

"Won't go that far," Kent said with a laugh. "The hemi car can be temperamental but this car has been fun with every run."

Kent, a former Modified eliminator racer, said going through the gear box on his car rekindled a lot of memories.

"It's essentially an old Modified car," Kent said, even though the ride was a purpose-built Super Stocker. "You wind it up, dump the clutch and race it almost like we did back then."

The Stingray is considerably different from the old days when screaming small blocks and the popular Doug Nash transmissions were the norm. Kent brings into battle a 427-inch big block with a Liberty five-speed. Modified cars were pounds per cubic inch and since he is in traditional Super Stock, his car is rated by horsepower and shipping weight. Currently the NHRA has his combination factored at 445 horsepower.

A week after reaching the third round in Charlotte, Kent won the Combo Class Eliminations since he was the lone car in his classification. He had to race and beat cars in similar one-car classes.

Kent ended qualifying on Thursday as 19th in the field with by running -.743 under the SS/B index with a 9.157 elapsed time.

"We are not the fastest SS/B car in the world, but it doesn't matter when you're having this much fun," Kent said.


BRING ON THE HEAT - Greg Stanfield knows a thing or two about racing in the heat, considering he's from Louisiana.

Stanfield, a multi-time NHRA sportsman champion, believes hot weather serves as an equalizer in the Pro Stock division. Racing with a substantially smaller budget than most of the competition, he'll take all of the help he can get even if it comes from Mother Nature.

"Being down on power compared to the top guys is tough," Stanfield said. "We've got to capitalize on them making mistakes, and it's better for us when the tracks are bad: Hot, humid, greasy. It looks like it's going to be hot in Dallas this weekend, so hopefully that will help us.

"When it's hot, everyone is down on power and that gives me a chance to steal a round or two on the Tree once race day comes along."


COPO ON THE SIDE - Chris McGaha joins fellow Pro Stock team owner Victor Cagnazzi, as the second in the class to field a COPO Camaro in addition to his 200-mph factory hot rod. Longtime friend George McMillan is handling the driving chores for the Texas-based team.

"George is a friend of ours who lives here and he has experience racing Stockers," said McGaha. "I've been trying to get him to run my car since I got it, and I finally just hog-tied him and said, 'You're doing it.' I think he enjoyed racing it at the Houston points race, but this weekend will be a whole new deal. George is a real humble guy – he has no idea what he's in for, so this should be a lot of fun."

McMillian's day ended early in the first round when he red-lighted against Jody Simoneaux.


A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR ANDERSON - Greg Anderson has won four titles at the Texas Motorplex. With only five rounds left in the season and twenty available rounds in which to make up a little over five-and-a-half round deficit separating from point leader Mike Edwards, Anderson understands his championship light is flickering.

"There is certainly some added pressure this time of year, especially when you aren't up there in one of the top positions," said Anderson, who has finished fifth or better in each of the previous 11 seasons.

"I am in a position right now where I really don't have any room to have a bad race. Last weekend was not the start that I had hoped for, but it isn't mathematically over. There is still a glimmer of hope, but it's going to take a big weekend to get back in the fight. I have a great team behind me – this KB Racing crew has not taken a minute off since the last race, and the whole group is extremely determined. We have historically been good under pressure, and this team is definitely going to Texas feeling like we can win. It's just a matter of executing."

Only Warren Johnson at five victories has more wins than the Summit-sponsored Anderson.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

ARANA VISITS HISPANIC MEDIA OUTLETS - Lucas Oil Buell rider Hector Arana Sr. participated in a media tour of Hispanic media outlets on Thursday in advance of the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex. Arana, the patriarch of the three-bike Arana Racing Pro Stock Motorcycle team, is third in the points standings heading into the second race of the Countdown to the Championship. Arana, who won the 2009 title, is battling sons Hector Jr. and Adam and seven other riders for the championship.

Arana first visited ESPN Deportes Dallas 1540 AM for a live, on-air interview on the Charla Deportiva show.

Arana also conducted an interview with Telemundo 39 sports anchor Ramon Diaz.

"It's important for NHRA to reach out to the Hispanic market," Arana said. "We could generate lots of new fans for the sport, for Lucas Oil, and for Arana Racing. My thanks go out to ESPN Deportes and to the Telemundo station for having me on."ARANA SR. FOLLOWS OWN ADVICE, TAKES TOP BIKE STARTING SPOT - In dispensing advice to his two sons who share the Pro Stock Motorcycle experience with him, Hector Arana Sr. found the direction he needed himself Saturday.

“I knew the power was there. We just had to play it conservatively and get the right clutch tune-up. That's where we've been struggling this year,” he said. “Like I told my sons, 'Let's just take it easy. Let's make one run at a time and see what happens.' ”

With qualifying chances sliced from four to two because of Friday’s rainout, the stakes were steeper. But Arana stayed calm on his Lucas Oil Buell when he made his first qualifying pass in the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex at Ennis, near Dallas.

He recorded a 6.846-second quarter-mile pass at 195.42 mph, both of which remained the standard this year for the bikes.

“I hit it right the first time, and that was impressive,” Arana said. “I was happy with that run."

It was more than enough to hold off closest challenger John Hall, of the Matt Smith Racing / Viper Motorcycle Company team. Arana was the lone Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor in the 6.8-second elapsed-time range.

“I stayed conservative," Arana Sr. said. "The thing that we learned is consistency, and that's what we need to stay focused on."

He said that overall, he considers this his best Countdown chance since his title run in 2009.

“I'm confident," Arana Sr. said. "I know we've got the power. We've just got to stay focused. We can't look at the end. We've just got to look one step ahead of us, take that step, then take the next step. I can't look way forward. It doesn't help me.

“But we do stay focused on what we want,” he said, “and that's the championship."

 He said, "I definitely feel a lot more comfortable.”

He’ll go against No. 16 qualifier Michael Phillips when eliminations open Sunday.

“I am blessed," Arana Sr. said. "This is a dream for me, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d still be in racing, still being successful – and on top of that, having my kids to be with me."

He said daughter Abigail, who, like her dad and brothers, works at the Lucas Oil production plant at Corydon, Ind., has expressed interest in drag racing, too – but in a car.

If Arana Sr. might be planning to help fund that one day, he’ll have to win the $75,000 winner’s share of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series championship purse.   

But he’d repeat that advice here: “One step at a time and see what happens.”

OH, NO – YOU AGAIN? - Among the curious first-round match-ups for Sunday are Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson teammates Eddie Krawiec (No. 5) and Charlotte winner Andrew Hines (No. 12). They have met in the first round three other times this year: at Houston, Englishtown, and Sonoma. Krawiec has a 2-1 edge so far.


SLIPPED IN AT THE LAST MINUTE - For a while, Hector Arana Jr. had the same problem at Dallas as Top Fuel’s Antron Brown did at Charlotte. The Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader found himself outside the field after Saturday’s opening qualifying session. That could have been disastrous for Arana, who had gained only three points on No. 2-ranked Matt Smith at the Countdown opener last week. But he catapulted to the No. 3 position in Saturday’s last chance, using a 6.897-second elapsed time at 194.66 mph. He will start his quest for a fifth victory this season.

HE’LL TAKE IT - Starting from the No. 10 position isn’t ideal. But considering his luck this weekend, LE Tonglet came out pretty well in qualifying. Of course, the rider of the Nitro Fish Racing Suzuki Pro Stock Bike wasn’t alone in losing two Friday qualifying sessions to rain. But the carburetor came off his bike during staging in Saturday’s final session. Fortunately for him, he used his first – his only – chance to post a 6.955-second elapsed time at 190.78 mph. That was enough for sixth place in the order at the beginning of the day. He dropped to 10th in the final order but was glad to be in the show for this second of six playoff races. “We got lucky and made a good run that time,” Tonglet said. “The carburetor blew off on the warm-up before the second run.” He took it in stride, saying, “That wasn’t a tough problem. We were able to get everything ready for Sunday’s eliminations.” The Metairie, La., class champion said he’s excited to face John Hall, the No. 7 starter, in the first round of eliminations. “This is going to be a good race,” Tonglet said.


THREE OUT – Steve Johnson, Freddie Camarena, and Redell Harris had DNQs Saturday in the bike class.


STILL BATTLING - PiranaZ Suzuki rider Junior Pippin isn’t here at Dallas this weekend, but he’s still fighting to help stamp out triple negative breast cancer, the aggressive form of the disease that wife Lisa has been battling for nearly two years. And he said he’s “hellbent” on conquering the disease. To raise funds for the cause, Pippin, of Conyers, Ga., is selling T-shirts with help from team sponsor Mark Whisnant. And Competition Plus has learned the web site though which race fans can order their shirts in support. The pink PiranaZ T-shirtsare available at www.piranaz.net. “I’m hellbent to see if there’s some way that I can help prevent a family from going through what ours has gone through here in the last two years. That’s worth everything I can throw at it,” Pippin said. “It’s been humbling, overwhelming, and exciting to see all the response that we’ve had. The response has been really good.” As for Lisa Pippin’s progress, her husband said his racing schedule depends on her follow-up reports at Emory University hospital. “It’s in the Good Lord’s hands,” he said. He’s hoping to race at St. Louis and Reading. “First and foremost, I have to take care of my family,” he said. “I can give what the motorcycle costs toward the cause, but with the help of PiranaZ we can raise a lot more than that. When I called them to do this, they were so excited to get on board. Those are some really good people, and I advise folks not to just buy the breast cancer T-shirt. They have a lot of really cool stuff.” Pippin said, “Next year we’re planning on running a full season, and we’re talking to some people about running as many as three bikes next year. That’s not a probability, but certainly a possibility.”
 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK

Just as NHRA teams used the rain delay to prepare their cars more thoroughly Friday at the Texas Motorplex, Safety Safari members checked their track-drying equipment in case the rain stopped. But the drizzle never let up, and the opening day of the AAA Texas Fall Nationals was washed out. Action will start Saturday morning in this second of six Countdown to the Championship events.

An NHRA Safery Safari member waits out the rain showers along with everyone else Friday at the Texas Motorplex at Ennis. The first day of qualifying for the AAA Texas Fall Nationals was canceled about 2:40 p.m. Sportsman racers will kick off qualifying Saturday morning, with pro sessions scheduled to go at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.

Teams and merchandise vendors were all ready to go Friday at the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, but the rain wasn't ready to stop. Officials declared the first day of qualifying canceled at about 2:40 p.m. Sportsman racers will open time trials Saturday morning at the Texas Motorplex at Ennis, south of Dallas.