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MONDAY NOTEBOOK -

FC DRIVER HIGHT GETS FOURTH WIN OF 2014
 - Robert Hight’s domination during the 2014 season didn’t lose any traction Monday.

The John Force Racing driver drove his Auto Club Ford Mustang nitro Funny Car to the winners circle at the rain-delayed Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Hight defeated his JFR teammate Courtney Force in the finals with a 4.049-second elapsed time at 315.05 mph. Courtney clocked a 4.117-second pass.

“We have some momentum here and we’ve made six straight final rounds,” said Hight, who raced Courtney Force for the first time in the finals. “I’ve never done this. I have won three in a row a few times, but I want to win four, five and take it where it can go. This is a total team effort.”

This was Hight’s fourth win in six races this season. He also claimed victories at Gainesville, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Houston. Hight also was a runner-up at Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Hight, the 2009 world champion, now has 33 career NHRA national event wins, his first also coming at Houston in 2005. This was the 230th win overall for John Force Racing.

Hight defeated Bob Bode, Tim Wilkerson, Ron Capps and Courtney Force in his victory parade. His second round win over Wilkerson had some anxious moments as he had a 1.408 reaction time, but overcame his mistake with a 4.053-second elapsed time, while Wilkerson slowed to 9.581 seconds.

“The second round my team saved me,” Hight said. “My brain just got mental overload. I was thinking be ready to pedal this thing. This track was weird, you saw a lot of cars doing crazy things. I did the burnout and the car had such a vibration I was actually afraid to hit the gas. I was thinking this thing is going to blow up. Add all that up and I staged and I looked over to see if Tim Wilkerson was staged and all of sudden he left. My initial thought was he had a redlight. My brain just froze. I saw him smoke the tires and then I hit the gas. That’s how late I was. Luckily my team gave me a 4.05 that run and after that we were back in sync as a team again.”

Hight’s win actually kept Courtney Force from making history as she was trying to give female competitors their 100th NHRA national event win.

“It would have been a big win for Courtney, but she has a job to do for Traxxas and I have a job to do for Auto Club,” Hight said. “She wouldn’t have wanted to win it any other way. I still believe that the Traxxas car is starting to come around and she is going to have a shot at it (the 100th win). I’ll be honest if I could script I would like to see Brittany (Force) get her first win and it be the 100th win.”

MASSEY CLAIMS TF WIN ON WILD WEEKEND IN ATLANTA - It was a weekend that included one crash and a number of engine explosions for the Don Schumacher Racing team, so Spencer Massey’s Top Fuel final round run only seemed fitting.


The good thing was he at least ended it with his first victory of the 2014 season.


On a wild and wacky weekend at Atlanta Dragway, Massey’s dragster produced a big fireball right before the finish line, ending eliminations by out-pedaling Doug Kalitta in the final round of the NHRA Southern Nationals.


Massey’s 4.269 at 245.85 mph was enough to top Kalitta’s 4.413 and give him a victory on a weekend that seemingly included a little bit of everything.


“It was just a long, drawn-out weekend from Antron’s (Brown) crash to the Funny Cars blowing up to Mother Nature coming in. It’s just been long,” Massey said. “But you couldn’t take anybody lightly today.”


Rain pushed back the completion of eliminations until Monday, giving Massey his second victory on a Monday following a win at Reading on a rain-delayed weekend in 2011.


Massey knocked off J.R. Todd in the first round on Sunday and he came back just as strong on Monday, posting solid runs in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Massey ran 3.869 to beat Clay Millican in the second round and then put together his best run of the weekend against Brown in the semifinals.


After going to his back-up car following the crash on Friday, Brown ran an incredible 3.744 at 324.20 in his second-round win against Pat Dakin. That certainly opened Massey’s eyes and he responded by going 3.816 at 322.65 to move to the finals against Kalitta.


“Running against Antron, we stood on it,” Massey said. “In the final round, we tried standing on it again. We knew we couldn’t take him lightly. It wasn’t pretty, but we got to the finish line first.”


Massey joked he still smelled like oil from the adventurous final, but he continued to find success at Atlanta Dragway.


His first Top Alcohol Dragster victory and first Top Fuel final came at the track, adding his first Top Fuel win in Atlanta on Monday.


“I do love racing here,” Massey said. “I love racing at this track.”

COUGHLIN BATTLES THROUGH ADVERSITY FOR ATLANTA WIN - This isn’t the way Jeg Coughlin would have written the script.

Nonetheless, the five-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion battled through his share of adversity Monday to win the rain-delayed Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway.

Coughlin clocked a 6.558-elapsed time at 211.63 mph to edge Greg Anderson’s 6.588 lap at 212.13 mph.

“It was nothing near normal for us,” Coughlin said about the Southern Nationals. “Allen (Johnson) and I have both have been blessed, Mark Ingersoll and Adam Hornberger have been doing a great job with the cars and both teams have been running really well all year, but when we got here both cars were just a little bit sluggish and we couldn’t get them going. We worked on them real hard on Friday night going into Saturday and it looked like we picked up a little bit with that 53 Saturday morning. Then we had more problems in the final qualifying run with Q4. We had a malfunction with the clutch. It was a real bizarre Friday and Saturday for the Jeg’s car. We ended up changing motors going into race day and it looked like things worked pretty well.”

This was Coughlin’s first win of the season and his 57th career NHRA Pro Stock win. Coughlin, the reigning world champion, won for the first time since Reading, Pa., last October.

The only thing that spoiled Jeg’s victory was he knocked out Johnson in the first round.

“We knew one of the two of us would work as hard as we could to make the distance (Monday) and fortunately on our end it worked out well,” Coughlin said. “I have to give a lot of thanks to Roy and Allen Johnson and Mark Ingersoll and Adam and both teams did one heck of a job with the rebound this weekend.”

On Sunday the safety of the Atlanta Dragway race surface was brought to question because all the rain that fell and a near crash by Top Fuel driver Bob Vandergriff.

Coughlin, however, didn’t have any concerns when he pulled to the line in his Pro Stock Dodge.

“It is a real weird Pro Stock thing, nobody wants to run any wing at all whatsoever,” Coughlin said. “They don’t want any drag, of course. But, I will trade just a little bit of traction for drag any day. We made some really good calls over the weekend. The track was a little bit iffy for us with hitting that bump just past fifth gear, and we were able to get them to stay glued. I think second round I kind of slipped down to the left a little bit and just over corrected a little bit as I was going into third gear and then into fourth gear and I ended up on the right side of the groove and I spun through fifth gear just a little bit, but other than that everything was really steady. 

“Now, if you would have asked me how we thought about running Sunday, it might be a little bit different answer, but (Monday) I had absolutely no worries. NHRA’s Safety Safari rubbed on this track and rubbed on it and they obviously deserve a lot of the credit for the success (Monday). There were a lot of good runs.”

KRAWIEC’S DOMINANT WEEKEND ENDS WITH PSM VICTORY - After losing to his teammate at the most recent Pro Stock Motorcycle event in Charlotte, it was Eddie Krawiec’s turn to return the favor on Monday.


It was also another indication that the two-bike Harley-Davidson team of Krawiec and Andrew Hines appear to be back to their dominant ways.


Hines knocked off Krawiec to claim the victory in Charlotte, but it was Krawiec’s weekend to shine at Atlanta Dragway. 


He was the No. 1 qualifier, broke the track record and finished off the NHRA Southern Nationals by going 6.806 at 197.45 mph to beat his teammate Hines in the final round.


“That was a good deal for us,” Krawiec said. “To win and finish as runner-up in Charlotte and to do it again, it put the period on our exclamation point. We’re excited and glad to be back. We have a lot of Harley-Davidson fans that root us on and stand behind us, so we’re proud we’re representing Harley-Davidson to the best of our efforts.”


After a dominant 2012 for the team that included a world championship for Krawiec, last season was a much bigger struggle. Hines failed to make the top 10 while the team didn’t find its rhythm until the latter stages of the season.

There’s been no such struggle in 2014 and Krawiec credited his hard-working team for making the impressive strides possible.


“I would say we’re happy,” Krawiec said. “We really dug hard after the last race. We still needed a little bit more performance. We went back to the shop and really put forth the effort. Everybody gets excited when we do well and this was redemption for us. “


Krawiec was a step ahead all weekend, qualifying No. 1 and setting the track record with a 6.796. Krawiec lowered that mark with a 6.794 at 197.10 in a first-round victory. He followed that with runs of 6.807 and 6.804 to beat Adam Arana and Michael Ray, respectively, setting up another race against Hines.

With the way both are running at the moment, it may not be the last time the teammates meet in a final this year, either.


“There’s a good handful of bikes out there that are going to be really out there fighting for it,” Krawiec said. “We just came off the trailer with my bike and it was happy. It really worked. I had an awesome motorcycle to ride all weekend.”

AND SO WE BEGIN - Less than 24 hours after a not-so-flattering start, the NHRA Southern Nationals began with much better racing conditions. The NHRA ran some preliminary sportsman rounds and then resumed Top Fuel competition. Tony Schumacher recorded a winning 3.781 to secure low elapsed time in the first pair. The quickest winner in Sunday’s competition was a 4.26 by Spencer Massey.

HURRY UP - The NHRA put professional teams on a 65-minute turnaround for Monday’s final eliminations.

LANE CHOICE SPECIAL - Doug Kalitta has lane choice over defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon. While this might not be an extraordinary fact considering Kalitta qualified No. 1, the fact he did so with a 4.470 is. Langdon was in the first pair to run Sunday, and could only muster a 5.221 in beating Richie Crampton.

IF KALITTA HAD WON - He would have been tied with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits for fifth on all-time Top Fuel wins list and eight rounds shy of 500 wins.

WELL BACK IN MY DAY KIDDO - Pat Dakin scored his first round win since last season’s Charlotte-2 event and in doing so beat Brittany Force. In an interesting fact, Dakin scored his last NHRA event victory 15 years before Force was born.

UPSET SPECIAL - Alexis DeJoria was eliminated from this weekend’s consideration for the 100th female pro winner accolades. In an upset special, Tony Pedregon took down DeJoria when she smoked the tires early.

“Today just wasn’t our day,” said DeJoria. "We went out there and shook the tires. I pedaled it and got it to recover really well - a lot better than the last time I had pedaled it, actually. It’s a learning experience, but I’m getting better with that [pedaling] every time I go down the track, so it was a good lesson. Today’s first round loss was only our second of the season, which is pretty good, so we’ve got to focus on the positive and move on to Topeka with our heads held high.”

DeJoria and teammate Del Worsham qualified No. 1 and 2 but both fell in the opening round. Worsham was taken out by Chad Head.

MAKING HAY - Greg Anderson came into Atlanta trailing the top ten by eleven rounds. He moved a round closer when teammate Vincent Nobile went .005 red. This victory marked his first round win since coming back from heart surgery and his first of 2014.

“That was huge,” said Anderson. “I feel like I am starting my career all over again.”

Anderson followed up his opening round triumph by beating former boss Warren Johnson and then beat Shane Gray to reach the finals.

BROGDON BREAKS SLUMPS - Rodger Brogdon won his first round since winning his first career NHRA event at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. Brogdon, who has his own engine program, is leasing an engine from Elite Performance.

ANTRON BACK UP AND RUNNING - Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, along with team manager Brad Mason, were able to outfit their back-up car in time to earn the No. 3 qualifying spot Saturday night and win two elimination rounds.

"It was a great rebound from what happened Friday night, and the thing about it is we wanted this race badly," said Brown, who has won five of the last 10 event titles and was the event's defending champion. "It would have been awesome to get this race. But we're not upset about it. We came back, we brought another car out and it performed just like we wanted it to."

On Monday, the Matco Tools team produced the second quickest run in the first round with a time of 3.799 seconds at 319.14 mph and then followed that with a 3.744 (324.20) for the quickest of the day.

SCHOOL IS IN - The Professor taught the Punk a lesson. Going back in time to Denver 2005, Warren Johnson and Dave Connolly held a staging duel which lasted nearly two minutes. WJ won the race and in the post-race interview proclaimed, “taught the punk a lesson.

WJ, who hadn’t won a round since the 2012 Vegas-2 event, beat Connolly again. He was first off of the starting line and first to the stripe when Connolly shook the tires.

HEY, YOU CAN GO NOW - The light flashed green and Robert Hight sat there, and waited a little longer. Then he left after racking over a 1.408 reaction time in his second round race against Tim Wilkerson. Wilkerson failed to take advantage of the 1.347 second starting line advantage as he struck the tires at the hit.

“That threw me and I’ve been doing this a hundred years,” said team owner John Force.  “Robert doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes.”

Hight confirmed he became distracted.

“I did the burnout and this thing had the worst vibration, so bad I thought the motor was hurt and I got distracted,” admitted Hight. “I looked over to see if Tim Wilkerson was staged and he was gone.”

ANOTHER DSR BODY LAUNCHED - After shredding a body during Saturday qualifying, DSR sacrificed another Dodge Charger body on Monday. This time it was Tommy Johnson Jr.’s turn as he blew the back half of his body off in a losing effort. This came one round after exploding the supercharger in beating Bob Tasca III.

NOT A FAN OF THE DIRTY SOUTH - Hindsight being 20/20, if Jack Beckman had his druthers he’d just as soon have skipped Commerce.

"Weekends like this are kind of basically write-off weekends," Beckman said. "We didn't accumulate any usable data, we hurt a lot of stuff, we cost ourselves a lot of money, we lost ground in the points. There's no silver lining on this one. But we recognize that's part of nitro racing. The bigger picture here is that it was race one of 12 in the next 15 weekends. We've got to bounce back and bounce back quick.

"If NHRA let us skip one race a year and I knew there were going to be weather challenges, racetrack challenges, disintegrating a body and then go up and blow the tires in first round I'd skip Atlanta, no offense to the South."

ANOTHER FIRST TIMER - Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie Smith won her first round of the 2014 season as she beat Hector Arana Jr.

“I was beginning to think my win light was burned out,” said Smith.

WON IT BY A WHISKER - Shane Gray scored a close shave as he beat Chris McGaha by .0052 in the second round.

HEADED HOME WITH A SMILE - Normally a racer who loses in the first round isn’t smiling. But Aussie Richie Crampton is headed home to Indianapolis where he will be met by family both present and shortly a new one. His parents flew in overnight from Australia.

Crampton's girlfriend Stephanie Laski is scheduled to be induced Tuesday, when their first child is expected to be delivered.

"I'm pretty excited to put today behind me and head back to Indianapolis and become a parent with my awesome girlfriend Stephanie," Crampton said. "We have our fingers crossed that everything goes well, and I can't wait to meet our little baby girl.

"It's a new chapter in my life, but it still stings a little to get beat today, especially on a pedalfest. That's definitely where drivers earn their keep and to get beat right there really stings."

WINLESS IN COMMERCE - When Tony Schumacher opened Monday’s eliminations with a 3.781 seconds at 324.05 mph win in the first round, he looked to be an early contender to break a string of misfortunes at Atlanta Dragway. He’s won 73 national events in his storied career but none at Atlanta Dragway. A second round loss to Steve Torrence left him winless.  

“We broke a spark plug, but had I had the same light I had in the first round, we would’ve won both of our first two races today,” said Schumacher. “We lost that on more than one level there and that doesn’t feel too good. In the big picture, you can say that we had a couple of really solid runs today, but right now I don’t care. I’m not happy. Yeah, we’re getting it, we’re getting down the track more and more consistently each week. But the here-and-now of it is that I don’t feel this would have been a difficult event for us to win. We had the best car in the first round, and we were on the same page to win that second round and we’re breaking stuff.

"On the other hand, you’ve got guys out there laying down really ugly runs and winning and that is frustrating. The luck is still not in our corner right now, but we’ll get it. We’ll get it at the right time. That’s what we need."

 

 

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

TEMPERS FLARE AS RACE POSTPONED - Bob Vandergriff Jr. said he was prepared to do what it took to ensure no other dragsters ran on Sunday evening after a near eight-hour rain delay at the NHRA Summit Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga. Following four futile attempts by Top Fuel dragsters to make representative runs, it was Vandergriff’s late-launch, near crash run which spelled the end of a valiant attempt by the NHRA to complete the event on Sunday.

Vandergriff, racing against Clay Millican, rolled into both stage beams early and left a full-second after the green light flashed, only to smoke the tires and cross the centerline. His C&J dragster went on two wheels before Vandergriff corrected.

A visibly angry Vandergriff expressed his displeasure with the finish line track personnel before walking the entire length of the track to confront NHRA VP of Operations Graham Light on the starting line.

“I wasn’t going to let them run another car down the race track,” Vandergriff told ESPN following the incident. “I couldn’t see. The sun was right in the face of the Christmas tree. I waved my hands that I couldn’t see the tree. Nobody did anything so I went in and staged the car. I didn’t even see the light go. When I heard Clay hit the throttle and then I went out there and couldn’t see where I was going.  I almost crashed my race car before, first of all, the race track is terrible after that rain, there is no way we should have been racing on it. Second of all, I couldn’t see where I was going. 

“I wasn’t going to let another car go down the track, even if I had to walk down the middle lane to stop it. I was going to do it. It’s not safe and the drivers shouldn’t be going down the race track.  I just wasn’t going to let another car go down that race track.”

The NHRA began drying the track at 5:33 PM, EST. and completed the process by 7:15. 

The four races, including Vandergriff’s are declared final, but the remainder of eliminations are scheduled by 10:00 AM. Sportsman competition will kick off at 9 AM.

“The Safety Safari worked hard to get to try and get this track in condition,” said Light. “There was a lot of moisture prior to their attempt this afternoon. The track just didn’t come around to the degree we had hoped. You saw cars struggling, and our primary concern is safety. For that reason, we decided to postpone and work on the track overnight, and come back here tomorrow morning.”

Light said the track will be scraped through the first 100 feet and massage it with new and fresh rubber. It will then be sprayed with the PJ-1 traction compound. 

“We will then drag it and work it like we normally do on a Tuesday or Wednesday coming in fresh,” said Light. “

After a nearly six hour delay and many inches of rain on Atlanta Dragway, NHRA officials have begun the process of drying the track. Weather reports suggest the front has passed and is expected to warm up about 8 PM, EST. Track drying began at 5:30 PM, EST and by 7:10, two Top Fuel cars were pulled to the ready line. 

 

 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK

TOP FUEL

KALITTA SHINES IN QUALIFYING TO TAKE TOP TF SPOT - Doug Kalitta did not get to make a second qualifying pass on Friday at Atlanta Dragway. But the Top Fuel more than made up for it with two outstanding runs on Saturday at the NHRA Southern Nationals.

Kalitta was among the handful of drivers who didn’t get to make a second pass after racing was called for the evening following Antron Brown’s crash on Friday.

That didn’t bother Kalitta on Saturday as he posted back-to-back runs in the 3.73 range, including a track record 3.732 at 328.86 mph to take the No. 1 qualifying spot heading into Sunday’s eliminations.

“The conditions were probably perfect for Atlanta,” said Kalitta, who claimed his third No. 1 qualifier of 2014 and 39th of his career. “It’s been great conditions and I think the fans have definitely seen some good action. I’m just real proud of my guys. To have two 3.73s is just great for us and it’s real exciting to be going into eliminations with that kind of car.”

Bob Vandergriff improved to a 3.757 at 324.05 to jump into the second position while Brown, who was uninjured followed Friday’s crash, will enter Sunday in third after posting a strong 3.764 at 322.19.

Outstanding conditions on Saturday led to a number of quick runs throughout the class, but nobody could top Kalitta, who has looked impressive during all three passes this weekend in Atlanta.

He matches up with Chris Karamesines in the first round of eliminations on Sunday and takes plenty of confidence into eliminations.

Kalitta, who is second in points and has already claimed two wins in 2014, started Saturday with his No. 1 qualifying run, following it up with another strong run of 3.737 at 326.79 in the fourth and final session.

“I’m real excited about (Sunday),” Kalitta said. “Anytime you stay ahead of these guys during a session is an accomplishment. It’s a real competitive class and my car is definitely running good. It’s been running good all year and now I just have to get it done.”

ABBREVIATED QUALIFYING GENERATES MIXED FEEDBACK - It might not have been ideal, but Top Fuel crew chiefs understood the reasoning.


Following Antron Brown’s top end crash during the second round of qualifying Friday evening, NHRA officials cancelled the remainder of the session because of extended track cleanup and deteriorating weather conditions.


That meant a total of six Top Fuel drivers – Khalid alBalooshi, Tony Schumacher, Doug Kalitta, Richie Crampton, J.R. Todd and Spencer Massey – didn’t get to make a second qualifying run on Friday in what would have been the best conditions of the day.


“I think the most important thing is safety,” said Schumacher crew chief Mike Green. “The last thing we needed was another car to run down there, run over something and crash. If the decision was made for the safety of the racers then I agree with it.”


Jason McCulloch, crew chief for alBalooshi, wasn’t pleased with the situation it put his team in heading into the rest of the weekend.


“The fact that other people did get a run and we didn’t get a run, I think it’s a disadvantage,” McCulloch said. “I understand the situation, but I would have really liked to have that run last night.”


Saturday also delivered outstanding race conditions for Top Fuel, with many putting together strong performances, including Kalitta who jumped to the No. 1 position with a track-record pass of 3.732. 


“It’s disappointing that you don’t get to make a run because the track was pretty good. We felt we could step up and run pretty good,” said Jim Oberhofer, crew chief for Kalitta. “There was a lot of clean up involved and while we may be disappointed, if it’s all in the same of safety then I guess they did the right thing.”


BROWN REBOUNDS AFTER CRASH - Antron Brown reassured everyone that he would come back strong following his spectacular crash during Friday’s second qualifying session. It appears he knew what he was talking about.


Brown came back in impressive fashion, qualifying third in his back-up dragster, running 3.764 at 322.19. That strong run to close out Saturday in Atlanta gives the Top Fuel points leader plenty of confidence heading into eliminations.


“The thing about it is, you look back and the good Lord puts you through struggles for different reasons, and one of them is to make you stronger," Brown said. “We bounced back today, the boys just took a new car, put their heads down and kept working. We're in a good zone. We'll go into tomorrow and just try to do it one run at a time and see where we end up."

FORCE POSTS CAREER-BEST PASS - On a day filled with highlights in the Top Fuel field, Brittany Force added one of her own. Force ran a career-best 3.777 at 325.30, qualifying sixth in a class that saw eight drivers run in the 3.70s.


Force will face off with Pat Dakin in the opening round of eliminations on Sunday.


“I’m very excited going into race day tomorrow,” Force said. “When you bring out a new race car, you never know what to expect. To come out on our first run yesterday and go 3.90 was pretty exciting. Then to improve and run a 3.77 and a 3.78, we have a fast race car and are looking forward to getting going.”


SCHUMACHER GETS RUN HE WANTED - Tony Schumacher made a significant improvement to close out qualifying, jumping all the way to fifth after posting a 3.771 at 325.14. That run became even more impressive when Schumacher described the precarious situation he had to overcome during the pass.


“It was a good run for us, that’s for certain,” said Schumacher, who matches up with Khalid alBalooshi in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations. “It was certainly an interesting run. We were looking dead into the sun. I popped my visor down and all I saw was glare and sun. But it was a great run for the Army car.”


TORRENCE UNABLE TO TOP FRIDAY - Steve Torrence couldn’t deliver the top run on consecutive days and his impressive run from Friday didn’t stand a chance in Saturday’s incredible weather conditions.


Torrence’s 3.765 at 321.50 put him in the top qualifying spot Friday, but a flurry of standout runs dropped him to fourth heading to eliminations. Terry McMillen will be Torrence’s first-round opponent.


MASSEY STRUGGLES THROUGH SATURDAY - Spencer Massey wasn’t able make many improvements during Saturday’s two sessions and will head into eliminations from the No. 10 spot. 


Massey couldn’t top the 3.828 at 316.82 he ran on Friday despite his team’s best efforts.


"The conditions were great and we were just going for it," Massey said. “The fields were tough and there were some good numbers out there. My guys have worked late nights and we'll be ready for Sunday.”


Massey will face off with J.R. Todd, who qualified seventh with a 3.777 at 323.66.

FUNNY CAR

A SEASON OF FIRSTS - For Alexis DeJoria, her accomplishments keep piling up. Earlier this season DeJoria became the first female driver to run a three-second pass in a Funny Car. Soon after she scored her first career national event victory followed by a second win.

On a day when calamity was king in Commerce, Dejoria scored her first career No. 1 qualifier.

“This has been our turnaround year,”  “Getting a No. 1 was the one thing Tommy and Glen wanted to do.”

The No. 1 was a fitting conclusion to a qualifying effort which started on a bad note.

“The groove is narrow here, so it is important to keep yourself in the middle here,” DeJoria said. “Yesterday we had a slip up in Q-1 which pulled me close to the wall, but I legged it as much as I could. We did back it up with a nice run.”

DeJoria’s teammate Doug Kalitta joined her in establishing a new track record, the first time for Kalitta Racing.

PERSONAL HISTORY ON THE LINE - Robert Hight is knocking on personal history this weekend. If he can win at least one round on Sunday, he will join an elite group of drivers with at least 300 career round wins. The odds are in his favor as he's reached the final round five times at Atlanta Dragway, winning twice.

“Atlanta Dragway is a track where I have had a lot of success," Hight said. "The first three years of my career I was in the final there. We are starting to get to some of the tracks where it can be hot and tricky. Those are great Mike Neff conditions. He does a tremendous job of tuning a Funny Car to get the most out of the available track conditions,” said Hight a three-time winner already in 2014.

Currently only six active drivers have won 300 rounds with Tim Wilkerson as the latest edition with is opening round win at the Four-Wide Nationals this season. If Hight grabs a round win this weekend he will have taken just 215 races to achieve this goal. Funny Car legend John Force won his 300th round in his 186th race and two-time Funny Car champion Tony Pedregon won his 300th in this 192nd race. Other members of the 300 round win club include Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps, and Del Worsham.

BETTER TO FIND OUT NOW – Hight made an abrupt exit from the staging lanes during a lengthy oildown when a crewmember noticed a cracked slip joint in the chassis. Since the damage was not structural it was able to be welded back up and Hight made the session.

DID YOU KNOW? - Cruz Pedregon could become just the 14th driver in Mello Yello Series history to register 500 round wins if he can defeat Courtney Force in the first round.

BIG DAMAGE – During Saturday’s Q-3 session Tim Wilkerson suffered an engine explosion which blew a hole in the side of his Mustang. He was uninjured.

"Just a really weird day, and a very expensive one, too, which is not good," Wilkerson said. "My car wasn't going to run low E.T. in Q3, but it was on a good run and it probably would've run a 4.10 or so, moving us up the ladder a little. It was just carrying on down there and then boom, with absolutely no warning at all. Not a good feeling.

"When we got back we immediately saw two broken valves, but we were in the middle of a pretty mad thrash at the time so it was about 30 minutes later when we had time to look at the block and saw the broken camshaft. I'm okay, just a little sore, but more importantly I'm mad about having this happen for all of us, far too often.  We have to find a way to stop blowing these things up."

Wilk ended up qualifying 11th, and will face John Force in round one.

A spectator was struck by debris from the incident, and suffered minor injuries. She was transported to Northridge Hospital in Commerce, Ga., for observation.

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS – A Q-4 engine explosion turned Jack Beckman’s Dodge Charger Funny Car into confetti and inevitably a convertible.

“That was scary,” said Beckman. “This I what we get paid to do and I drive race cars because I love it. When you go swimming with sharks bad things can happen, and the Great White just bit there.”

“I’ve been so fortunate driving for Don Schumacher, who has always had great crew chiefs. There are brand new parts and plenty of data gathering. This doesn’t happen very often, but this is the third time it has happened. When you’ve gone to that play several times, you don’t want to see it again. The fire in your face is something you’d have to be there to understand. It starts getting warm quick and you hope it goes out in a hurry.”

SO FAR SO GOOD - Matt Hagan posted his best lap of the weekend at 4.049 seconds and 318 mph to earn the No. 4 qualifying spot for Sunday's 34th annual NHRA Southern Nationals near Atlanta.

"That's the thing about Dickie, you give him some time and he'll figure it out," Matt said, referring to crew chief Dickie Venables. "I think he's been as surprised as we have that it's been a struggle so far this year. He's got it together and there's never a doubt in my mind that it'll come around."

It's Hagan's best start of the season through seven races and the team is hopeful for a successful race day.

"I couldn't be more proud of these guys," Hagan said. "It was a good day for our team. There's no way around it that we've been struggling all year long so putting two good runs together was a huge confidence booster for our guys and for Dickie and for me.

"We're still trying to stay humble because we're not out of the woods yet and there's a lot of racing ahead of us and a lot of runs to make. I think the biggest thing that we can do is grow from this and just keep on the right track.

"It was a huge day for us and we'd like to turn it into four win lights tomorrow."

CHANGE DID THEM GOOD - Change is a challenge for many drag racers. For Chad Head, and his father Jim, his crew chief, making a major change to the race car's combination after the NHRA CARQUEST Nationals provided a learning curve.

The change paid off with the team's first round win at the NHRA Spring Nationals outside of Houston, Texas,

“We made a big change after the Phoenix race and went to the six-disc clutch and that was hard for us to do,” said the younger Head. “Dad basically threw everything he knew away. With some good help from some friends, we’ve been trying to overcome a few things and we’re beginning the find our consistency. That’s the main thing.”

Head is in his sophomore season after a strong rookie tour where he reached two final rounds.

MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES TO SAY THE LEAST - Tommy Johnson Jr. reached the Super Gas finals at the 1985 NHRA Southern Nationals and after the fabulous day, the experience has balanced between strange and unfortunate outcomes. 

"I've been upside down, on fire, blew the back of the car off, couldn't qualify – you name it, it's happened to me at Atlanta Dragway," admitted Johnson. "But going there this year with this team behind me and the way our car has been performing lately, I feel like this could be the race where my luck turns around.

"My experience there has been adventurous, to say the least," said Johnson. "But the positive is that the recent history of this team in Atlanta and the way that we're running so far this year could work in our favor. We've been on the verge of winning, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to overcome all the bad luck and end up in the winner's circle this weekend."

PRO STOCK

THAT GIRL IS ON FIRE – In four qualifying sessions, no one could hold a candle to Erica Enders-Stevens. She was the quickest driver throughout each session with her 6.493 seconds at 212.69 miles per hour securing the No. 1 qualifying position. This is her first No. 1 of the season and the seventh of her career.

“That’s not an easy task and a testament to my team,” said Enders-Stevens. “They are perfectionists and we do our very best to make a perfect run every time.”

Friday’s provisional No. 1 was a white knuckle ride for Stevens, who lifted short of the finish line yet still secured the top spot. Saturday was a much different day.

“It was a different race track today,” said Enders-Stevens. “We had much safer conditions and we understand why they don’t spray the track down where we need it, but it just isn’t safe for us, the motorcycles or the sportsman racers. You have to deal with what you are given, and do the best you can when it’s out of control. It’s a pretty good gut-check for me. I’m glad it was safe today.”

Enders-Stevens beams when talking about the progress of her team.

“Every run we are getting better and we’re improving by thousandths, and Pro Stock is a game of thousandths. I’m very proud of my team and we need consistency to win tomorrow,” she said.

A FAMILY AFFAIR - The third round of qualifying was a thrill for the Gray family and their Gray Motorsports Pro Stock team as brothers Shane and Jonathan lined up side-by-side for the first time. Both boys were up for the informal match and left the starting line with nearly identical reaction times (Jonathan was .026 at the tree and Shane was .030). At the top end, Shane earned bragging rights in the FireAde Chevrolet Camaro with a swift 6.517 at a big speed of 212.56 mph, but little brother Jonathan had nothing to hang his head about. The Gray Motorsports Camaro raced down the quarter-mile to clock a career-best elapsed time for Jonathan, 6.526 at 211.83.

REMEMBERING 1990 - Larry Morgan is a past winner in Atlanta, having scored here in 1990. The victory started a three-race winning streak for the Pro Stock veteran.

"That was the beginning of three in a row I won," Morgan said. "I won Atlanta, Memphis (Tenn.), and Baton Rouge (La.) and that was good. It would be nice to do that again.

"If I did that again NHRA would be all over me, but I'd like that. That'd be a good place to be."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

KRAWIEC CAPTURES FIRST NO. 1 OF THE SEASON - Eddie Krawiec started qualifying in Atlanta with an outstanding run and he ended it with another track record.


Krawiec claimed his first No. 1 qualifier of the season in Pro Stock Motorcycle, going an Atlanta Dragway-best 6.796 at 196.62 mph on Saturday at the NHRA Southern Nationals. Krawiec was the only rider in the class to reach the 6.70s during qualifying, again crediting the impeccable conditions at Atlanta Dragway.


“The air conditions here were definitely not what we’re used to in Atlanta and it’s right for our combination,” Krawiec said. “The track was really good. We feel like we have a great handle on things. That was a nice clean run today.”


Krawiec’s teammate Andrew Hines will start in the No. 2 position after posting a run of 6.833 at 193.54.


HALL MAKES A MOVE - John Hall sat comfortably in sixth heading into his final qualifying run, but apparently decided that it wasn’t good enough as he went on to post a 6.860 at 192.06. That pushed Hall to third and gives him plenty of momentum entering eliminations.


RAY HAS BETTER SATURDAY - Michael Ray definitely treated Saturday as a new day. After not even getting down the track during two forgettable sessions on Friday, Ray slipped into the field on his third qualifying run on Saturday before making a major move to close out his day.


Ray posted a 6.875 at 195.90 to jump all the way to fifth. It’s not the back-to-back No. 1 qualifiers Ray posted to start the PSM, but after Friday’s struggles Ray will take it.


PROGRESS FOR ARANA SR. - Things still aren’t where veteran rider Hector Arana Sr. wants them but he was happy with the progress made on Saturday. Arana Sr. drove into the No. 10 spot heading into eliminations.


“I finally started heading in the right direction with the clutch issue and leaving the starting line better. To me, this is the biggest accomplishment we have had since Gainesville,” said Arana Sr. "After the improvements, I'm looking forward to racing Sunday. Hopefully, we can tweak the bike a little bit more and gain some speed."


Arana Sr. will face off with Chaz Kennedy, who built his own momentum with a strong final pass. Kennedy posted a 6.895 at 193.21 to close out Saturday, giving him the No. 7 spot and his quickest pass of the weekend.

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK

TOP FUEL

TORRENCE STAYS HOT DURING QUALIFYING AT ATLANTA - Atlanta has already given Top Fuel driver Steve Torrence one special memory. After an impressive qualifying performance Friday, he is hoping another one may be in store this weekend at the NHRA Southern Nationals.


Coming off a No. 1 qualifying performance in Houston, as well as his fifth semifinal appearance in six races in 2014, Torrence took the top qualifying spot Friday at Atlanta Dragway, running 3.765 at 321.50 mph.


As it did for most, the cool conditions surprised Torrence. But he took advantage of the opportunity to start what he hopes will be another memorable weekend in Atlanta.


“We’re trying to inch up on things,” Torrence said. “These guys are working their tails off every day and it’s paying off. This is the first race I’ve ever won in Top Fuel and it will always hold a place in my heart for that memory. This is unusual for Atlanta conditions, but we’ll take them.”


Antron Brown, who was involved in a major top end crash during his second qualifying run, went 3.788 at 318.69 to qualify second on that run. Brown walked away uninjured from the crash. J.R. Todd is currently third with a 3.794 at 323.66 with two qualifying sessions remaining on Saturday.


Torrence has done just about everything but win a race this season, something he hopes to rectify in Atlanta. He has won two rounds at every event but one in 2014, a definite sign of consistency. 


It might not be flashy but it has clearly worked for Torrence, who is currently third in the points standings.


“The consistency of the car has been coming around,” Torrence said. “We’ve been making small adjustments and fine-tuning our clutch set-up. Our configuration we’re running right now is running really well.”


Torrence made his strong pass during the second pair of the second qualifying session. Racing was called for the day after Brown’s crash, meaning a handful of drivers didn’t make a second qualifying pass.


Torrence’s top mark could be challenged on Saturday, but the Longview, Texas, native likes the path his team is taking.

“We’re pleased with the way it’s working and the performance of the car right now,” Torrence said. “My team has given me a really consistent hot rod and it’s fun to drive.”

ANTRON BROWN WALKS AWAY FROM EXPLOSIVE TOP FUEL CRASH - It appeared to be another outstanding run for Top Fuel driver Antron Brown on Friday at Atlanta Dragway, much like the recent ones he has compiled in racking up two straight Top Fuel victories.


Brown went an impressive 3.788 at 318.69 mph during his second qualifying run on Friday at the NHRA Southern Nationals, but trouble followed right after he crossed the finish line.


Brown was involved in a massive top end crash as his engine went up in flames as the right tire blew out just past the stripe.

The car slammed into the left wall and then ricocheted across the track, going airborne before hitting the right wall. Brown’s dragster went back across the track before coming to a stop against the left wall. 

Fortunately, Brown walked away from the crash without any injuries, crediting the canopy on his dragster and the extreme safety measures his team at Don Schumacher Racing used in building the car.


“The most important thing is the good Lord kept us safe and everything worked on the car like it was supposed to,” Brown said. “Kudos to all the guys at the shop, the way they built this car, and the canopy worked.”


With the air temperature dropping rapidly following the crash, the decision was made to call the rest of the qualifying session following Brown’s crash and the ensuing clean up.


Along with Brown walking away unhurt, the other good news was the run gave Brown the No. 2 qualifying position behind only Steve Torrence’s 3.765 at 321.50.


Brown, who was also involved in a major crash in Pomona to start the 2013 season, appeared ready to get back behind the wheel for Saturday’s two qualifying sessions and Sunday’s eliminations in Atlanta.


“The number one thing is we’ll go back, we’ll get ready and come back tomorrow. We’ll figure it out and get it right,” Brown said. “We have to see what happened and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

WE'VE GOT A GUSHER - Clay Millican had an oil leak during the first session which delayed qualifying by 40 minutes.

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS OFF TO STRONG START - The two-car Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel team of Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd couldn’t have asked for much more to start their weekend in Atlanta at the NHRA Southern Nationals.

Todd is currently qualified third with a 3.794 at 323.66 mph while Kalitta is right behind in fourth with a 3.799 at 325.30.

That position gets even more impressive since neither made a second pass after racing was called following Antron Brown’s top end crash midway through second-round qualifying at Atlanta Dragway. Both were scheduled to go later in the session.

Todd and Kalitta posted the top two runs of the first qualifying session, meaning good things may be in store for both the rest of the weekend.

CRAMPTON MANAGES TO MULTI-TASK ON FRIDAY - Richie Crampton may have his mind on the upcoming birth of his first child, but he managed to concentrate well enough on the task at hand on Friday.

Crampton ran a solid 3.819 at 309.06 to qualify fifth on Friday, putting together a quality opening day in Atlanta despite other matters being on his mind.

"Any day now, our little baby girl could be here. It's going to be a unique situation,” Crampton said. “I'm going to be paying close attention to what's going on at home, but there's a pretty big task at hand, and that's trying to win some rounds in Atlanta and get out of that ninth position in points."

THE GREEK FLEET - Chris Karamesines unveiled a new to him dragster Friday in Commerce, Ga. The rail is actually an ex-Spencer Massey entry donated by Don Schumacher. BRITTANY FORCE PLEASED WITH START - Brittany Force didn’t do anything spectacular on Friday, but a solid opening day at Atlanta was plenty good enough for her.

Force currently sits 10th after going 3.904 at 304.32 during qualifying and is ready to make another move on Saturday.

“It feels good to come to Atlanta Dragway and put down a good number. We have a brand-new chassis that my guys are still trying to sort out, but it’s already showing improvements,” Force said.

MASSEY HOPES TO FINISH JOB IN ATLANTA - It’s not exactly a slump to start the season, but Spencer Massey is more than ready to find the winner’s circle for the first time in 2014.

His Friday at Atlanta put him seventh after he ran 3.828 at 316.82. The next step is putting together a consistent weekend. Massey hasn’t lost in the first round this season, but he also has yet to advance to a final round.

"We just need to build on that and continue to get stronger. I feel a win coming soon, for sure,” Massey said. “These guys aren't used to going this deep in the season without getting a Wally and we're ready to change that. I've never won at Atlanta but we seem to run fast there.”

FUNNY CAR

KALITTA ONE-TWO - Alexis DeJoria led a Kalitta Racing one-two punch during first day qualifying at Atlanta Dragway. Her 4.021 was barely enough to edge teammate Del Worham’s 4.014.

“Back in the pit Tommy said he was going to try and run something close to a 4.02,” DeJoria said. “He said if the track calls for it, that’s what we are going to try and do. I was just hoping it would make it down the track and run a good number. It was nice and cool, and the track held it. I was just amazed when I was told it ran a 4.01.”

Friday evening’s atmospheric and track condition had the potential to deliver so much more.

“That’s why I wasn’t too stoked on the track record,” said DeJoria. “I knew there were a lot of capable cars behind me, including my teammate. He almost knocked us off. I was surprised there weren’t as many fast runs, but at the same time I am glad we held it.”

Worsham’s 320.05 mph blast was enough to secure top speed and the track record.

ALEXIS GUNNING FOR THE 100 - DeJoria picked up her first win earlier this season and later added a second, but a third could be the one she covets the most. A win this weekend would net the title of ‘100th Female Win.’

“Having 100 female wins is very impressive for our sport- especially when you compare it to other forms of motorsports that have very few [female wins] or none at all,” said DeJoria, who has won in Funny Car, Top Alcohol Funny Car, and Super Comp. “The women in NHRA are very powerful. We win a lot of races out here, and I feel honored to have two wins on that list.”

“There are more women racing in NHRA than any other form of motorsports. Shirley Muldowney opened the door for all of us and proved that once you put that helmet on, and you’re strapped into your car, whether you’re male or female, none of that matters- we’re all equal out here. My goal has never been to be the ‘fastest or quickest female Funny Car driver,’ rather I want to be known as a ‘successful Funny Car driver,’ period. That being said, getting the 100th female win would be a huge accomplishment, and I would be honored to claim that place in NHRA history.

"There are eight women registered amongst the four pro classes this weekend, so there’s a very good chance that the 100th win could happen at Atlanta Dragway. Hopefully we’ll put this hot rod back in the Winners Circle this weekend, and grab the coveted title of ‘100th female win’ while we’re at it.”

GOTTA GO – Bob Bode purchased a Toyota Funny Car body from Cruz Pedregon and arrived at Atlanta Dragway with the new shell partially lettered.

“We got the car finally fitted to the chassis and the graphics guy showed up on Monday,” said Bode. “We had to leave at nine that night, so that’s as far as he could get.”

Bode said the body is a back-up for now but he’d like to make it the primary soon.

“We teched it, so it’s legal to run,” said Bode. “It’s pretty plain looking at this point, but better than no body if we needed one.”

GONE FISHIN’ – Some people have their golf, Matt Hagan, an avid outdoorsman, his fishing. In the wee hours of Friday morning, the Funny Car driver and photographer Mark Rebilas hit nearby Lake Lanier for a few hours of fishing.

“It was nice to get out there,” said Hagan. “We were after striper but never got any to bite. I think the cold front shut them down.”

The fishing trip wasn’t a totally wash, as Hagan and Rebilas combined for over 20 bass.

“As long as I am reeling in something, I am happy,” admitted Hagan. “It was cool to get out there although that 4:30 A.M. stuff came awful early. It’s worth it all when you get out on the water. It’s no different than golf, when you are able to relax and enjoy, it just makes your day better.”

ONE STEP FURTHER - Jack Beckman is getting closer to reaching the national event winners circle, a place he hasn't visited since September 2012. He reached the finals two weeks ago in Houston, Texas.

"We've had a pretty decent car all year, it's just that our results hadn't shown it until Houston," said Beckman. "We just couldn't get past the second round, and if we ran good the car in the next lane would run low (elapsed time) of the round.

"We knew if we could do that on a more consistent basis that we'd start going deeper in eliminations, and Houston proved that. Our crew members who haven't experienced their first win are hungry.

"Getting to the final round was a reward for how hard they've been working."

Beckman has two Atlanta Funny Car titles here in 2009 and 2011.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE - Tony Pedregon is tickled pink this weekend.  The two-time NHRA champion is running a pink scheme on his Funny Car to promote the Andrea Pedregon Charity Foundation “Spark of Hope,”

“As our team continues to make progress with our performance, the timing is perfect to once again race for a cause and help support the efforts of my wife’s charity that has generated much needed funding to cancer research that ultimately saves lives,” Tony Pedregon said.

The Andrea Pedregon Charity Foundation was established in 2010 and is best known for its projects and live auctions. One hundred percent of the funds raised go to children’s causes and cancer research as well as Melanoma, Prostate & Colon Cancer research. To date, Andrea’s Charity has donated close to $200,000.00

“I feel we have a great opportunity to reach our fan base here in sunny Atlanta and support National Skin Cancer Awareness month,” added Andrea Pedregon. “We are encouraging ALL cancer survivors – and friends/family who have lost someone special to join us before the track walk begins on Sunday and sign the hood of Tony’s funny car. Our car will then honor those who have fought and remember those who have passed.”

DID YOU KNOW? - Ron Capps is known for his exploits behind the wheel of a fuel Funny Car. He won at Atlanta in 2012.

A lesser known fact is Atlanta is where he advanced to his first of 82 final rounds in 1995 while a rookie driving the Top Fuel dragster owned by Roger Primm.

"That doesn't seem like a long time ago," Ron said. "But it's been 18 years and 417 races since then."

LET SUCCESS RAIN DOWN - If John Force were a farmer at Atlanta Dragway, he'd seek another farm. Mired in the midst of eight barren seasons at the NHRA Southern Nationals, Force would like to produce the kind of bumper crop which has yielded seven career wins at the facility located outside of Atlanta, Ga.

Maybe this season can break the drought.

“We have been on a tear, and our other cars (Courtney Force in Funny Car and Brittany Force in Top Fuel) are coming around,” Force said. “I feel as a whole team we have come together, and the brain trust will keep us alive and winning. We have been to every final going back to Indy last year, which is 13 finals in a row. Winning is where the focus is, and we won’t forget safety,” said John Force.

Force has reached the final round in eight of the past 11 races going back to the 2013 NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last October. He kicked off this season with a commanding victory at the season opener NHRA Winternationals in Pomona. He followed up the victory with a final-round appearance at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida and the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, NC.  

PRO STOCK

ENDERS-STEVENS KEEPS IT SHINEY SIDE UP – Erica Enders-Stevens was in a zone Friday evening with a 6.506 elapsed time, almost .03 quicker than No. 2 qualifier Rodger Brogdon. Her speed of 202.91 miles per hour was indicative of what kind of run the momentous pass was.

“I’m really excited and the guys have been working really hard back at the engine shop,” Enders-Stevens said. “We certainly have some stout horsepower right now. We are showing that on the scoreboards and that’s pretty exciting. This is just a fun and positive environment to work in. I’m enjoying it and having a blast.

“That last run was interesting. The speed was down because I had to get the parachutes out early and clutch it. The car got very loose down there. We were able to hold onto the pole which is crazy when you lift that early into the run. I’m just glad to have a shiny race car back at the trailer.”

Enders-Stevens said computer readings suggest the run could have been a 6.47 elapsed time.

“We were on a better pass than when we ran the 6.48 at 214 in Gainesville,” said Enders-Stevens. “Incremental wise we were on a better run. But you know how it goes, should have, could have, would have.”
 
The 2014 season has been memorable for the iconic Pro tock driver.

“It’s crazy to me and a surreal position to be in,” said Enders-Stevens. “I’ve been trying to make this Pro Stock thing work for ten years now. To be with a team of this caliber and to have a car capable of this kind of awesome power is stellar. As a kid growing up, and as I got older watching people like Greg Anderson, Mike Edwards, Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin dominate like that and even though there’s a lot of racing still left, this is a blessing.”

THE QUEEN OF SPEED – Erica Enders-Stevens, aside from her two victories in four final-round showings, has had the fastest car on the property at half of the first six races of the season. Her top speed of 214.69 mph, which she posted in Gainesville, Fla., set the national record. She has also topped the championship points for the last three races.

"It's been an awesome start to the year," said Enders-Stevens, who also won the special K&N Horsepower Challenge in Las Vegas. "Our team owner, Richard Freeman, has given us everything we need to win and the guys have lived up to his expectations. Most of all, we're having fun and enjoying the ride.

"Winning the 100th race [for female pro driver], that would add a big bolt of energy to our team. We're certainly going to do everything we can to make it happen."

Enders-Stevens established top speed in the first session with a 212.53 blast, but it fell in the second session to Rodger Brogdon’s 212.59.

THE FIGHT TO COME BACK – Greg Anderson knows he’s got a mountain ahead of him.  

Anderson had heart surgery to repair a bicuspid aorta as the NHRA tour kicked off in Pomona, and missed the first five races of the season. By returning in Houston, Anderson began the march to reach the Countdown in the same fashion as Dave Connolly did in 2008.

Connolly missed the first five races of the season and then reached the finals in eight consecutive races and still qualified for the playoffs.

Anderson has twelve races left to make up a 150-point deficit. Ironically, the No. 10 spot is occupied by Jimmy Alund, the driver hired to drive the Summit Camaro in his absence.

“Those twenty or thirty points from Houston might be the difference in making the playoffs,” said Anderson.

WRONGFUL ACCUSATION – Larry Morgan was in the wrong place at the wrong time during Friday’s first session. When a fellow competitor’s Pro Stock car leaked oil on the racing surface it was Morgan who was flagged for the infraction.

“John Gaydosh’s car was leaking oil from the rearend,” Morgan said. “They [NHRA] didn’t catch that. When I went up there to make my run, and I don’t back up as far as those guys do, I’m up a little further. They [NHRA] saw the oil. It wasn’t my car.”

At first, Morgan believed the oil was from Jonathan Gray, who ran directly before him. A subsequent technical inspection cleared Gray, Warren Johnson and Morgan.

“I told the tech guys, ‘all right, I want to find where this SOB is leaking,” Morgan said.

“There was nothing on the car leaking when we pulled up. We jacked the car up and went through the gears and ran it to 8,000 rpm with the tech guy right here. It wasn’t my car.”

The NHRA confirmed Gaydosh’s car had evidence of an oil leak.

“I guess it was like Planes, Trains and Automobiles when Steve Martin went back to the rental car counter and didn’t have his rental agreement,” Morgan said with a laugh. “That’s essentially what this situation was for me.”

NEED TO CLIMB THE LADDER - Defending NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr, at seventh in the points, is not where he wants to be, but he's confident he's got a car capable of moving up.

"We're in great shape and I think Houston once again proved that," said Coughlin. "When you've got that No. 1 on your car, you know that every round the driver in the other lane is going to give you their very best. We've had some very close races every round this year, and so far the scale hasn't tipped our way.

"There's no need for change. We'll just keep doing what we do and things will fall our way. Pro Stock is about thousandths of a second, and we're all dancing on that razor's edge. There's not a big distance between winning and losing."

Atlanta has been good to Coughlin in the past. Two of his 56 national event victories have come at the 38-year-old facility, with wins logged in 2000 and 2010. The five-time Pro Stock world champion also reached the final round here in 2009 before settling for runner-up honors.

CHASING THE ISSUES – Rodger Brogdon is experimenting this weekend. Mired in a slump and shelling out a high amount of money to fund an in-house program, Brogdon has leased an engine from a fellow Pro Stock team to determine whether the team's shortcomings are related to the engine or the car.

"We should be faster this weekend, for sure," Brogdon said. "We think that about 90 percent of our issues have been engine related, basic horsepower, and maybe 10 percent car management. This weekend should finalize any decisions we make. I expect to go fast and be in the top five or six."

In Friday’s Q-2 session, Brogdon described the track and atmospheric conditions as incredible. His Protect the Harvest Camaro thundered to a 6.53 elapsed time and established a new Atlanta Dragway speed record at 212.59 miles per hour.

Brogdon embarked on an in-house engine program prior to the 2013 season and recently hired veteran Jeff Perley as crew chief for this season, yet the team's misfortunes have continued.

"I've had concerns because the engine guys might thing the problem is with car management and the car-management guys think the problem is with the engines," Brogdon said. "We'll get rid of a lot of the questions between the guys because after this weekend we should know 90 percent about what's going on.

"We're pretty sure it's the engine, and even the engine guys have come around some on that."

KJ RETURNS – Thanks to a last-minute sponsorship deal, Kurt Johnson was able to race at his home event this weekend.

Hedman Headers, celebrating their 60th anniversary in business, provided much-needed capital for the sponsorless Johnson.

“We’ve had a long-running relationship with the Vandergriff family,” said Johnson. “Financially, they are going to help us to race this weekend and every bit helps. We haven’t raced since Pomona of last year and to be able to come back is exciting.”

NEW YEAR, SAME DETERMINATION - Shane Gray came up just short in last season's final in Atlanta, but this time around, he's packing even more power beneath the hood of his Camaro

"Last year, you could say I was hungry for that win," said Gray, who made a total of six final rounds and won the fall event in Las Vegas. "I woke up this season hungry all over again, and I'm excited to get to Atlanta, debut this cool FireAde Camaro, and take it to the winners circle. I don't think anything could say 'welcome to the family' better."

Gray recently announced he'd be flying the colors of FireAde in a limited sponsorship program.

"We've got a lot of neat things on the horizon for this team, and we're excited to be bringing the FireAde name out there for these races and to see it available for purchase at Menards," said Gray. "It's a great product, and we think the best way to show the company how appreciative we are of their partnership is to go after that win. We'll see if we can get it done in Atlanta."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

KRAWIEC LEADS PSM FIELD AFTER DAY ONE - Eddie Krawiec was not used to the weather conditions at Atlanta Dragway on Friday, but he wasn’t about to complain.

Taking advantage of the much cooler, racer-friendly conditions, the Pro Stock Motorcycle standout blasted out of the gate with a track-record 6.852 at 195.17 mph to take the top spot during Friday’s NHRA Southern Nationals qualifying.

“We came off the truck and ran really well,” Krawiec said. “We feel pretty comfortable with our tune-up. You’re used to hot, sticky Atlanta and this is the complete opposite, but I’ll take it. I welcome the change. These Harleys run well in good air and I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

Krawiec’s teammate and points leader Andrew Hines posted the second-quickest run of the second round and currently sits third with a 6.887 at 191.81. Krawiec also talked glowingly of the morale at the team’s shop.

“We found a few more horsepower between the last race and this weekend and we’re excited,” Krawiec said. “It’s an evolution and a work in progress. Everybody in the shop is involved and it’s great to be around. It lifts everyone’s spirits and makes everyone want to go after it.”


UNDERDAHL MAKES MAJOR MOVE - After a so-so run to start his weekend at Atlanta Dragway, Jim Underdahl responded in major fashion to end Friday, running a 6.861 at 195.65. The stout qualifying run puts him second overall heading into Saturday and the speed was the fastest run of the day.

In the first session, Underdahl posted a 7.009 at 192.71 but now takes plenty of momentum into the rest of the weekend with a brilliant performance in Friday’s second session.


HALL COMES UP BIG IN SECOND SESSION - If John Hall wasn’t satisfied with his first run on Friday, he more than made up for it with the third-quickest pass of the second session at Atlanta Dragway.

A 7.020 at 183.82 put him ninth after the opening round of qualifying but a strong 6.892 at 193.21 bumped him all the way to fourth.


ARANA JR. WELCOMES RETURN TO ATLANTA - After a one-year absence for the class, Hector Arana Jr. was one of many who were excited to return to Atlanta Dragway this weekend.

That showed almost immediately as Arana Jr. posted a 6.930 at 193.93 during Friday’s qualifying, good enough for fifth after two sessions.

"Atlanta is a good track not only competition-wise but also for our team in general," Arana said. "We had a year off from racing there, but I don't think that will make a huge difference. It's one of the tracks that I was able to win the first round of eliminations I ever ran there. I haven't raced there much, but I'm definitely ready to go back and try again.”


RAY’S WEEKEND STARTS SLOW BUT HE REMAINS CONFIDENT - Friday couldn’t have gone much worse for Star Racing rider Michael Ray, but the talented standout is still high on his chances this weekend in Atlanta.

“The first two races, we had to work out some of the gremlins but the guys in the shop having been doing a tremendous job and that’s a huge confidence-builder for our team,” Ray said. “(Team owner) George (Bryce) has been like a mad scientist. He wants to win and the focus has been trying to make everything we have bulletproof.”


That didn’t happen on Friday, as Ray failed to make a full run during the two qualifying sessions. The team will have work to do to get into the field on Saturday, but all signs point to Ray doing just that. He qualified No. 1 at the first two races this season and knows the importance of this weekend’s race.


“We’re coming here and really starting the bulk of our season here, and that’s huge for the class. This race can really set a precedent of who is going to be the rider to chase in this class.”


ANGIE SMITH BRINGS BIG NEWS TO ATLANTA - Angie Smith had every right to be smiling in Atlanta as the team recently announced that Kandy Magazine agreed to extend their relationship with Matt Smith Racing and Angie Smith.


“I am ecstatic that Kandy Magazine is expanding their sponsorship with me and this MSR team,” Angie Smith said. “This partnership we have been working on fits so well for me and for Kandy. I could not have asked for a better sponsor, and this is a dream coming true before my eyes.”


Angie Smith started the weekend with a solid 6.975 at 189.76, putting her 12th through two qualifying sessions. Her husband, reigning world champ Matt Smith, is currently not qualified as his 6.978 at 187.44 put him 13th on Friday.