2014 NHRA U.S. NATIONALS - PRO MOD NOTEBOOK
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MONDAY - RICKIE SMITH WINS WHAT COULD BE HIS LAST INDY
Rickie Smith cannot help it. Every time he wins a race he gets emotional. But for the eight-time world champion who has won both sportsman and professional titles, Pro Stock and Pro Modified, winning any event pales in comparison to winning the NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Monday afternoon in Indianapolis, the storied driver captured his second title at drag racing’s most prestigious race. Smith beat Pete Farber in the final round.
This is Smith’s second win of the 2014 season and sixth since the NHRA adopted Pro Modified as an official series.
“Winning Indy is pretty awesome,” said Smith. “Winning Indy is always great but the older you get the more it means to you and you just realize how many things God blesses you with. He’s rode with me a long time. I believe in in Him and He knows that. There’s no way I could have won all of these championships by being blessed. No way I would have ever won without having been blessed.”
Smith raced his first U.S Nationals back in 1975 with a Mustang in Modified eliminator and admits he was a little overwhelmed with the initial experience. He was used to a smaller scale of drag racing close to his King, NC home.
“I don’t know if it still is as intimidating as it used to be because when I first came here I was way out of my league,” said Smith. “At least now I feel like I am part of the show. I knew from the first Indy I entered, winning this race is like winning the Daytona 500 of drag racing. This is the one you want to win.”
Smith faced a murderer’s row of competition beginning with Sunday’s first round and carrying over into Monday. He concentrated on those he faced but took notice of Billy Glidden whose up and down weekend took him to the semi-finals from the No. 16 spot. Fate appeared to be on Glidden’s side but Smith was certainly charting good fate of his own.
“Billy ran well this weekend, and they are getting closer and closer with their combination,” Smith said. “I had no easy draws out there. It started from our first round race with Danny Rowe, then Jeff Naiser, Troy Coughlin and Pete Farber, who has already won a race this year. We ran the baddest cars we could all weekend long. I’m amazed we kept it all together. I kept laying the coal to it and leave as hard as I could. I did not want to give any race away.
“For as hot as this race track got, it hung right in there. The racetrack stayed very good all day long.”
Smith now leads Mike Janis by 90 points with three races remaining on the ten-race series.
“If I win the championship this season, this will be the last shot I got to win Indy,” admitted Smith. “I’m giving it all I can to win the championship this season. If my old heart will keep ticking, I’m gonna give it all I have got for the next few races.
“I said it last year,” Smith added. “I’m absolutely tired. I’m stressed out, and I need to get out of this deal and let the young kids have it. I want to go out as a champion, and if I don’t, I’m going out as a winner. I want to go out as a champion again. I probably should have gotten out last season but I had a gut feeling that told me to keep going. There's nothing telling me to go again, so I need to win this championship.”
What was Smith’s clue he isn’t the same star-struck competitor who raced his first Indy almost forty years?
“My stamina,” Smith said with a smile.
MONDAY NOTEBOOK
ALMOST – Pete Farber drove his CRC Brakeleen Dodge Daytona to the final round with victories over Steven Whiteley, Steve Matusek and Billy Glidden. It was his second final round appearance of the season, following a victory in Bristol. Farber was appearing in his first Indianapolis final.
UPSET CITY – Billy Glidden has enjoyed the highest of highs and the lowest of lows over the course of the weekend. Glidden ran his first five-second pass during Friday’s opening run but turned around on Saturday and launched his hood scoop with an apparent intake explosion.
Glidden was on the upswing during Monday’s early first round as he pulled a .038 holeshot on low qualifier Donnie Walsh, 5.90 to 5.87.
Joining Glidden in the bottom-half first round winners were Pete Farber [Steven Whiteley], Steve Matusek [Von Smith] and Mike Knowles [Mike Castellana].
HAVE YOU THUMPED A TONY LATELY? – Many moons ago, Tony Christian beat the legendary Bob Glidden at the 1988 NHRA Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., and proclaimed, “Have you thumped a Ford lately?”
The shoe was on the other foot as the second-generation driver Billy Glidden scored his second unlikely win of the day as Dan Stevenson fouled. How does this related to Stevenson?
Stevenson’s crew chief is Christian.
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - AN ALL FIVE-SECOND FIELD; EIGHT CARS REMAIN IN THE BATTLE
I CAN'T DRIVE 55 - Donnie Walsh escaped qualifying with the top speed intact. His 252.61 mile per hour trap speed, when coupled with a 5.863 elapsed time ensured he was the No. 1 seed headed into Sunday's first round of eliminations.
As impressive as his run was, it paled in comparison to a recent performance milestone registered during an Outlaw Pro Modified event in St. Louis. Turk Al Zafiri ran an astonishing 5.461 second pass at 272.50 miles per hour.
Even though the pass wasn't in NHRA Pro Modified trim, Walsh was plenty impressed.
"After the 2012 event when we ran 255 miles per hour with the legal 88 turbos, we ran another series with 91 turbos and ran 261," Walsh said. "We knew the potential was there to run over 270 miles per hour. Those guys have done a helluva job in moving their program forward. I wish I could have been at the race to watch it in person."
Frankie Taylor, on the losing end of the race, recorded the quickest supercharged run in doorslammer history with a 5.476 elapsed time at 263.77 mph. Taylor was running a screw supercharger combination which isn't legal for NHRA Pro Modified, either.
"I might try to run 270 but I don't know if I would go after 280," admitted Walsh. "The difference between 255 and 261 was night and day. The difference between 261 and 272 has to be incredible."
BRINGING THE FANS IN - John Waldie, one of the behind-the-scenes driving forces of the Real Pro Modified Association group, said his group is intent on elevating the fan interaction with his group.
During the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, the Real Pro Modified Association launched their latest initiative aptly named "Thanks for Coming."
"We have the greatest sport in the world," Waldie said. "I think we have a better platform than most stick and ball sports and this weekend alone, we have over 900 participants. We all sat down and brainstormed how we could be better ambassadors for the sport. Of course, we had a self-interest in focusing on our class."
Jerry and Heather Copano, who race a supercharged Corvette, had the winning suggestion. They challenged the racers to a contest of who could document having the most young race fans set in the seat of their race cars.
The Copanos won the first contest with 10 confirmed seatings in their NHRA Pro Modified debut.
Eric Latino officially has the record for 21 seatings achieved during the NHRA Summit Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
A NEW KIND OF DOORSLAMMER - Mark Martino acknowledges he didn't forsee Pro Modified being in his natural progression of drag racing. The Canadian-based driver has raced both mountain motor Pro Stocks and those with 500-inches between the fenders. This weekend he's added supercharged, alcohol burning doorslammer to his resume.
Martino made his Pro Modified debut this weekend behind the wheel of a 1963 Corvette owned by Al Billes.
"It's an exciting class and these cars are animals," said Martino. "They are fun to drive."
Martino has jumped on the fast track to the most volatile division upgrading his licensing just days before heading to Indianapolis.
"Al and I had talked about doing something together and I had some sponsorship come together so I kept running the Pro Stock side," said Martino. "This year we talked and made things happen. I've known Al for a long time and he had the owner's points."
The test session quickly revealed the Pro Mod car has a totally different set of nuances.
"It's a big difference," Martino admitted. "It's still a clutch car, and has an automatic shifter. You have to use the hand-brake to stage. It took a little bit of adjustment. Doing the burnout was different. A few passes up and down the track I got acclimated. It's not an easy car to drive because these cars pull real crazy. It's a different animal altogether.
NOT COMPLETELY THROUGH - Last fall, Jim Whiteley announced his retirement from Top Alcohol racing. He didn't say he was completely through with alcohol racing, though.
"Just the long skinny cars," Whitely admitted. "I want to have some fun, and these [Pro Modified] cars are intriguing. I really wanted to give one of these cars a try."
Whiteley raced at the NHRA U.S. Nationals with a supercharged, alcohol-burning 1953 Corvette. Unfortunately for him, his 6.056 elapsed time missed the 5.995 cut.
"They drive a lot like the dragsters," said Whiteley. "You have about a second or second-and-a-half window to get them straight. You just kind of baby them along."
Speaking of babies, Whiteley joined has joined his son Steven in racing the NHRA Pro Modified division.
"The doorslammers were my first choice after I came out of Junior Dragsters," said Steven. "When you race a dragster for six years, and you get a chance to graduate, I wanted something else. Pro Modified was the something else. Once I made a pass in Top Sportsman car, I fell in love with this style of racing."
Steven admits Pro Modified isn't his end goal in drag racing but before he gives another style of racing a try, he'd like to attain a few more personal goals.
"If a Pro Stock car came along, I might have to give it a try," Steven admitted. "I'm not really a fuel fan; the door cars are my love."
Steven understands Pro Stock cars don't have superchargers nor do they permit the use of nitrous oxide.
"Yeah, but they have clutch pedals, and I can dig that," Steven said with a smile.
IN TRANSITION - Michael Biehle is in a state of transition. The former NMCA Outlaw 10.5 racer is adjusting to a turbocharged NHRA legal Pro Modified. "The 10.5-inch combination seemed pretty stable compared to the big tire set-up," said Biehle, who ran a 6.130 best over the weekend.
"It got away from me [on Friday's run] and it was a handful to drive. This car makes so much horsepower than what we have raced in the past. It's an insane difference." Biehle was accustomed to running 6.90s and immediately out of the trailer; the new car ran 6.30s in shakedown runs.
"The car is progressive," Biehle said. "We didn't come out and jump right into the low sixes. I'm working my way up to where I need to be. I'm creeping up on them."
HEARTBREAKER - Eric Latino missed the cut with a 5.998 elapsed time best in three qualifying attempts.
RUMOR HAS IT - Mike Janis Jr. has a secret about the team for next season. And, he's not speaking details either. What he will say is the team could have a new look for 2015.
"We were out visiting my brother Sean in California when we received a call from a major chassis builder," Janis said. "I joked around with him but he is very serious about building us a car for next season."
Janis alluded but would not confirm the alliance will be a partnership where the chassis shop owns the car, and they supply the performance.
"It's in the works now, you might see something materialize in the next few weeks," said Janis.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK – TURBO CARS DOMINATE DAY TWO PRO MOD QUALIFYING
MR. SPEED - Donnie Walsh was the king of speed in Saturday's lone Pro Modified qualifying session. He was also the king of elapsed time. Walsh drove the Harry Hruska turbocharged 2013 Camaro to a 5.863 elapsed time at 252.61 miles per hour. This weekend's race is only the second NHRA outing for the car.
YOU CONTROL THE PEDAL, SON - Danny Rowe knows first-hand how quickly a Pro Modified run can get crossways. Last year his teammate Tim Tindle suffered one of the category's worst crashes.
"Probably one of the most violent crashes I have ever seen," said Rowe. "He went over the wall, completely tore the car up and got himself hurt bad. It was really an education for me. It goes to show you how things can change quickly."
Rowe understands how this could have been him in the same situation.
Rowe cannot help but recall a time in his early days working with tuner Jimmy Rector. They were at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Valdosta, Ga., participating in an outlaw Pro Modified race and used the event to sort out a new race car.
"We decided to take all of the weight out of the car and make a few runs down the strip," Rowe recalled. "The car was a great one, but it was just ill-handling on that particular day. We just didn't have it set up. Every run we made, the car either shook or something happened."
Rowe was not exaggerating as one of the passes shook the tires so hard, the steering wheel came loose from the shaft.
"The car was all over the place," Rowe said. "I was out there overdriving the car but in the midst of it all, the car responded with a good lap. Even then, I went through the lights sideways with the parachutes out."
A shaken Rowe waited for his team to arrive in the shutdown area to tow back to the pits.
"I immediately told Jimmy, we needed to change something on this car or we needed to get out of it," Rowe explained.
"I kinda put it back on the chassis and told him I needed to straighten the chassis out," Rowe said. "He looked at me and responded, 'You have the throttle son."
Lesson learned.
Rowe saw from Tindle's incident just how gut-wrenching an accident can be for those on the outside.
"Emotionally, I was torn up," Rowe admitted. "I was frightened for him and his family. I was strapped in, two pairs of cars behind him. I got out of my car and jumped on my bike and rode to where he was. It was heart-wrenching to see what people will go through in this time. Just watching his family go through the agony of wondering if he was alive or dead made it a real emotional time.
"I got back in the car, and it turned a little sideways and I got out of it immediately. I knew it affected me more than just getting back in the car after watching the accident. I looked at it like it could have been me, and it scared the s*** out of me."
Q-3 BECOMES Q-2 - Lengthy rain and oil-down delays pushed NHRA officials to scratch one of the four scheduled qualifying runs for Saturday. The second of the two sessions was the one kept intact on the schedule.
THE AGONY OF DEFEAT - Just one day after making his first five-second pass in NHRA Pro Modified, Whiteland, Indiana's Billy Glidden suffered an intake explosion and launched the hood scoop high into the air.
MIRACLES HAPPEN - Eric Latino figured his season was complete but not the way he wanted. If not for a miracle it would have been.
Latino, who was scheduled to race at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, was forced to withdraw from the race on the Tuesday before the event.
"My mother had been battling cancer for the past year," said Latino. "We got a call on the Monday before the event letting us know she had a bad night on Sunday. We brought the family to the hospital, and she passed in the night."
Latino's decision to withdraw ended up costing him an NHRA grade point, and eventually cost him the opportunity to enter the U.S. Nationals per the entry system. Because he couldn't gain an entry into Indy, he fell short of the point requirements for the following Charlotte event, an event closest to the home of primary sponsor Kook's Exhaust.
"I tried my best to charm my way into Indy, but it just didn't work," admitted Latino. "And, I absolutely understood - the rules are the rules."
Latino did gain a glimmer of hope a month before the event when the unsuccessful lobbying efforts failed, and was met with, "keep checking the site and maybe it will change." However, there was little hope offered this would be the case.
Religiously, Latino checked the NHRA site daily and did so multiple times.
"So I look on there one day and couldn't believe what I was seeing," Latino said of the day he realized the field had expanded from 30 entries to 34. "I jumped right in there and signed up for Indy and Charlotte. God had to be watching over me and gave me a break."
Latino said he intends to make the most of the opportunity.
"My crew does a great job, but for me I've been very critical of my every move behind the wheel," explained Latino. "I've analyzed ever aspect of my driving from cutting a light, to everything. I've realized you have to be in the right state of mind with every pass and be focused. I want to win Indy and make the most of the chance."
Latino concluded the second day qualifying with a 5.998 elapsed time at 242.02 miles per hour.
15 OUT OF 16 AIN'T BAD - After two sessions, only one driver, James Keen, is the only provisional qualifier in the six-second zone.
NAISER LEADS NITROUS - Texas-based Pro Modified racer Jeff Naiser was the standard-bearer for the nitrous-injected cars as he pushed his 1969 Camaro to a mark of 5.892, 241.52.
THE SUPERCHARGED BRIGADE - Von Smith, Oak Ridge, Tenn., was the quickest of the supercharged competitors at 5.906 seconds at 240.89 miles per hour. He was the No. 4 qualifier.
ON THE OUTSIDE - Sitting in the unenviable No. 17 spot is Indiana-based racer Jason Hamstra with a 6.011, 237.38, only .001 outside of the field.
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FRIDAY - NEW TEAMMATES, CAREER PERFORMANCES
MEMORIES FROM THE CHAMP - If you were born a Coughlin kid, Lucas Oil Raceway, formerly known as Indianapolis Raceway Park, was your favorite playground. Troy Coughlin, past Pro Modified champion, remembers the playground where he still experiences his playtime, albeit at a faster speed.
"As a kid growing up in the sport, Indy was always the last hurrah before school started," Coughlin said. "It was the last time you had to cut loose before getting back to work at your studies. We'd go over there and watch Dad race, try to help him out as much as we could, and we'd hang out with all our drag racing friends.
"We'd ride our bikes all over the pits and we'd go race each other around the circle track. We kept the track security guys pretty busy. Even to this day, as much as the race means to me as a driver and as a race team, the time in the pits with all your friends still is what makes it special."
Coughlin came into this weekend as the most recent winner in the 10-race Pro Mod series, going to victory lane in Norwalk, Ohio, in early July.
"The Norwalk win was huge," Coughlin said. "It lifted everyone's spirits in our pit and definitely gives us a ton of momentum going into Indy.
"We didn't reinvent the wheel. We really just calmed everything down with the tune-up and stopped trying to rotate the earth on every run. We worked on getting the car down the track every run and then started fine-tuning from there. We weren't the fastest car in Norwalk by any means, but we were super consistent and that worked. We won't be changing that plan of attack in Indy."
Coughlin entered the weekend in ninth place, only 101 points out of first.
He thundered to the top spot in Friday qualifying with a 5.945 at 248.75 miles per hour.
INDY, THE INTIMIDATOR - It takes a lot to intimidate defending series champion Rickie Smith, but the eight-time drag racing world champion vividly remembers the first time he faced the challenge of the NHRA's U.S. Nationals. The sight of 700 race cars vying to be the best of their classes at the 1975 U.S. Nationals was enough to nearly bring the King, NC-based drag racing legend to his knees.
"It was intimidating for sure - it was Indy - it was the NHRA," said Smith. "I wasn't too long into drag racing and prior to running the event I had never run any NHRA stuff. The extent of my experience was racing at Farmington or one of the tracks close to home, where maybe I had to race against 50 cars or something like that.
"I felt like a good old boy taking his backyard stock car to the Daytona 500."
Racing a Ford Maverick that he would eventually use to dominate the old IHRA Super Modified class, Smith entered the Modified Production class.
"We even tried to put two carburetors on it, thinking it would go faster and it slowed down," Smith said with a grin.
The intimidation factor has subsided for the doorslammer icon.
"Yeah, I am one of the crowd now," Smith admitted. "I think I've blended in now. Back then I was just a newcomer trying to fit in."
Smith ended Friday qualifying as the fourth quickest with a 5.985 elapsed time.
BROTHERS IN ARMS - Rickie Smith is racing with a teammate this weekend at the U.S. Nationals. Smith, who races an electronic fuel-injected combination with nitrous, has paired up with Harold Martin, another driver known for his prowess with the EFI and nitrous combination.
"I've known Harold and we have talked, and believed he would get in the car and not drive over his head," Smith said.
Martin was excited for the opportunity.
"Rickie and I over the last few years have become pretty good friends," said Martin. "We talk all the time and about four to six weeks ago he asked me to do this."
Martin normally fields a late-model Corvette on the series and has raced Pro Modified for over 15 years. This weekend; however, he's a hired gun -- uncharted territory for the Wixom, Michigan-based driver.
"It's very different," admitted Martin. "At the same time, it is an honor, when someone like Rickie Smith reaches out to you. I think about that. This is a really great opportunity for me to race with someone as great as Rickie Smith."
Martin finished No. 9 after one session with a 6.035.
SECOND-GEN, SECOND PLACE - Steven Whiteley, son of Jim and Annie Whiteley, was the second quickest in his supercharged Camaro with a 5.995 elapsed time at 243.77.
MAJOR PAYNE - Jay Payne made his return to the Pro Modified division with a 2012 Camaro but fell short of the cut on the first day.
NIP AND TUCK – Steve Matusek (above) and Danny Rowe finished seventh and eighth with their two-car team with a 6.011 and 6.027 respectively.
BILLY GLIDDEN - Let the record reflect, the Glidden magic is still in effect at the NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.
Glidden, the son of revered Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden, recorded his first five-second run since moving into the NHRA Pro Modified ranks. His 5.995 elapsed time placed him No. 5 in the first day field.
The momentous pass was the first full pass for Glidden with a new fuel-injected engine combination plumbed into his 873-inch Jeff Naiser-built engine. He also has a 903 which he said he may consider putting in the car overnight.
"This is just fantastic," Glidden said. "We have really been working at this [engine combination] really hard. We've got a lot of people who are in our corner. Before today, we had only made one full eighth-mile pass on this combination.
"I swear we have been working hard at this. We haven't been intentionally trying to look like idiots out here. I hope this a sign of good things to come from this."
What makes his efforts even more special is the fact he's running a long-in-the-tooth chassis upgraded over the winter. Even more impressive for Glidden is the fact he left a good bit of performance on the table.
Glidden said John Meany and Don Bailey have assisted him this weekend to find the right combination.
"On that run, it bogged the engine on the starting line," Glidden said. "Then it shook for a long time. I knew if we could get it to the finish line on all eight-cylinders we'd be good. We left some on the table. I've already looked to see where we can improve."
ON THE BUMP – There were 31 of 34 entries to make runs on Friday evening, when the smoke cleared it was James Keen on the bubble with a 6.089.
