NHRA WINTERNATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - SUNDAY NOTEBOOK – SCHUMACHER'S SECRET, HIGHT REACHES NEW HEIGHTS AND GREAG ANDERSON "THE DOMINATOR"
TOP FUEL
“Most of the days when we wake up and race a tough car, it builds momentum for the day,” Schumacher said. “You qualify No. 1 and get a No. 16 car, you tend to back it down a bit and that always comes back to bite you.
“[Crew chief] Alan Johnson got up this morning and knew what he had to do. We are a long way from that 90%, but we are working towards it. We’re getting it figured out and the car is performing so consistently. Then you get an opponent like Doug Kalitta, and when you win those kinds of races, they shine up real nice.”
Schumacher opened the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing tour the same way he concluded last year – in the winner’s circle. In fact, he’s three for four in two years at Pomona.
Schumacher reeled off his quickest run of the weekend with a 4.499 elapsed time at 331.28 miles per hour to get by Cory McClenathan’s game 4.536 seconds, 329.26 mph.
“That’s our car, our tune-up and we helped to put that team together,” Schumacher said of McClenathan. “They’re going to be tough all year long. He’s a great driver. Cory is another driver with a lot of wins. It was perfect – a great ending to a great day.”
Schumacher won his first career NHRA CARQUEST Winternationals in 2004 and presently holds an eight round winning streak at Pomona. He’s now 42 for 71 in career final round appearances.
The victory puts Schumacher second in most career victories behind Joe Amato's 52 wins.
ANOTHER ONE FOR DAD – The younger Schumacher’s victory marked the 108th for his team owning dad, Don Schumacher,
“That’s a lot,” Schumacher said. “He’s got some really great teams. He has four great Funny Cars. He has great Top Fuel teams and when the bike team gets out there – it’s going to do well too. He’s a phenomenal businessman. He puts the best teams together and if you look back at the races for last year, I’m sure we won at least one class at each.
Despite having such a huge operation, Tony Schumacher explained there’s a misnomer when it comes to DSR.
“I have to tell you that our budgets are not the largest.
“It’s not about the largest budget; it’s about having the right personnel. You have to have people that are willing to work together and share technology. That bites us sometimes. We’ve shared a lot with some of the other teams.
“We’ve had crew chiefs go in other directions. We know that is going to happen. But, he is a master at putting together overall programs with sponsors and partners and make them all work together.”
"This race showed the amount of work that Mike Green and the FRAM crew have put into this car," said McClenathan. "Everyone at Don Schumacher Racing, from the girls in the office to the people that do the apparel all the way down to the people back in Indiana that don't even come to the races, they are the one's that actually need to be thanked for this. It's my privilege to drive the car and it's something else to work with people and an organization like DSR. I can't thank Don Schumacher and his family and everyone involved with the team enough.
"The best way to win a championship is to get a leg up on it and I think we did that this weekend. No matter how you look at it we still leave this race in second place and walk into Phoenix behind our teammate Tony Schumacher. We used to count points in the middle of the season, now we count them from day one. We may have been the No. 8 qualifier but the FRAM dragster showed what it's made of today.
This was just the second career final round appearance in the CARQUEST Winternationals for the 43-time national event winner.
STARTING OFF THE SEASON – Cory McClenathan opened the 2007 season with a first round loss. That was then. This is now.
McClenathan opened his first full season as a member of the Don Schumacher Racing fraternity with a solid showing beating prohibitive favorite Brandon Bernstein in the first round.
“I don’t think it gets much easier from this point on,” McClenathan said.
“Many of those Funny Car drivers do burnouts without a throttle stop,” Dixon explained. “I’m not afraid to drive one of them. I’ll just wait until everything settles down first.”
NOTHING BUT NET – If Antron Brown were a basketball player, he’d be credited with nailing three-pointers all weekend. On Sunday, he had to settle for a proverbial two-pointer with a quarter-final finish.
Brown, who earned the pole with a run of 4.495-seconds in qualifying, faced off against 29-time Top Fuel winner Cory McClenathan in round two. Brown had a great .062 (of-a-second) reaction time but the Matco Tools rail lost traction instantly and slowed to a run of 16.894 seconds.
cClenathan earned the trip to the semifinals as a result of his 4.530-second winning effort.
“We came in here and went down the track on Thursday and Lee (Beard) got a good baseline and then came out and set low E.T. and qualified No. 1 with that 4.49 on Friday; what more could you ask for,” Brown said. “Then to outrun Tony Schumacher on our final qualifying run on Saturday night got us warmed up for race day.
“We don’t just want to race; we want to contend for a championship. Lee has a lot of experience winning races. With the experience of Lee and working with Hot Rod (Fuller), I have great coaches. The sky’s the limit for our team. We leave here fifth in points and we’re looking forward to Phoenix. We know the track and tested well there and I have more confidence in my driving skills.”
CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
FUNNY CAR
Despite eating up his Jimmy Prock-tuned ride shy of the finish line, Hight drove his way to a 4.861 elapsed time with a slowing 284.39 miles per hour to edge Cruz Pedregon’s competitive 4.879.322.50 package.
“I'd like to have all the races here,” said Hight. “We seem to have a pretty good track record. I will say this, I was going down the race track and flashbacks from last year crossing the center line against Scelzi and losing it. I just kept telling myself to keep this thing in the middle, do not let it get inside or over near the wall. It's funny how all that goes.”
Just ask Hight and he’ll tell you his first two rounds looked anything but promising. He won with a 5.521 elapsed time and a 5.291.
“After the first 2 rounds I didn't give us a chance,” Hight said. “We didn't do real well in qualifying here, like Jimmy said we're still testing. We didn't get a lot of testing in because these new chassis' were late getting to us and we're just a little behind the eight-ball. Honestly, we probably would've been better to go back with last years combination and start the year with as little amount of testing that we had but we decided to change the things that we thought we could help ourselves on from last year and work through it.”
The victory marked Hight’s second career season-opening win and third career Pomona championship. He won the season-ending NHRA AAA Finals last November.
Since debuting in 2005, Hight has reached the finals of the Winternationals thrice. He was runner-up last year to Gary Scelzi.
GIVING CREDIT – Hight was adamant during his post-race press conference that Ford Engineer Niranjan Singh gets credit for this victory. He pointed out the engineer was instrumental in the development of the chassis that won the race in Pomona.
“This win is going to be dedicated and the trophy going to a gentleman from Ford who has worked night and day with John Medlen and Murf McKinney and Austin and all the guys, but mainly John Medlen and Murf.
“I'm not kidding you, he worked on Thanksgiving and Christmas -- he worked non stop on this race car. He kept saying we're a little behind, we're a little behind and we just kept saying its better to be a couple of days behind and even a week but do it right, do it right the first time. They did their homework and we did do it right and it shows with our performance.”
Hight said qualifying all four Mustangs this weekend was a testament to Singh.
“I’m going to give this trophy to him and hopefully he'll be out here in the winners circle with us,” said Hight. “He's worked a lot of hard hours. He came in from F-1 and he just loves drag racing. He said the people over here are so nice. The drivers and all the crew guys, he just loves hanging out with us. He's going to help a lot of the teams, not just ours.”
“He's a great guy, he really is a genius. You watch, he may want to get into all of this and become a crew chief. The guy is sharp.”
“We had the quickest runs -- John did actually, in testing. We came out here with a win,” said Hight in his post race press conference. “My win today wasn't based on performance. The first 2 rounds we were fortunate enough to not have somebody in the other lane that went down the track.
“The last few rounds ran well so I don't see how you can argue with what we've done. Honestly, I can see so good in this race car and I'll be honest, I never really got good at pedaling the car. I'll be honest, the first 2 rounds that I won today I won by pedaling. It was because I could see and I knew where I was at, I could feel the car and I just had it under control quicker. It's not me. I haven't had the practice all winter. I think it's the car.”
Hight’s comments apparently aren’t lip-service based on the Pomona triumph. Following the massive wheel stand in Phoenix, Hight's car was repaired by chassis whiz Steve Plueger.
“We knew the car was bent and we decided that if we get the preload right it'll be fine,” said Hight. “We ran it two more times at Phoenix after the wheel stand. NHRA came over to our shop last Saturday to tech all our bodies and chassis. My car wouldn't pass tech, it had too much stagger in the front end because it was bent.”
JFR was faced with a serious dilemma. No time to carry the car back to Murf McKinney’s shop, Force called in a personal favor from longtime friend and chassis builder Steve Plueger.
“Plueger said to come on over and I'm not kidding you within an hour my guys had the car stripped and we had it on a flatbed trailer and we trucked it over there,” Hight said. “John came over with us. Steven Plueger is a master at metal and he heated it up and put some clamps on it and it was as good as new. We didn't have to put anything on it when we took it back to our shop and scaled it.”
THE FORCE FACTOR – Hight wouldn’t say it, but those around him readily agreed bringing Force over to Plueger’s shop was a mistake.
“John was there telling stories and memories,” recalled Hight. “John got in the Plueger & Guyger Mustang and he was blown away.”
Hight was envious and really wanted to drive the nostalgia car. That is, until he realized Plueger didn’t know who he was.
“He quickly gave me the ‘get this kid out of my shop’ look,” Hight confided.
The night ended at midnight with Force following the team’s flatbed truck and of course, some reminiscing.
“We had my chassis on a flatbed and we'd stop at every stoplight and John would pull up beside us, even if there wasn't a lane to my right and we'd roll our window down and he'd say this is so cool seeing a car on a flatbed again,” Hight said with a chuckle. “Then we'd go to the next stoplight and he'd say but you what's really awesome are you have a race car that can win. He says the car on that trailer back there can win, when I used to have one on a flatbed it wouldn't even qualify.
“Then we'd go to the next stop light and he'd say Jimmy Prock was a snot nosed kid back in those days now everybody's afraid to race him.”
Neither driver was apparently seriously injured in the accident, although Pedregon was being tended to by the on-site medical staff.
“I broke every rule you can break as a driver. It’s called brain fade,” Force said. “I was worried about the reaction times because I was late off of the line because of my foot.”
Then all hell broke loose as Pedregon’s Quaker State Monte Carlo exploded and launched the body into pieces except for the front-end. Pedregon was then launched into the left retaining wall and over into the right before coming to stop just shy of the sand trap.
Force ran late on deploying the chutes and made his way into the sand.
“He’s okay,” said Force. “When I got hurt, Tony was the first person at the hospital telling me to get better and get back out of here.”
Force said the concussion from Pedregon’s explosion sent shrapnel into the side of his car. Video of the accident revealed the body went airborne and came to a rest alongside of the track.
“I was looking at him and forgot about the parachutes,” Force said. “Then I saw the sand and I remembered the one thing I always tell my children.”
In other words, the Force family rule, ‘Do as I say, not as I do” applied in this instance.
“I did the one thing I always tell my kids not to do,” Force said. “Don’t forget the parachutes. I just did. The car is alright. Got it stopped. [crew chief Austin] Coil is gonna kill me.
“I’m glad Tony is okay.”
Videos of the recovery process showed a visibly shaken Pedregon walking to the ambulance with a good portion of his firesuit burned away. He later returned to the track with his right hand bandaged from burns.
AS HE WITNESSED IT – The explosion Pedregon experienced was one of the worst in his driving career and worst of all, it came with no advance warning.
"A lot of times when something happens to your car, like when you drop a cylinder, you feel it, and I would have reacted,” Pedregon said. “But it blew up, and I had instant flames, like a flame-thrower in my face and the scary part was I didn't know where I was. I hit the wall very hard and I feel very lucky. I knew that my hands were burned and I knew that I got beat up a little. When I got out of the car I thought, ' I can't believe the car finally stopped and I'm going to get out of it.' I got out of it slowly because I wanted to make sure the car was completely stopped.
“I think at this point, the backing and the partnership we've formed with GM is going to help because we have bodies on the way. This is a little bit of a glitch for us, but this is why we have depth. We have good people and I feel fine - I feel great. I'm anxious to get back in the seat at Phoenix, and hey, if this is what it takes to get to the top, these are unfortunate things, but in terms of safety, to have a high-speed wreck like that, blow a motor and go into the wall a couple of times at close to 300 mph, I think it proves a lot about the safety features we've added to these cars."
WORKING THE ANGLES – After sitting next in line following an oil down clean up, Ashley Force scored a 100 on the sponsor-meter.
“I sat there for so long, I think I’m gonna have to go back to the trailer and put on some more of that Old Spice deodorant,” Ashley said over the PA system following her victory over Bob Tasca III.
Her father John Force added some Ashley insight after his second round victory.
“My baby trucked right down there like a man,” John said. “She looks like her momma and drives like her daddy.”
YEAH, HE’S BETTER – The devastating crash John Force endured last September kept him from racing for almost five months. One weekend behind the wheel and the man (or personality) who once saw Elvis at 1,000 feet is back.
“This car makes me feel 18 years old again,” Force said. “I’m an old fart, but I tell you this car makes me feel young again. But now, I swore after my crash that I’d stop crashing.”
Gaspers helped escort the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger R/T driven by Ron Capps to the staging lanes in the team's Durango tow vehicle and then rode to the end of the track to pick up the car after the first round. He also received a NAPA team shirt and met the entire NAPA crew. Gaspers, who works as a mechanic for the City of Redlands, qualified for the contest as a customer at his local NAPA AUTO PARTS store. The 61-year-old was overwhelmed with this unique opportunity to be part of the NAPA AUTO PARTS team.
"This was the chance of a lifetime and I want thank everyone," said Gaspers, who was stunned when his name was called out as the winner in the Don Schumacher Racing hospitality area this morning. "It was more exciting than I ever expected and Ron Capps and the crew couldn't have been nicer. I was very impressed with that. I've been a drag-racing fan since the 1960s and I never expected to get this kind of opportunity. It's the highlight of my career of going to the races. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I recommend it to anyone who has the chance."
There were 25 different NAPA dealers that participated in the contest. The criteria for participation were based on increased sales through December and January compared to the same period last year. Each dealer had to increase its business by $1,000 a month to be eligible, and the winner was chosen by the local NAPA distribution center. During the season the NAPA distribution centers at each event will have different criteria for choosing the people who may be selected to be an Honorary Crew Member.
“We started basically right around the first of November and we really got to working in earnest right after Thanksgiving, but we're still not done yet,” Kloeber said. “It's a lot of hard work and I couldn't be happier to get the car down the race track.”
Not only did Kloeber and co-crew chief Chris Cunningham guide rookie driver Bob Tasca III down the track, but also provided the impetus for a first round victory. As different as the combinations are for a Funny Car as opposed to a Top Fuel dragster, the tuning duo drew on Kloeber’s Top Fuel experience.
“This thing, it shook so bad for so many runs in testing that I thought maybe we need to treat this thing like a dragster and it went down the track,” Kloeber said. “That's what we tried, something a little bit closer to what I've been running in the dragster. Chris was behind me 100% and he helped me figure out all the differences and together we came up with a real good setup for that run so I couldn't be any happier right now.”
For all the problems encountered in testing, Kloeber said the differences between a Funny Cars and dragsters are substantial. Bear in mind that Kloeber worked for many seasons as a crew man for Don Prudhomme on his flopper and later for Jim Epler when he ran the first 300-mph lap.
Kloeber spent nearly eight years with Clay Millican as the tuner for a team that won seven IHRA championships. He was released from the team last summer.
Such a move is not uncommon in the rough and tumble world of nitro tuners. A similar scenario exists with head coaches in the National Football League where a change of scenery is needed often to invoke a fresh start.
“I think that's part of life,” said Kloeber. “In today's age you don't go to work sweeping the floors and end up running the joint anymore usually you have to move and skip around. I don't know if it's just today's age or what not for me.
“The Ford people expect an awful lot out of this. The Tasca Family is very successful. They expect to win, this is not just a really happy to be here kind of thing. This is kind of a win deal, we want you to win. We're paying you to win and Ford's paying us to win so we're going to do our best to see to it that we follow our marching orders.”
Getting the Motorcraft car to the finish line rates a good measure of having fun. At least qualifying this weekend was fun.
“Well the run that got us in the field was a lot of fun compared to the other 17 runs where we didn't get down the track worth a hoot so yeah it's fun right now but you could go up there and smoke the tires and be just as frustrated in a couple of hours,” added Kloeber. “That's what drag racing is all about.”
Imbrogno resigned his position and accepted the role as General Manager for Kenny Bernstein Racing. He said an ongoing discussion with Bernstein eventual led to his leaving NHRA.
“I don't think there was any straw that broke the camel's back because I was pretty much happy at NHRA -- there are a few things that I would like to see different,” explained Imbrogno. “I think they could streamline the decision making process is one thing that I would've liked to see but it was just time to go back home. You know I worked for Kenny for 10 years so it was a chance to get back over there.
”When he put the two-car team together with the new facility it's an awful lot for him to handle by himself. He wants to kind of throttle back because he's getting up in age a little bit and he wants to enjoy life a little bit.”
Imbrogno’s departure from the sanctioning body resulted in his former position being dissolved and replaced by the NHRA Sportsman Advisory Committee. There are over 40 racers filling his former position.
“Yeah they’re going to do it by committee which I don't know it may or may not work,” admitted Imbrogno. “It's good to get input from the committee but still the decision process has to be limited to a few. You have to have good solid input from racers and it's kind of what I tried to bring back to the program. When it comes time to making the decision, you don't need to have 14 guys making a decision.”
"It's definitely not the way I wanted to start the year, especially after qualifying so well. I think it was just one of those fluke things, because Brian [Corradi, Troxel's crew chief] said the car was on a great pass up until that point," Troxel explained.
"I'm disappointed, of course, but I'm not depressed. Look at all of the high quality cars that didn't even make the show - cars like my teammate's, Mike Ashley; my husband Tommy Johnson, Del Worsham - and all of those cars and teams are very competitive.
"I think almost everyone out here this weekend had some difficulty at one time or another with the track, and, unfortunately for us, we just got bitten by that at the wrong time," she said.
"When you lose like this, especially at the beginning of the season, you have to step back from the disappointment and look at the big picture. This is a new car, I'm a new driver, and this is the first race of a 24-event season. I'm actually very pleased, because I got a lot more seat time, the guys and I are jelling and getting to know each other, and I'm learning the finer points of driving a Funny Car instead of finessing a Dragster. There's a big difference, not so much in power, but more so in how you have to manhandle the steering in the Funny Car versus feathering the steering in the other.
"After talking with [team co-owner and teammate] Mike Ashley, we're going to do some serious testing this week to get these new cars completely dialed in and ready when we get to Phoenix. The way I look at that, it's a great way to get controlled seat time, and since we've got good information from what we experienced here, we'll be able to stay there until we get it running consistently like it did at the end of last year," she said.
PRO STOCK
Anderson established the low elapsed time of the event with a 6.616 pass at 209.23 miles per hour. Just ask Anderson and he’ll tell you he expected a battle to the wire with Jeg Coughlin, Jr., his final round opponent.
“You better bring everything you've got,” Anderson said, when asked about the competition Jeg Coughlin, Jr. displayed in the final round. “I knew that no matter what we'd run he was going to be right there or quicker. Somehow I had to dig down and find a way to leave the starting line with him. He's kind of worn me out a few times on the starting line but anytime I can be within a couple thousandths of him on the starting line I feel that I did my job I guess.
“I'll let the guys take over with the race car and hopefully they can drive around in this with the horsepower. We obviously did our homework over the winter and they obviously did too. I think several cars in this class have made huge gains in the off season.”
Anderson’s observation leads him to believe this will be the toughest year for the Pro Stock division to date.
“It's probably going to be the best year ever for POWERade Pro Stock,” Anderson said. “I know I've said things like that before but it's the truth. It gets tougher every year and these guys get smarter every year, more players figure out how to play tough every year and run tough every year. If you think it's going to get easy one year you better get out of the sport because it's not going to happen.
“We had a good lead so we sat down and thought maybe we could try a few things and test a few things on the race car,” Anderson admitted. “I guess looking in hindsight it kind of got us out of the "go to the race to win the race" mode. That's something that we've never done before. I go to the races to try and win; not just to try and get more points than the next guy closest to me in the points. I go to every race to win it.
“That's what gets me and that's what gets it for this race team. That's what makes us work hard during the week so we kind of got out of that mode. I learned a valuable lesson, it's not easy to get back into that mode and I cost us a championship I guess. Sometimes you think you've got a great plan but it turns out to be not such a great plan. Hopefully we'll be smarter this year and we just decided that this year we're going to go out and try to win every single race no matter what.
“If we win a championship then great and if we don't maybe we'll win 15 races, I don't know. You just can't play like we did last year and we learned a valuable lesson. Obviously you can't win every race of the season if you don't win the first one. I'm the only one in this class that can say I'm going to win a race this year. I'm feeling really good right now and it's going to be a great week and a half. We're going to go home and work hard. This is obviously what makes us work harder and if we don't – we don’t win like this.”
The wicker, which it the name given the ledge on the end of the spoiler, has been the focus of change for this season. Instead of the 3/8th inch requirement in 2007, the size has been increased to 5/8th.
Some drivers, particularly those under the GM banner, are finding this change to be an unnecessary adjustment while a number of the Mopar teams have noticed no difference in the manner in which their cars handle in the second-half of the drag strip.
The difference, for the GM cars, is reportedly that this increased size raises the car in the front and plants the rear in the lights.
"We decided to raise the wicker height for all Pro Stock cars due to the varying track conditions that the teams are faced with at different times during each race weekend as well as throughout the season," said Don Taylor, senior director of national technical operations, NHRA. "The goal in making the rule change was to increase the downforce and stability of the cars."
Warren Johnson considers himself one of the drivers not enthused with this amendment to the spoiler.
“They did this with no forethought,” Johnson pointed out. “It’s just another one of those things we didn’t need.”
Johnson said the newly implemented combination affects his car, though he wouldn’t comment one way or another.
“It has an effect, but I won’t say what,” Johnson added.
Johnson’s GM Performance Parts was the second fastest car over the Pomona weekend with a 209.04 speed during qualifying.
Greg Anderson felt the cars were stable last year.
“We kind of felt happy about the package that we had last year,” said Anderson, who had top speed of the event at 209.39. “We felt that the cars were good and stable. We really didn't seem to have any trouble once we got near the eighth-mile or 330 on, it was always before that. I don't think that the spoiler had much to do with that.
“The spoiler really probably isn't going to affect the cars a whole lot as far as stability wise. I don't think we had a stability problem once we got down into the eighth mile so we've just got to overcome it. It's going to take more power to overcome that bigger wing back there. It's harder than you think to take all the drag away from these cars and make them run speed so it's just going to put a little more drag on them.”
Larry Morgan doesn’t see the big issue with the adjustment.
“It affects every car out here, but I think it’s a good rule and there’s nothing wrong with it,” Morgan said. “There are guys out here that just want to bitch. It’s to create more downforce and I agree with it. There’s just going to be someone who complains about everything.
“Warren went out there and ran 209, so I guess it didn’t hurt him.”
The burden will fall on the shoulders of the engine builders to come up with more horsepower.
“Us as engine builders we're just going to have to go home and find more power,” added Anderson. “That's just all that we've got to deal with. We can't worry about it because it's the same for everybody. Yes, the cars are a little different. Their a little harder to pull through the wind because of that wing so not going to worry about it, we've all got this thing to worry about we're just going to go and try to find more power to pull.”
MACHO MEN – There’s a new level of machismo when it comes to driving Pro Stock, at least that’s how Greg Anderson sees it.
“You gotta be a real man to run in this class these days,” said Anderson.
BIGGER IS BETTER? – Stop the presses, three-time champion Greg Anderson confirmed that he’s a fan of raising the 26-year old cubic inch ceiling of 500-inches for the Pro Stock division.
”I always want to go faster,” Anderson said. “I'm a fan of faster is better. I think Pro Stock is neat, it's interesting, it's great competition but I love the fact that they get faster every year. We work awful hard to find 15 horsepower, that's a good year. A gain of 15 horsepower -- boy you could pull in 600 cubic and pull 200 more horsepower -- so I'd be all about that.
The NHRA first adopted the 500-inch “mountain motors” in 1982 after losing the Pro Stock media market share to the lesser financed IHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stockers that were firmly entrenched in the seven-second zone. The IHRA Pro Stockers are within two-tenths of the five-second zone presently.
Here’s a bit of trivia. Did you know Greg Anderson was a crew chief when the first ever 500-inch race was contested in February 1982? He wrenched John Hagen to the 13th spot in the field and a quarter-final finish.
Humphreys is the only one that put his cash down on the alliance surviving a mixture of colorful personalities.
“There was some that said our association with Richard wouldn’t last more than two races,” said Humphreys, smiling as he spoke. “Then Glidden came on board and those same people were putting money that Glidden wouldn’t stay past one race. Then it was Indy. Here we are in our second year. Hopefully we have a few more to go.”
Humpreys, against the odds, bet on his team’s focus on winning. The desire to win all trumps all the negativity.
“I knew we'd make it,” Humphreys said. “We're easy to get along with, us and all our guys. All it takes is team work and you act like a big family.”
Glidden hasn’t been shy of his praise of Humphreys. Such a thing has been a bit more than Humpreys feels he's worthy of at this time, but he’s not reading the press releases. Instead he’s listening to the gospel that Glidden preaches in the pits.
“He's a legend and he's been there and done everything,” Humphreys said. “He's been great to me, he's taught me a lot and he's teaching me new stuff everyday. He's got our car working the best it's ever been.”
Humphreys pointed out that a Glidden tip is immediately accepted and he refuses to make a mistake the second time.
“If he tells me to do something I just get out there and do it,” Humpreys admitted. “Just do what he wants to see and hope it works.”
Then there’s the trademark Glidden smile. What's it like to see him smile?
“Oh it's great,” Humpreys said. “When he's smiling you know it's a good thing.”
‘It’s pretty exciting but once qualifying is over, you have to focus on eliminations,” Glidden said. “You can’t lay on that too long. I’m used to going and winning rounds. This is a different deal.”
Glidden is running the first five races of the 2008 tour as part of a tire development program with Mickey Thompson Tires. He’s utilizing Richard Maskin horsepower.
“It was too smooth to be a fast run,” Glidden spoke of his first qualifying attempt. “I wasn’t exactly sure how we ran. I knew that we could do a little better and I made some changes. There were some glitches here and there. With that said, we gave up a little here and there.
“I was tuning this car like I tuned my black [Outlaw 10.5 tire] car. I’m tuning by feel instead of the computer.”
Glidden could easily view the 2008 opportunity to show value and eliminate as many heavy-hitters as he can in his limited time.
“We’ll just go as far as the qualifying money will take us,” Glidden said.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -SAY HELLO TO MR. BROWN, WILKERSON’S LAST DITCH DAY, FAMILIAR TERRITORY FOR ANDERSON
TOP FUEL
"This shows you what kind of team we have that a rookie can come in here and have that kind of a level of confidence," Brown said. "Lee Beard is really putting his science to this thing and when you look where he came from in tuning champions like Gary Ormsby,
you understand why these things happen. Our team is working all together and it shows.This year we are going to do the best we can and make it tough on all of them. We want to make it hard on the competition because we don't want the Schumacher camp winning their
sixth, we want our first."
On Saturday afternoon at the historic Southern California drag strip, Brown finished the day with a solid pass of 4.526 at 331.61 mph, resetting a career-best speed for the Indiana resident. He is the 99th different Top Fuel pole winner.
“I’m still living the dream,” Brown said. “To race against all these people I’ve looked up to is awesome. After (Larry) Dixon ran that 4.49, I saw Lee (Beard) and Alan Johnson turning the buttons. I was all buckled in and just wanted to enjoy the moment.
“The car was wiggling at half track and went through the traps a little sideways and when I hit the chutes I knew I was driving that car. I have a terrific team. I owe this all to them. I wanted to stay No. 1. I’m here to win. We held on to that No. 1 spot and I’m stoked.”
“We didn’t have a handicap by having a rookie driver,” Beard added. “He drove like a seasoned veteran and all the credit goes to the great technicians on this Matco Tools team. We have to be smart tomorrow.”
“I floated around so much last year I didn't know where I was going to land and I think I couldn't have found a better place to be actually,” said McClenathan. “Things are real good here, obviously we retained great companies like Fram, Autolite and GM. We brought on some new ones like Matco Tools, Rockstar and Valvoline. It's a lot different but at the same time I'm used to change.
“That book "Who moved my cheese?" has a whole new meaning when it comes to Cory Mac so I'm very happy and very excited. Mike Green heading the crew and it seems like old times again. I think with each pass we get more comfortable. I get more confidence, Mike gets more confidence. Mike was always really good with a dragster and I think that's starting to show now.”
McClenathan experienced a season from hell in 2007. The downward spiral began when longtime owners Mark and Andy Carrier sold their team to North Carolina businessman Scott Griffin. Controversy followed the sale and McClenathan made the decision prior to the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., to lease an operation from DSR.
Most of the crew followed McClenathan, but have gone elsewhere in 2008. This year McClenathan is reunited with former Joe Gibbs employee Mike Green. The supporting cast available with DSR makes for a reasonable comfort zone.
“We’re trying to learn to walk before we run type of deal and it's showing,” McClenathan said. “Thanks to DSR and all the people they have there. I'll tell you, it's not just DSR itself; it's all the people that work at the shop, all the girls in the office, to all the people that work in the track to the people that do hospitality. It's incredible. It's really a lot of fun.”
McClenathan pointed out that he’s got at least three years to drive under the DSR umbrella.
“I'm here for a couple of years,” McClenathan said. “It's one of those things where I was very glad to sign a contract. A contract gives you a certain amount of comfort. When you have a family like I do, you have to take care of that family. That's my first and foremost deal, next is drag racing. Other than that I don't know what I'd do.”
The difference in attitude is something that McClenathan can’t help but notice.
“From the red headed stepchild to the penthouse space so I'm really excited about the opportunity,” McClenathan explained. “All the guys have been great. In the off season they took a lot off my mind. I was able to go do the GMC thing in Germany for the troops. I went to Australia for 10 days with Jim Reid and his whole family. I did some racing down there. I'm very excited and it's nice to get back to racing.”
FUNNY CAR
“We left a lot on the table with that run and we really had no other choice because we had our backs against the wall,” Tim Wilkerson said of his final qualifying attempt. “We knew we had to go out and go down the track because you’re not going to learn anything doing the things we did on Friday. It had almost made it down on Friday.”
Wilkerson suggested that he might have staged crooked on Friday’s session and that worked against him. He was straight as an arrow today en route to a 4.790 elapsed time at 325.22 miles per hour. Jerry Toliver was on top with an identical 4.790 prior to Wilkerson’s run, but a higher speed for the Springfield, Illinois-based driver is what netted the pole position.
“We got after it on Saturday afternoon and made it go down the track,” Wilkerson said. “That worked well and we had a little room to tune it up. I had about three different scenarios drawn up on my little graphic editor based on where we were at in the show.”
Before Saturday, Wilkerson was 17th quickest.
“We were in after the first session, so we decided to go for the throat,” Wilkerson said.
SUNDAY’S GAME PLAN – Wilkerson pointed out that he’s not going to try and rotate the earth on race day.
“I just want to see the car go down the track again and again,” Wilkerson said. “I have made my way back to 90% completely but I will say the parts look much more wonderful. I have to thank the NHRA for that.”
What is the difference between 85% and 90% for Wilkerson?
“A tremendous financial benefit to a man in my financial position,” Wilkerson said. “I’m hoping to get more life out of the parts this year. I have guaranteed Dan Olson [NHRA nitro liaison] that I’m going to have less oil downs this year. If I don’t I’m jumping off a cliff.”
Wilkerson lost only one motor in three years of racing at 90%. He killed six last year under the 85% rule.
“I have to believe that it’s going to make a difference,” Wilkerson said. “Of course, maybe we think we’re a bit smarter than we are. Every time that happens the motor suffers.”
HANGING WITH PRUDHOMME – Wilkerson admitted that last year several upper echelon teams assisted him with machining tools. This year he’s involved in an alliance with Don ‘the Snake” Prudhomme on technology and hospitality.
“I’ve been around their shop so much that I think they’re tired of me now,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve been there a half-dozen times wearing out their clutch and blower dyno. I’ve really learned a lot from that. I hope that’s going to improve our chances of running well wherever we go.”
Wilkerson pointed out that he befriended Prudhomme crew chief Donnie Bender about three years ago. The friendship has grown stronger with each season.
“It’s really good to have guys that you can show parts to, like a piston, and get another opinion,” Wilkerson added.
DON’T ASK COIL – Wilkerson recalled the one time he attempted to show Austin Coil a wounded piston and seek advice.
“If something has ever been torn up, chances are that he’s done it twice,” Wilkerson said. “We were No. 2 at a race, and he was No. 3 and I had a piston that looked scuffy and ugly. I asked, ‘What do you think of this Coil?”
Wilkerson wasn’t prepared for the answer.
“He was really pissed off. He looked at me and said, ‘See my motor with all the bones out of it and you care about a piston? Get out of my pit area.”
Don’t think Wilkerson has been back since.
Jim Head wants out of driving and wouldn’t mind in the least stepping aside for another driver.
“I'm not sure I got the world to understand how badly I want to get out of my race car,” explained Head. “I want to furnish a perfectly operating race team- crew, crew chief, all the equipment to some lucky new driver who hopefully brings a new sponsor; they have to bring a new sponsor. Too many people told me that I'm not really ready to get out of the car and they just don't understand. I am ready and now unfortunately I need to get out because we're not going to make the year without some money.”
Make no bones about it this is not a knee-jerk reaction for Head.
“Really the last four or five years I've thought about it a lot and now more than anything, I don't want to drive my race car,” Head said. “I want to see how good of a crew chief I can be. I've been wearing both hats for a long, long time and we're okay at it but I think we could be a whole lot better race team if we had a driver that concentrated solely on driving and public relations. I can be a tuner that concentrates solely on tuning the race car.”
The demand for high-caliber crew chiefs can fetch as much as $500,000 per season with incentives. One would think Head’s logical decision would be to join that fraternity.
“I sure don't race for the money, I don't need the money,” Head pointed out. “I race for the love of the sport. I don't think I would be a very good employee -- my team would be great as self contractors. I'm not really anxious to go out and just hire my services. I've been working with some of these guys for over 25 years, some for 10 to 15. I want to furnish the men and the equipment. I certainly don't need to own it. I'd be more than happy to sell it if they wanted to buy it. We need a lot of new stuff actually. We need new race cars because of the new rules and fuel cars eat parts, my tire bill I can't keep up with, my nitro bill I can't keep up with and I can't even keep up with my spark plug bill.
“Everything’s doubled in price it seems like and we're just not going to be able to keep up. I'd like to run all the races but again with a new driver. A new driver would bring more money. Too many times people have said I don't really think you're ready to get out of your car and they don't understand. I am ready.”
Head contends his decision is not based on the current state of safety in the class. Last year following John Force’s catastrophe in Dallas, Head fabricated a protective capsule for his chassis.
”I would be more concerned with my driver’s safety than my own,” Head admitted. “I couldn't live with hurting a driver. If we were going to have a bad accident, I'd rather be in the car than have another human being in the car. I'm always concerned with safety. I think we have a really safe race car, not because of the rules but because we've worked on it pretty hard.
“It's really not because of the money. Last year my business was doing great so it wasn't that much of a burden. It's just that I want to take the next step and I can't take the next step on the budget that I've been running on. I'm anxious to have an influx of green dollars so that we can get our race team to the next level. Like I said, I think an owner, driver; tuner is an impediment to that so I'd like to just be the tuner alone to do what I have to.
“I sure don't do well at the public relations and everybody knows that I'm not too good with autographs. I'm looking for the right mix and the right chemistry. I don't think I'm that hard to get along with as my reputation might suggest.”
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED - Bob Tasca, III. qualified in his Funny Car debut and also earned his first nitro sandtrap visit.
“The last time I went in the sand was in Englishtown and we won the race,” said Tasca. “I knew I was in trouble because I didn’t feel the chutes deploy. We had a failure with one of the levers and we had the body crack on the other parachute, so it never actually released the cable. The good news is that we’re in the show and we’ve put ourselves in a position to win.”
Adding some uncomrtable humor was 13-time champion John Force who hopped off of his scooter and went into the sand to assist Tasca in exiting his car.
Bad move. Force twisted his ankle. He's icing the ankle overnight to keep any swelling down.
"Yeah, John came in there to save me and I ended up having to save him," Tasca said with a smile.
HE'S A ROCKSTAR - Jerry Toliver was belting out the tunes Saturday. The crowd favorite was his 4.720 elapsed time that landed him in the second spot.
"I am extremely happy to do that well," said an upbeat Toliver, who's won three times at Pomona. "We wound up No. 2 but, guess what, there was only one car that ran better than us and he only beat us by speed. No. 1 is great, but winning the race is what's important. I've won this race right here in Pomona from the 15th spot, so it's all different on race day.
"My goal this weekend is to get by first round. If I win that first round tomorrow against my new teammate Jack Beckman, then after that it's all gravy. I want to win the race, but I'm just being real. There are a lot of good cars out here and a lot of good teams and it's competitive. So, if we get by first round it’s a good weekend."
Toliver struggled during the first two days of qualifying, but things turned around for the Rockstar Energy Drink team on Saturday. "That 4.79 made me feel good," he said. "it gave me confidence, and I think it gave the guys confidence in me. (Crew chief) Phil Shuler and the entire crew have done a great job and it's fantastic, and I'm as happy as I could be.
"I've made some driver errors in this car from the moment I stepped in it during testing. It's a new car, a new seat, a new steering wheel, a new clutch pedal, a different view out of the body, a new everything. It takes some laps to get used to it and I just wasn't comfortable, but these guys never wavered. They stuck with me and they believed in me. This is a team effort. All I do is point and steer it and go from A to B. They give me the race car and I drive it as hard as I can.
"I think there is going be some great things coming out of the Rockstar Energy Drink Dodge team this year. I think we're going to be a force to be dealt with and I'm very excited."
Today they entertained a special guest, Medal of Honor recipient and former POW, Jon Cavaiani.
Cavaiani, a close friend and special guest of team co-owner Roger Burgess, spoke at a dedication ceremony for the team's efforts of honoring veterans and welcoming the warriors of the Vietnam War.
Cavaiani said, "What these people are doing for veterans is so important to all of us. Bringing awareness to the veterans and POWs is so necessary, and I'm really honored to be a part of this special program."
One of only 107 living Medal of Honor recipients, Cavaiani was a prisoner of war at the same time as U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate John McCain. Cavaiani was released by the Provisional Government of Vietnam on March 27, 1973 and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his attempt to defend Hickory Hill on June 4-5, 1971.
Ashley said, "It's men like Jon who really put life into perspective. Sure, you could say that I had a bad day because I didn't qualify, but when you talk with a guy like Jon who was shot at and wounded several times while fighting for our country - he knows what a bad day is. He was captured and was a POW. I've never experienced anything like that. Not qualifying is nothing when you look at it like that."
Ashley added, "I'm looking forward to tomorrow, because I get to watch my team go out and compete. Melanie is a great driver and a huge asset to our team, and I know she will do very, very well."
Procter & Gamble, Inc., through its Old Spice brand, was introduced Saturday during the 48th annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway as the newest major sponsor of drag racing’s most successful Funny Car team.
During the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, the Old Spice “buoy bottle” will adorn the sides of the 320 mile-an-hour Old Spice Ford Mustang driven by rookie driver Mike Neff. With 70 years as an American icon, Old Spice is the authority on male grooming and embodies the core values that resonate with today’s guy.
In addition to Neff’s car, Old Spice identification also will appear on the Ford Mustangs of John Force, Ashley Force and Robert Hight.
“It’s exciting to be able to pair an icon of personal grooming like Old Spice with drag racing’s biggest icon, John Force,” said Carl Stealey, Old Spice marketing director for at P&G.
“I’ve used Old Spice all my life; my dad, then me,” Force said. “So this is a big moment for me and for John Force Racing. We try to align ourselves with mainstream companies that share our values and goals and Procter and Gamble with the Old Spice brand is a perfect fit. We’re really excited that they’ve come on board to work with Castrol, the Auto Club, Ford, BrandSource, Mac Tools, Sanyo and our other major sponsors.”
“It's possible, you never can tell,” Densham said. “You've got to find money and it's not really available at this point. I mean it's not the last race forever, that's for sure but whether or not we continue in the same direction and goal that we're going right now I'll know more by the end of the week.”
You’d better believe that Densham still has the competitive fires burning.
“You're proud of where it's come and you're upset of where it's come at the same time,” said Densham. “It's in both directions. You hate to think that the sport is going to be owned by 4 or 5 people eventually with the multi-car teams with the millions of dollars but on the other hand each one of those teams brings a good quality car, quality driver, quality crew chief and a quality sponsor to the sport. Is it really bad for the fans? I don't know. Total overall growth of the sport I don't know eventually if that will be good or bad for us.”
In a day where Densham said it could be his final event and Jim Head has pleaded for someone to take over his operation, does this establish a good state of the union for drag racing?
“Well who's to say?” Densham responded to the question with a question. “I mean the fans that are sitting in the grandstands are still going to see absolutely terrific racing even if all the cars are owned by 2 or 3 people. Their going to be backed with high dollar sponsors and their going to be able to hire the best teams and the best people from the driver to the guy who mounts the tires to the crew chief in order to be competitive. I mean these cars are running like Pro Stock cars at 320 mph.”
PRO STOCK
“You never know what to expect and you hate to get over confident but we certainly hoped for it,” said Anderson. “We didn't make a really clean run on Thursday when we ran a 6.63 so we thought as the weekend goes and the track gets cleaner we should be able to run faster. Looks like we were right but sometimes you're dead wrong on that and you look like idiots but we got it done this morning. We made a real nice run and that's great.”
Yes, Anderson has nailed down the top spot plenty of times. He contends they are all special – especially at the first race of the season.
“It's a great feather in the cap and it makes the whole team feel wonderful for all the hard work that they've put in over the winter,” Anderson said. “This new body that I've got, it looks like it's got a ton of potential. Like I said, I couldn't be happier about the ride that we got and what we're going to have to look forward to. I haven't done so well in the right lane out here. I didn't make it down in the right lane yesterday and I didn't do as well today in the right lane so we've got to figure that out before tomorrow because you never know where you're going to be tomorrow.”
Anderson admitted that his team isn’t prepared to concede dominance on Sunday.
“We're obviously happy that we ran fast but we've got to figure out how to make the car jump from lane to lane and make the car just as consistent from one lane to the other,” Anderson explained. “We've still got a few growing pains left. That's why they say I guess that we make the big bucks because we've got to figure that out by tomorrow. We've got a couple positive and some minor negatives but we're not going to worry about them right now we're just going to focus on the positives.
“We're number 1 qualifier at the Winternationals here and that's a great way to start the season. You never know how you're going to be here, how you're going to stack up against the rest of these cats. Obviously there's a lot of cars in this class right now that are really, really riding fast and it's going to take one heck of an effort to get that championship trophy back at the end of the year. All I can think about is doing good early tomorrow and getting that confidence back, we'll see how it steamrolls through here.”
The right lane has been a source of many Pro Stock drivers ire this weekend.
“For our car it's the starting line,” said Anderson. “We just can't seem to get it at the starting line like we can in the other lane. Once you get in second gear I think the lanes are pretty even. It's just always had that characteristic here. We've never been able to figure out why, it's just something with the launch pad in that lane that's struggled with that lane. I think it's completely the opposite with the fuel cars they like the left lane versus the right lane so I don't honestly know what to say or what to tell anybody how to fix it. It's just something that we've got to figure out. I'm taking the first crack at it but it's been like that since we've been coming here so you'd think that we'd have it figured out by now but we haven't been able to master it.”
Coughlin posted his best qualifying pass at the perfect time, running a 6.644 at 208.23 mph in Saturday's first session to move-up to the No. 2 position in the 16-car field.
Coughlin and his crew had the third round circled as the a pivotal run due to the fact it took place at the same time that Sunday's first elimination round is scheduled to take place.
"We're expecting pretty much the same conditions in Round 1 so we're really pleased to see that number because it showed we're right on track for where we need to be," Coughlin said. "What's even more encouraging is that we ran that pass in the right lane, which appears to be a hundredth (of a second) or two slower than the left lane. Since we'll have lane choice in Round 1, we should be able to start race day with a great pass."
The 51-time national event winner will open eliminations against fellow Ohio driver Ron Krisher, who qualified 15th with a best pass of 6.715 at 205.98 mph. Krisher also uses Cagnazzi Racing horsepower.
"As we saw in 2007, anyone capable of qualifying for these races is certainly capable of winning the race," Coughlin said. "I think a big key for tomorrow will be staying consistent as it heats up and doing our best to maintain lane choice. Although, we did pretty good in the right lane too so maybe it won't matter as much.
"What I know for a fact is this team will be ready. This race is kind of like the first day of spring where you finally get to go outside after being cooped-up all winter. The guys are so happy to be at the track and running this car to see first-hand that all the work they did in the off-season was worth the effort."
The longtime veteran from Yuma, Arizona, has been pulling the gears in NHRA Pro Stock competition since 1970. He used to run in the competitive circles and finished as high as fifth place in the points during the mid-1980s.
“Well, we'd like to be a little more competitive even though we don't have the financial backing to kind of do that stuff in research and development,” said Rivera. “For what we do I think we get it out of there. We're doing pretty good with what we've got.
“1984 and 1983 were our best years. I miss those years but it was a lot different racing than it is today, not near the dollars.”
Winning doesn’t command such a priority in Rivera’s game plan. He just likes playing the game.
“For me, it's being out here and having a little fun,” said Rivera. “I like the people here that come to the races and it's kind of like a family thing. You've done it all your life and you've got to stay with them.”
THE TRACK – Typically the race track endures some wear by time for the final day of qualifying. For veterans like Warren Johnson, the wear is clearly evident.
“It was getting a little bit greasy out there the first couple of cars that went down the race track,” said Johnson. “We’ve had a good race track now its deteriorating and it's getting old and we've seen a couple of cars slide around in both lanes. We're going slowly until the track starts to get warm.”
“The engine program is coming along reasonably well,” said Hammonds. “This is our first year in our new shop and we've had the winter to kind of work on our engines. I think we've improved our engines. We're just scratching through the surface I believe. As the year progresses I think it could get better and better. As Jimmy Oliver gets more time in the shop and gets to massage a lot of the things that he wants to massage and tries a lot of the things that he wants to try we should get better.”
One of the Hammonds engines has been in Kenny Koretsky’s NitroFish car this weekend. Koretsky qualified 13th.
“It's just a testament in how far I think we've come,” Hammonds said.
Hammonds flew blindly for much of last year without the use of a dyno to measure engine strength or tune-up. He moved into a new 11,000 square-foot shop just off of Interstate 10 in Holt, Florida.
“If you could've saw where we came from last year and to see where we're at now, you'd be astonished,” said Hammonds. “The dyno is working and the shop is at 100% capacity now, not capacity effectiveness now, all of our equipment is up and running. It's just a joy for me to get up every morning and go to do something that I love to do. When I go around and talk to people I try to tell people the same thing, I believe you can do anything you want in life as long as you trust in the Lord and you've got to have faith and work for what you believe in. You can be successful and that's what I believe.”
This weekend’s venture with Koretsky is just a means of getting their feet wet. Hammonds pointed out that inquiries about lease programs shouldn’t be far off.
“I think it'll probably start increasing,” Hammonds said. “I'm not in this business to start releasing engines. That's not what I'm here to do. I'm here to have our program working 110% and go out there and have a chance to run for a championship. That's my goal -- my goal is to not lease engines. We did that for Kenny Koretsky because I've known him for a long time and he needed a good competitive engine. I thank God that it ran good for him and he's running well so far.”
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK – ANTRON RACKS UP, TONY PEDREGON - WORLD CHAMPION, GM ROLLS TO TOP SPOTS
ON THE TUBE - Qualifying coverage of the 48th annual NHRA Winternationals will be telecast on ESPN2 on Saturday, Feb. 9, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. NHRA Race Day will kick off eliminator coverage on Sunday Feb. 10 starting at 11 a.m. Eastern on ESPN2, and a telecast of final eliminations will start at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
TOP FUEL
“That was a good run, but it was on the edge. About 150 feet before
half-track, it got a little loose. Just past that point, it started to
nose over. It was going so fast that I couldn’t tell you how fast it
was going. It was an incredible sensation.
Brown’s provisional quickest run was also a personal best.
“I owe it all to everyone who works on this car,” Brown continued.
“People always ask me about the transition from the bike to the
dragster. I’m a rookie driver but I’m not a rookie racer. This team has
made my transition easy because they’ve given me such a good race car.
This car is practically driving itself. I’m just working on cutting
some good, hard lights. The numbers are coming up on the board.”
A major factor in the comfort zone for Brown has been in working with Lee Beard.
“I’m just trying to do the best I can and be consistent,” Brown added.
“The race car is fast and I’m just stoked that I am part of a
phenomenal race team.”
The learning experience has proven to be a rapid-fire for Brown. He
completed his crossover license requirements on January 26 during the
Phoenix test session.
Brown said he’s not so naïve to believe it’s always going to be this
easy. In fact, he admitted one of his first test sessions in
Gainesville, Florida provided the kind of scenario that is not
conducive to perfect runs.
“When we first started testing last year in Gainesville, the track was
not there for the first two days,” Brown admitted. “The track was
50-degrees, we had a lot of power because the barometer was way up. The
first two days we made eight passes and all it did was shake the tires.
“I’m no stranger to tire shake, but I’ve yet to get into a situation
where I have to pedal it. That’s a part of my learning curve and it
will come as part of my learning curve. I will learn as I come. I am
getting more comfortable in the car and I am learning how to recognize
when it shakes and when it spins the tires. When it does that, we’ll
learn how good I am.”
BIKES VERSUS DRAGSTER – Ask Brown and he’ll tell you there’s more of a difference between
motorcycles and dragsters than the number of wheels each employ.
“There nothing on this earth to compare how fast a Top Fuel dragster
accelerates,” Brown said. “A Pro Stock bike accelerates to about 150
feet and after that, you just keep it in the groove. A Top Fuel car
accelerates all the way down the track. It’s almost like being on a Pro
Stock bike through first and second gear all the way down the track.
“I've never been on a vehicle where my peripheral vision gets closed
off. In a Top Fuel car your peripheral vision goes. That's why the
guys wear blockers because you can't see out there anyway so it doesn't
make a difference. When you get to half track that's where a car kind
of slows down and you can actually see everything that's on the side of
you. The only thing that I can see when I take off is right down the
middle of the race track and the groove that I want to stay in. It's
like you get telescope vision, not tunnel but telescope, you look in
one small area down the race track and that's where you want to stay
at. That's the big difference between bikes and cars. It's
unbelievable.”
Interestingly enough it was Schumacher’s former U.S. Army Pro Stock
Motorcycle teammate, Antron Brown, who knocked the defending NHRA Top
Fuel world champion from the top of the charts.
“Good for Antron,” said Schumacher afterwards. “He seems to be making
the transition from Pro Stock Motorcycles to Top Fuel look pretty easy.
He’s a good guy and I wish him the best of luck. I’m really looking
forward to our race day match ups – I’m sure we’ll have some fun.”
On Saturday, Schumacher will be looking to pocket his second straight Winternationals pole along with his 48th career pole.
“The main goal is to go out and get as prepared as we can for race
day,” he said. “Should we end up number one, so be it. Obviously, the
ultimate objective is to start the season off with a victory.”
Rob Flynn, crew chief for Rod Fuller, the driver who tested the
mono-strut, said that project has been put on hold until further wind
testing and certain safety aspects can be improved on.
“We need some wind tunnel testing to secure up some areas that we’re a little uncomfortable with,” Flynn said.
Fuller drove the mono-strut car in pre-season testing last year in
Phoenix with mixed results. The car was shelved once the season started.
“We just had to concentrate on racing the car last year,” Flynn said.
“This combination actually needs more wind-tunnel testing than actual
track testing to be honest. Some other people that have done wind
tunnel testing, they kind of confirmed some of the stuff that we saw on
the actual car that we didn't really like.”
In other words, Flynn admits we might not see it for a long time.
“I don't plan on running it at all,” Flynn said. “I don't see where
there is any advantage to it at this point unless someone tested it
more to prove that it's really a better part. I don't think that we're
going to be the guys doing that.”
How tough was it getting in that car today?
JR: Not at all man. As soon as that happened yesterday I wanted to
get right back in the car. As soon as you get back in the car, it
fires up, that's the last thing you think about so it's just back to
business.
Todd was able to get past it because the failure was mechanical and not driver error.
“The most frustrating part is when it's some mechanical failure that no
one could've prevented,” said Todd, whose A-arm broke upon the
completion of the run and launching him into the shutdown wall. “When
it's out of your control you just beat yourself up thinking you
could've done something about it. In all honesty if I would've let off
the gas sooner I probably would've still hit the wall. I'm just glad I
guess that it happened when it happened. We got the spare car out and
that was the first run on it, no tests or anything. Right out of the
box we ran quick and fast. I'm pretty happy with that. I’m just
disappointed that we destroyed a good race car that's all.”
Todd still finds the task of accepting parts failure difficult.
“It sucks but things like that do happen and this has nothing to do
with the new mandated chassis rules and everything that's been going on
the past year,” Todd said. “This is just something that out of the
blue, one in a million chance happening. Things do fail and things do
break. I'm not blaming anybody. Brad Hadman, in my opinion, builds
one of the best cars out here so I've got to thank him. I've also got
to thank my buddy Eric who's upstairs looking over me. If it weren't
for him we wouldn't have these mandated head-pads in the car and the
form fitted seats, he is the reason those things work now.”
HE’S A WANDERER – Clay Millican walked around the pits at the Pomona Fairplex looking
every bit like a soldier with no base camp, or battle to fight. He’s on
a mission of support this weekend for sponsor Torco Race Fuels and team
owner Evan Knoll, who is on a one-year hiatus.
“I'm not really a good spectator but you know I'm out here for Evan and
everybody at Torco,” Millican said. “I just want everybody to know that
Evan's doing better and that's what I'm here for, I'm here for Torco.
I'm here for Evan and Latrell [Preston, Torco CFO]. It's really been
pretty good. I've got to go around and kind of just see what's going
on with everything.
“Lance Larson and Johnny West are here as well from Evan's personal
team. Yes it's weird not racing and I didn't know where to go
yesterday when the cars were in the staging lanes. But everything's
really good and the team is working their tail off at home. Evan just
signed the lease on a new shop and the guys have been doing a little
construction work. We're getting new cars put together, everything's
really good. Our main focus right now is for Evan to get healthy and
then we'll all be out here racing again.”
Millican noted the lure to jump in and help a team is very tempting.
“I was over here yesterday with JR Todd and the Torco car,” admitted
Millican. “He had problems with his A-arm breaking and bending the
car. I asked John Stewart, his crew chief, several times what can I
do? He's like I don't need you to do anything, we've got it covered.
I was a little antsy, you know I like working on these things.
“I still work on them when I can. The hard thing is, is when the cars
are starting up and I'm not sitting in one of them like a gun slinger
without a gun. This is really good you know, I just wanted to make
sure Torco is still represented very well out here, Morgan Lucas' team
and JR, all those guys are doing a great job. Lattrell said I needed
to be out here and let everybody know what's going on with Evan and let
them know everything's good.”
Millican pointed out a bit of frustration is present with the knowledge
that he’s out for the season. However, he’s prepared to get over those
feelings for the good of his friend.
“It’s really hard, it really is,” Millican said. “A lot of it is just
really weird because when you don't have a camp or a race trailer here
you kind of wander aimlessly. It is hard. It's kind of like sending
an alcoholic to a bar. I guess. I don't know I've never had that
problem. I want to put the fire suit on and the helmet on and hop in
but we have to do what's best for Evan and that's what we're doing.”
MULDOWNEY’S TEAM – Four-time Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney pointed out last season
that she hoped to have a Top Fuel team for the 2008 season with Top
Alcohol Dragster driver Sheila Kopchick as the driver.
Muldowney’s vision of fielding a car under the Doug Herbert umbrella didn’t pan out in time for the first race of the season.
“I have hopes that the team might come out in the middle of the year,”
Muldowney said. “I think there’s enough equipment out there that we
could buy it if we needed to. I really don’t know what’s going to
happen.”
The program, Muldowney said, is contingent on sponsorship.
“We have a certain amount, but it is not enough,” Muldowney added. “I
don’t want to go out there and just stroke it. If we do get it, fine.
If we don’t -- that’s okay too.”
“The 4.52 is one of the quickest runs I’ve had in a couple of years and
besides, it’s my career best speed,” said a delighted Lucas, who had
run a speed of 330.47 mph back in November at the same track. “We
changed a few things from yesterday and the run today was more of a
test run than anything else. We were lucky that it hit and went, but
more importantly, I’m really excited about having a great team
underneath us. The coolest thing about this year is just seeing the
performance of all of our cars, not just for this race, but for the
entire season. It’s been a nice transition from going from
semi-competitive team to a really great and competitive organization in
just the matter of an off-season.”
FUNNY CAR
“I'd say it's a great feeling,” said Pedregon, a two-time world champion. “I thought the feeling had worn off but apparently it hasn't. We've got great conditions and you know really the other thing that is on my mind is that we'd really like to redeem ourselves. We really would've liked to pull the outcome of that championship ourselves and I think because of that there's something inside of me and [crew chief] Dickie Venables that is really wanting some redemption.
“We're hoping that this will be a good event for it. I think if it can be that'll make it really right for us but it is a great feeling. Between the media attention and some of the things that'll take place Sunday it's still kind of sinking in, which is a nice feeling.”
Pedregon’s championship for the most part was secured on the strength of his 2007 fall Las Vegas victory. A week later in Pomona, he lost in the first round, opening a minute chance that Robert Hight could have overtaken his lead.
“If there were more races - if it were any other way, we would've come into this with another approach,” Pedregon said, when asked if he felt his team backed into the title. “It was only because we had that kind of lead. We came in here, probably got a little conservative, but again we learned from that and we won't make that mistake again. We did what we had to and we had to look at the format and we had to race accordingly. With six races we'll race different. I like the new point system. I think it's going to be more accurate. Not disappointed in that regard, we'd like to think that the end result would've been the same.”
Pedregon has been witness to many format changes over the last fifteen years that he’s been racing the Funny Car division. He’s experienced the championship format and as for the new qualifying format, he admitted this weekend wasn’t the kind of race this program was established for.
“I think it had to happen,” Pedregon said. “It's unfortunate, it really wasn't an issue at an event like this. It's not going to get very hot and we're not going to see the benefits of that until we get into some hot tracks, probably closer to the summertime. It is what it is, I think it creates a better balance and you know again, I think it's going to take a little bit for everybody to adjust.
“You look at other forms of racing and there has to be a balance and it's probably easy for me to say because we're not number 13 but again, it's going to be interesting and it's going to take a little getting used to. I think the end result is something that needed to happen to allow for 4 qualifying runs not to be a one shot Friday evening deal.”
THROWING BACK WITH T-PED – The buzz amongst the various Funny Car pits centered around the recent feature story on Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com proposing a throwback event where modern floppers are cloaked in classic paint schemes similar to the National Football League’s effort.
Pedregon couldn’t get enough of seeing the throwbacks. He was disappointed that his name didn’t make the first cut but he’s excited with the potential that he’ll be in the forthcoming second part.
“Growing up in Southern California and knowing some of the background and history on some of those cars it excited me,” said Pedregon. “I was hoping that they would find a good match for us but it really makes you wonder. I know that I haven't heard a lot about it but at the end of the year some of the nostalgia funny cars are planning on maybe an 8-car event.
“I'm trying to get some drivers together to make it happen. I think that would be pretty cool. I think that if you could incorporate some of what you guys are going to do with what they're going to do, I think that could be a really good event. Maybe even a good pay-per-view event but it is cool because I think there's a lot of history there. It wasn't that long ago that those cars competed and for a guy like me those cars and those drivers are what inspired me and really made me want to do this. It was mostly because those cars are pretty cool looking.”
One of the interesting feedback letters for the Back to the Future: Funny car Throwbacks article contained a race fan that offered to pay $200 per ticket to witness such an event.
“Tell them to send the check and ask them if they'd pay $50 if we put it on pay-per-view,” Pedregon suggested. “Who knows, it really might create something but it would take a lot to coordinate. Tony Stewart's doing a good job with the Chili Bowl and Tony Stewart's event and I think on our end that could make a nice little event if you could round up some of those funny cars and maybe some top fuel cars, get some of those drivers and put them in those seats. I think that would make a neat little event.”
Pedregon and nostalgia racing, think it could happen?
“It's funny because I get in a car that runs speeds of 330 mph and when I look at those cars I say, ‘wow,” Pedregon admitted. “Maybe it's a false sense of security but I kind of feel a little safer in this. I think it would take a lot of nerve and if I did I would probably take the approach that it's something new. I would never get in one of those cars thinking hey I can do this I can do that because they drive different and their built different. I've got a lot of respect for the guys who did it because I think this sport has evolved and the safety features have evolved and I hope their making them a lot safer than they did back then.”
THE OTHER BROTHER – Cruz Pedregon was more than happy with being the quickest runner on Friday. His 4.830 elapsed time landed him in the second spot behind Scott Kalitta.
“I'm pretty happy because we didn't qualify last time we were here in Pomona,” Pedregon said. “We changed a bunch of stuff on the car this year. We put different cylinder heads on the car and kind of reworked a lot of areas.”
Pedregon officially declared his car “Toblerized” following wholesale changes implemented by crew chief Rahn Tobler.
“We redid everything the way he wants it to be,” Pedregon said. “We brought on a couple of the crew members that he was with on the Kalitta team when they ran for the championship three years ago. I felt it was important to surround Rahn with some familiar equipment, faces and numbers.”
The Advance Auto team made eleven test runs in Phoenix last weekend, two of which made it to the finish line.
“Yesterday I think Ron was kicking himself,” Pedregon said. “He underestimated the track conditions and I think the NHRA did their normal prep which is usually really good. We shook; we just didn't have enough power today. He was aggressive.”
I’M LOVING IT – Tommy Johnson, Jr., said he’s experiencing a tremendous first weekend on the job. This weekend marks his debut as the hired gun from Funny car legend Kenny Bernstein.
“I couldn't ask for a better team and a better operation,” said Johnson. “I just want to run better and get them in the winner circle. It's been good, I've enjoyed it.”
Bernstein has offered some pointers.
“Driver to driver we communicate good,” he continued. “If he's got something to say it's definitely worth listening to. So yeah, we talk a lot actually, more than I thought we would.
“I don't know if I've learned anymore but it's definitely a different style of doing different things and stuff like that. He pretty much said it's your car and you drive it the way that you want to. I think he's given me a lot of freedom to do it how I want to do it and not how he wants it done. That makes it easy.”
“The levers were against the roof and we had both out of align,” Densham said. “Obviously they didn’t open. Hey I screwed up, and this may be our last race anyway, so if you’re going to screw it up I guess this is the time to do it.”
Running a 4.86 elapsed time didn’t ease the pain in the least.
“Nah, that ain’t gonna be good enough for nothing,” Densham concluded.
GEE THANKS – You haven’t lived until you’ve received a present from Ashley Force. At least that’s what her crew felt when she blazed up the car during Friday qualifying.
“Thankfully we don't have any more runs tonight,” Ashley said following the run. “We made it down the track, we're glad and the session seemed a little rough. Thanks to [Crew chief] Guido [Antonelli], I'm sorry I'm bringing him back a dead car but we'll get it fixed and he'll get it put together.”
Despite crossing the centerline and having her run disqualified, Troxel ended the day in the provisional No. 12 spot based on the strength of yesterday's performance. Ashley landed below the qualifying line with his 4.979/317.57-pass and will use tomorrow to qualify for Sunday's eliminations.
"The car got out of the grove at about 1000 feet and went straight for the centerline, so I had to lift and pull it back into my lane," Troxel explained.
"Coming from a Dragster to Funny Car, everything handles and sounds different, but, since I've been doing this so long, I think I've got a really good feel for what's going on in the car. Today, it put a hole out and pulled, and it was too far over for me to keep it straight.
"Every time I learn a little more, and I'm confident we'll keep improving. Brian [Corradi] and Mark [Oswald, crew chiefs] are on top of everything, and I know we'll be ready to go come Sunday," she said.
Ashley said, "I told the guys that this weekend is really testing for us, since this is the first time both of these cars have gone down the track at all. I think my 4.97 is a great baseline, especially since we had trouble getting the car started yesterday.
"It felt great to go down the track. My new partner, Roger Burgess, is coming into town this evening, and I'm glad we can show him some positive results for the short amount of time we've been putting things together," he said.
"It's interesting because this new qualifying format definitely affects us now, and I think it gives us a great shot tomorrow because I know this car will run well," Ashley said.
ROOKIES RULE – Look out another Force is headed into the mainstream. Newly christened Top Alcohol Dragster driver Courtney Force and fellow rookie John Force Racing teammate Mike Neff continued to make incredible strides.
Rookie of the Year candidate Neff accelerated his learning curve on the track with the best run of all four John Force Racing Ford Mustangs, a blistering 4.840 second pass at 317.64 mph in his Old Spice Ford Mustang. With each pass his confidence continues to grow and maintaining his spot at the top of the field helps.
“It gives us a lot of confidence. It is important to me. I need all the runs down the track that I can get,” said the former motocross and off-road truck competitor, Neff. “Also we have the new Ford motor, the new chassis, and all the new stuff so we are learning something every time we go down the track. It is very important to continue to improve and I feel very encouraged with how we have been doing.
Neff also credited his two days of success to the jelling of his young team under the leadership of crew chief John Medlen.
“(John) Medlen is doing a great job on his end with the tune up and the guys on this Old Spice team are doing a great job. As long as I can keep it between the lines we’ll keep looking pretty good,” added the Hemet, California native.
Career marks continued to fall for Courtney Force, daughter of 14-time Funny Car champion John Force, as she powered her A Fuel dragster to a career best E.T. and mph (5.506, 261.32) during the first qualifying session today.
That time was quick enough to hold onto the 14th qualifying spot heading into tomorrow’s first round of sportsman eliminations. Her success even surprised the former high school cheerleader.
“I’m shocked. My dad (Funny Car Champion John Force) drilled into my head to just go out there and get a few runs in. He told me not to treat it like a national event. He wanted to make me feel more comfortable,” said the first year TAD driver.
The impact of her early success is not lost on the youngest Force daughter.
“(Qualifying for a) national race is a pretty big deal and I am pretty surprised. I’m getting more comfortable in the car and it makes me feel al lot better. I am getting more used to racing against other people and just getting more practice. I am still learning,” gushed an excited Force after her final session.
"Even though the air was 300-400 feet worse, we actually picked up," Johnson said. "That was the quickest corrected run I've ever made. It corrected to a 6.53 flat at 212.06. You can take that run there, put it on a cooler race track and pick up another couple of hundredths. We're just glad that we were able to take a car that was going down a 60-degree race track a couple of days ago in Las Vegas, and now have it go down a track where there's almost a 40 degree swing in track temperatures. That's huge, especially when you consider we don't have a lot of data to look at for this particular racecar."
"We have to figure out what we did wrong there," Anderson said. "There's an obvious difference in the two lanes and we realize that now. We have to learn from that, how to play it for tomorrow and hopefully we'll be okay. We try to make clean runs every time we go up to the line and we did something wrong - we made a bad guess and we missed."
A three-time NHRA POWERade champion (2003-05), Anderson is also a three-time winner of the Winternationals (2004, 2006-07) and has been No. 1 qualifier at this event three times (2004, 2006-07). Anderson's 51 career victories place him sixth all time by a NHRA professional driver and third all time among active, full-time professional drivers.
THE BRIGHT SIDE – Billy Glidden knew bringing himself up to speed in 500-inch racing was going to be a complex challenge. He was also prepared with the reality of developing a new “big” tire with the folks at Mickey Thompson Tires would be an equally tough objective.
Let the record reflect prior to Friday’s lone qualifying session, the son of Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden saw the silver lining of a dark cloud.
“As bad as everything was on Thursday, it was encouraging,” Glidden said. “Where everything is on this car, I don't know if it was run like this or not, we've just been using an incredible amount of clutch. It just seems like we never get enough in it. We've made several changes between the end of Vegas and coming here.
“We really didn't know where to start but it was a lot different. The carburetion is different, clutch linkage, clutch setup and we just kind of started on the low edge of everything that we've been trying. We've been going by a let's call it a basic or OEM setup for just about everyone out here, we should've been way over clutched and as you saw we were.”
Glidden and the engineers at Mickey Thompson have been burning the midnight oil developing many different combinations of tire for introduction to Pro Stock as well as several other quick doorslammer venues.
“Our plan was to run in Vegas but it was so cold and then we were fighting other issues,” Glidden said. “We just didn't want to risk going out and tearing up new equipment like the test tires plus cold conditions.
Glidden mentioned that his team will be testing in Valdosta, Georgia during the traditional Eastern Spring Test Nationals event. They’re bringing a full compliment of experimental tires as well.
“We've got different everything- different compounds, different construction, different molds,” Glidden added. “By the time we come to Valdosta we'll have 15 to 18 totally different specs to try.”
Glidden pointed out the dedication to bring this project to fruition is something that impresses him.
“If we don't make it, it won't be because lack of effort it'll just be lack of knowing what to do,” said Glidden. “We are bound and determined to make it work, I promise.”
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THURSDAY NOTEBOOK – SCHUMACHER CONTINUES THE MOMENTUM, KALITTA’S FORTUNATE MISFORTUNE AND PONTIAC’S NEW CAR
TOP FUEL
“That was a decent run on a great race track,” said Schumacher. “ Alan Johnson’s [crew chief] job was to get it down the track and he did just that. The computer shows there is still some left in the track.
“We’re inching up on the 90%,” said Schumacher. “Whatever Alan wants to do, we’ll do because he’s brilliant. It’s just a pleasure to drive this car.”
The 2008 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel rule package allows for a 90% nitromethane percentage, up from last year's 85% allowance.
GENERAL BUSINESS – The high-ranking military brass will be on hand this weekend supporting their “Sarge.”
Brigadier General Albert Bryant will be in Pomona this weekend as a guest of Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army Top Fuel team.
General Bryant is the Director of Integration, Office of the Deputy Chief, based in Washington, D.C. Included among his numerous decorations and badges are the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Achievement Medal. He’s also an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran having served as an Assistant Division Commander (Support) for the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) out of Fort Hood, Tex.
“Talk about a lot of similarities,” offered the Chicago native. “Eli and the Giants went down to the wire and so did we. The Giants came out of nowhere as a wild card team to win it all and we had to come from fourth-place in the standings at the last race to get the title.”
Schumacher was also quick to point towards a post-game interview with Manning that actually described how he felt going into his pressure-packed match-up with Bob Vandergriff, Jr. at the Auto Club Finals.
“Eli said he wanted the ball late in the game with a chance to win. That’s exactly what I was thinking about as I got strapped into my dragster. I wanted to be able to control my own destiny. I wanted the ball in my hands at that point. Those are the kind of opportunities you dream of as you come up through the ranks. I’m pretty sure that Eli had already played out that situation in his head from the time he was on the field as a kid.”
NEW YEAR, SAME CHALLENGE – Schumacher readily admits 2008 presents a completely new challenge.
“We’re all back to square one,” Schumacher said. “Every team is tied for the top spot right now. We definitely want to get off on the right foot out in Pomona and we want to serve notice that we’re going to be a serious player in the Countdown to the Championship.”
In reach during the 2008 season will be Joe Amato’s Top Fuel class record of five career championships.
“Man, that’s not even on the radar screen since it’s only February,” he added. “If we’re in a position to do that come November, then we’ll certainly think about it at that time.
“We know that we’re going to be engaged in a tough, competitive battle the next 10 months. Every team will be looking to cut us down early and often. Like our soldiers do every day, we’re going to have to stay focused on the mission. And, of course, our mission is to take home another POWERade trophy.”
Todd struck the retaining wall of the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona during his qualifying attempt just past the finish line on Thursday.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just upset,” said a disappointed Todd. “It was either the A-Arm or the wing collapsed and it just took off to the right. I could tell after the finish line something broke, now watching the video something did collapse. It’s just unfortunate; it was a good car and we’ll just have to pull the backup car out and see what we can do from here.”
Todd’s teammate and personal good friend, Morgan Lucas felt for his colleague and now his biggest concern is for him with three qualifying rounds remaining. Lucas recorded a time of 4.557 seconds at a speed of 322.42 mph, placing him in the No. 8 currently.
“Our run was fine, but that’s irrelevant to be honest with you right now,” said a sympathetic Lucas. “J.R. is one of my best friends. When it’s someone you’re that you’re that close to, it hits home. It was his first run with us and testing went great for him in Phoenix. Now we’ll have to get his backup car out and start from scratch. We have some great data on it and we’re hoping to get the other car out and on the track. My biggest issue is making sure he’s fine. Just like when I flipped the Baja car on its side in Mexico, I felt like I could have done so much different. J.R. got my head back into the game and I will try to do the same thing for him. When something like this happens, you can’t help but question what you could have done differently. He’s such an amazing driver, and I don’t want him to worry about it. We’ll get it all back together as long as he’s okay.”
Herbert said racing every race is conducive to winning a championship and capturing the title is something he really wants to do in their memory. Besides, he said, they loved racing too.
Herbert is on a mission outside of racing for the championship. He wants to ensure the message of safe driving gets across to the teenage driving community.
“My life has changed forever,” Herbert said. “We have set up a foundation in their name that promotes safe driving. The kids are coming up with videos and the guys at ESPN are going to help us as well to come up with some thirty-second and one-minute commercials.
“I think when you’re 15 and 16 years old, and I probably should have been dead a few times – but you just don’t think about it. But, there are serious consequences. I don’t think kids think about that.
“I know there are a lot of kids at Southlake Christian School [Cherryville, NC] where my kids went that are thinking about it now. I’m getting them to help me. They may not listen to me, but they’ll listen to kids.”
Herbert revealed that a website is forthcoming to spread the message – www.onthebrakes.com.
FYI – “brakes” is an acronym for “Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe.” Jon’s classmates at Southlake were responsible for the slogan.
Grubnic finds himself beginning the year without a major sponsor on his predominantly black, 8000-horsepower, nitro-fueled Top Fueler, but that doesn’t mean that the team will be, in any way, less of a contender to win the title on any given weekend of straight-line racing.
“Not having a major sponsor will motivate us to race even harder,” Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “We think our car is going to be a front-runner for the championship this season, so we want to go out to Pomona and show that to the fans, our competitors and any potential sponsors out there. Our race car put up some incredible numbers in (pre-season) testing. Our entire Kalitta Motorsports team is eager to get on the race track and show everyone what we have.”
ROOKIE RUMBLINGS – Antron Brown made his way into provisional No. 10 qualifying position with a run of 4.560 seconds at 326.16 mph.
“I’m on cloud nine,” Brown said of his first run. “I’m here at my first Winternationals as a competitor and it felt great to make a clean opening run and get this Matco dragster in the field. It was good to finally line up against a car in the other lane. I also got rid of those jitters about the short shut down here at Pomona. Now we can get down to business and focus on racing and cutting good lights.”
FUNNY CAR
“I was just exciting the thing went down,” said Kalitta. “After all the changes that everyone has gone through in this class, to have it go down was refreshing.”
Forget the off-season changes. Kalitta had problems of his own before the car even fired.
“We decided to change bodies, so we mounted the body and a cam gear bearing went away on the warm-up. We changed motors and started on that at 1:50 PM. We rolled up to the lanes with only two pairs left.”
In a thrash, details sometimes get squashed. Kalitta admitted he knew a parachute problem existed before he ran.
“It’s one of those problems when you change bodies,” Kalitta said. “I just didn’t have the time to set the handles like I would have wanted to. I got strapped into the car and by that time, it’s too late.”
The problem was the parachute handles, according to Kalitta, is their mounting location.
“They were just too hard to get to,” Kalitta said. “I figured that if there was a problem that I’d go right ahead and shut the engine down early. Then it was running good and I said, ‘Ah, well, it will be okay.’ Well it wasn’t okay.
“I made the first swat for the handle and missed,” Kalitta said, discussing his attempts to activate the parachutes. “I went back the second time and I got it, but by then it was a little too late. It could have been a lot worse but it was a split-second decision.”
Kalitta admitted he did click off the engine a little early -- 1260-feet into the run, according to his computer data.
Kalitta pointed out the chassis was unscathed, but the body didn’t fare as well. He said the body would most likely have the front-end removed and replaced with a new clip.”
Bob Tasca, III, the third generation of the legendary Tasca Ford legacy, made his debut today in a Motorcraft-sponsored flopper. The Tasca Family was responsible for introducing John Force Racing [JFR] to Ford during the late-1990s. Since then the Ford participation has been limited to JFR.
Tasca has raced competitively in the Top Alcohol Funny Car division for the last two seasons before making the decision to graduate to nitro. He first tested his Shelby Mustang last weekend in Phoenix, Arizona. Tasca quickly learned the distinct differences between the two.
“There is no question that the car is violent,” said Tasca. “It’s much more violent than the alcohol car. It’s literally an explosion when you hit that throttle and it shakes harder and it shakes quicker – when it moves, it moves quicker. It’s just more. Again the time I spent in the alcohol car was invaluable to give me a baseline of how to steer it. Some of the things to correct tire shake in an alcohol car are shifting and pedaling it, where in a nitro car, the only option is to pedal it because you can’t shift it. So I really started to hone in and by the end of the test session, I was catching the tire shake quicker, I was pedaling it quicker.
“John Force and Robert Hight signed my license and John has really been a mentor for me. He came up to me and said, ‘Kid, if this thing went down the race track perfect, you’d kind of have a false expectation. This is what these cars do. They smoke and they shake, they’re a violent ride and as a driver, you need to be able to feel that, you need to be able to react to that as quick as you can to try and save the run.’ I think at the end of the day we were all happy with the progress we made with the fuel curve and the ignition curve and the clutch setup and we feel quite comfortable.”
The impressive part is not that Tasca learned how to drive the car so quickly. Rather, that he had anything to drive at all.
“When you look at where we’ve come since Thanksgiving,” Tasca said. “Literally, the first day of work was the Monday after Thanksgiving. So, to go from the end of November to December and January, basically two full months of actual work. We had some stuff on order prior to that, but two months of actual work is just a real tribute to my team and I just can’t acknowledge their efforts and how hard they work. This test session was seven days. It was three to four runs per day and when you do the math, that’s like running three races back-to-back-to-back. It was just an immense amount of work.
“We were obviously all under the gun to get the license. That would have been a horrible way to start the year off to not be licensed for Pomona. But we’re excited about it. We all feel pretty confident and heck, if the New York Giants can beat the New England Patriots, then don’t count us out at Pomona.”
Tasca definitely wants to win this weekend in his debut experience. However, if he doesn’t win four rounds – all is not lost. Just making it to Pomona was a monumental conquest in its own.
“The biggest thing I think for us is the satisfaction to know that we made it and now it’s time to race,’ Tasca said. “A lot of people congratulated me and now my email back is that now we race. And that’s what we’re focused on. We’re focused on qualifying; we’re focused at one run at a time. People say, ‘Gee, what do you expect for Pomona?’ I expect that we perform and gauge ourselves on each run. Not to get ahead of ourselves to predict the qualifying position or the win, we want to be focused on racing each round, each day, each event.
“The rest will take care of itself because if you can qualify, if you can win rounds, if you can win races, you can win championships, but it starts with the first time the car goes down the race track. Now we’re ready to race and that’s what I’ve been looking forward to racing in Pomona. We just wanted to get the race going.”
Tasca rests in the 13th position presently [5.277], but is unqualified under the new format.
"We got the qualifying sheet after the lap and it was the first one we've ever seen with the new qualifying format in place,” Worsham said. “The cut-off line, after the No. 12 spot, is on there instead of the old 16th deal, but I don't think there's any way the new system will come into play here this weekend. It's basically a rule for the summer, when the Friday night session makes it impossible to improve on Saturday, and it gives those teams at the bottom of the sheet a chance to get in no matter how hot it gets, but here we have four very similar runs, no 'hero session', and the weather is usually so consistent you can be No. 1 after any of the four laps. We plan to be right up there in the thick of it by the time we leave here tomorrow night."
He’s won Pomona thrice, twice at the Winternationals and once at the World Finals. However, the 2004 conquest was special. After spending nearly 20 months procuring a sponsor, Toliver drove Schick Razors to victory in their maiden outing.
Toliver, the nephew of Funny Car legends Art and Jack Chrisman, beat the likes of the rookie Eric Medlen, Cory Lee, Del Worsham and Gary Densham for the victory.
The instant success caught Toliver off-guard as he said in a February 2004 interview, “I sat at home for the last year-and-a-half watching NHRA drag racing on ESPN wondering if I would ever get back out there. It got to a point where I began to think that there was a good possibility that I wouldn't race again. But I wasn't through yet and I knew I would really miss it if I didn't find a way to get back out here. I thought to myself, if I do get back out there I know how fleeting and difficult it is to win a national event.
“I said if I ever do win another race, which now luckily we have, that I would really think about it and feel the special experience that it is. I went back to the pit and celebrated with the team, went out to dinner and we enjoyed it, laughed and talked about the race. I woke up the next morning and couldn't believe that it actually happened and just thought what a great feeling it was. I am much more appreciative of the experience now than I was in the past.”
If Toliver and tradition are on the same page, he could be due another victory.
“If we play the numerology game then every 4 years it's my game and we're coming up on 2008,” said Toliver. “Hopefully that will go as we're planning it but in reality, as a professional racer, I think you want to go into every race thinking that you could win it. I've had great success at Pomona and great luck at Pomona. It's my home track and I'm extremely excited to go in there but anything is possible.”
While the 2007 tour was a complex struggle to say the least, the 2008 approach makes Toliver smile in much the same manner as he did after winning in 2004.
“If we ever had a fighting chance of going in there with the ability to win this thing, now's the time,” Toliver said. “I think we have a better ability, the knowledge and the experience and if a little luck can come on my side in this game plan then you might see us in the winners circle but who knows, anything can happen.”
Toliver didn’t make a full run today in his debut as part of Don Schumacher Racing.
After struggling to get down the track in pre-season testing, Troxel said she very pleased with her run.
“That felt a whole lot better than the tire-shaking, teeth-rattling runs we made in Phoenix. Brian and Mark Oswald and the guys really gave me a great hot rod, and, thanks to [team owners] Mike Ashley and Roger Burgess, we’ve got everything we need to be competitive this season,” Troxel said.
Ashley said, “We just made the decision to run this car here last Wednesday, and at that point, the car wasn’t even put together. The guys have been working so hard, and my crew chiefs Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi made the call on the line not to push it, knowing that we have three more chances to qualify.
“I totally respect them and I’ve got complete confidence that I’ll be in the show come Sunday,” he said.
PRO STOCK
A three-time NHRA POWERade champion (2003-05), Anderson is also a three-time winner of the Winternationals (2004, 2006-07) and has been No. 1 qualifier at this event three times (2004, 2006-07). Anderson's 51 career victories places him sixth all time by a NHRA professional driver and third all time among active, full-time professional drivers.
“We love this race track whether it is in the winter or in the fall,” Anderson said. “Any time you can come out and start the season and do it running well, it’s such a great feeling.”
For Anderson, the start of a new season has a lot of unknowns.
“You really don’t know how you are going to stack up against everybody,” Anderson explained. “You know how well you did over the winter, but you don’t know how the other cats did. You jut never know what is going to happen until you roll out here.”
Anderson said the season is too early to begin drawing a conclusion on the remainder of the season.
“Step number one is that we’ve at least established ourselves as contenders,” Anderson said. “It should be a great weekend and the weather looks fantastic. But, that first run, you are nervous. It feels good to get it over and into the books.
“Being number one is an added bonus.”
Anderson’s 6.635 elapsed time beat out Kurt Johnson’s 6.649.
HUH? – Anderson has won 51 national events and three world championships, but even as seasoned of a veteran that he appears to be, he wouldn’t be insulted if someone would explain in simple terms how the new qualifying format works.
“I don’t exactly know how it all works, so I am going to just keep trying to be number one,” Anderson said. “
Glidden doesn't brag much, unless the subject is his driver Justin Humphreys.
“All the blood, sweat and tears you put into (Pro Stock racing) kind of boils down to the nut behind the wheel that controls the whole game,” Glidden commented. “And that’s where we have an advantage. It is very plain to me that Justin is one of those guys involved in Pro Stock who has the mental edge to go out and win races. He’s not going to be good all the time but he is pretty darn good most of the time.
“You can have the best of everything but if the guy driving the car doesn’t have the mental strength to go out there and be competitive, you are going to lose.
“This guy has a mind of steel. He reminds me of me when I was at the top of my game. He’s in the range where if his car is competitive, he is going to win it. I am very proud of him . . . not just the fact he can drive but because of his mental attitude toward this whole thing.
COMING AROUND - Justin Humphreys easily erased the memories of the pre-season test session with a season-opening run of 6.660 seconds at 207.94 mph.
"That was a very good run considering we had to play a guessing game last week (during cold-weather testing at Las Vegas)," said Humphreys. The Monrovia, Md., driver of the RaceRedi Motorsports Pontiac is beginning his second season of NHRA Pro Stock drag racing. "Now we can go back to basics."
The outcome also pleased crew chief Bob Glidden. "It was a good run. We'll take it. The five guys faster than us were the fastest ones during testing last week," he noted. Humphreys' best at Las Vegas was 6.723 seconds.
KJ is knee-deep into breaking in an unproven Cobalt for the 2008 season. Adding to his complex challenge is the fact Mother Nature hasn’t cooperated with his strict off-season testing regimen.
“Our current ACDelco Cobalt is the result of lessons we learned from the previous two editions, and we believe it’s going to be the best one yet,” said Johnson. “Certainly, we would like to have had more track time with it prior to Pomona, but it really wasn’t an option.
“For one thing, once the car was ready to test, Mother Nature simply didn’t cooperate. We also took extra time making sure we were fully prepared for the start of the season, and that included working on a few projects that we think should help us.
“As a result, we’ve had limited experience with this new car, but we’re pretty pleased with the results so far. We made some decent runs at the Pontiac Pro Stock Showdown last weekend, and, for the most part, it’s responded nicely to the changes we’ve made. We’re still getting a handle on its tuning window, but the whole ACDelco crew has been pumped about heading into our first real race.”
Johnson is presently second in the field.
“We’re pretty pleased to come out here with a brand new car and be second after the first day of qualifying. Now we just have to figure out what it likes. We know there’s room for improvement, because that run was actually pretty ugly. It was definitely spinning from the drop of the clutch, and it was rough down track.
“Still, this was a nice step forward by the ACDelco Cobalt crew. Our biggest fear coming into this race was that we ran on one racetrack for four days in Vegas, and it was a perfect racetrack, and we didn’t know how it would react to the surface here in Pomona. Now we know a little about this car on this track.
“It’s definitely spinning, so we’ll have to calm it down, because it wasn’t spinning at all in Vegas. We certainly have to pick up the e.t.. We have our work cut out for us, but I think we can do it.”
Two of the three are qualified in the field after one session.
"We're definitely gaining on it," Anderson said. "You do all your research and your work in the shop to get a new car figured out, but it never seems to work that way. They always need a little rubbing, and this car is certainly no different. Now, if we can keep stepping forward this weekend, we'll be happy."
"We ran pretty good (at Las Vegas)," Stanfield said. "It was a good race to see what we had and to get everybody back into the swing of things. Jerry Bickel built us a new Pontiac GXP that seems to be getting better and better with each run. We're ready for Pomona."
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WEDNESDAY NOTEBOOK – AN INSPIRATIONAL TRIBUTE, HIGHT READY FOR NEW HEIGHTS, COUGHLIN’S MOMENTUM CLEARLY SHOWING
TOP FUEL
Herbert will begin the 2008 NHRA POWERade season with one goal in mind: to win the championship, and to win it for his boys.
After tying for his career best points finish in 2007, Herbert arrived at a preseason test session in Phoenix prepared to make a statement. With a brand new car, a new crew chief and a positive outlook, things seemed bound to head Herbert’s way. Then Saturday dawned, and Herbert received the call every parent fears.
His sons, Jon, 17, and James, 12, died instantly after their vehicle collided head-on with a second vehicle. Herbert immediately left Phoenix to be at home with his daughter,
Jessie, 9, and to do everything he could for his boys.
“One thing I really want people to understand it how important it is to tell your kids how much you love them. The last thing I said to Jon and James was that I loved them, and the last thing I heard from them was that they loved me. That’s the only thing that is going to help me make it through.
“I want to make my boys proud. They would want me to win, and that’s exactly what I am going to do.”
The Snap-on team, while wanting to accompany Herbert back to N.C., complied with his wishes and continued on with the test session. By the time they left for the first race of the season, team had prepared a car worthy of making Jon and James proud.
“We are more ready for the Winternationals then we ever have been,” said Herbert. “How can we not be? We have two angels right here with us, cheering us on. We are going to win this championship for them, and it all starts this weekend.”
Fuller, following a solid test at Phoenix, hopes to finally crack into
the winner's circle at the storied facility. Teammate Antron Brown will
be making his Top Fuel debut and his first run at Pomona in something
with more than two wheels.
“I have a bad taste in my mouth from the Finals last fall, so I want to
go in and win this race,” remarked Fuller. “I feel very confident going
in. We had the quickest time in testing. We have a fast car and that’s
exciting.”
Fuller's excitement is echoed in the words of crew chief Rob Flynn,
“Based on testing with both cars, we’re pretty confident heading into
Pomona. It is a different race track, so you have to start over again.
The last time, at the Finals, we had some misfires, but overall we’ve
done well there in the past. We’re confident going into the season.”
Fuller
clocked the quickest pass of 2008 pre-season testing on Jan. 29 with a
run of 4.468 seconds at 331.36 mph at Firebird International Raceway
near Phoenix. Having qualified for 62 consecutive Top Fuel events,
second only to Tony Schumacher, Fuller has his sights set on making the
Chase and then mowing down the competition on the way to the title.
“I think we have a very competitive race car,” said Lee Beard, crew chief on Brown's Matco Tools Fueler. “The first full run on our ‘08 car was a 4.48 and we shut off early. The car is going to be able to run with the top three or four guys. Antron has a good number of runs under his belt from our test sessions and I feel as confident going into the race as I would with a seasoned veteran in the seat.”
As for Brown, being a rookie hasn't lowered his confidence or his expectations.
“We have a great team and I think we’re going to surprise some people.”
If their luck holds and their confidence is a true indication of the strength of their respective rides, David Powers Motorsports might well be the “Powerhouse” of the 2008 season.
“We were right there in the hunt in terms of elapsed times and speeds and we’ve got something to work with,” said Brandon. “We would like to open with a strong performance to get a leg up in the point standings from the beginning.
“It looks like the new 90 percent nitro rule, up from 85 percent last year, may only throw a momentary curveball into the equation for the crew chiefs in this sport before they all get a handle on the tune-up. I don’t think anybody’s going to drive away with the championship.
“I am a big fan of the new Countdown format. Last year we were fortunate to make the Countdown to Four, but with only two races left to determine the championship, you couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. I think 10 teams going after it for the last six races will create a great level playing field. Our goal is to build on the success we had last year and use it to our benefit.”
Last season Bernstein scored a career-high five victories in seven final round appearances, topped the Top Fuel leader board twice, and hovered near the top the remainder of the season. He ended the season in third-place less than two rounds away from claiming the championship crown.
Bernstein will be sporting a new red Budweiser paint scheme, inspired by Bud’s new tag line, “The Great American Lager.”
“I’m not saying I couldn’t wait for ’07 to end, it’s just that we had such an up and down season throughout the year with all the changes we had,” Todd said. “Once I found out I would be joining up with Morgan Lucas Racing, it made the anticipation for ’08 all that much greater to get here. Now we’re getting new cars at the shop with all the new parts and I’ve been going over there pretty much everyday. I’ve been hanging out with the guys and working on different things with Morgan sponsorship-wise, getting fitted for the cars and I’m chomping at the bit.”
Todd enters Pomona with sponsorship from Torco, Seelye-Wright, and Lucas Oil Products on board his Morgan Lucas Racing dragster and brings with him some interesting statistics. The biggest are his five victories out of seven Top Fuel final round appearances along with seven hole-shot victories to his credit racking up a 50-35 win/loss record in his two seasons as an NHRA pro.
“I think the communication between Morgan and I can help each other out driving-wise tremendously,” said Todd. “We both have really young teams and it kind of takes the pressure off of the driving when you have a young bunch that can go out and have fun together and joke around, but stay serious about their business at the same time. With this Countdown format, it raises the stress level of the drivers and a young team can ground you pretty quick and at the same time still be able to kid around. That’s why I’m excited”
FUNNY CAR
Instead, Hight had to settle for posting the two quickest runs in Funny Car history (4.646 at Pomona, Calif., and 4.636 at Phoenix, Ariz.), winning more racing rounds than anyone else (34 rounds to 30 for champion Tony Pedregon) and qualifying No. 1 a category-best eight times at the wheel of the Jimmy Prock-prepared Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang.
In any other year, such a performance would have earned the 38-year-old a championship and the accompanying $500,000 bonus. In 2007, the first year of NHRA’s controversial Countdown to the Championship playoff system, all it got him was a second consecutive runner-up finish, the admiration of a growing number of racers and fans and memories of what might have been.
With those memories still fresh in his mind, the former word class marksman this year again is poised to become the third different John Force Racing driver to win the sport’s premier championship.
“What we learned last year was that every point is important,” Hight said. “We had our chances but we didn’t do what we needed to do (to win the championship) and that’s the thing that has given us motivation for the new season.”
He even was good enough to be considered for a berth on the U.S. Olympic team, an opportunity he didn’t pursue because of his racing career. As a shooter, Hight worked extensively with experts in hand-eye coordination and concentration, elements also critical to success in drag racing.
“In drag racing, you only have to keep that focus for two minutes – from when you start the car, through the burnout and then the run,” he said. “In shooting, you have to retain that focus a lot longer, so that probably helped me.
“I definitely think that dealing with the pressure of shooting helped (my driving),” Hight said. “The thing that surprised me, I guess, was that the pressure in racing is a lot more intense. In shooting, if you screw up, basically the only person you hurt is yourself. But when you screw up in the race car, you’re not just letting yourself down, you’re letting down everyone else on the team. That’s real pressure.”
"It's been a great off-season," said Capps, who came off a disappointing fourth-place finish in last year's all-new Countdown to the Championship playoffs after leading the standings most of the season. "We have a new sponsor on board with NAPA AUTO PARTS, which is awesome. And sometimes you don't go very far into the off season before you're ready to go racing again. But after last year and competing in the Countdown to One, I really felt I needed some rest. It was pretty grueling at the end.
"I spent a lot of time with the family and did a lot of cool things. When Phoenix rolled around for pre-season testing you could tell it was time to go racing again.
"In the past, you could always tell how the drivers anticipated Pomona by how the pre-season testing went. And for the most part the last few years we've come off our pre-season testing in good shape and we've had a good showing in Pomona.
"We had a great test session at Firebird Raceway (outside of Phoenix). However, the conditions will be different in Pomona, obviously. On top of that, this year NHRA threw into the mix the upping of the nitro percentage to 90 percent, which I think is going to help the teams, believe it or not, with attrition and parts breakage. Not only that, the cars sound so much better. They sound like they did when I was a kid growing up. You can really tell the difference.”
THE NOT-SO-SILVER LINING – Nobody loves the rose-colored glasses more than Capps but there are some things even he can’t ignore.
"The downside is the 100 pounds that they added to the Funny Cars. That's a pretty substantial amount, and it has taken its toll already in pre-season testing,” Capps said. “At Firebird, guys were going off at the end of the track and having a harder time slowing the cars down. The crew chiefs are still focused on getting the cars down the track, and I believe that NHRA didn't do their homework by not considering that somebody has to actually slow these cars down with the extra weight on them.
"It's going to be interesting to watch these upcoming races, especially Pomona where we have one of the shorter shutdown areas. There were teams leaving Phoenix on Wednesday that weren't quite happy with their tune-ups yet, and it has really thrown some curves.
"I think probably a majority of the teams are not quite as ready as they want to be for Pomona, but you have no choice. However, you know the track will be great, and the conditions are going to be great. So, I'm looking forward to a good start, especially for our new sponsor, NAPA AUTO PARTS."
THE SILVER LINING – Okay, Capps has the rose-colored glasses on.
"I really applaud the NHRA for changing the Countdown format," said Capps. "Last year was just not quite right at the end of the year. And I really think that everybody's going to benefit from that. The new qualifying format remains to be seen. I think any change from where it was is good. But I'm interested to see how that comes out as well."
Capps has one Funny Car victory at the Winternationals, in 1998, against Tim Wilkerson.
Troxel makes her national event debut on Thursday behind the wheel of a nitro Funny Car, thus closing the door on a storied Top Fuel driving career. Tradition tells us that when one door closes another opens.
"It's been a lot of hard work getting to this point, and now that it’s here, I think everyone on our team is anxious to watch this car go down the track and get this season started," Troxel said.
The 2008 season is one that almost didn’t happen for Troxel. When longtime sponsor Torco Race Fuels made the decision to suspend their race team sponsorships, ProCare RX stepped up 48 hours later to ensure the season would happen.
"I don't think the news of not having a sponsor ever really sunk in because it was handled so quickly. [ProCare Rx CEO] Roger Burgess and Mike [Ashley, team founder] came to the shop in Indy, and the two of them formed a partnership that I think positions us right at the top. They are two of the most amazing men, and it's really a privilege to work with them.
"For me, as a driver, it gives me the confidence knowing that the operations and development side of things is being handled so well. And with Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald calling the shots on the car, I know this is going to be a great year in Funny Car," she said.
This car is a heavy frame-rail chassis assembled with normalized tubing, in conformance to NHRA's mandated specifications.
"We broke the chassis I drove in the end of last year during testing in Phoenix, and we need to get solid data on the new design from Hase before we move forward on ordering more cars,” said Ashley. “After talking with my new partner, Roger Burgess, we both felt that racing in Pomona would be the right opportunity to prove out this new car as well as debut our new team look," Ashley said.
The move is a precautionary one as well as one of solidarity.
"With both me and Melanie driving this weekend, it shows the strength of our team and the incredible talent we've been able to assemble,” Ashley said. “In addition to Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, we've added Aaron Brooks and Rod Centorbi and several guys who are all anxious to get out there and race.”
Ashley fans should be reserved in their elation of his return to the nitro ranks. This event will be part of a limited engagement. He’s still planning a full-time Pro Modified tour.
"We are still looking at occasionally putting another driver into this seat for the season, but, I have to say that I'm really looking forward to running in Pomona," he said.
Ashley admits he’s looking at the big picture in making his decision to scale back nitro participation as a driver.
"With last year being my first full season as both an owner and driver, I have to say we had outstanding success. It was difficult making the decision not to race the full season this year, but given the current state of the economy, I really have to continue my focus on growing my company, Lend America,” Ashley said.
"Even though we're running a developmental chassis in Pomona, you can bet that the team is out there with the expectation to win, and I have to say that I'm really happy to be able to run and give them all a chance to prove themselves," he said.
"I'm really excited about getting the 2008 POWERade season started this year," said the defending event champion, "after running the midget at the Chili Bowl, racing with the kids and getting back involved with Scelzi Enterprises. Coincidentally, I mixed in some company business with the Phoenix testing by visiting dealerships down there with some of my sales staff, so that was very productive.”
The task at hand is to challenge for a fifth world championship. Scelzi faces the challenge with a lot of uncertainties floating around.
"Now it's time to get down to NHRA drag racing,” Scelzi said. “We're going into Pomona with a lot of rule changes, a lot of variables right now. Everybody is trying to build new, stiffer cars. We're running the same car as last year, but we have a new Brad Hadman chassis. With the bad weather at preseason testing in Phoenix, however, we weren't able to run it.
"So, there's a lot of unknowns. Along with the excitement of wanting to get to Pomona and get going, there's also a lot of questions in my mind that are unanswered. The cars are 100 pounds heavier. How are they going to be able to stop? Pomona is a short race track.
"I'm happy with the revised Countdown format, but I'm curious about the new qualifying rule, let's put it that way. I'm not sold on that. But, I'm ready. Pomona has always been good. I've had a lot of success there, won a lot of races in Alcohol, won a lot of races in Top Fuel, and now in Funny Car. It's always good to come back to a race as the defending event champion.
"Let's pull the cord on this thing and get this thing started."
Scelzi, of Fresno, Calif., has three Top Fuel victories at Pomona and one in Funny Car.
“I’m hoping we can start the new season, the way we left off last year, winning a few rounds of racing,” said Wilkerson. “We had a good chance to win that last race in Pomona last fall, but just came up one round short. So, we’re optimistic for this year. We’ve got a new guy on the team, so the first thing we’re going to do is get him settled in where the car is consistent again.”
Wilkerson ended last season on a strong surge, earning a couple of No. 1 qualifying spots, numerous round wins, and several awards given for outstanding performance. Wilk and his talented team showed that they had his fuel coupe in top shape and a force to be reckoned with. But it’s a new year with new rules and requirements, and Wilkerson knows that things change quickly in his split-second world. However, he is anxiously anticipating the new season with optimistic enthusiasm.
Wilkerson finds it hard not to smile when thinking of the implementation of the old 90% nitro rule. The early stumbles will quickly give-way to smooth sailing, Wilkerson adds.
“There’s going to be a little transition due to the change in the percentage,” Wilkerson said. “I can see some downfalls and some hiccups getting accustomed to that again, but everything should work out. Hopefully it will save us some carnage in the engine department. At least that’s what we’re looking for.”
A GOOD TEST - Wilkerson attended his annual pre-season test session in Phoenix two weeks ago, and he came away from the weekend with an overall positive outlook, but it is sprinkled with a few reservations.
“Phoenix worked out well for us,” Wilkerson said. “The car had a lot of power. It smoked the tires a lot, which I didn’t like. We had just gotten it to quit doing that, but hopefully it won’t be a problem this year. The track was really bad out there and everybody was smoking the tires. We were one of two cars that made it down the track a couple days in a row. So, that makes me feel a little good. But you know me with that car. I’m always a little pessimistic about it, because it tends to throw me a bone and then takes it away from me pretty hard. But it did show us that it had a lot of power. We had the fastest 60-foot times on every run, so the car has a lot of power still. Everybody was going 4.90s and we were going 4.880s, so it was plenty fast. It had a lot of tire speed, but the track wasn’t very good.
“So, we’re going to focus on doing what we did there towards the end of last year, which was more going down the track than anything. Hopefully it will work out for us. That’s my prognosis for the year. I’m optimistic about how it’s going to be and real excited about being back out there again and with a little luck the year will be better for us than last year. The problem we face is that there used to be 14 good cars in the country and we were sixth or seventh. And, now we have 20 good cars and we’re 12 or 13. Well, that’s not acceptable and we’re going to try and fix that. But it’s not going to be any easier out there, it’s going to be harder. We know it’s not going to be a picnic but we’re going to go out there and sure try to shake it up and perhaps it will work.”
He will begin to target those goals tomorrow.
“Actually, there are two or three objectives,” confided Johnson. “The
first is to match Kenny’s performance on the starting line. Kenny is
the class of the field as far as driving and reaction time go and the
bar is set pretty high. We’ve compared driving styles and mine is
different from his, but Kenny said for me to do what’s comfortable for
me rather than trying to adopt his driving style. His words were, ‘You
drive it like it’s yours.’
“Secondly, I’d like to get a win for him and for Monster this season,
the sooner the better. It’s a given that everyone wants to win, but
Kenny and the Monster team were awful close to winning more than once
last year. I’d like to help them get over the hump. If we can get
that first win, I think others will follow. I’d like to be in the top
five at the end of the year, and from what we’ve experienced in
testing, this team is capable.
“Kenny and I have formed a very good working relationship right off the
bat,” continued Johnson. “He has respect for my opinions and we bounce
a lot of ideas off each other. There’s good chemistry there.
“The
way this team is run is like a machine. It’s very professional and
organized and every member of Kenny Bernstein Racing gives 100
percent. I’m proud to be associated with that.
“If there isn’t enough for every team to accomplish during the off
season to prepare for testing and the impending ’08 kick-off, Jimmy
Walsh (crew chief) and the team had to switch everything over on the
chassis to fit me.
“These guys have given their all and I intend to do everything I can to contribute to the success of the Monster Energy team.”
PRO STOCK
Just days ago in Las Vegas, Coughlin used expert driving and a strong tune-up to log a victory at the Pontiac Showdown test session. Added to his title-clinching win last November at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Coughlin arrives at the birthplace of drag racing looking for his third win in a row.
"One year ago we came into Pomona with just three races under our belts," Coughlin said. "We were basically a start-up team. But everyone on this crew is a veteran and I think that showed over the course of the year. To me, it's not a surprise to be running the way we are at the moment because I see the dedication and determination of this group. It was awesome to win the title last year but we're not done by any means."
"Our team owner, Victor Cagnazzi, grew up drag racing," Coughlin said. "Over the years, he created a vision of what a team should be. Now his dream has become a reality.
"Victor knew you needed to build your own motors so he hired Joe Hornick and Stevie Johns. He wanted an in-house chassis shop so he brought in Todd Bevis and his group. He knew you needed a strong administrative group. He knew you needed the proper talent at the racetrack and he went out and gathered some of the brightest minds in the sport. Obviously, it's all paying off for him now."
Together with teammate Dave Connolly, Victor Cagnazzi Racing collected 12 victories in 17 finals rounds last year. Coughlin finished No. 1 in the points, while Connolly finished third.
"It's hard to argue with the success Victor has had," said Coughlin, who has qualified for the last 63 races he's entered. "The confidence you gain as a driver when you know you've got a team like this behind you is phenomenal.
"It's exciting to start the year on a roll and it's a nice bonus to have won the Pontiac Showdown last weekend because there were 19 cars there, including all of our chief rivals, and we were fortunate enough to come out on top. Plus, we're pumped up about defending our race win there from last November. It's time to get after it and we're ready to go."
While the company still wanted a relationship with Naylor and Naylor Racing, their reduced level of support hindered Naylor’s long term plans of moving forward and growing his team. In what is a shock to most, Naylor declined their offer and decided to carry on and look for another company market on his Dodge Stratus.
Enter Las Vegas Fuel, a high energy drink who first entered the sport emblazoned on the side of Jon Capps’ part-time Funny Car effort. This season Las Vegas Fuel will be full time with Naylor.
“I was introduced to some of the executives last year as they were invited guests into our hospitality, their drink was a perfect compliment for our former marketing partner at the time, and one thing led to another. We have been talking the past few months and with the position they are in right now and what we can offer them makes perfect sense to work together. The days of just traditional sponsorships are a thing of the past. Both parties need to have a vested interest in each other, and we have that.
”We love the taste of VegasFuel and believe in their entrepreneurial business model. We can’t wait to introduce our fans to the great taste of VegasFuel and the opportunities that come along with it and to participate in the growth of this dynamic organization through investment and distribution territories.”
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