NHRA NORWALK NATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - AN EMOTIONAL DAY FOR DRAG RACING AS HERBERT DELIVERS
EMOTIONS RUN RAMPANT - The tears flowed freely as Doug Herbert exited his Top Fuel dragster.
He had finally won one for his boys, his two young sons Jon and James, who died in February in an automobile accident.
Their loving father provided the one tribute he knew would be shared by millions of race fans all over the world.
Herbert delivered a victory through sheer determination, the hard work of his crew and, as he put it, the good luck provided by his 10-year old daughter Jessica and girlfriend Ginger.
“Unbelievable. Emotional day,” Herbert said, keeping his composure in the post-event press conference. “I’m just happy to get the job done. Everybody on the team just did a great job and we went up there for the final I was going to dig down and pull out everything I had and I did and luckily I had my little lucky charm, my daughter, came here with me today.
“We did a lot of thinking about her brothers today and I am sure they were riding with me on that final round.”
Herbert knew the pressure was on his shoulders to deliver the victory for a team that had shared the pain with their inspirational driver. The final round against Brandon Bernstein was going to be the fight of his life.
“I knew that I had to dig down and do everything I could do,” Herbert said. “Bernstein and Tim and Kim and those guys, they’re obviously a very good team. I just wanted to make sure that I did everything I could do to beat them and I think I did. The whole year I have been digging down trying to help my team win.”
Herbert left on Bernstein by a large margin.
“I went up there for the final, I was welded to that light and bam I hit it,” Herbert said. “I didn't want to have a mistake that I made cost us the race. I wanted to win with my daughter here.”
The emotional level was already running high as Herbert raced Dave Grubnic of the Team Kalitta operation, racing in the first event since the tragic death of driver Scott Kalitta. Herbert had expressed to the Kalitta operation his sympathy on many occasions and could relate to their pain.
Herbert has long maintained a friendship with the Australian-native Grubnic and prior to their quarter-final match, they plunked down their traditional $2 bet. One dollar goes to the winner of the race and the other goes to the quicker reaction time.
Herbert scored a clean sweep and showed his grand prize to the media. It was as if the $2 meant more than the $40,000-plus payday he’d just earned.
“We got a pretty big stakes bet going,” Herbert said, smiling. “This is one of the fun things is when you’re racing guys you really like.”
Herbert is a two-time Norwalk winner having won under the IHRA sanction in 1993 and 1998. While Herbert and Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park owner Bill Bader once sailed troubled waters when the latter was president of the sanctioning body, the hard feelings are clearly an issue of days gone by.
“It’s such a family place,” said Herbert of SREMP. “After my boys got in the accident, Bill Sr., was one of the first people to send me a note and it meant a lot to me.”
For Herbert, Sunday in Norwalk marked the time the young crew led by up-and-coming crew chief Kevin Poynter made their mark. Herbert cherishes his role as driver but sound advice from a prominent NASCAR figure reminded him of his responsibility as team owner.
“Fatback McSwain, NASCAR crew chief, told me 'Herbert you're the one on the team with the most experience, don't step on those guys toes but make sure you lead them,” Herbert admitted. “That is what I have been trying to do, give them some suggestions but let them make the final decisions. Kevin and Keith, they made good calls today and got us to the winner's circle.”
Winning the race justifies the decision to remain in the sport following such a painful tragedy.
“This win substantiates and justifies what we're trying to do here,” Herbert said. “I feel like I'm a winner and I want my kids to be proud of me and think of me as winner. Winning this race justifies that.”
TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD - Funny Car racer Tony Pedregon was a bit apprehensive about bringing an unproven chassis into competition after destroying his trusted unit during the final qualifying session at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Chicago. He was likely wondering why he hadn’t made the switch sooner when he crossed the finish line ahead of Robert Hight in the final round of the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
Pedregon drove to his second victory since pressing the new chassis into service.
“I think people are probably thinking that it’s the chassis and I’ve always felt that a brand new chassis is much better than one that’s been run all over it,” Pedregon said. “It’s been put through the fatigue of the track and you think about the fatigue going down the road. But I believe that we were one or two adjustments away from having the same kind of performance with our old car but I think it was just a coincidence but it just shows the new rules that we implemented with this new compliant car. It drastically improves the safety and you really don’t compromise any performance so from that perspective most of the racers are happy about that.”
Pedregon was all smiles as he drove his way to a career 39th victory and vaulted his Q-Power team into second place in the Funny Car point standings behind Tim Wilkerson. Understandably the defending Funny Car world champion has experienced easier winning weekends.
“What a challenging weekend for us, mostly because of the weather. I mean these crew chiefs had to deal with all these grains of water and humidity and the rain and the storms and the storms that didn’t come that they said were going to,” Pedregon admitted. “But through it all we managed to get through the weekend, we did it in a safe manner. We think we gave the fans a real good show, the ones that stuck around.
“I’m proud to win a race here because I’ve known the Bader family for a long time now. We mention there name a lot because we wish we could bring other track operators here and show them the model that the Bader family has put together.”
SLOWING DOWN – Pedregon confirmed there were no organized efforts amongst the Funny Car drivers to shave off speeds from their runs by deploying their parachutes just shy of the speed traps. He confirmed the slower speed were likely due to the racing surface.
“I think we were working with a track that has a new surface and there really wasn’t a lot of rubber on it,” Pedregon said. “You know it’s a good facility and both lanes were equal. We might want to think about scraping a little rubber off of all these tracks to control the speeds a little bit but it was really encouraging for the NHRA to meet with everyone.
“They hired a consulting company to evaluate what they’re going to do in the shutdown area; whether its barrels filled with water and nets. I think it’s all a step in the right direction, I hope that they still address the speeds that the cars run because you look at the entertainment today it’s pretty exciting. They don’t have to run 320, 330 miles an hour. But we’re going to continue to work with them and they’re going to continue to work with us because when we come out here we put it on the line. When we get in the car that’s all that matters to us.
“It’s just important for us to be safe and we really want to protect ourselves. We’ve got a pretty good audience that despite the tough time in the economy and market, still coming around watching the races. So we’ve got to do for them because they do for us.”
THE RUMORS – Pedregon heard all the rumor circulating throughout SREMP suggesting 1,000-foot drag racing was on the horizon. Such a move would not appeal to the two-time champion.
“I hope not, I would never vote against it because I think at this point we need to continue to find ways that make it safer,” Pedregon said. “I’ll never vote against anything that’s safe but I think we should keep in mind that if that’s the case I hope they’re not just thinking of just giving us an extra 320 feet.
“I’ve grown up around this sport. I believe that if I had an incident similar to what Scott suffered at this track I think the outcome would have been different. I think, to me, a quarter mile race track is standard this sports been around for a long time and to change that is not something I’d vote for.
“Something I would vote for would be for increasing sand traps, bringing more barrels in filled in with water. Bring a net in, bring a second net in. In my opinion, I think there are other ways to deal with it. When I open up Car and Driver magazine and talk to these executives it just seems like we’ve gone thirty or forty years racing in the quarter mile. I think if we can slow the cars down and address a couple of issues and if we can address the finish line and the sand traps, shut down and catch nets.
“I think there’s some other ways but I know some drivers think that maybe that’s a quick fix so maybe we need to look at that at some of the shorter tracks, I think. But to be fair I’d like to discuss it with some other owners and hear what their pros and cons are too. But that is my opinion.”
ANDERSON'S REDEMPTION - Greg Anderson had every incentive to draw victory on Sunday during the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. The three-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion from Mooresville, N.C., was smarting from a Saturday night whipping in the finals of the K&N Filters Horsepower Dash at the hands of Mopar racer Allen Johnson and a year ago in the first round got timed out against Erica Enders, also a Mopar driver.
Did we mention the fact Anderson was racing at his sponsor’s event?
Beyond that tidbit, Anderson was racing another Mopar driver in Larry Morgan for the event title.
“I love it when Summit sponsors races,” Anderson admitted. “That’s added pressure. We tend to perform better under pressure. I wish they sponsored every race we went to.
“Then I made it to the finals and there was another Dodge in the final, if I would have lost that one the Pontiac guys would have divorced me.”
Anderson extended his undefeated final round streak in 2008 by winning his fourth event. He’s got 55 national event victories to his credit.
This weekend marked his first victory at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. He leads the Pro Stock points by 52 points over Kurt Johnson.
There are six events remaining in the first phase of the NHRA’s championship program.
“I really would like to get those 30 points for leading the Countdown to the Championship because that’s an extra 30 points,” Anderson explained. “That’s certainly the goal and we hadn’t done well until the last few weeks. This sure feels good. All you can ask for when you come to the races is a chance to win.
“Every race is so unpredictable and you never know who is going to be the hero. This is such a great class right now. It’s such a battle to win and at the end of the day if you can find a way to win, that a great thing. No one is certainly going to give you anything. You have to earn it. Everyone you line up against can certainly go .00 reaction time on you.
“It’s unheard of and unbelievable. The competition level in this class is incredible.”
For his part, Anderson was incredible, too.
NEVER SAY NEVER - Hector Arana has competed in so many races since 1990 with a minimal amount of success, so when the day finally arrived, he didn’t exactly know how to react.
The veteran Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, running in only his fourth final round appearance in 18 years, rode his Buell to victory at the expense of Craig Treble.
“It’s awesome, awesome feeling,” Arana said. “It hasn't sunk in yet, but it feels great to accomplish what I have been working for all these years.”
Arana defeated a score of heavy hitters such as Gatornationals winner Matt Guidera, defending POWERade champ Matt Smith and No. 1 qualifier Eddie Krawiec, before beating veteran Treble in the final.
He’ll quickly tell anyone who will listen his qualifying first run provided no indication of the great fortunes the weekend would produce.
“I had one of them bronco rides, it almost threw me off,” Arana explained. “I am glad it happened in qualifying because we figured out the problem and it shows. It showed here today in first round and from there on we just kept doing minor tune ups and the outcome, I'm here, a finalist.”
The problem was a faulty switch that caused the bike to lose and gain power during the course of a run.
“As soon as I went into second gear it started revving up and got to about 8700 rpms and then it just shut the bike down,” Arana said. “It dropped all the way to 300 rpms and then it kicks back on and it throws you back, this is the first g-force pulling you back and then it cuts off, throws you forward, so now you have negative g-force and it comes back on and then back off and I am trying to turn the bike off I couldn't. Finally my hand came off the handlebar and as soon as it did that it gave me a chance to grab the handlebar but also I grabbed the clutch and then I gained control.”
Arana continued, “As soon as I was able to get control of the bike, I'm going down the quarter mile but I'm looking for my electrical, picking the wires and there it was standing up by itself and I said, 'I got you now.'
Arana now serves as the example of persistence.
“I have never given up,” Arana said. “I really have to give a lot of credit to Forest and Charlie Lucas who believed in me. It paid off. It paid off not to give up.”
As for the resting place for his first trophy, one is just not enough for Arana.
“I want to get duplicates,” Arana added. “I want to have them everywhere.”
COULD'VE BEEN BETTER - 2007 POWERade Funny Car Championship runner-up Robert Hight came up just short against Tony Pedregon – again.
Last year Hight, the 2005 Road to the Future award winner, came within 19 points of winning his first POWERade championship only to finish second to Pedregon by less than one round of racing. Today in the final of the 2nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, Hight was consistent all day and it took Pedregon’s best run of the weekend to defeat him.
“In the final it (Hight’s Auto Club Ford Mustang) put some cylinders out but it was way on down the track. Tony (Pedregon) took a shot at us and he ran two hundredths quicker and he killed me on the starting line. I would have needed a .10 light to beat him because he out ran us,” said a disappointed Hight.
Hight was No. 1 qualifier for the second year in a row and for his efforts he moved up to the No. 1 position for the US Smokeless Showdown. The Showdown will award $100,000 in a special race-within-a-race at the Mac Tools US Nationals in Indianapolis, Ind. over Labor Day weekend.
In the first round Hight had to race teammate and rookie of the year favorite Mike Neff, before he beat Gary Densham and Cruz Pedregon to reach his third final of the season. This was also the tenth time in twelve races that a John Force Racing Funny Car has reached the final this season.
“We ran the same motor in the semis and the final. It is going to be our motor in Denver. That is a plus. Now it is putting cylinders out when it is spinning so it is not dropping cylinders for no reason. We aren’t chasing our tail anymore. I am just mad at myself. Getting outrun is one thing getting left on like that is ridiculous,” said Hight.
THE MORGAN TURNAROUND - Larry Morgan drove to his second runner-up spot of the month today at the Second Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. It was the second-straight finals appearance at the NHRA Norwalk event for the Newark, Ohio native.
Morgan, who notched a runner-up finish at the NHRA Topeka event earlier in June, plowed a road to finals that went through three of his Team Mopar teammates. He drove his Lucas Oil Dodge Stratus R/T Pro Stock car to wins over fellow HEMI®-powered drivers Vinnie Deceglie, Allen Johnson and Justin Humphreys to set up his finals fight with Anderson. Morgan was first off the tree in the first three rounds. His speed leaving the starting line came back to bite him, as he was too fast in the finals, taking a red-light loss in his bid for a tenth career Pro Stock win.
"We've been working real hard. We've tried to change our combination around and now we're getting back to the way we used to run it. We were trying to run in a different range from the way we had been running our engines and it got me in trouble. I have to be the guinea pig here for all the guys that I race with [and supply engines to]."
"We're getting there. We're still a little bit off. But, hey, to get to the finals today was a great thing for us, and for sponsors Lucas Oil, Mopar and Summit Racing. And all the guys that work for me, they just do a super good job. I couldn't be happier."
THE EYES HAVE IT - Cory McCenathan has drawn impatient in his recovery time from Lasik eye surgery. He cited the after-effects of the corrective procedure as a factor in his semi-finals at Englishtown. A week later the situation was the same in a semi-final loss to Brandon Bernstein, except this time he was too quick off the line.
"I'm trying to rebound from last weekend," said McClenathan, referring to his holeshot loss in Englishtown. "Sometimes when you get beat on a holeshot like that it sets you back and it's not something that you fix overnight. I realize now that after having my eyes done (Lasik eye surgery prior to Englishtown) it takes some time for them to come back to where I want them to be. Everyone I've talked to about it, including my doctor and people who have had it done, have told me to be patient, but I'm not a very patient person.
"I tried to be patient coming in here this weekend and I just tried to steadily improve on my lights. And that worked and we did exactly that. I think my biggest problem was that I went into this semifinal against Brandon thinking that these guys are going to step up, we're going to step up and this is going to be a very close drag race, so I need to be on my game. When it was time to leave I left. It just happened to be a little bit too early.
"The biggest thing for me right now is that this is not hurting us that much other than winning races," added McClenathan, "and winning races is what I'm here to do. But I don't want the FRAM guys to lose their confidence in me because I haven't lost confidence in myself as much as I feel like I let these guys down the last couple of races. What I'm trying to do is condition myself for the Western Swing and from Indy on and that's really the most important thing here. The best thing I can do for myself is keep working and be on my game when it comes to Indy (U.S. Nationals, following which the Countdown to the Championship begins) and that's what I plan on doing. The biggest thing is that I know I have a consistent, safe race car beneath me."
HOLDING PATTERN - Dave Connolly defeated Warren Johnson in Sunday’s first round of the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals and moved closer to 10th place in NHRA’s Pro Stock top 10, but his five-round win streak at his hometown track ended in the quarterfinals.
Connolly never trailed against Johnson and drove to the win in 6.701 seconds – his quickest run of the weekend – to a 6.715.
But Justin Humphreys threw a roadblock into Connolly’s plans with a time of 6.716 at 204.54 to a 6.729 at 205.79 for the Cagnazzi Racing Charter Communications/LifeLock Chevy Cobalt.
“Things didn’t turn out as well as we hoped,” said Connolly, from nearby Elyria, Ohio. “We did get by Warren but we dropped the ball in the second round. We controlled our own destiny and lost an opportunity to put points between us and Humphreys.”
“We didn’t make a good run,” said crew chief Tommy Utt.
Connolly remains 11th with 480 points while Johnson has 554 with six races remaining in what is NHRA’s 18-event regular season. Humphreys, who was recently passed Connolly, lost in the semifinals and now has 462 points.
STILL THE ONE - Tim Wilkerson leaves Summit Motorsports Park still bearing the distinction of being the POWERade Championship Funny Car points leader even though the talented tuner and driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala SS could only get to the second round of racing action today at the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
In the first-round of eliminations Tommy Johnson, Jr. smoked the tires as Wilkerson sailed by him posting the quickest run of the session, an impressive 4.905 at 299.26 mph. There was a brief rain shower as the cars sat in the lanes waiting for second round. And here Wilkerson lost his impressive hot rod slowing to a 5.062 and gave the win to Tony Pedregon and his 4.962.
“Our first pass was pretty nice and ran just about what we thought it would,” said Wilkerson. “But it spun the tires real bad downstairs and put two holes out. It would have gone in the 80’s if it hadn’t done that. Quite frankly, we went up there for the next round thinking it would do the same thing, but it dropped a hole way early and when it does that you can’t make it up. It was really hard to keep it tuned-up in this kind of weather. It didn’t look bad but it was really bad. I thought it may have changed while we were sitting out the rain but it didn’t work out the way I thought. I thought we would go a mid-90 and it would have been good if we would have but it didn’t.
“Tony’s guys did a good job. They went down the race track and went pretty fast. We went down the track and would have been there if they would have screwed up a little bit.”
THE OTHER END - A first round win was what Bob Tasca III needed in Norwalk, and that’s just what the rookie driver captured to maintain his spot at 10th in NHRA championship points.
Tasca beat Tony Bartone in the first round of eliminations before falling to Cruz Pedregon in the second round.
“We’re staying 10th in the points, and that’s what matters,” said the driver of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane/Custom Accessories Shelby Mustang. “It was an important first round for us to win, because a lot of the guys around us in the points also won their first rounds.”
With both Tasca and 11th-place driver, Del Worsham, exiting the race after the second run of the day, nine points now separates those two drivers, while 54 points is the gap between Tasca and ninth-place driver, Mike Neff.
“Going out in the second round is frustrating, because we ran so well in the heat this weekend," said Tasca. "We had cloud cover, and the track started cooling down for the second round. All of those factors change your strategy and philosophy. It shows, somewhat, of our newness with this racecar, because we don’t have data on this car from past races at these tracks. It went from a 93-degree first session to a second session where it was raining with cloud cover and then the sun came out. I truly feel that if it had been 93 degrees that second run, we would have had a much better chance.”
The second-round meeting between Tasca and Pedregon was the second for the two drivers this season. The two previously competed in Chicago, with Pedregon earning the round win. Tasca’s 5.005-second, 291.82 mph run just was just shy of Pedregon’s 4.929-second, 300.46 mph run the second time down the track.
“Nine out of 10 times, [Chris ] Cunningham [crew chief] will tell me what the car is going to do, and it usually does it. The guy is that good," said Tasca. "For our second run, we put more of a tune-up in it, and we were trying to run a 4.95. I tip my hat to Cruz; he was second low ET of the session. He had a great light, and had me by a little bit at the line. Their team made the right call under the conditions that we had.
“We were hoping to run a 4.95, and that’s where the frustration comes in, because it didn’t run that. We’ll check over the data and see why it didn’t run what we expected. You just have to learn from these things. There is no run out here that’s wasted. Every run is more data that we have for the next race. When the pressure was on and we needed to get that first round win, we did what we needed to do to keep us in the game and in the top 10.”
NAPA'S HONORARY - Valley City, Ohio's Scott Beard was selected as the 12th NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Member of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series today at the Second Annual NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio
Beard is the owner of Total Performance Services Inc., a NAPA AUTO PARTS Truck Center located in Brunswick, Ohio. The 46-year-old Ohio native has been drag racing for almost 30 years and his wife and son also compete. He owns and races a Super Pro Plymouth Duster and is in the process of building a Pro Modified car. Beard's wife, Michelle, drives a Super Pro Dodge Challenger, and their son Tyler competes in a junior dragster. In addition, his family used to own Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio, which was once an NHRA-sanctioned track.
"They didn't mention if they needed me to set up the clutch or anything like that," said Beard with a laugh, knowing he could probably handle the task based on his experience in and knowledge of the sport. "This is amazing. I usually don't get excited, but I couldn't sleep or concentrate on anything else waiting for today. We go to the races every year and I've never really had the chance to get this close to the action. It's like a dream come true. I'd really like to thank NAPA AUTO PARTS for giving me this opportunity and coming through for me once again."
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK - AN INTERESTING DAY AT THE TRACK
HEAT TREATED MILLER - Top Fuel team owner Bill Miller couldn’t wait to get the qualifying
sheet from the first qualifying session during the NHRA Summit Racing
Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
Miller’s freshman driver Troy Buff had driven his dragster to the fifth
quickest run of the session with a 4.987 elapsed time during a session
when many of the leading teams struggled.
“I’m looking at the progressive sheet and I see a # symbol by my number
and I look at the bottom of the sheet and it says I was disqualified,”
Miller said. “I look at the other sheet and it said I had been
disqualified. I was looking at it and said, ‘What the hell for?”
“I figured it had to have been the scales because the nitro was 88.5% and the blower was at 50% over.”
Miller pointed out his car has always weighed between 2,340 and 2,350
pounds with an empty fuel tank. He said his car is consistently forty
pounds overweight.
“The scales are very short,” Miller explained. “If you look at the
scales with the front end almost six inches away from going off of the
scales, the back wheels are not on.”
Miller is adamant that a crew member notified officials their rear
wheels were not on the scales. They were told such an issue was “no
problem”.
“They weighed Troy separately because normally they weigh him and the
car together,” Miler said. “I’m used to hearing 2,340 or 2,350. In this
case, they weighed him separately and I never heard what he weighed.
“The guy behind us said 2,120 and it didn’t register because I
shouldn’t have to figure the math down there. I’m all amped up because
we made a good run and I’m not even thinking about this. We were told
we were good to go and left.”
Miller said if there was a problem he would have hoped the officials would have notified him before his departure.
“It wasn’t like we pulled away from there running 90 miles per hour,”
Miller said. “They claimed they yelled that we were light.”
The entire Miller team testified they never heard one plea to stop
despite having the side doors open on the team’s mini-van tow vehicle.
‘I don’t need to cheat,” Miller said. “If I need to cheat to whip your ass, then I don’t need to be here.”
Weight issues didn’t stop with Miller as two of the NHRA’s prominent
teams not only had their runs eliminated, but were disqualified from
competition.
OUT OF THE SHOW - Funny Car racers Melanie Troxel and Gary Scelzi were disqualified from
competition for having loose ballast in the car. Although the NHRA
rulebook has a provision that allows a monetary fine, an official from
the NHRA confirmed the suspension from competition will be the only
penalty.
A release from the NHRA was handed out along with the results of Funny Car qualifications.
"Funny Car drivers Gary Scelzi and Melanie Troxel were disqualified
from the event today after NHRA Tech Officials discovered loose ballast
in their calls following their qualifying runs. According to page 74 of
the NHRA Rule Book, 'any materal used for the purpose of racing must be
permanently attached to the car's body or above the rear tires. No
liquid or loose ballast permitted. Discovery of loose or disguised
ballast will result in disqualification form the event, regardless of
whether the infraction occurs during qualifying or eliminations.'"
Many of the Funny Car teams use loose ballast at tracks where the
scales are deemed by them to be questionable. This weekend the NHRA
pulled spot checks.
Troxel's crew chief Brian Corradi confirmed their Funny Car weighed
2,580 without the ballast making the car well over the 2,550 minimum
weight required. The alleged unsecured ballast was 5 pounds.
The loose ballast on Scelzi’s car was reportedly found in the floorboard of his Funny Car.
"What I was told by the NHRA was that we weren't underweight and we weren't
illegal other than the weight wasn't bolted in the car," Scelzi said. "They're not just
throwing the run out, they're throwing us out of the event, because that's what
it says in the rulebook, according to what we've been told.
"The car was
15 pounds heavy, It had five pounds of loose ballast in it because the
[official] scales vary so much from run to run. I don't think the penalty fits
the crime. To throw us out of the event I feel is a little bit harsh."
“It’s fruitless for me to even try to plead my case,” team owner Don
Schumacher said. “Dan Olson made the decision and I only found out when
I walked over to my team.”
The NHRA carries a plus or minus tolerance on weight of 2.5 pounds.
“If you’re racing with a plus or minus five pounds then you are
stupid,” Schumacher added. “That’s all I can say is that would be
ludicrous. These scales vary tremendously even from day to day.”
NASCAR carries a similar rule as the NHRA regarding loose ballast.
The rulebook states: Any weight added to the car must be bolted inside
the body shell in an approved weight container and in a position
acceptable to NASCAR officials...Added weight must be secured in a
manner acceptable to NASCAR Officials that will prevent movement of the
added weight while in competition...Added weight must be in block form
of not less that five (5) pound blocks (no pellets) and painted white
with the car number or team identification permanently legible on it.
Material must be acceptable to NASCAR Officials.
NASCAR’s penalty in the past for loose weight has been in the $25,000 -
$50,000 range along with suspension of two weeks and probation for the
remainder of the season for the crew chief.
THANKS ALLEN! - There were actually two winners after the final round of today's 24th annual
K&N Horsepower Challenge at Summit Motorsports Park. On the track, Allen
Johnson used a perfect .000 reaction time to get a holeshot win and a $50,000
check in defeating Greg Anderson, and off the track, race fan Ed Merry Jr. from
Virginia Beach, Va., was the lucky winner of a 2008 Pontiac G6 GXP as part of
the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes.
The K&N Horsepower
Challenge is a non-points bonus Pro Stock event held in conjunction with this
weekend's second annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. The
race-within-a-race features the top eight Pro Stock drivers who have accumulated
the most points in qualifying during the past year in the NHRA POWERade Drag
Racing Series with $50,000 going to the winner. Drivers began earning points
for the 2008 K&N Horsepower Challenge at last year's Summit Racing Equipment
NHRA Nationals and continued to accumulate points through last weekend's Lucas
Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Englishtown, N.J.
TEAM EFFORT - Business competitors came together on Friday at Summit Motorsports Park to ensure the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals would continue without further issue for the remainder of the weekend.
Equipment on display in the Krystowski Tractor Sales/Kubota and CAT midway sites was put into action when water began to weep up through cracks in the asphalt just past the finish line. Feed by 13 inches of rain in the week prior to the event, a day of sunshine heated the asphalt surface to 127 degrees turning the facility into a virtual coffee pot. As the asphalt warms water is drawn to the surface and out through cracks.
Frank Manzo, Top Alcohol Funny Car driver, answer the call throughout the garage for individuals capable of operating the machine commandeered from Kubota and CAT. Manzo, an underground utility contractor from Morganville, N.J., holds both the low E.T., and MPH records in TAFC at Summit Motorsports Park.
Manzo and other equipment operators dug ditches three feet deep along the outer wall on both sides of the track which were connected to larger storm water ditches. Additionally, slices were made in the racetrack to facilitate the drainage of water into the freshly dug ditches.
By 3:00 am Saturday morning the flow of water being directed away from the racing surface had finally slowed, but water was still trickling out some three hours later. However, the measures proved effective when a Saturday afternoon deluge did not cause additional weeping problems.
WINNING IS WHAT COUNTS - U.S. Army Top Fuel pilot, Tony
“The Sarge” Schumacher, secured the eighth starting spot here Saturday after
final qualifying for the second annual Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.
Schumacher, who is the defending event champion, used a
4.703-second pass at 300.46 mph to set up a first round battle with ninth-place
qualifier, Bob Vandergriff, Jr.
“We’ve proven that you can win from anywhere in the
order,” he added. “Heck, last year we qualified 14th here in
Schumacher would rather start from a higher position,
however track conditions made the going tough.
“It was tough sledding out here today given that we lost two rounds of qualifying yesterday (due to water seepage issues),” said Schumacher. “We got down the track in the opening round, but we smoked the tires in that last round. Tomorrow will be another day.”
UPHILL BATTLE - Where there's a will there's a way and J.R. Todd is hoping first round on Sunday leans in his favor.
Although, Todd has a winning record against first round opponent Hillary Will with a 6-3 mark, Todd has successfully made only one full pass at the Norwalk track when NHRA officials were forced to cancel all of Friday racing activities due to water seeping up from underneath the track resulting in only two attempts on Saturday.
Todd qualified in the No. 10 position with his elapsed time of 4.771 seconds, 297.94 mph.
“I know I keep saying this every weekend that this should be our weekend, but it’s getting down to crunch time for making the POWERade Top 10,” said Todd. “If we’re going to make a move, I think it has to happen tomorrow because we’re running out of time. We have a good record against Hillary but right now at this point in the year, she has one of the stronger running cars out here, so we better have our act together. If I do my job on the starting line and if Stew (John Stewart, crew chief) gives us a good car we should be in good shape for tomorrow.”
DEDICATED TO SAFETY - Friday’s lone Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying session provided an instance when Steve Johnson’s clout as former spokesperson for the class would have come in handy.
“There was water on the track,” Johnson confirmed.
Johnson said he told race officials in the shutdown area of the unsafe condition and they failed to rectify the situation immediately. In fact, the complete session was run.
“I don’t know their procedures but I felt there was an issue with some water,” Johnson added. “At first, I thought maybe I might have been wrong, but when I went to fuel and scales, I went over and saw they were definitely drying the track.”
Chris Rivas said he saw the water, but only after
he’d made a 7.088, 186.61 pass.
“I didn’t see it until after I had made my run,” Rivas said. “I had noticed another ride checking the racing surface after I had made my run.”
Rivas confirmed that he rode his scooter back to
the shutdown area and clearly saw puddles of water were present.
“They should have stopped that session,” Rivas
admitted. “Once they saw traces of water. What happens is when you are on a
bike and I know Pro Stock cars are the same, you’re so out of control on the
top end anyway, if there’s one little thing you try to do to maneuver the bike
and if you throw in even the least little droplet of water, you can lose
control. This is such a hardcore issue that it needs to be addressed for sure.”
“I’m very confident in my driving skills and I will drive through fire,” Johnson explained. “I just always want to make sure everyone is aware of safety. If there’s an issue on the track, we need to look at it as soon as possible. Sometimes I feel like they react real quick and fast that it’s shocking. Other times I think we could be more aggressive in our thought processes.
“I don’t know what their thought process was
yesterday because I wasn’t down there the whole time. All I know is that was
going 185 miles per hour; shut down and saw water on the track. I told them
right away that I felt there was water on the track. I don’t know what they saw
but they kept running.
“I don’t if what I said inspired them to stop running; all I knew is that I didn’t want to go putting on brakes in water.”
By notifying NHRA race officials, Johnson fulfilled his obligation as a competitor. Drivers, car owners and crew members sign a document when they receive their hard cards from NHRA which obligates them to notify NHRA officials of any unsafe condition. What the officials do with the information, while if affects the competitors, is no longer within their control.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK - FRUSTRATING DAY ENDS WITHOUT RACING
THE NO RAIN RAINOUT - First they drilled it. Then they sucked it. Then they beat on it.
In the end, the NHRA’s actions weren’t enough to keep water from percolating through the racing surface at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park during the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
Not one drop of rain fell on Friday but that didn’t stop the event from being postponed because of rain.
The NHRA suspended qualifying after one session of Pro Stock Motorcycle and seven Pro Stock cars as the racing surface became unsafe.
Just shy of 4:00 PM, NHRA and Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park employees began measures to stop the weeping of water through the track surface, which was being fed by rain in the days leading up to the event. The track measured 13 inches of rainfall in the week prior.
At one point a backhoe was brought in to dig a trench parallel to the racing surface and then out to an even deeper drainage ditch. During the digging of the trench, the backhoe operator went to deep, snagging and breaking the cable leading to the scoreboard, forcing the Compulink team into action to repair the damage.
The damage was a minor ten minute fix but was indicative of the day’s misfortunes.
The over five hour ordeal ended with track manager/owner Bill Bader Jr., apologizing to the large crowd for their inconvenience. SREMP rewarded their patience with a full credit from Friday towards Saturday’s racing action.
SREMP treated the remaining race fans to a ten minute fireworks show.
Sportsman qualifying for the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals begins at 8 a.m. with the first professional session slated for 12:10 p.m.
WHEN YOUR NAME IS ASHER
SOMETHING'S FISHY HERE - With all the water seeping to the surface of Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, it was a 
good time to be a Nitrofish.
Nitrofish-sponsored drag racers Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) and Richie Stevens (Pro Stock) lead provisional qualifying at the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.
The defending Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Smith rode his way to a 7.059, 187.23.
Stevens never had a clue he’d be leading Pro Stock qualifying considering this was his first outing of the 2008 season.
Subbing for injured Pro Stock driver Kenny Koretsky, Stevens was one of only seven Pro Stock entries who got a qualifying attempt in before water seepage halted the session and inevitably the rest of the day.
Stevens ran a 6.833 elapsed time at 202.64 miles per hour to edge Dave Northrop.
SAYING GOODBYE - Nearly a thousand members of the drag racing community attended a memorial service at the Ernsthausen Performing Arts Center on Thursday in Norwalk, Ohio, honoring the life Funny Car racer Scott Kalitta.
The ceremony was a mix of emotion from sadness to laughter in sharing memories of the fallen drag racer killed in an accident while attempting to qualify at the NHRA Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J., on June 21.
“I thought it went very well,” said Todd Myers, publicist for Kalitta Motorsports. “It was very fitting to Scott. There were a lot of tears, a lot of laughter. I’m glad [John] Force was there to interject a little humor into everything and to really make us all celebrate Scott’s life and not concentrate as much on the fact that he’s not with us. So I think it was very fitting. I’m just thankful for all the racers and all they’ve done for us not only at the service but up until then and continue to do so.”
Fourteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force addressed the program. He shared many memories of the fallen Funny Car driver.
Funny Car point leader Tim Wilkerson always felt that he knew Kalitta very well, but admitted he left the service with an even better understanding of the driver.
“I knew him pretty well and he was just like everybody described him; a guy that liked to go racing and when you’re Connie’s kid you either have two choices to love racing or hate it and he was addicted to it like the rest of us,” added Wilkerson. “He had a good opportunity being Connie’s kid to have the best parts and the best people around him. He took advantage of it a lot of different times, he enjoyed himself and life. I don’t know what else you could ask for.”
CHAMPION TO THE CORE -
THE MASTER BLASTER
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