NHRA GATORNATIONALS - EVENT NOTEBOOK
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK - A PACKED HOUSE DESPITE A TOUGH WEATHER FORECAST
GATORNATIONALS TOP FUEL WINNER TATUM GETS BY WITH HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS – AND GETS BY HIS FRIENDS ON TRACK - Few people knew Sunday during the Amalie Oil Gatornationals just how special the moment was for Tripp Tatum to advance to the Top Fuel final round against fellow independent team owner Doug Foley.
It was the first time each of them had reached the “money round.” One year after Josh Hart served notice that he would become part of the championship conversation (and a model for the sport’s business-to-business opportunities) by winning the 2021 Gatornationals on his first outing in a Top Fuel dragster, the Top Fuel class would have another first-time winner.
But for Tatum, it went beyond that.
Foley’s crew chief is Aaron Brooks, who is respected throughout the nitro pits. And Tatum offered some insight after defeating Brooks and Foley with a 3.700-second elapsed time and 330.31 mph on the Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway 1,000-foot course.
“Fun fact,” Tatum said. “Aaron Brooks and those guys are such good people. He works on the car [Tatum’s dragster] and helps. His shop is 100 yards from mine [at Brownsburg, Ind.]. We’re all a pretty tight-knit family. There isn’t anything one of us wouldn’t do for the other. So that was a special moment, to race him and his guys. They did real good, too.”
It is no secret that Tatum has a strong relationship with Torrence Racing, from team owner “Mama Kay” Torrence, drivers Billy Torrence and son Steve (the four-time and current Top Fuel champion), and key players Bobby and brother Dom Lagana.
“I moved from Maryland to Indy about five years ago,” Tatum said, “and Bobby and Dom, the Capco family, they've been instrumental. I mean, this whole thing is with their help. Very blessed to be associated with them. And all the guys over there, every one of them has helped me in the pit in more ways than I can even tell.”
His car mimics those of Torrence Racing. “It's a Lucas chassis. But they put the entire thing together. It's almost identical. It's just doing a little, few things different. It's R&D, trying things, testing,” he said.
And the Torrence group has helped, has delivered a blueprint, for how Tatum can build a winning team. He is listening, and it’s paying off.
“I’m getting spoiled with how good this thing runs,” he said of his dragster. “When it goes 295-plus [mph] to half-track, it’s pretty bad-ass.”
Despite his faith in his car and in his support staff (including veteran tuners John Stewart and Tony Shortall – and Top Fuel/Funny Car master and close friend Tommy Johnson Jr.), Tatum said he was “speechless” Sunday night and that the victory “is kind of sinking in a little bit.” Replaying the run in his mind, Tatum said of Foley, “He was out on me. I saw him till 300-400 feet. I couldn’t see the [Christmas] Tree at all. I had a .192 light. I just couldn’t see it. So there’s a little luck involved there.”
Tatum, who described himself as “very purposeful,” has been so preoccupied with logistics, personnel, and all the nuts and bolts of owning an 11,000-horsepower, nitromethane-burning Top Fuel dragster that his more serious nature has dominated. He didn’t stop long enough to visualize winning a race.
“I keep busy. I can’t stop moving, [or else] I sit and think,” Tatum said, as if thinking too deeply about successes right now is a sign of certain disaster. “I never really thought about winning. I mean, it’s a lot of work. It’s so hard. It’s baby steps. As good as this car has run so early on, it’s been overwhelming. And that’s all because of the Capco family. It’s just been a lot to swallow. It’s a lot to take in. I’ve been oly six races in this thing, and it had career-bests in five of them.”
He guessed that he has no more than 65 laps totally in a Top Fuel car – and, he said, “30-some of them were five-plus years ago, in the [Laganas’] Nitro Ninja [Dragster]. For me, it’s just laps [meaning he needs seat time]. “ This past weekend he found out his current car “ran good under trying circumstances. The racetrack was tough to get down.”
But he did, past Lex Joon, Billy Torrence, Mike Salinas, and finally Foley.
While Foley (who ran a 3.806, 307.37 in against Tatum in his ProTecs Dragster) didn’t take home the trophy Sunday, he also won, in a sense. He vaulted his Foley& Lewis Racing program onto a bigger stage, proving that he can race against the likes of Spencer Massey, Clay Millican, and Justin Ashley and march into later rounds.
This was the first time since the 2020 Indianapolis 2 race (when Justin Ashley and T.J. Zizzo met) that two non-winners reached the Top Fuel final round – and only the seventh time in the past 25 years that has happened at any race on the tour.
Many say that’s a harbinger of positive news for the class and the sport, with teams such as Tatum’s and Foley’s and Buddy Hull’s and Jim Maroney’s and Mike Salinas’ and Antron Brown’s and Justin Ashley’s and Clay Millican’s and a few others in the pipeline. Single-car teams, whether they have some affiliation with another organization or they are discovering their own path, point to a prosperous shift in drag racing.
All Tatum said he knows for sure is that the Top Fuel class “is extremely competitive.” As for the class and sport overall, he said, “I hope it’s taking a step in the right direction. People are seeing what they can do and how they can do it. The way Top Fuel is now, there’s going to be more of this. There truly is.”
As for himself, he said, “I’m being led by who I feel is best in this business. They taught me a lot, and I think their model is a good one to follow.”
Whether Tatum will be able to follow this extraordinary achievement at the next Camping World Drag Racing Series event is unknown. That will be something to watch, whether Tatum will be disciplined and live within his means, pacing himself, or whether an impressed investor steps forward between now and the next three weeks, before the April 1-3 4-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas.
“One step at a time,” Tatum cautioned. “This as a huge step. We’ll see. Maybe a few doors will open. “I am a 100-percent self-funded car. When it runs this good, you want to run more. I feel like this car can be a contender. I just need to work on finding some help so we can run more races.”
He said the Lagana brothers encouraged him to “stay within your means” and not let enthusiasm rule his business decisions. Of course, he said, he has toyed with the notion of going to keep the momentum rolling.
He knows the risks. And throughout Saturday and Sunday at Gainesville, he got a taste of the rewards.
HAGAN GETS HIS FIRST GATORS WIN AT THE WATER-LOGGED GATORNATIONALS - The noise was deafening for Matt Hagan, and it wasn't coming from his 10,000-horsepower Dodge Funny Car.
Just moments before his crew fired the engine, Hagan was strapped in and ready to race against final round opponent Blake Alexander at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. when the voices fired up in his head.
"I was up there going, 'Don't think about it, don't think about it. You need to win, but don't think about it," Hagan recalled. "It's just one of those things when it just happens, it happens, and it becomes natural. You just go up there, and it's like putting an old shoe on, and you just do what you're supposed to do. You know you've got a good car underneath you, and you know you've got the parts and pieces that TSR supplies."
This was no ordinary race for Hagan, who had never won the NHRA Gatornationals. He'd been close but never sealed the deal.
Same thing this season in his short stint at Tony Stewart Racing, after three races - he had a semi-final finish at the season-opener in Pomona and a runner-up last month in Phoenix.
On a weekend where the front-running cars were vulnerable because of uncharted atmospheric conditions, Hagan found himself getting up on the wheel and racing aggressively. He left the starting line first and never looked back as he ran a 3.910, 330.96 to drive away from Alexander.
Credit team owner Stewart for getting the hulkish Hagan amped up with his friendly needling.
"I really have, so far, enjoyed working with Tony," Hagan said. "It's a different kind of feel. He's not one of those guys that's going to come in and chew you out. He's one of those guys that's like, 'Oh, we're number four. So that means that there's no points for number four? Explain this to me. Number one gets three points. Number two gets two points, and three gives us one?"
"So, he's kind of one of those guys that will poke at you until you rise to the occasion. But I love that. I love that he wants to be involved, and he's being a part of it, and he could be at the NASCAR deal this weekend, and he's here. He wants to see this come together and do well and be successful, and we're going to do that for him. We're going to make this program very successful."
But, for Hagan, he's never going to miss a good reciprocal needling.
Stewart jokingly told a media member in Gainesville that his role is limited to holding the gas cap.
"Well, he's got to prove himself, so we'll see how good he is," Hagan said with a laugh. Tony, he's a great guy, man. Honestly, I really enjoy working for him. He wants to stay busy. He does it over there with Leah's mixing fuel and different things like that. He was jumping in there today in between rounds and helping change magnetos and different things. I was like, 'Man, you still got to earn my trust. I still have to go 300 miles an hour in this thing, even though you pay the bills."
Maybe his words were in jest. Maybe not. After a weekend where a water-logged Gainesville Raceway took on 15-inches of rain in three days, the Funny Car world spun off of its axis when point leader and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight smoked the tires on a first-round single. He also watched as his fellow front-runners fall out of competition.
"I knew we were kind of in trouble when Robert smoked them on the first hit," Hagan explained. "Then we went up there, and I had to pedal and get it to the finish line. These cars like to go fast; they don't like to be slowed down. So as a crew chief, I think Dickie [Venables] did a great job this weekend putting a good car back underneath me and being able to go down the racetrack."
All day long, racers came to the starting line with adjusted altitude below sea level with a track that was massaged into reasonable shape.
"It was definitely a different kind of feel to it today because the air was different, the track was different," Hagan explained. "A lot of these big-hitting cars, they couldn't pull their stuff back enough. I mean, we were down to our shortest rod with no compression in it. That's all we had. You start trying to take blower off of it and different things like that to slow these cars down. Just the air was so good here and stuff like that."
Hagan said last season's championship runner-up left a sour taste in his mouth.
"I know what we're capable of with this Power Broker car," Hagan said. "I know what our team can do. I know the wins that we can pull down and the championship that we can pull down this year. I runner upped last year, won the championship the year before that, and I think two out of the three championships I have won have been after a runner-up. I think it leaves such a nasty, awful taste in your mouth and an empty feeling in your heart when you runner up. So, you go out there, and you do that extra work, and not that they were not working before, but it's a reminder of like, 'Hey, you were close, but you didn't get it done.
"So this year, I'm definitely showing up on the starting line. I'm definitely showing up driving the race car. I want to do my part, and these guys, they do a great job putting a great race car underneath me, and Dickie Venables does an amazing job tuning these cars. You give the guy enough runs and he figures it out. It's magical to watch him work."
But for Hagan, the magic he and Venables share comes at a price. The price is the time and experience of being together.
"I just know what our team is capable of this year, and I've set goals for myself to win six or eight races, and we've never done that," Hagan said. "But I really feel like we can do that this year, and we're going to have some tough competition. I mean, hats off to Robert Hight. He's an animal, and so is Jimmy Prock, but I'll put Jimmy Prock and Dickie Venables side-by-side any day.
"Back when we were setting National records, it was throw down round after round, and that, to me, as a driver, was exciting. It was so exciting for me.
"It's only a matter with Dickie Venables, period. Not to brag or boast, but the guy is just; he's a genius. Dickie can do things with a race car and just go off of his gut instinct, and the things that he does is just, it's phenomenal. When you put up the stats and the numbers, basically, we won more races than anybody in the last ten years combined. So that says a lot for yourself.
"When you just look at the raw numbers, as a team, what we've done together. That, to me, speaks for ourselves, but it's chemistry. You can't go buy it. There have been plenty of billionaires that have come out here. I mean, not knocking anybody but Johnny Gray and Morgan Lucas, and you can't buy this kind of stuff, man. It's just you click, and you work together, and you have a group of individuals, and they're driven and goal-oriented. That's what we have as a group here."
For Jim Head Racing, the final round came for a team in its first outing since a 2021 hauler accident that killed loved and respected crewman Dylan Cromwell.
Alexander beat three past NHRA world champions when he took out JR Todd, Cruz Pedregon, and Ron Capps.
DALLAS GLENN PICKS UP PRO STOCK WIN NO. 4 - When reigning NHRA Rookie of the Year recipient Dallas Glenn rolled to the water box for the burnout in his race against T.J. Coughlin; there was no indication he had much of a chance of keeping his car running, much less winning the first round.
STOFFER STICKS WITH BIKE RACING, REELS OFF RECORDS, WINS THIRD GATORNATIONALS TROPHY - Karen Stoffer had been on the verge of stepping back from NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competition at the end of last season. Her mind was gravitating to “other life things that are going on,” as she put it after winning Sunday’s Amalie Oil Gatornationals for the third time.
But back in November, her sponsors certainly hated to waste all the momentum she and crew chief Tim Kulungian and Jerry Savoie’s White Alligator Racing Suzuki team had built heading into the winter break. Same for her husband, Gary Stoffer, who years ago when they were first dating saw a spark of greatness in her and orchestrated her pathway through 10 Pro Stock Motorcycle victories and more importantly a lifestyle of togetherness, purpose, and an even bigger family of friends in what’s now the Camping World Drag Racing Series.
So they tried to persuade her to come back out and compete. “It was a last-minute decision,” she said, sharing that she had a Jan. 1 deadline to decide and made the call to everyone involved Dec. 31. She said, “I do” once again to her husband. “And here I am,” she said happily.
Her supporters’ faith in her was not unfounded.
Karen Stoffer is the proud new owner of the top two - and four of the top five – quickest passes in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle history, along with her 11th Wally trophy and third from Gainesville Raceway, a place she calls “her second home track.”
Before facing Angie Smith in the final round or even Savoie in the semifinals, Stoffer had recorded the quickest run ever in her class at 6.682 seconds (at 198.70 mph), then lowered that with a 6.665-second elapsed time (at 200.71 mph).
She completed her day by defeating Smith with a 6.700-second, 200.77-mph performance. Smith registered her best pass of the weekend – 6.723, 201.28 – on her Denso/Stockseth/Matt Smith Racing Buell, but she fell about nine feet short at the finish line in their first final-round meeting.
Stoffer said she’s glad she and Gary made the decision to continue. She said, “Maybe this was a sign from the Good Lord that ‘Hey, it’s the right decision to be out here.’ That’s how I’m going to take it.”
With a Suzuki that was virtually the same as it was when they stowed it last fall, save for some minor tweaks, Stoffer was able to capitalize on her fourth straight final round. Dating back to the October Bristol, Tenn., event, Stoffer came up empty in the finals there and at Las Vegas and Pomona.
And she, as well as observers of the class, wondered if she would keep her momentum from late 2021.
“This solidifies that you can step off a winning bike and wait a full off-season, then step right back on and get up there again,” Stoffer said. “The engine program is working good. The tuning’s good with Tim, and I’m riding well.”
Furthermore, she prevailed with no qualifying chances all weekend because of relentless rain and then plummeting temperatures that for safety reasons caused NHRA officials and most racers to agree to set the field on last season’s final standings.
“So we came out of the box today [Sunday] and threw down a 6.68, which is hat’s off to Tim and Jerry. It was a tuner’s race, and Tim’s good about figuring it out,” she said, “as well as all the work that [crew members] Harvey and Keith do. They put that Ray Skillman[-sponsored] bike out there in front of everybody, and it was phenomenal.
“And then to back it up with a 6.66 . . . I think we could have gotten a little more out of it. I kind of bobbled it. We might have had a little bit more,” she said.
The first-round run, she said she knew, was going to be a strong one but that she didn’t peg it for a record-setter.
“When you’re going down the racetrack, the smoother it is, the faster it is. It felt really smooth. It wasn’t pulling hard. It was a smooth, consistent pull. I didn’t know it was going to be that good,” Stoffer said. “Tim said it was out there, but I didn’t know it was going to be on my bike. It was my first time down the racetrack [this year].
“I’ve never in the NHRA – and I’ve been a longtime member from way back when – been the first in anything. I wasn’t the first female. I wasn’t the first 200-mile-an-hour [bike racer]. I wasn’t the first ‘six’ [racer in the six-second range]. So to get this here, that’s huge to me.” She told her White Alligator Racing (W.A.R.) team, including boss Jerry Savoie whom she beat in the semifinal, “It’s all about you.”
What helped all weekend was that Stoffer said she felt like she was in her cocoon. The Gardnerville, Nev., resident who identifies with nearby Sonoma Raceway, said, “Gainesville is like my second home track. My first big team owner, with Geico, lived here. We spent a lot of time here. We spent a lot of time at this racetrack. I really feel comfortable here, even with the weather conditions.
“The whole package,” Stoffer said, referring to her achievements in a productive day by anyone’s accounts, “is definitely a dream come true.” However, she said, the impact of it likely won’t sink in until she relaxes in her airplane seat for the trip home.
In just a little more than a month, she’ll be flying out again, heading to meet her competitors at Baytown, Texas, for the final hurrah at Houston Raceway Park at the April 22-24 NHRA SpringNationals. But when she rolls in, she’ll be the points leader once again. (The Pro Stock Motorcycle class will not race at the early-April 4-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas.)
QUALIFYING NOTEBOOK – DETERMINATION OVERCOMES THE CONDITIONS ON SATURDAY
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - Never in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown racing history has there been so many nitro crew chiefs standing on the starting line. Thus was the case on Saturday, at the NHRA Gatornationals, following two days of continuous torrential rainstorms.
The tuners wanted to see not how well the factory-built race cars would perform as much as they were eager to see how well the Safety Safari pulled off what many had deemed an impossible task.
When the top eight qualifiers in the Factory Stock Showdown opening session ran under the national record, they went scurrying back to their pits with a clear idea where to turn the wrenches.
When the Safety Safari started preparing the racing surface at 11 AM, very little rubber stuck to the racing surface to begin. By 3 PM, the first cars went down the strip.
"It couldn't be done without all the effort that was put in today," said Josh Peterson, NHRA VP of Operations. "Quite honestly, what we started and completed is normally what the team does starting on Monday.
"Normally, it's two and a half, three days of work to do. But in this scenario, the team had to go out there and clean off all the loose rubber and get it down to where it was essentially bare concrete, in this situation. And then it's like layering a cake. You powder, you drag, you spray, you drag, you spray, and you just keep going. You keep putting layers on the cake until it looks like it's in the right spot, and start running."
In a matter of hours with a tire rotating machine, the NHRA applied the equivalent of two qualifying sessions of Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race cars.
"It's a time-consuming process that normally takes, a lot longer than the time we had to work with," Peterson explained. "In the situation that we faced on Saturday, it was a feat like none other that they were able to accomplish. Especially having to move the amount of water."
It is estimated as many as 15-inches of rain fell on Gainesville Raceway over three days.
Before any track prep could begin, the track had to be thoroughly dried, which was a challenge in itself.
The dried track yielded a bald racing surface.
"You just keep putting rubber on it until it gets to a point that the team's comfortable based on experience," Peterson said.
"We got a lot of experience out there with this team. And they know where to get it and how to get there, and fortunately, all the conditions aligned that allowed us to do it.
"I know it was a stressful situation for the race teams under the circumstances, but I think the fans walked away with a pretty amazing show.
Peterson and his team knew they had their backs against the wall from the start, with an unforgiving window in which to get in as much racing as they could before the track temp plummetted.
Peterson knew the NHRA track prep team would need a handful of miracles to pull this off.
"I think we always look at each other and go, 'Man, I don't know," Peterson admitted. "But the team comes together, and we find a way to pull it out and do it."
"Over the course of time and in some situations, you go, 'There's no way," and we do, and they do. I mean, it really comes down to them. In the back of your mind, you're always questioning. But you charge ahead and hope at the end of the day that all the effort pays off. And I think it did for the fans.
"I don't think we've had conditions, at least as long as I've been here, we've had conditions like we've had over the past two and a half days here. Just with the amount of rain and then the drastic temperature swing.
"It's not what you would expect in March in north Florida."
Many elements were in full force during the weekend, and a welcomed one was a steady wind which assisted in the initial track drying process.
"Anytime you can get sun and wind on it to help naturally dry it, that always aids the process tremendously," Peterson added. "There's no doubt about it. To have Mother Nature do her thing is a tremendous asset that you can't always predict and have on your side. But in this case, it helped a lot.
"It helped speed things up to where we could kind of target a time. We beat our target by 12 minutes, of when we were projected to start."
As Peterson sees it, the team takes the victories when they can get them.,
"Al of those little factors add up to monumental sometimes at the end of the day," Peterson surmised. "There are tough, difficult days because you don't know what the outcome's going to be. You hope you know what it's going to be. But you go through the swing of emotions and hope it all works out. In this case, it worked out."
TOO COLD - NHRA officials knew they had a tight window in which they could get as much racing in as possible. That window slammed shut quickly.About two-thirds of the way into Funny Car's lone session, word went out the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Call Out was being postponed to another date.
Pro Stock got their one and only session in, and by this time, it was decided Pro Modified would not run and instead set their field on points.
Pro Stock Motorcycle was in the midst of their one and only session when a lengthy oildown delay, as well as the remaining riders, met with Josh Petersen, NHRA VP of Operations, and the decision was made to set the field on points.
THE SHOCKER - Between the Pep Boys All-Star Call-Out and the falling temperatures Saturday at cold, damp, windy Gainesville Raceway, Top Fuel qualifying for the Amalie Oil Gatornationals gave the Camping World Drag Racing Series some stunningly thrilling and stunning shocking results.
In a weekend that was geared to salute the class’ Elite Eight racers in an $80,000-to-win shootout, three of them didn’t make the field because of the one-and-done nature of qualifying. And the No. 1 starting spot went to an independent owner-driver who entered ranked 16th in the standings and was making just his 12th appearance in Top Fuel competition.
Tripp Tatum, 51, a former snow-removal entrepreneur who moved to Indianapolis to pursue his drag-racing dreams, plowed down the 1,000-foot Florida course Saturday at a track-record 3.674-second elapsed time at a career-best 331.53 mph for the first No. 1 starting position of his relatively young pro career.
While Tatum stole her thunder, Brittany Force had a banner day. She used the first round of the Pep Boys All-Star Call-Out bonus race to grab the No. 2 qualifying position with a 3.684-second E.T. – exactly two-hundredths of a second behind Tatum – and reset Mike Salinas’ three-minute-old track speed record by more than five miles an hour, at a sizzling 337.75 mph.
What’s more, she earned the first choice in the semifinal-round call-out of the Pep Boys-sponsored specialty race, but she will have to wait until Labor Day weekend to select Salinas, Justin Ashley, or Steve Torrence. The Call-Out will finish its final two rounds at the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis. The Funny Car class will have its edition of the All-Star Call-Out in September at that race, as well. - Susan Wade
THE HEAT IS ON, KINDA-SORTA - Funny Car champion Jack Beckman always has said that “from burnout to turnout, you have no friends on the racetrack.”
And Robert Hight said Saturday evening after securing the Funny Car class’ No. 1 qualifying position for the Amalie Oil Gatornationals that track temperature is the real foe.
“Our enemy in these cars is track temperature. If it’s too cold, that’s your enemy. If it’s too hot, that’s your enemy. When it gets cold you’ve got to be very, very careful, and tonight it was getting cold enough,” he said, fortunate to score a 3.831-second elapsed time and 333.41-mph speed on the 1,000-foot course at Florida’s Gainesville Raceway.
Track temperature was the reason NHRA officials determined during Pro Stock qualifying that the racing surface would be too risky for cars to run in a second qualifying session, so the order was set after a single qualifying run for the entire weekend. Rain washed out Friday’s action, and the Safety Safari toiled for almost four hours after more persistent rain showers Saturday to give racers any chance of running at all.
Unlike with the Top Fuel cars, with 21 entrants vying for just 16 spots, no Funny Car driver had to worry about not making the field.
But with all the abnormal conditions, Hight said he was doubly surprised to wind up leading the field for his 72nd time overall and his fourth at the Gatornationals. His Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro shook the tires enough to make him take notice. He thought crew chiefs Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham had given him a rather conservative tune-up, just to establish a baseline and, more importantly, to get a decent starting spot.
So, Hight said, “I wasn’t expecting to be No. 1. I talked to Jimmy before the run. We backed this thing down. We just needed to make a good run so we had a solid baseline for tomorrow [when he will face No. 16 starter John Smith in the first round of eliminations].
“They told me it ran .83. I was surprised. It shook really bad out there. It almost didn’t make it, but it was weak shake, so that’s something that’s easy to fix for tomorrow. If it’s too aggressive, it’s a little tougher to fix that,” the points lead and winner of both previous races this season, said.
“Tomorrow we’ll have to pick it up a little bit,” he said, “but when we do that, this Auto Club Chevy is going to run even better. It’s amazing. It’s 14 out of 15 runs to start the season that it’s run in the 3.80s. The one run that it didn’t make it, we had to put a new clutch disc in, and it threw us a curve.”
High said the dropping temperatures are what made his car shake at toward the end of his pass: “We were on the weak side. So tomorrow, if you’re on the other side of it – too aggressive – you’re going to smoke the tires. It’s a balancing act, and I honestly feel like I have the best guys in my corner for conditions like this.” - Susan Wade
WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS - "We knew we were going to face some weather this weekend,” Pro Stock racer Bo Butner said of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ first trip to the East Coast this season. “But we did not anticipate that it would be quite this dramatic."
Aaron Stanfield made it even more dramatic Saturday on the Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway quarter-mile.
He drove his Janac Brothers Camaro to Pro Stock’s quickest pass in the EFI era and the quickest elapsed time in the past five years Saturday in the weekend’s lone qualifying session for the Amalie Oil Gatornationals. The Elite Performance Motorsports driver did it with a track-record elapsed time of 6.468 seconds at 211.66 mph.
It wasn’t the fastest Pro Stock pass. Kyle Koretsky had top speed of the meet so far (212.06 mph) as he powered to the No. 2 spot in the line-up.
Even more remarkable was that Stanfield, in his quest for three straight championships in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown class, was the No. 4 qualifier in that category Saturday. On top of that, he is overseeing the tune-ups for four cars in that class because his family’s Stanfield Racing Engines supplies their power – and, he said, “I get to make crew-chief decisions.”
So he said he understood how his own Elite crew might have felt, knowing it would have just one chance to make the field and do it in style.
“I’m sure the crew chiefs have been a little nervous. We had some really good weather conditions, but the track conditions were a bit tricky. When you’re thinking you’re only going to get one qualifying run, it definitely affects your decisions,” Stanfield said. “I don’t think [my] guys went up there trying to lay the gauntlet down, but they did, for sure.”
He called the run “awesome” and said, “It was in the groove the entire time. I could tell it was nice and free, but I didn’t feel very loose. It was a clean run from start to finish. I had all the confidence in the world [in my team]. All the guys who work on my hot rod, they did a heck of a job.”
Stanfield said, “I think we’ll be tough to beat if we can keep a fast race car.”
However, he was trying to figure out what to anticipate for Sunday’s eliminations, when he’ll begin the day racing No. 16 starter Stefan Ernyrd, of Sweden – yet another unknown this weekend.
“Maybe if we can get some sunlight on the track, get some heat in the track, we can see some more of those mid-to-high [6].40 runs, for sure. The air might be a little bit better tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw another one,” he said. - Susan Wade
TEMPERING ENTHUSIASM - Josh Hart has always prided himself in being a forward-thinker. The sophomore Top Fuel driver from Ocala, Fla., is also a realist.
Winning in his first race was not even a remote thought.
"I just wanted to get comfortable with the car and comfortable with the team," Hart admitted. "We didn't really know each other that well, and up until that point, I think I had only made seven or eight passes in my career. So it was just take one pass at a time and try to get more comfortable."
Nothing creates a comfort zone quite like winning in the first time out.
"We gelled together quickly." Ron gave me a hell of a car. The team was awesome. They were on point all weekend. So I just had to do my job and not let them down."
When the job was done, Hart had to keep his expectations on an even-keel to understand what he pulled off in winning the 2021 NHRA Gatornationals was the exception and not the norm.
"A" lot of life experiences has taught me to control my emotions, but it was hard," Hart said. "It was hard to contain myself going into the final. You just keep telling yourself, 'Well, look, you made it to your final in your first race. No matter what happens, you're still awesome. You still did it."
"But it's always nice to have that little golden guy in your hand at the end of it all.
A year later, Hart stands a much different person than the debut superstar.
"I learned a lot," Hart said. "I learned a lot about the other drivers. I learned a lot about myself and how I need to conduct myself and just do business as usual. Stay focused. We've got some great alliances and partnerships with R+L Carriers. So I would say that's probably the only thing that's changed, is we're helping them with the recruiting aspect, and in return, I get to open up my cabinets and see some new shiny parts."
Another lesson that he learned was the importance of a thick-skin.
"Everybody out here has an opinion," Hart explained. "Everybody is sensitive to some degree, and I just don't conduct myself that way. So just keep to myself. I was a businessman before I ever touched a race car. So I'm used to being very straightforward and telling the truth, and some people don't like that."
IT WAS OUT THERE - Mark Pawuk reset the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series national E.T. and speed records during the weekend’s sole qualifying session on Saturday afternoon at the NHRA Gatornationals, the season-opening event for the eight-race series. Pawuk drove his Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak to a blistering 7.608-second pass at 183.15-mph to earn the pole position for the third time in his FSS career.Securing the No. 1 spot was no small feat, as the top eight qualifiers all posted E.T.s that were quicker than the previously-held national record. Included among the top eight was Pawuk’s new teammate, Warren Walcher, who took his machine on a 7.669-second ride to earn the No. 3 starting position at his second FSS event, and first driving for DSR. Rounding out the three-car DSR Factory Stock contingent was David Davies whose 7.787 E.T. secured the No. 11 spot on the elimination ladder out of a stacked 22-car field.
Pawuk’s No. 1 qualifier was fifth for the Kevin Helms/A.J. Berge-led DSR Factory Stock program, and ‘the Cowboy’ is hopeful his top-seeded effort will help propel him to his first Factory Stock winner’s circle celebration on Sunday at Gainesville Raceway. Now in his fifth year competing in the category, Pawuk has visited the final round three times but is eagerly awaiting the day he brings home his first FSS Wally trophy.
“What a great way to kick-off the 2022 season,” said Pawuk, whose career-best finish was third in 2020. “We worked really hard this winter to get everything ready to put together a solid campaign, and it paid off. A.J. Berge, Kevin Helms, and the guys have been hard at work testing and trying some new components. I was blown away by how fast we ran today. We made a perfect run, and we’re going to try and carry this No. 1 qualified Empaco Equipment/Ohio CAT/Mr. Heater Dodge Drag Pak into the later rounds tomorrow. The car is running well, and hopefully, the driver can do his job.
“What a great start by our whole team to have all three cars in the show, and I’m excited for our new teammate, Warren Walcher, to have such a strong debut with our team. I’m looking forward to race day and the rest of the season.”
Pawuk will have lane choice over No. 16 qualifier Carl Tasca in round one of eliminations on Sunday at the NHRA Gatornationals.
THE BIGGER PICTURE - Justin Ashley understands the magnitude of the situation. Ashley is racing in support of the people of Ukraine through his Phillips Connect Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot at this weekend's NHRA Gatornationals. The team plans to make it possible for the NHRA community to share in their support.
Ashley's Winternationals winning dragster will highlight a simple message of support for Phillips-Europe, but moving forward, he will be encouraging the NHRA community to donate to the United Nations Foundation, a nonprofit that is working around the clock to deliver assistance and protection to the people of Ukraine.
"(CEO, Phillips Europe) Rob Phillips told me this weekend of the situation his Phillips-Europe employees are facing in Poland, and I knew I wanted to help raise awareness and support," said Ashley. "We are working to create a special decal that will be available to my NHRA competitors, and we will have a direct donation program up and running shortly for people to take action now."
Phillips Industries has its European headquarters in Ludz, Poland, with its main factory not far from the Ukrainian border. Five of their 61 Ukrainian male employees have already left to help in the fight against Russia, while many others are considering returning to find their families and also support the war efforts. Communication with their families still in Ukraine remains extremely challenging. Phillips Industries' CEO Rob Phillips receives daily updates on the evolving situation.
"The situation has obviously taken a turn for the worse, and we are doing all that we can locally from our Poland facility to support our employees' families and Ukrainian immigrants with housing and supplies," said Phillips. "Many of our employees are housing immigrant families that have made it out of Ukraine. We are providing legal support at the border to assist with family immigration issues, and our employees have banded together to assemble thousands of shelter kits, including food, medicine, toiletries, jackets, blankets, and other assorted items. I'm incredibly grateful that Justin offered to help Team Phillips by raising awareness and support for this global crisis, and we are glad to do anything that we can together to make a difference."
To find out how you can help, visit https://www.linktr.ee/thejustinashley/ to make your donation in support of the Ukrainian victims.
Kalitta ended up fifth quickest in the field with a 3.718, 330.47. He races sophomore Top Fuel driver Alex Laughlin in Sunday's first round.
Landing a spot in the field was Kalitta's lone victory of the day as he pulled an uncharacteristic red-light in the first round of the Pep Boys All-Star Call Out.
"It seemed like I left close and looked over, and it was red," Kalitta said. "So to qualify, you obviously have to get it down there. But yeah, we were hungry for that one."
ARTIE ALLEN RETURNS - The itch to compete in NHRA’s Top Fuel ranks is still alive and well for Artie Allen.Allen, who made his Top Fuel career debut in September of 2020, is still following that dream.
Allen, a Florida native, will make his 2022 season debut at the Gatornationals, Friday through Sunday in Gainesville, Fla.
“Well, right now, my mother's been really sick, so I definitely wanted to do this race and we're just going to play it race by race and see how she's doing,” Allen said. “I've still got (tuner) Aaron Brooks helping me and then Jeff Arend is helping oversee things and basically the same group.”
The Gatornationals made sense for Allen since he lives just two hours away in St. Augustine.
“Yes, it was convenient, and we just did a lot of drainage work down here and it was good to see it working good,” Allen said. “We've been working down here since the beginning of November. And we've improved the drainage and the parking lot still leaves a lot to be desired, but I think we got the racetrack covered. I work through the track and then through the NHRA. They subcontracted me out to do it. It's kind of my hometown track so I take a lot of pride in taking care of it.”
Allen last was behind the wheel of his Top Fuel dragster in September in Charlotte, N.C.
“Yeah, and then mom got really sick,” Allen said. “We were going to go to Bristol (Tenn.) and the last few, you know, Dallas but we had to cancel them.”
Unfortunately for Allen, he missed the cut in Saturday's lone session.
BRING ON THE GATORS! - Gainesville Raceway has been deluged with rain over the last two days, and its likeness to a swamp has native alligators considering drag racing as a form of entertainment.
Multi-talented driver Alex Laughlin had a rather interesting exchange with one of the locals. While idle hands can be the devil's workshop, Laughlin decided to do something constructive and headed to Walmart to purchase a couple of remote control boats to pass the time. And, of course, a pair of rain boots to keep his feet dry.
Laughlin was enjoying the entertainment of driving his boat until it shockingly disappeared.
"Mr. Gator decided to cruise over and EAT MY BOAT!!!" Laughlin said of the estimated six-foot alligator that has taken up residence in the adjoining water to Laughlin's pit. "It snagged it, looked me dead in the eye, and slowly lowered itself like a submarine, then about 10 seconds later, the boat porpoised back to the surface! I drove the boat back to the shoreline, and it's good to go!!!"
Meanwhile, over near the Funny Car pits, an alligator outside of Cruz Pedregon's hospitality had something else on his mind.
"This is exactly why they call it the GatorNationals," Pedregon said. "We are pretty sure this fella smells the awesome pork on the #pitboss smoker that our Hospitality Team Toby Mosholder and Kelley Haynes Gagne have been working on."
We are unsure whether there's ever been an alligator attack at a drag strip, but with even more rain forecast, it's looking like a target-rich environment for the event's namesake.
