EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK -

JOHN FORCE GETS BACK-TO-BACK WINS - Winning consecutive races used to be common place for the legendary John Force.

Sunday, Force, a 15-time world champ, accomplished the feat for the first time since 2010.

The rejuvenated Force clocked a 4.106-second run at 313.37 mph to defeat rookie Chad Head, who slowed to 10.002 seconds at Maple Grove Raceway.

“I have good ol’ race cars,” Force said. “You give credit where credit is due. Jimmy Prock (crew chief), Danny DeGennaro (assistant crew chief), and that team. Robert (Hight) told me that was a great team when I went over there. What I look at that the most exciting thing is the teamwork. When you look at the other crew chiefs, Mike Neff and Ron Douglas, Dean Antonelli all those guys try to win, and yet knowing when we moved on in the race they were up on that starting line rooting for me and you could see the sincerity that they wanted us to win. That is teamwork. Then, back in the trailer everybody is all over the computers and Robert is on the TV showing me anything that can help me. What I really accomplished that is most important to me is teamwork.”

This was Force’s 137th national event win in his decorated career. This also was Force’s seventh win at Maple Grove, a track record, and his first at the facility since 2001. This also was the first time since 2004 Force qualified No. 1 and won a race.

“I have a lot years at this track and to get this win meant a lot to me and they all mean a lot when you are my age,” Force, 64, said. “I have a good ol’ hot rod. Sometimes you can be fast, but what we have right now is consistency. Jimmy Prock likes to swing for the fence and that scares me, but when he is hot, he is hot, and he is hot right now.”

With his Reading win, Force is atop the point standings,65 in front of second-place Matt Hagan, with two races to go in the season.

“What really does matter are the sponsors like Ford and Traxxas, Brand Source, and Mac Tools, you can’t print them all,” Force said. “They allow me to do what I love to do. There is somebody else who allows me to do what I love to do and that is my wife Laurie. I knew Jimmy Prock could win this race if he had a shot, and I had to give two trophies (if he won) because it was Laurie and I’s anniversary (last week). She said you don’t need to giveme no trophy if you can win it. It is business. Make the business. Do the right things for them and we will party later. This week I earned it (the trophy) and I was able to give it to Laurie. I like her because she never gets the limelight. I have always said she loves me, but she just don’t like me, but I would like her to come and walk in here.”

Moments later, Force’s wife Laurie walked into the press room and he handed her the trophy.

“This is my partner, my life partner,” Force said.

Laurie then explained her role in the marriage.

“This is the talker and I’m the listener, that is kind of how this whole thing goes,” she said. “But, it was pretty exciting. I never thought he would win two races in a row.”

That’s when John Force took a quick trip down memory lane.

“She was out here nine years and we couldn’t win, but we did it because we loved it,” John said. “We were starving one week. I remember when they locked our cats up when we were in Indy. We came back home and they locked us out because we didn’t pay the rent. I kicked down the door and they tried to put me in jail, but we wanted her cats back. That’s the life we live and now my children are living it. This is my partner. I love her with all my heart and I’m sorry about the anniversary last week. We going right down here to Applebee’s and celebrate.”

LANGDON NOT SMUG BUT IN CONTROL OF TOP FUEL CLASS WITH WIN - The Top Fuel showdown at Sunday's Auto-Plus Nationals pitted Antron Brown against Shawn Langdon: current champion versus current points leader, Don Schumacher versus Alan Johnson, his former go-to man. It was a final-round pairing NHRA fans had not seen in nearly three years, not since the 2010 season finale at Pomona, Calif.

But Langdon looked in championship form as he earned his sixth victory of the year with a 3.779-second pass at 323.81 mph on the 1,000-foot course at Reading, Pa.'s Maple Grove Raceway against Brown's 3.806, 322.04 in the Matco Tools "Tools For The Cause" Dragster.

Still, he said he wasn't going to assume the title will be his. He wouldn't go so far as to say he was "firmly" in control of the Top Fuel class.

"We have a good grasp on it," Langdon said. "But there's two races left. Anything can happen. We've seen that the last couple races, that the championship-contending cars aren't qualifying [and are] going out first round. The competition level's so tough that if you have an advantage, it's not really that much of an advantage as you would think."
 
The Al-Anabi Dragster driver became the fourth different Countdown winner this season, after Morgan Lucas (Charlotte), Doug Kalitta (Dallas), and Brown (St. Louis).

And Langdon kept Al-Anabi Racing in the winners circle for the second straight season and for the fourth time in the past five years. Teammate Khalid alBalooshi recorded his first victory here last October. Larry Dixon won for l-Anabi Racing in 2009 and 2010, and Del Worsham was runner-up in 2011.

As the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series shifts back out West for the Toyota Nationals Oct. 25-27 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Langdon has an 83-point lead on closest rival Mac Tools Dragster driver Doug Kalitta.

Brown is in fifth place, 129 points off the pace but only four points behind No. 4 Morgan Lucas.

Langdon reached his ninth final round by dealing a double punch to Kalitta, beating him in the semifinal and increasing his advantage over him to 63 points. Before that, he eliminated Leah Pruett and Bob Vandergriff.

On paper, that sounds like simply a list. For Langdon, it was more of a struggle than the fans might imagine.

In his crazy first round, he was skating all over the racetrack and trying to make sure Pruett, even with her parachutes out early, didn't somehow get the win light.

"We didn't expect that at all," Langdon said of his own mechanical problems, which he said the Brian Husen-led team solved and fixed right away. "I just did not do a good job at all [of getting the car to regain traction readily] -- pedaled it five or six times. I see Leah out there, then her 'chutes came out and I'm trying to get this thing to recover and it's all over the racetrack. I don't think I comprehended how sideways I was.

"Pedaling a Top Fuel car is not easy. It takes patience," he said. "But when you have a car five lengths ahead of you, patience is not the first thing on your mind. It's something I've been working on. It's a work in progress."

Langdon hardly enjoyed the round-win, because he was too busy beating himself up for what he thought was a poor driving job. Team manger Johnson laughed and told him not to worry, saying, "We're not going to smoke the tires the rest of the day, so you don't have to worry about that."

Langdon said the car had been too fast, too aggressive. He also said learning to pedal a dragster is a skill he still is trying to master, even though he has been in the class for five years.

"I don't want more practice. That's the problem. You can't [learn to] do that in testing or qualifying. You're learning in the most crucial time. We're in the midst of a points chase for the championship, and I'm learning to pedal a car. That's not the time to be doing it," he said, clearly annoyed at the absurdity and the helplessness of that.

However, he appreciated the racing fortune and said, "If we had that much luck, I think it was meant to be for us to win."

Then the semifinal race against Kalitta, Langdon said, was nerve-wracking.

"That was a huge pressure situation. I was trying to calm myself down. This Al-Anabi team has been here before. They know what it takes to win championships," he said. "I'm just trying to do my part as a driver. My mentality is 'Don't mess anything up. Leave with the other guy, keep the thing straight, and get it to the finish line and let those guys [his crew] do their magic."

In the final round, Langdon paid no attention to the fact Brown had a 12-6 edge on him in previous events and won their only other final-round. With a strong tune-up from crew chiefs Mark Oswald and Brian Corradi, Brown had defeated Billy Torrence, a red-lighting Brandon Bernstein, and Spencer Massey (who left this event in third place in the standings).

Despite 10 first-round losses. Brown made his fifth final-round appearance and second in a row in this Jekyll-and-Hyde season as the reigning champion.

"In the last two races we won seven out of eight rounds," Brown said. "We just want to finish the year out strong just like that. If we do that in the next two races, it puts us right there contending for the championship at the end. We just have to keep on pushing."

He said, "Today showed that anything is possible with a lot of people going out early. We're going to keep giving it our all and take it one round at a time and just do what we can do. We're still in the fight for the championship, and we just have to focus on getting those win lights. We have two weeks off to kind of take a breath and get recharged to go after it in Vegas."

COUGHLIN’S HOLESHOTS LEAD TO PRO STOCK VICTORY - Capturing NHRA Pro Stock championships are nothing new to Jeg Coughlin Jr., who won world titles in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2008.

Now, Coughlin is on the verge of winning his fifth majorchampionship.

That became a reality when Coughlin beat his Mopar Dodge teammate Allen Johnson on a holeshot in the finals of the Auto-Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway Sunday.

Coughlin clocked a 6.616-second run at 208.75 mph. Johnson came across at 6.588 seconds at 209.39 mph.

The difference was at the starting line where Coughlin had an .004 reaction time and Johnson was .033.

This was Coughlin’s 56th career Pro Stock win and fourth this season. More importantly, Coughlin is in the points lead, 45 in front of Mike Edwards and 50 ahead of Jason Line. Johnson, the reigning world champ, is 73 points in back of Coughlin.

The 2013 NHRA season concludes with races at Las Vegas Oct. 24-27 and Pomona Nov. 7-10.

“I love that,” Coughlin said about being in the points lead. “Just the way things have played out. Pulling off that huge win at Charlotte was fantastic. To come out of here (Reading) with the points lead is fantastic. I’m an optimistic person, but we have a lot of races left to deal with and I know the Pro Stock crowd right now is dotting their Is and crossing their Ts, including ourselves for a great Vegas run. We would love to say this thing is all but over, but there is a lot of racing left and we are looking forward to it.I wasn’t worried so much about the points lead; I was just frustrated about getting eliminated from events (and not having the points lead). It feels great to have it (the points lead), but it is all about racing hard and racing smart. Fortunately our team did just that this weekend.”

Coughlin claimed the Reading victory with wins over Larry Morgan and Shane Gray, and then Jason Line and Johnson on holeshots.

“Sometimes you live and you die by it,” said Coughlin about a holeshot. “I just had a couple of off runs the last two weeks and didn’t get away with it. I think what fired me up the most, quite honestly, was following my son Jeg Coughlin III in the Ohio State district high school golf tournament. It was a one-day event. He worked his way through it and I keep some of his stats for him and I kept getting more and more fired up, watching his drive and dedication. He finished third with a 74, so he moves to the state finals.”

If getting the Reading win wasn’t satisfying enough, he didit while driving a pink car in a pink firesuit for breast cancer awareness.

“It feels fantastic,” Coughlin said. “We’ve put our heart and soul into cancer research with the Jeg’s Foundation andwe have been very fortune to earn and contribute tens of millions of dollars to cancer research.”

Now, Coughlin has to hurry up and wait for the Las Vegas event.

“I would love to just keep this thing rolling, but it feels like we have been racing the last 15, 16, 17 weeks straight,” Coughlin said. “The high school state (golf) finals are next week so that is going to keep me fired up watching Jeggie, and I’m sure we may sneak up to Vegas and make a few laps in preparation for the race in Vegas and the finale in Pomona.”

SMITH SURVIVES PROBLEMS TO TAKE ANOTHER STEP TOWARD PSM TITLE - Despite an opening-round scare against a first-time, 19-year-old racer and a bike that was leaking air, jeopardizing his ability to shift gears, Matt Smith won his second straight Countdown race Sunday and tightened his grip on first place in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with two races left on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.

The Viper Motorcycle Company / Matt Smith Racing Buell owner-rider defeated Eddie Krawiec in the final round of the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals near Reading, Pa.  Smith parlayed a nearly perfect, .004-second reaction time into a winning 6.936-second elapsed time at 193.32 mph on the Maple Grove Raceway quarter-mile.

Krawiec challenged with a respectable .048-second light and a 6.965-second elapsed time at 190.43 mph on the Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson.
 
Each had won a Countdown race, but Smith tipped the balance in his favor with this second in a row, backing up his contention that he has the bike to beat in the playoffs.

"That's still the way I feel," Smith said after increasing his lead over second-place Hector Arana Jr. to 125 points.

But with just 141 points separating Smith and fifth-place Krawiec, the three-time and defending champion, Smith wasn't overly confident.

"This thing's not over yet," the winner and points leader said. "Until they give me that check, that jacket, and that trophy, I'm still looking at every race as just 20 points."

He said he has not only a second Pro Stock Motorcycle series championship as his goal but that he also wants to make history with dad Rickie, who clinched the NHRA Pro Modified title last weekend at St. Louis. They would be the NHRA's first father-son championship combination in the same season.

"I'd like to stand on that podium [at the awards ceremony] with my dad. He's already done it, and I'm trying to," Matt Smith. Then, with a shout-out to his father, he said, "I'm trying my best to get it, Dad."

With his 16th career Wally in hand, Matt Smith said, "It was a pretty good day for this Viper Motorcycle team. I can't say enough about our crew.

"We hurt our good motor last night in Q4, worked all night, made pieces off the good motor go into this [winning] motor. It worked out for us. We'll capitalize on this and go to Vegas."

The Oct. 25-27 Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas is the next stop on the schedule before the season concludes Nov. 10at Pomona, Calif.

Smith acknowledged his lucky first round Sunday.

"I was a negative-nine [-tenths-of-a-second] red, and Chaz [debuting Sovereign-Star Racing rookie Kennedy] was 10 red. We got the win. Normally, first round will make you or break you in the points deal. That's what kills these points battles is when you lose first round and the other guys can rack up [points].

"But thanks to God, we got by it," the "it" being what he called "brain failure" on his own part. "It could have been over, and that would have been huge. We went from there and did what we were supposed to do.

"We got a break on my buddy and teammate John Hall second round," Smith said, alluding to Hall's red light. "His bike wouldn't start and then it did, and I think he just panicked and he was a little red.

"But all in all," Smith said, "we beat our other competitors in the semifinal [Michael Ray] and the final [Krawiec]. And I can't say enough [good about his organization]. We've got a good team going."

This was the seventh 2013 final-round appearance for Smith. All of them have come in the past nine races.

He denied Krawiec his second consecutive Maple Grove victory and a chance to enter the season's penultimate race in second place. Krawiec began the Countdown in seventh place and he's a too-close-for-comfort fifth, and he's is 12 points behind No. 4 Arana Sr., 14 behind No. 3 Ray, and 16 behind No. 2 Arana Jr.

But Smith beat both Sovereign-Star racers, defeating Kennedy in the first round and top qualifier Michael Ray in the semifinals, and his own teammate Hall in between to have that chance at winning his third trophy this season.

Krawiec, the Dallas winner two weeks ago and the No. 11 qualifier this weekend, eliminated two champions (Hector Arana Sr. and LE Tonglet) and two Aranas (including rookie Adam) on his way to his second final in three races.

Smith, also recovering from food poisoning at St. Louis a week ago, said his team will appreciate the chance to go back home to King, N.C., to rest and collect themselves.

"We'll need it bad," he said of the two-week break. "Our stuff's bet up pretty good. Our good motor broke last night. The handlebar broke on me before a qualifying pass, but we got it back on there to make the run. Frame's broke -- it's leaking air -- can't keep air in the frame. So we need some time to regroup -- and we'll be strong, I guarantee you, at Las Vegas."

No telling what a properly operating bike would have meant for his opponents Sunday. That air leak in his pressurized chassis, he said, kept him from too many shenanigans on the starting line, admittedly one of his favorite parts of the sport.

"We had a bad air leak in the frame. I knew I couldn't jack with people today," Smith said. "I like to play the game and hold people out if somebody wants to sit up there [at the line]. But I knew I couldn't do that. So I went right on in and double-bulbed him [Kennedy, who never had raced anyone in NHRA competition before]. I just rolled in a little too deep [and had a foul start that didn’t cost him]. Mistake on my part. We got away with it.

"I'm all game for playing games," Smith said. He said he did his best, even with a slightly uncooperative motorcycle, to rattle his opponents, anyway. He said he thought he might have thrown off Ray in their semifinal with his staging procedure.

What Matt Smith really is game for these days, though, is winning and sharing the spotlight with his retiring championship father. And Sunday he took another step up toward the ceremony stage.

MANZO BIDS FAREWELL TO MAPLE GROVE RACEWAY - On statistics alone it would be easy to draw the conclusion that every racetrack Frank Manzo competes at is his home track. This season, his final one as a driver, he will say goodbye to so many of the facilities that helped contribute to his status as an outstanding and successful competitor.
 
Manzo has 103 national event wins, 16 series championships and has won 21 divisional championships.

At Maple Grove Raceway alone, Manzo has won 14 events and had a ten year stretch of consecutive victories. This weekend Manzo raced in his final event at the famed facility outside of Reading, Pa.

"This is like a home track," Manzo, a Morgantown, NJ-native, said. "I've probably raced here four times more than I have in Englishtown."

Each October, Manzo believes he will have a hard time not racing at the famed facility.

"It's going to be tough," admitted Manzo, who lost in the second round Sunday to Mickey Ferro. "You always dream about getting the car into the winners circle but there's always 15 other guys gunning for the win as well. We've always gone up there to do the best we can and let the chips fall where they may. No matter what, I've had a great season."

Manzo currently leads the NHRA Top Alcohol Funny Car points with two national claims left. He's prepared himself to walk away from driving but understands retirement might be the toughest challenge he's faced.

"It's going to be hard," said Manzo. "There's no doubt about it. To say something else would be a lie. I'm still going to be around drag racing, maybe as a tuner or work with the [Al-Anabi] fuel team. I'm still going to be out here. I'm retiring as a driver, just not a drag racer. I will always be a drag racer."

What was the key to his success throughout his career? Manzo believes he's simply been blessed.

"I don't know why the Lord has gifted me with what he has," Manzo said. "It just happened to be that way."

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

WILL MAPLE GROVE LOVE TOP FUEL NO. 1 LUCAS BACK? - Morgan Lucas loves Maple Grove Raceway.

Now, if the track will just love him back as much, he can use this weekend's Auto-Plus Nationals near Reading, Pa., as a springboard toward a serious challenge for the Top Fuel championship in the two remaining races in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

The GEICO / Lucas Oil Dragster driver kept his No. 1 qualifier status Saturday. He earned it Friday with a 3.772-second elapsed time at 314.90 mph on the 1,000-foot course that he called the yardstick for dragstrips.

"This track continues to hold its reputation of being the pinnacle of racing surfaces," Lucas said. "It should be the standard for every track we go to on the circuit. It's smooth, both lanes are even, and the asphalt downtrack is good enough for me to consider safe. You're not spinning [tires] a lot. It's just an awesome racetrack."

Lucas was able best to take advantage of the unexpectedly warmer temperatures in Eastern Pennsylvania this time of year.

"Anytime you see a surface-temperature swing of about 20 degrees [hotter] -- which I think you saw last night to the first run today -- you are going to see cars slow down a little bit," Lucas said.

"But the class is so good, compared to what it used to be, and the tracks are so good -- NHRA's done such a good job with them -- that the gap between a good session and a warm session is not as big as it used to be. You probably would have seen guys running in the 3.90s in this [heat] three years ago. It's a good change in the right direction."

He said collecting some bonus points was a huge accomplishment.

"I'm really happy with going down the track four times, but I'm really happy being low [having low E.T.] two out of four sessions. It's a big deal for us," Lucas said. "The car went down the track all four times."

But he said he's "especially" pleased to have come back and excelled in the final qualifying session Saturday.

"We kind of second-guessed ourselves on the first run today. And Aaron [crew chief Brooks] backed it down a little too much. It didn't run as good as it should have down low. It was similar to what happened in the first session yesterday."

He earned six qualifying bonus points, second only to points leader Shawn Langdon, who added seven to his total.

"We picked up some bonus points this weekend, which is important for the big picture," Lucas said. "If we can wintomorrow, that would be a huge help for us in the championship hunt. We're headed in the right direction, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

What he knows will happen is that he'll meet No. 16 Sidnei Frigo, whose best pass of the weekend was a 3.897-second, 304.60-mph effort in the Artivinco Dragster.

Lucas entered this event in fourth place in the standings, just 10 points behind third-place Spencer Massey. But he leapfrogged Massey during qualifying and is just 45 points out of first place -- and he leads the Don Schumacher Racing driver by a single point.

The two are on the same side of the ladder Sunday, and Massey could be Lucas' second-round opponent. But Massey, who's qualified No. 8, also would have to beat fellow International Hot Rod Association champion Clay Millican in their opening-round match.
 
"We need points. We need round wins. That's all there is to it," Massey said. "We just have to go up there and go down the track and try to run the same numbers that we always do for the conditions that we will see tomorrow. We just need to take it one step at a time tomorrow and get past that first round and go from there."

But Morgan Lucas is on the move. Now he just needs some love from the racetrack.

THE STEVE STANDS ALONE - Steve Torrence found himself Top Fuel's odd man out following the third overall qualifying session, while dad Billy improved to ninth in the Capco Contractors Inc. team's second dragster. With Friday's time wiped out because he wasn't among the top 12 qualifiers, the Kilgore, Texas, owner-driver had the pressure on, and he experienced tire smoke right away on his early Saturday run. He had problems right from the start of his final-chance run, and he will sit this one out.

He also had a DNQ at Phoenix in the second race of the season. He became the third Countdown-qualified driver to miss the cut in the first four playoff races, following Antron Brown at Charlotte and Khalid alBalooshi at Dallas. "We have been chasing various problems, and we haven't been able to figure it out," Torrence said.

"We have two more races to go and two weeks to keep working on it. On the positive side, I do get to watch my dad Billy racetomorrow. He does get to race, and I will be there, working to see if we can get a race win for him." For the second straight race, the elder Torrence will have his hands full with St. Louis winner and current champion Antron Brown.

SHUFFLING THE DECK - The Top Fuel class saw some shuffling at the bottom of the order during Saturday's early session. With Billy Torrence and Dave Grubnic each gaining four positions and Sidnei Frigo getting into the starting field with a two-place leap, the biggest loser in that scramble was Steve Torrence. But falling in the order were Brittany Force, Khalid alBalooshi, Spencer Massey, and Terry McMillen -- however, they all remained in the show.
 
BRAZILIAN BOMB - Brazilian Sidnei Frigo experienced an engine explosion in Saturday's final session as he crossed the finish line with a 3.897-second clocking at 304.60 mph. He stayed in the field, capturing the last spot. He'll have to some work to do overnight to get his Artivinco Dragster ready for his opening-round match-up with top dog Morgan Lucas. Five pairings later, Brandon Bernstein had some top-end trouble after running one of the quickest passes of the session. His parachutes failed to deploy, but he stopped his ProtectTheHarvest/MAVTV Dragster without incident. 
WOMAN'S WORK NEVER DONE - Leah Pruett started Saturday in 16th place, and she stayed there after the day's first qualifying chance. However, she raised the bump spot from 3.941 seconds to 3.936. Despite help from veteran mechanic Richard Hogan with the team's six-disc clutch system, crew chief Doug Kuch struggled with it and with other engine trouble. Pruett trailed smoke from about 600 feet on down the track in Q3 and was faced with having to hold off unqualified Steve Torrence in the final session. She did, and she moved off the bump spot in Q4, as well, with a 3.869-second pass at 319.98 mph. She left the final spot -- and a first-round meeting with No. 1 qualifier Morgan Lucas -- for Sidnei Frigo.

YOU AGAIN?! - For the second straight week, Terry McMillen will face Tony Schumacher in Round 1 of eliminations.  They met seven times last year, five of those times in the first round, and Schumacher won every one of them.

And Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta will pair up for the fifth time this year. She won her first two encounters, but Kalitta has beaten the rookie the past two times.

"This is my fifth time facing Doug Kalitta in eliminations, and I'm OK with that. He's a great competitor, and he always comes over to say hello and talk to me before we run. He's a good sport and very professional, and that shows. He has gotten the win over me twice this year, but the first two times we faced each other, this Castrol EDGE team got the win. So it will be interesting to see how it all plays out tomorrow," Force said.

"This year, since it is my rookie year, I'm trying to just get down the basics and concentrate on my routine when I go up to the line. It's important to me to have that routine and try to do everything the same every time," she said. "I really haven't noticed any differences on how anyone else races, because each time I'm just doing the same thing."

BONUSES - Shawn Langdon was the only driver to earn bonus points in three of the four qualifying sessions. He gained a total of seven: three from leading the first session and two each from being second-quickest in Q2 and Q4. Nine different drivers picked up bonus points, including Brandon Bernstein, Antron Brown, Billy Torrence, Dave Grubnic, Tony Schumacher, Clay Millican, and Brittany Force.

FUNNY CAR

NOT A REPRESENTATIVE RUN FOR MR. 15X - Saturday's third session was one even the seasoned champion John Force had to file into the odd category.

“We fired the motor in Q3 and my air hose blew off. My guys are trying to put the air hose back on and I am yelling to turn off the air and then re-hook it up. No one was concentrating. My daughter was backing up and I knew we had a problem. I don’t have the right to mess her up so I did a real quick burn out. The shortest burnout I have ever done,” said Force, who made a career out of fan-pleasing long smoky burnouts. “The cockpit was smoked out and I couldn’t see when I was trying to back up. I am totally lost. I can’t see my man out front. We were screwed and I should have shut it off right there. When I pulled up to the line I am dead crooked. Jimmy is looking at me and I just stuck it in and when I left I tried to jerk the wheel. It just unloaded the tires. The whole run started wrong or it probably would have gone down the track again, knock on wood.”JOHN FORCE ADDS TO LEGEND, RECORD WITH NO. 144 TOP QUALIFIER  His record keeps growing.

John Force, the 15-time NHRA Funny Car series champion, secured a record 144th No. 1 qualifying effort and his eighth at Maple Grove Raceway. Force stood on the strength of a 3.98 elapsed time recorded during Friday qualifying at the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals.

Force maintained a torrid pace Saturday, capturing three qualifying points by running 4.036 seconds in the final qualifying session in his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang.

“It got a little warmer today so that 4.03 was kind of a surprise. Jimmy Prock will swing for the fences on you. My guys are really working together. They are watching everything, including the points. I don’t want to watch that stuff. I’ll look at it at the end of the season when it is all over. I have a good race car right now. It is great to see the fans in the stands,” said the 136-time winner. “Getting to hear them cheer like that is pretty exciting it has been a while. I think I lost my focus in racing. I have always loved this sport. It is what I do. Sure running good makes you feel good when you can compete. I struggled as a driver earlier this year. My guys stayed by me and I got that new car and I couldn’t get comfortable in it.”

Force entered the event trailing 2011 Funny Car champion Matt Hagan by six points. He picked up eleven bonus points and as a result headed into Sunday with a five point lead.

“This points lead doesn’t matter if you don’t win the first round. I am going to leave here and go to the gym then I am going to have half a glass of wine so I can sleep because I am wound up. The credit goes to all my teams and to Jimmy Prock and Danny DeGennaro. I said I was going to come up here and say, ‘Enough said,’ and then just leave but here I go talking again. I can’t shut up,” said Force

And he can't stop running fast either.

NICKY BONINFANTE: MAPLE GROVE INSPIRED ME WANT TO WORK IN DRAG RACING - Nicky Boninfante knew his destiny was before him as he sat in the tow van watching the action transpire around him. The co-crew chief for the Del Worsham-driven DHL Toyota always remembers the first time he attended Maple Grove Raceway as a kid.

“I’ve been coming to Maple Grove since I was six years old,” said Boninfante. “My dad raced the U.S. Male alcohol Funny Cars. He messed with the nitro cars and when he’d come out here I’d tag along with him.”

The monumental introduction to drag racing came during a Funny Car show. He felt the connection, if only to be around the volatility of the cars racing around him.

“Dad was racing with Smoker Smith’s alcohol Funny Car circuit,” Boninfante recalled. “I had to sit in the tow van because I was too little to be out around the racing. But, I took in all of the action.”

His fondest memory was of the mayhem transpiring outside of his open window.

“I saw this Pinto running, and it caught on fire and it almost burned to the ground right there,” Boninfante said. “It was one of the craziest things I had ever seen.”

Boninfante never missed an opportunity to travel to the races with his father Nick Boninfante, the owner of the legendary US Male team.

“From that day, all I did was look forward to coming to the races every weekend,” said Boninfante. “I made the Dutch Classic at Maple Grove a regular part of my schedule. I used to watch ‘em all … Jungle Jim, Dale Pulde and all of the legends. It was everything I lived for.”

Aside from his father, Boninfante didn’t have to look far to be in the company of a drag racing legend. The legendary Jungle Jim Liberman’s shop was just ten minutes from his home. When the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series rolls into town, Boninfante drives past the location which used to be Liberman’s shop. The daily drive evokes memories.

“I would always see the guys like Austin Coil and others there and I tried my best to learn as much as I could from them,” said Boninfante. “I’d just sit there in the garage, like a sponge, learning everything or at least trying to.

“What most people didn’t know was that Jungle was an incredible welder and could build anything. Growing up I really wanted to work for him but I never got the chance.”

If the chance had arisen, he would have had to get past a major phobia. He was intimidated by Liberman’s iconic back up girl, Jungle Pam Hardy.

“When I was really young, she scared me,” Boninfante admitted, with a laugh. “I can remember going over to the shop and I always had to ask if she was there because if she was,I wasn’t going in there, I’d sit in the truck.We’d get there and the guys would be upstairs playing pool and I’d ask if she was up there and when dad would say yes, I stayed down in the truck. She scared me. We laugh about that to this day.”

Saturday at Maple Grove, Boninfante and co-crew chief Jon Oberhofer guided Worsham to the tenth quickest run in Funny Car, a 4.084, 313.37. He races Tim Wilkerson in the first round.

The fun he’s had this weekend just confirmsthe feelings he had as a child.

“I knew I was destined to be involved in drag racing and hoped to be a crew chief. It’s all I wanted to do,” Boninfante said.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY - Consistency was Matt Hagan's greatest attribute during two days of Funny Car qualifying.

Hagan was able to put together four consistent runs with a best qualifying run of 4.035 seconds on Friday evening. His slowest qualifying pass came in the first session with a 4.123-second lap.

The past series champion ran strong during the heat of Saturday's qualifying sessions.

"We've been very solid all weekend," Hagan said. "The car has been down the racetrack every lap. Obviously we earned a few points in qualifying and that's what we are here to do."

Hagan fell out of the points lead for the first time since June when John Force picked up a full complement of 12 bonus points. He now trails by five points.

"The big picture part of this is tomorrow. Dickie got this Mopar/Rocky Boots car down the track both times in the heat of the day today (Saturday). We have some great data to work off of and if we race smart tomorrow we can turn on four win lights."

LAST MINUTE HEROICS - Alexis DeJoria qualified 14th with a 4.145 elapsed time at 305.42. She races Jack Beckman in Sunday's first round.

“I’m really happy that we qualified at Maple Grove Raceway this weekend," said DeJoria. "It was kind of a struggle these past two days. We went into today not qualified, but thankfully on that last run we made it down the track with a 4.145 so we’re in the show tomorrow. We face Jack Beckman in round one again- this will be our third weekend in a row racing him first round and he’s taken us out the past two weeks- hopefully third time’s the charm! I’m looking forward to running my black, green and pink Patrón Toyota Camry [in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month] on race day.”

DOG DAY AFTERNOON - Two shots at Maple Grove Raceway during Saturday qualifying at Maple Grove Raceway was nothing for Tim Wilkerson to bark about.

His strong 4.072 from Friday evening held for the seventh spot, and he will race Del Worsham in round one.

"It's just a pooch, and we haven't had that problem all year," Wilkerson said. "It doesn't rev up, it doesn't get off the line, it doesn't act like it's been acting for most of the season, so our job tonight is to go over the ignition, the motor, and everything short of the paint job to see why it's acting like this.

"On the first pass Friday, it ran end-to-end but it ran a 4.16 and I was like 'What? What's a 4.16 about?' because it should've run better than that. I guess, looking back on it, I'm glad we ran as well as we did in Q2, on a very good track. That got us in the top half, where we usually expect ourselves to be. We'll have to fix our pooch and make it back into a hot rod tonight if we want to do some good tomorrow."

APPLIANCE DELIVERY - The qualifying efforts by John Force and his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang team this weekend brought a well-deserved No. 1 qualifier recognition to the John Force Racing stable when Force ran a career-best at 3.987 on Friday evening.

This was the first three-second run for John Force Racing as a whole, and with that excitement came the delight of putting a front loading washer and dryer set in the hands of lucky fan Jason Blough of Lincoln University, Pa. at the 29th annual Auto Plus NHRA Nationals, compliments of BrandSource and the “Win with Force” promotion.

At each NHRA national event when a JFR team qualifies No. 1 a lucky fan that has signed up at the JFR “Win with Force” display located in Nitro Alley will be eligible to win the BrandSource No. 1 Qualifier Award, a front loading washer and dryer set.  If a JFR driver wins the event a different fan will win the 55” flat screen TV Winner’s Circle Award from BrandSource.  At the end of the season a grand prize winner of the “Win with Force” Sweepstakes will be awarded a 2013 Castrol Edge Ford Mustang GT premium edition.

So far in 2013, John Force Racing has given away seven washer and dryer sets and six 55” flat screen TVs, of which John Force himself has given away four of the washer and dryers and two of the flat screen TVs.

Fans can sign up to win at the John Force Racing interactive midway display. This 53-foot trailer will be in the Nitro Alley area of every NHRA Mello Yello Series national event in 2013. The “Win with Force” promotion now includes JFR team partners Castrol, BrandSource, Ford, and Mac Tools, all joining together to create an incredible promotion for the fans.

WIN A HARLEY COURTESY OF THE LEMONADE STAND - Johnny Gray, Maple Grove Raceway, and Classic Harley-Davidson have teamed up to do a real neat promotion. The promotional group started selling raffle tickets at the autograph session Thursday at Classic H-D of Reading and all of the proceeds will benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. The tickets are $20 a piece and the prize is a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1972.

The winner will be announced on Sunday morning before eliminations and you do not have to be present to win. Raffle tickets are being sold on-site at the "Lemonade Stand" next to the Harley-Davidson display on the midway.


PRO STOCK

LINE SNAGS NO. 1 FROM AJ IN PRO STOCK -  Jason Line will not go away quietly in the battle for the 2013 NHRA Pro Stock championship.

One race after falling to third place in the championship standings following a first round loss last weekend in St. Louis, Line rebounded in a big way during the final day of Pro Stock qualifying at the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals in Reading, Pa.

Line thundered to a 6.573, 210.87 pass in the final qualifying session to overcome championship contenders Allen Johnson (6.579, 210.34) and Mike Edwards (6.580, 210.64). He led both sessions and scored six bonus points in the process. Line scored a total of nine bonus qualifying points in four sessions.

"Maple Grove has always been a good Pro Stock track," said Line, a two-time Maple Grove winner. "I have had success here in the past, and I hope tomorrow is no exception. It's a big thing for us to be No. 1 and those bonus points come in handy. More importantly it shows we have a good race car."

Line has reached the finals in two of the three Countdown events, winning the NHRA Fall Nationals in Dallas, Texas.

Headed into Maple Grove couldn't have come at a better time for Line.

"It's a real cool place with great fans," Line said of Maple Grove. "Maybe it's the time of the year when we come here. It's a great thing for us to be peaking at the right time. We've put in a lot of effort to ensure that. We need to win tomorrow."

The conditions for Saturday's qualifying were just as good as those enjoyed on Friday evening and Line took full advantage of it.

"It was almost identical," Line said. "The more runs we got at the track, the better it got. It was the race track more than anything."

Line faces Kenny Delco in the opening round of final eliminations.

RICHIE STEVENS: IT’S LIKE RIDING A BIKE - The time off didn’t appear to hurt Richie Stevens one bit. It’s been over a year since the past NHRA Rookie of the Year made a pass behind the wheel of a 500-inch Pro Stocker.

Stevens made a triumphant return during the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway by driving the Elite Performance Camaro to the No. 6 qualifying position with a 6.587 elapsed time.

“It’s feels great just to be back out here,” said Stevens. “The first run on Friday was just a matter of shaking the rust off and getting my mind right. I just wanted to do a great job.

“This is a proven race car, and capable of winning. Rickie Jones does a real good job behind the wheel of it every week. The car is good, I just have to keep my mind right. I just need to remember what car I am in.”

Stevens has shown he can make a seamless transition from the 500-inch Pro Stockers to the ADRL’s Pro Stock division and back. Each run he sees marked improvement.

“Just have to remember I am not in the big motor car and keep the rpms in check on the burnout. But, to make that first run and get those thoughts out of my system, I have seen improvement with each run. The car has gotten better too. Just finding my groove again is fun.”

The car Stevens is driving is the same one Rickie Jones has driven in 2013. Stevens, who is assisted the weekend by Jones, has been able to quickly adapt to the shift points quickly. The car is set up the same way it was for Jones.

“I haven’t practiced at all,” admitted Stevens. “October of last year was the last time I drove a Pro Stocker and then it was a mountain motor car. Indy of last year is the last time I drove a 500-inch car. There’s no practicing for one of these cars. You just have to jump in there and try to do the best you can on your shift points.

“It’s kind of like riding a bike. I probably put more pressure on myself than anyone else could. I knew I could do it, since I have driven these cars all of my life. Once the car fired for the first time, I felt comfortable in the seat.”

Stevens, who bought Ron Krisher’s Pro Stock car last season, holds out hope he can land a steady Pro Stock gig in 2013 to race alongside his wife Erica Enders-Stevens.

“We’re working on getting Car Safe and Valspar back out here,” said Stevens. “Erica and I have some deals in the works and I would really love to be a fulltime driver out here again. Even a part-time deal would work fine for me. It would be nice to have Erica and me together on the same team, taking these guys out.”

The only issue with Stevens’ plan is he could meet her in the semis.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

RAY KEEPS TOP PRO STOCK BIKE SPOT, GETS FREEBIE TO START - No one came close to knocking Michael Ray from his Pro Stock Motorcycle No. 1 qualifying perch Saturday at the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals near Reading, Pa.

So on the strength of his 6.857-second elapsed time at 193.38 mph Friday on the Maple Grove Raceway quarter-mile, Ray and the Sovereign-Star Racing Buell will lead the field for the first time since July 7 at Norwalk, Ohio.

He'll start his quest for a third victory this season and fourth overall Sunday with a bye run, because the field has just 15 riders. In the quarterfinals he'll face the winner of the Andrew Hines-Steve Johnson match-up.

And Ray said he's thrilled with a guaranteed 20 points to begin his race day.

He called it "a big bummer " that only 15 bikes are entered.

"It sucks that we couldn't get a full field and have some drama," Ray said.

"But I get to have a freebie in the morning," he said. We've got a long road to go to get back into this championship. And the first thing out we get 20 free points. I couldn’t be more excited about that."

Ray said that every qualifying session and every round is test session, essentially, for Sovereign-Star Racing and that team owner George Bryce will not waste one single opportunity.

"We take every round serious," Ray said. "We use every pass as a test."

He said that no matter the situation, no matter who's in the other lane, if anyone, his sole job is to cut an acceptable reaction time and "do your best job of riding and whatever happens happens."

He said he worked on his reaction times Saturday -- especially after a red-light ended his day at St. Louis. And he said he was pleased to see that the conditions in the final day of qualifying matched what he's expecting for Sunday's eliminations.

That actually was what kept him and Bryce from trying too different a strategy Saturday.

"I was really surprised to see the times today," Ray said. "I would have expected to see an .83 or .84." He said the Safety Safari did "an awesome job of keeping this track tight. It's probably the best-prepared racetrack we've been on all year. We were definitely going after it today but sticking with the same game plan."

He did say his team "had some new parts in it that we wanted to make sure they were broken in and ready for tomorrow morning."

With rookie Chaz Kennedy making his debut as Ray's teammate this weekend, Ray indicated he'll be looking for some Countdown help from the 19-year-old in Sunday's Round 1. Kennedy, the No. 13 qualifier Saturday, will meet points leader Matt Smith, the No. 4 qualifier.

"What a great story, to have a rookie come out and take out the points leader in the morning. That would be an awesome start to Sunday for us," Ray said, fantasizing a little bit.

Ray hasn't won yet from the No. 1 starting position in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, but that means he and Kennedy each could have a new experience Sunday.

STALKER - Hector Arana Jr. is nothing if not a little dramatic from time to time.

"I'm the lion going for my prey," he said of his battle to take back his season-long points lead from Matt Smith. He lost it last week at St. Louis, where Smith won the event.

"Even though we fell back to second, I feel less pressure because now the target is off my back," he said. "And I'm gunning for [Smith].

He's depending on a new engine in his Lucas Oil Buell to help his achieve his goal.

"I feel good going into tomorrow," Arana Jr. said. "I've been consistent as a rider this weekend. I've had good lights, and I've been focusing on riding well in every round and trying to make my best passes. I feel good."

He began the weekend 75 points behind Smith but earned 10 qualifying bonus points and is just 67 out of first place heading into eliminations. He qualified No. 2 with a top pass of 6.862 seconds at 194.55 mph and will meet No. 15 Wesley Wells (7.139, 183.84)  in the first round Sunday.

"Consistency is what we're going after," Arana said. "Of course, we were going after No. 1, but we'll take No. 2 and do the best we can Sunday."

HANDLING TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS - Chaz Kennedy is getting a true baptism by fire in his first NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle event. The 19-year-old Floridian, who has been a crew member and developmental rider for Sovereign-Star Racing, qualified 13th, just 15-thousandths of a second out of the six-second elapsed-time range. So he'll face No. 4 qualifier and points leader Matt Smith in his first elimination round.

GOOD TRANNY, GOOD PROSPECTS - LE Tonglet overcame a transmission glitch Saturday with his Nitro Fish / Tonglet Racing Suzuki and ran his quickest qualifying time, a 6.957-second pass at 190.30 mph, for the seventh starting spot. "We fixed the transmission problem, and we have improved lot. This a good race track, and it will be a good race. We are ready to go," he said. His first opponent will be No. 10 Scotty Pollacheck (6.980, 189.79) on one of Matt Smith's Buells.

LOADED ON TOP HALF OF LADDER - Hector Arana Sr. scored the best Pro Stock Motorcycle class starting spot of the three family members racing under the Lucas Oil umbrella. But as owner and patriarch of the team, he naturally would like not to have them all on the same side of the ladder for eliminations. But they are, with son Hector Jr. qualifying No. 2 and son Adam No. 6. He possibly could meet Adam Arana in the second round, if he can get past first-round foe Joe DeSantis and the rookie Arana can defeat three-time champion and Dallas winner Eddie Krawiec.

"Having the three Aranas on one side of the ladder is not good," Arana Sr. said. "It makes me sad. I want to see them do well, and I want to do well, but it makes it hard. Especially when I beat them, it doesn't feel sweet to me."

But Arana Sr., of course, would take any round-win, because he wants to repeat his 2009 championship.  And something has to give with Hector Jr. -- the father-son tandem entered this race tied for second place. However, Arana Sr. gained some ground on Smith in qualifying, with seven bonus points.

But Arana Sr. knows he needs to stop thinking about overtaking Smith and focus on DeSantis. "You can't take him lightly," Arana said. "You can't take anything for granted. I know he's eager to win, also. So I've got to stay focused. It doesn't matter who you run in the next lane. The purpose of all this is to win. I know they want the same thing that I want. Like I told my kids: 'Just stay focused. Make one run and minimize those mistakes.' That's how you lose it, if you make mistakes."

Dad said, "I'm pleased with the performance in Hector's bike. Adam, we've got to get the thing finessed. Overall it went well, except I don't like the way we qualified. We're on the same side of the ladder, but we're going to go for it and see what happens."

Adam Arana said, "Eddie [Krawiec] is always tough, but I'd love to put him out. He's a tough competitor, and he'll be difficult to beat. I'll go out there tomorrow and try and cut a good light and win the round."

He knows that's easier said than done, because he has been concentrating on being better at the Christmas Tree.
 
"The bike's running pretty good," Arana said. "We keep on goofing up on the starting line, which kills our overall E.T. We really need to focus on that tomorrow and get a good 60-foot time to make a good, fast run. If you look at our back-half numbers, we should be at least third and fourth overall, but that hasn't been the situation, because we haven't gotten good early numbers."

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK -

TOP FUEL

LUCAS CONTINUES TO SURPRISE IN TOP FUEL CHASE - 
Morgan Lucas has shown flashes of strength and promise throughout his Top Fuel career. But he began this year's NHRA Countdown to the Championship ranked eighth among the 10 eligible drivers.
 
A victory in the Charlotte playoff opener from the No. 1 position vaulted him through the standings to fourth place, and he has gone three rounds at Dallas and two at St. Louis to stay in the hunt.
 
Now he's truly somebody leader Shawn Langdon and challengers Doug Kalitta, Spencer Massey, and even No. 5-ranked, seven-time champion Tony Schumacher need to watch out for after his provisional No. 1 performance Friday at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading, Pa.
 
This racetrack is renowned for its hook, its dankness and cool temperatures, and its ability to boost a championship effort. And the contenders in each class have been awaiting this trip back the Northeast eagerly, eyeing potential national records that are worth 20 precious points. Lucas was no different, saying, "It's going to be a hell of a points chase to the end. Reading is a good opportunity for us to go and show what we can do."
 
He showed everybody, all right, in Friday's opening day of qualifying.
 
The GEICO / Lucas Oil Dragster driver said he remembered Maple Grove fondly from last October, because "we held the national record for 12 hours there last year, and that was pretty cool."
 
With warmer temperatures than the racers usually experience when they come here, nothing was cool. Instead, Lucas was just plain hot.
 
He used a 3.772-second elapsed time at 314.90 mph -- considerably better than his opening run Friday on the 1,000-foot course of 3.831 (although slower than his initial 317.64) -- to leap from No. 9 in the order to the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot.
 
Lucas said his team adopted the philosophy "Race smart."
 
And he said his job Friday was "I just had to go A to B."
 
He did, quicker -- but not faster -- than his Top Fuel colleagues. Shawn Langdon, the tentative No. 2 starter, was just four-thousandths of a second off Lucas' pace, but he cranked out a 325.14-mph speed in the Al-Anabi Racing Dragster.
 
"To be honest, the car was on a better run than a (3).77," Lucas said. "I think it was going to try to run a high 75. We ran out of pump in the middle and it popped the blower. I think it kind of chewed the heads up a little bit from about 700 feet on. So I feel like there's more left in it."
 
He said crew chief Aaron Brooks has renewed confidence and that the entire GEICO / Lucas Oil team has stepped up. He said, "It's one of those deals that every single run we make it seems like it's just getting a little better" with his new Brooks-designed in-house chassis. 
 
Lucas is only 45 points behind leader Shawn Langdon, but with each round-winner getting 20 points, he knows he can cut into that deficit in one race.
 
With it brought to his attention that he has won four of the past seven times he has been No. 1 qualifier, Lucas seemed a little startled. He said "I have no idea" why that is so. "It's so far out of my control." He said leaving on time and keeping the car in the groove -- racing smart -- is about all he can control.
 
As for Maple Grove Raceway, he said, "It's a fast track and we figured out how to make the car run really well," Lucas said. "We've just got to continue to race smart. I've got to drive well. It's a good opportunity to make up some ground. We didn't lose a lot in St. Louis, but the points tightened up with all four of the top-four cars going out early."
 
Whether he shows that flash of strength again this weekend remains to be seen through two final qualifying sessions Saturday and eliminations Sunday.

HALF FIELD FALTERS IN FIRST TRY - This event drew 17 entries for this race, and eight of the 17 drivers had traction troubles and didn't make complete full-power passes in the first session. Shawn Langdon and Clay Millican gave the fans plenty of excitement, though, with the Al-Anabi Racing driver sailing to the top with a 3.797-second pass and Millican, in the Parts Plus/Caseholed Dragster a close second at 3.814 seconds with a class-best 323.66 mph. Brittany Force, Morgan Lucas, and Antron Brown were 2-3-4 (respectively) in the early session, all with 3.84 or better.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE - Billy Torrence has learned that what he envisioned about racing in the Top Fuel class doesn't always match the reality of it. The Capco Contractors Inc. owner has found out that tuners aren't exaggerating when they talk about all the variables that make a dragster go quick and fast.

"The crew chiefs say there are too many things that can go wrong with these temperamental cars, and we are discovering that is true," he said. "We haven't had a first-round win in the last three races. Qualifying at all of the races I entered is definitely a good feeling. However, we haven't had any success since our first race at Indianapolis."

He entered the mix with the team's second car primarily to help son Steve, a Countdown-qualified driver, move up in the standings. But Dad is noticing he has other motivation that might be as helpful to his son.

"Originally the goal was to help Steve win the championship -- and we still want to help him move up in the standings -- but at this point I'm looking forward to the day we get to race head-to-head on the track because I think we can give his team a run for its money."

They had a chance at the first event together, at the U.S. Nationals. But Steve got a freebie when Billy's car had mechanical problems.

"My dad has really done great in the car so far this year," Steve Torrence said. "Not many people can jump into a Top Fuel dragster and go out and win rounds in their first-ever race. He has always been a heck of a racer, but he will have to earn it if he wants a win against me. That being said, I can honestly say it has been great to have a teammate these last several races, and the fact he is my dad makes it all that much better."

Steve Torrence has too much ground to make up to vie for the title this season, but he has a chance to finish better than the 10th-place spot he's in now. He opened the Reading race 19 points behind No. 9 Bob Vandergriff.

Both Torrences posted 3.87s Friday, with Billy five-thousandths of a second quicker. But both will have to start all over, as their times were barely outside the protected top 12. The Kilgore, Texas, teammates were 13 and 14 at the end of the day Friday.

IN HIS WHEELHOUSE - Tony Schumacher has been under the radar lately with his U.S. Army Dragster. He began this weekend in fifth place, 72 points back of points leader Shawn Langdon. But he isn't at all discouraged, this racer who has won at Reading more times than any other Top Fuel competitor (four).

"There's no doubt the top six cars in the standings are absolutely bad to the bone right now," he said. "They've all had their moments when they just were not going to be beat. They've also not necessarily been executing to perfection each and every week. All of them have gone out in the first round here and there. Everybody is capable of getting surprised like that. The way I see it, the championship will be decided by surprising runs.

"Our primary focus is to not get surprised. The difference between us and the teams ahead of us, the known entity, is that we have proven time and again that we know how to get through adversity. We've been able to suck it up when we've had to. There's absolutely no doubt that we are better under pressure than anybody else out there," Schumacher said. "Now, we're not going to win every championship, but I'll guarantee you nobody is writing us off this one just because we are 72 points out with three events to go. It's time for things to really start going our way, and it's up to us to make it happen."

Schumacher was sixth in the order after the first qualifying session Friday but third after Session 2. His best E.T. for opening day was 3.778 (at 323.97 mph) and out him third on the provisional list, just two-thousandths of a second slower than No. 2 Shawn Langdon and six-thousandths off Morgan Lucas' No. 1 time.

He won here three consecutive times (2003-05) and again in 2008. He also was runner-up here in 1999 and top qualifier six times. A year ago he set his career-best E.T. (3.736 seconds) at Maple Grove. Moreover, he might regard this as a huge stepping stone to the title, if statistics mean anything. He has 14 career event titles combined at Maple Grove, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the fall event at Auto Club Speedway at Pomona, Calif. The four drivers ahead of him in the standings have combined to win just five times at those three venues.

"Reading has been absolutely great. We've won championships, we've won several races, we've set records – it's one of those places I really like to go to because I enjoy the event itself," he said. "It's a big-horsepower track. It's down at sea level. The weather's usually cool. Good cars usually run great.

"I guarantee you," he said, "there will be some monster runs again this weekend because there always are. The timing of the Reading event each year makes it a great event, as well, because it comes at the time of year when, if you're seriously trying to position yourself to win the championship, you have to be good. It's crunch time, for real, and we're looking at three of our best tracks coming up, one right after the other, to finish off the season. If you add up how many wins the U.S. Army team has had at Reading, Vegas and Pomona, we have almost three times more than the four teams ahead of us combined. That doesn't guarantee us anything this year, but it sure bodes well for us from a historical perspective, from a psychological perspective. I'll take that any day."

NOT 'INSANE' NUMBER BUT ENCOURAGING - Brandon Bernstein and the ProtectTheHarvest.com/MAVTV Top Fuel team -- from the Morgan Lucas Racing camp that produced the day's quickest qualifier -- might be able this weekend to get out that slump they're in. Bernstein said before he even reached Reading, Pa., that this place could be the one to do it for him. "There are so many trees around the track and so much oxygen in the air," he said. "You can run pretty much anything if the weather is right. When it's cool, the cars just fly. We're always ready to go to Reading just because of the insane numbers you can put on the board there."

What he said he really wants, though, is "to go some rounds. It's been so long since our Protect The Harvest team has made it past the first round. We just want some kind of consistency going into the final few races of the season." Maple Grove raceway, he said, "is the kind of place you can throw the whole playbook at the track. You can load up as much horsepower as you want and it should stick." He conceded that warmer temperatures than he's accustomed to seeing there could skew things, but, he said, "we'll just have to wait and see what happens." What happened at first for Bernstein wasn't all that exciting. He was in the field after one session Friday but 15th out of 17, as he was among those who lost traction. However, he fought his way by the close of the first day to fourth place on the grid with a 3.788-second E.T. and 324.44-mph speed.

IN COAL COUNTRY BUT NO MINESHAFT - The Friday weather forecast was calling for Saturday temperatures topping 84 degrees, with a 10-percent chance of rain. Sunday's conditions are predicted to be a high temperature of 82 degrees, with 30 percent chance of rain. Those hardly are the mineshaft conditions Reading is known for at this time of the year. So it is abtter-than-50/50 bet right now that Antron Brown's Top Fuel elapsed time record of 3.701 seconds -- which doubles as the national E.T. mark -- is not in much danger. Speeds, not even Langdon's class-best  325.14 mph Friday, can top the 334.15 Langdon reeled off last October here.

Lucas didn't care about the heat: "This track, no matter if it's 85 degrees or 50 degrees, is just phenomenal," he said. "It's like this hidden gem out in the middle of the woods. It's so cool to come up here and race and get all this fresh oxygen. You just feel good when you're here."

 
FUNNY CAR

FORCE GETS HIS THREE WHILE GOING TO NO. 1 - John Force finally got his three-second run and for the 15-time champion his feat couldn't have come at a better time.

Force nailed the No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals by running 3.987 seconds at 323.50 mph, eclipsing his previous personal best of 4.010 seconds.

“I joked we are a little late because Schumacher’s cars ran that here last year but you look at the points for the championship," said Force, who picked up six bonus points to tie point leader Matt Hagan unofficially.

"You don’t want them to get a national record. You want to gobble up the points. We’ll see what the weather is tomorrow. For today we feel really good about it."

Force used the opportunity to give due to his tuners.

“I want to clarify Jimmy Prock runs my car with Danny DeGennaro," said Force. "They work as a team with Mike Neff and Ron Douglas and Dean Antonelli and John Medlen from the dragster. We all work together. Neff’s car ran 4.07 with Robert Hight and the Auto Club. It is a team effort. Jimmy Prock is throwing hard balls. I am pretty excited.”

Force said if not for his staging habits, he might have had a three-second run earlier in the season.

“When we look back in 2010 when I won the four-wide I almost put out the top bulb I was in so deep and we ran 4.02," said Force. "My guys said that was a three-second run but you don’t get credit for it. I told (Jack) Beckman when he ran over to congratulate me I said thank you but we were a year late. Those guys got their stuff together and we are chasing them. Our new chassis is working. We are going to go out there and race and have some fun. It is pretty cool. To see Jimmy Prock turn it around after having struggled for a couple of years. It is pretty awesome."

And for Force, he's grateful to know he's got a tuner with a keen knowledge of where the edge of the tuning envelope is.

“Once you know you are already in you turn the wick up. Jimmy won’t push it over center," said Force. "You don’t want to smoke the tires because you want those three points. He put it down there and figured it would run 4.02 or something."

MUSTANG COURTNEY, BETTER SLOW THAT MUSTANG DOWN - Courtney Force's 329.42 mile per blast during Friday qualifying at the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway could be this generation's equivalent to the 5.63 elapsed time Don Garlits made during the 1975 NHRA SuperNationals at Ontario Motor Speedway.

Force, qualifying alongside of her father John Force, bettered her official personal best by almost ten miles per hour and her unofficial best by nearly seven.

"Dad's has always been going out there and one-upping me," explained Force, who qualified second with a 4.025 elapsed time. "My team is so excited. We are all going to make copies of the time slip. We are excited about it. It felt like a good run. It was unbelievable."

Immediately social media outlets lit up and questioned the validity of the run.

Bob Brockmeyer, founder of Compulink timing system, said he inspected the timing system following the run.

"We checked all of the numbers," explained Brockmeyer. "We checked all of the beams and everything to make sure nothing was funky. We cannot find anything to suggest this was anything but a legitimate run. We checked everything, and it was all in order."

With a nine mile-per-hour swing in performance, Brockmeyer said he will further investigate tomorrow by looking at the team’s computer graphs.

What Brockmeyer can say without a doubt is that he’s never seen a car pulling harder than Force’s was when it went through the speed traps.

"I have never seen a car pull that hard ... ever," Brockmeyer said. "I've seen a lot of hard-running top end cars, too. Courtney's car was pulling like crazy.”

No points are awarded for speed records but to secure an official record, Force must run a speed of 326.14 during the course of the weekend to secure the record.

THRIVES ON THE CHALLENGE - John Force is at his best when the odds are stacked against him. The 15-time champion, this season, has had to adapt to a new car and crew chief, plus deal with the reality that two of his longtime sponsors will be moving on at the end of next season.

Force is a fighter. At 64-years old, Force had to learn survival instincts during the early years of his career just to keep going. Those survival instincts have come into play as of late.

After winning last weekend's NHRA AAA Insurance Midwest Nationals, Force has moved to within six points of Matt Hagan for the Funny Car point lead.

“I promise you, I can win this championship,” Force proclaimed.  “There are a lot of fast hot rods out there and Hagan, he’s one of the best of the young guns, but this ol’ Ford, it’s pretty fast, too.”

Force understands his opportunities to win championships are dwindling and this season could be his last good shot at winning another title. When he was 61 Force became the oldest driver to win a major auto racing series championship.

Force is a 136-time national event winner and at the halfway point in the 2013 regular season, was ranked tenth in the championship points.

Contrary to the saying which suggests an old dog cannot learn new tricks, a seasoned Force is learning a new style of driving with new-to-him crew chief Jimmy Prock.

“Jimmy Prock always swings for the fences,” Force said.  “The car owner in me used to complain about that, but now that we’re together, I love it.  I was struggling a little bit with my leave times (reaction times).  I had to go back to basics but it’s like Jimmy said, ‘Force, you’re learning how to drive all over again and I’m learning how to tune.  We’re gonna make a good team.’‘

HONORING SENIOR -When Bobby Lagana Sr. passed away on September 5, 2013, he left behind a family that included not only his daughters Marie and Laura and his drag racing sons Bobby Jr. and Dominick, but also a very large drag racing family who felt his loss deeply. This weekend at the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, a few members of that extended family will have the opportunity to pay special tribute to Lagana Sr. by running a special Twilight Zone paint scheme on their Funny Car, a resurrection of a car that Sr. himself match raced across the Northeast in the 1970s.

One of Lagana's fellow match racers was Gary Richards, and the two families formed a lifelong bond. They match raced together for many years, and later, Gary's son Paul Richards would form Paul Richards Racing and compete as a team on the NHRA circuit with his brother Dave Richards and Sr.'s boys, Bobby Jr. and Dominick.

Paul Richards Racing and driver Paul Lee conceptualized the idea and put it into action, and this weekend they plan to surprise Bobby Jr. and Dominick with the tribute car before the first round of qualifying at a racetrack where they have shared many memories.

"This is the least that we can do," said recently licensed nitro Funny Car driver Dave Richards, Paul Richards' brother. "Bobby Lagana Sr. was such a great guy and a real family man. Going to the races was so important to him, and seeing his passion for it really made me respect the sport even more. When I was going through my licensing process, I would always go back to what he told me. I remember sitting there and talking to him in the pits – he would pretend he was driving the car and talk me through everything that would happen. He was a huge help for me, and really, he was a pioneer in this sport. This is just a little something special we wanted to do to pay back the Lagana family for all that they've done for us. They're great people."

"We're all family; Bobby [Jr.] and Dom are like brothers to me, and Bobby Sr. was a big part of my life," said Paul Richards. "My father raced with him for so long, our mothers were friends, and it was a really tough deal when he got sick. It means a lot to us to be able to remember Sr. like this with a Twilight Zone tribute car.

"Maple Grove is the perfect place to do it – it was a home track for them, and I remember growing up with my dad's cars and running with Bobby Sr. at those Northeast tracks, Maple Grove was a big one. Bobby and Dom were a little younger than me, and when they were growing up they raced there a lot. I know Sr. loved that track. We asked Paul Lee what he thought about running a Twilight Zone car, and he thought it was the best idea ever. He was 100% on board, and we wouldn't be able to do this without Paul Lee and McLeod, as well as Rob Boninfante."

Driving the Twilight Zone tribute car will be very special for Lee, whose alcohol Funny Car license was signed by Bobby Lagana Sr. in 1988 in Englishtown.

"We've been friends ever since," said Lee. "I grew up watching Bobby Sr. run. He was always one of my favorite racers back in the day with the Twilight Zone car, and I always rooted for him because he was the underdog.

"Bobby Sr. was always so nice to me, and when I would do something good – like when I beat John Force at Seattle – he would call me up and be laughing, so happy and proud. It made me feel good that he would do that, and I always valued his advice. I feel very fortunate to have been the only person outside of the Lagana family to drive one of their cars. In 2009, I drove their Top Fuel dragster in IHRA, and that really meant a lot to me. Now I get to pay that back with this tribute car. I'm going to miss him, but this is pretty special. I can't wait."

CAN THE CHAMP DO IT AGAIN? - A year ago, Jack Beckman entered the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals as the second-ranked point earner, just 30 points behind Ron Capps. This time Beckman has a similar challenge in trailing first place by 44 points.

Although he's close in the running for the title, the 2013 season hasn't been a banner one for Beckman. He has three runner-up finishes thus far and with only three races left, a personal milestone stands in jeopardy. Since 2006, Beckman has scored at least one victory in each season since 2006. 

Getting his first race win of the season this weekend could mean a lot in so many ways for Beckman.

“It’s nail-biting time in everyone’s mind," Beckman said. "You have got to race perfectly from here on; it has to be error free. We were several rounds out of the lead when we started the Countdown in fifth place and the cars in front of us have been running tremendously. We have to get around them and that is a function of getting paired up against them on Sunday and then eliminating them. That’s not just a 20-point gain, but a 40-point swing.”

A real boost to his championship aspirations came last weekend in St. Louis, when Beckman took out championship point leader Matt Hagan en route to a runner-up finish.

"Had Hagan beat us at Gateway and won nothing more than that we would be 104 behind him going to Reading," Beckman explained. "You do not want to be five rounds out with 12 rounds to go.

"When people say there are 12 rounds left it's not like baseball and there are 12 games left; in our sport, if you lose in the second round of a race you just lost three rounds because you can't get to the semis or final."

Last year, a key point pick up on the road to the championship was in securing the Funny Car elapsed time record and the twenty point reward which accompanies the feat. The opportunity to run fast is one which Maple Grove consistently presents.

"When the track temperature is down in the low 80s and the track surface is good we can give it almost all the power it will handle out there," said Beckman. "It can be the perfect convergence of conditions for us."

But Beckman and his team plan to focus more on earning between one and three bonus points in each qualifying session that the record.

"Forget the national record and those 20 points, that run was the quickest in that session and worth three points and we won the championship by two points."

And right now, Beckman could use those two points.

UNCOMFORTABLE CHALLENGE - Matt Hagan understands there's no room for error this weekend.

Hagan had a reasonably comfortable lead headed into last weekend's NHRA Midwest Nationals at 52 points. However, in losing a second round match against teammate Jack Beckman, the lead fell to just six points.

In the days after the stinging loss, Hagan chose to put the lost opportunity on the backburner while tending to his daily duties as a cattle rancher. This was his therapy.

"I think sometimes after this much racing, this many events in a row, sometimes you need to take a deep breath and stop thinking about it (racing). As hard as it is to do, it's probably one of those deals where we know we have a good race car and we know how to run it, I know how to drive it and the guys know how to put it together so worrying about it or the points is not going to be productive.

"I told all of my guys to take a deep breath this week and chill and when we get to Reading we'll put our game face on and go racing. We need to let everyone else worry about the points. We are still the points leaders and we can win this thing."

Hagan has a runner-up finish and two quarterfinal finishes thus far in the Countdown.

IT STARTED HERE - Blake Alexander started his professional racing career at Maple Grove Raceway two years ago at the track in Reading, Pa.

“This race holds a lot of meaning for me," Alexander said. "I’ve raced at this event several times, whether it was in my Exide Comp car or the Auto Service Plus Funny Car. The conditions always enable record-setting performances, so everyone gets excited for this race. It’s like the ultimate test before the end of the season.

“I’m proud to be driving the Auto Service Plus powered by Auto-Plus Funny Car for the third consecutive year going into the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals. Uni-Select and Auto-Plus have been a catalyst for my professional career.”

Alexander qualified in his first outing and lost in the first round of eliminations. Then a 23-year old, Alexander didn't fret, he was just happy to be playing the game.

This race is the one stop on the tour where he entertains sponsors, family and friends.

“I think there is a little more pressure to perform at this race," said Alexander. "At the same time, it’s a relaxing atmosphere because there is so much going on, spending time with the Auto-Plus employees and customers. I enjoy spending time with the people. Hopefully at the end of it all we’ll have done well."

DON'T COUNT ME OUT - Ron Capps has a tall order if he hopes to stay in the running for the championship.

"We have three races left, and we have to win all three," said Capps, a three-time race winner in 2013.

"Any team might say that, but what makes it fun for me to see is that our NAPA Dodge is very capable of doing that. That is something that not every driver can say. It's a challenge and we've faced challenges like this in the past."

Capps is sixth in points and needs to gain the equivalent of six rounds on point leader Matt Hagan.

"We've seen drivers lose bigger points leads than we're faced with," Capps said. "We are only worried about controlling what we can do.

"Our Funny Car category is as tough as it's ever been. We're confident we're taking a car to Reading with a great chance to win, make up points and to try to set a record."

Capps raced to the twelfth quickest run during Friday qualifying at Maple Grove, a track which hasn't been particularly kind to him lately.

"We had a terrible weekend here last year, and it probably cost us the championship," said Capps.

PRO STOCK

AJ CONTINUES PS HOME RUN DERBY APPROACH - Allen Johnson likened his approach to the remaining qualifying sessions in the Countdown as "a home run derby."

Johnson, the defending NHRA Pro Stock series champion, was swinging for the fence Friday during first day qualifying at the NHRA Auto Plus Nationals outside of Reading, Pa. His 6.579 elapsed time was enough to swipe away the top spot from point leader Mike Edwards during Q2.

"The sun was going down and the track got about ten to twelve degrees cooler than during the first run," Johnson explained. "Everybody loaded up [their cars] for bear tonight. We went for it. My crew knows we are going to have to gobble up all of those little qualifying points out there. We are putting it on kill about every run now. Our goal is to gain six to eight points on the leader before the race on Sunday."

Unfortunately for Johnson, as impressive as his five bonus points were at Maple Grove Raceway, point leader Mike Edwards picked up four, giving Johnson a net gain of only one point. Jason Line, the third place runner, also picked up three.

"We have to make perfect runs every time," said Johnson, who entered the event 69 points out of first. "We cannot leave anything on the table. That's what the crew is trying to do and the driver is going to do the same."

Johnson understands time is running out on his championship aspirations.

"If we can pick up a few rounds coming out of here, we will feel a lot better," Johnson admitted. "We definitely need to be a little closer than we are."

WHAT'S A MAN TO DO? - Jeg Coughlin Jr. has an issue he needs to solve. During the last two events of the season, he's ascended into the point lead during the course of the event, which isn't his problem. The issue is twice he's had the lead snatched away before he can leave the track.

Coughlin isn't panicking.

"We all know, and it's not a cliché, but it's most important to lead the points leaving Pomona," Coughlin said of the season-ending race. "We've got great experience in running this car, and we need to get out there and show it."

Coughlin is second in the Pro Stock standings, only 10 points behind leader Mike Edwards, at the halfway point in the Countdown. He has won three races in seven final-round appearances thus far in 2013.

Coughlin is hoping his past track record will break the recent unfortunate trend. He's a four-time winner at Maple Grove with three wins in Pro Stock and one in Super Gas. His final round record is perfect.

"I think of loyal NHRA drag racing fans when I think of Reading," Coughlin said. "I think of a true stadium-style event. It's a picturesque setting at a marquee event that's been around the NHRA since I was reading National Dragster with cereal in front of me.

"That's why it fires me up. The fans are great, the facility is very nice. Running in the fall, in the Countdown, we could be approaching record runs. It would really take an extreme situation but if we get some very cool, dry weather, it could get exciting for the crew chiefs, the drivers and absolutely for the fans."

ON A POSITIVE NOTE - Erica Enders-Stevens isn't ready to give up.

After winning last weekend's NHRA Midwest Nationals, Enders-Stevens vaulted into fourth place in the standings after starting the Countdown in ninth.

"That's the attitude we need to have," Enders-Stevens said. "If we don't have that attitude, then we shouldn't be out there. You have to believe in what you're doing."

Enders-Stevens is 60 points out of first place, the equivalent of three rounds. 

"Every round is important, but qualifying is also important," Enders-Stevens said. "We were able to gain five baby points from qualifying last weekend, and all of those little points add up. It's not just round by round."

This weekend's event at Maple Grove is one which provides some of the best conditions on the tour allowing most of the teams to unleash extreme amounts of horsepower.

"This weekend is going to be tough," Enders-Stevens said. "There are ten great cars out here in Pro Stock week in and week out, and you just fight for those few top spots."

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

RAY OF HOPE FOR SOVEREIGN-STAR BIKE TEAM - Michael Ray, this year's Englishtown, N.J., and Joliet, Ill., winner and No. 4-ranked Countdown competitor, said he and his Sovereign-Star Racing team aren't giving up on the notion of winning an NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle championship.
 
And the New Braunfels, Texas-based racer fired the first salvo of the Auto-Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, near Reading, Pa., Friday with a 6.857-second quarter-mile elapsed time at 193.38 mph on his Buell to claim the provisional No.1 qualifying position.
 
Ray, who was sixth in the lineup after the early session Friday, likened his first day of this historic race to a game of golf. He said a first run is like "getting off the No. 1 tee box. You want to get it out in the middle of the fairway." But he might characterize his Q1 pass of 6.955 seconds at a speed of 188.07 mph as not exactly in the rough but not the placement, or the "lie" he would have liked after his first drive.
 
He was sixth in the original order, "a little behind the eight-ball" with a run that he said "left us scratching our heads." But he said George Bryce and his brain trust of Chuck Kennedy and Ken Johnson "found stuff in the computer" and helped him improve later in the afternoon.
 
Ray said Bryce told him before that second run that the position of the crankshaft -- and whether it lasted for the quarter-mile -- would determine how on-target the effort would be. Then he told Ray, "If it goes all the way, we should go right to the top. If it doesn’t blow up, we should go right to the top. If it blows up, I'm sorry and I hope we don't make a big mess."
 
No mess, no clean-up on Aisle 2. Ray made his first-place run straight down the right lane, and he said, "I knew it was on a really good pass.
 
"That (6.)85 was a stout number," he said, adding that he had his career-best 60-foot time of 1.043 seconds. "Anytime you can go sub-1.05 you've really got every bit of it in the first 60 feet. I really needed those three points. I definitely feel good about tomorrow morning."
 
The motor, he said is one that had performed well at Dallas and Bryce had shelved for later use. "That bullet's pretty healthy," Ray said, "and we're going to race her all weekend."
 
Ray said he's ready to take grown-up strides toward his first title.
 
"We've been taking those baby steps forward, so now it’s just time to keep up the momentum towards the championship," the Sovereign-Star Racing headliner said.
 
"We're not out of it yet. They haven't given anyone that championship title yet. There's a lot of racing still left to go, and I'd say we're definitely not out of this yet. We may have an uphill road towards winning the championship, but anything can happen on Sundays. You can go from hero to zero. I think if we can keep up this consistency that we've shown, then we can keep turning some heads and have a real legitimate shot to go win."
 
His Friday bonus points could make a huge difference in a tight race as he battles leader Matt Smith and the two second-place "Hectors" (father-son duo Hector Arana Sr. and Jr.) for the title.
 
"We've got to have a couple of lucky breaks go our way," Ray said. The past couple of weeks, it just seems that I've been the luck for another team and we haven't seemed to have any good luck on Sunday."
 
Ray said, "Maple Grove has been such a truly magical place for our team. That's where Angelle [three-time champion Sampey] got her first win with the Star Racing team."
 
With only three races left in the Countdown and the season, Ray was only 17 points, or less than one round of competition, out of second place entering this event.
 
Sovereign-Star racing boss George Bryce said, "I have my sights set on the championship just like Michael does, but you can't force it. You have to stay in the moment, make the next run be the most important one, and collect all the points you can. Then, by Sunday afternoon, we'll have a new story about where we stand in the Countdown to the Championship."
 
Friday's chapter was especially encouraging. If Ray should hold onto his spot through two Saturday qualifying sessions, he will be poised not to make this his first victory but maybe his most significant one so far.
 

BRYCE VOTES FOR KENNEDY - Chaz Kennedy made his Sovereign-Star Racing debut impressively. He landed in the protected top 12 Friday with a 7.068-second run at 178.76 mph -- on a bike with which he wasn't terribly familiar -- then improved to 10th overnight with a 7.015, 177.58 in his second  opportunity to ride the motorcycle.
 
The 19-year-old from Ormond Beach, Fla., has been a team crew member and developmental driver for 2013, and his dad, Chuck Kennedy, has been a member of the Sovereign-Star Racing team for the past two seasons as crew chief for the suddenly departed Scotty Pollacheck.
 
Team owner George Bryce's original plan for Chaz Kennedy was to introduce him to NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle aboard the team's Suzuki at the Las Vegas and Pomona races that will close this season. But that changed dramatically with Pollacheck's abrupt departure following the Dallas event to compete in alliance with Matt Smith Racing for the rest of this season before striking out as an independent owner-rider next year. Bryce decided to put Kennedy on the more powerful S&S Cycle-powered Buell.
 
"I'm excited to see Chaz run, because I've helped him for two years to learn how to do it," Bryce said before qualifying opened Friday. "And this will be his first time on this 'rocket ship.' It will be good to see how well his focus is with all the surroundings. It's going to be intimidating (for him) to say the least. The only thing that will seem normal to him will be the inside of his helmet.
 
"But, as long as I've been working with him, he's been a quick study and quick learner. I've been impressed with how fast he adapts," Bryce said.
 
And Bryce would know. He has ushered six other rookie racers into the class, including John Myers and Angelle Sampey, who won three championships apiece.
 
"I'm excited to see him get his shot," teammate Michael Ray, the class' No. 4-ranked Countdown rider, said. "He doesn't know how fast that motorcycle is going to be, so he has a chance to go out there and break some hearts this weekend.
 
"He has put in his time, and he has earned his role on this team," Ray said.
 
Kennedy, a recent high-school graduate, said, "I was surprised to find out that I was driving the Buell. The original plan was to go out and race the Suzuki at Vegas and Pomona. We've been training all year on the Suzuki, so this will really mix it up," 
"But we're going to go out and just have fun. I'm just excited for the opportunity, and my dreams are finally coming true," he said. "It's a great opportunity to race with the best, since I've always wanted to race in Pro Stock Motorcycle."
 
Kennedy has been racing since age 5 and has earned three American Motorcycle Racing Association (AMRA) championships. He was also named AMRA Rookie of the Year, AMRA Racer of the Year, and All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) Rookie of the Year.

TWO A GOOD NUMBER NOW - Provisional leader Michael Ray said Friday that he actually benefited from former teammate Scotty Pollacheck's unexpected departure from Sovereign-Star Racing. He wasn't firing a personal shot at Pollacheck. He simply said, "It almost helped us. In St. Louis, having one bike, one team, one focus was big." 

However, he said he's happy to have Chaz Kennedy on a second Sovereign-Star Buell this weekend. "I'm glad we have another bike," Ray said. "Now I need all the help I can get. We need to go catch Matthew [points leader Smith] early. I'm 90 points out of the lead. The pressure is really on for all the teams. With the performance gains at that track, it'll be a good chance for the teams to show what they can do."
 
FOREWARNED - Pro Stock Motorcycle rookie Adam Arana knew three things about Maple Grove Raceway coming into the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals: "It's really fast, has a bump, and it always rains." The youngest of the three racing Aranas said, "The shutdown is a little short, so they have told me not to be very aggressive on the brakes, because there is a bump. If you do catch it going at 180 mph on your brakes, your front tire could lock up. It could cause you to have a rough ride." Arana started in fifth place, and then settled into sixth by day's end Friday.
 
EXHAUSTED - Bike class points leader Matt Smith has not only one but two Arana Lucas Oil Buell riders behind him in second place, 75 points back. Father and son Hector Arana Sr. and Jr. obviously want to make an all-out assault on their Pro Stock Motorcycle rival. However, Arana Jr., who lost his year-long points lead to Smith at the most recent race, at St. Louis, said the four Countdown races in consecutive weekends "has been tough on everyone. We've got a skeleton crew trying to get everything ready to race. We have backup motors, but they don't perform nearly as well as our three strongest motors, which are the ones we're running. If something happens to those motors, we don't have one on the shelf that's just as quick as the ones we're using."
 
He said they've been burning the midnight Lucas Oil at their shop in Corydon, Ind. "There's not been a day or even a night off since we started this stretch," Arana Jr. said. "We've been in the shop every day until 10 o'clock at night at least and back in at 7 a.m. to start all over again. It's been exhausting for everybody. The only break we get is when we hop in the rig and head to the next track. Even then you can't relax because you have to concentrate while driving."
 
He said the strategy at this point is "we're paying attention to every last little detail, trying to eliminate anything that can go wrong. We're expecting some quick numbers. If we're not running in the 6.70s, I'll be disappointed. If we can be consistent and run in the 6.70s, I think we'll have a good chance of making it the whole way."
 
Arana Sr. said he has been telling his older son "that we need to stay calm. If you get too worried about the championship, that's when you can lose everything. We need to keep going one step at a time and do the best we can. I've been there and know how being in a situation like this feels. I'm doing my best coaching Adam and Hector. I'm letting them know they need to not worry about it and just go do their thing."
 
Same goes for him, and "doing their thing," Arana Sr., said, depends on finding the right combination early. "We're really going to have to study our data well so we can come up with the perfect tune-up," he said. "We don't have to worry about winning the race until the end of Sunday. We just need to focus on the run that is in front of us and making it the best it can be."
 
Dad Hector led the field after the first session Friday. But with Ray swiping the lead in the second go-round, the Aranas slipped to second and third, with father and son trading places. Arana Jr. is second and Sr. is third as they await the final two sessions Saturday.
 
SWEET 15 - This race has 17 entries, but Jerry Savoie and Mike Berry were either not on hand or did not make passes in either session Friday.
 
NO RECORDS YET - Warmer temperatures at this race have resulted in no records so far this weekend in the bike class. Andrew Hines' 6.728-second elapsed time and 198.73-mph speed from last October remain the standard for the class. Hines' E.T. also is the national record.