EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK			EVENT GALLERY

SUNDAY NOTEBOOK

TOP FUEL

 

FUNNY CAR

PRO STOCK

RACEDAY RANDOM NOTES -

THIS HORSE WILL GALLOP - This was the first major event for Wild Horse's new management team, headed by Paul Clayton, after Charlie Allen's 30-year lease wasn't renewed by Gila River Indian Community.

Clayton, who had no prior experiencing putting on a big spectator event, spent over $1 million in improvements. Those included $500,000 on repaving the drag strip, plus new (and more visible) scoreboards, timing and public address systems, one new grandstand, increased food concession choices and fixed-up corporate suites and media center.

The Arizona Republic estimated the three-day crowd at 60,000, which would be an event record, with 22,000 on hand Sunday. New or expanded corporate partnerships with Arizona Ford Dealers, NAPA and Coca-Cola led to new-for-the-event and non-traditional marketing programs. CARQUEST's title sponsorship was the first for the event since 2009.

“We asked the people of Phoenix to come out and support this track and record attendance shows that,” said Clayton. “There are things we need to improve on, like traffic and getting people in and out better, and we’re making notes in all areas. But for our debut, I’m pretty satisfied.

"The feedback has been positive. I’m pumped and a little relieved.”

“The concentration this year was on the track surface to get a good, raceable surface, for an entertaining race for the fans,” said Graham Light, NHRA’s senior vice president, racing operations. “The numbers on the scoreboard speak to that; it’s huge for the teams. There’s been fantastic spectator attendance. We’re very appreciative.”  - Michael Knight

DEJA VU? - V. Gaines was hoping for a bit of déjà vu.

The Kendall-sponsored driver from Lakewood, Colorado, ended a seven-year winless streak when he won the 2008 NHRA Arizona Nationals [Phoenix] crown, on a day when he appeared to be invincible.

Gaines appeared headed for a second date with destiny Sunday during the finals of the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals at the former Firebird Raceway now named Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, but the fates weren’t as kind.

Gaines beat Vincent Nobile for the second race in a row, when he outran him in the semifinals, but this time victory came at a cost.

“We had a little problem with an intake spring that was hanging up and we couldn’t change it,” Gaines said. “We had our fingers crossed that it would make it but it didn’t.”

Gaines had final round opponent Allen Johnson dialed in at the hit courtesy of an .026 starting line advantage but the lead waned as his engine did.  

“We were out in front and should have won that race,” said Gaines. “The valve spring just wouldn’t hold on long enough for us to win.”

Gaines has two runner-up finishes to open the season, and his success thus far has enabled him to grab an 11-point lead in the championship points.

“This is very, very gratifying,” said Gaines. “We put a lot of work into these things as a small independent team. It’s absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

OH ‘CHUTE - Alexis DeJoria said she hit the parachute lever on the heels of a 4.065-second victory over former teammate Jeff Arend during the first round of eliminations at the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals outside of Phoenix. Instead of the parachutes blossoming behind her Patron Café-sponsored Toyota Camry, they remained inside the packs as the handle inside the cockpit dangled uselessly.

DeJoria worked the brake until she brought the 309 mile per hour Funny Car to a safe stop well beyond the regular turn-off. Luckily for her, the racing surface at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park is one of the longest on the 24-race NHRA tour at over 3,000 feet.

“I went for the chute handle and it was flopping in the wind,” explained DeJoria. “It had broken off of the body. I just grabbed on to the brake and I have been down to the end before here. I have experience of what to do and I did it. I pumped the brake a few times so it wouldn’t hop around too much.”

NHRA officials along with crew chief Tommy DeLago confirmed while the Electrimotion device couldn’t deploy the parachutes because of the damage to the handle mechanism, the ignition and fuel system portion of the device worked properly.

ATTABOY GIRL – Brittany Force had a bracket car all weekend, running in the 3.80s during eliminations. After emerging as one of the few Top Fuel drivers to win from the right lane in the first round, Force rode her right lane magic in obtaining a career first.

“I’ve always wanted to beat Tony Schumacher and it finally happened,” Force said after the second round.

Up until the final round, Force made seven runs within .03 of one another.

CATCHING A BREAK – John Force said Saturday evening that he never took any driver lightly, including Jeff Diehl.

“I beat somebody once,” Force said. “When Prudhomme and those guys believed I was a joke, a leaker. Some days you have your day and I will respect anyone I race. I’m not just saying that, I mean it. These kids work real hard to be here, they spend their money. They all have a dream like I’ve got. I don’t want to look back 25 years and say, there’s the new champ and I took him for granted like they did me.”
 
Sunday, in the first round, his words proved prophetic.

Diehl was shut off by the NHRA starter when his Funny Car developed a puddle of nitromethane underneath the car.
The weekend was a frustrating one for 16-time champion Force as he smoked the tires on five of his seven passes throughout the course of the weekend. His two good laps produced a track record Friday evening and a second round win Sunday.

Of note, the last time Force wasn’t in a final was last fall at Charlotte.

INTERNATIONAL UPSET – Shane Tucker, the Australian native, now has round wins on two continents. Tucker used a much quicker reaction time to take out No. 1 qualifier Chris McGaha.

“I’m a very competitive person and to get my first win in the big leagues of drag racing is quite an accomplishment, and especially from the No. 16 spot,” said Tucker. “We’ve just always tried to take this one round at a time.”

It might have appeared to an outside observer that Tucker became so excited that he forgot to pull the parachute following the monumental run.

“I wish that were the case,” Tucker said. “Sometimes the chutes just get tangled up.”

BRING ON THE DART – Jeggie Coughlin would never say anything bad about his Dodge Avenger, but after the weekend he experienced at Phoenix, he likely won’t be disappointed to see his new Dodge Dart.

This was not the best weekend for the Avenger, which lost in the first round.

"We really never got up with it," Coughlin said. "We just didn't run well on Friday, and we thought we came around a little bit Saturday. We moved up a little bit in the pack of cars running in the heat Saturday, but today we just had a little bit more of the same as Friday."

Coughlin started well but his Dodge wiggled once, and he had to get out of the gas as he watched first-round opponent Dave Connolly speed past.

"It was real, real close to being sporty, but it'd have been a tough run to beat," Coughlin said. "We look forward to Gainesville. We're going to pull the tarp off of a brand-new car that all the folks at Mopar, Dodge, and Chrysler are excited to show the world. That's going to be our new breath."

CREW CHIEF VS DRIVER – Score one for the tuner. Dave Connolly was the crew chief of record for all six of Erica Enders-Stevens’ Pro Stock national event victories. In the quarterfinal round, the two met for the first time since Enders-Stevens departed Victor Cagnazzi Racing to drive for Elite Performance and Richard Freeman.

Connolly was first out of the gate [.017 - .054], and never looked back en route to a 6.56 to 6.61 victory.

FIVE, AND THAT’S IT – Up until the quarterfinal round, Khalid alBalooshi was undefeated. In a rematch of the Pomona final, Doug Kalitta came out on the winning end, 4.45 to 4.56, in a tire-smoking battle.

COMING UP SHORT, AGAIN – After dominating qualifying and early eliminations, Doug Kalitta came up eight inches short in trying to score his first 2014 national event victory. A mere .001 was all which separated him and Antron Brown in reaching the final round as Matco won the battle of the tool manufacturers over Mac Tools, 3.782 to 3.794.

BACK IN THE GROOVE – It didn’t take Tommy Johnson Jr. long to reacclamate himself. After qualifying No. 2, Johnson reached the semis after beating Tony Pedregon and then Tim Wilkerson before losing to Robert Hight, 4.04 to 4.08.

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY – Prior to their semifinal match, Dave Connolly held a 15-to-4 edge over Allen Johnson. Despite a reaction time advantage in Connolly’s favor [.037], Johnson was able to run him down for the victory – 6.55 to 6.62. The .62 was Connolly’s worst run of the day.

 

 

 

 

SATURDAY NOTEBOOK

TOP FUEL

KALITTA WILL TRY, TRY AGAIN – FROM NO. 1 SPOT - Doug Kalitta said he thought he was going to win the Circle K Winternationals to open the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season two weeks ago.

He thought his Mac Tools Dragster – the one that set both ends of the track record at Pomona, Calif., and led the field in qualifying at Auto Club Raceway – would be able to outrun Khalid alBalooshi with his Al-Anabi Racing tune-up. But alBalooshi won.

“That’s drag racing,” Kalitta said Saturday at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park at Chandler, Ariz. “There’s always another race.”

He’s right. And he repeated his Top Fuel No. 1 qualifying effort this weekend at the Carquest Auto Parts Nationals. So maybe the Mac Tools Dragster driver had a premonition about this event.

He indicated he didn’t want to lose in the final round like he did at Pomona or lose in the opening round here last season, like he did when he qualified No. 1 but lost against Spencer Massey.

This time, Kalitta said, he’s hoping he parlays his class-best 3.735-second, 327.74-second pass on the 1,000-foot course into his first victory since last September at Dallas.

“We’re going to be working at it tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes,” he said. We’ll see what we can do here in Phoenix.

If he is to give his uncle and team owner Connie Kalitta a Wally trophy Sunday for his upcoming 76th birthday, or one for the distributors gathered for a Mac Tools fair at Orlando this weekend, he knows he has to get down the racetrack.

That sounds simple, but it wasn’t guaranteed for him and a handful of others in Saturday’s two qualifying sessions. He lost traction twice, posting no better elapsed time than 5.408 seconds and a top speed of 127.62 mph.

“The first run we changed a few things around, just trying to experiment a little bit. Smoked the tires. I think we were trying to get down [with a full pass] the second run. We smoked ’em again,” Kalitta said.

“It seems with the cloud cover, it may be deceiving,” he said. “We were just pushing it a little bit today. We were just trying a little harder than probably we needed to. But it doesn’t seem like we were the only person having the problem. Hopefully we’ll back her down and the thing will start going down the track tomorrow.”

Kalitta said he’s hoping that means any poor runs are behind him this weekend.

“As far as I see it, we hopefully got all the tire smoking out of the way for the weekend.

His top-qualifying position was the 38th of his career, and a victory Sunday would be his second at Phoenix and 34th overall.

“I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Kalitta said. “It’ll be fun out there. I’m sure it’ll be some tight racing, like always. It’s tough competition. We’re definitely up for the challenge with our Mac Tools car.”

He is taking his outstanding start in stride, knowing – after three series runner-up finishes and three No. 3 showings among his 16 top-10 seasons – that it’s better to finish strong.

“It’s been going pretty good,” he said of his 2014 performance. “We’re just trying to keep our head down and do the best we can and see if the win light comes on in our lane. We want to make this a great year.

“We’re just out here, trying to make it happen. Qualifying No. 1 is definitely a good start for the weekend,” Kalitta said.

- ‘OLD SCHU’ FOR McMILLEN – Since Terry McMillen came to the NHRA fulltime with his Amalie Oil Dragster, he has faced Tony Schumacher 13 times – 10 of those times in the opening round -- and hasn’t beaten him once. McMillen, the No. 15 starter, will face the seven-time champion in Sunday’s first round, marking the third time he has done so in the past six races (dating back to last season’s St. Louis event). McMillen’s best deal was in 2011, when he managed to avoid Schumacher the entire season.

THAT’S MORE LIKE IT - Schumacher, last year’s winner here, vaulted from the No. 11 position to the No. 2 spot in the U.S. Army Dragster with his fourth and final qualifying pass.     

"That last run is what we expect with our U.S. Army team," he said. "The last season didn't end the way we hoped it would, and it wasn't much better when we opened the year at Pomona. But I have faith in what Mike's [crew chief Green’s] plan is, and we saw it start to pay off on our last run.

“That put us in the top-half [of the field], so we'll get our choice of lanes in the first run. That's huge, but we still have to have another solid run if we went to get the second round and keep improving," Schumacher, a four-time winner at Phoenix, said, adding, “Mike and Neal [assistant crew chief Strausbaugh] put it together today, and I know they can match it on Sunday.”

WWMD: WHAT WOULD MORGAN DO? – That’s what Top Fuel rookie Richie Crampton said he asked himself as he prepared for the season opener two weeks ago. “I don't want my performance to hold us back, so everything I do I try to think, 'What would Morgan do?' so that we don't miss a beat. So far, so good," he said. Actually, he fared better than Lucas did last year at this event. Lucas qualified 12th, and this year Crampton, his replacement in the GEICO Dragster, will start from the 10thposition.

Crampton, the former clutch specialist on this car that he helped crew chief Aaron Brooks design last year, said, “Two things really jumped out at me in Pomona two weeks ago. The first was how well the car ran on race day. Aaron Brooks really got this thing dialed in quickly, running a pair of 3.7-second passes, and if we hadn't run into Doug Kalitta in Round 2, we might have really done something big. But Doug just had the better car all weekend. The other thing was how great the fans were towards me. So many people made a point of stopping over to wish me luck and tell me they'd be rooting for me. It was really special. I think the best part was the kids because it made me think about when I was a kid going to the races and how I looked up to the drivers. It kind of brought it all full circle."

Crampton won his first round of eliminations at Pomona, against Brittany Force, but his loss stuck with him and gave him motivation for this weekend. "It already hurts a little to lose, but it was the second round of the year for us," he said. "We have done a lot better than a lot of the other teams already.” He said his confidence was strong heading into the Phoenix race “and I really think we will do well there."

He’ll find out Sunday morning against first-round opponent Antron Brown.

PRITCHETT SETS HER BEST TIME – Leah Pritchett rewrote her career-best elapsed time at 3.785 seconds in the Gumout/Dote Racing Dragster in the fourth qualifying session Saturday to nail down the No. 8 starting position. Her dubious reward was having to run points leader and Winternationals winner Khalid al Balooshi in the first round of eliminations. She hardly is intimidated by that, for she won her first elimination round at this race a year ago, beating alBalooshi’s teammate, Shawn Langdon, in the first round.  

QUALIFYING WELL - With his No. 4 start this weekend, reigning champion Shawn Langdon has qualified fifth or better at the past 11 races, dating back to last August’s event at Seattle.

WILD TIME TRIALS AT WILD HORSE PASS - Spencer Massey made up Saturday for getting little from his Friday chances at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. “It was definitely nerve-wracking coming into the first session today,” he said Saturday. “We didn't make it down the track on Friday, and you know when you roll up to the starting line for the third session that you need to make it down the track. So there's a little bit of pressure, but we came out and went right down the track and made a good lap."

He relied on the 3.821-second elapsed time (at 313.88 mph) he got in Q3, for he smoked the tires in the finals session.

“We probably just got a little greedy," Massey said. "We saw our teammate Tony Schumacher go out there and run a 3.75, and we just wanted to do that, too. It got overcast and cooled down a little bit, and we just tried to get after it. We'll take what we learned here and go after it tomorrow.

"We don't have lane choice but I'm not sure that matters,” he said. “The new owners have done a great job on the new track surface, and we'll go out there tomorrow and give it all we got and try to get past [Bob] Vandergriff in Round 1."

TOP FUEL PAIRINGS – Doug Kalitta will seek his first Phoenix victory in 13 years, beginning Sunday’s eliminations against Scott Palmer. Other Top Fuel pairings pit Leah Pritchett vs. Khalid alBalooshi, Shawn Langdon vs. Clay Millican, Antron Brown vs. Richie Crampton, Dave Grubnic vs. Brittany Force, Steve Torrence vs. Troy Buff, and Bob Vandergriff vs. Spencer Massey
 
FUNNY CAR

FORCE IS THE MAN AGAIN – The 16-time Funny Car champion John Force sealed the deal Saturday afternoon. Despite only making a full pass on one of his four runs, his 3.990 track record stood for the duration of Saturday’s qualifying, handing him pole position No. 148.

Force races Jeff Diehl in Sunday’s first round, and the iconic drag racer isn’t about to take him lightly. Diehl is where Force was in his career back in 1978.

“I beat somebody once,” Force said. “When Prudhomme and those guys believed I was a joke, a leaker. Some days you have your day and I will respect anyone I race. I’m not just saying that, I mean it. These kids work real hard to be here, they spend their money. They all have a dream like I’ve got. I don’t want to look back 25 years and say, there’s the new champ and I took him for granted like they did me.”

STILL GETTING DIALED IN - Just as Top Fuel racer Doug Kalitta has proven preseason testing can be overrated, Tim Wilkerson is making his test laps during the regular season. This doesn’t mean the Levi, Ray & Shoup driver is making a lot of throwaway runs. What it means is his first run at Pomona was literally his first run of the season.

Wilkerson doesn’t have a testing budget and the first two events of the season have been traditionally used to get his Mustang dialed in for the season. Pomona is always a challenge but when it comes to Phoenix, the latter might just be the most important event of his 24-race tour.

If Wilkerson has a good CARQUEST NHRA Nationals event in Phoenix, chances are the season will be a winner.
 
“In Pomona we really looked awful,” Wilkerson said. “We got a brand new car and some of the systems didn’t work properly on the first couple runs and we ended up really having some problems out there.” 


Wilkerson concluded qualifying as seventh quickest with a 4.066 and will meet sophomore Funny Car driver Chad Head in the first round.

NO FINGERPRINT YET – John Force proved the new Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park has copious amounts of potential. Friday he established a new Funny Car track record and the first three-second 1,000 foot run with a 3.990 second elapsed time at 317.79 miles per hour.

Jack Beckman is one of those drivers who analyzed the new racing surface.

"You saw low ET after the first qualifying session was a 4.09," Beckman said. "It dropped a tenth of a second without getting a night run. Now that’s normal to see in the mid-part of the season when you get a Friday afternoon run followed by a Friday night run, but we had two sessions in the sun, the track was a couple degrees cooler but it wasn’t a night and day difference. So I think it’s safe to say, that when you come out on a racing surface that has been extensively redone as this one and you see the Funny Car track records completely shattered whoever did the paving gets my kudos."

Even though Beckman regards the new track favorably, he believes the final report card could be an incomplete at this time.

"I don’t think that we know enough about the new surface to give it a fingerprint just yet," Beckman concluded.

INTRAMURAL RIVALRY – An interesting first-round match-up will be when Matt Hagan, who qualified 11th, faces DSR teammate and No. 6-seed Jack Beckman.


"We definitely would've liked to qualify a little stronger and have a better pairing on Sunday but it is what it is,” said Hagan. “We'll just look over everything tonight. We know that Beckman and his team will go up there and run a solid lap.”

THAT GIRL IS ON FIRE! – Alexis DeJoria is hot thus far in 2014, and following a three-second pass at Pomona, she qualified fourth with a 4.048, 309.27 MPH pass during the Friday night session. Saturday she was third quickest of the final session with a 4.062.

“We picked up where we left off in Pomona here in Phoenix,” said DeJoria. “We ran really well during both Friday sessions which landed us in the No. 3 spot. Today we dropped down one spot going into our last run of the day but we had another consistent run with that 4.06, so I’m happy. We race Jeff Arend tomorrow in the first round. I’m excited to be qualified in the top half of the field again for the second weekend in a row.”

Tommy DeLago is proud of the progress the team has made early in the season.

“Things are getting better for the Patrón XO Cafe team,” said DeLago. “They were getting better towards the end of last year and of course, we made that good run at Pomona [3.997-seconds], and we’re trying to build off of that.  I think we still have a long ways to go to get where we need to be, but we have a car that we can compete with and a car that can win races.

“Everyone on the team is working well together- the chemistry between the guys is really rolling and that right there breeds success. I’m happy with the progress that we’re making, and we’re definitely off to a good start.”  

PRO STOCK

MCGAHA CAPTURES HIS FIRST PRO STOCK POLE - Saturday turned out perfect for Chris McGaha as he captured his first career NHRA Pro Stock pole.

“Being number one is really hard to explain,” admitted McGaha. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet.”

McGaha, now using equipment purchased from former NHRA Pro Stock Champion Mike Edwards along with new crew chief Jim Yates, has now shown he has the ability to be competitive at the upper level.

Friday’s run of 6.530 seconds at 210.93 miles per hour turned out to be one thousandth of a second quicker than Erica Enders-Stevens qualifying attempt.

Friday’s run held on to be the fastest through Saturday’s qualifying sessions.  

McGaha’s team capitalized on using log books acquired from Edwards to consistently get down the race track on both Friday and Saturday.  

When asked if he or the team had talked to Edwards this weekend McGaha said, “Everybody in the world has talked to Mike (Edwards) and texted Mike and Mike even took my phone number and I got his when we made the deal and we haven’t spoke since,” McGaha admitted. “The main thing I told him was when we bought the stuff was I wanted to win a race.”

McGaha faces Australia’s Shane Tucker, the 16th quickest qualifier in the first round of eliminations.

Having over a tenth of a second advantage over Tucker, gives McGaha confidence to achieve his goal of winning an NHRA National event.

“You know you feel that way (confident) but until it happens you don’t know,” admitted McGaha. “But if we can continue to make those good runs than I am very confident.”

LIVE BY THE SWORD - For two seasons now, Vincent Nobile has mastered the art of starting the season strongly. Two weeks ago, the second-generation Pro Stock competitor drove his way to the No. 1 qualifying position while making his debut behind the wheel of a different make of car and racing with another team.

“Definitely a great way to start the season,” Nobile said.  “Can’t complain, number one qualifier, going to the semis only to get beat by a holeshot by the oldest driver left in competition – it was a good start.”

Nobile lost to V. Gaines, Pomona’s eventual runner-up. The toughest part of the loss was not in losing to Gaines, a driver with whom he respects immensely, but by losing by the same sword he so proudly brandishes.

“Without a doubt,” Nobile said with a sly smile. “It wasn’t all too bad, I had a .021 light and I’ll sign a contract right now to be .021 every time. I think that will win races, definitely with the kind of car I have this year.”

One lesson Nobile learned while racing and losing to Gaines, his reputation will always bring an opponent’s best starting line game.

“It always seems to be me that the guy has their best light of the weekend during my round,” Nobile said. “It is what it is. it makes me try a little harder.”

THE DODGE HAS TEETH – V. Gaines’ Dodge Avenger had teeth in Pomona, both literally and figuratively. The Kendall-sponsored driver from Colorado drives a Mopar which is adorned with teeth painted on the grill and last week for every round of competition it appeared those teeth took a bite out of the best drivers in the class before losing a close final round to Jason Line.

“Our winter initiative was two things,” Gaines explained. “We wanted to try and get as consistent as we can be with the car, and try to get the driver to get off the clutch a little more consistent, a little better. We worked on those things over the winter and I think we made great strides.”

Gaines had a .003 reaction and beat Vincent Nobile.

“I consider that to be a late red light,” Gaines said with a laugh. “But there are going to be many times that he’s going to have an .003 light against me so we’re tickled to death that we’re able to do what we’re able to do and we’re just going to go out with our plan of being consistent and kick the old driver in the butt a little bit.”

RESPECT – Gaines has a profound respect for Nobile.

“It’s a pleasure to race Vince, win or lose, because the guy has got such a great attitude win or lose,” said Gaines. “He’s the first one over to the car when we got to the end to congratulate me. His dad is equally complimentary, it’s a pleasure to race those people and he’s going to win some of them and we’re going to win some of them. I hope we win more than he does.”

Seeing Nobile as a representative of the next crop of youthful drivers has Gaines excited about the future of Pro Stock.

“You can’t find a better young man who represents the sport,” said Gaines. “He has a positive attitude. The whole team, win or lose, they’ve got a positive attitude. They’re looking forward to doing great things and it’s just absolute pleasure.”

PART-TIME IS JUST FINE - Steve Kent doesn't race a full 24-race schedule and he's okay with it. 

Kent made his 2014 debut at the CARQUEST NHRA Nationals after sitting out the season opener in Pomona, Ca. due to business commitments. He earned a berth in Sunday's final eliminations despite admittedly having a little driver rust. The last event he competed in was the 2013 NHRA AAA Finals.



“I’m trying to get the rust outta my system, but everything is all good and well," said Kent, who ran a best 6.611 to qualify No. 14. "It feels good anytime you can be at the race track with the sun shining.”



Kent’s biggest challenge in racing is not behind the wheel of his Chevrolet Camaro, but rather in coordinating his many duties both in his thriving business and at home. He unapologetically calls this side of his life most important with racing third in his list of priorities.



"Too much to do at home,” Kent explained, "Handling employees and commitments are more important than racing a full time schedule. I just love coming out here when I can and doing what I can."

This is why Kent cherishes his time at the race track, and goes the extra mile to extract every ounce of fun he can from the experience. 

"I don’t know if it’s special to a lot of people, but it’s special to me," Kent explained. "I have a lot of things that come before racing. Racing is a big part of my life and my business, but first is first and racing is second.

“I don’t have to answer to anybody but the bill collectors and my wife so it all works out." - Michael Dennis

UM, THE ANSWER’S NO, KID – Reigning Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin said that when Dave Connolly came onto the NHRA scene in the Comp Eliminator class, then the Pro Stock mix, “I answered probably a thousand questions for the kid.”

They will meet each other in Sunday’s first round of eliminations for the Carquest Nationals at Phoenix. And if Connolly asks Coughlin if he thinks Connolly will win, the answer definitely will be no. “He and I have always gotten along really well -- until the motors fire up. Then it will be game time. It'll be good to turn on the win light there, for sure," Coughlin said.

He and his JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge crew discovered what was giving them problems Friday, and he came out Saturday with a pair of top-four passes to qualify 10th. "It felt as good as it has felt, honestly, since Pomona last year. That's a sign of good things to come," he said. "The whole team went through a pretty good effort last night and this morning to try to get the car a little bit happier.

"In a Pro Stock car, if you're going to make a mistake, you want to make it in the last foot and not the first foot,” Coughlin said. “Fortunately, they found some things that were wrong with the car, and the car felt much, much better [Saturday]. We know we've got power, we know we've got people, and we've got the greatest sponsors. It's all a matter of continuing to uncover it and making it shine on game day."

‘WHOOP, WHOOP, WHOOP’ & WORMY CARS – Despite a last-session pass that wasn’t perfect at all, Rodger Brogdon said he’ll have his ProtectTheHarvest.com Chevy Camaro ready for V Gaines in the first round Sunday. “The question is: Is he ready for me?" Brogdon asked with a chuckle. "No, we'll be ready. It'll be a good race. He went a little quicker than us in Q4, but we'll be all right."

Brogdon said he was “pretty happy” that he made four qualifying passes within .012-second of each other and will start eliminations from the No. 9 position. His best run was in 6.573 seconds at 209.98 mph.

"Everything is going in the right direction,” Brogdon said. “Any time you can get within two-hundredths of the fastest guy, the way our program is right now, you've got to be pleased."

His final pass (6.528, 210.80) was sixth-quickest that session and within .022 of a second of session leader Jason Line. But he said, “I could feel the tires in fourth gear go whoop, whoop, whoop. I thought, 'That's not too good. It's definitely not fast.' . . . We're looking for a good day tomorrow. The car's consistent, and the crew has been solid this weekend. No major issues for us, so we've been good."
 
As for the track surface Brogdon said it’s “about the same as it was before. It's been very consistent to what it's always been. There's been a bunch of cars wormy down the track."

PHILOSOPHER MORGAN - No. 13 Larry Morgan will meet Vincent Nobile in the opening round of eliminations, and that suits him just fine, he said. "I've beaten every one of them before," Morgan said of the others in the field of 16. "I'm OK with racing Vincent. I'd just as soon run him as anybody."

Nobile, who impressed with a fourth-place showing, probably can’t give Morgan as much trouble as his own Lucas Oil/MAVTV Ford Mustang has given him this weekend. In spite of it all, Morgan said he’s confident – even said, “We did well.”

Morgan struggled with the car during Friday's two qualifying sessions and was outside the qualified field, but after working on the tune-up, he recorded a top pass of 6.601 seconds at 209.23 mph in Saturday's Q3. "We were ninth-quickest in the first session today, and we knew there was a lot we could improve on. I'm just happy to get this Lucas Oil/Streamlight Ford in the program,” Morgan said.

 As he did his burnout in the final session, one of the bars on the wheelie-bar assembly sheared off, and he had to abort the run before he could stage the car. "It sheared off at the top by the sensor," Morgan said. "I've seen it before but not that often. I've seen it two times in my time."

Morgan said he was aiming to dip into the 6.58-second range. "We figured we'd run a .58," he said. "All we did was save gas, I guess."

WHO RACES WHOM? - Allen Johnson qualified in the top half of the field, same as Jason Line, and Greg Anderson still is mending from heart surgery. But the 2012 champion still has to face a KB/Summit driver in Sunday’s opening round: Anderson substitute Jimmy Alund. Top-seeded Chris McGaha will meet No. 16 Shane Tucker. Other match-ups are V Gaines vs. Rodger Brogdon, Vincent Nobile vs. Larry Morgan, Shane Gray vs. Greg Stanfield, Erica Enders-Stevens vs. Matt Hartford, Dave Connolly vs. Jeg Coughlin, and Line vs. Steve Kent. Missing the lineup were Paul Pittman and Deric Kramer.  

LINE NOT COUNTING CHICKENS, OR POINTS – Jason Line qualified third at Pomona and won the event. History is repeating itself, at least in the qualifying phase for Line.

Will he win a second straight time? Line won’t go that far, not even when he thinks about the No. 3 on his KB/Summit Chevy Camaro, the “3” that signifies his points finish from last season. All the points leader would say is “"It's been a good weekend so far.”

He earned six qualifying bonus points, points that can be crucial to a championship but he said, “It’s a little early to be counting bonus points for us. To be quite honest, I'm way more excited about the fact that I have a good race car and certainly a car that can win the race."

As he prepared to race Steve Kent in the first round Sunday, Line said, "The challenge tomorrow will be the same as it is every Sunday: to be mistake-free. To win right now, that's what it takes. We can do it, though – we did it last race, and we can do it again. There is definitely more left for us out there. We didn't get it all just yet, but we learned some things. All in all, I think we're in a good spot."

 

 

FRIDAY NOTEBOOK

TOP FUEL

KALITTA LEADER OF THE TOP FUEL PACK . . . AGAIN - Doug Kalitta continued to prove that a Top Fuel dragster can sit inside a race shop all winter in frigid Michigan, travel to the sunnier Southwest without any testing at all, and pick up where it left off.

With his provisional No. 1 qualifying effort Friday at the Carquest Auto Parts NHRA Nationals at Chandler, Ariz., the Mac Tools Dragster driver is on a mission to score his second top spot of the young Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season and his second straight at the former Firebird Raceway.

Kalitta seized the early No. 1 position with a 3.792-second elapsed time at 323.27 mph on the 1,000-foot course on freshly repaved and newly renamed Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. He returned in Friday’s evening session with a decidedly quicker, faster run – 3.735, 327.74 – that was just two-thousandths of a second slower than the track record he set last February.

“We’ve got a lot of history, coming here over the years,” he said after Friday’s activity. “It’s just great to be able to come out here and run good in front of all the Phoenix fans.”

He was quick to give credit to mechanical masterminds Jim Oberhofer and Troy Fasching.

“Everybody’s working hard on that thing,” Kalitta, the 2001 winner here, said. “Towards the end of last year, Jim and Troy just started to get a handle on [it]. I have to give credit to those guys. I’m not in there trying to help them tune that thing, so I can’t tell you exactly what they’ve been doing.”

He could tell one thing: “The car’s consistent.”

Indeed, it is.

The Mac Tools Dragster has been on a roll since last Sept. 22. That’s the day Kalitta won at the Texas Motorplex, near Dallas, and took the points lead for the first and only time in 2013. But he was runner-up at the season finale and runner-up in the final standings. He came out just as strong, leading the field at the Circle K Winternationals two weeks ago and advancing to the final round.

So the decision not to test in January in South Florida with the rest of the cream of the nitro-class crop certainly hasn’t hurt the Mac Tools team.
 
So the Kalitta Motorsports gamble is paying off – and not just for Doug Kalitta. His teammate, Dave Grubnic, was one of just five Top Fuel racers to post a 3.7-second E.T. Friday. Grubnic is solidly in the field, tentatively fourth with two Saturday sessions to go before the field is set for Sunday’s eliminations.

The organization’s two Funny Cars – with drivers Alexis DeJoria and Del Worsham – did test at Jupiter, Fla., and Kalitta said the Top Fuel duo benefits from their data and feedback.

“Everybody’s feeding off one another. That’s the thing about our four teams,” he said. “It’s kind of an open book. Everybody’s kind of working together, trying to make one another look good.”

Kalitta also gave credit to the new ownership, who invested a half-million dollars in the racing surface during the offseason.

“Obviously it takes good facilities to be able to do that. It looks like they’ve done a great job on the track here. So . . . appreciate it,” he said, grateful for the 541-feet stretch of new concrete that made Bill Schneider, the dragstrip’s events manager, say, “From an old drag racer’s standpoint, it makes me want to bend over and kiss it. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

He wouldn’t get an argument from Doug Kalitta.

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SUSHI: GOLD AND SILVER - Khalid alBalooshi is thoroughly enjoying his time as the Top Fuel points leader.

“This is something new for me. It is the first time I am the points leader, and that is what I thought about when I flew back to Dubai with my trophy after Pomona,” he said. “I was very excited to be back in Dubai to be able to enjoy the win with my family and friends. I put the trophy in my speed shop. I think this trophy is special, because it is the first NHRA Top Fuel trophy that I put in my speed shop. The trophies from my other two wins are in my home in California.”

He thanked “everyone on the Al-Anabi team for his help in making this [Winternationals] win happen,” alBalooshi said. And to prove he wasn’t just talking the talk, he said this week he had hoped to arrive in Phoenix in time to treat his team: “If I leave Los Angeles early Thursday morning, I will be in Phoenix in time to take my whole crew out for dinner or something the night before the race.  That will be fun for everybody.”

AlBalooshi kept his promise. He treated the entire Al-Anabi Racing team – his crew and teammate Langdon’s, as well – to dinner Thursday night at a sushi restaurant.

“I am very excited for this race,” he said. “I am looking forward to seeing my name on ESPN – Khalid alBalooshi, points leader.  This has never happened before, so I am excited about being in this position. It is way different for me. I have raced Top Fuel for three years, and this is the first time I have been the points leader, so now let’s see if I can stay in it.

“Our team is going in the right direction. If I watch what we did in the first year, the second year, I think this is the way to go.  I think we are in a good position now.  To stay in this position, I want to try to do the best that I can do in the car.  I know Jason (crew chief Jason McCulloch) is going to do his best and all my crew will do his best,” al Balooshi said.

THAT'S GONNA LEAVE A MARK - Scott Palmer broke an intake adjuster and this was the end result.

MOVIN’ ON UP - Steve Torrence recorded his career-quickest pass in Friday’s second session – 3.758 seconds at 321.96 mph – to jump from the No. 11 spot to the No. 2 position. If he can hold that through two Saturday qualifying chances for the field, the Capco/Torrence Racing owner-driver will have an improved start from his No. 6 showing at Pomona.

HERE COMES BROWN - Antron Brown didn’t get to race at this facility as a Pro Stock Motorcycle rider, but he made up for that by winning in the Top Fuel class in 2009 and 2012 in his Matco Tools Dragster. He stumbled a bit out of the gate here this weekend, landing in the 12th position with a 6.099-second pass at 105.44 mph in his first go on the newly paved track. He improved vastly in his second shot at it, jumping to the tentative No. 5 slot at 3.793, 316.75.

"It wasn't the run we wanted right out of the gate, but we learned from it and improved on the last one," Brown said. “It felt good going down the racetrack. I'm amped up, pumped up for tomorrow. Kalitta [No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta] put a good run down out there, and now we know what we have to shoot for. We'll get after it with our Matco Tools car.”

LIKES TRACK – AND HER NUMBERS - Castrol EDGE Dragster driver Brittany Force said she approached this second race of her sophomore season “doing my same routine.” But immediately she got even better results. She was No. 8 qualifier at Pomona, but already in one session at Phoenix, she was No. 2. Force and Doug Kalitta were the only racers to start in the 320-mph range. She was coming off a career-best 3.77-second pass at the Winternationals and was just a bit slower early Friday  at 3.839 at 320.74 mph. By the time she got back to the starting line Friday, she was seventh, and that’s where she stayed overnight, with a slightly quicker 3.814-second E.T.

“I’m glad to be back out here at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” she said. “We ran our first qualifying pass and it was great to be able to end up No. 2. Courtney was also No. 2, so it was kind of cool for us to have that status both at the same time. We were both No.1 for a little while, but got bumped down by the end of the first session.”

The tiny improvement, she said, excited crew chief Todd Smith and her team. “We are comfortable in the number seven spot. I’m excited to see what we can do tomorrow,” Force said, “because right now we are in a good spot but still have two shots to improve.”

As for the new racing surface, she said, “I think this racetrack getting a whole new makeover is awesome. It was exactly what it needed. The track is supposed to be smoother and better, and I can’t complain, because it has been really good to us so far. It’s a beautiful track, and we’re glad to be out here racing on it.”

WHAT? ME WORRY? - Tony Schumacher is sticking to his “I'm not worried – this team thrives on adversity” motto. But while losing in the first round at the Winternationals for the first time since 2007 might not have put him in a panic, it certainly got his attention. And it warranted a testing stop at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway right after the Southern California season-opener for his U.S. Army team.

“We learned a lot,” Schumacher, the 2013 Phoenix winner, said. “Our qualifying will improve at Phoenix, because it can’t be the way it was at Pomona. We can’t end up qualified that way (10th) and expect to win. We put ourselves in that spot. We need to go fast right off the get-go instead of catching up. [Crew chief] Mike Green knows what he’s doing. We have a great plan, and we’re getting there.”

Schumacher has won more times at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park (four times: 2000, 2002, 2005, 2013) than any other Top Fuel racer. “We set the speed record there last year and won the title,” he said.  “We’ve always done well there and expect our plan to take a big step forward this year.”

If Friday’s steps were considered forward, they were baby steps. So far he fell from seventh place in the first qualifying session (at 4.091 seconds, 216.86 mph) to 11th place (7.129, 87.84) after smoking his tires in the second session. A master of last-minute heroics, Schumacher is aiming for better performance in Saturday’s two qualifying opportunities. He said, “Mike has a plan that I know will work, and you don't change the plan when there are 23 events left in the season.”

SOME ADJUSTMENT NEEDED - Spencer Massey said before arriving at Chandler, Ariz., that he “heard great things about the changes they’ve made in Phoenix. But we won't really know until we get there and make our first lap. It could be an interesting challenge for the teams and the crew chiefs on what calls to make. We'll just go out there and see how it does and adjust from there."

His crew chiefs, Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara, had a bit of adjusting to do, all right, after the opening day. Massey, who came into this event tied with fellow Texan Steve Torrence for third because of a semifinal finish at Pomona in the season kickoff, smoked the tires on the Battery Extender Dragster in both sessions. That put him 15th of 16 racers with Saturday’s two chances remaining. Winternationals winner and points leader Khalid alBalooshi also had to dig out of the 15th spot after the opening session. But the Al-Anabi Dragster driver improved only one position in the night session, to 14th.

FUNNY CAR

A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH - John Force did not lose a step in the off-season and he hasn’t slowed down with an off-week after his season opening win at the Circle K NHRA Winternationals. He established the track elapsed time and speed record at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park with his Friday afternoon run of 3.990 seconds at 317.79 mph.

“I am excited. I love this sport," said Force. "I came here in 1985 at the first national event. I was learning how to drive, and our NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart was learning how to announce. I match raced here almost ten years before that. I know this race track but so does Jimmy Prock. They gave us a good surface and a good race track. NHRA prepped it right, and we are going to try and keep giving these fans a show,” said Force, the provisional No. 1 qualifier.

The last time Force reached the winner’s circle in Phoenix was 2005.

“We thought it was going to go on the first run and it got loose out there. We watched Robert Hight and Mike Neff run that 4.03 in that Auto Club Ford, so we knew it was there. We also wanted to make sure we got it in tonight. I think Jimmy had it pulled back just a bit, but it ran just as smooth as can be,” said Force. “It probably could have run a little quicker. I am excited. I want to thank the investors that are reinvesting in our sport. We need good people like that, and I want to thank them. That is why we need to bring the fans in here and we have to run 3.90s and we have to give them a show. It is starting to cool down, so that is why you are seeing these big numbers.”

If Force’ elapsed time holds the top spot through Saturday it will be the fifth straight race for Force to be No. 1. The last time he started No. 1 at five straight races was in his Driver of the Year season in 1996.  His personal record for consecutive No. 1 starts is six in 1994.  He's started from No. 1 at the first two races of the season just twice, once in 1999 and again in 2002.

GONE FISHING - What does a Funny Car racer do for a diversionary adrenaline rush? If you're Matt Hagan the thrill away from the track comes from casting line with a rod and reel, and these experiences usually come the day before suiting-up to drive a 10,000-horsepower Funny Car.

"It’s a tough, tough life us drag racers live and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody," Hagan said sarcastically.  "It’s just great to get out and get away."

Hagan's fishing partner is usually noted motorsports photographer Mark Rebilas. 

"He's a good dude and good friend and always putting me into some good fishing spots," Hagan said. "He’s got a little place down here and we just go find a place to wet the line and had a great time yesterday. Caught a lot of fish and got a little burned up. I’m not used to this sun out here but it’s all good."

Hagan went to the top of the qualifying list in Friday's first session with a 4.091 but in the quick second session dropped to ninth before he ran. When teammate Jack Beckman ran a 4.05, Hagan dropped to tenth.

OFF TO A GOOD START - Courtney Force began the weekend with big numbers. This is a memorable track for her as she got her first win against her dad here and went to the first semifinal round of her career during her rookie season.

“I’m so excited to be back here in Phoenix at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. I want to thank the staff and everyone out here at this track who put in a ton of hard work over the off-season and got the facility ready to host the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals this weekend. The track has been good to us so far and we really appreciate all of the improvements,” said Force.

Force ran strong early with a 4.096 elapsed at over 304 mph, a run which led the first Funny Car session until the final pair.

“We ran good out of the box today with a 4.09 and that put us in the No. 2 spot at the end of the first session. It was a lot of fun being in the No. 2 spot for a while with my sister Brittany, who was in the No. 2 spot in the Top Fuel category. I think that was pretty exciting for both of us,” said Force.

Force smoked the tires in the final session.

“We made some changes on the car after the Winternationals at Pomona. We didn’t do as well as we had wanted there so coming here we wanted to try some new things. It didn’t work so well for us in Q2, but tomorrow is a new day with two more qualifying shots and we’re going to see what kind of numbers we can put down,” said Force.

FINDING HER GROOVE - One race after nailing the first three-second run by a female driver, Alexis DeJoria rebounded in Phoenix to jump into the top half of the field with a 4.048, 309 pass. DeJoria thundered to the fourth quickest pass of the opening session with a 4.109.

“I think starting off the year with a new look has been received very well by the fans and by our peers,” DeJoria said. “We’re all loving the black and purple look of the Patron XO Café brand. It’s kind of funny because in the racing world, some people believe that green is a bad luck color. We’re happy to start the new season with a fresh new look.”

 

THE DREAM GIG – Tommy Johnson Jr. visited the place where dreams come true for special children.

Johnson, who drives the “Make-a-Wish Foundation” Funny Car, visited the charity’s headquarters in the days leading up to the NHRA CARQUEST Nationals.

"It was a neat experience," Johnson said. "To see how enthused they are about the program we’ve got for them and to see how behind the program they are getting. They’ve fallen in love with drag racing. To be able to go there and to kind of show them what we’re doing so they have an understanding of it. To meet all the people behind the scenes and to see what a first class organization it is was a neat experience for me."

The biggest lesson Johnson learned was gaining a better understanding of what the organization does.

"Probably have to be what incredible things they do for kids that have a life threatening illness and how focused they are on the kids and how they can make it better for them," Johnson said. "It’s a way bigger organization and what they do is what they do is way bigger than what I expected."

UNLIKE POMONA - Tim Wilkerson struggled to find any kind of success two weeks ago in Pomona and battled hard to simply get in the show. The goal in Phoenix was to get off on the right foot and put some good numbers on the board during Friday's sessions. .

Wilkerson first ran a 4.143, good enough for the No. 5 spot after the first session. He returned in the evening session with a 4.066 second pass to retain the fifth spot.

"I'm happy we were able to do that, and I'm happy the car did what I wanted it to do and put two good runs on the board to give us some breathing room, but I'm mostly happy for my guys," Wilk said. "They work so hard and they want it so bad, but Pomona was a tough way to start the season and you don't want to see long faces after just one race. I told them right away that we learned some good valuable stuff with each run there, so they should focus on that and not the numbers.

"We did learn a lot, and we brought it with us. It's amazing how such tiny little stuff can make your race car go from being almost hopeless to right in the thick of things, too. We're talking about some minuscule changes, nothing major, but it all added up to really bringing the car around. We'll see what kind of fun we can have tomorrow, and hopefully we'll go into Sunday in the top half. That would be a strong accomplishment with the field of cars we have in this class, but I know we're capable of it."

FIRST TIME UNDER THE SUN - Ron Capps, driver of the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge, holds the No. 8 spot after the first day of qualifying.

Capps lost his 4-year-old track elapsed time record to John Force who ran a 3.990.

"This is the first time this year we've been able to run with the sun out like this and with it so warm (mid 70s) so Rahn and the NAPA Dodge boys got it dialed in," said Capps, who owns three Funny Car titles at the track.

"The track was good. I heard some of the Pro Stock drivers felt some bumps when they tested here a few weeks ago, but they must have worked them out because I didn't feel any."

PRO STOCK

ANOTHER NO. 1 – The last time Chris McGaha qualified No. 1, he was a Junior Dragster racer. And then, he admits, he gained the pole position by having the quicker reaction time.

Friday was a different story as the Odessa, Tex.-based Pro Stock driver ran a 6.530 elapsed time at 210.60 miles per hour.

“I am beyond excited right now,” McGaha said.  

McGaha purchased the assets of Mike Edwards Motorsports, including the Chevrolet Camaro the former champion drove to 15 pole positions in 2013. Additionally, McGaha added Edwards’ longtime crew chief Alan Lindsey as well as past NHRA champion Jim Yates as tuners.

McGaha believes his investments are well worth it.

“It’s worth it now,” said McGaha with a smile. “I’ve had, over the years, different people tell me you have to have this and you need that to go fast. Now here it is and obviously I have it all. There was nothing left and I pretty much bought all of the good stuff.”

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT - Shane Gray knew he needed to make a statement in 2014. This is why the Charter Communications-sponsored driver committed every ounce of energy and a large amount of resources into testing during the off-season.  



"It was an exciting start to the year," said Gray, who qualified in the top half of the field and reached the semifinals in Pomona. "Heck, we're always excited to start the year. We worked real hard over the winter, and we were ready. Now we have our feet beneath us.  



"I'm not going to get too vocal just yet about it, but I think we have a good shot at a lot of success this year. We have all the parts and pieces and people in place; everything has been handed to us. It's all here; 'Here you go, boys. Show us what you can do with it.' I'm excited to show what we can do, especially with this Charter Communications Chevrolet Camaro. I think we've got a great team, and I think Phoenix has every chance of being a breakthrough race for Gray Motorsports."

GOOD DAY MATE - Australian Native Shane Tucker smiles when asked about his first U.S. race two weeks ago. Never mind that he qualified No. 16 after making only one full pass out of four, and at one time catching fire while backing up from a burnout. Just getting to play the game on the biggest stage of the drag racing world is sufficient for now.



"We were pretty happy," said Tucker. "Obviously Pro Stock’s rated as maybe the toughest drag racing class. For us to come out and qualify the first race I think that was a pretty good achievement. We would have liked to have gone some rounds but that’s just the nature of it. We’re racers and we want to go out there and win the race. So I was pretty happy with how it all went. Everything went relatively smoothly.

"There were a couple of issues there that maybe a few teething problems but hey, that’s racing, and you’ve just got to pick your head up and move on. There’s no point crying about it; you’ve just got to move on."

Tucker, after initially announcing he would have his engines built in-house by his father Rob Tucker, is racing this weekend with power from Shane Gray's Gray Motorsports.



THE IMMIGRANT SONG - Eight-time FIA European Pro Stock champion Jimmy Alund made his debut as a pinch-hitter for four-time champion Greg Anderson two weeks ago at the Circle A NHRA Winternationals at Pomona.

"From my end, I think everything went really smooth and good," said Alund, who qualified tenth and dropped a tough match to Shane Gray in the first round. "I'm really happy to be with the team, and it's a big privilege to be there. We all work well together, and it feels like I blended right in.
 
"I hope it's not just me that thinks that," he joked.
 
Though he is new to the team, Alund did log some practice time at Wild Horse Motorsports Park and its new racing surface.
 
"It definitely feels more comfortable that we have been there to Phoenix already and made several runs down the racetrack," said Alund. "The comfort will be a lot bigger than it was at Pomona for me, so surely that is going to help.

AN IMPORTANT ROUND WIN - Larry Morgan scored more than a first round victory when he advanced to the second round at Pomona.

Morgan is out to prove a lesser-funded Pro Stock operation can still compete against the financial giants. Beating past series champion Allen Johnson in the first round of Pomona only emphasized his point.

"We want to win as many rounds as we can and try to win the championship," Morgan said. "That's our goal. If that's not the goal every week, why even come?"