SAME DAY COVERAGE
Summit Racing.com Nationals
Las Vegas, Nevada
By Susan Wade and Bobby Bennett; Photos by Roger Richards & Frank Smith

• NHRA POWERade Series
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Las Vegas Wrap-up

Many NHRA Drivers Will Try Luck In Bristol Instead

(4-20-2005) - Brandon Bernstein stood atop Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort last year and looked out over the dazzling lights of the opulent city in the desert and said, "This place makes me giddy." It only made him frustrated last weekend at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals.

He qualified seventh and made it past tough first-round opponent Scott Kalitta. But he lost to eventual winner Larry Dixon in the next round and headed to Bristol a disappointing ninth in the Top Fuel standings.

He said the Budweiser/Lucas Oil team is ready to head for the hills -- of Tennessee, where he won Thunder Valley Nationals in 2003 at Bristol Dragway as a rookie.

He said his Tim Richards-led crew "saw real progress in performance" at Las Vegas, where he was quickest of the last qualifying session and had low elapsed time of Round 1. "Now we have to work on consistency," he said.

Competition Plus' staff of Bobby Bennett, Matthew Brammer and Roger Richards will be at Bristol to see if Bernstein's fortunes change. But the semi-annual 330-mph crapshoot at Las Vegas is over, and here's where the chips fell:

Biggest Winner of the Weekend: Larry Dixon moved up four places in the championship chase, won for the first time this year, gave boss Don Prudhomme his milestone victory, and got that winning feeling back -- a lot of work and accomplishment for one weekend. We didn't see him sporting the Elvis look in the winners circle this time, but he can't help falling in love with this track, where he won twice in 2002, this event in 2003, and again in Race 5 of 2005.

Biggest Loser of the Weekend: (tie) Funny Car drivers Eric Medlen and Del Worsham each had a turn of luck in Las Vegas. Medlen's erratic Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang had little to give in qualifying and left him with his worst start of his Funny Car career -- 16th and last place. (His worst position in the order last year came in this event.) With a first-round loss to No. 1 Gary Scelzi, Medlen slipped three places in the standings to No 9. "With all the problems we had, just to qualify was an accomplishment," Medlen said. He made his first runs there in 2003, made an impressive debut in testing there last year, and barely made it out still in the top 10 this time. Las Vegas is no respecter of sentiment. Worsham got a little too aggressive in Friday night qualifying, which with the heat was his best chance to fight for the top spot in his Checker-Schuck's-Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo. He started out sixth in the order, fell to 14th, moved up to 12th and settled back in at 14th and lost to Tim Wilkerson in Round 1. In the standings, he dropped back to 10th -- nine spots below where he was this time last year, when he was putting together the best championship charge of his career. He left the gambling mecca feeling used up, just like millions before him.

The "Media Can Stop Bugging Me" Award: Don Prudhomme

The Snake gathered his 100th NHRA victory in his combined driver-owner career. He began the season with 98, and Tommy Johnson Jr. pushed him to 99 by winning Winternationals in the Skoal Chevy Camaro. Larry Dixon's victory at Las Vegas in the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster made Prudhomme the third in NHRA history to hit the mark (after John Force and Warren Johnson).

The "Saying Good-bye To An Old Friend" Award: Dave Connolly

Connolly retired his Bullet Motorsports Chevy Cavalier after the Las Vegas race. It has carried him to five victories in the last 13 races, dating back to the Brainerd 2004 event, and six runner-up finishes since the Phoenix race last February. GM's new Cobalt will replace the Cavalier at the upcoming race at Bristol, Tenn. "This was a fun way to go out with it," Connolly said. "The shame is we have to put a cover on that car."

The "You've Come A Long Way, Baby!" Award: Tony Bartone

The Funny Car runner-up made the first final-round appearance of his Funny Car career. Driving Jim Dunn's Got CMKX?/Lucas Oil Chevy Monte Carlo, Bartone upset Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round, won handily in Round 2 as Tim Wilkerson's parachutes accidentally deployed just after the launch, and beat Ron Capps in the semifinal. He had lane choice over Whit Bazemore, and his team changed lanes before the run. Dunn said, "We chose the left lane for the final because there are not as many bumps in it. Bazemore wanted the left lane and we could get down either side, so we took the left lane and let them have the one they didn't want." Bazemore took the narrow victory with a 4.976-second elapsed time at 315.12 mph to Bartone's 4.983/303.23.

The "What The --?!" Award: Tim Wilkerson

Wilkerson had his best start since he was top qualifer at Brainerd, Minn., last August. He got past Worsham but almost didn't, then gave one away to Tony Bartone because his parachutes popped out immediately. That had happened to him once before at Pomona but it killed his best chance to win for the first time since the Sonoma race, also last August. "We've scheduled several test sessions in the upcoming weeks. If we don't get this Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car to behave soon, we'll have to use those testing dates to figure out what mischief she's up to," Wilkerson said. He had said he wanted to get his Funny Car headed in the right direction for his own sanity, if nothing else. Better schedule a counseling session, Tim.

The "What Were You Thinking?" Award: Chuck Worsham

Team Checker Schuck's Kragen driver Phil Burkart has been running a Toyota body on his Funny Car to help Jerry Toliver keep his contractual obligations to the manufacturer. But the engine exploded during his Friday night qualifying run and detonated the Celica body. His crew replaced it for the rest of the weekend with the Chevy Monte Carlo body it had sitting around. But team owner Chuck Worsham instructed, or at least allowed, the crew to affix Toyota decals to the Monte Carlo. Hmmm . . . Wonder why GM representatives were less than enthusiastic.

The "Mission Getting Accomplished" Award: Mike Edwards

For every round of competition that Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards wins, he plans to donate money to send one youngster to a Young Life camp. The seven-day camp costs $394 and the five-day session $281. Through the first five races of the season, the "Team on a Mission" project has sent a total of three kids to a Young Life camp. Edwards has gained some support for the remainder of the 2005 season. Fellow Pro Stock drivers Jim Yates, Ron Krisher, and V. Gaines have committed to the program, along with Pro Stock team owner Victor Cagnazzi. Edwards said, "With the additional assistance of these drivers and team owners, I know that many more kids will get the chance to experience the best week of their lives at one of the awesome Young Life camping facilities around the country." He and his team still are challenging any corporation or race team to match his team's donation or develop a similar program.

The "Don't Feel Too Sorry For Him" Award: Tony Schumacher

Tony Schumacher didn't make the Top Fuel field until Saturday afternoon and couldn't rely on his final qualifying chance that evening to improve his position in the order. So he started 13th. Two races ago, in Gainesville, he was unable to qualify until the final session. Larry Dixon was Top Fuel winner at Las Vegas, moving up four places in the standings to No. 3. He's only eight points behind No. 2 Doug Kalitta and 68 off the lead of Schumacher, who retained his lead with help of a semifinal finish. Asked about taking advantage of Schumacher's struggles, Dixon indicated he didn't think Schumacher was having tough times. "We've had five races," Dixon said, "and he's won two of them."

The "Family Falters" Award: The Johnson Family

This is the first national event of 2005 without a member of a Johnson family in the winners circle. At Pomona, it was Funny Car's Tommy Johnson, at Phoenix Pro Stock's Allen Johnson, at Gainesville Pro Stock Motorcycle's Steve Johnson, and at Houston Warren Johnson. WJ was the only driver with the surname "Johnson" to last past the first round in any class, as he made it to the Pro Stock semifinals.

SUNDAY - DIXON PASSES GARLITS, WINS 100TH FOR TEAM OWNER PRUDHOMME; Bazemore, Connolly also pick up wins at NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals

(4-17-2005) – Larry Dixon moved into sole possession of third place on the all-time career Top Fuel wins list Sunday by winning the sixth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Dixon’s 36th career win (Joe Amato tops the all-time wins list with 52, Kenny Bernstein has 39) in his Miller Lite dragster moved him clear of drag racing legend Don Garlits (35 wins). It was also noteworthy for team owner Don Prudhomme, who claimed his 100th NHRA victory.

“I think it’s way cool to get 100 wins for Snake (Prudhomme),” Dixon said. “I (remember) he had like 30-something wins and he was still racking them up. To be here now talking about 100 wins for Snake makes me feel very old all of a sudden.”

Prudhomme had 49 wins as a driver (35 Funny Car, 14 Top Fuel) and now has 51 as a team owner.

“One-hundred is great, it’s wonderful, but it’s not like we’re going to retire,” Prudhomme said. “How much longer are we going to keep doing this? Until hell freezes over.”

Dixon was the No. 2 qualifier and he turned in a 4.591-second pass at 326.40 mph in the final round to earn the win over No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta in his Mac Tools dragster.

The other winners at the $1.8 million race were Whit Bazemore in Funny Car and 22-year-old Dave Connolly in Pro Stock, each of whom became the first repeat winner in his respective category this season.

Bazemore nosed out first-time finalist Tony Bartone by powering his Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus to a pass of 4.976 at 315.12 mph for his 19th career win.

“I didn’t really feel any pressure today because I was under so much yesterday that I think I used it all up,” said Bazemore, who didn’t qualify for the race until his final qualifying run Saturday. “I was thinking that even if we lost in the first round we were still 20 points better than it looked like it was going to be. I have to admit, I was really nervous yesterday afternoon.”

It was the second win of the 2005 season for Bazemore (401 points) and it moved him ahead of John Force (340) after the fifth of 23 events on the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

“I watched (teammate Ron) Capps take out (John) Force in the first round right in front of me and I knew we had a tremendous opportunity in front of us,” he said. “It was hard to focus. But the guys came through and we managed to take out a great-running car in the final.”
Connolly (428), who supplanted Warren Johnson (419) atop the Pro Stock point standings, ended Greg Anderson’s four-event and 19-round win streak in Las Vegas by turning in a 6.879 pass at 201.46 in his Bullet Motorsports Chevy Cavalier. It’s the fourth time in his five career wins that Connolly has beaten Anderson.

“It seems like Greg’s always over there in the other lane,” Connolly said of Anderson, the two-time defending Pro Stock champion. “To outrun him in a final round says a lot because that’s a great team over there. He’s the champ and the guy we’re all chasing. But I guess he didn’t scare us all away over the winter. We just went to work.”

The series now moves to Bristol, Tenn. For the fifth annual O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, which will be held April 29 to May 1.

Final round-by-round results from the Sixth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- David Grubnic, 4.598, 327.19 def. Morgan Lucas, 8.626, 88.50; Jack Beckman, 5.060, 221.56 def. Ben Marshall, 5.087, 220.51; Cory McClenathan, 4.599, 326.16 def. Scott Weis, 4.650, 310.34; Tony Schumacher, 4.609, 323.66 def. Rod Fuller, 22.029, 28.98; Doug Herbert, 4.679, 323.12 def. David Baca, 6.789, 124.22; Brandon Bernstein, 4.584, 326.87 def. Scott Kalitta, 6.129, 151.54; Larry Dixon, 4.618, 326.48 def. Mike Strasburg, 9.153, 92.70; Doug Kalitta, 4.639, 322.81 def. Scott Palmer, 14.790, 80.89;

QUARTERFINALS -- D. Kalitta, 4.667, 316.82 def. Beckman, broke; Schumacher, 4.590, 325.69 def. Herbert, 4.695, 311.34; Dixon, 4.657, 318.62 def. Bernstein, 4.809, 264.18; Grubnic, 4.623, 327.27 def. McClenathan, 5.011, 277.54;

SEMIFINALS -- Dixon, 4.742, 303.09 def. Grubnic, 5.658, 168.47; D. Kalitta, 4.789, 300.00 def. Schumacher, 5.248, 257.63;

FINAL -- Dixon, 4.591, 326.40 def. D. Kalitta, 4.648, 319.52.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.917, 319.82 def. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.977, 312.13; Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.884, 320.89 def. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 6.447, 143.03; Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus, 4.951, 302.48 def. John Force, Mustang, 5.709, 186.79; Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.936, 317.27 def. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 5.597, 203.49; Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 4.931, 320.36 def. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 6.018, 172.14; Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 5.071, 290.44 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 6.939, 130.86; Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 4.968, 307.86 def. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 5.023, 303.91; Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.979, 302.48 def. Jeff Arend, Monte Carlo, 5.021, 306.88;

QUARTERFINALS -- Bartone, 5.364, 222.80 def. Wilkerson, 8.005, 96.22; Capps, 5.024, 308.35 def. Gilbertson, 5.034, 306.95; Bazemore, 5.305, 275.90 def. Hight, 7.911, 108.77; C. Pedregon, 5.006, 277.03 def. Scelzi, 4.995, 312.86;

SEMIFINALS -- Bartone, 4.928, 307.09 def. Capps, 4.963, 305.91; Bazemore, 5.089, 302.35 def. C. Pedregon, 5.113, 303.78;

FINAL -- Bazemore, 4.976, 315.12 def. Bartone, 4.983, 303.23.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.886, 200.50 def. Mike Edwards, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.896, 199.85; Dave Connolly, Chevy Cavalier, 6.869, 201.19 def. Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.893, 200.59; Greg Stanfield, Cavalier, 6.885, 200.71 def. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.908, 200.00; Jeg Coughlin, Stratus, 6.885, 201.31 def. Jim Yates, Grand Am, 6.890, 200.17; Kurt Johnson, Cavalier, 6.871, 201.07 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.882, 200.05; Warren Johnson, Grand Am, 6.874, 200.98 def. Bruce Allen, Grand Am, 8.629, 108.05; Ron Krisher, Cavalier, 6.882, 200.89 def. Rickie Smith, Cavalier, 6.894, 200.23; Greg Anderson, Grand Am, 6.889, 200.92 def. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.940, 200.92;

QUARTERFINALS -- Anderson, 6.904, 200.44 def. Coughlin, 7.007, 200.23; Stanfield, 6.934, 199.55 def. Krisher, 6.992, 199.91; Connolly, 6.874, 201.34 def. K. Johnson, 6.920, 200.92; W. Johnson, 6.874, 200.86 def. Gaines, 6.898, 200.32;

SEMIFINALS -- Anderson, 6.915, 200.59 def. W. Johnson, 6.880, 201.37; Connolly, 6.874, 201.46 def. Stanfield, 6.930, 200.44;

FINAL -- Connolly, 6.879, 201.46 def. Anderson, 6.955, 200.77.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

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SUNDAY NOTES - Snake's Century, starting line games, lane swap tango, and third body is the charm for Hight

(4-17-2005) - Snake, La Haie reminisce -- Don Prudhomme is a bottom-line kind of guy. That, combined with a waggish bit of nonchalance, made him seem not to care much that with Larry Dixon's Top Fuel victory, he had become the third driver-owner to achieve 100 victories.

John Force has the most with 152, counting the victories of Tony Pedregon, Gary Densham, Eric Medlen, and Robert Hight. Warren Johnson ranks second on the list with 121, including 28 by son Kurt.

Prudhomme's reaction was to say, "One hundred's great, but it doesn't pay anything. It's not like I'm going to retire."

"Wait a minute!" Dick La Haie, the Miller Lite Dragster crew chief, said in mock surprise. "You mean I don't get a bonus?"

The two launched into a classic dialogue worthy of some celebrity roast, swapping tales and reminiscing about their own days as drivers. They also had a few barbs for Don Garlits, their former on-track rival and the man they acknowledge for being named NHRA's top driver of all time. Dixon, whose victory Sunday pushed him past Garlits on NHRA's Top Fuel career victories list, sat away from center stage. He listened happily to them banter, like a kid hearing his dad's adventure stories.

La Haie, for instance, retold the story about the day Prudhomme asked him to come to work for him as crew chief. La Haie told Prudhomme, "It won't work. I never really liked you." Prudhomme shot back, "I never really liked you, either."

Said La Haie, "I used to carry two packs of cigarettes, one Winston, one Salem." Nodding to Prudhomme, he said, "This cheap a------ would never buy his own. He used to bum them from me."

"I just did it to irritate you," Prudhomme said.

"I'm sure you did," La Haie said.

In the end, La Haie conceded that he and the man folks call "The Snake" get along better than they imagined because "we have a lot of the same quirks."

They showed a mutual respect, and each put Garlits' feats in perspective.

"Gar is The Man," Prudhomme said. "We didn't like the son of a bitch. We were competing with each other when the sport was nothing."

"Yeah," La Haie said, "we wanted to beat him, even when we match-raced. He was just so intense, so serious. Yeah, we hated him."

They laughed like a couple of fraternity brothers.

Said Dixon, "They were fighting for the same table scraps."

Then Dixon said lining up his 36 victories next to Garlits' 35 is "not a fair comparison. I've probably got 200 more starts. He's still the No. 1 guy. When they had the 50th anniversary poll and Garlits was picked No. 1, Larry Dixon wasn't even the top 50."

Prudhomme added, "In Garlits' day, we had something like seven national events. It's like comparing Joe Louis to Muhammad Ali."

Prudhomme nudged La Haie and said that if they had had 23 events back when they were battling Garlits, they would've blown everybody away. La Haie indicated those days certainly are different from modern ones, because today he never would drive a Top Fuel car. "I wouldn't even do a burnout."

However, La Haie did say, "This is my 48th year of doing this stuff. It's addictive."

Prudhomme, pleasantly surprised when his former driver Ron Capps came up and shook his hand in congratulations, said he wanted to dedicate the accomplishment to La Haie. The crew chief said, "I'm just one spoke in the wheel. It all has to jell or nothing happens."

La Haie said for all the war stories, he knows Prudhomme and he are a good fit and that he feels valued for the expertise he brought to the team. He said he and his wife went to dinner one night at Christmastime and when they returned home they discovered a new John Deere tractor in their driveway. Turns out it was a gift from Prudhomme, who figured La Haie would like to have one.

Ultimately, he said of the achievement, "We don't mean to make light of it. We're thrilled."

Bazemore has 'tough' day winning -- Funny Car winner Whit Bazemore said he and his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus team "didn't know what to expect" from final-round foe Tony Bartone.

After all, Bartone, a fourth-year nitro Funny Car driver, never had been to a final round and was 4-30 in eliminations rounds coming into this event. The driver of Jim Dunn's K&N Filters Chevy Monte Carlo upset Tommy Johnson Jr. in the first round, won handily in Round 2 as Tim Wilkerson's parachutes accidentally deployed just after the launch, and beat Ron Capps in the semifinal.

Bazemore noted that Capps and Gary Scelzi, his Don Schumacher Racing teammates, eliminated points leader John Force and Ford Mustang teammate Eric Medlen in the opening round, and he knocked off Robert Hight -- Force's third driver -- in Round 2. "I've already asked Don Schumacher to take his team out to dinner for us."

Bazemore, Funny Car's first two-time winner this year, said, "All of our cars aren't as consistent as we like them to be, but . . . they're going rounds and winning races. We're kind of pinching ourselves. We don't know if we deserve to have a 61-point lead over John Force."

Most of the Schumacher team struggled in qualifying, although Scelzi was No.1. "We were in the same situation at Gainesville," he said, referring to his eventual victory at the Gatornationals. "For some reason I felt better there. I was really worried last night. The car was smoking the tires for some reason and was not responding to Lee's (crew chief Beard's) input. This morning I felt no pressure at all, because all the pressure was yesterday."

He said the victory over Hight was "probably the most crucial round of the day. We had to put them on the trailer. The track was tricky. It was a tough, tough day today."

Hey, baby! -- Bazemore became a father on his own birthday, March 12. After son Dashiell arrived, so have two triumphs for Bazemore and the Matco Tools Dodge Stratus team. "If I had known it was that easy, I'd have had kids 20 years ago," Bazemore said. He said wife Michelle "is a good luck charm. When we got engaged, we won Indy."

Retired in style -- Pro Stock winner Dave Connolly, who defeated first-time-finalist-in-2005 Greg Anderson, said winning in the Bullet Motorsprts Chevy Cavalier "was a fun way to go out with it. The shame is we have to put a cover on that car." He'll be driving his new Chevy Cobalt at Bristol.

Connolly, the Winternationals champion, became Pro Stock's first repeat winner this year.

Referring to two-time champion Anderson's outstanding seasons in 2003 and 2004, Connolly said, "Obviously Greg didn't scare anybody away over the winter."

Rivalry brewing - Cory McClenathan acted a bit perturbed after beating Scott Weis in the opening round - just like he did at Houston and Gainesville. The FRAM Airhog Dragster driver accused Weis of playing staging games with his Barrett Enterprises Dragster. "Scott was playing games up there," McClenathan said. It's tough to get your butt handed to you three times in a row."

Weis had his own interpretation, saying, "Staging gamesmanship has been around since the flagman days." Of McClenathan, he said, "He won, after all. I hope I didn't ruin his day."

Fuller brush-off - Rod Fuller has lost to Tony Schumacher in each of the last three races. At Las Vegas and Gainesville, Schumacher and the U.S. Army Dragster eliminated him and his David Powers Motorsports Dragster in the opening round, and at Houston, they met in the second round.

More than one way - Because of the body damage Robert Hight's Castrol/Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang sustained during Funny Car qualifying, the Jimmy Prock-led crew borrowed a spare from teammate Eric Medlen. "We have two ways to get the Castrol Syntec Mustang into the winner's circle," No. 16 qualifier Medlen said after losing his opening-round race against Gary Scelzi. "We can get it there, or we can give it to Robert."

Forced to be friends - Gary Densham has been friends with John Force for decades. Even if he wanted to distance himself from Force, which he doesn't, he couldn't. Densham, who won eight races for Force in his four seasons behind the wheel of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang Funny Car, helped Eric Medlen in his rookie season last year in the Castrol Syntec Mustang.

He also has helped Robert Hight, who replaced him in the Auto Club car. Densham, a privateer again who drives the Racebricks Monte Carlo, celebrated on the starting line when Hight won at Houston. And on the track, he can't escape the Force force. He has qualified for just two of the five races the year. Hight eliminated Densham in Sunday's first round at Las Vegas. In his first appearance, at Phoenix, he lost to Medlen in Round 2.

Ironically, he advanced at Firebird International Raceway by beating Tony Pedregon, who had been his teammate at John Force Racing. Medlen took over the Castrol Syntec ride after Pedregon won the 2003 championship and left to start his own team with brother Cruz.

In good hands - Despite the rash of fires and engine explosions this weekend, especially in the Funny Car class, Eric Medlen said he feels safe in the Team Force Ford Mustangs. "We had a big fire in Pomona and another big fire in Pomona. Robert had big fire here. We had a tire come apart. All this stuff has happened," he said. "No fire has gotten on us and no parts have gotten on us. Maybe it's just luck, but I think we've got some safe race cars. It allows the drivers to say, "I got to get to the finish line. I don't think I'm going to get hurt."

No justice - Tim Wilkerson's No. 3 qualifying position was his highest this year and his best effort since the August 2004 Brainerd, Minn., event, when he led the Funny Car field. He beat Del Worsham, the uncharacteristic No. 14 qualifier, in the opening round but said, "There's no justice in the world when you qualify third and have to run Del Worsham in the first round." He probably was saying the same thing after his doomed second-round match-up against Tony Bartone. Wilkerson's parachutes popped out right off the starting line, allowing Bartone to win in spite of his own mechanical glitches. Bartone said, "It started weird and ended weird."

Unexpected cheerleader - Ben Marshall has had plenty of drivers, crew members, and sponsors in the Connie Kalitta camp to offer cheers and best wishes as he drove the StriVectin-SD Dragster in its scheduled one-race appearance this weekend. But he had a perhaps surprising cheerleader from the Funny Car ranks: Eric Medlen.

"I was up there for every run. I wanted to make sure I was there," Medlen said.

"He drove [Mike] Dakin's Warrior [A-Fuel Dragster] car. I was having trouble getting my license," Medlen said, "so he set it up to where I could drive that car at Indy. He was driving it and he should've been testing it. If it wasn't for him, there's a good chance I wouldn't be here. We were always good friends anyway. It sounds corny, but I've always got a place in my heart for him."

Running up through the staging lanes Sunday morning to cheer on Marshall in the opening round, Medlen barely missed seeing Marshall barely miss a victory. Jack Beckman used a 5.060 at 221.56 to top Marshall's 5.087/220.57.

Uh, oops - Ron Capps took a narrow second-round victory over Bob Gilbertson, but he nearly gave it away. "I almost lifted," Capps said. "It's such a big wind out there. It almost put [his Brut Dodge] in his lane. I was steering the thing like it was a road-race car. It's a treacherous track right now."

Oddsmakers wrong - Cruz Pedregon used a one-hundredth of a second advantage on the Christmas tree to record a holeshot victory over top Funny Car qualifier Gary Scelzi in the second round. His 5.006-second E.T. and 277.03 speed were slower than Scelzi's 4.995/312.86, but Pedregon, the No. 9 starter, won by a mere 18 inches. "I thought Gary was going to drive by me. His car has been excellent all weekend," he said. "We've been creeping up. The Vegas odds makers had us way out in left field." Pedregon reached the semifianls and lost there to Whit Bazemore.

Friends now - A few years ago during evening qualifying at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Whit Bazemore received a jab with the body pole from John Force's race car. And Robert Hight was the one with the pole in his hand. The incident seems like a decade ago, for Hight and Bazemore have made up and have expressed mutual respect a number of times since then. Hight said he feels bad the incident happened. But as championship contenders who have one victory apiece this season, still have that on-track rivalry. It resurfaced in Sunday's second round. Bazemore is 2-0 against the John Force Racing rookie (he eliminated Hight in the quarterfinals of the Gatornationals last month). After his victory, Bazemore said of Hight, "He's a good kid. I like him a lot. He's going to be tough."

Switcheroo - Pro Stock's Dave Connolly made a last-second lane swap when he lined up in the first round against Jason Line. It paid off, as he advanced with a 6.869-second E.T. at 201.19 mph over Line's 6.893/20.59.

Morgan Lucas' Amato Racing Top Fuel team saw its own strategy backfire in the first round against David Grubnic in the Zantrex-3 Dragster. Typically, the Nos. 8 and 9 qualifiers square off in the opening pairing. That would've gone to the pairing of Jack Beckman and Ben Marshall, who was driving a fourth Kalitta car. But the Lucas Oil Dragster team wanted the Kalitta contingent not to get too close a look at track conditions.

So, because Lucas had lane choice by virtue of his No. 3 qualifying position, he chose to run in the first pairing. Usually, that No. 3-14 match-up is the sixth to run. It didn't faze Grubnic, who had struggled in qualifying but won easily with a 4.598-second pass at a round-best 327.19 mph.

"The track was good," Grubnic said. "We got on it before more heat could get to it. Personally, I'm glad they wanted to go first. I thought our car would be better suited for the track, and as it turned out, it was."

Try this - Funny Car's Tommy Johnson Jr. received a phone call recently from pal Ryan Newman. The NASCAR Nextel Cup regular, who drives the No. 12 Alltel Dodge for Roger Penske, told Johnson he had watched the telecast of an NHRA telecast and noticed the seat belt Johnson uses in his Don Prudhomme-owned Skoal Chevy Monte Carlo. Newman said he wanted Johnson to take a look at a new seat belt that's manufactured by a German company, a device that's gaining popularity among Cup teams. Newman is a friend Johnson can trust when it comes to such matters. Newman earned a degree in Vehicle Structure Engineering from Purdue University.

What happens in Vegas . . . - Del Worsham had gained three places in the Funny Car standings after the Houston race and was looking forward to improving even more at the Las Vegas event. But this track where he was top qualifier last fall wasn't helpful. Neither was buddy Tim Wilkerson, who eliminated him in the first round with a 4.917-second E.T. at 319.82 mph to Worsham's 4.977/312.13.

"We just have so many races against Tim that are decided by inches, by tens of thousandths of a second," Worsham said. "You know going up there that it's going to be a battle and that it's going to be tense. "

Like Wilkerson, Worsham was unhappy about facing Wilkerson. "We had enough race car to have beaten a lot of guys in Round 1," Worsham said. "As it shook out, we would have beaten John Force, Eric Medlen, Tommy Johnson, Tony Pedregon, and a few other guys. We just didn't have enough car to beat Tim Wilkerson."

So Worsham left again without a victory at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "Las Vegas is a great place, and this track is a masterpiece," Worsham said, "but I'm worn out. It will be nice to get to Bristol and just race."

His teammate, Phil Burkart, had lost three places in the standings at Houston and was looking to leaving Las Vegas with a move back toward the top spot he owned earlier in the year. By the end of the weekend, Burkart was content to go along with the phrase "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

He started in the bottom half of the field, and that was the positive part of qualifying for him. In the process, his engine detonated and blew the Toyota body from his car. His crew reverted to the Chevy Monte Carlo body, but they put Toyota stickers on the body - a move that did not please General Motors representatives, especially when some wags in the pits started referring to it as a "Monte Celica." Then on Sunday, after watching Worsham lose to Wilkerson, he lost to Bob Gilbertson in that first round.

He's happy - and he lost - "Fast Jack" Beckman accomplished so many personal objectives during his Top Fuel debut that despite his disappointing Round 2 elimination, he said, "It was everything we could have hoped for."

He was unable to appear for his race against Doug Kalitta because of a fuel leak, which was later traced to a broken fuel fitting.

A Sportsman champion who made his professional debut behind the wheel of the Menards/MTS/DHL Top Fuel dragster, made the best pass of his brief career during qualifying with a 4.610-second run that captured the No. 8 starting spot. Beckman also topped 300 mph for the first time with a 310.13. He beat fellow Top Fuel freshman Ben Marshall in the opening round by just eight-thousandths of a second.

"If someone had told me last week that we'd qualify in top half of the field and win a round, I'm not sure I would have believed it," Beckman said. "Sure, I'm disappointed to lose, but now that we've claimed the first round win for the Menards/MTS team, we want more."

Beckman had to do an abbreviated burnout because he had a problem with the throttle stop. "I did the burnout without it," Beckman said. "I also saw Morgan Lucas smoke the tires in front of me so I had a lot on my mind. During the run, I saw his front end and then he disappeared. It was an awesome feeling when I saw that win light come on. No mater how many races I run, I’ll never forget that one. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to [car owner] Dexter Tuttle, to Rodger and Karen Comstock of MTS and the entire Menards/MTS team for making this dream come true."

His next appearance will be at the May 19-22 Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals near Columbus, Ohio.

SATURDAY - Johnson Claims Record 132nd Top Qualifying Position

(4-16-2005) - Warren Johnson will enter Sunday's Pro Stock eliminations at the sixth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals in the No. 1 position for the 132nd time in his storied career - and for the first time ever at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In 35 years in the class, "The Professor" has notched more top-qualifying performances than any other professional driver in the sport's history. Castrol-backed Funny Car star and fan favorite John Force trails Johnon with 124 career top qualifying efforts..

Johnson led the 16-car field with a 6.824 second effort at 201.46 mph. Professional eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m.

Doug Kalitta and Gary Scelzi also were the No. 1 qualifiers of their respective categories at the $1.8 million race, the fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Johnson qualified his GM Performance Parts Pontiac ahead of Ohio-based Larry Morgan and Ron Krisher, who sit in the second and third spots.

"We made changes this afternoon because we feel like the conditions just now are most representative of what we'll see tomorrow," Johnson said. "This is the hottest we've been this year and this being a new car we needed to try some things to see how it would react. It went too far so at least we learned what not to do."

Johnson's best run came Friday night, when cooler temperatures allowed for faster speeds.

"Today was like NASCAR's happy hour," Johnson said. "No one was going for low E.T., we were all just tuning for tomorrow. I'd like to drive one of those (NASCAR) cars. I could qualify one. I just don't want to be out there with 42 other rednecks two inches away from me. Notice I said 'other rednecks.' That was meant to be all-inclusive."

Known for his hands-on approach to the sport, Johnson has now qualified first at each of the 20 tracks on the 23-race, $50 million POWERade series.

After a disappointing 204 campaign where Johnson failed to earn a single No. 1 qualifying award, Johnson has now been the top qualifier at the last two NHRA POWERade events (Houston and Las Vegas).

Kalitta's Friday-night effort was enough to hang on to the top qualifying spot in Top Fuel. Kalitta blasted his Mac Tools dragster to a 4.496 finish in 329.34, in front of Miller Light-backed Larry Dixon (4.504, 330.39) and the Lucas Oil dragster driven by Morgan Lucas (4.548, 325.69), who qualified second and third in the class respectively.

"We had a real strong run last night and that's a tribute to the facility because the track was there for us to take advantage of the cooler air," Kalitta said. "But to win you have to run in the heat and the fact we went 4.60 in Round 1 shows me that we can be competitive when it's hot. We're not nervous about the sunshine. We're heading into tomorrow with confidence.

"We would love to gain some ground on [Tony] Schumacher (who qualified for the field in the fourth and final qualifying session). Any time you see that team struggle you know that you need to do whatever you can to take advantage of it. That's a great team and they got us last week. It wouldn't be a shock if they came to life tomorrow. But maybe we can pay them back instead."

Scelzi piloted his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus Funny Car to a No.1 effort of 4.797 at 325.06 mph to lead the field into Sunday's big show. Force (4.809, 325.53) and Tim Wilkerson (4.809, 315.49) qualified second and third, respectively.

Scelzi has gone into eliminations in the top spot 37 times in his career, but this weekend marked the first of the season for the Fresno, Calif., resident.

"I'm not a big fan of opening up against Eric Medlen because that team shares information over there and they have data from John [Force's] and Robert [Hight's] runs that will help them," Scelzi said as he quickly switched to the cockpit of the Alcohol Funny Car he's also running this weekend. "But we're just as good as them so I'll get my elbows up in the cockpit and we'll race."

SATURDAY NOTES - The WJ Finesse, Military Planning and Cory Mac loves Pro Modified...

(4-16-2005) - Got Clampetts? -- Jeff Foxworthy need not apply at Warren Johnson's shop. The No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier has done some engine work for NASCAR teams throughout the years, but he said he isn't interested in racing in the wildly popular stock-car series when his farewell tour ends in November. "I wouldn't want to be out there with 42 other rednecks," he said. He said he wouldn't want to declare which NASCAR driver was the biggest redneck, because, he said, "We've got just as many, if not more."

Good Call -- Scott Kalitta's crew has had problems with the wing on the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster all weekend. In Friday's first qualifying session, they cannibalized Ben Marshall's StriVectin-SD Dragster. Last night Kalitta's crew borrowed an extra wing from Dick La Haie, Larry Dixon's crew chief. So in both Saturday qualifying sessions, the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster carried the Miller Lite logo and Miller Brewing's "Good Call" motto. The move fooled even keen-eyed track announcer Bob Frey, who declared that the 4.653-second pass at 321.88 mph was a "nice pass by Larry Dixon."

All's Fair In Top Fuel Racing -- Doug Kalitta is a genuinely kind, easygoing individual. But the Top Fuel qualifying leader said he isn't above supporting the "kicking him while he's down" theory -- when it comes to racing Tony Schumacher and the U.S. Army Dragster. "Any time you find a race where they struggle, you have to take advantage of it. They'll come back with a vengeance," he said. Kalitta entered the event in third place, 87 points off Schumacher's pace.

Whatever motivates you -- Ron Capps and teammate Whit Bazemore both made the field on their last chances. They were 17th and 18th as they staged to the line, staring down a 5.08 bump at the time. Bazemore and the Matco Tools Dodge got in with a 4.951-second E.T. at 315.64 mph and Capps with a 4.989/304.87 in his Brut Dodge, bumping Eric Medlen. The second-year driver for John Force Racing put his Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang back at No. 16 with a 5.013. Capps said while he might not have planned the last-minute drama, he could handle it. "If I wanted a less stressful job, I would've been on stage at Chuck E. Cheese with my kids."

They Said What?! -- Gary Scelzi said with Saturday's heat, he didn't think anyone could top his 4.797-second E.T. that led the Funny Car class since Friday's second session. He was right. He'll face No. 16 Eric Medlen but said he is not intimidated by the force that goes with the Force camp. "They've got a lot of information, and they share it. But we're as good as Force. We're as good as Eric or as good as Robert (Hight). We're as good as any of them," Scelzi said.

What really caught everyone's attention is something Scelzi told top-end interviewer Alan Reinhart. Force had whispered something in Scelzi's ear moments before. Reinhart asked Scelzi what Force had said. Answered Scelzi, "He said he really wished he could be a woman."

Actually, Force once did joke after running a faster speed at Englishtown, N.J., in 1998 than Top Fuel's Joe Amato that he "should get a sex-change operation so I can be the world's fastest man and woman."

Bring it on -- Doug Kalitta said the heat that has perplexed so many teams this weekend doesn't bother him. "It doesn't make us too nervous if it's hot. We can run 4.60 runs in the heat. The track probably is going to be a little greasy. I hope my guys get it hooked up for a hot track. We're going into tomorrow with confidence." Had Schmacher not run that 4.693-second E.T. at 299.66 mph, he might have had his first failure to qualify since the 2003 Englishtown, N.J., event.

Taking it easy -- Warren Johnson, who got quicker in his second run Friday to maintain control of Pro Stock's top-qualifying position, called the class' engine parts "fragile" and said GM's new DRCE-3 engine still is a bit of an unknown quantity. Although he pulled a 6.824-second elapsed time out of his GM Performance Parts Pontiac Grand Am that was .076 quicker than his early-afternoon time, he said he was proceeding cautiously with the powerplant and his set-up.

The strategy continued to work Saturday, as Johnson held onto the No. 1 qualifying spot on the strength of that Friday run.

After Johnson won at Houston, he said he left the motor exactly like it was. "We didn't change the tune-up. We didn't re-jet it for the higher altitude, and we didn't change the timing for the thinner air. I feel that there's still some power and performance left in this engine, but we don't want to go there and potentially hurt this powerplant at this point, because we don't have a replacement for it yet."

Technically oriented drag-racing fans observers will appreciate Johnson's explanation of his approach to the tune-up. "This engine configuration has slightly different components, but the rpm range has gone up so high that we're running it well over 10,000 on the gear changes and at the finish line. Consequently, at that rpm, parts are a little more fragile, so we don't know how big the tune-up window is for this particular engine at this time," he said. "Once we establish that, maybe we'll pick up a little performance, maybe we won't. We don't know that because we haven't strayed outside our tune-up on it yet. We keep putting in new plugs after every round trying to get a read there along with the O2 sensors, just seeing how we can get everything as close as we can from cylinder to cylinder, and then in time we'll try some massive changes when we test."

Team gets A for Aggressive -- Del Worsham, who by this time last year was in the points lead with two victories behind him, has taken an aggressive tactic toward breaking out of his No. 7 place in the Funny Car standings. He and his Checker Schucks Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo smoked the tires in Friday night's session and dropped from sixth in the order to 14th. "We figured bring your big bat with you."

He predicted that "anything better than a 4.90(-second pass) might be pretty hard to come by" Saturday. But he moved up two places in the order in the Saturday afternoon heat with a 4.970 E.T. at 308.14."So, we were absolutely aggressive with our tune-up," he said of his earlier passes. "It just got animalistic with the clutch and was just flying, but there was almost no way for it to make it." He found himself trying "to figure out how to get down this deal . . . although Eric Medlen, Whit Bazemore, Tommy Johnson, Ron Capps and some other good teams are down here with us."

Capps and Bazemore remained out of the field with one more chance to go.

"Aggressive," however, didn't quite describe what Worsham saw Friday night in teammate Phil Burkart's Toyota Celica that for the most part is nothing but shrapnel now after an engine explosion. "Phil's thing was just spectacular," he said. "When his car blew up, the body just shredded like confetti. I'm glad he's OK."

Losing a spot but not a motor -- Phil Burkart saw teammate Del Worsham jump ahead of him in the Funny Car lineup Saturday afternoon as his best elapsed time of 5.008 from Friday was still his best.

At least he didn't have an explosion. Racing as part of the final pair of pro cars Friday night, with Robert Hight in the other lane, Burkart and Hight were flying down the Las Vegas quarter-mile side-by-side on what appeared to be strong runs. Just as they neared the finish line, however, Burkart's engine ripped apart, shredding his CSK Toyota body into pieces, many no bigger than the palm of a hand.

As the body shredded and disintegrated, Burkart wrestled his nearly bare chassis to a stop without hitting the wall and climbed out, unhurt.

As Burkart wrestled with his wounded car, Hight's was on fire in the other lane.

"It was flying down there, on a really strong run, and then it started to spin the tires just a little past half-track," Burkart said. "I kept my foot in it because it was still going, it wasn't like it was going straight into tire smoke, and then BOOM! I was just aiming for the finish line and the next thing I knew I was getting peppered with parts and pieces.

I reached for the parachute levers (which are located above the driver's head and on his right) and couldn't find them. That had something to do with the fact there was no roof on the car.

"Then, I quickly realized what had happened so I shut the fuel off and got on the brake, but the car was really pulling to the right. Turns out, something must have punctured the right front tire," he said, "because it was flat and the car really wanted to find the wall out there. I muscled it away and got it stopped. When I got out and took a look at it, I couldn't believe it. Man, we did a job on this thing."That Toyota body was the only one, so the old Monte Carlo body took over for the rest of the weekend.

Army strategy -- If the U.S. Army can find Saddam Hussein in a hole in the ground in a barren desert, Tony Schumacher knew his military-inspired crew on the U.S. Army Dragster team could solve his recent pattern of waiting until the last minute to make the Top Fuel lineup. Just like at last month's Gatornationals, Schumacher entered the final day of qualifying not in the show. Two tire-smoking runs left him 18th out of 19 entrants. He slipped into the field in 12th position in Saturday's first run with a 4.693-second run at 299.66 mph.

At Gainesville, Schumacher took the No. 4 starting spot but not until his final chance to qualify.

Two-timer -- Gary Scelzi qualified No. 1 and No. 2 Friday -- first in the Funny Car class with the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car and second in the Meer Capital Partners Alcohol Funny Car order.

No significant change -- During Saturday's first session, the first 12 positions in Pro Stock remained unchanged. Jim Yates elevated himself from the bump spot to No. 13, sliding Rickie Smith, Kurt Johnson, and Bruce Allen down one place each. Still looking for enough improvement to beat Allen's 6.886-second bump time were Barry Grant, Mark Pawuk, Erica Enders, Allen Johnson, Jamey Ober, Ben Watson, Josh King, and Jim Cunningham.

Pro Mod proponent -- Will drag-racing fans see Cory McClenathan in a Pro Modified car someday? "I want to drive it. I love 'em!" he said. "If I weren't driving a fuel car, that's where I'd be. I'd drive it in a heartbeat. To me, they're the most wild-looking and cool-looking cars out there. It's the only thing that reminds me of the Batmobile. They're unique, and I like that kind of stuff.

"Mike Ashley has some of the most outstanding cars. I watched Scotty Cannon for a lot of years and I was a big admirer. I'd like to see 20 of them out there qualifying, like in Pro Stock. So I'd love to see it become a pro class. I've heard, 'No way it will ever happen.' That's right from Graham's lips," McClenathan said, referring to Graham Light, NHRA's senior vice-president of racing operations.

The exhibition-status Pro Mods did win a concession from NHRA this year: the 16-car fields. However, they had to concede a qualifying round. So those drivers have just three opportunities to qualify. Pro Modified is one of four pro classes in International Hot Rod Association competition.

Funny Car's Ron Capps, who began his NHRA pro career in the Top Fuel class, sat in Troy Critchley's 1941 Willys at Houston.

Feelin' groovy -- Jack Beckman, making his first competitive appearance in a Top Fuel dragster at this event, claimed he isn’t exactly having fun. "I'm not good enough to have fun," the No. 7 qualifier said. "I'm just excited."

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FRIDAY - KALITTA, SCELZI & JOHNSON LEADERS AFTER FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING AT LAS VEGAS

(4-15-2005) – Gary Scelzi led the Funny Car field after Friday’s qualifying sessions at the sixth annual SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Warren Johnson (Pro Stock) also led their respective categories at the $1.8 million race, the fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Scelzi piloted his Team Mopar Dodge Stratus to a leading performance of 4.797 seconds at 325.06 mph. He pulled double-duty at The Strip, driving an Alcohol Funny Car in the sportsman ranks, where he is currently qualified No. 2 with one qualifying session remaining Saturday.

“I'm tired," Scelzi said. "This is too much work for a little fat Italian like me. I'm having a blast though. It's exciting. I haven't been in an Alcohol Funny Car in a long time and it showed, especially in Round 1. My wife said my burnouts were pathetic, so I'll try to work on that tomorrow. I'm used to 8,000 horsepower where you barely touch the pedal to do a burnout. The alcohol car only makes 3,000 horsepower so you really have to stand on it to get them spinning.

Kalitta blasted his Mac Tools dragster to a 4.496 finish in 329.34 to pace the Top Fuel field. He is followed in the qualifying order by two-time POWERade world champion Larry Dixon and the Miller Lite team and 21-year-old Morgan Lucas respectively.

Johnson covered the quarter-mile in 6.824 at 201.46 in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac to lead all Pro Stock competitors.

“Given the (weather) conditions, that second run is about as good as we could produce out there,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s pace-setting effort follows his victory at last weekend’s O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals in Houston. “The Professor” also was the runner-up at the season-opener at Pomona, Calif. in February.

Professional qualifying continues Saturday with sessions scheduled for noon and 3 p.m.

Friday's qualifying results for the Sixth annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fifth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 4.496 seconds, 329.34 mph; 2. Larry Dixon, 4.504, 330.39; 3. Morgan Lucas, 4.548, 325.69; 4. Rod Fuller, 4.557, 325.14; 5. Doug Herbert, 4.563, 326.16; 6. Cory McClenathan, 4.569, 326.16; 7. Jack Beckman, 4.610, 310.13; 8. Ben Marshall, 4.619, 319.29; 9. Scott Kalitta, 4.632, 301.74; 10. Scott Weis, 4.634, 298.67; 11. David Baca, 4.662, 300.40; 12. Brandon Bernstein, 4.736, 296.57; 13. Mike Strasburg, 4.775, 286.25; 14. Scott Palmer, 4.814, 278.92; 15. Mitch King, 5.004, 236.26; 16. John Smith, 5.129, 207.72.

Funny Car -- 1. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Stratus, 4.797, 325.06; 2. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.809, 325.53; 3. Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.809, 315.49; 4. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.813, 318.92; 5. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.813, 317.87; 6. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 4.833, 320.66; 7. Jeff Arend, Monte Carlo, 4.885, 319.67; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.907, 303.16; 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.945, 315.93; 10. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.957, 307.65; 11. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.958, 291.76; 12. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 5.008, 277.20; 13. Dale Pulde, Pontiac Firebird, 5.175, 285.47; 14. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 5.219, 223.54; 15. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 5.226, 214.14; 16. Jack Wyatt, Chevy Camaro, 5.597, 210.34.

Pro Stock -- 1. Warren Johnson, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.824, 201.46; 2. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.838, 200.92; 3. Ron Krisher, Chevy Cavalier, 6.849, 201.22; 4. Jeg Coughlin, Stratus, 6.854, 201.58; 5. Greg Anderson, Grand Am, 6.854, 200.17; 6. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.857, 200.95; 7.Dave Connolly, Cavalier, 6.859, 201.49; 8. Mike Edwards, Grand Am, 6.865, 200.71; 9. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.868, 201.22; 10. Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.869, 200.11; 11. Greg Stanfield, Cavalier, 6.870, 201.10; 12. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.874, 201.28; 13. Rickie Smith, Cavalier, 6.880, 200.92; 14. Kurt Johnson, Cavalier, 6.884, 201.10; 15. Bruce Allen, Grand Am, 6.886, 200.32; 16. Jim Yates, Grand Am, 6.896, 200.50.

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FRIDAY NOTES - Burkart blows his top, fireworks galore and the future of Anderson's Vegas streak

(4-15-2005) - Last minute heroics - Doug Kalitta seems to like to save his dramatic performances in the Mac Tools Dragster for the last minute when it comes to racing at Las Vegas. A year ago this month, in a last-ditch effort to make the Top Fuel field of 16, he cranked out the fastest speed in NHRA history at 335.57 mph. Friday night, he was solidly in the field, second to Morgan Lucas with a 4.606 E.T. to Lucas' 4.604. But in the last pairing of the night, Kalitta raced to the top of the order with a 4.496-second pass at 329.34.

That knocked from the top spot Larry Dixon, who said he and the Don Prudhomme-owned Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster traditionally don't run well at night but posted a 4.504-second E.T. Dixon had been 12th after the earlier session.

Lucas slipped to third but improved his E.T. to 4.548 seconds.

Wile E. Coyote impersonation - In the ageless Warner-Brothers cartoons, a fearless Coyote in pursuit of an all-conquering Road Runner often straddled a rocket, holding on for dear life. This weekend marks the first of two times that drag racing's version of that coyote will hit the strip. These high-horsepower Nitro Harley-Davidsons bring to the table fuel-injected engines that displace more than 200 cubic inches. These bikes have no nitro percentage limitations, and some have admitted to tipping the can at 100 percent.

The heat is on - Greg Anderson hasn't won a race this year, hasn't even been to a final round in any of the first four races. But he has something no one else has: a four-race winning streak at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The two-time and reigning Pro Stock champion has had a shaky start in 2005, but the Bruton Smith-owned quarter-mile -- unquestionably one of the premier tracks in the 20 NHRA markets -- might be key to his turnaround. Anderson won both the spring and fall races here in 2003 and 2004.

He said he always has wanted to perform well there to please team owner Ken Black, who owns Vegas General Construction. While it has worked in his favor lately, the notion used to be more of a burden than motivation, he said.

"It wasn't always comfortable racing there. There used to be extra pressure," Anderson said. He said Black told him at the start of their association three years ago, "I don't care what you do around the country, as long as you do well in Vegas." Anderson failed to make the field in that first Las Vegas roll of the dice for Black.

The pressure has melted since then, he said. "We've had such great success there lately that it's become my favorite track," Anderson said. "I've become really comfortable driving there. It's just a great facility and everything about thecity is so doggone fun."

He said Black hasn't changed his mind, though. "I'm sure Ken still feels the same way. It's a big weekend for him. It means a lot to him."

Black should be relatively happy. Anderson is fifth in the order so far.

Life in the fast lane - The NHRA season began with three races in seven weeks, but now the pace is getting bit more brisk. Drivers and crews will contend with 18 events in the next 26 weeks. This stop in Las Vegas, fifth on the 23-race schedule, completes the first of six back-to-back or three-in-a-row blocs of action.

In the heat of the night - Funny Car's Phil Burkart knows Las Vegas is not a place to think about "what-ifs." One would go crazy doing that here. He couldn't help shake his head about his outcome at Houston, although he gets over the urge to pout when he considers what happened to him at Las Vegas last year.

In Houston, Tony Pedregon defeated him in the first round. It was a shock to him, for he had hoped tolast longer as No.2 qualifier -- meaning he had a quick car, despite his unfamiliarity with the new Toyota body. "We know better than to look just at the bottom line," Burkart said.
"The truth was we brought out the Toyota for the first time, qualified No. 2 with it, which was a career best for me, and ran great. A guy named Pedregon (Tony, for the record) cut an awesome light against me and we got edged by a hair." It was like hitting a 20 in blackjack and watching the house turn up a 21.

"When that happens, you can't help but think about all the what-ifs, but you try not to," the Team Checker, Schuck's, Kragen driver said. "We know we ran well, and we know we weren't exactly lucky in round one. We got beat -- that's all there is to it. We didn't slow down, we didn't leak all over the track, we just got beat. These things have a way of evening out, and I'm ready to see what we can do in Las Vegas."

A year ago, he was the new kid on the CSK block, and he had seen teammate Del Worsham win at Phoenix and Gainesville. Then he carried the team banner to the winners circle at Las Vegas.

Burkart said he senses a pattern. "Last year we ran the first two races with the old Firebird, put the new Monte Carlo on in Las Vegas, and went straight out there and won the race. We put the Toyota on in Houston, and let me tell you, it's a way different car than we've ever run, and all we did was qualify higher than we ever have.

"I want to put two good weekends together," he said. onsidering how seamlessly his team made such a major change, he's confident he can. "When you change body styles, you sure think you'd have to be prepared for a learning curve," Burkart said.

Crediting crew chiefs Chris Cunningham and Marc Denner and their gang, he said, "I'm not sure how they do it, but this team adapts so quickly to these changes it amazes me. We're tweaking on it as we go, making some subtle changes to compensate for how we race, and it really reacts to the little changes you make. Everyone mounts their bodies differently, raises or lowers their wings differently, and sets their chassis up differently, so this body might act completely differently for another team. We've just focused on making it fit our car, and making it blend with the way we tune. So far, it's outstanding."

Burkart was fifth after the afternoon session, but had a major problem in his evening run. Just as he approached the finish line, a concussion blew off the top half of his Toyota body and catapulted it over the wall. As public-address announcer Bob Frey said, Burkart all of a sudden had a Toyota convertible.

"It started spinning the tires," Burkart said, "and the next thing I heard was BANG." He said the nose of the Celica "probably would look good in a restaurant" as a display but hat the "rest of it isn't big enough to carry home."

Burkart is fine, and his team has the Monte Carlo body ready for service. But the destruction of the Toyota was rotten news for Jerry Toliver, who supplied the Celica body. Team CSK has no back-up Monte Carlo.

Burnin' ring of fire - Robert Hight, top qualifier in the first session, was hot in a different way in the night session. His Castrol/Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang, the one in which he earned his first NHRA victory less than a week ago, caught fire as he turned a 5.083-second, 236.13-mph pass. "I don't know what happened," an uninjured Hight said afterward. "We'll fix it."

Do you believe in magic? - The magic was here once for Funny Car's Tony Pedregon. And if "good vibes" mean anything, it could come back for the Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo driver.

"I've always enjoyed going to Las Vegas," Pedregon said. "It's a place I will always remember as having that special moment when I clinched the championship in 2003." He said that final round against event and series runner-up Whit Bazemore "was definitely one of the most dramatic finishes in Funny Car." He beat Bazemore in the final round in both the spring and fall Las Vegas races that year and won a career-best total of eight events in capturing his title.

"Las Vegas is a track we are familiar with," he said, referring to crew chief Dickie Venables and his crew. "We tested well there, and I think we are going to have a better event (than in Houston, where Del Worsham beat him in Round 2 and he dropped to 12th in the standings). We have one more race under our belts and more experience. When you put things in perspective, this is just our second year as a team. But we plan to keep raising the bar."

Pedregon started the year with a No. 1 qualifying spot and Pomona Raceway-record elapsed time of 4.681 seconds, the second-quickest in class history. At the next event, at Chandler, Ariz., Pedregon broke Firebird International Raceway's E.T. mark at 4.703 seconds. Pedregon was seventh in the lineup after one qualifying session. He improved to fourth his night effort.

You are the wing beneath my wing - Ben Marshall's appearance in the StriVectin-SD Dragster, the fourth entry in Connie Kalitta's organization, served more than one purpose. The 29-year-old who has been Team Kalitta's marketing manager and earned his Top Fuel license was seventh after Friday's first session with his debut pass of 4.853 seconds at 304.39 mph The one-race deal will give him some real-time experience, provide extra data for the cars of Dave Grubnic and Kalitta cousins Doug and Scott, and run interference for those three fulltime drivers.

Marshall reversed the roles a bit after kicking off Top Fuel qualifying. He took Scott Kalitta "under his wing." Actually, Scott took the wing, literally. Scott Kalitta's crew discovered a small separation in the trailing edge of the wing on the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster while the car sat in the staging lane, before Kalitta was strapped in. They pirated the wing from Marshall's black-white-and-pink dragster and bolted it onto Kalitta's so he could join Grubnic in the third pairing from the end. Kalitta's crew fixed his wing before the evening qualifying session. Kalitta smoked the tires immediately and clicked off the engine, but his 9.569-second elapsed time at 71.97 mph was good enough for the bump spot. Meanwhile, Marshall wasn't completely satisfied with his first run. "The run could've been better," he said. "We put a hole (cylinder) out pretty early. The car made a slight move toward the center line, but it kept pulling so I stayed in it. Now that the first lap is done, we can get settled in and try to move up the ladder."

He said any butterflies disappeared immediately. "Once the motor started, all the jitters went away," Marshall said. "I was a tad nervous, but I just tried to stay focused and do my routine."

Hunka-hunka burning rumors - The last time Funny Car driver Bob Gilbertson was at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- during preseason testing Feb. 4 -- he was charged with instigating a scene that involved a rental car, pit bike, and fire. The facility management imposed a lifetime ban on the Gastonia, N.C., driver, but the NHRA intervened and meted out its own punishment of $15,000 and two years' probation. Gilbertson also was required to reimburse Las Vegas Motor Speedway for all property damages and direct expenses resulting from the incident, and $10,000 went to the Las Vegas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities. Gilbertson, who turned 50 April 7, celebrated his Golden Day at the Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas on the eve of qualifying.

Friday night he experienced his second-biggest fire at the track. As he crossed the finish line, the engine in his Prestone/Autolite Funny Car exploded following his 4.833-second, 320.66-mph run. That speed was his career best, eclipsing the 318.09 he recorded at this event last April.

"It went pop. It just went boom," Gilbertson said. "We're going to have to talk to our sponsor about getting some more bodies. We keep blowing them up."

To-MOR-row, to-MOR-row - Don Schumacher Racing's Funny Car trio of Gary Scelzi, Ron Capps, and Whit Bazemore ended the first session dead last among the 22 entrants. Capps and then Bazemore had no better luck in the evening session and still are seeking a spot in the 16-car field. Scelzi is able to rest easier. He blasted the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus to a 4.797-second pass at 325.06 mph in the second session that held up for the No. 1 spot.

"The race track is suspect right now," Scelzi said. "This place is always killer and we're not used to seeing sun. You turn the wick up and you hate to pull it back. All of us got in trouble. When you get in trouble like that, it's a pain because you have to pull it back again for the night run. Fortunately for us, our two teammates were ahead of us and we knew pretty much what they had. After Gilbertson blew up, Mike (crew chief Neff) put another insurance policy in the box . . . and it was a little slow early but it was never in trouble. We've got to be careful tomorrow. It's going to be another hot day. I believe Sunday is going to be the hottest day, about 88 degrees. We need to pay attention and race smart."

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on - Although Warren Johnson led after both qualifying sessions Ftiday, the Pro Stock class had a significant shake-up in the night session. Ron Krisher jumped 10 places to start Saturday's qualifying in third place. Jeg Coughlin, who didn't made the cut in the opening try, ended the day fourth, a 14-place improvement. Kurt Johnson was last among the 22 first-session entrants but moved up eight spots and into the field. Jim Yates has two more chances to improve from the bump spot or at least hold onto it; he tumbled 12 positions from the first session to the second. Rickie Smith enjoyed the No. 3 spot for awhile but closed the day 10 places lower in 13th. Phoenix winner Allen Johnson and Mark Pawuk were bumped from the field.

Warren Johnson never has won at this race track. It is the only one at which a victory has eluded him. He said he has no more of an idea why he hasn't won at Las Vegas than he has about why he performs well at others.

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NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals Preview: Bright Lights, Tease of Winning Spin NHRA Drivers' Heads

(4-15-2005) - Las Vegas automatically has an electrifying lure. For NHRA drivers, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has a special attraction -- one of the sweetest racing surfaces on the 23-race NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series schedule.

It's where a year ago this month Doug Kalitta took the Mac Tools Dragster to the fastest pass in NHRA history at 335.57 mph (that also set low E.T. of the meet at 4.472 seconds). He did it in a last-ditch qualifying effort, as he was outside the 16-car Top Fuel field when he launched. It was high drama unmatched by anything short of a million-dollar payout at one of the casinos on that other world-famous Strip 15 miles down the road.

Kalitta didn't win that spring race, didn't even back up the speed for national record. Tony Schumacher beat Larry Dixon in the final round, and Phil Burkart (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won. But he returned in the fall to win on the same track against rookie Morgan Lucas.

Schumacher, Lucas, and Kalitta are 1-2-3 in NHRA's headliner class. Houston runner-up Cory Mac is fourth and Scott Kalitta is only one point behind him in fifth. Only 93 points separate the first five drivers in the standings as this fifth event of the season kicks off.

John Force climbed back to his familiar first-place position in the Funny Car chase, trading sports with Whit Bazemore in Houston. Force protégé and son-in-law Robert Hight claimed the Houston crown, the first of his career in only four rookie-year races. Plenty of others are coming on strong as the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals approaches, including Houston runner-up Cruz Pedregon and Del Worsham, who gained three positions in the standings last weekend.

Pro Stock got a new points leader, but in a sense a familiar one, as 61-year-old Warren Johnson celebrated his "School's Out" farwell tour with a victory (his 93rd) at Houston. He became NHRA's oldest winner (at age 61 years, nine months) as Gainesville winner and Houston finalist Jason Line red-lit. WJ has a mere 47-point lead over No. 3 Line. Dave Connolly, who won the Winternationals and was the Gatornationals, runner-up has enjoyed the points lead on two separate occasions. The 22-year-old will challenge "The Professor of Pro Stock," and he's just 26 points behind the veteran.

So this race promises plenty of theatrics, performance, and showmanship worthy of a trip to this desert destination. Check us out as Competition Plus staffers Bobby Bennett, Matthew Brammer, Roger Richards and Susan Wade provide same-day coverage of pro, sportsman and Pro Modified class action with the inside skinny, photos, and videoes.

Here's a peek at who's doing what in each of the three pro classes that will compete at Las Vegas:

TOP FUEL

Tony Schumacher -- Although he earned his second victory in four races this year, he said his "unbelievable" race in the finals against Cory McClenathan really could have gone either way, despite the speed mark. He was right there with me until the end." But Schumacher does have the national speed mark from that final round, a 4.505-second pass at 335.32 mph. Only Doug Kalitta has traveled faster, and he did that at Las Vegas. Schumacher, in the Alan Johnson-tuned U.S. Army Dragster, owns four of the top five speed marks in NHRA history. He recorded three No. 1 qualifying positions in the first four races. "We had such a terrific race in Houston that we'd love to try and carry over that momentum," Schumacher said. "It's still way too early to even think about the points. Too many things can happen between now and November."

Ben Marshall -- The 29 year-old marketing manager for Kalitta Motorsports' Top Fuel team will make his professional debut as driver of the StriVectin dragster at the same track where, in 2004, he received his Top Fuel license with a spectacular lap of 4.56 seconds at 317 mph. Marshall began racing at age 16 in a front-engine dragster bracket car. His last stint behind the wheel was driving a Mike Dakin-owned A-fuel dragster. In 2002, the team made the semifinals in Gainesville at the Mac Tools Gatornationals and posted a final-round appearance at the divisional race in Indianapolis. With StriVectin-SD®, the "stretch-mark cream turned anti-wrinkle phenomenon," as his sponsor for the pink-accented dragster, Marshall truly can claim to be "the new face of Top Fuel racing." But the StriVectin-SD race car is scheduled to compete this one event in 2005, so Marshall plans to make it memorable. "I've been looking forward to this weekend for almost my whole life," he said.

Doug Kalitta -- In his last trip down the Las Vegas quarter-mile in Uncle Connie Kalitta's Mac Tools Dragster, he won event trophy on Halloween night after qualifying No. 2. The 40-year-old former USAC National Sprint Car Champion (1994) won the Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals but is focusing on keeping his car running consistently. "We're moving up in the points, so that's what I'm most happy about," he said. He improved six positions in the past two events. The Lear jet pilot who owns his own airline also is a 20-time NHRA winner and holds the time slip for the quickest run in NHRA history (4.420 sec., Chicago 1 - 2004).

Dave Grubnic -- "Aussie Dave" gave Kalitta Motorsports the $100,000 prize for winning the Budweiser Shootout at Las Vegas last fall and the No. 3 qualifying spot, to boot. He has built on that in 2005, leading the class in the Zantrex-3 Dragster at Gainesville. Still looking for his first event victory, the 42-year-old veteran wants right now to rebound from a first-round defeat. "We had a bad weekend in Houston," he said, "but it wasn't all bad. We were trying out some new things on the car that I think will pay dividends in performances down the road." Grubnic introduced his primary sponsorship with Zantrex-3 at the 2004 Las Vegas fall event.

Scott Kalitta -- Doug's cousin and two-time Top Fuel champion (1994-1995) got a taste again of winning with the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster at Pomona in the season opener. And with his fortune at Las Vegas, he's hoping to return to the winner's circle again and fast. He set The Strip's elapsed-time record at 4.472 seconds during qualifying for last year's April race. "We qualified No. 1 in Las Vegas for both races last year," Scott Kalitta said. "So, now we just need to keep up that performance in eliminations. If we're
low qualifier again this time, I like our chances of going rounds." He lost in Round 2 of eliminations in both Las Vegas NHRA events in 2004.

Cory McClenathan -- After putting the Carrier Boyz Racing team's FRAM AirHog Dragster into the Houston finals, this veteran said the last two races "have given the team the confidence that we now feel we can run heads-up with any team out here. We have a consistent race car, and it's performing well. All we have to do is remain consistent, maintain the momentum we have established and the driver does his job." He credited his crew for its car-prep, crew chief Todd Smith for orchestrating it, and clutch specialist Bob Bauer for helping Smith make the right tuning calls.

Larry Dixon -- He has driven Don Prudhomme’s Miller Lite (/Ameriquest) Dragster to 35 victories and 366 round-wins in more than 10 seasons. But he hasn't won since Aug. 22 of last year, at Memphis, and that, in his book and crew chief Dick La Haie's, is 11 races too long to wait for another one. Dixon is a three-time winner at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If he wins this weekend for the 36th time -- and he has won this one twice in five tries -- he'll pass "Big Daddy" Don Garlits on the career-victories list and give his team owner his 100th NHRA victory in a combined driver-owner career. But he doesn't think of those statistics. He's seventh in points and needs to move up. "The goal is to work on improving our qualifying position," Dixon said. "We want to make full runs in qualifying to acquire that data. The goal of qualifying well is so that you have one of the better cars on that given weekend. If you have one of the better cars, than you have a better chance of winning rounds. In my world, you've still got the Kalittas. Schumacher and the Bernstein teams. Throw in Cory McClenathan and (Joe) Amato's team (with driver Morgan Lucas), and there you go. That hasn't changed this year."

Morgan Lucas -- He reached the finals at Las Vegas last October in his first professional appearance there. "This time we need to go four full rounds," he said. "We won this race last year in our A-Fuel car. With my unique luck there and Amato Racing team's good fortune we think we can put them both together and see what happens. It's about to pay off for us, we hope. The horseshoe we have is good for something. We've got to mind our Ps and Qs and make sure we don't put anything together wrong. We need to start getting rounds on Tony Schumacher, and the best way to do that is win races and keep winning races. That's the only way you're going to do that. Other teams are beginning to catch up. We have to be there to take them to task."

David Baca -- The second-generation driver is looking for his first round-win of the year. He has qualified at each 2005 event, but that's not enough for him. "We have high hopes going to Las Vegas," he said. "We had high hopes last week, too, but we didn't do the job." He's 11th in points but is more than capable of surprising.


FUNNY CAR

Whit Bazemore -- The Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus driver will compete in his 300th career national event this weekend, trying to improve his 8-3 eliminations record and close that 14-point gap between himself and leader John Force. Bazemore won at Gainesville and is looking for his 19th career victory. He never has won at Las Vegas in his 16-year pro career, but he has four runner-up there (2001, '03 and '04 at LV 1 and 2003 at LV 2) and two No. 1 qualifiers (2003 at LV 1 and 2001 at LV2). "It's hard to imagine I'm about to race 300 times," he said. "John Force had qualified for 350 races in a row. It's pretty impressive that he's qualified in 50 more races than I've ever even competed in, so to me that's pretty cool. We're going to Vegas with all the confidence in the world in our Matco Tools Dodge team and our car, even though we've had some struggles this year. Our team is getting stronger every race. Our car's running better every race."

Gary Scelzi -- The popular pro driver will double up this weekend, driving a Top Alcohol Funny Car as well as his Moar/Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T Funny Car. "I'll be doing double duty, and that's going to be exciting," the three-time Top Fuel champion still seeking his first nitro Funny Car crown. "I haven't driven an Alcohol Funny Car in nine years, but the priority is the Mopar/Oakley Dodge. That's the car we need to win in and the other one is just fun. And it's only a one-race deal." The Fresno, Calif., native is the only driver to have won in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Top Alcohol Dragster, and Top Alcohol Funny Car. He has just three round-wins this season and is 10th in the points, after recording his career-best E.T. and speed (4.717/331.53) at Pomona. "Our Mopar/Oakley Dodge has been good all year," he said. "We've just had no racing luck. I'm not making any excuses. It'll change. I've seen these movies before. We're going to be all right. There are19 more races to go. We're counting."
The Top Alcohol Funny Car he'll drive this weekend belongs to the Meer Capital Partners, of Newport Beach, Calif. "When I was with (crew chief) Alan Johnson in Funny Car in 2002 and we needed a new car, I sent (chassis builder) Brad Hadman some money to build us a new fuel Funny Car, and this car is actually that car. When Alan and I split, I kept the car and about eight months later Ron Meer bought it and made an Alcohol Funny Car out of it. "Meer and (crew chief/general manager) Bob DeVour weren't sure who they were going to put in the car in Vegas. They've had a couple of different drivers in it. The driver they finally decided on has his own car and can't drive it in Vegas," Scelzi said. "Since they're from California they wanted to run the car here, so I said I would do it. When I went to asphalt in NHRA in 1984 Bob DeVour was my crew chief. So it will be kind of a neat reunion -- and he wanted to see if I could still do it. The last time I drove an Alcohol Funny Car was in several divisional races in Division 7 in 1996 and in the World Finals. I'm not sure if I know how to drive this thing and actually shift it. These cars are a lot of fun to drive. They shake very violently, you have to shift them twice and you have to shift them at the right rpm. You leave at 6000 rpm and you shift twice between 9500 and 10,000 rpm and shift points are really critical."

Del Worsham -- He entered Houston last weekend with an inconsistent race car, only two round-wins, and a tenuous hold on 10th place. He left with three different answers and a new attitude. "We found our hot rod, and it showed in Houston," he said. "We made four consecutive very good runs in qualifying, and were the only team to put four of them together. Then we kept running better and better on Sunday. It felt great to get back on a roll, to go rounds, and to tow up to the line thinking you should win, not just hoping you can win. We were pretty close to winning the race. Unfortunately, all these other guys don't seem to cooperate when it comes to letting us work the plan." Don't let his seventh-place ranking fool you. He could win at Vegas for the first time this weekend. "We lost in the semi-final running great, and I was disappointed, but I was also pumped up. We have a fast car."

Ron Capps -- The Don Schumacher Racing newcomer is comfortable with this track. It was at Las Vegas that he established his career-best "official" top speed in the Funny Car class last April, 324.75 mph, which he surpassed in preseason testing this January with a 326.71-mph run in his Brut Dodge Stratus premiere. He also beat Bob Gilbertson in the 2001 final. He's ready to see the Bruton Smith-owned facility again after his first-round loss at Houston last Sunday. "We were kind of disgusted with our results in Houston," he said. "For a driver, it's like you're a kid in a candy store, being able to go to a back-to-back or even back-to-back-to-back races, because I love racing." He's hoping his trip here will put him back in the top 10. He's 11th.

Tommy Johnson Jr. -- The driver of Don Prudhomme's Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo loves Las Vegas. "There’s just something about that place that's fun for me," he said. "I seem to do well there, and that always helps. It's a Bruton (Smith) track, and they're all great to race at." He used to celebrate his April 6 birthday there, but even with the later date there this year, he's eager to return. He won there in April 2001, in just his fourth assignment for Snake Racing. Last year's DNQ at The Strip still irritates the 2005 Winternationals winner. "I think last year was a fluke," Johnson said. 'We only had two qualifying runs because of rain. Anytime we have bad weather or rain-shortened sessions, we seem to have back luck. We ran very well in testing at Las Vegas in January and I think we'll go back there and do well." Like Dixon, he could give the boss that 100th victory.

Jeff Arend -- He'll roll out his new Chevy Monte Carlo body as he celebrates his first anniversary with Las Vegas resident Urban Casavant and the CMKXtreme Machine team. He said crew chief Paul Smith "is capable of putting a solid 4.70 tune-up in the race car." Arend and CMKX teammate Tony Bartone will join other drivers in participating in a free autograph session at ESPN Zone (at the New York New York Hotel and Casino), Thursday from 7-8 p.m.

Gary Densham -- This NHRA veteran has a lot of motivation this weekend: carrying the banner for the Paralyzed Veterans of America on his Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo, celebrating the debut of a Racebricks drag-racing collectible featuring Densham's triumph at the Golden Anniversary of the U.S. Nationals in 2004, and receiving a kiss from the trademark Vegas Showgirls if he wins like he did in the fall of 2002. "We get to race at a great facility and when you win, you get to hop on stage with the beautiful showgirls that are always six inches taller than me because they are wearing 12-inch heels. It's a blast and you know you've done a good job of racing that weekend if you get that kiss on the cheek with the red lipstick. It's a great time and I can't wait to get there." He hopes to qualify for only the second time all season. "This is the first time this season that I think we're finally ready for qualifying," Densham said. "We're in a place where we're making too much power like we were earlier in the season, only this time we're finding ways to adjust it without hurting the engine itself."

Robert Hight -- With everybody still buzzing about his victory at Houston, some migth have forgotten that the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang driver became the first Funny Car driver to exceed 300 miles per hour at Las Vegas last January when he was clocked at 330.55 mph in pre-season testing. He's going for a second straight win but also for his third consecutive No. 1 qualifier position. This will mark his first time to drive competitively at The Strip. "I know I'm going to make a lot of mistakes," Hight said, "(because) it takes a lot of years to get really good. I said at the first of the year that if I could qualify for all the races and finish in the Top 10, I'd consider it a success. That's still how I feel." He's the only Funny Car driver to have qualified for all four previous 2005 races at a time quicker than 4.80 seconds. The sports book at Station Casinos listed Hight at 10-1 odds to win this weekend.

Eric Medlen -- He hasn't put his Castrol SYNTEC Ford Mustang in the winners circle this year, but he has enough data from this track to give him and crew chief dad John Medlen a winning combination. "I've made more runs probably at Las Vegas than anywhere else," the second-year driver said, "so we're glad to be back here. I made my first runs here in 2003. Then we ran both national events last year and were back here to test in January (so) I think my dad has a pretty good set up here." In his first competition at The Strip, he qualified a disappointing 11th, worst of his brief career, but reached the semifinals.

John Force -- He has his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang in first place for the first time this season, and he is determined to advance beyond the second round at The Strip this time. He's done it only once in five previous starts at this spring Las Vegas event. Last year he was asemifinal victim of winner Phil Burkart Jr. The 13-time champion said Medlen and Hight "make me look like I know what I'm doing," but no one doubted that, not with his NHRA-record 115 events and 350 consecutive qualifying performances. "I'm under contract to drive for this season and five more," Force said,"so I've still got a lot of racing to do. My main job is to win races and win championships for Castrol and all the other sponsors that support us. My other job is to train the next generation and get them ready to be the champions when I'm gone." Maybe he can tutor them with a victory, which would be his first in the spring Las Vegas race. He won the 2002 fall race there.


PRO STOCK

Dave Connolly -- The young phenom, who won at Pomona, then was runner-up at Gainesville this year, saud his luck at Las Vegas mostly has been awful. "I lost at the blackjack table, and we lost at the track. We've never had any luck there. I hope we're due." He said either lane is great for the Mike Dzurilla-owned Bullet Motorsports Chevy Cavalier, now that said he is recommitted to staging the car smarter. After qualifying a season-low 12th last week at Houston, Connolly made it to the semifinals and said, "If I'd staged the car better, maybe we would've got to the finals," he said. With help from crew chief Terry Adams and legendary engine builder Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, he should recover soon. "We made a pretty good run against Warren, so I think that gives us something to work with for Vegas," Connolly said. "We were right there in the mix of things with Warren Johnson, Greg Anderson, and Jason Line. If you are comparable to them, it's pretty good company." Vegas odds makers have him as 4-1 bet.

Kenny Koretsky -- The Nitro Fish Wear Pro Stock Dodge Stratus driver said he sees apttern developing and he wants to stop it right now. "We qualified at Pomona, Calif., didn't qualify at Phoenix," he said. "We qualified at Gainesville (Fla.) and we didn't at Houston. That's exactly what we did last year." He said the DNQ last weekend "just ripped my heart out. But there's nothing we can do except make the changes we need and go to Las Vegas. Wouldn't it be appropriate for us to change our luck at Vegas? I like that gambling atmosphere." Crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia said the team is "in transition," struggling with a new clutch setup. "Our last qualifying run at Houston was our best," the tuner said, "but it didn't do us any good, because we needed a run like that during Friday night's session. Conditions were much better than they were Saturday because the track was hotter. We didn't run good on the first run and then we got behind and had to play catch-up. That's hard to do in this category."

Jim Yates -- Yates has had both good times and bad since the tour started making two trips a year to the gambling mecca. He qualified No. 1 and was runner-up in 2001, the second year of the event. With his new Jerry Haas chassis and added horsepower from Steve Schmidt, Yates is ready to build on his good start this year. Yates established a career-best and Pomona Raceway E.T. record of 6.699 seconds to claim the top qualifying position at the Winternationals. He reset his personal bests to 6.672 seconds and 206.46 mph last month in Gainesville. The two-time champion is fifth in the standings. "We keep learning more and more about our new Grand Am," Yates said after testing in Houston this past Monday and Tuesday. "We've made great strides with the combination."

Richie Stevens Jr. -- The New Orleans native would like to ditch "The Kid" nickname -- along with some of the problems he's having this year in the Team Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Stratus for new boss Don Schumacher Racing. He set career-best numbers in the first three races, sat on the pole at the second event in Phoenix, barely qualified for the fourth race in Houston while experiencing mechanical gremlins, then fouled out in the first round of eliminations there. The positive news is that he has qualified for every event, especially impressive in this tough class for a driver who hasn't competed regularly since 2002. With 10-time Pro Stock champion Bob Glidden setting up the car, Stevens was a top-10 driver until the "Texas Misstep," which was the one he considers his "home race." He's 12th but knows that can change in one weekend.

Warren Johnson -- The Professor of Pro Stock could become even more stern on the competition, now that his research on GM's DRCIII engine is starting to pay dividends. "We hope this is just the tip of the iceberg," Johnson said after his victory at Houston last week was the first for the newest version of the GM Pro Stock power plant. He said he has only three in his inventory right now "and each one seems to want to run faster. Given the fact that we are relatively competitive right now, and that we're fairly confident of being able to pick up the pace, I look at this year as being potentially as good as any of those in which I won the championship." Relatively competitive? He was runner-up at Pomona and winner at Houston in his GM Goodwrench Service Plus Pontiac Firebird but never has won at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (although he has final-round appearances there in 2000 and 2002).

Kurt Johnson -- Starting with the 2001 Winternationals in Pomona, where KJ drove the dramatically new ACDelco-sponsored Chevt Cavalier to victory in its debut, he has had seven wins in 18 final rounds and four No. 1 qualifying performances in 97 races. This race will be his last in the Cavalier, as GM will unveil the Chevy Cobalt body at Bristol, Tenn. Because he scored the Cavalier's first win, Johnson said it would be appropriate for his team to send it off in winning style. "We brought this ACDelco Chevy in with a win four years ago, and I think we're going to put it out with one," he said. "There's no reason we shouldn't be able to."

Jeg Coughlin Jr. -- Tied for eighth place in the standings is not where this two-time champion is comfortable. He said team chemistry is mixing well with crew chief Bob Glidden and his JEG'S Mail Order/Mopar-Dodge Stratus crew at Schumacher Racing. "We've been working towards having a consistent race car, and I think we've made great strides," Coughlin said. "We made six great runs last weekend in Houston and the team chemistry is really coming together. Once the whole program reaches the same level, it's not going to be good for the others in this class." He added, "When this team was formed six months ago, the first thing Bob Glidden said was that we probably wouldn't be where we wanted to be when I dropped the clutch for the first time in Pomona. Building a team from nothing takes time, and we all realize that. Even so, I think we're all extremely excited about the possibilities." A sure Vegas bet is that his rivals aren't.

Greg Anderson -- Predicting a victory for this NHRA record-holder was a pretty easy bet for the past two seasons, But the two-time defending champ admitted he and his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac Grand Am crew "got off to a slow start this year and it ruffled our feathers." He's in fifth place, a distant 102 points behind former boss Warren Johnson. He has been as low as 10th place. He hasn't made a final round appearance in the first four races, a sharp contrast to his 2004 season, when he won 15 of 19 finals. "We've been testing quite a bit. It has been an extra motivational factor. The fact that we have sucked, maybe that will help the team. You never want to get lax, but maybe we did with all the winning we did." If he's going to challenge for a third straight title, this should be the weekend he makes a move, in team owner Ken Black's hometown -- where he won the last four times the NHRA came to town.

Jason Line -- Ken Black's less experienced driver has done well this year -- and did well in the boss' backyard en route to the 2004 Rookie of the Year award. He won at Gainesville and was runner-up in Houston in the KB Racing Pontiac Grand Am. But he fouled at the start of that Houston final, handing the victory to WJ.

EVENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, April 15, 2005


Pro Stock Qualifying Session 3:00 PM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel Dragster) 3:30 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session 6:00 PM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel Dragster) 6:30 PM
Secure Track 8:00 PM

SATURDAY, April 16, 2005

Pro Stock Qualifying Session 12:00 AM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel Dragster / Funny Car) 12:30 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session 3:00 PM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel Dragster / Funny Car) 3:30 PM
Secure Track 6:30 PM

SUNDAY, April 17, 2005

Pit and Spectator Gates Open 8:00 AM
Pre-Race Ceremonies 10:00 AM
Final Eliminations 11:00 AM
Secure Event 4:30 PM

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

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