SAME DAY COVERAGE
NHRA Pontiac Performance Nationals
Columbus, Ohio
Compiled by Susan Wade; Photos by AutoImagery.com

Columbus Wrap-Up - Happy National Trails To You . . .

By Susan Wade

(5-23-2005) - Until we meet again, in Topeka this weekend, Competition Plus takes a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at Hebron, Ohio, near Columbus. We're not playing favorites because some drivers are mentioned more than once. That's just the way we see it.

From this eighth race in the 23-event NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series, our Weekend Winners are:

Biggest winner of the weekend: Tony Schumacher

Alan Johnson had a killer tune-up for the U.S. Army Dragster, and Schumacher took it to a 4.489-second elapsed time and the fastest run in the history of drag racing at 336.15 mph as he won against points leader Doug Kalitta in the final round. "We're still not in the lead," Schumacher said. "You don't want to let a team like his get on any kind of roll." He alluded to the keen on-track rivalry he has with Doug Kalitta by saying of his trophies, "The ones you win when you beat the Kalittas, Bernsteins, and Dixons, those are the ones you want to shine up the most and stare at in the trophy room."

Biggest loser of the weekend: Whit Bazemore

The Funny Car driver was on the verge of having the sweet weekend he so desperately needed in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus with his first No. 1 qualifying position of the season. But he lost to Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round -- for his third consecutive opening-round defeat -- and fell from second in the standings to fifth. He entered the weekend just 24 behind John Force and finished 99 off the pace. But he took the difficult setback with dignity. "It doesn't matter what we ran," he said right after exiting the car. "The fact is we lost by two-hundredths (of a second), and it's my responsibility. It's a tough day."

"Don't Throw Stones If You Live in a Glass House" Award: Tony Schumacher

During the Saturday telecast of qualifying, Mike Dunn quoted Schumacher as saying that Doug Kalitta ought to hide his winner's trophies in a closet, insinuating that teammates Scott Kalitta and David Grubnic purposely lost to help him advance. Granted, Tony Schumacher isn't Don Schumacher. However, the Schumacher camp was the one that stirred the "teammates taking a dive" talk at Seattle in July 2003.

Gary Scelzi, the No. 1 qualifier with a truly hot rod that weekend, was 11th in points and teammate Whit Bazemore was second in the standings when they met in the second round. Scelzi had earned lane choice but found himself deferring to Bazemore, who took the preferred right lane and won. Scelzi cut an .080 light to Bazemore's .119 but, predictably on that lane, smoked the tires. Don Schumacher said his crew chiefs, Lee Beard and Mike Neff, made the lane-choice decision. "It's evident why we were over there in the left lane, isn't it?" Neff, Scelzi's crew chief, told reporters.

Scelzi graciously tried to minimize the uproar, saying, "I understand. Baze is in the Powerade points chase." Then Bazemore said of Scelzi and his crew, "We owe them. We'll have to make good." It was an awkward moment for two Funny Car drivers and their teams, both of whom had excellent chances to win.

Tony Schumacher also might want to think about Round 2 of the 1999 Topeka event, when it appeared to a lot of people that new teammate Melanie Troxel had been instructed to help him reach the semifinals. She smoked the tires of her Exide Batteries Dragster in the first third of the track. Schumacher was on his championship run that year. Ironically, Doug Kalitta took him out in the next round.

So the shoe was on the other Schu that time.

The "You Wanna Go?" Award: Jim Oberhofer

Kalitta Motorsports team manager, who's crew chief specifically for Scott Kalitta but oversees all three of the dragsters, addressed questions about whether Scott Kalitta would lose deliberately against points leader Doug Kalitta in their Round 2 match-up. "We're going to race," he said before the run. "We haven't given up with Scott's car on the championship."

Then Oberhofer fired a salvo at Schumacher: "I know guys like Schumacher who'll get a case of verbal diarrhea if Douggie wins this round. Schumacher needs to thank his old man every morning and kiss his butt that he's got Alan Johnson over there, because Alan's The Man. Tony, he's nothin', in my opinion."

(For the record, the Kalitta cousins put on a terrific side-by-side quarterfinal race that Doug won by 0.0027 seconds, or about 16 inches.)

The "Tale of Two Drivers" Award: Greg Anderson and Jason Line

"This has always been a tough track to tame," Anderson, driver of the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac Grand Am, said. "Every time you come here it's hot, the track is greasy, and everybody complains about it. My teammate, Jason Line, hates to come here. He had his wreck here (in 2003), and he's scared to death to come here. Me, I love the place. It just seems like I can't do any wrong here. They changed the date on us and we knew it was going to be cooler, and the track was probably going to be faster because of that. I knew that might throw a wrench into my plans, but there's some kind of "mojo" going on here. I'm not quite sure what it is, but obviously it's great for me. We ought to race here three or four times a year as far as I'm concerned."

Anderson made his NHRA pro debut at National Trail Raceway in 1998. "I was so nervous before that first start at Columbus," he said. "It was almost like an out-of-body deal. I almost felt like I didn't belong there with all of these people that I'd either worked with or watched race for all of these years, and here I was locking horns with them. It was a neat, neat deal. It was so special, but I hardly remember any of it because I was so nervous.

"And now, Columbus, Pontiac, and the Pontiac Performance Nationals, that seems to be what I'm all about. Every time one of my sponsors sponsors a race, I seem to run good," he said. "If I don't win it, I have a good showing. Either I need more sponsors or I need my sponsors to sponsor more races, one or the other."

The "It's Nice To See A New Face In The Winners Circle" Award: Ryan Schnitz

The 23-year-old Pro Stock Motorcycle rider from Decatur, Ind., DNQd in all nine appearances when he started in 2003 and DNQd at three of four races last year, but he's sixth in points after winning over a red-lighting Andrew Hines. "We're sorry to do it that way," Schnitz said, "but a win's a win, baby!"

The "Darrell Would Still Be Proud" Award: Morgan Lucas

Eager to win his first NHRA Top Fuel race, Morgan Lucas had extra incentive this last weekend. Darrell Russell earned the final victory of his shortened career for team owner Joe Amato on Amato's 60th birthday last year at National Trail Raceway. Lucas, as his successor, said he was thinking of Russell all weekend: "We always do. He's in our hearts all the time. We have to do what we have to do to win a race for him. We know he would help us anyway he can."

But a tiny screw screwed up Lucas' plan Sunday. His engine popped and he lost power, handing the victory to eventual winner Doug Kalitta, who was fighting his own Mac Tools Dragster down the track.

"We pretty much had them covered. The car was running great," Lucas said. "The driveshaft was right on target, according to the computer ready to set low E.T. of the race. A little screw broke on the front of the blower and hung the intake valve open, causing a backfire.

"Things like that happened to us. You can't control them," he said. Then, thinking of Russell, Lucas said. "You know what, if anybody would say, 'That's drag racing,' it would be him."

The "Mighty Mouse" Award: Morgan Lucas

After losing to Doug Kalitta Sunday, Morgan Lucas philosophized, "There's a horseshoe full of luck, and unfortunately our pit hasn't seen it this year, But I'm sure it will. When it does come by, we hope we can capitalize on it by winning the race and getting us back in the points chase. After this race, we are 182 points out, and although that's a pretty big stretch, the summer races are coming up and they all aren't going to be overcast like today. There are three Kalitta cars and only one of us. We're like the Mighty Mouse of the situation. Overall, we're going to be just fine. They don't run as well in the heat as we do. We tested in Atlanta last week and found a great hot track combination. Once the heat gets here, we'll be all right." (Motel6Vision Photo)

The "Well, Your Mother Wears Army Boots" Award: Jack Beckman

The Top Fuel rookie teasingly responded to a question about how he planned to "upset" Tony Schumacher in their Round 2 meeting. "Oh yeah? You're saying that'd be an upset?" Beckman, who was making only his fourth elimination pass ever in just his second appearance of the season, referred to the fact he had been a U.S. Air Force sergeant and that Schumacher's ride is nicknamed "The Sarge." "Air Force Sergeant against Army Sergeant . . . " he mused.

The "I'm Not Sure Who All This Is Aimed At" Award: Gary Scelzi

The Funny Car runner-up, after winning the semifinal round against Cruz Pedregon, told TV reporters, "I don't even know who I've got next round. I was so worried about Cruz beating me like a drunk for a damn year and a half or whatever it's been. When it hasn't been him, it's his brother. It's like I've never won rounds before. It's so good to have a car leave when you hit the gas." After thanking team owner Don Schumacher and sponsors, Matco Tools, Dodge ,and Oakley, he added, "I quit getting beat up by the fans and everybody else. I even had the president of Dodge Racing call me and thank me for winning Bristol."

The "Honest Statement" Award: (tie) Bob Glidden and John Force

Glidden, the retired 10-time NHRA champion who manages Don Schumacher Racing's Pro Stock program, said about the rivals of his drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Richie Stevens, "Consistency is how they're winning races and we're not."

Force told a TV reporter after becoming a little tongue-tied, "I can't even talk to you, because you won't let me swear. The words won't come out anymore!"

The "Thanks A Lot, Pal" Award: Steve Johnson

It was all in the name of sportsmanship and racing, but the Pro Stock Motorcycle contender provided a battery for competitor Andrew Hines Sunday morning when his wouldn't work. Hines cranked up his Harley-Davidson and beat Johnson in Round 1.

The "I See Some Progress" Award: Gary Scelzi

Scelzi praised the NHRA's Safety Safari and how it prepped the track. "Honestly, I'm not shy about beating NHRA up when the tracks are rotten," the Funny Car runner-up said. "This is what the fans pay for. They pay for good side-by-side racing, even racing. In fact, in the semis (crew chief) Mike Neff asked me which lane I wanted to run in. That is what I like to see. "My hat's off to the NHRA. Whatever they've done, or whatever they've changed over the last four or five races, they need to keep doing it, because that's what's going to pack these stands. When you see 4.70s and 4.80s side-by-side in Funny Car, and 4.50s and 4.40s side-by-side in Top Fuel, that's what these fans pay to see and that's what they deserve."

Not everyone agreed. Top Fuel's Larry Dixon said of his Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster, “We have a good-running car, but we've lost a couple of close races. At this point, the only car that this swing has worked out for is Doug Kalitta. I still think we have a strong race car, and I know that we have the opportunity to do well at every event that we go to. The race tracks are being prepped more inconsistently lately, and that has affected us. If we can get a handle on that, I know that we can make a good showing at each race."

The "I've Got Your Number" Award: Greg Anderson

The Pro Stock winner is 9-0 against Kurt Johnson in final rounds. Johnson can take comfort in the fact he made his first final-round appearance of the season in only his third race in his new Chevy Cobalt. He has reached the semifinals or better in all three races with his new Chevy.

SUNDAY - SCHUMACHER, FORCE, ANDERSON AND SCHNITZ EARN VICTORIES AT PONTIAC PERFORMANCE NHRA NATIONALS

Tony Schumacher posted a national record speed on his way to the Top Fuel victory Sunday at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

John Force, Greg Anderson and Ryan Schnitz also were winners of the $2 million race, the eighth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Schumacher earned his third victory of the season and 24th of his career by posting a track record performance in the final round that included the fastest speed in NHRA history. Schumacher’s U.S. Army dragster finished in 4.489 seconds at 336.15 mph to hold off Doug Kalitta’s charging Mac Tools dragster, which finished just behind in 4.513 at 324.90.

“It took us a couple of races to get it back together but I think we’re there,” said Schumacher, who cut into Kalitta’s series points lead with the win. “We had some intense rounds today with Doug and Brandon Bernstein and Alan (Johnson, crew chief) knew when to step it up and we were able to get the job done. It’s nice to be able to give this track the title of world’s fastest dragstrip.”

Force used a quicker reaction time to claim his third Funny Car victory of the season (117th career) and increased his series points lead by edging rival Gary Scelzi in a photo finish. Force posted a 4.776 at 324.51 in his Castrol GTX Start Up Ford Mustang to hold off Scelzi’s Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus, which clocked a quicker but losing 4.764 at 326.79.

"It was a great race,” said Force, who defeated Tony Bartone, Dale Creasy and Ron Capps to advance to the final. “Scelzi always gets up for me and I always get up for him. I've said all along that he's the guy to watch. We'll see him a lot more down the road."

With the victory, Force increased his series lead to 80 over Scelzi.

“In the past I’ve said the racing was tough in Funny Car, but this is definitely the toughest season,” Force said. “There are so many strong cars out there and there’s a lot of close racing. It’s great for the fans and it’s fun for me because I am motivated by the competition.”

Anderson won his second consecutive Pro Stock race of the season and the 33rd of his career by outrunning Kurt Johnson in a close final round. Anderson drove his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac to a performance of 6.737 at 204.35 to hold off Johnson’s ACDelco Chevy Cobalt, which posted a 6.787 at 204.20.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start this year, but I think we are finally getting it together,” said two-time defending series champ Anderson, who enjoyed record-breaking seasons in 2003 and ’04. “This is really the first race this season where I felt like we really had a handle on it. It was a good win.”

It was Anderson’s fourth consecutive victory at the Ohio quarter-mile track.

“I really love this place,” Anderson said. “I don’t know what it is but we’ve been able to enjoy a lot of success here. It must be because this is one of my sponsor’s races. We always seem to do well at those races.”

Anderson beat Jeg Coughlin, Warren Johnson and Mike Edwards in earlier rounds. In his second round match with former employer and current series leader Warren Johnson, Anderson said he was up for the challenge.

“That’s all part of the game,” said Anderson, who moves into second in the points order and now trails his mentor by 79. “(Warren) has been fantastic this season, and certainly has had our number, so it was good to gain some ground on him today. He still has the points lead, but he better look in his rearview mirror, because we’re coming.”

Schnitz claimed his first Pro Stock Motorcycle victory on his Muzzy Buell in his first career final round appearance when defending world champion and final round opponent Andrew Hines fouled at the start on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

“What a day,” said Schnitz, a three-time AMA champion, who defeated Joe DeSantis, Karen Stoffer and Chip Ellis in the first three rounds. “It’s great to get our first win out here. I was a little nervous before the final, but I was confident because I have some experience in those situations in other series. When I saw the win light come on after he had the red light it was a great feeling.”

Schnitz is the fourth different winner in as many races this season. Top qualifier GT Tonglet, who advanced to the semifinals, maintained the points lead on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series continues with the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.), May 26-29.

Sportsman Finals

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

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Final round-by-round results from the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing at National Trail Raceway, the eighth of 23 events in the $50 illion NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Brandon Bernstein, 4.608, 318.39 def. Cory McClenathan, 4.853, 324.12; Scott Kalitta, 4.576, 323.50 def. Tim Cullinan, 4.756, 300.66; Morgan Lucas, 4.566, 324.05 def. Scott Weis, 4.765, 287.23; Tony Schumacher, 4.513, 329.18 def. T.J. Zizzo, foul; Jack Beckman, 4.911, 292.08 def. David Baca, 5.439, 180.69; David Grubnic, 4.586, 325.85 def. John Smith, 7.656, 111.12; Doug Kalitta, 4.554, 328.86 def. Bruce Litton, 4.882, 299.73; Doug Herbert, 4.629, 327.19 def. Larry Dixon, 4.873, 279.90;

QUARTERFINALS -- Bernstein, 4.546, 324.20 def. Herbert, 9.873, 104.56; Lucas, 4.556, 323.19 def. Grubnic, 10.959, 76.19; D. Kalitta, 4.566, 326.32 def. S. Kalitta, 4.587, 328.14; Schumacher, 4.514, 334.57 def. Beckman, 16.056, 36.97;

SEMIFINALS -- D. Kalitta, 4.989, 306.53 def. Lucas, 17.070, 36.60; Schumacher, 4.504, 333.41 def. Bernstein, 4.541, 328.78;

FINAL -- Schumacher, 4.489, 336.15 def. D. Kalitta, 4.513, 324.90.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.843, 318.99 def. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 4.863, 315.49; Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.828, 317.12 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.909, 304.25; Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang, 4.842, 325.45 def. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.846, 318.69; Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus, 4.862, 318.92 def. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 4.887, 318.69; Dale Creasy Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.904, 311.99 def. Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 4.924, 315.34; Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.796, 325.06 def. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 5.055, 248.98; Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.827, 320.05 def. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 9.009, 90.34; John Force, Mustang, 4.840, 318.39 def. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.937, 316.15;

QUARTERFINALS -- Capps, 4.814, 322.04 def. Medlen, 4.862, 321.04; C. Pedregon, 4.796, 324.67 def. Wilkerson, 4.848, 320.74; Force, 4.812, 324.28 def. Creasy Jr., 5.003, 306.88; Scelzi, 4.790, 327.11 def. Hight, 4.793, 324.83;

SEMIFINALS -- Force, 4.773, 323.50 def. Capps, 4.826, 320.20; Scelzi, 4.811, 322.65 def. C. Pedregon, 4.812, 324.36;

FINAL -- Force, 4.776, 324.51 def. Scelzi, 4.764, 326.79.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.744, 204.17 def. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Stratus, 6.792, 204.05; Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.766, 204.08 def. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.796, 203.00; Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.779, 203.03 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.872, 203.09; Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.741, 204.35 def. Rickie Smith, Chevy Cavalier, 6.818, 203.34; Mike Edwards, Grand Am, 6.758, 203.86 def. Jim Yates, Grand Am, 13.142, 65.00; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.746, 204.08 def. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.822, 203.03; Warren Johnson, Grand Am, 6.736, 204.20 def. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.791, 202.85; Greg Stanfield, Cavalier, 6.790, 203.34 def. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.753, 204.39;

QUARTERFINALS -- Line, 6.773, 202.73 def. Stanfield, foul; K. Johnson, 6.750, 204.42 def. Stevens, 6.792, 203.61; Edwards, 6.783, 203.58 def. Connolly, 6.784, 203.09; Anderson, 6.758, 203.89 def. W. Johnson, 6.774, 203.40;

SEMIFINALS -- Anderson, 6.728, 204.35 def. Edwards, foul; K. Johnson, 6.750, 204.48 def. Line, 6.778, 202.67;

FINAL -- Anderson, 6.737, 204.35 def. K. Johnson, 6.787, 204.20.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.141, 185.10 def. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.218, 171.82; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.165, 190.35 def. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.397, 151.20; Chris Rivas, 7.416, 171.90 def. Mike Berry, Suzuki, foul; Chip Ellis, 7.124, 189.63 def. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.181, 179.78; Ryan Schnitz, 7.106, 180.98 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, foul; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.066, 189.66 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.212, 184.65; Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.113, 191.16 def. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.274, 182.82; GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.153, 189.04 def. Kurt Matte, Suzuki, 7.357, 175.75;

QUARTERFINALS -- Tonglet, 7.093, 181.98 def. Sampey, 7.298, 160.81; Ellis, 7.166, 179.54 def. Rivas, 7.185, 179.30; Schnitz, 7.099, 184.50 def. Stoffer, 7.148, 191.38; Hines, 7.074, 190.65 def. Scali, 7.137, 184.42;

SEMIFINALS -- Schnitz, 7.106, 180.36 def. Ellis, 7.178, 185.18; Hines, 7.089, 194.52 def. Tonglet, 7.117, 183.37;

FINAL -- Schnitz, 10.634, 77.42 def. Hines, foul.

SUNDAY NOTES - Force Cleans Up; Anderson is Back, Baby, and Army Charges to New TF Speed Mark

Fastest Ever - Tony Schumacher gained a crucial 17 points on Doug Kalitta after passing him to win the Top Fuel final with the fastest pass in NHRA history and an official national record of 336.15 mph. Kalitta ran a 4.513-second E.T. at 324.90, but Schumacher turned in another stunning ride at 4.489 seconds and 336.15 mph. It eclipsed Kalitta's 335.57 from last April at Las Vegas.

That puts him just 43 behind Kalitta, who had reached the final round for a fourth straight race. The victory was Schumacher's third this season in the U.S. Army Dragster.

Schumacher's margin of victory Sunday was about 12 feet, or .0248 seconds.

Schnitz Gets First NHRA Victory - Reigning Pro Stock Bike champion Andrew Hines reached his first final round of 2005 and red-lighted, giving No. 2 qualifier Ryan Schnitz his first NHRA victory. Schnitz, who qualified at only one of the four events he attended last season, is a two-time AMA/Pro-Star 600 SuperSport champion.

Schnitz, a 23-year-old motorcycle dyno shop owner from Decatur, Ind., has qualified in the top half of the field at each of the four Pro Stock Motorcycle events this year. In his previous three races, he had two first-round defeats and had lasted past the second round. In the second round Sunday, he beat Karen Stoffer, who had eliminated him twice this season.

On Top Again - Greg Anderson completed his sweep of the Johnson family as he took the Pro Stock title Sunday, earning his third consecutive Columbus victory for his car manufacturer, Pontiac, and posting back-to-back triumphs. Last week's Atlanta winner defeated former shopmate Kurt Johnson for the 16th time in 23 meetings overall. He's a perfect nine against Johnson in final rounds. Most important, he inched within 79 points of leader Warren Johnson in the Pro Stock standings.

He's the two-time defending event winner of the upcoming Topeka event, if history and momentum count for anything.

Anderson, making his third final-round appearance in the last four races in the Summit Racing Equipment Grand Am, led all the way Sunday and beat Johnson by about 16 feet (.0523 seconds).

Finally, Force - John Force scored his first final-round victory over Gary Scelzi in Funny Car action, and he did it on a holeshot. He used a two-hundredths-of-a-second advantage on the Christmas tree (.073 reaction time to .093) to beat Scelzi's 4.764-second E.T. at 326.79 mph with a slower 4.776/324.51 in the Castrol GTX Start-up Ford Mustang. The points leader had been 0-3 against Scelzi and his Mopar/Oakley Dodge in final rounds. Scelzi was in some pretty elite company as one of just five opponents Force never had beaten in a final.

Hot Schu - Tony Schumacher defeated T.J. Zizzo in the first round with a 4.513-second elapsed time at 334.57 mph -- the fourth-fastest in Top Fuel history. Schumacher owns four of the five fastest speeds in drag-racing history, and he and the U.S. Army Dragster recorded all of them this season. Doug Kalitta still has the fastest run -- the 335.57 he posted during qualifying at Las Vegas in April 2004.

Zizzo, in the Torco Racing Fuels Dragster, jumped the light and was disqualified. He had been eager to race longtime pal and fellow Chicagoan Schumacher, saying, "I know I can give him a run for his money."

However, Zizzo had mechanical trouble all weekend long. "Our hot rod was a dead player going into the third round of qualifying,” he said. "We had zero data to work with from our two previous runs." He qualified 10th, despite aborting his final qualifying attempt just before he was to start the engine at the line.

"The car went through some tire shake on the two Friday runs and it took a beating. Therefore, we had to look over the car thoroughly first thing [Saturday] morning. I looked over the entire car but never really looked at the fuel tank. While we were in the staging lanes for our fourth pass, the fuel tank began leaking along one of the welds. We patched the tank and could have made the pass if we needed to. When we rolled up to the starting line we knew at that point that we could not get bumped out of the field. We decided to pull the car from the line because we had safety concerns with the fuel tank."

Hoo-ah! - Tony Schumacher hasn't always had the best qualifying performances this season, but his U.S. Army Dragster was consistently tough Sunday. In his semifinal victory over Brandon Bernstein (who was no slouch with a 4.541-second E.T. at 328.78 mph), Schumacher ran the quickest pass of the weekend at 4.504 seconds and clocked a 333.41 that at the start of this season was the seventh-best in class history; Bernstein had recorded that speed twice, both times at Joliet, Ill. After Sunday, that speed is no better than 11th all-time.

Upsets Abound - Biker G.T. Tonglet was the only No.1 pro qualifier still competing at the end of the second round -- and one of only two still racing after the first round. In the opening round, Larry Dixon, Top Fuel's No. 1 qualifier, lost to Doug Herbert and Funny Car's Whit Bazemore fell to Dale Creasy Jr.

Dixon's assistant crew chief, Donnie Bender, said the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster suffered by being in the eighth pairing of the day. "The track got better and that was evident because everyone was running better,” Bender said. "We didn't have time to make enough adjustments to counter that, and it wore the clutch out and smoked the tires."

Although the season has two-thirds remaining, Bazemore's championship chase took a major hit with his early elimination.

"You go up there, and anybody can win any given race, and it's been done many, many times," Bazemore said after slippin from second to fifth in the standings. "The way I look at it is when our Matco Tools Dodge doesn't run within a couple of hundredths (of a second) of the other car I should make up the difference, and today we didn't do that. . . .
We've been pretty good all year doing that, and today I didn't. I'm particularly frustrated by the outcome.

"We've won quite a few rounds this year on holeshots. Today we didn't lose on a holeshot, but we didn't make up the difference in performance either," he said.

"They (Creasy's team) ran only a 5.20 in qualifying. Our car was way too conservative for that run."

Engine Uncooperative - Morgan Lucas' engine explosion kept him from repeating the National Trail Raceway victory for Joe Amato Racing. It was an especially disappointing moment for the team, because the late Darrell Russell had earned his last victory there. (Motel6Vision Photo)

Classic Rematch - Lucas' misfortune was a godsend for Doug Kalitta, who had his Mac Tools Dragster sideways at about 300 feet, trying to regain traction. He recovered and took advantage of the coasting Lucas. That pushed him into the final round against Tony Schumacher for a match-up against the U.S. Army Dragster. Those two have met in the semifinals or beyond at four of the last five events.

Wrong Dream - Cory McClenathan's 600th round of Top Fuel racing wasn't as thrilling as he had envisioned. Brandon Bernstein beat him with an E.T. of 4.608 seconds to Cory Mac's 4.853.

"I saw my 600th round going a lot different," McClenathan said. "First and foremost, I envisioned the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog car crossing the finish line first with me winning. Guess I was in the wrong dream. In reality, Bernstein had the better car today and he got to the finish line first, not me. We'll pick up and head to the next race. We're not out of this thing, by any means."

Mr. Force's Wild Ride - John Force beat Ron Capps by about 12 feet in their Funny Car semifinal match-up, but a parachute malfunction caused him and his Castrol GTX Start-Up Ford Mustang to end up in the sand at the end of the track. (Motel6Vision Photo)

"It was such a close race," Capps said. "I never saw Force until I pulled the 'chutes and he went flying by me with no 'chutes. I looked for my win light on the guardrail and it wasn't there. I knew it had to be a close race."

Hurry Up - Teams operated on a 65-minute turnaround Sunday because of inclement weather concerns. The worry was warranted, as the rain came at 2:19 p.m., in between semifinal runs for the Pro Stock Motorcycles. It lasted just 16 minutes. Heavier showers hit at 3:09 p.m. and lasted for two hours, eight minutes. After another delay, time for 24 minutes, faithful fans got to see the final rounds.

Hard-luck Worsham - Del Worsham's nightmare extended to a fourth straight race. The Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo driver has lost in the first round at the last four races by such razor-thin margins as .060, .015, and .004 of a second. The only thing positive about his four-thousandths-of-a-second loss Sunday to Eric Medlen is that he lasted longer than he did at Las Vegas, Bristol, or Atlanta. He was in the class' third pairing. He had been first or second when he exited the other three times. He also had a Round 1 exit at Phoenix, the race for which is sponsor is title sponsor.

"From my perspective, in the car behind Medlen, I thought Del had him," CSK teammate Phil Burkart said. "I was ready to pump my fist and let out a scream, and then I saw the lights flashing on Medlen's side. All I could think was 'You got to be kidding me,' but it was obviously no joke."

Asked a terribly frustrated Worsham, "What are you going to do?"

He said, "It passed being unbelievable a few races ago. It's ridiculous now, but we can't let this get us down. We have to stay determined. We have to approach every lap, knowing it's going to be the one to get us out of this nonsense. If this is a character building exercise, we're beginning to look pretty bulked up with character right about now."

He said at least the fans finally got to see some racing worth their ticket prices. "After two days of not being able to give these great fans much to watch, including the night session on Friday when we really basically gave them nothing at all to see, we had one of the greatest Sundays ever out here," Worsham said. "Nearly every race was close, fast, and very exciting. It was all great, but someone has to lose in all those heartbreakers. We weren't alone -- obviously, people got their hearts broken almost every pair, every round, but we just can't seem to get away from this beast."

Too Something - No. 10 Funny Car qualifier Tommy Johnson Jr. had the best reaction time of the first round (.051 of-a-second) in his Skoal Chevy Monte Carlo. But Cruz Pedregon got around him to advance. Johnson and the Skoal Racing team will test Monday at National Trail Raceway before heading west on I-70 to Heartland Park Topeka for next weekend's O'Reilly Summer Nationals.

"It was a tough weekend for us," Johnson said. "We struggled with the combination at this track. We just couldn't find a happy medium. The car was either too aggressive or too soft. On today's run, it was too soft. It's a work in progress, but we'll turn it around. It's a long season. We'll be OK."

His situation is in contrast to Tony Pedregon, who said his Q Racing Monte Carlo was too aggressive. He smoked the tires and lost to Gary Scelzi in the opening round. "We think we learned a few things this weekend," he said, "and I know this is good race car."

Enders Still Enthused - The struggle continues for rookie Erica Enders, who has learned that Pro Stock drag racing is no respecter of Junior Dragster success and Disney film credits. She acknowledged that struggling is part of the sport.

"Everything is new this year," she said. "Not only am I a new driver, but we have a new engine program, and our Chevy Cobalt is a new car, too. It's going to take time to get everything going. You don't come out the first year and be a world champion in this class, unless you have tremendous luck on your side."

She doesn't. But few do in this highly competitive class that saw five different winners and five points-lead changes in the first seven events this season.

Enders has failed to qualify at each of the last four races and at six of the first eight. Coupled with two first-round losses when she qualified at Phoenix and her home track at Baytown, Texas, she would have cause for dismay. But she said she has faith in the organization.

"Long-term we are going to be fine," Enders said. "Victor [team owner Cagnazzi] has really put together a great group of people with a ton of knowledge. Things should straighten up.

"We have improved, maybe not when you look at qualifying and stuff, but our engine graphs, our horsepower, and our team chemistry is all better now," she said. "We are just paying our dues right now, and I keep telling myself, 'Good things come to those who wait.' So I'm waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting."

Hometown Heartbreak - Jeg Coughlin Jr. is hoping a trip to Heartland Park Topeka will make up for his disappointment in losing to Greg Anderson in the first round of Pro Stock action Sunday at Columbus in front of a large cheering section of hometown fans, Jeg's Mail Order employees, and friends. After all, he won the 2000 Topeka race on his way that year to the first of two Pro Stock championships.

"There's not much to say other than Greg had the better car today and we got beat," Coughlin said. "It's disappointing that we're at home and so many people wanted us to do well. We wanted to show them all a good time and maybe even a winner's circle celebration, but obviously that's going to have to wait.

"I continue to be impressed by the hard work of our two-car race team. My teammate, Richie Stevens, and I have identical race cars now, and the results we've both been posting are more and more encouraging each week," he said. "Eight races into this arrangement with [team owner] Don Schumacher it's impossible to be anything but pleased. Of course, that's hard to say when we just lost a race."

SATURDAY - JOHNSON, DIXON, BAZEMORE AND TONGLET EARN NO. 1 QUALIFYING POSITIONS AT PONTIAC PERFORMANCE NHRA NATIONALS

(5-21-2005) - Warren Johnson raced to his 134th career No. 1 qualifying position Saturday at the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Larry Dixon, Whit Bazemore and GT Tonglet also will lead their respective categories into Sunday’s 11 a.m. eliminations at the $2 million race, the eighth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Johnson, who earned his first No. 1 starting spot at this track in 1978, clocked a track record performance of 6.723 seconds at 205.13 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac. It is his fourth top qualifying effort of the season and his ninth at the quarter-mile drag strip located just east of Ohio’s capital city.

"We knew the conditions were going to be good this morning," said Johnson, whose career No. 1 qualifying total is the most among all NHRA pro drivers . "That's why we went back to a known combination we've already qualified No. 1 with at number of races this year. We felt that if the conditions were better then we'd improve incrementally in relation to everybody else and stay at the front of the pack.”

Dixon earned his 24th career No. 1 effort in Top Fuel and first ever at National Trail Raceway, by powering his Miller Lite dragster to a run of 4.510 at a track record speed of 331.94.

“It’s a nice feeling to have the quickest car for three of the four sessions,” said Dixon, a three-time winner at Columbus, who clocked a pair of 4.53s on Saturday. “I was surprised that our 4.51 from Friday held up. All the credit goes to Dick LaHaie (crew chief) and the Miller Lite crew. He’s had a lot of success at this track as both a driver and as crew chief for a lot of drivers. He seems to know his way around here pretty good and he’s on his game this weekend. I’m having a blast.”

Bazemore claimed his 29th career No. 1 qualifying position in Funny Car, posting a track record time of 4.762 at 322.34 in his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus.

“Qualifying No. 1 is special when you consider the type of season we've had, and the fact that we struggled somewhat with our Matco Tools Dodge this year,” Bazemore said. “Lee Beard (crew chief) and the Matco Tools team worked really hard to get us back on track, especially when we tested at Bristol Dragway on Monday after the race and we made a number of strong runs. Hopefully we will be able to look back at Atlanta and say that event was the turning point for us and that's what motivated us to come here and get our car going in the right direction.”

Tonglet claimed his first top qualifying position of the season and second of his career in Pro Stock Motorcycle with a 7.090 at 187.03 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.

“It has been a really good weekend,” Tonglet said. “We would’ve liked to have gone quicker, but we’ll take it and see what we can do tomorrow. The conditions today should be pretty similar to what we’ll have tomorrow so we feel pretty good.”

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing at National Trail Raceway, the eighth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel - 1. Larry Dixon, 4.510 seconds, 331.94 mph vs. 16. Doug Herbert, 5.015, 299.80; 2. Doug Kalitta, 4.551, 327.35 vs. 15. Bruce Litton, 4.921, 270.92; 3. David Grubnic, 4.557, 326.08 vs. 14. John Smith, 4.862, 299.46; 4. David Baca, 4.568, 324.83 vs. 13. Jack Beckman,
4.803, 293.86; 5. Tony Schumacher, 4.578, 319.75 vs. 12. T.J. Zizzo, 4.781, 296.37; 6. Morgan Lucas, 4.600, 321.04 vs. 11. Scott Weis, 4.761, 295.85; 7. Scott Kalitta, 4.620, 324.98 vs. 10. Tim Cullinan, 4.751, 307.58; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 4.632, 323.97 vs. 9. Cory McClenathan, 4.698,
324.75.

Funny Car - 1. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Stratus, 4.762, 322.34 vs. 16. Dale Creasy Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.206, 282.07; 2. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.763, 319.45 vs. 15. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 4.984, 309.63; 3. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.786, 322.50 vs. 14. Gary Densham,
Monte Carlo, 4.946, 315.49; 4. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.792, 325.06 vs. 13. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.926, 311.20; 5. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 4.817, 316.60 vs. 12. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.925, 310.84; 6. Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.833, 320.13 vs. 11. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.912,
300.80; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.841, 317.42 vs. 10. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.912, 314.68; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.845, 319.52 vs. 9. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.874, 315.56.

Pro Stock - 1. Warren Johnson, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.723, 205.13 vs. 16. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.774, 202.61; 2. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.724, 205.01 vs. 15. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.772, 203.74; 3. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.736, 204.45 vs. 14. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Cavalier, 6.771, 203.68; 4. Mike Edwards, Grand Am, 6.741, 204.85 vs. 13. Jim Yates, Grand Am, 6.770, 203.19; 5. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.741, 204.26 vs. 12. Rickie Smith, Cavalier, 6.769, 203.28; 6. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.748, 204.85 vs. 11. Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.766, 203.46; 7. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.748, 204.51 vs. 10. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.761, 204.60; 8. Greg Anderson, Grand Am, 6.751, 204.45 vs. 9. Jeg Coughlin, Stratus, 6.759, 203.80.

Pro Stock Motorcycle - 1. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.090, 187.03 vs. 16. Kurt Matte, Suzuki, 7.228, 179.25; 2. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.101, 186.33 vs. 15. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.206, 184.88; 3. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.107, 185.59 vs. 14. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.186, 184.67; 4. Geno
Scali, Suzuki, 7.109, 188.54 vs. 13. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.178, 184.57; 5. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.112, 187.99 vs. 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.162, 188.36; 6. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.120, 187.50 vs. 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.158, 185.36; 7. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.135, 187.11
vs. 10. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.155, 190.40; 8. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.140, 186.00 vs. 9. Angelle
Sampey, Suzuki, 7.151, 182.03.

SATURDAY NOTES - Cory Mac Hits 600; Buells Stampede and Johnson Family 1-2 in PS Qualifying

It's Miller Time! - Larry Dixon said he was surprised that his 4.510 elapsed time from his first qualifying attempt of the weekend would hold up Saturday for the No.1 qualifying award in the Top Fuel class. It did, and what's more, his 331.94-mph speed from that initial run in the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster remained the fastest speed in the history of National Trail Raceway. He was quickest in both Saturday sessions.

"It's a nice feeling to make three good runs during qualifying," Dixon said after securing his 24th overall No. 1 qualifying award and his first since last August at Brainerd, Minn. "The sun came out on Saturday and sort of leveled the playing field. I was surprised that our 4.51 from Friday held up. I thought that someone would step up in the first session. Dicko (crew chief Dick La Haie) is on his game this weekend."

Dixon's first opponent Sunday will be No. 16 qualifier Doug Herbert, a driver he has won against 20 of 25 times in his career.

Follow Me - Funny Car's Whit Bazemore said he and his team "are still finding our way." But he has the other 15 qualifiers playing Follow The Leader on the eve of eliminations.

With some help from warmer temperatures that stymied some of his rivals, Bazemore held onto his lead from Friday and recorded his first No. 1 qualifying position of the season and 29th of his career. He ran a 4.762-second pass at 322.34 mph in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus. He also still owns the track speed record (325.92 mph) he set in 2004.

"Qualifying No. 1 is special, when you consider the type of season we've had and the fact that we struggled somewhat with our Matco Tools Dodge this year," Bazemore said.

He has won twice, at Gainesville and Las Vegas, from the eighth and 12th positions.

"Lee Beard and the Matco Tools team worked really hard to get us back on track, especially when we tested at Bristol Dragway on Monday after the race and we made a number of strong runs," he said. "Hopefully we will be able to look back at Atlanta [last weekend's race] and say that that event was the turning point for us and that's what motivated us to come here and get our car going in the right direction.

"We're still finding our way. We've been so hot and cold this year. It's basically a fairly new tune-up in the car and Beard is still finding his way with it," Bazemore said. "Having said that, it was really a good run to learn where we can go and where we can't go."

He'll meet Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round of eliminations. Creasy was the No. 16 qualifier at Gainesville in his only other NHRA appearance of 2005.

Rooting, Digging, Dominating - Warren Johnson said he and his crew "were rooting and digging out there this weekend" with his GM Performance Parts Pontiac. As a result, the Pro Stock points leader continues to have the car to beat as his farewell tour continues in style.

As of Saturday, he owns both ends of the track record and the No. 1 qualifying position with a 6.723-second, 205.13-mph performance. It is his fourth top-qualifier effort of 2005, and it extends his NHRA career record to 134. It's also his ninth at the quarter-mile drag strip where earned his first, in 1978.

By edging son Kurt by one-thousandth of a second, Johnson heads the father-son team that has qualified 1-2 a total of 33 times. The last time they did that was the 2003 Houston race.

Not one to dwell on sentiment, the six-time series champion focused on the research-and-development end of his accomplishment.

"We came to Columbus with the idea of running this fourth DRCE III, which we had just completed earlier in the week," he said. He said that because he thought Friday's conditions wouldn't be the best, he chose to use his new motor. "To be honest, we were somewhat surprised to run low E.T. in the evening session.

"We then came back this morning, put our normal race motor in, and proceeded to reclaim the No. 1 spot. On our last attempt, we went back to the original motor with new carburetors and ran top speed of the meet so far. It seems to have a lot of potential but still needs to be ironed out, so we'll plug our proven combination back in for tomorrow and see what this [Pontiac] can do."

In Saturday's first session, he rewrote the track records with his 6.723-second, 205.10-mph run. The afternoon's warmer temperatures virtually guaranteed him the quick-qualifier honors, so Johnson took advantage of his final run to test a new combination in national-event conditions. He improved his speed mark, hitting 205.13 mph.

He said it's "very gratifying" for him and Kurt to be qualified in the top two positions. "It shows that Kurt and I are getting the most out of our particular cars, which is a testament to the hard work by both our teams here at the track, as well as the guys back at our shop in Sugar Hill [Ga.]. Today’s result is due to their diligence and dedication.”

He will face Allen Johnson, who was the points leader following his Phoenix victory, in Sunday's opening round of eliminations as he goes for his 47th triumph from the No. 1 position (out of 94 career victories). WJ most recently accomplished the feat earlier this year in Houston.

Father Goes Best - Posting two of the three quickest passes of the day in his ACDelco Cobalt wasn't enough to boost Kurt Johnson to the head of the Pro Stock pack Saturday. He lost out to dad Warren Johnson by a mere one-thousandth of a second. (Warren qualified with a 6.723-second E.T. at 205.10 mph to his son's 6.724/205.01.)

KJ's Cobalt led three of the new GM bodies to top-five starts. Ron Krisher's Cobalt will start third and Dave Connolly's is in the No. 5 slot.

"The ACDelco Cobalt was better today than it has ever been,” KJ said. "I believe we found the sweet spot in Atlanta, and we've continued in that direction this weekend. We made some changes this afternoon to test a few things in the heat. It really panned out.

"I was really pleased to go .991 in 60 feet on a 109-degree race track, and the run was as smooth as silk. The graph looks good, the clutch looks good, everything looks good," he said. "We're trying not to get too excited, because anything can happen tomorrow. From the first round against Kenny [Koretsky] on, we'll be racing some very good cars, so we all have to make sure we do our jobs. Fortunately, we know we have a great race car."

Know Your Enemy …and Friend - U.S. Army Dragster driver Tony Schumacher will have to beat longtime buddy and "sort-of" neighbor T.J. Zizzo in Sunday's first round of Top Fuel action if he is to reach the final for the first time in four races. Their dads and team owners, Don Schumacher and Tony Zizzo, Sr., have lived on the same road in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

"I've known T.J. for years," Schumacher said. "He's a good driver, and they have a capable team over there. We can't take anything for granted, that's for sure."

Schumacher is qualified fifth and Zizzo 12th in the Torco Dragster. One reason Schumacher isn't taking the hungry, young driver lightly is the fact he didn't get his own car down the track under full power until Saturday. However, he was relieved to register passes of 4.601 seconds at 314.24 mph and 4.578 seconds at 319.75. That helped him climb from 10th place in the order to fifth.

"It was a good day for the U.S. Army team," Schumacher said. "We needed to get two nice passes in before Sunday. You never want to go into race day with a bad taste in your mouth."

The Zizzo family is celebrating its Silver Anniversary in drag racing this year. Tony Zizzo Sr. was the United Drag Racers Association (UDRA) Supercharged Top Alcohol Dragster champion in 1984-86 and in 1989. Father and son raced together in the Top Alcohol Dragster class.

Welcome Back - Even if it was only slightly, Pro Stock driver Kenny Koretsky fared better with crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia back in the fold. Guarnaccia had missed the Atlanta race because of his father's passing. Koretsky squeaked into the field of 16, bumping two-time winner and former points leader Dave Connolly by .013 miles an hour (they had identical times). This time Koretsky and his Nitro Fish Wear Dodge Stratus will start 15th and face No. 2 Kurt Johnson, whose new Chevy Cobalt is on a hot streak.

Koretsky waited until his final qualifying run Saturday before jumping into the lineup. "That was a clutch run," he said following his 6.772-second E.T. at 203.74 mph. "We saved our best for last when we went straight down the track.

"Eddie did a good job getting the car to go down the track. The car went left in Friday night's second run and went to the right in our first run Saturday," he said.

"We stopped the car going to the left and right by making some chassis adjustments and putting weight on the front end," Guarnaccia said. "Kenny was able to drive the car down through there, and he made a pretty nice run. We'd struggled all weekend. The changes should help us."

600 Big Ones - When McClenathan squares off against Bernstein in the opening round of eliminations, he will be competing in his 600th round of Top Fuel competition.

"My 600th round -- it's exciting," McClenathan said. "I remember back when they were talking about John Force getting his 900th round-win. I don't have 900 round-wins, but I guess 600 rounds means I'm old and been out here a long time. At the same time, it's kind of cool to know that we been out here long enough to get 600 rounds under our belt. I looking forward to it and am hoping my 600th will be a win over Brandon."

Bernstein qualified No. 8 with a run of 4.632 seconds at 323.97 mph.

Of the previous 599 rounds of eliminations in which the Lake Havasu City, Ariz., driver has competed, he has won 364 times for a winning percentage of 61 percent in a Top Fuel career that began in 1991.

During that span, McClenathan has been to the Top Fuel final round 47 times and won 28. Of his 28 career victories, one has come at National Trail Raceway. McClenathan defeated Larry Dixon there in 1996.

Looking Ahead - Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Connie Cohen and her husband/crew chief, Marc, decided not to try to crack the field of 16 with their combination of new motor and back-up frame. She made one qualifying run Friday, though nursing a broken toe on her left foot from her Atlanta accident, but the pass wasn't quick enough to be among the top 16. The Cohens decided to channel their efforts into preparing their damaged bike for the June 10-12 event at Joliet, Ill.

"We felt from a mechanical point of view that it wasn't worth beating up a new motor in a chassis that just doesn't go quick enough," Marc Cohen said. "So we decided to make one pass to earn our 10 points and look forward to Chicago. The damage to our new TL1000 Suzuki was extensive, but we'll have it race-ready for Chicago."

Despite her troubles, Connie Cohen still attended the annual Fanfest at David Gill Pontiac GMC Wednesday evening, joining a handful of NHRA drivers for an autograph session. And Thursday she joined CMKX teammates Jeff Arend and Tony Bartone, along with members of the GM Racing team, on a visit to Columbus Children's Hospital. The racers visited children and their parents, signing autographs, posing for photos and handing out racing merchandise.

What? Me worry? - After struggling to get the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus into the Funny Car field in the first two attempts this weekend, Gary Scelzi can breathe easier. The 4.833-second E.T. at 320.13 mph he posted in the third session was third-quickest of the round, placing him solidly in the No. 6 spot on the grid.

Despite a disappointing 5.495/183.42 pass in the final qualifying session, Scelzi said, "Excellent" after the final run.

"We wanted to see where we could go," he said. "And it's very close right there. We're OK. I'm pleased. The Mopar/Oakley Dodge is reacting good at 60 feet. We're ready for tomorrow. It's the best I've felt all year long.

"I was nervous about not qualifying early on, because this is a different combination that we're running. It's something new that we tried in Vegas that we hadn't been able to run as of yet because of the weather and Mike (Neff, crew chief) made the commitment to run it. And it's looking good. We don't want to be too excited, but it looks pretty raceable for tomorrow, absolutely."

Scelzi faces Tony Pedregon in Round 1.

Buells in Contention - Pro Stock Bike's Ryan Schnitz, aboard the Muzzy-built, S&S-powered Buell, moved into the No. 2 position by virtue of a qualifying best elapsed time of 7.101 seconds. The Mohegan Sun-backed, G Squared-built, S&S-powered Buell of Chris Rivas, who was runner-up at last weekend’s Atlanta event, finished No. 3.

Chip Ellis, on the G Squared/S&S Cycle Buell, will start from the No. 6 spot with his final-attempt showing of 7.120 seconds at 187.50 mph. "My whole goal this weekend was to get back to the basics," he said. "I made four good passes, cut four good lights, and I feel we are really ready for tomorrow." He'll need it against Craig Treble, No. 11 with a 7.158/184.77.

Yeah, what you said -- Ron Capps, the No. 12 Funny Car qualifier in the Brut Dodge Stratus who will face Team CSK's Phil Burkart and his Toyota Celica in the first round Sunday, assessed eliminations pairing this way:

"There are a lot of great match-ups in the first round. Points-wise, there's going to be some interesting match-ups, so we just have to keep our head to the grindstone, focus, go rounds, race the track, and every other cliche that applies."

FRIDAY - Dixon, Bazemore, Johnson and Tonglet Lead Qualifying

(5-20-2005) - Three-time event winner Larry Dixon led all Top Fuel competitors Friday at the 41st annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at National Trail Raceway.

Whit Bazemore, Warren Johnson and GT Tonglet also were the provisional qualifying leaders in their respective categories at the $2 million race, the eighth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Dixon took advantage of the early evening's cool temperatures to power his Miller Light dragster to a leading qualifying performance of 4.510 seconds at a track record speed of 331.94 in his first attempt.

"A lot of fans came by and they were excited about (the speed)," Dixon said. "The car went out there and quivered a little bit, got through that and ran on through. You're listening to the engine. It ran on eight cylinders all the way out.

"I think (crew chief) Dick LaHaie, it all goes to him. He's done real well, and fortunately he's in our corner."

The final two rounds of professional qualifying are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Final eliminations are Sunday at 11 a.m. Dixon chose not to make his second run after most of the Top Fuel field struggled to complete their second qualifying runs on a rapidly cooling track.

"We had the car set up for a certain track temperature, and it started cooling off rapidly," Dixon said. "As cars were not going down the track, it kind of reconfirmed where we were at. We're here a month earlier. Last year it'd be hot and humid and you'd be wishing you were running the sessions at 10 p.m. so it would be nice and cool."

This year's event was moved to May from its traditional June date in the hopes of avoiding the state's rainy season. Rain did arrive during the early morning hours Friday, but the professional rounds went on as scheduled. Bazemore powered his Matco Tools Dodge Stratus down the track in 4.762 seconds at 322.34 mph to lead Funny Car.

"It's a real good start for the weekend," said Bazemore, who has yet to qualify No. 1 this season despite winning two events. Bazemore was second in the point standings to John Force after Atlanta last weekend. "Our team hasn't qualified that well all year, so hopefully it's not a jinx. We've done fairly well. We're second in the championship, and we've won two races, but all from qualifying eighth and 12th. Hopefully, if we can stay low tomorrow it won't be a jinx. It's what our team's needed. We've worked really hard trying to right our ship and eventually hard work pays off. Qualifying is a tribute to our Matco Tools team.

It's (crew chief) Lee Beard making the right call, it's the guys doing a perfect job, and here we are. It felt good to run that quick, because we hadn't done that in quite a while."

Johnson covered the quarter-mile distance with a track record time of 6.749 seconds at 204.48 mph in his GM Performance Parts Pontiac to pace Pro Stock.

"We had a few problems on our first run that could have had an adverse effect on the evening session," Johnson said. "We had a malfunction with the throttle linkage which prevented the second carburetor from fully opening, which was compounded by our not getting any computer data from the run. Therefore, we pretty much had to wing it for our second attempt.

"We actually made a significant amount of changes based on something Kurt (Johnson's son and driver of the ACDelco Cobalt) had done with his car in testing. Considering our predicament, we felt it was a good time to try it, and fortunately, it seems to have worked well enough to place us in the No. 1 position at the moment. Overall, I was pleased. It was a good, straight run, and our sixty foot time was back in the hunt, so I think we're getting this GM Performance Parts Pontiac to where it needs to be."

Tonglet rode his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson down the track in 7.090 seconds at 187.03 mph to lead Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying after forfeiting his first run due to a battery malfunction. Tonglet came to Columbus fresh off of a win at Atlanta, his first victory of 2005 and the second of his career. The win put him on top of the point standings.

"It's been a real good week," Tonglet said. "First I win Atlanta and now I'm No. 1 here. I'm real happy with the run. We had a 1.08 (-second clocking) to 60 feet plus the tire was spinning downtrack so I know we have room to improve.

"It's good to have a teammate because I didn't get to run in Round 1 but our bikes are identical so we were able to use his data to tune me up for tonight. (Team crew chief) Matt Hines is a three-time champion; he can get any bike down any track."

FRIDAY NOTES - Tough pickings Bazemore; Cohen hobbles to Columbus and WJ experiments

No breeze for Baze -- Whit Bazemore was the Funny Car class' low qualifier Friday and set the National Trail Raceway elapsed-time record with a 4.762-second pass at 322.34 mph. While it was a 10-place improvement from his first Friday run of 4.948/308.78, which left him 11th in the order, it wasn't an easy feat.

"It was close. It almost didn't make it," Bazemore said. "It rattled pretty hard out there, and that's what a lot of guys did: shook the tires first round and tonight."

He said crew chief Lee Beard "had the tune-up right" in the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Stratus R/T. "I didn't crash it," he said, "and we went down the track and ran a .76. It felt good to run that quick, because we hadn't done that in quite a while."

He came into the event just 24 points off the lead John Force gained at his expense in Atlanta. Still, Bazemore had almost a desperate tone during the week as he anticipated the Pontiac Performance Nationals, where he posted top speed last season.

"We're coming to Columbus and try to turn our season around," he said. "Even though we were up there at the top of the points for quite a while, we're just not the team to beat right now, and we're not the team that we can be. We have to go to Columbus and really have our luck change. We have to do whatever it takes to change our luck. We desperately need to have a good weekend."

With Force's inability to record a full run Friday and his own success, Bazemore had to be encouraged.

Two more qualifying rounds are scheduled for Saturday, but Bazemore said, "It's a real good start for the weekend."

He hasn't qualified No. 1 all season; the closest he has come is two No. 8 starts.He had controlled the lead in the standings twice, though.

"Our team hasn't qualified that well all year, so hopefully it's not a jinx," Bazemore said. "We've done fairly well. We're second in the championship, and we've won two races, but all from qualifying eighth and 12th. Hopefully, if we can stay low tomorrow it won't be a jinx. It's what our team has needed.

"We've worked really hard trying to right our ship, and eventually hard work pays off," he said. "Qualifying is a tribute to our Matco Tools team. It's (crew chief) Lee Beard making the right call, it's the guys doing a perfect job, and here we are."

K.J. does O.K. -- Kurt Johnson said with back-to-back races, such as the Atlanta-Columbus combo, teams have no time to test and "have been forced to try things in qualifying." He said he's looking to gather as much data as he can about his new ACDelco Cobalt.

He should have found some helpful information in Friday's opening session, as he set both ends of the track record in his first run with a 6.761-second elapsed time at 204.26 mph. He couldn't hold onto the records, though, with his second pass.

His dad, Warren Johnson, upstaged him with a 6.749 (the only showing in the 6.74 bracket), taking over as top qualifier and track E.T. record-breaker. His speed was 204.48, but Edwards topped that in his second try with a 204.85 for the mark. Edwards' improved E.T. of 6.752 pushed Kurt Johnson to No. 3 in the order.

But KJ already was looking for ways to improve. “We’re certainly pleased with our ACDelco Cobalt’s consistency, but seeing what Dad’s car ran tells us we should have been up in the 6.75 range tonight," he said. "Looking at the data, it was just a little off to the 330-foot mark, and that was the difference. It was probably a couple of minor items that we’ll look to address tomorrow. However, it’s encouraging that we’re able to make good, consistent runs on a cold race track."

Professor experiments -- Pro Stock points leader Warren Johnson, who won at Houston and Bristol and was top qualifier at Atlanta, was 18th after the opening qualifying session but leaped to the top spot, thanks to some help from son Kurt, from whom he swiped the track elapsed-time record.

"On our first run . . . we had a malfunction with the throttle linkage, which prevented the second carburetor from fully opening, which was compounded by our not getting any computer data from the run," Warren Johnson said. "Therefore, we pretty much had to wing it for our second attempt.
“We actually made a significant amount of changes, based on something Kurt had done with his car in testing. Considering our predicament, we felt it was a good time to try it," he said, "and fortunately, it seems to have worked well enough to place us in the No. 1 position at the moment. Overall, I was pleased. It was a good, straight run, and our 60-foot time was back in the hunt, so I think we’re getting this GM Performance Parts Pontiac to where it needs to be.”

Sure looked all right -- Donnie Bender, assistant crew chief for Larry Dixon on the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster, said, "We didn’t have the correct tune-up for the track conditions. The track temperature was 61 degrees. We had the car setup for a track temp in the 70s.”

That -- and the fact the rest of the field couldn't make it down the quarter-mile in the second session -- is why crew chief Dick La Haie opted not to make a run Friday evening. It didn't hurt Dixon any. His first pass of 4.510 seconds at a track-record 331.94 mph was enough to claim the provisional No. 1 qualifying spot. David Baca, who's third, decided to stand on his first attempt of 4.568/324.83.

“It feels good to get the car qualified solidly in the show,” Dixon said. “That will definitely keep us qualified. On Saturday, we’ll work on a race-day setup. We had the car set up for a certain track temperature on Friday night, but the track cooled off rapidly. I guess if it was race day, we would have made an educated guess and hoped that the car hooked up and gone down the track. Luckily, it was qualifying, and we weren’t faced with that.”

If Dixon remains at the head of the pack, it'll be the first time fro him since August, 16 2003, at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway. He has 23 career No. 1 qualifying positions.

Second time around -- Atlanta winner GT Tonglet didn't get to make a pass in the first Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying session of the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals because the battery on his Harley V-Twin bike was dead. He made up for it with his second chance, taking provisional No. 1 qualifier honors with a 7.090-second elapsed time at 187.03 mph.

Tonglet was the only rider to post a 7.0-second E.T. His time was just nine-thousandths of a second from tying teammate and defending event champion Andrew Hines' year-old track record time (7.081).

Suzuki rider Shawn Gann challenged Craig Treble's 2004 speed mark of 191.76 mph with his own 190.40.

Bottom-feeder for now -- Another 2005 Pro Stock winner was unqualified after the first session. Jason Line, the Gatornationals champion, was 25th of 26, ahead of only Erica Enders. In the evening session, Line merely traded places with Enders, as both remained the last two on the list.

Agony of de feet -- Despite hobbling around the Pro Stock Motorcycle pits with a broken big toe from the fall off her Suzuki one weeks ago during qualifying at Atlanta, Connie Cohen rebounded once she got back on her CMKXtreme Machine bike at National Trails Raceway. She qualified 16th in the first session with a 7.468-second E.T. at 159.72 mph. It didn't hold up Friday night, as she was bumped off the grid, from 16th to 20th.

Still, she said she's grateful for the protective gear that kept her accident from doing any more damage.

“I really want to extend a huge thank-you to Vason Leathers for saving me from a serious case of road rash in Atlanta,” the Bristol, Ct., rider said. “I also want to thank HJC Helmets for once again providing me with a product that definitely helped save me from much more serious injuries.

“I’m very grateful for the tons of get-well wishes I’ve received from all of my fans and CMKX shareholders,” Cohen said. “I want to thank Urban and Carolyn Casavant and CMKX team manager Ron Casavant for their continued support. They’ve been tremendous."

Where are the big boys? -- Although 19 Top Fuel cars are entered in the event, only 14 were able to record elapsed times in Friday's first session. Scott Weis did a burnout, then his team shut down the Barrett Enterprises Dragster.

Morgan Lucas, last weekend's No. 1 qualifier at Atlanta, didn't get to make a run in his first chance, although the Wayne Dupuy-led crew did get the engine to fire. Dupuy noticed then that the timing was off, a misfortune he couldn't pinpoint immediately. The team changed engines fort he second session. Lucas made the field at No. 15, but it wasn't on the kind of pass they were hoping for. The car was up in smoke right off the starting line, and Lucas shut the motor off.

Tim Cullinan, Bobby Lagana, and Don Reed didn't attempt runs.

Keeping up team reputation -- Robert Hight in the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang and Eric Medlen in the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang made up for boss John Force's 11th-place clocking in the first Friday sesssion. The points leader shut off the engine of his Castrol GTX Start-Up Mustang early and settled for a 9.815/85.95. Meanwhile, Hight led the field with a 4.804-second pass at 317.79 mph, and Medlen followed with a 4.864/317.72.

After an afternoon mist cleared up, Hight, Medlen, and former John Force racing teammate Gary Densham were the only Funny Car drivers to make full passes in that first session.

At the end of the day, Hight and Medlen were a respectable third and fourth, respectively. But Force had trouble hooking it up again and didn't make a complete pass in either attempt.

Worsham: Fans deserve better -- Only six cars out of 19 made strong full runs, and five of those six came in the right lane. Del Worsham shook the tires on his Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo hard on the sticky track and had no chance in the left lane.

"That was not a good show for the fans," a frustrated Worsham said. "I'm sure they weren't too impressed with the Funny Car session, and by the time the Top Fuel guys ran after us the track was even tighter.

"The entire Top Fuel class struck out, so you can tell it was very difficult out there. Looking at the data, we probably don't have a tune-up that could make it down that left lane," he said. It was so tight you could barely spin the tires at all, and we leaned all over it trying to get some wheel speed up, but it grabbed and shook anyway."

Worsham tried to guess what Saturday holds. "Tomorrow will probably be all different again, and we'll be back over in the right lane for the first run," he said. "It's supposed to be sunny, and a little warmer, so hopefully that will tame the track a little bit. We want to put on a good show for the people who are paying to see this. And we want a chance to earn a spot high in the field based on a good effort, rather than having our time simply be the least of all of the bad runs."

Decent, considering -- Call Cruz Pedregon pragmatic. After struggling in his first qualifying pass, the Funny Car driver recorded a 4.841-second E.T. at 317.42 mph that put him and his Advance Auto Parts Monte Carlo sixth on the grid Friday. He said he was pleased, considering the unpredictable weather.

“You either make it down this track or you don’t,” he said. He was No. 1 qualifier at this event last year, but that was later in the schedule and conditions weren't at all the same. “It was a good run and we had it backed off a little, as well. We wanted to keep it in the narrow groove and just get it down the track.

“A 4.84 was a good run, considering the conditions,” Pedregon added. “Right now, we’re in sixth, and that’s our best qualifying effort in a while."

Teammate and brother Tony Pedregon fared a bit worse --14th -- in his Q Racing Monte Carlo. But he's a two-time winner at the Hebron, Ohio, track (2000, 2003), so he has confidence, in addition to two more qualifying sessions.

“We’re trying to match the clutch up with the tricky conditions,” Tony Pedregon said. “It looks like we’re going to have much better weather tomorrow, and we should be ready for it. The good news is that we’re still in the field. We’ve run well here in the past, so we’ll go back and see what we have to do.”

Shock but not exactly awe -- Top Fuel challenger Tony Schumacher was surprised but not particularly pleased with the fact his U.S. Army Dragster ended up 10th in the order after two tire-smoking passes on the cold track Friday.

"Actually, that's pretty amazing," he said. "We just couldn't get past 60 feet. The track was unbelievably challenging. Most of the Top Fuel cars had problems today. With the sun due out tomorrow, I'm hopeful the grip will be better and that we'll be able to make a couple of full passes and move up in the order."

He could use a break, as he has fallen 60 points behind leader Doug Kalitta.

PREVIEW - Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals Preview: Lucas Wants To Continue Russell's Legacy With Columbus Victory

(5-19-2005) - About 10 years ago, Morgan Lucas was a "pit rat," collecting whatever parts and pieces drag racers would give him.

At the event in Brainerd, Minn., he got a huge one -- a bent wheel rim from Darrell Russell, who had done a wheelstand and damaged the rim when he slammed down hard on the track. Russell autographed it for him, and Lucas said he thought he was about the luckiest kid in the world.

"I went I went to their trailer, not knowing quite what the differences in the classes were -- that's how dumb I was. I was about 10 years old," he said. "They took me into the trailer and gave me this rim, this rod, and piston, all this stuff, and I got his autograph. It meant a lot to me. I kept it around the office for a long time. It has kind of been a good keepsake to have."

Lucas still has that autographed rim . . . and his memory of how a small kindness like that deepened his love for the sport.

He's 21 years old now and driving the Joe Amato Racing-owned Top Fuel dragster, ironically succeeding Russell, who was killed last June during eliminations at St. Louis.

"I wasn't best buddies with Darrell. I never really talked to him that much, to be honest. I just always looked up to him," Lucas said. "That was a big thing for me. He was just an excellent person. I didn't know him on a personal basis that well, compared to a lot of people out here . . . So I can only imagine how nice a guy he was to everybody. I know how much he meant to these guys and I know how much he meant to [widow Julie]. It'd be something special to have that kind of effect on people. It's an honor for me to be able to represent somebody like that."

That's what he said he'll be doing this weekend at the Pontiac Performance Nationals at National Trails Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.

"Darrell Russell's last win was in Columbus, and we definitely want to defend his title," Lucas, who has driven the Joe Amato-owned Lucas Oil Dragster since August 2004. "It's huge for us to run well in his honor.

He said crew chief Wayne Dupuy "has a great hot-track set-up, and last year the guys went right down a 120-degree track, ran a 4.56, and won the race. Actually, Darrell won it on Joe's birthday. It would nice to double up and make it back-to-back wins in Columbus for Amato Racing. It comes back to the 'big shoes to fill' situation, and Darrell was an excellent driver. The style of car I'm driving now is a copy of the one they won the race with last year."

Lucas has some momentum as he goes into this eighth of 23 races on the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series schedule. His 4.541-second elapsed time led the Top Fuel field at Atlanta. He and his team stayed at Atlanta Dragway Monday and, in Lucas' words, "got a bunch of bugs worked out in the new car." He's hoping that'll make up for his quarterfinal dismissal last weekend.

"We ran our car on a 130-degree track at Atlanta on Monday in testing. It went straight down the track, smooth as glass and we figured out what made the difference in its handling," he said. "We and went 4.60 seconds."

Dupuy has worked on this new design for the past couple of months and is hoping his new Hadman car that's built to his preferences will move up Lucas from fourth place in the standings and allow him to shine in the summer stretch of races.

"I think this is our time to shine right now," Lucas, a three-time runner-up in just 15 career starts, said. "We need to start winning more rounds and catch up some of the distance (point leader) Doug Kalitta has on us." He's 159 points off the pace and just 31 behind No. 3 Larry Dixon.

"We're No. 3 in the Budweiser Shootout points, and that says we have the potential to be there. We just need to put it all together. I would rather go down the track one time in qualifying and four times in eliminations. It's just whatever we have to do to win these races."

When qualifying starts Friday, his rivals will be ready to go, too, as will all the drivers and riders Competition Plus will be monitoring. Check in to see how your favorite performed.

Here are some updates from the nitro classes as teams prepare for the second in a string of three consecutive races:

Top Fuel

David Baca -- He doesn't want to be known as the Boy Who Cried Top Ten. "If we can continue going like this, picking up a few rounds each weekend, we should pick up some spots in the top 10'" he said after his runner-up finish at Atlanta. "The car did run well. We found more power. We were just messed up in the bell housing." He said dad Dennis Baca and co-crew chief Larry Meyer made "dramatic moves" in the clutch area, "and it looks like it is responding." He said he's anticipating the tricky-track syndrome and wants to be ready. But he warns his opponents had better be ready: "Some people said we were lucky to get to the finals," Baca said. "Sometimes luck is created because the other teams know the potential of our car, and they know they'd better bring their A game to the ball park when you're going to line up against our car. If you swing for the fences, sometimes you strike out."

Jack Beckman -- The driving instructor at Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School in Pomona, Calif., hasn't been idle since driving Dexter Tuttle's Menards/MTS Dragster in his professional debut at Las Vegas five weeks ago. The week after that, he was runner-up on Friday and a semifinalist Sunday while bracket racing with his Blackbird Super Comp dragster at California Dragway in Fontana. Last week, he drove Dennis Murphy's Charger Funny Car and won a California Independent Funny Car Association (CIFCA) series event in Tucson, Ariz. "In case you hadn't guessed, I love driving," Beckman said. "I'd be
out there racing in a rental car if I had to."

Brandon Bernstein -- He threw out the first pitch at the Columbus Clippers Triple-A baseball game Thursday night, but he's really hoping to hit a home run at National Trail Raceway, where he has the track record E.T. at 4.489 seconds. He set it last year on his way to the No. 1 qualifying position. "We hope to be able to take a run at some good numbers when we return this year," Bernstein said. "Recently we've been fortunate to have set some good performance marks. At Bristol we were the No. 1 qualifier and set low elapsed time and top speed of the event. That shows us we are in the hunt and have the capability to win some rounds. This team is hungry for a victory."

Larry Dixon -- The two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion has been a drag-racing historian, of sorts, growing up watching dad Larry Dixon Sr. race Top Fuel dragsters. "My dad only raced at Columbus a few times, but I remember being there in 1976 when Shirley (Muldowney) won her first Top Fuel race," Dixon said. "That win turned her into a real threat, and she won her first championship the next year." Dixon has done well, too. He won there three times (2001-03), and if he wins Sunday, he'll tie Muldowney for the most career Top Fuel victories at National Trail Raceway. "The older races, like Columbus, are certainly more special to win then some of the races that have only been around a few years," Dixon said. He said his favorite triumph there came on Fathers Day 2002, when team owner Don Prudhomme had a double victory with Dixon in the Miller Lite Dragster and Ron Capps in the Skoal Funny Car. Dixon is third in the standings, 128 points out of first place.

Dave Grubnic -- Grubnic's second straight red-light DQ in the Zantrex-3 Dragster with Doug Kalitta the opponent both times, fueled speculation that their match-ups were no races. But team manager Jim Oberhofer denied it. "We have not and are not taking dives for Doug," Oberhofer stated. "Unfortunately, it may look like we are, but we aren't, and I want to make that very clear to all of our fans and to the media that our team is in no way intentionally letting Doug, or anyone else on our team for that matter, win. If anyone would like to dispute that, I want them to personally come and talk to me or Connie (team owner Connie Kalitta)." Said Grubnic, "My right leg must've detached from my brain. I just don't want this thing to be how people know me. Our fans are great, and they and our sponsors deserve better than what I've been doing at these last two races. We've got an incredible group of guys that work very hard on our race car. I owe it to them and our whole Kalitta Motorsports team, especially Connie (Kalitta, team owner and drag racing legend), to do better, and I will. I promise."

Doug Kalitta -- He grabbed the first of three victories this year at Gainesville, the race his car's sponsor, Mac Tools, also sponsors. He'd love nothing better than to win in Columbus, where Mac Tools has its corporate headquarters. "We're on quite a hot streak right now," he said. "Getting by Tony (Schumacher) in the semis in Atlanta was huge. Winning the race was big, but beating the guy that's right behind you in points is what we have to keep doing to win the championship." He has four of the last five final rounds. He never has won three consecutive races but won back-to-back events in 2002 at Chicago and Dallas.

Scott Kalitta -- He has won just two elimination rounds in the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster since winning the season opener at Pomona and has slipped to eighth place in the standings. "This has been a nightmare," Scott said. "We've been doing everything we
thought we could to make our car come back around, but it just hasn't wanted
to. It has been horribly frustrating for all of us on our team." A post-Atlanta test, in which he said the team "clean-slated everything and went to a combination we thought we could get a better baseline from," yielded encouraging news. "We made a great lap on a hot track, near 130 degrees, of 4.59 (seconds) at 326 (mph). We made some changes to that tune-up to try to get a better launch, and it did what we told it to do on the next lap. The track conditions weren't as good on that lap, and it lost traction about three seconds in, but it still had better numbers early, and that's what we were hoping for. It's almost like a new race car now." He has won the Top Fuel title twice (1994. '95) at Columbus, was No. 1 qualifier for three straight years (1993-95), and owns the track speed record at 330.39 mph (2004).

Tony Schumacher -- "We need to get back to our winning ways," the reigning series champ said. "We performed well last weekend with seven nice passes, but we still came up empty-handed." He won at National Trails Raceway in 2000 and said, "I like that track. Really, the best thing is that Alan Johnson likes the track. That's critical when a crew chief is comfortable at a particular venue. Listen, we're ready to do battle this weekend, that's all there is to it." He's second in points, 60 behind Doug Kalitta.

T.J. Zizzo -- The Chicago native hopes in this second appearance of 2005 to improve on his first-round defeat at Houston. "I knew we had a car that had potential to go rounds," he said. "I expect to qualify and I know we have the ability to win this event."


Funny Car

Whit Bazemore -- John Force did it again to him -- swiped the points lead. Bazemore and crew chief Lee Beard need to rein in the 13-time champion before he runs away for the pack and make it 14 titles. The Matco Tools Dodge Stratus driver is only 24 points out, and he's trying to recapture the magic from not so long ago. "We're coming to Columbus and try to turn our season around," Bazemore said. "We're just not the team to beat right now, and we're not the team that we can be. We desperately need to have a good weekend here, if we want to continue to fight for this championship. Otherwise, we're going to be fighting for fifth place or worse."

Ron Capps -- The schedule change is on the Brut Dodge driver's mind. "This is the first time that we'll run Columbus a little bit earlier in the year," he said. "And they've re-paved the track. I think the track is going to be a lot better than we've seen it in the past. I think people will be pretty surprised in the Friday night session how well everybody runs. It's going to be one of those deals where you make your best shot Friday night to put yourself into the field the best way you can and then concentrate on Sunday's race-day tune-up because, more than likely, it's going to be warm on Sunday." He said he's comfortable in the back-up car, which was new at the start of the season but presses into service because the "A" car chassis was bent. He's seventh in the standings but said, "The points are so bunched up right now. It's exciting that we're right there in the hunt. I consider us really well ahead of schedule, to where we actually thought we would be. I know a win is just around the corner. I can feel it. Looking back I felt like we should have won Atlanta, and we definitely should have won Las Vegas. Those were two races we kicked ourselves Sunday night because we felt like we really gave those away."

John Force -- The points leader and driver of the Castrol GTX® Start Up® Ford Mustang has won three times at National Trail Raceway (1988, 1990, 2001). However, with 25 starts there, it's the scene of his worst starts-to-wins ratio. He has won there just once in the last 14 years, this icon who has won more than a quarter of all the races in which he has appeared in a 30-year racing career (116 of 436). "We've run good at Columbus," Force said, "maybe not as good as some other tracks, but you know, this is a new year. They've always run the race in June and now it's in May, so maybe that'll make a difference. It's like a new start." (He has won 10 of 19 times at Brainerd, 7 of 17 at Seattle, 7 of 22 at both Atlanta and Houston, 8 of 21 at Phoenix.) Assuming he qualifies, he'll have a record-shattering qualifying streak of 354 consecutive NHRA events.

Robert Hight -- The rookie driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang is coming from his second final-round appearance of the season. In another time, Hight might be spending his weekend 100 miles down the road in Vandalia, Ohio, site of the American Trapshooting Association Grand American, the world's largest target shooting competition. This week, though, Hight will take the skills that made him a champion marksman and apply them to pursuing the Funny Car title. He within .002 of a second of becoming the first rookie in 13 years, the first since Cruz Pedregon in 1992, to lead the standings. Had he beaten Force last weekend at Atlanta, he would be the points leader. He said teammate Eric Medlen "went through all the rookie stuff a year ago, and he's walked me through every bit of it. I would never be where I am without him and without Jimmy (crew chief Prock) and the whole team. If there's a weak link in the Auto Club team, it's me, because I still have so much to learn."

Eric Medlen -- The sophomore driver has struggled during the last three events, and he said that's because his team has "made a big change in how we run the car." He said dad and crew chief John Medlen "had wrung all the performance we could out of the old combination"" and is incorporating in the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang some of the ideas Austin Coil and Jimmy Prock, other crew chiefs in the John Force Racing organization, have found successful. "It's going to be good, but right now my dad is just trying to get comfortable with it. With the old combination, he knew exactly what would happen if he did this or did that. The new combination is different enough that we're having to be re-trained a little, but I think it's made us a better team and once he gets it figured out, we're gonna be fast."

Cruz Pedregon -- The top qualifier at Columbus in 1998 and 2004 and 2002 runner-up, who also set low E.T. and speed that year there, Pedregon said his Advance Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo could sail, after fuel system changes and tweaks to the new body.
"We have built a very light body to make the car go as fast as possible," he said. "During the last few races, we've been able to rebound from some weak qualifying positions and measure up coming elimination day. But in Columbus, we're hoping to be consistent thorough the weekend." Brothers Tony and Frankie have won there. Is it Cruz's turn?

Tony Pedregon -- The Q Racing driver has a successful track record at National Trail Raceway: with two victories (2000, 2003), top-qualifier awards in 1999 and 2003, and semifinal appearances in 1996 and 2001. He also set the track E.T. record in 2003 with a pass of 4.780 seconds. A year later, it went to another Pedregon -- brother Cruz covered the quarter-mile in 4.769 seconds in June 2004.

Gary Scelzi -- He survived an engine explosion and lasted another round after that at Atlanta but said, "I don't see any hiccups coming into Columbus." He said the weather forecast calls for temperatures "to be fairly cool. It should be good. The track was re-paved last year, and it was pretty decent at the 2004 event. We have good history here and good records here. This Mopar/Oakley Dodge should be right in the middle of the points race. And the good news is that even though we dropped one spot in points, we're only 61 points out of the lead. So we're a little closer, everybody is tighter bunched, and it should be exciting for the fans."

FRIDAY, May 20, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 8:00 AM
Final Registration and Tech Inspection (Pro's & Comp only) 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Sportsman Qualifying/Eliminations 9:00 AM
Comp Eliminator Qualifying Sessions (2) 12:00 AM & 3:00 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session (PS Motorcycle / PS Car) 4:00 PM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel Dragster) 5:00 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session (PS Motorcycle / PS Car) 7:00 PM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Funny Car / Top Fuel Dragster) 8:00 PM
Secure Track 10:00 PM

SATURDAY, May 21, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 7:00 AM
Sportsman Eliminations 8:00 AM
Comp Eliminator - Round 1 11:00 AM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session (PS Motorcycle / PS Car) 11:30 AM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel Dragster / Funny Car) 12:30 PM
Comp Eliminator - Round 2 2:00 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session (PS Motorcycle / PS Car) 2:30 PM
Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel Dragster / Funny Car) 3:30 PM
Secure Track 6:00 PM

SUNDAY, May 22, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 9:00 AM
Pre-Race Ceremonies 10:00 AM
Final Eliminations 11:00 AM
Secure Event 4:30 AM

Schedule subject to change

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