MAC Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals
Indianapolis
by Brian Lohnes; Photos by Roger Richards and Brian Wood

INDY FINAL - Champions crowned on Monday

MONDAY NOTES - Busy weekend for Girl Power, Mean manzo and it’s the suck zone…

(9-5-2005) - Hillary’s busy weekend – Hillary Will has been doing a bunch of stuff this weekend. She has been running her blown alcohol dragster in TAD competition, attending sponsor and team parties for her new Kalitta gig, racking up the phone and e-mail minutes with Bucky Austin, and greeting fans.

“I’ve been pretty busy. We had a sponsor event the other night that all the teams were at. It was a good night and it was great to be able to meet the various sponsors of the Kalitta teams,” she said.

Will qualified well and was making her way though the rounds with help from Austin, who has been helping the team tune the car electronically from his shop in the state of Washington.

“We have been e-mailing him all the data from the runs and we have spent a lot of time on the phone getting the tune up,” Will said. “It has been going well, I just hope we can keep up with the injected cars.”

One nasty Ford – John Mihovetz piloted his very cool Mercury Cougar into the No. 2 two spot in Competition Eliminator at the U.S. Nationals. John’s choice of weapon is a twin turbocharged dual overhead cam Ford motor, the kind found in the last generation Mustang.

The Ford-powered Mercury is classified as a BB/AT and ran a best of 6.749 during the qualifying sessions.

John is still in competition and anyone who bleeds Ford blue should be pulling for him hard!

Mean Mr. Manzo – Alcohol Funny Car standout Frank Manzo is on a tear thus far in the elimination rounds. In the first round Manzo took out Don Hudson with a pass that garnered low E.T. of the meet honors, a 5.591, 259 mph zinger.

In the second round he took out his West Coast counterpart, the always tough Jay Payne, to advance to the semifinals.

That giant sucking sound – As the fields are trimmed down to the last few competitors, many racers in both the sportsman and professional ranks are hitting the highway.

They are going to be greeted with three dollar a gallon gas locally and who knows how much a gallon at home.

Some like Doug Palmer and Richie Stephens are headed back toward the bedlam that is Louisiana. Others are headed back up north and out west. It is a grueling weekend for competitors in the sportsman ranks, many of whom got here very early last week to be parked.

The roughly 1300 entries for this event represent the blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of families across this country. We hope that you have enjoyed reading our sportsman coverage this weekend as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.

From the wild injected A/Fuelers, to the racers competing in W/Stock, this event lives and carries the weight that it does because of you. From Moscow to Michigan, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is known to be the penultimate drag race on Earth.

We wish everyone a safe (and hopefully fuel-efficient) trip back to wherever home may be.

SUNDAY NOTES - The Snow Man cometh; Thunder from Down Under and Hospitalized Hemi

(9-4-2005) - The schedule is subject to change – Well, the Pro Mod contingent are not the only ones who have had an abrupt change of plans this weekend.

Alcohol Funny Car racers were loaded into the staging lanes and readying themselves for battle at close to 10 AM this morning when they were told that their round would be rescheduled until 5:30 this afternoon.

Whoopsie-doodle.

What was lost could not be found – We reported last night that Ashley Force was the No.16 qualifier and would be facing Gene Snow in round one. Snow had a four tenth of a second advantage in qualifying time.

The always dangerous Castrol team made a race of it, running their best lap of the weekend, but it was not enough. Her 5.56, 260 mph pass could not match Snow’s 5.33, 246 lap.

“The Snow Man,” being the cagey veteran he is, did not take Ashley lightly, which was a good thing because they threw the kitchen sink at him.

Can we have a do-over? - The Pro RWD Imports had their second qualifying session this morning and it was not pretty. Yesterday, a couple of competitors broke and could not make passes and the same happened today.

Six cars answered the call to the lanes and unfortunately there were no side by side races. Ara Arslanian’s car died on the launch and left a puddle, Stephen Papadakis shut it down after the burnout and both Matt Scranton and Matt Hartford lifted long before the finish.

The bright light was Vince Fourcade’s 6.58, 212 mph lap.

The Aussie invasion – Ben Bray is not the only Australian on the grounds this weekend. In fact there are Aussies running in Top Fuel, Fuel Funny Car, Alcohol Funny Car and in the sportsman ranks.

Jeff Burnett is one of two men from "down under" running Top Alcohol Funny Car. He qualified number fifteen and when we spoke to him he was looking for some more power out of the big blown Hemi that he sits behind for his first round match up with Vern Moates.

“There are a bunch of us from Brisbane here this weekend,” said Burnett, who now resides in Brownsberg, Indiana, where he races in Division 3. John Vorous drove the funny car he drives now over on the IHRA circuit. Burnett himself used to run in the other series, now he favors the NHRA

Burnett said, “We switched over when the IHRA went to eight car fields. Plus the travel is a lot better for us in NHRA Division three.”

Wicked good chowdah – There are a couple of New Englanders here this weekend competing on various levels of the diverse sportsman menu that the NHRA offers. Chick Ross and his wife Janet are competing in Super Gas and have gritted there way down to the top ten in the class.

“There were a few things that came up and we almost didn’t come out, but I’m sure glad we did. This has been an awesome weekend and an incredible event,” Ross said.

His Rick Jones-built, Reher and Morrison-powered Chevy Caviler is one of the best-engineered cars in the field. Back home Chick has been known to take the throttle stop off and dip into the seven-second range in IHRA Top Sportsman competition.

Chick had a pretty funny story from today.“My wife went up and she almost couldn’t put me in the water box. She told one of the starting line officials that she was feeling sick because she was so nervous, he told her to think of it like a time trial and pull me in!”

This is one of many stories that will come out of this event highlighting the devotion and commitment that sportsman racers bring to the most prestigious drag race on the planet, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

Where’d the snow go? -- We really wanted to talk to Gene Snow this afternoon and ask him about how it felt to be the No. 1 qualifier, to beat Ashley Force and to advance into the second round here at Indy.

Well, we didn’t get the chance because he serviced his A/Fuel dragster, put it in the trailer and skee-dattled this afternoon.

Other than “The Golden Greek,” we can think of no other racer competing this weekend who carries with him the kind of first-hand historical perspective that modern drivers just don’t have. (It’s not their fault…they just haven’t “been there” like these guys have.

Fear not, we’ll get him tomorrow!

My Hemi ‘Sploded – For those of you SS/AA fans out there, you would have been cringing to look at the left bank (if you were facing the front of the car) of cylinders after the head was removed from Randy Warford’s “Super Cuda”

The car sucked a valve and then proceeded to turn one of the cylinders into a very expensive press. It smashed the cylinder head pretty well, wiped out the piston and because of some damage to the cylinder wall, will require a sleeve into the block.

This is the second time in as many weeks for the car to have this issue, but, the team has been running four tenths quicker and really working the car as of late.

All in the name of speed!

SATURDAY NOTES - Pork Butts; Payne doubles up; Ashley's reprieve

Pop pop, fizz fizz – The Pro RWD Import cars made their first passes of the weekend this morning at 11 am local time. There are six of these machines on the grounds and four of them made it down the drag strip.

Matt Scranton was the quickest and fastest of the group with a 6.63, 214 mph pass. Current points leader Matt Hartford was on an excellent pass until the car popped loudly at one thousand feet and coasted to a 6.75 at 201.

Culinary delight – It seems that every race track in the country has its own food delicacy and IRP is no different. Valdosta, Georgia was the first place we can remember that was offering an edible treat with the world “butt” in the title with their “Butt-rub fries”.

Now we have encountered “Pork butt on a stick” here at IRP. We wonder what the physical side effects of mixing the “butt rub fries” and “butt on a stick” would be.

Division 1 is in the house – After three sessions in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, two division one racers are on top of the heap. Can you guess who they are?

Bob Newberry is currently qualified first with a 5.66 second run and Frank Manzo sits in the number two spot with a 5.67 elapsed time. These two have been battling for years in and around the Northeast and it would not be a shocker to see both of them in the final.

It’s not the humidity it’s the heat – While cruising the expanse known as the alcohol pit area we stopped by and spoke to Art Gallant, the 2002 TAD champ. Art is currently qualified 11th, he’s normally a top half qualifier so that’s a bit off pace.

Gallant said, “This is a strong field and a lot of the racers have more experience in the heat and use a different combination. We tried a new set of heads yesterday, but we’ve gone back to what we are familiar with.”

Gallant runs an injected nitromethane dragster as opposed to the blown alcohol set-up that other racers run. The injected nitro cars react a lot different to atmospheric changes than the blown entries. Currently the top three qualifiers in TAD (Aaron Oliverez, Steve Torrence, and Gene Snow, respectively) are all A/Fuel machines.

Multi-tasker – Mike Ashley is not the only guy running a Funny Car and a Pro Mod this weekend. Jay Payne is driving both of the Valvoline entries this weekend, although both of his run on alcohol.

Payne was spotted darting between pit areas over seeing preparations of both vehicles. Of note was his first round qualifying pass in the Pro Mod. It was a sub-four-second 1/8 mile pass and was really making steam when it put the burst panel out and coasted through the lights. Payne and company are running a new wing on the back of the slippery Stratus and it may have helped them out on that pass.

Payne is currently qualified on the pole in the Funny Car field with a fourth session 5.595 blast.

We’re wondering if Payne has tried to climb out of the side of the flopper yet.

One Force short – The biggest story to come out of Top Alcohol Dragster and it was a nail biter. Ashley Force made her fourth pass and it was announced that she had not made the field. This was false information.

The time that was announced and displayed was incorrect. Force actually ran a 5.608 which was good enough to earn her the bump spot and a collective exhale from the members of her crew and family.

That’s the good news. The more troubling fact is that she has Gene Snow and his 5.26 second rail in round one. Rest assured, the best minds in the business are working to find those four tenths of a second.

FRIDAY - WESTCOTT CAPTURES MOPAR SUPER STOCK HEMI CHALLENGE

(9-3-2005) - Charlie Westcott, Jr., isn't accustomed to being in the limelight, but that all changed in the blink of an eye after he won the $10,000 top prize for his victory in the Mopar Super Stock Hemi Challenge event at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals on Friday night. Westcott, Jr., performed flawlessly en route the win, having fended off more than 25 of the best SS/AA division drivers in the country to earn the victory.

"Winning the Hemi Challenge is just awesome," Westcott, Jr., said. "Not only did we win one of the biggest events of the year, but we were able to beat the West Coast Hemis team, which was a real challenge. All day on Thursday they were better than we were, but today that turned around. We were able to put together some good runs, and that helped us get our first Hemi Challenge title."

Westcott, Jr., owns the War Fish entry that he piloted to the win. The 1968 Plymouth Barracuda features a Chrysler 426 Hemi engine. The Mopar Super Stock Hemi Challenge showcases the ultimate in heads-up, door-slammer sportsman competition between the limited production, factory-built Hemi-powered Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts.

FRIDAY NOTES - War Fish bites; Close one for Jeggie; Shiftless

It’s got to be the shoes – An unidentified mole from Goodyear Tire dropped a little tidbit in our ear today. The War Fish Barracuda has a special set of sneakers on. Charlie Westcott’s entry is sporting a developmental radial tire that has been released to a special few racers, and he is one.

We believe that his car is the only SS/AA car sporting these special shoes for the dance.

Hemi-semis – Well, after three rounds of exciting SS/AA action we have a final four established. Pairing one will be Charlie Westcott and Jim Pancake. Westcott is favored in this one as he has several hundredths on Pancake in average ET.

The second pairing will be the Texan Fred Hensen in the only Dart left in competition, taking on the always-dangerous Jeg Coughlin. Hensen has been picking up steadily all day, but he will need to make a significant leap or really tattoo Jeg on the tree to contend.

Whistling Dixie – Johnny Kelley’s “Dixie Hemi” did not make it out of the first round today and he has been dealing with some different issues since repairing his car after an accident earlier in the season.

“We had an issue with the ignition system where one of our wires had a lot more resistance than the other one and was creating some interference that made our ignition box go nuts,” Kelley said.

While the car was running better today, it was not running good enough to make it past the world’s hardest running field of SS/AA cars.

In the heat of the moment – To accentuate how tightly these cars are wound and tuned we can look at the change in performance as opposed to the changing of the air here at IRP. For example, the War Fish of Charlie Westcott ran 8.68 in round one, which was run in the neighborhood of 9:30 am.

Westcott has now settled into the low 8.70’s by going 8.74 in round 2 and 8.73 in round 3. The only car of the four left that has run those numbers today has been the Holton entry driven by Jeg Coughlin.

Dat was close – Jeg Coughlin admitted that he got away with one in the semi-finals against Fred Hensen.

“I can count the number of .1 lights I have had in my career on one hand and that was one of them. We got lucky there because Fred was having his own troubles in the other lane, but we’ll take it,” said Coughlin.

Hensen admitted that his ride was a bit hairy, “That was certainly a crowd pleasing run, but it didn’t end with the win light for us.”

Fred was satisfied with his efforts for the day and considering the fact he was the only “Dart guy” who made the semi-finals in this cut throat heads-up battle he should be.

Shift Damn it! – Every man or woman who has made multiple trips down a drag strip has had to deal with a fussy transmission every now and again. Charlie Westcott had one in his round against Jim Pancake, but a cool head and experience got him the win.

When we made the walk over to the War Fish pit area the word on the street was that the uncharacteristic 8.93, 149 mph lap was caused by a delay in the transmission shifting into third gear. Westcott had to make the shift manually, resulting in the off pace elapsed time.

Give the people what they want – It is very easy to see why this class draws so much attention. Fans relate to these vehicles and drivers more so than any other class on the grounds.

Wayne Johnson, an Ohio resident who is attending his first race at IRP said, “I had heard so much about this class and how hard these guys run each other. I love it. To me this is the best class to start the weekend off with because it really gets your blood flowing to see this American muscle running so hard. The people are great, most of the drivers are really happy to tell you about their cars. To me, it’s a lot like nostalgia pro stock or something. I love this stuff!”

We think he pretty well summed it up.

War Fish completes conquest of SS/AA Shootout – Jeg Coughlin red-lit against Charlie Westcott in the final round of the Hemi Shootout here at the Mac Tools US Nationals. That’s not the real story, though.

The story is that Westcott has been the singular dominant force, a juggernaut, in contests involving SS/AA cars in a heads-up format in 2005. The man is undefeated. He has won in Belle Rose, Louisiana, Columbus, Ohio, and now here at the big daddy, the 51st U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

At the writing of these notes Westcott was unavailable for comment but we know that the understated pilot of the War Fish is very pleased with his performance and he should be. The car was fussier today than at any other time in recent memory. Shifting problems, unidentified performance issues, and the heat of competition all built up to make this one for the books.

We think that a special honor should be bestowed on Westcott and the War Fish because this is such a noteworthy accomplishment, a first. Will we see it again? Who knows but that man and that car have an extremely large target on their backs now!

Eureka! We’ve got it – We reported last evening that the West Coast Hemi team had made some changes that did not work out like they had planned. Well, the team went out this morning and ran 8.68, which was the quickest pass of the first round. Holton had this to say about the pass, “We think it has another nickel in it as long as we can keep the front end down. We are going to add more weight to the nose to keep it down. We know it has more than the 68.”

To the Bat Cave! – We’ll it’s not exactly the Bat Cave, but Jim Pancake was sighted loading his car into his trailer after his first round win. Some time later the car was seen on its way out. A closer inspection revealed a motor, draped in towels at the front of the rig. We wonder what could have taken place…hmmm.

A chink in the War Fish Armor? – Word was running around SS/AA land that Charlie had an issue in round one. The War Fish has been a singular dominant force this season in shootout action winning races at the SPORTSnationals races in Belle Rose, LA and Columbus, Ohio. Westcott went 8.70 in round one, off the pace that many were expecting. When we cruised by his pit space the crew was working, not feverishly, but working nonetheless.

Hensen’s holding steady – Fred Hensen is currently carrying the flag for the Dart contingent of the SS/AA contingent. When asked about why he took the less popular Dart over the Barracuda he said, “Well, I am a Dodge dealer and I have always just liked this style over the others.” Hensen was, like everyone else in the category, seeking a couple of hundredths for the next round. Fred was focused on the braking system of the car to find it.

I’m the only one upset – There were absolutely no upsets in round one action of the SS/AA shootout. Although fans love to see the underdog pull off the big win, it was not to be this morning.

What’s the appeal? – We asked Harry Holton of the patriarch of the West Coast Hemi Team what draws people to these cars. Holton said, “These cars really are the epitome of what super stock cars are. They were the Pro Stocks of their day and many people remember these cars. They have a mystique about them because they were such a limited production item back when they were new, people really love them.” Holton added, “Our pits are swamped with people all weekend. Lots of people tell us that they come just for this race, which is really neat.”

THURSDAY NOTES - Western Rule, Manzo motors and Hemi Super Stockers prepare

Western Ho! – West Coast Top Alcohol Dragster pilots have a hammer lock on the top four qualifying positions. Steve Torrance is currently No. 1 with a 5.400-second, 262 mph lap. Aaron Olivarez is sitting one one-hundredth behind him with Gene Snow and Hillary Will making up the top four. There were 22 cars making shots at the Indy quarter-mile in round one of qualifying.

Manzo is the man after the first session – Over on the Top Alcohol Funny Car side of things, the day’s best run belongs to Frank Manzo, who has six-hundredths on the number two man Vern Moats, 5.670 to 5.737. Manzo currently has top speed at 256 mph as well. This is after just one pass and this was made in the moderately hot and humid conditions we had today, so expect the numbers to move downward.

SS/AA = Super Awesome – There are 24 SS/AA cars on the grounds readying themselves for tomorrow’s highly-anticipated shootout. Charlie Westcott, who had dominated the last two of these affairs at Belle Rose, LA, and Columbus, Ohio, is again the man to beat in the category. The first round of the shootout is planned for sometime in the 9 o’clock hour on Friday morning. You can bet that Coughlin, Hess, Pancake, Marvel and all of the others will be turning the wick up to try and unseat King Charlie.

Bent but not broken – The West Coast Hemi team came into the weekend with their best mill loaded into the car that Jeg Couglin Jr. is driving. According to Julie Jordan of the West Coast Hemi team, “We made some changes and though that we had found some power but it didn’t do what we wanted on the first run. We’ll do our best to figure it out tonight and be ready for round one tomorrow.” The team is also having some computer ossues with their second car, but they will be ready to rock on Friday.

I can see for miles – And all you can see is race cars. We think that the cars may have spilled into neighboring states. On the sportsman side of the racetrack it is nearly a mile-long walk from the tower to the end of the pits and when we say that the cars are parked wall-to-wall, we mean wall-to-wall.

Overheard in the press room – Captain Obvious made a quick stop by the tower this afternoon and while watching a pair of Super Stocks running down the track stated, “One of them is going to get to the finish line first.” He was quickly dope-slapped and thrown off the roof. Unfortunately, he flew away to annoy us another day.

You don’t have to go home – But you can’t stay here. Things wrapped up at roughly 6:30 on Thursday with the second round of Comp. A turbocharged entry popped and banged its way into the books with a 6.99-second pass to cap the second day of running here at Indy.

You better eat your Wheaties – Friday is going to feature wall-to-wall excitement, beginning at 7:30 with Super Gas and ending at a planned 9:00 pm with Top Fuel qualifying. Everything else you could dream of falls into the slot in the middle. Keep your eyes glued to www.competitionplus.com as we will bring you the best, most comprehensive and accurate live coverage available with multiple daily updates!

FIFTH ANNUAL MOPAR SUPER STOCK HEMI CHALLENGE ON TAP FOR NHRA U.S. NATIONALS

(9-1-2005) - The Mopar Super Stock HEMI Challenge will make its fifth appearance at the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals this Friday, September 2. Featuring the hottest SS/AA cars in the country, the event will also feature former Mopar Direct Connection and Mopar Ramcharger Racing Team members Tom Hoover, Tom Coddington and Al Adam. Well-regarded for their on-track contributions to drag racing, Mopar will honor these men for their part in the advancement of the sport.

Hoover will act as the grand marshal for the Mopar Super Stock HEMI Challenge, while Coddington and Adam are noted as the honorary starters for the event. David Hakim, Portfolio Manager for Performance Mopar Parts, is looking forward to the excitement and nostalgia that these three former racers will bring to the event.

"Mopar is truly honored to have a trio of the founding engineers on the Mopar Direct Connection project as a part of this year's Mopar Super Stock HEMI Challenge," said Hakim. "Tom, Al and Tom are a part of the HEMI's legacy, and it's great to have them return to see the progress of their work. These gentlemen are also a part of the original Chrysler Racing program of the 1960's, and it's because of their dedication that the SS/AA class continues to flourish."

Hoover, Coddington and Adam were heavily involved in the development of the 1968 HEMI Barracuda and Dodge Dart Package Cars. The knowledge that the trio implemented into the machines was utilized in the progress of the Mopar Direct Connection in 1974, which serviced the NHRA/IHRA sportsman classes. Mopar reintroduced the Mopar Direct Connection at the NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals in July of this year. The Mopar Direct Connection will work to provide grassroots racers across the country with at-track technical resources.

"The Mopar Super Stock HEMI Challenge is an outstanding event; it truly showcases the awesome influence that the HEMI powerplant and Mopar have had on drag racing's history," Hakim said. "With 30 entries pre-entered, we're expecting the largest group of competitors for the event to date. Race fans will have an opportunity to see some of the most wicked SS/AA class cars do battle for the bragging rights as the Mopar Super Stock HEMI Challenge champion. It's going to be a great show."

Competitors in the Super Stock/A-Automatic (SS/AA) division are eligible to compete in the Super Stock HEMI Challenge event. Featuring more than 25 Hemi-powered factory lightweight SS/AA 1968 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts, the event winner will receive a $10,000 bonus. The final round will feature an all or nothing format as the competitors compete for not only the bragging rights but the cash prize as well.

The Mopar Super Stock Hemi Challenge will take place on Friday, September 2, during the 51st Mac Tools U.S. Nationals event at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

For a complete schedule of U.S. Nationals activities, visit http://nhra.com/apcm/templates/event_schedule.asp?articleid=2465&zoneid=91&navsource=18.

For more information about the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Mopar Super Stock Hemi Challenge, Mopar Direct Connection or Team Mopar, visit www.irponline.com, www.moparspeed.com, or www.mopar.com.

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