O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals
Memphis, Tenn.
By Susan Wade; Photos by Auto Imagery

SUNDAY FINAL - FULLER WINS FIRST CAREER POWERADE SERIES RACE AT 18TH ANNUAL O'REILLY MID-SOUTH NATIONALS

Medlen wins second straight in Funny Car, Anderson extends lead in Pro Stock and Hines regains lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle

(8-21-2005) - Tony Schumacher had the POWERade Series points lead within his reach, just needing one more win Sunday against part-time driver "Hot" Rod Fuller in the final round of the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals.

What looked like a mismatch turned instead into an upset as Fuller and his David Powers Motorsports dragster sped past Schumacher's U.S. Army dragster to earn him his first career POWERade Series win.

"I didn't see him or hear him so I knew it was going good,” said Fuller, who's hardly a fluke having advanced now to three final rounds in the 10 events (out of 17) he's entered. "I think that was the first time I ever drove down the track with a smile on my face. I'm not a real excitable person but when the win light came on I started celebrating like crazy."

The other winners at the $1.6 million event, the 17th of 23 on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, were Eric Medlen (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

An incredibly wild and competitive season across all four categories in the POWERade Series was center stage again Sunday as illustrated by the fact that there was another lead change, bringing the total for the season now to 24. There have also been a total of 15 different drivers who have at one point this season led their respective category.

And defending POWERade Series Top Fuel champ Schumacher fell four points short of passing Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools dragster and running the total of lead changes to 25.

Hines regained the Pro Stock Motorcycle lead by 15 points over GT Tonglet with his final-round win over his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate; Anderson extended his lead in Pro Stock to 73 points over the man he defeated in the final round, Kurt Johnson; and Robert Hight, who lost to Medlen in the semifinals, maintained a slim 30-point lead in Funny Car over runner-up Ron Capps.

But the night belonged to Fuller, who has consistently had one of the better dragsters when he's entered races in the first season of competition for David Powers Motorsports. And he soaked in the victory, taking a lonely but meaningful stroll, with his Wally in tow, all the way down the quarter-mile at 10:15 p.m., a full two hours after his first victory was secured.

"To be the man you have to beat the man and today we were able to do that," said Fuller, who ran a 4.612-second final round against Schumacher's 5.747. "I'd been stuck on 13 (career) wins for awhile and I was starting to think it was a jinx so it was the perfect time to get my first Top Fuel win and push that number to 14. We almost did it earlier this year in Bristol but I lost on a holeshot. I caught a lot of ribbing for that so I wanted to make sure I wasn't late today."

The win-light in Funny Car went to the resurgent Eric Medlen, who won for the third time in the last four national events in his Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang, beating team owner John Force's Castrol Startup GTX Ford Mustang in the quarterfinals and teammate Robert Hight's AAA Ford Mustang in the semifinals before taking out Ron Capps's Brut Dodge Stratus with a 4.911-second run in the finals (against a 4.985).

"I don't know if there has ever been a team that has it totally together," said Medlen, who remained in fifth place but pulled to within 71 points of Hight for the POWERade Series lead. "You like to think you do but there's always something. But I bet these three teams work together as best as three teams can. When John [Force] went out half his guys went to help Robert [Hight] and half came to help us. Me and Robert ran each other hard because whoever won needed to have lane choice. We both staged real shallow and didn't worry about our lights. When I won that race all three crews worked on my car. That's how it goes."

"You always want to win a race for yourself but I really wanted to win this one for the entire team because we all share in the pain and we all share the wins," Medlen said.

In Pro Stock, the points race came into clear focus as Kurt Johnson, winner of three of the previous five events in his ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt, faced off against Greg Anderson and his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO in the final with a chance to get to within 33 points of Anderson with a win.Instead, after running a 6.834 to cross the line just behind Anderson's 6.801, he now finds himself 73 points back of Anderson.

"If the fans aren't enjoying this points race this year they're not paying attention," Anderson said. "This is like a toe-to-toe heavyweight fight. Kurt has the best car right now. I can't seem to put any space between us. He's been storming up behind us in the points. I had to win just to hold him off."

"We somehow seem to rise to the occasion when we need to," Anderson said. "We seem to do it just a little bit more than the others and that's been the difference. All the glory should go to the crew because they're the ones doing the work that makes me look good. The driver gets on TV but the crew should get all the accolades."

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, the Harleys were once again the story as Hines and Tonglet faced off in the final round for the second consecutive week with Hines running a 7.161 (vs. a 7.239 for Tonglet) as they created some separation from the rest of the pack in the class.

"We came in on a high note with (GT Tonglet) winning Brainerd last weekend," Hines said. "They gave the Suzukis a 10-pound weight break and we didn't know how that would change things. Then we start qualifying and I blow up three motors in a row. I was at an all-time low for my career. But dad [Byron Hines] and Scott Sceurman rebuilt our best motor and fixed it and the crew gave me a perfect bike and I was able to go to the No. 1 spot by two-thousandths over GT.

The other story all weekend was the weather, which reached record highs in the Memphis area.

"I just tried to keep my head clear today. It was so hot and I tried to stay cool up in the lounge," Hines said. "I knew I had a great bike and I didn't want to give anything away. The race against Ryan Schnitz in the quarterfinals was the tightest of my career. I was real glad to see the win light and I started thinking I might get the breaks today."

Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park. The 1.6 million race is the 17th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

1. Rod Fuller; 2. Tony Schumacher; 3. Larry Dixon; 4. Cory McClenathan; 5. David Grubnic; 6. Morgan Lucas; 7. Melanie Troxel; 8. Scott Kalitta; 9. Doug Herbert; 10. Doug Kalitta; 11. John Smith; 12. Bobby Lagana Jr.; 13. Mitch King; 14. Clay Millican; 15. Scott Weis; 16. Brandon Bernstein.

FUNNY CAR:

1. Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang; 2. Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus; 3. Robert Hight, Mustang; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo; 5. John Force, Mustang; 6. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo; 7. Gary Scelzi, Stratus; 8. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo; 9. Whit Bazemore, Stratus; 10. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 11. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica; 12. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo; 13. Jack Wyatt, Pontiac Firebird; 14. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo; 15. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo; 16. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo.

PRO STOCK:

1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO; 2. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt; 3. Rickie Smith, Chevy Cavalier; 4. Dave Howard, Cobalt; 5. Jason Line, Pontiac Grand Am; 6. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 7. Greg Stanfield, Cavalier; 8. Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Stratus; 9. Warren Johnson, GTO; 10. Allen Johnson, Stratus; 11. Larry Morgan, Stratus; 12. Ronnie Humphrey, Cavalier; 13. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus; 14. Richie Stevens, Stratus; 15. Erica Enders, Cobalt; 16. Jim Yates, Grand Am.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 2. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson; 3. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 4. Chris Rivas; 5. Ryan Schnitz; 6. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki; 7. Michael Phillips, Suzuki; 8. Matt Guidera; 9. Antron Brown, Suzuki; 10. Geno Scali, Suzuki; 11. Mike Berry, Suzuki; 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 13. Matt Smith, Suzuki; 14. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 15. Chip Ellis; 16. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki.

Sunday's final results from the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park. The 1.6 million race is the 17th of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

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

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Top Fuel -- Rod Fuller, 4.612 seconds, 313.07 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 5.747 seconds, 172.47 mph.

Funny Car -- Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang, 4.911, 300.13 def. Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus, 4.985, 302.35.

Pro Stock -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.801, 201.49 def. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.834, 201.88.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.161, 180.52 def. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, foul.

Competition Eliminator -- Rodger Brogdon, Chevy Cavalier, 8.010, 169.00 def. David Rampy, Bantam Roadster, 7.418, 157.71.

Super Stock -- Tom Sheehan, Chrysler Sebring, 10.412, 126.30 def. Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 10.048, 128.46.

Stock Eliminator -- James Paul, Plymouth Duster, 11.658, 111.86 def. Kyle Riley, Pontiac LeMans, 12.623, 97.44.

Super Comp -- Brad Plourd, Dragster, 8.909, 165.07 def. Doug Doll Jr., Dragster, 8.916, 159.55.

Final round-by-round results from the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park, the 17th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Morgan Lucas, 4.985, 280.66 def. Brandon Bernstein, 5.968, 230.37; Melanie Troxel, 4.869, 294.82 def. Doug Kalitta, 4.914, 290.69; David Grubnic, 4.818, 291.01 def. Clay Millican, 5.219, 225.82; Cory McClenathan, 4.846, 299.46 def. Mitch King, 5.054, 272.78; Tony Schumacher, 4.832, 296.37 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., 5.021, 283.61; Rod Fuller, 4.806, 292.77 def. Scott Weis, 5.260, 214.93; Scott Kalitta, 4.803, 302.96 def. Doug Herbert, 4.862, 293.03; Larry Dixon, 4.885, 247.79 def. John Smith, 5.017, 270.37;

QUARTERFINALS -- Dixon, 4.770, 303.30 def. Troxel, 4.833, 301.47; Schumacher, 4.806, 301.74 def. Lucas, 4.806, 297.29; Fuller, 4.745, 305.29 def. Grubnic, 4.795, 293.86; McClenathan, 4.836, 296.96 def. S. Kalitta, 4.833, 296.44;

SEMIFINALS -- Schumacher, 4.672, 308.78 def. McClenathan, 4.816, 303.50; Fuller, 4.673, 302.21 def. Dixon, 4.679, 308.00;

FINAL -- Fuller, 4.612, 313.07 def. Schumacher, 5.747, 172.47.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.112, 287.47 def. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 6.138, 174.62; John Force, Ford Mustang, 5.192, 279.90 def. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 5.427, 253.99; Ron Capps, Dodge Stratus, 5.143, 280.78 def. Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 5.230, 272.56; Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 5.194, 288.33 def. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 7.880, 110.22; Eric Medlen, Mustang, 5.105, 284.21 def. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 6.146, 172.98; Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 5.168, 279.56 def. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 8.361, 105.89; Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 5.199, 278.92 def. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 8.451, 98.07; Robert Hight, Mustang, 5.096, 291.13 def. Jack Wyatt, Pontiac Firebird, 6.703, 138.30;

QUARTERFINALS -- Johnson Jr., 5.113, 284.93 def. Worsham, 5.157, 283.97; Capps, 5.139, 284.56 def. Scelzi, 5.153, 283.79; Medlen, 5.060, 293.92 def. Wilkerson, 5.139, 288.89; Hight, 5.056, 291.01 def. Force, 5.086, 280.31;

SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 4.986, 295.59 def. Johnson Jr., 5.010, 293.47; Medlen, 4.939, 296.05 def. Hight, 4.966, 298.01;

FINAL -- Medlen, 4.911, 300.13 def. Capps, 4.985, 302.35.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Greg Stanfield, Chevy Cavalier, 6.862, 200.26 def. Warren Johnson, Pontiac GTO, 6.859, 201.40; Jeg Coughlin, Dodge Stratus, 6.906, 200.53 def. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.929, 200.83; Jason Line, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.830, 201.04 def. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 8.430, 116.25; Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.875, 200.47 def. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.881, 200.47; Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.823, 201.61 def. Ronnie Humphrey, Cavalier, 6.881, 200.56; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.830, 201.88 def. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.893, 200.89; Rickie Smith, Cavalier, 6.823, 201.76 def. Jim Yates, Grand Am, broke; Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.844, 201.10 def. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.879, 200.92;

QUARTERFINALS -- Howard, 6.861, 200.68 def. Krisher, foul; K. Johnson, 6.853, 201.19 def. Stanfield, 6.869, 200.53; Anderson, 6.805, 201.79 def. Line, 6.849, 200.95; Smith, 6.843, 201.28 def. Coughlin, 15.179, 54.51;

SEMIFINALS -- K. Johnson, 6.817, 201.79 def. Howard, foul; Anderson, 6.785, 201.79 def. Smith, 6.831, 201.82;

FINAL -- Anderson, 6.801, 201.49 def. K. Johnson, 6.834, 201.88.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Ryan Schnitz, 7.299, 180.26 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, foul; Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.303, 182.50 def. Mike Berry, Suzuki, foul; Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.336, 180.02 def. Chip Ellis, 8.439, 110.94; Chris Rivas, 7.365, 182.90 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, foul; Matt Guidera, 7.297, 179.64 def. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.260, 179.18; GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.263, 181.59 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, foul; Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.254, 177.98 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, broke; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.202, 179.18 def. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.341, 179.64;

QUARTERFINALS -- Rivas, 7.267, 175.46 def. Guidera, 7.375, 177.88; Tonglet, 7.263, 181.13 def. Phillips, foul; Gann, 7.362, 179.85 def. Sampey, 7.287, 177.14; Hines, 7.226, 181.79 def. Schnitz, 7.230, 183.02;

SEMIFINALS -- Tonglet, 7.233, 183.49 def. Gann, 7.476, 175.14; Hines, 7.207, 180.14 def. Rivas, broke;

FINAL -- Hines, 7.161, 180.52 def. Tonglet, foul.

Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park, the 17th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel

1. Doug Kalitta, 1,280; 2. Tony Schumacher, 1,276; 3. Larry Dixon, 1,181; 4. David Grubnic, 1,057; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 1,041; 6. Morgan Lucas, 1,032; 7. Doug Herbert, 900; 8. Scott Kalitta, 870; 9. Cory McClenathan, 852; 10. Scott Weis, 613.

Funny Car

1. Robert Hight, 1,134; 2. Ron Capps, 1,104; 3. Gary Scelzi, 1,099; 4. John Force, 1,087; 5. Eric Medlen, 1,063; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 990; 7. Whit Bazemore, 896; 8. Cruz Pedregon, 863; 9. Del Worsham, 831; 10. Tony Pedregon, 792.

Pro Stock

1. Greg Anderson, 1,340; 2. Kurt Johnson, 1,267; 3. Warren Johnson, 1,208; 4. Jason Line, 1,139; 5. Dave Connolly, 1,043; 6. Greg Stanfield, 867; 7. Ron Krisher, 862; 8. Jeg Coughlin, 810; 9. Richie Stevens, 781; 10. Jim Yates, 764.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Andrew Hines, 850; 2. GT Tonglet, 835; 3. Antron Brown, 746; 4. Ryan Schnitz, 638; 5. Angelle Sampey, 628; 6. Chip Ellis, 621; 7. Karen Stoffer, 612; 8. Geno Scali, 604; 9. Craig Treble, 559; 10. Steve Johnson, 513.

Sunday Notes - Troxel gets first round-win of '05 in style; Guidera perfect; Capps disappoints teammates; Dixon happy despite stubborn engine

Team player -- No. 7 qualifier Melanie Troxel did teammate Tony Schumacher a huge favor -- and then, unfortunately for her, did one for her husband's teammate.

Troxel eliminated Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta in the first round, as she earned her first round-win since debuting the Skull Gear Dragster at Denver five races ago. That allowed Schumacher to pull within four points of Kalitta.

Kalitta and the Mac Tools Dragster had won the previous two races, at Sonoma, Calif., and Brainerd, Minn. Kalitta had said on the eve of this event, "Three in a row would be great. We're running really well right now, so anything is possible. More importantly, if we win in Memphis, we'll extend our points lead. I think right now is the most determination I've ever seen on our team. Everyone is really getting into a good rhythm and it's carrying over out on the track. If we keep this attitude going, we'll be right there to win it all."

Kalitta will have to hold off Schumacher, and the next chance to do that will come at his sponsor's race, the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend at Indianapolis. It's a race he never as won and Schumacher has dominated for four of the last five years.

Troxel, who had said after qualifying Saturday that she and her Skull Gear Dragster team "definitely have a tune-up to go down the track tomorrow," had a dreadful .105 reaction time to Kalitta's .080 on a rack that registered 130 degrees at the time. But she caught up with him at about the 330-foot mark and led the rest of the way, winning by .0204 seconds, or about nine feet.

That added to Kalitta's misery of qualifying in the bottom half of the field for the second straight race. The last time he did that was in 2003 at Dallas.

"We struggled to get that first round win, and I can't think of a better way for it to come around," Troxel said, "than to take out the points leader and help out our teammate Tony Schumacher. I think we're on our way now."

Troxel's day ended in the quarterfinals, when she had the starting-line advantage against Larry Dixon but lost to the No. 2 qualifier for the fifth time in their five career head-to-head meetings. Dixon is the Snake Racing teammate of Troxel's husband, Tommy Johnson Jr. (Dixon lost in the semifinal to Rod Fuller.)

She said her match-up against Dixon "was real close. I could see him. I could barely see his nose poking out there far enough through the windshield, which kind of makes it a heartbreaker, because you're trying to do everything you can, to keep it in the groove, and try to gain a little ground on him.

"We're happy with the progress we've made," Troxel said, then, referring to the heat, added, "This has just been a brutal weekend on everybody. The guys were working so hard on the car in this heat. It makes driving the car a little bit more of a challenge, just focusing, trying to stay cool and doing your job on the starting line. I think we came through it all right. We got a round win and a competitive race car now."

Many of the first shall be last -- Having the better reaction time didn't ensure a victory in the fuel classes in the first round. Five of the eight Top Fuel losers had the jump on their opponents: Doug Kalitta, Clay Millican, Mitch King, Bobby Lagana, and John Smith. In the Funny Car class, it was the same. Five drivers -- Jack Wyatt, Cruz Pedregon. Tony Pedregon, Gary Densham, and Phil Burkart -- left first but wound up last.

In Round 1 of Pro Stock eliminations, it was a different story. Greg Anderson was the lone winner with a slower reaction time than his opponent.

The Pro Stock Motorcycle class had lots of problems at the Christmas Tree in the opening round. Matt Smith was out of the gate first against Andrew Hines and lost. Six riders left the line too early. They included Joe DeSantis, who was so eager to take on Angelle Sampey that he left before the tree was activated. Ryan Schnitz and Karen Stoffer both began too soon, but Stoffer did it first (and for the fifth time this season in eliminations) to let Schnitz advance.

That's just perfect -- No. 12 Pro Stock Bike qualifier Matt Guidera scored a huge upset of No. 5 Antron Brown in the opening round and did it with a perfect reaction time (.000 seconds), the 60th among professionals in sanctioning-body history.

Guidera's holeshot win -- he ran a 7.297-second elapsed time at 179.64 mph to Brown's 7.260/179.18 -- could have put a big dent in Brown's effort to climb back to the top of the standings. However, Brown, who came into the Memphis race just 26 points out of the lead, managed to stay in third place. Guidera nearly had a second perfect light in the second round, with a .007-second reaction time. But he lost to Chris Rivas in that match-up.

Said Brown of his showing against Guidera, "I hesitated for some reason. I saw the yellow light and I should have started moving [in anticipation of the green light], but I stayed put. I would much rather get beat by fouling out with a red light than go out that way.

The U.S. Army Suzuki rider said he is "going to work real hard these next couple of weeks to get ready" for the U.S. Nationals. "Our soldiers face adversity on a daily basis, but they find a way to overcome it. Angelle [teammate Sampey] and I can definitely do likewise."

Fathers/sons fare so-so -- Sunday's first round of eliminations proved to be a mixed bag for father-son combos. Warren Johnson lost against Greg Stanfield to open Pro Stock competition, while son Kurt Johnson advanced by beating Kenny Koretsky. Pro Stock's Rickie Smith was a first-round winner over Jim Yates, but son Matt Smith lost his Pro Stock Motorcycle match against Andrew Hines.

Oh, brother (-in-law)! -- Greg Anderson, it seems, always has to battle someone with whom he has or has had a working relationship. If it isn't teammate Jason Line, it's former shopmate Kurt Johnson or former boss Warren Johnson. In Sunday's first round, it was his brother-in-law, Ronnie Humphrey. Making his first Pro Stock start in 11 tries, Humphrey left on Anderson, the two-time champion with a .040-second reaction time to Anderson's .055. But Anderson won by .0438 seconds, about 13 feet, with a 6.823-second pass (at 201.61 mph) that was the quickest of the round. Humphrey had a 6.881-second elapsed time at 200.56 mph.

Excuse me, ol' pal -- Ron Capps had to step over two Don Schumacher Racing teammates to march to his second Funny Car final round since St. Louis and fourth of the season in the Brut Dodge Stratus. He beat Whit Bazemore in the opening round, then defeated Gary Scelzi in a thrilling side-by-side race to advance to the semifinals by a margin of .0201 seconds (about eight feet).

"I'm not a hundred percent happy with the job I did, but the car went down the race track and ran relatively well in the heat, but we got outrun," Bazemore said. "If we'd had this run [in qualifying], we'd have been in a better position for today, but we didn't. So we went up there and ran what we ran and got outrun. That's OK."

Bazemore, the No. 10 qualifier in the Matco Tools Dodge, said, "I know it's a cliche, but you find your true value when the chips are down and you find what you and your team are made of. That's where we are right now. We're going to find out what we're made of, because we're struggling. The [car] actually did perform the way we wanted it to, so it's a good sign. We struggled a little bit. The desire and the commitment from everybody here on this team is tremendous. It's second to none. That's what it takes to be successful, and that's what we have over here on the Matco Tools Dodge team."

Said Scelzi of his close race against Capps, "Those are heartbreakers to lose. But Ron and I are good friends, we're sharing our information, and I love Ace (Capps' crew chief, Ed McCulloch) to death.

"It's our goal to win a championship," said Scelzi, who is seeking his first Funny Car championship to go with his three Top Fuel crowns. "Of course, I want to do it for Mopar and Oakley. Capps wants to do it for Brut. Bazemore wants to do it for Matco Tools. We're all tied together. It's unfortunate. It was a close race, a good drag race, a battle of the titans; it just happened too soon in eliminations."

Robert Hight kept his Funny Car points lead, but Capps leapfrogged Scelzi into the No. 2 spot, just 30 off the pace. Scelzi is third, only five points behind Capps. John Force is fourth in the standings, 12 points behind Scelzi. And event winner Eric Medlen gave John Force Racing three cars in the top five. Medlen is only 24 points behind his boss.

Schumacher frustrates Lucas again -- Morgan Lucas nearly beat Tony Schumacher. In the second round, he and his Joe Amato-owned Lucas Oil Dragster led the two-time champion until after the 1,000-foot mark. But Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster nipped Lucas at the end by just.0088 seconds, approximately four feet. That makes Schumacher's record against Lucas 7-1.

Ironically, Lucas' lone defeat of Schumacher came in last year's quarterfinals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

This time, Lucas has a bit slower off the starting line (Schumacher had the edge with a .094-second reaction time to Lucas' .102). They ran identical times of 4.806 seconds, but Schumacher's speed was 301.74 mph to Lucas' 297.29.

"That was a tough race to lose," Lucas said, lamenting the first ever hole-shot loss of his career since began racing nearly eight years ago at age 14. "I'm not taking it lightly what I did. It's not my style, and we have to do something before Indy. I'm normally around a .080 light or better. When you are trying to cut a light, it's all mental. In your mind, you have to figure out what is best for you. I guarantee you that Schumacher and I both were spinning the tires at the far end of the track. I take it all on my shoulder, and that is just how it is."

He'll have a bit of a diversion next weekend. He'll be in Bardstown, Ky. (where Stephen Foster wrote "My Old Kentucky Home") next Saturday. He'll participate in a 5 p.m. autograph-signing at Bluegrass Speedway, along with drivers in the fifth annual Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series' "Bluegrass Classic."

Cylinders out but Dixon's in -- Two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon wants that third title. And despite a rebellious engine all weekend that stumped even expert crew chief Dick La Haie, Dixon and the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster are even more in the thick of the points battle than before.

"For one reason or another, we kept dropping cylinders all weekend," Dixon, who lost in the semifinal to eventual winner Rod Fuller, said.

He qualified No. 2 but said he almost didn't make it past Round 1 opponent John Smith. "It put a hole out early and knocked the belt off before 1,000-foot and we coasted to the win," he said. "Luckily, John Smith had more trouble than we did."

Again, the engine problem plagued him in the quarterfinals, although he eliminated Melanie Troxel, who had just knocked off points leader Doug Kalitta. Dixon said La Haie made adjustments that worked: "The blower belt stayed on, but we still dropped cylinders. We were on the right side of a good race."

In the next round, the mechanical glitch killed Dixon's chances for winning for the first time since Fathers Day in Englishtown, N.J.

Dixon's Don Prudhomme-owned dragster was ahead at half-track, but a dropped cylinder allowed Fuller to inch by and score the narrow victory. Dixon ran a 4.679-second elapsed time at 308.00 mph, while Fuller reached his third final round with a 4.673/302.21.

Dixon said La Haie "was pretty frustrated. The car looked like it was on a low 4.60 run, but it put a cylinder out early again and it was just a close race. We were on the wrong side that time. It was just one of those racing deals. I feel good that we made ground on Doug [Kalitta] and tightened things up in the points chase. I wanted to be within around 100 points, and we were able to do that. We knocked the points deficit down going into Indy and between the three cars, whoever goes on a run at the last four or five races is going to be the champ." Dixon remains third in the standings.

Mission not quite accomplished -- After watching Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta lose in the opening round, Schumacher had a chance to regain the Top Fuel points lead that he has lost twice -- at Bristol and at Sonoma -- to the Mac Tools Dragster driver. Schumacher took the Alan Johnson-tuned U.S. Army Dragster to the final round against Rod Fuller.

But his opportunity went up in tire smoke.

"For sure, it would have been nice to close the deal and take over first place, but we still had a terrific day," Schumacher said. "We made up a bunch of points -- 66, to be exact."

Schumacher's next run at the points lead will come at Indianapolis, where he will attempt to win for the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time in six seasons.

"That's a race we'll look forward to for many reasons - the most important one being that we'll have another opportunity to take the lead in the standings," he said. "This U.S. Army team is very determined. We want to win another world title for all the men and women fighting for our freedom on a daily basis. They deserve that."

K.J. KOd -- For the fifth time in the last six races, Kurt Johnson powered his way to the final round. But this time his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt wasn't the hottest thing around -- that distinction went to the steamy, wickedly warm conditions.

Johnson, the No. 1 qualifier, eliminated Kenny Koretsky, Greg Stanfield and David Howard en route to his sixth final round appearance of the season, 60th of his career, and second at Memphis Motorsports Park. But final-round foe Greg Anderson had lane choice, and that helped Anderson beat him with a 6.801-second run. Johnson ran a 6.834-second, 201.88-mph pass.

"Lane choice played a big role in the final," Johnson said. "We hadn’t been over there all day, and even though we were able to get down it in qualifying, it was completely different tonight. We spun the tires in second gear, and then it started bouncing over the bumps, all of which cost us."

Despite the defeat, Johnson moved into second place in the POWERade points standings, keeping himself in the thick of the championship chase.

"We're still fine-tuning the set-up on this ACDelco Cobalt, and right now, it's just not happy when we get on a rough race track, and this one in Memphis is probably the roughest we race on. This car has been so good lately that we thought we could make other changes to compensate for it, and we just came up a bit short. When you run low elapsed time, you think you can just fine tune it, and obviously today we should have made some other changes."

However, Johnson said, "We're still pretty pleased with our performance this weekend, making it to another final. It's a great job by the entire ACDelco crew. That guy [Anderson] has been a pain in our side, and it would have been nice to beat him and gain a few more points. But we still have six races left, so we're still right in there with our eyes focused firmly on the target.

"As brutal as the conditions were out here this weekend," he said. "I'm just glad this race is over. Those fans hung in with us all weekend, and I know I'm beat, so we have to thank them for their support. I'm really looking forward to getting back on a smooth race track like Indy, because I'm pretty confident our car will be just fine. We'll go back to Georgia, go over everything from head to toe, and be ready to get after them at IRP."

Hometown heartbreak -- Clay Millican, who lives in Drummonds, Tenn., less than 30 minutes from Memphis Motorsports Park, has a simple explanation for why he and his Werner Enterprises/Kenny Koretsky Dragster didn't fare any better than a first-round loss to Dave Grubnic in his only hometown appearance of the year.

"We had it tuned up to go fast," he said, "but it didn't."

And maybe everybody can blame him for the triple digit temperatures that sapped the energy from just about everyone in Memphis this weekend and ensured the racng surface would be hot and slippery.

"I really felt good. It was hot," Millican, who's used to ruling the roost in IHRA competition and is going for his fifth championship there, said. "I'll take our chances on this kind of track any day. We came in here to do our best -- and we did. But the result wasn't what we wanted. Running against a [Connie] Kalitta-owned car is tough."

Crew chief Mike Kloeber immediately analyzed the tune-up to find out what caused the tires to spin on the run. Millican left first with a .060-second reaction time to a.077 for Grubnic. Kloeber accounted for the tire smoke by saying he recently had changed fuel pumps and the new one delivers more horsepower.

"Looking at the numbers, I see what happened," Kloeber said. "We switched fuel pumps, and I've been working on the engine's fuel system. Basically, we made more horsepower than we expected." The result caused the tires to lose traction.

Millican, like Top Fuel rival Cory McClenathan, will compete at the IHRA Sunoco World Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio this coming weekend before entering the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.

SATURDAY - SCHUMACHER SETS THE PACE IN QUALIFYING AT 18TH ANNUAL O'REILLY MID-SOUTH NATIONALS; Hight leads the way in Funny Car, Kurt Johnson in Pro Stock and Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle

(8-20-2005) - Tony Schumacher is not going to let his POWERade Series Top Fuel championship go without a fight.

The pilot of the U.S. Army dragster, second in the POWERade Series standings, set the top qualifying mark of 4.610 seconds at 309.56 mph on Friday and it held up through the final two rounds of Saturday at the 18th annual O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The other top qualifiers at the $1.6 million event, the 17th of 23 on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, were Robert Hight (Funny Car), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

In a wildly competitive season across all four categories in the POWERade Series – there have been a total of 23 lead changes and 15 different drivers who’ve led their category for at least one week -- the potential is there for lead changes in every category on Sunday.

“We’ve got such a big points race going on right now,” Schumacher said. “It’s a big, big race tomorrow.”

Schumacher’s 70-point deficit entering the weekend – already reduced to 64 points based on qualifying (first-place Doug Kalitta qualified 10th) – was the largest in any of the four categories but the script that places him back on top of the standings by Sunday night is easily written.

His new teammate in the Don Schumacher Racing stable, Melanie Troxel, faces off against first-place Doug Kalitta in the first round of final eliminations Sunday. A win by Troxel over Kalitta combined with Schumacher running the table and winning the event would put the Sarge back on top of the Top Fuel standings.

"She can do us a huge favor," Schumacher said. "But if we don’t win our race, it won’t matter.

"We’re trying to win a championship,” Schumacher said. "I’ll be honest, I’ll spend two seconds worrying about Melanie and spend the rest of the time worrying about myself.”

Also in Top Fuel, No. 2 qualifier Larry Dixon is in a good position to make headway given his track record at Memphis – he has made it to five consecutive final rounds here and won twice, in 2002 and 2004.

Robert Hight (4.883 at 295.72) set the number in Funny Car in his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang on Friday and it held up Saturday, giving the rookie and POWERade Series points leader his sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season.

"I feel like a hundred and one today," said Hight, who by virtue of his No. 1 qualifier and the qualifying positions of a couple of other drivers squeaked into the Skoal Showdown in Indianapolis. “I had given up after Brainerd, but I woke up in the middle of the night, started doing the math, and figured I could still do it.”

Hight's four-even run atop the standings is the longest current streak of any category, but he is in the most precarious position. Gary Scelzi trails by 14 points, John Force by 22 and Ronn Capps is only 45 points behind.

Rounding out the top qualifiers were Kurt Johnson, whose best time (6.787 at 202.85) from Friday held up Saturday, and Hines (7.127 at 181.57).

“We kind of missed the setup, but it was the same for everybody,” said Kurt Johnson, who noted a 20-point drop in the track temperature as cloud cover set in just as the Pro Stock round began. “We’re going to have to watch (the weather) closely (Sunday). That’s what it’s all about (in Pro Stock) … preparation.”

Johnson, who has been among the hottest drivers in any class with three wins in the last five events and four No. 1 qualifiers in the last seven events in his ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt, compared the conditions to St. Louis where he began this hot stretch.

“We ran the first couple of (final elimination) rounds (in St. Louis) in the sunshine and then it got cloudy (and the sun began to set),” Kurt Johnson said. “You’ve got to know your car. If it does what you expect it to do when you make a change, you’ll be fine.”

Johnson (1,169), in third place in the POWERade Standings, will meet Kenny Koretsky in the first round Sunday and a win there would set up an interesting second-round matchup with his father, Warren, who is just ahead of him in the standings with 1,175 points. Greg Anderson leads with 1,224.

Hines has seven No. 1 qualifiers now in his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley Davidson and he needs four more in the final five Pro Stock Motorcycle events to match the category record set by his older brother, Matt.

"My team overcame a lot of tough struggles this weekend,” Hines said. “Luckily we made a clean pass on the fourth run and got the No. 1 qualifier.

“We knew my bike had it in it,” said Hines, who is six points back of teammate GT Tonglet in the POWERade Series point standings. “We just had to find it. We went through three motors this weekend.”

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park, the 17th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.610 seconds, 309.56 mph vs. 16. Bobby Lagana Jr., 5.106, 285.17; 2. Larry Dixon, 4.618, 314.61 vs. 15. John Smith, 5.094, 272.89; 3. Rod Fuller, 4.625, 311.20 vs. 14. Scott Weis, 5.003, 273.27; 4. Cory McClenathan, 4.640, 311.92 vs. 13. Mitch King, 4.901, 269.73; 5. Doug Herbert, 4.655, 302.48 vs. 12. Scott Kalitta, 4.718, 302.75; 6. Clay Millican, 4.661, 307.86 vs. 11. David Grubnic, 4.705, 303.37; 7. Melanie Troxel, 4.676, 312.78 vs. 10. Doug Kalitta, 4.703, 304.53; 8. Brandon Bernstein, 4.676, 306.88 vs. 9. Morgan Lucas, 4.691, 311.49.

Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.883, 295.72 vs. 16. Jack Wyatt, Pontiac Firebird, 5.198, 252.61; 2. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Stratus, 4.906, 300.66 vs. 15. Bob Gilbertson, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.157, 274.11; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.936, 299.33 vs. 14. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 5.128, 280.95; 4. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.940, 300.86 vs. 13. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 5.067, 290.19; 5. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.951, 294.37 vs. 12. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 5.040, 295.40; 6. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.955, 306.40 vs. 11. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 5.010, 289.32; 7. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.967, 295.46 vs. 10. Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 5.009, 289.88; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.982, 292.90 vs. 9. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.993, 301.20.

Pro Stock -- 1. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.787, 202.85 vs. 16. Kenny Koretsky, Dodge Stratus, 6.847, 200.86; 2. Rickie Smith, Chevy Cavalier, 6.792, 202.91 vs. 15. Jim Yates, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.847, 200.71; 3. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.805, 202.55 vs. 14. Ronnie Humphrey, Cavalier, 6.845, 200.80; 4. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.812, 201.94 vs. 13. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.835, 201.43; 5. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.818, 201.94 vs. 12. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.833, 201.16; 6. Jason Line, Grand Am, 6.819, 202.09 vs. 11. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.832, 201.55; 7. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.820, 202.03 vs. 10. Jeg Coughlin, Stratus, 6.829, 201.61; 8. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.824, 201.67 vs. 9. Greg Stanfield, Cavalier, 6.826, 201.49.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.127, 181.57 vs. 16. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.235, 187.99; 2. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.129, 187.68 vs. 15. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.224, 184.95; 3. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.169, 184.25 vs. 14. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.222, 183.72; 4. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.174, 184.45 vs. 13. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.220, 184.09; 5. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.182, 185.72 vs. 12. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.212, 181.23; 6. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.183, 183.97 vs. 11. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.210, 186.18; 7. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.187, 186.72 vs. 10. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.207, 185.13; 8. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.199, 185.89 vs. 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.202, 188.28.

SATURDAY NOTES - Rookie returns THE car to the Skoal Showdown; Bazemore bummer; KJ feeling confident; Hey- it's still hot!; and Hail to the chef!

The Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang -- the Jimmy Prock-tuned car that won last year's Skoal Showdown and the U.S. Nationals the next day to bring John Force Racing and extra $225,000 -- will be back in the specialty race Labor Day weekend at Indianapolis.

Robert Hight, the Funny Car points leader, celebrated his 36th birthday by hanging onto the No.1 qualifying position for Sunday's O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals. It ensured him the eighth and final berth in the elite $100,000-to-win bonus event that will take place Sunday during qualifying for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

Hight's bid to make the select field was a longshot from the start, because he missed the first six qualifying races (the last six events of 2004). Then, when it appeared that he might have a legitimate chance to qualify for it, Hight had the worst qualifying effort (10th) of his short but outstanding career last week at Brainerd, Minn. That gave Whit Bazemore, who has struggled this season and was unqualified for the Skoal Showdown, some hope of getting in.

The scenario came down to the final round of qualifying. If Hight remained No. 1 in the field at the end of qualifying and Bazemore, in 10th, didn't improve his position, Hight would make the Skoal Showdown and Bazemore would not.

Unfortunately for the 11-time Showdown participant, Bazemore did not improve his position. Hight retained his No. 1 spot, and Bazemore found himself out of the bonus race for the first time in eight years.

"To be honest, I think we were trying too hard at Brainerd," Hight said. "This week, we just tried to do our best and focus on the Memphis race and not on the Skoal Showdown." It worked, making Hight just the second driver ever to qualify for the Showdown in his rookie season. The only other one able to do that was Del Worsham, who broke into the lineup in 1992.

Hight also is the first rookie to sit atop the points standings in 13 years. He was a member of John Force's crew when the drag-racing icon, his boss and father-in-law, won the Big Bud Shootout, forerunner to the Skoal Showdown, in 1996 and 2000.

Bazemore, who got the equally distasteful news that he is paired against teammate Ron Capps in the first round of Sunday's eliminations, said Hight "is driving arguably the best car" in the class and congratulated him for making the Skoal Showdown. Still, he said, "We control our destiny and it just didn't happen, so it's very disappointing."

Said Bazemore, "We had a plan [in the final qualifying session], and our plan was that as soon as it had a hint of trouble, [I would] grab the brake. And I did, and I was on time. So I'm happy with that part of it. The bottom line is that the Matco Tools Dodge was just too aggressive for the track.

"The track was not as good as we thought it was, and we just misread the track," he said. "Sometimes it's hard to make this car go down the trace track consistently. And it has cost us a lot, and it cost us a Skoal Showdown spot. And it's very, very frustrating. Hight's team has the quickest car, and they've had the quickest car all year, so they deserve to be in it."

Hight's and Force's teammate, Eric Medlen, will be making his first Skoal Showdown appearance as the driver of the third Ford, the Castrol SYNTEC Mustang.

High said of his qualifying strategy, "I knew nobody would get us in the first session," because of the temperature and the sun on the track. "And going into the last session, it's a helpless feeling, because so much is left to chance," he said. "Honestly, I didn't think anybody was going to run better than 4.88. I didn't think we would get bumped [back]."

He said, however, that the other two scenarios that would keep his Auto Club Mustang out of the Showdown field were definitely possible – Bazemore moving up to ninth or Capps moving up to third.

"You just sit back and wait. It's all you can do," Hight said. "You know, you're nervous, but I almost think it was a bigger deal, what we did to make the Skoal Showdown, than what it would be to actually win the thing. At the beginning of the year, we never even thought about it. There's no way a guy can go from six races without getting any points to get in. But then we got closer and closer. And just when we were starting to think that we might have a chance, we messed up at Brainerd and, really, we thought it was over. Even though nobody else had come close, you know [Gary] Scelzi and that team, they're capable of it. Honestly, I thought it was a little too warm."

Feeling frisky -- Kurt Johnson usually is a cautious driver, measuring his words and deliberating his actions carefully. But he seems to have so much faith right now in his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt that he might break with personal habit and "go for it" in Sunday's Pro Stock eliminations.

And who could blame the No. 1 qualifier? He has his fourth top-qualifying award of the season, 27th of his career, and second at Memphis Motorsports Park. He and his car have gone to the winners circle three times in four final-round chances in the past five races.

"It's shaping up to be similar to the race in St. Louis earlier this year," he said, referring to the night race he won June 26. "You just have to shoot from the hip, not being scared to go for it, relying on your experience to make it pay off. Basically, you have to know your race car and know what it's going to do under those circumstances. As long as it does what you want it to, you’re going to be fine, and lately, our ACDelco Cobalt has been cooperating quite nicely. Hopefully, it will keep doing so."

He said he is prepared. "Running so much earlier in the day today than we did yesterday, we felt comfortable concentrating on our set-up for race day," Johnson said. "However, we did get a little scare in the last session when some cloud cover moved in just before we ran, dropping the track temperature from 138 to 118 degrees, so we have to be prepared to watch what happens, as the track temperature will play a major role. Fortunately, we were able to make good runs in both lanes, running the low elapsed time in each session yesterday, and then being among the top three in both runs today. The big thing will be making sure we make it from the starting line to the 330-foot mark in good shape."

Frustration continues -- Dave Connolly just can't seem to get into a groove this year. He won the Funny Car crown at the season-opening Winternationals at Pomona, Calif., reached the finals of the Gatornationals at Gainesville Fla., and won at Las Vegas -- all in the first five races of the season. But three races later, his team was disbanded. The Carrier Boyz got him to the next race, at Topeka, and Evan Knoll stepped in and purchased the team, ensuring Connolly, still in third place at the time, would be able to continue challenging for the championship. By the Western Swing, his Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt was having problems making horsepower.

So for the Memphis race, Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins, the team's regular engine builder, suggested trying a Greg Stanfield-built engine. Unfortunately, Connolly and crew chief Terry Adams weren't able to test it before the race. It was different from what they were used to, and they just couldn't produce a quick enough elapsed time to make the field. His 6.850-second E.T. (at 200.83 mph) was three-thousandths of a second off anchor Kenny Koretsky's bump number.

In addition, Adams' father passed away Friday night in North Carolina.

"It's frustrating . . ." Connolly said. "We kept missing the set-up, and we weren't able to make a good run. We were giving up a lot of time between 60 to 330 feet on the track and that hurt us."

Adams said he is "going to take this car to (builder) Jerry Haas' shop (near St. Louis) and go through it from the front end to the wheelie bars. There's something wrong in the car. It never does the same thing twice."

Connolly and Adams plan to test the car at St. Louis before the next event, the U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis.

Loves Memphis -- Pro Stock veteran Rickie Smith, the No. 2 qualifier behind Kurt Johnson, earned his best starting position since he was top qualifier in 1996 at Memphis.

Last-ditch effort works -- Pro Stock rookie Erica Enders made the field on her final chance, securing the No. 11 spot in the Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt with a 6.832-second pass at 201.55 mph. She said she is going to try to win the race for her uncle, Jerry Enders, who is ill in Phoenix.

Tranny problems -- Chip Ellis' 7.183-second run in the first qualifying session was the only decent one he had in four tries. Despite transmission problems that wouldn't seem to go away, he put the G Squared S&S-powered Buell in the No. 6 position for Sunday's eliminations.

"In the past we've had some transmission shifting problems and we pretty much got those solved," G Squared co-owner George Smith said. "In an effort to make the gear box even better, the G Squared team has been experimenting with some improvements. Sometimes when you attempt to make things better you must take a step or two backwards before you go forward. We expect to have this buttoned up in time for eliminations, and we're learning from this so we can make better and stronger parts."

No 300s -- No Top Fuel of Funny Car driver could register a 300-mph speed in Saturday's first session, although Tony Schumacher came close at 299.06 in his U.S. Army Dragster and Morgan Lucas in the Joe Amato-owned Lucas Oil Dragster ran a 296.11 with the quickest E.T. of the session at 4.746. Robert Hight, in keeping his No. 1 position, had a class-best 286.07 for the session. The Funny Cars ran before the dragsters, and when Tony Bartone kicked off the nitro qualifying at 4:30 p.m., the air temperature was 101 degrees and the track temperature 136. When the Top Fuel class started, the track temperature had risen to 137 degrees with the air temperature still in triple digits at 100.

One step forward . . . -- Scott Palmer was one of just three Top Fuel drivers to run quicker in Saturday's early session than he had Friday. Palmer was odd man out among the 17 entrants in the class with a 9.735-second E.T. He made a 6.213-second pass to move onto the bump spot. Lagana, another of the three, bumped Palmer with his 5.108-second E.T. that was an improvement from his Friday best of 8.277.

Rivas makes noise -- G.T. Tonglet held onto his No. 1 spot on the Pro Stock Motorcycle list in Saturday's first qualifying session but got another reminder that he needs to look out for Chris Rivas, the Buell rider from Fresno, Calif.

Rivas was runner-up to Tonglet at Atlanta earlier this season. And after the third-overall session at Memphis was second only to Tonglet, jumping from 14th to second with a 7.174-second elapsed time at 183.72 mph.

Bike changes -- Steve Johnson, 17th in the order after Friday's two qualifying sessions, made the field early Saturday. His 7.246-second elapsed time gave him the No. 16 spot.

Craig Treble, 15th Friday, was bumped early Saturday. His 7.250 E.T. was .004 of a second too slow. Houston runner-up Kurt Matte still wasn't in after three tries; he was 19th.

Hail To The Chef! -- Rosemary Roasted Pork Loin, Red-skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Asian Ginger Stir Fry Vegetables, anyone? Sorry, you'd have to be associated with Don Prudhomme's team to have a bite. But that's the meal that Dale Johnson, team chef for Snake Racing, prepared Saturday as he claimed top honors at the inaugural 2005 ESPN/NHRA Cook-off.

He answers to "Chef Dale" in the Prudhomme pits, and Snake himself said, "We interviewed several [candidates] when we decided to bring on a team chef earlier this season. Dale had a strong resume and a desire to be part of this race team. Today, the ESPN crew and a few fans found out how lucky we are to eat his cuisine each week. The guy is a terrific cook."

Johnson learned the art of cooking during his tour of duty in the U.S. Army. He began at Fort Hood Culinary School in Texas, then spent four years as a chef for the 3rd Army Division in both the U.S. and Germany, cooking for between 850 and 1,000 troops. After he left the Army, he attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. After that, he spent 12 years as sous chef at Brenton Reef, a four-star restaurant in Sarasota, Fla., where he kept a close eye on the way soups, sauces and gravies were prepared, along with other managerial duties. Most recently, Johnson worked at Virginia's Lynchburg College. There he cooked for 1,200 students and a staff of 500.

"This competition was great for the fact that it showed that the race teams on the NHRA circuit are being fed good, nutritious meals, not just burgers or pizza," Johnson said. "It's a great feeling to win this competition, because I know there are some really good cooks here at the NHRA events."

The ESPN/NHRA Cook-off will be featured on Sunday's broadcast of the weekly magazine show NHRA 2Day, which airs at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on ESPN2. The competition included Nicky Morse from Team Jeg's and Justin Gagna of Don Schumacher Racing.

Lucky No. 7? -- Tony Schumacher will be bidding Saturday for his third straight No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier award and the seventh of the year as qualifying resumes at Memphis Motorsports Park.

After having his first qualifying run thrown out Friday because his U.S. Army Dragster
didn't meet the sanctioning body's weight minimum for Top Fuel cars, Schumacher stormed back with a 4.610-second run at 309.56 mph to take the provisional top position.

"We went so early in the round, I didn't really think it would stand up," Schumacher said of his second attempt. "It spun the tires virtually the whole way down."

He said Saturday's qualifying sessions "will be more reflective of the time block we'll be running in on race day, so we need to get down the track comfortably."

Caution pays off -- Larry Dixon said hot-weather tuning expert Dick La Haie deliberately had the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster "set up real soft to get down the track" on his first run Friday because of the heat and humidity. It earned him the No. 2 spot.

Conditions were better on the second run Friday evening, but, Dixon said, "On the second run, the track was tighter, but you still had to be cautious. You couldn’t throw the kitchen sink at the thing because it would spin the tires and we would have ended up like 10th. We still had to be cautious, but we got down the track and ended up second."

He said both Friday "should help us on Saturday, especially on the first run. Hopefully [Saturday] night, the conditions will be a little better and we can try and pick up and run a mid-4.50."

Dixon posted a 4.707-second elapsed time at 301.74 mph. His night run produced a 4.618-second E.T at 314.24 mph, the fastest run among Top Fuel cars Friday.

The defending event champion, Dixon will try to give Snake Racing a third victory at Memphis. He also won the race in 2002.

'Straight as a string' -- Sweltering midsummer temperatures usually handicap the normally aspirated Pro Stock cars, but Kurt Johnson's ACDelco Chevy Cobalt defied the odds Friday, showing they can run in the muggy climates as well as the cooler ones. He led the class in both sessions Friday, first with a 6.831-second, 202.21-mph pass, then in 6.787 seconds with a top speed of 202.85 mph.

"That was a tremendous run for our ACDelco Cobalt, especially given the conditions," Johnson said. "It was straight as a string, didn’t do anything crazy, kept the front end on the ground, and ran well to sixty feet.

"We've been trying a couple new engine components, and, ironically, the corrected numbers are off where we'd like them to be. Although we should be running a little quicker, when you’re quicker than everyone else, it doesn’t really matter," he said.

Johnson said while he was pleased with the car's performance, he wanted to make sure he remains consistent in Saturday's two sessions in preparation for eliminations Sunday."

Still has a shot -- Tony Pedregon said his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo has a shot at the No. 1 qualifying spot in the Funny Car class Saturday. He was 12th position after two sessions, with a best run Friday of 5.040 seconds at 294.05 mph. He is trying to earn his third top-qualifier award at Memphis Motorsports Park.

He won at Memphis Motorsports Park in 2002, and was been the runner up in 1996 and 1999. He was quick qualifier in 1999 and 2002.

Pedregon said he and crew chief Dickie Venables "were looking for a little more on that run. The conditions were a little warmer, even at night, and we felt it had at least a 4.90 in it. We're going to see if we can move up a little tomorrow. I think we'll have a shot at it with the evening session."

He said he's "partial to night racing, mostly because of track conditions. I think that racing in the evening works somewhat in our favor. The biggest challenge teams face at the Memphis track is adapting to the changing conditions. But the Q team is putting good qualifying efforts together, and we're making consistent runs. We've made a lot of progress consolidating performance and uniformity.

"For the spectators, they get a little more of a charge out of it when they see the header flames." Pedregon said. "It's a little more exciting for us, and it is more exciting for them to watch. Should be a good one."

Big improvement -- Temperatures in the mid-80s don't sound like cool conditions. But compared to the triple-digit numbers on the thermometer earlier in the day, Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. welcomed the "cooler" readings. They helped him move the Don Prudhomme-owned Skoal Racing Chevy Monte Carlo from ninth to third Friday.

The car spun its tires near mid-track and caused Johnson to click off the motor and coast to the finish line with a 6.205-second elapsed time at 156.32 mph in his first qualifying attempt. In the evening session, crew chiefs Mike Green and Johnny West helped him coax a 4.936-second E.T. and 299.33 mph from the car.

"With it being as hot as it is and conditions being as bad as they are, I'm really pleased with that run," Johnson said of his second try Friday. "I'm happy with the changes the guys made after the first run. To stick it in the No. 3 position is nice, because qualifying is so important.
I really think this is going to be a lane-choice track because of the high temperatures. Friday nights are so important, and we were successful again, just like last week. We're headed in the right direction with our race team."

Johnson has scored victories in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at Memphis. He won in a dragster in 1994 and in Funny Car in 1999.

OK, even Worsham is carrying on -- The normally stoic Del Worsham actually complained about the breezeless heat and humidity at Memphis Motorsports Park Friday.

Worsham stepped up to a 4.955-second elapsed time while running top speed in the Funny Car class with a 306.40 mph. The effort landed him in the No. 6 spot.

"I know everyone is talking about the weather, and usually I'm the first guy to tell people just to forget about it because it is what it is and we all have to live through it," Worsham, the Checker Schucks Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo driver, said. "But let me tell you, this was one awful day. We may have run at 5:30 and 8:30, but we were out here all day in it, and it was merciless. The early run was basically an exercise in futility and a chance to see how little the track would take.

"It was still no treat tonight," he said late Friday, "but it was way better. We got a real nice run on the board, and we obviously had the wing height and top-end tune-up right, because most guys were spinning down there and we were still charging. The top speed thing shows we had a handle on the top end. Now, if we can add a little juice to the front half, we might really make some waves. I think I'm going to go fill a bathtub with ice and sit in there for a while."

Suddenly Sauna -- No. 13 Phil Burkart cut his E.T. in half by running a 5.347 Friday under the lights in the Checker Schuck's Kragen Toyota Funny Car. Still, both runs were aborted because of tire shake and spin.

"There are only 17 Funny Cars here, and as brutal as the conditions are, I can see why some of the part-timers would skip this race," Burkart said. "So, yes there's pressure to do well and get well up in the field. But the pressure to make the show is lessened a little bit. We still have to improve [Saturday] if we want to race on Sunday, but we plan to do that and I know we will.

"On the second run, it got out there to about 660 and it started spinning. When it did that it fishtailed a little, but I slapped the pedal and worked another 100 feet out of it before it spun again. I pedaled it again, and got another 100 feet maybe, but then it spun and I had to lift after that one," he said. "This is a brand new Toyota body. That was its second run, and I wasn't about to bang the blower right through the hood just to run 5.25 instead of 5.34.

"From what I hear, [Saturday] is supposed to be just as bad, or maybe even worse, than today," Burkart said. "It's hard to imagine anything worse. This was way more miserable than St. Louis. At least in St. Louis, the air moved a little and the humidity wasn't as bad. When the air circulates a little bit, it cools off a little once the sun goes down. Here, it
was like being in a sauna."

Wilkerson's car heat-resistant -- Tim Wilkerson showed the heat didn’t hamper his Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Monte Carlo Funny Car, It was one of the few cars to make it down the track in the first round, and it made two clean, strong passes to grab the No. 4 spot Friday.

"The heat isn't bothering our Levi, Ray & Shoup Funny Car, it just sucks to work in it. I feel sorry for the guys more than anything. It is miserable out there."

"I was looking to go a little quicker on our second run," Wilkerson said, "but as I watched to cars ahead of us run I realized that the track wasn't conducive to what I was trying to do, so I slowed it down a little bit. I'm happy with what the car did today, and I think we can go a high 80 tomorrow.

"As a matter of fact," he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we don't end up No. 1 qualifier tomorrow. The way the track is in the back half; it's kind of our deal. So, I'm going to tune it up. We ran 4.85 in the sun in Sonoma, and I know we can duplicate that. I just need to find the combination to do it here.

Wilkerson's 5.068-mph speed was the third-quickest run of the first session. And then on the second pass, he improved to a 4.940-second elapsed time at 300.86 mph.

FRIDAY - SCHUMACHER SETS THE PACE AFTER FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING AT 18TH ANNUAL O'REILLY MID-SOUTH NATIONALS; Hight leads the way in Funny Car, Kurt Johnson in Pro Stock and Tonglet in Pro Stock Motorcycle

(8-19-2005) - Defending POWERade Series Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher set the pace after the first two rounds of qualifying at the 18th annual O’Reilly Mid-South Nationals Friday at Memphis Motorsports Park.

The other top qualifiers at the $1.6 million event, the 17th of 23 on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, were Robert Hight (Funny Car), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and GT Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Schumacher, whose first run in his U.S. Army dragster was disqualified for being too light, turned around in the night session and ran a 4.610 seconds at 309.56 mph to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifying position.

Qualifying No. 1 was icing on the cake for the two-time and defending POWERade Series champion, who has endured two spectacular crashes at Memphis Motorsports Park.

"I don't care how many times I go down this track. It could be my thousandth lap when I'm 80 years old and I'll still be ducking down in my seat at the top end of the track waiting for 'chutes to come out," Schumacher said. "You like to think you're a big, bad man but I'm a little wussy when I get down there and the car's trucking on through there."

Schumacher needs a big week to close the gap between himself and first-place Doug Kalitta, who has pushed his Mac Tools dragster to a 70-point lead with seven events remaining.

"I thought about last weekend's race all week," said Schumacher, who could only watch from the sideline as Kalitta sped past Larry Dixon's Miller Lite dragster to win the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd. "[Doug] Kalitta is 70 points up on us and he gained 54 of those in one race. There are still plenty of points to pull down and if he wants to be the champ he's got to beat me. Last week he did it. I can't let that happen again."

All of the top qualifying runs Friday came in the cooler evening second session.

Robert Hight (4.883 at 295.72) set the number in Funny Car in his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang and if it holds up Saturday it would be the rookie and POWERade Series points leader’s sixth No. 1 qualifier of the season.

"It was very hot out there today and everyone struggled to some degree," Hight said. "I don't think that time will hold the No. 1 spot but if everyone else goes quicker we should be able to also."

Hight's run was not a work of art, but it did the job.

"Before the second round, (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) told me that when the car reached the asphalt it would start to spin the tires and that I'd hear the motor spike," Hight said. "But he told me to stay with it and get to the finish line. I've never driven with the wheels spinning like that. It was like driving my grandma's car on ice. You can't see the groove so you take your bearings off the centerline and the wall and you end up driving all over the place."

Rounding out the top provisional qualifiers on Friday were Kurt Johnson in Pro Stock (6.787 at 202.85) and GT Tonglet in Pro Stock Motorcycle (7.148 at 181.84).

Johnson has been among the hottest drivers in any class with three wins in the last five events in his ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt.

"No, things couldn't get much better right now," Johnson said. "It's just a lot of work and a lot of studying and all of a sudden you kind of look like you know what you're doing."

Johnson has moved up to third place in the POWERade Series point standings, just six points behind his father Warren, who drives the GM Performance Parts Pontiac and 55 behind Greg Anderson, who drives the Summit Racing Pontiac GTO.

"You don't worry about the points, but I'm in a postion now where I have to take advantage," Johnson said.

Tonglet is coming off of a win in his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley Davidson at last week's Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd and that placed him back on top of the POWERade Series point standings.

"I'm hoping that tomorrow ... I don't know if we can improve on that 14 (7.148). That was awesome," Tonglet said. "I'm just working on the lights. That's where Pro Stock Motorcycle is going -- you make or break your run on the lights."

Results Friday after qualifying for the 18th annual O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Memphis Motorsports Park, 17th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.610 seconds, 309.56 mph; 2. Larry Dixon, 4.618, 314.24; 3. Rod Fuller, 4.625, 309.49; 4. Doug Herbert, 4.655, 302.48; 5. Clay Millican, 4.661, 307.86; 6. Cory McClenathan, 4.673, 311.92; 7. Melanie Troxel, 4.676, 312.78; 8. Morgan Lucas, 4.691, 311.49; 9. Doug Kalitta, 4.703, 304.53; 10. David Grubnic, 4.734, 300.66; 11. Scott Kalitta, 4.776, 302.48; 12. Brandon Bernstein, 4.837, 301.54; 13. Mitch King, 4.901, 269.73; 14. John Smith, 5.094, 238.43; 15. Scott Weis, 6.065, 148.84; 16. Bobby Lagana Jr., 8.277, 86.71.

Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.883, 295.72; 2. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Stratus, 4.906, 300.66; 3. Tommy Johnson Jr., Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.936, 299.33; 4. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.940, 300.86; 5. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.951, 294.37; 6. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.955, 306.40; 7. John Force, Mustang, 4.982, 292.90; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.993, 301.20; 9. Ron Capps, Stratus, 5.003, 295.46; 10. Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 5.009, 289.88; 11. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 5.010, 285.83; 12. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 5.040, 294.05; 13. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 5.347, 258.91; 14. Paul Lee, Monte Carlo, 5.364, 210.93; 15. Bob Gilbertson, Monte Carlo, 5.921, 163.49; 16. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 9.023, 105.83.

Pro Stock -- 1. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.787, 202.85; 2. Rickie Smith, Chevy Cavalier, 6.792, 202.91; 3. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.805, 202.55; 4. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.812, 201.94; 5. Jason Line, Pontiac Grand Am, 6.819, 202.09; 6. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.822, 201.22; 7. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.824, 201.40; 8. Greg Stanfield, Cavalier, 6.828, 201.49; 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.832, 201.61; 10. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.833, 201.16; 11. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.835, 201.43; 12. Ronnie Humphrey, Cavalier, 6.845, 200.80; 13. Jeg Coughlin, Stratus, 6.846, 201.61; 14. Jim Yates, Grand Am, 6.847, 200.71; 15. Kenny Koretsky, Stratus, 6.847, 200.83; 16. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.850, 201.40.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.148, 187.68; 2. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.182, 184.90; 3. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.183, 183.97; 4. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.187, 186.72; 5. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.210, 186.18; 6. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.212, 181.23; 7. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.220, 185.89; 8. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.222, 183.72; 9. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.228, 184.95; 10. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.229, 176.93; 11. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.234, 184.25; 12. Matt Smith, Suzuki, 7.235, 187.99; 13. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.238, 183.29; 14. Chris Rivas, Buell, 7.248, 181.89; 15. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.282, 177.70; 16. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.301, 183.27.

FRIDAY NOTES - No Joy For Schu, K.J.'s Cobalt Flies and Bikers M.I.A.

(8-19-2005) - Memphis Blues? -- Unpleasant things seem to happen to Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher at Memphis Motorsports Park. It's the site of his devastating 2000 over-the-wall crash that kept him from defending his series championship and scene of another spectacular, but less damaging, accident during Friday qualifying in 2003. His unhappy luck continued in Friday's opening qualifying session. He posted a 4.758-second elapsed time at 303.57 mph in the U.S. Army Dragster to take the No. 5 position. But his pass was disqualified because the car was too light on the scales during the tech inspection process.

However, just as in 2003, when he bounced back from his qualifying wreck to win, he overcame adversity quickly again Friday. He earned the provision No. 1 qualifier award in the Top Fuel class with a second pass at 4.610 seconds, 309.56 mph.

Larry Dixon enters Saturday's qualifying as the No. 2 driver, after a 4.618-second E.T. at 314.24 mph in the Don Prudhomme-owned Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster. Rod Fuller, who didn't run in the first session, put the David Powers Racing/Valvoline Dragster in third place at 4.625/309.49.

Doug Kalitta, who after the first session sat in first place with the Mac Tools Dragster that won last weekend at Brainerd, Minn., had to be content with the No. 9 position at least overnight.

Scott Palmer, in the Nitro Plate/Lucas Oil Dragster, ran a 9.735/83.73 and is the only unqualified driver among 17 cars.

Hight at the height -- The Don Schumacher Racing trio of Ron Capps, Gary Scelzi and Whit Bazemore were off to a dominating start in Funny Car qualifying, earning three of the top five spots in the opening session Friday. Their celebration lasted less than three hours.

Robert Hight, rebounding from the lowest qualifying position of his stellar rookie season and a first-round loss at Brainerd (not to mention an 11th-place showing earlier in the day), vaulted to the provisional No. 1 spot. He overcame Scelzi, Tommy Johnson Jr., Tim Wilkerson, and Eric Medlen with a 4.883-second pass at 295.72 mph in the John Force-owned Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang. Hight was alone in running a 4.8.

Scelzi remained second, improving his 5.066-second elapsed time with a 4.906 in the Oakley-Mopar Dodge Stratus.

But Capps, hoping to parlay his No. 1 positioning from Friday's early into a victory in this second of two night races on the POWERade schedule, fell to ninth in the order in Session 2. With his 5.003-second pass at 290.88 mph in the Brut Dodge Stratus, the St. Louis winner took the early lead. He was a touch off with his E.T. in the night session, despite running about five mph faster. Bazemore fell from fourth to 10th.

Independent owner/driver Tim Wilkerson, the only other Funny Car driver in the 5.0-second range in the first session, stayed in the No. 3 spot with a 4.940/300.86 night run. .

Tony Bartone and Jack Wyatt are entered in the event but didn't make passes early Friday. That left the field with just 15 qualifiers. Despite his smoky showing in the second session, Bartone was 16th at the end of the day, and Wyatt was the odd man out among the 17 entrants.

Speed is deceiving -- Del Worsham ran the fastest pass of the day for the Funny Car class, but it didn't translate into a better elapsed time. He started sixth and stayed there Friday.

Reversal of fortune -- Jason Line, the defending event winner, found himself 20th among the 22 Pro Stock entries after the first qualifying session. He struck the tires right off the bat and shut off his engine, taking an uncharacteristic 9.447-second elapsed time at 98.24 mph with him into the evening session.

His return to the track was much more satisfying in the night session. He jumped to the No. 5 position with a 6.819-second pass at 202.09 mph.

ACDelco Cobalt still sizzlin' -- Kurt Johnson set the pace for the Pro Stock class in the opening session with 6.831 in his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt that's just about the hottest of the hot rides in the pro classes right now. He sliced 44-thousandths of a second off that time in the next session to hold off Rickie Smith, who climbed from fourth to second with a pass of 6.792. Johnson and Smith were the lone Pro Stock drivers to run 6.7s in Friday's heat.

During the past eight weeks, Johnson has advanced to the final round in four of five races, won three times, and pulled within 55 points of the lead in POWERade championship standings.

"On one hand, you could say our ACDelco Cobalt has been in the right place at the right time," Johnson said. "However, it takes a lot of effort to put yourself in that right place, and this team has worked very hard to make sure we've qualified well and made good, consistent runs to take advantage of every opportunity."

He credited the chemistry among himself and crew members Kevin Horst and Joe Cottle. "Everything is clicking," Johnson said, "so we’ll keep doing what we're doing, avoiding making any major changes that might upset this roll that we're on."

Johnson never has won at Memphis Motorsports Park. His final-round appearance there was in 1998. "Memphis has been one of those tracks that for one reason or another, has simply eluded us," he said. "We've always qualified fairly well, but we really haven't experienced the same level of success that we have at other tracks around the country. It's not a bad track, and it has a really good starting line, so we’ll have to take advantage of the first 330 feet. I've always enjoyed racing there, and who knows? Maybe we've finally exhausted all our bad luck in Memphis.I believe we are in a better position to win there than we have been in some time, so hopefully, this ACDelco Cobalt crew can put it all together this weekend, giving us a good reason to enjoy some of that great Tennessee barbecue on Sunday night with a Wally as the centerpiece."

Close bike race -- By one-thousandth of a second, U.S. Army Suzuki rider Antron Brown edged Chip Ellis from the No. 2 spot in the second session as they traded places and G.T. Tonglet retained his provisional No. 1 position in the Pro Stock Bike order.

Tonglet -- the New Orleans native who won the previous event at Brainerd, Minn., to grab the points lead -- will be trying desperately to hang onto that place Saturday, for he needs every point he can get. Teammate Andrew Hines, the Brainerd runner-up, and Brown, from whom he swiped the lead at Brainerd, have led the standings this season. Hines entered this event No. 2, six point off the pace, and Brown was in third, only 26 points behind Tonglet.

Tonglet kept the Harley-Davidsons on top, improving his 7.178 by exactly three-hundredths of a second, to a 7.148, at 181.84 mph.

The Heat Is On -- Triple-digit temperatures at Memphis Motorsports Park made sanctioning-body officials look brilliant for scheduling these O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals as a night event. When Connie Cohen opened pro qualifying on her CMKXtreme Suzuki Pro Stock bike, the temperature was 100 degrees and the track temperature registered 132.

By contrast, the generally cooler Seattle track -- for a long time not on drivers' list of favorites because of its hard-to-negotiate bumps -- has been a bit of an oasis from the summer heat. This year, Eric Medlen said the folks at a restaurant he frequented in Seattle asked him, "Are you ready for the heat? It's supposed to get up to 80 degrees today!" Replied Medlen with a chuckle, "Yeah, we're ready for the heat!"

Test session of sorts -- Melanie Troxel said her Richard Hogan-led Skull Gear Dragster team likely will miss next week's test session at Indianapolis because it will in the middle of acquiring and changing new parts and equipment.

"So this will kind of be our test session," she said. "We need to make the most of it, really have everything worked out, problems solved. That doesn't mean we won't be going for a win here. That is always the No. 1 goal. The more runs we can make, the more we will learn and the more we'll improve. Once we have the problems fixed like we know we will, it'll be a whole new car."

Troxel has qualified for each of the four previous events she has entered since being named to drive the Don Schumacher-owned entry as a teammate to reigning series champion Tony Schumacher and his U.S. Army Dragster. But, plagued by some mechanical glitches, she hasn't earned a round-win yet.

Her last appearance at Memphis was in 2000, when she drove in first stint for Don Schumacher Racing. She beat Paul Romine in the opening round but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual winner and Top Fuel champion Gary Scelzi.

Conspicuous absences -- Some notable names were missing from the Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying list after the first session. Missing the cut on the first try were (in order from No. 17) Craig Treble, Steve Johnson, Connie Cohen, Karen Stoffer, and Andrew Hines. Treble, Stoffer, and Hines all shut off their motors early.

Here's who -- Kevin Lawrence, the driver anchoring the Pro Stock field after the first qualifying session, might not be a familiar name to POWERade drag racing fans fans, although he started his Pro Stock career in 1995. The 49-year-old former Super Gas bracket racer and snowmobile-racing champion from Palos Hills, Ill., was a crew member for the two-time Funny Car championship Chi Town Hustler team. He also helped establish the Outlaw Super Stock Association. Lawrence, in his 2002 Modern Carriage Werks Chevy Cavalier, ran a 6.924-second elapsed time at 199.64 mph to take the No. 16 Pro Stock spot Friday afternoon.

He was in, out, back in, and out again Friday. Going into the somewhat-cooler night session as No. 16 on the grid never is reassuring, and Lawrence knows why. Jeg Coughlin, who didn’t run in the first session, made the field (along with Jason Line and Ronnie Humphrey), bumping Lawrence out. He broke back into the lineup with a 6.890/200.05 effort. But he ended the day at No. 19, with two more chances Saturday to make it.

On the outside -- Still unqualified after two sessions of Pro Stock action are V Gaines, who's just eight-thousandths slower than No. 16 Dave Connolly's 6.850-second elapsed time, and Erica Enders, who had experienced a string of qualifying successes recently.

Lawyer raising the bar -- Paul Lee, graduating from the Top Alcohol Funny Car ranks, settled into the No. 14 position in the Funny Car order early Friday in his first professional NHRA pass. His squirrelly 10.756-second elapsed time at 76.61 mph in his J&B Motorsports/Allied Machine & Engineering 2004 Chevy Monte Carlo certainly wasn't impressive, but his background definitely is.

The Gaithersburg, Md., resident said he became fascinated with Funny Cars at age 13 when he saw "Jungle Jim" Liberman I action at Atco Raceway in his native New Jersey. He borrowed his mother's 1974 Plymouth Duster to go on dates -- which happened to be at the race track, where he won a few trophies that his mom didn't discover until years later.

Lee, who learned to drive a Funny Car on Nick Boninfante's Funny Car tour, won the Top Alcohol Funny Car crown three times in a five-race stretch last year (at Atlanta, Topeka, and Englishtown).

But what he did in 1991 is what sets him apart from many of his competitors. Recognizing that this sport thrives on sponsorship money, Lee decided to sell his entire racing operation and go back to college to gain the business and marketing skills necessary to secure his place in the racing world. He earned four degrees, including his first in Business (as class Valedictorian), then a Bachelors of Business Administration (as a summa cum laude graduate) from the prestigious Ivy League Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He received a Masters degree in Business Administration and in 1998, his law degree from Rutgers University, another Ivy League institution. Lee is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association and is an owner of or partner in several businesses.

After he completed his formal education, he began his re-education in drag racing, helping as crew member on friend Rich McPhillips' Top Alcohol Dragster. But he still wanted to drive a Funny Car. He got his chance in 2000 and won a Division 1 event at Delmar, Delaware.

Kalitta team dominates start -- Kalitta Motorsports landed three of the first five Top Fuel positions in the initial qualifying session. Points leader Doug Kalitta headed the class with a 4.703-second run at 304.53. Teammates Dave Grubnic and Scott Kalitta were Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, as only the top five had E.T.s in the 4.7s. Although 17 dragsters are on the entry list, only 14 made passes in the first chance. Rod Fuller, Mitch King, and John Smith skipped the opportunity.

Missing from action -- Two of the track record-holders aren't entered in the event this year. David Baca, whose 4.533-second elapsed time from September 2003 is the quickest anyone has gone down the Memphis Motorsports Park quarter-mile, isn't planning to attend. Neither is Reggie Showers, who dropped from Pro Stock Motorcycle competition last year. He set the track speed mark for the bikes at 188.46 mph in September 2003.

SATURDAY, August 20, 2005

Pit and Spectator Gates Open 8:00 AM
Sportsman Qualifying/Eliminations 9:00 AM
Comp Eliminator Qualifying Session 3:00 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session (PS Motorcycle / PS Car) 3:30 PM Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel Dragster / Funny Car) 4:30 PM Comp Eliminator Qualifying Session 5:30 PM
Pro Stock Qualifying Session (PS Motorcycle / PS Car) 6:00 PM Nitro Qualifying Session (Top Fuel Dragster / Funny Car) 7:00 PM Secure Track 8:30 PM

SUNDAY, August 21, 2005
Pit and Spectator Gates Open 10:00 AM
Sportsman Eliminations continue 11:00 AM
Pre-Race Ceremonies 2:00 PM
Final Eliminations 3:00 PM
Secure Event 8:30 PM

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