NHRA
Ameriquest Nationals
Joliet, Ill. by Susan Wade; Photos by AutoImagery.com, Roger Richards
SUNDAY - SCHUMACHER
WINS AGAIN, EXTENDS LEAD IN POWERADE SERIES TOP FUEL POINTS RACE; Ron
Capps wins in Funny Car, closes in on Gary Scelzi; In Pro Stock, Jason
Line wins fourth event of season over first-time finalist Erica Enders
(10-2-2005).
-- POWERade Series points leader Tony Schumacher backed up
his national-record run in qualifying with a win Sunday at the Fifth
annual Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
The other winners at the $1.5 million race, the 20th of 23 events in
the $50 million POWERade Series, were Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Jason
Line (Pro Stock). Line's win came against 21-year old Erica Enders,
who became the first female to advance to an NHRA Pro Stock final round.
With his 4.535-second pass at 328.94 mph in his U.S. Army dragster in
the final round win over the tire-spinning Doug Herbert (9.877 at 82.52)
-- on a weekend when his two closest competitors were eliminated in
the first round -- Schumacher continued a steady charge toward a third
overall and second straight POWERade Series championship. With three
events remaining, he has built a 205-point lead over Larry Dixon.
"It's kind of upsetting that (Herbert) smoked the tires (on his
Snap-On Tools dragster). You want to see a good race, but ... all in
all, I got the trophy and I didn't care how I did it," said Schumacher,
who has advanced to four straight final rounds.
Asked if he was ready to crown himself the POWERade Series champion,
Schumacher said: "I'd much rather be in my spot, there's no question
about it."
Schumacher set the provisional national record of 4.437 seconds during
qualifying Friday night. His first pass on Saturday, 4.473 seconds,
was good enough to validate the time -- an NHRA national record requires
a second run within 1 percent of the record run -- and it earned him
a valuable 20-point bonus. Schumacher held the previous record of 4.441
seconds, set on Oct. 5, 2003 at Reading, Pa.
"I was the No. 1 qualifier ... I set the national record ... I
won the race," Schumacher said. "I couldn't have left with
less points."
In
Funny Car, Ron Capps (4.760 at 327.82) beat a tire-spinning Tony Pedregon
(7.369 at 138.50) in his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to jump from fifth
to third in the standings and pull to within 45 points of first-place
Gary Scelzi.
"Any of these guys in the points chase that say they don't think
about it all the time, they're lying," said Capps, who drives the
Brut Dodge Stratus R/T. "I think about it when I'm taking the kids
to school. I think about it in the shower. I call (team owner) Don (Schumacher)
every five minutes and ask him if it's time to go racing. Then we have
to wait a week when Dallas got postponed. I've been so anxious to get
back into it so this feels great."
Capps took out second-place John Force and his Castrol Syntex GTX Ford
Mustang in the semis and Pedregon eliminated first-place Scelzi and
his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus R/T in the other semifinal.
So with three events remaining (Dallas, Las Vegas 2 and Pomona 2), the
still-too-close-to-call Funny Car point standings look like this: Scelzi
1,326; Force 1,283; Capps 1,281; Robert Hight 1,256; Eric Medlen 1,226.
"At this point in the game you have to win rounds or you're done,"
Capps said. "We felt like we had a good chance to make up ground
in Reading racing Robert Hight in the first round but he beat us. Then
we draw him again here in the first round. It was destiny."
In
Pro Stock, Jason Line (6.719 at 205.88) beat Erica Enders, who fouled
out at the starting line, to win for the fourth time in 2005 and for
the second consecutive year at Route 66 Raceway.
"I love racing here," said Line, who drives the Summit Racing
Pontiac GTO. "I wish I knew what it was ... I'd like to put it
in a bottle and bring it to Dallas."
With her performance Sunday, Enders became the first female in NHRA
history to advance to a Pro Stock final round. Enders picked up her
first round-win in her Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt just one
event earlier at the Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in Reading, Pa. and Sunday
she punctuated her run to the finals with a semifinal win over NHRA
legend Warren Johnson (who fouled) in the semifinals.
"First of all, we would really liked to have won, but we're going
to get our win here soon," said Enders, who then spoke about being
the first woman to advance past the first round in an NHRA Pro Stock
race.
"That's a huge point of interest for the public and the media,
but for me, I don't consider there to be any difference when I strap
the helmet on," Enders said.
Line began the weekend by setting the track speed record with a 208.17
mph pass in Friday night qualifying.
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Top Alcohol Dragster -- Bill Reichert, 5.248, 275.84
def. Jeff Wilson, 5.378, 265.74.
Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Pontiac Firebird,
5.615, 257.87 def. Mick Snyder, Firebird, 5.666, 254.71.
Competition Eliminator -- Jeff Taylor, Pontiac Grand
Am, 9.086, 121.68 def. David Eaton, Bantam, foul.
Super Stock -- Hugh Meeks III, Olds Achieva, 9.794,
138.22 def. Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 9.888, 128.02.
Stock Eliminator -- Peter Biondo, Chevy Camaro, 10.888,
115.79 def. Lee Zane, Buick Apollo, 12.065, 99.33.
Super Comp -- Shane Carr, Dragster, 8.883, 166.58
def. Gary Stinnett, Dragster, 8.877, 171.36.
Super Gas -- Henry Sliwinski, Chevy Corvette, 9.943,
156.37 def. Steve Hoyt, Corvette, 9.895, 153.58.
Super Street -- Dudley Gee, Ford Mustang, 10.880,
140.55 def. Allen Sharp, Chevy S-15, 10.821, 128.52.
Final round-by-round results from the Fifth annual Ameriquest Mortgage
NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, the 20th of 23 events in the $50
million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE -- Morgan Lucas, 4.540, 322.65 def. Melanie Troxel,
4.527, 326.63; Scott Kalitta, 4.541, 327.35 def. Larry Dixon, 4.578,
326.71; Clay Millican, 4.606, 321.88 def. Rod Fuller, 4.750, 311.70;
Tim Cullinan, 4.669, 312.35 def. Cory McClenathan, 5.916, 180.65; Tony
Schumacher, 4.526, 328.46 def. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.883, 298.01; Doug
Herbert, 4.581, 323.74 def. John Smith, 4.760, 284.93; David Grubnic,
4.557, 322.04 def. Doug Kalitta, 7.004, 119.77; Brandon Bernstein, 4.540,
328.22 def. Jack Beckman, 4.658, 315.27;
FINAL -- Schumacher, 4.535, 328.94 def. Herbert, 9.877, 82.52.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- Del Worsham, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.830, 322.34
def. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 12.475, 87.86; Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte
Carlo, 5.067, 238.30 def. Frank Pedregon, Dodge Stratus, foul; Tony
Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.809, 322.50 def. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo,
7.210, 117.92; Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.832, 310.05 def. Gary Densham,
Monte Carlo, 4.855, 319.22; Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.773, 325.06 def.
Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.820, 325.45; John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.800,
317.42 def. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 10.758, 84.28; Ron Capps, Stratus,
4.751, 328.54 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.778, 327.27; Eric Medlen,
Mustang, 4.811, 323.81 def. Whit Bazemore, Stratus, 4.962, 261.32;
SUNDAY NOTES - Funny
Car battle sizzles; Doug Kalitta fizzles; Sarge Busts Lucas Again; Tale
of Two Pedregons; Great Northwest Rules
(10-2-2005) - Capps gets 'dreamlike' victory -- Ron
Capps finished second in the Funny Car points in 1998 and 2000, and
with the Joliet victory -- his second of the season and 16th of his
career -- the Brut Dodge Stratus driver is getting hungry for the title
more than ever. And he's closer now than he has been in nearly five
years. He jumped from fifth place to third, just 45 points out of the
lead and only two from second-place John Force, the man he eliminated
to reach the finals against Tony Pedregon.
Capps said he didn't have the quickest and fastest car among the contenders
Sunday. Apparently he relied on his consistency and excellent driving
skills, for he knocked off two John Force Racing drivers -- the 13-time
champion and sizzling-hot rookie Robert Hight -- and two Pedregons --
the only ones besides Force to win the class championship since 1991.
"It seems like a dream," Capps said in the winner's circle.
"The day went by so quick. It was a matter of having faith."
He said his victory over Force was monumental.
"I call him the Godfather," Capps said. "Force is the
man; he always will be. Hopefully (teammate and points leaderGary) Scelzi
is going to be the man next year or maybe we will be. We have three
races left. If you can't get up racing John Force ,you don't need to
be
out here. He brings everything out of you, and when you get up there
and you light the pre-stage light the world comes to a stop.
"You're always looking out the window, because you know he's going
to maybe come around you. That was a huge win," he said.
Rev Limiter 101 -- The NHRA-mandated rev limiter was
a factor in the Funny Car final, Ron Capps said. "At about the
1000-foot mark, it sounds like a diesel truck hitting the Jake brake.
It just goes prrrrrrrr and it stops pulling and you're at the mercy
of the guy coming at you. You just don't know what to do. You feel like
you need to go out and pedal like Fred Flintstone or something. Your
head hits the dash and you're just kind of out there waiting for the
finish line to hurry up, hurry up and get here. It got there first (for
me)."
Capps will talk about it -- Gary Scelzi declared that
he wasn't going to talk about the championship at all. He has fudged
on that a little bit. But teammate Ron Capps certainly didn't take a
vow of silence.
"At this point in the game you need to make point," he said,
"Coming in here it was 16 rounds, four races, and that's what we
needed. Reading, unfortunately, didn't give us the track under us to
give a (winning) battle with Hight. Well, we pulled him again and I
think it was just destiny. We weren't throwing out the high (4).60s
in the Brut Dodge and everybody was setting low ET of the world (in
qualifying), but Ace (crew chief Ed McCulloch) is battling health problems.
He's going to be OK, but I could see it running him down a little bit.
But I knew yesterday in the heat when we ran a .75 and a .73 that he
had his game on for race day.
"But it got cool out on race day and I thought, 'Oh, boy,' especially
in the final round, but," he said, "it's a matter of faith,
and Ace did what it took and it's just a great feeling."
Another daily double -- Owner Don Schumacher said
the double victory for the team was "just fantastic," especially
when son Tony won and all but clinched his third Top Fuel chanpionship.
"We did it in 2003 with Tony and Whit Bazemore. It's just great.
I have nine teams, only seven of them here. I'd like to have had seven
winners. That would be the perfect day for me. That's not going to happen.
It's a great day to have Ron and Tony both win out here
at Route 66. I couldn't ask for much more than that," Schumacher
said.
"To have Ron right back up in the hunt for the championship the
first year with me is terrific. Ace is fighting some battles with his
health, but he's doing a great job. He's keeping his spirits up, his
strength up. Our prayers and thoughts are with him all the time."
McCulloch had a philosophical take on the victory: "This is how
it's supposed to be. It's awfully hard to get here. Getting here is
a lot of fun. It's great moving up in points when they may have sort
of counted us out. We're not done yet. But we're still not preaching
what we're going to do. We'll just go do the best we can do."
Soldiering on -- So what did Tony Schumacher say about
his successful, record-setting weekend?
"We clearly follow the lead of our soldiers - we will not accept
defeat," he said. "This U.S. Army team was just flawless all
weekend. This team is so professional with how they approach everything.
I'm certainly not surprised that we're in the position we're in."
He said he isn't worried about points any longer. With a 277 point
lead or better, he will clinch his second straight title. "The
points have a way of taking care of themselves," he said. "We're
going to go down to Texas and just do our thing and we'll see how it
all shakes out. We still have to close the deal. Until we've mathematically
clinched the championship, we have plenty of business to attend to."
Line
wants to earn win -- Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO driver
Jason Line wanted to make sure that his fourth victory of the season
came honestly.
Opponent Erica Enders -- who made class history for becoming the first
woman to reach a final round -- nearly didn't make it to the starting
line because her Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt crew was changing
the engine in a thrash.
Enders evidently was caught up in the rush-rush mode and committed
a red-light foul. It might have been a moot point, as Line responded
with his quickest elapsed time of the day, a 6.719-second pass at 205.88
mph.
"At least this weekend we didn't beat ourselves. That's half the
battle for us," Line, the No. 2 qualifier, said.
As for the decision to be patient with the Victor Cagnazzi team, Line
said, "We would've waited on them no matter what. I don't want
to win on a single, and the rest of the team, absolutely nobody would
go for that at all. We like to race fair and square."
He called Enders "tough" and said, "That team's getting
better."
'I'm human' -- Erica Enders, who had qualified fifth
but advanced to the final round because of opponents' mechanical woes
and mistakes, took responsibility for her own miscue against Jason Line.
"We had an issue with our motor and decided to swap it out. We
put it in and everything was rushed. We went to start it and had a crank
trigger go bad. We put a new crank trigger in, and they told me I needed
to suit up because everybody was waiting on me," she said. "So
I got in the car while the car's still up on jackstands, and they're
still changing parts. They fire it up and I put my helmet on. We come
up to the staging lanes and roll right under the tower. We don't even
stop.
"I'm human. I make mistakes, and I just dropped the clutch early.
It happens. I've done it before and I'll do it again," she said.
"Could've, should've, would've, but you can't say anything now.
If I could've had a couple of seconds, I would've been able to gather
myself a little bit, but that's just part of this game and you need
to be ready under pressure. We'll get it next time."
She expressed faith in her team. "This team's something else and
we're going to be there," she said. "We're going to get that
Wally one of these days. Hopefully it will be next weekend, or Vegas
or Pomona before the year's over. That would be great, but if not, we're
going to be killer in 2006.
"This team's really come together. We've got great chemistry,
and we've got awesome guys in our engine-development program and the
horsepower's really coming along," Enders said. "We're going
to be pretty competitive for the rest of this year, and we're going
to be a top-five player next year."
She addressed the history-making feat of being the first woman to reach
a final roundin Pro Stock. "I know my being a girl is a point of
interest for the general public and for the media. Me, I don't think
that stuff in my head because I don't consider myself any different
once we put the helmets on," she said. "I don't think about
the whole girl factor, but it is pretty cool. As we're getting more
and more successful, we're making some history at the same time."
Scelzi Extends Lead - The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing
Series Funny Car championship continues to be a pot-boiler, as the top-five
positions changed once again following today's Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA
Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. The only thing that didn't change was
the leader.
To put it concisely, after losing to Tony Pedregon in the semifinal,
Gary
Scelzi leaves the track with a 43-point lead, following a first-round
loss
by Robert Hight, a second-round exit of Eric Medlen, and a semifinal
dismissal of John Force. Scelzi's teammate Ron Capps jumped into third
after
winning his second event of the year.
The new order: Scelzi, Force, Capps, Hight and Medlen.
Scelzi first defeated Mike Ashley (4.773/325.06 to 4.820/325.45), then
Del
Worsham (4.773/325.06 to 4.830/322.34) before he met up with Reading,
Pa., winner Pedregon in the semis. Pedregon took off with a .065 light
to
Scelzi's even .100. It was close, but it was Pedregon first across the
finish line with a 4.770/319.90 to Scelzi's losing 4.772/326.71.
"I'm not trying to make this Funny Car championship chase so close,"
said
Scelzi, with a laugh.
"There's no question about it. Tony has really run well this whole
weekend.
When I saw Capps go 4.796 in his semifinal win against John Force, I
put it
in thin to try to get lane choice again (in the final) and I had a .100
flat
light, which is good. Tony rolled it in, had a .065. It was a hell of
a drag
race.
"As long as you keep leaving the races with more points than you
had when
you got here, you're doing your job. Yeah, we're making it exciting
for
everybody. It looks like we're starting to make a little distance, and
that's a good thing."
Check out new standings -- The Funny Car standings
were a bit scrambled after the Ameriquest Nationals, although Greg Anderson
remained No. 1 in Pro Stock and Tony Schumacher took even more control
in Top Fuel.
The top 10 drivers in those classes are:
TOP FUEL
1. Tony Schumacher, 1,630; 2. Larry Dixon, 1,425; 3. Doug Kalitta, 1,422;
4. David Grubnic, 1,232; 5. Morgan Lucas, 1,192; 6. Brandon Bernstein,
1,182; 7. Doug Herbert, 1,149; 8. Scott Kalitta, 1,007; 9. Cory McClenathan,
999; 10. Scott Weis, 676.
FUNNY CAR
Top 10 - 1. Gary Scelzi (Dodge), 1,326; 2. John Force (Ford), 1,283;
3. Ron Capps (Dodge), 1,281; 4. Robert Hight (Ford), 1,256; 5. Eric
Medlen (Ford), 1,226; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr. (Chevrolet), 1,135; 7. Whit
Bazemore (Dodge), 1,075; 8. Tony Pedregon (Chevrolet), 1,054; 9. Del
Worsham (Chevrolet), 1,032; 10. Cruz Pedregon (Chevrolet), 931.
PRO STOCK
Top 10 - 1. Greg Anderson (Pontiac GTO), 1,633; 2. Kurt Johnson (Chevy
Cobalt), 1,451; 3. Warren Johnson (Pontiac GTO), 1,372; 4. Jason Line
(Pontiac GTO), 1,369; 5. Dave Connolly (Chevy Cobalt), 1,199; 6. Greg
Stanfield (Chevrolet), 963; 7. Richie Stevens (Dodge), 940; 8. Ron Krisher
(Chevy Cobalt), 939; 9. Jeg Coughlin (Dodge), 904; 10. Jim Yates (Pontiac
GTO), 900.
WJ
finds positives -- Despite a red light that ruined his best
run of the day (a 6.748-second pass at 205.07 mph) and handed the automatic
victory to Erica Enders -- her third gift of the day and one that denied
him a 149th final-round appearance -- he remained positive.
“We’ve been working on improving our reaction times and
tried something during the first two rounds in qualifying. We had .040
lights there, so we knew we were moving in the right direction,"
he said. "We then changed it a little bit more for today, and it
seemed like it helped even further. Unfortunately, we must have gone
just a bit too far in the semis.
“Our weekend may have ended too early, but we’re encouraged
by today’s performance," Johnson said. "We had been
working on finding what this GM Performance Parts GTO needed to run,
and feel we we are heading in the right direction, as evidenced by our
being one of the quicker cars in eliminations. Clearly we’ve put
a gap between ourselves and some other cars. Now it’s a matter
of trying to squeak another hundredth or two out of it. I believe we
can see the light at the end of the tunnel."
He said he'll stay in Joliet and test Monday.
Foiled
again -- Morgan Lucas had won just once in nine previous pairings
with Schumacher, and it looked as though he might start to reverse that
trend in Round 2 Sunday. He left the starting line 24-hundredths of
a second quicker than the points leader and top qualifier. But he struck
the tires early in the run and eventually gave up and saved parts on
the Lucas Oil Dragster, as he saw Schumacher glide into the semifinals
with a 4.508-second elapsed time at 327.03 mph in the U.S. Army Dragster.
Worsham
pragmatic -- After Gary Scelzi's car-length victory over Del
Worsham in Round 2, the Checker Schuck's Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo driver
was philosophical.
"You know, you measure yourself in a lot of different ways, and
right now we're measuring ourselves against a group of guys fighting
for the championship," Worsham said. "It's a championship
chase we honestly thought we would be a part of, but instead we're playing
the spoiler's role. Gary and his team look like they're on a mission,
and they're going for the jugular on every lap. What we didn't want
to do was try to overstep it ourselves and hand him the win. We thought
we could beat him, and we knew the only way to do that was to make a
strong lap. If we smoked the tires, we would have been letting everyone
down.
"The disappointment to me," he said, "was that we were
trying to run a 4.77 ourselves, but the car didn't respond. These cars
do what they want sometimes, and that time it wanted to run 4.83. Unfortunately,
4.83 wasn't good enough to beat Gary Scelzi. We made him earn it though,
so I'm not ashamed of the effort." Scott's
the man -- Scott Kalitta, in the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster,
was left to carry the Kalitta Motorsports banner past the second round
Sunday. He easily beat Tim Cullinan, who smoked his tires, wiggled all
over his right-hand lane and then into the left lane behind Kalitta.
But teammate Dave Grubnic, who had eliminated Doug Kalitta in the first
round, fell to Brandon Bernstein and his 4.540/328.22 effort. Grubnic
ran a 4.58/322.73. Bernstein's was the quickest pass of the day so far.
Cullinan hits "quota"? -- Will Tim Cullinan
win any more elimination rounds this year? Before this event, he had
won just two -- one in 2003, the other in 2004.
Rivalry
continues -- Doug Herbert is a four-time IHRA Top Fuel champion
and Clay Millican a five-timer. And in NHRA match-ups, as well, Millican
has a 4-2 edge. But Herbert, the defending race winner at Joliet, eliminated
Millican in the second round with a 4.583-second pass at 324.44 mph.
Millican smoked the tires and ended his day with a 4.606/321.88. Millican
has 45 "Ironman" trophies, IHRA's equivalent of the "Wally"
statue. He has three more chances this season (at Dallas, Las Vegas,
and Pomona, Calif.) to earn his first NHRA victory.
Tony
Pedregon esta en fuego -- Reading Funny Car winner Tony Pedregon
extended his round-win streak to six in the second round, eliminating
Eric Medlen on a hole shot and a victory margin of just .0044-of-a-second,
or about two feet, in his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo. It was second
razor-thin loss Sunday for the John Force Racing contingent, as Capps
beat Hight by just an eyelash in the opening round. This victory for
Pedregon marks the first time since the Columbus-St. Louis stretch of
2003 that he has won six straight rounds. He'll try to make it seven
against Gary Scelzi, who advanced with a 4.771/328.22 victory over Del
Worsham in the quarterfinals.
Cruz Pedregon esta frio ahora -- The No. 1 qualifier's
magical weekend ended in a puff of smoke in Round 2 against Ron Capps.
Pedregon cut an .025-second light to Capps' .071, but the Don Schumacher
Brut Dodge sailed on to the semifinals with a 4.796-second E.T. at 324.20
mph.
No. 4.7, no win -- Tommy Johnson Jr. said he and his
Skoal Chevy Monte Carlo "just have to go up there tomorrow and
run low 4.70s all day." He didn't do that in his first-round victory
when Frankie Pedregon red-lit, and he didn't do it against John Force
in the next round, either.
Force had a 4.796-second E.T. (at 326.79 mph), but Johnson was late
off the line and managed just a 4.852/320.97.
Pro Stock history -- Erica Enders became the first
woman to advance to the Pro Stock semifinals of a national event when
she defeated Mike Edwards on a holeshot in the second round. She had
a 6.790-second time at 202.24 to Edwards' 6.816/201.67. She drew Warren
Johnson in the semifinal, as he upset No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson.
Almost there -- After Saturday night qualifying, Kurt
Johnson said his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt team put in his race-day tune-up
for the final session "and it was decent. We know this set-up will
race 6.71s consistently and perhaps a .70 flat. We’re not going
to go crazy, we’re just going to get the optimum out of what we
have to work with here. We're not going to be testing (Sunday) -- we're
going to be running down the race track."
He said his combination was "not exactly where we want to be,
but we can win with it." It turned out he was half-right. The No.
10 qualifier didn't win with it. But he lost to No. 2 Jason Line by
only .0033 of a s second -- about one foot -- in the second round.
Another
upset -- Dave Connolly and his No. 11-qualified Skull Gear
Chevy Cobalt continued upsetting the higher Pro Stock qualifiers. He
eliminated No. 3 Larry Morgan in Round 2 on a holeshot, the same way
he defeated V Gaines. He'll go against No. 2 Jason Line in the next
round.
Warren Johnson got the victory in his classic Pro Stock victory over
former shop-hand Greg Anderson, who had qualified No. 1 and had won
four of the previous five events. Johnson had a .042-second light to
Anderson's .049 and sped away to the 6.749-second, 204.48-mph victory.
Anderson had a respectable 6.763/203.28.
Great Northwest Allstars rule -- NHRA's Northwest Division
won the Jeg's Allstars team competition on the strength of Dave Barcelon's
upset win in Comp in his '02 Chevy Cavalier and runner-up finishes from
Steve Federlin (Alcohol Dragster), Joe Sorenson (Stock), Stefan Kondolay
(Super Gas), and Dudley Gee (Super Street). The division won for the
first time since 1988.
The race-within-a-race, which took place Saturday during qualifying,
featured 64 of the best sportsman racers in eight classes from each
of the seven geographical divisions. Allstars competed for individual
and team honors and a share of the $100,000 purse. Any driver who won
the same eliminator title in the Jeg's Allstars race and the Ameriquest
Nationals earned the Jeg's double-up bonus.
Other winners were Gene Snow (Top Alcohol Dragster), Frank Manzo (Top
Alcohol Funny Car), Rod Johnson (Stock), Steve Cohen (Super Gas), Eric
Reiff (Super Street), Kevin Smith (Super Stock), and Shawn Langdon (Super
Comp).
Capps
KOs Hight -- Ron Capps dealt Robert Hight a significant blow
to his Funny Car title chances in the opening round. It was payback
for their Roun 1 match-up at Reading, where Hight won and knocked Capps
from third place to fifth in the standings.
Capps, in the Brut Dodge Stratus, won by just .0037 of a second, or
about 21 inches, with a 4.751-second pass at 328.54 mph to Hight's 4.778/327.27
in the Automobile Club of Southern California Ford Mustang. The rookie
was off the line first, with a .052-second reaction time to Capps' .076.
Capps ran him down by the 1,000-foot mark.
Capps entered this event fifth in points, only 82 behind teammate and
leader Gary Scelzi.
Hight was the only top-five driver to lose in the first round.
No. 3 John Force in the Castrol Start-up Mustang won his race against
Phil Burkart and his Checker Schuck's Kragen Toyota Celica. However,
an oil spill cost him a precious 10 points, $1,500, and lane choice
in the quarterfinals against a dangerous and determined Tommy Johnson
Jr. No. 4 Eric Medlen, who trailed Force by just 45 points, benefited
from opponent Whit Bazemore's engine explosion just past half-track.
And Scelzi was a winner over Mike Ashley, the Pro Modified champion
who joined the Worsham team at Indianapolis.
Good news, bad news -- Sometimes it appears to be two
steps forward and one step back for Cruz Pedregon. After seizing the
No. 1 starting spot with the second-quickest pass in Funny Car history
that he shares with brother and teammate Tony Pedregon, the Advance
Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo driver won -- but at a price.
He beat first-round opponent Gary Densham in a race that represented
the bookends of the quickest lineup in class history. However, he had
an oil down that took 10 points from his ledger, $1,500 from his pocket,
and lane choice from his second-round arsenal.
Kalitta wastes chance -- Doug Kalitta put a big dent
in his Top Fuel title chances in the opening round.
At about one-third of the way down the track against teammate Dave
Grubnic, he smoked the tires on his Mac Tools Dragster that had been
so dominant midway through the season. He tried to pedal it, but it
was no match for Grubnic's Zantrex-3 Dragster, which was on a nice,
smooth run at .4.557/322.04.
It might have been some comfort that Larry Dixon, who was just five
points ahead of him in the standings coming into Joliet, lost to Scott
Kalitta five pairings before. But the wasted opportunity was even more
disheartening to his team with leader Tony Schumacher's victory over
Bobby Lagana.
Mistakes set up Top Fuel final -- Scott Kalitta red-lit
his way out of the Top Fuel final round, giving Doug Herbert the semifinal
victory. Then Brandon Bernstein got a slight jump on Tony Schumacher
but struck his tires about a third of the way down the track, putting
the Army Dragster in the final round for the fourth straight race.
The Top Fuel final was a replay of the final round of this event in
2004. Herbert won that one, earning his first victory in more than two
years.
Tony P. on a roll -- Tony Pedregon ended Funny Car point leader
Gary Scelzi's day in the semifinals, leading form wire to wire. He edged
Scelzi's 4.772 at 326.71 with a 4.770 at 319.90. Scelzi had run consistent
4.7s in eliminations in his Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus, while Pedregon's
two previous round-wins had been in the 4.8s. The Q Racing Chevy Monte
Carlo driver will try for his first back-to-back victories since the
Las Vegas and Houston races in 2003.
Capps all the way -- Ron Capps beat John Force off
the starting line in their semifinal match-up by just one-thousandth
of a second and rode a five-foot victory into the final round.
Enders in final on WJ miscue -- The Professor of Pro
Stock showed class rookie Erica Enders what not to do in their semifinal
pairing. Warren Johnson's red light in the GM Performance Parts Pontiac
GTO was her second lucky break of the day, as Johnson denied himself
the chance for a fourth victory of the year.
Dave Connolly also left the starting line too early, sending Jason
Line into the final aganst Enders.
Two
reasons to be sick -- Cory McClenathan wasn't feeling well
to begin with, moving around gingerly because of a double hernia. But
he felt even worse early in Sunday's Top Fuel action, falling victim
to upset-minded Tim Cullinan. McClenathan, operating from the start
with some right-side cylinders out, he clicked off the engine after
half-track and took a 5.916/180.65 clocking in the Carrier Boyz/FRAM
Air Hog Dragster. Cullinan, meanwhile, equaled his career-best pass
with a 4.669-second elapsed time at 312.35 mph.
Millican pulls upset -- Top Fuel's Clay Millican,
who last weekend won his fifth consecutive International Hot Rod Ass'n.
championship and 45th Ironman trophy that's the equivalent of the "Wally"
statue, was on the underdog side Sunday as No. 11 qualifier. But against
No. 6 Rod Fuller, his Kenny Koretsky Racing/ Werner Enterprises Dragster
proved it can run in either sanctioning body. Millican left on Fuller
(with a .073-second reaction time to Fuller's .089), yet had to overtake
his opponent. Millican had a winning 4.606-second E.T. at 321.88 mph
to Fuller's 4.750/311.70.
Right is might -- Warren Johnson and Dave Connolly were the
only left-lane winners in the Pro Stock class. String
of upsets -- The Pro Stock class saw three consecutive Round
1 upsets (based not on a driver's experience or reputation but on the
qualifying order). No. 10 Kurt Johnson beat No. 7 Allen Johnson, No.
11 Dave Connolly eliminated No. 6 V. Gaines, and No. 13 Mike Edwards
knocked off No. 4 Richie Stevens. It also represented a trifecta for
GM over the Dodges -- Connolly and Kurt Johnson drive Chevy Cobalts
and Edwards a new GTO, while each of their opponents drive Dodge Stratuses.
Enders
elated -- Erica Enders took advantage of Ron Krisher's mechanical
troubles in the opening round of Pro Stock competition to gain her second
round-win. Krisher's car moved out of the groove and he wound up with
a 15.620 elapsed time to Enders' 6.773 at 206.48 in the Slammers Ultimate
Milk Chevy Cobalt.
She said Saturday night, "So far this is a dream weekend,"
Enders said. "The only thing that will make it better is to go
some rounds on Sunday. I got my first ever round-win a few weeks ago
in Maple Grove (in Reading, Pa.), and I hope we can follow that up with
the same kind of performance here."
She qualified fifth, higher than she ever had, and did so with career-best
6.670-second run at 206.48 mph. Her previous best qualifying effort
was eighth at Sonoma, Calif.
Ironically, she faced Pro Stock veteran Mike Edwards in Round 2. But
she had a different guest at the Route 66 Raceway, also named Mike Edwards
-- he's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Bravo! Foods.
"I think he brought us some luck because we ran
our best times when he was watching," Enders said. "Now if
I can just get him to come to
the rest of the races this year, we will be all set."
Her showing at Chicago marked the first time in her professional career
that she has qualified at four races in a row.
SATURDAY - SCHUMACHER
LEADS THE WAY IN TOP FUEL QUALIFYING AT AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE NHRA NATIONALS Cruz Pedregon sets pace in Funny Car, Greg Anderson sets track record
in Pro Stock
(10-1-2005) - POWERade Series
points leader Tony Schumacher set a conditional national record with
a 4.437-second pass en route to claiming the No. 1 qualifying position
in Top Fuel at the Fifth annual Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA Nationals at
Route 66 Raceway.
The other top qualifiers at the $1.5 million race, the 20th of 23 events
in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Series, were Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car)
and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock).
Schumacher
set the conditional mark, which won't be official until after the race
has been completed, on his second qualifying run Friday night. His first
pass on Saturday, 4.473 seconds, was good enough to validate the time
-- an NHRA national record requires a second run within 1 percent (4.481)
of the record run -- and it will earn him a valuable 20-point bonus
assuming no other Top Fuel driver runs a sub-4.437 on Sunday (and backs
it up).
Schumacher, who held the previous record of 4.441 seconds, set on Oct.
5, 2003 at Reading, Pa., lives about an hour north of Route 66 Raceway
in Long Grove, Ill.
"It's still a home track," said Schumacher, who ran better
than 4.50 in all four of his qualifying passes. "We are running
really well ... up to now. We have four extremely tough rounds to run
Sunday ... last year we had the machine running as well as it is right
now and I screwed it up (runner-up to Doug Herbert)."
Not yet counting the 20-point bonus, which won't be official until after
the race, Schumacher extended his POWERade Series points lead Saturday
by picking up points with his No. 1 qualifying position, narrowly extending
the 100-point lead he carried into the race over Larry Dixon (who qualified
7th) and the 105-point lead he had over Doug Kalitta (who qualified
4th).
"The worst thing anyone could do in the history of the sport would
be to lose a 100-point lead (this late in the season)," said Schumacher,
who two weeks ago said he wouldn't trade his chances of winning the
2005 POWERade Series championship "for anyone's in the world."
It was the sixth straight and 10th overall No. 1 qualifier in 2005 for
Schumacher, who has nearly doubled the career total of No. 1 qualifiers
(11) he had entering this season.
In Funny Car, Pedregon's 4.680-second pass in his Advance Auto Parts
Chevy Monte Carlo (done Friday night) was the second-quickest Funny
Car run in NHRA history and led the quickest Funny Car field (based
on elapsed time of the No. 16 qualifier) in NHRA history. The 4.842-run
by Gary Densham in his Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo was the 16th best
and it surpassed the previous best of 4.852 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
just two events ago.
It was the second No. 1 qualifier in 2005 for Cruz Pedregon (Englishtown).
"If we could somehow manage to find our way to the final round
... anything short of a final round, I guess, would be a disappointment,"
Pedregon said. "The strategy (Sunday) is to win."
The
32nd career No. 1 qualifier ended a stretch of consecutive races where
the winner of 22 career NHRA POWERade Series races failed to qualify
altogether.
"We did our homework and it paid off," Pedregon said. "I
knew we were better than what we were showing. I was a little embarrassed.
This is really a morale-booster for the team."
In Pro Stock, Anderson's 6.646-second pass in his Summit Racing Pontiac
GTO from Friday night, which held up Saturday, was the second-quickest
Pro Stock run in NHRA history and it led the quickest Pro Stock field
in NHRA history. The 16th-best time of Dave Howard (6.707) was better
than the previous best of 6.709 set at the 2005 Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.
"I'm really looking forward to (Sunday), it'll probably be a little
hotter and honestly that will play into our hands so maybe we can get
this monkey off our back," said Anderson, who will be looking to
complete an impressive career feat with a win Sunday. Anderson has won
at every track on the current NHRA circuit except Route 66 Raceway.
His win at the just-completed Toyo Tires Nationals was his first win
ever at Maple Grove Raceway, leaving Route 66 Raceway as the sole remaining
track to shut him out.
"The other drivers have been saying I can't win here ... I've got
to go out (Sunday) and prove them wrong,"Anderson said. "Hopefully
(Sunday) is a different story."
It was the fifth No. 1 qualifier of 2005 for Anderson and the 38th of
his career.
Anderson's time was also the quickest ever at Route 66 Raceway and his
teammate, Jason Line, turned in a top speed of 208.17 to set the track
record for speed.
First-round pairings for professional eliminations
Sunday for the Fifth annual Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA Nationals at Route
66 Raceway, the 20th 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, 4.437 seconds, 331.77
mph vs. 16. Bobby Lagana Jr., 4.681, 312.64; 2. Cory McClenathan, 4.466,
328.14 vs. 15. Tim Cullinan, 4.669, 315.42; 3. Doug Herbert, 4.480,
326.95 vs. 14. John Smith, 4.629, 312.78; 4. Doug Kalitta, 4.491, 330.31
vs. 13. David Grubnic, 4.578, 325.61; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 4.492, 330.39
vs. 12. Jack Beckman, 4.577, 321.27; 6. Rod Fuller, 4.508, 329.83 vs.
11. Clay Millican, 4.553, 321.73; 7. Larry Dixon, 4.511, 329.42 vs.
10. Scott Kalitta, 4.548, 326.00; 8. Morgan Lucas, 4.513, 326.79 vs.
9. Melanie Troxel, 4.536, 326.95.
Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo,
4.680, 330.80 vs. 16. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.842, 319.98; 2. Tony
Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.680, 328.14 vs. 15. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo,
4.792, 325.77; 3. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Stratus, 4.697, 331.28 vs. 14.
Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.787, 324.98; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte
Carlo, 4.698, 331.45 vs. 13. Frank Pedregon, Stratus, 4.779, 318.84;
5. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.702, 328.46 vs. 12. Phil Burkart, Toyota
Celica, 4.773, 319.60; 6. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.723, 329.42 vs.
11. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.768, 323.97; 7. Whit Bazemore, Stratus,
4.730, 329.75 vs. 10. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.742, 324.83; 8. Ron Capps,
Stratus, 4.732, 329.02 vs. 9. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.737, 325.69.
Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.646,
207.27 vs. 16. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt, 6.707, 206.07; 2. Jason Line,
GTO, 6.663, 208.17 vs. 15. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Cavalier, 6.699, 206.07;
3. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.668, 206.70 vs. 14. Jeg Coughlin,
Stratus, 6.695, 205.72; 4. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.669, 206.32 vs.
13. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.691, 205.85; 5. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.670,
206.48 vs. 12. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.691, 206.61; 6. V. Gaines, Stratus,
6.676, 206.48 vs. 11. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.688, 206.07; 7. Allen
Johnson, Stratus, 6.680, 205.47 vs. 10. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.687,
207.30; 8. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.684, 206.99 vs. 9. Jim Yates, GTO,
6.684, 206.35.
SATURDAY NOTES -
(10-1-2005) - Hot at the right time -- Greg Anderson
seems to be getting hot at just the right time of the season.
With four victories in the last five races, he has opened a 176-point
lead over second-place Kurt Johnson in the Pro Stock standings. And
Saturday, he earned his fifth No. 1 qualifier award of the season with
a track-record elapsed time of 6.646 seconds at 207.27 mph. He leads
the quickest Pro Stock field in NHRA history.
"This gives you a lot of confidence when you come up here and
run like we're running," the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO
driver said. "I feel very confident right now. You can't get overconfident,
but that confidence always seems to do a lot for me. It helped me a
lot last year, and hopefully it will continue through the weekend."
Route 66 Raceway is about the only item Anderson has not mastered. "Hopefully
we can get this one off our checklist, our to-do list (and) get a win
here and really put the pressure on those guys points-wise. But I love
racing here, and I have no excuse why I haven't been able to run here
before. I love the race track, and we always run good here. We just
need to forget that we haven't done it, go out and act like it's another
race track and try and get it done on Sunday."
Anderson was as low as 10th in the driver points standings after his
first-round loss in the second race of the season at Phoenix, but he
has methodically worked his way up to the top and enters tomorrow's
eliminations with six victories in eight final-rounds appearances this
season.
"When we got these GTOs, we took off," Anderson said. "It's
back to the feeling we had last year. I've got that GTO to thank for
it. That's what's bailed me out this year. You've seen a lot of guys
out here flying with it. They're loving 'em. Everybody that's got a
new GTO or Cobalt is happy as heck right now. It's just a sleeker piece.
GM spent a lot of time and money designing the car and really thought
it out well. It's very, very impressive. It's better down through the
wind and there's a lot less drag to the car. It's got a great balance
to it and handles just like a dream. They're just about easy to drive
when you get on a decent race track like this, because the balance of
the car is so good. And that's all because of the body dimensions. It's
just helped us tremendously on every part of the race track."
Rookie growing stronger -- Erica Enders continues
to show a late-season surge. She had the highest-qualified Chevrolet
among the Pro Stockers. Enders qualified her Chevy Cobalt fifth with
an elapsed time of 6.670 seconds at 206.48 mph.
Stubborn patient -- Cory McClenathan said he was happy
with his No. 2 qualifying position in the Top Fuel class. But the driver
of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM AirHog Draster was feeling bad.
Doctors have told the veteran driver he needs to undergo surgery for
a double hernia. But McClenathan said he is trying to fit the operation
into the racing schedule. Doctors have told him the recovery time is
about 30 days, and his reply is that he doesn't want to end his season
now, not with the $100,000-to-win Budweiser Shootout and the final two
events of the year remaining.
Crew chief Todd Smith and the clutch specialist Bob Bauer helped McClenathan
post a 4.466-seconds run to close Friday as one of only four drivers
to dip into the 4.40-second range. He ended the day No. 2 to Tony Schumacher
and his 4.437 seconds run, but he had
the third-quickest Top Fuel pass on record.
McClenathan made a 4.589-second pass Saturday, then smoked the tires
on his final run.
"This Fram AirHog team is getting better and better as the season
is coming to an end," he said. "While we still are going after
a win in these last four races, I think we now have something good to
work with for next year. We're getting better as a team. Todd Smith
and Bob Bauer are getting this car working and reacting to the changes
they make. I'm really proud of the whole team.
"To be number two here at Chicago is a testimony to them. Everyone
knows how fast this track is, and this weekend has been no exception.
The good news is that we were fast right along with everybody else.
Now we need to go rounds tomorrow."
Quick
recovery -- Gary Densham's ugly cross-track slide and crash
into the wall early Saturday didn't prevent him from making the quickest
Funny Car field in history. The body of his Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo
was totaled, but after his crew worked to get him back on the track,
he ran a 4.842-second pass at 316.38 mph to stay in the 16th and final
spot.
The
veteran driver was uninjured. "Are you kidding? My wife has slapped
me harder than that," he joked.
"It was a pretty good hit," Densham said, "but I feel
worse for the team. I can't begin to explain how hard the team worked
to get everything back together. We had to make a lot of things work
and it happened under a lot of pressure."
He
was in the right lane opposite Mike Ashley in the first Saturday session,
the third overall, and when his car veered over into the left lane,
he nearly hit Ashley.
"Something in the steering obviously broke," Densham said.
"The car just went left, and there was nothing I could do to turn
back. I tried, but nothing worked. Thank God the car in the other lane
was out of the way by the time I had the problem."
He'll face top qualifier Cruz Pedregon in the first round of Sunday's
eliminations.
"I was just happy that we got the car to go down the track like
it was supposed to do," Densham said of the final session.. "Tomorrow
is going to be one of the best race days I've ever seen. There are a
lot of bad, fast hot rods out here and to be involved in the quickest
field in Funny Car history is just awesome. Any fans who miss this race
will be sorry, because this is going to be a great day of racing. It's
going to be real exciting." (Motel 6 Vision)
Clueless – Funny Car newcomer Mike Ashley said
he wondered why the crowd had such an animated reaction to his less-than-spectacular
4.9-second run in Saturday's first session. Mark Oswald, his crew chief,
had tuned Ashley’s Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels Monte Carlo to
run a mid-4.70 lap, but a few dropped cylinders and a wrestling match
with the steering wheel prevented that from happening.
Ashley said later he had no idea of the situation that had transpired
behind him. If he had run any slower, the accident would have been a
two-car crash.
"I had enough of a time fighting my own monster," Ashley
said. "We had it hopped up and we had it set for a mid-4.70. It
just didn't turn out that way, and we dropped a few cylinders. I am
just glad that Gary is OK and that we were able to avoid the crash.
God was watching out for me today."
Price of oil worsens -- Ron Capps naturally was unhappy
with starter Rick Stewart's decision to order his engine shut off during
Friday night qualifying at Reading. But it appeared the incident was
over for him and his Brut Dodge Stratus team. However, when the Don
Schumacher Racing contingent arrived at Joliet, they found out Capps
had been charged with an oildown. Although he spoke eloquently and showed
restraint, Capps clearly was unhappy.
"We were trying to focus on it and get rid of it. Then we showed
up here and they docked us an oildown penalty. They went on the record
and on television and Ray Alley said there was obviously no oil. The
oil came from another car and it was a high pressure spray and that
was obvious," Capps said. "They came back and docked us one.
We had built up two credits.
"That's a half of a round, and if something weird happens down
the stretch . . . " Capps, who entered with an 82-point gap between
himself and leader Gary Scelzi, said. "They go on the record and
say no oil and then dock us . The whole fiasco is unprofessional. I
love the NHRA and I'm always politically correct, but being in the championship
hunt and having that happen is sickening. We were over it and had it
put behind us until we got here. This is like pouring salt into an open
wound. What are you going to do? This Brut team is going to stay after
it, but it's disheartening."
Teammate Scelzi has two credits, and Eric Medlen and Capps have one
apiece. Robert Hight and John Force have no credits.
Marching on -- Despite his frustration about NHRA's oildown
penalty against him, Ron Capps recorded a career-best 4.732-second elapsed
time at a career-best 329.02 mph pass in the final round of qualifying.
That improved his position from 10th to eighth and gave him lane choice
over fellow championship contender Robert Hight in the first round of
eliminations.
Capps rewrote his career-best performance in the first session Friday
with a 4.759-second pass at 326.87 mph. He would erase those marks twice
again in Saturday qualifying. In the third session (the first Saturday),
Capps posted a 4.759/327.74, which he eclipsed in the last run.
"I wish every race weekend was like this," Capps said. "It's
fun because the track doesn't pose any extra worries for the crew chiefs
beyond just the weather conditions and the track temperatures.
"It's a lot of fun for everybody, just throwing big numbers out.
We've been trying to find that edge where we smoke the tires. The Brut
Dodge hasn't smoked the tires early in so long that we found the edge
on Friday night. It was kind of nice to find out where that spot is
and then back up a little bit. It's back to being a consistent car,
which it's been most of the year."
Capps will face Hight, who's second in points, in the opening round
of eliminations for the second straight race. "We ended qualifying
on a great note, moved up a couple of spots, have lane choice,"
Capps said. "We have destiny in our own hands this time, racing
Robert, unlike in Reading (Pa.), where we didn't have lane choice."
Capps lost to Hight and fell to fifth place in the standings.
"It just makes it that much more interesting," Capps said.
Records galore -- The driver of the U.S. Army Dragster
is even more decorated. Tony Schumacher set an NHRA single-season record
with his sixth straight No. 1 qualifier position. But more important,
he backed up the 4.437-second pass he made Friday with a 4.473-second
run to position himself to earn 20 bonus points for setting a national
elapsed-time record. If no other driver establishes a new mark and backs
it up within one percent
during Sunday's action, the 20 bonus points will be Schumacher's.
"The pole is great, but those 20 extra points are so important
to us right now," he said "Of course, we also have to take
care of our race-day business. You certainly don't want to give back
those points as quickly as you collected them."
Schumacher's first-round opponent will be 16th-place qualifier Bobby
Lagana, Jr., same as in Memphis three races ago.
"It's one round at a time, plain and simple," Schumacher
said. "Our goal is quite clear -- we have to take away rounds from
our closest competition, Larry Dixon and Doug Kalitta."
My kind of track, Chicago is -- Gary Scelzi loves
Route 66 Raceway.
"This is the place, no question about it," the Funny Car
points leader said after establishing a career-best elapsed time of
4.697 seconds in the Mopar/Oakley Dodge Stratus while qualifying No.
3.
He stumbled only once in four qualifying chances. In the third session,
he posted a 7.168-second pass at 113.87 mph. The other four runs produced
the 4.697/331.28 pass on Friday night in cooler conditions, a 4.723/329.83
in the first and, finally, a 4.729/329.91 in today's last session.
Scelzi, who is seeking his first Funny Car championship to go with
his three in the Top Fuel class, said, "We were three-f-or four
in qualifying, and I ran my career best. Everything is good."
On this quarter-mile last spring, he became the first Funny Car driver
to go 330 mph or faster.
"We tried something in the first round today, just to see what
we could get away with tomorrow," Scelzi said, "and we know
where we're not going to go -- if we get into the middle of the day
"Everything seems to be fine. We may have left a little bit on
the table tonight," he said. "But you're not going to get
the national record here. It's not that good to get that close. That
rev limiter is still playing a little bit of a factor," he said.
After watching Top Fuel DSR teammate Tony Schumacher back up the national-record
run (which isn't official until the race is completed), Scelzi couldn't
help but want to extend his lead, too, with those 20 bonus points for
such a feat.
Scelzi will face Mike Ashley in Round 1 Sunday. His teammates, Whit
Bazemore and Ron Capps, meet Eric Medlen and Robert Hight, respectively.
The John Force Racing duo are two of Scelzi's strongest challengers
for the championship. Force will take on Phil Burkart, who has made
a habit of upsetting the 13-time champion.
"Big day tomorrow," Scelzi said. "Got a lot of big match-ups.
Hopefully, the Mopar/Oakley Dodge is going to make a big move up in
the points. I'm ready to go. This is just work."
Five-time IHRA champs strong in NHRA, too -- Clay Millican,
Mike Kloeber, and the Nitro Fish Wear/Werner Top Fuel team might have
gotten off to a slow start at Joliet, but they can be excused for that.
The week before, they were in Budds Creek, Md., wrapping up their fifth
straight IHRA championship.
The team hit its qualifying stride Saturday, taking the No. 11 spot
with two runs Saturday that were a mere one-thousandth of a second part
-- 4.553 and 4.554 seconds. Millican will race Rod Fuller, the No. 6
driver (4.508 at 329.10 mph) in the first round Sunday.
Crew chief Kloeber said he regretted that the car smoked the tires
Friday night, wasting a run in the cooler, more ideal weather conditions.
It didn't travel more than 10 feet from the starting line. "I misjudged
the track," he said. "I did what we normally do for Saturday
night qualifying runs ,and the car just spun the tires."
Tire spin is rare for this team. The last time it happened was August
2004.
"We have a pretty good bracket car," Millican said. "Running
in the 4.50s has won us a lot of races." He has 45 "Ironman"
trophies, IHRA's equivalent of the "Wally" statue.
Millican still is seeking his first victory in NHRA competition.
Dynamite day for Del -- Del Worsham paced the Funny Car class
in the first Saturday session, posting a big 4.749-second elapsed time
in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo. But what excited
him more was his final-chance run, in which he set a career-best of
4.723 E.T. to move him up two rungs on the Funny Car ladder to No. 6.
"What a great day for us, which means we really owe it to our sponsors
and ourselves to capitalize on this and do some good tomorrow,"
Worsham said. "We've really made a series of great runs here, and
our Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Monte Carlo has been pure joy to drive.
The absolute only thing about this weekend that hasn't been perfect
was that we didn't quite get after it enough on Friday night. One of
these days we'll join that small club of teams who have put a 4.6 on
the board, but we haven't quite gotten there yet. And to be honest,
the 4.72 this afternoon was by far our best run of the weekend so far."
Worsham will go against Tim Wilkerson in the opening round. "Now,
we have to race our buddy Wilkerson and everyone knows what that usually
means. It usually comes down to inches, and they've gone both ways over
the years. I like Tim, but man I hope we beat him."
Giant-Killer? -- Phil Burkart, driver of the Checker,
Schuck's, Kragen Toyota Celica, has broken John Force's heart plenty
of times in Round 1. He'll have yet another chance Sunday to add to
his impressive list of Force defeats, for as No. 12 qualifier, he drew
No.5 Force as his opening-round opponents.
"I can't explain the whole 'Giant Killer' deal at all," Burkart
said. "We've just been able to beat some very good teams in the
first round over the last couple of years. I think people just notice
it more when you beat Force, so we'll do our best to make them notice
in Round q. We're running well, but we missed on our last shot today,
and that sets us back just a little. We were trying to step way up,
and we overpowered it out there. We have some good runs in the bank
here, though, so we have plenty of good data to draw from."
He said the first round "is going to be huge in terms of the championship.
We have Force. Our new teammate, Mike Ashley, has Gary Scelzi,. Eric
Medlen has to race Whit (Bazemore,) and Capps and Hight are facing each
other. When the first round is over tomorrow, you could see a whole
different picture for this championship chase. We're the spoilers here,
so we aiming to spoil a lot of hopes and dreams. It ought to be
very interesting."
SATURDAY BOOMER - She's a bit lean today
(10-1-2005) - Things got a little warm
for Dale Creasy, Jr., during Saturday qualifying. (Motel 6 Vision).
a
d v e r t i s e m e n t
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FRIDAY - SCHUMACHER LEADS
THE WAY IN TOP FUEL QUALIFYING AT AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE NHRA NATIONALS;
Cruz Pedregon sets pace in Funny Car, Greg Anderson posts best run
in Pro Stock
(9-30-2005) - POWERade Series points leader Tony Schumacher
capped off a blistering day of racing with a 4.437-second pass to secure
the provisional No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel at the Fifth annual
Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
The other top qualifiers at the $1.5 million race, the 20th of 23 events
in the $50 million POWERade Series, were Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and
Greg Anderson (Pro Stock).
Schumacher's pass in his U.S. Army dragster was the third quickest in
NHRA Top Fuel history -- the two quickest passes (4.420 and 4.428) also
came at Route 66 Raceway and both were run by Doug Kalitta.
If Schumacher backs up the 4.437 with a 4.481 or quicker at any point
this weekend, the time will stand as the national record. Schumacher owns
the current national record (which requires a second run within 1 percent
of the time of the first run) of 4.441 seconds set in Reading, Pa. Oct.
5, 2003.
"There's no reason not to go for it," Schumacher said. "I'd
like to think we have six more chances to get it done. Unless it's 90
degrees for the rest of the weekend I think we can do it."
Schumacher leads Larry Dixon by 100 points entering the weekend and Doug
Kalitta by 105 points, so with the POWERade Series points race still hanging
in the balance, Schumacher isn't shy about looking for the 20-point point
bonus that accompanies any national record.
"Twenty points would be huge right now," said Schumacher, who
has nine No. 1 qualifiers (including five in a row) this season and could
extend his points lead with his 10th this weekend. "Even qualifying
No. 1 over the last few races has made a difference. If you can get even
one point more than the guy right behind you in the points, it could be
the difference at the end of the year. I think it's going to be that close."
In
Funny Car, Pedregon's 4.680-second pass in his Advance Auto Parts Chevy
Monte Carlo was the second-quickest Funny Car run in NHRA history and
it led the quickest Funny Car field (based on elapsed time of the No.
16 qualifier) in NHRA history. The 4.842-run by Gary Densham in his Racebricks
Chevy Monte Carlo was the 16th best Friday and it surpassed the previous
best of 4.852 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals just two events ago.
With a 4.804-second run in the first round of qualifying, Cruz said he
and his crew -- knowing they were comfortably in the field -- decided
to roll the dice and they proceeded to match the 4.680 run by his brother
Tony just a couple rounds earlier.
"I told my wife, 'You'll either see the scoreboard light up or you're
going to see a lot of smoke,'" said Cruz Pedregon, who earned the
provisional No. 1 qualifying position based on a match of top speeds (330.80
for Cruz vs. 320.36 for Tony). "The (car) pinned me in the seat like
I've never been pinned before. I was plastered to the seat."
The matching 4.680's for the brothers Pedregon were the second quickest
Funny Car runs in NHRA history, behind only the 4.665-second run by John
Force here at Route 66 Raceway in Oct. 2004.
"I'm as excited as if I had won a race," Cruz said. "Our
strategy is to get after it and shoot for the stars."
In
Pro Stock, Anderson's 6.646-second pass in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO
was the second-quickest Pro Stock run in NHRA history and it led the quickest
Pro Stock field in NHRA history. The 16th-best time of Dave Howard (6.707)
was better than the previous best of 6.709 set at the 2005 Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals.
"You look at the weather forecast before you get here and you see
how it's supposed to be and you're absolutely drooling," said Anderson,
who has a 176-point lead over Kurt Johnson in the POWERade Series standings.
"We don't have blowers. We can't manufacture our own air. We have
to wait for conditions to be just right before we can even think about
these kinds of numbers. Today everything worked out."
Anderson's time was also the quickest ever at Route 66 Raceway and his
teammate, Jason Line, turned in a top speed of 208.17 to set the track
record for speed.
"We feel very confident right now. We're not over confident, just
happy with where the car is at the moment," said Anderson, who has
won at every track on the circuit except for Route 66 Raceway. "Chicago
is definitely on our to-do list because it's the only track left on the
current schedule where we haven't won. At least this shows us that we're
off to a good start."
Results Friday after qualifying for the Fifth annual Ameriquest Mortgage
NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, 20th 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, 4.437 seconds, 331.77 mph; 2.
Cory McClenathan, 4.466, 328.14; 3. Doug Herbert, 4.480, 325.30; 4. Doug
Kalitta, 4.491, 329.58; 5. Rod Fuller, 4.508, 329.10; 6. Larry Dixon,
4.511, 326.63; 7. Morgan Lucas, 4.520, 323.81; 8. Melanie Troxel, 4.536,
326.95; 9. Brandon Bernstein, 4.564, 325.92; 10. Scott Kalitta, 4.565,
316.75; 11. David Grubnic, 4.578, 325.61; 12. Clay Millican, 4.611, 318.99;
13. John Smith, 4.629, 312.78; 14. Tim Cullinan, 4.669, 315.42; 15. Bruce
Litton, 4.682, 311.56; 16. Jack Beckman, 4.724, 282.01.
Funny Car -- 1. Cruz Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.680,
330.80; 2. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.680, 320.36; 3. Gary Scelzi,
Dodge Stratus, 4.697, 331.28; 4. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.698,
331.45; 5. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.711, 325.77; 6. Whit Bazemore,
Stratus, 4.730, 329.75; 7. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.737, 325.69; 8. Del
Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.738, 328.54; 9. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.742, 324.83;
10. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.759, 326.87; 11. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo,
4.768, 323.97; 12. Phil Burkart, Toyota Celica, 4.773, 319.60; 13. Frank
Pedregon, Stratus, 4.779, 318.77; 14. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.787,
324.98; 15. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.800, 325.77; 16. Gary Densham,
Monte Carlo, 4.842, 319.98.
Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.646,
207.27; 2. Jason Line, GTO, 6.663, 208.17; 3. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus,
6.668, 206.70; 4. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.669, 206.32; 5. Erica Enders,
Chevy Cobalt, 6.670, 206.48; 6. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.676, 206.48; 7.
Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.680, 205.47; 8. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.684,
206.99; 9. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.684, 206.35; 10. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt,
6.687, 207.30; 11. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.688, 206.07; 12. Mike Edwards,
GTO, 6.691, 205.85; 13. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.694, 206.61; 14. Jeg
Coughlin, Stratus, 6.695, 205.63; 15. Greg Stanfield, Chevy Cavalier,
6.699, 206.07; 16. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.707, 206.07.
FRIDAY EYE POPPER - Wheelstand
contest winner
(10-1-2005) - Vinny Arcadi found
out during Friday evening qualifying what happens when one shakes the
tires and pedals. (Motel 6 Vision)
FRIDAY NOTES - Schumacher makes eye-popping
pass; Cruz swipes No. 1 spot from his brother; Tommy Johnson wants a
finish like his start; Worsham says night "As Big-Time As It Gets;"
Doug Kalitta in catch-up mode; Fast Jack on a mission; Anderson, Line
rule in Pro Stock
(9-30-2005)
- Schumacher ups ante -- Top Fuel points leader
Tony Schumacher turned up the pressure on his rivals Friday in qualifying.
The Long Grove resident drove his U.S. Army Dragster to a 4.437-second
elapsed time on the Route 66 Raceway quarter-mile at a speed of 331.77
miles an hour.
That E.T. was quicker than the national record of 4.441 he set in October
2003 at Reading, Pa.
If he runs 4.481 or quicker at any time during this event, he will
rewrite the record and gain an extra 20 points on the rest of the field.
He entered this race, the 20th of 23 in the Powerade Drag Racing Series,
with a 100-point edge over No. 2 Larry Dixon and a 105-point lead on
third-place Doug Kalitta.
"That was just awesome," Schumacher said. "We have one
bad hot rod right now. (Crew chief) Alan Johnson has this U.S. Army
Dragster doing what it's supposed to do."
With only a 353-point spread between Schumacher and No. 5 Morgan Lucas,
the 20 extra points would be a godsend to the Army team. "That
would be huge for us," Schumacher said. "I'm extremely confident
that Alan will take a full swing at it tomorrow. We need every point
we can get as the season winds down to a precious few rounds and races.
I can't state it any clearer - we have to stay focused on every lap
we make down the track."
Tony Schumacher's 4.486/325.14 was enough to hold off No. 2 Larry Dixon,
No. 3 Scott Kalitta, and the other 21 Top Fuel entrants in the opening
round of qualifying. But even the sizzling hot U.S. Army Dragster, which
turned in the fastest speed in drag-racing history at 337.58 in qualifying
at Brainerd in August, had shown room for improvement. It dropped a
cylinder and took a hop out of the groove early in the run.
Records intact early -- U.S. Army Dragster driver Tony
Schumacher's No. 1 performance of 4.486 second sat 325.14 mph in Friday's
early qualifying represented the only 4.4-second pass. But Doug Kalitta,
who was 15th in the lineup in his first chance, still owned the track
elapsed-time mark with a 4.420.
That all changed with the second session. Cory McClenathan, Doug Herbert,
and Doug Kalitta -- Nos. 2, 3, and 4, respectively at the moment --
had 4.4s.
New
sensation -- Cruz Pedregon, who failed to qualify his Advance
Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo in the previous two races, said he went
for broke in Friday night's qualifying session. His attitude paid off,
netting him the provisional No. 1 spot in the Funny Car class.
His career best 4.680-second elapsed time at 330.80 mph tied brother
and teammate Tony Pedregon for the second-quickest run in Funny Car
history.
"I haven’t been this excited in a long time," Pedregon
said. "It pinned me in the seat like I had never been pinned before.
My body had never felt like that before, and all I wanted to do was
keep that thing in the center."
He said he and his crew "did a lot of things to the car before
the run. We worked on the car, the engine, and the clutch, because we
knew the conditions were going to be good. We felt our first run was
going to stay in the field, so we really wanted to go for it. We were
either going to light the scoreboard up or go up in a whole lot of smoke.
Luckily it hung in there."
He said he was happy to share the distinction with his brother, too.
"We were able to run the same elapsed time, but I got him a little
on speed. This is a real credit to the team," Pedregon said.
"The biggest thing for us is we made a change in the crew chief
department after Memphis," Cruz Pedregon said of the change from
Wes Cerny to Ron Douglas. "We felt we were in the middle of the
pack and just running along. At this point in my career, I want to either
be a hero or a zero. That attitude cost us at Indy and Reading, but
it’s something we needed to do to compete with these guys."
Tony Pedregon and his Q Racing team, who won at Reading, said he wanted
to thank crew chief Dickie Venables and his men. "They have worked
real hard this year, now were starting to see what this team is capable
of," he said.
Venables, calling Route 66 Raceway "such a great race track,"
said, "People are in for a treat this weekend. This is what Q Racing
is all about. The motor oil we use this weekend has given us the horsepower
we need to put up numbers like this. And we took advantage of the great
weather conditions, as well."
No
worries this time -- Larry Dixon said his first pass Friday
of 4.511 seconds at 326.63 mph in the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster
"was great run." But he said was thinking about return to
the "scene of the crime."
"Considering we didn't qualify here last year, it was nice to make
a solid run down the track and get our car qualified," he said
of last year's showing. That marked the first time in 53 races that
he had had a DNQ.
Of his first pass Friday, he said, "It carried the front end for
a long time on that run and the car went straight. It made a good run
and we were second quick of the session. We were sixth quick of the
second session. The car dropped a hole (cylinder) down track."
Dixon won the spring Joliet race in 2002.
We
have ignition -- now -- Despite an ignition problem on his
first pass Friday Tim Wilkerson stormed back with his second-quickest
run of the year to land the No. 11 spot in what is shaping up to be
the quickest Funny Car field in history.
His 4.768-second elapsed time at 323.97 mph in his Levi, Ray &
Shoup Chevy Monte Carlo was a marked improvement from his first posting
of 6.235/148.54 mph.
"On the first run we had some sort of ignition problem,"
Wilkerson said. The motor dropped two cylinders at the hit of the throttle,
and that pushed the car toward the center line. He shut off the engine
and aborted the run.
"We put new coils on it, and now it's alive again," the Springfield,
Ill., owner/driver said of the repaired motor. We made a nice pass tonight,
but we're just out of power. We can't make any more power than we make,
so I think we're going to put the setback blower on for tomorrow and
see if we can get it shook down. We're in the show pretty good. I don't
think we're going to get bumped out, so it's a good time to try. And
I think we can make the setback run that fast, anyway. We'll work on
it hard and see how things go."
He likes it hot or cold -- Much is made of the fact
that Dick LaHaie, Larry Dixon's crew chief on the Miller Lite/Ameriquest
Dragster, is a master at tuning the car for hot, sticky greasy racing
surfaces. But he showed he knows a thing or two about cooler, smoother
surfaces, as well.
Dixon was the No. 2 qualifier after the opening session, registering
a 4.511-second E.T. at a best-of-the-session 326.63 mph. Kalitta's teammate,
Dave Grubnic, still has the Route 66 Raceway speed mark at 333.58.
Dixon,'s second-session effort was only slightly slower 4.524/321.73.
Conspicuous
absences -- The Top Fuel DNQ list was as glamorous as the qualified
lineup after the first session. Scott Weis, T.J. Zizzo, Rod Fuller,
Brandon Bernstein, Cory McClenathan, and Dave Grubnic were among those
on the outside looking in early in the afternoon. All had smoked their
tires. Grubnic, No. 1 qualifier at this track last May, had a thrilling
performance at Joliet last Ocober, as well. He and Tony Schumacher made
the made the quickest side-by-side run in Top Fuel history at the time
of their first-round match-up. Grubnic lost the race, but his 333.58
set the track speed record. It would have registered as a national record
if he had been able to put in another run within one percent of that
number.
Pedregons
all over map -- Cruz Pedregon stole the provisional No. 1 Funny
Car position from younger brother Tony. They registered identical 4.680
elapsed times, but Cruz Pedregon's 330.80-mph speed trumped Tony Pedregon's
320.36.
Cruz Pedregon has had a rough stretch with his Advance Auto Parts Chevy
Monte Carlo, failing to qualify at both Indianapolis and Reading and
managing just three round-wins in the past 11 events. But he landed
the No. 9 spot in Friday's early session with a 4.804-second pass at
313.58 mph.
For Tony Pedregon, who won the previous race, at Reading, Friday brought
disappointment on the first qualifying chance but a strong rebound in
the second. In the beginning, he had engine trouble, got out of the
groove, clicked off the power on his Q Racing Monte Carlo, and settled
for a 5.110-second effort at 221.89 mph that left him unqualified behind
brother Frank.
Tony Pedregon has fared well at Joliet. Last spring, just minutes after
watching Gary Scelzi break the 330-mph Funny Car speed barrier, he earned
No. 1 qualifier award with a blast of 331.28. He won at Route 66 Raceway
in 2002 and 2003 and was top qualifier in also in 2002. "Route
66 Raceway is one of my preferred tracks on the circuit," he said.
"I've had the privilege of winning there twice and would like to
put the Q car in the winner circle for our second win of the season."
He said he and his team assessed what they did right in Reading and
what they could have done better. "We believe there is more left
into our race car," he said. "We've just scratched the surface,
and now it's time to focus our efforts on repeating what we did at Maple
Grove Raceway. We also need to continue with this level of intensity.
The products we're using perform better than anything I've worked with
before, therefore, evaluating every step we take is key to pinpoint
the areas we need to improve so we (can) maintain our winning performance."
Meanwhile, Frank Pedregon had been opening some eyes in the past couple
of races as No. 3 qualifier and finalist at Indianapolis and No. 4 starter
at Reading. He had a spectacular run Friday's first session, not because
of his 4.996-second elapsed time but because the burst panel of his
Toyo Tires Dodge Stratus went flying through the air as it closed in
on the finish line. But his time was enough to keep him in the 16-car
field. 13 73 He improved from 16th to 13th by the close of the night,
lowering his E.T. to 4.779. He also was much faster, surpassing his
237.75 mph with a 318.77.
Funny
Car's Johnson determined -- Tommy Johnson Jr. said he wants
to end his Funny Car season the way he began it: winning. And he made
a forceful first step Friday, qualifying No. 1 at 4.714 seconds on the
Route 66 Raceway quarter-mile with the only 330-mph speed in the class
(330.47). His time and speed were career-best performances -- until
he made his night run.
He and Gary Scelzi in the opposite lane as the final pair of the second
session recorded the quickest side-by-side run in class history. Johnson
had a 4.698/331.45, the quickest and fastest pass of his career to end
up with the No. 4 position, at least for now. Gary Scelzi was third
behind the Pedregons with a 4.697-second, career-best E.T. at 331.28
mph.
"We came in here knowing that we should run career-best numbers,"
Johnson said afterward. "I was shocked by the first run. I didn't
think I'd run my career-best on that pass. It gave us a good baseline
for the night run, I was just hoping that it didn't get too cold out.
"Then to come out and run 4.69 at 331 and run career-best twice
in one day is terrific," he said. "We accomplished two milestones
today, to run in the 4.60s and run 330. Now I'm hoping that we can come
out on Saturday and run a low 4.70. Then we'll have a good car for Sunday
and that's what's important."
Johnson said he recognized time is critical.
"It's all downhill from here. There are not many races left and
I want to win one before the season ends," Johnson, who drives
the Don Prudhomme-owned Skoal Chevy Monte Carlo, said. "We went
to the semis at Joliet in June and could have easily won the race. We
lost a real close race to (Gary) Scelzi. I'm focusing on winning this
race."
Johnson said he knows what he needs to do to ensure better performances.
"We're qualifying better and running pretty good. I'm leaving on
everybody. But we're lacking a little bit on Sunday as far as consistency
goes," he said. "We're just a little bit behind. We need those
few hundredths (of a second). Hopefully, (crew chiefs) Mike (Green)
and Johnny (West) can get a handle on making the car run really strong
every Sunday. Two or three more hundredths every run will make a difference.
The Chicago track is so good that it will hold the E.T.s that we'll
all throw at it. We've got to pick up our 330(-foot) times a bit. If
we can do that, we'll be one of the guys to beat."
For the record, Johnson's 330-foot time was 2.279 seconds in Friday's
first session and an even-better 2.271 at night.
He said every team has benefited from the extra week off (because the
Dallas race was cancelled when weather forecasters predicted it would
be in the path of Hurricane Rita). "Certainly we'll all be more
rested," he said. "It was originally scheduled at the end
of three straight races. Now it's a normal deal with a week off. Teams
should be more prepared both mentally and physically since you won't
be drained from three-race swing. Otherwise, I don't think you approach
it any differently."
The
heat is on -- It might have been a little cool in the Windy
City, but the heat was rising in the Funny Car class.
Even though Tommy Johnson Jr. was quickest in the first session of Funny
Car qualifying, most observers were eager to see what points leader
Gary Scelzi and closest rival Robert Hight did. They were treated to
thrilling side-by-side runs that closed the first Funny Car session.
Scelzi took second to Johnson with a 4.723-second pass at 329.83, and
Hight was third at 4.737/325.69.
Whit Bazemore, who's seventh in the standings but still has a shot at
the championship with only 208 points to make up in four events, was
the tentative No. 4 qualifier, with John Force fifth, Ron Capps sixth,
and Eric Melden seventh. Capps, Medlen and Force are 82 points or fewer
within Scelzi in the standings.
The evening session had all kinds of drama.
Hight, in the right lane opposite Bazemore, stepped on the gas, but
his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang didn't go anywhere.
Bazemore, though, took off for his quickest run of the season at 4.730
seconds (at 329.34mph). That left the Matco Tools Dodge Stratus driver
sixth. Hight will start Saturday qualifying in seventh place.
His mishap came right after boss John Force had a weird run that left
him fifth. Force posted a 4.711 at 321.65 mph, but his Castrol GTX Start-up
Ford Mustang got a little squirrelly toward the end of the run. He dished
up some sparks, which reportedly were from the header pipes, which were
scraping the track because one of his tires was flat.
The Scelzi and Johnson put on their display.
Anderson-Line team on top -- Greg Anderson in the
Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO leads the Pro Stock field with a
6.646-second E.T. that broke his own track record by .15-hundredths
of a second. Teammate Jason Line is No.2 so far with a 6.663 E.T. and
a track speed mark of 208.17.
Anderson is going for his eighth victory this season and fourth in
a row after victories at Memphis, Indianapolis, and Reading.
Route 66 Raceway is the only venue left on the tour where Anderson
never has won a national event.
His 38th career victory at Reading tied him with Larry Dixon for eighth
in career victories among all professional drivers in NHRA history.
The two -- who shared the U.S. Nationals winners circle on Labor Day,
are tied for third among active professional drivers behind John Force
and Warren Johnson.
Elite
group -- Jason Line and Kurt Johnson were the only Pro Stock
drivers to record speeds of 207 mph or better in the opening qualifying
session.
Line, second in the order then with a 6.690-second elapsed time (and
later a better 6.663), got a 207.27 from his Summit Racing Equipment
Pontiac GTO. Johnson, though seventh in the order with a 6.704 early
on and 10th at the end of the day in his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt with a
6.687, ran first 207.11-mph speed and then a 207.30. Neither was enough
to wipe out the track speed record of 207.75 that Greg Anderson set
last October.
But Line did it in his evening run with a 208.17 mph that is his career
best.
Anderson was the only other driver to join the ranks in the second
session with a 207.27-mph speed to go with his track-record 6.646 E.T.
Fresh
chance for Kalitta -- Doug Kalitta certainly wouldn't wish
Hurricane Rita on anyone, but the extra week off because of the storm's
expected path through Dallas turned out to be helpful for the Top Fuel
contender.
After leading the standings for seven races (from May 1 at Bristol
to July 17 at Denver) and again for three races this summer (from July
31 at Sonoma, Calif., to Sept. 5 at Indianapolis), he and the Mac Tools
Dragster have stumbled a bit. He has won only two elimination rounds
in the previous three events.
When Kalitta lost in the second round at Reading to Larry Dixon by
a mere 0.0174 seconds, or about eight feet, he slipped to third place.
Still, he entered the Joliet race just 105 points behind leader Tony
Schumacher.
"We've been struggling lately, and it could not have come at a
worse time," Kalitta said. "There are now only 16 rounds left
to potentially make up ground in the points, so we have to be sharp.
I think the weekend off was helpful. It certainly gave me time to reflect
on our season so far and get even more focused on completing our final
goal.
"Of course, I still think we have a very good shot at winning
the championship. These next few races are at some tracks that we have
done very well at in the past," he said. "We've just got to
put the past few races behind us and move ahead. It sounds easy, but
sometimes it is hard to do. I've seen how fortunes can quickly turn
in our sport, so we're going to keep battling and try to put ourselves
in the best position we can to win."
In the first session Friday, Kalitta lost traction, then coasted to
a 118.95 mph for the 15th slot in the lineup. He vaulted to fourth in
the night session with a 4,491/329.58.
Kalitta's competitive history at Route 66 Raceway is impressive. Last
May he won the final round with a 4.420-second elapsed time that is
the quickest in drag-racing history. (His previous runs in that event
didn't back the E.T. up as the national record; Tony Schumacher has
that distinction with his 4.441-second pass in Oct. 2003 at Reading.)
He also won the fall race in 2002 and has been No. 1 qualifier twice,
at the single event of 1999 and the fall race in 2003.
The 1994 USAC Sprint Car national champion will be going for his 25
career victory this weekend. His five victories this season (at Gainesville,
Fla.; Bristol, Tenn.; Atlanta; Sonoma, Calif.; and Brainerd, Minn.)
are a career best for the Ann Arbor, Mich., resident.
Busy
Beckman -- Former NHRA Super Comp champion and current Top
Fuel driver "Fast Jack" Beckman is a busy man this weekend.
He'll be driving Dexter Tuttle’s Menards/Mail Terminal Services
Dragster, racing John Coughlin’s Jeg’s Mail Order Super
Comp dragster in the prestigious Jeg's Sportsman Allstars specialty
event, and helping spread the word about cancer prevention.
The North Hills, Calif., driver was runner-up in the Jeg’s Allstars
competition last year, earning the right to return to the event as a
blocker in 2005. Logistical problems prevented Beckman from bringing
his own Super Comp car to Joliet, so Coughlin graciously offered the
use of his Mullis-built dragster for the weekend. Brad Plourd drove
the car to the Super Comp victory at the recent Mac Tools U.S. Nationals
in Indianapolis.
"I can't begin to thank John and the entire Jeg's Mail Order team
for allowing me to drive their car in Joliet," Beckman said. "I
had a great time racing in the Jeg's Allstars race last year, and I'm
grateful for the opportunity to return this year. I haven't driven this
car before, but I know that the Jeg's team has the finest equipment
available. So I don't feel that it diminishes my chances for success.
I'd love nothing more than to have the Jeg's Mail Order Dragster and
the Menards/Mail Terminal Services Top Fueler parked together in the
winners circle this weekend."
He qualified first among the Super Comp Allstars candidates with an
8.903-second elapsed time that was two-thousandths of a second quicker
than No. 2 Jim Perry, of Orlando, Fla.
The race-within-a-race will take place Saturday during qualifying.
It features 64 of the best sportsman racers in eight classes from each
of the seven geographical divisions. Allstars compete for individual
and team honors and a share of a $100,000 purse. Any driver who wins
the same eliminator title in the Jeg's Allstars race and the Ameriquest
Nationals will earn the Jeg's double-up bonus.
The Jeg's Mail Order Dragster will promote the Jeg’s Foundation
for Cancer Research and sport a special paint scheme that highlights
some facts about cancer prevention that everyone should know. The foundation
is a cause that hits home for Beckman, who was diagnosed with lymphoma
in late 2003. Beckman's cancer is in remission, and he has dedicated
himself to helping others who are affected by the disease. Throughout
the year, Beckman visits children's hospitals and cancer centers.
"The Jeg's Foundation and I are both working hard to support cancer
research and awareness. That's what makes this program a perfect fit
for us," Beckman said. "I believe this is a great opportunity
for us to promote the Jeg's Foundation and its philosophy."
With two more qualifying sessions to go before Sunday's eliminations,
Beckman is the 16th in the order with a 4.724/282.01.
Like
a video game -- Del Worsham -- whose 4.738-second elapsed time
at 328.54 mph in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo was
plenty respectable but left him "only" eighth in the Funny
Car order -- described his perspective on Friday evening's historic
Funny Car session at Route 66 Raceway as 14 cars ran 4.78 or better
and four cars dipped into the 4.6 range.
"That was as big-time as it gets, right there," Worsham said.
"You just had to focus so hard on keeping it in the middle because
we were all running very fast and at night like this, no matter how
good the lights are, things are just coming at you so fast, like a video
game on super-high speed. It takes very ounce of your energy and focus
to keep the car straight, and you also feel the pressure of knowing
this was going to be the huge session and you don't want to mess up
as a driver. We ran well, very well, and to tell you the truth I'm pretty
honored to be in the top half of a field like this."
He praised new teammate Mike Ashley, saying the New Yorker "ran
by far his quickest run yet, with a 4.787, and he's 14th! What does
that tell you? All three of our cars ran well, with Phil Burkart driving
his Techron car to a 4.773, so we have a lot to be happy about. We'll
see what tomorrow gives us with a couple of daytime runs. You know,
here at Route 66, it's always fast. It's just a matter of how fast."
Marked
Improvement - Funny Car newcomer Mike Ashley continued his
bid to become a front-running driver in the class by recording another
personal best – the third time in as many events. Ashley’s
4.787, 324.98 run ranks him 14th in the quickest and fastest field in
the history of the class.
The Melville, NY-based Ashley is more than pleased with the fate afforded
him on this history-making evening.
“We are more than thrilled with the way this evening turned out,”
said Ashley. “It says a lot about our team and the steady path
we are on. I think it also says a lot about the caliber of competition
we have in this NHRA POWERade Funny Car class. In three consecutive
events, we’ve had the three quickest in succession. When you have
competition like that, it demands your best every time.”
The SKULL GEAR/Torco Race Fuels-sponsored Ashley got off on the right
foot during Friday’s first session at Route 66 Raceway. Under
the tutelage of veteran tuner and multi-time Funny Car World Champion
Mark Oswald, Ashley punched his way into the field early with a 4.872,
312.71.
That was exactly the kind of productive pass that Ashley needed to set
the tone for the day.
“My hat’s off to Mark Oswald,” Ashley said. “With
each run, I learn a lot from him that I might not get from anyone else.
His experience is a great teaching tool and I am proud to be a student.
“While we are more than enthused to be where we are at today,
we know that tomorrow will bring another quick day of qualifying. There
are some good cars that have yet to make it in here and I know that
we are going to have to get after it even more. Until then, we are going
to enjoy tonight.
“We had a good day in the office today,” concluded Ashley,
the New York mortgage banker.
Tony
the Tiger -- Tony Bartone knows that time might be running
out on his chances for a top-10 Funny Car finish. But the New Yorker,
who reached the finals at Las Vegas in April and has doubled his career
round-victories this year, said he wouldn't mind being a spoiler to
the frontrunners.
"We want . . . a strong finish," Bartone said before debuting
Jim Dunn Racing's special-edition Johnny Lightning-themed body in conjunction
with RC2. "And if we happen to take o
(10-2-2005).
-- POWERade Series points leader Tony Schumacher backed up
his national-record run in qualifying with a win Sunday at the Fifth
annual Ameriquest Mortgage NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
In
Funny Car, Ron Capps (4.760 at 327.82) beat a tire-spinning Tony Pedregon
(7.369 at 138.50) in his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo to jump from fifth
to third in the standings and pull to within 45 points of first-place
Gary Scelzi.
In
Pro Stock, Jason Line (6.719 at 205.88) beat Erica Enders, who fouled
out at the starting line, to win for the fourth time in 2005 and for
the second consecutive year at Route 66 Raceway.
WJ
finds positives -- Despite a red light that ruined his best
run of the day (a 6.748-second pass at 205.07 mph) and handed the automatic
victory to Erica Enders -- her third gift of the day and one that denied
him a 149th final-round appearance -- he remained positive.
Foiled
again -- Morgan Lucas had won just once in nine previous pairings
with Schumacher, and it looked as though he might start to reverse that
trend in Round 2 Sunday. He left the starting line 24-hundredths of
a second quicker than the points leader and top qualifier. But he struck
the tires early in the run and eventually gave up and saved parts on
the Lucas Oil Dragster, as he saw Schumacher glide into the semifinals
with a 4.508-second elapsed time at 327.03 mph in the U.S. Army Dragster.
Scott's
the man -- Scott Kalitta, in the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster,
was left to carry the Kalitta Motorsports banner past the second round
Sunday. He easily beat Tim Cullinan, who smoked his tires, wiggled all
over his right-hand lane and then into the left lane behind Kalitta.
But teammate Dave Grubnic, who had eliminated Doug Kalitta in the first
round, fell to Brandon Bernstein and his 4.540/328.22 effort. Grubnic
ran a 4.58/322.73. Bernstein's was the quickest pass of the day so far.
Rivalry
continues -- Doug Herbert is a four-time IHRA Top Fuel champion
and Clay Millican a five-timer. And in NHRA match-ups, as well, Millican
has a 4-2 edge. But Herbert, the defending race winner at Joliet, eliminated
Millican in the second round with a 4.583-second pass at 324.44 mph.
Millican smoked the tires and ended his day with a 4.606/321.88. Millican
has 45 "Ironman" trophies, IHRA's equivalent of the "Wally"
statue. He has three more chances this season (at Dallas, Las Vegas,
and Pomona, Calif.) to earn his first NHRA victory.
Tony
Pedregon esta en fuego -- Reading Funny Car winner Tony Pedregon
extended his round-win streak to six in the second round, eliminating
Eric Medlen on a hole shot and a victory margin of just .0044-of-a-second,
or about two feet, in his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo. It was second
razor-thin loss Sunday for the John Force Racing contingent, as Capps
beat Hight by just an eyelash in the opening round. This victory for
Pedregon marks the first time since the Columbus-St. Louis stretch of
2003 that he has won six straight rounds. He'll try to make it seven
against Gary Scelzi, who advanced with a 4.771/328.22 victory over Del
Worsham in the quarterfinals. 
Another
upset -- Dave Connolly and his No. 11-qualified Skull Gear
Chevy Cobalt continued upsetting the higher Pro Stock qualifiers. He
eliminated No. 3 Larry Morgan in Round 2 on a holeshot, the same way
he defeated V Gaines. He'll go against No. 2 Jason Line in the next
round.
Capps
KOs Hight -- Ron Capps dealt Robert Hight a significant blow
to his Funny Car title chances in the opening round. It was payback
for their Roun 1 match-up at Reading, where Hight won and knocked Capps
from third place to fifth in the standings.
Two
reasons to be sick -- Cory McClenathan wasn't feeling well
to begin with, moving around gingerly because of a double hernia. But
he felt even worse early in Sunday's Top Fuel action, falling victim
to upset-minded Tim Cullinan. McClenathan, operating from the start
with some right-side cylinders out, he clicked off the engine after
half-track and took a 5.916/180.65 clocking in the Carrier Boyz/FRAM
Air Hog Dragster. Cullinan, meanwhile, equaled his career-best pass
with a 4.669-second elapsed time at 312.35 mph.
String
of upsets -- The Pro Stock class saw three consecutive Round
1 upsets (based not on a driver's experience or reputation but on the
qualifying order). No. 10 Kurt Johnson beat No. 7 Allen Johnson, No.
11 Dave Connolly eliminated No. 6 V. Gaines, and No. 13 Mike Edwards
knocked off No. 4 Richie Stevens. It also represented a trifecta for
GM over the Dodges -- Connolly and Kurt Johnson drive Chevy Cobalts
and Edwards a new GTO, while each of their opponents drive Dodge Stratuses.
Enders
elated -- Erica Enders took advantage of Ron Krisher's mechanical
troubles in the opening round of Pro Stock competition to gain her second
round-win. Krisher's car moved out of the groove and he wound up with
a 15.620 elapsed time to Enders' 6.773 at 206.48 in the Slammers Ultimate
Milk Chevy Cobalt.
Schumacher
set the conditional mark, which won't be official until after the race
has been completed, on his second qualifying run Friday night. His first
pass on Saturday, 4.473 seconds, was good enough to validate the time
-- an NHRA national record requires a second run within 1 percent (4.481)
of the record run -- and it will earn him a valuable 20-point bonus
assuming no other Top Fuel driver runs a sub-4.437 on Sunday (and backs
it up).
The
32nd career No. 1 qualifier ended a stretch of consecutive races where
the winner of 22 career NHRA POWERade Series races failed to qualify
altogether.
Quick
recovery -- Gary Densham's ugly cross-track slide and crash
into the wall early Saturday didn't prevent him from making the quickest
Funny Car field in history. The body of his Racebricks Chevy Monte Carlo
was totaled, but after his crew worked to get him back on the track,
he ran a 4.842-second pass at 316.38 mph to stay in the 16th and final
spot.
The
veteran driver was uninjured. "Are you kidding? My wife has slapped
me harder than that," he joked.
He
was in the right lane opposite Mike Ashley in the first Saturday session,
the third overall, and when his car veered over into the left lane,
he nearly hit Ashley.
In
Funny Car, Pedregon's 4.680-second pass in his Advance Auto Parts Chevy
Monte Carlo was the second-quickest Funny Car run in NHRA history and
it led the quickest Funny Car field (based on elapsed time of the No.
16 qualifier) in NHRA history. The 4.842-run by Gary Densham in his Racebricks
Chevy Monte Carlo was the 16th best Friday and it surpassed the previous
best of 4.852 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals just two events ago.
In
Pro Stock, Anderson's 6.646-second pass in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO
was the second-quickest Pro Stock run in NHRA history and it led the quickest
Pro Stock field in NHRA history. The 16th-best time of Dave Howard (6.707)
was better than the previous best of 6.709 set at the 2005 Mac Tools U.S.
Nationals.
(9-30-2005)
- Schumacher ups ante -- Top Fuel points leader
Tony Schumacher turned up the pressure on his rivals Friday in qualifying.
The Long Grove resident drove his U.S. Army Dragster to a 4.437-second
elapsed time on the Route 66 Raceway quarter-mile at a speed of 331.77
miles an hour. 
New
sensation -- Cruz Pedregon, who failed to qualify his Advance
Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo in the previous two races, said he went
for broke in Friday night's qualifying session. His attitude paid off,
netting him the provisional No. 1 spot in the Funny Car class.
No
worries this time -- Larry Dixon said his first pass Friday
of 4.511 seconds at 326.63 mph in the Miller Lite/Ameriquest Dragster
"was great run." But he said was thinking about return to
the "scene of the crime."
We
have ignition -- now -- Despite an ignition problem on his
first pass Friday Tim Wilkerson stormed back with his second-quickest
run of the year to land the No. 11 spot in what is shaping up to be
the quickest Funny Car field in history.
Conspicuous
absences -- The Top Fuel DNQ list was as glamorous as the qualified
lineup after the first session. Scott Weis, T.J. Zizzo, Rod Fuller,
Brandon Bernstein, Cory McClenathan, and Dave Grubnic were among those
on the outside looking in early in the afternoon. All had smoked their
tires. Grubnic, No. 1 qualifier at this track last May, had a thrilling
performance at Joliet last Ocober, as well. He and Tony Schumacher made
the made the quickest side-by-side run in Top Fuel history at the time
of their first-round match-up. Grubnic lost the race, but his 333.58
set the track speed record. It would have registered as a national record
if he had been able to put in another run within one percent of that
number. 
Pedregons
all over map -- Cruz Pedregon stole the provisional No. 1 Funny
Car position from younger brother Tony. They registered identical 4.680
elapsed times, but Cruz Pedregon's 330.80-mph speed trumped Tony Pedregon's
320.36.
Funny
Car's Johnson determined -- Tommy Johnson Jr. said he wants
to end his Funny Car season the way he began it: winning. And he made
a forceful first step Friday, qualifying No. 1 at 4.714 seconds on the
Route 66 Raceway quarter-mile with the only 330-mph speed in the class
(330.47). His time and speed were career-best performances -- until
he made his night run.
The
heat is on -- It might have been a little cool in the Windy
City, but the heat was rising in the Funny Car class. 
Elite
group -- Jason Line and Kurt Johnson were the only Pro Stock
drivers to record speeds of 207 mph or better in the opening qualifying
session. 
Fresh
chance for Kalitta -- Doug Kalitta certainly wouldn't wish
Hurricane Rita on anyone, but the extra week off because of the storm's
expected path through Dallas turned out to be helpful for the Top Fuel
contender.
Busy
Beckman -- Former NHRA Super Comp champion and current Top
Fuel driver "Fast Jack" Beckman is a busy man this weekend.
He'll be driving Dexter Tuttle’s Menards/Mail Terminal Services
Dragster, racing John Coughlin’s Jeg’s Mail Order Super
Comp dragster in the prestigious Jeg's Sportsman Allstars specialty
event, and helping spread the word about cancer prevention.
Like
a video game -- Del Worsham -- whose 4.738-second elapsed time
at 328.54 mph in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo was
plenty respectable but left him "only" eighth in the Funny
Car order -- described his perspective on Friday evening's historic
Funny Car session at Route 66 Raceway as 14 cars ran 4.78 or better
and four cars dipped into the 4.6 range.
Marked
Improvement - Funny Car newcomer Mike Ashley continued his
bid to become a front-running driver in the class by recording another
personal best – the third time in as many events. Ashley’s
4.787, 324.98 run ranks him 14th in the quickest and fastest field in
the history of the class.
Tony
the Tiger -- Tony Bartone knows that time might be running
out on his chances for a top-10 Funny Car finish. But the New Yorker,
who reached the finals at Las Vegas in April and has doubled his career
round-victories this year, said he wouldn't mind being a spoiler to
the frontrunners.