NHRA ACDelco Gatornationals
Gainesville, Fla.
By Susan Wade; Photos by Roger Richards, Brian Wood and Todd Dziadosz

SUNDAY FINAL - SAMPEY RACES TO PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE VICTORY AT GAINESVILLE; Grubnic, Capps, Martino also win ACDelco Gatornationals

(3-19-2006) - For the first time in NHRA history, three females had a chance to win a professional drag racing title at the same event. In the end, only Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Angelle Sampey got it done.

The most prolific female racer of all-time with 38 victories and three series titles, Sampey beat teammate Antron Brown Sunday for the trophy at the 37th annual ACDelco Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway. Top Fuel racer Melanie Troxel and Pro Stock driver Erica Enders settled for
runner-up honors, with Dave Grubnic and Tom Martino denying the women their chance at glory at the $2 million race, the third of 23 on the POWERade tour.

In Funny Car, a category bereft of females, Ron Capps beat John Force to stay out front in the standings, but Force took solace in the fact his daughter Ashley won the Top Alcohol Dragster sportsman title.

Sampey and Brown rode a pair of U.S. Army Suzukis to the final round. If not for his red-light start, Brown could have won the race as he ran four thousandths of a second quicker than Sampey with a 7.134 to her 7.138 at 187.73 mph.

"It was awesome to see three girls in the finals," Sampey said. "I thought Melanie and Erica would win too the way they were running. It didn't happen this time but it's going to happen, and not just one time. And once Ashley gets into Funny Car we'll have an all-girl winner's circle."

Troxel's bid was over 100 feet into the run when her Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels dragster lost traction, allowing Australian Grubnic to take the win in 4.943 seconds at 317.90 mph in his StriVectin S-D dragster.

"Seeing all the women in the final is great for the sport," Grubnic said. "Of course, Shirley Muldowney, who is on our team, got it all started and she'll tell you just like these girls today will tell you that they just want to be thought of as competitors. That's how I look at them."

Although she lost, Troxel's run to her third final of the year and
fourth final in a row padded her lead in the standings to 73 over "Hot Rod" Fuller. She started the day up just 14 markers.

Reigning series champ Tony Schumacher lost in the first round and is sixth in the standings, 101 points behind teammate Troxel.

Enders experienced severe tire shake just off the launch pad and had to shut off her Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt, while Martino streaked away for the win in 6.677 at 205.80 mph in his Kendall Oil Dodge Stratus R/T.

"I told Erica she'll win way more races than I ever will," Martino said. "She's a win waiting to happen. I'm just glad that first one didn't come today with me in the other lane. She's very talented and she's got a lot of pressure on her being 22 years old and driving a car with a big sponsor. She might have been pushing it too hard today but she'll get hers."

Martino is just 10 points out of the POWERade Top 10 with his win here, his first since 2001 and fifth of his career. Enders moved from eighth to third place. Greg Anderson remains the leader by 75 points over Warren Johnson and 89 over Enders.

Despite racing to the Funny Car final, Capps still found himself needing to win it all to maintain the points lead. But the Brut Dodge Stratus R/T driver rose to the occasion and took out Force with a 4.860 at 316.78 mph to Force's 4.990 at 305.49 mph, which was erased after his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang was automatically disqualified for crossing the center line.

"This is one of those races that when it comes time to retire you definitely want to look back and know that you won it," Capps said. "It's right there with Indy and Pomona as far as what it means to win here. It's a biggie, and it's awesome to add this trophy to the collection."

Capps' lead in the standings grew from 15 to 31 over Force. This was the 18th victory of his career in 39 final rounds. Force falls to 119-70 when there's a trophy on the line. This was the second final of the year for both men.

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SUNDAY - Final Rounds

Final round-by-round results from the 37th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE -- Cory McClenathan, 4.548, 327.63 def. Rod Fuller, 4.607, 320.85; Doug Kalitta, 4.557, 327.27 def. David Baca, 4.634, 323.74; Bob Vandergriff, 4.522, 326.08 def. Hillary Will, 4.588, 323.62; Melanie Troxel, 4.501, 329.54 def. Brandon Bernstein, 8.176, 94.51; Doug Herbert, 4.614, 323.27 def. Tony Schumacher, 5.578, 174.48; Larry Dixon, 4.596, 322.92 def. Doug Foley, 4.681, 272.56; Morgan Lucas, 4.640, 299.70 def. Scott Weis, 4.685, 323.85; David Grubnic, 4.557, 316.56 def. Andrew Cowin, 4.625, 320.39;

QUARTERFINALS -- Kalitta, 4.594, 302.92 def. Dixon, 4.562, 314.02; Herbert, 4.577, 320.97 def. McClenathan, 11.410, 79.07; Grubnic, 4.542, 322.58 def. Vandergriff, 7.722, 119.37; Troxel, 4.726, 243.17 def. Lucas, 7.223, 112.31;

SEMIFINALS -- Troxel, 4.521, 327.27 def. Herbert, 6.057, 154.74; Grubnic, 4.566, 320.97 def. Kalitta, 4.727, 308.11;

FINAL -- Grubnic, 4.943, 317.90 def. Troxel, 7.995, 93.59.


FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE -- Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang, 4.824, 315.45 def. Jeff Arend, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.938, 291.16; Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.813, 324.90 def. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.992, 314.46; John Force, Mustang,
4.775, 319.60 def. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 5.018, 279.32; Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 5.526, 273.05 def. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 5.706, 262.00; Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.764, 323.15 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.829, 325.02; Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.874,
322.92 def. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.828, 320.39; Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.799, 321.88 def. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.799, 322.58; Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.858, 323.15 def. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.842, 322.46;

QUARTERFINALS -- Medlen, 4.829, 321.54 def. C. Pedregon, 4.835, 312.93; Capps, 4.810, 317.68 def. Bartone, foul; Force, 4.798, 322.11 def. Worsham, 4.818, 318.58; Hight, 4.799, 321.65 def. Burkart, 4.915, 319.94;

SEMIFINALS -- Capps, 4.871, 319.14 def. Medlen, 11.984, 44.67; Force, 4.752, 323.62 def. Hight, 4.770, 316.34;

FINAL -- Capps, 4.860, 316.78 def. Force, broke.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE -- Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GTO, 6.677, 205.76 def. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, foul; Rickie Smith, Chevy Cobalt, 6.706, 205.38 def. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.702, 205.62; Tom Martino, Stratus, 6.696, 204.35 def. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.715, 205.94; Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.715,
204.17 def. Mike Edwards, GTO, foul; Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.716, 205.19 def. Jason Line, GTO, 6.674, 205.90; Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.676, 205.99 def. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.683, 206.18; Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.664, 206.51 def. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.715, 204.96; Ron Krisher,
Cobalt, 6.725, 205.01 def. Allen Johnson, Stratus, foul;

QUARTERFINALS -- Enders, 6.713, 204.49 def. Smith, 6.712, 205.43; Martino, 6.706, 205.01 def. Naylor, 6.724, 203.85; Krisher, 6.684, 205.01 def. Morgan, 6.783, 203.89; Stanfield, 6.669, 205.47 def. Anderson, 6.670, 205.80;

SEMIFINALS -- Enders, 6.735, 205.33 def. Krisher, foul; Martino, 6.700, 204.35 def. Stanfield, 6.700, 205.29;

FINAL -- Martino, 6.677, 205.80 def. Enders, 18.482, 41.77.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE -- Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.177, 184.42 def. Matt Smith, Buell, broke; Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.086, 186.72 def. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.084, 186.95; Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.139, 185.22 def. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.114, 187.14; Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.090, 179.49 def. Mike Berry, Suzuki, foul; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.092, 185.37 def. Steve
Johnson, Suzuki, 8.212, 115.85; Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.056, 189.11 def. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.162, 180.75; Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.082, 186.18 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.224, 177.40; Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.099, 187.14 def. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.130, 185.87;

QUARTERFINALS -- Hines, 7.239, 179.17 def. Stoffer, foul; Sampey, 7.182, 183.33 def. Ellis, 7.175, 181.12; Brown, 7.109, 185.75 def. Gann, foul; Scali, 7.142, 184.99 def. Schnitz, 7.193, 180.94;

SEMIFINALS -- Sampey, 7.292, 180.14 def. Scali, foul; Brown, 7.202, 185.52 def. Hines, 7.221, 181.56;

FINAL -- Sampey, 7.138, 187.73 def. Brown, foul.

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SUNDAY NOTES - Leaking Sheep; Sarge Demoted; Diaper Rash; Females Take Spotlight; Ire-inspiring Car Martino's Ticket; Brown Helps Sampey Win

(3-19-2006) - Oops -- Lance Larsen had plenty to do in his first race-day morning with the Andrew Cowin-Scott Griffin team. When the team started to warm up the Serta Mattress Dragster, it encountered an oil filter problem. That caused a sizeable oil leak. Larsen, the new consultant who most recently worked with Clay Millican, helped the crew scramble to fix it.

Cowin, the No. 14 qualifier, got a jump on opening-round opponent and fellow Australian Dave Grubnic, the No. 3 qualifier, but lost despite a faster speed (320.39 mph to Grubnic's 316.56). Grubnic ran a 4.557-second elapsed time to Cowin's 4.625.

Herbert busts 'Sarge' -- No. 16 qualifier Doug Herbert christened his new Snap-On Tools Dragster with a stunning first-round victory over No. 1 Tony Schumacher. It is a Spitzer mono-body on a McKinney chassis.

Spitzer Race Cars, a Greenfield, Indiana, manufacturer of chassis, components, and composites, has made mono-bodies for Super Comp and alcohol fuel cars. However, this Snap-On Dragster is the first it has made for the Top Fuel class. Herbert owns the mold.

That marks the third straight race in which Schumacher has put the U.S. Army Dragster at the top of the order and failed to convert that into a victory. It was the reigning champion's first Round 1 exit this year.

Diaper rash -- The NHRA issued a letter to nitro teams Sunday morning increasing their requirements for lower containment devices.

With many teams alleging the rev-limiters are the reason for the increased parts attrition, the NHRA decided to step up enforcement, starting in Houston. The letter requires the "engine diaper" to cover the entire oil pan, both sides of the cylinder block and the oil pan.

Hight-Johnson saga -- The Robert Hight-Tommy Johnson Jr. mini-drama continued in Sunday's first round of Funny Car eliminations. The two are friends, but on-track, their fates have been entwined so far this year.

During qualifying for the opener at Pomona, Robert and his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang knocked out the timers and, consequently, Johnson's official time. Hight later said he "was praying" that Johnson would qualify eventually. Johnson did, second on the grid. But he lost to Jim Head in the first round. Then at Phoenix, Johnson beat Hight in Round 1. Sunday at Gainesville, Hight returned the favor.

"It's feast or famine with us," Hight said, "but I like my position better than his right now."

Say what? -- After beating Gary Scelzi in the opening round of Funny Car action, Del Worsham said, with a nod to a popular Gainesville gathering place, "You win and go on . . . or you go to the Ale House."

Announcer Bob Frey asked NASCAR's Geoffrey Bodine if he ever drag raced. Replied Bodine, "Everybody has drag raced. I used to do it every lunch hour when I was in high school." Frey suggested that Bodine might have a special fondness for the Pro Stock cars, but Bodine said, referring to the dragster, "I want to go fast, I want to get in one of those big guys."

Top Fuel's Doug Herbert, after he beat No. 1 qualifier Tony Schumacher and then Cory McClenathan, "When you wake up and you're 16th qualifier, you've got nothing to lose."

Robert Hight said before facing father-in-law John Force in the semifinals, "I want him bad. People say it's too early to count points. No way. We've got to start counting now and never look back."

Which twin has the win? -- The Funny Car class had a rare occurrence in the opening-round match between Mike Ashley in the Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels Chevy Monte Carlo and Ron Capps in the Brut Dodge Stratus. Both ran 4.799-second elapsed times, but Capps advanced to a quarterfinal meeting with Tony Bartone because his .065 of a second reaction time that translated into a 321.88 mph. Ashley had a .086 reaction time and a faster 322.58 mph.

Bartone & The Holy Grail -- Tony Bartone advanced to the quarterfinals with a victory over Jim Head, despite his .203-second light. Maybe the Holy Grail made the difference. Bartone joked that that's what was responsible for his going onstage for a Broadway performance of "Spamalot." Said Bartone, "George Lucas and the guy who produced 'King Kong' [Peter Jackson] were sitting behind me, and they were looking for the Holy Grail and it was underneath my seat. That's how it happened."

Women dominate Gatornationals results -- How appropriate that Sunday's final round of the National Hot Rod Association's ACDelco Gatornationals featured the females.

Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) and Ashley Force (Top Alcohol Dragster) were among the winners, and Melanie Troxel (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock), and Brenda Grubbs (Stock) were runners-up in the 37th edition of the Gainesville Raceway quarter-mile classic.

That capped a weekend that began with legend Shirley Muldowney being inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame that is headquartered in nearby Ocala.

This 37th edition of the event was more than an historic occasion for women drag racers. More specifically, it was a banner day for Don Schumacher Racing.

Troxel and Funny Car winner Ron Capps, who took the $40,000 payout when finalist John Force crossed the center line and was disqualified, extended their points leads.

Teammate Sampey -- who earned $10,000 when U.S. Army Suzuki teammate Antron Brown red-lit -- gave DSR competitors the lead in three of the four professional-class standings.

Dave Grubnic, for whom Muldowney serves as representative for team sponsor StriVectin-SD, was the $40,000 Top Fuel winner with a winning performance of 4.943 seconds at 317.90 mph. Troxel, making her third consecutive final-round appearance this year and fourth straight since last November, smoked the tires on her Skull Gear/Torco Dragster and recorded a 7.995second elapsed time at 93.59 mph.

Tom Martino's Pro Stock victory (with a 6.677-second elapsed time at 205.80 mph) meant $25,000 at Enders' expense. Her Slammers Ultimate Milk Chevy Cobalt lost traction, and she coasted to a 18.482/41.77.

Don Schumacher's son, Tony, was No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier in the U.S. Army Dragster, and his other Funny Car drivers, Whit Bazemore and Gary Scelzi, qualified second and set top speed of the meet (325.61), respectively.

But the megateam owner trumpeted the fact that NHRA's diversity was not a gimmick or a token gesture.

"We need to continue to demonstrate that we are dominating on the female side," he said. "They may have Danica and some other women coming up, (Erin) Crocker on the NASCARside. But we have multi-time champion Angelle. Erica is just a whisker away from winning races and hunting for the championship (in Pro Stock). And Melanie is leading the standings and doing a great, great job out there."

What John Force wasn't able to do against Ron Capps in the Funny Car final, his daughter Ashley accomplished in the Top Alcohol Dragster class. She beat Randy Meyer in the final ound.

The presence of Sampey and Ashley Force on the winners podium marked the first such time since April 18, 2004. Pro Stock Motorcycle winner Karen Stoffer and shared the spotlight that day in Houston with Enders, who had won in the sportsman-level Super Gas final. Grubnic, who has promising rookie (and No. 6 Top Fuel qualifier) Hillary Will as a teammate in the Kalitta Motorsports camp, paid tribute to trailblazer Muldowney. And he lauded the current crop of women who have benefited from uldowney's talent and tenacity. "They're real competitors," said the Australian native who jumped from 11th place to third by beating leader Troxel,

"Honestly, I don't have a problem with it. I think if you sat down and spoke with the women about it, I think they don’t want to be classed differently. They want to be classed as equals, which I believe they are. The whole sport is opening up."

Pesky car right for Martino -- Larry Morgan was angry at his brand-new Dodge Stratus Pro Stock car at the NHRA's season-opening Winternationals in February.

And he offered unemployed journeyman driver and friend Tom Martino the chance to drive it and shake it down, telling him, "I want to burn it to the ground right at this moment. Go at it."

So Martino did.

And the Farmingdale, New Jersey, veteran, who hadn't won a race since Aug. 5, 2001 -- 103 races ago -- at Sonoma, Calif., put the Hemi-powered Kendall Oil car that Morgan and fellow driver V Gaines have prepared into the winners circle Sunday at the ACDelco Gatornationals.

In claiming the $25,000 winner's share, he denied Erica Enders, a 22-year-old Houston native, her first victory and the label of first female to win in the Pro Stock class. Enders' Slammers Ultimate Milk/Cagnazzi Racing Cobalt lost traction early in the run at Gainesville Raceway, making Martino's pass of 6.677 seconds at 205.80 mph a runaway.

Martino, who used to be a Powerade Drag Racing Series egular but drives only sporadically now, had a runner-up finish at the 2005 season finale at Pomona, California. He said he wouldn't mind racing a limited schedule if he could have the resources to be fully prepared enough to be competitive.

He marveled Sunday, "I qualified No 12 in the fastest field ever with the worst motor he had."
No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier Greg Anderson increased his series lead to 75 points over Warren Johnson.

Tutu a no-no after Brown helps -- Angelle Sampey said she owed her victory in the Pro Stock Motorcycle debut race to teammate Antron Brown, her final-round opponent.

She said Brown had to scramble to fix a broken transmissionon his own U.S. Army Suzuki just before the final round. But just as the team was about done putting his bike back together, someone noticed that shift light on her motorcycle wasn't working. So Brown helped troubleshoot her problem.

They were running out of time and Sampey said she would just race without a shift light. He told her, "No, girl, we're going to find it. We're not going to the starting line without your shift light. They can't race without both of us." Brown finally found the problem and they zipped to their final-round meeting. "When his red light came on, I was so emotional," Sampey said. "There's no way I would have won that race if Antron wouldn't have fixed my shift light. She said her bike would have made it down the track but not competitively in a side-by-side battle.

"I truly believe that my team with my motorcycle did not win this race," she said after taking her second Gatornationals victory in four years. "Antron won this race with me. We did it ogether. I wish somehow we could share the points and somehow we both could get a trophy, but we can't. But he's my hero."

She had a bet with Brown that he would have to wear a pink tutu the next time she beat him. But she said he didn't have the heart to collect on her wager with him, not this time. She said she figured Brown had the advantage on her, anyway. Both had near-perfect reaction times, but he was just eight-housandths of a second too quick for the starting light.

Mo' Mo For Melanie -- Top Fuel points leader Melanie Troxel ran low elapsed time and top speed of the weekend in eliminating Brandon Bernstein in the first round. Her 4.501-second pass at 329.54 mph topped teammate Tony Schumacher's top-qualifying clocking of 4.515 and David Baca's class-best qualifying speed of 328.34 mph.

Aussies excited -- Within a couple of hours after Dave Grubnic scored the second NHRA Top Fuel victory of his career, his fans and friends in Australia and around the world heard about it in a news release by Dean Neal, public-relations representative at Western Sydney International Dragway.

Wrote Neal in a document titled, "Aussie Dave Does It Again!" Neal wrote the following:

"(Sydney, NSW) On behalf of everyone at Western Sydney International Dragway, we would like to congratulate 'Aussie' Dave Grubnic for claiming his second NHRA Championship Round victory earlier this morning (Australian Time), when he defeated Melanie Troxel in the final of the ACDelco Gatornationals at Gainesville, Florida.

"'My first win last year in Topeka was great because I'd been runner-up so many times,' Grubnic said. 'Then you hear everyone say the floodgates are going to open but it didn't happen. We had to wait until now to get No. 2 but it feelsgreat and winning this race is something.'

"There would have surely been more than a few beads of sweat on Grubnic's brow, after defeating some of the sport's biggest names in securing his 2nd NHRA Top Fuel final win, from 11 finals contested for the likeable Brisbane, Queensland Native who now resides in Ennis, Montana!

Aussie Dave had not enjoyed the most spectacular of starts to his 2006 PowerADE NHRA Championship chase, having suffered unusual inconsistency of performance, however Team Kalitta had been persisting with a new Goodyear Tyre Compound that paid dividends this weekend when this tyre became mandatory for all teams!

"'I think the fact we tested with the new Goodyear tire and then stuck with it through the first two races helped us today. We've learned its personality probably a little better than some of the other teams,' commented Grubnic after his win.

"With the change to a new Goodyear Tyre spec for this weekend's NHRA round, it was Team Kalitta who seemed to settle down fastest to the new rubber combination and Grubnic regularly scorched down the track in the 4.50-zone in qualifying."Grubnic had shown consistency in qualifying and had sat on the number 1 qualifying perch for the bulk of the qualifying action, only for NHRA Champions Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher to leapfrog him in the final qualifying tilt for the 20 of the world's best Nitro Rocketships entered at Florida.

"However, Grubnic's habit of crunching out 4.50 second bursts continued in his StriVectin-SD Top Fuel beast during the Eliminations phase, defeating fellow Aussie Andrew Cowin in the first round, then Bob Vandergriff, and team-mate Doug alitta to set-up a tough final contest against Melanie Troxel.

"Troxel has shown astonishing form so far this season making three from three final rounds in the 2006 NHRA Top Fuel Championship to hold points-sway over the tough Top Fuel field and came into the final with the fastest Elapsed-Time of the event (4.501 seconds)."Amazingly, the Gatornationals event this weekend saw three lady racers in the three of the Professional final rounds - and that doesn't include Ashley Force's win in the Top Alcohol ragster!

"And Dave Grubnic is appreciative of their involvement and he knows better than most, as his mentor is none-other than the incomparable Shirley Muldowney!" 'Seeing all the women in the final is great for the sport. Of course, Shirley Muldowney, who is on our team, got it all started and she'll tell you that, like these girls today will tell you, they just want to be thought of as competitors. That's ow I look at them, too."

"However, it was Grubnic in the final after Troxel struck the tyres hard at 100 feet into the run. Grubnic himself overpowered the track on the second half of the pass, but was able to peddle the car through with a 4.943, over his rival's 7.995 roll-through."After two hard final rounds in Australia over the Christmas-New Year period that saw him lose to Scott Kalitta at Western Sydney International Dragway and to Australian Champ Darren Morgan at Willowbank - it is exciting to see the likeable NHRA star slay the Dragon once again to secure his second 'Wally' trophy!
"And who knows? It makes for nice publicity to have a TWO TIME NHRA event winner (at least) hopefully return to burn down the Western Sydney Quarter Mile, come Boxing Day2006!"

Troxel among Monday testers -- Melanie Troxel and her Skull Gear/Torco Dragster team will test the new mandated Goodyear tire Monday in Gainesville, before heading back to the Don Schumacher Racing headquarters in Brownsburg, Indiana, to prepare for the March 31-April 2 O'Reilly Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.

It's part of an effort to maintain the consistency that has led her to a 10-2 elimination-round record this year.

She entered the Gatornationals with a 14-point lead in the Top Fuel standings and exited with a 73-point cushion.

Teammates Angelle Sampey won the Pro Stock Motorcycle trophy, and Ron Capps won in Funny Car. But Troxel missed out on a third Wally for team owner Don Schumacher when her car lost traction and slowed her to a 7.995-second pass at 93.59 mph. Dave Grubnic took won with 4.943/317.90.

"We are all a little perplexed by the loss of traction," she said. "We were expecting it to go right down that left lane."

Crew chief Richard Hogan said he also thought the track would cooperate.

"We had an area right at the one-second spot in the track that gave us some problems this weekend," he said. "It was marginal in qualifying and in the second round today, then in the semifinal, it looked really good. Of course, in the final it went the other way."

"It's great to win races," she said, "but round wins are more important when it comes to a championship, so that's what we'll focus on for the rest of the year.

"I'm a little disappointed that we didn't win the event," she said, "but all in all, it has been a good weekend, considering the fact that it looked like we might not qualify for the event. But we made ground in the points standings, and that is definitely a plus."

She and the Skull Gear team faced a scare late Saturday after being bumped from the field just before the fourth and final qualifying run. They turned out a 4.628/325.02 run to take the No. 12 spot.

Troxel said that she knew the team still could go rounds from any qualifying position. "That's the nice thing to know, that even if we struggle a little bit Richard and the guys can step up to the plate and make it happen on Sunday."

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SATURDAY - SCHUMACHER AND ANDERSON REMAIN PERFECT QUALIFIERS, JOIN FORCE AND SCHNITZ AS GATORNATIONALS LEADERS

(3-18-2006) - Reigning POWERade Series world champions Tony Schumacher and Greg Anderson qualified No. 1 for the third time in as many races Saturday to lead the action at the 37th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

John Force and Ryan Schnitz also topped their respective categories at the $2 million race, the third of 23 on the POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Schumacher waited until the final time trial to move from the bump spot to Top Fuel's No. 1 position with a 4.515 at 325.96 mph in his U.S. Army dragster. He started the day outside the field of 16 after struggling in Friday's heat.

"I was freaked out," said Schumacher, a three-time series champion (1999, 2004-2005). "I get nervous, believe me. I kept asking the guys if we got bumped. It was like in '99 at Memphis when we didn't make a good pass in round one and then it started raining and raining. Joe Amato would have passed us in the points if we didn't qualify but NHRA gave us all one more chance Sunday morning and we got in. I got no sleep that night."

Anderson led the quickest Pro Stock field of all-time with a near-record 6.637 at 207.51 mph in his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO for his 43rd low qualifying effort. The current national record for Pro Stock is Anderson's 6.633 from last year's Gatornationals.

"We lick our chops when we come here," Anderson said. "This is a great racetrack and if we get a little bit of cloud cover and the track temperature drops 10 degrees, I guarantee we'll see a national record."

Force relied on his Friday run of 4.751 at 323.62 mph to keep his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang at the top of the qualifying sheet. It marks the 127th time the sport's all-time leader in wins (119) and series championships (13) has earned the No. 1 designation heading into race day.

John isn't the only Force racing this weekend. His second daughter Ashley is competing in Top Alcohol Dragster and his two youngest girls, Brittany and Courtney, are racing in Super Comp. "This has been an exciting weekend for me," Force said. "All of my girls are here and we're having fun. It's just like the old times but instead of going to the Alehouse at the end of the day we're going to Steak and Shake."

Funny Car points leader Ron Capps lurks mid-pack with a sixth-best 4.808 at 319.03 mph in his Brut Stratus.

Schnitz opened the 15-race Pro Stock Motorcycle season with a career-best 7.012 at 188.63 mph to earn the second low qualifier award of his 30-race career. The young rider is currently seeking a sponsor for his Buell V-Twin.

"We knew coming in it would be to our advantage to get as much attention as possible for our situation," Schnitz said. "It's like we've been training for four months for this one event. We have some deals working but it's all imaginary until it's on paper. I hope something happens."

Elimination racing begins at 11 a.m. ET. The event will be shown in same-day coverage on ESPN2.

First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 37th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third 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, 4.515 seconds, 325.96 mph vs. 16. Doug Herbert, 4.652, 318.80; 2. Larry Dixon, 4.544, 327.03 vs. 15. Doug Foley, 4.647, 293.82; 3. David Grubnic, 4.555, 323.62 vs. 14. Andrew Cowin, 4.646, 320.17; 4. Morgan Lucas, 4.555, 321.88 vs. 13. Scott Weis, 4.630, 323.04; 5. Brandon Bernstein, 4.559, 326.91 vs. 12.
Melanie Troxel, 4.628, 325.02; 6. Hillary Will, 4.566, 324.79 vs. 11. Bob Vandergriff, 4.627, 325.85; 7. Doug Kalitta, 4.575, 328.22 vs. 10. David Baca, 4.626, 328.34; 8. Rod Fuller, 4.601, 322.46 vs. 9. Cory McClenathan, 4.607, 325.49.

Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.751, 323.62 vs. 16. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.900, 314.46; 2. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.769, 321.88 vs. 15. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.896, 317.79; 3. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.781, 321.19 vs. 14. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.868, 319.94; 4. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.789, 319.14
vs. 13. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.866, 322.58; 5. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.799, 318.47 vs. 12. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.864, 314.79; 6. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.808, 319.03 vs. 11. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.860, 315.56; 7. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.809, 302.31 vs. 10.
Jeff Arend, Monte Carlo, 4.847, 319.37; 8. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.812, 325.61 vs. 9. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.821, 320.39.

Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.637, 207.51 vs. 16. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt, 6.701, 206.28; 2. Jason Line, GTO, 6.648, 207.51 vs. 15. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.697, 206.56; 3. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.649, 206.89 vs. 14. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.696, 207.03; 4. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.664, 207.27 vs. 13. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.690, 205.71; 5. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.664, 206.04 vs.
12. Tom Martino, Stratus, 6.688, 205.29; 6. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.669, 205.76 vs. 11. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.686, 206.09; 7. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.673, 205.80 vs. 10. Rickie Smith, Cobalt, 6.680, 206.32; 8. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.675,
206.46 vs. 9. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.679, 206.18.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.012, 192.26 vs. 16. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.158, 190.79; 2. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.026, 191.24 vs. 15. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.149, 186.72; 3. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.056, 189.43 vs. 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.138, 186.02; 4. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.059, 192.26 vs. 13. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.123, 187.93; 5. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.063, 189.83 vs. 12. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.122, 188.16; 6. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.063, 192.92 vs. 11. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.093, 192.14; 7. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.064, 193.88 vs. 10. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.072, 190.63; 8. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.066, 190.55 vs. 9. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.068, 191.97.

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SATURDAY NOTES - Ryan Schnitz's Vicious Circle; Anderson Quickest of the Quickest; Schumacher: 'I Was Freakin' Out, Man;' NASCAR Legend Visits; Bazemore Hates Rev Limiter

Vicious circle -- The very values that would make No. 1 Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifier Ryan Schnitz attractive to Corporate America are the ones that are keeping him from being able to continue racing his unsponsored Rob Muzzy-built Buell V-Twin past this weekend's ACDelco Gatornationals.

The 25-year-old NHRA sophomore from Decatur, Indiana, is polite, humble, handsome, talented, and competitive. Handsome doesn't hurt, but the other qualities, he is discovering, don't translate well to self-promotion.

"I'm a competitor. I'm here to race. That's part of my problem," Schnitz said. "I don't want to blab about myself all day long. I'd rather let somebody else blab about me. I want to race."

He earned the second No. 1 qualifier position of his career with a 7.012-second elapsed time and had a top speed of 192.26 mph but said, "I'm not as excite as much this time, because it might be the last."

Schnitz said he has known since last December that the Gatornationals, the first of 15 bike events on the 23-race Powerade Drag Racing Series schedule, is the only one team owner Muzzy guaranteed he will run because they need sponsorship dollars.

"To compete at this level, you have to have those sponsors," he said. "You have to brag about yourself. But my head's not going to be any bigger than it is right now. I'm 95 percent competitive and five percent marketing. And that's not going to cut it. So something's going to have to change."

He said the situation "does get to you before the event" but that he focuses on his job once he arrives at the race track.

Quickest of the quickest -- It's perhaps only appropriate that the quickest driver in Pro Stock history leads the quickest field the class ever has seen.

Greg Anderson leads the class with a 6.637-second elapsed time at 207.51 mph. Only .064 of a second separates him from the 16th and last qualifier, Dave Howard, who registered a 6.701/206.28.

"That's Gainesville" Anderson said. "It's a great race track It's beautiful, beautiful weather. But it makes the starting line a little tricky. Crew chiefs are going to have to be on their game. It's all made or lost in the first 30 or 40 feet. The critical part is low gear."

He said he has more horsepower in his KB/Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO. "There's still more left in the car. That doesn't mean you're going to get that out of it," he said. "You saw some real high-profile teams go down. That just shows you how tough this class is."

He was referring for the DNQs of such veterans as Kurt Johnson, Mark Pawuk, Dave Connolly, and Mike Thomas. Shaun Carlson, the Sport Compact Series star who was granted the second Pro Stock seat in Don Schumacher Racing's Pro Stock organization less than a week before the season-opener, has yet to qualify for an event.

"There are no gimmes, no Mulligans, no provisionals," Anderson said. "It gives some of the new guys a chance."

V Gaines, at age 59, hardly can be called a youngster, and he has been racing in Pro Stock since 1994. But he has averaged nine DNQs during the past three years. But Saturday, he wound up ninth in the order. Tom Martino, who used to be a regular on the tour but has had limited time behind the wheel lately, was 12th. Max Naylor, who crashed his own Chevy Cobalt at a test session at Valdosta, Georgia, two days before the Gatornational opened, borrowed Larry Morgan's spare Dodge Stratus and took the 13th spot. Final qualifier Dave Howard had made only 18 races in three previous seasons.

Anderson said if the area gets some cloud cover and drops the temperature as much as 10 degrees, fans should see more side-by-side races. The field is tight," he said, "but that'll tighten it up even more."

As for his own performance, he said he and his team are "so far ahead of where we were last season. That just energizes you. We've got the table set. Now we have to perform."

Schumacher has lucky charm? -- NASCAR legend Geoffrey Bodine is a guest this weekend of Top Fuel low qualifier Tony Schumacher, and he claims he's the U.S. Army Dragster driver's "lucky charm."

Schumacher entered the final day of qualifying off the 16-car grid but leaped to the top of the order with a 4.515-second E.T. at 325.96 mph in his last chance. "I was freakin' out, man," he said after registering his third straight No. 1 position. "I got up this morning, and I was nervous."

He said his dramatic run "carried the front wheels three times. That was fun."

Schumacher did the same thing last year, waiting until his last day to qualify. The difference is that in 2005 as defending event champion, he waited until the final session to make the field. And that's not the only time he has had such close calls.

"Years ago, in 1999, we showed up in Memphis leading the points by 20 points," he recalled. He smoked the tires the first time and rain washed out the rest of qualifying. But NHRA gave everyone one more run Sunday morning. Schumacher not only made the field, but he qualified second and maintained his points lead. "I don't want to be in that position often," he said, but he added that he trusts his team.

Then he joked, "I brought Geoff Bodine with me, and he told me how to do that."

Bodine, who went to Afghanistan and Kuwait several years ago to celebrate Christmas and New Years Eve with U.S. Army troops, said he was grand marshal of the Gatornationals in 1993. He owns a specialty-vehicle dealership, Geoff Bodine's World of Cars, at Orange Park, Florida.

"I love drag racing," Bodine said. Then he teased Schumacher: "It's a little easier than NASCAR. He only worked for four and a half seconds. We work for four and a half hours! I always wanted to be a drag racer. But my heart would snap and never start back up."

He declared himself the difference in Schumacher's performance: "I'm his lucky charm."

It has to go – Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore entered the Gainesville media center and he definitely had some thoughts to share. The target of Bazemore's ire was the rev limiter. He siad he hates the device and was ready to let the powers-that-be in the NHRA's technical department know it.

"The rev-limiter alone caused the engine explosion on Melanie Troxel's car in Phoenix," Bazemore said. "We've already hit this thing twice. As a driver you know when certain things are going wrong. If the car has a cylinder out, you can feel it. With this thing, it takes so much power out and forces you to get out of it.

"To not shut off, it's not natural. It's not natural to drive a car that hurt for that long."

Bazemore was on his way to meet with Ray Alley, NHRA's director of Top Fuel and Funny Car competition, and his entrance coincided with John Force's low-qualifier press conference. Upon exiting, Force said, "I have to go with Bazemore. This might just be the one thing we both see eye-to-eye on."

"In my opinion, it's incredibly dangerous," Bazemore said. "We've seen proof of that."

Scary moments – Top Alcohol Dragster racer Don Fiorelli was transported to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida for observation. Fiorelli, of Palm Bay, Fla., suffered a single-car crash in which his dragster skidded in fluid that had leaked from under the tires. He drove the vehicle on two wheels for roughly 40 feet before striking the retaining wall. The car experienced a brief fire.

Fiorelli was able to extricate himself from the car but was taken to the hospital when he complained of foot pain.

Earlier, Richard Hough, of Las Vegas, was reported to be alert and conscious by NHRA emergency services officials after his AA Fuel Altered roadster went out of control, crashed, and burst into flames during an exhibition run Saturday. Hough, who was reported to have suffered only injuries to the right hand during the incident, was transported to the same hospital for evaluation.

Three strikes -- None of Kenny Koretsky's three teams will compete in Sunday's final eliminations.

Clay Millican, driver of the Werner Enterprises/Nitro Fish/OCC/Motel 6 Top Fuel dragster was bumped from the starting lineup Saturday afternoon just two runs after failing to improve his 4.663-second, 311.52-mph weekend best. He missed by 11-thousandths of a second.

"That was a real surprise," Millican said. "I guess if you race long enough, it will happen to everyone -- except John Force."

This was just the second time in 52 NHRA races that Millican did not qualify. Force, the 13-time Funny Car champion, has qualified in 372 consecutive events.

"We are all disappointed," Milican, who will open his quest for a sixth straight IHRA championship this coming weekend at San Antonio, said. "We just didn't figure out how to run the new tire fast enough, and it bit us."

Meanwhile, Mike Thomas and Dave Northrop missed the Pro Stock lineup. Thomas, driving a new Werner Enterprises/Nitro Fish/OCC/Motel 6 Dodge Stratus, had a best effort of 6.745 seconds at 205.52 mph in the debut of the team’s Jerry Bickel-built race car. But it was good enough only for 23rd among the 27 entrants.

Northrop, in his first race of the year, ran his career-best elapsed time (6.701 seconds) and speed (205.15 mph) only to fall four-thousandths of a second short of Dave Howard's No. 16 E.T. of 6.701 seconds.

Thomas and crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia said they thought they'd have a competitive car following a productive test session earlier in the week at Valdosta, Georgia, but the Dodge didn't run as expected.

"Eddie did a heck of a job, but we just haven't figured out what this car wants," Thomas said. "We'll be testing again before our next to make sure we get thinks sorted out."

Guarnaccia also tuned Northrop's Dodge and said, "I thought I had a handle on that car, but we just didn't run good enough in the best session. It is so competitive in Pro Stock that you need to make perfect runs every time."

Northrop said he was disappointed he didn't qualify but was pleased with the car's turnaround performance. "We made a horrible run on our first attempt Saturday, and we came back and made three or four major changes. And it really responded."

Formidable frontrunners -- Represented in the top half of the Pro Stock Motorcycle order are six series championships. No. 3 Andrew Hines is the current and two-time champion. No. 5 Angelle Sampey has three titles, and Geno Scali, who'll start eighth, is the 2003 bike king.

FRIDAY - FORCE, GRUBNIC, ANDERSON AND BROWN PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALFIERS AT GAINESVILLE RACEWAY

(3-17-20060 - Thirteen-time NHRA POWERade Series world champion John Force raced to the qualifying lead in Funny Car Friday at the ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at historic Gainesville Raceway.

Dave Grubnic (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), and Antron Brown (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also opened strong at the $2 million race, becoming the early leaders in their respective categories of the 37th annual event, the third of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Force capitalized on the data gathered by his two teammates to post his top performance. By the time he made it to the starting line for his second round attempt his crew chiefs had five runs of information to peruse.

"Getting that extra data was really good," Force said. "We saw what Robert (Hight) did (4.789) in front of us and just stepped it up from there."

Force powered his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a leading run of 4.751 seconds at 323.62 mph to pace the Funny Car lineup.

Defending event champion Whit Bazemore ran a second-best 4.769 at 321.88 mph in his brand-new Matco Tools Dodge Charger. Hight was third with a 4.789 at 319.14 mph in the Auto Club Mustang.

Like Force, Top Fuel leader Grubnic also benefited from having a pair of stablemates to share info with before posting a 4.555 at 323.62 mph in his StriVectin-SD dragster in the afternoon session. Grubnic's teammates, Doug Kalitta and Hillary Will, grabbed top-half spots.

"We want to hold onto that top position," Grubnic said. "If the conditions warrant the opportunity to step it up then we will. Jon (Oberhofer, crew chief) seems to have a handle on what the car wants."

Defending race winner Kalitta was fourth in the Mac Tools
dragster with a 4.575, while Will posted a 4.646 in the KB Racing dragster. Defending series champion Tony Schumacher has yet to make the starting order in his U.S. Army dragster.

Anderson's 6.664 at 206.80 mph in his Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO was two-hundredths of a second ahead of the pack.

"We're right where we need to be," Anderson said. "We'd love to go for the record (6.633) but it's going to need to drop at least five or six degrees and we'll need some cloud cover to even have a shot at it."

Former track and field star Brown opened the 15-race Pro Stock Motorcycle season by leading the opening day action with a 7.046 at 189.19 mph on his Suzuki.

There are nine racers in the 7.0-second range -- four Suzukis, four Buells, and one Harley-Davidson, that of defending series champion Andrew Hines, who is seventh overall with a 7.072. "I'm surprised with our run a little bit because it didn't feel that spectacular," Brown said. "It's pretty slimy out there and I drifted right, so that lost some time, but a 7.04 is a good start.

Angelle (Sampey, teammate) ran a 7.13 but she didn't have high gear. Otherwise she would have been right there with me or maybe even a hundredth quicker.

"We'll see some sixes if the front half of the track gets
better. You need those early numbers to get in the sixes."

Results Friday after qualifying for the 37th annual ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville aceway, third of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. David Grubnic, 4.555 seconds, 323.62 mph; 2. Morgan Lucas, 4.555, 321.88; 3. Brandon Bernstein, 4.559, 326.91; 4. Doug Kalitta, 4.575, 328.22; 5. Rod Fuller, 4.601, 322.11; 6. Larry Dixon, 4.618, 316.23; 7. Hillary Will, 4.646, 309.38; 8. Doug Foley, 4.647, 293.82; 9. Clay Millican, 4.670, 312.60; 10. Bob Vandergriff, 4.740, 325.85; 11. Scott Weis, 4.849, 301.40; 12. Cory McClenathan, 5.006, 323.39; 13. Bruce Litton, 5.063, 277.00; 14. Doug Herbert, 5.338, 218.18; 15. Melanie Troxel, 6.608, 120.36; 16. David Baca, 7.073, 115.14.

Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.751, 323.62; 2. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.769, 321.88; 3. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.789, 319.14; 4. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.812, 325.61; 5. Gary Densham, Chevy
Monte Carlo, 4.848, 318.47; 6. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.863, 318.58; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.866, 322.58; 8. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.866, 283.64; 9. Jeff Arend, Monte Carlo, 4.900, 316.23; 10. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.900, 314.46; 11. Cruz Pedregon, Monte
Carlo, 4.906, 316.45; 12. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.940, 312.93; 13. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.972, 308.43; 14. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.974, 303.54; 15. Bob Gilbertson, Stratus, 4.974, 304.36; 16. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.999, 259.29.

Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.664, 206.80; 2. Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.683, 206.28; 3. Jason Line, GTO, 6.693, 205.76; 4. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.695, 206.42; 5. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.696, 206.80; 6. Erica Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.697, 206.56; 7. V.
Gaines, Stratus, 6.702, 206.13; 8. Rickie Smith, Cobalt, 6.703, 205.57; 9. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.705, 205.57; 10. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.708, 206.70; 11. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.710, 205.80; 12. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.712, 205.29; 13. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.712, 205.24; 14.
Mark Pawuk, GTO, 6.720, 205.29; 15. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.722, 205.05; 16. Dave Northrop, Stratus, 6.729, 204.63.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.046, 189.19; 2. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.048, 192.26; 3. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.064, 193.88; 4. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.069, 185.52; 5. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.072, 190.63; 6. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.072, 190.55; 7. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.072, 188.75; 8. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.079, 188.28; 9. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.094, 189.31; 10. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.115, 186.06; 11. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.122, 188.16; 12. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.136, 177.02; 13. Mike Berry, Suzuki, 7.165, 185.10; 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.176, 185.26; 15. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.179, 181.74; 16. Wesley Wells, Suzuki, 7.183, 183.41.

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FRIDAY NOTES - The Kalitta-Gainesville bond, Brown taking advantage of rules and Hight flying high

(3-17-2006) - Scary Moment - The general rule in NHRA drag racing is one vehicle per lane. Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Ryan Schnitz believes in that, too, but he couldn't help winding up in Andrew Hines' lane during Friday's second session.

Schnitz's Buell had a flat tire that deflated as he crossed the finish line. the Decatur, Indiana, native led the field after the first session with a 7.048-second elaped time and Hines was second with a 7.072. But, in the second session, Antron Brown trumped that with a 7.046.

Plan B for Cory Mac -- Cory McClenathan's crew worked into the night to prepare his new FRAM Boost Dragster for qualifying Saturday.

The Top Fuel veteran entered the final two sessions of qualifying in 12th place with his first-chance run of 5.006 seconds at 323.39 mph. He sat out the second session Friday because his Brad Hadman-built chassis was bent on that run and he and the crew had decided to go with a new car Saturday.

McClenathan said that after he discovered the problem with the tubing, "the first thing we did was get Ray Alley (director of Top Fuel and Funny Car racing) over there." He said he also consulted with Alan Johnson, crew chief for Tony Schumacher's U.S. Army Dragster that has the same style of chassis.

'Dodge Fever' returns -- The sales pitch for the original Dodge Charger in 1966 included a theme song that was a knockoff of the Johnny Cash-June Carter duet "Jackson": "We've got a case of Dodge Fever, hotter than a pepper sprout. We've been talkin' 'bout Charger ever since the car came out. I'm goin' with Charger. Gonna make my move. I'm goin' with Charger. Now you're in the groove."

Well, reigning Funny Car Gary Scelzi didn't quite get in the groove on his first pass Friday after unveiling Don Schumacher Racing's first Dodge Charger Funny Car. The reigning class champion smoked the tires on his new ride. That left him unqualified, 19th among the 21 entrants. His teammate, Whit Bazemore, fared only slightly better in the other new Charger, qualifying 14th in the 16-car field.

But the second session was much kinder to both. Bazemore qualified second with a 4.679-second elapsed time that was .018 off leader John Force's pace. Scelzi stormed to the No. 4 position with a 4.812 E.T. that came at a class-fastest 325.61 mph. (Todd Dziados photo)

Recovering from heart procedure -- Shannon Jenkins, a former IHRA and NHRA champion and Gatornationals winner, will miss the debut of the AMS Staff Leasing Pro Modified Series presented by RPM Depot.

He is resting at home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, following a medical procedure earlier in the week to clear a blocked artery to the heart. Doctors implanted a stint to open the artery.

"I feel better now than I have in a long time," Jenkins said.

"The doctors told us what we need to do to recover. And after this weekend I plan on being back to work in San Antonio," he said, referring to the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals that open the IHRA'S eMax Drag Racing Series season. The IHRA Pro Mod class is a professional class; in the NHRA, it has exhibition status.

Teammate Mike Castellana, the reigning IHRA Pro Mod champion, will carry the SpeedTech nitrous team's banner this weekend. Jenkins expressed faith in him and team technician Brandon Switzer but said his top priority is his own health and family.

Castellana has the tentative No. 3 spot behind Jay Payne and No. 2 Rick DiStefano. "Thank-you for all the phone calls and concerns," Jenkins said. "I'm doing great and look forward to the competition this season."

At the American Drag Racing League season-opener at Valdosta, Georgia, in mid-February, Jenkins was the first Pro Mod driver to make an eighth-mile pass in less than four seconds in a nitrous-injected car.

Still linked after all these years -- Twenty years ago at Gainesville Raceway -- in 1986 -- a young wag named Scott Kalitta made a bold statement to the Funny Car class. As the No. 16 qualifier, he upset No. 8 Johnny West in the first round of eliminations. The next year, the two qualified in the same positions, and West got his revenge in the opening round. Today the two drag-racing veterans and longtime friends are on the same team. West, along with Larry Meyer, is crew chief for Kalitta, who has reverted to his Funny Car habit.

"I've known Johnny for a really long time and it's great to be finally working with him," Kalitta said. "We have a lot of fun no matter what, and that's very important, too.

"I'm really starting to get a good feeling about the whole deal," the Palmetto, Florida, resident said as he headed into his home race with his Kalitta Air Funny Car. "I get more comfortable driving the car with every lap we make. Johnny and Larry have helped me out a lot. It's just a learning process, but I'm very confident we can get on a tear and win a couple of races before the season ends."

West said he has "always thought that Scott was one of the best Funny Car drivers that I've ever seen. If I can get a good car under him, we're going to be a force to be reckoned with."

They were qualified 13th after the first two sessions Friday.

Kalitta, a two-time Top Fuel champion who took a three-year hiatus from racing and returned midway through 2003 in a dragster, switched back to a Funny Car this season and has had mixed results. He failed to qualify at the first event in Pomona, California, and qualified and last at the following race in Chandler, Arizona, where he won his first-round match against top qualifier Eric Medlen.

Kalitta's most recent victory was last June 12, at Joliet, Ill.,in the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster. His only Funny Car triumph came at Houston in 1989.

Gatornationals magic? -- If the Gatornationals holds any magic, Doug Kalitta would like some of it right now for himself and his Mac Tools Dragster.

He hasn't been faring quite as badly as he did at he start of the 2005 season. He improved to lead the Top Fuel standings for seven straight races and again for a string of three more before finishing third. But he opened his 2005 chase with two first-round losses after a No. 2 and an No. 7 starting spot. This year, ironically qualifying second at Pomona and seventh at Phoenix, Kalitta has one round-win under his belt.

But last year, the Gatornationals was a pivotal race for Kalitta, who has seven consecutive top-five showings and never has finished worse than sixth since switching from sprint-car racing to drag racing in 1998.

"Everything changed at the Gators last year," Kalitta said. "We were really down after the first two races, and then it all changed." He beat Larry Dixon in the final round for the first of his career-best five victories. And in the five events after the Gainesville race, he had two consecutive victories -- at Bristol, Tennessee, and Atlanta -- and two runner-up efforts, at Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio.

He's off to a positive start at these Gatornationals, in the provisional No. 4 spot.

"We still have one of the best cars out there, and after how we turned everything around last year, I'm confident in my guys that we can do the same thing this year. Gainesville is such a cool place to race, anyway. The weather is almost always incredible, and the fans are awesome. The bleachers are always packed."

Kalitta also won at Gainesville Raceway in 2000, beating Tony Schumacher, and was No. 1 qualifier here in 2003.

Hight back to heights -- Robert Hight, who won the first race of the year, the Winternationals at Pomona, California, said he has been a bit surprised at his own reaction to falling to fourth place in the standings.

"It's amazing how your confidence can fluctuate so much. You can go and win a race and make four great runs and two weeks later, something happens, you get out of the groove, and your confidence is down again," he said.

But despite a struggle with the new Goodyear tire, Hight has reason to be enthusiastic again Friday. With a 4.789-second elapsed time at 319.14 mph, he claimed the No. 3 qualifying spot, giving John Force Racing two of the top three places on the grid. The boss is No. 1 with a 4.751/323.62 mph. Whit Bazemore is second with two more sessions remaining.

"We're still trying to fight this (tire) issue," Hight said. "We flatten the (rear) tire too much and (the car) doesn't make driveshaft speed quick enough, but I still have high expectations. We're still better off this year than we were last year and, when it's all said and done, we're going to be in the mix."

Heading into qualifying, he's just one round -- 20 points -- behind leader Ron Capps.

The track-record E.T. of 4.749 seconds that Hight set here last year remains intact. And three years ago, crew chief Jimmy Prock won here with Gary Densham, Hight's predecessor in the Team Castrol/Auto Club Ford Mustang.

"We've got a great team," Hight said. "Even before we won Pomona, I thought we were better than we were a year ago, but this class is so competitive right now that you can't make a mistake and get away with it. The 16 cars that qualify, any one of them could take you out and win the race."

Brown using new rules to advantage -- Antron Brown had lobbied all last season for NHRA to level the playing field for the Pro Stock Motorcycle field. And although it's too early to tell just how much the new rules will alter the competition from last year, the U.S. Army Suzuki rider took an early advantage, trumping Buell-rider Ryan Schnitz's 7.048-second pass from the first session with a 7.046 to become the provisional low qualifier.

"We're not running the small engine combination. Not yet. We haven't had time to get it all together," Brown said. But whatever crew chief Steve Tartaglia had set up, it was quicker than anyone else's.

Brown was quick, though, to recognize that Andrew Hines, who set the national speed record (197.45 mph) and recorded the first six-second run in class history here last year, hasn't shown his best yet. Hines was seventh at the end of the first day of qualifying. And his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammate GT Tonglet, who was runner-up to him in 2004, was in the 11th spot.

"You haven't seen nothin' from George Bryce yet," Brown added. Chip Ellis and Matt Smith, Bryce's G-Squared riders, were fourth and eighth.

Even Don Schumacher Racing teammate Angelle Sampey is 12th in the order with two more sessions to go Saturday. Said Brown, "She ran a 13 (7.136 at 177.02 mph) with no high gear. So her bike will be as good as mine, if not better.

"Everybody's off their game," Brown said, adding, "I promise, all the people who usually are at the top are going to step up again. By about the third race of the year, it'll pan out." Still, he said, the Suzukis "are a lot more competitive already. If I had been running the combination I had last year, I would have had a 7.13 or 7.12 or 7.11 right now."

He said his 7.046 E.T. at 189.19 mph "didn't feel that spectacular. It's slimy out there. My bike wanted to drift to the right side. The sun was making it hot. If you rubbed the track, the rubber comes right onto your hands."

Brown said "for sure" everyone will see some six-second passes this weekend, perhaps Saturday.

Brown and Sampey had taken a refresher course at Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School at Gainesville Raceway recently. However, he said he benefited less from checking out the track early than he did from getting a chance to get his thinking clarified. He said his subconscious mind was telling him, "You need to push harder. They (Harleys and Buells) are coming."

Anderson looking at record -- If Greg Anderson hangs onto his tentative No. 1 position on the Pro Stock ladder, he'll have three top qualifiers in three races this season.

The Pro Stockers weren't wrestling with the new-tire issues that the nitro drivers have been, so to him, the track was perfectly fine. In fact, he said, the 6.681-second E.T. at 205.76 mph he posted in the first session was too soft for the KB Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO driver.

"It gave us a couple hundredths more," Anderson said of the surface. And he said the 6.664 E.T. at 206.80 mph he used to solidify his lead in the second session "was about what we think it can run."

He said that "if we run on time and stay on schedule, we might have a chance [Saturday] to run close to the national record." He said conditions might be right for such a run in the third session, when the Pro Stock is scheduled to begin qualifying around noon. "It's got to get colder. Its got to drop about 10 degrees," he said.

Anderson set both ends of the national record -- 6.633 seconds at 208.23 mph -- here last March.

"We're always begging for tracks like this," he said. "We lick our chops when we come here."

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