SUNDAY FINAL - Bernstein breaks through
with big win; Capps, Edwards, Sampey share the winner's circle
(4-2-2006) - Top Fuel driver Brandon Bernstein scored
his ninth career victory Sunday at the $1.7 million O'Reilly NHRA Spring
Nationals, the fourth of 23 races on the $50 million POWERade Drag Racing
Series. His 4.534 at 329.83 mph beat points leader Melanie Troxel.
Funny Car driver Ron Capps extended his points lead with a 5.005-second,
293.47-mph victory over Bob Gilbertson. Mike Edwards won in Pro Stock
for the first time in four years, beating Jim Yates with a 6.731 at
206.01 mph. Angelle Sampey remained perfect on the season with her second
win in as many Pro Stock Motorcycle races, beating rival Andrew Hines
with a 7.144 at 190.11 mph.
The
son of drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein, Brandon entered the day without
a single elimination round win on the year. But the "Bud Prince"
churned out the suds in the Texas heat, recording low elapsed time and
top speed of the meet along the way.
"These guys never gave up," said Bernstein, who improved to
9-1 in his career in final rounds. "We just stayed positive through
the stupid little mechanical failures we had earlier this year. Dad
told us that he had many stretches during his career where stuff like
this happened. We just had to be patient.
Starting the day 12th on the ladder, Bernstein beat Gainesville winner
Dave Grubnic, Morgan Lucas, and low qualifier Cory McClenathan to get
to the final. His slowest pass of the day was a 4.558 in the semis.
"Tim [Richards, crew chief] tuned us to a (best-of-the-weekend)
4.51 in the first round and I knew he had a handle on this racetrack.
Once he gets like that he's very tough to beat. It was like I had a
bracket car today."
Bernstein is in sixth place, but just 27 points out of second place
and 155 behind Troxel, who almost doubled her POWERade Series points
lead this weekend.
Capps
had little more than a victory lap in the final when surprise finalist
Gilbertson immediately smoked his tires at the hit of the throttle.
His Brut Dodge Stratus R/T was beatable in the final, but Gilbertson
only watched as Capps pushed his lead in the Funny Car standings to
68 over John Force.
"I'm still kind of in shock when I hear that," Capps said
after being announced as the POWERade Series points leader and winner
of the last two events. "We all saw (teammate Gary) Scelzi DNQ
at this race and it reminds you that you're only as good as your last
pass, not even your last race. I mean, if the defending series champ
can DNQ, anything can happen to any of us."
It appears parity has returned to the Pro Stock class as Edwards becomes
the fourth winner in four races this year. This slump-busting victory
came at the end of the closest Pro race of the day as he edged Jim Yates
by .0098 seconds to win on a holeshot, 6.731 at 206.01 mph to Yates'
6.726 at 205.63 mph.
"There
is some parity in the class now and it's good to see for us guys that
haven't won in awhile," Edwards said. "I still think Greg
(Anderson's) the guy to beat but it's fun to go to the races when you
know you at least have a chance to win."
Edwards jumped up to second place in the points and finds himself just
34 markers behind three-time and defending champion Greg Anderson, who
was dismissed by Yates in the quarterfinal.
No matter which of these two drivers won, it would have broken a long
dry spell for the veteran drivers who entered the final found Sunday
with a combined 35 career wins. Edwards' last win came at the 2002 Denver
race, while Yates last collected a trophy in Reading, Pa., that same
season.
Sampey's
39th career win places her all alone in ninth place on NHRA's all-time
wins list despite the fact she's only 35 years old and has run in just
137 events. She is also second in on the all-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
wins list, just six behind Dave Schultz (45). Her 7.144-second, 190.11-mph
victory over finalist Hines, who went 7.200 at 188.04 mph on his Vance
& Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod, looked picture-perfect
from start to finish.
"It feels great when we can beat the Harleys," Sampey said.
"I thanked Andrew at the end of the track because I told him that
their team is so hard to beat that it's an accomplishment to beat them.
I appreciate the competition."
Two races into the 15-race Pro Stock Motorcycle schedule, Sampey is
63 points ahead of her nearest rival, which is now two-time and defending
champion Hines. Her teammate Antron Brown slipped to third, 15 back
of Hines.
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SUPER STOCK - Jerry Emmons
9.862, def. Dan Fletcher, 9.880.
SUPER COMP - Frank Kohutek,
8.912, 177.04, def. Anthony Castillo
SUPER GAS - Jason Kenney,
9.951, 157.10, def. Donnie Burnside, 9.955, 142.85.
Final round-by-round results from the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring
Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the fourth
of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE -- Larry Dixon, 4.575, 328.22 def. David
Baca, 4.663, 326.08; Melanie Troxel, 4.570, 329.42 def. Alan Bradshaw,
12.261, 54.29; Clay Millican, 4.640, 318.47 def. Rod Fuller, broke;
Brandon Bernstein, 4.510, 328.38 def. David Grubnic, 4.553, 328.14;
Hillary Will, 4.599, 321.12 def. Doug Herbert, 5.206, 235.56; Cory McClenathan,
4.542, 330.88 def. Bruce Litton, 6.166, 146.05; Bob Vandergriff, 4.692,
312.71 def. Doug Kalitta, 5.011, 305.01; Morgan Lucas, 5.563, 214.14
def. Tony Schumacher, 6.271, 234.17;
FINAL -- Sampey, 7.144, 190.11 def. Hines,
7.200, 188.04.
Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following
the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil
at Houston Raceway Park, the fourth of 23 events in the $50 million
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -
Top Fuel
1. Melanie Troxel, 368; 2. Larry Dixon, 240; 3. Rod Fuller, 236; 4.
David Grubnic, 235; 5. Morgan Lucas, 229; 6. Brandon Bernstein, 213;
7. (tie) Doug Herbert, 209; Tony Schumacher, 209; 9. Doug Kalitta, 200;
10. Cory McClenathan, 193.
Funny Car
1. Ron Capps, 395; 2. John Force, 327; 3. Robert Hight, 258; 4. Phil
Burkart, 249; 5. Eric Medlen, 221; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., 214; 7. Del
Worsham, 213; 8. Bob Gilbertson, 205; 9. Tony Pedregon, 174; 10. Cruz
Pedregon, 171.
Pro Stock
1. Greg Anderson, 331; 2. Mike Edwards, 297; 3. Erica Enders, 261; 4.
Warren Johnson, 231; 5. Rickie Smith, 229; 6. Jason Line, 225; 7. Greg
Stanfield, 210; 8. Jim Yates, 209; 9. Larry Morgan, 196; 10. Ron Krisher,
170.
Pro Stock Motorcycle
Top Fuel -- Brandon Bernstein (4.534 seconds, 329.83 mph) d.
Melanie Troxel
"Those four 4.50s -- they were just amazing in this heat. We qualified
No 12 and struggled a little bit in qualifying. We never gave up. Tim
obviously had a handle on the race track. Once he gets in that situation,
it seems like he's really consistent. He doesn't change a lot. He just
wants the car to go down there and repeat, and that's what we did today.
It was like a bracket car." -- Bernstein, referring to the consistency
of his Budweiser-Lucas Oil Dragster
"Obviously being a Texas boy, it feels good to come back to your
home state and perform well. This week, Dad's getting inducted into
the Hall of Fame. And it'll b really nice to go to that ceremony and
have a win right in our pocket. It's definitely pretty special to be
back in Texas and get a win."
-- Bernstein, who grew up in Dallas and attended Texas A & M University,
referring to father Kenny's induction ceremony into the Texas Motorsports
Hall of Fame Wednesday in Fort Worth
"We really kept being positive. We just knew that the things in
the first two races were stupid mechanical failures that don't normally
happen. We knew this car is definitely capable of performing and that
it would turn around. It happens to everybody out here, where it seems
like you can't do anything right, where it seems like everything goes
wrong. That was kind of how it was going for us in the beginning. We
just kept telling ourselves: It's real early in the season. Definitely
there's a lot of racing left. We have a chance for that Powerade championship,
for sure."-- Bernstein, on how he stayed focused this year, although
he had not won a round before this race.
"That's an amazing stat. To be 9-1 in final rounds in Top Fuel
is amazing. It gives you a boost of confidence. Once we get there, we
have a better shot of winning it than most." -- Bernstein, who
has won 9 of 10 career final rounds.
Funny Car -- Ron Capps d. Bob Gilbertson
"I tied Ace's all-time wins. That's not fair. He's my hero. There's
nobody who could touch those wins." -- Capps, talking about the
fact he equaled his crew chief's former driving record.
"I'm still kind of in shock. We looked at the ladder this morning
and saw what could happen. You spend all Saturday night looking at the
ladder and hypothetically going over every single scenario. We knew
Force was on our side and knew Del was going to be second round if we
got by our first round, which was going to be tough. Every round is
tough.
"Sometimes these guys put up these big numbers through qualifying,
and we did what we did to qualify that last run on Saturday and get
in with the (4).76. And somebody runs hard and throws a big number up,
and for a second you kind of worry, like, 'Can we do that? But I've
always had faith on race day and sure enough once again, Ace did it.
"Force ran a 4.76 the round before, had lane choice. In fact, Del
did, too. When I raced Del he had lane choice over a tenth on us and
we went down what was considered the bad lane and ran an .82."--
Capps, discussing how he advanced to Sunday's final round.
"We had a hurt motor and I knew it. I did the burnout, and I backed
up and I was telling my guys, It's not good . So I was picturing it
was going to go away, which it did at half-track. I couldn't lift so
there was a chance we would get an oil down [penalty] if it hurt itself.
We didn't
get an oildown, it didn't spray oil, but it just started going away
really bad. We'll find out what the problem was.
"That was a weird final round, to step on the throttle and have
it go away at half-track and knowing that I had to stay on the gas to
get the victory, at the same time not wanting to hurt yourself or get
caught on fire. It was just a grueling day." -- Capps, of his final-round
experience
Pro Stock -- Mike Edwards d. Jim Yates
"This is for all those kids and finally winning. Sending that
many kids to camp means the world to me. This race team is set up for
them and to help glorify God. This team is all about God. I want to
thank Him for this blessing."
-- Edwards, referring to his "A Team on a Mission" program,
which sends a youngster to a Young Life camp for every round-win. With
corporate matching, the Houston victory will send 16 more kids to camp
this year.
"I almost forgot how good this feels. We have been working so
hard to get this feeling back, and now that we have it, it makes all
that hard work worth it. I just can't say enough about all the sponsors
and the crew that stuck with me through the hard times the last couple
seasons. From my crew guys, Josh and Al, Roger and Ann Stull, Frank
and all the guys who work on the engine, Pontiac, A.R.T., Marengo, Dewco,
Mac Tools, and especially my wife, Lisa, it means a lot to me that they
all stood behind me when this thing wasn't going the way we hoped."
-- Edwards, expressing thanks to his crew and associates who remained
faithful since the last victory at Denver in 2002 and especially through
last year's probation because of a technical misunderstanding and engine-program
frustrations.
"I hope we can keep the wheels on this thing. Hopefully if we won't
have any more bumps in the road, we have a good chance to make this
happen a few more times." -- Edwards, on his second place in the
standings and his chances of winning again
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Angelle Sampey d. Andrew
Hines
"My Army team is one bad-behind" team. -- Sampey, wanting
to show wild enthusiasm from the winners circle podium without swearing,
"I'm a little surprised that I won both races. I'm a little in
shock. I'm not surprised that my team won. I figured maybe Antron would
get this one and we would be fighting for the championship the whole
way through. Steve Tartaglia is a crazy man when it comes to working
on these motorcycles. I've been begging him to take one day off to have
a good time, but he won't. I don't guess he's going to stop it. If this
is going to be the outcome of how hard he works, then I'm not going
to push him to take a break anymore. I just don't want him to get burned
out. He's an awesome tuner and an awesome guy to work with. The team
is working together real well. Everybody's happy. If everybody could
see how much fun our team has together and the result of that is race
wins, I think that everybody would try to get along better with their
own teams and other teams. I have the best team in the whole wide world,
and I can't say that enough." --Sampey, after her 39th career victory,
on how significant her crew chief, Steve Tartaglia, and the camaraderie
among the team members are to her success
NEWSMAKER OF THE DAY: Courtney Force
The 17-year-old Super Comp rookie and youngest daughter of Funny Car
star John Force advanced to the fifth round.
She never had driven beyond the first round before, but she beat Lamar
Swindoll, Daryl Patton, Hubert Pierce, and Shannon Brinkley in her Brand
Source Dragster. Her best performance ended with a red-light disqualification
against Tony Fuller, brother of Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller. She fouled
by seven-thousandths of a second.
Courtney Force is a senior and a cheerleader at Esperanza High School
in Yorba Linda, California. Like her sisters, Ashley and Brittany, she
is developing her skills in the glare of the cameras as one of the main
characters in the reality series "Driving Force," which will
debut in June on the A&E Network.
PIT e-PATTER
Tough luck -- All four of last year's event winners
-- Tony Schumacher, Robert Hight, Warren Johnson, and Karen Stoffer
-- lost in the first round Sunday. The point leaders fared better.
Shaken but not stirred -- Mike Ashley cut an .007 light in
his Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels Chevy Monte Carlo on his first-round
assignment but lost to Funny Car teammate Del Worsham. Doug Kalitta
in the Mac Tools Dragster also had a great light, an .068 showing, but
was an opening-round upset victim against UPS-sponsored Bob Vandergriff,
whose reaction time was .019 seconds.
TOP FUEL
Top speed -- Cory McClenathan recorded the fastest
speed of the meet in Round 1 with a 330.88-mph run in beating Bruce
Litton with a 4.542-second elapsed time.
Upset time -- Six drivers in the bottom half of the ladder won in Round
1: Larry Dixon (9), Clay Millican (11), Brandon Bernstein (12), Morgan
Lucas (13), Hilary Will (14), and Bob Vandergrift (15).
Oops -- Rod Fuller beat first-round opponent Clay Millican
to the finish line, but he was disqualified because his Valvoline/David
Powers Homes Dragster crossed the center line.
Troxel still sizzling -- Top Fuel points leader Melanie
Troxel has reached the final round in each of this year's four races
and ran her streak Sunday to five, dating back to last year's Finals
at Pomona, California. She heads into Las Vegas with a 128-point lead
over Larry Dixon.
Troxel battled through qualifying before claiming the No. 7 spot in
a last-effort attempt to make the field Saturday evening. "These
guys just turn it around and make it happen on Sunday. We struggled
in qualifying, but [crew chief] Richard Hogan and these Skull Gear guys
know how to race," she said. "They know how to win."
"The car kind of bogged down a little bit from the hit, but overall
it was a clean pass," she said of the final. "We just didn't
have enough for the win this time. We switched the rear-end the round
before, so maybe that caught up to us. We got outrun."
Troxel is closing in on teammate Tony Schumacher's record of seven
straight final-round appearances, but she's not ready to talk about
that just yet. "I keep waiting to wake up from this and realize
it's not real. I don't even want to begin to speculate on that, it's
so far out there. It's so surreal. I can't even believe we've had five
in a row."
What she is eager to talk about is her ever-increasing lead in the
standings: "It's kind of early in the year to talk about championship
points, but at the same time, it's my goal to have a shot at the championship.
Every race is important, these are just as important as the races late
in the year."
It was the second straight race that she and her Don Schumacher Racing
teammates Angelle Sampey and Ron Capps also reached the final, but she
wasn't able to join them in the winners circle yet.
"It's a little disappointing afterwards when you see your teammates
in the winners circle, especially when you want to be there with them
to celebrate," she said. "Angelle and I have become good friends
since I joined this team. It would be great to share something like
that with her."
FUNNY CAR
Ace calls spade a spade -- Winning crew chief and
former driving standout Ed "Ace" McCulloch was gracious in
acknowledging that his own driver, Ron Capps, tied his mark for career
Funny Car victories with No. 18 Sunday. McCulloch drove in the class
from the 1970s through early 1990s.
Capps also has a Top Fuel victory.
As for Capps matching his win record: "Well if that makes us equal,
he's a better man than I am. He's got a long ways to go. It's not even
close," he said.
McCulloch said, "Well, I don't know what to say, but we drew a
little out of the luck bank there in the final round. It wasn't real
pretty, and I'm not real proud of it. We'll take the win any way we
can get it. It was big racing Force in the semifinals, and this whole
deal is all about points. It doesn't matter how you get them -- the
bottom line is that you have to get them. This team has pulled through
and endured.
"At Gainesville we had trouble in qualifying and we pulled through
it, and here we had some problems early on and we recovered. To me,
that just shows a good group of guys who have their stuff together."
PRO STOCK
Needs a horseshoe -- For the first time in his 14-year
career, Kurt Johnson has gone through four races without a round-win.
He had a mechanical problem in his ACDelco Chevy Cobalt right off the
starting line. That allowed Dave Connolly -- who also lost in the first
round at Pomona and Phoenix before taking a DNQ at Gainesville -- to
advance with his Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels Chevy Cobalt. Kurt Johnson
will arrive in Las Vegas in 16th place.
Johnson, the No. 5 qualifier, said, "Our problems started when
the line-lock broke on the burnout. Even so, it still gave me enough
pressure that I felt I could stage. However, when I put it on the rev
limiter, it went right to the high side chip, putting the engine at
10,000 rpm, which dragged me over the starting line. It was one of those
freakish things, but I guess if you do this long enough, you're going
to experience it all.
"The hardest part is that we honestly felt our ACDelco Cobalt
was capable of winning today," Johnson said. "If I hadn't
run well, been late off the line, or had just gotten beat, it would
have been hard to take. But to not even go down the track is just frustrating."
Nevertheless, Johnson remained positive., saying, "I don't know
what we have to do to win a round, but we're not about to give up."
He and his father, Warren, said they plan to stay in Houston and test
Monday.
Needs Superman -- Warren Johnson got his for the
GM Performance Parts GTO off the line first against V Gaines in the
opening round, but his car suddenly slowed to a crawl because of an
unusual mechanical failure, allowing his opponent to overcome his lead
and drive on for the win.
“With the jump I had at the start, all I had to run was a 6.751
to win, which should have been easily attainable given the way our GM
Performance Parts GTO had been running. It was going straight until
it broke the rear end just as I was putting it into second gear. We
haven’t broken a rear end since 1987 in the first round at Atlanta.
The unit we ran today only had ten or eleven runs on it, and looked
fine when we checked it last night. I guess my X-Ray vision just wasn’t
working as well as it should.
“I tend to look at the big picture, so I guess our misfortune
today balances out the good luck we had in Phoenix. We’ll put
a fresh ring and pinion in it and do a little testing to make sure everything
else is working properly so we can get after it in Las Vegas next weekend.”
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SATURDAY - McClenathan
surprise low qualifier in Houston; Force, Line, Sampey join him on low
qualifier's podium
(4-1-2006) - Veteran Top
Fuel racer Cory McClenathan is the surprise No. 1 qualifier at the 19th
annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston
Raceway Park. McClenathan posted a class-leading 4.531 at 329.42 mph
Saturday in the final time trial of the $2 million race to earn his
30th career low qualifier award.
Funny Car continues to be led by 13-time champion John Force's double-track-record
4.695 at 328.06 mph, with Jason Line remaining on top of Pro Stock with
a 6.686 at 206.29 mph. Pro Stock Motorcycle point leader Angelle Sampey
moved around U.S. Army teammate Antron Brown to take the lead in the
two-wheeled class with a 7.038 at 190.59 mph.
Gary Scelzi became the first defending Funny Car champion to fail to
qualify for an event in 21 years by missing the cut here. Mark Oswald
was the last to record a DNQ as the reigning champ when he couldn't
break into the Indy field in 1985. It was the first time Scelzi failed
to qualify for an event since Las Vegas I in 2003 -- a stretch of 70
events.
McClenathan
broke a 30-race stretch where he'd not led the field by qualifying No.
1 for the 30th time in his career. His last-gasp 4.531 at 329.42 mph
in the Fram Boost2 dragster might have been even a click quicker had
his blower belt not come off at the top end of the racetrack.
"It's been a long time since I've been outside the top 10 (in the
POWERade Series standings) looking in," McClenathan said. "I've
tried to be patient and everyone knows I'm not a patient guy, and we've
been getting pressure from a lot of different places, but Wes (Cerny,
crew chief) keeps smiling and telling us to just wait because when we
get it running it's going to be great. I think we're just now starting
to see
that."
Top Fuel POWERade Series points leader Melanie Troxel waited until the
last session to get in the field with a seventh-best 4.581 at 326.32
mph in her Skull Gea/Torco Race Fuels dragster.
It
was the sixth 1-2-3 qualifying sweep for John Force Racing as team patriarch
Force led Ford Mustang teammates Robert Hight and Eric Medlen on the
Funny Car ladder.
"We're the fastest today but that don't make you win the race tomorrow,"
Force said.
Capps, the man at the top of the POWERade Series standings, jumped up
to fourth overall with a 4.766 at 319.14 mph in his Brut Dodge Stratus
R/T.
It was just hot enough to keep anyone from knocking Day 1 leader Line
off the Pro Stock podium, so the track record 6.686 at 206.29 mph he
posted Friday in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO will earn him his fifth
career low qualifier award.
"I
need to get out of my driving slump," said Line, who has struggled
mightily in the first three races this year. "Everyone goes through
slumps; how you get out of them is the trick. The plan is very simple,
it's just execution. I know our guys will make all the right calls with
the car. I have complete confidence with that part."
Sampey edged teammate and Friday leader Brown to take over the No. 1
slot in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Sampey's U.S. Army Suzuki carried her
to a track-record 7.038 at 190.59 mph in Saturday's early session to
help her capture the 38th low qualifier award of her career. She also
has 38 career victories, more than twice as many as any other woman
in NHRA history.
"I
personally feel more confident this year than I have in the past,"
Sampey said. "I'm not saying I'm gonna kick everybody's butts but
mentally I feel right, like I know my riding is going to be there."
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.
First-round pairings for professional eliminations
Sunday for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented
by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the fourth of 23 events in the
$50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results
in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
Top Fuel -- 1. Cory McClenathan, 4.531 seconds, 329.42
mph vs. 16. Bruce Litton, 4.669, 308.50; 2. Doug Kalitta, 4.533, 326.08
vs. 15. Bob Vandergriff, 4.665, 320.51; 3. Doug Herbert, 4.537, 318.77
vs. 14. Hillary Will, 4.645, 326.32; 4. Tony Schumacher, 4.546, 324.28
vs. 13.
Morgan Lucas, 4.627, 321.35; 5. David Grubnic, 4.553, 326.24 vs. 12.
Brandon Bernstein, 4.625, 324.44; 6. Rod Fuller, 4.561, 327.11 vs. 11.
Clay Millican, 4.618, 318.92; 7. Melanie Troxel, 4.581, 326.32 vs. 10.
Alan Bradshaw, 4.611, 314.39; 8. David Baca, 4.592, 327.03 vs. 9. Larry
Dixon, 4.600, 326.56.
Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.695, 328.06
vs. 16. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.887, 320.36; 2. Robert Hight, Mustang,
4.721, 324.44 vs. 15. Bob Gilbertson, Stratus, 4.865, 316.45; 3. Eric
Medlen, Mustang, 4.725, 325.92 vs. 14. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo,
4.855,
314.90; 4. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.766, 322.65 vs. 13. Frank Pedregon,
Stratus, 4.846, 299.26; 5. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.777, 327.82 vs.
12. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.831, 327.51; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte
Carlo, 4.793, 326.40 vs. 11. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.825, 303.91;
7. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.797, 326.24 vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Monte
Carlo, 4.821, 316.08; 8. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.798, 318.32 vs.
9. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.818, 323.19.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.686, 206.35
vs. 16. Barry Grant, Chevy Cavalier, 6.756, 205.07; 2. Greg Anderson,
GTO, 6.692, 206.39 vs. 15. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.740, 205.07; 3. Erica
Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.698, 206.13 vs. 14. Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus,
6.739, 205.82; 4. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.699, 206.95 vs. 13.
Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.737, 205.13; 5. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.706,
205.54 vs. 12. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.726, 205.88; 6. V. Gaines, Stratus,
6.707, 206.26 vs. 11. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.724, 205.44; 7. Larry Morgan,
Stratus, 6.712, 206.29 vs. 10. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.720, 205.72; 8. Rickie
Smith, Cobalt, 6.715, 205.94 vs. 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.719, 204.98.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki,
7.038, 190.59 vs. 16. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.177, 186.23; 2. Antron Brown,
Suzuki, 7.059, 190.70 vs. 15. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.168, 186.61;
3. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.063, 190.14 vs. 14. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.136,
191.16; 4. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.067, 191.89 vs. 13. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson,
7.134, 190.70; 5. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.071, 190.94
vs. 12. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.128, 193.65; 6. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.090,
194.16 vs. 11. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.117, 189.34; 7. Andrew Hines,
Harley-Davidson, 7.096, 190.92 vs. 10. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.110, 194.04;
8. Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.099, 187.39 vs. 9. Mike Berry,
Suzuki, 7.110, 190.14.
SATURDAY NOTEBOOK
TV Cameras Making Force Crazy (Crazier?)
Funny
Car icon John Force has said and done a lot of entertaining things on
television.
But what made him arguably drag racing's most beloved character is
torturing him.
At least that's what he says.
It's not quite as bad as the day former Funny Car rival Al Hofmann
accused him of hiding a traction-control device in his driving uniform
and he stripped down to his underwear at the far end of Firebird Raceway
in Arizona several years ago in front of TV cameras and startled NHRA
officials, to demonstrate that he was hiding absolutely nothing.
It's not quite as brutal as the day one October when he and Hofmann
decided here at Baytown, Texas, to exchange firesuits for Halloween.
Hofmann told the TV reporters that he decided after all not wear Force's
Castrol uniform. "I won't wear that filthy thing," Hofmann
sniffed. Shot back Force, "At least mine ain't haunted."
It's not as wacky as the day the TV crew showed subtitles on the screen
when Force was delivering one of his hilarious but sometimes hard-to-follow
monologues.
But A&E Network is hoping to capture the 13-time champion's penchant
for doing and saying the unexpected in a new real-life television series,
Driving Force. The show is expected to debut this July and, because
of the show, the 56-year-old Force has added a new element to his latest
championship bid which resumes this week at Houston Raceway Park.
Traditionally, drivers try to avoid distractions, but Force has embraced
a 17-person production crew that will join him and the other stars of
Driving Force -- daughters Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney, at the 19th
annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.
"They can be a pain," Force said of the television crew,
"but they're just doing their job. They don't understand a lot
of what goes on, but I think the show is going to be good. It's going
to expose the sport to a new audience and that's exciting. What's not
exciting is them following me and the girls everywhere: to eat, to the
movies, to the mall, to sponsor meetings."
His rivals might be disappointed to see that it hasn't had a negative
impact on Force's on-track performance in his newly designed 2006 Castrol
GTX Ford Mustang.
Force earned his third No. 1 qualifier award in four events this year,
and he did it in style, smashing both ends of the track record with
a 4.695-second elapsed time and a 328.06-mph speed.
But the stress, he said, has him upside down almost. "If I take
on one more job, I'm going to tip over," he said.
In addition to the teams -- and the expense and worry -- of Eric Medlen's
Castrol Syntec Mustang and son-in-law Robert Hight's Auto Club of Southern
California Mustang, Force has taken on three more sportsman-level cars.
Daughter Ashley drives a Top Alcohol Dragster, and he's grooming her
to compete in a nitro Funny Car someday. Ashley's younger sisters, Brittany
and Courtney, drive Brand-Source-sponsored Super Comp dragsters.
Courtney Force won her first-round match-up Saturday against Lamar
Swindoll, and Brittany Force lost to Thomas Stalba.
The A&E cameras are capturing Brittany and Courtney Force and their
struggle to learn the business their father loves so dearly. They have
the ultimate in equipment and training, but they are trying to balance
their racing aspirations with the education that mother Laurie demands
as a condition of their participation in drag racing.
Brittany is a sophomore at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, California.
Courtney is a senior at Esperanza High School in Yorba Linda, California.
Force
girls had no background in the sport apart from watching their father.
As a result, they're having to learn the hows and whys and wherefores
that come naturally to many of their opponents.
He has had to educate them about drag racing -- and the TV crew about
it, too. He took one of the new production-crew members to the starting
line to watch Friday night's qualifying. She never had attended a drag
race. She asked Force, "Where do these cars go?"
Replied Force, "To Hell, sometimes."
The young woman thought for a second and asked, "When do they
come around again?"
Force shook his head. "And now my kids hate me and so does my
wife. This was supposed to save my marriage! Now they're all saying,
'We don't even have any hope of having a normal life! Now we don't even
have that!'"
On track, he's doing swell, though. Force also has posted the quickest
quarter-mile time in history (4.664 seconds) and was runner-up at each
of the past two events. He entered this race -- at the track where he
has won seven times, most recently in 2002 -- trailing class leader
Ron Capps by just 31 points.
"I want that championship back," Force said. "I'm not
done yet."
Not unless he keeps hanging out with television crews.
"Wes Cerny has been creeping upon this deal. We just tried to
be consistent. But on top of that, when Wes get hold of something, he's
usually very good about it. He asked me before the run, 'Do you want
me to put the slow-curve tune-up in it or the fast curve?' I said, 'Let's
go for it a little bit!' When I got back there, he told me that he actually
slowed it down. Actually, I thought they were lying. It's April Fool's
Day.
"I'm really happy with the Carrier Boyz and all our sponsors.
I've been waiting for this thing to come around. I've been trying to
be patient, and everybody knows I'm not a very patient person. Everybody's
just now getting together, jelling together. That's a fun thing to watch.
"There were some tire issues. We've run the [new] tire all year
long. We have some data on it. We feel very comfortable with it. But
there are lot of guys who don't feel very comfortable with it yet, and
that was very noticeable this afternoon. It's a safer tire. I'm fine
with it. It's been great to us.
"We have taken our lumps. It has been a long time since I've were
on the outside of the top 10, looking in. We've taken some heat from
sponsors and certain people. It has been rough. But Wes just smiles
and says, 'Just wait -- because when it does happen, you're going to
be happy.'
He keeps telling Mark and Andy that, too.' You have to explain your
actions. Here we are, in our fourth race of the season, and we're not
in the top 10 and that's been a tough pill to swallow for me as well.
Yes, I believe we've kind of taken some lumps and maybe 10 years ago,
I'd probably have been upset. I'm just pleased for Andy and Mark and
the whole team." -- McClenathan, about qualifying first for the
first time in 30 races, not since September 2004, and coming to Houston
six points out of 10th place
Funny Car -- John Force, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang (4.695 seconds,
328.06 mph)
"We're 1-2-3. That's an accomplishment. We were trying to hang
onto that. Ford will like that. They'll be at a NASCAR race somewhere
tonight, looking at that. They'll be happy. And that's what they pay
us for. We're the fastest but that don't make you win this race tomorrow.
"We tend to look for why you get beat. You push the competition
to beat themselves. That don't happen anymore. They have no fear. They
know they can whip our asses. They know they can run right with you.
"We spent half a million dollars testing. It don't win you championships.
At least it lets the competition know you're ready to play." --
Force, on his 128th career No. 1 qualifier and third in four races this
season and the fact that with the performances of teammates Robert Hight
and Eric Medlen, John Force Racing has the top three qualifiers in the
Funny Car field.
"The girls are mad at me today. So's my wife.
"Having all these cars is like the Ford Motor Company assembly
line. You make a million cars, and eventually you're going to have a
problem child. Man, I got six problem children. I used to think Don
Schumacher was smart, having all those cars. Now I think he's just as
stupid as me. Having more than one or two cars -- we do it for our children.
We love 'em. We want 'em to have the opportunity." -- Force, proving
that being top qualifier doesn't erase the frustration of the day.
Pro Stock -- Jason Line, KB/Summit Racing Pontiac GTO,
(6.686 seconds, 206.35 mph)
"Anytime you out qualify Greg [teammate Anderson] and the rest
of the field, it's a good thing. We were lucky enough to make the right
amount at the right time. The track actually wasn't too bad. [On Sunday],
I think you're going to look at time in the (6.)69 to (6.)70 range,
not any faster. I'm happy with my spot. Obviously, I like being on the
opposite side of the ladder from Greg. I need to be focused. Saying
it and doing it are two different things. We'll find out tomorrow. I
think it is the first time I've led in all four qualifying sessions.
Usually I run well the first session, then I go in the trunk or somewhere.
I'm not like Greg - he does it all the time." -- Jason Line, about
earning his fifth career No. 1 qualifier, while teammate Greg Anderson
took the No. 2 spot.
Resting on his track-record 6.686-second elapsed time from Friday evening,
Line said he thinks he'll have a decent chance to win Sunday, "as
long as we can drive good."
"I'm an engine guy, not a car guy. So I stay out of the way. But
it was not up to par. So it was much better Saturday." -- Line,
regarding Friday night's track conditions, when water began seeping
through the racing surface.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Angelle Sampey, U.S. Army Suzuki,
(7.038 seconds, 190.59)
"We're thinking that I'm finally struggling with the one thing
that the other Pro Stock Motorcycle [riders] hate about me, and that's
my size. Now that they've added . . . 25 more pounds, I think we have
close to 100 pounds of lead on my bike. We have too much weight on the
front of the bike, and we're not getting any traction on the back tire.
Some will argue that the weight transfer is off . . . but you have to
be accelerating for that to happen, and we haven't really had a good
starting line yet to get that weight transfer. The front end's heavy
and the back end's exploding all over. We're struggling to find a happy
medium with all that weight, but we'll get it. We struggled the same
exact way at Gainesville, and we still won the race. Maybe it'll be
the same this weekend." -- Sampey, explaining how she and her Steve
Tartaglia-led team are working throught the difficulties in making adjustments
to the new rules.
"I personally feel more confident this year than I have in a really
long time. This year I'm really motivated to win the championship again.
I'm not saying I'm going to come out here and kick everybody's butt
and take the championship back, but mentally I just feel strong enough
again to do it. I think that I can do a better job riding this year
than I did in the past, and I have confidence with the team jelling
the way it has everybody working so well together and Steve [crew chief
Tartaglia] feeling more confident about himself." -- Sampey, the
points leader, about her attitude in the class' second appearance on
the schedule.
NEWSMAKER OF THE DAY: Gary Scelzi, Mopar Oakley Dodge Charger
Funny Car driver
Gary
Scelzi, the reigning Funny Car champion and three-time Top Fuel champion,
failed to qualify for only the second time since he joined Don Schumacher
Racing and really threw his full effort into mastering a Funny Car.
Scelzi, ninth in the points coming into this event, said he'll be testing
Monday morning but that he knows his Mike Neff-tuned car will respond
to the new tire soon.
"I love Houston and I love this race track. The new tire is really
good, and this race track is incredible," Scelzi said. "And
we could never get enough on this thing to make it quit shaking. Mike
Neff, I'm sure he's down right now. But I love this guy to death. He
believes in me when I screw up. And he didn't screw up We need some
more time. We got behind and we're going to be fine. It's not anybody's
fault but our own. And believe me, we won't be down for long."
The last time Scelzi failed to qualify was April 2003, 70 events ago,
at Las Vegas.
"I feel sorry for Scelzi. It hurts. Not qualifying for a race
is tough. I know -- I've been there," top qualifier John Force,
who has the distinction of being one of Scelzi's best friends and his
one of his chief rivals. Force said he looked forward to the next race,
when he knew Scelzi would "be spankin' us again."
Said Force, "He'll be back, meaner and tougher."
The last time a defending Funny Car champion failed to make a lineup
was Labor Day weekend in 1985, when Mark Oswald missed out on the U.S.
Nationals at Indianapolis. Oswald is crew chief for Mike Ashley's Torco
Race Fuels/Skull Gear Funny Car.
PIT e-PATTER:
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class saw the biggest scramble in Saturday's
first session. The entire field changed positions. Chris Rivas and Michael
Phillips were bumped from the lineup, while several others made significant
improvements: Angelle Sampey (14 places), Mike Berry (11), Chip Ellis
(7), and Ryan Schnitz and Joe DeSantis (6). Karen Stoffer dropped nine
spots and Geno Scali 10,but they remained on the grid.
TOP FUEL
'Time to make a move' -- While U.S. Army teammate Angelle
Sampey called her story "From zero to hero" after vaulting
from 15th place to first in the Pro Stock Bike class, Tony Schumacher
might have been going in the opposite direction with his Army Dragster.
Schumacher carried over his Friday performance of 4.546 seconds at 287.78
mph into Sunday after two problem-plagued runs during Saturday qualifying.
"We'll be just fine. We have a good race car," Schumacher
said. "We had some parts breakage in the second pass today. But
it's better to have that happen now than tomorrow."
Schumacher's streak of three No. 1 qualifying positions ended Saturday.
He will face Morgan Lucas in the opening round of final eliminations.
"It's an absolute must that we go rounds and total points,"
Schumacher said. "It's time for us to make a move."
FUNNY CAR
Where's the track? -- Phil Burkart, the No. 7 qualifier,
said he has had trouble with Houston's humidity. Friday night he drive
his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo to a 4.797-second pass
but said he'd need a video replay to know what it looked like. The final
session came in nearly 100 percent humidity, and many other drivers
also were having issues with fogged visors and windshields.
"Basically, once I hit the throttle I couldn't see," Burkart
said. "As soon as I put my foot down, my visor fogged up and it
was like driving into a fog bank. I could kind of see shapes, and thankfully
I could see the new little white strobe light they've added to the center
block at the finish line. That was pretty much my guide, just keeping
my eye on the flashing white light and trying to keep it straight. Talk
about driving by feel, that's what I was doing.
"We always talk about whether we breathe during a run, and I think
what happened there told me the answer. My visor was getting a little
foggy before the run, and I was holding my breath as I pulled up to
the line. As soon as it launched, the visor fogged, which may tell you
that the
launch itself forces the air out of your lungs. Maybe that's why we're
always out of breath after a 4.8 second lap. It was exciting, I can
tell you that. I wasn't too worried I was going to hit something, but
it was definitely like driving in the fog."
Double whammy -- Del Worsham found out that his 4.777-second
elapsed time in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo, wasn't
all that lucky Friday night. It earned him the No. 4 spot for awhile
-- he ended up fifth behind the John Force Racing trio and points leader
Ron Capps.
"Give me that number in a Texas Hold 'em game, or even on a slot
machine, and we'll be doing really well," Worsham said. "Las
Vegas is next week, though, so all I care about is how that 777 stacked
up against the rest of the class, and the No. 4 spot is pretty darned
good. Every now and then we go up there with a calculated plan to try
to hit one as hard as we can, and there's a bit of a different atmosphere
among the guys when we do. We concentrate much more on being consistent
and not pushing the car over the edge, but when we do think we've got
a shot at a good one, and we lean on it a little bit, the guys just
have a little different look in their eyes."
He also thought he had rewritten the track E.T. record. But again Force
robbed him of that, too.
"We were right there with all the humans in the field, basically
running the same as (No. 3 qualifier) Eric Medlen on that run, but that
other guy, Force, had to bust everyone's bubble with a 4.69 right at
the end," he said. "On top of that, right up until he ran
we had taken over the track speed record with our 327 mph. He ran 328
with the 4.69, so that's like taking your wallet and stepping on your
foot, all at the same time."
PRO STOCK
Quietly making progress -- Rickie Smith might not
attract a lot of attention. But the low-key Skull Gear Dart Chevy Cobalt
driver steadily is challenging for the championship. He entered this
event in sixth place, only 10 points out of third place.
"We're just working along, sorting out the combination,"
team owner Richard Maskin said. "We're a little smarter and a little
faster every time we go to a race.
"We know how to tune the engines better after every rebuild,"
he said. "We're fixing one thing at a time, and when we get it
sorted out, then we take the next step."
When Smith isn't monitoring seemingly incessant dyno testing at the
Dart Technology Center in Troy, Michigan, or testing at South Georgia
Motorsports Park in Valdosta, he's racing his nitrous-injected '63 Corvette
in the American Drag Racing League and Quick 8 or in the International
Hot Rod Association's Pro Modified class.
Smith's calendar was blank last weekend, so he attended the IHRA season
opener in San Antonio and helped Pro Mod driver Rick Moore, who also
competes in IHRA Quick 8.
"We're off to a good start this season," Smith said. "We're
winning rounds and racking up points. The Dart engine department is
giving us good power, and we've been testing a lot to learn how to use
it. We could use a few breaks on race day, but I know that sometimes
a racer has to make his own luck."
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Wiggly rides over? -- Angelle Sampey, who beat teammate
Antron Brown in the final round of the Gatornationals in the Pro Stock
Motorcycle season debut, had a sense of urgency about her Friday night.
"Antron
and I have to stay at the top of the standings," she said Friday
after spinning her rear tire at the launch during her first run and
then having trouble getting into high gear during her second run. "It
was a really wiggly," Sampey said of her first run, adding that
her second run was "still wiggly, but I broke a transmission and
didn't have high gear. We've been struggling to get the bike straight
down the track.
"Hopefully, we've wiped away all of the gremlins after today,"
Sampey said. "I'm confident we'll move up tomorrow."
Her hunch was right. Crew chief Steve Tartaglia fixed the transmission
problem, and Sampey jumped from 15th in the field to first in Saturday's
first session, the third overall. Moreover, she lowered her own Houston
Raceway Park elapsed-time record from 7.055 seconds to 7.038.
"The tune-up was already there. We just had trouble getting the
bike down the track until the third run," she said. "When
I got back to the trailer and saw the video, I couldn't believe it was
that run. It was all over the trace track again, real wiggly again."
Schnitz has best speed -- Ryan Schnitz, the top qualifier
at Gainesville on his Rob Muzzy-built Buell, established the class'
fastest speed at 194.16 mph in Saturday's early session. But that was
1.57 mph slower than the mark Andrew Hines set last April.
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FRIDAY - FORCE SETS RECORDS TO LEAD FUNNY CAR; KALITTA LINE AND
BROWN ALSO GO LOW
(3-31-2006) - The most prolific racer in Houston Raceway
Park history, seven-time Funny Car winner John Force, added to his Texas
legacy Friday night with a double-track-record pass of 4.695 seconds
at 328.06 mph to lead the Day 1 qualifying action at the 19th annual
O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil, the fourth of
23 events on the NHRA POWERade Series.
Force's run put him in prime position to earn his ninth low qualifier
award at this facility. He was joined by Top Fuel's Doug Kalitta (4.533),
Pro Stock's Jason Line (6.686), and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Antron Brown
(7.059) at the top of the provisional race day grids.
The closest Funny Cars to Force's Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang are those
of his two teammates, Robert Hight (4.754, 323.12) and Eric Medlen (4.770,
311.56) who are second and third on the grid. Still, the 13-time champ
is more than five-hundredths of a second in front.
"The
tune-up was good, the track is good, and the air is good, that's what
it takes," Force said. "If you want to win a bunch of championships
you have to stay ahead of the curve. We started working on this stuff
a year ago and it bit us but now the work is paying off and all three
cars are running good."
As the No. 5 qualifier coming out of the first session, Kalitta ran
ahead of a handful of heavy hitters, but no one managed to beat his
4.533 at 326.08 mph. The Mac Tools dragster has yet to post a top qualifying
run this year.
"I
thought (Tony) Schumacher has the best chance to get around us and if
he had stayed hooked up he probably would have," Kalitta said,
"but he had to shut it off. Maybe things are turning for us. It
certainly worked out better for us tonight. I don't know if it'll hold
but it's still fun for us tonight."
Schumacher's U.S. Army dragster still posted a third-best 4.546 at
287.78 mph despite the fact he shut off early.
Although the humidity readings were near 100 percent, Line still managed
a track record elapsed time of 6.686 at 206.29 mph in his Pontiac GTO.
The driver of the Summit Racing Pontiac GTO eclipsed his more decorated
teammate Greg Anderson's 2-year-old mark of 6.693.
"Tonight
I get to be Greg," Line said. "Normally I run quick early
and then he passes me up and gets all the glory. It's a bit of a surprise
for us to run this good in high humidity because normally we struggle
in these kinds of conditions. I'll take it."
Houston favorite Erica Enders overcame an aborted first run and climbed
all the way to fourth with a 6.709 at 205.76 mph in her Chevrolet Cobalt.
A runner-up at the last stop in Gainesville, Fla., Brown went right
to work Friday, zipping to the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle in
the opening session with a 7.059 at 187.89 mph on his U.S. Army Suzuki.
The pass held through the night session.
"There's
no doubt the field is a lot more level," Brown said. "In Gainesville
I was low two sessions and Ryan Schnitz was low in the other two on
his Buell. It'll be even better when we get fuel injection figured out
because that's what they use."
Top Fuel points leader Melanie Troxel and defending series Funny Car
champion Gary Scelzi are both outside their respective fields at the
midway point of qualifying. They'll have two more chances to make the
field during Saturday's final two sessions, scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
and 2 p.m.
Results Friday after qualifying for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA
Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, fourth
of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying
will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 4.533 seconds, 326.08
mph; 2. Doug Herbert, 4.537, 318.77; 3. Tony Schumacher, 4.546, 324.28;
4. David Grubnic, 4.553, 326.24; 5. Rod Fuller, 4.565, 324.75; 6. Cory
McClenathan, 4.579, 326.71; 7. David Baca, 4.592, 327.03; 8. Larry Dixon,
4.600, 325.45; 9. Alan Bradshaw, 4.611, 314.39; 10. Brandon Bernstein,
4.625, 324.44; 11. Hillary Will, 4.645, 319.67; 12. Bruce Litton, 4.669,
308.50; 13. Clay Millican, 4.715, 306.12; 14. Bob Vandergriff, 4.727,
320.51; 15. Scott Palmer, 4.729, 305.84; 16. Morgan Lucas, 4.851, 256.06.
Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.695, 328.06;
2. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.754, 323.12; 3. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.770,
311.56; 4. Del Worsham, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.777, 327.82; 5. Tommy Johnson
Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.793, 326.40; 6. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.797,
326.24; 7. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.798, 318.32; 8. Ron Capps,
Dodge Stratus, 4.800, 322.65; 9. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.821,
323.19; 10. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.831, 317.72; 11. Tony Bartone,
Monte Carlo, 4.855, 314.90; 12. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.912, 305.98; 13.
Jeff Arend, Monte Carlo, 4.970, 266.27; 14. Paul Lee, Monte Carlo, 4.979,
294.18; 15. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 5.000, 304.53; 16. Cruz Pedregon,
Monte Carlo, 5.003, 308.14.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.686, 206.29;
2. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.699, 206.45; 3. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt,
6.706, 205.54; 4. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.709, 205.76; 5. Larry Morgan,
Dodge Stratus, 6.712, 206.10; 6. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.724, 205.44;
7. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.731, 205.29; 8. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.736,
205.94; 9. Rickie Smith, Cobalt, 6.737, 204.88; 10. Richie Stevens,
Stratus, 6.739, 203.74; 11. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.742, 205.47; 12. Ron
Krisher, Cobalt, 6.744, 204.29; 13. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.752, 204.82; 14.
Mark Pawuk, GTO, 6.758, 203.52; 15. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.759, 204.01;
16. Max Naylor, Stratus, 6.761, 204.14.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK
DSR Pro Stock Duo Needs This Race -- For Completely Different
Reasons
Don Schumacher Racing scored victories in the previous race, the Gatornationals
at Gainesville, Florida, with Funny Car's Ron Capps and Pro Stock Motorcycle
rider Angelle Sampey and fielded a Top Fuel finalist in Melanie Troxel.
As the Powerade Drag Racing Series moved to Houston Raceway Park for
the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, the DSR Pro Stock tandem looked forward
to this fourth race on the 23-event schedule -- for completely different
reasons.
Richie Stevens said he was ready to get away from the seemingly endless
chore of cleaning away debris in his native New Orleans ("I'm excited
and ready to hit the road and get out of here," he said before
traveling to the Baytown track he calls his drag-racing home.) Rookie
Shaun Carlson needs to make the field for the first time this year to
salvage some sanity.
Katrina clean-up wearing on Stevens
Stevens
struggled in the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T a bit last season
before making two final-round appearances and finishing eighth in the
standings. Now the Pro Stock car is his sanctuary, his refuge, he said.
"New Orleans is my home, but being in the car is becoming my
home," Stevens said. "It's safe and it's where I feel most
comfortable now. Just to get away from New Orleans is a blessing right
now. It's home and I'm never leaving. I couldn't imagine ever living
somewhere else, but under the conditions right now, it's a nice escape
to get my mind off of it."
Displaced by Hurricane Katrina last August, Stevens and his family
have spent the last seven months rebuilding the family business, Stevens
Collision Center. Then more depressing news came Thursday from a federal
government estimate that the city likely won't see total recovery for
as much of a quarter-century.
Part of that rebuilding process for the Stevenses has been helping
remove abandoned cars from the city's streets. Since the storm, Stevens
figured they had removed more than 1,000.
"It's a monotonous job," Stevens said. "Working at home
gets stressful. It's so tiring and depressing. When the weekends come,
I look forward to getting away and going racing."
He said he's trying to keep the situation in perspective: "I'm
getting to do something that people would kill to do. A lot of my friends
are kind of stuck in New Orleans on the weekends, and it gets miserable
for them. I'm very fortunate to have something like this to go to."
Said Stevens, whose goal is to stay in the top 10, "I'll have
a lot of friends and family here this weekend. It's good for me to get
away, and it's good for them to get away. I'm hoping to put on a good
show."
Stevens settled into the middle of the pack Friday, first earning
the No. 9 position, then moving down to 10th in the night run. Last
year he was 16th in the lineup and lost in the opening round to Warren
Johnson.
Call from Glidden spurs Carlson
Meanwhile,
teammate Carlson has been nothing but frustrated at the race track.
The Southern California native and Sport Compact Series driver had
less than a week after taking the job to get ready for the season. And
trying to drive a car for which was not custom-fitted for him while
trying to learn the behavior of a Pro Stock car has proven far more
difficult than anyone might have imagined.
"I'm just trying to absorb as much as I can with each run I make,"
Carlson said. "I know I'm getting better; it's just taking some
time, but I really think I'll get there."
Carlson received an encouraging phone call from crew chief Bob Glidden
a week after the Gatornationals. And it was classic Bob Glidden rhetoric
-- which means a willing Carlson and a relentlessly determined Glidden
could start becoming a problem for the rest of the class before long.
"Bob is so adamant that he is going to teach me the way a coach
would in basketball, or any of those stick and ball sports," Carlson
said. "He told me he'd make me a winner and that we are going to
do a lot of testing, whatever it takes. He doesn't care if he has to
strap me into the passenger side of the car while he makes a run, he
says. We're going to prove everyone wrong."
Carlson continued to struggle, unable to make the 16-car field in the
first session Friday. He was 18th of 21 entrants, although he was in
good company -- Erica Enders, Mike Thomas, and Greg Stanfield were in
line behind him. He didn't fare much better in the evening session.
He'll start Saturday as the No. 19 qualifier.
But one helpful part of the equation for this weekend for Carlson is
the fact he is familiar with Houston Raceway Park. He hasn't competed
at all of the venues, but, he said, "I've raced at Houston a couple
times with my Pro FWD car, so that makes me feel better going into the
weekend. I know it sounds stupid, but it relaxes you a lot when you
know where everything is at a track.
"I'm always thinking about the Pro Stock class now," he
said, "I'll be sitting at the stoplight and trying to time the
lights, or lifting my foot quickly off the clutch. It's definitely in
my system. I have the bug, and I guess any little thing I can do will
help. I'm looking for any little advantage so I can make my way into
the field and race on Sundays with my teammate Richie."
Carlson owned and drove his Team Mopar SRT4 in the NHRA Xplod Sport
Compact Racing Series in 2005, earning one victory and finishing fourth
in points. He substituted for injured Pro Stocker Darrell Alderman in
the 2004 NHRA Winternationals, nearly advancing to the semifinals. A
renowned engine builder and FWD performance guru, Carlson has worked
on projects such as Stephan Papadakis' record-holding import drag car.
He's president and founder of NuFormz, an 11-year-old company that builds
aftermarket components in Ontario, California.
TOP QUALIFIER QUOTES
Top Fuel -- Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Dragster (4.533
seconds, 326.08 mph)
"Maybe things are turning. Rahn [crew chief Tobler] had mentioned
he was going to go after it. He was giving it everything he had. It
was a big boost. We'll be happy with what we have. It carried the front
end real good on the first run [when he was fifth]. Everything was real
normal [on the second run]. It was fun."
Funny Car -- John Force, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang
(4.695 seconds, 328.06 mph)
"Is it better? I should hope the hell it is, with the amount of
money we spent on it. It's a lot of work. It's late. And we only got
three of them. We'll get new bodies for Bristol." -- Force, explaining
how much more aerodynamic his new Mustang body is.
Pro Stock -- Jason Line, KB/Summit Racing Pontiac
GTO (6.686 seconds, 206.29 mph)
"This is the first time we've had this kind of car, and we're
finally getting a handle on it." -- Line, It's an RJ Race Car product,
built by chassis expert Rick Jones, an International Hot Rod Association
regular racer from Galesburg, Illinois.
"It's easy not to think about it. Obviously, I'm not thinking
about it on Sundays, either." -- Line, answering whether it's hard
not to think about the fact that he hasn't lasted past the second round
at any race this season.
Line set the class' track elapsed-time record, erasing Greg Anderson's
April 2004 mark of 6.693 seconds. He was one of two to surpass Anderson's
track-record speed of 205.72, but Mike Edwards took those honors with
a 206.45.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Antron Brown, U.S. Army Suzuki (7.059 seconds,
187.89 mph)
"We need to have the temperatures stay in the lows 70s in the
morning and for the humidity to go down. It's up and down. We might
be out of luck, but I'd like to see some low 7.0s (seven-second elapsed
times). . . . At Gainesville, I was quickest for two [qualifying] runs,
and a Buell rider, Ryan Schnitz, was quickest for two runs. The [playing
field for the] class is real level right now. That's all we ever wanted.
We'll be faster when we get the fuel injection. Fuel injection is going
to be going full-blown in our shop [during the break following this
race]."-- Brown, discussing conditions that might yield a national
record this weekend and his team's reaction to the new rules that helped
the Suzukis compete more evenly with the Harley-Davidsons and the Buells.
His time was four-thousandths of a second slower than teammate Angelle
Sampey's track-record 7.055 E.T.
NEWSMAKER OF THE DAY: John Force
John Force shattered both ends of the Houston Raceway Park Funny
Car performance record Friday night with a 4.695-second elapsed time
and 328.06-mph speed in his Austin Coil- and Bernie Fedderly-tuned Castrol
GTX Start-Up Ford Mustang.
Force
assured himself a spot in the field and Saturday officially will extend
his qualifying streak to 373 consecutive NHRA events. That string dates
back to the start of the 1988 season.
The Yorba Linda, California, veteran has been a Funny Car finalist
in more than half the NHRA races contested since 1989 (170 of 337).
And Friday night he said conditions were perfect for the run that
was only three hundredths off the national E.T. record he set in October
2004 at Joliet, Illinois.
"The tune-up was good. The track was good. The air was good. Just
run. Smooth as can be," he said.
The provisional No. 1 position was particularly important to him, for
he said that inattention to such matters are what cost him the championship
he has won 13 times since 1990. "To win a championship, you've
got to be at the head of the pack," he said.
He said the crew has been tweaking things on the car and can learn
the results of that "when you get air like this at nightttime."
He said Coil predicted a pass in the 4.60 range before the run.
Force's last victory at Houston Raceway Park, in 2002, was one of
his most memorable. When he beat Tommy Johnson Jr. in the 2002 finals,
he earned his 100th tour victory. He remains the only drag racer in
history to have won as many as 100 events.
PIT e-PATTER:
TOP FUEL
Time
to collect? -- Tony Schumacher has earned three straight No.
1 qualifier awards this year but has yet to translate that into a victory.
But the reigning Top Fuel champion has won once and captured four runner-up
finishes at Houston Raceway Park since 1998, so he has enjoyed his visits
to South Texas. He entered the race in sixth-place in the standings,
101 points behind teammate and class leader Melanie Troxel.
Schumacher grabbed the early lead Friday with a 4.556-second elapsed
time at 324.28 mph but slipped to third as Doug Kalitta and Doug Herbert
moved past him in the night session.
Can't
win 'em all -- Top Fuel driver Melanie Troxel has advanced
to the final round in each of the past four events, including the first
three of 2006. She has one victory and leads the standings by 73 points
-- despite a 25-point penalty at Phoenix for oil downs. But she's smart
and knows that hot streaks can cool down.
"I think it would be unrealistic for me to say that we can keep
going to every final round for the rest of the year," the Skull
Gear/Torco Race Fuels Dragster driver said. "I'm sure we will have
those weekends where we go out first round. We're bound to have those.
But I certainly think that we have something going right now, whether
it's chemistry within the team or a really good handle on the tune-up
that (crew chief) Richard Hogan has right now. I certainly expect to
continue that in Houston. I think right now we have the best race team
on the circuit."
She lost to Dave Grubnic in the final round of the Gatornationals,
but she expanded her led from 14 points to 73. So that made her feel
better. "It's kind of funny," she said. "Regardless of
how things are going, when you don't win in a final round, you have
that natural instinct to be disappointed for a while about it. But you
really have to take a reality check and let that disappointment wear
off and appreciate the fact that we are leading the points, we're running
very consistently, and we're going a lot of rounds.
"When we said earlier in the year that our goal was to have a
legitimate shot at the championship late in the year we couldn't have
asked for a better start to the season. The consistency of going rounds
is way more important than winning any one individual event," Troxel
said.
She said Houston Raceway Park "is a place where we've seen big
E.T.s and big speeds. That's always exciting. The facility and the track
surface are great, so we're looking forward to seeing what the performance
of the car will be and what we can do with it."
She'll be looking forward to seeing Saturday if she can get into the
field. She ended Friday unqualified, at 18th.
Wanting more -- Gatornationals winner Dave Grubnic
is thirsty for more victories.
"We
got that 'one-win' monkey off our back finally," Grubnic said,
alluding to the notion that some might have thought his first victory
at Topeka last May might have been a fluke.
"Sure, I feel a bit relieved about that," the StriVectin-SD
Dragster driver said, "but at the same time, we're right up there
in the points chase again.
"The season is still very young, but we need to take advantage
of every opportunity we can. Winning a race in Top Fuel is getting tougher
and tougher because there are just so many good cars out there now.
It makes it even tougher to contend for the championship," Grubnic
said. "We're in third place right now, but we're only one point
away from second and only about four rounds (74 points) out of the lead.
You always get momentum with a win, so we want to make sure we take
advantage of that this weekend in Houston and go for it again."
With his win in Gainesville, Grubnic leaped from 11th place to third.
He'll start Saturday in fourth place.
On the edge of quickness -- The way Morgan Lucas figured,
he and his Lucas Oil Dragster team have an edge on much of he competition.
"This
year, the tire requirements that NHRA has instituted for the pro classes
places us in an enviable position, since we have run the 2420 compound
all season," he said. "Based on that, we feel our car's set
up will match up well with the flat Houston track."
Houston Raceway Park, a track located right at sea level with a well-earned
reputation for quick acceleration. The ideal air and smooth track surface
has the potential to produce new records for Lucas.
For example, Lucas said, "Last year we made it to the semi-finals,
running in the low 4.50s all weekend."
For Lucas and crew chiefs Ronnie Thompson and John Stewart, the focus
is on cranking our round-wins.
"It's really topsy-turvy near the top of the standings,"
Lucas said. "You can't afford to give anything away. I have to
be sharp on the line and let the crew run the car to match the weather
conditions. We have a very smart team whose entire philosophy is to
win rounds. They push the car's potential, and with every lap we show
signs of improvement. I feel having that combination will get us to
victory circle quicker than anything."
He will enter Saturday's action on the bump spot with a 4.851-second
elapsed time.
FUNNY CAR
Weep
no more -- Some of the most accomplished Funny Car drivers
were especially thankful that the track crew quickly fixed the "weepers"
(water seeping through the track surface) that Kurt Johnson's team discovered
during Pro Stock qualifying Friday evening. Had the session been canceled,
tour regulars Gary Scelzi, Bob Gilbertson, Frankie Pedregon, and Ron
Capps would have started Saturday unqualified. Scelzi, Gilbertson, and
Pedregon remain out of the field. But Capps jumped to the top half of
the ladder at No. 8 for now.
Well-prepared
-- Cruz Pedregon was No. 1 qualifier with a 4.765-second, 321.12-mph
run in his Advance Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo last week at San Antonio
as the International Hot Rod Association re-introduced the Nitro Funny
Car class. And he began last week with testing at Gainesville (Florida)
Raceway, where he clocked a 4.76-second elapsed time. And that had Pedregon
pumped up for these O'Reilly Spring Nationals.
"That was huge. It was big for us," he said. "The car
doesn’t know what track we're at. We set it up and as long as
the track is good, it will run. Lots of times we come to a new race
track and aren’t confident to push it too much. We set this up,
tuned it down just a little bit and it ran a great number."
He beat Bob Gilbertson in the opening round at San Antonio but lost
to eventual winner Gary Densham in Round 2 because of traction problems.
So he said he is "still working the kinks out" of the new
Goodyear tire that became the rule at Gainesville. "We are still
getting adjusted to the new tire," he said, "but each week
we have been finding a way to improve while working with that situation."
He said he was excited to move on to Houston "and get back to
performing at a top level again."
"I've had some success here, winning in '92 and '98," Pedregon
said, "so the track holds a lot of good memories for me. Not only
does Texas have a large Hispanic population, it also is a key market
for my sponsor, Advance Auto Parts, so the entire event is really import
to our program."
He's last in the field with two more chances to improve.
Houston is the headquarters of Tony Pedregon's sponsor, Q Power, and
one of its brands, Pennzoil, is a presenting sponsor of the event. But
he has no extra pressure, knowing he has mastered this track four times
since 1997, the year he also qualified No. 1 here.
"I am really excited to return to Houston. We are doing quite
a bit of media and sponsor functions throughout the weekend, which I
always enjoy. Houston is also a really big Hispanic market, and because
of my heritage, I am anxious to be able to interact with a lot of the
Hispanic fans our team has accumulated over the years."
Houston Raceway Park also has an extra bit of nostalgia from 1997
for him and his older brother Cruz. Said Tony Pedregon, "Cruz and
I were the first two brothers in NHRA history to race in a final round
(1997), and that took place in Houston, a race that I eventually won.
The Q Power team is in the best position we have been in years to win
again. Based on the performance of the team in the first races of 2006,
I am really confident that we should have a good weekend."
It began with him taking the 10th spot in the Funny Car order early
Friday. He moved up to seventh in the second session.
PRO STOCK
K.J.
getting in gear -- Being out of the top 10 is something unusual
for Kurt Johnson. And coming into Houston with a DNQ already on his
ledger really is a surprise. Never mind that it came at the race for
which his sponsor is title sponsor. He already was motivated.
"We've given everyone else enough of a head start," he said.
"It's about time this ACDelco Cobalt crew got our season started.
“It certainly wasn’t the start we wanted, but we can’t
change what has already happened, so [we're] simply going to focus on
what lies ahead," Johnson said. Then, displaying that droll Johnson
sense of humor, he said, "“I’ve never been one to use
revisionist history, so we’re not going to dwell on the first
three races. After all, it’s a lot more productive to look out
the windshield instead of constantly checking the rear view mirror.”
Horsepower clearly is not an issue, for Johnson has recorded impressive
top speeds in the first three races. But in an effort to transfer that
strength more effectively to the race track, Johnson and his crew have
focused on the car’s performance in the first 330 feet. This weekend,
Johnson said that instead of using a new and untried approach, he is
counting on a proven set-up with which he won two races and advanced
to four consecutive final rounds last year.
“I’m confident in the package we have assembled,"
Johnson said. “We have all the right parts necessary to go rounds
and get ourselves back in the fight – we just have to make sure
to put the right pegs in the proper holes."
He got them in the proper places Friday, ending the day third-quickest,
behind leader Jason Line and Mike Edwards.
"In the first three races, we were more aggressive and made several
major changes, which ended up hampering our ability to make adjustments.
Starting with this weekend, we are going to return to a set-up similar
to what we used so effectively last summer, trying to regain our consistency
and start going rounds. It’s going to take some work, but we will
get this program turned around."
Johnson has performed well at Houston. He has two victories (1999, 2003)
in three final rounds, a 24-15 elimination-round record, two top qualifier
awards, and only two starts outside the top half of the field in 17
years.
"It takes a good deal of chassis management to negotiate the racetrack
at Houston Raceway Park," Johnson said. “The surface isn’t
getting any younger, and it’s not aging gracefully, either. We
will have to keep our eye on it throughout the weekend so we know what
changes to make in order to keep going down it smoothly. We did that
in 2003, making major adjustments after qualifying and ended up winning
the race. We’ll rely on those notes, and some from other years,
to help guide us on what is a very tricky surface."
Spotlight
on Enders -- Houston native Erica Enders already is the most
successful female in NHRA Pro Stock history, but the second-year driver
isn't coasting. She's testing harder in her Slammers Ultimate Milk/Cagnazzi
Racing Chevy Cobalt, now that she's on the threshold of her first victory
and the chance to make even more history on her hometown track.
In addition to potentially making drag racing history as the first
woman to win a Pro Stock final, she also could become the first woman
in NHRA history to qualify at the top of a Pro Stock field.
"Houston Raceway Park is my home," Enders said. "My
first Junior Dragster win was here, and my first wins in both Super
Comp and Super Gas were here. This track has been very good to me, and
I can't think of a better place to get my first ever professional win.
It would be amazing to get it in front of all my friends and family.
I already have so many great memories of this place, and to add to those
would just be awesome."
It also was here in 2004 that she and Pro Stock Biker Karen Stoffer
shared the winner's podium.
Enders was runner-up at Gainesville, lifting her to No. 3 in the standings.
"Testing went well," Enders said. "We tested for three
days after Gainesvill. We had some bugs to work out of the car, obviously,
if you saw how we did in qualifying for Gainesville. We only got down
the track one time, qualified 15th and kind of came up from the underdog
position and got a runner-up. We didn't get down the track in the final
either, so obviously we did have bugs to work out of the car.
"I'm pretty sure that we got them out," she said. "The
guys have worked really hard, and I've been working on my reaction times
and working out, so putting all of that hard work together we should
be able to come together and win this deal."
Enders said, "I feel confident that we are as prepared as ever
for Houston. The competition in Pro Stock is so tough, that you better
take it seriously at every event you go to. We are thrilled to have
done so well at the last race, but a runner-up still isn't a win. We
are as determined as ever to change that, and everyone on this team
is working very hard to make that happen."
She said it hardly seems like one year ago that she was a struggling
rookie in this class.
"It seems like we've come a long way in a short period of time,"
Enders said. "It's really exciting to look back and see how I felt
a year ago here at the Houston race for my Pro Stock debut in my hometown.
We were really excited and I think we qualified 15th, but then I had
to race Jason Line first round and I ended up red-lighting. Now that
we have the horsepower in our Slammers Chevy behind us, it makes us
all the more excited to go into this weekend, because we have the capability
of winning this race.
"My goal coming into this season was to win. Because of how we
ended the 2005 season, and then coming into Pomona this season after
testing, where even though your numbers aren't official, it kind of
goes to show that your work is paying off. So to come into 2006 after
the way we left off in '05 was really exciting. Right now we're third
in points, but coming into this season not knowing how we were going
to do, our goal was to be a championship-caliber team and to have a
chance to run for the world championship this year. After these first
three races we're in the running. Our points standings show that, and
our progression at the track as far as the crew goes and as far as the
driver, I think we're steadily climbing up the mountain. And we're going
to be good this year and definitely have a shot at winning the championship,
so we're all really, really excited."
Enders qualified No. 2 at last year's season finale at Pomona, and
then the Texas A&M student carried that momentum to the No. 2 qualifying
spot at this season's first two races at Pomona and Phoenix. At the
Gatornationals, Enders advanced to the second final round of her career
before losing to veteran Tom Martino.
She scored a provisional No. 4 spot Friday.
Need
to get better -- now -- Crew chief Terry Adams said he and
driver Dave Connolly and their Evan Knoll-owned Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt
"have no where to go but up." And he has a sense of urgency.
Said Adams, "We need to get better real soon – like at Houston.
We have 20 races to go and we need to get something started."
Connolly failed to qualify at Gainesville, although his best qualifying
run of 6.712 seconds was one-hundredth of a second behind No. 16 Dave
Howard. However, four cars were between him and the last qualifier in
the quickest Pro Stock field.
Adams said the changes he made to the car during testing March 20
and 22 at Gainesville have been beneficial and that he was looking forward
to applying them to the Houston quarter-mile. "You can make a lot
of horsepower in Houston because the air is good and the race track
can be dynamite under the right conditions."
Connolly is confident. "I know we have a car that can run at
the top of the page. I'm confident we can work our way up from here
on out. Terry and the crew are working hard to get everything right.
No one said Pro Stock racing would be easy."
It wasn't easy Friday, necessarily, but Connolly took the early No.
7 spot.
Connolly, who advanced to the semifinals at Houston last year, arrives
with 72 points, which puts him no better than 18th in the standings.
He has five event victories in 13 final rounds in his 62-race Pro Stock
career.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Let's
do it again -- Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown couldn't have
started the 2006 season any better after their 1-2 finish, respectively,
at the Gatornationals. But the U.S. Army Suzuki riders from Don Schumacher
Racing know that was just one race
"It was great to begin like we did," Sampey said, "but
it won't mean anything if we don't have similar results this weekend.
We have to stay at the top of the standings."
Said Brown, "The only difference I would accept from Gainesville
is us reversing the order, with me beating Angelle in the finals. This
is all about putting the pressure on the rest of the field."
Brown earned his first career top-qualifier position at Houston in
2001. Sampey was a winner here in 2001 and 2003.
Brown was No. 1 Friday and Sampey, missing high gear on her Suzuki,
was 15th in the lineup.
SUPER STOCK - Jerry Emmons 9.862, def. Dan Fletcher, 9.880.
SUPER COMP - Frank Kohutek, 8.912, 177.04, def. Anthony Castillo
SUPER GAS - Jason Kenney, 9.951, 157.10, def. Donnie Burnside, 9.955, 142.85.
a
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SATURDAY - McClenathan
surprise low qualifier in Houston; Force, Line, Sampey join him on low
qualifier's podium
(4-1-2006) - Veteran Top
Fuel racer Cory McClenathan is the surprise No. 1 qualifier at the 19th
annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston
Raceway Park. McClenathan posted a class-leading 4.531 at 329.42 mph Saturday
in the final time trial of the $2 million race to earn his 30th career
low qualifier award.
Funny Car continues to be led by 13-time champion John Force's double-track-record
4.695 at 328.06 mph, with Jason Line remaining on top of Pro Stock with
a 6.686 at 206.29 mph. Pro Stock Motorcycle point leader Angelle Sampey
moved around U.S. Army teammate Antron Brown to take the lead in the two-wheeled
class with a 7.038 at 190.59 mph.
Gary Scelzi became the first defending Funny Car champion to fail to qualify
for an event in 21 years by missing the cut here. Mark Oswald was the
last to record a DNQ as the reigning champ when he couldn't break into
the Indy field in 1985. It was the first time Scelzi failed to qualify
for an event since Las Vegas I in 2003 -- a stretch of 70 events.
McClenathan
broke a 30-race stretch where he'd not led the field by qualifying No.
1 for the 30th time in his career. His last-gasp 4.531 at 329.42 mph in
the Fram Boost2 dragster might have been even a click quicker had his
blower belt not come off at the top end of the racetrack.
"It's been a long time since I've been outside the top 10 (in the
POWERade Series standings) looking in," McClenathan said. "I've
tried to be patient and everyone knows I'm not a patient guy, and we've
been getting pressure from a lot of different places, but Wes (Cerny,
crew chief) keeps smiling and telling us to just wait because when we
get it running it's going to be great. I think we're just now starting
to see
that."
Top Fuel POWERade Series points leader Melanie Troxel waited until the
last session to get in the field with a seventh-best 4.581 at 326.32 mph
in her Skull Gea/Torco Race Fuels dragster.
It was the
sixth 1-2-3 qualifying sweep for John Force Racing as team patriarch Force
led Ford Mustang teammates Robert Hight and Eric Medlen on the Funny Car
ladder.
"We're the fastest today but that don't make you win the race tomorrow,"
Force said.
Capps, the man at the top of the POWERade Series standings, jumped up
to fourth overall with a 4.766 at 319.14 mph in his Brut Dodge Stratus
R/T.
It was just hot enough to keep anyone from knocking Day 1 leader Line
off the Pro Stock podium, so the track record 6.686 at 206.29 mph he posted
Friday in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO will earn him his fifth career
low qualifier award.
"I
need to get out of my driving slump," said Line, who has struggled
mightily in the first three races this year. "Everyone goes through
slumps; how you get out of them is the trick. The plan is very simple,
it's just execution. I know our guys will make all the right calls with
the car. I have complete confidence with that part."
Sampey edged teammate and Friday leader Brown to take over the No. 1 slot
in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Sampey's U.S. Army Suzuki carried her to a track-record
7.038 at 190.59 mph in Saturday's early session to help her capture the
38th low qualifier award of her career. She also has 38 career victories,
more than twice as many as any other woman in NHRA history.
"I
personally feel more confident this year than I have in the past,"
Sampey said. "I'm not saying I'm gonna kick everybody's butts but
mentally I feel right, like I know my riding is going to be there."
Eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.
First-round pairings for professional eliminations
Sunday for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals presented by
Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, the fourth of 23 events in the $50 million
NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying,
which ended Saturday.
Top Fuel -- 1. Cory McClenathan, 4.531 seconds, 329.42
mph vs. 16. Bruce Litton, 4.669, 308.50; 2. Doug Kalitta, 4.533, 326.08
vs. 15. Bob Vandergriff, 4.665, 320.51; 3. Doug Herbert, 4.537, 318.77
vs. 14. Hillary Will, 4.645, 326.32; 4. Tony Schumacher, 4.546, 324.28
vs. 13.
Morgan Lucas, 4.627, 321.35; 5. David Grubnic, 4.553, 326.24 vs. 12. Brandon
Bernstein, 4.625, 324.44; 6. Rod Fuller, 4.561, 327.11 vs. 11. Clay Millican,
4.618, 318.92; 7. Melanie Troxel, 4.581, 326.32 vs. 10. Alan Bradshaw,
4.611, 314.39; 8. David Baca, 4.592, 327.03 vs. 9. Larry
Dixon, 4.600, 326.56.
Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.695, 328.06
vs. 16. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.887, 320.36; 2. Robert Hight, Mustang,
4.721, 324.44 vs. 15. Bob Gilbertson, Stratus, 4.865, 316.45; 3. Eric
Medlen, Mustang, 4.725, 325.92 vs. 14. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo,
4.855,
314.90; 4. Ron Capps, Stratus, 4.766, 322.65 vs. 13. Frank Pedregon, Stratus,
4.846, 299.26; 5. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.777, 327.82 vs. 12. Mike
Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.831, 327.51; 6. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo,
4.793, 326.40 vs. 11. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.825, 303.91; 7. Phil
Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.797, 326.24 vs. 10. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo,
4.821, 316.08; 8. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.798, 318.32 vs. 9. Whit
Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.818, 323.19.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.686, 206.35
vs. 16. Barry Grant, Chevy Cavalier, 6.756, 205.07; 2. Greg Anderson,
GTO, 6.692, 206.39 vs. 15. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.740, 205.07; 3. Erica
Enders, Chevy Cobalt, 6.698, 206.13 vs. 14. Richie Stevens, Dodge Stratus,
6.739, 205.82; 4. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.699, 206.95 vs. 13.
Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.737, 205.13; 5. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.706,
205.54 vs. 12. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.726, 205.88; 6. V. Gaines, Stratus,
6.707, 206.26 vs. 11. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.724, 205.44; 7. Larry Morgan,
Stratus, 6.712, 206.29 vs. 10. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.720, 205.72; 8. Rickie
Smith, Cobalt, 6.715, 205.94 vs. 9. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.719, 204.98.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.038,
190.59 vs. 16. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.177, 186.23; 2. Antron Brown, Suzuki,
7.059, 190.70 vs. 15. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.168, 186.61; 3. Chip Ellis,
Buell, 7.063, 190.14 vs. 14. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.136, 191.16; 4.
Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.067, 191.89 vs. 13. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson,
7.134, 190.70; 5. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.071, 190.94
vs. 12. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.128, 193.65; 6. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.090,
194.16 vs. 11. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.117, 189.34; 7. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson,
7.096, 190.92 vs. 10. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.110, 194.04; 8. Marco Andreano,
Buell, 7.099, 187.39 vs. 9. Mike Berry,
Suzuki, 7.110, 190.14.
SATURDAY NOTEBOOK
TV Cameras Making Force Crazy (Crazier?)
Funny Car
icon John Force has said and done a lot of entertaining things on television.
But what made him arguably drag racing's most beloved character is torturing
him.
At least that's what he says.
It's not quite as bad as the day former Funny Car rival Al Hofmann accused
him of hiding a traction-control device in his driving uniform and he
stripped down to his underwear at the far end of Firebird Raceway in Arizona
several years ago in front of TV cameras and startled NHRA officials,
to demonstrate that he was hiding absolutely nothing.
It's not quite as brutal as the day one October when he and Hofmann decided
here at Baytown, Texas, to exchange firesuits for Halloween. Hofmann told
the TV reporters that he decided after all not wear Force's Castrol uniform.
"I won't wear that filthy thing," Hofmann sniffed. Shot back
Force, "At least mine ain't haunted."
It's not as wacky as the day the TV crew showed subtitles on the screen
when Force was delivering one of his hilarious but sometimes hard-to-follow
monologues.
But A&E Network is hoping to capture the 13-time champion's penchant
for doing and saying the unexpected in a new real-life television series,
Driving Force. The show is expected to debut this July and, because of
the show, the 56-year-old Force has added a new element to his latest
championship bid which resumes this week at Houston Raceway Park.
Traditionally, drivers try to avoid distractions, but Force has embraced
a 17-person production crew that will join him and the other stars of
Driving Force -- daughters Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney, at the 19th
annual O'Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park.
"They can be a pain," Force said of the television crew, "but
they're just doing their job. They don't understand a lot of what goes
on, but I think the show is going to be good. It's going to expose the
sport to a new audience and that's exciting. What's not exciting is them
following me and the girls everywhere: to eat, to the movies, to the mall,
to sponsor meetings."
His rivals might be disappointed to see that it hasn't had a negative
impact on Force's on-track performance in his newly designed 2006 Castrol
GTX Ford Mustang.
Force earned his third No. 1 qualifier award in four events this year,
and he did it in style, smashing both ends of the track record with a
4.695-second elapsed time and a 328.06-mph speed.
But the stress, he said, has him upside down almost. "If I take
on one more job, I'm going to tip over," he said.
In addition to the teams -- and the expense and worry -- of Eric Medlen's
Castrol Syntec Mustang and son-in-law Robert Hight's Auto Club of Southern
California Mustang, Force has taken on three more sportsman-level cars.
Daughter Ashley drives a Top Alcohol Dragster, and he's grooming her to
compete in a nitro Funny Car someday. Ashley's younger sisters, Brittany
and Courtney, drive Brand-Source-sponsored Super Comp dragsters.
Courtney Force won her first-round match-up Saturday against Lamar Swindoll,
and Brittany Force lost to Thomas Stalba.
The A&E cameras are capturing Brittany and Courtney Force and their
struggle to learn the business their father loves so dearly. They have
the ultimate in equipment and training, but they are trying to balance
their racing aspirations with the education that mother Laurie demands
as a condition of their participation in drag racing.
Brittany is a sophomore at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, California.
Courtney is a senior at Esperanza High School in Yorba Linda, California.
Force girls
had no background in the sport apart from watching their father. As a
result, they're having to learn the hows and whys and wherefores that
come naturally to many of their opponents.
He has had to educate them about drag racing -- and the TV crew about
it, too. He took one of the new production-crew members to the starting
line to watch Friday night's qualifying. She never had attended a drag
race. She asked Force, "Where do these cars go?"
Replied Force, "To Hell, sometimes."
The young woman thought for a second and asked, "When do they come
around again?"
Force shook his head. "And now my kids hate me and so does my wife.
This was supposed to save my marriage! Now they're all saying, 'We don't
even have any hope of having a normal life! Now we don't even have that!'"
On track, he's doing swell, though. Force also has posted the quickest
quarter-mile time in history (4.664 seconds) and was runner-up at each
of the past two events. He entered this race -- at the track where he
has won seven times, most recently in 2002 -- trailing class leader Ron
Capps by just 31 points.
"I want that championship back," Force said. "I'm not done
yet."
Not unless he keeps hanging out with television crews.
"Wes Cerny has been creeping upon this deal. We just tried to be
consistent. But on top of that, when Wes get hold of something, he's usually
very good about it. He asked me before the run, 'Do you want me to put
the slow-curve tune-up in it or the fast curve?' I said, 'Let's go for
it a little bit!' When I got back there, he told me that he actually slowed
it down. Actually, I thought they were lying. It's April Fool's Day.
"I'm really happy with the Carrier Boyz and all our sponsors. I've
been waiting for this thing to come around. I've been trying to be patient,
and everybody knows I'm not a very patient person. Everybody's just now
getting together, jelling together. That's a fun thing to watch.
"There were some tire issues. We've run the [new] tire all year long.
We have some data on it. We feel very comfortable with it. But there are
lot of guys who don't feel very comfortable with it yet, and that was
very noticeable this afternoon. It's a safer tire. I'm fine with it. It's
been great to us.
"We have taken our lumps. It has been a long time since I've were
on the outside of the top 10, looking in. We've taken some heat from sponsors
and certain people. It has been rough. But Wes just smiles and says, 'Just
wait -- because when it does happen, you're going to be happy.'
He keeps telling Mark and Andy that, too.' You have to explain your actions.
Here we are, in our fourth race of the season, and we're not in the top
10 and that's been a tough pill to swallow for me as well. Yes, I believe
we've kind of taken some lumps and maybe 10 years ago, I'd probably have
been upset. I'm just pleased for Andy and Mark and the whole team."
-- McClenathan, about qualifying first for the first time in 30 races,
not since September 2004, and coming to Houston six points out of 10th
place
Funny Car -- John Force, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang (4.695 seconds,
328.06 mph)
"We're 1-2-3. That's an accomplishment. We were trying to hang onto
that. Ford will like that. They'll be at a NASCAR race somewhere tonight,
looking at that. They'll be happy. And that's what they pay us for. We're
the fastest but that don't make you win this race tomorrow.
"We tend to look for why you get beat. You push the competition to
beat themselves. That don't happen anymore. They have no fear. They know
they can whip our asses. They know they can run right with you.
"We spent half a million dollars testing. It don't win you championships.
At least it lets the competition know you're ready to play." -- Force,
on his 128th career No. 1 qualifier and third in four races this season
and the fact that with the performances of teammates Robert Hight and
Eric Medlen, John Force Racing has the top three qualifiers in the Funny
Car field.
"The girls are mad at me today. So's my wife.
"Having all these cars is like the Ford Motor Company assembly line.
You make a million cars, and eventually you're going to have a problem
child. Man, I got six problem children. I used to think Don Schumacher
was smart, having all those cars. Now I think he's just as stupid as me.
Having more than one or two cars -- we do it for our children. We love
'em. We want 'em to have the opportunity." -- Force, proving that
being top qualifier doesn't erase the frustration of the day.
Pro Stock -- Jason Line, KB/Summit Racing Pontiac GTO,
(6.686 seconds, 206.35 mph)
"Anytime you out qualify Greg [teammate Anderson] and the rest of
the field, it's a good thing. We were lucky enough to make the right amount
at the right time. The track actually wasn't too bad. [On Sunday], I think
you're going to look at time in the (6.)69 to (6.)70 range, not any faster.
I'm happy with my spot. Obviously, I like being on the opposite side of
the ladder from Greg. I need to be focused. Saying it and doing it are
two different things. We'll find out tomorrow. I think it is the first
time I've led in all four qualifying sessions. Usually I run well the
first session, then I go in the trunk or somewhere. I'm not like Greg
- he does it all the time." -- Jason Line, about earning his fifth
career No. 1 qualifier, while teammate Greg Anderson took the No. 2 spot.
Resting on his track-record 6.686-second elapsed time from Friday evening,
Line said he thinks he'll have a decent chance to win Sunday, "as
long as we can drive good."
"I'm an engine guy, not a car guy. So I stay out of the way. But
it was not up to par. So it was much better Saturday." -- Line, regarding
Friday night's track conditions, when water began seeping through the
racing surface.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Angelle Sampey, U.S. Army Suzuki,
(7.038 seconds, 190.59)
"We're thinking that I'm finally struggling with the one thing that
the other Pro Stock Motorcycle [riders] hate about me, and that's my size.
Now that they've added . . . 25 more pounds, I think we have close to
100 pounds of lead on my bike. We have too much weight on the front of
the bike, and we're not getting any traction on the back tire. Some will
argue that the weight transfer is off . . . but you have to be accelerating
for that to happen, and we haven't really had a good starting line yet
to get that weight transfer. The front end's heavy and the back end's
exploding all over. We're struggling to find a happy medium with all that
weight, but we'll get it. We struggled the same exact way at Gainesville,
and we still won the race. Maybe it'll be the same this weekend."
-- Sampey, explaining how she and her Steve Tartaglia-led team are working
throught the difficulties in making adjustments to the new rules.
"I personally feel more confident this year than I have in a really
long time. This year I'm really motivated to win the championship again.
I'm not saying I'm going to come out here and kick everybody's butt and
take the championship back, but mentally I just feel strong enough again
to do it. I think that I can do a better job riding this year than I did
in the past, and I have confidence with the team jelling the way it has
everybody working so well together and Steve [crew chief Tartaglia] feeling
more confident about himself." -- Sampey, the points leader, about
her attitude in the class' second appearance on the schedule.
NEWSMAKER OF THE DAY: Gary Scelzi, Mopar Oakley Dodge Charger
Funny Car driver
Gary
Scelzi, the reigning Funny Car champion and three-time Top Fuel champion,
failed to qualify for only the second time since he joined Don Schumacher
Racing and really threw his full effort into mastering a Funny Car.
Scelzi, ninth in the points coming into this event, said he'll be testing
Monday morning but that he knows his Mike Neff-tuned car will respond
to the new tire soon.
"I love Houston and I love this race track. The new tire is really
good, and this race track is incredible," Scelzi said. "And
we could never get enough on this thing to make it quit shaking. Mike
Neff, I'm sure he's down right now. But I love this guy to death. He believes
in me when I screw up. And he didn't screw up We need some more time.
We got behind and we're going to be fine. It's not anybody's fault but
our own. And believe me, we won't be down for long."
The last time Scelzi failed to qualify was April 2003, 70 events ago,
at Las Vegas.
"I feel sorry for Scelzi. It hurts. Not qualifying for a race is
tough. I know -- I've been there," top qualifier John Force, who
has the distinction of being one of Scelzi's best friends and his one
of his chief rivals. Force said he looked forward to the next race, when
he knew Scelzi would "be spankin' us again."
Said Force, "He'll be back, meaner and tougher."
The last time a defending Funny Car champion failed to make a lineup
was Labor Day weekend in 1985, when Mark Oswald missed out on the U.S.
Nationals at Indianapolis. Oswald is crew chief for Mike Ashley's Torco
Race Fuels/Skull Gear Funny Car.
PIT e-PATTER:
The Pro Stock Motorcycle class saw the biggest scramble in Saturday's
first session. The entire field changed positions. Chris Rivas and Michael
Phillips were bumped from the lineup, while several others made significant
improvements: Angelle Sampey (14 places), Mike Berry (11), Chip Ellis
(7), and Ryan Schnitz and Joe DeSantis (6). Karen Stoffer dropped nine
spots and Geno Scali 10,but they remained on the grid.
TOP FUEL
'Time to make a move' -- While U.S. Army teammate Angelle
Sampey called her story "From zero to hero" after vaulting from
15th place to first in the Pro Stock Bike class, Tony Schumacher might
have been going in the opposite direction with his Army Dragster.
Schumacher carried over his Friday performance of 4.546 seconds at 287.78
mph into Sunday after two problem-plagued runs during Saturday qualifying.
"We'll be just fine. We have a good race car," Schumacher said.
"We had some parts breakage in the second pass today. But it's better
to have that happen now than tomorrow."
Schumacher's streak of three No. 1 qualifying positions ended Saturday.
He will face Morgan Lucas in the opening round of final eliminations.
"It's an absolute must that we go rounds and total points,"
Schumacher said. "It's time for us to make a move."
FUNNY CAR
Where's the track? -- Phil Burkart, the No. 7 qualifier,
said he has had trouble with Houston's humidity. Friday night he drive
his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo to a 4.797-second pass
but said he'd need a video replay to know what it looked like. The final
session came in nearly 100 percent humidity, and many other drivers also
were having issues with fogged visors and windshields.
"Basically, once I hit the throttle I couldn't see," Burkart
said. "As soon as I put my foot down, my visor fogged up and it was
like driving into a fog bank. I could kind of see shapes, and thankfully
I could see the new little white strobe light they've added to the center
block at the finish line. That was pretty much my guide, just keeping
my eye on the flashing white light and trying to keep it straight. Talk
about driving by feel, that's what I was doing.
"We always talk about whether we breathe during a run, and I think
what happened there told me the answer. My visor was getting a little
foggy before the run, and I was holding my breath as I pulled up to the
line. As soon as it launched, the visor fogged, which may tell you that
the
launch itself forces the air out of your lungs. Maybe that's why we're
always out of breath after a 4.8 second lap. It was exciting, I can tell
you that. I wasn't too worried I was going to hit something, but it was
definitely like driving in the fog."
Double whammy -- Del Worsham found out that his 4.777-second
elapsed time in his Checker, Schuck's, Kragen Chevy Monte Carlo, wasn't
all that lucky Friday night. It earned him the No. 4 spot for awhile --
he ended up fifth behind the John Force Racing trio and points leader
Ron Capps.
"Give me that number in a Texas Hold 'em game, or even on a slot
machine, and we'll be doing really well," Worsham said. "Las
Vegas is next week, though, so all I care about is how that 777 stacked
up against the rest of the class, and the No. 4 spot is pretty darned
good. Every now and then we go up there with a calculated plan to try
to hit one as hard as we can, and there's a bit of a different atmosphere
among the guys when we do. We concentrate much more on being consistent
and not pushing the car over the edge, but when we do think we've got
a shot at a good one, and we lean on it a little bit, the guys just have
a little different look in their eyes."
He also thought he had rewritten the track E.T. record. But again Force
robbed him of that, too.
"We were right there with all the humans in the field, basically
running the same as (No. 3 qualifier) Eric Medlen on that run, but that
other guy, Force, had to bust everyone's bubble with a 4.69 right at the
end," he said. "On top of that, right up until he ran we had
taken over the track speed record with our 327 mph. He ran 328 with the
4.69, so that's like taking your wallet and stepping on your foot, all
at the same time."
PRO STOCK
Quietly making progress -- Rickie Smith might not attract
a lot of attention. But the low-key Skull Gear Dart Chevy Cobalt driver
steadily is challenging for the championship. He entered this event in
sixth place, only 10 points out of third place.
"We're just working along, sorting out the combination," team
owner Richard Maskin said. "We're a little smarter and a little faster
every time we go to a race.
"We know how to tune the engines better after every rebuild,"
he said. "We're fixing one thing at a time, and when we get it sorted
out, then we take the next step."
When Smith isn't monitoring seemingly incessant dyno testing at the Dart
Technology Center in Troy, Michigan, or testing at South Georgia Motorsports
Park in Valdosta, he's racing his nitrous-injected '63 Corvette in the
American Drag Racing League and Quick 8 or in the International Hot Rod
Association's Pro Modified class.
Smith's calendar was blank last weekend, so he attended the IHRA season
opener in San Antonio and helped Pro Mod driver Rick Moore, who also competes
in IHRA Quick 8.
"We're off to a good start this season," Smith said. "We're
winning rounds and racking up points. The Dart engine department is giving
us good power, and we've been testing a lot to learn how to use it. We
could use a few breaks on race day, but I know that sometimes a racer
has to make his own luck."
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Wiggly rides over? -- Angelle Sampey, who beat teammate
Antron Brown in the final round of the Gatornationals in the Pro Stock
Motorcycle season debut, had a sense of urgency about her Friday night.
"Antron
and I have to stay at the top of the standings," she said Friday
after spinning her rear tire at the launch during her first run and then
having trouble getting into high gear during her second run. "It
was a really wiggly," Sampey said of her first run, adding that her
second run was "still wiggly, but I broke a transmission and didn't
have high gear. We've been struggling to get the bike straight down the
track.
"Hopefully, we've wiped away all of the gremlins after today,"
Sampey said. "I'm confident we'll move up tomorrow."
Her hunch was right. Crew chief Steve Tartaglia fixed the transmission
problem, and Sampey jumped from 15th in the field to first in Saturday's
first session, the third overall. Moreover, she lowered her own Houston
Raceway Park elapsed-time record from 7.055 seconds to 7.038.
"The tune-up was already there. We just had trouble getting the
bike down the track until the third run," she said. "When I
got back to the trailer and saw the video, I couldn't believe it was that
run. It was all over the trace track again, real wiggly again."
Schnitz has best speed -- Ryan Schnitz, the top qualifier
at Gainesville on his Rob Muzzy-built Buell, established the class' fastest
speed at 194.16 mph in Saturday's early session. But that was 1.57 mph
slower than the mark Andrew Hines set last April.
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FRIDAY - FORCE SETS RECORDS TO LEAD FUNNY CAR; KALITTA LINE AND
BROWN ALSO GO LOW
(3-31-2006) - The most prolific racer in Houston Raceway
Park history, seven-time Funny Car winner John Force, added to his Texas
legacy Friday night with a double-track-record pass of 4.695 seconds at
328.06 mph to lead the Day 1 qualifying action at the 19th annual O'Reilly
NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil, the fourth of 23 events on
the NHRA POWERade Series.
Force's run put him in prime position to earn his ninth low qualifier
award at this facility. He was joined by Top Fuel's Doug Kalitta (4.533),
Pro Stock's Jason Line (6.686), and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Antron Brown
(7.059) at the top of the provisional race day grids.
The closest Funny Cars to Force's Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang are those
of his two teammates, Robert Hight (4.754, 323.12) and Eric Medlen (4.770,
311.56) who are second and third on the grid. Still, the 13-time champ
is more than five-hundredths of a second in front.
"The
tune-up was good, the track is good, and the air is good, that's what
it takes," Force said. "If you want to win a bunch of championships
you have to stay ahead of the curve. We started working on this stuff
a year ago and it bit us but now the work is paying off and all three
cars are running good."
As the No. 5 qualifier coming out of the first session, Kalitta ran ahead
of a handful of heavy hitters, but no one managed to beat his 4.533 at
326.08 mph. The Mac Tools dragster has yet to post a top qualifying run
this year.
"I
thought (Tony) Schumacher has the best chance to get around us and if
he had stayed hooked up he probably would have," Kalitta said, "but
he had to shut it off. Maybe things are turning for us. It certainly worked
out better for us tonight. I don't know if it'll hold but it's still fun
for us tonight."
Schumacher's U.S. Army dragster still posted a third-best 4.546 at 287.78
mph despite the fact he shut off early.
Although the humidity readings were near 100 percent, Line still managed
a track record elapsed time of 6.686 at 206.29 mph in his Pontiac GTO.
The driver of the Summit Racing Pontiac GTO eclipsed his more decorated
teammate Greg Anderson's 2-year-old mark of 6.693.
"Tonight
I get to be Greg," Line said. "Normally I run quick early and
then he passes me up and gets all the glory. It's a bit of a surprise
for us to run this good in high humidity because normally we struggle
in these kinds of conditions. I'll take it."
Houston favorite Erica Enders overcame an aborted first run and climbed
all the way to fourth with a 6.709 at 205.76 mph in her Chevrolet Cobalt.
A runner-up at the last stop in Gainesville, Fla., Brown went right to
work Friday, zipping to the No. 1 spot in Pro Stock Motorcycle in the
opening session with a 7.059 at 187.89 mph on his U.S. Army Suzuki. The
pass held through the night session.
"There's
no doubt the field is a lot more level," Brown said. "In Gainesville
I was low two sessions and Ryan Schnitz was low in the other two on his
Buell. It'll be even better when we get fuel injection figured out because
that's what they use."
Top Fuel points leader Melanie Troxel and defending series Funny Car
champion Gary Scelzi are both outside their respective fields at the midway
point of qualifying. They'll have two more chances to make the field during
Saturday's final two sessions, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Results Friday after qualifying for the 19th annual O'Reilly NHRA
Spring Nationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway Park, fourth
of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying
will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Doug Kalitta, 4.533 seconds, 326.08 mph;
2. Doug Herbert, 4.537, 318.77; 3. Tony Schumacher, 4.546, 324.28; 4.
David Grubnic, 4.553, 326.24; 5. Rod Fuller, 4.565, 324.75; 6. Cory McClenathan,
4.579, 326.71; 7. David Baca, 4.592, 327.03; 8. Larry Dixon, 4.600, 325.45;
9. Alan Bradshaw, 4.611, 314.39; 10. Brandon Bernstein, 4.625, 324.44;
11. Hillary Will, 4.645, 319.67; 12. Bruce Litton, 4.669, 308.50; 13.
Clay Millican, 4.715, 306.12; 14. Bob Vandergriff, 4.727, 320.51; 15.
Scott Palmer, 4.729, 305.84; 16. Morgan Lucas, 4.851, 256.06.
Funny Car -- 1. John Force, Ford Mustang, 4.695, 328.06;
2. Robert Hight, Mustang, 4.754, 323.12; 3. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.770,
311.56; 4. Del Worsham, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.777, 327.82; 5. Tommy Johnson
Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.793, 326.40; 6. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.797,
326.24; 7. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.798, 318.32; 8. Ron Capps, Dodge
Stratus, 4.800, 322.65; 9. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.821, 323.19;
10. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.831, 317.72; 11. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo,
4.855, 314.90; 12. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.912, 305.98; 13. Jeff Arend, Monte
Carlo, 4.970, 266.27; 14. Paul Lee, Monte Carlo, 4.979, 294.18; 15. Scott
Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 5.000, 304.53; 16. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 5.003,
308.14.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.686, 206.29;
2. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.699, 206.45; 3. Kurt Johnson, Chevy Cobalt, 6.706,
205.54; 4. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.709, 205.76; 5. Larry Morgan, Dodge
Stratus, 6.712, 206.10; 6. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.724, 205.44; 7. Dave
Connolly, Cobalt, 6.731, 205.29; 8. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.736, 205.94;
9. Rickie Smith, Cobalt, 6.737, 204.88; 10. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.739,
203.74; 11. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.742, 205.47; 12. Ron Krisher, Cobalt,
6.744, 204.29; 13. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.752, 204.82; 14. Mark Pawuk, GTO,
6.758, 203.52; 15. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.759, 204.01; 16. Max Naylor,
Stratus, 6.761, 204.14.
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FRIDAY NOTEBOOK
DSR Pro Stock Duo Needs This Race -- For Completely Different
Reasons
Don Schumacher Racing scored victories in the previous race, the Gatornationals
at Gainesville, Florida, with Funny Car's Ron Capps and Pro Stock Motorcycle
rider Angelle Sampey and fielded a Top Fuel finalist in Melanie Troxel.
As the Powerade Drag Racing Series moved to Houston Raceway Park for
the O'Reilly Spring Nationals, the DSR Pro Stock tandem looked forward
to this fourth race on the 23-event schedule -- for completely different
reasons.
Richie Stevens said he was ready to get away from the seemingly endless
chore of cleaning away debris in his native New Orleans ("I'm excited
and ready to hit the road and get out of here," he said before traveling
to the Baytown track he calls his drag-racing home.) Rookie Shaun Carlson
needs to make the field for the first time this year to salvage some sanity.
Katrina clean-up wearing on Stevens
Stevens
struggled in the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T a bit last season
before making two final-round appearances and finishing eighth in the
standings. Now the Pro Stock car is his sanctuary, his refuge, he said.
"New Orleans is my home, but being in the car is becoming my home,"
Stevens said. "It's safe and it's where I feel most comfortable now.
Just to get away from New Orleans is a blessing right now. It's home and
I'm never leaving. I couldn't imagine ever living somewhere else, but
under the conditions right now, it's a nice escape to get my mind off
of it."
Displaced by Hurricane Katrina last August, Stevens and his family have
spent the last seven months rebuilding the family business, Stevens Collision
Center. Then more depressing news came Thursday from a federal government
estimate that the city likely won't see total recovery for as much of
a quarter-century.
Part of that rebuilding process for the Stevenses has been helping remove
abandoned cars from the city's streets. Since the storm, Stevens figured
they had removed more than 1,000.
"It's a monotonous job," Stevens said. "Working at home
gets stressful. It's so tiring and depressing. When the weekends come,
I look forward to getting away and going racing."
He said he's trying to keep the situation in perspective: "I'm getting
to do something that people would kill to do. A lot of my friends are
kind of stuck in New Orleans on the weekends, and it gets miserable for
them. I'm very fortunate to have something like this to go to."
Said Stevens, whose goal is to stay in the top 10, "I'll have a
lot of friends and family here this weekend. It's good for me to get away,
and it's good for them to get away. I'm hoping to put on a good show."
Stevens settled into the middle of the pack Friday, first earning the
No. 9 position, then moving down to 10th in the night run. Last year he
was 16th in the lineup and lost in the opening round to Warren Johnson.
Call from Glidden spurs Carlson
Meanwhile,
teammate Carlson has been nothing but frustrated at the race track.
The Southern California native and Sport Compact Series driver had less
than a week after taking the job to get ready for the season. And trying
to drive a car for which was not custom-fitted for him while trying to
learn the behavior of a Pro Stock car has proven far more difficult than
anyone might have imagined.
"I'm just trying to absorb as much as I can with each run I make,"
Carlson said. "I know I'm getting better; it's just taking some time,
but I really think I'll get there."
Carlson received an encouraging phone call from crew chief Bob Glidden
a week after the Gatornationals. And it was classic Bob Glidden rhetoric
-- which means a willing Carlson and a relentlessly determined Glidden
could start becoming a problem for the rest of the class before long.
"Bob is so adamant that he is going to teach me the way a coach
would in basketball, or any of those stick and ball sports," Carlson
said. "He told me he'd make me a winner and that we are going to
do a lot of testing, whatever it takes. He doesn't care if he has to strap
me into the passenger side of the car while he makes a run, he says. We're
going to prove everyone wrong."
Carlson continued to struggle, unable to make the 16-car field in the
first session Friday. He was 18th of 21 entrants, although he was in good
company -- Erica Enders, Mike Thomas, and Greg Stanfield were in line
behind him. He didn't fare much better in the evening session. He'll start
Saturday as the No. 19 qualifier.
But one helpful part of the equation for this weekend for Carlson is
the fact he is familiar with Houston Raceway Park. He hasn't competed
at all of the venues, but, he said, "I've raced at Houston a couple
times with my Pro FWD car, so that makes me feel better going into the
weekend. I know it sounds stupid, but it relaxes you a lot when you know
where everything is at a track.
"I'm always thinking about the Pro Stock class now," he said,
"I'll be sitting at the stoplight and trying to time the lights,
or lifting my foot quickly off the clutch. It's definitely in my system.
I have the bug, and I guess any little thing I can do will help. I'm looking
for any little advantage so I can make my way into the field and race
on Sundays with my teammate Richie."
Carlson owned and drove his Team Mopar SRT4 in the NHRA Xplod Sport
Compact Racing Series in 2005, earning one victory and finishing fourth
in points. He substituted for injured Pro Stocker Darrell Alderman in
the 2004 NHRA Winternationals, nearly advancing to the semifinals. A renowned
engine builder and FWD performance guru, Carlson has worked on projects
such as Stephan Papadakis' record-holding import drag car. He's president
and founder of NuFormz, an 11-year-old company that builds aftermarket
components in Ontario, California.
TOP QUALIFIER QUOTES
Top Fuel -- Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Dragster (4.533 seconds,
326.08 mph)
"Maybe things are turning. Rahn [crew chief Tobler] had mentioned
he was going to go after it. He was giving it everything he had. It was
a big boost. We'll be happy with what we have. It carried the front end
real good on the first run [when he was fifth]. Everything was real normal
[on the second run]. It was fun."
Funny Car -- John Force, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang (4.695
seconds, 328.06 mph)
"Is it better? I should hope the hell it is, with the amount of
money we spent on it. It's a lot of work. It's late. And we only got three
of them. We'll get new bodies for Bristol." -- Force, explaining
how much more aerodynamic his new Mustang body is.
Pro Stock -- Jason Line, KB/Summit Racing Pontiac GTO
(6.686 seconds, 206.29 mph)
"This is the first time we've had this kind of car, and we're finally
getting a handle on it." -- Line, It's an RJ Race Car product, built
by chassis expert Rick Jones, an International Hot Rod Association regular
racer from Galesburg, Illinois.
"It's easy not to think about it. Obviously, I'm not thinking about
it on Sundays, either." -- Line, answering whether it's hard not
to think about the fact that he hasn't lasted past the second round at
any race this season.
Line set the class' track elapsed-time record, erasing Greg Anderson's
April 2004 mark of 6.693 seconds. He was one of two to surpass Anderson's
track-record speed of 205.72, but Mike Edwards took those honors with
a 206.45.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Antron Brown, U.S. Army Suzuki (7.059 seconds,
187.89 mph)
"We need to have the temperatures stay in the lows 70s in the morning
and for the humidity to go down. It's up and down. We might be out of
luck, but I'd like to see some low 7.0s (seven-second elapsed times).
. . . At Gainesville, I was quickest for two [qualifying] runs, and a
Buell rider, Ryan Schnitz, was quickest for two runs. The [playing field
for the] class is real level right now. That's all we ever wanted. We'll
be faster when we get the fuel injection. Fuel injection is going to be
going full-blown in our shop [during the break following this race]."--
Brown, discussing conditions that might yield a national record this weekend
and his team's reaction to the new rules that helped the Suzukis compete
more evenly with the Harley-Davidsons and the Buells. His time was four-thousandths
of a second slower than teammate Angelle Sampey's track-record 7.055 E.T.
NEWSMAKER OF THE DAY: John Force
John Force shattered both ends of the Houston Raceway Park Funny
Car performance record Friday night with a 4.695-second elapsed time and
328.06-mph speed in his Austin Coil- and Bernie Fedderly-tuned Castrol
GTX Start-Up Ford Mustang.
Force assured
himself a spot in the field and Saturday officially will extend his qualifying
streak to 373 consecutive NHRA events. That string dates back to the start
of the 1988 season.
The Yorba Linda, California, veteran has been a Funny Car finalist in
more than half the NHRA races contested since 1989 (170 of 337).
And Friday night he said conditions were perfect for the run that was
only three hundredths off the national E.T. record he set in October 2004
at Joliet, Illinois.
"The tune-up was good. The track was good. The air was good. Just
run. Smooth as can be," he said.
The provisional No. 1 position was particularly important to him, for
he said that inattention to such matters are what cost him the championship
he has won 13 times since 1990. "To win a championship, you've got
to be at the head of the pack," he said.
He said the crew has been tweaking things on the car and can learn the
results of that "when you get air like this at nightttime."
He said Coil predicted a pass in the 4.60 range before the run.
Force's last victory at Houston Raceway Park, in 2002, was one of his
most memorable. When he beat Tommy Johnson Jr. in the 2002 finals, he
earned his 100th tour victory. He remains the only drag racer in history
to have won as many as 100 events.
PIT e-PATTER:
TOP FUEL
Time
to collect? -- Tony Schumacher has earned three straight No.
1 qualifier awards this year but has yet to translate that into a victory.
But the reigning Top Fuel champion has won once and captured four runner-up
finishes at Houston Raceway Park since 1998, so he has enjoyed his visits
to South Texas. He entered the race in sixth-place in the standings, 101
points behind teammate and class leader Melanie Troxel.
Schumacher grabbed the early lead Friday with a 4.556-second elapsed
time at 324.28 mph but slipped to third as Doug Kalitta and Doug Herbert
moved past him in the night session.
Can't
win 'em all -- Top Fuel driver Melanie Troxel has advanced to
the final round in each of the past four events, including the first three
of 2006. She has one victory and leads the standings by 73 points -- despite
a 25-point penalty at Phoenix for oil downs. But she's smart and knows
that hot streaks can cool down.
"I think it would be unrealistic for me to say that we can keep
going to every final round for the rest of the year," the Skull Gear/Torco
Race Fuels Dragster driver said. "I'm sure we will have those weekends
where we go out first round. We're bound to have those. But I certainly
think that we have something going right now, whether it's chemistry within
the team or a really good handle on the tune-up that (crew chief) Richard
Hogan has right now. I certainly expect to continue that in Houston. I
think right now we have the best race team on the circuit."
She lost to Dave Grubnic in the final round of the Gatornationals, but
she expanded her led from 14 points to 73. So that made her feel better.
"It's kind of funny," she said. "Regardless of how things
are going, when you don't win in a final round, you have that natural
instinct to be disappointed for a while about it. But you really have
to take a reality check and let that disappointment wear off and appreciate
the fact that we are leading the points, we're running very consistently,
and we're going a lot of rounds.
"When we said earlier in the year that our goal was to have a legitimate
shot at the championship late in the year we couldn't have asked for a
better start to the season. The consistency of going rounds is way more
important than winning any one individual event," Troxel said.
She said Houston Raceway Park "is a place where we've seen big E.T.s
and big speeds. That's always exciting. The facility and the track surface
are great, so we're looking forward to seeing what the performance of
the car will be and what we can do with it."
She'll be looking forward to seeing Saturday if she can get into the
field. She ended Friday unqualified, at 18th.
Wanting more -- Gatornationals winner Dave Grubnic is
thirsty for more victories.
"We
got that 'one-win' monkey off our back finally," Grubnic said, alluding
to the notion that some might have thought his first victory at Topeka
last May might have been a fluke.
"Sure, I feel a bit relieved about that," the StriVectin-SD
Dragster driver said, "but at the same time, we're right up there
in the points chase again.
"The season is still very young, but we need to take advantage
of every opportunity we can. Winning a race in Top Fuel is getting tougher
and tougher because there are just so many good cars out there now. It
makes it even tougher to contend for the championship," Grubnic said.
"We're in third place right now, but we're only one point away from
second and only about four rounds (74 points) out of the lead. You always
get momentum with a win, so we want to make sure we take advantage of
that this weekend in Houston and go for it again."
With his win in Gainesville, Grubnic leaped from 11th place to third.
He'll start Saturday in fourth place.
On the edge of quickness -- The way Morgan Lucas figured,
he and his Lucas Oil Dragster team have an edge on much of he competition.
"This
year, the tire requirements that NHRA has instituted for the pro classes
places us in an enviable position, since we have run the 2420 compound
all season," he said. "Based on that, we feel our car's set
up will match up well with the flat Houston track."
Houston Raceway Park, a track located right at sea level with a well-earned
reputation for quick acceleration. The ideal air and smooth track surface
has the potential to produce new records for Lucas.
For example, Lucas said, "Last year we made it to the semi-finals,
running in the low 4.50s all weekend."
For Lucas and crew chiefs Ronnie Thompson and John Stewart, the focus
is on cranking our round-wins.
"It's really topsy-turvy near the top of the standings," Lucas
said. "You can't afford to give anything away. I have to be sharp
on the line and let the crew run the car to match the weather conditions.
We have a very smart team whose entire philosophy is to win rounds. They
push the car's potential, and with every lap we show signs of improvement.
I feel having that combination will get us to victory circle quicker than
anything."
He will enter Saturday's action on the bump spot with a 4.851-second
elapsed time.
FUNNY CAR
Weep
no more -- Some of the most accomplished Funny Car drivers were
especially thankful that the track crew quickly fixed the "weepers"
(water seeping through the track surface) that Kurt Johnson's team discovered
during Pro Stock qualifying Friday evening. Had the session been canceled,
tour regulars Gary Scelzi, Bob Gilbertson, Frankie Pedregon, and Ron Capps
would have started Saturday unqualified. Scelzi, Gilbertson, and Pedregon
remain out of the field. But Capps jumped to the top half of the ladder
at No. 8 for now.
Well-prepared
-- Cruz Pedregon was No. 1 qualifier with a 4.765-second, 321.12-mph
run in his Advance Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo last week at San Antonio
as the International Hot Rod Association re-introduced the Nitro Funny
Car class. And he began last week with testing at Gainesville (Florida)
Raceway, where he clocked a 4.76-second elapsed time. And that had Pedregon
pumped up for these O'Reilly Spring Nationals.
"That was huge. It was big for us," he said. "The car
doesn’t know what track we're at. We set it up and as long as the
track is good, it will run. Lots of times we come to a new race track
and aren’t confident to push it too much. We set this up, tuned
it down just a little bit and it ran a great number."
He beat Bob Gilbertson in the opening round at San Antonio but lost
to eventual winner Gary Densham in Round 2 because of traction problems.
So he said he is "still working the kinks out" of the new Goodyear
tire that became the rule at Gainesville. "We are still getting adjusted
to the new tire," he said, "but each week we have been finding
a way to improve while working with that situation."
He said he was excited to move on to Houston "and get back to performing
at a top level again."
"I've had some success here, winning in '92 and '98," Pedregon
said, "so the track holds a lot of good memories for me. Not only
does Texas have a large Hispanic population, it also is a key market for
my sponsor, Advance Auto Parts, so the entire event is really import to
our program."
He's last in the field with two more chances to improve.
Houston is the headquarters of Tony Pedregon's sponsor, Q Power, and
one of its brands, Pennzoil, is a presenting sponsor of the event. But
he has no extra pressure, knowing he has mastered this track four times
since 1997, the year he also qualified No. 1 here.
"I am really excited to return to Houston. We are doing quite a
bit of media and sponsor functions throughout the weekend, which I always
enjoy. Houston is also a really big Hispanic market, and because of my
heritage, I am anxious to be able to interact with a lot of the Hispanic
fans our team has accumulated over the years."
Houston Raceway Park also has an extra bit of nostalgia from 1997 for
him and his older brother Cruz. Said Tony Pedregon, "Cruz and I were
the first two brothers in NHRA history to race in a final round (1997),
and that took place in Houston, a race that I eventually won. The Q Power
team is in the best position we have been in years to win again. Based
on the performance of the team in the first races of 2006, I am really
confident that we should have a good weekend."
It began with him taking the 10th spot in the Funny Car order early
Friday. He moved up to seventh in the second session.
PRO STOCK
K.J.
getting in gear -- Being out of the top 10 is something unusual
for Kurt Johnson. And coming into Houston with a DNQ already on his ledger
really is a surprise. Never mind that it came at the race for which his
sponsor is title sponsor. He already was motivated.
"We've given everyone else enough of a head start," he said.
"It's about time this ACDelco Cobalt crew got our season started.
“It certainly wasn’t the start we wanted, but we can’t
change what has already happened, so [we're] simply going to focus on
what lies ahead," Johnson said. Then, displaying that droll Johnson
sense of humor, he said, "“I’ve never been one to use
revisionist history, so we’re not going to dwell on the first three
races. After all, it’s a lot more productive to look out the windshield
instead of constantly checking the rear view mirror.”
Horsepower clearly is not an issue, for Johnson has recorded impressive
top speeds in the first three races. But in an effort to transfer that
strength more effectively to the race track, Johnson and his crew have
focused on the car’s performance in the first 330 feet. This weekend,
Johnson said that instead of using a new and untried approach, he is counting
on a proven set-up with which he won two races and advanced to four consecutive
final rounds last year.
“I’m confident in the package we have assembled," Johnson
said. “We have all the right parts necessary to go rounds and get
ourselves back in the fight – we just have to make sure to put the
right pegs in the proper holes."
He got them in the proper places Friday, ending the day third-quickest,
behind leader Jason Line and Mike Edwards.
"In the first three races, we were more aggressive and made several
major changes, which ended up hampering our ability to make adjustments.
Starting with this weekend, we are going to return to a set-up similar
to what we used so effectively last summer, trying to regain our consistency
and start going rounds. It’s going to take some work, but we will
get this program turned around."
Johnson has performed well at Houston. He has two victories (1999, 2003)
in three final rounds, a 24-15 elimination-round record, two top qualifier
awards, and only two starts outside the top half of the field in 17 years.
"It takes a good deal of chassis management to negotiate the racetrack
at Houston Raceway Park," Johnson said. “The surface isn’t
getting any younger, and it’s not aging gracefully, either. We will
have to keep our eye on it throughout the weekend so we know what changes
to make in order to keep going down it smoothly. We did that in 2003,
making major adjustments after qualifying and ended up winning the race.
We’ll rely on those notes, and some from other years, to help guide
us on what is a very tricky surface."
Spotlight
on Enders -- Houston native Erica Enders already is the most
successful female in NHRA Pro Stock history, but the second-year driver
isn't coasting. She's testing harder in her Slammers Ultimate Milk/Cagnazzi
Racing Chevy Cobalt, now that she's on the threshold of her first victory
and the chance to make even more history on her hometown track.
In addition to potentially making drag racing history as the first woman
to win a Pro Stock final, she also could become the first woman in NHRA
history to qualify at the top of a Pro Stock field.
"Houston Raceway Park is my home," Enders said. "My first
Junior Dragster win was here, and my first wins in both Super Comp and
Super Gas were here. This track has been very good to me, and I can't
think of a better place to get my first ever professional win. It would
be amazing to get it in front of all my friends and family. I already
have so many great memories of this place, and to add to those would just
be awesome."
It also was here in 2004 that she and Pro Stock Biker Karen Stoffer shared
the winner's podium.
Enders was runner-up at Gainesville, lifting her to No. 3 in the standings.
"Testing went well," Enders said. "We tested for three
days after Gainesvill. We had some bugs to work out of the car, obviously,
if you saw how we did in qualifying for Gainesville. We only got down
the track one time, qualified 15th and kind of came up from the underdog
position and got a runner-up. We didn't get down the track in the final
either, so obviously we did have bugs to work out of the car.
"I'm pretty sure that we got them out," she said. "The
guys have worked really hard, and I've been working on my reaction times
and working out, so putting all of that hard work together we should be
able to come together and win this deal."
Enders said, "I feel confident that we are as prepared as ever
for Houston. The competition in Pro Stock is so tough, that you better
take it seriously at every event you go to. We are thrilled to have done
so well at the last race, but a runner-up still isn't a win. We are as
determined as ever to change that, and everyone on this team is working
very hard to make that happen."
She said it hardly seems like one year ago that she was a struggling
rookie in this class.
"It seems like we've come a long way in a short period of time,"
Enders said. "It's really exciting to look back and see how I felt
a year ago here at the Houston race for my Pro Stock debut in my hometown.
We were really excited and I think we qualified 15th, but then I had to
race Jason Line first round and I ended up red-lighting. Now that we have
the horsepower in our Slammers Chevy behind us, it makes us all the more
excited to go into this weekend, because we have the capability of winning
this race.
"My goal coming into this season was to win. Because of how we
ended the 2005 season, and then coming into Pomona this season after testing,
where even though your numbers aren't official, it kind of goes to show
that your work is paying off. So to come into 2006 after the way we left
off in '05 was really exciting. Right now we're third in points, but coming
into this season not knowing how we were going to do, our goal was to
be a championship-caliber team and to have a chance to run for the world
championship this year. After these first three races we're in the running.
Our points standings show that, and our progression at the track as far
as the crew goes and as far as the driver, I think we're steadily climbing
up the mountain. And we're going to be good this year and definitely have
a shot at winning the championship, so we're all really, really excited."
Enders qualified No. 2 at last year's season finale at Pomona, and then
the Texas A&M student carried that momentum to the No. 2 qualifying
spot at this season's first two races at Pomona and Phoenix. At the Gatornationals,
Enders advanced to the second final round of her career before losing
to veteran Tom Martino.
She scored a provisional No. 4 spot Friday.
Need
to get better -- now -- Crew chief Terry Adams said he and driver
Dave Connolly and their Evan Knoll-owned Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt "have
no where to go but up." And he has a sense of urgency. Said Adams,
"We need to get better real soon – like at Houston. We have
20 races to go and we need to get something started."
Connolly failed to qualify at Gainesville, although his best qualifying
run of 6.712 seconds was one-hundredth of a second behind No. 16 Dave
Howard. However, four cars were between him and the last qualifier in
the quickest Pro Stock field.
Adams said the changes he made to the car during testing March 20 and
22 at Gainesville have been beneficial and that he was looking forward
to applying them to the Houston quarter-mile. "You can make a lot
of horsepower in Houston because the air is good and the race track can
be dynamite under the right conditions."
Connolly is confident. "I know we have a car that can run at the
top of the page. I'm confident we can work our way up from here on out.
Terry and the crew are working hard to get everything right. No one said
Pro Stock racing would be easy."
It wasn't easy Friday, necessarily, but Connolly took the early No.
7 spot.
Connolly, who advanced to the semifinals at Houston last year, arrives
with 72 points, which puts him no better than 18th in the standings. He
has five event victories in 13 final rounds in his 62-race Pro Stock career.
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Let's
do it again -- Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown couldn't have
started the 2006 season any better after their 1-2 finish, respectively,
at the Gatornationals. But the U.S. Army Suzuki riders from Don Schumacher
Racing know that was just one race
"It was great to begin like we did," Sampey said, "but
it won't mean anything if we don't have similar results this weekend.
We have to stay at the top of the standings."
Said Brown, "The only difference I would accept from Gainesville
is us reversing the order, with me beating Angelle in the finals. This
is all about putting the pressure on the rest of the field."
Brown earned his first career top-qualifier position at Houston in 2001.
Sampey was a winner here in 2001 and 2003.
Brown was No. 1 Friday and Sampey, missing high gear on her Suzuki, was
15th in the lineup.
The
son of drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein, Brandon entered the day without
a single elimination round win on the year. But the "Bud Prince"
churned out the suds in the Texas heat, recording low elapsed time and
top speed of the meet along the way.
Capps
had little more than a victory lap in the final when surprise finalist
Gilbertson immediately smoked his tires at the hit of the throttle.
His Brut Dodge Stratus R/T was beatable in the final, but Gilbertson
only watched as Capps pushed his lead in the Funny Car standings to
68 over John Force.
"There
is some parity in the class now and it's good to see for us guys that
haven't won in awhile," Edwards said. "I still think Greg
(Anderson's) the guy to beat but it's fun to go to the races when you
know you at least have a chance to win."
Sampey's
39th career win places her all alone in ninth place on NHRA's all-time
wins list despite the fact she's only 35 years old and has run in just
137 events. She is also second in on the all-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle
wins list, just six behind Dave Schultz (45). Her 7.144-second, 190.11-mph
victory over finalist Hines, who went 7.200 at 188.04 mph on his Vance
& Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod, looked picture-perfect
from start to finish.
McClenathan
broke a 30-race stretch where he'd not led the field by qualifying No.
1 for the 30th time in his career. His last-gasp 4.531 at 329.42 mph
in the Fram Boost2 dragster might have been even a click quicker had
his blower belt not come off at the top end of the racetrack.
It
was the sixth 1-2-3 qualifying sweep for John Force Racing as team patriarch
Force led Ford Mustang teammates Robert Hight and Eric Medlen on the
Funny Car ladder.
"I
need to get out of my driving slump," said Line, who has struggled
mightily in the first three races this year. "Everyone goes through
slumps; how you get out of them is the trick. The plan is very simple,
it's just execution. I know our guys will make all the right calls with
the car. I have complete confidence with that part."
"I
personally feel more confident this year than I have in the past,"
Sampey said. "I'm not saying I'm gonna kick everybody's butts but
mentally I feel right, like I know my riding is going to be there."
Funny
Car icon John Force has said and done a lot of entertaining things on
television. 
Force
girls had no background in the sport apart from watching their father.
As a result, they're having to learn the hows and whys and wherefores
that come naturally to many of their opponents. 
Gary
Scelzi, the reigning Funny Car champion and three-time Top Fuel champion,
failed to qualify for only the second time since he joined Don Schumacher
Racing and really threw his full effort into mastering a Funny Car.
"Antron
and I have to stay at the top of the standings," she said Friday
after spinning her rear tire at the launch during her first run and
then having trouble getting into high gear during her second run. "It
was a really wiggly," Sampey said of her first run, adding that
her second run was "still wiggly, but I broke a transmission and
didn't have high gear. We've been struggling to get the bike straight
down the track. 
"The
tune-up was good, the track is good, and the air is good, that's what
it takes," Force said. "If you want to win a bunch of championships
you have to stay ahead of the curve. We started working on this stuff
a year ago and it bit us but now the work is paying off and all three
cars are running good."
"I
thought (Tony) Schumacher has the best chance to get around us and if
he had stayed hooked up he probably would have," Kalitta said,
"but he had to shut it off. Maybe things are turning for us. It
certainly worked out better for us tonight. I don't know if it'll hold
but it's still fun for us tonight."
"Tonight
I get to be Greg," Line said. "Normally I run quick early
and then he passes me up and gets all the glory. It's a bit of a surprise
for us to run this good in high humidity because normally we struggle
in these kinds of conditions. I'll take it."
"There's
no doubt the field is a lot more level," Brown said. "In Gainesville
I was low two sessions and Ryan Schnitz was low in the other two on
his Buell. It'll be even better when we get fuel injection figured out
because that's what they use."
Stevens
struggled in the Team Mopar/Valspar Dodge Stratus R/T a bit last season
before making two final-round appearances and finishing eighth in the
standings. Now the Pro Stock car is his sanctuary, his refuge, he said.
Meanwhile,
teammate Carlson has been nothing but frustrated at the race track.
Time
to collect? -- Tony Schumacher has earned three straight No.
1 qualifier awards this year but has yet to translate that into a victory.
But the reigning Top Fuel champion has won once and captured four runner-up
finishes at Houston Raceway Park since 1998, so he has enjoyed his visits
to South Texas. He entered the race in sixth-place in the standings,
101 points behind teammate and class leader Melanie Troxel. 
Can't
win 'em all -- Top Fuel driver Melanie Troxel has advanced
to the final round in each of the past four events, including the first
three of 2006. She has one victory and leads the standings by 73 points
-- despite a 25-point penalty at Phoenix for oil downs. But she's smart
and knows that hot streaks can cool down.
"We
got that 'one-win' monkey off our back finally," Grubnic said,
alluding to the notion that some might have thought his first victory
at Topeka last May might have been a fluke. 
"This
year, the tire requirements that NHRA has instituted for the pro classes
places us in an enviable position, since we have run the 2420 compound
all season," he said. "Based on that, we feel our car's set
up will match up well with the flat Houston track."
Weep
no more -- Some of the most accomplished Funny Car drivers
were especially thankful that the track crew quickly fixed the "weepers"
(water seeping through the track surface) that Kurt Johnson's team discovered
during Pro Stock qualifying Friday evening. Had the session been canceled,
tour regulars Gary Scelzi, Bob Gilbertson, Frankie Pedregon, and Ron
Capps would have started Saturday unqualified. Scelzi, Gilbertson, and
Pedregon remain out of the field. But Capps jumped to the top half of
the ladder at No. 8 for now.
Well-prepared
-- Cruz Pedregon was No. 1 qualifier with a 4.765-second, 321.12-mph
run in his Advance Auto Parts Chevy Monte Carlo last week at San Antonio
as the International Hot Rod Association re-introduced the Nitro Funny
Car class. And he began last week with testing at Gainesville (Florida)
Raceway, where he clocked a 4.76-second elapsed time. And that had Pedregon
pumped up for these O'Reilly Spring Nationals.
K.J.
getting in gear -- Being out of the top 10 is something unusual
for Kurt Johnson. And coming into Houston with a DNQ already on his
ledger really is a surprise. Never mind that it came at the race for
which his sponsor is title sponsor. He already was motivated. 
Spotlight
on Enders -- Houston native Erica Enders already is the most
successful female in NHRA Pro Stock history, but the second-year driver
isn't coasting. She's testing harder in her Slammers Ultimate Milk/Cagnazzi
Racing Chevy Cobalt, now that she's on the threshold of her first victory
and the chance to make even more history on her hometown track.
Need
to get better -- now -- Crew chief Terry Adams said he and
driver Dave Connolly and their Evan Knoll-owned Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt
"have no where to go but up." And he has a sense of urgency.
Said Adams, "We need to get better real soon – like at Houston.
We have 20 races to go and we need to get something started."
Let's
do it again -- Angelle Sampey and Antron Brown couldn't have
started the 2006 season any better after their 1-2 finish, respectively,
at the Gatornationals. But the U.S. Army Suzuki riders from Don Schumacher
Racing know that was just one race
