SUNDAY FINAL - FULLER ENDS DIXON'S FATHER'S DAY WINNING STREAK AT FIVE WITH HIS THIRD CAREER WIN; Ron Capps, Jason Line and Matt Smith round out Father's Day winners at K&N Filters Supernationals
(6-18-2006) - Top Fuel driver Rod Fuller managed to stop Larry Dixon's streak of five consecutive Father's Day victories Sunday by beating Dixon in the final of the $1.8 million K&N Filters NHRA Supernationals.
Fuller's Valvoline rail went straight down a hot and greasy quarter-mile in 4.692 seconds at 314.24 mph to beat Dixon's tire-hazing 4.825 at 299.73 mph. Fuller was joined by Funny Car's Ron Capps, Pro Stock's Jason Line, and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Matt Smith in Old Bridge Township Raceway Park's winner's circle.
"I knew Dixon had that Father's Day thing going but our car was running great all weekend and I knew we had a chance if we stayed within ourselves," Fuller said. "This one's for my dad. He's a racer and he's the reason I love racing. He's my best friend."
Season-long points leader Melanie Troxel's first-round loss to Dixon combined with her 11th-place qualifying effort helped Doug Kalitta trim her lead in the POWERade standings from 71 to 48 points.
The Funny Car final was close as Capps got a big headstart with a .079- to .133-second reaction time advantage only to barely hold off hard-charging reigning champion Gary Scelzi. The final numbers had Capps winning with a 5.025 at 299.46 mph in his Brut Dodge Charger to Scelzi's quicker but losing 5.012 at 301.81 mph in the Oakley machine.
"Beating Gary on a holeshot takes some of the excitement out of this win," Capps said, as he held back tears. "Last year 'Ace' (crew chief Ed McCulloch) got sick the Thursday before the race with his cancer and Scelzi's crew chief Mike Neff jumped in and helped us. Gary is a mentor to me and our teams are together. Our trailers literally connect to one another and I know they wanted that win."
This was Scelzi's first final-round appearance of his title defense. He moved up one slot to seventh in the POWERade Series points. Capps more than doubled his advantage in the standings with this win. After entering the race with a 48-point cushion, he leaves town with a 106-point edge.
With all the pre-final talk focusing on Connolly's lethal performances at the starting line, it was Line coming through with a quick start that began his 6.729-second, 205.98-mph victorious pass. Line's .013-second start got his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO rolling and he carried that momentum to the other end, beating Connolly's 6.739 at 206.45 mph in his Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt.
"I can't believe I won this race as crappy as I've been driving all day," Line said. "This is really something. I don't know what it is about this racetrack but I love it. We won the last two years here before I was a father and now I win my first Father's Day race since my son Jack was born. How cool is that?"
Greg Anderson paid the price for his first-round holeshot loss to nemesis Warren Johnson as his lead in the POWERade rankings was trimmed from 110 to 37 points over Line, his KB Racing teammate.
Smith finally got his first NHRA victory by coming from behind on his G-Squared/Torco Race Fuels Buell and taking care of Karen Stoffer and her Geico Suzuki in the final round. Smith was awarded the victory at last year's U.S. Nationals at the racetrack but officials later reversed the decision when video tape showed he crossed the finish line second. This year, the same thing happened in an earlier round victory.
This one was a clear victory with Smith overcoming terrible.030- to .107-second reaction time deficit by halftrack and taking the win with a 7.111 at 185.38 mph ahead of Stoffer's 7.234 at 186.12 mph.
"The first thing I asked them at the top end was, 'are you guys absolutely sure I've won this race?' " Smith said. "I guess this one was legit. Even Karen came over and said she saw that I was ahead of her at the stripe. It feels like this has been a long time coming, for sure. I'm glad dad (Pro Stock driver Rickie Smith) was down there waiting for me."
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Sunday's final results from the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The $1.8 million race is the 11th of 23 in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
Top Fuel -- Rod Fuller, 4.692 seconds, 314.24 mph def. Larry Dixon, 4.825 seconds, 299.73 mph.
Funny Car -- Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 5.025, 299.46 def. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 5.012, 301.81.
Pro Stock -- Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.729, 205.98 def. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.739, 206.45.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Matt Smith, Buell, 7.111, 185.38 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.234, 186.12.
Top Alcohol Dragster -- Jeff Bohr, broke was unopposed.
Top Alcohol Funny Car -- Frank Manzo, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.691, 255.48 def. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 5.691, 256.65.
Stock Eliminator -- Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 10.831, 115.12 def. John Shaul, Plymouth Fury, 10.215, 129.28.
Super Comp -- Franklin Di Bartolomeo, Dragster, 8.902, 163.79 def. Jeff Kundratic, Dragster, 8.944, 158.24.
Super Gas -- Regis Lepage, Ghevy S-10, 10.128, 130.51 def. Jeff Szilagyi, Chevy Corvette, broke.
Super Street -- Matt Ticcony, Plymouth Duster, 10.950, 141.59 def. Tom DePascale, Chevy Vega, 10.958, 139.93.
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Final round-by-round results from the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE -- Cory McClenathan, 4.785, 273.22 def. David Baca, 6.264, 138.87; J.R. Todd, 4.645, 311.85 def. Doug Herbert, 5.037, 270.54; Larry Dixon, 4.674, 320.43 def. Melanie Troxel, 4.828, 250.69; Rod Fuller, 4.619, 326.32 def. Clay Millican, 4.821, 283.01; Hillary Will, 5.741, 190.08 def. Bob Vandergriff, 5.935, 213.37; Tony Schumacher, 4.586, 324.51 def. David Grubnic, 4.614, 320.74; Brandon Bernstein, 7.282, 108.05 def. Rit Pustari, 7.342, 110.02; Doug Kalitta, 4.644, 324.67 def. Morgan Lucas, 4.701, 304.53;
FINAL -- Fuller, 4.692, 314.24 def. Dixon, 4.825, 299.73.
FUNNY CAR:
ROUND ONE -- Phil Burkart, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.974, 314.97 def. Eric Medlen, Ford Mustang, 5.611, 187.36; Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.926, 313.73 def. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.961, 294.88; Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.979, 308.21 def. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus, 5.169, 231.52; Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 5.010, 300.06 def. Robert Hight, Mustang, 5.180, 281.25; Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.922, 311.85 def. Jim Head, Stratus, 6.747, 131.42; Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.929, 313.44 def. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, DQ CBL; Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.980, 315.12 def. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 5.970, 185.74; John Force, Mustang, 4.946, 315.71 def. Whit Bazemore, Charger, 4.995, 311.41;
FINAL -- Smith, 7.111, 185.38 def. Stoffer, 7.234, 186.12.
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SUNDAY NOTEBOOK
TOP FUEL
The Spoiler – If Rod Fuller decides to venture into the world of professional wrestling, his reputation in drag racing has already delivered his moniker – “The Spoiler.”
“I guess I have earned the name,” Fuller said when talking about breaking Larry Dixon’s Father’s Day winning streak.
“I have a father and what a way to honor him,” Fuller said. “My dad has been a great best friend. He’s made so many sacrifices to get me where I am today. My parents could be retired in Boca Raton, Florida now if it wasn’t for supporting me early in my career.”
As fate would have it, it was Fuller who beat Melanie Troxel in the finals of Phoenix to prevent the first husband and wife winner’s circle.
Recipe for Success – If you can’t stand the heat that is usually when Lee Beard is in the kitchen cooking up success.
“We were hoping for hot weather,” Fuller said. “He usually prevails when the temperature gets on up there. You have to really know how to deal with the track and conditions when it gets that way. Physically, I train five days a week and do two hours of cardio. I grew up in Arkansas where it humid and I moved to Las Vegas where it is just plain hot. I feel like the later it gets…the stronger I get. It was just one of those days where I was looking forward to St. Louis.”
Two – Up until last weekend in Chicago, JR Todd had yet to achieve a single round win. Last week he defeated Hillary Will in the first round of elimination and today, he got the best of Doug Herbert.
Todd took over the driving position on Dexter Tuttle’s Top Fuel dragster this season. Initially the plan was to run a limited schedule, but a little over a month ago Knoll Gas – Torco Race Fuels stepped with the necessary funding to ensure Todd the opportunity to run the full schedule.
Todd entered this weekend’s event with a bit of a historical momentum. During last year’s event with Jack Beckman driving, Todd’s crewchief Jimmy Walsh tuned the team to a semi-final finish.
Todd beat Herbert off of the line and secured the victory with a 4.645 at 311.85 miles per hour.
Battle of the rookies – While Hillary Will appeared to be an odds-on favorite for this season’s rookie of the year accolades, the recent emergence of J.R. Todd began speculation that she could have some competition at the end of the year.
Will dispelled any notions that she planned to relinquish her top as she beat Todd with a 4.754 at 310.91. Todd slowed with a 4.958 at only 279.
Interesting Point – When you have a Father’s Day winning streak things are said that makes you wonder. Larry Dixon found that out as he matched up with Top Fuel point leader Melanie Troxel.
It all started with the announcer.
Bob Frey quipped, “We’ll find out today if it was a Larry Dixon thing or a Dick LaHaie thing.”
Troxel had not lost in the first round all season. But, then again, she hadn’t raced in the first round on Father’s Day either.
Troxel was first out of the gate and looked on the way to breaking the streak when Dixon passed her for the victory with a 4.674, 320.43.
Dixon had an interesting conversation with Troxel following their match.
Dixon said, “Mel told me, ‘maybe I ought to go out and have a couple of kids’ and I have a feeling a lot of drivers out there wouldn’t mind that. She came over once and thanked me for beating Doug Kalitta and maybe, he’ll come over and do the same.”
Of course, Frey got the last word by uttering, “ Dixon wins on Father’s day that Hallmark is creating a card line with his name on it.”
The End of the Streak – The final day of the Dixon streak opened with an adverse situation.
"It was a big win, she's the point leader," Dixon said. "She's my teammate's (Tommy Johnson Jr.) wife and neighbor, but when the cars fire up, you're just racing someone. By qualifying, we had a better car, so I think everyone on the team felt we'd do well. By the numbers, it looked like they were trying to run a 4.50-something and the race track just wouldn't hold it. The first couple cars ahead of us smoked the tires and Donnie (Bender) took a conservative approach to just get the car down the race track and the car did just what he wanted it to do."
In a marquee match-up of the last four NHRA Top Fuel champions, Dixon used a tune-up from his Don Bender/Todd Smith brain trust to maneuver the hot Raceway Park quarter mile in 4.746 at 310.13 to collect consecutive Father's Day round win number 22. Schumacher's black rail lost traction to record a tire-smoking 5.300-second pass. It was the 42 nd time that Dixon and Schumacher have met during eliminations. Dixon holds a 24-18 advantage over the driver of the Alan Johnson-tuned dragster.
"To be honest, we set the car up to run a 4.60," Dixon said. "They ran a 4.58 first round and the conditions were going away fast. As it turned out, our car dropped a cylinder down track and it ran a 4.74 and (Tony) Schumacher overpowered the race track. The conditions were pretty hot."
In the semifinals, Dixon battled rookie Top Fuel starlet Hillary Will. It was the first time the high-speed racers have met during eliminations. Dixon used a starting line advantage to score the wire-to-wire victory after the Miller Lite rail carded a run of 4.754 at 306.53 as the Miller-backed racer scored successive Father's Day win number 23. Will's dragster lost traction and slowed to a 10-second pass.
"She might be a rookie driver, but you're racing the Kalitta team," Dixon said. "They're very strong. You know they're capable of running really well. We attempted to fix the dropped cylinder, but we still had trouble with that. We went down the race track on seven cylinders and they spun the tires and we got the win."
In his seventh career final round at Raceway Park, Top Fuel racing's winningest active driver powered his Miller Lite rail to a performance of 4.825 at 299.73, but Dixon's dragster spun the tires near mid-track, allowing Fuller to race around and score the victory with a pass of 4.692-seconds. The final round result ended Dixon's Father's Day win streak at 23 rounds. It was the first time that Dixon and Fuller have met in the final round. Dixon remains fifth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings.
"The track conditions were still hot and the car was looking to run a little better than our first round and it just pulled the tires loose," Dixon said. "That was the same problem that other teams had during the day. On eight cylinders, the track didn't take it. (Rod) Fuller's team, in that sense, had the advantage because what our car did in the final, they did in the semis and they were still able to get the win. They were able to make the adjustment and come out and make a good run to get the win.
"Streak or no streak, when you get to the final round, you're disappointed when you lose. It obviously was Dick LaHaie's streak, not Larry Dixon's streak. It was a lot of fun while it lasted. We're going to try and improve upon our showing next week at St. Louis."
Dead in the water – The first round of Top Fuel featured the best eighth-mile drag race the sport has probably witnessed. Unfortunately for low qualifier Brandon Bernstein and first round opponent Rit Pustari that drag race came during the last half of the track and neither car was under power by the time they reached the 660-foot mark.
Bernstein eventually coasted across the finish line first with a 7.282 at only 108.05 miles per hour. Pustari coasted to a losing 7.342 at a faster 110.
“I was on the throttle all the time and I was just coasting,” Bernstein said. “We got lucky, that’s just all it is.”
Not Counting Points – Doug Kalitta pointed out that he wasn’t counting points after his first round victory over Morgan Lucas. If he was, he would have noticed the opportunity to overtake Melanie Troxel in the point standings.
Kalitta soundly won his first round and promptly made mention of the tough road to the top.
“I’m just shooting for the trophy,” Kalitta said. “There are a lot of hungry racers out here and you don’t want to stink too long out here.”
Kalitta squandered a golden opportunity to overtake point leader Melanie Troxel; however, when he lost to Hot Rod Fuller in the second round of competition.
Nervous Leader - When second-in-points Doug Kalitta advanced to the second round, Melanie Troxel's points lead appeared to be in jeopardy. As luck would have it, Kalitta was then dismissed in the second round by Rod Fuller, and Troxel held on to her lead by 48 points over Kalitta.
"Even though we had some hot weather conditions in Topeka (Memorial Day), we were still adjusting to them here," said Troxel. "We didn't have any
conditions like this in qualifying (this weekend), so we knew that we were
going to have to make some changes going up there first round.
"Unfortunately, the Skull Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels dragster spun the
tires down track and kicked the belt off. We had a pretty good lead on Larry
up until that point, so I think we're still fairly happy with some things, even though obviously it was not the turnout we hoped for.
"Sooner or later we were going to lose first round. It's tough here because
Doug could have taken the lead from us. But, even if he had, it's early in
the season and I'm sure we're going to battle back and forth all season."
Baca Bing - David Baca's weekend in New Jersey was a huge success before his Top Fuel dragster ever hit the quarter-mile at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Baca helped local racer Frank Cicerale Jr., raise more money in the first weekend of his 9/11 tribute helmet raffle than he raised in six months last year.
"David and Mach 1's help has been unbelievable," said Cicerale, who donates 100-percent of the proceeds from his yearly raffle to the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation. "We haven't had a chance to make an exact count yet but as of Saturday night we had already equaled what we raised last year. Combined with the crowd we're dealing with on race day, we're over the top. The response from the drivers and fans has been incredible. We couldn't have done this well at all without David and Mach 1's help."
The Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation, a 501c entity, raises funds for area children's hospitals and charitable entities in the name of Hindy, who lost his life in the Sept. 11th attacks on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. Mark's father George competes locally in Super Gas.
"I'm happy to help," said Baca, who joined half of the championship contenders in this year's championship chase in being upset in the first round. "We didn't have the luck on the track today, but when you compare racing to the 9/11 tragedy and doing things to help these causes, it pales in comparison.
Just a Hiccup - A disappointed Cory McClenathan said a supercharger hiccup “knocked the tires loose” at the hit of the throttle against Brandon Bernstein and that led to a premature exit.
“I thought we had a good tune-up but we were down on boost at the hit,” added the driver of the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM Boost Top Fuel dragster. “I tried to catch him but he was able to beat us again. We just aren’t getting any racing luck.”
Bernstein was timed in 4.728 seconds at 309.27 mph to McClenathan’s 5.158 at 288.77.
A first-round win over David Baca – 4.785 at 273.22 to 6.264 at 138.87 – sent McClenathan into the quarterfinals.
The hot weather made for tricky racing surface. “Track conditions just kept getting worse,” commented McClenathan. “I feel bad for the guys. They worked hard all weekend.”
FUNNY CAR
Never Say Never – Ron Capps’ victory in Englishtown represented his seventh win in fifteen events. He now holds a 106 point lead over John Force.
Still there are those Internet phantoms that try to haunt him or worse than that, doubt his abilities.
“You know who your true fans are and you know where not to go to on the internet,” Capps said. “I had one bad race. You start to read the stuff and they are saying it’s over, here comes Force.”
Then there was the Chicago debacle where he qualified on his final attempt..
“We went two rounds in a race we shouldn’t have been in. We had to fight and claw our way to where we were. When the media asked me about two races ago when I was over 100 points ahead, I said the same thing I am saying now. I don’t want to talk about it. There’s so much racing left to do.”
Capps started his run toward the last year’s runner-up championship in the points championship ironically in Englishtown.
“If we do what we did last year from this point on, we should be fine,” Capps said. “I just want to slowly enjoy it. There are not many times you can be ahead of Force by 100 points leaving Englishtown. There aren’t a lot of people that win Englishtown.
“This is going right in the middle of my trophies. This race is legendary and historic. This is a dream come true.”
Tough Rebound – It was a year ago that Ron Capps’ crewchief Ed McCulloch checked into the hospital where he was diagnosed with cancer. One year later he tuned him to victory. The tough part of it all is that victory came at the expense of a team that helped him immensely last year during the adverse situation.
“Beating Gary on a holeshot was bittersweet,” Capps said. “Last year Gary’s crewchief Mike Neff tuned me and after Gary went out early, we made it to the final round. Ace was in the hospital. That Oakley team has helped us out so much. You’re up there racing the best of the best and I consider Gary Scelzi to be one of the best to ever put driving shoes on.
“I never saw who won and I had to get on the radio to see who won. But, to see the look on Gary’s face didn’t make me fell good at all. I’m all for winning, but you don’t like winning that way.”
Capps says the drama is at a minimum currently in the Don Schumacher camp even with the addition of another Funny Car team to manage for Evan Knoll with Mike Ashley driving.
“Our trailers are connected,” Capps said. “The teams talk and Todd Okuhara used to work under Todd and Ace learned from Todd as well. It’s give and take. For a multi car team, it’s unbelievable at how well everyone works together. I can’t begin to tell you what it feels like to have every other crewchief conferring together before the races. It has only made our team better. I can only imagine that is what Don Schumacher envisioned when it started.”
For Scelzi, a victory continues to elude the 2005 Funny Car world champion. The title defense season has been a tough one.
“Everything is better now,” Scelzi said. “We really started turning things around in Bristol, but we got behind and it’s hard to make up that ground. Especially when you have someone like Capps that is doing so well. And good for him. They deserve it over there with Ace, him and Olson. They’ve been phenomenal, they were great last year and they’re continuing it on, so good for them.”
Finally – It only took eleven events to do it, but Tim Wilkerson finally got a round win. Wilkerson fired an impressive shot when he took out Chicago finalist Robert Hight with a 5.001, 300.06.
“It’s good to be back,” Wilkerson said. “We have had a tough season. This our kind of race track today.”
It didn’t take Wilkerson to accept the success as a great Father’s Day gift.
“I’m a lucky father,” Wilkerson said. “I have three beautiful children and a great wife. To all the other fathers out there, I say good job to you too.”
Happy Father’s Day – Tony Pedregon scored an emotional first round victory over Scott Kalitta and promptly acknowledged his father, the late “Flaming” Frank Pedregon. He urged everyone, “Enjoy the day with your fathers, it’s a very special thing to do.”
Ron Capps couldn't do that but called his dad early this morning to wish him a Happy Father’s Day.
“This is for all of those who have lost their dads,” Capps said after winning the first round. “We’ll celebrate their lives today.”
In the interest of fair reporting, Capps called his dad at 7 AM, EST. His dad is in California.
Old Rivals, New Territory – The old rivals were up to their old tricks when it came to Sunday’s first round. John Force swapped lanes at the last minute with Whit Bazemore sending him to the left.
Entering the race Force held a Force is 42-10 edge over Bazemore and had won 15 of the last 18 meetings. Although they’d split a race apiece this year, Force and Bazemore had never raced before at Englishtown.
“You’re out here trying to get wins and then you get Bazemore and he can spank you,” Force said. “Bazemore knows how to drive. You try to get up on everything you can take from POWERade to coffee and get oxygen…”
Then Force ran out of breath.
“Wait until he tries Full Throttle,” added top end announcer Alan Reinhart.
After getting his breath and thanking the Tasca family, Ford and Castrol GTX.
So far, so good when it comes to Force…almost.
“See us on ESPN…” Force uttered. He was supposed to say A&E.
The TMI Department – When asked if he was nervous before his second round race, Gary Scelzi was asked just how nervous was he.
“I threw up in my helmet a few times,” Scelzi said.
Scelzi has history with Pedregon.
“He’s tough on me and always seems to nail me on the starting line,” Scelzi said. “All I know is I didn’t smoke the tires.”
Scelzi then showed off his playboy prowess.
“There are a lot of Matco Tools distributors wives here this weekend and even though it’s Father’s Day, I want to say hello to them.”
Hmmm...throw-up in the helmet and hello to the ladies?
Got Cold Down There? – Tony Bartone wanted snow and on Sunday it did just that – in Hades.
Bartone dropped Force in the second round with a run eerie reminiscent of the first round Top Fuel match between Brandon Bernstein and Rit Pustari. Force had a good lead but then smoked the tires. Bartone made up the difference but the car came up lame just before the eighth-mile. Force got back in the throttle but fell .05 short.
“John, sorry about that…that’s just how the cookie crumbles sometime,” said Bartone. “I’ve been after you for a long time."
PRO STOCK
First One – Even Larry Dixon’s streak of Father’s Day victories had to start somewhere. For Jason Line, his tenth career Pro Stock victory represented his first on the day when all fathers are honored.
“This is special,” Line said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I struggled driving and I didn’t drive well in the first two rounds, but I got it all together for the final. It was a good time to do.”
Line entered the final round weary of getting beat on holeshots.
“I was hoping he’d run quicker so I could beat him on a holeshot,” Line added.
Lucky Draw – Dave Howard is kicking himself. During his first round match again Richie Stevens, Howard went red with a -.152. Stevens launched hard but lost a driveshaft just after the 60-foot mark.
Stevens had the slowest victory of the event with a 20.186 at a little over 30 miles per hour.
Luck Runs Out – Richie Stevens could have used more luck in the second round against No. 1 qualifier Allen Johnson, but his car shook hard at the launch, resulting in a 7.504-second elapsed time at 166.62 mph and a loss to Johnson's
6.736/205.44.
Stevens doesn't blame the broken driveshaft for the second-round miscue. "The car spun terribly again in that second round," he explained. "It was
just like the first run, except we didn't break the driveshaft this time. I
was a little late on the tree (.106 to Johnson's .023), and the car spinning
hard like it did probably magnified it a little bit.
"All in all, it doesn't matter right now. My day was done a couple rounds
earlier than I thought it would. We felt like we had a really good car going
into today," offered the New Orleans native.
Team Mopar/Valspar had to swap out rear-ends between rounds. "We borrowed a rear-end off of Kenny Koretsky because he had one off a car already," said
Stevens, who has won twice in Englishtown. "The only other one we had was on
Shaun's (teammate Carlson) car and it would have taken too long to get it
out of the trailer and off of the car. He helped us out and pulled us out of
a hole a little bit. It's just too bad we couldn't capitalize on it and win
the second round."
Crew chief David Nickens said the mechanical problems weren't to blame for
the loss. "We just didn't do a good job on the set-up," he said. "It did
something totally unexpected both first and second round, so we'll just have
to go over the car with a fine-tooth comb to see what's going on there.
We'll get it straightened out for St. Louis."
Determined combatants – Only .004 separated Warren Johnson from Greg Anderson at the finish line in the first round of competition. Isn’t it ironic that Anderson made comments about Johnson’s reaction time prowess and in this match Johnson had .013 on him off the starting line.
"The good thing about it is that we get to race next week,” said Anderson, following the disappointing loss. “Luckily we have a race next weekend and we can rectify both ends of where we need to improve - driver and car and make them both faster. Maybe win a race and give Summit Racing, Pontiac and Ken Black something they can be proud of.
"We're adjusting okay to the hot weather. We thought the track was going to be worse than it was in the first round and we got too safe and slipped the clutch too much. The track is really holding up well considering how hot it is. We just didn't get the job done.
“I was a tick late off the light; the car was a tick off and in NHRA POWERade Pro Stock right now that usually results in a loss. I didn't have a lot of luck going for me but I should know that you have to create your own luck. I'm not doing that right now and I have to find a way to do that if we want to win that fourth championship.
During the short time off this week, Anderson knows he cannot rest.
"There are definitely some things we need to work on. We're lacking a little bit of consistency, without a doubt, and the car's not making any spectacular runs, and it's not making two runs in a row, to be honest with you,” added Anderson.
“At the same time, the bottom line, I'm not getting it done on the starting line. I don't know how many races in a row I've gotten beat running quicker than the guy in the other lane - that can't happen. I can't point the blame at anybody. I haven't been driving as good as I need to drive, and the car hasn't been bailing me out like it has in the past. I'm the first screw up, but we have to fix them both if we want to win again.
“That's why they call it drag racing because sometimes, it's a real drag.”
Although he was turned back early, Anderson continues to lead the standings for the 2006 NHRA POWERade Pro Stock championship entering the next event.
PRO STOCK BIKE
Cautious – Matt Smith didn’t dare celebrate after beating Karen Stoffer in the final round. It’s easy to understand why. Last year in Indy, he was on the losing end of a reversal when ESPN2 cameras showed that Steve Johnson actually crossed the finish line first. Last month, he met with the same fate in the second round of a race between he and Michael Philips in Columbus.
Smith wasn’t taking any chances.
“The first thing I asked them after I took off my helmet is, ‘Are you sure?” Smith said. “I am a bit gun-shy. I saw where they overturned one race. I was just careful.”
The son of legendary Pro Stock figure Rickie Smith, who cannot give a speech without turning on the tears met his son at the finish line.
“I told him Happy Father’s Day,” Matt said. “We had a great day and no, he didn’t cry.”
Seeing Red – Five of the eight first round battles in Pro Stock Motorcycle went red. Those foul starts belonged to low qualifier Chip Ellis, Paul Gast, Mike Philips, Geno Scali and Angelle Sampey.
Miscellaneous
Like Father, Like Son – Franklin Dibartolomeo, the 22-year old son of Drag Racing Action editor John DiBartolomeo, won his first Lucas Oil NHRA sportsman event when he won the Super Comp division. The second-generation has won divisional events and is a past Division 1 Junior Dragster champion.
Fan Nationals - Recently flexing his competitive muscles behind the wheel of a Funny Car racing simulator at the 37th annual K&N Filters Supernationals, Kevin Bibeau, 14, beat out hundreds of participants to become the local POWERade Fan Nationals Event Champion. Now, Bibeau will travel to Auto Club Raceway at Pomona at the end of the season to compete for the national championship.
Bibeau, an eighth grade student at North Attleboro Middle School, will ultimately be one of 23 Event Champions from drag strips across the country to compete to become the Series Champion. He and one guest will travel to the 42nd Annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif. the weekend of Nov. 9-12, 2006. There, Bibeau will compete in a series of qualifying rounds for the chance to claim the title of POWERade Fan Nationals Series Champion.
“I’ve been coming to the NHRA races for five years now, so this is really cool to win the Fan Nationals,” Bibeau said. “My favorite driver is Gary Scelzi, so it would be really neat to share the winner’s circle with him.”
The second season for the POWERade Fan Nationals Series, the competition is a dream come true for NHRA fans like Bibeau who have longed to race behind the wheel of an NHRA Funny Car. The competition lets fans power a simulated Funny Car to feel what it’s like to roar down the track. Each simulator is equipped with a high-performance, hydraulic racing simulator system that creates a realistic experience for fans.
SATURDAY - BRANDON BERNSTEIN EARNS 10TH CAREER NO. 1 QUALIFIER; SEEKS FIRST ROUND-WIN AT OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP RACEWAY PARK;
Tony Bartone, Allen Johnson and Chip Ellis round out No. 1 qualifiers at 37th K&N Filters NHRA Supernationals
(6-17-2006) - Brandon Bernstein earned his 10th career No. 1 qualifier Saturday and he enters Sunday’s final eliminations at the 37th annual K&N Filters Supernationals with plenty of motivation.
His father, NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein, has won a career-high seven races at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, but Brandon has yet to even win a round at the historic track that was the site of the spectacular accident that ended his 2003 Rookie of the Year season.
The other No. 1 qualifiers at the $1.8 million race, the 11th of 23 on the $50 million POWERade tour, were hometown favorite Tony Bartone (Funny Car) of Long Island, Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
The Bud Prince shaved five thousandths of a second off his leading time from Friday night to stay in front of Top Fuel with a 4.534 at 330.72 mph. It is the second No. 1 qualifying effort of the season and the 10th of his career.
"We're going to try to keep this racecar as consistent as it's been all weekend," said Bernstein, who’s currently in third place in the POWERade Series points race with 608 points behind Melanie Troxel (748) and Doug Kalitta (652).
"We smoked the tires in Round 1 like everyone else. Then we ran two 4.53s and a 4.57. I'd say Tim (Richards, crew chief) has a good hot weather tune-up, which gives us a lot of confidence going into the races we have ahead of us."
Tony Schumacher went from out-of-the-field to third place in his U.S. Army dragster with a 4.561. Earlier in the day the three-time champ ran a 4.563.
Season-long Top Fuel points leader Melanie Troxel qualified 11th in her Skull Shine/Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster and will open final eliminations against No. 6 qualifier Larry Dixon, who will be seeking his sixth consecutive Father’s Day win.
Bartone and team owner Jim Dunn elected not to run their Lucas Oil Monte Carlo in the final qualifying session due to the hot conditions but they still stayed out front with the 4.787 at 324.36 mph Bartone carded Friday evening. The pass remained the only 4.7-second run of the weekend.
"Right now I have goosebumps," Bartone said of the first career No. 1 qualifying effort of his 10-year career (first race, Phoenix 1996). "This is a career highlight for me and it's awesome to do this here at home. I'm a New York boy through and through and this track has been very, very good to me over the years. This is a special moment and it hasn't set in yet."
Funny Car points leader Ron Capps is 14th best with a 4.866 in his Dodge Charger and he will open final eliminations against Jim Head. John Force will open with Whit Bazemore.
Ellis’s 6.997-second top-qualifying pass in his Drag Specialities S&S Buell V-Twin was just the fourth six-second Pro Stock Motorcycle pass in history. Of the four six-second Pro Stock Motorcycle runs in the books, Ellis has two, the same number carded by two-time and defending POWERade Series champion Andrew Hines. Now Ellis will try to parlay his third straight No. 1 qualifying effort into his first win of the year.
"We've built 29 engines and we're still using No. 7," Ellis said. "It's one of the older ones but it's still living. I don't know what makes it so good but we're gonna keep running it."
POWERade Series points leader Angelle Sampey has struggled this weekend but she did find a spot for her U.S. Suzuki. Her best of 7.102 at 188.12 mph placed her 14th overall.
After not earning a No. 1 qualifying spot for the first 10 and a half years of his career, Pro Stock leader Johnson has now earned two in the last four races. The Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T driver used a career-best run of 6.645 at 207.43 mph in Round 3 to get the job done. His elapsed time set a track record.
"It's a big deal to lead the quickest field ever," Johnson said. "It means you're one of the best of the best, and there are probably 10-to-12 cars out here that could be considered the best. Dad (Roy Johnson) is doing a great job building these engines and it's gonna be a good Father's Day starting as the No. 1 qualifier. I can't think of anything that would be better than winning the race for him."
Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. Sunday.
First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.
Top Fuel -- 1. Brandon Bernstein, 4.534 seconds, 330.72 mph vs. 16. Rit Pustari, 4.713, 313.44; 2. Bob Vandergriff, 4.546, 328.46 vs. 15. Hillary Will, 4.641, 319.45; 3. Tony Schumacher, 4.561, 324.83 vs. 14. David Grubnic, 4.641, 325.14; 4. Doug Kalitta, 4.564, 329.91 vs. 13. Morgan Lucas, 4.636, 313.66; 5. Rod Fuller, 4.570, 327.82 vs. 12. Clay Millican, 4.626, 328.30; 6. Larry Dixon, 4.574, 327.98 vs. 11. Melanie Troxel, 4.608, 320.58; 7. Doug Herbert, 4.575, 324.51 vs. 10. J.R. Todd, 4.585, 320.05; 8. David Baca, 4.582, 329.10 vs. 9. Cory McClenathan, 4.584, 327.74.
Funny Car -- 1. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.787, 324.36 vs. 16. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus, 4.878, 314.09; 2. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.801, 322.34 vs. 15. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.867, 320.20; 3. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.804, 325.22 vs. 14. Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 4.866, 319.14; 4. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.811, 323.66 vs. 13. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.854, 314.46; 5. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.812, 320.58 vs. 12. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.853, 322.04; 6. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.816, 318.17 vs. 11. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.839, 320.43; 7. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.827, 324.05 vs. 10. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.836, 321.73; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.833, 319.07 vs. 9. Whit Bazemore, Charger, 4.835, 324.59.
Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.645, 207.53 vs. 16. Mark Pawuk, Chevy Cobalt, 6.686, 206.99; 2. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GTO, 6.650, 208.01 vs. 15. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.680, 207.88; 3. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.655, 208.17 vs. 14. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.679, 207.15; 4. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.661, 207.85 vs. 13. Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.679, 207.40; 5. Jason Line, GTO, 6.663, 207.85 vs. 12. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.675, 206.80; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.663, 207.40 vs. 11. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.672, 207.27; 7. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.665, 207.94 vs. 10. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.671, 207.02; 8. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.667, 207.91 vs. 9. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.668, 207.72.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Chip Ellis, Buell, 6.997, 189.73 vs. 16. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.107, 186.64; 2. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.023, 191.54 vs. 15. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.107, 188.33; 3. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.027, 192.11 vs. 14. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.102, 188.65; 4. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.030, 190.08 vs. 13. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.101, 190.51; 5. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.034, 191.38 vs. 12. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.091, 192.71; 6. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.036, 187.70 vs. 11. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.085, 189.95; 7. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.045, 190.06 vs. 10. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.076, 187.55; 8. Paul Gast, Suzuki, 7.060, 194.83 vs. 9. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.061, 189.39.
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SATURDAY NOTEBOOK
TOP FUEL
Yeah but you still have to beat #16 - Tony Schumacher pointed out that running good cars brings out the best in him. Schumacher edged top qualifier Brandon Bernstein in his final qualifying lap by a 4.561 to 4.578 margin.
“That’s what racing is all about,” Schumacher said. “We haven’t been able to do that. We have been qualifying number one and getting beat early. We haven’t been running the good cars like that. That was just fun and it reminds us what this is all about. It makes us rise to a new level.”
Almost one for the trivia book – Even Bob Frey couldn’t remember the last time two cars went into the sand trap on the same run. It almost happened today when both Larry Dixon and “Hot Rod” Fuller's cars experienced parachute malfunctions. Both drivers exceeded 325 miles per hour on the run.
In an ironic twist, Fuller’s parachute never came out at all, yet he managed to make the turn. Dixon’s chute fluttered out at the last moment before he went deep into the sand and buries the nose of his dragster under the edge of the catch net.
300 MPH Medal - Tony Schumacher had some added inspiration as he pushed his way into the Top Fuel field during the third session. The Army-sponsored driver carried the bronze star of a soldier who had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.
Michael Lebouf presented the bronze star to Schumacher for a 300 mile per hour run. Unqualified at the time, Schumacher jumped into the field with a pass of 4.561, 324.59.
Remembering 9/11 - An impromptu visit to Ground Zero during a New York City sightseeing trip so moved Mach 1 Air Services Top Fuel driver David Baca that he's taken on a special cause at this weekend's K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Discount Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. And he's challenging his fellow Pros to help.
After being brought to tears several times as he toured the area where the World Trade Center towers once stood, Baca, a 41-year-old from Brentwood, Calif., felt compelled to do something to honor those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He quickly remembered a story on NHRA.com about the efforts of Sportsman racer Frankie Cicerale Jr. and decided to do what he could to help the kid from Piscataway, N.J.
"I wasn't expecting to be so emotional at Ground Zero," Baca said. "But when you go there it hits home, especially when you're with your family. I thought about how lucky we all are to live in this country and enjoy the liberties we have. The people we lost that day are American heroes, and we can never forget their sacrifice."
Last Sept. 11, after selling tickets all summer, Cicerale raffled off his specially designed 9/11 tribute helmet during a divisional race at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The proceeds of the raffle went to the Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation, which was set up after the 9/11 attacks to honor Mark, whose father George competes in Super Gas. Mark was on the 104th floor of the North Tower when it collapsed.
The Mark Hindy Charitable Foundation keeps his memory alive by donating money to various children's hospitals and children's charities in the New York City area. Cicerale hopes this year's commemorative helmet raffle, which will culminate in early September, will raise a record amount.
"The raffle starts this weekend in my pit," Baca said. "I pledge $500 to get this thing started, and I will ask all of my fellow racers to make the same contribution. I hope this year's helmet fits me because if it does I want to make a pass with it in my Mach 1 Air Services dragster. I ask everyone to stop by our pit and buy a raffle ticket."
The paint scheme of this year's helmet was a collaborative effort between Cicerale and local Piscataway Schools art teacher Krista Kirchofer. It honors police officers, firefighters, the 3,000 people who perished in the World Trade Center towers, and the innocent civilians lost in the four hijacked airplanes.
FUNNY CAR
Bartone is the man – It didn’t snow today as Tony Bartone hoped for, but he still managed a serious case of goosebumps. This marked the first time in his career as a Funny Car driver that he has qualified number one.
“When Robert Hight ran that 4.80, there was more of a sigh of relief on my behalf,” Bartone said. “I have a lot of goosebumps and this was certainly a career milestone.
“I have to thank Jim Dunn and all of those who have helped me. I want to thank Jim for believing in me. I don’t know that he’s had the confidence level in any of his other drivers that he’s got in me.
Bartone is still finds himself accepting this fate as reality. “It hasn’t set in yet, but I’m sure it will later.”
Bartone and team owner Jim Dunn were so confident they elected to skip the final session and still maintained the top ranking.
“We got a little bit of heat today for the last session, so we decided to sit that one out and work on the car, preparing it for war tomorrow.”
Oh Really? – “Some of us race for ego and Jim is happy right now.” – Tony Bartone on how his top qualifier went over with the Jim Dunn team.
Gimme My Horse Shoe back - Ron Capps hasn't had the best weekend of qualifying, but following a stout pass down the quarter-mile in the final qualifying session, he moved up from No. 15 to No. 14 in a car with improved performance.
His final lap, a 4.866-second pass at 310.27 mph, was his best of the
weekend, the fourth quickest of that session, held under high heat and
humidity, and it came after the Brut Dodge Charger R/T crew changed the
engine between sessions today.
Capps' other passes included a 5.024/293.92, a 4.878/319.14 and a
4.881/313.66 - consistent, but good only for the bottom half of the field.
"Before that last round we had to change engines," explained Capps. "They
had already started the first pair of Top Fuel (the class qualifying just in
front of Funny Car) and we found something wrong with the oil pressure on
one of our engines. The Brut Dodge guys changed it and the car was back to
sounding like its old self.
"We went out there in the heat of the day and ran the .86, which was a great
run at the time. I was real pleased with it. We moved up a little bit," said
Capps, whose team also receives support from Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels.
"We were paired up to run Robert Hight (in first round of eliminations)
before that, but now we have Jim Head, who is also running really well. I
really mean it sincerely when I say it's a big goal to set for yourself just
to qualify. There are some tough cars that are not running tomorrow. It's
unfortunate, but it's a tough deal out here.
"You always want to end qualifying on a good note, because if you run good
maybe in the first or second run, and then in the last run you don't run
good, you really don't sleep that well, for whatever reason. But if you end
it on a good note like we did, you do.
"It's supposed to be in the 90s tomorrow, and I don't think lane choice will
be a big deal here, so I'm pretty pumped up."
I’ll Take It - Del Worsham knew after Friday evening’s run, he had a keeper.
"I'd say the odds are very much in favor of us staying right there," Worsham said. "The weather can do crazy things, and maybe it won't be as hot and humid as they're calling for, but if it's in the 90's tomorrow, it's going to be very hard for anyone out here to improve. I have first hand experience with this, you know, because our Topeka problem was based on exactly this sort of deal. We missed on the Friday night run, and had to run a 4.99 to get in, but we couldn't do that in the heat. I think this track will be a little more forgiving than that, but when get down to the high 4.80's, you're probably looking at numbers that can't be changed.
"We knew the track would be a lot better than it was yesterday afternoon, where we ran 5.03 and that was good enough for 4th spot on the sheet. But, when Jim Head led off the session with a 4.80, I know some jaws hit the ground in the staging lanes. There was a ton of track out there, and a lot of people were scrambling to figure out what to do about it. With all that to contend with, I was happy to get the 4.82 on the board. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
Corradi moves to Ashley team – Mike Ashley and Don Schumacher held a press conference in Englishtown to discuss the details of their forthcoming union together with an Evan Knoll-owned Funny Car. One of the topics discussed was a significant change to take place in Denver.
Current crewchief Mark Oswald has declined to join Ashley with the team at DSR.
“Corradi is going to be running the show,” explained Ashley. “To tell you a little bit about Brian, he right now is the co-crew chief on Whit Bazemore’s car, and it’s hard to argue that Whit is not doing absolutely excellent. He went a .67 in Chicago and just missed the No. 1 qualifying spot. He went to the final in Columbus. I’ve been tracking what they have been doing.
“Brian is a bright guy, he’s got good experience, he beat me pretty good last year; I race against Frankie Pedregon when he was tuning Frankie Pedregon, so I think he’ll be a good guy to race for. I was fortunate enough to have a meeting with him at Don’s shop, and we’ve got absolutely a great outlook on things. I love the way he’s positive about everything, I like his experience level, and I like his approach. His approach is to win, but I think he’s got the right balance. He’s not going to go for the throat every time, he’s going to balance off to make sure we go rounds. I like that kind of philosophy.”
Adding Corradi is just one of many resources that will be available for Ashley once the transition takes place in Denver.
“It’s like being a kid in a candy store, you go in and it’s which candy do you want,” said Ashley. “I think I’m excited about, I’ve always liked the challenge, but I think this time the preparation part and the opportunity part is really there. I think Don’s like me with our team - absolute clear opportunity to compete for a championship. It’s going to be up to us to really make it happen and that’s good to be in that position.”
Schumacher is excited as well.
“I was very fortunate to have Evan Knoll come on board and bring this team to me and say here go out and buy the parts and pieces necessary to go out and do the job, and to have a talented personality like Mike Ashley come aboard,” Schumacher said. “He may talk about he’s new driving these Funny Cars, but boy, from the Pro Mod operation to come over here, I think he made that transition real, real well and real easy. We’re just going to work real, real hard and put a great car underneath him.”
Schumacher said the new Evan Knoll team will take over a shop he had planned to rent out.
“Just to put this team together in the short few weeks that we have where they don’t have a nut or a bolt. Fortunately, Mike’s got a couple of tractors and trailers that we’ll roll into, but beyond then that we have to purchase everything brand new. That’s a good situation, we’ve got two chassis coming from Murf McKinney, we’ll have one of the new cars ready for Denver, we’ve got two bodies out at the paint shop getting painted right now, and it will be a good operation in a short period of time.”
PRO STOCK
Practice Makes Perfect for Johnson - If practice makes for perfect then Allen Johnson should be the poster boy for success. Johnson is seeing the results of a steady testing regiment coming forth.
“We stayed after following Chicago and realized we had some things backward with the car,” Johnson said. “We got that fixed and making some good runs and Mopar is giving us some good parts. Two weeks in a row, Mopar has been number one.”
With the practice, Johnson has been getting at least one season out of car before its work out.
“We have tested a lot and some times as many as three times in a week,” Johnson said. “It’s paying dividends. We get now maybe a season at best out of them. We are making more runs and making more power. That tends to wear them out quicker.”
A Win For Dad – Allen and Roy Johnson have the kind of father/son relationship some can only dream of. Roy, a longtime Super Stock racer and his son’s engine builder, raised Allen in a drag racing environment. With tomorrow’s final eliminations falling on Father’s Day, Allen would love to provide the ultimate present.
“I always get choked up when I see something great happen to him and he gets choked up when I am able to pull something off good. We thrive on seeing one another succeed.”
That’s Slammin’ – Borget Bike Works, one of the largest custom motorcycle manufacturers in the country, unveiled the Slammers Ultimate Chopper this weekend.
The one-of-a-kind Super Stretch Python was designed and created by Steve Zammit of Borget Bike Works of New York.
“When Victor got the Slammers deal I wanted to do something special for him,” Zammit said. “Victor ran our name on the car when he started in Pro Stock and this was a way to pay him back. I grew up with Victor, and over the years we both went from rowdy kids to incredible businessmen. Through it all, our friendship never changed.”
The bike is based on the Chevrolet Cobalt that Erica Enders drives.
“The idea was to take Victor’s Pro Stock car and turn it into an awesome two-wheel machine,” Zammit said. “Judging by the reaction from all the people so far this weekend, I think it worked.”
In the heat - Dave Connolly wasn't the quickest qualifier in the quickest NHRA Pro Stock starting lineup in history but he did register the best run on a hot and tricky Old Bridge Township Raceway Park racing surface Saturday afternoon while preparing for Sunday's K&N Filters SuperNationals.
Connolly's SKULL GEAR Chevy Cobalt was timed in 6.670 seconds at 207.59 mph in the same type of weather conditions expected Sunday. He posted his best time here Friday, 6.665 seconds at a career-best 207.94 mph that put him seventh overall. He races No. 10 V. Gaines, 6.671 at 206.48 mph.
"That (Saturday afternoon) run wasn't bad," said Connolly. "We had been struggling and hadn't made a good run all weekend. We finally made one. The car was strong to 330 feet and stayed there. We were working on our race day setup and things seemed to pan out. There aren't any easy runs on Sunday."
The quickest field went from Allen Johnson's 6.645 seconds to No. 16 Mark Pawuk's 6.686.
Golden Opportunity – If only Richie Stevens could have his Friday night run back.
"Here, we had the wrong low gear in the transmission on Friday night with
ideal weather conditions, but we know what we did wrong and we did great in
the sun today after we corrected it. That's going to be more like race
conditions, so I feel good for tomorrow.
"The car is working well and we have the horsepower, so now we just need to
go rounds and get a win. That's the only thing missing out of this puzzle. I
feel like I'm driving good, and hopefully I can cut some good lights
(reaction times) tomorrow and grab some round wins.
"I've had two wins here (1999 and 2001), and I'd love to add another one
tomorrow. The whole field is only separated by four-hundredths of a second,
so it's anybody's race. We'll see what happens."
PRO STOCK BIKE
Overrated – Chip Ellis made another “over-rated” six second run on Saturday. Ellis, rider for George Bryce’s G-Squared team, proclaimed that six second runs were overrated last week in Chicago when members of the media began putting a value on the milestone runs. At the time, Ellis didn’t have a six-second run to his name. By the end of the event, he had one.
“We struggled yesterday early and the bike wouldn’t shift,” Ellis said. “We took the transmission out and worked on it. We put another one in and it stumbled on the one-two shift. I know if we could make it shift it would fly. We triple checked it today and it went right in.”
This marks his third consecutive pole position in as many weeks.
As much attention was put on the performance of Ellis today, the one thing that caught the most attention was the undersuit that he wore to the press conference.
“Leathers like to stick to skin,” Ellis insisted. “You don’t have the freedom to move around.”
The Good News and the bad – The good news is that Geno Scali’s prediction on Friday night came to pass. He predicted today’s 11 AM session would yield the quickest of the weekend. Scali was right on the money. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the driver to deliver that jewel.
Scali also predicted a 7.0-second bump spot.
A real hot shoe – Tom Bradford was among those who ran personal bests on Friday with a 7.061.
"It felt awesome," said Bradford. "It went straight, it was smooth. I felt like I hit my shift points dead on. After the chain situation, we had out bike 90% torn apart it seemed like."
Bradford learned a valuable lesson which mandated that personal best runs are not designed to last forever. In fact they end after 1320 feet.
"I did go into the gravel. I had no rear brake, so I'm really laying on the front brake real hard. It started to wash out on me three times. It was pretty hairy, and I just dropped the front wheel into the sand. The Safety Safari guys all came over and said 'Heck of a job riding! We saw you washing out and thought you were gonna go over about three times!'
”My wife Theresa flew in last night. Today is our anniversary, so we're looking for some good runs."
"We're obviously putting a tire on for Saturday," added Schopf. "And Tom wore his shoes completely through, so he'll need a new pair of those..."
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FRIDAY - NEW YORKER BARTONE TOPS FUNNY CAR FIELD AT HOMETOWN K&N SUPERNATIONALS
Bernstein, Yates and Scali round out provisional No. 1 qualifiers
Local hero Tony Bartone is the surprise leader in Funny Car after the first two of four rounds of qualifying at the 37 th annual K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals.
Brandon Bernstein (Top Fuel), Jim Yates (Pro Stock), and Geno Scali (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also top their respective fields at the $1.8 million race, the 11th of 23 in the $50 million POWERade Drag Racing Series. For the second weekend in a row, the Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle classes feature the quickest fields of all time.
The native of Long Island, N.Y. -- with the accent to match -- posted a 4.787 at 324.36 mph in his Lucas Oil Chevy Monte Carlo Friday night to assume the provisional No. 1 position for the first time in his career.
A class dominator in the sportsman ranks, Bartone has never been top qualifier in five years at the professional level. He'll need to hold off a talented chase pack through Saturday's final two sessions, scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
"I'm praying for snow," Bartone said. "I'm absolutely tickled pink right now. Certainly, we hope it holds through tomorrow. I think it has a chance. I've got a suite full of friends and family and all our customers from our other business and they're all thrilled. I couldn't think of a better place for this to happen."
Bernstein traversed the quarter mile at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park -- the track where he suffered a season-ending back injury in his rookie season of 2003 -- with a very quick 4.539 at 330.72 mph in his Budweiser dragster. A two-time winner this year, Bernstein is currently third in the points chase.
"I really don't think about the wreck when I come here," Bernstein said. "From Day 1 afterwards I put it out of my mind. This is just another track with a Christmas Tree, a starting line, and a finish line. The main thing I think about here is that I haven't made it out of the first round yet. We're gonna change that this weekend."
A winner of four of the last five races on tour, Doug Kalitta is a distant second to Bernstein after a best of 4.564 at 329.91 mph. Three-time and back-to-back POWERade Series champion Tony Schumacher, meanwhile, has yet to make the Top Fuel field.
Yates' steady upward climb in Pro Stock continues with his top qualifying effort of 6.655 at 208.17 mph in his Sea Ray Boats Pontiac GTO. The run was a personal best for Yates and set both ends of the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park category record. His speed was just six-hundredths shy of Greg Anderson's national record of 208.23 set at Gainesville in 2005.
When bracketed with No. 16 qualifier Erica Enders' 6.692 at 207.56 mph,
Yates leads the quickest field of all time.
"Any time you can say you're No. 1 in any field says a lot about your team," said Yates, who last led a field at the 2005 season opener in Pomona, Calif. "To be No. 1 in the quickest field ever is really something. We were No. 1 after both sessions today so I'd say that's a heckuva way to start the weekend."
Former champion Scali is a bit of a surprise at the top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle ladder, but the 7.023 at 191.54 mph he posted on his Performance Machine Suzuki placed him atop the grid at the midway point of qualifying. Scali last qualified No. 1 at the first Chicago race in 2003, the year he won his POWERade Series championship.
"A half hour later and we would have seen some sixes," Scali said, referring to runs in the six-second range. "We just needed the sun to get behind the bleachers. Tomorrow morning's session will be the best of the weekend and I predict we'll see a 7.0-second bump and at least a couple of sixes."
Back-to-back champ Andrew Hines set the Day 1 bump at 7.115 seconds, making this the quickest 16 bikes ever assembled.
Results Friday after qualifying for the 37th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.
Top Fuel -- 1. Brandon Bernstein, 4.539 seconds, 330.72 mph; 2. Doug Kalitta, 4.564, 329.91; 3. Doug Herbert, 4.575, 324.51; 4. Rod Fuller, 4.586, 326.00; 5. David Baca, 4.599, 329.10; 6. Cory McClenathan, 4.599, 321.50; 7. Larry Dixon, 4.612, 325.45; 8. Melanie Troxel, 4.621, 320.58; 9. Clay Millican, 4.626, 328.30; 10. Morgan Lucas, 4.636, 313.66; 11. Hillary Will, 4.641, 319.45; 12. J.R. Todd, 4.669, 314.02; 13. David Grubnic, 4.689, 310.77; 14. Rit Pustari, 4.713, 313.44; 15. Scott Palmer, 4.719, 272.61; 16. Scott Weis, 4.795, 303.43.
Funny Car -- 1. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.787, 324.36; 2. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.801, 322.34; 3. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.804, 325.22; 4. Gary Scelzi, Dodge Charger, 4.811, 321.50; 5. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.812, 320.58; 6. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.816, 318.17; 7. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.827, 324.05; 8. John Force, Mustang, 4.833, 319.07; 9. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.839, 320.43; 10. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.853, 322.04; 11. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.854, 314.46; 12. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.867, 320.20; 13. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.878, 319.14; 14. Whit Bazemore, Charger, 4.878, 315.78; 15. Mike Ashley, Monte Carlo, 4.888, 313.95; 16. Jeff Arend, Monte Carlo, 4.906, 321.50.
Pro Stock -- 1. Jim Yates, Pontiac GTO, 6.655, 208.17; 2. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.656, 208.01; 3. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.666, 207.53; 4. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt, 6.667, 207.91; 5. Jason Line, GTO, 6.668, 207.72; 6. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.668, 207.59; 7. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.669, 207.50; 8. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.670, 207.94; 9. Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.679, 207.40; 10. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.679, 206.89; 11. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.680, 206.80; 12. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.683, 207.18; 13. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.684, 207.02; 14. Mark Pawuk, Cobalt, 6.686, 206.99; 15. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.691, 207.27; 16. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.692, 207.56.
Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.023, 191.54; 2. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.027, 192.11; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.030, 190.08; 4. Paul Gast, Suzuki, 7.060, 194.83; 5. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.061, 189.39; 6. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.062, 191.35; 7. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.076, 187.55; 8. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.078, 187.70; 9. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.082, 189.73; 10. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.091, 192.71; 11. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.097, 189.95; 12. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.101, 189.79; 13. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.102, 188.31; 14. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.107, 188.33; 15. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.107, 186.64; 16. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.115, 190.06.
FRIDAY NOTEBOOK
TOP FUEL
Prince is King for a Day – Brandon Bernstein was fired up for the final Friday session, but by his own admission the track and weather came to him.
“Obviously Tim Richards had a good handle on the air,” Bernstein said. “The sun started to go down and the air started to get better. He came in the cockpit and made several changes in the box.
“It went out and hiked the front end up just a little bit,” Bernstein said. “I knew from the time I pulled the parachute that it was on a good run. I had a feeling that it was going to be at least first or second quickest. It was a great run and a good job by our team.”
Not even a thought – There was no drama and not even a thought of the 2003 mishap that prematurely ended Bernstein’s rookie season.
“I had really from day one put that out of my mind,” Bernstein said. “When I come into this track it is just another race facility to me. It has a starting line, a finish line and a Christmas tree. I don’t really try to think about what happened that day.”
Coincidently, Bernstein qualified #1 the next season.
One Million – What happens when you combine the unorthodox folks from Orange County Choppers with the creative marketing geniuses at Motel 6? You get a sweepstakes contest orchestrated by none other than the man who answers to the nickname “Captain Chaos.”
One lucky winner will receive $1 Million Dollars and the Orange County Choppers-built ride. Kenny “Captain Chaos” Koretsky joined the companies together using drag racing.
“The guys at Motel 6 were looking for a creative marketing promotion,” said Koretsky. “One thing led to another with our new partnership with the guys from OCC, we were able to hook them up with Accor hotels.”
Kenny Koretsky, Sweepstakes Broker?
“Nope,” Koretsky said. “It’s just Captain Chaos at work.”
FUNNY CAR
How You Doin? – Tony Bartone had all of the family in Englishtown, including Mama Bartone, and for him that was a good thing. Bartone drove the Lucas Oil-sponsored, Jim Dunn flopper to the provisional pole during the Friday evening session.
“Mama Bartone is here along with all the family and friends,” Bartone said. “It was a great lap and I knew it when I put the gas down. It moved around a little upstairs but it was a great qualifying effort.
“Drag racing is all about performance and tonight we performed. I put the pedal down and it pushed me back in the seat. We had the front wheels up in the air and it was hauling the groceries. I had goose bumps and I’m praying for snowfall tonight.”
U.S. Male – In the 1970s, one of the popular names at Englishtown was a BB/FC [Alcohol Funny Car] driven by Nick Bonifante, Sr., that carried the moniker of U.S. Male. This weekend Paul Lee is carrying a special tribute to that car on the side of his Monte Carlo flopper. Lee is currently 19th in the field with a smoky 6.988.
Drag Racing Athletes? – Have you ever encountered the debate that suggests motorsports participants are not athletes?
Mike Ashley might have a valid argument because he trains with a personal training with drag racing mechanisms as the focus of his high-impact regimen. During Friday’s evening session, Ashley lost a cylinder at 700-feet and was forced to wrestle his car into the groove.
Just twelve hours earlier, he was preparing for that same scenario at home in a Long Island gym. In one particular exercise, Ashley’s trainer ties a rope to a 10 pound weight and for a period of sixty seconds attempts to pull the weight from his hand.
Today, the trainer was unsuccessful and likewise was his SKULL GEAR/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels-sponsored Monte Carlo.
“I think it helps me,” Ashley said. “One of the key factors of this workout is to improve my focus. Usually, you don’t try to hit the tree hard in qualifying but I went in shallow.
“About 700 feet, it tried to pull to the side but I wrestled it back. I’m really glad. I’d rather be inside headed into an 86-degree day than on the outside needing to get it.”
The one exercise that demands the most focus consists of two trainers, a tennis court and Ashley seated in a chair with a 15-pound medicine ball. The trainer throws tennis balls at Ashley while he used the medicine ball to deflect the pitches. Meanwhile, another trainer holds up flash cards for Ashley, wearing his driving helmet, to answer the equations simultaneously.
Ashley ended up 15 th after the first day.
PRO STOCK
He May Be Grumpy to you, but not to us – Pro Stock low qualifier Jim Yates alluded that his engine builder Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins doesn’t do a good job living up to his nickname. The former world champion says that Jenkins is anything but a man in a continuous ill mood.
“He is not grumpy to us,” Yates said. “Regardless, if I miss a shift or anything. I do that a lot. Sometimes I’m a little high and sometimes I’m low.
“Let me tell you something, Bill Jenkins is having fun out here. He’s having fun. He enjoys what is going on. He is getting rewards for all of his hard work. He’s happy and fun for us to be around.”
Engine Swapping – Bob Benza is hoping to conjure up some of the positive spirits that propelled Steve Schmidt into the field last week in Chicago. Since Schmidt could attend this weekend’s event, he loaned the engine to Benza.
Benza had no such luck in the first day of qualifying with only a 6.725 at 207.27 miles per hour.
Wants to go back home – Jerry Eckman misses the home he knew for almost three decades. To him, driving a Pro Stocker was the place he had lived since 1955. He’s still involved in the sport but a fine related to a controversial situation in the mid-1990s keeps him from returning to active competition.
Eckman is a crewmember on Kenny Koretsky’s Pro Stocker driven by Mike Thomas. The gig with Koretsky represents his first full-time racing gig since the infamous nitrous explosion at Columbus in 1994. The controversial incident took place in the pit area before Eckman had even turned a tire under power in competition.
Eckman actually came back and raced for three races in 1999 with former car owner Dave Beli and had reached an agreement with the NHRA to settle up the fine stemming from the accident. As luck would have it, Beli sold the car the following winter.
“I miss driving, there’s no doubt about it,” Eckman said. “It’s all I ever did since 1955. I’m still holding out that I will one day drive again.”
That incident, in which Eckman maintains his innocence, tarnished a reputation he’d worked hard to develop.
“It’s certainly a disappointment to have a black cloud hovering over what you poured your heart and soul into,” Eckman said. “It’s a terrible way to have to live the rest of your life.
“The day is coming when I will be able to clear my name from this mess.”
Misses Home Also – Frank Iaconio walked away from driving a Pro Stocker a little over a decade ago. Since then he’s developed a top-notch engine building business that services the top name drivers most notably Mike Edwards.
Iaconio admits that he’s been okay with vacating the driver’s seat but there’s something that makes him smile with the tour rolls in Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. E-town was Iaconio’s playground.
“We won here three times…,” Iaconio said as he smiled. “It was one of my favorite tracks. But, times change and prices go up.”
Iaconio, who was from nearby Totowah, NJ., won in 1979, 1981 and 1983. In fact, Bob Glidden only lost once in the 1979 season and it came during the visit to Englishtown.
“We used to beat Bob a few times here,” Iaconio added. “Those were good memories.”
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE
Not a Danica Fan – Please forgive Angelle Sampey if she’s not in the Danica Patrick fan club. One of her crewmembers made mention of how much he liked the Formula One driver and almost immediately Angelle expressed her dislike of the way the media plays up her gender more than her being a racer.
Leave it to a crewmember with too much time on his hands to exploit the situation.
“There she is in my leathers,” Sampey said when showing a picture of the good-natured fun with a Danica life size cut-out. “Here’s a picture of her posted in my locker and it says ‘this is my locker now, get your s*** out biotch.’
“Here’s another picture of her holding a bottle of Cajun whoop ass.”
The crewmember, who shall remain anonymous, is infatuated with Danica even though Sampey contends he’s in love with her. A poster, which has since been defaced [allegedly by Sampey], hangs in the trailer.
“They know I hate this whole female racer angle,” Sampey said. “I hate being asked about it and I hate being referred to as a female racer. It’s on my website but not by my doing. I don’t like the whole topic. I like to be noticed for the attributes of my team and not my gender.”
Sampey says she made comments in the shop and that set it all off….Angelle’s leathers on the cut-out. The crew even set up a camera for Sampey reaction.
It wasn’t pretty.
“I went in the restroom and there was a life-sized picture of Danica from the neck up taped to the toilet seat. I had chewed up some M&Ms and smeared them on her mouth. That ended it all.”
At least that’s what Sampey thought. Her NHRA POWERade sign out side her pit area was replaced with Danica’s likeness from the chest up.
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THURSDAY HEADLINER - It’s a hot summer national Father’s Day thing
(6-15-2006) - It used to be an event that signified the start of the summer drag racing season. Now the K&N Filters SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is known as the “Father’s Day” race.
For most, the standard gift on Father’s Day is a tie. For NHRA Top Fuel driver Larry Dixon, the gift he’s become accustomed to on Father’s Day has been a Wally.
Five years running now – every year since his first child, Donovan, was born – Dixon has celebrated Father’s Day with an NHRA POWERade Series victory. The streak began with three consecutive wins at Columbus and even a revision in the schedule failed to slow him down as he picked up right where he left off when the Father’s Day event was moved to Englishtown with wins there in each of the past two years.
“Every year I’ve been a dad, I’ve won on Father’s Day,” said Dixon, who is currently in fifth place in the NHRA POWERade Series Top Fuel standings.
“I don’t know what it is, divine intervention or something, I don’t know,” Dixon said, trying to explain his Father’s Day fortunes. “If it was something we were doing, I promise you we’d do it at every race.”
Dixon hopes to extend the Father’s Day streak to six with a third straight win at the 36th annual K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Auto, June 15-18 at historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The $1.8 million race, which will be televised on ESPN2 HD, is the 11th of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
“(Old Bridge Township Raceway Park) is awesome. I really enjoy racing there,” said the 39-year old Dixon, an NHRA historian of sorts who takes great pride in conquering the tracks he grew up watching the legends like team owner Don Prudhomme race on. “It’s a track that’s been part of the (NHRA POWERade Series) for so long … for me, those are the tracks I always dreamed of going to, much less racing. And winning at those tracks, it’s like winning a (PGA Tour) Major. I consider Englishtown (along with Pomona, Indianapolis, Gainesville and Columbus) certainly to be one of the (NHRA) Majors.”
So far in 2006, Dixon is winless but the two-time POWERade Series world champion (2002-’03) has a new crew chief in Dick LaHaie protégé Donnie Bender and the two are still in a feeling out period. Bender had been LaHaie’s assistant crew chief for many years so there’s been a fairly smooth transition; still, there is a learning curve with respect to building a trust and an understanding with one another.
Dixon has had his moments in 2006. He’s made it out of the first round at all but three of the first 10 events and he’s been to the semifinals at three events.
He’s currently 299 points south of season-long Top Fuel points leader Melanie Troxel, who has won two races and been to seven final rounds. He’s also looking up in the standings at the two hottest drivers in the class, Doug Kalitta and Brandon Bernstein, who’ve combined to win the last five events with Kalitta claiming four of the five.
Dixon, who set the Old Bridge Township track record for speed (332.26 mph) en route to his 2005 title, also has a three-year old daughter Alanna and he is married to Allison.
Other defending event winners include Del Worsham in Funny Car, Jason Line in Pro Stock, and Antron Brown in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
In Funny Car, POWERade Series points leader Ron Capps has been the driver to beat, posting a season-leading four victories in his Brut Dodge Charger with three of the four coming at the expense of NHRA icon John Force, who recently earned his first victory of the season and 120th of his career. Force is currently 48 points back of Capps in second place.
Force hopes to make up more ground at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, however he has not won there since 1999 – the longest dry spell for Force at any of the tracks on this year’s schedule. Old Bridge is one of just two tracks (with Route 66 Raceway at Chicago) where Force isn’t the all-time wins leader in Funny Car (at Old Bridge, it’s Don Prudhomme with six; Force has four).
Defending Series champion Gary Scelzi is back in eighth place and is looking for his first victory of the season. Other drivers to watch in Funny Car are defending event champion Worsham and Tony Pedregon, a two-time winner this season in his Q Racing Chevy Monte Carlo.
In Pro Stock, the Summit Racing Pontiac GTO tandem of three-time defending POWERade Series champion Greg Anderson and defending event champion Line come in limping a bit with only one victory each on the season, though they remain 1-3 in the POWERade Series standings. Sixth-place Erica Enders recently became the first female in Pro Stock to qualify No. 1 in NHRA history and she is a threat to earn her first victory at any event.
Pro Stock Motorcycle has featured the return of the Suzukis as U.S. Army teammates Antron Brown and Angelle Sampey have four of five events with Sampey claiming three to take the early lead in the POWERade Series standings as she tracks down her fourth world championship. Still, Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teammates Andrew Hines and GT Tonglet are not to be forgotten. Chicago winner Ryan Schnitz also is a threat on his Trim-Tex Buell.
THURSDAY NOTEBOOK -
TOP FUEL
Keep it up - Melanie Troxel knows that momentum is priority if she hopes to maintain her top ranking in the Top Fuel division.
Troxel has reached the final round in seven of the 10 events so far, winning twice driving the Skull Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Race Fuels Top Fuel dragster for Don Schumacher Racing in her first full season in the class, but she's looking over her shoulder at Doug Kalitta, who is closing in.
The team's performance this weekend is critical to Troxel's quest. Only 71 points separate her from Kalitta (she has led by as many as 156 points this year), and Troxel is determined to snap Kalitta's streak of four wins in the last five races.
Troxel has two round wins over Kalitta since she returned to Top Fuel competition with Don Schumacher Racing in Denver last year, and she's looking to add to that record. She wasn't able to do that in last weekend's final round, however, when Kalitta won after she was disqualified for crossing the centerline when the car made a bizarre move to the left at the launch. En route to the final, however, she put together a stellar string of successively-quicker rounds.
"Well, I think we accomplished what we needed to last weekend as far as stepping up our program," she said. "We just didn't quite get the job done in the final round.
"There were a lot of indications that we're back to running like we had been earlier in the year (where she became the first Top Fuel driver to reach the first five final rounds of a season)," she said. "The Skull Shine dragster ran great. We're still not quite sure what happened in the final round, but up until that point the car was consistent, went down the track, and picked up a little bit each round. We just didn't come away with the win.
"We need to continue on that kind of pace to step up our program and if we're fortunate enough that Doug Kalitta doesn't make it to the final then we need to capitalize on that and gain some points. And if we're fortunate enough to make it the final and meet him there, then we need to come away with that win.
"He's chipping away at our lead. This is that tough time of year. The three-race swing can go so fast and make a huge change in the points (the St. Louis race follows next weekend after consecutive events in Chicago and Englishtown, N.J.). That was a good step, making it to the final round last weekend. We just need to keep up that momentum."
Coming on strong – While Melanie Troxel just wants to hold on to her top spot, it’s Doug Kalitta who wants to be in her position. He is hoping to continue an incredible streak of momentum that has seen him win back-to-back NHRA national events – Twice in the first ten events.
To say that Kalitta and his Mac Tools team are the hottest team on the NHRA tour right now, would be a huge understatement. In the preceding five events,
Kalitta won back-to-back events in Bristol, Tenn., and Atlanta and then consecutively won again at the previous two events in Topeka, Kans., and Chicago. It is the best five-race run of his drag racing career, which includes 51 final-round appearances. Kalitta leads Top Fuel, the NHRA’s quickest and fastest racing class, with four wins in 2006 and has climbed from 9th to 2nd place in POWERade championship points. He now sits only 71 points away from the championship lead after trimming away 139 points from the deficit with his recent winning runs.
“We’re definitely running great right now,” Doug said. “Drag racing is a tough sport though, and you can just as easily be on the other end of that, so we’re trying to keep our focus and not get too overjoyed. We’re still in second place and that’s not where we want to be when everything is said and done. We just want to keep being consistent and win as many [elimination] rounds as we can. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s certainly been a fun ride.
“Larry [Dixon] has quite a streak going on Father’s Day (Dixon has won on Father’s Day five straight times). Just like him, I’m a dad too (son Mitchell, 5, and daughter Avery, 2), and I’d like to pick up a win on Father’s Day this year for my kids and for my dad (Doug Sr.). Senior has had some recent health problems, so I’d really like to get a trophy for him in Englishtown. Sorry Larry.”
Just can't explain - Some things in drag racing cannot be explained.
As with all sports, NHRA drag racing isn’t remiss of bizarre and baffling circumstances. In a sport where you can record a personal-best and just 75 minutes later have a simple part cause the 8,000 horsepower nitromethane-powered engine to not fire, there are numerous situations that cannot be explained or justified.
For instance, take the case of two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon. Since the birth of his first child, Donovan, on Nov. 29, 2000, the second generation Top Fuel driver has compiled an astounding yet unexplainable string of five consecutive victories on Father’s Day. That’s 20 straight round wins in daddy’s day, which adds up to one of the more impressive feats in the annals of quarter mile racing. Add to the mix the fact that the Father’s Day streak has taken place at two different race tracks (National Trail Raceway and Old Bridge Township Raceway Park) and the scenario becomes even more remarkable.
“You can’t really explain it,” Dixon said. “Fate has probably played into it a little bit. It’s been a great experience for me and my family.”
Dixon, now the father of two (Donovan 5 and Alanna 3), with wife Allison currently carrying the couple’s third child, looks to build upon the remarkable string of 20 consecutive win lights on Father’s Day as the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series makes its annual visit to the storied drag strip at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., June 15-18, for the 37th annual K&N Filters Supernationals. Last June, Dixon and his Miller Lite dragster dominated the Top Fuel class at Raceway Park, qualifying in the No. 1 position and setting the track speed record (332.26 mph) en route to a fifth straight Father’s Day triumph. It was his third career win at the historic New Jersey facility.
“There have been rounds where we smoked the tires and rounds that we won on holeshots and if those hadn’t have happened, we wouldn’t have been able to keep the thing going,” Dixon said. “It’s been good. Obviously, it started when I became a dad, so Donovan has gotten to enjoy all five and his sister, Alanna, has been able to enjoy the last three. It’s been a neat thing. I know, at some point in time it will end, I’m just not ready for it to end this year.”
“I enjoy the fact that we, as a team, have done well at the premier events on the tour, Pomona, Gainesville, Indy, Columbus and Englishtown. Those are the races that I wanted to do well at because I knew about them as a little kid. We’ve been able to do well at those races and that’s something that we’re very proud of.”
At a track where the 38-time NHRA winner has collected three trips to the winner’s circle in six career final- round appearances, the percentages seem likely that Dixon will continue to advance rounds and gather win lights on Father’s Day. With four additional round wins to his credit, the Miller Lite driver will have a personal Father’s Day six pack of “Wally” trophies to proudly display on his mantel at home in Indianapolis.
As fate would have it - Just about the time Wes Cerny and Tony Shortall were zeroing in on a competitive tune-up for the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM Boost Top Fuel dragster, the chassis broke, sending driver Cory McClenathan on a wild, wild ride one Friday night in Bristol, Tenn.
Six weeks and four races later, it looks like Cerny (the crew chief) and Shortall (assistant crew chief) have not only one, but two tune-ups for their latest chassis. And they are ready for whatever conditions arise over the remaining 13 races in the NHRA POWERade Series tour.
“I think we have a car that runs good in cool weather and hot weather,” McClenathan said. “That’s the biggest thing. I think we have a real player here with the car and I’m looking forward to the next race.”
That race, the K&N Filters SuperNationals, unfolds at venerable Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., for the 37th time, June 16-18, providing the drag racing contingent with its annual glimpse of nearby New York City.
McClenathan won’t have much time for sightseeing. He and the team are intent on doing whatever necessary to win rounds and make an upward move in the standings. He advanced to the semifinals Sunday in Chicago before losing to eventual race winner Doug Kalitta.
McClenathan is ninth with 495 points but is only 46 point out of fifth place.
“We have a good hot rod right now and I think it is going to show itself . . . one round at a time,” he said. “We’ve shown that we are capable of running in the 4.40s (seconds). Wes is really happy with the way the motor’s running right now and we’ll be ready, no matter what the conditions.”
McClenathan, of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., will be making his 295th start this weekend. He was runner-up at Raceway Park in 1992, his rookie year. He also finished second in 1998 and 2004.
The Good, bad and the first round - Brandon Bernstein still has those memories of his rookie season.
For Bernstein, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park brings back flashes of painful memories of season-ending injuries suffered from a first round crash in 2003 for the second generation driver. For his legendary father, six-time world champ, Kenny, the Englishtown facility was a venue where he scored the most number of victories in his career, seven, and has won more times than any other professional driver.
While his father won four Funny Car (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989) and three Top Fuel (1993, 2001, 2002) trophies here, Brandon has yet to advance past the first round at the K & N Filter SuperNationals.
Brandon will be back for his fourth appearance in New Jersey June 16-18.
“When I think of Englishtown, I sometimes think about the pain from the back injuries I suffered in the accident,” Brandon said. “I never think about the crash; just being in the hospital, how my family rallied around me there, and all the pain during the recuperative process. I have blocked the crash out of my mind.
“When I get to the racetrack, it’s just another track and I am able to concentrate on the task at hand. With the success we’ve had so far this year winning two races and finishing runner-up at another, I’m hopeful we can get to the final round this year.”
Doing it for Dad - One can’t blame a kid for wanting to deliver the ultimate Father’s day gift. On this upcoming Sunday, Morgan Lucas wants to give his father, Forrest, a special Father’s Day present a “Wally” trophy, the traditional symbol of victory on the National Hot Rod Association circuit.
As Lucas and his Lucas Oil team head into this weekend's event that singular goal will be paramount on his mind as he hopes to produce a great performance and give his dad, Forrest Lucas his first win as his son’s car owner.
“We want to win the race for my dad and we also want to win it for Lucas Oil,” said Lucas, the youngest driver on the NHRA’s Top Fuel tour at 22. “With this Sunday being Father’s Day, it would mean more to me to be able to win it for him. It would be a lifetime memory that would make him proud and that’s what really counts.”
The motorsports relationship between the young racer and his father goes beyond that of financial support. For the Lucas family, drag racing is a shared passion. When the adolescent Lucas was on the verge of turning 16 years old, his dad set his son’s motorsports career in motion by buying him a Super Comp race car. The ironic part was that the young Lucas had never even given a hint to his father about wanting to go racing, ¦but somehow he just knew it.
“I guess I was around 15 ½ years old and preparing to get my driver’s license when he came home and told me that he had bought a Super Comp car for me to drive,” smiled Lucas, as he thought back to that day. “I didn’t ever have to tell him I wanted to go racing. It was just one of those things he knew. The first time I sat in a race car, I remember I just had this smile on my face and he looked at me and grinned.”
From that day forward, Morgan’s favorite ride has been behind the wheel of an NHRA vehicle.
“Being able to drive a race car was something I had always dreamed of,” said Lucas. “The fact that I get to do this for a living is a gift. I wouldn’t be able to do without him. My dad is man of few words, but he has been extremely supportive of me throughout my career, providing the funding to get me to the point where I am today.
“I still had to work to get here, but he made it ten times easier. I know I’m an investment, but I’m also his son and he has taken very good care of me. The hard work he has done throughout his life has helped me to advance my racing career.”
Seal the deal - Australian Grubnic wants to “seal the deal” this year in E-town. At last year’s annual event, Grubnic was just one round short of hoisting the title trophy in the winner’s circle with a runner-up finish. This year he is looking forward to a possible return to the money round and to avenge last season’s disappointment.
“We came so close last year,” Grubnic said. “It’s tough to lose in the finals. You get so close and then you have to settle for second, but that’s also what makes our sport so exciting. Hopefully we’ll get back there again this year and we can get that one extra win light.”
Grubnic is also very excited about the approximately 150 V.I.P. guests that he and the entire StriVectin-SD team will be hosting and entertaining in the team’s extensive track-side hospitality area this weekend.
“With New York being so close, it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to invite retail beauty advisors, fashion magazine editors and StriVectin customers from one of the largest cities in the world to come out and see all of the excitement of NHRA drag racing and to see why StriVectin is so supportive of our Kalitta Motorsports team and our series. We always have a blast with our guests and I’m sure this will be no exception.”
Grubnic is in 4th place in POWERade championship points (592), 248 points away from the lead.
Serving those who defend freedom - Doug Herbert will entertain some very special guests in New Jersey on Saturday. Joining the team will be a pair of Marines who proudly served their country in Iraq and have returned to the United States after being injured. Lance Corporal Jeremey Trakimowicz and Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Scutt will be joined by members of their families on Saturday in Englishtown. U.S. Marine Major Philip Toretti, who helped coordinated the Marines Welcome Home Program with Herbert last season, has once again stepped forward to help his fellow Marines. Toretti will be on hand in New Jersey to escort the Marines and their families around the facility."
"I just don't know how to express my appreciation and gratitude towards my buddy Doug for this generous offering for these Marines, other than a big thank you and Semper Fi." said Major Toretti. "These Marines have devoted their life to serving this country, so we can live our lives, safely."
Never on Broadway - Clay Millican, of Drummonds, Tenn., refers to the K&N Filters SuperNationals as “small town guy goes to the big city,” and then admits he’s never been to New York City.
Maybe a win in the June 16-18 NHRA POWERade Series event would inspire him to make the journey to the City. Unfortunately, the Werner Enterprises /Kenny Koretsky Racing Top Fuel team wouldn’t be able to celebrate with a trip to Times Square because they are due in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals at Castrol Raceway, June 23-25.
“I remember watching the Englishtown race on Wide World of Sports a long time ago,” said Millican, who will be looking for his first NHRA victory to go with his 46 IHRA wins and five season titles. “The race at Englishtown last year was our first with Kenny Koretsky as our new owner and we ran really well there. It’s a good track and we look forward to racing there because it is one NHRA’s premier events. It’s also as close to New York City as we are going to get.”
Millican qualified sixth at 4.519 seconds, and won the first round with a 4.508-second effort, advancing to the quarterfinals at Raceway Park a year ago. He is running an abbreviated NHRA schedule again this year in addition to the full IHRA schedule.
FUNNY CAR
All Grown Up - He's no longer known as "The Kid from Long Island." He's no longer a Pro Modified driver and most of all he's no longer frustrated with waiting for a new engine program to show results.
Mike Ashley realizes that fate has a way of making things work out. Case in point, the driver of the Skull Gear/Knoll Gas – Torco Race Fuels-sponsored Monte Carlo is hitting his full stride headed into the facility that has hosted the most memories for him – Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ.
Englishtown was the starting point for both a career as a world championship drag racer Ashley and likewise for a career as a mortgage banker. As the Melville, New York native admits, they paved the way for one another.
This weekend’s K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals provides yet another chapter for Ashley. He will be making his debut as Funny Car driver.
“When you’re young and determined, you realize that one day your dreams will become reality,” Ashley said. “I’d always felt that I was destined for more than what I started with. I realized that drag racing is a learning experience and you have to work your way through the maze to reach your objective. That’s just the way it works.”
Ashley began running on Wednesday nights in Englishtown with a ten-second bracket racer. A quick study, he made his name a household one amongst fast doorslammer aficionados by producing a then unheard of consecutive series of 211-miles per hour runs. Ashley quickly developed a reputation when he quickly learned the edge of the driving envelope leading to early fan favorite status.
Ashley finds it hard to believe those fond memories transpired nearly two decades ago. Instead of running the Pro Modified class in which he won two world championships, he will be behind the wheel of a nitro-burner when Friday’s qualifying commences. Ashley has raced pro Modified exclusively at the SuperNationals for the last four years.
Finding a cheering section will not provide too much of a challenge for Ashley, the Executive Vice-President of Long Island, New York’s Lend-America, as he drives a Funny Car at home for the first time.
“We will have a lot of people here to cheer us on,” Ashley said. “A lot of people from Lend-America [Official Mortgage Lender of the NHRA] so the pressure will certainly be on to perform. I have looked forward to this weekend since we made the jump up last year.
“This is a much larger platform.”
Better think again - It’s a rather crazy thought to suggest that John Force is "jinxed" at Raceway Park. After all, he won four times in seven years from 1993 through 1999 and while he has been shut out since the turn of the century, his team has not. In fact, John Force Racing Ford Mustangs won in 2001 (Tony Pedregon), 2002 and 2004 (Gary Densham).
As a result, it is a newly-confident Force who moves to the season's 11th race believing that the pendulum has begun to swing in his favor.
"It's tough to deal with a guy who has lady luck on his side," Force said, "and Capps has had that, so we've just been taking our whipping."
Last week at Joliet, however, things began to change. Capps luck held in the early going. Not qualified after the first day and with rain in the forecast, he made the 16-car field on his final attempt.
Then, in the first round, he won even though the braking parachute deployed prematurely.
Ultimately, though, he was beaten by Robert Hight in the second round, opening the door for Force who managed to beat Hight in an all-Castrol final despite shredding yet another supercharger drive belt, his fourth in the last four races. He dodged the bullet this time because Hight was suffering the same fate in the other lane.
"It's good to finally get that mental thing out of your head," Force said of last week's win, "that wondering whether you're ever gonna win again."
"We've had three good race cars all year,," Force said, "but I had to find myself and get back on my game. We started the season like gangbusters, but then the driver couldn't drive or we smoked the tires or we broke a belt and Capps just seemed to always have that consistency.
"Now, I think (crew chiefs Austin) Coil and Bernie (Fedderly) are getting a handle on this new combination. Capps isn't going away, but at least we feel like we can race him."
Force rolls into the race 48 points in arrears, his smallest deficit in three months. Teammates Hight and Eric Medlen are right behind him in third and fourth place.
"We showed we can still win, but (the points race) ain't over. Capps will be there at the end, so will (reigning series champion Gary) Scelzi and a few others, including Eric and Robert. It's gonna be just like last year -- down to the wire."
That's Just Ludicrous - Any fan of Mel Brooks' cult classic movie "Space Balls" knows what "ludicrous speed" is all about.
It's the starship power setting one notch to the right of light speed,
which is, of course, just plain ludicrous. Any fan of Checker,
Schuck's, Kragen Funny Car driver Del Worsham knows what "ludicrous
margins" refer to. A series of them represent the nearly
incomprehensible difference between what might have been a great start
to the 2006 season for the popular driver, and what has become a
head-scratcher of frustratingly narrow losses. In the epic pursuit of
inches, just tiny little inches, Worsham is looking for any edge he can
find. Perhaps he needs to set his CSK Monte Carlo on "ludicrous
speed," just to see what happens.
Worsham brings an 8-9 record with him to this weekend's K&N Filters
Supernationals at historic Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. On
the surface, the record appears sub-par for the 21-time race winner,
but among those nine losses are eight cliffhangers of extraordinarily
tight proportions, all against names even the casual fan would
instantly recognize. Versus points leader Ron Capps, for instance,
Worsham is 0-3 by a total margin of 91-thousandths of a second.
That's the total for three match-ups, not the average. It was
3-thousandths in Phoenix, 88-thousandths in Las Vegas, and then the one
so ludicrous even Mel Brooks would be proud; 7-ten thousandths in
Chicago. That's a decimal point, followed by three zeroes and a seven.
"It is ludicrous, but it also helps me to look back over the raw
numbers," Worsham said. "I hear it every single day. People ask
'What's wrong? Why are you struggling?' and when you hear it enough
it's pretty easy to start believing it. I see the 8-9 record and it's
depressing. Then, I go back and add up the numbers and it tells me we
have a very good car. We don't need to make massive changes or throw
the whole tune-up out and start over. We just need to find a little
tiny edge. We need a few inches."
A few inches here, a foot and a half there, and Worsham might just be
answering a completely different set of questions on a daily basis,
like "How's it feel to be in the championship chase?" The three
razor-thin losses to Capps, along with a .009 margin loss to John
Force, a pair of tight races with Robert Hight (decided by .050 and
.047,) and a side-by-side loss to Eric Medlen where the difference was
only .024, could all have gone either way. The fact they've all gone
against Worsham seems, to repeat the theme, rather ludicrous.
Top Pedigree - Scott Kalitta wants to prove a point to the auto racing world – He wants to be a known as a contender and not as an “also ran”.
Despite his winning pedigree and high expectations, Kalitta, the son of team owner and drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta, has had a difficult foray back into the nitro-fueled Funny Car class this season. In the first ten NHRA national events, Kalitta has amassed two elimination round wins and has failed to qualify for final eliminations four times, including the previous event in Chicago. The wily drag racing veteran has certainly had ups and downs in his career, but this season has been extraordinarily tough to handle.
“I want to win,” Kalitta said. “I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t. Our season has been really frustrating so far, but we’re not giving up. I know all the guys on my team are working just as hard as the other teams, and I’m sure they’re tired of losing too.
“I’ve heard some rumblings in the pits from fans and even some other teams that we’re just out here making laps and we’re not a threat. That’s just the kind of thing to get us motivated and make us want to go kick some butts even more. We’re going to get this thing figured out, and when we do everybody better look out.”
PRO STOCK –
Change is in order – Greg Anderson has not been to a final round at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park since 2003, a trend he hopes to change this weekend. He has two wins in three final rounds at Englishtown, defeating Jeg Coughlin in 2002 and Darrell Alderman in 2003, and was also runner-up to Coughlin in 2000.
The Minnesota-native, North Carolina-transplant does feel that some things need to change for the better as he approaches the midpoint of the 2006 season and that those things are not too far away. “We need to try and regain the team chemistry and the consistency of the Summit Racing Pontiac and driver which we have displayed the last three years. I believe that we are getting very close to achieving that chemistry,” said Anderson, on the eve of Englishtown.
The Odd Couple – It took Jim Yates and Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins a few races to become comfortable with one another, but this Pro Stock partnership is beginning to show championship characteristics.
Jenkins – the drag racing icon who built his reputation on building and tuning powerful engines – and Yates, a two-time champion and 25-race winner, have turned into fast friends. Preseason prognosticators ignored them when compiling a list of title contenders and the team struggled a bit in the early going, but just look at them now.
With his semifinal appearance Sunday near Chicago, Yates moved into second place in NHRA POWERade Series points with 616, four in front of Jason Line and 110 behind pacesetter Greg Anderson. And the Yates-Jenkins duo – with considerable assistance from crew chief Jamie Yates (Jim and Toni’s son) – hope to wipe out a chuck of that difference this weekend in the K&N Filters SuperNationals at Raceway Park.
But, says Yates, they aren’t discussing anything more than making sure they qualify the Bayshore Power/SeaRay Boats/B&W Pontiac GTO. “Our number one goal going into Englishtown is not to win the race; it’s to qualify for the race. You can’t take anything for granted because Pro Stock competition is really tough. You have to take care of business.”
Special treat - Race fans will be able to meet Jim Yates and drag racing legends Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins and “Jungle Pam” Hardy Saturday night at a special fan appreciation party at the Hilton Garden Inn-Raritan Center, Edison, N.J., from 7-9 p.m. “I’m really looking forward to this,” Yates said. “It’ll be two drag racing legends and me.”
Scratching His Head – Jason Line can’t help but wonder what the deal is.
“My season thus far has been a little perplexing,” said Line, who has won the Pro Stock event title here the last two years. “Just when we think that we have everything going in the right direction, either the driver or the car misfires. I’ve done well at Englishtown the past two years, so maybe we can make this a turnaround race for both me and my Summit Racing Pontiac.
“Last weekend in Chicago showed we have the cars back on track. We need to have both (teammate) Greg’s (Anderson) car and my car consistent for the last half of the season, if we are going to make a run.”
Although Line went to the final round of the King Demon Crown, a special non-point earning event for Pro Stock drivers, finishing runner-up to his teammate Greg Anderson, he had a miscue at the starting line in the CARQUEST Auto Parts Nationals. The end result was that the Wright, Minn.-native, who currently lives in Terrell, N.C., dropped to third in the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock point standings with 612 points.
Entering qualifying for the NHRA K&N Filters Supernationals, Line is 114 points behind his teammate Greg Anderson, who is No. 1 in the standings, and 4 points behind Jim Yates, who is in second. Only 162 points separate the top five Pro Stock drivers.
Line holds the Pro Stock elapsed time track record at 6.659 seconds set at last year's event but he feels that the record won’t hold up through qualifying. “You can bet that record will fall, probably on Friday.”
Been There, Done That - Almost – Kurt Johnson has been there and done that.
In his 13 years of NHRA Pro Stock competition at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, ACDelco Cobalt racer the second-generation Johnson has accomplished just about everything possible. He has been the No. 1 qualifier on three occasions, and advanced to two final rounds in 1993 & 2004. He won the annual Pro Stock specialty race, currently known as the King Demon Crown, three times when it was held in New Jersey (1994, 1998 & 2003). Finally, he earned a permanent place in NHRA history when he became the first driver in the history of the Pro Stock category to record an elapsed time in the six-second range with his 6.988-second pass at Raceway Park on May 20, 1994.
However, the one final piece of the competitive puzzle that continues to elude the second-generation racer is a national event win at this legendary facility. It is an oversight that KJ hopes to rectify this weekend.
“There really is no special secret to winning in Englishtown, or anywhere else we race, for that matter,” opined Johnson. “Basically, you have to have the right combination of skill and luck so that hopefully the cards will fall in your direction. We’re not going to try any harder, or use anything different this weekend just because we haven’t won there yet. About the only thing we can hope for is to have a little better luck than we have had during eliminations in New Jersey in the past.
“If we do win there, it will be somewhat like the late Dale Earnhardt and the Daytona 500. Just like he had done with all the support races at Daytona International Speedway, we have won just about everything there is at Raceway Park, except the big one on Sunday. This weekend, our ACDelco Cobalt crew is going to do everything we can to finally get that elusive E-town win.”
Consistent makes Perfect – Drag racing is a sport where consistency means everything.
If everything goes according to a four-race pattern of consistency begun when Tommy Utt became crew chief of the Dave Connolly-driven SKULL GEAR Pro Stock Chevy Cobalt team, win No. 3 this season should come. Or at least that is what Connolly and his crew are hoping for.
Connolly won the first and third races after Utt took charge and he’s been a quarterfinalist in the other two, including Sunday’s loss to eventual race winner Kurt Johnson in Joliet, Ill.
Be advised, however, that nothing has been the least bit predictable in this NHRA POWERade Series battle for supremacy among the Factory Hot Rods. There have been eight different winners in the first 10 races. Only Connolly and Kurt Johnson have won twice. Three-time defending series titleholder Greg Anderson has only one victory, but he’s been second three times and has a 110-point cushion over second place.
Connolly, meanwhile, is fifth with 564 points and in the midst of a six-driver cluster that is separated by a mere 82 points. He’s one point behind Johnson and 52 out of second place.
“We’ve had an awesome racecar recently and we should be in good shape (to contend) for the last half of the season,” Connolly said. “Every week someone else is running good out here. Fortunately, we’ve been in that group that has continued to run good in the last few races. We haven’t fallen off or anything like that. I like the direction the team is going right now.”
Connolly, of Elyria, Ohio, believes the upcoming busy schedule will play a role in defining the contenders from the remainder of the field. “We have two races in a row (at Raceway Park, June 16-18, and the St. Louis area, June 23-25) and a couple of weeks off before we go on the three-race Western Swing,” he commented, “and that should separate a some of the guys.”
This will be Connolly’s third race at Raceway Park, where he has yet to win a round. All that should change during Sunday’s eliminations. He had four round wins in the first six races and he’s won 10 rounds in the last four starts. That’s the kind of consistency that boosts a driver up the point standings and into the winner’s circle.
First grade - Raceway Park is where it all began for the Pro Stock icon Warren Johnson, as it was there in 1982 that he scored his first national event win, defeating respected veteran Lee Shepherd in the championship round.
“When I started racing at Englishtown in1975, it was already a big part of our sport, attracting huge crowds,” said Johnson. “When it first opened there were many tracks out on Long Island and around the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania area, but, through it all, Raceway Park is the only one to have survived. It’s the one of the key places we race, and one win every driver wants on his or her resume, ranking right up there with Indy, Pomona and Gainesville.
“Englishtown is also special to our team as I won my first NHRA national event there back in 1982. I had run some match races there prior to the race and knew what the surface was like, so I went back through my stack of tires and got the oldest Firestones we had, because I knew we would have way more bite than we needed. As a result, I was one of the few that consistently got down the racetrack and I was fortunate enough to defeat Lee Shepherd in the final. It’s a performance we’re looking to duplicate this weekend with our GM Performance Parts GTO.”
Since that first win 31 years ago, Johnson has further added to his list of Garden State achievements, which currently stands at four wins in six final round appearances (including a runner-up finish one year ago) and a .607 elimination round win percentage. However, as the wily veteran is quick to point out, the greatest benefit from past successes are the tuning notes they can provide, with further accomplishments requiring an all-out, error-free effort. As such, Johnson and his young GM Performance Parts crew remained in Illinois for an additional day following last week’s race, working on fine-tuning their set-up.
“It’s been a few months since that first win, and we are finding ourselves heading back to Englishtown once again,” joked Johnson. “Although many things have changed since 1975, the competition in Pro Stock remains just as intense.
“We’ve done relatively well in Englishtown over the years. It’s one of those tracks where you really have to be on top of your game to win. At this time of year, it’s a Jekyll and Hyde situation. It could be 90 degrees or 40, as we have seen over the last few years, so your bag of tricks has to be prepared to deal with just about with any track or atmospheric conditions you can possibly envision.
“For example, as the temperature rises, the track condition deteriorates, with the exact opposite happening when it cools down. You have to have two completely different set-ups for each scenario, with these wide swings sometimes happening from day to day. As close as the competition is in Pro Stock, if you don’t keep up with it, you’re just behind. Fortunately, our program with this GM Performance Parts GTO is starting to come into its own, so we should be in good shape. The E-town fans really get into Pro Stock racing, and we’d like nothing better than to put on a good show for them, and get back to the winner’s circle. In fact, I’d say we’re overdue.”
PRO STOCK BIKE
Getting Older – Time sure des fly when you’re having fun.
In 2001 GT Tonglet was just 18 years old, bursting onto the Pro Stock Motorcycle scene in NHRA competition. During the heart of the season at some of the most competitive tracks on the tour, Tonglet earned one victory in three runner-up finishes. Not bad for a teenaged rookie.
One of those runner-up finishes was in Englishtown. He lost to Matt
Hines – his current crew chief on the Screamin' Eagle/Vance & Hines
team.
"It's funny to see how things have changed over the years," Tonglet
said. "At that point, I would have done anything to take that win away
from Matt. Now we work together and go after the victories
side-by-side. But if you would have told me this was going to happen
back in 2001, I would have just laughed, thinking the idea was crazy."
Tonglet and his teammate – two-time defending NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Andrew Hines – will be back in Englishtown this
weekend for the K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township
Raceway Park.
Tonglet became the first factory-backed Harley-Davidson rider in 2002
when the Screamin' Eagle program made its debut. Andrew Hines joined
the team as a second rider in 2003. By 2004, the two riders were facing
each other in the final round, earning Harley's first drag racing
victory (Gainesville, Fla.).
Matt Hines retired after the 2002 season and jumped on board the team
as a tuner to help the young riders. Now the riders are 23 years old,
have eight career victories between them and are seeking to add to that
this weekend.
"We've done well at this track in the past. Andrew was the No. 1
qualifier and the race winner in 2004, so we have some good data and
good results from the past," Matt Hines said. "But unfortunately the
technology has changed so much and that data can only take us so far.
We need to be ready for anything.
"If you want to win a championship, you have to get through this
three-race span with a lot of points in your hands. We have to make
sure the bikes are ready, we have spare engines and parts and that we
are prepared for any circumstance. Preparation is something this team
does well and we need to use that to our advantage."
Twenty-Years – Just to think, Steve Johnson has been racing at Englishtown for two decades.
“In all honesty, the whole thing kinda snuck up on me,” Johnson said as his team prepared for their second of three back-to-back races. “When I first started out I thought I might race for a few years and then do something else, but drag racing just doesn’t let go. The competition, the camaraderie, and the fun of going 190 miles an hour on just two wheels gets into your blood. No matter how much we sometimes moan and groan about how tough things are in drag racing, I’d bet there aren’t many of us who would give it all up if we had the chance.
“Drag racing is like no other form of motorized competition I know of. We might not run as long as those guys do who go around in circles, but in a tick over seven seconds, believe me, nothing can produce the kind of thrills I get to experience at every race.”
Johnson has been a winner on every circuit in which he’s competed. His resume includes two World Championships in the old Drag Bike USA series along with numerous wins in both AMA ProStar and NHRA POWERade competition. He’s also been a Finalist on the All-Star Drag Racing Team, and has been honored with such accolades as the Hazel Cobb Award. That singular honor came from the American Motorcycle Association for not only his non-stop promotion of all things motorcycle, but for his constant work with school age youngsters during which he emphasizes the importance of staying in school and setting personal goals for one’s self.
As an example of the esteem in which Johnson is held by his peers, he’s the president of PRO2, the organization that represents every Pro Stock Motorcycle competitor in their dealings with racing officials.
“I’d have to say that last year was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in racing,” he says. “We won the Gatornationals to kick off the season and then capped things off by winning the NHRA U.S. Nationals, the most important race of the season. That was definitely something special for all of us, and I’ll certainly never forget it.”
Johnson’s often outrageous statements and actions have endeared him to millions of fans (such as his “conversation” with his Gatornationals trophy as he awaited the official winners circle ceremony last year), and he’s also a media magnet.
“I think that’s my fault,” he admits. “I really never know what I’m going to say until the words come tumbling out of my mouth. There’ve been a number of occasions when I had to ask myself, Did I really just say that?
“I guess I should be PC (politically correct), but I just don’t have it in me.
“My goal remains what it’s been from my first day at the track. Start out by qualifying, then win rounds of racing, then win races and finally, take home a championship. To a lot of people it might look like I’m just out here having fun, but behind all of the talk I’m still all about winning. The thing is, though, you’ve still got to have fun, no matter how tough things might be, so that’s what I’m going to do until the day I hang up my helmet – in about 20 more years!”
So, when you see Steve at Englishtown this weekend, tell him Happy Anniversary!
"I knew Dixon had that Father's Day thing going but our car was running great all weekend and I knew we had a chance if we stayed within ourselves," Fuller said. "This one's for my dad. He's a racer and he's the reason I love racing. He's my best friend." 
"Beating Gary on a holeshot takes some of the excitement out of this win," Capps said, as he held back tears. "Last year 'Ace' (crew chief Ed McCulloch) got sick the Thursday before the race with his cancer and Scelzi's crew chief Mike Neff jumped in and helped us. Gary is a mentor to me and our teams are together. Our trailers literally connect to one another and I know they wanted that win." 
"I can't believe I won this race as crappy as I've been driving all day," Line said. "This is really something. I don't know what it is about this racetrack but I love it. We won the last two years here before I was a father and now I win my first Father's Day race since my son Jack was born. How cool is that?" 
"The first thing I asked them at the top end was, 'are you guys absolutely sure I've won this race?' " Smith said. "I guess this one was legit. Even Karen came over and said she saw that I was ahead of her at the stripe. It feels like this has been a long time coming, for sure. I'm glad dad (Pro Stock driver Rickie Smith) was down there waiting for me." 
The Spoiler – If Rod Fuller decides to venture into the world of professional wrestling, his reputation in drag racing has already delivered his moniker – “The Spoiler.”
Recipe for Success – If you can’t stand the heat that is usually when Lee Beard is in the kitchen cooking up success. 
Two – Up until last weekend in Chicago, JR Todd had yet to achieve a single round win. Last week he defeated Hillary Will in the first round of elimination and today, he got the best of Doug Herbert. 
Battle of the rookies – While Hillary Will appeared to be an odds-on favorite for this season’s rookie of the year accolades, the recent emergence of J.R. Todd began speculation that she could have some competition at the end of the year. 
The End of the Streak – The final day of the Dixon streak opened with an adverse situation. 
Dead in the water – The first round of Top Fuel featured the best eighth-mile drag race the sport has probably witnessed. Unfortunately for low qualifier Brandon Bernstein and first round opponent Rit Pustari that drag race came during the last half of the track and neither car was under power by the time they reached the 660-foot mark. 
Nervous Leader - When second-in-points Doug Kalitta advanced to the second round, Melanie Troxel's points lead appeared to be in jeopardy. As luck would have it, Kalitta was then dismissed in the second round by Rod Fuller, and Troxel held on to her lead by 48 points over Kalitta.
Baca Bing - David Baca's weekend in New Jersey was a huge success before his Top Fuel dragster ever hit the quarter-mile at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Baca helped local racer Frank Cicerale Jr., raise more money in the first weekend of his 9/11 tribute helmet raffle than he raised in six months last year. 
Just a Hiccup - A disappointed Cory McClenathan said a supercharger hiccup “knocked the tires loose” at the hit of the throttle against Brandon Bernstein and that led to a premature exit.
Never Say Never – Ron Capps’ victory in Englishtown represented his seventh win in fifteen events. He now holds a 106 point lead over John Force. 
Tough Rebound – It was a year ago that Ron Capps’ crewchief Ed McCulloch checked into the hospital where he was diagnosed with cancer. One year later he tuned him to victory. The tough part of it all is that victory came at the expense of a team that helped him immensely last year during the adverse situation. 
Finally – It only took eleven events to do it, but Tim Wilkerson finally got a round win. Wilkerson fired an impressive shot when he took out Chicago finalist Robert Hight with a 5.001, 300.06. 
Happy Father’s Day – Tony Pedregon scored an emotional first round victory over Scott Kalitta and promptly acknowledged his father, the late “Flaming” Frank Pedregon. He urged everyone, “Enjoy the day with your fathers, it’s a very special thing to do.” 
Old Rivals, New Territory – The old rivals were up to their old tricks when it came to Sunday’s first round. John Force swapped lanes at the last minute with Whit Bazemore sending him to the left. 
Got Cold Down There? – Tony Bartone wanted snow and on Sunday it did just that – in Hades. 
Luck Runs Out – Richie Stevens could have used more luck in the second round against No. 1 qualifier Allen Johnson, but his car shook hard at the launch, resulting in a 7.504-second elapsed time at 166.62 mph and a loss to Johnson's
6.736/205.44.
Determined combatants – Only .004 separated Warren Johnson from Greg Anderson at the finish line in the first round of competition. Isn’t it ironic that Anderson made comments about Johnson’s reaction time prowess and in this match Johnson had .013 on him off the starting line. 
The Bud Prince shaved five thousandths of a second off his leading time from Friday night to stay in front of Top Fuel with a 4.534 at 330.72 mph. It is the second No. 1 qualifying effort of the season and the 10th of his career. 
Bartone and team owner Jim Dunn elected not to run their Lucas Oil Monte Carlo in the final qualifying session due to the hot conditions but they still stayed out front with the 4.787 at 324.36 mph Bartone carded Friday evening. The pass remained the only 4.7-second run of the weekend. 
Ellis’s 6.997-second top-qualifying pass in his Drag Specialities S&S Buell V-Twin was just the fourth six-second Pro Stock Motorcycle pass in history. Of the four six-second Pro Stock Motorcycle runs in the books, Ellis has two, the same number carded by two-time and defending POWERade Series champion Andrew Hines. Now Ellis will try to parlay his third straight No. 1 qualifying effort into his first win of the year. 
After not earning a No. 1 qualifying spot for the first 10 and a half years of his career, Pro Stock leader Johnson has now earned two in the last four races. The Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T driver used a career-best run of 6.645 at 207.43 mph in Round 3 to get the job done. His elapsed time set a track record. 
Yeah but you still have to beat #16 - Tony Schumacher pointed out that running good cars brings out the best in him. Schumacher edged top qualifier Brandon Bernstein in his final qualifying lap by a 4.561 to 4.578 margin. 
Remembering 9/11 - An impromptu visit to Ground Zero during a New York City sightseeing trip so moved Mach 1 Air Services Top Fuel driver David Baca that he's taken on a special cause at this weekend's K&N Filters SuperNationals presented by Strauss Discount Auto at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. And he's challenging his fellow Pros to help.
Bartone is the man – It didn’t snow today as Tony Bartone hoped for, but he still managed a serious case of goosebumps. This marked the first time in his career as a Funny Car driver that he has qualified number one. 
Gimme My Horse Shoe back - Ron Capps hasn't had the best weekend of qualifying, but following a stout pass down the quarter-mile in the final qualifying session, he moved up from No. 15 to No. 14 in a car with improved performance.
"I'd say the odds are very much in favor of us staying right there," Worsham said. "The weather can do crazy things, and maybe it won't be as hot and humid as they're calling for, but if it's in the 90's tomorrow, it's going to be very hard for anyone out here to improve. I have first hand experience with this, you know, because our Topeka problem was based on exactly this sort of deal. We missed on the Friday night run, and had to run a 4.99 to get in, but we couldn't do that in the heat. I think this track will be a little more forgiving than that, but when get down to the high 4.80's, you're probably looking at numbers that can't be changed.
Corradi moves to Ashley team – Mike Ashley and Don Schumacher held a press conference in Englishtown to discuss the details of their forthcoming union together with an Evan Knoll-owned Funny Car. One of the topics discussed was a significant change to take place in Denver. 
Practice Makes Perfect for Johnson - If practice makes for perfect then Allen Johnson should be the poster boy for success. Johnson is seeing the results of a steady testing regiment coming forth. 
That’s Slammin’ – Borget Bike Works, one of the largest custom motorcycle manufacturers in the country, unveiled the Slammers Ultimate Chopper this weekend. 
In the heat - Dave Connolly wasn't the quickest qualifier in the quickest NHRA Pro Stock starting lineup in history but he did register the best run on a hot and tricky Old Bridge Township Raceway Park racing surface Saturday afternoon while preparing for Sunday's K&N Filters SuperNationals. 
"Here, we had the wrong low gear in the transmission on Friday night with
ideal weather conditions, but we know what we did wrong and we did great in
the sun today after we corrected it. That's going to be more like race
Overrated – Chip Ellis made another “over-rated” six second run on Saturday. Ellis, rider for George Bryce’s G-Squared team, proclaimed that six second runs were overrated last week in Chicago when members of the media began putting a value on the milestone runs. At the time, Ellis didn’t have a six-second run to his name. By the end of the event, he had one. 
A class dominator in the sportsman ranks, Bartone has never been top qualifier in five years at the professional level. He'll need to hold off a talented chase pack through Saturday's final two sessions, scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. 
Bernstein traversed the quarter mile at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park -- the track where he suffered a season-ending back injury in his rookie season of 2003 -- with a very quick 4.539 at 330.72 mph in his Budweiser dragster. A two-time winner this year, Bernstein is currently third in the points chase. 
Yates' steady upward climb in Pro Stock continues with his top qualifying effort of 6.655 at 208.17 mph in his Sea Ray Boats Pontiac GTO. The run was a personal best for Yates and set both ends of the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park category record. His speed was just six-hundredths shy of Greg Anderson's national record of 208.23 set at Gainesville in 2005. 
Former champion Scali is a bit of a surprise at the top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle ladder, but the 7.023 at 191.54 mph he posted on his Performance Machine Suzuki placed him atop the grid at the midway point of qualifying. Scali last qualified No. 1 at the first Chicago race in 2003, the year he won his POWERade Series championship. 
“Obviously Tim Richards had a good handle on the air,” Bernstein said. “The sun started to go down and the air started to get better. He came in the cockpit and made several changes in the box. 
One Million – What happens when you combine the unorthodox folks from Orange County Choppers with the creative marketing geniuses at Motel 6? You get a sweepstakes contest orchestrated by none other than the man who answers to the nickname “Captain Chaos.” 
Drag Racing Athletes? – Have you ever encountered the debate that suggests motorsports participants are not athletes? 
He May Be Grumpy to you, but not to us – Pro Stock low qualifier Jim Yates alluded that his engine builder Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins doesn’t do a good job living up to his nickname. The former world champion says that Jenkins is anything but a man in a continuous ill mood. 
Wants to go back home – Jerry Eckman misses the home he knew for almost three decades. To him, driving a Pro Stocker was the place he had lived since 1955. He’s still involved in the sport but a fine related to a controversial situation in the mid-1990s keeps him from returning to active competition. 
Misses Home Also – Frank Iaconio walked away from driving a Pro Stocker a little over a decade ago. Since then he’s developed a top-notch engine building business that services the top name drivers most notably Mike Edwards. 
Not a Danica Fan – Please forgive Angelle Sampey if she’s not in the Danica Patrick fan club. One of her crewmembers made mention of how much he liked the Formula One driver and almost immediately Angelle expressed her dislike of the way the media plays up her gender more than her being a racer. 
Keep it up - Melanie Troxel knows that momentum is priority if she hopes to maintain her top ranking in the Top Fuel division.
Coming on strong – While Melanie Troxel just wants to hold on to her top spot, it’s Doug Kalitta who wants to be in her position. He is hoping to continue an incredible streak of momentum that has seen him win back-to-back NHRA national events – Twice in the first ten events.
As fate would have it - Just about the time Wes Cerny and Tony Shortall were zeroing in on a competitive tune-up for the Carrier Boyz Racing FRAM Boost Top Fuel dragster, the chassis broke, sending driver Cory McClenathan on a wild, wild ride one Friday night in Bristol, Tenn.
The Good, bad and the first round - Brandon Bernstein still has those memories of his rookie season. 
Doing it for Dad - One can’t blame a kid for wanting to deliver the ultimate Father’s day gift. On this upcoming Sunday, Morgan Lucas wants to give his father, Forrest, a special Father’s Day present a “Wally” trophy, the traditional symbol of victory on the National Hot Rod Association circuit. 
Seal the deal - Australian Grubnic wants to “seal the deal” this year in E-town. At last year’s annual event, Grubnic was just one round short of hoisting the title trophy in the winner’s circle with a runner-up finish. This year he is looking forward to a possible return to the money round and to avenge last season’s disappointment.
Serving those who defend freedom - Doug Herbert will entertain some very special guests in New Jersey on Saturday. Joining the team will be a pair of Marines who proudly served their country in Iraq and have returned to the United States after being injured. Lance Corporal Jeremey Trakimowicz and Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Scutt will be joined by members of their families on Saturday in Englishtown. U.S. Marine Major Philip Toretti, who helped coordinated the Marines Welcome Home Program with Herbert last season, has once again stepped forward to help his fellow Marines. Toretti will be on hand in New Jersey to escort the Marines and their families around the facility."
All Grown Up - He's no longer known as "The Kid from Long Island." He's no longer a Pro Modified driver and most of all he's no longer frustrated with waiting for a new engine program to show results. 
Better think again - It’s a rather crazy thought to suggest that John Force is "jinxed" at Raceway Park. After all, he won four times in seven years from 1993 through 1999 and while he has been shut out since the turn of the century, his team has not. In fact, John Force Racing Ford Mustangs won in 2001 (Tony Pedregon), 2002 and 2004 (Gary Densham).
That's Just Ludicrous - Any fan of Mel Brooks' cult classic movie "Space Balls" knows what "ludicrous speed" is all about. 
Top Pedigree - Scott Kalitta wants to prove a point to the auto racing world – He wants to be a known as a contender and not as an “also ran”.
Change is in order – Greg Anderson has not been to a final round at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park since 2003, a trend he hopes to change this weekend. He has two wins in three final rounds at Englishtown, defeating Jeg Coughlin in 2002 and Darrell Alderman in 2003, and was also runner-up to Coughlin in 2000.
The Odd Couple – It took Jim Yates and Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins a few races to become comfortable with one another, but this Pro Stock partnership is beginning to show championship characteristics.
Been There, Done That - Almost – Kurt Johnson has been there and done that.
Consistent makes Perfect – Drag racing is a sport where consistency means everything.
First grade - Raceway Park is where it all began for the Pro Stock icon Warren Johnson, as it was there in 1982 that he scored his first national event win, defeating respected veteran Lee Shepherd in the championship round.
Getting Older – Time sure des fly when you’re having fun.
Twenty-Years – Just to think, Steve Johnson has been racing at Englishtown for two decades.
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