2011 NHRA MILE HIGH NATIONALS - VIDEO NOTEBOOK


		EVENT NEWS EVENT NOTEBOOK POINTS AFTER EVENT ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS FINAL ROUND RESULTS			EVENT GALLERY

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST WORLD - For years, CompetitionPlus.com has been known for its insightful and thorough same day event notebooks.

This weekend, during the Mopar NHRA Mile High Nationals, we've taken our standard-setting same day notebook in a new direction. Now, in addtion to reading stories from within the pits, you'll be able to view the inner workings of the event located high in the mountains of Denver.

Check in with Matthew Brammer, CompetitionPlus.tv producer, for a weekend chock full of video.

CELEBRATING WITH FORCE - John Force couldn't let it get to 250.

On day No. 249, the amount of days since he last hoisted a Wally in the winner's circle, the 15-time champion, drag racing's iconic driver, proved he still had the fire in the belly. It didn't matter if he had a sponsor meet and greet in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; or a display to do in Portland, Ore., Force was in tune with his life's calling.

At the Mopar NHRA Mile High Nationals, John Force did what he knew best. He drove a race car and won.

And, he focused.

Credit team President and John Force Racing driver Robert Hight for inspiring the boss to get his act together. Force was in the midst of a pity party of monstrous proportions.

"I was saying, 'I said I don't know what is wrong. My luck is bad. It's probably me. My race car is off. And then Robert stopped me, 'No, it's you.

"Robert said, 'You have to get back in the game. Your head's in Oshkosh at the air show, the Indy 500 and every place you're going. You're not in your race car."

MASSEY RUNS TO THREE - When Spencer Massey replaced Cory McClenathan in the Fram Top Fuel dragster at Don Schumacher this season, it turned some heads.

After all, McClenathan was an established NHRA star. Massey has not succumbed to the pressure.

The young driver is carving out his own successful path in 2011 as he has won three national events, the latest being the Mopar NHRA Mile-High Nationals Sunday at Bandimere Speedway.

Massey beat his teammate Tony Schumacher, a seven-time world champ, with a 4.150-second lap at 269.67 mph. Schumacher came in at 4.255 seconds at 266.95 mph. Both drivers smoked the tires just past half track.

"I'm just ecstatic," said Massey, who now has five career NHRA Top Fuel wins. "The final round was just kind of crazy because it went out just past the eighth-mile and it started smoking the tires. I was sitting there going through my head, do I pedal it? Do I grab the brake? I thought no, I will just keep my foot in it, and hopefully that belt will stay on and that Gates belt did. It must have put out a cylinder or two, but it actually started hooking back up and I never saw Tony and the win light came on and I started going crazy."

This was Massey's third win of the season as he also scored victories at Topeka, Kan., and Englishtown.

STOFFER RETURNS TO THE WINNER'S CIRCLE - This has been a breakout season for Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Karen Stoffer.

The only thing missing was a national event victory.

Not anymore.

Stoffer captured the win at the Mopar NHRA Mile-High Nationals by defeating Michael Phillips in the final round.

Stoffer clocked a 7.283-second time at 182.58 mph to get past Phillips' 7.394-second effort at 182.01 mph.

This was Stoffer's fourth appearance in the finals this season. She lost in the finals at the Gatornationals, Atlanta and Englishtown (N.J.). Stoffer now has six career NHRA national event wins, but she hasn't won since she beat Matt Smith in the finals at Atlanta in 2007.

"I was counting the days (since her last win), and I was hoping everybody would forget that count because it kept coming up over and over again," Stoffer said. "You know what it's about patience and fortitude. This is an awesome sport and there are awesome teams out there. We knew we had a good team, and we just had to work through a lot of issues. So yeah, patience and strength and tenacity are what the Geico team is all about."

Stoffer's win on her Geico Powersports Suzuki was even more important because it moved her into first place in the season point standings. Stoffer passed Eddie Krawiec, who she beat in the semifinals. Krawiec trails Stoffer by one point. Stoffer finished a career best sixth in the final points standings in 2006.

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WAY COOL - CompetitionPlus.tv gets a sneak peek of the forthcoming MOPAR 11, a new Chrysler package offering which takes the Dodge Charger to the next level. Tricia Hecker, Director of Mopar Marketing, provides CompetitionPlus.tv's Matthew Brammer with an introduction to this beautiful new offering.

"There's lots of people who call their cars Mopars but very few wear the badge," said Hecker.

What makes it a true Mopar? It's the enhanced features reviewed in this video. Tune in to this 3-minute video which takes you inside and out of this slick ride.

OF RACING AND READING - Tony Pedregon, a two-time NHRA series champion, believes in giving back to the community through support of charity.

During the Mopar NHRA Mile High Nationals, Pedregon displayed the decal of Race to Read, a program which encourages reading in grades K through sixth.

The program was brought to him by the Bandimere Family, the owners of Bandimere Speedway located outside of Denver, Co.

"One of the perks to being a professional racer is to be able to participate in great programs like this," said Pedregon. "This program ties into racing and the Bandimere Family brings their passion to so much more than drag racing. This gives the kids motivation and encouragement to read."

The program, according to Pedregon, began with an elementary school in Lakewood, Co.

"I didn't have to think about getting involved with this program," said Pedregon. "I have children of my own. I was more than happy to get involved in the program."

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OUT AND ABOUT IN THE PITS --

WHAT'S COOKIN'? - Chefs at the race track? Really?

Many teams employ the use of a Chef to feed their guests in the various hospitality centers. CPTV's video reporter Matthew Brammer discusses the art of drag strip cuisine with Al-Anabi Racing chef Dustin Gagna.

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WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS ... - Johnny Gray has had more than his share of problems with the Service Central Funny Car lately. However, when he compares his racing issues with those of

children affected by cancer, he believes his woes aren’t really woes.

Gray is racing the Lemonator Funny Car and this isn’t a nickname for a car which has acted lately like a lemon. The Lemonator theme is geared to bring awareness to the childhood cancer through a charity named Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

The charity’s namesake, Alexandria “Alex” Scott, was diagnosed with cancer just before she was a year old. When she reached four, she told her parents she wanted to set up a lemonade stand in the front yard to earn money to donate towards finding a cure for childhood cancer.

Gray believes the interaction with the charity has enabled him to see issues in a different light.

“We went to the children’s hospital last night,” said Gray on Friday afternoon. “We went up to the cancer ward and you can hang out up there for about an hour and a half and then come out here and all of my big problems about where my car is qualified gets pretty insignificant in a hurry.”

Alex lost her battle with cancer in 2004 when she was eight.

If you would like to support Alex’s Lemonade Stand, you can make a $5 donation by texting CANCER TBC to 85944.

DUDE, THAT'S JUST FLYING - In baseball terms, Cruz Pedregon’s 4.095 during Friday Funny Car

qualifying at the Mopar NHRA Mile High Nationals would have been so much more than an upper-deck shot. His provisional No. 1 qualifying effort would have likely removed the upper deck altogether.

Pedregon coupled his incredible elapsed time with a 307.51 mile per hour speed to grab both ends of the track record head into Saturday’s final two sessions .070 quicker than No. 2 Robert Hight.

Not a bad feat when Pedregon’s team had a strikeout in their first at-bat.

“That is a statement run,” Pedregon said of the track record. “As much as we thought we had our act together on the first run, we went out there and had a great sixty-foot time. We broke traction just past there. We were a little discouraged.

“Then we realized we had the best sixty-foot by a few ticks, and then started to believe our motor wasn’t that far off. We went back to the pits knowing it would cool off and that John Bandimere had put the cooling system in on the starting line.”

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