NHRA QUICK HITS RACE DAY REPORT - DALLAS

CompetitionPlus.com presented by Attitude Apparel provides quick hit coverage of the AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals hosted by the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. We'll bring you a speed reading version of news and notes from the event.

TOP FUEL

FIRST ROUND

WHODA THUNK? - As track announcer Alan Rinehart pointed out, few would have thought a 92-degree racetrack in only the second match-up of the day would be the right conditions for anyone post low elapsed time and top speed of the weekend. But Spencer Massey said, "That's not what [FRAM-Prestone Dragster crew chiefs] Todd Okuhara and Phil Shuler thought." Massey, the Don Schumacher Racing star and Fort Worth native who considers this his home track, did just that, at 3.835 seconds with a track-record 324.05 mph.

GETTING BETTER - Larry Dixon was the only dragster driver besides Spencer Massey to run both quicker and faster in the first round than he did in qualifying. In the Al-Anabi Dragster and running in the next pairing than Massey and Shawn Langdon, Dixon posted a 3.859-second E.T. at 322.73 mph, better than his No. 5 numbers: 3.888, 313.51.

HOT ROD TOO HOT - Terry McMillen, bumped from the field in Saturday's first qualifying session, rejoined the field in his final chance and declared, "We're racin' on Race Day! Woo-hoo! We've got a chance!" Hot Rod Fuller threw a wet blanket on that celebration, using the mojo from his cheering gallery of friends and sponsorship colleagues from C&J Energy Services, Wal-Mart, and Nestle / DiGiorno to beat McMillen with a 3.901 to a 3.955-second E.T. that would have beaten points leader Antron Brown. Said Fuller, "I'm going to have some fun racin'."

POINTS LEADER 'UPSET' WINNER?!? - It might sound weird to say that points leader Antron Brown survived the opening round on an upset victory, but that's what the Matco Tools / Toyota Dragster driver did from the No. 11 starting position. No. 6 Doug Kalitta had lane choice but lost traction. Brown did, too, but recovered to clock a 4.095, 270.00 victory.

SCHUMACHER'S STRATEGY - Top qualifier Tony Schumacher, whose first-round victory run was faster at 320.20 mph than was his best qualifying speed, said after defeating Scott Palmer, "It's going to get hot. The crew chiefs have to be smart, and we have the smartest bunch of guys working on the U.S. Army car. You don't have to run low E.T. You just have to get there first."

CAN'T LET HEAD TURN - Brandon Bernstein certainly is proud of his father, Kenny Bernstein, who was honored Sunday morning not only for sharing NHRA Legend status for this race with Raymond Beadle and Texas Motorplex owner Billy Meyer but also for his announcement that he and John Force both will be inductees for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame's Class of 2012. But, Brandon Bernstein said, he had to approach this second event of the Countdown to the Championship as "another drag race." He said, "We put all that aside." It's a good thing he did, for he needed every ounce of energy he could find to advance to the second round past fellow Texan Steve Torrence, who was eager to show well in his debut as a team owner-driver. Bernstein won, 3.900 to 4.004, to earn a match-up he'll again need to concentrate heavily. He'll take on Larry Dixon in the quarterfinals.

QUARTER-FINALS

'MEANS THE WORLD - Brandon Bernstein, No. 7 in the standings after Charlotte, helped his cause in the Countdown, eliminating Larry Dixon in the second round of action at the Texas Motorplex. "It means the world to me," the Copart Dragster driver said after winning with a 3.930-second, 314.46-mph pass. "That is the top-top-top team out here, and he's a great driver."

ATTRITION - Six of the 10 Countdown drivers were sidelined Sunday by the end of the quarterfinals, and No. 9 Morgan Lucas failed to qualify.

GIANT KILLER - Countdown non-participant Bob Vandergriff struck a staggering blow to Del Worsham in the first round at Charlotte, and he continued his upset ways in the second round here. He upset No. 1 qualifier Tony Schumacher, denying the U.S. Army Dragster driver another shot at his first victory of the season and hurting his chances to break out of the fifth spot in the playoff order.

GOING BACKWARD - Del Worsham lost his nearly season-long points lead and slipped to No. 3 in the standings with a first-round defeat at Charlotte last week. The Al-Anabi / Toyota Dragster driver's luck didn't get much better in Texas. Spencer Massey eliminated him in the second round. That marks the first time in six races and only the second time in 10 races that he failed to reach at least the semifinals. With that, both Al-Anabi cars were gone from contention. What's worse for Worsham, the NHRA fined him $1,000 and docked him 10 points for oiling down the right lane.

MASSEY READY - Spencer Massey, the only Top Fuel driver to win from the left lane in Round 2, said he was ready for anything after watching Hot Rod Fuller, Tony Schumacher, and Larry Dixon -- the latter two among the top five Countdown drivers -- lose in his lane ahead of him. After beating Del Worsham, Massey said, "Al-Anabi, Del Worsham -- this is what it's all about. It was another good run. He's killer on the tree, and this car's killer." He was referring to his own FRAM-Prestone Dragster.

SEMI-FINALS

IT ENDS AT 15 – Earlier in the season, Massey had a streak of smokeless runs which exceeded 30 but those runs didn’t necessarily equate to victories. For Antron Brown, he’s had some really good runs, some ugly ones and others where he squeaked out a victory in the last 15 times he pulled to the starting line. The one thing these runs had in common we’re that they lit the win-light.

Massey ran a 3.917, 315.54 to end a weekend for Brown where his team appeared to struggle.

The win also put Massey into the point lead.

REVENGE IS SWEET – Bob Vandergriff Jr. believes he has 12 good reasons why he needs to take out the newly christened point leader Spencer Massey, who beat Antron Brown to advance to the final round. Vandergriff eliminated Brandon Bernstein in the semi-finals.

“I’ve been in this position before,” said Vandergriff, whose chances for a Countdown position were dashed with an early loss to Bernstein. “I think I am just going to go over there and punch Spencer in the mouth so he can’t come up there in the final round and race. I need to figure out how to win one of these d*** things.”

FINALS

YES!!! - The 14th time is the charm for Bob Vandergriff Jr.

Vandergriff ran a tire-smoking 4.243, 239.44 to outrun Spencer Massey for his first title since entering the Top Fuel ranks seventeen years ago. He celebrated the momentous occasion by jogging down the track in full firesuit to the starting line.

In winning, Vandergriff became the 41st winner in the history of NHRA Top Fuel.

FUNNY CAR

FIRST ROUND

THE HAGAN TRAIN ROLLS – The same Matt Hagan train which steamrolled Charlotte last week was conspicuously missing over the days of Dallas qualifying. A little before Noon CST, the Diehard Express came limping through and picked up point leader Mike Neff, his final round victim in the Charlotte event.

In reality, Neff missed the train as Hagan thundered by on a holeshot victory with a 4.172 to 4.151 decision.

Hagan wasn’t really sure if the victory could be categorized as a holeshot win.

“Not sure if it was or not, us Funny Car drivers are not gentlemen, sometimes we jab them in there [staging],” Hagan said.

The victory will likely ensure Hagan leaves the event as point leader.

“Mike Neff, he’s Superman … this win was huge,” said Hagan. “He’s one of the best out here. He’s got his hands full and a lot on his mind as well. This was a huge, huge win for our DSR team. The chips have been down all weekend. We’ve been battling and struggling to make this thing go down the race track. We’ve been fighting a gremlin in the clutch department.”

JUST SHUT UP AND DRIVE – Usually the second quickest car in the field isn’t in the first pair down the track. This tradition changed in Funny Car as Johnny Gray’s team accepted the challenge and scored the win with a 4.173 to beat Paul Lee.

Gray admitted he had no input in the decision.

“I just do what I am told, get in, sit down … shut up and hold on,” admitted Gray.

HE IS HIS BROTHER’S KEEPER – Moments before Jon Capps and Countdown qualifier Jerry Arend staged, NHRA announcer Bob Frey proclaimed that Jon Capps could be the sleeper in Sunday’s eliminations. For at least one run, Capps made him look like a betting genius by using a 4.237, 291 to take out Countdown qualifier Jeff Arend.

“That was a big round,” said Capps, who is being tuned by Paul Smith this weekend. “I almost feel as a tall as Alan Reinhart. It’s great to be out here and I never know when I will get a chance to do this again. It’s special.”

Capps did his older brother Ron a favor by providing wiggle room as his sibling carried 22 points over Arend headed into Dallas.

For his part, Ron took out Tony Pedregon in the first round with a 4.186.

THE GORILLA IN THE OTHER LANE – Cruz Pedregon soloed to a first round victory when opponent and No. 16 seed Todd Simpson broke on the burnout. Pedregon, the No. 1 qualifier wasn’t taking any chances on lane choices as he soloed to a 4.160, 281.

Pedregon, who is No. 4 in championship points, made the point clear on Friday, that he planned to pick up every available point he could over the course of the weekend.

“It’s not anticlimactic, I have King Kong in the other lane regardless,” Pedregon said of how approaches a single. “It might make you feel better [knowing it’s a single] but you still have to go down the track.”

TROXEL CONTINUES ROLL – For the team which failed to qualify for the first third of the season, the In-n-Out-sponsored Toyota driven by Melanie Troxel continues to make the past a distant memory. In the first round, she took out the No. 4 qualifier Robert Hight, who smoked the tires and lifted early.

“There’s obviously a lot of people out here racing with an agenda, and in the Countdown and we are here to ruin their day,” Troxel said. “We are now showing our potential. Even though we are in only our second year of this sponsorship, we are growing and learning. We are coming of age and trying to live up to the great expectations. We haven’t shown what we are capable of but we are about to.”

BECKMAN GOES LOW – Jack Beckman used to a 4.148, 309.63 run to score low elapsed time of the first round and eliminate the No. 10 Countdown seed Tim Wilkerson.

“That wasn’t a big first round match up … it was a HUGE one,” said Beckman. “Anytime you can get a Countdown car with only so many rounds left, it’s huge.”

DOWN GOES JFR – If Bob Tasca III had his druthers, he’d have raced against a Mopar, Toyota or a Chevrolet. Instead his 4.175, 300 eliminated John Force, the last remaining member of his three-car team and ensured Tasca as the final Ford left in competition.

QUARTER-FINALS

CAPPS BEATS GRAY – The left lane which has appeared so strongly in the first round of competition drew the attention of Johnny Gray, who had lane choice in the quarter-finals against teammate Ron Capps.

Gray smoked the tires early and often as Capps sped away with a 4.228, 301 victory. Capps unofficially moved up to fifth in points with the win.

NO SECOND GUESSING – Cruz Pedregon didn’t have any second guesses about the left lane despite watching Johnny Gray lose his race because of tire smoke. Instead his Toyota went right down the track with a 4.239 for the win.

“I had thought about it [changing lanes] but I asked my guys about it because I am just sitting in the car,” Pedregon said. “The lanes are pretty much even; I don’t worry about buying too much into lane choice.”

HE AIN’T HEAVY … HE’S MY SEMI-FINAL OPPONENT – Jon Capps, for as long as he could remember, dreamed of racing his brother Ron on the big stage of the NHRA series. For the first time since either entered nitro racing, they earned the right for the chance to race in the competition.

Jon advanced to his first-ever semi-final round by knocking off first round low elapsed time runner Jack Beckman with a 4.311. Moments before their race, Beckman made the call to change lanes from the left to right.

TROXEL THE SPOILER – Melanie Troxel, after taking out Robert Hight, said she intended to play the role of spoiler in the Countdown. In two rounds of competition she managed to take out two of them and used a 4.425 to end the strong run of Matt Hagan.

“We [as a team] are about as excited as Texas is about having an In-n-Out Burger here,” said Troxel. “Nobody needs these wins more than this team.”

SEMI-FINALS

YES, IT WAS UGLY – The Funny Car semis produced winning elapsed times which wouldn’t have qualified for the sixteen-car field.

Cruz Pedregon’s Toyota dropped cylinders and smoked tires en route to a 4.501 to beat Melanie Troxel.

In a battle of the brothers, older sibling Ron Capps smoked the tires and pedaled his way to a 5.143, 156 victory over Jon, who smoked the tires early and often in the match.

Surprisingly, Pedregon’s 4.501 was enough to gain lane choice.

“We got greedy on the clutch,” Pedregon admitted.

Capps nearly scraped the wall and admitted his dirt track oval racing was a help in this instance.

“I was afraid I was going to have to get out and fix my car,” Ron said. “It was like driving in the Prelude.”

FINALS

MOVING ON UP - Cruz Pedregon fulfilled his wish to gain points while the leaders fell early by stopping Ron Capps in the finals. Pedregon moved into third place in the championship points, just seven away from leader Mike Neff.

Pedregon scored his 29th career victory with a 4.200, 302.48 to outrun Ron Capps’ 4.270, 293.66.

“It doesn’t win a championship for us but it puts in the middle of it,” Pedregon said of the victory.

PRO STOCK

FIRST ROUND

NAILBITING TIME – Normally Jason Line doesn’t sweat running the No. 16 qualifier, although he’ll readily admit anyone can win from any spot in the Pro Stock class. The No. 1 qualifier watched lightning strike multiple times as nearly all Countdown qualifiers were struck down in the first round by non-championship teams.

Line returned a sense of normalcy as he ran a 6.611 208 to eliminate Warren Johnson.

Greg Stanfield, last year’s Countdown surprise, beat V. Gaines on a holeshot.

DOWN GOES THE COUNTDOWNERS – No.’s 1, 5 and 7 were the only championship contenders left in competition as Greg Anderson [Chris] McGaha, Vincent Nobile [Steve Kent], Mike Edwards [Larry Morgan], Allen Johnson [Kurt Johnson], Rodger Brogdon [Erica Enders] and Ron Krisher [Ronnie Humphrey] were all sent packing.

No. 9 ranked Shane Gray failed to qualify.

BEAUDREAU ROLLS AGAIN – The likeable Steve Kent, whose Cajun background garners him the Beaudreau nickname, strapped a .007 light on the kid Vincent Nobile and led him to the finish line for a 6.64 to 6.66 decision.

Up until last weekend’s Charlotte semi-final finish, Kent hadn’t won a round. He’s gotten three in four rounds of competition.

QUARTER-FINALS

MAKING HAY – For a racer who had an excellent opportunity to put some distance between himself and the rest of the championship field, Jason Line’s actions against Greg Stanfield nearly cost him. Line spotted Stanfield .05 on the starting line and came within a .014 of a second of blowing his chance.

Line ran Stanfield down with a 6.624 to beat Stanfield’s 6.685.

“Obviously I’m a bit nervous,” Line said. “This is a tough position to be in. It’s great to be here in this position.”

A GOOD DAY IN TEXAS – Erica Enders understands one simple scenario. If SHE HAS A GOOD DAY IN Texas, the points will follow. Thus far Enders, who could move up with a final round appearance, moved one step further with a 6.649 to beat surprising semi-finalist Chris McGaha.

“I’m happy to be back home racing here in Texas,” said Enders. “But we have our work cut out for us. I am so stoked.”

ANOTHER SEMI IN THE BAG – At worst, Steve Kent can tie his career-best finish – a semi-final appearance. Kent advanced to the semis when Ronnie Humphrey fouled. This was a lucky break for Kent who shook the tires and lifted just shy of third gear.

Kent races teammate Erica Enders who took out his other teammate Rodger Brogdon in the first round.

SIX IN A ROW – KJ scored his sixth round win in a row with a 6.654 to beat Larry Morgan.

SEMI-FINALS

THE ROLL CONTINUES – Kurt Johnson scored his seventh consecutive round win by knocking off Erica Enders with a 6.658, 207.82.

“It’s just a lot of work,” said Johnson of the turnaround his team has made. Johnson hadn’t won a race in three years when he won Charlotte last weekend.

“We have had a new chassis and for the last three years, we have come to the races wondering if we could do this [win] again.”

A REMATCH IS IN ORDER – Jason Line defeated the upset-minded Steve Kent in the semi-finals for the second event in a row. He lost lane choice in the final round.

“I didn’t like that lane anyway,” said Line, jokingly. “We’ve had a good day points wise. We just need to finish this one off.”

FINALS

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - Jason Line moved into an all-time wins [26] tie with Lee Shepherd at eighth by beating Kurt Johnson in the final round.

Line avenged a final round red-light by beating KJ off of the starting line and leading him across the finish line with a 6.633, 208.46. For his part, Johnson ran a 6.663, 207.85 in losing.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

FIRST ROUND

OH, MAN . . .  - Hector Arana leaned back on his Lucas Oil Buell, threw his arms up to the sky in some mixture of "Why me?!" and "What is going on?!" frustration. His bike had failed to fire at  the starting line. Then Arana quickly waved up his crew with a starter, for NHRA rules allow a restart, time permitting. By that time, though, Michael Phillips was off and running down the right lane to a 6.960-second, 196.10-mph solo victory. Phillips will take on points leader Eddie Krawiec.

"It's really disappointing," Arana said, a much more deflated racer than the one who whooped it up Saturday that he was "going to party" after his son, Hector III, qualified No. 1 and he grabbed the No. 3 spot.

"I thought everything was fixed but something else happened. We've been plagued with a lot of [mechanical trouble]," Arana said. He said of his bike, "It just quit. I don't know what happened."

GOING RED - Matt Smith eliminated Shawn Gann, but both of his teammates, including wife Angie Smith, red-lit. Michael Ray was seven-thousandths of a second too early on the launch, and Angie Smith fouled out by a mere two-thousandths of a second.

TOUGH BREAK FOR ELLIS - Jerry Savoie and his White Alligator Racing Suzuki advanced past Chip Ellis, who cut an .007 light but saw his bike break early in the first Pro Stock Motorcycle run of the day. Savoie, who triggered the war of words with the Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson contingent at Indianapolis and Charlotte, will face Vance & Hines Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidson rider Andrew Hines in the second round.

STAKES RISE - Karen Stoffer got a freebie against the red-lighting Michael Ray in the first round, but the stakes rose when she learned in the final pairing of the round that in the quarterfinals she would face Matt Smith. Stoffer is No. 2 in the Countdown standings, and Smith entered No. 3, just 53 points behind her.

QUARTER-FINALS

COUNTDOWN RIDERS FALTER - Six Countdown riders were eliminated before the semifinals, including the top two (Eddie Krawiec and Karen Stoffer) and top-five participants Andrew Hines and LE Tonglet.No. 3 Matt Smith was the only top-five survivor of the quarterfinals. Nos. 9 and 10 -- Jerry Savoie and Michael Phillips, respectively -- advanced to the Final Four.

HOLESHOTS - The bike quarterfinals got started with holeshot victories from No. 14 qualifier Michael Phillips and No. 10 Jerry Savoie. Phillips, riding a Suzuki, eliminated points leader Krawiec with a 7.016-second pass at 191.81 mph that was slower than Harley-Davidson rider Krawiec's 6.984, 192.25. Krawiec's Vance & Hines teammate Andrew Hines, the No. 2 starter, bit the dust in the next pairing, as Savoie clocked a 6.968, 188.86 to Hines' quicker and faster 6.961, 192.49.

SAVOIE SAVORS IT - After defeating Andrew Hines, Jerry Savoie couldn't resist taking a shot at the Screamin' Eagle / Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson team, which saw V-Twin rider and points leader Eddie Krawiec drop out in that round, too.

Savoie kept the Suzuki riders' mouthy feud with the Harley-Davidson riders going, saying that his answer to what he wanted to eat for lunch was "a lot of chicken!"

SEMI-FINALS

IT’S THE ROOKIE – Hector Arana Jr. said in Indianapolis with his victory that he wants to throw his hat into the Rookie of the Year ring and since Indianapolis has done just that. The second-generation bike rider advanced to his second final round of the season on a single when Matt Smith’s bike wouldn’t start.

“We are good for the finals, got real aggressive. The bike shot me towards the wall. I could have rode it out but I knew we had the win already,” Arana said.

PHILLIPS BEATS SAVOIE – In a week where parity has been questioned, Michael Phillips ensured his Edge Pain & Performance Chips Suzuki would be a representative of the brand in the finals. He outran Jerry Savoie for the final round berth.

FINALS

THAT’S JUST LOVELY - The final round was a battle between a Suzuki and a Buell.

Michael Phillips scored his first Pewter Wally and seventh career victory with a 6.97, 194 to beat Hector Arana Jr. Arana was the first off of the line but lifted early with a 7.01

The win represented the 50th manufacturer victory for Suzuki.

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